Chapter 598: Significant Increase in Strength

His cultivation had advanced by a layer, and the benefits of the Heavenly Secret Baptism significantly boosted his efficiency in refining array flags. In just two days, Lu Ye had produced nearly three hundred more. Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan also found several suitable locations for setting up teleportation arrays.

With a large number of array flags being consumed, arrays rapidly took shape. Soon, all three hundred were used up.

On the fourth day after returning from Fox Immortal Valley, as Lu Ye was refining more array flags, he suddenly looked up in a certain direction beyond the spirit land. The next moment, he stood up and surged out of the spirit land. The instant his figure passed through the protective array, he activated stealth and aura-concealing spirit纹s, vanishing from sight.

Less than a mile from the spirit land, Yan Gui had concealed himself, quietly hiding behind a large tree. He had hastened here after receiving Tu Guanxiong's orders. Given his Cloud River Realm Seventh Level cultivation, he shouldn't have taken four days to arrive. However, this location was deep within Mount Taiman, and the journey had been perilous. Fortunately, as a ghost cultivator, he could avoid many unnecessary battles, though it did cause some delays.

He had only just arrived at Huotian Valley today, but to his surprise, shortly after his arrival, he triggered an alert array. He immediately moved away from the array's location, hiding in the shadows to observe silently. Tu Guanxiong had merely instructed him to investigate the situation at Huotian Valley, without specifying what was truly there. However, given that both Tu Guanxiong and Huo Liaoyuan regarded it with such importance, Huotian Valley clearly held a significant secret.

Since an alert array was present, someone must have set it. Who was hiding here? Now that he had triggered the alert array, the array's creator would surely come to investigate, and he would then learn their identity. But what he found strange was that after waiting for a considerable time, he saw no one.

Hundreds of zhang away, Lu Ye had concealed himself, observing secretly. There were no traces of wild beasts or demonic beasts, and within his sight, there was not the slightest abnormality... Someone had been here! And from the current situation, it was most likely a ghost cultivator! He had rushed out the instant the array was triggered, yet still saw no sign of anyone. The other party had clearly hidden themselves; this ghost cultivator was indeed a cautious individual.

Someone invited by Tan Sheng and Xia Liang? Unlikely. Both of them were well-versed in the spirit land's situation; why would they invite a ghost cultivator here? So, just passing through? Perhaps... or perhaps not.

Lu Ye slowly shifted his position, his aura completely concealed, as he quietly scouted the surroundings. His mental power had recently strengthened significantly, allowing him to detect any anomalies within thirty zhang instantly, even without the aid of his Insight Spirit纹s.

The time it takes to steep a cup of tea, then burn an incense stick... The silent game of cat and mouse unfolded.

It wasn't until almost half an hour later that Lu Ye suddenly turned his head, looking towards the back of a large tree. There... he sensed a subtle abnormality. Activating his Insight Spirit纹s, his vision shifted, and multicolored light began to flow. Sure enough, behind the large tree, amidst a shifting kaleidoscope of colors, the outline of a slightly short figure was revealed. He immediately moved in silently.

Yan Gui suddenly felt a faint sense of unease. Though subtle, as a ghost cultivator accustomed to dangerous locales, he was always cautious. Otherwise, Tu Guanxiong wouldn't have trusted him to investigate alone. He immediately held his breath and concentrated, silently perceiving his surroundings, searching for the source of his unease.

Just then, spiritual power fluctuations surged behind him. Without a moment's thought, he hastily turned, a curved blade in his hand glowing with spiritual light, parrying backward. Not far behind him, a figure had appeared, unnoticed. As a fiery red blade light descended, Yan Gui felt a tremendous force, accompanied by a surge of spiritual power, strike him from the front. His body was sent flying backward, and his chest churned with agitated qi and blood. His concealment shattered, revealing his figure.

Mid-air, he saw the face of his assailant clearly. His eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Lu Yiye!"

So that's it! This explains everything! No wonder Senior Brother Tu and Senior Brother Huo had sent him to investigate this area; it was Lu Yiye's hiding place. He had previously seen images of Lu Ye. Saint Yu Spirit Land was dominated by the Sacred Fire Sect, which held a deep animosity towards the Azure Blood Sect. Huo Liaoyuan had, at some point, acquired a recording stone containing an imprint of Lu Ye's image. Huo Liaoyuan's intention was clearly for all Sacred Fire Sect disciples to memorize Lu Ye's appearance. Thus, even without having met Lu Ye previously, Yan Gui recognized him instantly.

Excitement and exhilaration surged within him... only to be immediately replaced by boundless horror. A storm of blade energy enveloped him, each streak of blade light, like a bolt of lightning, carrying the aura of death. Yan Gui retreated repeatedly. In mere moments, the web of skin between his thumb and forefinger split, his arm went numb, and his internal spiritual power churned violently!

This guy... how is he so strong? Although he was a ghost cultivator and not skilled in direct combat, he was still a Seventh-Level cultivator. Yet, against Lu Yiye, who only displayed Fifth-Level spiritual power fluctuations, he found himself utterly incapable of resisting. Facing that wild, continuous blade momentum, he couldn't help but feel completely overwhelmed.

