Chapter 2208: Being Captured

By now, Lu Ye had burst out of the main battlefield's range, but his expression grew even more solemn as the sea of blood behind him drew closer and closer.

Even though he activated the Blood Escape technique, he couldn't shake it off.

The disparity in cultivation levels was too great; he simply couldn't match the opponent's speed.

He had only suspected Li Qi was an infiltrator, but now it was almost confirmed. He keenly sensed Li Qi's aura was still within the sea of blood, yet he made no move.

Du Feng's death was truly unjust. He had only narrowly escaped death a few days prior and likely never imagined he would perish here today.

What to do? Numerous thoughts surged in Lu Ye's mind. He was being pursued by two Spirit Cultivators, and they were so close that even if he used his clone, it would be too late. The Blood Spirit Cultivator's divine sense had been locked onto him the entire time; at this point, his clone couldn't possibly deceive them.

Thinking deeper, the enemy was willing to expose Li Qi's identity just to target him this time. Clearly, they had been eyeing him for a long time!

Was it because of the Crane Wing Formation? There was no other possibility.

A formation that could pique the interest of the Military Affairs Office would naturally interest the enemy as well. Lu Ye had actually known all along that the Crane Wing Formation would attract the enemy's attention, but he never imagined the enemy would value it so highly, going so far as to use an infiltrator Spirit Cultivator to deal with him.

If that was the case, then this attack on the Wind-level stronghold was a trap, designed to lure him in!

It was difficult to guard against such persistent plotting; such a thing was impossible to prevent. If not today, then tomorrow; if not at a Wind-level stronghold, then at a Fire-level one.

There was no escape; the speed difference between them was too great.

Lu Ye suddenly stopped. The next instant, the sea of blood enveloped him, filling his vision with crimson. Two powerful auras assailed him from left and right.

"Oh?" A slightly surprised voice came from the left. "Why aren't you running?"

Lu Ye ignored it. He turned his head to look at the source of the aura on his right, his voice low: "Li Qi?"

No one responded. After a long moment, a figure slowly emerged from the hazy crimson, standing about ten meters away from Lu Ye.

This was a middle-aged man dressed in a green robe. His face bore the calm of age, and his sword-like eyebrows gave him a resolute appearance.

Li Qi's appearance wasn't particularly striking, but he possessed an upright and impartial demeanor. No one would have imagined that such a person could be an infiltrator for the Blood Race!

Their eyes met, and Li Qi showed a look of appreciation. "You're very clever!"

He could see that Lu Ye had guessed his identity.

The Blood Spirit Cultivator's voice was elusive. "Clever people usually don't live long!"

Lu Ye abruptly turned his head. "Come on, kill me! Do you dare?"

To expose an infiltrator Spirit Cultivator and still set up a trap for him, the enemy clearly coveted the Crane Wing Formation. In other words, he still held great value. This was why Lu Ye, knowing there was no escape, simply stopped.

He had value that the enemy cared about, so in the short term, the enemy wouldn't kill him. This was an opportunity!

The Blood Race voice paused. Immediately after, the sea of blood surged. Lu Ye instantly let out a muffled groan, his body hunched, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

The Blood Spirit Cultivator's voice came out: "I can beat you! If you're smart, you'd better be honest."

Lu Ye found himself deflated. He straightened his body and raised a hand to wipe the corner of his mouth.

The Blood Race member then said, "The mission is complete. On the battlefield, will you make your move or should I?"

This time, for Lu Ye, the Insect and Blood Races suffered significant losses. Now that Lu Ye had been captured, it was naturally time to end this battle. Either of them returning to the battlefield could slaughter without restraint.

Li Qi, standing before Lu Ye, was slightly silent.

The Blood Spirit Cultivator scoffed, "Still thinking of going back?"

Li Qi did not deny it. "Perhaps there's a chance. If I hadn't been exposed and continued to lie low, it would be beneficial to the overall situation." Although he was not in control of his own fate, he was, after all, human and had lived this way for so many years. Suddenly switching sides, there was inevitably some reluctance.

"Don't even think about it," the Blood Spirit Cultivator snorted. "Don't treat others as fools. After today, you'll definitely be suspected. And..." He paused, looking at Lu Ye. "This kid's subordinates are already widely publicizing your identity as an infiltrator."

With the Insect Queen's connection, he could still know the situation on the battlefield, even though he was still here.

"Then never mind," Li Qi said, a look of helplessness and regret on his face. "You make your move. I... am human after all!"

"Ridiculous!" The Blood Spirit Cultivator snorted coldly and flashed away.

The sea of blood dissipated. Lu Ye's eyes drooped, his expression like Li Qi's, filled with both regret and helplessness.

Because that had been an opportunity.

If Li Qi had left, leaving behind the Blood Spirit Cultivator, Lu Ye might not have been without a chance to fight! In terms of strength, he was certainly inferior to the Blood Spirit Cultivator, but under the suppression of his sacred power, it was highly questionable how much strength the opponent could still exert.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as he wished; Li Qi chose to stay.

This gave Lu Ye a headache.

According to his previous estimates, Li Qi's strength was considerably greater than his. A direct confrontation would certainly offer no chance and would only expose his own trump cards.

As Lu Ye pondered, Li Qi suddenly spoke. "Young friend, I won't make things difficult for you, so don't make things difficult for me, alright?"

