Zhang Wu, with the cultivation of the fourth level of the Spirit Stream Realm, had far more combat experience than Lu Ye. With two knives in hand, he moved so swiftly that it was dizzying. Lu Ye barely managed to block the attack with his long knife, but the curved knife in the other hand of his opponent came slashing in at an angle, extremely fast.
At this moment, it was clearly too late to draw his knife to block again. Just as Zhang Wu thought he was about to succeed, a triangular object, resembling a miniature shield, suddenly appeared on Lu Ye's body.
With a "ding," the curved knife struck the protective spirit pattern, blocking this vicious attack.
Lu Ye took advantage of the situation, shifted his center of gravity, and slid to the side, slashing with his long knife!
The sharp blade cut a long wound on Zhang Wu's arm, with flesh and blood torn open.
Dahu also took the opportunity to pounce, his tiger roar shaking the sky. Yiyi's figure, like a ghost, hovered uncertainly to the side, distracting Zhang Wu's attention.
Three against one!
After a moment, Lu Ye, panting heavily, thrust his long knife into Zhang Wu's chest again, this time piercing his heart. Zhang Wu's head drooped, lifeless, his hands hanging by his sides, and the weapons in his hands fell to the ground.
This arduous battle ultimately ended with Lu Ye's victory.
However, he also paid a significant price. Not only had he expended a large portion of his spiritual energy, but his body was also covered with four deep wounds that reached the bone, with blood almost completely soaking his clothes, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.
The protective spirit pattern could indeed block the opponent's attacks, but several times, Lu Ye simply didn't have time to activate it. The opponent's attacks were too fast, a difference brought about by the cultivation realm and combat experience. Fortunately, none of the injuries were to vital areas.
Fighting a fourth-level Spirit Stream Realm opponent with a second-level Spirit Stream Realm cultivation, and even after severely injuring the opponent and gaining a significant advantage, it still took such a great toll to defeat him, making Lu Ye deeply realize his own shortcomings.
Not only was he seriously injured, but Dahu and Yiyi were also not in good condition. Dahu's half-body was blood-red, and Yiyi's figure had become much dimmer.
Rushing to tidy up the battlefield, Lu Ye collected the storage bags of those few people, and did not overlook the Young Master's Mystic Spirit Bell. He climbed onto the tiger's back and shouted, "Let's go!"
Dahu leaped forward, heading towards the Sky Splitting Gorge.
Halfway through, Lu Ye's vision began to blur, and his body was almost about to collapse. He felt he couldn't hold on much longer and managed to instruct Yiyi and Dahu, "If you encounter a fork in the road, don't wander around. Find a place to hide. We'll deal with other matters when I wake up."
Before Yiyi could react, Lu Ye's body tilted, almost falling off the tiger's back. She quickly moved forward to support him.
About half an hour after Dahu left with Lu Ye, a figure suddenly appeared at the previous battlefield. The person looked at the traces left on the battlefield, then raised his head and shouted, "Found it!"
In an instant, two more figures rushed over from nearby.
The three of them looked at the chaotic battlefield and knew that things were not good.
"What should we do?"
"Notify Senior Brother Cao Ye."
One of them said this, sighed, and activated his own combat imprint to send a message.
After a moment, a towering figure landed, surrounded by a dense aura of spiritual energy, which was even stronger than the fifth-level Spirit Stream Realm cultivators Lu Ye had seen before.
"Senior Brother Cao!" The three bowed.
Cao Ye stepped forward and examined the bodies of the four fellow disciples, his face gradually darkening.
From the traces left on the battlefield, it was clear that Junior Brother Sun had been beheaded, dying from blood loss in a short time. Junior Sister Yuan had been decapitated, the Young Master had injuries on his thigh, shoulder, and neck, and a severed arm, with the fatal wound in his chest. As for Zhang Wu, he had multiple injuries, clearly from a fierce battle, with the fatal wound also in his heart.
"Useless!" Cao Ye gritted his teeth and cursed.
He really couldn't understand how the Young Master, protected by the Mystic Spirit Bell, could have died! The Mystic Spirit Bell, although only a low-grade spirit artifact, had strong defensive capabilities. In times of danger, as long as the Mystic Spirit Bell was activated, it could withstand even a seventh-level Spirit Stream Realm cultivator for a while, and lower-level cultivators couldn't break through its defense in a short time.
In the outermost part of this battlefield, let alone a seventh-level Spirit Stream Realm, even a sixth-level one was hard to find. Sixth and seventh-level Spirit Stream Realm cultivators were dominant figures here, generally stationed at their sect's base and rarely ventured out. If it weren't for Zhang Wu's message, he wouldn't have come here.
With the Mystic Spirit Bell for protection and Zhang Wu, a fourth-level Spirit Stream Realm cultivator, as an escort, he and Uncle Dong were confident in letting the Young Master wander outside.
Moreover, this location was still within the influence of the Nine Stars Sect...
Yet, the Young Master was killed right on the territory of his own sect!
How could he explain this to the Sect Master? One could say that the face of the Nine Stars Sect was utterly lost. Cao Ye could almost imagine the fury of the elders in the sect when this news was reported.
"Send a message back, seal off a hundred miles around, and search for a young man with a white tiger. The opponent's cultivation is around the third or fourth level of the Spirit Stream Realm, uses a blade-type spirit artifact, and is not bound by any camp or origin. Those who provide information will be rewarded with thirty spirit stones, those who kill him will be rewarded with five hundred spirit stones, and those who capture him will be rewarded with a thousand spirit stones!" Cao Ye's deep voice echoed.
The three cultivators were all invigorated and quickly accepted the order.
Although Zhang Wu only sent a simple message before his death, mentioning a young man with a white tiger at the second level of the Spirit Stream Realm, Cao Ye clearly discovered more.
Zhang Wu had a fierce battle with the culprit before being killed, so Cao Ye deduced that the opponent's cultivation was not just the second level of the Spirit Stream Realm but likely the third or fourth level. Otherwise, it would be impossible to kill Zhang Wu. As for the use of a blade, that was even simpler; the wounds on the Young Master and Zhang Wu clearly indicated this.
The opponent might have a very good spirit artifact in hand; otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for a weaker cultivator to defeat and kill Zhang Wu.
Just as he was deep in thought, Cao Ye suddenly turned his head and shouted, "Who's there!"
As his words fell, a man in a green robe, with a graceful and handsome appearance, stepped out of the darkness. The man had a long sword at his waist, and his hand rested on the hilt, walking out calmly as if a king was inspecting his own territory.
The moment Cao Ye saw this man, he was on high alert, his spiritual energy rapidly activated, and he gritted his teeth and shouted, "Wang Yang!"
It wasn't surprising that he was so tense. Although he was at the sixth level of the Spirit Stream Realm, the other was at the seventh level. Despite the one-level difference, in the Spirit Stream Realm, the fourth and seventh levels were a significant divide, and crossing this level would result in a significant increase in strength.
In previous confrontations, Cao Ye had suffered many losses at the hands of this opponent, so seeing him appear made Cao Ye somewhat anxious.
He was confident he could escape, as he was a physical cultivator, tough and resilient. Even if he couldn't defeat Wang Yang, he could still run away. However, the three fellow disciples by his side didn't have that ability.
Why did this scoundrel leave the base of the Mystic Sect and come out? Cao Ye cursed inwardly, knowing that the commotion on their side must have attracted the attention of the Mystic Sect.