Chapter 625: Lu Ye's Whereabouts

Stepping into the cave entrance and going deeper, Lu Ye gradually sensed that something was amiss.

He had initially thought it was merely a secluded cave suitable for shelter and rest, but it was simply too profound.

Lu Ye pondered thoughtfully, walking to the side to observe for a while. The rock walls on both sides of the passage showed signs of artificial excavation, and judging by the marks, they were clearly quite old.

This was no mere cave; it was clearly a mine shaft!

Lu Ye had once been a mine slave in Evil Moon Valley, having entered and exited mine shafts for years. Therefore, whether this was a mine tunnel or not could not escape his notice.

Perhaps many years ago, valuable minerals were hidden here, which cultivators then found a way to extract, and the mine shafts left from the excavation were thus preserved.

Throughout the Cloud River Battlefield and even the Spirit Stream Battlefield, there were many such places, so it was nothing unusual.

Lu Ye didn't have any particular ideas about this place. These mine shafts had existed for quite some time; even if there had truly been valuable minerals here before, they would have been long since mined out. How could it be his turn?

Continuing deeper inside, after walking several more li, a massive mine cavern suddenly appeared before him.

This was a very spacious area, slightly larger than the space occupied by the Spirit Land of Rebirth. Considering its location, it had already penetrated deep into the mountain's core.

The minerals once contained here must have been incredibly valuable; otherwise, it wouldn't have been hollowed out to this extent.

The mine cavern was pitch black, but it didn't hinder Lu Ye's observation.

As he surveyed the hollowed-out mine cavern, a vague idea suddenly surged within his mind, becoming clearer and clearer as his thoughts churned.

"Lu Ye, should we rest here tonight?" Yi Yi had already circled the mine cavern and found nothing dangerous. However, there were some traces left by humans, suggesting that others had discovered and rested here before.

Although the entrance to this mine shaft was concealed, it could still ultimately be discovered by people.

"No!" Lu Ye shook his head.

"Huh?"

"Let's go deliver another big gift to Ten Thousand Demon Ridge!"

After hunting for several nights in the depths of Mount Taimang, killing many cultivators from Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, including some at the eighth layer, Lu Ye had run out of ideas. Primarily, his strength was insufficient, making further plans useless, so he decided to leave Mount Taimang.

But after seeing this mine cavern, a plan irresistibly surfaced in his mind. If this plan could be implemented, it would surely deal a heavy blow to the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who had been relentlessly searching for him.

Especially against ninth-layer cultivators like Song Zhui, Lu Ye was no match in a direct confrontation, but if he planned carefully, he might have a chance to kill him!

Just as Lu Ye had thought before, in a place like the Cloud River Battlefield, revenge should be swift, ideally without delay. Otherwise, once the chance was missed, there might not be another opportunity for revenge.

He turned and walked out, his steps light.

Although Yi Yi didn't know what Lu Ye was planning, she could tell from his expression that he definitely had another trick up his sleeve. She didn't ask further and followed closely.

Lu Ye's preparations took a full day.

During this day, the cultivators of Ten Thousand Demon Ridge continued to search for him in Mount Taimang, yet found nothing.

Somewhere in Mount Taimang, several of Song Zhui's fellow disciples were resting while Song Zhui messaged other cultivators, inquiring about their situation.

A moment later, Song Zhui sighed.

It had been three days. In these past three days, Ten Thousand Demon Ridge had not suffered any significant further losses, apart from a few unlucky cultivators who encountered powerful, unbeatable beasts and were killed.

All indications showed that Lu Ye had indeed left Mount Taimang.

Though unwilling, he was helpless.

Lu Ye had previously left the Spirit Land voluntarily, giving them the opportunity to pursue him, but they were useless! Millions of Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, and they hadn't even seen a shadow of Lu Ye yet.

Although he didn't want to admit it, Song Zhui knew this operation was a complete failure, and the huge bounty that should have been within reach had ultimately slipped away right before his eyes.

Now that Lu Yiye had left Mount Taimang, he would surely act with even greater caution in the future, making it difficult to find his trace again.

Just as he was thinking this, a junior disciple nearby suddenly opened his eyes and raised a hand to touch his battle mark, indicating a message had arrived.

The junior disciple checked the message, then his expression changed. He looked up at Song Zhui and exclaimed, "Senior Brother, Lu Yiye's whereabouts have been found!"

Song Zhui had already given up on searching for Lu Ye, but upon suddenly hearing these words, he felt a surge of new hope. He quickly asked, "Where?"

"In the outer reaches of Mount Taimang, and he seems to be injured! The injuries don't look light!"

"The outer reaches of Mount Taimang..." Song Zhui murmured. This matched up. In the past three days, Ten Thousand Demon Ridge had not suffered further losses, suggesting Lu Yiye had left this vicinity three days ago, which would be just enough time for him to reach the outer reaches of Mount Taimang.

"Let's talk on the way!" Song Zhui called out, immediately summoning his flying spiritual artifact and soaring into the sky.

