Chapter 266: Permanence-Erasing Bracelet

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The Pan Shan saber, enhanced with Double Sharpness, thrust straight out. Even though Qiao Yun resisted desperately, the saber pierced directly through her heart.

As death neared, Qiao Yun suddenly seemed to understand something. She stared at Lu Ye in disbelief: "You... you're working together!" There was no reason for the Immortal Yuan Guards to only target her and not Lu Ye. Furthermore, the ambush by Fenghua Courtyard earlier had been foiled by the Immortal Yuan Guards. If those Immortal Yuan Guards hadn't suddenly appeared, Chu Qing would have dealt with Lu Yiye thoroughly by now. Considering all the previous events, Qiao Yun, unless she was foolish, could guess the truth. This terrified her. An outsider cultivator had actually colluded with the Immortal Yuan Guards of Immortal Yuan City. This information had to be spread. She struggled to raise her hand, trying to touch her battle imprint. Another flash of light emanated from the Pan Shan saber that had pierced her heart. Under the enhancement of the "Piercing Spike" Spirit Mark, sharp spiritual energy spikes exploded within her body. Qiao Yun's body trembled slightly, and the light in her eyes rapidly faded.

Amber appeared from seemingly nowhere, leaping onto Lu Ye's shoulder. During the previous battle, it had not shown itself, hiding in the shadows to control its spectral entities. Even simple commands required control over those spectral entities. The surrounding Immortal Yuan Guards dissolved into spiritual light, entering Amber's body, leaving only Yi Yi.

Freed from the Binding Spirit Lock, Qiao Yun's plump body crashed to the ground. Lu Ye collected the storage bag from her waist and quickly darted forward. At this moment, on the streets and rooftops, swirling mists billowed, from which an inexplicable aura faintly emanated.

Lu Ye had only run a few steps when a humanoid figure suddenly burst out from a swirling mist nearby. This scene felt remarkably familiar to Lu Ye. Every time he went to the Mirage Realm to refine his saber techniques, cultivators would emerge from the mist like this, one stronger than the last, until Lu Ye could no longer resist. The humanoid entity that emerged from the mist was completely enveloped in fog, its features indistinct, gender indiscernible, exactly like those he encountered in the Mirage Realm. Seeing this, Lu Ye became even more certain that the Breath Fruit core he obtained was significantly connected to this Boundless Mirage Realm. What exactly that connection was, he didn't yet know. He decided to test it out, so he turned and slashed his saber at the humanoid entity. The opponent, only exhibiting spiritual energy fluctuations of the seventh level, couldn't block the blow and was cleaved in half, dissipating into mist. But immediately after, another humanoid entity burst from the swirling mist, its aura slightly stronger than the last.

Lu Ye turned and ran! He confirmed it: these humanoid entities and the rolling mist were identical to what he encountered in the Mirage Realm accessed via the Breath Fruit core. These things were endless and inextinguishable, completely impossible to defeat. He rushed into a nearby building, quickly closing the door, but the mist ignored the obstruction of the door and followed him. Lu Ye cursed under his breath, thinking that indeed, only houses with lanterns hanging outside their doors offered refuge. The intelligence purchased from the Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance was correct. He slashed again, shattering the humanoid entity blocking his path, then rushed onto the street and sped forward.

Along both sides of the street, at regular intervals, a swirling mist billowed. As soon as Lu Ye passed by, humanoid entities would surge out of the mist, pursuing him relentlessly. The pursuers behind him grew in number, gradually forming a considerable group. This endless flight wouldn't work, as he would alarm other humanoid entities in the mist clusters along the way, causing the pursuers to multiply. Even with a few Immortal Yuan Guards as helpers, he definitely couldn't resist them all.

"Yi Yi!" Lu Ye called out, extending his hand towards her. Yi Yi understood immediately, handing Lu Ye all the storage bags she had collected from the battlefield, then plunging herself into Amber's body. Lu Ye then took out a wooden bracelet from his own storage bag. This was clearly a spiritual artifact; he channeled spiritual energy into it.

Turning a corner, the rapidly moving Lu Ye suddenly stopped, slipping the bracelet onto his wrist. Instantly, a circular ripple emanated from the bracelet, washing over Lu Ye's body. A miraculous transformation occurred: Lu Ye rapidly became distorted, then vanished. The pursuing humanoid entities quickly arrived at the spot, but Lu Ye's figure was no longer there. These beings from the mist wandered aimlessly for a while before gradually dispersing.

Lu Ye remained motionless, not daring to move, and even suppressed his breathing to the extreme, controlling the flow of his spiritual energy to its utmost limit, fearing any potential flaw. The spiritual artifact in his hand was given to him by Madam Yun.

