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Translator: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The new Glyph was extremely powerful. In fact, it was far more powerful than anything Lu Ye had mastered until now.
Unfortunately, Lu Ye could not see himself using it unless absolutely necessary. The complexity of the Glyph alone suggested that it would take a tremendous amount of Spiritual Power to construct. At his current cultivation level, he would probably need to use all of his Spiritual Power to construct the Glyph.
In that sense, it was something like a trump card. It should be used only in a do-or-die situation.
Its name brought up some unpleasant memories though. Back when he was cultivating the Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic, the cultivation technique had come with two spell techniques, and one of them was called Fire Phoenix.
To this day, he still did not know why the spell technique had turned into a Fire Quail in his hands. It wasn’t until he came back from the Lost City of Xianyuan and possessed a much stronger Divine Soul and Spiritual Power control that the form of the spell improved.
These days, Lu Ye rarely cast spells anymore because every cultivator in Jiu Zhou knew that he was a combat cultivator at this point. Plus, he did not need spells when his telekinesis was enough.
The Tree of Glyphs had consumed a weakened and incomplete True Phoenix Flame to give him Glyph: Fire Phoenix. Not only that, he had witnessed the Vermillion Bird’s life experiences while he was unconscious. As a result, his understanding of the Fire Phoenix Technique had reached an unspeakable level.
In fact, one could say that there was no one in the entire Jiu Zhou who understood the Fire Phoenix better than him.
With a thought, he lifted a finger and cast the Fire Phoenix Technique, launching a fiery red flame toward the distance. Not only did it look almost identical to the Vermillion Bird, the patterns and even the feathers on its body were clearly defined.
The spell weaved back and forth like a living creature under his control. He made it circle around his head for a bit before landing on a nearby branch to groom himself. Finally, it exploded in a shower of sparks.
There was no doubt that his Fire Phoenix Technique was many, many times more powerful than what it used to be. It was thanks to his stronger cultivation level and everything he had experienced since entering the Burning Lands.
This was a pleasant surprise. Telekinesis was great, but the weapons themselves were guaranteed to run out of power in a protracted battle. Spells did not have such problems. As long as he still had Spiritual Power, he could cast as many spells as he wanted.
There was one more thing that Lu Ye was really happy to learn, and it was that the royal jelly’s improvement to one’s vitality and Spiritual Power was permanent.
He wasn’t sure how long he was unconscious, but he did notice that his vitality and Spiritual Power were actually flowing faster than before.
This could only mean that the royal jelly’s effects were permanent.
He should’ve known, really. It had taken millions and millions of Mutant Wasps to create just half a bowl of royal jelly. Of course it had to be extraordinary.
Next, he checked the wards he had set up earlier. He discovered that they had, in fact, been triggered by nearby Spirit Beasts. This discovery made Lu Ye really glad that he had taken all the necessary precautions first before checking his Glyphs. Otherwise, he might have been dead already.
Suddenly, he felt something from his Battlefield Imprint. Lu Ye looked down and saw that it was a message from Yi Yi.
His expression grew serious. As it turned out, Yi Yi hadn’t sent him just one, but multiple messages. He was just unconscious for most of it except the latest one.
Looking at the time of the oldest message, it had been five or six days since he fell unconscious!
The messages were all cries for help. Yi Yi and Ju Jia had been hiding outside Misty Mountains and waiting for Lu Ye to meet up with them, but a group of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators happened to pass by the area and discovered them first. They had no choice but to make an escape.
However, Ju Jia was far too recognizable, not to mention that plenty of people had seen him with Lu Ye.
The Thousand Demon Ridge had lost hundreds of people trying to kill Lu Ye. As if that wasn’t bad enough, they didn’t even succeed in their mission. With that in mind, why wouldn’t they take it out on Ju Jia?
Luckily for Ju Jia, he was one of the most resilient body-tempering cultivators in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. He was tougher than even an ordinary Heaven Nine body-tempering cultivator, so he was ultimately able to escape even though he was cornered for a time.
Originally, Ju Jia was going to take Yi Yi and Amber back to the Misty Mountains. It was because they were sure that he was there. They might not know why he wasn’t responding to their messages, but they knew that their chances of evading their pursuers and meeting up Lu Ye would be much higher if they could make it inside.
However, Ju Jia was no Lu Ye. He lacked his seemingly infinite bag of tricks and telekinetic speed. After failing several times and noting that their enemies were only growing in numbers, they had no choice but to escape in the opposite direction of Misty Mountains.
In this regard, Ju Jia was stronger than Lu Ye. As a body-tempering cultivator, he already possessed a monstrous amount of stamina. However, he also possessed a unique Mutant Core where he kept a massive amount of Spiritual Power in reserve. So long as he didn’t run out of stamina or Spiritual Power, he could fly on his Spirit Artifact for as long as he liked. This was something no other Spirit Creek Realm cultivator could compare.
As time passed, more and more Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators joined in on the hunt. The Grand Sky Coalition did their best to hold back the enemy, but even they could not stop the hunt altogether.
Right now, Ju Jia, Yi Yi and Amber were hiding in another forbidden area known as the Myriad Poison Forest. They weren’t doing too well to put it mildly.
For starters, the Myriad Poison Forest was a forbidden area just like the Burning Lands; a location known to be extremely hazardous to any cultivator. The danger of the Burning Lands originated from the broken and incomplete True Phoenix Flame. The closer one was to the center, the hotter the environment would become. Near the end, not even a Tyrant could get within fifty kilometers of the flame.
