Chapter 624: Leaving Tai Mang Mountain

"Brother Song, is this Lu Yiye's doing?" Ning Zizai asked, looking at the several corpses on the ground.

Song Zhui replied, "I just arrived, but it looks like it."

Ning Zizai said, "Do you mind if I take a look?"

Why would he mind? They were just a few corpses. Song Zhui responded, "Brother Zizai, please feel free."

Ning Zizai squatted down and meticulously examined the bodies for a while, even turning them over and feeling them. The people behind Song Zhui frowned, wondering if the man had some unusual habit.

After a long moment, Ning Zizai stood up, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Did you find anything, Brother Zizai?" Song Zhui asked.

Ning Zizai replied, "Nothing major. However, judging solely by the injuries, they are no different from those who died in the past few days. It confirms it's the work of the same person."

"So, Brother Zizai has been examining the deceased these past few days?"

"Not specifically, but whenever I encountered them by chance, I would take a look." He turned to Song Zhui. "Brother Song, are you sure this is Lu Yiye's doing?"

Song Zhui thought, 'Who else would you ask?' But in front of his junior disciples, he couldn't speak so casually, so he said, "Lu Yiye uses a saber, and these individuals died from saber wounds. It's almost certainly him."

"I remember Lu Yiye is a Weapon Master!" Ning Zizai said, full of doubt. "But... from my observations, in every group of casualties, at least one person died from a sneak attack from behind! This is somewhat reminiscent of a Ghost Cultivator's methods. So, I suspect, does Lu Yiye have an accomplice? Otherwise, how could he have killed so many people by himself?"

And that accomplice must be a powerful Ghost Cultivator.

This aligned perfectly with Song Zhui's earlier suspicions, and both of them instantly felt certain that Lu Ye had an accomplice.

In reality, Lu Ye did have accomplices, but not in the way they imagined. His only helpers were Amber and Yiyi.

Song Zhui and Ning Zizai chatted casually for a few more moments before parting ways, agreeing to exchange information if they made any discoveries. Whether they would actually share anything was something only they themselves knew.

For cultivators at their Ninth-Layer Realm, if they truly found Lu Ye, they would undoubtedly attack and kill him immediately. Why would they share such news with others?

The fifth night passed, and the Myriad Demon Ridge faction lost another two teams.

At the same time, Lu Ye also discovered a problem.

He had fewer and fewer targets he could attack.

Previously, he had killed a lone Eighth-Layer cultivator. So, if there were other isolated Eighth-Layer cultivators, Lu Ye could still easily eliminate them with Yiyi's Nine Array Diagram and her covert assistance. However, if an Eighth-Layer cultivator had companions, Lu Ye could only temporarily avoid them.

He would never act rashly unless he was sure he could retreat safely. Only when he was certain he could kill all enemies in his sight would he launch a surprise attack from the shadows.

Many of the teams now scattered deep within Mount Taimang had powerful Eighth-Layer or even Ninth-Layer cultivators stationed among them. Naturally, Lu Ye could not engage such teams.

This meant that after several nights of hunting, the available targets for him were becoming increasingly scarce.

Furthermore, as the number of Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators who died increased, the remaining ones became more vigilant and grouped together more tightly.

In the first few nights, the teams Lu Ye encountered were small: some had only two members, others three or four, and he rarely saw teams of five. Some even believed they were operating alone.

However, many of the teams he encountered last night had merged in groups of two or three, expanding their numbers to roughly seven to a dozen people.

Lu Ye dared not provoke such teams, even if they didn't have Eighth- or Ninth-Layer cultivators present. With his current strength, engaging teams of five or fewer without cultivators above the Eighth-Layer posed little risk, but anything beyond that range was unfeasible.

Thus, after a night of hunting, only two Myriad Demon Ridge teams, totaling seven cultivators, died by his hand—a drastic reduction compared to the first day's numbers.

After several days of hunting, the pent-up frustration in Lu Ye's heart was released. Although he longed to wipe out Song Zhui and his group, he knew it was unrealistic.

It was time to leave Mount Taimang...

With his current cultivation level, he couldn't keep hiding and playing cat and mouse with the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators. A cultivator's primary focus should always be on improving their cultivation.

Although the location of the Spirit Land of Returning Heaven was now exposed, it contained the Heavenly Secret Pillar and numerous arrays he had left behind. Should they encounter any irresistible danger, Fourth Senior Brother and the others could use the Heavenly Secret Pillar to escape back to the Nine Provinces, ensuring their safety.

Furthermore, given the warning he issued before leaving Returning Heaven Valley, which Myriad Demon Ridge cultivator would dare to forcibly attack the Spirit Land of Returning Heaven before he died?

They would likely fear that if they attacked today, Lu Ye would return to the Spirit Stream Battlefield tomorrow and destroy their sect's stronghold.

He had done such a thing before, and it was precisely because of that one instance that he now wielded such strong deterrence.

As dawn approached, Lu Ye raised his hand to his battlefield mark and sent a message to Li Baxian: "Senior Brother, I'm preparing to leave Mount Taimang."

