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Translator: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Sanguine Vale was a Tier-five sect, so they did not have a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator. The strongest cultivator in their sect was a Real Lake Realm, and this third elder was among the top even among the Real Lake Realm cultivators.
However, Lu Ye had dumped his tattered corpse from the sky like he was dumping trash.
This was a huge blow to Sanguine Vale’s morale to put it mildly, not to mention that they were at a disadvantage to begin with.
More importantly, if Lu Ye could kill the third elder, then of course he could kill the other four champions as well.
A sense of crisis enveloped the remaining four champions instantly. Not daring to hesitate even a second longer, the woman cried, “Retreat!”
All Sanguine Vale forces immediately started retreating toward the Sanctum of Providence.
The cultivators of Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain pursued them relentlessly. Spells and flying weapons kept being discharged at their prey in an organized fashion. There wasn’t a single street leading toward the sanctum that wasn’t strewn with corpses.
By the time Sanguine Vale had reached the Sanctum of Providence, dozens more souls had been sent to the afterlife.
The defenders did their best to hold the line while their backline teleported back to the headquarters using the Divine Opportunity Column. As their numbers decreased, so did their ability to resist. Then, when their defensive power had dropped to a critical point, the cultivators of Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain swarmed into the Sanctum of Providence like a flood.
All Sanguine Vale cultivators who hadn’t escaped yet were well and truly trapped. Even the woman who gave the order to retreat just now had been killed in the attempt to protect the rear forces. During her final moments, she slayed a few cultivators with all her might before screaming due to the sudden increase of purple lightning that was killing her from the inside out. The two invading sects rushed forward.
A moment later, the battle was over. This time, there were no cheers or even victory cries. This was the second Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost they had conquered, but they had also sustained much greater casualties.
Just like before, they started sweeping the battlefield for loot.
At the public square in front of the Sanctum of Providence, Lu Ye was sitting cross legged and receiving treatment from a medicine cultivator. The injuries the old man had dealt to him were more severe than his bandages could contain. His wounds tingled when the medicine cultivator started healing him with his powers.
Although his physique was incomparable to Ju Jia’s, it was equal or slightly stronger than other body tempering cultivators at his level. It was all thanks to the dragon scale he had obtained from the Dragon Spring.
One good thing about having a powerful physique was swift recovery. This was especially obvious when receiving treatment from a medicine cultivator.
Zhao Li and Song Ying had visited him together to check on his condition. They relaxed only after they learned that he was doing okay.
While the sects were busy looting Sanguine Vale’s Outpost, the news of its occupation had spread through Jiu Zhou like wildfire once more.
Since Clear Wind Sect’s Outpost was occupied, nearly every cultivator in the Spirit Creek Battlefield and even Jiu Zhou had been keeping a close eye on the allied force. They wanted to know where they were going and how well the battle had gone.
As a result, practically everyone had learned of the news in less than a cup of tea’s time after the Outpost was occupied.
What shocked them was that Sanguine Vale didn’t just lose their Outpost, but two Real Lake Realm champions as well.
According to the news, Sanguine Vale had sent five champions beyond the Spirit Creek Realm into the Spirit Creek Battlefield in an attempt to emulate the Keeper of Seal of the Crimson Blood Sect. However, two of them were killed in action, while the other three were currently suffering under the torment of the Judgment of the Heavens.
The purple lightning did not disappear even after they returned to Jiu Zhou. Its duration depended on how many people they had killed on the Spirit Creek Battlefield. To put it simply, they were going to wish they were dead for the next month or two.
This was why the powerful cultivators of Jiu Zhou were unwilling to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield without good reason. The punishment of the Heavens was just too terrible.
That wasn’t all. It was said that one of the two of the Real Lake Realm champions who perished in that battle included the third elder, an Eighth-Order Realm Lake Realm cultivator.
Most people had the premonition that Sanguine Vale was going to lose their Outpost for sure, but to lose two Real Lake Realm champions in a row? That was something no one had expected to hear.
Countless people messaged Sanguine Vale to find out what the hell had happened. A Divine Ocean Realm cultivator had even visited them in person.
Eventually, they learned that the third elder had left in the middle of battle to kill Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect only to be killed through an unknown method. He lost his life and brought great shame to Sanguine Vale.
Lu Yi Ye was only a Ninth-Order cultivator right now. There was no way he could have killed a Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order on his own even considering his legendary feat during the Battle of Goldentip, and this was before mentioning that this particular ‘Heaven-Grade Eighth-Order’ cultivator possessed the skill and experience of a Real Lake Realm.
There must be something Sanguine Vale had missed in the chaos of battle. Some other factor must have been in play to cost the third elder his life.
Unfortunately, it was going to remain a mystery for the time being. Yi Yi had left the battlefield after teleporting both Lu Ye and the third elder into the Nine Realms Scroll. As a result, no one in Sanguine Vale knew what had happened to the man.
This marked the second Outpost the combined army of the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain had occupied. Thunderlight Sect was next for sure.
For a moment, Thunderlight Sect fell under the limelight. Everyone wanted to know how they would deal with this crisis. However, they quickly learned that the sect had already evacuated all of their cultivators back to their headquarters in Jiu Zhou.
And how could they not? The three hundred man strong reinforcement they had sent to reinforce Sanguine Vale had been annihilated by the Heavenly Derivative Sect on the way. This meant that there were only one hundred or so defenders left in the Outpost. To remain and fight was to commit suicide.
