Chapter 659: Immortal and Indestructible

The Butcher from Fengqi Jiuzhou was startled, but after a moment's thought, he said, "Perhaps the exchange rate is very low?"

He wouldn't take the blame for this!

The City Lord's expression was grim, and he found it difficult to say anything further.

The authority for Lu Ye to exchange war功 for soul water had been granted by Providence at his request. Now that this was the result, he couldn't change it. He could only pray that Lu Ye had limited war功 and wouldn't be able to exchange for too much soul water, otherwise, it would truly affect the foundation of the Soul Pool.

A moment later, below the Soul Pool, Lu Ye, who was happily collecting soul water, noticed that the spirit-gathering funnel in front of him suddenly disintegrated in a twist.

Instinctively, he conjured another spirit-gathering funnel, but as soon as this second funnel took shape, an inexplicable force seemed to disrupt it, preventing it from functioning at all.

He somewhat understood what was happening and quickly checked his battle imprint. He found that the information recorded in his battle imprint showed his war功 balance was now only eight hundred and thirty-six points.

One thousand war功 points were needed to collect a single drop of soul water, and the remaining eight hundred and thirty-six points were clearly not enough for a full drop.

Over three hundred thousand war功, reduced to just a little in such a short time – to say it didn't pain him would be a lie. After all, these were war功, not mere merits. However, compared to the gains, the price paid was absolutely worth it.

The waterskin wasn't full, but it contained over three hundred drops of soul water. Such a vast amount of resources was enough to elevate his own spirit, and even that of his close friends and family, to an astonishing degree.

With his war功 gone, it was time to leave.

Lu Ye carefully put away the waterskin and propelled himself upwards.

He had thought he was deep within the Soul Pool, but in reality, after only two breaths, he broke through the dense mist's blockade. The surrounding light flooded his vision, causing him to squint involuntarily.

The next moment, he felt a sharp gaze fixed upon him.

Looking in the direction of the gaze, Lu Ye immediately spotted the City Lord of Xian Yuan City, whom he had met before!

However, at this moment, the City Lord's expression was somewhat strange, appearing as if he was gritting his teeth...

To Lu Ye, it felt as though he had done something outrageous, something that would infuriate both gods and men. The City Lord seemed to want nothing more than to beat him up.

Could it be... he noticed what I was doing in the Soul Pool? Lu Ye couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

But then he thought, what was there to fear? That soul water was exchanged with his war功, a rule permitted by Providence! No matter how powerful the City Lord was, could he be more powerful than Providence?

As he thought this, Lu Ye suddenly showed a look of surprise and delight, looking at a stout figure behind the City Lord.

"Senior?"

Almost believing he was mistaken, Lu Ye instantly appeared before the Butcher, examining him closely to confirm that this was indeed the Butcher who should have been dead.

He was somewhat bewildered: "Senior, how are you..."

The Butcher chuckled and said: "Within Xian Yuan City, as long as the Soul Pool remains intact, we spirits cannot truly die; it's merely a temporary dormancy."

Lu Ye didn't understand why the Butcher could revive after death, but from his words, it seemed the Soul Pool had granted these spirits some special abilities.

No wonder they always said the Soul Pool was the foundation of Xian Yuan City.

In that case, were the various scenes he witnessed before losing consciousness not an illusion?

"What about Senior Liu Datong and Senior Yu Qing..."

"They are all alive too. They're outside handling some concluding tasks and should be back soon."

Lu Ye let out a long breath: "That's truly wonderful!"

The Butcher raised a hand, patted Lu Ye's shoulder, and praised him: "Lad, you did well!" He was, of course, referring to how Lu Ye, alone, had completed the mission for them after their entire team was annihilated. Though he couldn't make it perfect, he had done his absolute best.

Had it not been for that, the Butcher wouldn't have brought Lu Ye back to the City Lord's mansion, or even decided to assign him to his own team, granting him the right to enter the Soul Pool for recuperation.

Of course, Lu Ye was still unaware of all this for now.

"Oh, Senior, your knife." As Lu Ye spoke, he quickly retrieved the Butcher's boning knife from his storage space and handed it back.

The Butcher took it, casually inserting it into the scabbard at his waist. Then he cupped his hands towards the front and said: "My lord, I'll be busy now. I'll leave this lad to you."

An impatient voice rang out: "Get lost!"

The Butcher then pulled Lu Ye aside and whispered: "I know you have many questions, but there are some things I can't talk about, and some I don't even know. If you have anything you want to ask, feel free to ask the City Lord. He will definitely tell you what he can. In any case, you're now considered half a person of Xian Yuan City."

Being assigned to the Butcher's team wasn't just talk. So, even though Lu Ye wasn't a cultivator originally from Xian Yuan City, in the Butcher's eyes, he was considered half a person of Xian Yuan City.

"Is there anything I can help with?" Lu Ye asked. Having returned from recuperating in the Soul Pool, Lu Ye now felt incredibly energetic. Moreover, his spiritual power seemed to have grown stronger than before.

The Butcher shook his head: "No need. This insectoid siege is drawing to a close; what's left are just minor cleanup tasks. You should leave here soon. You're a living person, and coming to Xian Yuan City in this state and staying too long won't do you any good."

Lu Ye nodded: "Understood."

