Chapter 915: Red Dragon Battle Armor

Silence fell over the land, and a gentle breeze swept across the nine provinces.

Not to mention, Lu Ye already possessed the Jade Guard spirit pattern as a protective measure, making traditional protective garments largely unnecessary.

However, on this particular trip, buying one was a must. Heading out with Fairy Nian Yue, who knew what dangers or enemies they might encounter? Having a protective garment would provide an extra layer of security.

It wasn't that the Hall of Merit Points lacked superior protective garments; there were even spirit-treasure-grade ones, let alone artifact-grade.

But given Lu Ye's cultivation level, a top-grade artifact-grade garment was already his limit; anything more advanced would be difficult for him to activate.

Yet, this protective garment, named the Scarlet Dragon Battle Robe, came with a hefty price.

A full 90,000 merit points.

Compared to the Soul Suppressing Pagoda, which cost over 180,000, its price was indeed a mere fraction. However, the Soul Suppressing Pagoda was a soul artifact that even mighty cultivators in the Divine Sea realm might not possess, so its rarity naturally couldn't be compared to a protective garment.

Still, when compared to other artifacts of similar quality, a price of 90,000 merit points seemed exorbitantly expensive.

Of course, you get what you pay for.

Protective garments and armor were inherently expensive, and their quality was undeniably superb, being of the finest artifact grade.

After only a brief hesitation, Lu Ye resolutely exchanged for the Scarlet Dragon Battle Robe. His merit points plummeted by 90,000—truly, easy come, easy go.

It felt substantial in his hands, yet its material was as smooth as silk. He wondered what it was made of.

Within the nine provinces, cultivators who could craft protective armor and garments were extremely rare. If alchemists, array masters, and artifact refiners were considered special talents that major sects would spare no effort to cultivate, then those who could craft protective armor and garments were special among the special.

The Scarlet Dragon Battle Robe bore the name of a dragon, but it was clearly not sewn from dragon scales. More likely, it was made from something like蛟皮 (jiao hide).

He shed his original clothes and put on the Scarlet Dragon Battle Robe, immediately feeling invigorated.

They say fine clothes make the man. Lu Ye, due to his experiences over the years and his personality, often gave off a somewhat murderous aura when dealing with strangers. However, after donning the Scarlet Dragon Battle Robe, much of that肅殺之氣 (austere killing intent) dissipated, replaced by a touch of refined gentleness, making him appear like a noble young master from a prominent family or a major sect.

After silently activating his spiritual power to perceive its properties, Lu Ye gained a certain understanding of the robe's various features.

This protective robe had strong elasticity, which was good news for Lu Ye, as his physique would change to some extent after activating his beast transformation secret art.

He had activated the beast transformation secret art twice before, and both times his clothes were ripped to shreds. But with this Scarlet Dragon Battle Robe, he would no longer have such worries in the future.

Not only that, the robe also seemed to be able to change its color... When Lu Ye first acquired it, the robe was aqua blue, but with the activation of his spiritual power, its color rapidly shifted...

After trying several colors, Lu Ye preferred something between dark red and black. Finally, after some deliberation, he settled on black.

The refined and amiable aqua blue ultimately didn't suit his temperament; black looked more profound.

At once, the image of a noble young master from a prominent family or a major sect vanished into thin air. Lu Ye nodded with satisfaction.

As for immaculate white... that was entirely out of the question. He, the 'Blade of Sect Annihilation,' simply didn't match pure white.

Many sword cultivators, like his fourth senior brother Li Baxian, preferred to wear white. Li Baxian's clothes had a white base with flowing red cloud patterns. When he moved, he resembled the brilliant sunset clouds, giving off a wild and unrestrained feeling, entirely different from pure white.

This was how the battle robe appeared externally.

As for its specific capabilities and the extent of protection it offered, that would need to be tested in actual combat.

Lu Ye believed his 90,000 merit points wouldn't be wasted; after all, it came from the Hall of Merit Points!

Leaving the Hall of Merit Points, Lu Ye returned to his bamboo house.

Yiyi and Amber, who were waiting there, immediately spotted Lu Ye in his new attire. They gathered around him, circling and marveling at his appearance.

Lu Ye stood tall and proud, looking heroic: "Doesn't it look good?"

Yiyi nodded repeatedly: "It looks great, really great! It would look even better if it were white."

"What an eye!" Lu Ye glared at her, losing his desire to show off. He sat cross-legged, took out a Breath Fruit core, and prepared to enter the Mirage Realm to test the protective power of his new robe.

About half a day later, Lu Ye opened his eyes, a deep frown on his face.

It wasn't that the result was unsatisfactory, but rather that it exceeded his expectations. In the Mirage Realm, attacks from enemies at the fourth or fifth stage of the True Lake realm couldn't even penetrate the robe's defenses when they landed on him.

A single protective robe had brought a tremendous improvement to Lu Ye's strength, boosting his survival capability by at least thirty percent.

For others, such remarkable protection from a protective garment would naturally elicit great joy.

