One body refiner, one spellcaster, and one ghost cultivator, hiding in the shadows to ambush Elder Lockridge, were instead killed by him. Leo Sterling sorted out his thoughts in an extremely short time.

Moreover, judging from the residual waves of the battle nearby, the three who were killed were all Divine Sea Realm cultivators. As for which layers of the Divine Sea, that remained unknown.

Fighting one against three and counter-killing all three in such a short time—looking at it this way, his speculations over the years were true. The cultivation level of the old gentleman before him was definitely not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

After all, he was one of the three outstanding gifted of The Novem Lands back in the day!

"Were they after you, Elder?" Leo Sterling broke the silence.

Elder Lockridge slowly shook his head: "They were after that kid."

He initially thought the three were targeting him, but during the fight, he realized their target was actually Leaf Gray!

The most deeply hidden female ghost cultivator's first move was aimed at Leaf Gray, nearly killing him. The wound on Elder Lockridge's waist and abdomen was from blocking a strike meant for Leaf Gray.

Finally, when Elder Lockridge sent Leaf Gray away, the spellcaster shouted "Mission failed," which undeniably explained everything.

"Impossible." Leo Sterling frowned. "Where is that kid?"

He didn't see the young man named Leaf Gray.

"Sent into the Spirit Creek Battlefield."

Only then did Leo Sterling notice the crystal pillar among the ruins, somewhat surprised: "A Providentia Pillar? This is... the ruins of The Stellar Fall Palace, which was wiped out a hundred years ago?"

To enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield, one must rely on a Providentia Pillar. Providentia Pillars are gifts from heaven, generally standing within large and small sects.

Of course, many Providentia Pillars are also scattered in remote wilderness. Tracing back in time, one could learn that every ownerless Providentia Pillar represented the destruction of a sect.

Providentia Pillars are of sturdy quality, protected by heaven, and very difficult to destroy. So even if a sect is annihilated, the Providentia Pillar will remain for many years. If someone wants to re-establish a sect here, they only need to respectfully invite Providentia to claim ownership of the Providentia Pillar and make it serve their purpose.

However, after The Stellar Fall Palace was destroyed a hundred years ago, no sect had established itself here, and the place had remained desolate.

Leo Sterling was originally from Tranquil Province and was the Deputy Sect Master of The Righteous Path Gate, as well as the Deputy Alliance Leader of The Firmament Palace. After a moment's thought, he knew which sect this Providentia Pillar belonged to.

"This is troublesome," he frowned.

A Providentia Pillar could indeed send people into the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but if a cultivator did not enter the battlefield through their own sect's Providentia Pillar, there was only one result.

They would be randomly transported to a certain location within the battlefield.

The Spirit Creek Battlefield was extremely vast, roughly the size of a province. With that kid Leaf Gray sent in, no one knew where he was now. Even if Leo Sterling gathered hundreds of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators to search for him, they might not find him.

Moreover, that kid had only opened one aperture...

With such meager cultivation, entering the Spirit Creek Battlefield was basically a death sentence. The minimum requirement for major sects to send disciples to travel the Spirit Creek Battlefield was the first layer of the Spirit Creek Realm.

"Elder Lockridge..." Leo Sterling called out.

Elder Lockridge turned to look at him, his eyes downcast: "The Vermilion Guild has tolerated and retreated for thirty years, yet those people are still unwilling to let it go. This is going too far!"

Leo Sterling sighed inwardly, also very irritated. Today's incident seemed like just an ambush on Elder Lockridge's return journey, but it actually involved much greater implications, not to mention the deaths of three Divine Sea Realm cultivators!

These three Divine Sea Realm cultivators couldn't have appeared without reason. Who was behind them? It was possible that the cultivation world of Tranquil Province would be severely shaken because of this.

He could clearly feel Elder Lockridge's suppressed fury, like a volcano about to erupt. This state of Elder Lockridge was something he had never seen before.

