Chapter 965: True Lake Five-Layer Realm

A single shout of "sister-in-law" made the proprietress of Baixiang Tower blush deeply. Glancing at King Gengwu, who was chuckling foolishly, she couldn't help but playfully glare at him.

"I've brought you two pots of fine wine. Though it's good, don't drink too much," the woman said. She stepped forward, gracefully sat beside King Gengwu, filled a cup for him, and then poured one for herself.

After a few pleasantries, she looked at Lu Ye and asked, "I saw this young man last time. King Wu, is he your new recruit?"

King Gengwu sighed, "I wish he were, but unfortunately, he's not. This is Junior Brother Lu Yiye from the Azure Blood Sect. He's currently serving in the Enforcement Hall, highly regarded by the Chief, and has already become a captain."

"Such a young captain!" the woman exclaimed in surprise. "Indeed, heroes emerge from the young."

"Senior Sister, you flatter me," Lu Ye replied modestly. The woman raised her cup. "My name is Shen Manzi. I hope for your continued care in the future, Junior Brother."

"We're family, it's only natural," Lu Ye smiled faintly.

After toasting Lu Ye and then sharing a drink with each of the others, all without a hint of redness in her face or shortness of breath, Shen Manzi finally spoke: "I still have matters to attend to in the front hall, so I won't stay long. Just let me know if you need anything."

"Sister-in-law, please go attend to your business," Xiao Ruyun said. King Gengwu also said, "Go on," completely adopting the air of a head of the household.

After Shen Manzi left, Xiao Ruyun remarked, "Captain, when are you going to marry Sister-in-law? It's not proper for a woman like her to always be out in public here."

King Gengwu gave a bitter smile. "Of course I want to, but she has her own plans. Some things cannot be forced. Let's not talk about this; just drink."

They drank heartily.

Lu Ye, unaccustomed to such experiences, actually found it quite enjoyable for a while.

It wasn't until dusk that everyone dispersed, returning to their respective courtyards. Xiao Xinghe was the first to greet Lu Ye, "Captain, you're back!"

"Is everything alright?"

"Nothing's wrong. You hadn't come back, so I thought something might have happened... That's a strong smell of alcohol! Did you go to a brothel?"

"No, don't talk nonsense." He turned his head to look around. "Has your Eighth Senior Brother returned?"

"Not yet. He should be with Old Tang.""Alright, I'm going to cultivate for a bit. Let me know if anything comes up."

"Got it," Xiao Xinghe obediently replied.

Lu Ye walked into the central room. He activated numerous restrictions, circulated his spiritual power, and dispelled the alcohol from his system.

Yiyi phased out from Amber's body. She obediently sat down beside him, waiting to cultivate together.

Lu Ye had previously exchanged seventy Golden Spirit Charms from the Merit Hall in one go. He had only used a few of them, with a considerable amount remaining.

It had been three months since he had consolidated his realm, and with his cultivation stable, it was time to advance further.

Crushing a Golden Spirit Charm, the golden dust transformed into a swirling vortex. Pure and potent Heavenly Spiritual Energy surged from within. Lu Ye then activated the power of his Talent Tree, and unseen roots extended into the vortex, absorbing the pure spiritual liquid from within.

In just three days, consuming three Golden Spirit Charms, Lu Ye's cultivation rose to the seventh level of the True Lake Realm.

The speed was naturally due to the accumulation over the past three months, and also because he had intermittently used Golden Spirit Charms for cultivation before.

Even though the seventh level was only one minor realm higher than the sixth, his strength saw a significant improvement. Lu Ye could also clearly feel the subtle changes in the spiritual power within his body.

At the seventh level of cultivation, his spiritual power had reached the seventh refinement stage. Compared to when he first entered the True Lake Realm, his spiritual power was many times purer. Consequently, the power he could exert by activating his spiritual power also became stronger.

His cultivation didn't stop. Lu Ye almost maintained a pace of consuming one Golden Spirit Charm per day.

He only stopped this round of cultivation when all the Golden Spirit Charms in his hand were depleted.

And his cultivation had also reached the ninth level of the True Lake Realm!

The cultivation method unique to him, 'Stealing Heavenly Secrets', brought him immense benefits. Others cultivating, even with Golden Spirit Charms, could only absorb the Heavenly Spiritual Energy that naturally dispersed from the vortex.

But he was different; the roots of his Talent Tree delved directly into the vortex. This was pure plunder, and his cultivation efficiency was significantly higher than the usual method.

In just seventy days, his cultivation had improved by two levels, which was somewhat astonishing.

Lu Ye originally considered using 'simulated might' to conceal his cultivation, to avoid suspicion, but after some thought, he decided against it.

The speed of his cultivation improvement could be hidden for a time, but not forever. It would eventually be exposed, especially since he now frequently interacted with powerful cultivators of the Divine Sea Realm, making it even harder to hide.

Fortunately, he had previously told Qian Youdang that he possessed extraordinary talent, with an eighty-seven leaf aptitude. This way, his rapid increase in strength could somewhat be attributed to a plausible origin.

As for what Qian Youdang would think if he later realized Lu Ye was already at the seventh level of the True Lake Realm... Lu Ye couldn't be bothered to care.

His merit points had increased again. It was the monthly stipend being issued.

Moreover, today was the day to deliver the Blasting Fire Spirit Stones to Cheng Xiu.

Lu Ye had already refined the Blasting Fire Spirit Stones. He had refined quite a lot, and only needed to deliver them on time.

Once the Blasting Fire Spirit Stones were delivered, it would be another large sum of merit points.

