Chapter 930: At Your Service, Li Taibai

"Poisonous woman..." Lu Ye's eye twitched slightly. He wondered what Nian Yuexian would think if she heard that description.

But she's actually causing widespread slaughter... Clearly, she's trying to divert the attention of the Ten-Thousand Devil Ridge faction, making it easier for herself to escape. Otherwise, with her abilities, there would be no need to create such a huge commotion. Even if she couldn't leave temporarily due to the blockade by the Ten-Thousand Devil Ridge's strong cultivators, she could easily hide. After all, she is a ghost cultivator. Yet she chose to act this way... Lu Ye probably understood Nian Yuexian's intention.

The Divine Sea realm woman showed a look of realization. If the person in front of her was indeed from Wushuang Continent, then his ignorance of the Liyuan situation would be understandable. Information exchange among cultivators in the Nine Provinces was convenient and quick, but how could a Wushuang Continent cultivator who had only recently arrived in the Nine Provinces have any channels for obtaining information?

The woman scrutinized Lu Ye, then nodded: "If you wish, you may travel with our team. Even if we encounter that poisonous woman, I can offer you some protection. If not, you may leave on your own."

Since she had put it that way, what else could Lu Ye say? Naturally, he showed immense gratitude: "Thank you for your care, Senior. Then I shall impose upon you." He found it strange that the other party didn't ask to verify his faction allegiance. He had already prepared to show his Ten-Thousand Devil Ridge battle mark.

The woman nodded slightly, said no more, and led the way. The others followed closely. There weren't many people in the team; besides Lu Ye, there were only five others – three men and two women – all of whom were powerful cultivators at the True Lake realm. The others' attitude towards Lu Ye was indifferent, but the female cultivator who had brought him over earlier was very enthusiastic towards him.

During their conversation, Lu Ye learned that the female cultivator's name was Tong Shuyao. Their team came from Darkmoon Forest Pass, a defensive line of the Ten-Thousand Devil Ridge, and had come to search for Nian Yuexian after hearing she had appeared in Liyuan. However, they had been searching here for over a day, and not only had they not seen Nian Yuexian, but they hadn't even found a single flying sword.

Tong Shuyao asked Lu Ye many questions about Wushuang Continent. Lu Ye naturally answered them, speaking eloquently and with great detail. After all, he had spent some time on Wushuang Continent and was even the senior disciple who saved the Wushuang Continent vanguard team. When it came to the initial situation of Wushuang Continent, no one in the entire Nine Provinces understood it better than him. The Divine Sea realm grand cultivator ahead listened silently. Although she hadn't anticipated Lu Ye's true identity as a Haotian Alliance cultivator, she wouldn't easily believe his one-sided account. Only now was she finally convinced that Lu Ye was indeed a cultivator from Wushuang Continent. If he wasn't from Wushuang Continent, it would be impossible for him to know so much about it. Even she, a Divine Sea realm cultivator, only knew about Wushuang Continent through hearsay.

"Oh, by the way, after all this talking, I haven't asked for your name, Junior Brother," Tong Shuyao said, her face flushed. She flew very close to Lu Ye, with occasional physical contact that Lu Ye tried to avoid several times, but couldn't.

"My name is Li Taibai," Lu Ye casually said, recalling a name from deep within his memory.

"Li Taibai..." Tong Shuyao savored the name, then smiled radiantly: "That's a beautiful name!"

As they flew, they occasionally encountered other teams searching for Nian Yuexian. Many of these teams were led by Divine Sea realm grand cultivators, with numerous True Lake realm cultivators accompanying them. This made Lu Ye secretly worried. The Ten-Thousand Devil Ridge was clearly furious, having set up an inescapable net across Liyuan, determined to utterly eradicate Nian Yuexian. Previously, Lu Ye didn't dare to send messages to Nian Yuexian casually, fearing he might disturb her. Now, under the watchful eye of a Ten-Thousand Devil Ridge Divine Sea realm grand cultivator, he was even more reluctant to make any small moves.

By nightfall, the team made camp in the wilderness. It was clear that the True Lake realm cultivators in the team were well-trained. Their division of labor was precise: some set up tents, some arranged formations, and some maintained stealthy watch. Lu Ye sat before a bonfire, roasting a piece of beast meat while reluctantly chatting with Tong Shuyao. This woman was quite clingy. He didn't know what she saw in him, but ever since they met that day, she had been inseparable. Lu Ye increasingly regretted making himself so handsome...

"Yao'er, come in." Suddenly, the voice of the Divine Sea realm woman came from inside the tent. Tong Shuyao responded with a clear sound and immediately went in. However, before Lu Ye could even sigh in relief, a figure appeared before him, glaring fiercely and whispering: "Kid, if you know what's good for you, stay away from Junior Sister Yao, or I'll make sure you die a terrible death."

Lu Ye felt quite helpless. He had sensed this person's hostility towards him during the day and roughly understood the situation. But in his current guise as Li Taibai from Wushuang Continent, he was essentially under someone else's roof and it wasn't convenient to do anything extra. Besides, the woman was the one making the advances, so what did it have to do with him?

Just as Lu Ye was about to casually reply, a strong sense of alarm suddenly arose in his heart. He abruptly looked up and saw a figure standing in the night sky, with a full moon hanging high behind her. From her figure, the newcomer was a woman, somewhat resembling Nian Yuexian, but she wore a mask, obscuring her true face. She appeared like a ghost, as if she had been standing there all along.

As terrifying pressure surged, streaks of sword qi, like bolts of silk, slashed down from the sky. Lu Ye sprang up, immediately drawing the long sword from his waist. As he wielded the sword, numerous intricate patterns swiftly formed on its blade. "Moon Reversal!"

