The Nine Star Sect had been defeated, and the defeat was thorough. The only one who could match Wang Yang, Dong Shuyi, had gone out to chase the Overmountain Tiger. Once the main defensive array was breached, no one could stop Wang Yang's slaughter.
Cao Ye vaguely sensed a hint of conspiracy, but there was no time for him to think more. He urged his spiritual energy and shouted, "Everyone, prepare to evacuate!"
The disciples scattered across various key points, assisting in the defense, were already in a state of panic. Hearing Cao Ye's shout, they immediately rushed toward the main hall. There was the Nine Star Sect's Heavenly Opportunity Pillar, which could help them return to the Nine Provinces. Only by doing so could they escape this disaster.
"Crack..." The sound of the protective array shattering echoed, and a large amount of fluorescence spread from the outer perimeter of the Nine Star Sect's base, like a sky full of fireflies. Xiao Zhu, who was suspended in the air, fell weakly to the ground. Wang Yang, who was prepared, caught her and held her in his arms.
With his other hand, he drew his long sword and pointed it forward, "Kill!"
...
In the forest, Lu Ye fled in a wretched state, his arms bloody and his chest charred.
Dong Shuyi's cultivation at the Seventh Level was far beyond what he could resist. If not for the defensive spirit pattern, he would have died the moment the first spell was cast.
Lu Ye thought that escaping into the mountains would increase his chances of survival, but in reality, the dense forest did not conceal his figure. Dong Shuyi pursued him relentlessly, like a leech, casting spells that felled trees as thick as several people's arms.
He and Amber had separated. When he endured Dong Shuyi's second attack, he was thrown off the tiger's back by the powerful impact, causing the charring on his chest. Lu Ye didn't know how badly Amber was injured, but it was definitely severe, as the ground where she fell was quickly stained with blood.
Lu Ye didn't even have time to check on Amber's injuries. He felt that he might not escape this time, so he made a decisive decision to split up. If they stayed together, Amber would die too.
If he was destined to die, at least Amber could survive.
The feeling of being watched became increasingly clear, but fortunately, Dong Shuyi did not continue to glide in the sky. The trees here were very tall, and the canopies were extremely dense. If he flew up, he would easily lose sight of Lu Ye.
Even so, his speed at the Seventh Level was not something Lu Ye could escape.
He had only three-tenths of his spiritual energy left, and the defensive spirit pattern that could barely withstand one of Dong Shuyi's spell attacks could only be activated once more.
There was no chance.
Lu Ye raised his blood-soaked right hand and gripped the long knife at his waist.
Although his life had been short and not very exciting, he would face his enemy even in death!
Suddenly, the sound of water rushing and rumbling reached his ears. Initially, Lu Ye didn't pay much attention, but once he realized the source of the sound, he immediately changed direction and dashed toward it.
Dong Shuyi, who was chasing him from behind, saw Lu Ye's figure from a distance, his eyes blazing with anger.
He really didn't expect that personally chasing a Third Level cultivator would take so long. This made him even more determined to kill Lu Ye.
Seeing Lu Ye change direction and hearing the rumbling sound, Dong Shuyi immediately knew what Lu Ye was planning.
"Boy, you can't run! Surrender and you might avoid some pain!" Dong Shuyi roared, his spiritual energy surging as he soared into the sky.
From the air, he saw a massive waterfall cascading down, the sunlight reflecting off the splashing water to form a rainbow. Inside the rainbow, Lu Ye's figure leaped into the air, diving toward the waterfall below.
"Where are you running!" Dong Shuyi shouted, hastily casting a Golden Arc Slash at Lu Ye. The Golden Arc Slash, cast by a Seventh Level cultivator, was much more powerful than the one cast by Luo Ji, a Second Level cultivator. The Golden Arc Slash was nearly three feet long.
The crescent-shaped slash cut through the air, but due to their rapid movement, it missed slightly, slicing across Lu Ye's back.
Lu Ye's protective spiritual energy was as thin as paper, and blood spurted out, causing his face to twitch in pain.
In that instant, he barely had time to activate the defensive spirit pattern. If the Golden Arc Slash had hit his torso, he would have been cut in half.
His body plummeted rapidly, and a moment later, he crashed into the water below. He immediately dove deeper, trying to conceal himself.
At the same time, Dong Shuyi descended from above the waterfall, hovering over the water. Without hesitation, he cast several Golden Arc Slashes at the spot where Lu Ye had fallen into the water.
Compared to other spells, the Golden Arc Slash had greater penetration. Although the water reduced the spell's power, there was no better option unless Dong Shuyi was willing to dive into the water to search for Lu Ye.
The Golden Arc Slashes cut through the water, and a thick stream of blood emerged, along with some fragments of internal organs.
Seeing this, Dong Shuyi quickly checked his battlefield mark.
Ten points of merit were deducted...
This made Dong Shuyi feel a sharp pain.
The Spirit Stream Battlefield was a strange place. It seemed to have a mysterious force controlling the merit of cultivators. Killing a higher-level enemy would double the merit, but killing an enemy three levels below would deduct a large amount of merit.
This mysterious force seemed to encourage cultivators to fight higher-level enemies and punish those who bullied the weak.
This was also why there were not many powerful cultivators in the outer area of the battlefield. Merit was crucial for any cultivator, and to gain merit, they had to kill enemies of similar cultivation.
Sixth and Seventh Level cultivators had few benefits in the outer area. While they wouldn't completely leave the outer area, they would choose positions closer to the inner area for training.
Dong Shuyi, a Seventh Level cultivator, would only gain merit by killing a Fourth Level cultivator. Killing a Third Level cultivator would deduct ten points, and killing a Second Level cultivator would deduct twenty points.
Ten points of merit were not a lot, but they were not insignificant. For Dong Shuyi, killing a cultivator of the same level would only earn him seven points of merit. If not for the orders from the elders, he wouldn't have come to chase Lu Ye personally.
Fortunately, everything was over...
He looked at his battlefield mark again and saw that someone had sent him a message.
When he read the content of the message, his face changed dramatically.