Chapter 505: Narrow Escape

With his thoughts clear, Lu Ye wasn't overly concerned about the danger posed by the golden spiritual token. He tucked it into his robe and continued reading and cultivating.

Time flew by. About three hours later, Lu Ye put away his book, took the spiritual token from his robe, sat cross-legged on the formation, and quietly waited.

The intelligence stated that every three hours, the golden spiritual token would activate, revealing the location of its holder. However, Lu Ye didn't know the exact nature of this activation. After all, it was his first time experiencing something like this, so he lacked experience.

A moment later, without warning, the spiritual token in Lu Ye's hand suddenly emitted a dazzling light. The light pierced through all obstacles, shooting skyward, forming a pillar of light directly above Lu Ye's location.

Not only that, a powerful spiritual energy fluctuation rippled outward.

Even though he was mentally prepared, Lu Ye couldn't help but squint. With such a huge disturbance, people within a hundred-mile radius would likely be alerted.

The dazzling pillar of light lasted for a full ten breaths before slowly dissipating. The golden spiritual token reverted to its original appearance, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.

However, Lu Ye could already hear swift whooshing sounds approaching, followed by the sound of people talking.

"It's here," someone exclaimed. "There's a cave here!"

"This person is foolish," another remarked, "hiding in a cave and cutting off their own retreat. They probably know nothing about the hunting ground."

"Be careful," a third voice added, "First, determine their faction."

Several voices spoke one after another. Clearly, they were a group of cultivators traveling together. There weren't many of them, only three or four. Those who travel in groups typically aren't very strong. True powerhouses usually travel alone. On one hand, powerhouses disdain traveling with others; on the other hand, being alone means all benefits are theirs, with no need to share.

"Friend inside," a shout rang out, "which faction are you from? We are from the Vast Sky Alliance. If you are also from the Vast Sky Alliance, please come out!"

Lu Ye naturally wouldn't trust him easily. Regardless of their faction, he was ready to leave.

"The longer we wait, the more complications there will be. Let's finish this quickly," another person said. They were closest to the location, so they arrived first. However, more people would surely be rushing to this spot, so they couldn't delay too long.

While their strength wasn't too weak, it wasn't particularly strong either. If they encountered true powerhouses, they would definitely be no match.

As soon as the words fell, a peculiar spiritual energy fluctuation suddenly emerged from within the cave.

The few exchanged glances, none understanding what was happening. The leader was the first to rush into the cave, spiritual energy surging and poised for action. The others quickly followed.

Three breaths later, a massive hum accompanied by a burst of fire erupted. Several figures scrambled out in disarray, grumbling and cursing under their breath.

No one expected that what awaited them after they rushed in was a detonating formation. Although it didn't cause any casualties, they were disheveled, sustained minor injuries, and felt their vital energy churning.

"Damn it, the one hiding in the cave was actually a formation master!"

A figure suddenly descended from the sky, landing before them. Instantly, the battle markings on everyone's hands glowed.

The newcomer was quite strong, evidently an eighth-stage cultivator. He swept his gaze over the disheveled group and calmly asked, "Where is the item?"

The group's expressions turned grim. They all stood ready for battle, and one of them quickly said, "We didn't find it, there's no one inside!"

This was very strange. There had clearly been spiritual energy fluctuations in the cave moments ago, yet they found no one after entering.

As he said this, he himself found it hard to believe, but it was the truth.

As expected, the newcomer didn't believe them. He snorted coldly and said, "Hand over the item, and I'll leave. Otherwise, you will all die!"

"There really is no one inside," the person who had spoken earlier explained. "We rushed here immediately, but there was only a detonating formation left, and no one else. I swear on the Heavenly Secret!"

The eighth-stage powerhouse frowned. Since the other party dared to swear on the Heavenly Secret, it meant they weren't deceiving him. After a brief ponder, he raised his hand and unleashed a spell towards the front.

Regardless of where the golden spiritual token was, since he had encountered these few, he naturally couldn't let them go.

In an instant, a fierce battle erupted.

Soon after, more and more cultivators were drawn by the commotion of the spiritual token's activation. Centered around the collapsed cave, cultivators from the two major factions, in varying numbers, formed groups and engaged in a chaotic melee. The scene was utterly chaotic.

At this moment, Lu Ye was already in a cave two hundred miles away. He naturally had no idea that he had left such a mess behind.

Besides, it was none of his concern.

However, after witnessing the golden spiritual token's activation, he realized that attempting to conceal the commotion with formations was unfeasible.

He had originally planned to try setting up formations to hide the spiritual token's activation. But now it seemed this was a rule of the Heavenly Secret, something human power couldn't possibly contend with. He was hiding in a cave, yet the pillar of light still shot skyward; how could he possibly conceal it?

He would have to sacrifice his teleportation formations to relocate after the token activated. Fortunately, he had set up a sufficient number of teleportation formations.

After waiting quietly for a moment and confirming that there was no activity around him, Lu Ye put away the golden spiritual token and continued reading and cultivating.

In the blink of an eye, another three hours passed.