Chapter 613: Message Leak

At the entrance of Huitian Valley, Xia Liang and Tan Sheng were discussing the cause of Huo Liaoyuan's death.

Echoing Tu Guanxiong's opinion, neither of them believed that Lu Ye could have killed Huo Liaoyuan with his own strength. The disparity in their cultivation levels was clear; even if Lu Ye possessed profound reserves, he couldn't have accomplished such an unbelievable feat. What's more, they both had some understanding of Lu Ye's capabilities. Although Lu Ye's cultivation had improved by two minor stages since the hunting ground, he was still only at the fifth-level realm.

“Huo Liaoyuan had a unique treasure like the Death Arena, so Lu Ye might also possess other unique treasures. Huo Liaoyuan's death was truly frustrating!” Tan Sheng sighed with emotion, feeling a hint of lingering fear. While his own strength was indeed greater than Huo Liaoyuan's, the difference was limited. If Lu Ye had the ability to kill Huo Liaoyuan, it meant he also had the ability to kill Tan Sheng. However, unique treasures are rare and usually one-time consumables. Since Lu Ye used his on Huo Liaoyuan, it was as if Huo Liaoyuan had stepped into a pit for them; otherwise, he or Xia Liang might have been the ones to die. In a way, they actually had to thank Huo Liaoyuan.

“Huo Liaoyuan's death is no great loss, but this situation...” Xia Liang turned his head to look at the cultivators from Shengyu Blessed Land. An invisible cloud of gloom seemed to hang over them, and all the Shengyu Blessed Land cultivators were visibly dejected. They had originally intended to use the power of Shengyu Blessed Land to dismantle the various arrangements in Lu Ye's spiritual land. However, things didn't go as planned. Shengyu Blessed Land had suffered massive losses, while Lu Ye's side, apart from a few formations being breached and a few demon wolves dying, had incurred negligible damage. They couldn't help but feel annoyed; that fellow Huo Liaoyuan was simply too useless.

“Are they leaving?” Tan Sheng suddenly noticed something unusual; the Shengyu Blessed Land cultivators appeared to be withdrawing from the area.

Xia Liang frowned, then couldn't help but step forward, stopping Ming Zhe. He asked, “Disciple-brother, where are you going?”

Ming Zhe looked up at him, fury burning in his eyes. It was these two individuals who had caused the death of Senior Brother Huo and so many of their junior disciples! Fortunately, he knew he couldn't afford to provoke them. Suppressing his anger, he calmly replied, “Naturally, we are leaving this place!”

They didn't want to leave, but if they stayed, they might be ambushed again at night. They had already lost several people last night, even with Huo Liaoyuan present. Now that Huo Liaoyuan was dead, how could they dare to remain? Ming Zhe was an eighth-level Cloud River Realm cultivator, and Tu Guanxiong had instructed him to act as circumstances dictated. He naturally had his own judgment, knowing this was a dangerous place unsuitable for prolonged stay.

Xia Liang frowned and said, “Are you just leaving like that?”

Ming Zhe's eyes were bloodshot. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Senior Brother Xia, what advice do you have?”

Xia Liang said, “With such deep animosity, one must naturally seek revenge for grudges. If the Shengyu Blessed Land cultivators left, what was the point of any further action?”

Ming Zhe glanced at him, then at Tan Sheng beside him. “Then please, Senior Brothers, instruct me: how do we seek revenge, how do we settle this grievance? Are you two senior brothers willing to lead us, these defeated remnants, into battle? If you two senior brothers are willing to lead the charge, everyone from Shengyu Blessed Land will follow your commands!”

Xia Liang was momentarily speechless. Although the number of these defeated remnants was considerable, it was still not enough for a direct assault on Lu Ye's spiritual land, unless they could first deal with that pack of wolves.

Ming Zhe detested the information provided by these two and abhorred their attempts to reap benefits. He said no more, merely cupped his fist briefly, then led the many Shengyu Blessed Land cultivators aboard their large ship-like spiritual artifact. Moments later, the spiritual artifact ascended into the sky and flew away. Two days prior, over 150 of them had arrived in a grand procession. In just two short days, their leader Huo Liaoyuan was dead, and only half of the 150-plus survived. The experiences of these two days felt like a nightmare to everyone.

The group withdrew from Taimang Mountain and stopped at its edge. Tu Guanxiong intended to disseminate Lu Ye's location, and it was foreseeable that Taimang Mountain would soon become a bustling place. While they themselves no longer had the ability to seek revenge independently, they still wanted to witness Lu Ye's death with their own eyes to truly quell their hatred.

The Shengyu Blessed Land cultivators had retreated under Ming Zhe's leadership, but Xia Liang and Tan Sheng did not leave. They stood at the entrance of Huitian Valley, gazing in the direction of the spiritual land, both remaining silent. After a long while, Tan Sheng finally spoke, “Brother Xia, what are your plans?”

Xia Liang said, “I'm considering whether to fully expose Lu Ye's location.”

Tan Sheng said, “He has a Heavenly Secret Pillar. If he senses danger, he will undoubtedly retreat to Jiuzhou. So even if we do this, we can't truly do much to him; at most, we'd just destroy his spiritual land.”

“I know that, of course, but even if we can't truly harm him, we can't just let him be. He's bound to continue cultivating in the Cloud River battlefield. If we destroy his spiritual land this time, we'll have a chance to kill him next time! If we do nothing, we'll never get an opportunity to kill him. Besides, Huo Liaoyuan had the Death Arena; perhaps others also possess such items, so killing him might not be impossible.”

