Chapter 608: Unrelenting Until Death

"A Deathmatch Arena!" exclaimed Tan Sheng, who was currently fending off the demon wolf attack. He gazed at the glowing four-sided object and suddenly understood: "So that's what it is!"

No wonder Huo Liaoyuan had been acting so strangely today; he was planning to use this item. Everything suddenly made sense. Despite Saint-Universe Spirit Land launching a powerful assault, they had been consistently on the defensive. Huo Liaoyuan had appeared to be irrational, but his outbursts were merely verbal, with no other truly deranged actions.

Everything had been a deception, meticulously laid out to prepare for this very moment.

"Indeed..." Xia Liang murmured. The truth aligned perfectly with his suspicions; Huo Liaoyuan truly possessed a Deathmatch Arena.

He had been able to sense it for two reasons: Huo Liaoyuan's odd behavior, and the extremely abnormal aura he had detected emanating from Lu Ye.

That aura was not Huo Liaoyuan's at all; it was an emanation from the Deathmatch Arena itself, which explained why it exceeded Huo Liaoyuan's usual capabilities.

The Nine Provinces were abundant with exotic treasures, each possessing unique and often bizarre effects. The tracking disk Tan Sheng had previously used to locate Lu Ye was one such treasure, as was the Golden Body Token Lu Ye used to preserve his life. The Deathmatch Arena also belonged to this category.

Its sole function was to draw both its activator and the targeted enemy into a deathmatch arena, where they would fight to the death.

In terms of value, this item naturally couldn't compare to the Golden Body Token Lu Ye had once utilized; that was, after all, an absolute life-saving artifact. The Deathmatch Arena, however, was not for self-preservation but for compelling an enemy into a duel to the death. This limited its practical application significantly, as it necessitated that the opponent's strength be inferior to the user's.

Furthermore, using it came with prerequisites: the aura projected from the Deathmatch Arena had to achieve a complete lock on the target. This meant Huo Liaoyuan and Lu Ye could not be too far apart, and the arena required a brief period to charge. If Lu Ye moved beyond a specific range from Huo Liaoyuan during this crucial time, the Deathmatch Arena's power would fail to activate.

This was precisely why Huo Liaoyuan had decided to launch a full-scale assault today, and it was also the source of his confidence in not thoroughly questioning Xia Liang about the Heavenly Secret Pillar's location.

Regardless of any Heavenly Secret Pillar, as long as he successfully activated the Deathmatch Arena's power, Lu Yiye was doomed.

All his preceding actions had been a ruse, designed solely to make Lu Ye drop his guard. It now appeared his scheme had been highly successful, as Lu Ye only recognized the imminent danger at the final instant.

By then, however, it was too late for realization. As the Deathmatch Arena's two beams of light locked onto both him and Huo Liaoyuan, the exotic treasure's full power was unleashed.

Li Baxian's flying sword and Feng Yuechan's spells continued to barrage the Deathmatch Arena, yet the small artifact remained completely unyielding.

As the light flared, the figures of Lu Ye and Huo Liaoyuan, along with the diminutive Deathmatch Arena, vanished in unison.

"Junior Brother!" Li Baxian cried out, utterly powerless to prevent Lu Ye from being pulled into the arena.

"Move!" Xia Liang shouted, hastily retreating.

Tan Sheng, having already been warned, immediately followed suit.

Simultaneously, all cultivators from Saint-Universe Spirit Land fought and withdrew in an orderly manner.

Although Li Baxian and his two companions, fueled by anger, pursued the retreating wolf pack, their efforts yielded little. They could only watch as the Saint-Universe Spirit Land cultivators withdrew beyond the Anti-Flight Array's range, then collectively ascended into the air and fled.

The wolf pack pursued them to the Spirit Land's edge, their howls echoing, but went no further.

Within the Anti-Flight Array's covered area, they could still engage the Saint-Universe Spirit Land cultivators. However, once outside its reach, they would become easy targets.

Despite his anger and apprehension, Li Baxian retained his composure. He halted his pursuit and immediately checked Lu Ye's battle imprint.

In this situation, with Lu Ye and Huo Liaoyuan drawn into the space created by the Deathmatch Arena, Li Baxian, despite his myriad abilities, was powerless to intervene. He could only monitor Lu Ye's battle imprint to ascertain his fate.

"Senior Brother..." Feng Yuechan approached him, calling softly, and offered words of comfort: "He might be alright, Senior Brother. Have you forgotten? In the hunting ground, Junior Brother Lu defeated a seventh-realm cultivator when he was only in the third realm. Now he is already in the fifth realm."

Though that particular battle was not Lu Ye's sole achievement, but rather the result of all three of them exerting their full might, hearing Feng Yuechan's words still ignited a spark of hope in Li Baxian's eyes.

He nodded repeatedly, "Yes, Junior Brother might be safe, provided he can activate his ultimate trump card..."

His words trailed off, and his expression turned grim once more. He glanced up at Feng Yuechan, his eyes losing focus. "Amber... is asleep!"

Lu Ye's trump card necessitated cooperation with Amber. However, ever since Amber had consumed a dominator-level demon core, it had fallen into a deep slumber from which it had yet to awaken. Not only was Amber asleep, but Yiyi had also become silent.

In other words, Lu Ye now had no external assistance whatsoever.

He was utterly alone, confronting an opponent whose cultivation surpassed his by four minor realms.

Li Baxian's stance faltered, and he involuntarily staggered, his face suddenly turning pale.

