Spirit Stream Battlefield

A Body Cultivator, a Spell Cultivator, and a Ghost Cultivator had hidden in the shadows to assassinate Old Man Tang, only to be killed by him instead. Pang Zhen sorted through the situation in an extremely short time.

Moreover, judging from the lingering aftermath of the battle nearby, the three who had been killed were all Divine Sea Realm cultivators. As for which layer of the Divine Sea they had reached, that was impossible to tell.

One against three, and he had even killed all three of them in such a short time. It seemed that his speculation all these years had been true. This old gentleman's cultivation was far from as simple as it appeared on the surface.

After all, he had once been one of the Three Heroes of Nine Provinces!

"Were they after you, sir?" Pang Zhen broke the silence.

Old Man Tang slowly shook his head. "They were after that boy."

At first, he had also believed the three men had come for him. Yet during the battle, he discovered that their target was actually Lu Ye! The female Ghost Cultivator, who had hidden herself most deeply, had targeted Lu Ye first and nearly killed him. The wound on Old Man Tang's waist and abdomen had been suffered when he blocked the blade for Lu Ye.

When Old Man Tang had finally sent Lu Ye away, the Spell Cultivator had even shouted that the mission had failed. That explained everything.

"No way." Pang Zhen frowned. "Where's that boy?"

He did not see the young man called Lu Ye.

"I sent him into the Spirit Stream Battlefield."

Only then did Pang Zhen notice the Crystal Pillar amid the Ruins. Somewhat astonished, he said, "A Heaven's Mystery Pillar? This is... the White Dragon Institute Ruins, whose sect was wiped out a hundred years ago?"

To enter the Spirit Stream Battlefield, one had to rely on a Heaven's Mystery Pillar. These pillars were gifts of heaven and generally stood within sects large and small.

Of course, many Heaven's Mystery Pillars were scattered through desolate wildernesses as well. If one traced their history back, one would learn that every ownerless Heaven's Mystery Pillar represented the destruction of a sect.

Heaven's Mystery Pillars were sturdy by nature and sheltered by heaven, making them difficult to destroy. Thus, even after a sect was annihilated, its Heaven's Mystery Pillar could remain for many years. If someone wished to establish a sect anew in that place, they merely needed to respectfully invite the Heavenly Mechanism, and they could obtain ownership of the Heaven's Mystery Pillar and use it for themselves.

However, after the White Dragon Institute had been destroyed a hundred years ago, no sect had established itself here. This place had remained desolate ever since.

Pang Zhen himself was a Soldier Province Native, as well as the deputy sect master of the Righteous Qi Sect and Vice Alliance Master of the Vast Sky Alliance. With only a brief thought, he knew which sect had left behind this Heaven's Mystery Pillar.

"This is troublesome." He frowned.

A Heaven's Mystery Pillar could indeed send someone into the Spirit Stream Battlefield, but if a cultivator entered the battlefield through a Heaven's Mystery Pillar other than their own sect's, there was only one possible result.

They would be sent at random to some location within the battlefield.

The Spirit Stream Battlefield was vast, nearly the size of an entire province. No one knew where the boy called Lu Ye had been sent. Even if Pang Zhen immediately sent several hundred Spirit Stream Realm cultivators into the battlefield to search, they might not find any trace of him.

Besides, that boy had only Opened One Aperture...

Entering the Spirit Stream Battlefield with such meager cultivation was practically a death sentence. When the major sects dispatched disciples into the Spirit Stream Battlefield, the minimum requirement was Spirit Stream First Layer.

"Old Man Tang..." Pang Zhen called out.

Old Man Tang turned to look at him, his eyes lowered. "My Crimson Blood Sect has endured and retreated for thirty years, yet those people still refuse to let things rest. They have gone too far in bullying us!"

Pang Zhen sighed inwardly, his own anger flaring. Today's matter seemed at first glance to be merely an ambush against Old Man Tang on his journey home, but in truth, it implicated far too much. Not to mention that three Divine Sea Realm cultivators had died! Those three Divine Sea Realm cultivators could not possibly have appeared out of nowhere. Who stood behind them? This might very well shake the Cultivation World of Soldier Province to its core.

He could clearly feel Old Man Tang's suppressed fury, like a volcano on the verge of eruption. He had never seen Old Man Tang in such a state before.

