Ambushed!
Despite the dizziness overwhelming his mind, Lu Ye quickly pieced together the reality of the situation. He couldn't help but feel tense; as a junior cultivator with only his 3rd orifice opened, he was hardly a match for this kind of scene.
From a hill below, a yellow light shot up into the sky, charging towards the sect master and Lu Ye's position. The light, pillar-like and incredibly fast, arrived in an instant.
The sect master's hair and beard stood on end, his robes snapping in the wind. He rapidly drew a circle in front of himself, his fingertip brimming with spirit force.
A visible spirit force barrier quickly materialized, spherical in shape, shielding the sect master and Lu Ye behind it. Within the barrier, numerous intricate runes wriggled like tadpoles.
With a boom,
the yellow light struck the barrier, which held firm, but the light surged like a fountain, relentlessly bombarding them without pause.
The sect master's eyes bulged with fury, spirit force surged in his palm, sustaining the spirit force barrier in a deadlock with the yellow light.
Lu Ye had never seen such a wondrous scene of magical combat; for a moment, he was completely transfixed.
In the tense moment between the yellow light and the spirit force barrier, another sound came from the ground on another side. Lu Ye turned his head to see a towering figure, like an iron tower, soaring up towards them. Beneath that figure, a small hill crumbled, evidently crushed by the individual's leap.
The figure was shrouded in a blood-red glow, giving off the impression that all his blood Qi was evaporating, radiating extreme ferocity.
At that moment, the sect master was casting a spell, engaged in a struggle with the yellow light. The burly cultivator clearly aimed to take advantage of the situation and lunged forward; his speed was incredibly fast, closing in on the sect master within thirty yards in an instant.
The spell in the sect master's hand shifted, and the spirit force barrier that was battling the yellow light immediately changed its angle slightly.
The impact of the yellow light on the spirit force barrier, instead of direct confrontation, was redirected by the mirror-smooth barrier, veering towards the approaching burly figure.
The burly figure obviously hadn't anticipated this turn of events. By the time he saw the yellow light hurtling toward him, it was too late to dodge. With an enraged roar, he raised his arms in front of himself to block.
The next moment, the burly figure was engulfed by the yellow light, his form staggering, his flesh emitting a charred smell.
Seeing this, Lu Ye nearly let out a cheer. Although his eyes couldn't make out the dangers in these fleeting moments of conflict, the sect master's move carried a sense of effortlessly shifting the course of battle, a display of subtle brilliance unparalleled.
However, he was swiftly enveloped by an immense dread, instantly turning cold, as if even the blood in his veins had frozen.
Before he could fathom what had happened, the sect master grunted, and Lu Ye saw a flash of blood before his eyes, the smell of blood rushing into his nostrils.
After reeling for a moment, he snapped back to reality and looked down, his face filled with shock.
It was because the sect master had acquired a foot-long wound on his waist and abdomen, where his flesh was rolled back. Around the edges of the wound, green substances wriggled like maggots.
He had no idea when the sect master had been injured, nor who had inflicted it.
At that moment, the sect master mobilized his spirit force, dragging him along as they swiftly fled in one direction, their speed extreme.
The wild wind howled past their ears, and with the sect master's spirit force as a shield, Lu Ye was safe. Only then did he get a clear view of how many had launched the attack.
One was the burly figure he had seen before, and another was a gaunt man, presumably the one who had cast the yellow light. Amidst the chase and assault, they continued casting spells to cause interference, but fortunately, the sect master resolved them one by one.
No, there was a third person!
Behind the sect master, a figure that was intermittently visible pursued them closely, enigmatic as a spectral apparition, indistinct to the eyes. Yet, from the shapely silhouette, it was likely a woman who, each time she materialized, drew nearer to the sect master.
If things continued this way, escape was impossible. The lean man's magic and spells greatly interfered with the sect master's speed.
And on top of that, the sect master was injured.
By now, Lu Ye understood that it was the elusive woman who had injured the sect master. The three assailants had clearly divided their tasks. The lean man employing magic and spells to distract the sect master, the burly man to draw his attention, and the real deadly blow was delivered by the woman hidden in the shadows.
However, it seemed they had underestimated the sect master's strength. Their meticulously arranged ambush had been dodged by the sect master, who even managed to protect Lu Ye's safety with his remaining strength.
The current situation was clearly unfavorable for the sect master. If he were alone, even if he couldn't defeat the three pursuers, he would still be able to escape. This was the Haotian Alliance's territory, and he only needed to hold on for a moment before reinforcements would arrive. He had already sent out a distress signal when he was ambushed.
But he had to look after Lu Ye, and could not use his full strength, which meant in a few dozen breaths, he would be overwhelmed by the three attackers. Once a fierce battle ensued, Lu Ye's death was certain. The energy fluctuations alone from the cultivators' combat were more than Lu Ye could withstand, and his safety thus far was solely due to the sect master's protection.
At this point, there was only one thing to do: to take a gamble!
Having made up his mind, the sect master spoke, "Lu Ye, have you ever heard of the Spirit Stream battlefield?"
Lu Ye quickly replied, "I haven't!"
He didn't understand why the sect master would suddenly ask about this during their escape, but he genuinely hadn't heard of the Spirit Stream battlefield. He knew too little about this world.
"Whether you've heard of it or not, there's no help for it now," the sect master sighed. As he fled, he produced a jade slip and pressed it against his forehead.
Then, he took out a big seal. This seal was squarely shaped, completely white, and made of an unknown material. It was covered in flowing spirit light, clearly not a mundane object. In a low chant, he said, "Thang Yifeng, the tenth-generation sect master of the Righteous Blood Sect, respectfully requests Heaven's Augury to accept the Bingzhou native Lu Ye as an official disciple of the Righteous Blood Sect. Let Heaven's Augury bear witness!"
As he said this, the sect master sprayed a mist of blood onto the big seal which made the already luminescent seal shine even more brightly.
In the midst of a profound silence, something seemed to descend from the heavens, landing on the big seal.
"Extend your hand!" the sect master commanded.
Lu Ye hurriedly stretched out his hand, and the sect master lifted the big seal and stamped it onto the back of his hand.
With a thunderous sound, Lu Ye felt as if he had been fiercely hammered, and he immediately became dizzy.
"Survive, I will have someone find you!" the sect master's voice rang in his ear, and at the same time, Lu Ye felt something being placed in his arms by the sect master.
The three pursuers, upon witnessing this scene, became even more eager in their chase, the lean man ceaselessly summoning streams of yellow light of varying sizes from his hands, forcing the sect master to dodge and weave.
Taking advantage of this distraction, the ghostly figure of the woman closed in rapidly on the sect master, looking about to strike.
Just then, the sect master's figure suddenly plummeted towards the ground below, crashing into a wilderness area.
This field was barren, overrun with weeds. However, the sect master seemed very familiar with this place; in the tall grass that reached the height of a person, he accurately located a dilapidated hall. With a sweep of his sleeve, the weeds flew sideways, revealing the true façade of the hall.
Seeing that hall, the lean man's complexion darkened. "Stop him quickly!"
The three of them had pursued in silence all this time, intent on bringing the sect master down. However, upon seeing the hall, they were thrown into a panic.