Although he knew this possibility was slim, Tan Sheng still agreed, “That's true.” The reason they had only revealed Lu Ye's information to Shengyu Blessed Land before was their fear of pressuring him too much. If that happened, Lu Ye would simply use the Heavenly Secret Pillar to retreat to Jiuzhou, rendering all their plans futile. By only letting Shengyu Blessed Land attack, Lu Ye wouldn't be driven to such despair. They were waiting for both sides to be severely wounded, then they would have an opportunity to seize an advantage. However, Shengyu Blessed Land proved too ineffective; they were completely battered in just two days, and even their leader, Huo Liaoyuan, was killed.

Given the current situation, killing Lu Ye was no longer very likely. They could only force him to abandon this spiritual land for now and look for a better opportunity in the future. Having made up his mind, just as Xia Liang was about to send out a message, Tan Sheng received one first. After checking it and exchanging a few words with the sender, he said in surprise, “Brother Xia, someone has acted before us.”

“What?” Xia Liang was puzzled.

“Someone has already leaked Lu Ye's location.” The message Tan Sheng received was from a junior disciple within his sect, informing him of Lu Ye's current location. It was impossible for this disciple to know this without cause, and upon inquiry, he learned that many people were already aware of this information.

“It's Shengyu Blessed Land's doing!” Xia Liang immediately realized. Currently, only they two and the Shengyu Blessed Land cultivators knew Lu Ye's location. They had just made their decision, and someone else had already acted ahead of them. Besides Shengyu Blessed Land, there was no one else. Xia Liang didn't know who was in charge at Shengyu Blessed Land at the moment, but he could understand their original intention for making this decision. In any case, it saved him some trouble.

“Taimang Mountain is about to get lively,” Xia Liang sighed. “Let's go!”

Tan Sheng was astonished. “Brother Xia, aren't you staying?”

Xia Liang said, “What's the point of staying? To watch how Lu Ye escapes back to Jiuzhou?” Tan Sheng considered this and agreed. Given the current developments, Lu Ye would soon be in a desperate situation. At that point, he would certainly use the Heavenly Secret Pillar to retreat to Jiuzhou, leaving all the cultivators who rushed here empty-handed. There was no point in staying further. What they needed to do now was to wait for Lu Ye's next entry into the Cloud River battlefield, secretly investigate, and find an opportunity to kill him!

Within the spiritual land, Lu Ye quietly healed his wounds. The advantage of his strong physique became apparent at this moment. Ordinary cultivators with such injuries would not recover in less than ten to fifteen days, but Lu Ye was almost fully recovered in just one or two days.

Meanwhile, with Tu Guanxiong's active promotion, the news of Lu Ye hiding in Huitian Valley in Taimang Mountain spread like wildfire. Since the last hunting ground incident, the major sects of Myriad Demon Ridge had increased the bounty on him, which further stirred the nerves of countless Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators. During this time, countless people had been secretly tracking his whereabouts. Unfortunately, no one had expected him to hide deep within Taimang Mountain, protected by a grand formation. Even if a cultivator occasionally passed nearby, they wouldn't detect the spiritual land's presence. Only Xia Liang and Tan Sheng, by leveraging the power of a unique treasure, managed to roughly pinpoint his location. The outcome, however, was one dead, two injured, and a hasty, embarrassing retreat.

Now that the news had suddenly spread, cultivators who had been desperately searching for Lu Ye's whereabouts but failed, immediately converged on Taimang Mountain from all directions, like cats smelling fish. Instantly, undercurrents surged throughout the Cloud River battlefield.

Two days after killing Huo Liaoyuan, Lu Ye's injuries were fully healed. Inside the wooden house, the four occupants of the spiritual land sat.

Li Baxian said, “The Shengyu Blessed Land cultivators must have withdrawn. They haven't been seen for two days, and Junior Brother Ju Jia had the demon wolves search the surroundings, but found no one. Even Xia Liang and Tan Sheng are gone.”

“As expected,” Lu Ye nodded. Given Shengyu Blessed Land's enormous losses this time, and their need to guard against Lu Ye's attacks, it was natural they wouldn't remain here indefinitely, waiting for death. As for Xia Liang and Tan Sheng... with the Shengyu Blessed Land cultivators gone, there was no point in them staying alone.

“However, Senior Brother, it's highly likely that the spiritual land can't be protected.” First, Xia Liang and his group jointly attacked, and now even the Shengyu Blessed Land cultivators know. The spiritual land's location is completely exposed, and as time passes, even more people will surely learn about it.

Lu Ye realized he seemed to have no luck with spiritual lands. When he first entered the Cloud River battlefield, he had incredible luck, finding a Class C spiritual land. However, after entering the Myriad Beasts Domain secret realm with Shen Xiaomao, his spiritual land was destroyed, and its Spring Spirit was stolen. In the hunting ground, he had painstakingly won first place on the hunting list, receiving a Class A Spring Spirit. He then carefully placed his spiritual land deep within Taimang Mountain, protected by a pack of wolves. Yet, it wasn't long before he encountered such trouble again.

Lu Ye sometimes wondered if the so-called favor of the Heavenly Dao truly existed. If it did, why was he sometimes so unlucky? Yet, at other times, he genuinely felt blessed with good fortune. Take the incident at Fox Immortal Valley, for instance: the fox demon had wreaked havoc in Fox Immortal Valley for nearly two decades, but she happened to encounter someone who could specifically counter her abilities. In the end, he killed the fox demon, saved many people, and received a reward from the Heavenly Dao, significantly increasing his foundation. The matter of luck was truly perplexing.