Chapter 454: Infiltration

“Ye Liu, I’m sorry,” Shen Xiaomao suddenly said from inside the cave.

“Huh?”

“I lost the spirit land. It was my carelessness. If I had discovered her malicious intentions earlier, we wouldn’t have ended up in this situation.”

In the Cloud River Battlefield, spirit lands are incredibly important to cultivators. Owning one greatly aids in cultivation. Shen Xiaomao had been fortunate to meet Lu Ye and be taken in by him, already imagining her cultivation steadily improving. But unexpectedly, within just a few days, the spirit land was seized by malicious individuals, leaving her full of regret and self-blame.

“Since you’re a cat, how could you be a match for a fox? Don’t overthink it. It’s just a spirit land. If it’s lost, it’s lost. Keeping your life is what matters most.”

“So, we’re just going to let it go?” Shen Xiaomao was clearly a bit unwilling.

“Heal first,” Lu Ye glanced at her.

“Oh.”

A spirit land graded above C but below B was not particularly important to Lu Ye. While having one was good, its absence didn't significantly hinder his cultivation.

If those people had fought fairly and defeated him and Shen Xiaomao, he would have had nothing to say. A treasure land belongs to the capable. If one’s strength is inferior, there's nothing to complain about; one should naturally strive to improve and reclaim it another day.

But using underhanded tactics to seize the spirit land in his absence was truly disgusting.

This matter certainly wouldn't be left unresolved.

Moreover, Lu Ye was the first to discover that spirit land, and he personally set up the great formation within it. Many formation flags and bases were still there. Putting aside other things, a single defensive formation was worth ten to twenty thousand merit points.

Leaving Shen Xiaomao in the cave to recover, Lu Ye summoned his spirit boat under the cover of night, soaring into the sky and speeding away.

Shen Xiaomao, a fifth-level Cloud River cultivator, was first heavily injured fighting two opponents, then narrowly escaped being surrounded by three. This indicated that her opponents' cultivation levels weren't too high, likely at most around the fourth or fifth level.

As for Ruan Qingzhu, she was only at the fourth level...

Although Lu Ye was currently only at the second level of the Cloud River realm, most of the enemies he had encountered since he began cultivating were stronger than him, with very few being at his level or weaker. Therefore, even facing several fourth or fifth-level Cloud River cultivators, he felt no fear.

Since entering the Cloud River Battlefield, he hadn't truly fought anyone. He was actually quite curious to see the standard of cultivators here.

Over half an hour later, Lu Ye arrived at the outskirts of the spirit land. Looking around, the area where the spirit land was located appeared empty. Even if someone passed nearby, they wouldn't detect its presence without a careful search.

This was because the formation Lu Ye had previously set up wasn't just a defensive one built with sixteen formation bases; it also included a concealment formation centered around concealment spirit patterns.

The spirit land wasn't large. With his current proficiency in array formations, he could set up such a concealment formation to hide the entire spirit land, avoiding many unnecessary troubles.

If not for an insider, the spirit land wouldn't have been so easily seized this time.

Lu Ye silently observed for a moment, then descended three miles from the spirit land. He activated a concealment spirit pattern to shroud himself, masking his figure as he quietly approached the spirit land.

After about fifteen minutes, Lu Ye reached the periphery of the spirit land. It was nighttime, and there wasn't much activity around, only the chirping of insects and croaking of frogs.

With insight spirit patterns imbued in his eyes, the hidden spirit land immediately revealed itself, and the light barrier of the defensive formation clearly appeared before him.

The grand formation showed no signs of alteration. Lu Ye didn't know if any of them were formation masters, but even if they were, their mastery of array formations probably wasn't as good as his, otherwise they wouldn't have continued using the formation he had set up.

Since Lu Ye had set up this grand formation, he naturally knew its workings and nodal points inside and out.

He shot several formation flags towards the grand formation, and with a surge of spiritual power, Lu Ye effortlessly opened a corner of the formation and walked in gracefully.

As he retrieved the flags and concealed himself, a figure suddenly darted out of a house. This person, holding a formation jade token, cautiously surveyed the surroundings. He was clearly on duty, and even though Lu Ye’s infiltration into the formation was subtle, it had alerted him.

Noticing this person's movement, several others emerged from their respective houses, among them Ruan Qingzhu.

“Junior Brother Sun, what’s going on?” a robust, broad-shouldered man asked.

The one called Junior Brother Sun, the cultivator holding the formation jade token, frowned as he looked around and said, “The formation seems a bit unusual.”

“What’s unusual?” the robust man asked again, his expression growing more cautious.

Junior Brother Sun shook his head. “I’m not sure, but the formation fluctuated just now.” He turned to a tall, slender man. “Junior Brother Cheng, check it.”

The tall, slender man, Junior Brother Cheng, responded, “Alright!”

Saying this, he stepped forward, took the formation jade token from Junior Brother Sun, infused spiritual power into it, and began to carefully examine it while adjusting the formation’s power. From his actions, he appeared to be a formation master.

While Junior Brother Cheng was inspecting the formation, Junior Brother Sun said, “Could that Shen Xiaomao have returned?”

