Chapter 526: Seeking the Tracking Device

Wind Rising Across the Nine Provinces

Wind Rising Across the Nine Provinces

Jiang Liuzi, holding a compass, stopped thirty feet from Lu Ye. The light radiating from his compass had turned blood red, and the pointer was fixed. Jiang Liuzi suddenly looked up: "Right ahead!"

The moment his words fell, Lu Ye’s figure also appeared. Propelled by Windwalk, he darted out like lightning, his Mountainfall Saber unsheathed, and he powerfully brought it down on Jiang Liuzi.

He didn't know what that compass was, but the only thing he could be sure of was that he had indeed been exposed, and it was related to the compass.

The opponent must have used the compass to locate him precisely.

Since that was the case, he would snatch the compass!

The saber light flashed, and Jiang Liuzi was visibly startled. He had suffered at Lu Ye's hands before and knew of Lu Ye's strength, so he instinctively retreated a few steps in the face of this attack.

Tan Sheng, standing beside him, made his move. As fierce spiritual power surged, a spell blasted towards Lu Ye.

How terrifying was a strike from a Ninth-Layer Realm cultivator? Lu Ye’s charging figure was directly blown away, his qi and blood churning within his chest and abdomen. Mid-air, he reached out and snatched a formation flag from thin air, shaking it violently.

Eight pillars of light shot skyward, resonating and connecting with each other. In an instant, a hemispherical light barrier, like an inverted bowl, enveloped the area for dozens of feet around.

Lu Ye fell out of the light barrier without obstruction, while Tan Sheng, who had pursued him, was blocked by the light barrier.

"A containment formation!" Tan Sheng exclaimed in surprise, not expecting that a containment formation had been set up here in advance. Caught off guard, he was directly trapped inside.

Whoosh, whoosh... Two more sounds of air being torn echoed as Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, who had been concealed nearby, shot into the sky.

Since Lu Ye had even deployed a containment formation, the two naturally didn't hesitate. They knew it was time to run and quickly followed Lu Ye.

Watching the three transform into three streaks of light and disappear into the distance, a trace of regret flashed in Tan Sheng's eyes. He was just a hair's breadth away from killing Lu Yiye, but the opponent had set up a containment formation here, trapping him. There was nothing he could do about it.

Spells began to roar, striking the light barrier, causing ripples to spread across it, and its luster quickly dimmed.

Jiang Liuzi also attacked. Although Lu Ye would find it impossible to escape as long as the compass was in hand, it was best to resolve this matter as soon as possible, as delays could lead to complications. Lu Yiye was only in the Third-Layer Realm. If he accidentally encountered other cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge while escaping, someone else might snatch the reward.

Even Wei Que couldn't be trapped for too long by such a containment formation, let alone Tan Sheng.

In less than twenty breaths, the containment formation's light barrier completely faded. Tan Sheng and Jiang Liuzi shot into the sky, heading directly in the direction Lu Ye and the others had fled. A moment later, they met a person ahead; it was Jiang Chengzi, who had been concealing his presence earlier.

He was luckier and wasn't caught by the containment formation, so he had followed Lu Ye and the others after they fled. However, he didn't dare to get too close. He was alone, and the opponents were three. If Lu Ye and the others discovered his presence, he wouldn't fare well.

"Over there! I saw them descend in that direction," Jiang Chengzi pointed to a certain spot.

As he spoke, a booming, buzzing sound suddenly came from the direction he indicated, followed by a burst of fire.

Jiang Chengzi paused, feeling as if this scene... seemed somewhat familiar? As if he had seen it somewhere before.

Tan Sheng had already darted away, with Jiang Liuzi and his brother close behind.

However, after only a dozen feet, Jiang Liuzi suddenly let out a surprised sound, stopped, and called out, "Senior Brother Tan, wait!"

Tan Sheng quickly stopped, annoyed: "What is it?"

"The indication on this... Lu Yiye is in that direction." Jiang Liuzi stared at the compass in his hand and pointed in a direction.

The direction he pointed to was clearly different from the source of the fire.

"Didn't you say they went in that direction?" Tan Sheng frowned, looking at Jiang Chengzi.

Jiang Chengzi said, "That's right, I saw it with my own eyes."

"Could this object be wrong?" Jiang Liuzi was also confused. He trusted his brother's words, but the compass in his hand pointed in another direction, which was truly odd.

"We'll know if we go and see." Tan Sheng quickly made a decision. Regardless of the compass's guidance, the source of the fire was only a few miles from here, and checking it wouldn't take much effort.

Once he made up his mind, Jiang Liuzi and his brother naturally said no more. Soon, the three arrived at a desolate cave.

Jiang Chengzi looked at the cave, feeling increasingly that the scene was familiar...

Two hundred miles away, on another teleportation array, Lu Ye, who had escaped there, felt heavy-hearted. He was being targeted, and among them was a Ninth-Layer Realm cultivator!

What he couldn't figure out now was the purpose of the compass in Jiang Liuzi's hand and why he felt a strange connection to it.

As if knowing what Lu Ye was thinking, Li Baxian said, "Junior Brother, that's a Tracing Disk!"

