Chapter 664: All is Ready

The Wind Rises in Kyushu

The Wind Rises in Kyushu

Ever since entering the Cloud River Battlefield, Lu Ye had intended to visit a particular place. However, in the beginning, he wasn't familiar with the battlefield's conditions, and his cultivation was still low, so he didn't act rashly.

The primary reason, of course, was that he hadn't made thorough preparations, which would have prevented him from maximizing the benefits he could obtain there.

In that place, spiritual pills and spirit stones held little value; what was truly useful were items that could restore soul power.

He had originally planned to wait a bit longer to prepare, but now he couldn't afford to wait any longer.

The main reason was that he no longer needed to prepare anything; he had already acquired the most crucial item!

The Hundred Formations Pagoda!

This was the sacred land for formation masters in Kyushu, a place where they could further their mastery of the formation dao.

Legends in Kyushu claimed that the Hundred Formations Pagoda was a relic from a previous cultivation era. It comprised one hundred layers, each presenting a different, increasingly difficult trial. Successfully passing these trials would grant rewards bestowed by the Heavenly Secret, all related to the formation dao.

This drew countless cultivators from Kyushu to enter the pagoda, seeking to temper and refine their understanding of the formation dao.

However, the complete Hundred Formations Pagoda no longer existed. No one knew what had befallen it, but it was now divided into three sections.

One section, the lowest part, was located within the Tianyan Sect in Wuzhou.

Lu Ye had once been invited by a Tianyan Sect cultivator named Zhao Li to visit their outpost. From there, he entered the main sect, successfully clearing thirty-three layers in a single attempt, which caused a huge sensation throughout the Tianyan Sect.

Before challenging the Hundred Formations Pagoda, Lu Ye possessed some skill in the formation dao, though it wasn't particularly extraordinary. However, after successfully clearing the Tianyan Sect's portion of the pagoda, his proficiency in the formation dao improved by leaps and bounds.

This newfound mastery also served as the foundation for his audacious actions in the Spirit Stream Battlefield. No other Spirit Stream Realm cultivator had ever achieved such high proficiency in the formation dao; for him, infiltrating defensive formations at enemy outposts was as effortless as eating or drinking. Coupled with his strength, which far surpassed that of cultivators at the same level, his very existence became an inescapable nightmare for the major sects of the Myriad Demon Ridge in the Spirit Stream Battlefield.

The Myriad Demon Ridge faction now felt only relief that Lu Ye had ascended to the Cloud River Realm early and departed the Spirit Stream Battlefield. Otherwise, there was no telling what chaos he would have wrought upon that vast battlefield.

It could be said that Lu Ye's current mastery of the formation dao was partly attributable to his foundation as a spirit pattern master. Formations utilized numerous spirit patterns, and his ability to effortlessly construct them gave him an unparalleled advantage in both setting up and breaking formations.

However, a greater part of his advancement came from the Hundred Formations Pagoda's bestowments!

Clearing thirty-three layers of the Hundred Formations Pagoda in a single attempt, especially when Lu Ye was only at the eighth level of the Spirit Stream Realm (this occurred right after the Immortal Yuan City secret realm), meant that the boons he received from the pagoda far exceeded what any previous formation master had acquired. This elevated his formation dao mastery to a level unreachable by cultivators of the same tier.

While his foundation as a spirit pattern master provided some advantage in setting up and dismantling formations, the Hundred Formations Pagoda's bestowments were the fundamental catalyst for elevating his formation dao mastery. Moreover, for a long time afterward, these gifts continued to exert their influence, steadily deepening Lu Ye's comprehension of the formation dao.

Zhao Li of the Tianyan Sect had once informed Lu Ye that anyone able to clear the first ten layers of the Hundred Formations Pagoda could be considered to have merely entered the formation dao, barely qualifying as a competent formation master. Clearing twenty layers signified proficiency, and clearing thirty-three layers earned the title of "master."

To be a formation master at the Spirit Stream Realm—what an astonishing honor.

Previously, in the mining cave on the outskirts of Mount Taiman, a man named Si Nan had vainly attempted to obstruct Lu Ye with a defensive formation. It was proven then that his supposedly impregnable formation was utterly vulnerable in Lu Ye's presence.

He had no idea how immense the disparity in their formation dao mastery truly was.

One part of the Hundred Formations Pagoda was in the Tianyan Sect in Wuzhou, while the second part was located in the Cloud River Battlefield!

Having experience with the Hundred Formations Pagoda and having reaped unimaginable benefits from it, Lu Ye had resolved to challenge it again someday after ascending to the Cloud River Realm and arriving at the Cloud River Battlefield.

Previously, his cultivation had been too low, and he hadn't been adequately prepared, making the journey difficult.

From his previous experience, Lu Ye knew that the greatest challenge for formation masters in the Hundred Formations Pagoda was the depletion of their mental energy. Last time, he had overcome repeated difficulties by utilizing Soul Cleansing Water, which allowed him to consistently receive substantial rewards.

Before, he hadn't possessed much Soul Cleansing Water, so he had been hesitant to venture to the Hundred Formations Pagoda. In recent days, whenever he had visited the Heavenly Secret Treasury to procure supplies, he had also searched for treasures or elixirs capable of restoring soul power.

