Official Disciple

They had been ambushed!

Though Lu Ye's head was spinning, he quickly understood what had happened and could not help growing tense. He was only a minor cultivator with three opened apertures—how could he possibly handle a situation like this?

From a hill below, a Yellow Light shot into the sky and hurtled straight toward the Sect Master and Lu Ye. The yellow beam was pillar-like and incredibly fast, arriving in an instant.

The Sect Master's beard and hair flared out, his robes snapping in the wind. With one hand, he swiftly traced a circle before himself, Spiritual Power surging from his fingertips.

A visible barrier of Spiritual Power instantly took shape. The circular barrier shielded the Sect Master and Lu Ye behind it, and countless intricate runes swam within it like tadpoles.

Boom!

The Yellow Light struck the barrier and was blocked completely. Yet the yellow beam gushed forth like a spring, unceasingly battering the barrier.

The Sect Master's eyes blazed with fury. Spiritual Power pulsed from his palm as he maintained the barrier, locked in a stalemate against the Yellow Light.

Lu Ye had never seen such a miraculous scene of spell combat before, and for a moment, he stared in stunned fascination.

Just as the Yellow Light and the Spiritual Power barrier remained locked in struggle, another boom sounded from the ground on the other side. Lu Ye turned and saw a burly figure, towering like an iron pagoda, shoot into the sky and charge toward them. Beneath him, rocks on a small hill had shattered; clearly, they had been crushed beneath that person's foot.

The man charging in for the kill was shrouded in a blood-red glow, as though all the Blood Qi in his body were evaporating. He looked ferocious beyond measure.

At that moment, the Sect Master was still casting a spell and contending with the Yellow Light. The burly cultivator had clearly intended to seize this opportunity to close in. He was incredibly fast, crossing to within ninety meters of the Sect Master in a moment.

The Sect Master changed his hand seal, and the Spiritual Power barrier that had been contending against the Yellow Light immediately tilted slightly.

The Yellow Light slammed into the Spiritual Power barrier, but the mirror-smooth barrier altered its trajectory, deflecting it toward the charging Burly Figure.

The Burly Figure clearly had not expected this. By the time he saw the Yellow Light rushing at him, it was already too late to evade. He could only roar in fury and raise both arms before himself.

The next instant, the Burly Figure was engulfed by the Yellow Light. The impact sent him staggering, and the smell of scorched flesh rose from his body.

At the sight, Lu Ye nearly cried out in praise. Though his eyesight could not discern the danger hidden within that brief exchange, the Sect Master's move carried the flavor of Star Shift. It was truly a feat of moving mountains as lightly as a feather, exquisite beyond compare.

Yet immediately afterward, an overwhelming terror engulfed him. His entire body turned ice-cold in an instant, as though even his blood had frozen.

Before he could figure out what had happened, the Sect Master let out a muffled grunt. A Blood Light flashed before Lu Ye's eyes, and the stench of blood filled his nostrils.

The world spun around him. When he regained his senses and looked down, his expression changed sharply.

A foot-long wound had appeared across the Sect Master's waist and abdomen. Flesh curled outward from it, while wisps of green clung to the wound's edges, writhing like maggots clinging to bone.

He had no idea when the Sect Master had been injured, nor who had wounded him.

At that moment, the Sect Master stirred his Spiritual Power and fled rapidly in one direction with Lu Ye in tow, moving at astonishing speed.

Wild winds howled past his ears. Protected by the Sect Master's Spiritual Power, Lu Ye was unharmed. Only then did he clearly see how many people had attacked the Sect Master.

One was the Burly Figure he had seen earlier. Another was a Thin Man, presumably the ambusher who had cast the spell and released the Yellow Light. Even as he pursued them, he continued casting spells to interfere, though the Sect Master dissolved each one.

No, there was a third person!

In the air behind the Sect Master, a faint, flickering figure pursued them relentlessly. It drifted like a ghost or phantom, impossible to see clearly. Yet judging from that graceful silhouette, it should have been a woman. Every time her figure emerged, she was closer to the Sect Master.

They would not be able to escape like this. The spell cast by the Thin Man greatly hindered the Sect Master's speed.

What was more, the Sect Master was injured.

By now, how could Lu Ye not understand? The Sect Master had been wounded by that elusive woman. The three had divided their roles clearly: the Thin Man casting spells distracted the Sect Master, while the burly man drew his attention. The true killing blow was the woman hidden in the shadows.

Only, they seemed to have underestimated the Sect Master's strength. Their carefully arranged assassination had actually been evaded by him, and he even had strength to spare to protect Lu Ye.

The situation was clearly unfavorable to the Sect Master. If he had been alone, even if he could not defeat the three, he could have escaped. This was Vast Sky Alliance territory; if he held on for a moment, reinforcements would naturally come. When he had been ambushed earlier, he had already sent word outward.

But he still had to look after Lu Ye and could not fight with his full strength. At this rate, within a few dozen breaths, the three would surround and attack him. Once a great battle began, Lu Ye would certainly die. When cultivators like them fought, even the aftershocks were more than Lu Ye could bear. Lu Ye had remained safe only because the Sect Master had protected him with all his strength.

At this point, he could only gamble!

Having made up his mind, the Sect Master spoke. "Lu Ye, have you ever heard of the Spirit Stream Battlefield?"

Lu Ye hurriedly replied, "Never!"

He did not know why the Sect Master had suddenly asked about this while fleeing, but he truly had never heard of the Spirit Stream Battlefield. He knew far too little about this world.

"It can't be helped if you haven't." The Sect Master sighed. While fleeing, he took out a Jade Slip and pressed it to his forehead.

Then he took out a Great Seal. It was square and pure white throughout, forged from some unknown material. Spiritual Light flowed over it, marking it as no ordinary object. He shouted in a low voice, "Tang Yifeng, Tenth Generation Sect Master of the Crimson Blood Sect, respectfully petitions the Heavenly Mechanism! Today, I accept Soldier Province Native Lu Ye as an Official Disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect. Let the Heavenly Mechanism bear witness!"

As he spoke, the Sect Master spat out a mouthful of blood mist onto the Great Seal. The seal, already gleaming with Spiritual Light, became even more dazzling.

From somewhere unseen, something seemed to descend from the heavens and fall upon the Great Seal.

"Hold out your hand!" the Sect Master barked.

Lu Ye hurriedly extended one hand. Raising the Great Seal, the Sect Master stamped it onto the back of Lu Ye's hand.

Boom! Lu Ye felt as though a great hammer had struck him viciously, and his head immediately began to swim.

"Stay alive. I'll have someone find you!" The Sect Master's voice sounded beside his ear. At the same time, Lu Ye felt the Sect Master stuff something into his clothes.

Seeing this, the three pursuers became even more desperate in their chase. The Thin Man constantly unleashed yellow pillars of light, large and small, from his hands, forcing the Sect Master to twist and dodge.

Using this to hold him back, the ghostlike woman rapidly closed the distance to the Sect Master. She was just about to strike.

At that moment, the Sect Master suddenly plunged downward, crashing into a stretch of wilderness.

The wilderness was desolate and overgrown with weeds. Yet the Sect Master seemed very familiar with the place. Amid weeds as tall as a person, he precisely found a Ruined Hall. With a sweep of his sleeve, weeds flew everywhere, revealing the hall's true appearance.

At the sight of the hall, the Thin Man's face darkened. "Stop him!"

The three had pursued in silence all this time, looking determined to put the Sect Master to death. Yet when they saw that hall, they panicked.