Among the four cultivators, there were three men and one woman. The woman was at the second level of the Spirit Stream realm, dressed lightly with a seductive figure, snuggling up to another man at the third level of the Spirit Stream realm, who held her in his arms. The two looked very intimate. The third-level cultivator had a handsome face, extremely good-looking, dressed in luxurious clothing, with a sword at his waist and a bulging storage bag, indicating his distinguished status.
The other third-level cultivator was a sturdy man, his clothes tightly hugging his body, revealing well-defined muscles. He stood in front of the embracing couple, resembling a guard.
The fourth-level cultivator was a man as thin as a bamboo pole, vigilantly surveying the surroundings.
Lu Ye and Da Hu's arrival did not alarm them. The man and the tiger hid about thirty feet away, peering through the gaps in the rocks.
Lu Ye didn't know how Yi Yi had been trapped, but the methods of cultivators were mysterious and unpredictable, and there were many things he didn't understand.
The most pressing matter was to save Yi Yi. He couldn't help but feel the pressure from the fourth-level cultivator, not to mention that there were four of them.
"Master, what is that?" A pleasant voice sounded, coming from the woman. The Mystic Spirit Bell had been triggered, but they had hardly seen how it happened. Only the owner of the Mystic Spirit Bell could figure out the situation.
The handsome man, who was holding her, made a hand seal and sensed for a moment, raising an eyebrow. "Interesting, it's a spirit body?" The Mystic Spirit Bell was his spiritual tool, a very powerful and concealed protective spiritual tool.
"A spirit body?" The woman shrank back, deliberately snuggling closer to the man. "Master, I'm scared."
The young master laughed heartily, patting her soft waist. "Don't be afraid." He gave a nod to the fourth-level cultivator. "Brother Zhang, go and check it out."
Brother Zhang nodded in response. "Yes."
He stepped forward toward the large bell that was inverted on the ground. As he approached, he suddenly punched out.
A loud clang echoed, followed by a piercing scream from inside the bell, clearly indicating that Yi Yi had been injured.
"Roar!" A tiger's roar echoed through the forest, and a white figure instantly charged out from their hiding place, directly pouncing at Brother Zhang.
It was Da Hu, who had been provoked. Although Lu Ye had told him not to act rashly, and he had listened, seeing Yi Yi hurt, his animal instincts ultimately overcame his reason—his reason was already scarce.
This sudden move not only startled the four cultivators but also caught Lu Ye off guard.
He was still thinking about how to save Yi Yi...
When Da Hu pounced, a pungent wind spread. The woman screamed, genuinely frightened. The sturdy man immediately changed his position, standing in front of the young master and the woman. The highest-level cultivator, Brother Zhang, his expression turned serious, and he made a hand seal, with lightning flickering at his fingertips.
However, his expression changed the next moment because behind Da Hu's agile figure, another figure darted out.
It was Lu Ye. Da Hu's rash attack left him no time to think of a strategy, and he almost immediately followed Da Hu, using his figure to gain a moment's advantage.
He pounced directly at the young master!
Among the four, the young master was clearly the leader. Capturing him would solve all the problems, even if it was a desperate move.
"Stop him!" Brother Zhang shouted, raising his hand and striking Da Hu with a palm. A visible bolt of lightning shot out from his palm, hitting Da Hu, who roared in pain. A tiger's roar shook the sky, and a visible wave of air surged forward.
This roar momentarily stunned Brother Zhang, who inwardly shuddered at the ferocity of the creature. If this beast grew stronger, its power would far surpass that of a similarly ranked fierce beast.
He reached into his storage bag, and two curved blades appeared in his hands. He held the blades upside down and charged at Da Hu.
On the other side, Lu Ye placed one hand on his sword, infused his legs with spiritual energy, and charged at the sturdy man like a gust of wind.
The sturdy man growled, his spiritual energy surging, causing his tightly fitting clothes to burst open. His already muscular body seemed to expand. He reached into his storage bag and pulled out a two-foot-long hammer, holding it in front of him.
Just standing there, he gave the impression of being impregnable. Breaking through his defense to capture the young master behind him would not be easy, especially since the young master was no ordinary person. He was at the third level of the Spirit Stream realm, and he had a second-level woman by his side.
The distance between them rapidly closed. Lu Ye placed his other hand on the hilt of his sword, making a drawing motion, but no blade light appeared. Instead, a burning fire snake emerged, swaying and heading toward the sturdy man.
"Fire Snake Talisman!" The sturdy man growled, cursing the enemy's cunning. Despite the apparent sword-drawing stance, the enemy had secretly launched a spiritual talisman, catching him off guard.
The best course of action at this moment was to avoid the attack of the spiritual talisman. Although the Fire Snake Talisman was powerful and had a wide range, he could still avoid it if he wanted to, but it would put him in a passive position.
However, with the young master behind him, how could he dare to avoid it?
He gritted his teeth, quickly took out a Golden Body Talisman and slapped it on himself, while simultaneously channeling his protective spiritual energy around his body.
A burst of firelight enveloped the sturdy man as the dancing fire snake swallowed him. The next moment, he emerged unscathed from the flames, charging at the approaching Lu Ye, swinging his hammer. "A mere spiritual talisman, do you think it can hurt me?"
As he finished his arrogant words, a flash of blade light appeared, and he stumbled backward, clutching his throat, his weapon falling to the ground.
"Ha... ha..." He panted heavily, but blood gushed from between his hands, unable to be stopped.
He couldn't understand why his well-trained spiritual energy couldn't block the opponent's single strike!
The Golden Body Talisman he had slapped on himself had been broken by the Fire Snake Talisman, but he still had his protective spiritual energy. Moreover, he was a physical cultivator, which was why he always stood in front of the young master.
In the cultivation world, physical cultivators were the most durable. Powerful physical cultivators could even withstand the spells of spell cultivators with their physical bodies. Although he was a minor physical cultivator and couldn't fully leverage the advantages of physical cultivation, he shouldn't have been so easily breached by the opponent's single strike.
However, Lu Ye had indeed slashed his throat with a single strike. If not for his strong physical body, this strike would have decapitated him!
The long sword, enhanced with sharp spiritual patterns, possessed destructive power beyond the physical cultivator's imagination.
Lu Ye was also surprised. He hadn't intended to kill the opponent with a single strike. He had instinctively swung the sword to force the opponent back, but the result was unexpectedly powerful.