What made Lu Ye feel helpless was that he had no Earth’s Core Fire left!
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Annoyed at himself, he wished he had spent all his merit points at Heaven’s Augury Mercantile Union in the past few days.
Checking his own merits, he had over 2,500, which would indeed be enough to purchase about a dozen portions of Earth’s Core Fire, but certainly it would not suffice; even if he sold all the spoils of war he had gathered recently to Heaven’s Augury treasure vault, he would not earn many more merits.
Where could he find Earth’s Core Fire? Lu Ye was quite worried.
At the same time, within the Core Circle, at a 2nd grade sect of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge base.
Seated side by side on a cliff-side boulder, two 9th Heaven cultivators, a man and a woman. The man bore a majestic aura and looked extraordinary, while the woman was beautiful with a dainty figure, snuggling into the man’s embrace with a look of intimacy.
The two were the Governor and Deputy Governor of this base.
Not to mention the man, the woman was Bai Lan, ranked forty-eight on the Spirit Stream Ranking, donned in a robe with large sleeves; it was clear she was a magic cultivator because only those who didn’t need to engage in close-quarters combat would wear such loose clothing. In contrast, physique cultivators, combat cultivators, or Netherworld cultivators usually opted for tight-fitting garments that made fighting easier.
However, her impressive assets were still prominent even under the loose clothing.
Bai Lan held the man’s hand and said softly, "Senior Brother, there’s no need to worry. I’ve chosen a terrain that suits magic cultivators. Even if that Lu Yiye is fierce, he can’t just kill me with one strike. If I really can’t win, I’ll just concede."
It has to be said, many strong cultivators on the Spirit Stream Ranking who were killed by Lu Ye thought the same when they accepted his challenge...
9th Heaven against 8th Heaven, if they couldn’t win, didn’t they still have the chance to surrender?
Turns out, they really didn’t.
"Are you sure it is this Lu Yiye who challenged you?" The man’s expression was fraught with worry.
Bai Lan pursed her lips and smiled, "He’s been challenging the ranking these past few days, every cultivator ranked above him on the Spirit Stream Ranking has been challenged by him; now that he’s ranked fiftieth, and I’m forty-eight, who else could it be if not him?"
"Such a tyrant… Sister, why don’t you just refuse..."
"If I refuse, the shame will fall on our sect. How would our younger brothers and sisters hold their heads high in the Core Circle afterward?"
As a strong cultivator on the Spirit Stream Ranking lacking even the courage to fight, it would only become a joke if word got out. Furthermore, Lu Ye’s challenge mission attracted significant attention from many big sects in the Divine Sea Realm at Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. Those strong Divine Sea Realm cultivators saw it as an opportunity.
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Now that Lu Ye’s whereabouts were unknown on the Spirit Stream battlefield, if someone could kill him during his ranking challenge, it would save them the effort of searching elsewhere.
Those ranked after fifty can’t be relied upon, so the hopes rest on those ranked in the top fifty.
If the top fifty couldn’t deal with it, then hopes should be pinned on the top ten!
It’s improbable to let him kill his way to the first rank on the Spirit Stream Ranking, right?
There must be someone who can defeat him, someone who can kill him!
"But…"
The man wanted to say more, but Bai Lan already raised her hand to his lips and said softly, "It’s fine, really, you don’t need to worry; our master gave me a top-grade spirit artifact a few days ago. Its defense is extremely strong, and although I can’t unleash its full power with my cultivation, I won’t be in danger."
The man looked down at her earlobe, noticing a beautiful earring that resembled a tear drop, realizing, "So that’s the spirit artifact Second Elder bestowed upon you."
Bai Lan’s lips curled into a teasing smile, "What else did you think? Who else did you think gave it to me?"
The man sheepishly smiled.
Bai Lan reached out to tickle him, "Senior Brother, how could you think so little of me!"
The man hurriedly begged for mercy.
As four hours flew by, with the man’s anxious gaze upon her, Bai Lan’s figure vanished from sight.
In a small space covering about ten square miles, filled with the fragrance of flowers and surprisingly beautiful environment.
As usual, Yiyi almost immediately went underground while Lu Ye, as his vision restored, surveyed the surroundings. Seeing no trace of the enemy, he guessed from the name on the Spirit Stream Ranking that his opponent for this time was likely a woman.
The space wasn’t small, ruling out the possibility that the opponent was a physique or combat cultivator. As for healing cultivators... that was even less likely.
After the fiftieth rank on the Spirit Stream Ranking, there might be a few healing cultivators who also practiced other styles, but among the top fifty, not a single healing cultivator could be found.
Cultivators have limited energy, and practicing two styles simultaneously means neither can be very powerful.
Was it a magic cultivator or a Netherworld cultivator?
Over the past couple of days, Lu Ye had fought twenty to thirty battles, facing cultivators from all styles except for healing cultivators, and even encountered some exotic mino...
