Chapter 80

Chapter 080: Catching Turtles in a Jar?

The words of the Grand Dao Sect made the situation start to shift subtly.

“So, you’re saying that whoever acts against Lu Ye, your Grand Dao Sect will act against them?” The elder from the Robber Sect seemed to have not heard clearly.

Elder Qin Youzhi from the Grand Dao Sect nodded affirmatively.

“Exactly! Lu Ye is one of our disciples. If someone attacks our disciple, how can we just stand by and do nothing? Of course, we will help our own!”

“He has killed so many disciples from the Robber Sect; he has committed an unforgivable crime! You Grand Dao Sect not only refuse to uphold justice but also shelter this scoundrel. Can you still call yourselves righteous?” Elder from the Yin-Yang Sect scolded angrily.

“He broke the sect rules, so naturally, we will punish him according to the rules. However, since he is a disciple of the Grand Dao Sect, any punishment must be carried out within our sect, and we should leave it to the sect leader. If you are unsatisfied with our handling, you can appeal. But if you take action against our disciple, especially in such a bully-the-small kind of way, we cannot just sit back and watch.”

“You’re trying to incite an internal conflict!”

“Starting a civil war is not what we want. Protecting our Grand Dao Sect disciple is not wrong!”

At this moment, the Grand Dao Sect was surprisingly firm.

In truth, aside from those truly clueless individuals who did not realize Lu Ye’s importance to the sect, anyone with even a modicum of intelligence could see Lu Ye’s value.

He has the potential to lead the Grand Dao Sect to soar, transforming it from a second-rate force in the Nine Heavens to a top-tier force.

Even if the Grand Dao Sect had to risk everything and deplete all their resources, they had to protect Lu Ye.

The Supreme Sword Sect said little, their strong members silently moving closer to the Grand Dao Sect.

If Lu Ye indeed soared, the Supreme Sword Sect would reap significant benefits too.

The Central State Dynasty was also leaning toward the Grand Dao Sect.

Whatever the Supreme Imperial Court opposed, you could bet the Central State Dynasty would back.

No need for second-guessing!

The expressions of the Yin-Yang Sect, Robber Sect, Mountain River Pagoda Sect, Supreme Imperial Court, and Nine Li Celestial Dynasty were all quite grim.

If everyone joined forces to hunt down Lu Ye, they believed the chances of killing him were quite high.

But now…

It was hard to say.

The Robber Sect was filled with regret; their relationship with the Grand Dao Sect was pretty good.

But a single poor choice led them to not withdraw their disciples in time, causing many of them to die miserably, placing the Robber Sect in direct opposition to the Grand Dao Sect.

Looking back now, Bai Qiulan had already sworn on the Dao—how could they have been so foolish as to not recognize the danger?

Bai Qiulan wasn’t some insignificant character; at under a hundred years old, she had already reached the Unity of Dao realm.

Would she simply throw accusations around for no reason?

One misstep led to multiple mistakes.

It directly resulted in the current awkward situation.

“Killing requires retribution; this principle has existed since time immemorial. I, from the Netherworld, recognize this principle. Since the Grand Dao Sect is sheltering a killer, why not let me from the Netherworld test just how strong the Grand Dao Sect’s Dao skills really are!”

Suddenly, a cold voice rang out.

Black mist filled the air; though it was dark, it carried no evil aura.

Amidst the swirling mist, seven figures exuding terrifying auras appeared in the Nine Dragons Valley.

“I’m with the Eternal Order Sect!”

Another wave of Unity of Dao peak and even Transcending Tribulation realm experts made their entrance.

Both the Netherworld and Eternal Order Sect joined the camp aiming to slay Lu Ye.

The expression on the Grand Dao Sect’s side turned grim.

“What a lively scene! Who would have thought my junior brother would be amazing enough to reach the top of the Eternal Genius Ranking? I really want to test Lu Ye’s standard.”

A striking young man in a moon-white robe holding a folding fan stepped forward, a smile on his face.

On his moon-white robe was an emblem of a peculiar pavilion.

The Heavenly Pavilion had also come to stir the pot.

Meanwhile, Lu Ye was completely unaware of the ruckus outside; he was quite happy.

First place!

He had surprisingly become the top dog!

But if he knew how lively it was outside, he might be even happier—after all, he still had some killing intent he hadn’t yet cleared out.

“Boom!”

A massive beam of light descended from the sky.

The reward for the Eternal Genius Ranking began to be distributed.

Possibly because Lu Ye was ranked first, or maybe because there was no one else who had climbed the ranking besides him, this reward was surprisingly generous.

The spiritual energy from the entire Nine Layers Ancient Battlefield was drawn in; simultaneously, the Genius Ancient Battlefield itself rumbled as countless insights flooded into Lu Ye’s mind.

Under the resonance of the Dao, Lu Ye felt he was not alone in his enlightenment.

It was as if throughout the long ages, in this Genius Ancient Battlefield, all the geniuses who left their names on the Eternal Genius Ranking were assisting him in his comprehension.

“Cultivation initiation!”

“Ding, initiated!”

“Boom!”

A deep rumble suddenly erupted from within Lu Ye’s body.

Endless radiance converged toward his Nascent Soul.

His strength began to rise rapidly.

In no time, he reached the Second Layer of Refining Void!

Third Layer!

Fourth Layer!

Even in his past life, with thirty-three names, he managed to break through four minor realms in one go.

Now, he was first place!

Fifth Layer!

Sixth Layer!

Seventh Layer!

Eighth Layer!

Ninth Layer!

From just entering Refining Void to Refining Void Ninth Layer, it all took place within the span of this reward, and Lu Ye’s aura was still growing.

The spiritual energy of the Nine Layers Ancient Battlefield surged in, it was incredibly dense.

Lu Ye even had an exceptionally clear feeling.

All he needed was to wish, and he could break through to the Unity of Dao realm right now.

Of course, breaking through that fast wasn’t possible.

Firstly, he hadn’t found the treasure needed to condense his third life yet—Unity of Dao was the most suitable realm for that.

Secondly, Lu Ye wanted to push to the pinnacle of the Saint realm; he aimed to become the strongest person in history.

How could he casually break through like that?

“Compress it!”

Terrifying rumbles echoed continuously within Lu Ye, and a thin layer of lightning sparked around him, caused by the energy flowing too quickly.

His strength suddenly plummeted!

From the Ninth Layer, it dropped straight to the Fourth!

It just wouldn’t drop any further; his realm started to rebound, with the Nascent Soul wearing a faint look of worry.

Dropping from Nine to Four—was it some sort of spring?

It felt like it was about to burst; it was one hundred eighty centimeters tall, yet you were trying to squeeze it down to one hundred sixty!

The cycle repeated: even with constant compressing and stopping, Lu Ye’s realm ultimately stabilized at the Eighth Layer of Refining Void.

“Start the deduction!”

“Ding, started!”

Lu Ye began to deduce within the resonance of the Dao, this time aiming to see if he could fool Bai Qiulan again, claiming he wanted to break through, merging Nine Lives into one.

In the Nine Dragons Valley, with the appearance of the Netherworld and Eternal Order Sect.

The Grand Dao Sect, Supreme Sword Sect, and Central State Dynasty were forcefully expelled.

The Grand Dao Sect had no choice but to temporarily retreat and call for allies.

Under the leadership of the Netherworld, an astonishing grand formation gradually took shape, enveloping the entire Nine Dragons Valley above and below.

Next, it was just a matter of waiting for Lu Ye to emerge!

They were gearing up for a play of “Catching Turtles in a Jar!”

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