Chapter 873, Niu Meng

Translator: Jon

Translation Checker: Silavin

 

Not willing to dwell on this disheartening topic any longer, Ying Wuji changed the topic by saying, “I’m Ying Wuji from Yama Temple. I’m currently a guerrilla second lieutenant of Lone Cloud City Pass. What’s your name?”

 

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Brother Ying. I’m… Niu Meng.”

 

Lu Ye couldn’t use Ye Six again. Although he had never used this alias in front of Ying Wuji before, it wasn’t exactly a secret. Those from Thousand Demon Ridge had been paying close attention to him, so many of them might be aware of this alias.

 

Moreover, if he used the name in front of Ying Wuji, he was at risk of exposing himself. Ying Wuji wasn’t a fool, so he would probably realise that the person before his eyes was Lu Ye.

 

As such, Lu Ye could only use another name.

 

The Sect Master of the Black Tortoise Sect in Myriad Beast Domain, Niu Meng, had left a lasting impression on him, which was why he decided to use the name without giving it much thought.

 

“I’m just an independent cultivator who isn’t attached to any Sect. I’m now a soldier at Eastern Mound Pass.”

 

Ying Wuji was slightly surprised. “Eastern Mound Pass is far away from here. Why have you come all the way here?”

 

According to the ten-point map, Eastern Mound Pass was roughly ten Passes away from there, which was a distance of about 10,000 kilometres. Usually, a member of the Zhou Watch wouldn’t move across so many Passes.

 

“The environment here is excellent. I’m only here to cultivate my power,” Lu Ye explained.

 

“I see.” Ying Wuji didn’t suspect anything. He could see that the Spiritual Power of this cultivator named Niu Meng was of Fire Attribute, so it wasn’t strange that the latter had travelled such a long distance to come to this place and cultivate his power.

 

When a cultivator needed such a hostile environment, he was usually cultivating a kind of Secret Technique. It had nothing to do with improving his cultivation.

 

“Why are you here, Brother Ying?”

 

Ying Wuji explained, “Oh, those from the Pass need some Flames of Earthen Spirits, so they’ve asked me to bring some people to come here and collect the Flames. Will we disturb your cultivation session?”

 

“All of you can do your own things as long as you don’t come near me.”

 

“Alright. I’m sorry for bothering you, then.” Ying Wuji cupped his fists and thought that this person named Niu Meng was easygoing.

 

Lu Ye nodded and fell silent. He activated the Tree of Glyphs again to let the roots go down into the lava to absorb the heat energy.

 

Seeing that, Ying Wuji flew out of the crater. A moment later, he returned with a group of people.

 

These people were all Cloud River Realm Masters whose powers varied. Upon their arrival, they activated their Spiritual Powers to protect themselves.

 

In the group, there were seven to eight female cultivators out of more than ten people. They were beautiful in their own ways.

 

Ying Wuji must’ve given them an order, so they stayed away from Lu Ye upon entering the crater. They were busy doing their work on the other side, and they wouldn’t bother him.

 

While activating the Tree of Glyphs’ power, Lu Ye observed them and discovered that they had summoned Spirit Artifacts that looked like bottle gourds. They dropped the bottle gourds into the lava and controlled them using their Spiritual Powers.

 

Moments later, they retrieved the bottle gourds and fished out some bright Flames before putting them into specially made containers.

 

It was Lu Ye’s first time seeing how Flames of Earthen Spirits were collected.

 

Finally, he found out where the Flames of Earthen Spirits in the Vault of Providence came from. He had speculated that some people specifically collected Flames of Earthen Spirits and sold them to the Vault of Providence. Now, it indeed seemed to be the case.

 

The process of collecting Flames of Earthen Spirits was boring, and the environment here was hostile. The cultivators were soaked in sweat, especially the female cultivators. Their damp clothes stuck close to their skin, making them look even more alluring.

 

Although these cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge never bothered Lu Ye, they kept whispering among themselves. Female cultivators had all sorts of topics to talk about. As so many of them gathered together, they could be heard chuckling.

 

As for Ying Wuji, he didn’t have to exhaust himself. His task was to keep these people safe, so he could just watch them from the sidelines to prevent anyone from harming them.

 

Suddenly, someone complained, “I wonder which wretched person bought all the Flames of Earthen Spirits in the Vault of Providence. Initially, there was a sufficient supply of Flames of Earthen Spirits in the Vault of Providence. But now, whenever the Flames are available, they will be snatched up in a short time. When our Pass needs Flames of Earthen Spirits, we have to come all the way here and collect them ourselves.”

 

Lu Ye arched his brow. It seemed that he was the wretched person that this cultivator mentioned. However, upon hearing the cultivator’s words, he finally realised something.

 

Initially, he thought that the lack of Flames of Earthen Spirits in the Vault of Providence was because he had bought too many of the items. Now, it seemed that it was only one of the reasons.

 

The biggest reason was that because he had purchased a lot of Flames of Earthen Spirits, those in need of the items felt a sense of urgency, so they bought many of those items as well, which formed a vicious cycle, causing the Flames of Earthen Spirits to be snatched up whenever they appeared in the Vault of Providence.

 

The other cultivators started complaining as well.

 

Ying Wuji turned to look at Lu Ye. Worried that the latter would be disturbed, he chided the other cultivators. “Focus on your job. The environment here is special. Perhaps there might be some Fire-Attribute Spirit Beasts hiding somewhere.”