Yiyi was put in charge of tracking down the enemy, while Lu Ye stood still, quietly waiting and tossing a few elixir pills into his mouth, chewing with his cheeks puffing in and out.
Since he began his cultivation journey, he had eaten so many elixir pills that he felt like vomiting. Lu Ye really wanted to suggest to those Pill Masters to create some different flavors, like apple, orange, or even banana…
Eating dozens of elixir pills of the same flavor every day was really unbearable.
Yiyi sent a message; she had found the female cultivator’s whereabouts. The opponent was clearly very cautious, continually changing positions to avoid being ambushed by Lu Ye.
"Lu Ye, Lu Ye, so big," Yiyi’s transmission mixed in some strange information.
"Hmm?"
"Bigger than Sister Hua Ci."
"Age?"
"No, it’s that thing you like."
"What nonsense are you talking about, child."
"Just don’t go easy on her when you see her."
"…"
In the confined space, Bai Lan didn’t dare to control her weapon to fly, as she had long heard that Lu Ye’s speed in weapon control was unparalleled. Even the sword cultivators’ speed wasn’t as fast as Lu Ye’s, so she, a magic cultivator, didn’t dare to show off in front of Lu Ye.
Quickly moving, she searched all around for Lu Ye. As a magic cultivator, the only chance she had to beat Lu Ye was to keep him away from her. If she could maintain enough distance, then Lu Yiye, however strong, would be blasted into bits by her magic and spells.
Suddenly, she came to a stop. Ahead in the direction she was moving, another figure appeared, standing expressionlessly, as if he had been waiting for her for a long time.
Lu Yiye!
Bai Lan’s reaction was incredibly quick. The moment she saw Lu Ye, she raised her hand and cast a spell. Spiritual power surged, creating ripples and mist that formed into three fierce beasts made purely from spiritual power, each lunging toward Lu Ye from different directions.
She pointed again, and a huge spirit force disc appeared overhead, its runes flowing. As the runes moved, countless water arrows rained down toward Lu Ye from the disc.
Lu Ye raised an eyebrow.
He thought that the ranking among the top fifty was indeed different from before; the speed and strength of her casting, as well as the distance, were like nothing he had seen before.
Among the Five Elements Techniques, water-type spells were generally weaker, but the water-type spells cast by Bai Lan didn’t have this problem; each spell’s power was not inferior to those of other branches.
The supplies box buzzed, and nine spiritual artifacts shot into the sky, dividing into three groups to meet the three fierce beasts, while he also drew the Boulder Mountain Saber from his waist. Spiritual power surged around his body, precisely splitting each incoming water arrow.
The collision between fire-type spiritual power and water-type spiritual power created a large mist in the space between them.
Bai Lan stared fixedly at Lu Ye, her expression impassive, but her heart was shocked.
Lu Yiye’s mental power was incredibly strong, controlling the nine spiritual artifacts as if they were extensions of his limbs, which was one thing, but he could also simultaneously split her water arrows without any misses.
This only meant one thing, that he was far more than capable of handling her attacks, and he didn’t even bother to dodge.
At that moment, Bai Lan felt a pang of envy.
Every magic cultivator hoped their mental power was as strong as possible, because the stronger the mental power, the better the control over spiritual power, and the greater the power of their spells...
They would even undertake special cultivation practices to enhance their mental power.
Now, to see such a strong cultivator display a mental strength far exceeding that of a magic cultivator, Bai Lan couldn’t help but feel envious.
The disc in the sky slowly disappeared, and water arrows no longer fell. Lu Ye sheathed his saber, and the next moment, his brow furrowed, and the nine flying artifacts returned to the supplies box in a flash of light.
With a quick sense check, he found that his connection with the nine spiritual artifacts seemed a lot weaker than before. Those three water-type spiritual power beasts were not just offensive moves but also had the effect of eroding spiritual artifacts.
Water nourishes without form! It seemed that this was a unique ability of Bai Lan.
With such a skill, others using spiritual artifacts against her would be at a disadvantage, because as the fight dragged on, the power of the spiritual artifacts would rapidly weaken.
Bai Lan was about to activate another spell when Lu Ye raised one hand: "Wait a moment."
Bai Lan looked at him warily, her body brimming with accumulated spiritual power: "What?"
In battle, Lu Ye rarely exchanged words with his opponents, but this time, for the sake of those dozen or so leaves of the Talent Tree that hadn’t ignited, he had to speak up.
"I want twenty portions of Earth’s Core Fire."
"Huh?" Bai Lan was utterly confused, clearly not understanding.
The challenge on the Spirit Stream Ranking was usually a matter of life and death or one party conceding defeat. Why was Lu Yiye suddenly asking her for some Earth’s Core Fire?
Is this guy crazy?
"They sell it in the Heaven’s Augury treasure vault, one portion is worth two hundred merits, I want twenty portions!"
Somehow, Bai Lan seriously did the math: "Isn’t that four thousand merit points?" After speaking, her face darkened. Why was she even calculating this?