The first wave of over seventy Manic Ridge cultivators who had encircled them saw more than twenty instantly killed or injured after the various formations exploded. The rest were struggling to resist the power of the formations, frequently suffering injuries, screaming, and then being killed.
The protective formation covering Lu Ye and Ju Jia had already shattered. Although this formation was sturdy, it had its limits. It had been breached after withstanding one round of fierce attacks from the Manic Ridge cultivators. However, at this moment, no Manic Ridge cultivator had the leisure to attack Lu Ye.
Perched on the large rock, Lu Ye continuously waved and changed the formation flags in his hand, maximizing the power of the surrounding formations. The scene was utterly chaotic.
“Quickly, use your artifacts to escape the formations!” Finally, a cultivator who sensed the danger shouted.
This group had arrived aggressively, but before even getting close to Lu Ye, they had suffered heavy casualties. The priority now was naturally to leave this place. Without knowing if there were more formations around, flying with artifacts was the best option. The sky could not possibly be covered by formations.
As his words fell, the many panicked cultivators finally reacted, each summoning their flying spiritual artifacts. In such dense forests, with tall trees and thick canopies, obstacles were numerous, making flying with artifacts not an ideal choice; a slight misstep could lead to crashing into a tree. But at that moment, the Manic Ridge cultivators had no better alternative.
As various spiritual artifacts ascended, the surviving Manic Ridge cultivators were about to flee this perilous place. However, before they could do so, Lu Ye vigorously waved his formation flag once more. The next instant, bright patterns materialized on the ground, activating a new formation.
As this formation was activated, all the cultivators who had ascended felt an overwhelming pressure, as if a mountain were pressing down on them. Their bodies suddenly became incredibly heavy, and even as they desperately resisted, they could not withstand the invisible force pressing down from above.
“Anti-flight?” a cultivator screamed in terror.
Anti-flight formations were well-known, but they were certainly not something a Spirit Stream Realm cultivator could set up. Thus, faced with such a sudden change, everyone was thrown into disarray. Lu Ye indeed could not set up a true anti-flight formation; genuine ones completely stripped away the ability to fly. The activated formation was merely based on heavy-pressure spirit runes. If a cultivator could withstand the immense pressure, they could still ascend and fly away, but the power of such a formation was too formidable for any Spirit Stream Realm cultivator to resist.
Exclamations and screams rose one after another as figures tumbled down in disarray. Before they even hit the ground, powerful spells surged from below. A blazing fire lotus appeared, and beneath it, Yi Yi’s figure emerged at some unknown moment, her hands raised high, spiritual power surging around her. Wherever the flames swept, the Manic Ridge cultivators, who hadn't yet adjusted their falling postures, were engulfed in balls of fire.
Ju Jia charged out, casually grabbing the leg of a falling cultivator. He then swung the person around like a mace, smashing them into nearby enemies.
Lu Ye leaped down from the rock, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade. He strolled leisurely through the hellish battlefield, a whistling sound emanating from his weapon box. Nine streams of light from his controlled artifacts darted back and forth, drawing sprays of hot blood, while the Pan Mountain Blade was occasionally drawn. Beside him, Amber had revealed her true form, her agile figure moving swiftly through the battlefield. Pale golden demonic energy swirled around her, and when her massive claws struck, heads were often crushed and bones shattered.
It wasn't that the Manic Ridge cultivators weren't powerful enough; those who dared to pursue Lu Ye deep into this area were all cultivators who had switched to Heaven-tier cultivation methods, with a minimum cultivation level of Heaven Seven. With over seventy people acting together, they wouldn't even fear facing a Cloud River Realm cultivator.
However, Lu Ye had prepared in advance. Just two explosive formations caused significant casualties among the Manic Ridge forces, and the subsequent activation and transformation of various other formations left them overwhelmed. With these multiple strategies employed, the seventy-odd people instantly became a disorganized mob, with only slaughter awaiting them.
A short while later, the battle ceased. Around the large rock, on the ravaged battlefield, incomplete corpses lay strewn. A foul stench of charring mingled with the smell of blood. All seventy-odd people were wiped out in this battle. Originally, a few had a chance to escape, but they were too slow. They had their escape routes blocked by the elusive Yi Yi, who, along with the arriving Amber, hunted them down until none remained.
After clearing the battlefield and gathering the spoils, the group swiftly withdrew from the area.
A moment later, more Manic Ridge cultivators gathered here. After a thorough investigation, the results were horrifying. The five teams that first tracked Lu Ye were completely annihilated. Combining the messages transmitted by the dying Manic Ridge cultivators and the remnants of the battlefield, it was clear that “Annihilator Lu” had achieved this incredible feat by relying on the power of formations.
Instantly, the Manic Ridge cultivators felt a heavy burden. Lu Yi Ye was powerful and fast. Previously, so many Manic Ridge cultivators had tried to encircle and intercept him but failed to kill him, allowing him to escape into the vast Misty Mountain. They had thought that entering this area would be a good opportunity to eradicate him, but to their surprise, he had displayed extraordinary formation-laying abilities.
Judging solely by the lingering traces of formations, “Annihilator Lu” had set up no fewer than seven formations here. There were also many broken formation flags and bases remaining on the battlefield. Only then did many Manic Ridge cultivators realize a problem they had previously overlooked. Lu Yi Ye could even breach a grand protective formation of a stronghold; how could his formation-laying skills be poor?