When Madam Yun learned that Lu Ye was going to train in the inner circle, she gave him two items. One was the Nine Realms Map, which could be used to kill or trap enemies. The other was the Trace Erasing Bracelet he now held, for self-preservation. The Nine Realms Map was a spiritual treasure. Considering Lu Ye's insufficient cultivation, Madam Yun had sealed ninety percent of its power so that he could barely activate its might. The Trace Erasing Bracelet was not a spiritual treasure, and its grade was somewhat difficult to categorize, but it was undeniably a very special and useful spiritual artifact. It allowed Lu Ye to achieve the effect of concealment, just as he had done now. This treasure was crafted by Madam Yun using a very rare spiritual wood core, with concealment spirit marks as the core and several other spirit marks as auxiliary. Its value was immeasurable.

The Nine Realms Map for killing and trapping enemies, the Trace Erasing Bracelet for avoiding enemies and self-preservation. From this, it was clear that Madam Yun had gone to great lengths for Lu Ye, genuinely hoping he would be safe and eventually inherit her legacy.

Concealment was not uncommon; highly cultivated ghost cultivators could hide their forms. But that was a result of communing with the netherworld. Besides ghost cultivators, it was difficult for cultivators of other factions to possess such a method, unless they used precious spirit talismans. There was a type of spirit talisman called a Concealment Talisman, but it was not only expensive but also very rare; even the Heavenly Secret Treasury didn't have any in stock. Of course, this method of concealment was not without a counter. Cultivators all possessed their own perception, and the stronger their cultivation, the stronger their perception. Ghost cultivators were indeed adept at stealth assassination, but as long as one's own perception was strong enough, one could naturally sense enemies whose traces were concealed.

The Trace Erasing Bracelet bestowed by Madam Yun was extraordinary. Its only drawback was that Lu Ye could not move after activating its effect. That's why Lu Ye had never used it before; he wouldn't casually employ it unless absolutely necessary, like now. If someone were to cast a large-scale spell at his location right now, his whereabouts would certainly be exposed. Fortunately, his current opponents were the humanoid entities emerging from the mist, which, like ordinary Immortal Yuan Guards, were thoughtless and unintelligent beings.

Only after the pursuers dispersed did Lu Ye reveal himself and dash forward. Along the way, he drew more pursuers, and the Immortal Yuan Guards, who were usually everywhere, were now nowhere to be seen, as if they too were avoiding these humanoid entities emerging from the mist. After running some distance, Lu Ye employed his old trick again, concealing his form, shaking off the pursuers, and then continuing forward. After several repetitions, he finally saw a hanging lantern. In a few quick strides, he reached the building, pushed open the door, and entered.

Just as he closed the door, a massive shadow enveloped him, and an immense threat loomed overhead. Lu Ye raised his saber and slashed. *Clang!* It was as if he had struck steel, and sparks flew. When he looked up, he saw a broad figure standing before him, a palm as large as a cattail fan descending towards him. The palm's descent wasn't fast, but it stirred up a significant wind pressure, indicating the power of the strike. Lu Ye's eye twitched; he felt utterly unlucky. The body cultivators he encountered today were each more abnormal than the last. That woman named Qiao Yun was bad enough, with layers of fat that couldn't be cut through. But this one before him was even worse. Lu Ye's previously enhanced sharp saber strike hadn't hit steel; it had landed on the man's chest, yet it left only a white mark. If Qiao Yun's defense relied on her layers of fat to weaken attacks, then this man's was pure brute force, defying all reason. As the palm descended, Amber, crouching on Lu Ye's shoulder, let out a yelp. The palm suddenly halted above Lu Ye's head, the wind pressure ruffling Lu Ye's hair. The Pan Shan saber in Lu Ye's hand also stopped inches from the man's face.

The tower-like man looked at Amber, then at Lu Ye, withdrew his palm, and scratched his head. A spell suddenly struck from the side. Lu Ye was about to dodge. The man standing before him had already slapped downwards, dispersing the washbasin-sized fireball with a single blow. Lu Ye didn't even sense the man activating his qi and spiritual energy, meaning he accomplished this purely with his physical body. Such physical strength was truly astonishing.

"Ju Jia!" an angry voice called out."I know him," the tower-like man replied dully.

Lu Ye looked up and saw a mustachioed cultivator nearby. Their eyes met, and the mustachioed man exclaimed, "Oh, it's you! I thought people from Myriad Devil Ridge had arrived. A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding, I apologize." He said this, but his expression showed no trace of apology. Lu Ye had a faint feeling that if Ju Jia hadn't suddenly held back, the mustachioed spell cultivator wouldn't have cared whether he belonged to the Vast Heaven Alliance or Myriad Devil Ridge; he would have killed him first and asked questions later. Killing cultivators from the same faction also earned merit points.

A faint scent of blood hung in the air, indicating someone had died here. Lu Ye glanced indifferently at the mustachioed man and sheathed his saber. The mustachioed man smiled and came forward: "My fellow Daoist, what a coincidence! To meet again here." "Mm," Lu Ye replied coolly. Lu Ye responded noncommittally, looked around, found a corner, walked over, and sat down cross-legged.

Ju Jia came closer, looking at Amber with concern, his eyes wide like lanterns. This was because the remaining Immortal Yuan Guards were drawing on Amber's power to restore themselves, which made Amber appear a bit listless and in dire need of replenishment.