Translator: Truth Editor : Dhael Ligerkeys In just ten days, Lu Ye had conquered over twenty Core Circle Thousand Demon Ridge Outposts. On average, that was two Outposts that fell to him every day. Some sects ordered a full retreat the moment he showed up so as to avoid unnecessary loss of manpower. They also took everything they could take with them back to the headquarters. However, the Blessings on the Divine Opportunity Column were irremovable, so that Lu Ye was free to plunder them to his heart’s content! Some sects were less flexible and tried to resist. Eventually though, they came to recognize reality after Lu Ye had slaughtered enough people. Lu Yi Ye truly was unstoppable in the Spirit Creek Battlefield now! It did not matter if the Outposts belonged to Tier Three, Two or One sects. Lu Yi Ye ravaged them all like naked, defenseless girls. It was only now the Thousand Demon Ridge realized that a cultivator really could do as they pleased once they had reached a certain power level! Moreover, Lu Ye wasn’t the only one who was on the move. Many Grand Sky Coalition sects were growing restless due to his successes as well. For a time, it looked like a terrible war could trigger in the Core Circle at any moment. In the sky, Lu Ye was frowning deeply after speaking with his second senior sister through the Battlefield Imprint. It had been ten days since he started conquering Outposts, and his accumulated profits were obscene to say the least. Forget that every Outpost he conquered possessed a great amount of Blessings, the Core Circle cultivators he killed alone had yielded what he could only describe as an ocean of loot. However, he had a feeling that his time was limited. If he continued doing what he was doing, it was highly likely that the Core Circle would fall into complete chaos. Both sides would suffer if that happened. That was why he purposely messaged his second senior sister and told her his worries. To his surprise, Shui Yuan didn’t agree with him. She simply told him to do as he pleased and leave no regrets. He was approaching another Outpost. Looking at the 10-point map, it belonged to a Tier-Two sect called the Purple Gold Clan. He changed directions and landed outside the grand ward. There was an old man with white hair and a healthy complexion standing outside the grand ward. He gave off a warm and friendly appearance. He smiled at the young man who just descended from the sky and asked, “Are you Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect?” Lu Ye stared at him while gripping the Inviolable. It was clear that this old man was no Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. He had to be at the Real Lake Realm at least! Spirit Creek Realm cultivators weren’t the only ones he had killed in the past ten days. Some sects had mobilized their Cloud River Realm and even Real Lake Realm cultivators to kill him because they knew that there was no chance the younglings could protect their Outpost by themselves. Of course, their power was suppressed the instant they entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield. They could only unleash the power of a Heaven Nine cultivator at most. These Cloud River Realm and Real Lake Realm cultivators were no joke. Three days ago, Lu Ye had been forced to charge in and out of an enemy formation five times before he finally shattered their fighting spirit. That was why he wasn’t surprised to see an old man or woman at a Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost anymore. His gaze darted here and there as he examined the old man’s vitals. He wondered how many hits he would need to kill him in a surprise attack. The old man’s face clearly stiffened for a second before he hurriedly said, “Calm down, my young friend. I am here today not to fight you, but to negotiate a deal with you.” Lu Ye remained silent for a moment before shifting his gaze to the grand ward behind the old man. At least a hundred people were standing behind the ward, glaring at him. The old man laughed. “The younglings are just worried for my safety. They will not act unless I give them the order, so I promise you that you have nothing to worry about. Anyway, this is not a good place to speak. If you trust me, then please follow me.” As the old man took off to the sky, Lu Ye glanced back and forth between the old man and the one hundred or so Purple Gold Clan cultivators behind him. Finally, he relaxed his grip slightly and flew after the old man. A while later, they reached a mountain about eight or so kilometers away from the Purple Gold Clan’s Outpost. They quickly landed on the peak. Lu Ye applied Insight to his eyes and checked his surroundings. He did not see any ambushes or wards. The peak provided a perfect view of the Outpost below. One hand behind his back, the old man admired his Outpost for a bit before suggesting, “The scenery here is pretty good, young friend. Would you like to see it?” Lu Ye stepped next to the old man—there was a good distance between them, of course—and followed his gaze. “The Outpost probably looks like hills of Contribution Points and wealth to you, but to me, it is the culmination of tens of generations of hard work and the future of the Purple Gold Clan,” the old man said slowly, “But of course, you and I do not belong to the same faction. Different standpoints naturally lead to different perspectives.” “Speak frankly!” Lu Ye said. The old man nodded. “I can see you’re