He had some doubts. For days, so many powerful cultivators had been searching for Lu Ye's trace yet had found nothing. So how could he have exposed himself in the outer reaches of Mount Taimang?

While rushing towards the outer reaches of Mount Taimang, Song Zhui inquired about the specific situation.

Only then did he learn that Lu Ye's exposure was a coincidence. At the time, Lu Ye was resting in a secluded cave when a team of Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators also happened to be heading to that same cave for rest. The two sides unexpectedly ran into each other, and after recognizing Lu Ye's appearance, those cultivators were overjoyed and immediately engaged in a fierce fight with him.

As a result, Lu Ye fled!

"Wait..." Song Zhui raised a hand, his face full of suspicion. "Lu Yiye fled? Those cultivators didn't die?"

"Two died, but Lu Yiye seemed heavily injured, unwilling to prolong the fight, and quickly fled."

Lu Yiye had previously been able to wipe out entire teams of cultivators at the sixth and seventh layers. However, now, against cultivators in the outer reaches whose strength varied, he hadn't been able to kill them all. Judging by this, his injuries were indeed not light.

Perhaps because he was heavily injured, he decided to leave Mount Taimang, which explained why Ten Thousand Demon Ridge had not suffered any personnel losses in the last three days.

Song Zhui didn't delve deeply into why Lu Ye was heavily injured. After all, Lu Ye had killed so many people before, so getting a few injuries was completely normal.

There were so many Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators in the outer reaches of Mount Taimang, it was no exaggeration to say there were ten times more than in the deeper parts. If Lu Ye had remained hidden, it would have been fine, but once his whereabouts were exposed, hiding again would not be so simple.

"After encountering that Ten Thousand Demon Ridge team, killing two, and fleeing, he successively encountered several more teams, engaging in skirmishes with each, and then he vanished."

"Vanished? How did he vanish?" Song Zhui was stunned.

"Unclear. The person who sent the message didn't have much information, but what's certain is that Lu Yiye hasn't left that area. Many people have already gathered at that location, all searching for his trace."

"Faster!" Song Zhui commanded, and their speed increased significantly as they rushed towards the outer reaches of Mount Taimang.

Since they had already received the news, it was likely that other powerful cultivators from Ten Thousand Demon Ridge would eventually receive it too. By then, the cultivators searching for Lu Ye in the depths of Mount Taimang would surely all gather in the outer reaches.

If they were slow at this time, they would likely miss out on everything.

Just as Song Zhui had predicted, at this very moment, teams were setting off from the depths of Mount Taimang, heading towards the outer reaches.

In the outer reaches of Mount Taimang, where Lu Ye had recently appeared, traces of Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators could be seen everywhere within dozens of li, all of them searching for Lu Ye's whereabouts.

Originally, due to their insufficient cultivation, they couldn't venture deep into Mount Taimang, and killing Lu Ye wasn't really their concern. But now that Lu Ye had come to the outer reaches and exposed his whereabouts, their opportunity had arrived.

Lu Yiye was heavily injured and hidden somewhere unknown. In the current situation, whoever found him first would become rich overnight.

The desire for that massive bounty made numerous Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators excited, and they searched relentlessly. Yet despite their efforts, they still found no trace.

Until a five-person team appeared!

Ghost Shadow was extremely resistant to searching for Lu Yiye's trace. It wasn't that he wasn't tempted by the massive bounty, but he always felt that he couldn't be an enemy of Lu Yiye; otherwise, he would surely come to no good end.

Not counting their hidden confrontation on the Spirit Stream Ranking, Ghost Shadow had actually met Lu Ye twice.

However, both experiences were truly unforgettable.

Each time, the massive, burning Four Symbols Sacred Beast appeared, and each time, many powerful cultivators from Ten Thousand Demon Ridge perished.

One time was outside the Myriad Poison Forest in the Spirit Stream Battlefield, and another was in the Hunting Ground of the Cloud River Battlefield.

Ghost Shadow's talent was considerable; he was ranked ninth on the Spirit Stream Ranking back then. However, compared to his talent, his intuition was his greatest asset.

His intuition was unrelated to his mental strength; instead, it seemed like an innate ability, allowing him to have strong premonitions before danger arrived. Relying on this intuition, Ghost Shadow had avoided many fatal risks.

Taking this current situation as an example, during the search for Lu Yiye, his heart kept pounding erratically, unable to settle for a moment, as if something very dangerous was about to happen again.

Although he didn't want to participate in this matter, he couldn't resist the persuasion of his senior brother and several fellow disciples, so he had no choice but to act with them.

He thought that if they truly encountered any danger, with him present, they could at least mitigate some risks.

As for him now, he was a third-layer Cloud River Realm cultivator. Such cultivation speed was not slow, but compared to Lu Ye, it was still far behind.

"Senior Brother Qin, why are we always circling this area?" a beautiful and graceful female cultivator in the team suddenly asked. Several fellow disciples seemed to have an interest in this Senior Sister Hu, but Ghost Shadow did not.

Women only affect the speed at which I draw my blade! Why bother trying to please women when striving in cultivation brings so much more joy?