He would die! This terrifying thought uncontrollably sprang to his mind. The excitement on Yan Gui's face had long vanished, replaced only by fear and panic.

When Lu Ye delivered his first strike, he hadn't used his full strength, as he couldn't determine which faction the newcomer belonged to. However, the moment Yan Gui blurted out his name, the other party's allegiance became clear. Since he recognized him, he would naturally know his background. If the other party belonged to the Vast Sky Alliance, they would have voluntarily revealed their battlefield mark's light. Since they didn't... they were from Ten Thousand Demon Ridge.

Thus, from the second strike onwards, Lu Ye held nothing back.

A tearing sound echoed, accompanied by Yan Gui's pained cry, as his chest garment ripped open, revealing a bloody wound. In pain, Yan Gui's defense became increasingly chaotic. Lu Ye seized the opportunity and brought his blade down once more. This strike nearly decapitated Yan Gui, but he managed to raise his spiritual artifact to block at the last possible moment. Even so, his body tumbled backward, sending blood spraying in mid-air.

Landing clumsily, Yan Gui didn't immediately flee. Instead, he raised a hand and pressed it against his battlefield mark... He didn't understand why Lu Yiye's strength was so immense. He only knew he had been exposed, and his chances of survival were slim. If this was his end, he was determined to send the message back, ensuring his death wouldn't be in vain. He didn't even contemplate begging for mercy, knowing it would only lead to greater humiliation and torment.

However, the next instant, his heart violently constricted. His entire strength and vitality rapidly drained away. Looking down, a flaming long blade had, at some unknown point, pierced his chest. Violent spiritual power erupted within his body, causing him to vomit blood and stumble. The light in his eyes rapidly dimmed. As Lu Ye withdrew his blade, his body toppled forward.

Lu Ye flicked the blood from the Pan Mountain Blade before sheathing it. A single red light floated out from the ghost cultivator's corpse, drifting like a firefly to land on the back of Lu Ye's hand.

Frowning as he regarded the corpse, Lu Ye suddenly realized... he might have underestimated his current strength. Even though the opponent was a ghost cultivator unsuited for direct combat, he was still a Seventh-Level cultivator. Yet, against Lu Ye, he had displayed not the slightest power to resist.

He recalled the Seventh-Level soldier cultivator from the hunting grounds; he, Li Baxian, and Feng Yuechan had fought with everything they had. Had he not successfully activated the Beast Transformation Secret Art, the outcome of that battle would have been uncertain. In just two months, a Seventh-Level cultivator who once forced the three of them to use every available tactic could now barely last thirty breaths against him. The growth of his own strength could only be described as world-shattering.

Of course, in the hunting grounds, he had only been at the Third Level of the Cloud River Realm. Now, in just over two months, his cultivation had advanced by two minor levels, reaching the Fifth Level of the Cloud River Realm. Nevertheless, it was undeniable that the Heavenly Secret Baptism he received at the Fox Immortal Valley altar had significantly deepened his innate foundation. In particular, the increased flow rate of the spiritual power river within his body meant that the faster spiritual power circulated, the stronger a cultivator's instantaneous burst of power would be.

Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan arrived together, landing nearby. Upon seeing the corpse, Li Baxian asked, "What happened?"

"Someone came to probe the situation," Lu Ye replied.

Li Baxian frowned. "Xia Liang? Tan Sheng?" He then immediately negated his own thought. "No, that's not right. They're well-informed about the spirit land's situation; there's no need to send someone to scout. Was this person just passing through?"

"Unlikely," Lu Ye shook his head. "If they were merely passing through, there'd be no reason to precisely pinpoint Huotian Valley. Recalling his reaction the instant he saw my face, this ghost cultivator felt to me as if he had been dispatched here to gather intelligence, completely unaware of what he was getting into."

He raised his hand, and with a surge of spiritual power, retrieved the two storage bags from the corpse. In moments, the seals on the storage bags were broken. Lu Ye rummaged through them, quickly finding a jade token resembling an identity plate. Its front bore the image of a palace, with a large character engraved in its center. On the reverse was what appeared to be the deceased ghost cultivator's name: Yan Gui.

Lu Ye tossed the jade token to Li Baxian, who examined it thoughtfully. "This might be someone from the Universal Sect."

"The Universal Sect..." Lu Ye thought carefully, barely recalling that it was a fifth-rank sect. He remembered seeing its stronghold marked on the ten-tenths map back when he was in the inner circle of the battlefield.

"Saint Yu Spirit Land!" Li Baxian murmured.

"What?"

Li Baxian took out the ten-tenths map, examined it, and frowned. "If he's from the Universal Sect, then he likely came from the Saint Yu Spirit Land! The Saint Yu Spirit Land is a large spiritual land shared by the Universal Sect and another Ten Thousand Demon Ridge faction. It's marked on the ten-tenths map and is only two to three thousand li away from us."

Two to three thousand li was, without a doubt, a vast distance for Spirit Creek Realm cultivators. However, for Cloud River Realm cultivators, it was negligible. At Lu Ye's current speed, even if he only relied on artifact flight, he could cover that distance in roughly a day.