"I never said I had to take that child into my sect. I had planned to send him to another sect for cultivation afterward." Old Man Tang sneered. "Yet they could not even wait that little while."

He looked at Pang Zhen, endless fury burning in his eyes. "I want to know who stretched out their claws!"

Pang Zhen understood at once and nodded. "This matter will certainly be answered to your satisfaction, sir."

Old Man Tang had left the Flying Dragon Ship and been ambushed not long afterward. How had the ambushers learned of Old Man Tang's movements? How had they arranged the ambush site with such precision? There were clearly some unspeakable dirty dealings behind it.

"As for that boy Lu Ye..." Pang Zhen hesitated before speaking. "Do you need me to find some people and send them into the Spirit Stream Battlefield?"

Old Man Tang shook his head gloomily. "There is no need."

In that situation just now, leaving Lu Ye behind would have meant certain death. Old Man Tang could not possibly have fought others while protecting him.

With no other choice, Old Man Tang could only send him into the Spirit Stream Battlefield. But what were the chances that a cultivator who had only cultivated for a short time could survive in such a place? Worse still, he had not entered through his own sect's Heaven's Mystery Pillar. Heaven knew where he would appear. If he appeared on the territory of some sect in Myriad Demon Ridge, he might already have been chopped into mincemeat.

Even if he somehow survived, every step would be difficult in the Spirit Stream Battlefield.

Old Man Tang could only hope that Lu Ye's luck was good enough for him to appear in an uninhabited place. Only then would he have a sliver of hope for survival.

Of course, he would still have to be found, but not through the hands of others. This matter could not be publicized either. Otherwise, if those with ulterior motives learned that a Crimson Blood Sect disciple had entered the Spirit Stream Battlefield, they would only bring more trouble upon Lu Ye. A path to life would then become a dead end.

It was precisely because of this consideration that Old Man Tang had warned Lu Ye at the final moment not to reveal his identity!

On a massive tree that would have taken several people to encircle, Lu Ye sat astride a branch, his face still pale with lingering fear.

Dozens of large, vicious wolves had gathered below. Each of them was as big as a calf, baring its fangs at Lu Ye above.

He did not know why he had appeared in such a place, nor did he know where the Sect Master had gone.

Earlier, following the Sect Master's instructions, he had placed his hand on the Crystal Pillar. The entire world had become blurred. When his surroundings became clear again, he was already in this forest.

Not far away, he had encountered a vicious wolf. The wolf had pounced upon seeing him, and Lu Ye had hurriedly drawn his longsword, struggling desperately to kill it. Yet more vicious wolves had gathered around him.

Left with no choice, Lu Ye could only flee. In the end, he climbed up this tree.

Sitting astride the branch and looking around, all he could see were towering trees that would have taken several people to encircle. Their enormous canopies blotted out the sky, and only scattered flecks of sunlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves.

Where is this? Where is the Sect Master? What happened to those three people chasing the Sect Master? How did I end up in a place like this?

Question after question filled Lu Ye's mind.

He lowered his head to look at the Wolf Pack below. It did not seem as though they would leave anytime soon, leaving Lu Ye helpless. The most urgent matter was to first figure out his situation. At the very least, he needed to know where he was.

He tried hard to recall his earlier conversation with the Sect Master and quickly grasped a key phrase.

"Spirit Stream Battlefield?"

The Sect Master had asked him whether he had heard of the Spirit Stream Battlefield. In such an urgent moment, the Sect Master would not have asked something irrelevant.

Afterward, the Sect Master had taken out a Great Seal and respectfully invited some Heavenly Mechanism to bear witness, accepting him as an Official Disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect before stamping the back of his hand.

At that thought, Lu Ye hurriedly examined the back of his hand, but found nothing. After pondering for a moment, he urged Spiritual Power into the back of his hand.

The next instant, a miraculous sight appeared.

A blue Spiritual Pattern suddenly emerged on the back of his hand. The Spiritual Pattern wriggled and shifted, quickly transforming into several lines of large characters.

Name: Lu Ye

Identity: Crimson Blood Sect disciple.

Cultivation: Opened Three Apertures.

Location: Spirit Stream Battlefield.

Merit: None.