When the four members of the Xuanmen sect finally came to their senses, Lu Ye had already gathered the spoils of war, mounted the tiger, and ridden off into the distance.
"J-Just now... he..."
One of the girls in the group stammered, but even her companions were unsure what she was trying to say.
What they had just witnessed was too shocking.
Lu Ye, a cultivator at the third level of the Spirit Stream realm, could not hide his presence. Two of them were also at the third level of the Spirit Stream realm, yet none of them had ever imagined that a third-level cultivator could be so aggressively powerful, killing three opponents in just ten breaths, one of whom was even at the fourth level of the Spirit Stream realm!
This was considered killing above one's rank, something usually only disciples from major sects could achieve.
It was certain that if the tiger-riding youth had wanted to attack them, they would have died even faster than the three from the Jiuxing Sect.
As they were still in a daze, the large tiger suddenly changed direction and charged back toward them.
The burly man's face changed, and he quickly shielded his three junior disciples, looking warily ahead.
After a moment, the tiger, Amber, stopped in front of the four, with Lu Ye sitting tall on its back, looking down at them from a distance of less than fifty feet.
The powerful pressure made the female cultivator's chest heave, making it hard for her to breathe.
"Do you have spirit pills?" the youth on the tiger's back suddenly asked.
"Ah... yes!" the burly man hurriedly replied, "Do you need them?"
Lu Ye nodded: "I need spirit pills."
The burly man quickly unfastened the storage bag at his waist, unlocked the restriction, and after a moment's thought, whispered to his three junior disciples, "Give me your spirit pills."
The three did not dare to object, hurriedly taking out their spirit pills from their storage bags and handing them to the burly man.
The burly man then took out his own items and transferred them to the others' storage bags.
After a moment, he threw the storage bag containing the spirit pills to Lu Ye, who caught it.
"Thank you," Lu Ye said, tossing the spoils he had collected earlier to them. Amber turned and rode away again.
Only when Lu Ye's figure disappeared did the four members of the Xuanmen sect let out a collective sigh of relief. When Lu Ye had returned to ask for spirit pills, they had thought they were about to be robbed.
Even so, they could only grit their teeth and accept it. Not only were they no match for Lu Ye, but he had also saved their lives.
Their lives were more important than spirit pills, and the burly man had already prepared his words to thank Lu Ye with the spirit pills as a gift.
To their surprise, Lu Ye did not take them for free and threw the spoils back to them.
Looking at the three storage bags, two low-grade spirit weapons, and a broken small shield on the ground, the four members of the Xuanmen sect were speechless.
After a quick calculation, they realized they had not only not lost but had even made a small profit... leaving them somewhat amused and frustrated.
Bending down to pick up the items, the burly man paused for a moment and decisively said, "Back to the base!"
They were all injured, and most importantly, they had no more spirit pills, making it difficult to continue the battle. The wisest course of action was to return to the base to rest and regroup. Moreover, they did not have the ability to open the storage bags of the Jiuxing Sect cultivators, and they would need to hand them over to the elders of their sect for help.
On the other side, Lu Ye rode Amber to a secluded passage to check his spoils.
The idea to exchange spirit pills with the Xuanmen sect was a sudden thought. Mainly, he had too many storage bags. Before entering the Sky-Cleaving Gorge, he already had several storage bags, and after killing the group from the Jiuxing Sect, he had four more.
If he took more, he would have nowhere to put them, and carrying them all would affect his combat ability...
Moreover, these storage bags were locked with restrictions, and he could not open them. Instead of keeping them, he might as well exchange them for some spirit pills with the Xuanmen sect.
The number of spirit pills the four members of the Xuanmen sect gave him was not many. Their cultivation levels were not high, and they were not wealthy, so they quickly used up any spirit pills they obtained.
The four people gave Lu Ye sixteen spirit pills, five of which were healing pills. When Lu Ye asked for spirit pills, he did not specify which type, so they gave him both Essence Spirit Pills and Healing Pills.
The spoils were decent...
Lu Ye felt that his impromptu idea was quite good. This way, he might be able to obtain a large amount of cultivation resources in the Sky-Cleaving Gorge.
The merit points in the battlefield mark also changed, from thirty-four to fifty-six, an increase of twenty-two points.
The increase in these numbers was a mystery to him. Last time, killing the four from the Jiuxing Sect added twenty-six points, and this time, it added twenty-two. He did not know the criteria for the increase.
He decided to pay close attention to the changes in the numbers the next time he killed someone, perhaps to deduce some patterns.
His injuries from the battle were not severe, just a stab wound to the waist from a third-level cultivator. After a quick bandage and a brief rest, he set off again, his spiritual energy sufficiently abundant to continue fighting.
The traces of the fierce battles were visible in the gorge, with many places still stained with dried blood and scattered corpses, indicating the intensity of the conflict between the Xuanmen and Jiuxing Sects.
Not far ahead, Yi Yi, who was scouting, reported that a group of two people was approaching. Lu Ye immediately had Amber hide and went to meet them.
A moment later, Lu Ye encountered the two people head-on. Both were on high alert, sizing each other up.
Lu Ye's eyes shone with spiritual light, assessing their cultivation levels. Two third-level Spirit Stream cultivators, not a weak combination, and from their injuries, it was clear they had been through a fierce battle. Perhaps they were originally more than two...
What puzzled Lu Ye was that the battlefield marks on their hands did not emit any light, leaving him unsure of their allegiance and unsure how to proceed.
To his surprise, the two people relaxed after a moment, and one of them approached with a smile, saying, "Brother, you have quite the nerve to move around alone here?"
Lu Ye's mind raced, realizing they must have mistaken him for one of their own. He loosened his grip on his sword hilt and replied coolly, "I was scattered during a battle."
The man said, "Brother, you must have great luck. If you don't mind, why don't you join us? Three people can provide more support."
"Of course," Lu Ye nodded, maintaining a stoic demeanor.
The man raised his hand and said, "Although I don't think it's necessary, Brother, let's verify our identities."
As he spoke, his hand glowed red.
Lu Ye's eyebrows raised, confirming his suspicion. These were people he could cut down!
As the gravel scattered under his feet, Lu Ye charged forward with his sword, the two people's eyes wide with shock.