This vast forest, with its swirling mist, made it difficult to search for people by flying. Pursuing and searching within this dense forest, no one knew if they might suddenly step into a formation. Once caught in such a trap, death was inevitable. Suddenly, the surrounding environment seemed to become fraught with danger, instilling fear in everyone's hearts.
“Everyone, there’s no need to panic too much.”
Just as many Manic Ridge cultivators felt uneasy, one person suddenly stepped forward and declared confidently, “Even if Lu Yi Ye has formation-laying abilities, such methods cannot be sustained indefinitely.” As if to add weight to his words, the person subtly revealed his spiritual aura as he spoke, his Heaven Nine cultivation level fully apparent.
“May I ask your name, Senior Brother?” someone politely inquired.
“Qin Zheng, from Thousand Feathers Sect.”
As soon as the name was uttered, many immediately checked their battle marks. Soon, someone exclaimed in surprise, “Senior Brother Qin, ranked ninety-eighth on the Spirit Stream Ranking?” Once cultivators reached a certain cultivation level, they could use their battle marks to connect with the Heavenly Dao, allowing them to access information previously unavailable, such as the Spirit Stream Ranking. At that moment, Qin Zheng’s name was indeed ranked ninety-eighth on the Spirit Stream Ranking. Even if he was ninety-eighth, he was still a figure on the Spirit Stream Ranking, an unattainable existence for ordinary Spirit Stream Realm cultivators.
No one had previously known that there was a Spirit Stream Ranking expert among the pursuers of Lu Ye. It wasn't that these experts were not tempted by the reward for killing Lu Ye; rather, most of them held themselves in high regard and rarely acted in groups. Individuals like Qin Zheng were, after all, rare. Moreover, he had always been low-key, and would not have revealed his identity this time if not to boost morale. Hearing someone mention the Spirit Stream Ranking, Qin Zheng blushed slightly. His ninety-eighth rank on the Spirit Stream Ranking felt somewhat inexplicable because just a few days prior, he hadn't been on the list at all. Then, the top three on the Spirit Stream Ranking suddenly vanished simultaneously, and he found himself on the list in a rather bewildered manner.
“What did Senior Brother Qin mean by what you just said?” the person who had spoken earlier asked.
Qin Zheng said, “To be frank, I consider myself a rudimentary formation cultivator.” He held up a half-broken formation flag. “Therefore, I have some knowledge of formations. This is a formation flag that Lu Yi Ye used to set up formations, and he bought it from the Heavenly Dao Treasury.”
“How can you be sure?”
Qin Zheng smiled, producing another formation flag in his hand. “Because I have also bought them. For us Spirit Stream Realm cultivators, crafting formation flags requires considerable effort. So, if one has enough merit points, it’s more time- and labor-efficient to buy them from the Heavenly Dao Treasury. In the Heavenly Dao Treasury, each of these flags costs roughly the same as a low-grade spiritual artifact. I don’t know how many Lu Yi Ye bought, but there’s a rumor that he previously bought spirit-mending pills for Li Baxian, and I’m sure many of you have heard about the price of those pills. Therefore, even Lu Yi Ye shouldn’t have too many formation flags on hand.”
Someone understood Qin Zheng's implication: “Senior Brother Qin means that once Lu Yi Ye exhausts his supply of formation flags, he won’t be able to set up any more formations?”
“Unless he goes to buy more! I just observed that there were about a dozen destroyed formation flags around here, and four formation bases. Just for these, the merit points spent would be no less than a thousand. And he likely collected some undamaged flags as well.”
“This scoundrel is truly wealthy!”
“A thousand merit points… How many aspiring cultivators from our Manic Ridge did he kill! Detestable!”
“Don’t forget the spirit-mending pills. Lu Yi Ye is like a leech, sucking the blood of our Manic Ridge cultivators, enriching himself while bringing misery upon us!”
A group of people, filled with righteous indignation, began to criticize Lu Ye vociferously.
Seeing the conversation veer off-topic, Qin Zheng declared in a clear voice, “Everyone, do not be intimidated by Lu Yi Ye’s formation-laying tactics. If we give up now, our fallen comrades will have died in vain. Continuing the pursuit might lead to more deaths among us, but for the future of Manic Ridge, as long as Lu Yi Ye is killed, any number of sacrifices will be worth it. We truly cannot allow him to continue growing, otherwise, no one in the entire Spirit Stream Battlefield will be able to deal with him. Surely, none of you wish for such a figure to emerge from the Vast Sky Alliance, do you?”
“Senior Brother Qin speaks sense.”
Another person added, “Although we acted in a group before, we lacked unified command and coordination, which is why we suffered such heavy losses. Since Senior Brother Qin is a figure on the Spirit Stream Ranking, why don’t you take charge of this matter? How about we follow your command?”
This suggestion received approval and agreement from many.
Qin Zheng pondered for a moment, then nodded. “Indeed, unified command and coordination are necessary to succeed. Since so many fellow cultivators show me such high regard, I will not decline. If anyone believes they are more suitable than me, they are welcome to volunteer; I am not one to envy the capable, and I would gladly step aside for a more worthy candidate.”
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[4 minutes ago] Chapter 404: Time Guang
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