Even without the Butcher saying it, Lu Ye could feel it. This time, he had entered Xian Yuan City with his spirit leaving his body, based on a projection. Being separated from his physical body for too long could indeed pose certain risks.

The Butcher patted Lu Ye's shoulder again and vanished instantly.

Lu Ye watched his retreating figure disappear, then turned around and respectfully bowed to the figure in front of him: "Lu Ye greets the City Lord!"

A cold snort sounded: "So, you can see me, can you?"

Why was the City Lord... speaking so sarcastically?

"Upon seeing Senior Butcher revive just now, this junior couldn't contain his joy; please forgive any impoliteness, City Lord!"

Hearing Lu Ye's explanation, Ji Yuan's expression softened slightly. However, remembering the Soul Pool and soul water, his cheek twitched again: "Lad, you've gained quite a bit this time!"

Over three hundred drops of soul water!

Since the founding of Xian Yuan City, it had never lost so much soul water.

In the past, although cultivators had been able to take soul water from Xian Yuan City, it was at most one or two drops, and Ji Yuan had intentionally placed those in specific locations within Xian Yuan City for visiting cultivators to find.

And last time, this lad had already taken away dozens of drops...

In these two instances, Xian Yuan City had suffered heavy losses because of this lad.

The loss of over three hundred drops of soul water was enough to support Xian Yuan City through two or three wars!

However, he found it difficult to say anything. Last time, he had been careless, not expecting the lad to possess such strange abilities. This time, Providence itself was at work. Thus, even though his heart was bleeding from the pain, he could only accept his bad luck.

Fortunately, although over three hundred drops of soul water was a considerable amount, it wasn't enough to affect the Soul Pool's foundation.

What did the City Lord mean by this...?

Lu Ye looked up at him, his words seemed to carry a hidden meaning.

He must know that I was collecting soul water in the Soul Pool, right? Considering that the Butcher and others were not equipped with soul water for combat outside, Lu Ye wondered if this City Lord was unable to condense soul water himself.

On an impulse, Lu Ye took out a jade bottle, handed it to Ji Yuan, and said in a deep voice: "I don't have much either."

Ji Yuan looked at the jade bottle, and after a moment, he let out an exasperated laugh: "Lad, who do you think I am?"

That jade bottle was clearly the first one Lu Ye had filled when collecting soul water. He later switched to a waterskin when he realized how quickly the soul water was condensing.

Lu Ye quickly retrieved the jade bottle. He let out a long breath, thinking, 'If he doesn't want it, then so be it. A bottle of soul-cleansing water, at least, had a good amount.' He then said: "This junior misunderstood, I thought..."

"You thought what? You thought it was stolen goods, and we'd split it fifty-fifty when we met?"

'Don't even think about it!'

A thought crossed his mind, and Lu Ye said earnestly: "City Lord, you're mistaken. That's not stolen goods; I exchanged it with my war功."

Ji Yuan waved his hand weakly: "Say what you will. If you have the ability to take it, then it's yours."

"Thank you, City Lord!" Lu Ye immediately relaxed.

"But lad... how much war功 did you get this time?" Ji Yuan was still very curious about this.

Lu Ye then reported a number.

Ji Yuan's eye twitched upon hearing it. He recalled the Butcher's confident assertion that Lu Ye only had tens of thousands of war功. Tens of thousands of war功, my foot! It was over three hundred thousand!

He even suspected the Butcher did it on purpose, otherwise, he wouldn't have run off so quickly.

But at this point, dwelling on it was meaningless. The items were already in Lu Ye's hands; he couldn't very well ask him to spit them out, especially since the soul water was indeed exchanged by Lu Ye with his war功.

Many thoughts ran through his mind, and Ji Yuan let out a laugh of resignation.

Lu Ye noticed the atmosphere had softened considerably, and asked: "My Lord, why are you laughing?"

Ji Yuan shook his head: "Nothing. It's just been a long time since I've conversed with someone like this." Changing the subject, he added, "Lad, you're growing very quickly."

The last time he saw Lu Ye, he was only at the Eighth Layer of the Spirit Stream Realm. Now, he had actually reached the True Lake Realm. This rate of growth was simply astonishing.

Over thousands of years, many cultivators from the Nine Provinces had entered Xian Yuan City. Among them were certainly individuals of exceptional talent. Although Ji Yuan didn't know their exact growth rates, he presumed none could have been faster than this lad in front of him.

Lu Ye shook his head: "City Lord, you've misunderstood. This junior's current situation is a bit special. I am actually only at the Fifth Layer of the Cloud River Realm. It's just that my spiritual power is stronger than my physical body, which is why I exhibited the foundation of the True Lake Realm after coming here."

Ji Yuan realized: "So that's how it is."

That's normal enough. Since he came here with his spirit leaving his body, what he exhibited would naturally be the power of his spirit.

But the Fifth Layer of the Cloud River Realm... that's still not a slow growth rate.

"City Lord, this junior has some questions I'd like to ask; I wonder if you could enlighten me?"

"Go ahead and ask. I will naturally tell you what I can."

"What exactly is this Xian Yuan City? Isn't this a secret realm in the Spirit Stream battlefield? Why was this junior able to come here through the merged breath fruit core?"

"Secret realm..." Ji Yuan murmured softly. Instead of directly answering Lu Ye's question, he asked: "In your opinion, what is a secret realm?"