He had messaged Li Baxian these past few days, but they hadn't discussed much, merely exchanging simple reports of their well-being.

Within the Spirit Land of Returning Heaven, Li Baxian read Lu Ye's message and let out a long breath.

Although Lu Ye hadn't told him much in recent days, he knew that since Lu Ye had remained in Mount Taimang, he must have been retaliating against the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators. Now, hearing that he intended to leave Mount Taimang, Li Baxian finally felt relieved. This undoubtedly meant that his junior brother would no longer be engaged in a battle of wits and strength with the Myriad Demon Ridge faction.

Even though Lu Ye would certainly remain under the Myriad Demon Ridge faction's scrutiny after leaving Mount Taimang, the situation could hardly be worse than it was now.

For him, Lu Ye's decision to leave Mount Taimang was undoubtedly good news.

"Stay safe, and if you're ever unsure about anything, think more about Yiyi!"

Seeing his senior brother's reply, Lu Ye chuckled.

His senior brother's words clearly meant for him not to act impulsively, implying that if he died, Yiyi would also vanish.

After ending his communication with Li Baxian, Lu Ye sent a message to Ju Jia, instructing him to cultivate diligently in the Spirit Land, not to wander off carelessly, and to consult with Fourth Senior Brother or message him before making any decisions.

Ju Jia's reply was simple and clear: just one word, "Okay!"

Dawn broke, but this didn't significantly affect Lu Ye. He could always imbue himself with Concealment and Aura Concealment Spirit patterns, so as long as he was careful enough, he had no fear of being discovered by anyone.

As he embarked on his journey, Lu Ye felt a sense of helplessness.

He was going to be alone again.

Since he began cultivating, he had mostly been solitary. There was a period when he traveled with Ju Jia, but it didn't last long.

Having obtained the A-grade Spring Spirit and settled it deep within Mount Taimang, with Fourth Senior Brother and Feng Yuechan for company, he had thought such days would last until he advanced to the True Lake Realm.

However, many things went awry. After only a few months, he had to set off alone again.

Recalling his brief time in the Spirit Land, although everyone usually cultivated independently with little interaction, the feeling was different. Having people around meant he had someone to discuss things with and rely on, no matter what happened, and those were some of the closest people to him in this world.

Fortunately, although he was always solitary, he was never lonely.

Because Amber and Yiyi were always by his side.

To this day, Lu Ye was incredibly grateful to have met Amber and Yiyi, and even more so that he had brought them out of Qingyun Mountain. Only then could he have two companions who would never abandon him, growing together and enduring all sorts of hardships together.

Lu Ye's sudden disappearance made powerful cultivators like Song Zhui and Ning Zizai feel that something was amiss.

In the preceding days, some people from the Myriad Demon Ridge side went missing every night, but for the past two or three days, no one else had met a gruesome end.

All signs indicated that Lu Ye seemed to have left!

How could the Ninth-Layer cultivators, who had been fruitlessly searching for Lu Ye, be content with this? But what could their discontent achieve? They still couldn't find Lu Ye's whereabouts, possessing great power but no place to use it.

At this time, Lu Ye had already reached the outer reaches of Mount Taimang.

The journey over the past few days hadn't been easy, primarily because the further he went outward, the more Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators he encountered.

When news of Lu Ye and the Spirit Land of Returning Heaven had spread, too many cultivators rushed over. However, some lacked sufficient strength and simply couldn't delve too deeply into the mountains, and such cultivators were the most numerous...

This meant that in the outer areas of Mount Taimang, Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators were ubiquitous, and all of them were below the Sixth-Layer Realm.

Lu Ye chose not to cause further trouble. Since he had decided to leave Mount Taimang, he naturally wouldn't expose his whereabouts again. Once he was out of Mount Taimang, he would be free as a bird in the sky or a fish in the sea. In the vast Cloud River Battlefield, with his face mask on and Amber hidden, no one would be able to trace him.

Once his cultivation reached the Eighth or Ninth Layer in the future, with his foundation, he would be able to move unhindered. If anyone dared to provoke him then, he would make sure they regretted it severely!

As he proceeded, Yiyi suddenly materialized nearby.

His steady progress these past few days was partly due to his own Concealment and Aura Concealment Spirit patterns, but the biggest reason was Yiyi.

She scouted ahead, detecting any disturbance instantly, which allowed Lu Ye to avoid many unnecessary troubles.

"Lu Ye, Lu Ye, there's a cave over there."

In the past few days, Yiyi had been responsible for scouting ahead and finding places to rest. Her specific return to tell Lu Ye about this undoubtedly indicated it was a suitable spot for recuperation.

"Well done," Lu Ye praised. "Let's go take a look."

Yiyi's face lit up with a smile, an expression of triumph. Her light body fluttered as she led the way forward.

A few miles further, they indeed found a cave. Its location was very concealed, with overgrown wild grass as tall as a person at its entrance. Without a careful search, it would be truly undiscoverable.