However, he had consistently found nothing. After all, treasures or elixirs that restored soul power were highly valuable even to Divine Sea Realm cultivators. Even if such items occasionally appeared in the Heavenly Secret Treasury, they would be swiftly purchased, long before Lu Ye had a chance.

An unexpected trip to Immortal Yuan City provided him with a large quantity of soul water, significantly more than he had acquired on his previous visit.

This resolved his primary concern.

With everything now in place and Lu Ye eager to enhance his cultivation, a journey to the Hundred Formations Pagoda became inevitable.

Each layer of the Hundred Formations Pagoda that he cleared offered more than just formation dao rewards. The spiritual energy within the pagoda itself was incredibly dense and pure. Last time, Lu Ye had opened dozens of acupoints consecutively while in the Tianyan Sect's portion.

That was merely the lowest section of the Hundred Formations Pagoda; the one in the Cloud River Battlefield ought to yield even better results.

If all went well, his cultivation should see some improvement.

He knew the Hundred Formations Pagoda's location. It wasn't particularly close to his current position at the Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance; even at full speed, the journey would take around ten days.

Furthermore... there were likely many powerful cultivators from the Myriad Demon Ridge still monitoring his movements outside. The moment he revealed himself, he would undoubtedly attract pursuit.

Lu Ye sighed inwardly, knowing that peaceful days were ultimately fleeting. He would soon have to resume his life on the run.

However, before embarking, he would need a large quantity of formation flags.

The challenge of the Hundred Formations Pagoda lay in two aspects: first, the test of mental fortitude, as each layer imposed a significant burden on a cultivator's mind, making it difficult to clear many levels at once without sufficient mental strength. Second, the constant need for formation flags, as both breaking and setting up formations consumed them.

Lu Ye opted not to craft the flags himself. While self-crafting would be the most cost-effective, he possessed a substantial amount of merit points, so expending some was inconsequential.

He left his guest room and joined the queue in the Heavenly Secret Hall. Connecting his mind to the Heavenly Secret Treasury, he purchased a large quantity of formation flags.

Outside the Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance, at the teahouse directly opposite the Alliance's entrance, both the owner and the server wore expressions of delight.

The teahouse's business had always been lukewarm. Cultivators typically hurried in and out; unless they had business to discuss or were reuniting with long-lost acquaintances, they seldom frequented places like teahouses, preferring establishments such as restaurants instead.

Yet, in recent days, the teahouse's business had boomed!

Each day, cultivators would come in for tea, and many would occupy a single table for days on end.

The teahouse had only two floors, and both were now completely packed.

Initially, the teahouse staff had no idea what was happening, but as time passed, rumors spread, clarifying the purpose of these patrons.

The widely publicized incident of two thousand Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators being poisoned to death in the mining cave on the outskirts of Mount Taiman had caused a stir, and the name of the perpetrator, Lu Yiye of the Azureblood Sect, had begun to circulate widely across the Cloud River Battlefield.

It was rumored that the deranged Lu Yiye was hiding within this Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance, drawing numerous Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators, who had received intelligence from various sources, to gather here, each hoping to claim a share of the glory.

Earlier, a few Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators, unable to restrain themselves, had forced their way into the Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance to assassinate Lu Yiye. Those individuals were immediately struck down by the Alliance's personnel, meeting a gruesome end. Furthermore, their respective sects were implicated, prohibited from conducting any business with the Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance for three years.

Under this deterrent, no one dared to cause trouble within the Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance again. Even those who entered to investigate Lu Ye's whereabouts pretended to be conducting business.

As for whether Lu Yiye was truly hiding in this Heavenly Secret Merchant Alliance, no one knew for certain.

No one had actually witnessed him entering; it was merely a suspicion.

However, according to circulating rumors, after the mining cave incident, a masked individual carrying a large package entered the merchant alliance, and that person's physique perfectly matched Lu Ye's.

The mask undoubtedly indicated a desire to conceal his true identity, while the enormous package was highly suspected to contain spoils from poisoning two thousand people.

Thus, despite it being mere suspicion, many Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators were convinced that Lu Ye was indeed concealed there.

Among them, Chu Yun and Zhou Pei of the Sacred Fire Sect were the most steadfast in their conviction.

They were among the first to arrive. While many other Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators eventually lost patience and departed, these two had remained seated there for days, unmoving.

Elsewhere on the teahouse's second floor sat two figures familiar to Lu Ye.

They were none other than the persistent Xia Liang and Tan Sheng.

Back when a large number of Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators had gathered outside Return Valley, Xia Liang and Tan Sheng had misjudged Lu Ye's likely response, believing he would surely retreat to Kyushu, and thus departed early.

However, subsequent events unfolded completely differently from their expectations. By the time they received news and rushed to the mining cave, they were met with a scene of purgatory: over two thousand corpses of Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators lay sprawled across the area, a sight that made their scalps tingle.

They couldn't help but feel a chilling sense of dread, grateful they hadn't arrived too early, or they would likely have become one of the two thousand.

Apart from these four, most other cultivators had connections to those previously poisoned by Lu Ye. Some had seen their beloved senior brothers tragically die by Lu Ye's hand, while others had witnessed their fellow junior sisters perish. How could such deep-seated enmity go unavenged?

Driven by hatred, they converged from all directions.