The robust man replied, “That woman was severely injured. Even if she didn’t die, she couldn’t have recovered so quickly. Compared to her, I’m more worried about that formation master. Junior Brother Cheng also said that formation master’s skill in array formations is considerable.”

Junior Brother Sun chuckled, “Didn’t Junior Sister Ruan say that formation master was only at the first level of the Cloud River realm? He’s probably new to the Cloud River Battlefield, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

Since they had all signed the Heavenly Secret Contract, Lu Ye had told Ruan Qingzhu and Shen Xiaomao his cultivation level. When they learned he was only at the first level of the Cloud River realm, both women were clearly surprised.

Recalling it now, Ruan Qingzhu’s surprise seemed somewhat meaningful.

Shen Xiaomao’s surprise, however, was due to her brief skirmish with Lu Ye when they were contending for spirit tokens earlier; she had never expected him to be at the first level of the Cloud River realm.

Junior Brother Cheng, on the side, carefully inspected the formation and handed the jade token to the cultivator surnamed Sun. “The formation is fine. There might have been some oversights during its setup, causing spiritual energy to flow sluggishly in certain areas. I’ll check it more thoroughly tomorrow.”

Hearing this, the cultivator surnamed Sun also relaxed.

The four dispersed, each returning to their own rooms.

Inside the room of the cultivator surnamed Sun, he sat cross-legged, holding the formation jade token, cultivating peacefully. With the jade token in hand, he could detect any anomaly within the great formation, which was part of his duty.

Time flowed silently. At a certain moment, the cultivator surnamed Sun, immersed in his cultivation, suddenly felt a chill spread through his body as an inexplicable sense of danger enveloped him.

His reaction was swift; the moment he sensed something was wrong, he abruptly opened his eyes. Yet, at that very instant, an unknown force enveloped him, and the world spun. When he regained his senses, he found himself in a jumbled rock forest.

He immediately scanned his surroundings vigilantly and spotted a figure a hundred yards away. The person appeared young, perhaps seventeen or eighteen, with their head slightly bowed and a hand resting on a saber hilt.

The cultivator surnamed Sun immediately shouted, “Who are you!”

More than ascertaining the other’s identity, he wanted to know where he was!

He had clearly been inside his room at the spirit land, yet in the blink of an eye, he had inexplicably arrived here, which truly baffled him.

This rock forest-like place was, naturally, the space within the Nine Worlds Map.

While the four in the spirit land had opened their rooms to investigate, he had quietly infiltrated the room of the cultivator surnamed Sun. He chose this person because the formation jade token was in his possession.

Lu Ye needed to gain control of the formation jade token immediately to move in and out freely.

Otherwise, even though he had set up the spirit land’s grand formation, it would still take some effort for him to leave, just as it had when he infiltrated.

He didn't suddenly attack and kill the cultivator surnamed Sun while he was cultivating, primarily because Lu Ye couldn't guarantee a fatal blow with one strike. Furthermore, even if he could, he couldn't guarantee that the opponent wouldn't scream or make other noises. If that happened, the remaining three would certainly rush over immediately, putting him at a disadvantage.

After all, the opponent’s cultivation was higher than his. Using the Nine Worlds Map was undoubtedly safer. As expected, with the opponent completely unprepared, the Nine Worlds Map immediately drew him in.

At this moment, in the room of the cultivator surnamed Sun, Yiyi was controlling the Nine Worlds Map, careful not to circulate spiritual energy too forcefully, lest she reveal anything. This meant she could only barely maintain the Map’s operation, unable to unleash its full power to assist Lu Ye.

In this battle, Lu Ye would have to rely solely on his own strength!

Inside the Nine Worlds Map, the cultivator surnamed Sun shouted, but received no response, causing a panic in his heart. Considering his current situation, he recalled some rumors.

A powerful treasure that could instantly change a person’s location was undoubtedly a spiritual artifact, like a formation map.

This implied he was inside a formation map, but for a Cloud River realm cultivator to possess a spiritual artifact... it was simply unimaginable. What immense background would one need to own such a treasure, considering Cloud River realm cultivators typically only used mid-grade spirit tools?

While the cultivator surnamed Sun was startled, Lu Ye had already charged towards him, spiritual energy surging around him.

As Lu Ye moved, his cultivation level was immediately exposed.

The cultivator surnamed Sun was furious. “A second-level Cloud River cultivator!”

Where did this fearless youth come from? A mere second-level Cloud River cultivator dared to challenge him! Although his background wasn't exceptionally strong, he was still a fourth-level Cloud River cultivator.

The panic in his heart was replaced by anger. With a raised hand, several spirit weapons shot towards Lu Ye. This person was clearly a weapons master!

However, the next instant, a scene that chilled the cultivator surnamed Sun to the bone unfolded. The charging youth merely raised his hand, and nine streaks of light shot out like meteors, incredibly fast, with an incessant whooshing sound.

With a series of clanging sounds, the cultivator surnamed Sun was surprised to find that his spirit weapons were no match, either in number or power. After only a brief engagement, he was completely at a disadvantage.

The opponent’s nine spirit weapons broke through his blockade, spinning like tops as they surged towards him.