Chapter 72: Confirmed the Gaze

When the four Xuanmen cultivators recovered their senses, Lu Ye had already gathered the spoils of war, mounted the tiger, and vanished into the distance.

"Just now... he..." A young woman in the group stammered, but her companions couldn't quite understand what she was trying to say.

What they had just witnessed was too shocking. Lu Ye's Spirit Creek Tier 3 cultivation was impossible to hide; two members of their own group were also at Spirit Creek Tier 3. Yet, none of them had ever imagined that a Spirit Creek Tier 3 cultivator could possess such formidable aggression. In just ten breaths, he had killed three opponents they found hard to resist, one of whom was even at Spirit Creek Tier 4!

This was clearly an act of defeating a stronger opponent, a feat typically only achieved by disciples from major sects. They were certain that if the tiger-riding youth had wanted to attack them, they would have died even faster than the three from the Nine Star Sect.

As they were lost in thought, the distant large tiger suddenly changed direction and galloped back towards them.

The sturdy man, a Tier 3 cultivator, paled. He quickly shielded his three junior disciples behind him, staring cautiously ahead.

A moment later, Huben stopped in front of the four. Lu Ye sat upright on the tiger's back, looking down at them. The distance between them was less than five zhang.

The intense pressure made the female cultivator in the group's chest heave, almost breathless.

"Do you have any Spirit Pills?" the youth on the tiger's back suddenly asked.

"Ah... yes!" the sturdy man quickly replied. "Do you want some?"

Lu Ye nodded. "I need Spirit Pills."

The sturdy man quickly untied the storage bag from his waist and opened its restrictive lock. After a moment's thought, he whispered to his three junior disciples, "Give me your Spirit Pills."

The three dared not object. They hurriedly took out their Spirit Pills from their own storage bags and clumsily handed them to the sturdy man. The sturdy man then transferred his own belongings into another storage bag.

A moment later, he threw the storage bag containing the Spirit Pills towards Lu Ye, who caught it with one hand.

"Thank you," Lu Ye said, tossing out the spoils of war he had collected earlier. Huben turned around and departed once more.

It wasn't until Lu Ye's figure disappeared that the four Xuanmen cultivators collectively breathed a sigh of relief. When Lu Ye had returned to ask for Spirit Pills, they had thought they were about to be robbed.

But even so, they would have had to accept it. Not only were they no match for Lu Ye, but he had, after all, saved their lives. Compared to their lives, their Spirit Pills were naturally less important. When the sturdy man had thrown the bag of Spirit Pills to Lu Ye, he had already prepared a speech, ready to offer the pills as a thank-you gift.

Who would have thought Lu Ye wouldn't take them for free, and instead threw them the spoils of war he had just acquired?

Looking at the three storage bags, two low-grade spirit artifacts, and a battered small shield on the ground, the four Xuanmen cultivators were momentarily speechless.

After a quick calculation, the four realized they hadn't lost anything; they had even made a small profit, leaving them feeling somewhat bewildered.

Bending down to pick up the items on the ground, the sturdy man pondered for a moment before decisively saying, "Back to base!" They were all injured to varying degrees, and most importantly, they had no Spirit Pills left, making it difficult to sustain further combat. Given their current state, returning to base to recuperate was undoubtedly the wisest course of action. Furthermore, they couldn't open the storage bags of the Nine Star Sect cultivators; they would have to return to base, hand them over, and ask their sect elders for help.

Meanwhile, Lu Ye rode Huben to a passage to check his gains. Trading with the Xuanmen cultivators for Spirit Pills was an impromptu idea. Mainly, he had accumulated too many storage bags. Even before entering the Sky-Rending Gorge, he already had several. After killing the group from the Nine Star Sect, including their young master, he gained four more. If he acquired any more, he'd have no place to put them, and carrying them all on him would also affect his combat ability. Moreover, these storage bags had restrictive locks, which he couldn't open. Instead of keeping them unused, he might as well exchange them for some Spirit Pills with the Xuanmen cultivators.

The number of Spirit Pills given by the four Xuanmen cultivators wasn't large. Their cultivation levels weren't high, and they weren't wealthy in general, so any Spirit Pills they acquired would quickly be consumed. The four of them collectively gathered sixteen Spirit Pills for Lu Ye; five of these were healing pills. Lu Ye had only asked for Spirit Pills, not specifying a type, so they had given him both cultivation-enhancing and healing pills.

The haul was decent. Lu Ye felt that his impromptu method was very good. This way, he might be able to acquire a large amount of cultivation resources in the Sky-Rending Gorge.

The Merit Points in his battlefield imprint had also changed. They had increased from thirty-four to fifty-six, a gain of twenty-two Merit Points. The increase in these numbers was a mystery to him. Last time, when he killed the four from the Nine Star Sect, he gained twenty-six points, and this time, twenty-two. He still didn't know the exact criteria for the increases. He made up his mind: next time he killed someone, he would pay close attention to the changes in the numbers; perhaps he could deduce some patterns.

He wasn't seriously injured in this battle; he had only sustained a sword stab to his lower abdomen from a Tier 3 cultivator. After a quick bandage and a short rest, he set off again. His spiritual power was still abundant enough for him to continue fighting.

Traces of fierce battles could be seen frequently along the gorge passage. Many areas had dried bloodstains and mutilated corpses, showing the intensity of the struggle between the Xuanmen and Nine Star Sect here.

Not far ahead, Yiyi, who was scouting, reported back that a team of two was approaching their direction. Lu Ye immediately told Huben to hide, while he himself went to meet the two.

A moment later, Lu Ye encountered the duo head-on. Both sides became vigilant, carefully sizing each other up. Lu Ye's eyes shimmered with spiritual light as he assessed their cultivation levels: two Spirit Creek Tier 3 cultivators. Such a combination wasn't too weak. And judging by their injuries, they had clearly been through a battle; perhaps there had originally been more than two of them.

What puzzled Lu Ye was that the battlefield imprints on the backs of their hands weren't glowing. This left him unsure which faction they belonged to, and he didn't know how to proceed for a moment.

To his surprise, after observing Lu Ye for a moment, the two relaxed. One of them even smiled and walked forward, saying as he approached, "Fellow Daoist, you're quite bold, venturing here alone?"

Lu Ye's mind swiftly processed the situation and he realized they had likely mistaken him for one of their own. His hand, resting on his saber hilt, relaxed slightly, and he calmly said, "My group was scattered."

The man replied, "Then Fellow Daoist is truly lucky. If you don't mind, you could join us; three people offer more mutual support."

"Certainly," Lu Ye nodded, maintaining a posture of silent assent.

The man raised his hand and said, "Although I don't think it's strictly necessary, please verify your identity with us, Fellow Daoist." As he spoke, a red light appeared on the back of his hand.

Lu Ye's eyebrow lifted; he had confirmed it. These were people he could kill!

As pebbles scattered underfoot, Lu Ye, saber in hand, charged forward, leaving the two stunned.