Walk Out

After reaching the Spirit Stream Realm, Lu Ye discovered something quite interesting: his perception of the Spiritual Energy in his surroundings had become sharper.

The Spiritual Energy in the Spirit Stream Battlefield was already far denser than outside. In the outside world, even while cultivating, Lu Ye could not sense its existence. But here, so long as he calmed his mind, he could generally perceive the Spiritual Energy around him.

Now that his nine apertures had formed a stream, Lu Ye found that even without deliberately sensing it, he could clearly feel the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy around him with only a slight concentration of attention.

This was undoubtedly tremendous progress.

Did this mean he could absorb and exhale Spiritual Energy to cultivate? The thought stirred Lu Ye's excitement. If that were truly possible, his future cultivation would surely become much smoother.

He immediately gave it a try.

Half an hour later, Lu Ye's face had darkened as he stopped this cultivation attempt.

Things were the same as before. For some unknown reason, Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy was extremely difficult to guide into his body. Judging by this cultivation speed, it would be impossible to fill his Tenth Aperture without at least a year and a half.

It seemed there was indeed a reason why his talent test had yielded the result of One Leaf.

But by this point, Lu Ye had also gained a faint understanding. When cultivators absorbed and exhaled Spiritual Energy to cultivate, it did not mean using their mouths to breathe it in and out. Rather, they did so with their bodies. In that state of cultivation, the billions of pores across a cultivator's entire body carried out a wondrous kind of breathing, drawing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy into the body and transforming it into the cultivator's Spiritual Power!

Yet he truly could not use this method of cultivation.

Rising to his feet, Lu Ye felt it was time to head out and take a look.

More than a month ago, the Sect Master had sent him into this Spirit Stream Battlefield. His luck had been good; he had ended up in this forest, and during all this time, he had not encountered any overly powerful enemies. Even Yiyi and Big Tiger, who had come looking for trouble, had been fleeced ruthlessly by him.

But no one could stay lucky forever.

If he kept hiding here, he would eventually encounter cultivators too powerful for him to resist. By then, he would have no strength to fight back.

In just over a month, he had grown from a cultivator who had Opened Three Apertures into his current Spirit Stream First Layer, and had opened ten apertures in total. His progress had been immense.

There was no denying that his cultivation was still very low, but with the Spirit Talismans the Sect Master had given him, he at least possessed some ability to protect himself.

As for where to go... he needed to find that Big Tiger and the young girl. He had heard some interesting information from the girl before.

Two hurried days later, Lu Ye found the snow-white Big Tiger lying asleep in a cave. But the moment he entered, a translucent shadow floated out from the tiger's body and watched him warily. "What are you here for?"

It was the Accomplice Spirit who called herself Yiyi. When she had left that day, she had looked extremely weak. Nearly ten days had passed, yet her body remained translucent, unable to solidify into a physical form. It seemed her previous injuries had indeed been severe.

The instant there was movement on her side, the sleeping Big Tiger awoke. It rose to its feet and let out a low growl at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye did not go farther in, lest he provoke the spirit and tiger. Besides, with the Heaven's Mystery Oath in place, he could not do anything to this pair anyway.

"Don't panic. I merely came to ask something," Lu Ye said.

"What do you want to ask?" Yiyi looked at him.

"Earlier, I heard you mention Green Cloud Market. Can you tell me about it in detail?"

"You want to go to Green Cloud Market?"

"Exactly!"

The path of absorbing and exhaling Spiritual Energy was closed to Lu Ye, while Refining Essence into Qi was not a long-term solution either. The beasts nearby had practically all been slaughtered by Lu Ye. Cultivating by taking pills was the true source of joy. Green Cloud Market sounded like a place where cultivators gathered to trade, and Lu Ye intended to take a look. Perhaps he could get hold of some Spiritual Pills to eat.

At worst, he could broaden his horizons. Ever since entering the Cultivation World, he had been working behind closed doors. That was no good thing.

"So that's how it is..." Yiyi tilted her head in thought, then stuck out her tongue at him. "I'm not telling you. If you want to know, go find out yourself!"

After suffering such enormous humiliation at Lu Ye's hands before, how could Yiyi possibly cooperate with him obediently? With the Heaven's Mystery Oath binding them now, so long as she and Big Tiger did not take the initiative to provoke or harm Lu Ye, Lu Ye could not do anything to her. What was there to fear?

Lu Ye stared at her quietly for a moment, then turned and left.

"Huh?" This caught Yiyi completely off guard. She had not expected Lu Ye to leave so decisively. After a brief hesitation, her figure swayed as she floated to his side. "But if you beg me, perhaps I'll be in a good mood and tell you."

Lu Ye glanced at her, sensing the nastiness of her character.

"Hurry and beg me. If you don't, I won't tell you. Or else..." Yiyi floated back and forth before him with a bright smile, as happy as a little butterfly. "Just say you were wrong, and I'll forgive you!"

Lu Ye stopped walking, pulled the long sword from the Storage Bag at his waist, and slowly drew it from its sheath.

"What are you doing?" Yiyi's face drained of color in fright. She instantly cowered to one side, hiding behind Big Tiger, who had followed her out. Big Tiger lowered its body as well, poised as though about to roar.

"I'm telling you, the Heaven's Mystery Oath restrains you, so you can't act recklessly! Otherwise, you'll surely die without even a place to bury your bones!" Yiyi poked her little head out from behind Big Tiger and issued a solemn warning.

Lu Ye ignored her. He merely pointed his sword at the empty air ahead. As Spiritual Power flowed into it, ripples of light flickered across the blade. He murmured softly, "I've decided!"

"Decided what?" Yiyi was utterly bewildered.

"From today onward, I'll kill ten beasts every day, until there are no more beasts left in this area!" Lu Ye declared with ringing conviction. Then he rubbed his stomach. "I'm hungry!"

Clang! The long sword slid back into its sheath, and Lu Ye strode away.

Yiyi froze for a moment before her expression turned bitter. Big Tiger turned to look at her and rolled its eyes with startling human-like exasperation.

"Senior Brother, please wait!" Yiyi shouted as she chased after Lu Ye.

One incense stick later, beneath a large tree, Lu Ye looked at the doodle-like diagram on the ground while Yiyi pointed out the directions before him. "This is Green Cloud Mountain. The market at its foot is Green Cloud Market. We are here. Go from here and head east. After twenty li, you'll pass a small river. Another ten li farther, there'll be a Chaotic Stone Forest. Travel another twenty or thirty li, and you'll reach Green Cloud Market."

Lu Ye's brows furrowed deeply as he said impatiently, "Just point me in the direction I should go. Don't talk about east, south, west, or north."

"This way!" Yiyi decisively pointed in one direction.