Lin Ye's appearance instantly drew all the firepower away.
At first, Luo Gui had worried for him.
But after seeing Lin Ye casually kill a Moon Wheel Fifth Layer expert—
There was nothing left to worry about.
He had been overthinking.
These people weren't worth fearing.
A formation?
Luo Gui had already witnessed Lin Ye break a sword formation from the Seven-Star Mystic Sword Sect all by himself.
In Luo Gui's mind, using a formation against Lin Ye was basically suicide.
Lin Ye held the Calamity Ghost Sword.
The five experts' mystic energy linked together, anchoring into formation nodes.
Once circulated in the correct rhythm, it could amplify into a powerful array.
Their combined pressure rolled toward Lin Ye, trying to crush him with momentum alone.
Lin Ye sneered.
"This is your formation? Pathetic."
In the next instant, a bright, moon-like aura erupted from his body.
Boom!
One person's presence directly resisted the combined pressure of five Moon Wheel experts—
Even though they were enhancing each other through formation.
"He broke through?"
From far away, Luo Gui felt the pressure slam into him.
Moon Wheel Realm.
Lin Ye had actually broken through down in the gorge.
What did he find down there? A supreme spirit herb?
No wonder the commotion had been so insane two days ago.
This man was terrifying.
Most people entered Thousand Luo Gorge and thanked the heavens if they survived.
Lin Ye broke through while he was at it.
And the aura he released now…
It was far beyond Luo Gui.
If it had been before, Luo Gui believed he could still escape Lin Ye if things went wrong.
Now?
Lin Ye could kill him like swatting a fly—without leaving him any chance to run.
Thankfully, Luo Gui wasn't Lin Ye's enemy.
The five Moon Wheel experts belonged to the Four Symbols Hall.
With the white-robed elder dead, they knew beating Lin Ye was unrealistic.
But they only needed to stall him—
Until reinforcements arrived.
"Force of Ten Thousand Blades!"
Their sword intent exploded.
A crushing wave of sword qi crashed down toward Lin Ye like a falling mountain.
Lin Ye's mystic energy surged outward, vast and endless.
He shattered their formation rhythm with pure force.
The Calamity Ghost Sword trembled.
Vibrations rippled through the air.
The "ten thousand blades" sword qi fractured under the sound alone.
A cold flash—
Lin Ye cleaved at one of them.
The five gathered their mystic energy into a massive plated shield.
Boom!
Lin Ye's slash struck.
The shield shattered instantly.
A violent backlash slammed into all five of them.
They were sent flying.
Lin Ye's gaze turned colder.
He had already tested the sword.
Now he stopped holding back.
"Blood Slaughter: Nine Executions!"
Nine blood-red sword qi arcs shot forward.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The five were blasted apart again, blood surging up their throats.
Lin Ye's figure blurred—like a specter.
A sword flashed.
Boom!
One body exploded midair, torn apart as if by a demon's claws.
Lin Ye was already on the next.
The enemy raised his sword to block—
It snapped like straw.
Boom!
Another died.
"Damn it! We can't beat him—retreat!"
The remaining three fled instantly.
But Luo Gui appeared like a shadow.
He hadn't been watching for fun.
He had been waiting for the moment to strike.
"Black Python Devours the Heavens!"
His spear shot out like a black serpent.
One fleeing expert barely blocked and was smashed into severe injury.
Luo Gui's spear thrust relentlessly, forcing the man backward until his body was riddled with blood holes.
But when he saw the other two—
Already dead under Lin Ye's sword—
His scalp went numb.
He never imagined Lin Ye could be so strong.
So fast.
So absolute.
Without Luo Gui delaying him, maybe he could've escaped.
Now?
He had fallen into an abyss.
"No… don't!"
Lin Ye's sword qi swept from behind.
No mercy. No pause.
All six were slain.
Luo Gui exhaled, staring at Lin Ye in disbelief.
"How… did you break through that hard?"
Two days.
Several realm leaps.
It was unreal.
"I was accumulating for a long time," Lin Ye replied calmly.
Luo Gui didn't believe it.
But he didn't dare question further.
Instead, he looked at the corpses.
Lin Ye smoothly collected all six storage rings, tossing valuable items into his own ring.
The ring he used had decent space—likely high-grade.
Its original owner must've been ruthless to gather so many Thousand Luo Bloodstones.
But in the end, it all benefited Lin Ye.
"Who were they?" Lin Ye asked.
He had climbed out of the gorge and got attacked instantly.
Out of courtesy, he had killed them first.
Talking could come later.
"There are people from the Plum Blossom Sword Sect," Luo Gui said. "Two days ago, countless beasts rushed into the gorge. The sect came to investigate and found the abnormality."
"They'll definitely have stronger experts nearby. We should leave now."
"Two fists can't beat four hands."
Lin Ye nodded.
Even if he slaughtered the entire Plum Blossom Sword Sect, it wouldn't benefit him.
He needed to focus on cultivation.
On breaking through.
Now that he had reached the Moon Wheel Realm, he had gathered enough spirit herbs.
Once he returned, he could begin preparing to refine Seventh-Grade pills.
When he could refine pills of that grade, his growth would explode.
So would his resources.
Luo Gui had plenty of chances to leave during those two days.
But he likely stayed because he was worried about Lin Ye.
Lin Ye remembered that.
He liked Luo Gui's personality—no nonsense, principled, decisive when it mattered.
A man like that could accomplish great things.
The two of them slipped away quietly.
Far away, multiple figures tore through the air.
Boom! Boom!
Three terrifying auras led the group, with another ten Moon Wheel cultivators following behind.
They landed, seeing the bloody mess.
The leader wore a long robe. His eyes carried pressure even without anger.
"The aura hasn't dispersed yet. They're nearby."
"Find them!"
This was a Four Symbols Hall commander—
Zhu Jianxu, Moon Wheel Seventh Layer.
Four Symbols Hall had four commanders and one grand commander—each one a core pillar of the sect's battle strength.
And now, a squad had sent a signal…
Only to be wiped out so quickly.
It had to be an ambush.
A planned one.
Zhu Jianxu's gaze turned icy.
His subordinates scattered, their auras sweeping every inch of land.
They would drag the killers out.
If the enemy walked away freely, where would the Plum Blossom Sword Sect's face go?