a straightforward man, so I’ll jump straight to business. You’ve conquered a total of twenty three Thousand Demon Ridge Outposts in the last ten days, and you’ve killed at least hundreds of people during this time. Of course, with your current strength and wealth, even elders like me may not be able to stop your rampage. If you wish, you can absolutely conquer every Outpost there is in the Core Circle!” That was the reality the Thousand Demon Ridge was facing right now. Lu Ye really could conquer every Outpost in the Core Circle if he wanted to! “Get to the ‘but’ already, will you?” The old man was a little caught off guard by the interruption, but he said, “But, have you ever wondered what would happen if you do that?” The old man did not wait for an answer before continuing, “The Core Circle will be flooded with Heaven-grade cultivators that have nothing to lose. Without an Outpost to hold them back, they can band together and launch an organized assault against other Grand Sky Coalition Outposts. If a hundred people aren’t enough to do the job, then they’ll gather two hundred. If two hundred people aren’t enough to do the job, then they’ll gather three hundred. They have to succeed eventually, no? “I do not think you’re an unscrupulous man. I am sure you’ve already figured out the worst case scenario. Of course, if you have a way to slaughter everyone in an Outpost, then you may forget that I said anything.” Lu Ye was expressionless, but it was exactly what he had been worrying about for the past couple days. At first, after all the pains the Thousand Demon Ridge had put him through, he had sworn to pay them back ten fold after he ascended to Heaven Nine. When he actually tried to enact his plan, he realized that his thoughts were too shallow. As the old man said, for every Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost he conquered, the Core Circle would grow just a little more dangerous for the Grand Sky Coalition. The only way he could mitigate this hidden threat was to kill everyone when he attacked an Outpost, but that was obviously impossible. By now, everyone knew that it would be folly to hold their ground against him. As of late, his enemies would evacuate as soon as he arrived at their Outpost and preserve their strength. Every time he took an Outpost, the invisible, livid army with nothing to lose would grow just a little bigger. If the hidden threat reached a certain threshold, he had no doubt that they would erupt in full force and engulf the entire Core Circle in the flames of war. Every Grand Sky Coalition Outpost in the Core Circle would be in danger then. That was exactly why he had messaged Shui Yuan to ask for guidance earlier. Unfortunately, she hadn’t given him a clear instruction. “If all you want is to satisfy the dark urge in your heart, if you do not care that the Grand Sky Coalition might face a dark fate in the future, then once again, you may pretend that we’ve never had this conversation. Neither I nor my Purple Gold Clan can stop you even if we tried. You may even kill me right here and now before you occupy my Outpost. As a Real Lake Realm cultivator, I’m sure I’m worth at least a couple hundred Contribution Points.” Could Lu Ye really do whatever he wanted regardless of the consequences? Of course not. Back when his identity was exposed, it was the Grand Sky Coalition who came together to escort him to safety even though they were complete strangers back then. When he was heading to the Myriad Poison Forest to save Amber, Yi Yi and Ju Jia, it was they who protected him and escorted him there the whole way. Otherwise, he would never have had the time to gather the Spiritual Power necessary to use Fire Phoenix, break through the Thousand Demon Ridge’s blockade, and enter the Myriad Poison Forest. As a member of the Grand Sky Coalition, he had to plan everything while taking the faction into consideration. There were always exceptions, but if one day the majority of a faction’s members cared more about their self-interests than the people’s, then the faction probably wasn’t far away from self-destruction. Conquering the Thousand Demon Ridge’s Outposts would benefit him, but it would put his entire faction in danger. That was why he could never do such a thing. If nothing else, he must protect his fellow Crimson Blood Sect disciples. His junior brothers and sisters might address him as Fifth Senior Brother in the Crimson Blood Sect, but he was really the first. Naturally, it was the older sibling’s duty to watch out for the younger ones. “If you’re not going to kill me, then I’m going to assume that I may resume this conversation,” the old man said with hidden relief after observing Lu Yi Ye’s expression. He might look calm on the outside, but he was really a mess on the inside. After all, it took great courage to stand next to a man like the Vanquisher of Sects, especially since he was young, powerful and more importantly, easily irritable like all youngsters naturally were. One wrong word, and he might not live to see tomorrow’s sun. Thankfully, Lu Yi Ye wasn’t an unreasonable person. “Right now, you are the strongest cultivator in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. Since ancient times, our Cultivation World has always been one of might makes right. You have more than solidified that status by conquering twenty three Outposts in a row, and no one—not even we, the Thousand Demon Ridge—would deny that.”