Chapter 583: Guess Confirmed

In the Mirage Realm, Lu Ye's eyes were tightly shut. Enemies shrouded in mist, their faces obscured, moved erratically around him, yet no matter how they attacked, Lu Ye's long saber precisely blocked every move.

This struggle had already lasted for a full quarter-hour.

If Lu Ye wished, as long as his mental and spiritual energy did not deplete, he could even continue this indefinitely.

Having cultivated in the Mirage Realm for a full half-month, his Spirit Eye secret technique had finally achieved minor success.

Entering the Mirage Realm to cultivate over a dozen times a day cost one to two thousand points of merit. Over this half-month, he had spent a total of over twenty thousand merit points in the Mirage Realm.

The cost was not small, but the gains were significant. If Xia Liang knew Lu Ye had cultivated his Spirit Eye to this level in just half a month, his jaw would likely drop.

Xia Liang himself had spent a full half-year just to barely grasp the basics.

And now, Lu Ye had not only mastered the Spirit Eye secret technique, but his defensive range was also twice as large as Xia Liang's, reaching a full foot.

Within a one-foot radius, he could clearly perceive any approaching danger and then counter it.

To achieve such success, the profound memories brought by repeated deaths were one factor; the other was the formidable strength of Lu Ye's spirit.

During the fierce battle, Lu Ye, who had been standing motionless, suddenly stepped forward and cleaved down with his saber.

This single strike unleashed immense power, splitting the mist-shrouded enemy directly in half!

A single enemy could no longer pose any threat to Lu Ye. It was time to increase the difficulty of his cultivation.

After waiting a moment, the surrounding mist churned, and two figures emerged, one from the left and one from the right.

Although only one enemy was added, the difficulty more than doubled.

A short while later, Lu Ye was forced out of the Mirage Realm after being defeated.

A slight stinging sensation arose in his mind but quickly vanished without a trace.

Just as he was about to re-enter the Mirage Realm to cultivate, Yi Yi, who was waiting nearby, suddenly spoke. "Lu Ye, someone is waiting for you outside."

Lu Ye frowned. He got up and walked to the window to look down, discovering it was Zhou Yuntian and Xie Yunhan.

While he was cultivating in the Mirage Realm, he always activated the tower's protective formation. Thus, Zhou Yuntian and Xie Yunhan merely waited below, not daring to disturb him rashly.

Coming together, he wondered what these two wanted.

Noticing Lu Ye's gaze, Zhou Yuntian looked up and said cheerfully, "Fellow Daoist Lu!"

Lu Ye said, "I was cultivating just now. I apologize for keeping you waiting. Please come in."

As he spoke, he deactivated the formation.

A moment later, Zhou Yuntian and Xie Yunhan entered together. The host and guests took their seats, and after Lu Ye offered them tea, he spoke, "Is there something you need from me?"

Zhou Yuntian said nothing. He simply took out a storage bag and pushed it towards Lu Ye.

Lu Ye, feeling puzzled, picked up the storage bag and inspected it. He found it contained many materials, all of which were for refining formation flags.

His heart sank, and he suddenly had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, Zhou Yuntian said, "The Honored One has ordered you two to refine more formation flags recently, in preparation for unforeseen needs."

Refining more formation flags was clearly for setting up formations. And the number of materials in this storage bag was enormous; if all of them were truly refined into formation flags, at least several hundred flags could be produced, and a significant number of formations could then be deployed.

Combining this with the information he had previously gathered, Lu Ye knew in his heart that the Fox Demon was probably going to make a move.

Although he had his suspicions, Lu Ye still asked, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, why does the Honored One suddenly need so many formation flags refined?"

Zhou Yuntian hesitated for a moment, then sighed softly. He said, "Let Fellow Daoist Xie explain it to you. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll leave this to the two of you. You must be fully prepared within ten days at the latest!"

It was unclear if he genuinely had other matters, or if he simply found it difficult to tell Lu Ye these things.

After Zhou Yuntian left, Lu Ye looked at Xie Yunhan.

The latter gave a bitter smile and said, "Brother, though you haven't been in Fox Immortal Valley for long, have you never wondered why the Honored One gathers so many people here?"

Lu Ye nodded. "Of course I have. But the Honored One surely has her reasons for doing things."

Xie Yunhan sighed and said, "Actually, the main reason the Honored One gathers so many people is for revenge!"

"Revenge?"

"Exactly," Xie Yunhan nodded. "Although I don't know the exact nature of the Honored One's enmity with it, I can confirm that it's a deeply ingrained hatred, an irreconcilable one. Moreover, our Fox Immortal Valley has launched such revenge operations more than once."

Lu Ye feigned a surprised expression. "With so many talented individuals in the valley, what kind of enemy can't be defeated?"

A flicker of memory crossed Xie Yunhan's eyes, and his body trembled slightly. Then, staring at Lu Ye, he said word by word, "A Hegemon-level Beast!"

Lu Ye showed a startled expression and blurted out in a low voice, "A Hegemon-level Beast? Could it be that Berserk Giant Ape?"

Although he had long suspected it, a suspicion was just a suspicion. Xie Yunhan's words undoubtedly confirmed Lu Ye's previous conjecture.

The target of the Fox Demon's revenge was indeed the Berserk Giant Ape.