In the Myriad Poison Forest’s case, it was poison. The forest was permanently shrouded in an endless haze of poison, and the deeper one traveled, the deadlier it became. Not only that, every living creature in that forest—small or big, ants or giant boas—was poisonous to a certain degree. Even the plants were incredibly deadly as well.
The reason they chose the Myriad Poison Forest was because they literally had no other choice. The number of pursuers had grown to the point where it was either that, or death.
Right now, they were hiding somewhere near the periphery of the Myriad Poison Forest. They couldn’t break out because the Thousand Demon Ridge had the entire place surrounded.
The one silver lining of this situation was that the Thousand Demon Ridge did not dare to go deep into the forest and risk getting poisoned themselves. Their plan was to keep Ju Jia pinned and wait for the poison to kill him slowly. Also, they were waiting for Lu Ye to show up. They were certain that Lu Ye would not abandon Ju Jia to his fate. As long as they kept Ju Jia pinned, Lu Ye would appear to them of his own accord.
As time passed, more and more Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators were gathering at Myriad Poison Forest by the hour.
“Hang on! I’ll be right there!” Lu Ye hurriedly messaged before withdrawing his ward flags. Then, he summoned his Spirit Boat and took to the sky.
Yi Yi responded to his message not long after. “We’re doing okay. The place we’re hiding at isn’t too toxic, and it turns out that the honey we collected from the Misty Mountains can neutralize the poison to a certain degree. We’re not at our limit yet, so don’t rush things and be careful.”
[The ordinary honey can neutralize poison?] Lu Ye hadn’t expected to hear that. On second thought, he should’ve thought of it himself. The Mutant Wasps were venomous creatures. Naturally, the honey they created would have a neutralizing effect. It was the same logic as venomous snakes usually residing in places where anti-poison herbs could be found.
Thank goodness they had collected all those honey beforehand. Otherwise, neither he nor Ju Jia could’ve held out until now.
Looking at the 10-point map, the Myriad Poison Forest was quite far away from the Misty Mountains. This meant that the trio had flown on Ju Jia’s Spirit Artifact almost non-stop. It was the only explanation as to how they made it that far in just a few days’ time.
Yi Yi had considered finding shelter in a Grand Sky Coalition Outpost, but doing so would surely endanger their ally. Not only that, an alliance pact was required to use another sect’s Divine Opportunity Column, and Lu Ye was the only one who had the authority to do so.
Therefore, finding shelter in an allied Outpost would only result in them being trapped with nowhere to escape until the Outpost was conquered. Their allies might be able to escape in time, but they would surely fall to the enemy.
That was why the Myriad Poison Forest was their few remaining options.
One thing Yi Yi did not tell Lu Ye because she didn’t want him to put himself at risk was that the Thousand Demon Ridge was no longer satisfied with just trapping them anymore. They were preparing to venture into the Myriad Poison Forest and capture Ju Jia alive.
The reason they hadn’t done so yet was because they were still gathering the Antidote Pills necessary to carry out the operation safely. The amount they needed was astronomical considering the amount of people who were participating in the hunt, and how long the operation might take. Still, it was only a matter of time before they launched the operation.
While flying to Myriad Poison Forest, Lu Ye checked his Battlefield Imprint yet again. There was a message from Hua Ci he didn’t read earlier because of the urgency of the situation.
A few weeks ago, Hua Ci had returned to Mount Ying to claim the remaining portion of her inheritance. At the time, Lu Ye already had the feeling it wouldn’t be the safest trip. If it was, Hua Ci would’ve claimed the entire inheritance from the get go. He had tried to change her mind, but he eventually gave in after noting that she was determined to go no matter what.
He had tried messaging Hua Ci multiple times while he was playing cat and mouse with the Thousand Demon Ridge in the Misty Mountains, but none of his messages had gone through for some reason. He only knew that she was still alive because her imprint was still present.
The fact that Hua Ci had sent him a message meant she must have left the inheritance site already. He wondered if she had succeeded.
Hua Ci’s message stated, “Yi Yi and Ju Jia are trapped. I’m on the way to rescue them.”
Lu Ye hurriedly resplied, “It’s okay! I’m on my way.”
Hua Ci responded a few seconds later, “Oh, you’re still alive?”
“I see you’re doing pretty fine too.”
“Har har.”
Lu Ye raised his eyebrows. “What’s that?”
“Oh, it’s none of your concern.”
Lu Ye wanted to probe her until she spilled, but knowing Hua Ci she could stall him for days while dancing on a knife’s edge. So, he messaged again, “Just stay where you are for now. The situation isn’t looking good.”
“Got it. Be safe. Your son can’t afford to lose his father.”
Lu Ye nearly lost his mind at that. [Is it just me, or is she getting more and more impudent these days?]
He was just about to make a retort when suddenly, he sensed a presence swiftly approaching him from a distance. His head began to hurt when he saw who it was.
It was none other than the Tyrant-level female Primal.
He had no idea how she managed to find him. If it was a coincidence, then it was one hell of a coincidence.
Her form was a little different from before. She was still in a humanoid form, but her arms had turned into wings. The feathers on her wings were fiery red.
Now that he thought about it, the Vermillion Bird was a bird as well. He supposed it made sense that this female Primal could sense the True Phoenix Flame from fifty kilometers away.
Iko Yi Yi should have explained the entire situation so he could plan batter and rescue them.