In retrospect, Yi Yi and the tiger had never shown any intention to attack Lu Ye from the beginning. Rather, Lu Ye was the one who initiated the fight. It could even be said that the only reason they came looking for him was that he had trespassed on the tiger’s territory and killed too many beasts. They probably only wanted to chase him away from this place and obtain some benefits from him while they were at it.
If he had even the slightest bit of common sense, their plan would have succeeded in all likelihood. Unfortunately for them, things did not develop as they expected. They ended up in a situation where not only did they fail in their original mission, but also suffered an additional loss instead. Moreover, they were stuck inside the cave with him blocking their escape. It was a dilemma indeed.
On the other hand, it wasn’t as though Lu Ye himself wanted a fight to the death with the tiger. Eating the tiger’s flesh might be beneficial to him, but the battle was simply not worth the effort if the price he had to pay was too great. It was just that he had wasted one Fiery Snake Talisman Paper. He also received an injury on his chest. Hence, he wanted to obtain some compensation from the other party.
These Storage Bags did not satisfy him. They were locked. Who knew what was inside them? Besides, low-leveled cultivators rarely had anything good inside their Storage Bags. Not everybody was as wealthy as him after all.
“You can bring these Storage Bags to Green Cloud City and ask somebody there to help you open them. I’m sure there will be good stuff inside them,” Yi Yi anxiously said.
“Green Cloud City?” He frowned.
“That’s the city where all the rogue cultivators gather. It’s only 30 kilometers from here. I can lead you there.”
“No need!” The reason he had always remained inside this jungle was that his cultivation was too low. According to his plans, he refused to leave this place without reason until he became a Spirit Creek Realm Master.
His refusal to compromise gave her a terrible headache. She beggingly said, “Can’t you just let us go? We have reflected on our actions.”
She gritted her teeth loudly. “If it really came down to a fight, you won’t get out of this unscathed either. I don’t believe…”
“Is that so?” He lifted his hand and took out another Spirit Talisman Paper.
She immediately froze and lost her confidence. Staring at the Spirit Talisman Paper, she shrunk back in fear with the dreaded realization that they were up against a difficult opponent this time around. He had to be an important disciple from one of the major Sects for him to have so many Spirit Talisman Papers in his possession. Faced with somebody like that, it was no wonder that the Storage Bags of such low-leveled cultivators did not interest him. She seemed to resolve herself to something and gave a heavy sigh. “There is one more thing. I will fetch it for you.”
The tiger seemed to understand what she was planning to do and immediately turned toward her with a soft whimper. She forced a smile on her face and lifted a hand to pet its head. “Wait here for me. I’ll come back as soon as possible. Don’t pick a fight with him while I’m gone.”
The tiger roared loudly once more, to which she responded with a stern expression. “Behave!”
The tiger involuntarily lowered its head. She petted it once more. Then, she turned around, sank into the rock wall, and disappeared out of sight.
After her departure, Lu Ye and the tiger continued with their staring contest.
From the exchanges between Yi Yi and the tiger, Lu Ye understood that the Spirit Beast could understand Humans. It made sense when he thought about it. How else could Yi Yi work with the tiger to frighten those low-leveled cultivators if it did not understand Humans?
Time ticked by. In the meantime, his expression gradually became more and more grim. That was because the tiger he trapped inside the cave was becoming increasingly restless and uneasy. It paced the depths of the cave, glancing at him from time to time. As such, he could sense a waft of danger which made him even more vigilant than before.
Unfortunately, Yi Yi took a long time to return. About an hour or so went by before she suddenly appeared again. However, there was clearly something wrong with her condition. Her body was slightly translucent and she gave off a very weak feeling.
Lu Ye frowned at the sight, wondering whether this girl was simply pretending or if she had really gotten injured. Whatever the case, his attention was quickly drawn to the item in her hand. It was a bright red fruit about the size of a baby’s fist. When she brought this fruit into the cave, it filled the entire cave with a strange fragrance.
“What is that?” he asked. He might not know what that fruit was, but he instinctively knew that it was something good.
She weakly replied, “A Barrier Penetrating Fruit.”
“What is it used for?” he asked again.
She felt a little puzzled. Logically speaking, it was impossible for an important disciple from a major Sect like him to have never heard of something as well-known as a Barrier Penetrating Fruit. This was a precious treasure to any cultivator in the Spirit Creek Realm. It was just that she was in poor condition and couldn’t be bothered to talk nonsense. Thus, she explained, “It’s used to penetrate the Spiritual Point’s barrier.”
His eyes lit up at those words. He did not know where she found this fruit, but if it was as she said… Then, this item was extremely useful for him. He lifted his head and indicated to the girl. “Toss… Bring it over!”
She shook her head. “I can give this fruit to you. But, you must swear a Heavenly Oath. With the Heavens as witness, swear that you won’t hurt us again after receiving the fruit.”
Despite being so weak that she was almost unconscious, she did not forget the situation they were currently in. If Lu Ye decided to harm them after obtaining the fruit, it would be difficult for her and the tiger to leave this place alive.
Lu Ye did not understand what a Heavenly Oath was. However, he had heard about respectfully requesting the Heavens to bear witness once before. He more or less understood what Yi Yi meant, so he nodded in response. “Okay!”
He paused for a short moment to consider his wording before continuing, “Lu Ye, cultivator of Bing Zhou, respectfully requests the Heavens to bear witness. If Yi Yi hands me the Barrier Penetrating Fruit, I will not trouble Yi Yi or Amber again under the condition that they do not actively provoke me or harm me.”
He originally thought that it was just a simple oath. To his surprise, an invisible and mysterious force came roaring down from the Skies the moment the words left his mouth and poured into the Battlefield Imprint on the back of his hand. That force did not hurt him in any way, but it gave him the strange feeling that it would not end well for him if he violated the oath he just made. This discovery made his heart go cold for a moment. He instantly understood that the oaths in this world were not mere words or casual talk, especially when it came to the Heavenly Oath which was witnessed by the Heavens.
After he made the Heavenly Oath, Yi Yi let out a breath of relief. She floated over to him and handed the Barrier Penetrating Fruit in her hand to him.
“Are you injured?” He took the Barrier Penetrating Fruit and looked at her.
“Yes.” She nodded. Turning around, she called out to Amber. “Amber, let’s go.”
As the sturdy and muscular Amber slowly walked forward, Lu Ye gripped the Spirit Talisman Paper tightly and retreated out of the cave.
A short while later, Amber walked out of the cave. Yi Yi plunged into Amber’s body and vanished out of sight. Turning around, the tiger roared at Lu Ye. Afterward, it disappeared into the jungle and out of sight in a few strides.
Looking in the direction the tiger had disappeared, Lu Ye pondered for a moment and slowly shook his head. The entire experience he went through this half a day had been very weird to him. Fortunately, the end results were not too bad. He looked at the Barrier Penetrating Fruit in his hands and his expression became excited. [If this thing works like how Yi Yi said, then the time for breaking through to the Spirit Creek Realm is just right before my eyes!]