Only a short while later, Leaf Gray gathered the spoils and left, leaving behind two mutilated corpses behind.

Even a fourth-layer Spirit Creek Realm cultivator couldn't withstand three strikes from Leaf Gray, let alone third-layer ones? Once Leaf Gray seized the initiative, their fate was sealed.

This time, Leaf Gray paid deliberate attention: each person killed increased his merit by three points. Two people meant six points. His merit was now sixty-two points!

By nightfall, inside a mountain tunnel, Leaf Gray hid and rested. Evie and the big tiger monitored both ends as usual, preventing anyone from invading unnoticed.

Throughout the day, he had fought three battles with good results. He didn't keep any of the spoils, trading them all with people from The Arcaneum Gate for spirit pills, obtaining over twenty pills, eighty percent of which were Spirit Nurturing Pills.

Compared to these spoils, Leaf Gray felt his biggest gain was the experience in life-and-death combat. Since entering the Spirit Creek Battlefield, although he had experienced several fights, those were spaced far apart, unlike this time, where he fought consecutively within a single day.

Such high-intensity combat not only allowed him to quickly identify his own shortcomings but also enriched his combat skills.

Closed-door cultivation simply couldn't compare to real, bloody battles; that experience was bought with blood and injuries.

He sustained some injuries, but none were serious.

Leaf Gray first ate some dried meat to alleviate his hunger. Only after eating and drinking his fill did he start swallowing spirit pills to replenish his depleted spiritual power.

He frequently used the Sharpness and Defense Spirit Patterns in battle. Although these two patterns could exert effects surpassing his cultivation level, their drawback was obvious: high consumption.

For Leaf Gray to ensure his combat effectiveness in upcoming actions, it was necessary to keep his spiritual power sufficiently full.

Now at the third layer of the Spirit Creek Realm, his efficiency in refining pill energy had increased again. Leaf Gray didn't yet know the consumption for opening further apertures, but based on previous patterns, the consumption for opening each subsequent aperture would increase. However, cultivation efficiency would also improve correspondingly, so the additional time required per aperture wouldn't increase much, perhaps even remain the same.

The night passed without incident. The Rift Sky Gorge at night was eerily quiet; no sounds of conflict between The Arcaneum Gate and The Ennead Star Sect cultivators could be heard outside. Currently, everyone's cultivation was still low, so at night, they almost unanimously chose to find places to rest and replenish their consumption from the day. Real fighting only happened during daylight.

By daybreak, Leaf Gray led the big tiger and Evie out of the tunnel, embarking on his hunting journey.

For several consecutive days, Leaf Gray spent his time in constant combat, with at least one or two battles, sometimes three or four. The spirit pills in his possession gradually increased, and his merit points continuously rose.

He finally figured out the calculation method for merit points. Through his observation, the number of merit points gained from a killed cultivator corresponded directly to their cultivation layer; this was the base value.

For example, killing a second-layer Spirit Creek Realm cultivator earned him two merit points, a third-layer earned three...

But if he killed an enemy of a higher level, for each layer surpassed, the merit gained increased by the base value.

Leaf Gray was at the third layer. If he killed a third-layer cultivator, he only got three merit points. But if he killed a fourth-layer cultivator, the merit gained was as high as eight points.

And previously, when he killed a fourth-layer cultivator while at the second layer, surpassing two whole minor levels, the merit was twelve points...

He calculated a bit and found it matched the merit he gained from previous kills. It seemed this calculation method was correct.

After several days of fighting, he gradually grew accustomed to the feeling of life-and-death struggles with enemies. Although his cultivation level hadn't increased, his combat skills improved significantly, which increased his efficiency in killing enemies.

Over these days, Leaf Gray also tried to see if he could leave the Rift Sky Gorge, but found it unlikely.

He didn't know how many personnel The Arcaneum Gate and The Ennead Star Sect had deployed in the Rift Sky Gorge area, but according to his and Evie's observations, both sides had deployed nearly a thousand Spirit Creek Realm cultivators each!

A thousand cultivators scattered throughout this massive maze, where enemies could be encountered anywhere, anytime. After passing through the maze, the path ahead narrowed sharply, eventually converging into a single gorge path cutting through the Rift Sky Gorge. To get out, this was the only passage.

The Ennead Star Sect had stationed a large force at the gorge exit. If he dared show his face, the outcome would certainly be bad. It was better for him to hide within the maze and kill enemies.

After several days of action, Leaf Gray's whereabouts were exposed. He clearly felt the intensity of The Ennead Star Sect's search for him increasing. The most obvious sign was that the teams of cultivators he encountered now had increased numbers.

Initially, the squads he encountered had three or four people. But now, each squad had at least five or six, some even had over ten.

He could barely handle squads of three or four if he gritted his teeth, but he didn't dare attack groups of five or six. As for the teams of over ten, he avoided them as far as possible.

The cultivators on The Arcaneum Gate side, after suffering several losses, also made corresponding adjustments, increasing squad sizes to counter The Ennead Star Sect.

In the gorge maze, a battle was erupting. This battle was quite large-scale, involving nearly twenty cultivators, about ten on each side. There were several fourth-layer Spirit Creek Realm cultivators. However, judging by the outcome, neither side had gained an advantage; both had casualties.

In the midst of the fierce fighting, a tiger's roar echoed. Both fighting sides tensed up.

Someone cheered excitedly: "The Mountain-Passing Tiger is here!"

It was the cultivators from The Arcaneum Gate.

Leaf Gray, who was lying on the tiger's back charging rapidly towards the battlefield, frowned upon hearing this. He didn't know how he had earned the title "Mountain-Passing Tiger." The nickname was rather unpleasant.

But considering neither side in the conflict knew his name yet, Leaf Gray could only grudgingly accept this title.

Leaf Gray charged from the rear of The Arcaneum Gate's ranks. Upon hearing the tiger's roar, The Arcaneum Gate cultivators instinctively cleared a path. The massive tiger surged into the battlefield, swiftly pouncing on a third-layer Spirit Creek Realm cultivator and pinning him firmly to the ground.

Meanwhile, Leaf Gray, who had been lying on its back, surged forward. His long sword left its sheath, a bright flash of blade light aimed directly at a fourth-layer Spirit Creek Realm cultivator.

The person fighting this fourth-layer cultivator was a fourth-layer member of The Arcaneum Gate. This guy had a baby face, looking harmless. Seeing Leaf Gray swooping in like an eagle, he couldn't help but shout: "Don't steal the kill!"

He already had the upper hand; given enough time, he could defeat his opponent.

It wasn't without reason he shouted this. Mainly, in recent days, the fame of the Mountain-Passing Tiger had spread widely among The Arcaneum Gate cultivators. Rumors said this guy never took the spoils after killing, only asking The Arcaneum Gate people for some spirit pills. Another point was that this guy was always appearing and disappearing mysteriously, and he liked to steal kills.

Sometimes, his actions saved The Arcaneum Gate disciples from dire situations, earning the gratitude of many who owed him their lives.

But other times, even when The Arcaneum Gate members clearly had the upper hand, he would pop out for a sneak attack, snatching away the merit that was rightfully theirs.

The Arcaneum Gate cultivators had mixed feelings of love and hate towards this person.