In the room, Lu Ye got up. Seeing this, Yiyi was about to phase back into Amber's body.

"No need to hide," Lu Ye said. Yiyi looked at him, puzzled.

"Since Xiao Xinghe is a member of the team and lives here, it's unavoidable in the long run. Besides... you should also meet Eighth Senior Brother."

"As you wish," Yiyi said with a sweet smile.

Pushing open the door, Lu Ye was surprised to find the outside covered in a blanket of white, with snowflakes drifting down; it was clearly winter. No wonder he had felt a chill around him when he was cultivating in seclusion earlier.

Seasonal changes had little impact on cultivators. Cultivators, after all, had spiritual energy protecting their bodies, making them impervious to heat and cold, and they generally ignored minor changes in seasons.

In the courtyard, there was a row of snowmen. Xiao Xinghe was busy in front of an unfinished snowman, clearly acting like a child.

Hearing movement behind her, Xiao Xinghe turned around and exclaimed happily, "Captain, you've come out of seclusion..." Before she could finish, she saw Yiyi standing beside Lu Ye, and was greatly surprised.

Because she had never seen Yiyi before, and had no idea when Yiyi had entered Lu Ye's room.

For a moment, she couldn't help but let her imagination run wild. No wonder someone so young could seclude himself for so many days; it turned out he had a beauty accompanying him.

"This is..." Xiao Xinghe didn't know how to address Yiyi.

"Lu Yiyi, my younger sister," Lu Ye introduced.

"Oh, so it's Junior Sister Yiyi," Xiao Xinghe realized, secretly thinking she had been mistaken; this wasn't the captain's woman, but his sister!

She still couldn't figure out where this sister of the captain had suddenly appeared from.

They exchanged greetings.

Lu Ye asked, "Has anything happened in the hall recently?"

"No," Xiao Xinghe shook her head. Lu Ye couldn't help but frown.

When he was cultivating in seclusion, he had been careful not to immerse himself too deeply, afraid of missing any incoming news, but he hadn't expected that after nearly seventy days of seclusion, the hall hadn't issued any missions.

"When did the Enforcement Hall become so idle... something seems off."

The door of the adjacent room opened, and Liu Yuemei's figure emerged.

Lu Ye, leading Yiyi, went to greet him. "Eighth Senior Brother."

Liu Yuemei nodded slightly. "I heard you were cultivating in seclusion, so I didn't disturb you. From your appearance, it seems you've made some gains?"

"My cultivation has improved a bit," Lu Ye replied. "Eighth Senior Brother, have your injuries healed?"

"Yes, I've recovered," Liu Yuemei nodded. He then looked at Yiyi, who was in front of Lu Ye. "This must be Junior Sister Yiyi, right?"

Yiyi stepped out from behind Lu Ye and gracefully bowed. "Greetings, Eighth Senior Brother." She then asked with some curiosity, "Eighth Senior Brother knows me?"

"I heard the Grandmaster mention you before. I didn't realize Junior Sister was so charming."

Yiyi smiled shyly, then turned her head to look at the snowmen in the courtyard, a longing expression on her face.

"Go play," Lu Ye said.

Yiyi cheered and rushed into the courtyard to build snowmen with Xiao Xinghe. Amidst the falling snow, the two young girls, though meeting for the first time, seemed to hit it off immediately, soon chatting and laughing.

On the corridor, Lu Ye and Liu Yuemei stood side by side, watching the scene with pleasure. Their moods couldn't help but be joyful.

"And thank you, Junior Brother, for getting me out of that place," Liu Yuemei suddenly said.

Lu Ye replied, "Senior Brother, we're family; there's no need for formalities."

Liu Yuemei grinned:

"I was debating whether to thank you, but never mind, just pretend I didn't say anything."

"Senior Brother, I have something I don't understand."

"Are you asking why Shen Manzi didn't intervene for you?""That's right."

"Shen Manzi couldn't interfere with matters at the Turbulent Lake Pass; even if she wanted to, she lacked the power. You should know that the master of a pass has absolute authority over the deployment of their soldiers, especially during wartime. King Gengwu's side had thought about transferring you out of Turbulent Lake Pass, and they tried several times, but the other party wouldn't release you, so what could King Gengwu do? Take this incident, for example: Azure Emperor City insisted on not letting you leave. You couldn't have left without help, and it was fortunate that Junior Brother was clever enough to trick you into signing the Heavenly Secret Pact."

Lu Ye nodded. "So, it wasn't Shen Manzi's fault. But since they knew how Azure Emperor City was, why did they let you enter Turbulent Lake Pass in the first place?"

"It would have been the same at other passes. When I went to Turbulent Lake Pass, Azure Emperor City wasn't in charge there yet; they only arrived later. You should know that the masters of the passes are also subject to transfers."

"The Grand Heaven Sect really put a lot of effort into this," Lu Ye's expression turned cold.

"It's mostly a portion of people," Liu Yuemei said. "The vast majority act within the rules, but there are always some who disregard them, and ultimately, there's little that can be done."

"Never mind. The Grandmaster has already taught that person a lesson this time."

"The Grandmaster originally intended to kill him, but unfortunately, that person carried the Grand Heaven Sect's treasured artifact, the Cataclysmic Thunder Spear. This artifact is incredibly powerful, and he escaped using it, leaving the Grandmaster helpless."

"The old man is that fierce?" Lu Ye was stunned. However, upon reflection, he realized that at the time, the Grandmaster had already classified that person as a villain from the Myriad Demon Ridge. Naturally, when dealing with Myriad Demon Ridge villains, one would wish to kill them quickly.

The old man's resurgence this time has made him much stronger than before.