Chapter 973: Upright and Unyielding Lu Yiye

"What about those people?" Lu Ye asked.

Lin Yinxiu was responsible for guarding the captives, and now she had run over, leaving no one to watch them.Lin Yinxiu smiled confidently, "Don't worry, Nightingale is watching them over there. They can't escape."

The three quickly returned. Only upon arrival did Lu Ye discover the source of Lin Yinxiu's confidence.On the spirit boat, the five captives were not only bound by her net-like treasure, but also surrounded by explosive fire spirit stones. Nightingale, sweating profusely, held an explosive talisman, watching them warily.It was clear that anyone who dared to move would instantly trigger the talisman, sending them all on their way.In such a situation, who would dare to run? They all stayed put, motionless.

Although Nightingale had been bribed by the Zhou family and was ineffective in relaying information, he was still ultimately a member of the Law Enforcement Division. His actions had been exposed by Lu Ye, and now he had a chance to atone for his misdeeds. Lin Yinxiu had given him this opportunity, which Nightingale naturally seized.Seeing Lu Ye and the others return, Nightingale finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Yinxiu stepped forward to collect the explosive fire spirit stones and her large net-like treasure.Lu Ye tossed Zhou Wang onto the spirit boat and waited quietly.

The Zhou family's efficiency was quite high. Not long after they returned, Zhou Ze hurried over with a medical cultivator.While the medical cultivator examined and treated Zhou Wang, Zhou Ze approached Lu Ye and bowed, "Daoist Niu, our Zhou family was at fault today. I apologize. However, I also ask for your understanding of our family's sincere desire to protect our disciples.""I can certainly understand that," Lu Ye replied calmly. "And I also ask the Zhou family to understand that our work is not easy."Since the person had already been apprehended, and although the process hadn't been entirely pleasant, the other party had now adopted a humble stance, so there was no need to press the advantage further.His purpose in coming here was simply to complete his mission.

Zhou Ze nodded repeatedly. "I understand!" He glanced around and whispered, "There's just one more favor I'd like to ask of you, Daoist Niu.""Tell me.""The things the Zhou family gave to you two Daoists today... please do not report them. Otherwise, if it gets out, it will not be good for you or for our Zhou family.""What things?"

Privately bribing Law Enforcement Hall members, if exposed, would indeed be detrimental to the Zhou family. However, it would also harm the Law Enforcement Hall teams who had previously come to carry out missions.If a thorough investigation were launched, the Law Enforcement Hall squad that had come to the Zhou family before would inevitably be implicated.Lu Ye was currently serving in the Law Enforcement Division, a role that often involved offending people, but he didn't want to needlessly offend his colleagues. Therefore, he had no intention of reporting this matter.Besides, did Qian Wudang truly not know about such things? Perhaps he had known all along and simply turned a blind eye.If even the Division Chief acted that way, why should he cause more trouble?

Hearing Lu Ye's words, Zhou Ze stroked his beard and smiled slightly. "It seems I remembered incorrectly. Please don't take offense, Daoist Niu."As they spoke, the medical cultivator had already tended to Zhou Wang's injuries. His wounds only looked gruesome but were not actually severe, making them easy to treat.

"Daoist Niu, on your journey to Haotian City, please take care of this good-for-nothing disciple of my Zhou family as much as possible. I thank you in advance.""I am only responsible for bringing him back to Haotian City. As long as he makes no unnecessary moves, I will do nothing to him.""He won't, Daoist Niu. Please rest assured."

Lu Ye nodded, then turned to Nightingale, who was waiting for his fate, his expression darkening. "Go to Haotian City and receive your punishment."Nightingale looked as if he had been granted a great pardon. "Yes!"He summoned his flying spirit artifact and hastily departed. From the direction he took, he was indeed heading toward Haotian City.

"Farewell!" Lu Ye turned, bowed to Zhou Ze, and stepped onto the spirit boat. Moments later, the spirit boat soared into the sky, transforming into a streak of light and quickly disappearing into the distance.Zhou Ze watched it go, then turned and flew towards Dingtian City. In a short while, he returned to the Zhou family estate, where he met the current Zhou family head, Zhou Dingtian, in a restricted area.Dingtian City was named after him.The restricted area was precisely where Lu Ye had previously sensed the Divine Sea Realm aura, and it was also Zhou Dingtian's place of secluded cultivation.

"Patriarch, they've left," Zhou Ze reported.Zhou Dingtian sighed softly. "This day was bound to come.""If you were reluctant, why did you let them leave the Zhou family earlier?""What else could I do but let them go? Should I have forcibly kept them?" Zhou Dingtian slowly shook his head. "If they were just two ordinary True Lake Realm cultivators, I naturally wouldn't have paid them any mind. But behind them stands the Law Enforcement Division. Your previous attempts to obstruct them were already improper. If I had intervened, the situation would only have escalated. And... if I'm not mistaken, that young man named Niu is the rising star of the Blood Sect.""The Blood Sect?" Zhou Ze was slightly startled, then quickly realized. "You mean Lu Yiye? How can you tell?""The Four Divine Beasts!" Zhou Dingtian replied.

Lu Yiye of the Blood Sect had been gaining prominence in recent years, causing turmoil for the Myriad Demon Ridge faction in both the Spirit Creek Battlefield and Cloud River Battlefield, so naturally, many people had taken notice.Zhou Dingtian himself had observed him.The moment the technique of the Fire Phoenix, one of the Four Divine Beasts, was unleashed, Zhou Dingtian confirmed Lu Ye's identity. He had previously received intelligence regarding Lu Ye's various actions in the hunting grounds.Lu Ye had indeed used the Fire Phoenix in the hunting grounds.With these two pieces of information correlating, if Zhou Dingtian still didn't realize that Niu Meng was Lu Ye, he would have lived all these years in vain.

