Chapter 528: The Secret Art of the Tracking Plate

Receiving the Tracing Disk, Tan Sheng gazed at the compass needle with a cold expression.

If he could monopolize the benefits, why would he want to share them with others? However, as things stood, it was impossible for just the three of them to track Lu Ye's whereabouts. After a full day of repeatedly traversing the same route more than a dozen times without even glimpsing Lu Ye, continuing like this would surely allow Lu Ye to escape once the hunting ground closed.

He sighed inwardly, feeling immense regret. "Twenty percent it is, then," he thought, "it's better than nothing."

With that thought, his mind was made up.

He raised his hand, bit his fingertip, and wrote the three characters "Lu Yiye" on the Tracing Disk, following it with two more repetitions.

The crimson blood seeped into the disk and quickly vanished. The next moment, the Tracing Disk suddenly shattered, transforming into a rainbow streak that shot skyward and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The Tracing Disk had two distinct functions. One was the method Jiang Liuzi had used previously, which allowed for precise tracking of a person's location with the disk's guidance, provided they were both in the same space.

The other function was what Tan Sheng was now performing. Once the Tracing Disk shattered, it naturally couldn't provide any further guidance, but this particular effect made it impossible for Lu Ye to hide or escape.

For the former function, one only needed to use blood as a guide and write the name of the person being tracked once. However, the latter required writing the name three times, which is why Tan Sheng wrote "Lu Yiye" two additional times.

Meanwhile, at a teleportation array eight hundred miles away from Tan Sheng and his group, Lu Ye, who was sitting there, felt an inexplicable tremor in his heart. Before he could react to what was happening, a bloody light suddenly descended from the sky, enveloped him, and completely engulfed him.

Immediately afterward, the crimson blood-light shot skyward, forming a pillar of light.

The phenomenon was almost identical to the burst of a special golden Spirit Token. The difference was that the Spirit Token's light pillar was golden, while the one erupting from him was blood-red and lacked any strong spiritual energy fluctuations.

Lu Ye had no idea what was happening.

However, such a massive disturbance would undoubtedly attract nearby cultivators. So, the moment he sensed something was wrong, he activated the teleportation array and vanished from his spot.

Moments after he disappeared, a group of cultivators arrived, drawn by the commotion, and entered the cave. Before they could even investigate, someone triggered a detonation formation Lu Ye had left there. A booming tremor and a pillar of fire erupted skyward, leaving several cultivators covered in dust and ash, prompting them to quickly scramble out of the cave.

More cultivators converged towards the area. Among them, one stood suspended in mid-air, radiating a formidable aura that revealed him to be a Ninth-Level Cloud River Realm cultivator.

This individual silently surveyed the situation below, then immediately sent out a message.

The message instantly reached Tan Sheng, eight hundred miles away. After examining it, he immediately rose into the air, transforming into a streak of light that quickly vanished.

He left the Jiang Liuzi brothers looking helpless.

Jiang Liuzi had previously been unwilling to hand over the Tracing Disk, insisting on using it himself, precisely because he feared such a situation would arise. And now, it had.

With the Tracing Disk no longer in their possession, Tan Sheng naturally wouldn't concern himself with their fate. As a Ninth-Level cultivator, he could move much faster alone than while escorting two Fifth-Level cultivators. As for the agreed-upon bounty share, Tan Sheng likely wouldn't renege, but that payment would only materialize if they were still alive after the mission was completed.

Fortunately, enough time had passed that the powerful Haotian Alliance expert who killed Senior Brother Lu Shu probably wouldn't trouble them anymore, which gave them a small sense of security.

At another teleportation array, Lu Ye calmed himself and examined his body, but no matter how thoroughly he searched, he found no abnormalities.

But what about the crimson light that had enveloped him just moments ago?

A burst of that magnitude, surpassing even a Spirit Token's eruption, would clearly reveal his hidden location. No matter how well he concealed himself, any nearby cultivator would discover him and come to investigate.

He raised his hand, tapped his battlefield imprint, and sent a message to Li Baxian, recounting what had just happened to him.

Li Baxian quickly replied.

"That's another function of the Tracing Disk..."

Only after Li Baxian's explanation did Lu Ye understand what he had encountered.

It seemed that the day and night of pursuit had made the other party impatient, forcing them to resort to the Tracing Disk's second function. This meant that while they could no longer use the disk to track his movements, it was no longer realistic for him to remain hidden.

Because, as Li Baxian explained, an explosion like the previous one would occur every hour.

Lu Ye's heart sank.

Previously, when he was hiding, he could sense enemies approaching and flee in advance because of an invisible connection between him and the Tracing Disk. This allowed him to perceive their proximity.

This was why Tan Sheng and his group had pursued him more than a dozen times, only to return empty-handed each time.

