Chapter 565: Your Time of Death Has Come

Before the three acted, not much was visible. However, the moment their attacks triggered the defensive formation, certain details about the valley below were revealed.

A massive defensive formation, resembling an inverted bowl, enveloped a significant portion of the valley. The spiritual energy flowing on its light barrier was remarkably condensed, clearly indicating the richness of the ambient spiritual energy in this area.

Prior to this, Tan Sheng and his two companions merely suspected this might be Lu Ye's hiding place. But upon seeing the defensive formation, their certainty surged by at least seventy or eighty percent!

The power of a defensive formation is directly linked to the ambient spiritual energy; the denser the energy, the stronger the formation.

Given its immense scope and astonishing strength, this formation clearly indicates that the spiritual energy concentration here matches that of an A-grade spiritual land.

And the reward for the top spot on the Hunt List was precisely an A-grade Spring Spirit!

However, due to the presence of other concealing formations, the three could only perceive the defensive formation's light barrier, unable to see the interior.

Had they been able to see what lay within, they certainly wouldn't have been so aggressive.

This was because, at that very moment, over two hundred startled demonic wolves within the spiritual land were all gazing up at the three figures in the sky. Some wolves even crouched slightly, letting out low, menacing growls.

The immense commotion disturbed more than just the wolf pack.

Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan, and Ju Jia emerged from their wooden cabins, looking skyward.

Li Baxian's gaze swept over the three figures in the sky, and he was slightly taken aback. "How did they find us?"

Li Baxian naturally recognized all three. Tan Sheng and Xia Liang, having once topped the Spirit Stream Ranking, had certainly interacted with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan before.

Wei Que himself had fought them in the hunting grounds previously, only managing to escape thanks to a trapping formation Lu Ye had set up beforehand.

For these three to appear simultaneously above the spiritual land and attack the formation clearly signaled hostile intent. Furthermore, their earlier shouts suggested they were specifically searching for their junior martial brother.

"Where's Junior Brother?" Li Baxian asked, not seeing Lu Ye, but Yi Yi had already emerged.

"Lu Ye is refining his blade skills in the Mirage Realm," Yi Yi replied.

"At a time like this..." Li Baxian sighed with a hint of helplessness. He knew that Lu Ye could use the 'Breath Fruit Core' to enter the Mirage Realm for cultivation. In fact, he and Feng Yuechan had occasionally used it themselves recently to refine their combat skills.

He understood that if Lu Ye was currently in the Mirage Realm, he wouldn't be able to perceive the outside world, and they would simply have to wait for him to exit.

However, if they simply waited, the defensive formation wouldn't hold. An unattended formation has limited power, and with Tan Sheng and his two Cloud River Ninth-Realm companions attacking so powerfully, they would forcibly breach it before long.

"Where is the jade token for controlling the formation?" Li Baxian asked again.

"I'll go look," Yi Yi said, swiftly departing.

She returned shortly, holding a formation jade token. "It's here," she said, quickly handing it to Li Baxian.

Li Baxian took the token, channeled spiritual energy into it, and after a brief familiarization, began mobilizing the ambient spiritual energy to control the grand formation.

In the current situation, Li Baxian wasn't concerned about Tan Sheng and his companions breaking in. While he and the others were no match for the trio, they weren't alone in the spiritual land. A defensive force of two to three hundred demonic wolves meant that if Tan Sheng and his group truly invaded, they would face severe consequences.

However, he couldn't allow Tan Sheng's group to breach the spiritual land before Lu Ye exited the Mirage Realm. A chaotic battle could ensue, and accidental injury to Lu Ye would be problematic.

Therefore, the best course of action was to stall for time, waiting for Lu Ye to return from the Mirage Realm.

The moment he began controlling the formation, Tan Sheng and the others immediately noticed the change.

As a result, their attacks grew even fiercer. Tan Sheng repeatedly shouted, "Lu Yiye, give up! Unless you can summon the Heavenly Secret Pillar again, this place will be your grave today!"

He spoke while attacking furiously, causing ripples to spread across the formation's light barrier.

There was no response from within the grand formation. However, the lack of reply only solidified Tan Sheng's group's belief that Lu Ye was inside. If it were anyone else, they would simply emerge and explain the situation. The fact that it was Lu Yiye meant he wouldn't dare reveal himself easily.

Furthermore, they had tracked Lu Ye's whereabouts to this exact location, which happened to contain an A-grade spiritual land and a formation of this magnitude. Such a coincidence was simply too improbable.

Spiritual energy surged violently, and the light barrier flickered continuously. Tan Sheng and his two companions were secretly astonished; this defensive formation was incredibly powerful. Even with their combined fierce assault, they couldn't breach it.

Nevertheless, even if they hadn't broken the formation, their attacks were having an effect, as the defensive formation's light barrier had noticeably dimmed compared to its initial state.

At this rate, they would eventually break through the formation and then be able to strike directly at their target.

"Focus your attacks on one point!" Xia Liang roared as he brought down his blade.

Delays could lead to complications; who knew if Lu Yiye might summon the Heavenly Secret Pillar? Therefore, the sooner they broke through the formation, the better.

As his longblade descended, Wei Que's spell followed, and Tan Sheng attacked in turn. A relentless barrage of attacks concentrated on a single point of the formation's light barrier, causing it to flicker intensely, a testament to their seamless coordination.