"Tracing Disk?" Lu Ye frowned. Just hearing the name of the object, he vaguely guessed its function.

"It's a rare treasure used for tracking and locating. The user writes the name of the person they need to locate on it with their blood, and the Tracing Disk will provide clear guidance. I've only heard of such a thing; I've never seen it before."

"They're willing to use such a rare treasure on me... Interesting."

From the current situation, that Tracing Disk should belong to Jiang Liuzi; otherwise, there would be no reason for him to be holding it. When he was exposed earlier, he tried to snatch the Tracing Disk from the opponent but failed, which he regretted greatly. If he had managed to get it just now, the crisis would have been resolved.

"So, with that Tracing Disk, they can find me anytime?"

Li Baxian's voice was grave: "Yes."

"What hatred, what grievance..."

He didn't have much personal animosity with Jiang Liuzi and his brother; they had merely clashed during the dispute over the spirit land's ownership. Yet, they couldn't forget him and even found a Ninth-Layer Realm cultivator as a helper. This clearly meant they were determined to kill him.

From their perspective, Lu Ye could understand. After all, his life was tied to a huge bounty, a bounty he had carried since he was in the Fifth-Layer Spirit Creek Realm.

Understanding was one thing, but there was still some resentment.

"That Ninth-Layer Realm cultivator is Tan Sheng, from the New Moon Sect. He has a considerable foundation."

"He's Tan Sheng?" Lu Ye was surprised.

On the hunting list, they were at the first and second positions, but he had never met Tan Sheng nor knew what he looked like. He hadn't expected that the helper Jiang Liuzi and his brother found was this guy.

It seemed this guy not only wanted the bounty but also the top spot on the hunting list. As long as he could kill him, all the benefits would be his.

It wasn't strange that Li Baxian recognized him. After all, he had been in the Spirit Creek battlefield for so many years, sending off batch after batch of Spirit Creek Realm cultivators.

To be evaluated by him as having a considerable foundation, Tan Sheng must have been a powerful cultivator who had once topped the Spirit Creek Ranking.

"Junior Brother, it's not advisable to stay here long. With that Tracing Disk, the opponent will find us soon. We need to leave quickly."

Two hundred miles was truly nothing for a Ninth-Layer Cloud River Realm cultivator. If they exerted their full power, they would arrive in no time.

Lu Ye nodded and softly called out, "Fourth Senior Brother, Senior Sister Feng."

Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan both looked at him.

Boom...

The Mountainfall Saber was unsheathed, and a reddish saber light flashed, cutting out a crescent-shaped arc.

Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan instinctively leaped backward, but then, Li Baxian's expression changed, and he let out a low cry: "Junior Brother!"

The teleportation array glowed, and when everything settled, Lu Ye's figure had vanished.

Li Baxian rushed to the teleportation array, channeling spiritual power, trying to activate the formation.

However, it was useless; the array underfoot remained motionless.

This formation was set up by Lu Ye, so he naturally left some contingencies. This ensured that only he could activate the formation. Others, even if they stood on the teleportation array and poured spiritual power into it, could not activate it.

Beneath the boy's mask, Li Baxian's expression turned grave.

Feng Yuechan also understood Lu Ye's intention: "He doesn't want to implicate us?"

Without breaking the Tracing Disk, Lu Ye couldn't escape his pursuers. Even with teleportation arrays at his disposal, he would likely face grave danger unless he had enough teleportation arrays to toy with his enemies.

Once Tan Sheng caught up to him, with the huge difference in cultivation, he would be powerless to resist, even with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan.

That's why he forced Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan back, stepping onto the teleportation array alone, because he could feel that this journey would be fraught with danger!

If possible, he wouldn't even want to bring Amber.

But ever since the Life Origin Art was forged, his life had been inextricably linked with Amber. If he died, Amber would not survive, and Yiyi would also perish.

So, he still had to bring Amber. Besides, at a critical moment, he might be able to enter a beast-transformed state to save his life, and Yiyi had always been excellent at monitoring and alerting.

"How foolish!" Li Baxian was annoyed. As a senior brother, how could he bear to see Lu Ye face danger alone? But Lu Ye's saber strike just now had forced him and Feng Yuechan back, giving them no time to think.

It could only be said that his junior brother was too decisive. The moment he realized his predicament, he immediately made a decision.

A message came from the battlefield imprint. Li Baxian quickly checked it. As expected, it was from Lu Ye.

"What did he say?" Feng Yuechan asked.

Li Baxian said angrily, "He said we were too slow and delayed his escape!"

Feng Yuechan was speechless. She naturally knew this was not Lu Ye's true thought; he merely wanted to use this method to alleviate their guilt.

"Junior Brother himself has some plans..." Li Baxian relayed what Lu Ye had said in his message.

After listening, Feng Yuechan nodded: "In that case, Junior Brother Lu wasn't acting on a whim. He made this decision after careful consideration. If things go smoothly, he might indeed escape this chase."

The biggest key to escaping this pursuit was the closing of the hunting ground!

But who knew when the hunting ground would close? (To be continued)