He had initially believed that if he continued like this, as long as his teleportation arrays remained undamaged, Tan Sheng and the others would never catch him. Now, however, it seemed he had underestimated the situation.

While Tan Sheng's group couldn't track him directly with the Tracing Disk, they had resorted to its second function.

This truly meant he had nowhere to hide.

The golden Spirit Token exploded once every three hours, which was already frequent enough. Yet, this crimson light would erupt every hour...

This left no room for escape.

"I've already asked for assistance, junior brother. You must hold on; you absolutely have to last until the hunting ground closes!"

"Understood."

Ending the communication, Lu Ye immediately left his hiding place and moved outdoors.

Knowing that his position would be exposed every hour, he couldn't stay in the cave any longer. With few teleportation arrays remaining, each exposure would inevitably lead to the destruction of an array. Therefore, while ensuring his relative safety, he needed to set up more teleportation arrays.

As for Li Baxian's claim of having sought assistance, Lu Ye had no doubts. Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan's connections were far beyond his own, and there were many strong cultivators from the Haotian Alliance currently in the hunting ground, so Li Baxian should be able to enlist some help.

However, he couldn't place too much hope on it. In all matters, one must prepare for the worst and respond with the utmost initiative.

Just as he began to act, news of Lu Ye rapidly spread throughout the Myriad Demon Ridge faction in the hunting ground. All at once, a large number of Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators converged towards the last known location of Lu Ye, especially those whose cultivation was neither very high nor too low.

For people like them, the greatest benefit in the hunting ground was originally the various scattered opportunities. The hunting leaderboard was beyond their reach; they simply lacked the strength and ability.

Now, with news of Lu Ye circulating widely, it naturally stirred excitement. Compared to the hunting leaderboard, the bounty for killing Lu Yiye was far more substantial.

Furthermore, rumors stated that Lu Yiye was merely a Third-Level Cloud River Realm cultivator, and now, having been afflicted by the Tracing Disk's secret art, his position would be exposed every hour. This meant that anyone who encountered him would have a chance to kill him.

Under such circumstances, a massive number of Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators converged in this direction within a short period.

This, however, spelled misfortune for some Haotian Alliance cultivators. Originally, cultivators from both major factions were fairly evenly matched in the hunting ground. But when a large number of cultivators from one faction gathered in a single direction, those from the opposing faction in that area naturally found it difficult to resist.

Unaware Haotian Alliance cultivators, after encountering numerous crises, quickly withdrew from the area.

An hour, two hours, three hours passed...

With every passing hour, a deluge of information about Lu Ye spread in all directions. Each time his position was exposed, it would swiftly attract a large number of Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators to investigate.

Without exception, no one truly found his trace. By utilizing a teleportation array, he could move two hundred miles away the instant his location was revealed.

After several months, Lu Ye once again experienced the feeling of being hunted by countless people, much like in the Spirit Stream Battlefield.

However, this time was far more perilous than his experience in the Spirit Stream Battlefield.

In the Spirit Stream Battlefield, cultivators were only at the Spirit Stream Realm, and the various methods they could employ were incomparable to those of Cloud River Realm experts. When Lu Ye's cultivation reached Heaven Eight in the Spirit Stream Battlefield, he generally no longer had to worry about his safety; he was the one seeking trouble for others. After reaching Heaven Nine, he became virtually invincible, leaving the major sects of Myriad Demon Ridge trembling wherever he went.

This current ordeal was more dangerous than any he had faced before, primarily because the hunting ground allowed entry but no exit, imposing significant restrictions on him.

Otherwise, he could simply find a Heavenly Secret Merchant Guild and enter it, using its protection to ensure his safety.

As time passed, his teleportation arrays dwindled.

Currently, only two active teleportation arrays remained. If Lu Ye hadn't seized opportunities to set up new ones after each escape, he would have run out of arrays long ago.

Lu Ye could sense that the number of Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators in this area seemed to be increasing.

He couldn't stay in this cursed place any longer, even with two teleportation arrays left. Lingering in this area would inevitably lead to trouble sooner or later.

However, if he didn't use the teleportation arrays, his exposed location would certainly put him in great danger.

It was genuinely difficult to decide whether to leave or stay.

But soon, Lu Ye made up his mind: he would leave this area!

Only by leaving this area would he have a chance at survival; staying would undoubtedly lead to his death.

Gazing up at the blood-red sky, Lu Ye felt helpless. The hunting ground had been open for almost twenty days—when would it finally close?

The crimson light reappeared on his body, followed by a pillar of blood-red light shooting skyward!

Another burst had occurred.

Lu Ye activated the teleportation array beneath his feet, instantly transporting himself nearly two hundred miles away.

Hurriedly exiting the cave where the teleportation array was located, Lu Ye rose into the air. He moved at a moderate speed, flying only ten zhang above the ground, trying his best not to create too much commotion.