 

A charming female cultivator covered her mouth and giggled. “With Sir Ying around, he’ll protect us from any foolish Spirit Beasts which dare to appear. Don’t you agree, Sisters?”

 

The female cultivators expressed their agreement. It seemed that they believed Ying Wuji could protect them from any harm.

 

The female cultivator who had spoken earlier said softly, “Sir, if we fall into danger, you mustn’t dump us.”

 

“All of you are spoiled brats in your respective Sects. I’ve told you many times that we’re at the frontlines, not your Sects. Be more serious!”

 

Although he was lecturing them, his tone wasn’t harsh. There was even a faint smile on his face. It was apparent that the female cultivators’ adulation was useful.

 

Ying Wuji couldn’t help but think that this was how a genius like him was supposed to be treated. In this group, he was the leader, and everyone had to obey his orders. His power was what gave them a sense of security. The women’s gazes were filled with admiration and love as they looked at him.

 

As he recalled his life in the Peerless Continent, he was full of bitterness. It was a period of time he didn’t want to think back to. Having gotten rid of Lu Ye, he was now a proud cultivator who could command respect.

 

Considering the horrible environment, even Cloud River Realm Masters couldn’t hold on for a long time. In Ying Wuji’s team, some cultivators couldn’t persevere any longer from time to time. They would leave the crater and get some rest before coming back to continue collecting Flames of Earthen Spirits. Whenever that happened, Ying Wuji would take over the job of the people who needed rest.

 

As such, these Cloud River Realm Masters found him amiable, unlike many arrogant Real Lake Realm Masters who would boss them around just because they were one Major Realm higher than them. They seemed to have forgotten that they used to be Cloud River Realm Masters too.

 

While the people from Thousand Demon Ridge collected the Flames, Lu Ye got another reward.

 

The dozens of leaves on the Tree of Glyphs turned from dim to bright before being set aflame. Without hesitation, Lu Ye immediately took a look at the Glyph. He sank his soul into his mind and looked intently at the burning leaves.

 

The pain in his soul made him falter. Ying Wuji caught sight of it and asked, “Brother Niu?”

 

Lu Ye raised his hand. “I’m fine. It’s just a slight problem.”

 

Ying Wuji said caringly, “Please be careful, Brother Niu.”

 

Lu Ye grunted and looked into the new information in his mind. Soon, he found out what the new Glyph was. In an instant, he was elated.

 

Compared with the rather useless Glyph he had obtained earlier, this Glyph named Returning Moon was undoubtedly more useful.

 

He had never seen the useless Glyph in any books before, but he had read about Returning Moon.

 

However, it was too difficult to construct it. It was even more complicated than the Void Glyph. Not only was it complicated, but it was also hard to build the Glyph.

 

Lu Ye had tried constructing it before, but his attempt was a failure. Initially, he thought that he could practise it when he had some time in the future to familiarise himself with the Glyph. Unfortunately, he had been on the move and busy cultivating his power as of late, so he didn’t have much time.

 

Much to his surprise, the Glyph was activated on the Tree of Glyphs.

 

Instead of getting the Void Glyph which he had always wanted, he obtained the Returning Moon. That came as a pleasant surprise to him.

 

Returning Moon was a core Glyph in Counterattack Ward, which could be used to ward off the enemies’ attacks. It was especially effective against spells. The Ward was quite useful against direct attacks caused by weapons as well.

 

Even if the Glyph was independently constructed, it had the same effect. It could be said that it was a Glyph that could be used to deal with stronger enemies.

 

If Lu Ye came across formidable opponents, this Glyph might prove to be helpful at the most critical moment. There was no doubt it was a useful Glyph to him.

 

Including the previous Glyph, he had activated two Glyphs, which could be considered handsome rewards.

 

Naturally, Lu Ye wouldn’t stop there. It was difficult to find such a suitable environment, so he certainly had to take full advantage of it and feed the Tree of Glyphs with lots of fuel.

 

Moreover, Ying Wuji and his team were now collecting Flames of Earthen Spirits. It seemed that cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge would frequently come here to collect the items.

 

If Lu Ye missed the chance, it would be hard for him to find a similar environment somewhere else.

 

As the heat energy was continuously absorbed by the Tree of Glyphs, another leaf brightened.

 

At first glance, Lu Ye could tell that the leaf didn’t carry a Glyph. Instead, it was a technique to build Glyphs, which was of great use to him too.

 

He could build a complicated Glyph such as Void with a high success rate when he was in the Cloud River Realm mainly because of these rewards, which served as the foundation.

 

Otherwise, he couldn’t have achieved so much regardless of how talented he was in the Way of Glyphs, considering that he only started learning it several years ago.

 

His mastery of the Way of Glyphs was mainly thanks to the rewards from the Tree of Glyphs, and his aptitude came second.

 

After more than ten leaves that carried techniques to build Glyphs were ignited, he finally learned something new.

 

Once again, dozens of leaves on the Tree of Glyphs brightened, which showed that the next Glyph was going to be complicated and important.

 

Now, Lu Ye finally discovered something.

 

There was no longer any Glyph that could be borne with only one leaf on the Tree of Glyphs. Most of the Glyphs required many leaves to carry. It was strenuous to build such Glyphs, but once he succeeded, they would prove to be immensely useful.