"Tang Yifeng has already recovered and is now among the Elders. You've heard of him, haven't you? If I had made things difficult for Lu Yiye here, Tang Yifeng would probably have come straight to my Zhou family tomorrow."Zhou Ze broke out in a cold sweat, his face filled with lingering fear. He was grateful that, due to concerns about Lu Ye's identity as a Law Enforcement Hall member of the Law Enforcement Division, he had ordered the Zhou family cultivators to merely surround them and not inflict harm. Otherwise, if Lu Yiye had actually been injured and Tang Yifeng drawn out... the situation would have been very difficult to resolve.

"But what about Young Master Zhou Wang...?"Zhou Dingtian sighed softly. "Send word to Zhou Kui. Tell him to ensure Zhou Wang's safety as much as possible. We don't ask for him to be pardoned from punishment, just to keep him alive.""Understood!"

"Junior Brother, is this the way to Ao Mountain?" On the spirit boat, Xiao Xinghe checked a map and noticed that the spirit boat was not flying towards Haotian City but rather towards Ao Mountain."It's on the way. I need to handle something back at the sect.""That's good. I haven't seen Second Senior Sister in a long time," Xiao Xinghe nodded. Then, remembering something, he took out two storage bags from his robes. "These things..."They were clearly the two storage bags Zhou Ze had given them earlier, filled with many valuable items.

"Senior Brother, keep them for your cultivation. I don't lack cultivation resources, and neither does Yinxiu."With Qian Wudang as her backer, how could Lin Yinxiu possibly lack cultivation resources?"Isn't this improper? Junior Brother, didn't you say earlier..." Xiao Xinghe hesitated."I just said that. Did you really think we'd hand them over?"Xiao Xinghe was speechless. Earlier, Lu Ye had forcefully entered the Zhou family and boldly acted, apprehending Zhou Wang right under the noses of many Zhou family cultivators. This had led Xiao Xinghe to believe his junior brother was upright and law-abiding, but now it seemed his junior brother wasn't inflexible after all.He immediately felt much more at ease."In that case, I won't be polite," Xiao Xinghe chuckled, putting away the storage bags.

They said it was on the way, but it was actually a bit of a detour, though the general direction was correct.By noon the next day, the spirit boat arrived in the vicinity of Ao Mountain and flew for a long time before finally reaching Shoufu Peak.The vast peak was still empty, with no one in sight.Although the Blood Sect now had a considerable number of disciples, their cultivation time was still short. They were either diligently cultivating at the Spirit Creek Battlefield outpost or had entered the Cloud River Battlefield, making the main sect headquarters appear quiet.Unlike other sects, where numerous disciples could be seen both at their main headquarters and in the two major battlefields.

However, soon a familiar figure appeared—Shui Yuan, who had sensed the movement.Upon seeing Lu Ye and Xiao Xinghe on the boat's bow, a smile spread across Shui Yuan's face.The spirit boat landed, and Lu Ye jumped off. "Second Senior Sister."Shui Yuan nodded slightly, her gaze turning to Xiao Xinghe.Xiao Xinghe took a deep breath, calming his excitement, and grinned at Shui Yuan. "Second Senior Sister, I'm back."A slight mist gathered in Shui Yuan's eyes. She raised her hand and gently patted Xiao Xinghe's shoulder, having to stand on her tiptoes slightly due to their height difference.Just as Lu Ye expected to witness a heartwarming scene of sibling affection, Shui Yuan's hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Xiao Xinghe's ear. She twisted it hard, gritting her teeth. "So you *do* know how to come back, huh? You've been gone for years! I thought you died out there!"Xiao Xinghe tilted his head, hunched his back, and grimaced in pain as he begged for mercy. "Ow, ow, ow! Junior Brother, save me!"Lu Ye silently took a few steps back and decisively declared, "I'll go pay respects to Master!"It was best to make a quick escape!

On the still-deployed spirit boat, Zhou Wang and the other six shivered, sensing the aura of Shui Yuan, a powerful Divine Sea Realm cultivator.Lin Yinxiu, in contrast, watched them gleefully, finding the scene quite amusing.

On Mingxin Peak, Lu Ye arrived by familiar routes, unexpectedly finding only Master's clone, Xiaodie, rather than Master herself.Of course, Xiaodie was Master's clone, which was equivalent to Master herself.According to her, Master had gained many insights during the process of repairing the Dragon Throne and had entered secluded cultivation to comprehend them after the Sect Master took the Dragon Throne away.Since Master was in seclusion, Lu Ye naturally didn't want to disturb her too much. Even using a clone to speak with him required Master to divert her attention.After listening to her teachings for a while, Lu Ye hastily left Mingxin Peak.

Just as he was about to return to Shoufu Peak, a message suddenly arrived via his battlefield imprint. Lu Ye checked it and found it was from Yiyi.When he had come over earlier, Yiyi and Amber had separated from him to go to Emerald Bamboo Peak.Emerald Bamboo Peak was Lu Ye's spirit peak, and because he didn't return often, Yiyi would always tidy it up whenever he did."Lu Ye, hurry! It seems there's someone here.""Who?" Lu Ye was very surprised. This was the Blood Sect's main headquarters, Emerald Bamboo Peak was his spirit peak, and Shui Yuan was stationed here year-round. Who could possibly have gone there?