Just a moment later, Lu Ye gathered his spoils and left, leaving behind two incomplete corpses.
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In the hands of Lu Ye, even cultivators at the fourth level of the Spirit Stream Realm couldn't withstand three strikes, let alone those at the third level. Once Lu Ye seized the initiative, their doom was sealed.
This time, Lu Ye paid attention. Each kill added three merit points, so two kills added six points. Now, his merit points had reached sixty-two!
At night, in a tunnel within the mountain, Lu Ye hid to rest. Yi Yi and Da Hu, as usual, kept watch at both ends to prevent any intruders from catching them off guard.
That day, he fought three battles and had a good harvest. He didn't keep any of the spoils, instead trading them all for spirit pills with the Xuanmen cultivators, obtaining over twenty pills, most of which were Spirit Nourishing Pills.
Compared to the spoils, Lu Ye felt that the most significant gain was the combat experience. Since entering the Spirit Stream Battlefield, although he had experienced a few battles, they were spaced out over long periods. This time, he fought consecutively within a single day.
Such intense battles not only allowed him to quickly identify his shortcomings but also enriched his combat skills.
Practicing in isolation was naturally inferior to real combat, where experience was earned through blood and wounds.
He sustained some injuries, but none were serious.
First, Lu Ye ate some dried meat to alleviate his hunger. After eating and drinking his fill, he began to take spirit pills to replenish his depleted spiritual energy.
During the battles, he frequently used the Sharp and Defensive Spirit Patterns. Although these patterns could exert effects beyond his cultivation level, they had a significant drawback: high consumption.
To maintain his combat power in the upcoming actions, Lu Ye had to ensure his spiritual energy was sufficiently replenished.
At the third level of the Spirit Stream Realm, the efficiency of refining pill energy had improved. Lu Ye was not yet aware of the consumption of opening new spirit orifices, but based on previous patterns, the consumption would increase with each new orifice. However, the cultivation efficiency would also improve, so the time required for each new orifice would not increase significantly, and might even remain stable.
The night passed quietly, with the Crack Sky Gorge silent. No sounds of the battles between the Xuanmen and Jiuxing Sect cultivators could be heard outside. With their cultivation levels still low, everyone chose to rest and replenish their energy at night, reserving the real battles for the daytime.
When dawn came, Lu Ye led Da Hu and Yi Yi out of the tunnel to begin their hunting journey.
Over the next few days, Lu Ye spent most of his time in constant battles, ranging from one or two to three or four per day. The number of spirit pills in his possession gradually increased, as did his merit points.
He finally figured out the merit point calculation. Through his observations, the cultivation level of the killed cultivator determined the merit points, with each level representing one point. For example, killing a cultivator at the second level of the Spirit Stream Realm earned him two points, and the third level earned him three points…
However, if he killed a cultivator of a higher level, the merit points would increase by one base value for each level surpassed.
At the third level, Lu Ye earned three points for killing a third-level cultivator, but if he killed a fourth-level cultivator, he would earn eight points.
Previously, when he was at the second level and killed a fourth-level cultivator, he earned twelve points, as he surpassed two levels…
He did a quick calculation and found that the points matched his previous kills, confirming that this calculation method was correct.
After several days of battles, he gradually became familiar with the feeling of life-and-death combat. Although his cultivation level did not increase, his combat skills improved significantly, enhancing his efficiency in killing enemies.
During these days, Lu Ye also tried to find a way out of the Crack Sky Gorge but found it impossible. He didn't know how many people the Xuanmen and Jiuxing Sect had deployed in this area, but according to his and Yi Yi's observations, there were nearly a thousand Spirit Stream Realm cultivators on both sides!
With thousands of cultivators scattered throughout the vast maze, encountering enemies at any time was a constant risk. After passing through the maze, the terrain would narrow, eventually converging into a single path through the Crack Sky Gorge. This was the only way out, and the Jiuxing Sect had stationed a large number of people at the exit. If he showed himself, he would likely face a bad outcome.
It was better for him to hide in the maze and hunt enemies.
After several days of action, Lu Ye's whereabouts had been exposed. He clearly felt that the Jiuxing Sect's efforts to capture him had intensified. The most obvious sign was that the number of cultivators in the teams he encountered had increased.
Initially, the small teams he encountered had three or four members, but now each team had at least five or six members, and some even had over ten.
Lu Ye could still handle teams of three or four, but he dared not attack teams of five or six, and he avoided teams of over ten at all costs.
After suffering several losses, the Xuanmen cultivators also adjusted their strategies, increasing the number of members in their teams to counter the Jiuxing Sect.
In the maze, a battle was breaking out. This battle was on a large scale, involving nearly twenty cultivators, with about ten on each side, including several at the fourth level of the Spirit Stream Realm. However, neither side gained a significant advantage, and both suffered casualties.
As the battle raged, a tiger's roar echoed, causing both sides to tense up.
Someone shouted excitedly, "The Mountain Tiger is here!"
It was a Xuanmen cultivator.
Lu Ye, riding on Da Hu's back, was rushing toward the battlefield. Upon hearing the tiger's roar, the Xuanmen cultivators instinctively cleared a path. Da Hu leaped into the battlefield and pounced on a third-level Spirit Stream Realm cultivator, knocking him to the ground.
Lu Ye, crouched on Da Hu's back, immediately launched an attack. His long sword unsheathed, a bright blade flashed as he aimed for a fourth-level Spirit Stream Realm cultivator.
The Xuanmen cultivator fighting this person was at the fourth level and had a childlike face, looking harmless. Seeing Lu Ye swoop in, he couldn't help but shout, "Don't steal my kill!"
He had the upper hand and, given enough time, could take down the opponent.
It wasn't surprising that he shouted, as the Mountain Tiger's name had spread widely among the Xuanmen cultivators in recent days. Rumor had it that this person never took spoils after killing, only asking for some spirit pills from the Xuanmen. Additionally, he always appeared unexpectedly, often stealing kills.
Sometimes, his actions saved Xuanmen disciples from dire situations, earning him gratitude from many.
But other times, he would sneak in and steal kills even when Xuanmen disciples had the upper hand, taking away their merit points.
The Xuanmen cultivators had mixed feelings about him.