Xie Yunhan was not surprised that Lu Ye knew about the Berserk Giant Ape's existence; after all, it was marked on the map. He nodded gravely, "Indeed, that beast!"

"Seeking revenge against a Hegemon-level Beast, the Honored One..."

"The Honored One naturally has her reasons for acting this way. As subordinates, all we can do is obey her orders. However, Fellow Daoist Lu, you don't need to worry. We are both formation masters. We won't need to confront the Berserk Giant Ape directly. We only need to assist everyone with formations, so our safety is somewhat guaranteed."

Lu Ye now understood why Xie Yunhan had been able to survive in Fox Immortal Valley for twelve years.

Although Fox Immortal Valley could recruit many cultivators, the number of formation masters had always been extremely scarce. Every time an operation was launched against the Berserk Giant Ape, Xie Yunhan only needed to activate pre-arranged formations to assist; he didn't need to fight the Berserk Giant Ape head-on. Therefore, even if the revenge failed, Xie Yunhan could still survive.

As for the others... they weren't so lucky. Large numbers of cultivators died in every operation.

"Is it very dangerous?" Lu Ye asked gravely.

Xie Yunhan gave a bitter laugh. "I've been in Fox Immortal Valley for twelve years and have participated in six such operations... Almost every time, over eighty percent of the valley's personnel were lost. In the entire Fox Immortal Valley, besides me, only Fellow Daoist Zhou has survived the longest; he arrived six years ago. You haven't witnessed the power of the Berserk Giant Ape, so you don't know how formidable a Hegemon-level Beast is. If you truly saw it, you'd understand how dangerous it is to fight against it. Lives are truly as cheap as straw."

Lu Ye frowned and said, "Since that beast is so powerful, why doesn't the Honored One accumulate enough power in one go before seeking revenge? Instead, she repeatedly sacrifices the valley's personnel!"

"The Honored One naturally wishes to do so. But this place is located deep within Mount Taimang, where cultivators rarely venture. Recruiting people is not as easy as you imagine. After Fellow Daoist Zhou brought you all back last time, there hasn't been a single newcomer since. So, how can it be easy to accumulate enough power?"

"Then this time... in your opinion, Brother Xie, is there a chance of success?"

Xie Yunhan said, "This time, the number and strength of people in the valley are significantly greater than before. And with you, Brother Lu, as another formation master, I believe there's a great chance of success. However, we mustn't be complacent. What we need to do now is refine as many formation flags as possible and set up more formations, using the power of the formations to weaken that beast's strength. Only then can the Honored One possibly exact her revenge."

Lu Ye said, "It seems we have a long and arduous road ahead!"

Xie Yunhan chuckled. "So, Brother, you should understand why the Honored One values you so much, right? To be honest, when dealing with an enemy like that, the power we formation masters can exert is what the Honored One relies on the most."

"I understand." Lu Ye nodded, stating solemnly, "I will not fail the Honored One's trust!"

"Then let's get busy refining the formation flags."

As if due to the impending operation, the atmosphere throughout Fox Immortal Valley became grim. Many cultivators didn't know the exact details of the operation, only that a fierce battle would occur in a few days. Under the Fox Demon's command, large amounts of cultivation resources were distributed, and everyone was intensely cultivating, striving to enhance their strength as much as possible.

Every day, besides restoring their spiritual energy, Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan were refining formation flags.

A large amount of materials was consumed as formation flags were freshly produced one after another. Six days later, all the materials were used up, and they had surprisingly refined over five hundred formation flags.

So many formation flags were enough to set up over a hundred formations. If, even with the assistance of so many formations, they still couldn't do anything about the Berserk Giant Ape, then the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley would simply be offering their necks for slaughter. And who knew how many would die then.

Fox Immortal Valley was busily preparing for the revenge operation. Meanwhile, Feng Yuechan and Ju Jia, who had received Lu Ye's message, were leading a pack of wolves from the Spirit Land and were rushing towards Fox Immortal Valley.

Feng Yuechan and Ju Jia alone might not have been able to penetrate too deeply into Mount Taimang, but it was different with a wolf pack. Even if they encountered powerful demon beasts, the wolf pack could handle them.

The wolf pack's size had now expanded to over three hundred. Apart from a few dozen ungrown wolf pups, the rest were demon wolves with strength comparable to the Cloud River Realm.

Regardless of whether the Fox Demon's operation against the Berserk Giant Ape succeeded or failed, the power of Fox Immortal Valley would certainly be greatly diminished after this battle. This was the opportune moment Lu Ye had been waiting for.

If the Fox Demon died during the battle with the Berserk Giant Ape, that would naturally be for the best, as then everyone's spirit soul secret techniques could be dispelled.

If she didn't die, then he would have the wolf pack forcefully attack Fox Immortal Valley and besiege the Fox Demon!

There wasn't a very complex plan, but often, the simpler the plan, the higher the chance of success.

The only issue Lu Ye needed to consider now was Li Baxian's safety.

He and Li Baxian had the lowest cultivation levels in Fox Immortal Valley. However, as a formation master, he wouldn't need to fight the Berserk Giant Ape head-on. But Li Baxian was different; no matter how profound his foundation accumulated in the Spirit Stream Realm, when facing a Hegemon-level beast of the Cloud River Realm, Li Baxian's effectiveness would be extremely limited.