But Lu Ye didn't let it go to his head.

External forces were ultimately external. They could be utilized, but not relied upon... This could very easily cause a soldier cultivator to lose accurate judgment of their own strength.

If this continued, it could very likely make one reckless. Should the protective garment ever be breached by a stronger opponent, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Still, he wouldn't abandon the robe for this reason.

Since 90,000 merit points had already been spent, it was impossible to simply put it aside. Lu Ye could only constantly reflect on himself in secret.

However, compared to the protection offered by the robe, the spiritual power consumed during combat significantly increased. This was the price of wearing a protective garment in battle.

In a major battle, offense was the best defense. Rather than expending spiritual power on protection, it was better to land a few more blows.

The matter of the protective robe was settled for now. This trip was ultimately a mission with Fairy Nian Yue, and having an extra means of defense was a good thing.

Fairy Nian Yue had given him three days, and three days for cultivation meant his strength couldn't be improved further.

Lu Ye pondered for a moment, and an idea suddenly surfaced. If that were the case, it seemed feasible.

He quickly rummaged through his storage bag and found a communication stone, infusing it with spiritual power.

Soon, he frowned, as the communication stone showed no sign of resonance. In other words, the corresponding communication stone was not in the same realm as the one in his hand.

It was highly likely that it had been put into a storage bag.

After all, in the nine provinces, cultivators communicated using their battlefield imprints, and state guards could rely on their guard tokens. Who would still use something as low-level as a communication stone?

But if the communication stone was ineffective, how was he to find the other party? He couldn't just openly go to Lone Mountain City again.

Last time, he had a close call but no one interrogated him. This time, it might not be the case.

After some thought, Lu Ye quickly came up with an idea. He immersed himself in his battlefield imprint, searching for a long-uncontacted mark, and sent out a message.

After waiting for a moment, the other party replied with a simple word: "Okay!"

Lu Ye stood up, walked out of the bamboo house, and soared into the sky.

In the bamboo house on the other side, Fairy Nian Yue sensed something, opened her eyes, glanced in the direction Lu Ye had disappeared, and then paid no more attention.

Cangyan Mountain Pass and Lone Mountain City Pass were over a thousand li apart. This thousand-li stretch was a buffer zone between the two opposing factions and did not belong to either side.

Within this area, closer to Lone Mountain City Pass, there was a small hill.

Lu Ye arrived there, looked around, and without hiding his presence, simply chose a spot to wait.

Approximately half an hour later, he suddenly noticed something unusual nearby and silently activated his divine sense to perceive.

He easily detected a familiar aura quietly approaching, but because she was not a ghost cultivator, her concealment methods were not particularly sophisticated. To Lu Ye now, she appeared noticeably stealthy.

He didn't expose her, continuing to wait patiently.

A moment later, accompanied by rustling sounds, a figure appeared in Lu Ye's sight.

The person who arrived was undoubtedly a beauty, with a slender figure and delicate features. A knowing smile hung on her face, making her look quite significant.

She walked casually to within three zhang of Lu Ye and stopped, snorting: "Ye Liu, or should I call you... Lu Yiye!"

Lu Ye had not mentioned the name Ye Liu to many people. Fewer than five people knew this name, and only one belonged to the Myriad Demon Ridge.

It was Shen Xiaomao, who had partnered with Lu Ye to guard a Class C Spirit Land shortly after he first arrived at the Cloud River Battlefield!

This was clearly not her real name, just as she had known from the start that Ye Liu was not Lu Ye's real name.

The difference was that Shen Xiaomao later learned Lu Ye's true identity, but Lu Ye never knew hers.

The familiar figure he had seen earlier near the Cangyan Mountain volcano was indeed Shen Xiaomao. The two had met in the Cloud River Battlefield over a spirit land, jointly experienced the Myriad Beasts Domain secret realm, and after returning, the spring spirit of their spirit land had been plundered. Since then, they had gone their separate ways and never met again.

At that time, both were at Cloud River, and Shen Xiaomao's cultivation was several minor stages higher than Lu Ye's.

Now, both were at True Lake, but Lu Ye's cultivation had surpassed hers. "You saw through it, so it's boring for you to call me that. To you, I'm just Ye Liu," Lu Ye responded blandly, without much warmth for an old acquaintance.

Shen Xiaomao didn't mind; the Lu Ye in her memory was exactly like this.

"You're quite bold, daring to contact me. Aren't you afraid I'd bring a group of people to besiege you? You might not know how enormous the bounty on your head is in the Myriad Demon Ridge."

"That's old news. I've been quite well-behaved lately, haven't done anything to the Myriad Demon Ridge people. Is that bounty still active?" He truly hadn't done much recently, just leading the Fire Spirit Clan to Lone Mountain City with Ying Wuji...

However, Ying Wuji was also involved in that matter.

"Once a bounty is issued, there's no easy way to withdraw it. Your head is worth a lot."

"So, did you bring people?"

Shen Xiaomao pouted: "Asking the obvious."