Sssssshhh... As the sounds of tearing air assailed them, the other True Lake realm cultivators finally reacted, quickly activating their respective techniques to defend themselves. Yet, cries of alarm and screams still filled the air.

"Who's there!" From the tent, another figure rose in a furious rage, cloaked in boundless killing intent, and charged towards the enemy in the sky. During the day, the Divine Sea realm woman hadn't revealed her full cultivation, so Lu Ye wasn't sure of her true strength. Now, in her furious state, her entire cultivation was laid bare. She was, surprisingly, at the sixth level of the Divine Sea realm. Such cultivation was quite formidable across the entire Nine Provinces. The woman was a spell cultivator, and the newcomer was a sword cultivator. The two figures immediately clashed.

Tong Shuyao also rushed out of the tattered tent, looked up, and cried out sweetly: "Assist!" As she spoke, she immediately flew towards the battle. Blood seeped from the corner of Lu Ye's mouth; he had been injured in the previous attack. Gazing at the attacking female figure, he was somewhat perplexed. At first glance, when he saw the woman, he thought Nian Yuexian had arrived to kill them, but now he could be certain that it wasn't Nian Yuexian. This person was merely imitating her sword cultivation techniques. After all, he had spent so much time with Nian Yuexian that he was intimately familiar with her figure and aura. So, he could instantly tell if it was her or not. Most importantly, Nian Yuexian's cultivation was higher than the attacker's! Who was this person, and why were they doing this?

Lu Ye's first thought was that she was from the Haotian Alliance, but if she truly was, why would she use Nian Yuexian's methods? Furthermore, Divine Sea realm grand cultivators from the Haotian Alliance wouldn't typically come to a place like this. This was considered the heartland of the Ten-Thousand Devil Ridge. Even Nian Yuexian had to act covertly when she came here. No one would be foolish enough to openly intrude and cause trouble at such a time. But if she wasn't from the Haotian Alliance... the situation became complicated. It was fortunate it wasn't Nian Yuexian; otherwise, with that attack just now, he would have been in grave danger. Although the attacker's strike was casual, it was not something he, a True Lake realm cultivator, could withstand head-on. The Moon Reversal spirit pattern had indeed played a role, and the protection of the Scarlet Dragon Battle Armor had also been a great help.

He glanced around. Among the team members, except for Tong Shuyao, who had just entered the tent, all the other True Lake realm cultivators were dead. Especially the one who had just warned Lu Ye to stay away from Junior Sister Yao, threatening him with a terrible death – he died particularly miserably, his eyes still open, a gaping hole in his chest gushing blood.

In such a situation, even if Lu Ye wanted to stand by, he couldn't. He could only draw his sword and charge forward. If he could merely act as a flanking force, it wouldn't be a huge issue. At the very least, this would divert some pressure from their Divine Sea realm cultivator. However, if their Divine Sea realm cultivator began to falter, then he would face the direct threat of death. At such a critical moment, Lu Ye could not afford to stand by and watch. If their Divine Sea realm cultivator were to fall, he and Tong Shuyao would surely die.

As sword light shimmered, he soared into the air, his flying sword transforming into a streak of light and slashing towards the attacker with incredible speed. Tong Shuyao also activated a whip-like spiritual artifact in her hand, lashing out with successive whip shadows. Although their combined strength couldn't offer much substantial help, it was better than doing nothing at all.

Fortunately, while the attacker's cultivation was strong, it was only marginally stronger than Tong Shuyao's senior martial aunt. The attacker also didn't wish to prolong the engagement. After only a moment, she transformed into a streak of sword light and disappeared into the void.

The woman did not pursue. Her expression was solemn, and her face was slightly pale. In the brief exchange just now, she had undoubtedly suffered a loss. Lu Ye and Tong Shuyao both looked as if they had narrowly escaped death.

The sound of tearing air rapidly approached from a distance, arriving in the blink of an eye. A middle-aged man appeared, the spiritual energy fluctuations from his body revealing his identity as a Divine Sea realm grand cultivator. He had evidently sensed the commotion here and come to investigate. "Nian Yuexian?" he asked, looking at the woman.

"Not like her!" The woman shook her head. She knew her own limits; if she had truly encountered Nian Yuexian, it wouldn't have been a simple minor loss. She would undoubtedly be severely injured by now.

"Then who could it be?" The middle-aged man frowned.

"I don't know. Someone is stirring up trouble!" the woman gritted her teeth.

"Despicable!" The middle-aged man exploded in rage. At this critical moment, with the Ten-Thousand Devil Ridge united in their effort to encircle and suppress Nian Yuexian, for someone to secretly act in such a manner was utterly inconsiderate and naturally infuriating.

"I demand an explanation for this matter!" the woman said, looking at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man nodded: "Rest assured, if anyone truly takes advantage of this time to cause internal discord, I will not let them off lightly. You are injured; go back and recuperate. Do not interfere with matters in Liyuan anymore."

The woman nodded. The middle-aged man didn't linger and quickly departed. The woman turned to look around, her expression bleak: "Let's clean this up."

Tong Shuyao's eyes were red as she responded, then said to Lu Ye: "Junior Brother Taibai, please help me."

"Alright," Lu Ye nodded. He had no psychological barriers about collecting the bodies of Ten-Thousand Devil Ridge cultivators. However, judging by the situation just now, it was clear that the Ten-Thousand Devil Ridge was not monolithic. But then again, wherever there are people, there are disputes. This applies to the Ten-Thousand Devil Ridge, and isn't the Haotian Alliance the same?