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Translator: Raikov
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Since meeting Zhou Yuntian and his group, a strange feeling had been lingering in the air.
This Zhou Yuntian came from Burning Sky Valley, which was part of the Thousand Demon Ridge faction. In that case, the cultivators with him must all be part of Thousand Demon Ridge as well.
But even when these people recognised Li Baxian, they didn’t show any hostility towards him. In fact, when Xia Liang pleaded for their help, they started preaching about there not being the division of factions in this place, speaking with a grand eagerness to dissolve the enmity between their two sides.
And now, a mysterious “Venerable” had arrived that Zhou Yuntian and the others showed such reverence to.
Moreover, the ones who were carrying her lounge chair were all Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators!
What kind of divine existence could this Venerable be…?
Everything that Lu Ye and Li Baxian saw had undoubtedly left them in disbelief, and the same was true for Xia Liang and Tan Sheng as well.
In the midst of the silence, a voice suddenly sounded, “More newcomers?”
The voice had come from the daybed, sounding both indolent yet sweet, like a dainty hand strumming the heartstrings of those who listened to it. Following the emergence of that voice, Lu Ye felt his heart jump, then an inexplicable sense of thirst began to form inside of him.
It wasn’t only his heart that was racing when he heard the voice, but even his mind relaxed. Even though he couldn’t see what the woman on the daybed looked like, her voice alone was enough to spread warmth in a person that one couldn’t help but want to sink into.
Lu Ye was greatly alarmed by this, and even Li Baxian next to him could sense that the situation was awry. His sharp brows were furrowed and his eyes were filled with caution. When he glanced at Tan Sheng and Xia Liang, Li Baxian’s expression turned even more grave.
That was because both of them had listless looks on their faces at this moment as they stared idly at the figure on the daybed, their eyes ablaze with a fiery light.
Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were both much stronger than Lu Ye and Li Baxian, and they were both from extraordinary backgrounds. It didn’t make sense for them to have such unrestrained expressions on their faces, but they were severely injured and exhausted both mentally and in Spiritual Power, thus they were doing much worse than the two of them right now.
Zhou Yuntian gave a respectful response. “To answer the mistress, there seems to be some enmity between these four fellow cultivators that led them to fight here, but we have put a stop to it.”
“En.” The indolent voice sounded again from the daybed. “These two Ninth Orders are not bad.”
Then, Lu Ye felt her gaze locking onto himself through the curtain. “But these two are slightly lacking.”
Zhou Yuntian hurried to explain, “For Mistress’s information, one of these two cultivators is Li Baxian, a legendary figure in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. His level of cultivation may not be high, but he has limitless potential. If he can ascend into the Ninth Order Cloud River Realm in the future, then he would definitely be able to help Mistress in achieving your long-awaited wish. As for the one next to him… This subordinate does not know them, but if he is a companion of Li Baxian, then he must not be mediocre either.”
“Is that so…” the Venerable muttered to herself. She seemed to be in thought for a moment before soon coming to a decision. “In that case, bring them all back.”
“Yes!”
Lu Ye heard every word of the conversation between Zhou Yuntian and the Venerable, which made him worry. Previously, he had only thought that the situation was strange, and many parts of it seemed inexplicable, but things only got more confusing from there.
That was because a Ninth Order cultivator like Zhou Yuntian would actually refer to himself as “this subordinate” in front of this Venerable!
Who… was this Venerable exactly?
From the situation they were experiencing, it wasn’t just Zhou Yuntian. All of the cultivators in this place were the subordinates of that Venerable.
What sort of mysterious abilities did she possess that would allow her to command so many proud cultivators?
All of a sudden, a pink fog emerged from the direction of the daybed, rolling towards Lu Ye and the others.
Lu Ye gripped the hilt of the Inviolable Sabe and the Spiritual Power in his body surged. Sword cries also sounded around Li Baxian’s body, and Flying Swords revolved around him.
However, before they could make any moves, auras from all directions locked onto them, causing them to freeze in place. Zhou Yuntian tried to reassure them. “Cultivator Li, please remain calm. The mistress has no ill intentions towards you all. She simply wishes to invite you to visit as guests.”
His words may sound pleasant on the surface, but if Li Baxian and Lu Ye dared to struggle, then they would surely incur their beating and suppression.
How could the two of them be any match for this group in this situation? Even being able to escape would be a great luxury for them.
As they exchanged glances, both could see the helplessness in each other’s eyes. They have truly become the fish on another person’s chopping board now.
The pink mist rolled in, enveloping a large area, and it was filled with the intoxicating fragrance they had smelled before.
Lu Ye immediately sensed an abnormality in his Tree of Glyphs. Upon immersing his consciousness to check, he found that the Tree of Glyphs was burning up a cloud of smoke.
This pink mist… was poisonous. Only, its toxicity wasn’t that strong, so that’s why the Tree of Glyphs’ reaction wasn’t too drastic.
He was just about to circulate his Spiritual Power to protect himself when Zhou Yuntian’s voice sounded again. “I kindly ask you not to resist!”
The voice had lost its previous gentleness and now contained a hint of coldness. It was clear that if Lu Ye and the others resisted, these people would take action and suppress them.
