By the time the four from The Arcaneum Gate regained their senses, Leaf Gray had already gathered the spoils, mounted the tiger's back, and ridden off into the distance.

"Just now... he..."

A young woman in the group of four stammered a sentence, not even her companions understood what she was trying to say.

What they had just witnessed was immensely impactful.

Leaf Gray's cultivation at the third layer of the Spirit Creek Realm couldn't be hidden. Among them were also two at the third layer of the Spirit Creek Realm, but none had ever imagined that a third-layer cultivator could possess such aggressive power, killing three opponents they could barely handle in just ten breaths—one of whom was even a fourth-layer Spirit Creek Realm cultivator!

This counted as defeating an enemy of a higher level, something typically only disciples from major sects could achieve.

It was certain that if the tiger-riding youth had targeted them earlier, they would have died even faster than the three from The Ennead Star Sect.

As they stood there dazed, the distant large tiger suddenly turned and charged back towards them.

The third-layer burly man's expression changed. He quickly shielded his three junior fellow disciples behind him and watched the approaching figure warily.

Shortly, Amber stopped in front of the four. Leaf Gray sat upright on the tiger's back, looking down at them from a commanding position, less than five zhang apart.

The intense pressure made the female cultivator in the group's chest heave, feeling somewhat breathless.

"Do you have any spirit pills?" the youth on the tiger suddenly asked.

"Ah... yes!" the burly man hurriedly responded. "You want them?"

Leaf Gray nodded: "I need spirit pills."

The burly man quickly untied the storage pouch from his waist and opened the restriction lock. After a thought, he whispered to his three junior fellow disciples, "Give me your spirit pills."

None of them dared to argue. They each took out their spirit pills from their own storage pouches and hastily handed them to the burly man.

The burly man then took out his own items and transferred them to someone else's storage pouch.

A moment later, he tossed the storage pouch containing the spirit pills towards Leaf Gray, who caught it with one hand.

"Thank you," Leaf Gray said, then threw out the spoils he had collected earlier. Amber turned around and left once more.

Only when Leaf Gray's figure disappeared did the four from The Arcaneum Gate let out a collective sigh of relief. When Leaf Gray returned to ask for spirit pills, they thought they were about to be robbed.

But even so, they could only grudgingly accept it. Leaving aside that they were no match for Leaf Gray, regardless, Leaf Gray had ultimately saved their lives.

Comparing their own lives to spirit pills, their lives were naturally more important. When the burly man threw the pouch of spirit pills to Leaf Gray, he had already prepared a speech, intending to present the pills as a thank-you gift.

Who knew Leaf Gray didn't take them for free, but instead threw the spoils he had just obtained back to them.

Staring at the three storage pouches, two low-grade spirit artifacts, and one broken small shield on the ground, the four from The Arcaneum Gate were momentarily speechless.

Making a quick calculation, the four realized they not only hadn't lost out but had even made a small profit... leaving them somewhat amused and exasperated.

Bending down to pick up the items from the ground, the burly man pondered briefly and then decisively said, "Return to the outpost!"

They were all basically injured, and most importantly, they had no spirit pills left, making it difficult to sustain further combat. In their current state, returning to the outpost for rest and reorganization was undoubtedly the wisest choice. Moreover, they couldn't open the storage pouches of The Ennead Star Sect cultivators. Only by returning to the outpost and handing them over could they ask their sect's elders for help.

Elsewhere, Leaf Gray, riding Amber, found a tunnel to check his gains.

Exchanging for spirit pills with the people from The Arcaneum Gate was a sudden impulse, mainly because he had too many storage pouches on him. Before entering the Rift Sky Gorge, he already had several storage pouches. After killing the young master of The Ennead Star Sect and his group, he gained four more.

Any more, and he wouldn't have anywhere to put them; stuffing them all in his clothes would also hinder combat...

Furthermore, these storage pouches all had restriction locks; he couldn't open them. Rather than keeping them, it was better to trade these items with The Arcaneum Gate people for some spirit pills.

The number of spirit pills given by the four from The Arcaneum Gate wasn't high. Everyone's cultivation was low, they weren't usually wealthy, and any spirit pills obtained were quickly consumed.

The four managed to gather sixteen spirit pills for Leaf Gray, five of which were healing pills. When Leaf Gray asked for spirit pills, he didn't specify the type, so they gave him both Spirit Nurturing Pills and healing pills together.

The harvest was acceptable...

Leaf Gray felt his spur-of-the-moment idea was quite good. This way, he might be able to obtain a large amount of cultivation resources here in the Rift Sky Gorge.

The merit number in his battlefield mark had also changed, from thirty-four to fifty-six, an increase of twenty-two points.

The increase in these numbers was practically a mystery to him. Last time, killing the four including the young master of The Ennead Star Sect increased it by twenty-six points. This time it increased by twenty-two. He still didn't know the exact standard for the increase.

He resolved to pay close attention to the number change the next time he killed someone, perhaps he could deduce some pattern.

His injuries from this battle weren't severe, just a stab wound to the waist and abdomen from a third-layer cultivator. After a brief bandaging and a short rest, he set off again. His internal spiritual power was sufficiently abundant; he could continue fighting.

In the gorge paths, traces of past battles could often be seen, with dried blood and broken corpses in many places, indicating the intensity of the conflict between The Arcaneum Gate and The Ennead Star Sect here.

Not far along, Evie, who was scouting ahead, reported that a team of two was approaching. Leaf Gray immediately had Amber hide properly, while he went to meet the two head-on.

A short while later, Leaf Gray ran straight into the pair. Both sides became wary, scrutinizing each other.

Leaf Gray's eyes shone with spiritual light, assessing their cultivation levels: two at the third layer of the Spirit Creek Realm. Such a duo wasn't too weak. Judging by the injuries on them, they had clearly been in a fight; perhaps there were originally more than two of them...

What puzzled Leaf Gray was that the battlefield marks on the backs of their hands weren't glowing, making him unsure which faction they belonged to, and for a moment, he couldn't decide whether to act.

To his surprise, after observing Leaf Gray for a moment, the two relaxed. One of them even stepped forward cheerfully, saying as he approached, "Fellow Daoist, you're quite bold, daring to move alone here?"

Leaf Gray's mind raced, realizing they probably mistook him for one of their own. He relaxed his hand on the sword hilt and said calmly, "Got separated in a fight."

The man then said, "Then Fellow Daoist, you are truly lucky to be alive. If you don't mind, you can join the two of us. Three people can watch out for each other more."

"Naturally, that's fine," Leaf Gray nodded, adopting an air of silent reserve.

The man raised his hand and said, "Although it might not seem entirely necessary, Fellow Daoist, let's still verify our identities."

As he spoke, red light glowed on the back of his hand.

Leaf Gray's eyebrow raised. Identity confirmed – they were people he could cut down!

As the gravel under his feet scattered, Leaf Gray charged forward with his blade, under the stunned gazes of the two.