Chapter 555: Birth of an Exotic Treasure?
<
On the outskirts of the clearing, Lu Ye was lurking in hiding, silently observing them.
He still had no idea what these people were gathered here for, and since he didn’t know where they came from, he couldn’t simply reveal himself.
However, one after another, more cultivators came in from all directions, entering the clearing.
Seeing this, Lu Ye thought for a moment before lifting the Concealment Glyph and walking forward.
Several eyes swept to him, but they soon looked away.
Lu Ye wore a mask that concealed his appearance, and he had put Amber into the Spirit Beast Bag ahead of time. So, even if some of them felt that he was hiding his face but showing his tail, they wouldn’t think much of it.
Not every cultivator chose to act like this, but there were plenty of people who wore masks on the battlefield.
He casually found a corner to sit down on, seemingly emulating what they were doing while silently paying attention to the movements around him.
Soon enough, he managed to glean some information from the cultivators’ conversations, but they spoke too vaguely, so he could only deduce that some sort of Exotic Treasure existed in the vicinity. Every night, a strange anomaly would appear, and these people were gathered here because they wanted to seize the treasure.Unfortunately, the place where the Exotic Treasure was located was extremely dangerous. Many powerful Spirit Beasts convened in that area, so even if these cultivators had been working hard for many days, none had been able to find out just what that Exotic Treasure was.
Lu Ye had heard stories about Exotic Treasures coming into being before, and it could be considered a chance encounter, but Exotic Treasure that could give rise to visions were rare. Under normal circumstances, they had to be extremely precious objects, so it was no wonder so many cultivators had been attracted to this place.
This was only what Lu Ye could see. There could be even more cultivators gathered around the area.
After finding out the purpose of the people gathered here, Lu Ye lost interest.
He had come to look for Ju Jia after all. Even though Exotic Treasures were good things, for so many cultivators to have failed to get their hands on it after so many days, even Lu Ye did not believe that he would have much hope of obtaining it.
With such thoughts, Lu Ye moved to leave.
However, at that moment, a shout arose. “It’s starting!”
As soon as he said that, the cultivators here got up and swept into the air, all of them looking in a certain direction.
Lu Ye also turned to look in the direction they were focused on, where he saw moon essence pouring down from the sky like a pillar atop a Spirit Peak that was barely visible from his field of view. The entire Spirit Peak was covered in a majestic and hazy moonlight that made it give off a divine aura.
“It’s a vision of the Heavens. Sure enough, an Exotic Treasure must have appeared!” Someone exclaimed, a look of anticipation and joy in his eyes.
Exotic Treasures that could give rise to visible phenomena were no trivial things. If any Cloud River Realm cultivator could get their hands on them, then even if they didn’t choose to use it themselves, they could trade them for a large amount of resources with other cultivators.
“The Exotic Treasure must have some sort of powerful attraction for the Spirit Beasts. A large number of them gather in that direction every night where the moonlight can be seen, where they slaughter each other, and it seems like it’s the same tonight.”
“It’s a pity that no one has been able to see just what that Exotic Treasure is so far. On the contrary, a lot of people have lost their lives over there. When we do decide to act later, we’ll have to work together. At the very least, we should find out just what sort of Exotic Treasure it is.”
“What this fellow cultivator said is very true.”
Sentence by sentence, their intentions entered Lu Ye’s ears. Staring fixedly in the direction of that phenomenon, Lu Ye frowned.
This scene… Why did it seem so familiar to him?
He couldn’t help but recall the time when Amber cultivated under the moon with Ju Jia during their time in the Heavenly Derivative Sect. Comparatively speaking, what he was seeing now was slightly more magnificent than what he saw that day.
Suddenly, Lu Ye had a bad feeling in his heart…
With that thought, he quickly sent a message to Ju Jia.
It wasn’t long before he received a response, and after some thought, Lu Ye gave him some instructions.
In the next moment, the moon essence poured down onto the peak and the various phenomenons disappeared without a trace.
Lu Ye’s eyelid twitched. He understood at once that it was just as he suspected. It wasn’t the sign of some Exotic Treasure being born in the world, it was just Ju Jia cultivating!
For a Cloud River Realm cultivator to have created such a fuss during cultivation, and even attracting so many cultivators to investigate, there was truly nobody who could achieve this but him.
Just as Lu Ye was being sardonic, the disappearance of the phenomenon caused the faces of many cultivators to change.
“Did someone get their hands on it?”
If it wasn’t so, then there was no way that the vision could have disappeared for no reason.
At those words, many cultivators became anxious and all rushed towards the Spirit Peak at once.
At the same time, growls could be heard coming from the direction of the Spirit Peak, accompanied by turbulent Spiritual Power fluctuations. Under the moonlight, many flying Spirit Beasts danced in the air while colorful lights bloomed.
Before the cultivators could even get close, the Spirit Beasts over there had already begun fighting due to the disappearance of the phenomenon.
For many cultivators, such a scene was not surprising, for the Spirit Beasts over there would fight chaotically on every moonlit night. Many powerful Spirit Beasts had already died near the Spirit Peak.
Then, wolf howls could be heard, gradually drowning out the noise of the other beasts.
Lu Ye hovered in mid-air, staring fixedly in the direction of the Spirit Peak. There were no longer any cultivators that could be seen around him, which was quite a headache.