Lu Ye stood quietly in place, pondering the purpose of the pink mist. It wasn’t highly toxic, and these people clearly had no intention of killing them.
Since they weren’t going to kill them and instead said they were inviting them as guests, what could be the purpose of this mist…
*Pu tong…* A soft thud could be heard. When Lu Ye turned to look. He saw that Xia Liang and Tan Sheng had suddenly collapsed to the ground, falling into a deep sleep.
Next to him, Li Baxian also fell to his knees before going limp and falling to the ground.
After him, Lu Ye fell straight to the ground. Even Amber, who was perched on his shoulder, fell unconscious alongside everyone else.
“Take them back,” the Venerable’s soft voice sounded again.
“Yes!” Zhou Yuntian answered.
Then, Lu Ye felt someone grabbing him by the clothes at his waist, lifting him up. When he felt wind brushing against him, he faintly opened his eyes and saw Amber being carried in the other arm of the cultivator who was holding him.
They moved even deeper into the Grand Wilds Peak’s depths, and it wasn’t until an hour later that they finally began their descent.
Lu Ye pretended to be unconscious, not daring to open his eyes, so he had no idea where they were. However, there were sounds of greetings from all around, as well as the energy fluctuations of many strong presences.
Many cultivators seemed to have gathered in this place.
The sound of a door being opened could be heard. After a moment, Lu Ye felt himself being brought into a room and placed on a bed. Soon after, he heard Zhou Yuntian’s voice. “Go and rest. I will stay and keep watch.”
Someone responded, “In that case, I shall trouble you, Brother Zhou.”
“It’s nothing.”
One by one, the others left, leaving only Zhou Yuntian behind to guard the place.
Lu Ye lay still, calmly sensing his surroundings. He could hear the steady breathing of the unconscious Li Baxian and the others beside him.
After a while, the door was opened again. Zhou Yuntian greeted respectfully, “Mistress.”
A fragrant breeze wafted in, the same intoxicating aroma that Lu Ye had smelled previously.
Then, Lu Ye felt the presence of the Venerable standing not far away from him. He couldn’t see what she was doing, but he distinctly felt a peculiar surge of power emanating from her.
After a moment, there was a soft groan. It seemed to come from Xia Liang.
The Venerable took a step closer, and that peculiar power surged once again. After a while, another muffled groan was heard, this time from Tan Sheng.
They weren’t being killed since Lu Ye could still detect that Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were both still alive, which made him very curious about what exactly this Venerable was doing to them.
Very soon, it was Li Baxian’s turn. Just like the two before, he also let out a grunt.
The lingering fragrance became even stronger. Lu Ye could sense that the Venerable had approached him. In the next moment, two soft, warm fingers touched his forehead.
Once again, that peculiar power surged through him. Lu Ye felt a slight impact on his mind, and immediately after that, his mind seemed to be filled with inexplicable things.
Involuntarily, he let out a groan.
The dainty fingers like warm jade moved away, and the Venerable’s voice, now tinged with a hint of weakness, instructed Zhou Yuntian, “Once they wake up, have them clean up before bringing them to me. They stink.”
“Yes!” Zhou Yuntian responded respectfully.
The sound of footsteps quickly faded away, indicating that the Venerable had left.
At that moment, Lu Ye had immersed his consciousness into his mind to check his Talent Tree. He observed as a large cloud of mist engulfed the Talent Tree, but it quickly dissipated, and the Talent Tree returned to normal.
What sort of mysterious technique did the Venerable use on him?
Lu Ye recalled what happened then. When the Venerable unleashed her ability, he felt a great impact on his mind, then something strange and foreign seemed to emerge in it.
It probably wasn’t poison, but if it caused the Tree of Glyphs to react, then it had to be something harmful that invaded his body. So, regardless of what it was, the Tree of Glyphs had completely burned it away, leaving him unaffected.
He had the Tree of Glyphs to protect him, but his Fourth Senior Brother didn’t.
In other words, no matter what sort of technique it was, his Fourth Senior Brother was caught by it!
Not only him, even Tan Sheng and Xia Liang had been affected by it.
Lu Ye had to be careful in the future. If he behaved differently from his Fourth Senior Brother, it could potentially expose a flaw in him. Just as he was thinking this, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching, followed by a voice saying, “Brother Zhou, I heard that Li Baxian has come?”
Zhou Yuntian, who stayed behind to guard the place, chuckled in response. “You’re all well-informed. We just returned, and you’ve already heard about it?”
That person replied, “Brother Zhao told us. Is it true that Li Baxian has come?”
“That’s him right there!”
In the next moment, Lu Ye felt many people gathering around them, and he heard a voice call out.
“It really is Li Baxian!”
“Brother Zhou has truly made a great contribution this time to have recruited such talented individuals for the Mistress. You will surely be granted a handsome reward.”
“It should be our honor to serve the Mistress. Why should we need any rewards?”
“Yes, that’s true.”
“But I heard that Li Baxian is only in the Cloud River Fifth Order right now. Isn’t his cultivation level a bit low?”
“It doesn’t mean anything for his cultivation level to be low right now. That’s the legendary Li Baxian. Once he grows into the Ninth Order, none of us will be his match then.”
An overdue thanks to Raikov for a seamless transition in translation duties!