Chapter 76: Feast of the Gluttonous Beast

Regarding casualties, the Nine-Star Sect was also compiling statistics.

Cao Ye looked worriedly at Dong Shuye. "Senior Brother, our casualties are quite high. Nearly sixty people have been killed since the war began."

Dong Shuye was startled. "How can there be so many?" Even if the Nine-Star Sect wasn't a match for the Mystic Gate, such heavy losses in just a few days were unexpected.

Cao Ye replied, "It's all thanks to that Overmountain Tiger. He always ambushes us during skirmishes, and many disciples have died because of him."

"That scoundrel!" Dong Shuye fumed, his face darkening. "What about our sect's fifth-level cultivators?"

"They're all being targeted by the enemy," Cao Ye said, sounding helpless. "Our two sects only have a few fifth-level cultivators that can be deployed, and everyone knows each other's strengths, so it's easy to be singled out."

"Senior Brother, should I make a move—"

Dong Shuye shook his head. "No, if you act, Wang Yang certainly won't stand idly by. Can you handle that vile maid?" The 'vile maid' he referred to was Xiaozhu.

Cao Ye groaned, "I can't defeat her, but she can't kill me either." Though that vile maid's background is humble, her strength is truly impressive. Who knows what kind of luck Wang Yang had for a mere servant girl to grow to such a level.

"What's the situation with Luo Ji?" Dong Shuye asked.

At the mention of Luo Ji, Cao Ye's headache worsened. "That fellow isn't taking this declaration of war seriously at all. I don't know where he's run off to; he doesn't even reply to my messages."

"He's from Boundless Isle, of course he wouldn't take our declaration of war seriously." Dong Shuye's expression flickered between anger and despair before he gritted his teeth. "Doesn't he want Ziyi? Tell him that if he brings back Overmountain Tiger's head, I'll give Ziyi to him!"

"Senior Brother!" Cao Ye stared at Dong Shuye in shock.

"Go!" Dong Shuye snapped.

"Yes!" Cao Ye, looking vexed, accepted the order and left. As he exited the hall, he glanced back at the purple-clad girl kneeling by a flower patch, lightly sniffing the blossoms.

Chu Tian quickly received a message. He initially thought it was a reply from Senior Brother Wang Yang, but upon checking, he realized it was from someone he had never contacted before.

The message was simple, just two words: "Chu Tian?"

Chu Tian was utterly confused, but he quickly realized who was messaging him. In his battlefield mark's records, only one person had never been contacted. He immediately sent a reply: "It's me. Is there something, Junior Brother Yi Ye?"

"Nothing!" came the swift reply.

Chu Tian's mouth twitched. If it was nothing, why send a message? It made him think Overmountain Tiger had something important to discuss. After a moment's thought, he sent another message: "Junior Brother Yi Ye, if you have something to say, please don't hesitate. I, Chu Tian, will help in any way I can."

The message was met with silence; there was no response.

Meanwhile, Lu Ye, hidden in a tunnel, sensed his battlefield mark. His expression was unreadable, and his mood felt strange. Was this his first 'friend' in his contact list? He genuinely couldn't understand what was going on in this world. Ever since he entered the Spirit Stream Battlefield, strange things had been happening one after another. Fortunately, his investigation showed that contacting Chu Tian wouldn't reveal his real name, which put his mind at ease.

Ignoring Chu Tian's reply, Lu Ye swallowed a spirit pill to recover. This battle hadn't been too taxing, so he fully recovered in just half a day. However, he didn't stop there. Instead, he continued to consume spirit pills, aiming to break through the barrier of a certain spirit aperture.

Currently, he was at the third level of the Spirit Stream Realm, but he had already opened twenty-eight apertures. The additional aperture was one recorded in the Gourmand's Meal cultivation art. His Golden Cicada Freeform Art had already been cultivated to perfection, and without a more advanced cultivation art, he couldn't further improve his cultivation. Thus, he decided to try cultivating the Gourmand's Meal.

He had bought this cultivation art for three spirit stones. It contained fifteen spirit apertures, most of which overlapped with those of the Golden Cicada Freeform Art. Only two apertures were outside the Golden Cicada Freeform Art's system. With the mindset that he had nothing better to do, Lu Ye began studying the Gourmand's Meal a few days prior. He had already successfully opened one aperture. If he could open just one more, he would be able to glimpse the true nature of this cultivation art. According to the rogue cultivator who sold him the art, it could double cultivation efficiency. However, Lu Ye was certain he had been scammed. There couldn't be such a heaven-defying cultivation art in the world, and even if there were, it wouldn't be casually sold. Regardless, the two extra spirit apertures were real. By opening two more now, he would have two fewer to open when cultivating more advanced arts in the future. Lu Ye cultivated this art with the mentality that he wouldn't lose out no matter what.

Spiritual energy surged, repeatedly impacting the spirit aperture's barrier. Compared to when he first started cultivating, breaking through spirit aperture barriers was now much simpler because he had abundant spiritual energy within him. During the impact, the spirit aperture barrier continuously loosened, and a tingling sensation came from the aperture. In just about an hour, Lu Ye felt the spirit aperture barrier shatter with a resounding crack.

The twenty-ninth aperture opened!

The rest was simple. To operate a cultivation art, one's spiritual energy must flow along its specific circulation path. However, since fifteen of the Gourmand's Meal apertures largely overlapped with the Golden Cicada Freeform Art, he would first need to interrupt the Golden Cicada Freeform Art's circulation if he wanted to operate the Gourmand's Meal. The third minor circulation, however, didn't need to be interrupted, as those nine apertures were not part of the Gourmand's Meal's path.

Interrupting his spiritual energy's circulation was something Lu Ye had never done before, but after a brief attempt, he found it to be quite simple. The minor circulation system was naturally generated by the rapid flow of spiritual energy through nine apertures. As long as the rapidly flowing spiritual energy was stabilized, it would settle back into the spirit apertures. Lu Ye then tried to make the spiritual energy flow again, and in just a moment, it returned to its original state.

With this, he felt confident and much bolder. He once again calmed the spiritual energy flow of the first two minor circulation systems within his body. Once all the spiritual energy had settled back into the apertures, he began to guide the spiritual energy through the fifteen Gourmand's Meal apertures in sequence according to its circulation path. One cycle, two cycles... Gradually, the spiritual energy flowed faster and faster until it circulated on its own without Lu Ye's active guidance.

Lu Ye suddenly felt a strange sensation: his abdomen seemed to begin churning violently... His heart stirred, and he quickly took out a spirit pill and swallowed it. The next instant, the churning in his abdomen became even more pronounced. His entire lower abdomen seemed to transform into a grinding mill. The spirit pill he had swallowed was rapidly ground down by this mill, quickly releasing its medicinal power and converting it into spiritual energy.

Lu Ye's eyes snapped open, his face filled with shock. He suddenly realized that Chen He, the person who sold him this cultivation art, might not have been lying! This Gourmand's Meal really *could* double cultivation efficiency!