The Deathmatch Arena encompassed a space approximately three hundred zhang in both length and width, featuring an empty sky and surrounding restrictive barriers.

The arena's space was not fixed at this size; rather, its dimensions varied depending on the cultivator's cultivation level.

Given Huo Liaoyuan's Ninth-Realm Cloud River cultivation, the Deathmatch Arena generated this particular range. However, if a Grand Cultivator of the Divine Sea Realm were to wield it, the area could extend for dozens of miles or even further.

The moment Lu Ye's figure abruptly materialized, the invisible force that had restrained him instantly dissipated, restoring his freedom of movement.

He immediately surveyed his surroundings, spotting Huo Liaoyuan standing at the opposite end of the Deathmatch Arena.

The surroundings felt familiar to him; he had encountered similar environments before, on multiple occasions.

When competing on the Spirit Stream Ranking, some opponents chose this type of terrain. Similarly, when others challenged him, he also selected such an environment, though a smaller one, as it facilitated a weapon cultivator's performance.

This implied the area was akin to a Spirit Stream Ranking challenge, with the key difference being that Huo Liaoyuan had utilized an exotic treasure to transport them both here.

He activated his spiritual power, rising unimpeded into the air, and attempted to fly outward. However, he was thwarted by the surrounding restrictions, which, judging by their formidable strength, he realized he could not overcome.

Trapped in such a confined space with a Ninth-Realm Cloud River enemy, the situation was unprecedentedly dire!

While his strength had significantly increased since his time in the hunting ground, he harbored no illusion of being a match for a Ninth-Realm cultivator. With his current capabilities, he might stand a chance against an Eighth-Realm opponent, but facing a Ninth-Realm cultivator would necessitate activating his Beast Transformation Secret Art.

However, with Amber still in slumber, activating the Beast Transformation Secret Art was impossible.

This left him with only the Fire Phoenix Spirit Mark as a trump card against his foe. Yet, this ability required a certain amount of time to charge. Within this confined space, the enemy would naturally not be so foolish as to allow him to gather power at leisure. Any attempt to activate the Fire Phoenix Spirit Mark would undoubtedly be met with a ferocious, rapid assault.

This was trouble!

"Don't waste your effort," Huo Liaoyuan's unhurried voice echoed as he observed Lu Ye's attempt to escape. "Within the Deathmatch Arena, it is a fight to the death. Only one of us will leave alive today. The arena will only release its hold once one party falls."

A Deathmatch Arena? Lu Ye furrowed his brow slightly upon hearing the name; he had never encountered such a thing. Although he was now a Cloud River Realm cultivator, and had reached the Fifth Realm, his knowledge and experience remained relatively limited compared to most cultivators.

This was unavoidable, given the brevity of his cultivation period.

However, based on his current predicament and Huo Liaoyuan's preceding actions, this "Deathmatch Arena" appeared to be an exotic treasure with a unique function.

"Who do you think will be the one to die?" Huo Liaoyuan asked, his hands clasped behind his back, as he hovered a dozen zhang above the ground, casting a cold gaze down at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye offered him an indifferent glance, his thumb idly rubbing the hilt of his Panshan Blade.

The one stroke of fortune in this unfortunate situation was that the Ninth-Realm cultivator who activated the Deathmatch Arena against him was from the Sacred Flame Sect.

Ninety-nine percent of the Sacred Flame Sect's cultivators specialized in fire-attributed spells, and fire was precisely what Lu Ye feared the least.

Had either Xia Liang or Tan Sheng deployed the Deathmatch Arena today, his demise would have been certain. But since it was Huo Liaoyuan, the situation was not entirely without hope.

"Lu Yiye!" Huo Liaoyuan roared furiously. Lu Ye's silence had evidently provoked him, and his expression was one of blazing anger. "You had best submit to death quietly, or I possess countless methods to torture you!"

Within the Deathmatch Arena, no external force or individual could interfere. With his cultivation four minor realms superior to Lu Ye's, victory was assured. Yet, even this certainty could not quell the anger simmering within him.

This expedition had incurred devastating losses for Saint-Universe Spirit Land. Over sixty individuals had perished on the first day, and nearly twenty more fell during today's assault. These casualties accounted for almost half of the personnel he had brought. He had even been compelled to employ the precious exotic treasure, the Deathmatch Arena. Even if he succeeded in killing Lu Yiye today, his sect would undoubtedly hold him accountable.

He could only hope to atone for his shortcomings with this triumph, otherwise, his future prospects would be utterly ruined.

He believed he could indeed atone for his actions, especially since the bounty on Lu Yiye was immense. By killing Lu Yiye, he would not only be absolved of blame but also earn significant merit. Which of the major First-Rank sects on the Myriad Demon Ridge side did not wish for Lu Yiye's demise?

Lu Ye's response was an immediate charge, his figure darting forward like a swift leopard. Under the influence of Wind Walk, afterimages trailed behind him as he rapidly closed the three-hundred-zhang distance.

For a weapon cultivator battling a spell cultivator, the primary objective is to close the distance and engage in close-quarters combat. Even though Lu Ye was only at the Fifth Realm and Huo Liaoyuan at the Ninth, if Lu Ye could get close, the outcome would become uncertain. After all, spell cultivators, who devote years to arcane arts, typically possess more fragile physical forms.

Thus, even though delaying the fight would not have been detrimental at this moment, he chose to launch an immediate assault.