Chapter 26: Formal Disciples

He was ambushed!

Though Lu Ye's head was spinning, he quickly understood what was happening and grew tense. As merely a Third-Stage cultivator, he was ill-equipped to handle such a situation.

From a hill below, a column of yellow light shot skyward, heading straight for the Sect Master and Lu Ye. The light was incredibly fast, reaching them in an instant.

The Sect Master's hair and beard bristled, and his robes flapped wildly. With one hand, he swiftly drew a circle in front of him, spiritual power surging from his fingertips. An invisible spiritual energy barrier immediately materialized. Circular in shape, it shielded the Sect Master and Lu Ye, with countless intricate runes, like tadpoles, swimming within it.

With a loud boom, the yellow light struck the barrier, which held firm, but the light erupted like a spring, continuously gushing and hammering against it.

The Sect Master's eyes widened in fury, spiritual energy surging from his palms as he maintained the barrier, locked in a stalemate with the yellow light.

Lu Ye had never witnessed such a miraculous combat scene and was momentarily spellbound.

As the yellow light and spiritual barrier fiercely contended, another thud echoed from the ground on the other side. Lu Ye turned his head to see a towering, muscular figure shoot skyward, hurtling towards them. Below the figure, rocks on a small hill lay shattered, clearly trampled by the person.

The attacking figure was enveloped in a blood-red aura, as if their very essence was evaporating, making them appear extremely ferocious.

While the Sect Master was casting spells and wrestling with the yellow light, the burly cultivator clearly intended to seize this opportunity to charge forward. Moving at incredible speed, he covered thirty zhang in an instant, lunging toward the Sect Master.

The Sect Master changed his hand seals, and the spiritual energy barrier, which was struggling with the yellow light, immediately shifted direction slightly.

The yellow light struck the spiritual barrier, but the smooth, mirror-like surface deflected its trajectory, redirecting it towards the attacking burly figure.

The burly figure clearly hadn't anticipated this. By the time he saw the yellow light hurtling towards him, it was too late to dodge. He could only roar and raise his arms to block in front of him.

The next moment, the burly figure was engulfed by the yellow light, sending him stumbling backward as the smell of burning flesh wafted from him.

Witnessing this, Lu Ye nearly cheered. Although his limited vision couldn't fully grasp the danger of this brief struggle, the Sect Master's move had a touch of 'Heaven and Earth Reversal,' truly effortless and incomparably subtle.

However, he was immediately enveloped by a profound terror, turning ice-cold in an instant, as if his very blood had frozen.

Before he could even comprehend what had happened, the Sect Master grunted. A faint flash of blood appeared before Lu Ye's eyes, and the scent of gore filled his nostrils.

Feeling dizzy, he regained his senses and looked down, his expression one of shock.

The Sect Master's waist and abdomen now bore a foot-long wound. Flesh curled back from the gash, and along its edges, wisps of green material pulsed like maggots, clinging to the bone.

He had no idea when or by whom the Sect Master had been wounded.

At that moment, the Sect Master surged with spiritual power, swiftly fleeing in one direction, moving at an incredible speed.

The wind howled past his ears. Protected by the Sect Master's spiritual energy, Lu Ye was safe. It was only then that he clearly saw how many people were attacking the Sect Master.

One was the burly figure he had seen before. Another was a slender man, likely the ambusher who had released the yellow light. During the pursuit and attack, he continuously cast spells to interfere, but the Sect Master neutralized each one.

No, there was a third person!

Behind the Sect Master, a faint, phantom-like figure relentlessly pursued them through the air, difficult to discern clearly. However, from its slender form, it appeared to be a woman. Each time she became visible, she was closer to the Sect Master.

At this rate, they wouldn't escape. The slender man's spells significantly hampered the Sect Master's speed.

Furthermore, the Sect Master was wounded.

By now, Lu Ye fully understood: the Sect Master had been wounded by the elusive woman. The three assailants had a clear division of labor: the slender man, with his spells, distracted the Sect Master, the burly man drew his attention, and the true killing blow came from the woman hidden in the shadows.

It seemed, however, that they had underestimated the Sect Master's strength. This meticulously planned assassination attempt had been evaded by the Sect Master, who even had enough residual power to protect Lu Ye.

The situation was clearly unfavorable for the Sect Master. If he were alone, even if he couldn't defeat the three, he could escape. This was Hao Tian Alliance territory; he only needed to hold on for a short while, and reinforcements would arrive. He had already sent out a signal for help when he was ambushed.

But he still had to protect Lu Ye, which prevented him from fighting at full strength. At this rate, he would be cornered by the three within dozens of breaths. When the full battle ensued, Lu Ye would surely die. For cultivators of their caliber, even the residual energy from their combat was more than Lu Ye could withstand; his safety relied entirely on the Sect Master's protection.

At this point, they had 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, "No, I haven't!" He didn't know 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.

"If you haven't, there's no helping it," the Sect Master sighed. As he fled, he took out a jade slip and pressed it to his forehead.

Immediately after, he produced a large, square, pure white seal. Its material was unknown, but spiritual light flowed across its surface, clearly marking it as no ordinary item. He chanted in a low voice: "I, Tang Yifeng, Tenth Generation Sect Master of the Bi Xue Sect, respectfully invoke Heavenly Secrets. I now accept Lu Ye from Bingzhou as a formal disciple of the Bi Xue Sect. Let Heavenly Secrets bear witness!"

As he spoke, the Sect Master spat a mist of blood onto the seal. The already glowing seal became even more resplendent.

From the ethereal void, something seemed to descend from the heavens, settling upon the seal.

"Extend your hand!" the Sect Master commanded in a low voice.

Lu Ye quickly extended a hand, and the Sect Master raised the great seal, pressing it onto his hand's back.

With a resounding thud, Lu Ye felt as if he had been struck by a mighty hammer, instantly dazed.

"Survive. I will have someone find you!" the Sect Master's voice echoed in his ear. At the same time, Lu Ye felt the Sect Master thrust something into his arms.

Witnessing this, the three pursuers intensified their chase. The slender man continuously conjured yellow light pillars of various sizes, forcing the Sect Master to dodge and weave.

Using this distraction, the phantom-like woman rapidly closed the distance to the Sect Master, poised to strike.

Just then, the Sect Master's body suddenly plunged downwards, crashing into a stretch of wilderness.

The wilderness was desolate and overgrown with weeds. Yet, the Sect Master seemed intimately familiar with the place. Amidst the waist-high weeds, he precisely located a dilapidated hall. With a sweep of his sleeve, weeds flew aside, revealing the hall's true form.

Seeing the hall, the slender man's face darkened: "Stop him quickly!"

The three had been silently pursuing, intent on killing the Sect Master, but upon seeing the hall, they panicked.