Within the spiritual land, Li Baxian's expression grew increasingly helpless. Although he was diligently maintaining the formation's operation, he wasn't a formation master, nor was the formation of his own design. His capabilities were limited; he could, at most, channel more energy to reinforce the point under attack.

A thought crossed his mind: if it truly came to it, he would have no choice but to let these three reckless individuals enter and then let the demonic wolves deal with them.

As he was contemplating this, Lu Ye's voice suddenly sounded beside him. "What's happening?"

Li Baxian turned his head to see Lu Ye standing beside him, looking up at the sky. "Junior Brother, you're finally awake!" he exclaimed, overjoyed.

Lu Ye, now seeing Tan Sheng and his two companions acting menacingly, couldn't help but show a strange expression. "How did these three find their way here?"

And surprisingly, all three came together!

His immediate thought was whether the tracking compass's secret art was still active. Yet, upon reconsideration, that didn't seem right. Since he had left the hunting grounds and returned to Kyushu, there had been no trace of the secret art on him. It was illogical for it to remain effective for so long.

However, these three couldn't have found this place without cause. While he didn't know their exact method, they had clearly used a special spiritual artifact, likely similar to a tracking compass.

With enemies at their doorstep, attacking the formation he had set up, a battle was inevitable. Lu Ye turned to observe the wolf pack, noting that they were all looking up at the sky, many already aroused to ferocity, baring their fangs where they stood.

As if sensing Lu Ye's gaze, the alpha wolf in a certain part of the pack turned its head. Their eyes met, and the alpha wolf gave a slight nod.

Lu Ye's mind settled. "One trains soldiers for a thousand days to use them for one day." It had been undoubtedly wise to regard the demonic wolves as the spiritual land's strongest defensive force. Although the pack had initially remained due to Ju Jia, over these past days, Lu Ye's relationship with them had become very harmonious. Now that enemies had come calling, the wolves certainly wouldn't stand idly by.

Taking the formation's jade token from Li Baxian, Lu Ye channeled spiritual energy into it, adjusting the formation's power. "Fourth Senior Brother," he instructed, "take Senior Sister Feng and Ju Jia to this position and wait."

As he spoke, he flung a formation flag, sending it soaring into the distance.

The formations he had established within the spiritual land were not merely for defense and concealment; the spiritual land's inherent protective strength extended far beyond the wolf pack.

While the wolf pack's strength could be utilized, he had never relied on it exclusively.

Li Baxian nodded, then swiftly led Feng Yuechan and Ju Jia towards the spot where the formation flag had landed.

Moments later, as Lu Ye completed his preparations, the three figures became concealed.

Yi Yi burrowed underground, poised to strike, while Amber leapt onto Lu Ye's shoulder, ready for action.

With a subtle movement of spiritual energy in Lu Ye's hand, the grand formation shifted.

Simultaneously, a soft cracking sound echoed from the sky, as if a mirror had shattered, and a gap appeared in the formidable defensive formation.

Three figures streamed in, accompanied by Tan Sheng's boisterous laughter. "Lu Yiye, your end has come!" he declared.

His laughter abruptly cut off, as if someone had choked him.

The smile on Tan Sheng's face abruptly froze. Wei Que and Xia Liang, beside him, looked astonished. All three pairs of eyes were fixed on the more than two hundred demonic wolves below, their expressions growing increasingly solemn.

While they had indeed noticed signs of demonic beasts entering and exiting the area before—and it was precisely that observation which confirmed the presence of a concealing formation—none of them had anticipated such a massive gathering of demonic beasts within the valley!

Judging by its sheer size, it was unmistakably a wolf pack!

Lu Yiye, whom they had relentlessly sought, stood below, coexisting peacefully with the wolf pack. Yet, the demonic wolves' gazes, directed at them, were filled with savage intensity.

What was happening?

Tan Sheng and his companions were utterly baffled by the scene before them. They had assumed that after breaching the defensive formation, their main challenge would be Lu Ye either escaping via a teleportation array or summoning the Heavenly Secret Pillar. However, the situation was unfolding completely differently from their expectations.

Lu Yiye showed no inclination to flee. Instead, it was the three of them who had inadvertently fallen into a trap. This wasn't a spiritual land at all; it was a wolf's den.

Could Lu Yiye truly possess such immense capability, having subjugated an entire wolf pack?

"Retreat, quickly!" Xia Liang was the first to react, instantly propelling himself towards the opening they had used to enter, intending to exit.

However, as Lu Ye waved a formation flag, the defensive formation twisted and transformed, instantly becoming a massive trapping array. The original opening vanished without a trace, and Xia Liang crashed against the trapping array's light barrier, utterly unable to escape unless he possessed the power to break it once more.

Protected by such a wolf pack, Lu Yiye evidently had nothing to fear. His delay in allowing them entry was merely a tactic to lull them into a false sense of security. This entire place was, in fact, a meticulously prepared trap. Realizing this, the expressions of Tan Sheng and his two companions darkened considerably.

Wei Que suddenly spoke. "Don't panic, both of you. These demonic wolves don't seem to possess the ability to fly. As long as we don't descend, they can't do anything to us!"