"I didn't necessarily insist on taking that child into the sect. I originally planned to send him to another sect for cultivation later," Elder Lockridge said coldly. "But those people couldn't even wait that long."

He looked at Leo Sterling, boundless anger burning in his eyes: "I want to know who all stretched out their claws!"

Leo Sterling understood implicitly and nodded: "This matter will definitely be accounted for to you, Elder."

Elder Lockridge had left the Flying Dragon Ship, and within a short time was ambushed. How did the ambushers know Elder Lockridge's whereabouts? How could they arrange the ambush location so precisely? There were clearly some unspeakable dirty dealings involved.

"What about that kid Leaf Gray..." Leo Sterling hesitated before speaking: "Do you need me to arrange for some people to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield?"

Elder Lockridge shook his head dejectedly: "No need."

Given the situation earlier, leaving Leaf Gray behind would have meant certain death. Elder Lockridge couldn't possibly fight while protecting him.

Left with no choice, Elder Lockridge could only send him into the Spirit Creek Battlefield. But what were the chances of survival for a cultivator who had just started practicing, in a place like that?

Moreover, he didn't enter the battlefield through his own sect's Providentia Pillar. Who knew where he would appear? If he appeared in the territory of some sect from The Ophidian Covenant, he might already have been chopped into mincemeat.

Even if he managed to survive, it would be extremely difficult to move around in the Spirit Creek Battlefield.

Elder Lockridge could only hope now that Leaf Gray's luck was good enough to appear in an uninhabited place, giving him a slim chance of survival.

Of course, they must still search for him, but not through others' help. This matter shouldn't be publicized either; otherwise, if those with ill intentions learned that a disciple of The Vermilion Guild had entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield, it would only bring trouble to Leaf Gray, turning a possible survival into a certain death.

It was precisely with this consideration that Elder Lockridge urged Leaf Gray at the last moment not to expose his identity!

******

On a large tree that required several people to encircle, Leaf Gray sat straddling a branch, his face filled with lingering fear.

Dozens of robust fierce wolves gathered below. Each wolf was as big as a small calf, baring their teeth at Leaf Gray above.

He didn't know why he had appeared in such a place, nor where the Sect Master was.

Earlier, following the Sect Master's instructions, he placed his hand on the crystal pillar. Then the whole world became blurry. When the surroundings cleared again, he found himself in this jungle.

There was a fierce wolf not far away. They saw each other, and the wolf pounced. Leaf Gray hurriedly took out his long sword and, after much effort, killed it. But more wolves gathered.

Forced into a corner, Leaf Gray could only flee, eventually climbing this tree.

Sitting on the branch, he looked around. His view was filled with large trees that took several people to encircle. Huge canopies blocked the sky, with only dots of sunlight filtering through the gaps between leaves.

Where is this? Where is the Sect Master? Where are the three people chasing the Sect Master? Why did I appear in such a place?

Leaf Gray's mind was filled with questions.

Looking down at the pack of wolves gathered below, it seemed they wouldn't leave for now. Leaf Gray felt helpless. The top priority was to figure out his situation. At the very least, he needed to know what this place was.

He tried hard to recall his earlier conversation with the Sect Master and quickly grasped a key term.

"Spirit Creek Battlefield?"

The Sect Master had asked him if he had heard of the Spirit Creek Battlefield. In such a critical moment, the Sect Master wouldn't ask him unimportant questions.

Then the Sect Master took out a large seal, respectfully invoked some Providentia as witness, accepted him as a formal disciple of The Vermilion Guild, and stamped the back of his hand.

Thinking of this, Leaf Gray quickly checked the back of his hand but found nothing. After a moment's thought, he channeled spiritual power into the back of his hand.

The next moment, something miraculous happened.

A blue Spirit Pattern suddenly appeared on the back of his hand. The pattern squirmed and transformed, quickly turning into several lines of large characters.

Name: Leaf Gray

Identity: The Vermilion Guild Disciple.

Cultivation: Three Apertures Opened.

Location: Spirit Creek Battlefield.

Merit: None.