That was why Lu Ye and the two sects found no one by the time they reached the Outpost. Even the ward keystones of their grand ward had been dug out and taken back to the headquarters.
They could run, and they could remove as many valuables as possible. However, there was nothing they could do to remove the Divine Opportunity Column or the Blessings it contained.
Lu Ye continued to focus on recovering while Zhao Li and Song Ying happily split the Blessings on the Divine Opportunity Column between themselves.
Since Lu Ye had returned to the living, the army of several hundred cultivators had occupied three Outposts in a row in just three or four days. No one had ever been able to achieve what he did. He had even outdone his past self who conquered two Outposts with Hidden Light Sanctuary and Lofty Plume Court.
With this, Lu Ye had fulfilled his promise to Bai Qian. As per their agreement with Deep Sea Mountain, the Heavenly Derivative Sect was allowed to claim seventy percent of all the Blessings they had claimed. It was more than enough to make up for their ruined Outpost and the losses they had sustained during the consecutive battles.
Before this, both the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain were often oppressed by their neighbors due to their close proximity to them. This was especially true for the Heavenly Derivative Sect whose Outpost was surrounded from three sides. Their disciples always felt insecure when they were leaving their Outpost, and for good reason. It was a fact that they were ambushed quite often by their enemies.
No longer. All three Thousand Demon Ridge sects had been brutalized and massacred, and it would take them at least a decade to recover their strength. It could be longer if the Heavenly Derivative Sect and Deep Sea Mountain worked together to oppress them from time to time.
After they had claimed the Blessings on the Divine Opportunity Column, Zhao Li and Song Ying sought out the recuperating Lu Ye and asked about their future direction. A brief discussion later, they decided to withdraw to Deep Sea Mountain’s Outpost first.
The allied force was welcomed like heroes—and they were—when they arrived at their destination. Even before they reached the Outpost, Song Ying had already messaged his disciples to prepare a grand feast for them.
When nighttime arrived, nearly a thousand cultivators were gathered at the Outpost in celebration. The celebratory feast was held at the public square in the Sanctum of Providence, and tables full of food and drink were everywhere. Everyone was eating, drinking and socializing to their heart’s content.
Lu Ye came to see his injuries as a blessing in disguise. Without them his allies would have drowned him in alcohol for sure.
The next day, Zhao Li and Song Ying entered Lu Ye’s accommodations while the latter was still washing himself. They allowed Yi Yi to lead them to the table and serve them tea while they waited for Lu Ye to get ready.
After Lu Ye had taken his seat, Zhao Li immediately asked a question that was laced with meaning, “What are your future plans, Brother Yi Ye?”
Song Ying was also looking at him like a child would at his parents when they wanted something. His usual maturity was nowhere to be seen.
Lu Ye took a sip of tea before throwing the question back at Zhao Li. “Well, what are your plans, Brother Zhao?”
Zhao Li chuckled. “What else? Assuming that Brother Yi Ye still needs our services, we are ready to follow you to the ends of the battlefield. The Outpost can always be rebuilt at a later date, don’t you agree?”
Clearly, Lu Ye wasn’t the only one who had become addicted with conquering Outposts.
For many years, no one was able to come up with an effective method of defeating a grand ward. Overwhelming numbers was a must-have when conquering an Outpost. Did no one ever think to gobble up their neighbors and fatten themselves before Lu Ye? Of course they did. It just wasn’t doable until Lu Ye came by.
That was no longer the case. Grand Sky Coalition now had a Lu Ye who could breach even grand wards as easily as eating lunch. If they didn’t know better, they would’ve thought that the grand wards the Heavens had sold them were a scam.
Zhao Li had sought out Lu Ye in the first place because he saw an opportunity, and despite the harrowing tribulations in the middle he was ultimately rewarded for his hard work. Now, he only wished he could do this forever. Three Outposts was good, but thirty Outposts was better. In fact, why not go for three hundred Outposts?
Song Ying hadn’t said a word so far, but it was clear he shared more or less the same thoughts as Zhao Li.
“How many people have contacted you so far?”
Zhao Li and Song Ying exchanged a glance with each other before Song Ying said, “Many. They’ve been contacting us non-stop since last night. In fact, they’re hoping to visit me today after learning that you’ll be staying here temporarily.”
That was what he said, but they all knew that the Legates and prolegates were really looking forward to meeting Lu Ye. After all, he was the man who made conquering Outposts possible.
Obviously, Zhao Li and Song Ying weren’t the only ones who had received a ton of messages. Lu Ye himself and even Hua Ci had received a lot more messages than normal.
The occupation of the Outpost of Clear Wind Sect, Sanguine Vale and Thunderlight Sect might be nightmarish news to Thousand Demon Ridge, but it was the complete opposite for Grand Sky Coalition. Since last night, the two cultivation factions had exchanged enough messages to rival the snowflakes of a harsh winter.
Some impatient Legates were already rushing to Deep Sea Mountain’s Outpost as quickly as they could. They would probably arrive in less than half a day’s time.
Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect had become the Mr. Idol of Grand Sky Coalition in a single night. There was no man or woman who didn’t want a piece of him.
“Of course, I dare not give them a sure answer without hearing your opinion first. That is why I am here.”
“It’s okay. Let them all come.”
Both Zhao Li and Song Ying’s faces immediately flushed with delight.