The phenomenon had come about from Ju Jia’s cultivation, and not only did it attract the attention of many cultivators, it also caused the many Spirit Beasts gathered there to fight incessantly. It wasn’t hard to imagine just how chaotic it was over there.
Naturally, Ju Jia wasn’t in a good situation.
After pondering for a while, Lu Ye quickly flew off into that direction.
Before he could get close, however, a huge shadow descended from the sky, along with it, a thunderbolt resembling a swimming dragon struck down.
It was a Storming Thunderhawk that attacked him, and judging by the power of its attack, it was a Spirit Beast equivalent to the Eighth Order Cloud River Realm.
Lu Ye would not dare to take on such a ferocious blow and immediately lowered his Spirit Boat while swerving side by side.
However, the thunder chased after him as if it were a living creature.
Once he reached the ground, he unsheathed his Inviolable Saber and slashed at the incoming thunder.
The impact of that clash caused Lu Ye to fly backwards as the power of the thunder traveled through his body, causing him to feel numb for a while.
After barely stabilizing his feet, the Thunderhawk struck again. Lu Ye raised his hand and launched out several blade lights to interrupt the Thunderhawk while jumping in the other direction.
A fishy stench lingered around his nose, and at the same time, a large cloud of smoke rose from the Tree of Glyphs.
A strong gust of wind struck from behind. Lu Ye quickly turned to his side to avoid it, where a long but robust figure entered his vision and dashed past him.
It was a Venomous Python that had been lying in ambush.
Its intention was to launch a sneak attack on Lu Ye, but he managed to evade it. So, seizing the opportunity, it launched itself towards the Thunderhawk instead.
In an instant, two massive Spirit Beasts were engaged in combat. The hawk’s cries and the python’s hisses filled the air. After a moment, the Thunderhawk soared high into the sky, its sharp claws piercing the flesh of the Venomous Python while the snake coiled around its body…
Lu Ye was left laying there, watching the scene with cold sweat running down his back.
The scene was incredibly messy. Spirit Beasts of various species clashed in frenzied battles, joined by other cultivators as well. Everything within a radius of five hundred kilometers was overrun by chaos.
After walking just five kilometers, Lu Ye had already encountered several life-threatening situations. He even witnessed a cultivator whom he suspected to be in the Seventh Order Cloud River Realm being brutally crushed by the palm of a Spirit Beast that resembled an upright bear.
The scene was gruesome!
He couldn’t venture any deeper as this place was too perilous. Even Ninth Order Cloud River Realm cultivators may not have been able to guarantee their safety here.
It was no wonder why those cultivators mentioned that it had been many days since the appearance of the Exotic Treasure, and no one had been able to figure out what it was.
If the situation was this brutal when he was still so far from the Spirit Peak that Ju Jia cultivated on, one could only imagine what it would be like closer to the peak.
Trying to ascertain the nature of the emerging Exotic Treasure amidst this chaos was simply as difficult as reaching the Heavens.
Moreover, the cultivators’ plans were destined to fail as there was no actual Exotic Treasure. There was only Ju Jia!
Lu Ye was curious about how Ju Jia could have survived in this chaotic scene. Didn’t the Spirit Beasts attack him?
Even if he had entered the Cloud River Battlefield a few months before Lu Ye, and even if he had some surplus strength left in his Mutant Core, Ju Jia’s cultivation shouldn’t be too high.
Upon further reflection, the Spirit Beasts might not actually attack Ju Jia. His cultivation brought about phenomena that benefitted the Spirit Beasts, which explained why so many were gathered here.
Pressing his hand on his Battlefield Imprint, Lu Ye sent a message to Ju Jia before quietly retreating towards the periphery.
If Ju Jia had managed to stay safe for nearly two months, he would undoubtedly remain unharmed tonight as well. After dawn, Lu Ye could just ask him to come and meet with him instead.
He was just nearby, so Ju Jia shouldn’t get lost again.
Time passed, and the battle of the Spirit Beasts continued. Most of the cultivators had withdrawn since the vision had ceased. This likely indicated that someone had seized the unknown treasure. In that case, there was no longer a reason for them to take any risks.
However, there were still bold cultivators with exceptional courage who sought opportunities amidst the chaos.
Normally, it was not easy to kill high-level Spirit Beasts, but in this situation, there were chances to make some gains without much effort.
For example, Lu Ye was staring ahead at this moment, witnessing the wonders of fate.
Just a short distance in front of him, a massive figure struggled desperately. It was none other than the Storming Thunderhawk that had attacked him before.
The Thunderhawk was clearly in bad shape. Due to the Venomous Python coiling around it, the ground was splattered with beast blood, but the python had gone silent, most likely dead. However, the Storming Thunderhawk was not faring much better. Lu Ye could sense its life force rapidly fading, and a faint green aura had enveloped its body.
This was clearly a sign of toxicity.
Lu Ye never expected that retreating from this direction would lead him to encounter these two Spirit Beasts again.
After observing for a moment to confirm that the Storming Thunderhawk was truly on its last legs, Lu Ye drew his saber and stepped forward.
His killing intent alerted the struggling eagle. Despite facing imminent death, its sharp gaze exuded a regal aura.
Drawing the Inviolable from its sheath, Lu Ye advanced with blade in hand, easily dodging the few thunder attacks the size of chopsticks that were launched by the Thunderhawk. Leaping high into the air, he swung his saber downwards.
A piercing cry of agony rang out, and the sharp blade cleaved through the eagle’s neck, causing a fountain of fresh blood to spew into the sky.
<