Lu Ye turned to look at him. He said faintly, "What's it like being a dog for the Blood Race?"

In this battle, their side was bound to suffer heavy losses. Whether the Crane Wing Battalion could escape with their lives was unknown; he only hoped they had followed his instructions to quickly withdraw from the battlefield.

A flicker of shame and irritation crossed Li Qi's face. He then snorted coldly, "What do you know?"

If not for his carelessness back then, leading him to become an infiltrator, how could he have done what he did today? Didn't he, Li Qi, in his youth, also possess a pure heart, yearning to eradicate all evil from this world?

But in life, things rarely go as planned.

Too lazy to waste any more words with Lu Ye, he reached out and said, "Hand over everything on you that can contact the outside world, and your storage ring!"

Lu Ye paused in silence. He considered launching a sneak attack. At such a close distance, if Li Qi was careless, he might not be without a chance to succeed. With the explosive power of his current ninety-three 'Dao', he might even be able to instantly kill the opponent.

But as he pondered, Lu Ye still gave up on the idea. The disparity in strength was considerable, and the risk was too great.

He took out his Alliance Guard token and his Hawk token, throwing them out along with his storage ring.

There weren't many valuable items in the storage ring. Lu Ye usually stored his belongings in his small Flower Realm, so if he lost it, he lost it; he wouldn't feel pained by it.

Li Qi took them. His divine sense swept over Lu Ye a few times, confirming nothing was missed. He then squeezed hard, crushing both tokens into fragments, severing Lu Ye's ability to contact the outside. He motioned and said, "Come with me!"

Lu Ye moved swiftly to follow, appearing quite cooperative.

They hadn't gone far when Lu Ye looked back. The situation on the battlefield was no longer visible, and he didn't know how the Crane Wing Battalion was faring.

At this moment, across all strongholds in the entire war zone, the previously fierce battles suddenly became clearer, because the Insect and Blood Races had somehow withdrawn their forces.

Just as they had suddenly launched their attack, this left many Spirit Cultivators bewildered.

Phoenix Dawn Stronghold was guarded by Zi Ying. At this moment, her eyebrows were tightly furrowed as she watched the retreating enemy army.

The original Spirit Cultivator guarding this stronghold had been killed in a battle a month ago, which was why the Military Affairs Office had granted Huang Quan's request and dispatched Zi Ying to oversee it.

With her strength, she was qualified to oversee an entire war zone. Now that she had been transferred to Phoenix Dawn Stronghold, it was naturally guarded impregnably.

In today's battle, the enemy Spirit Cultivator was completely suppressed by her. If it hadn't been a Blood Race member, she probably would have killed them by now, but though that Blood Race member was weaker than her, their life-saving abilities were considerable, preventing her from succeeding.

Cheers erupted in the stronghold. Many had heard of Zi Ying's renown; seeing her display her formidable power today, they naturally admired her greatly.

Zi Ying, however, felt little excitement. She simply had a faint feeling that this battle was somewhat amiss.

She took out her Stronghold Guardian token. After a quick check, her expression changed drastically.

Someone had sent her messages earlier, but she had been constantly engaged with the enemy and had no time to check until now.

It was Wang Xun who had contacted her, informing her of the battle at the Wind-level stronghold.

What shocked her was that Li Qi, the guardian of the Wind-level stronghold, was actually an infiltrator. This time, he had cooperated with a Blood Race Spirit Cultivator to kill Du Feng. Lu Ye was being pursued by an enemy Spirit Cultivator and was now nowhere to be found!

Currently, the Wind-level stronghold had suffered heavy losses. The Crane Wing Battalion, thanks to Lu Ye's prior warning, was not weak in overall strength, so after paying a very small price, they had broken through the encirclement and were currently escaping.

Zi Ying immediately thought of going to rescue them. She wanted to rescue not only the Crane Wing Battalion but also Lu Ye.

But she quickly dismissed this idea.

She was currently stationed here, which allowed her to make the stronghold impregnable and defeat invading enemies. But if she left, no one could guarantee that the retreating enemy forces wouldn't return.

If that happened, not only would the Wind-level stronghold be lost, but her own position might not be held either. The entire Yellow Springs war zone would inevitably fall into a great disadvantage.

She tried to contact Lu Ye but couldn't get through at all. She knew that if Lu Ye was truly captured, the enemy certainly wouldn't allow him any chance to contact the outside.

For a moment, she felt forlorn. She never imagined that someone she valued so highly would just be lost like that!

She couldn't even determine Lu Ye's fate at this moment.

Calming herself, she contacted Wang Xun. After carefully asking about the situation at the time, Zi Ying suddenly realized. It must have been the Crane Wing Formation that attracted the enemy, which was why the Blood Spirit Cultivator had targeted Lu Ye. If that was the case, then Lu Ye should not be in mortal danger in the short term.

The enemy would surely take Lu Ye back to their hive to inquire about the Crane Wing Formation.

And with the Insect Queen's methods, any secrets Lu Ye possessed would be extracted. Once he lost his value, he would undoubtedly die!

Thinking of this, Zi Ying sighed.

If she hadn't agreed to Du Feng's request earlier, and hadn't let the Crane Wing Battalion follow Du Feng to reinforce the Wind-level stronghold, none of this would have happened.

But she also hadn't expected that Li Qi would be an infiltrator. At this moment, regret was useless.