Chapter 665: A Horse Leading the Way

The number of cultivators from the Myriad Demon Ridge gathered in the teahouse was considerable, and many of them were powerful. However, few among them were confident they could actually kill Lu Ye.

As long as Lu Ye remained hidden within the Heavenly Chance Alliance, they were powerless. The Alliance headquarters contained Heavenly Chance Pillars, meaning Lu Ye could teleport back to Kyushu at any time.

It could be said that Lu Ye's current situation was infinitely safer than his previous predicament in Revival Valley.

The Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators gathered there primarily out of unwillingness to give up. Some also harbored a glimmer of hope, thinking, "What if Lu Yiye foolishly ventures out of the Heavenly Chance Alliance? He probably doesn't realize how many eyes are watching him outside."

After many days of waiting, many had grown impatient. Yet, considering they had already waited so long, they decided to wait a few more days to see if anything would change.

If another ten days or half a month passed, probably eighty percent or more of the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators gathered there would disperse. After all, no one would continue surveillance indefinitely without concrete information.

However, at noon that very day, the situation took a turn.

The teahouse, usually bustling with the large number of cultivators, suddenly grew quiet at one moment. It was as if an invisible soundproof barrier had been activated, enveloping the entire building.

From their window seats in the teahouse, the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators stared in disbelief towards the Heavenly Chance Alliance. A figure had appeared there, though they didn't know when.

The person, wearing a mask, had abruptly emerged at the entrance of the Heavenly Chance Alliance, seemingly having just stepped out.

In Kyushu, many cultivators enjoyed wearing masks, especially the secretive Ghost Cultivators. Therefore, a mask alone didn't signify much.

While a mask could conceal one's face, it couldn't alter their physique.

What stirred the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators was that the person's build bore a striking resemblance to Lu Ye's.

As if sensing their gazes, the person standing at the Heavenly Chance Alliance entrance looked up towards the second floor of the teahouse.

When their eyes met, expressions of nervousness and excitement flashed in the eyes of the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators.

They were excited because this person was very likely Lu Yiye, confirming that he had indeed been hiding within the Heavenly Chance Alliance.

They were nervous because the person had already noticed the situation in the teahouse and might not dare to come out. If he turned around and re-entered the Heavenly Chance Alliance, no one would have a way to stop him.

After a brief, silent standoff, and under everyone's watchful eyes, the person suspected of being Lu Yiye stepped forward, striding out of the Heavenly Chance Alliance's protective range.

A group of Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators almost let out cheers of surprise and delight.

Beneath the mask, Lu Ye's expression was one of helplessness.

He had previously been warned by the Heavenly Chance Alliance steward that many Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators were monitoring his movements. He hadn't expected so many to still be there after all these days.

These guys really had a lot of patience.

While he did have a safer and more secure option – retreating back into the Heavenly Chance Alliance, teleporting to Kyushu, and returning a month later, at which point no one would know his whereabouts – if he had wanted to take that path, he would have done so back in Revival Valley. Why wait until today?

Besides, what if he returned a month later? Countless Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators were watching him. No matter where he was, as long as he dared to appear in public, he would inevitably attract a lot of trouble.

Unless he remained hidden in his home sect in Kyushu.

Concealing his appearance was now pointless, so as Lu Ye stepped out of the Heavenly Chance Alliance, he raised his hand and removed the mask from his face.

Immediately, the many gazes watching him from afar sharpened considerably.

Before, it was just suspicion, but now without the mask, Lu Ye's identity was confirmed.

After taking a few steps, Lu Ye summoned his spirit boat, stepped onto it, and channeled his spiritual power. The spirit boat shot skyward, transforming into a streak of light and darting off in a certain direction.

"Chase him!" someone in the teahouse bellowed.

The next instant, everyone sprang into action, soaring out of the windows.

Not just this teahouse, but in various buildings surrounding the Heavenly Chance Alliance, numerous figures suddenly revealed themselves at that moment, taking to the air.

The teahouse, which had been full of guests, instantly emptied.

This massive commotion left some bewildered cultivators dumbfounded, as no one knew exactly what was happening.

In the sky, Lu Ye led the way, with at least three hundred dense, colorful streaks of light following behind him. At first glance, it almost looked as if Lu Ye were leading a group of cultivators on some mission. In reality, every single one of those pursuing cultivators wanted to tear him to shreds.

They had initially believed that Lu Ye would have no chance of survival if he dared to leave the Heavenly Chance Alliance. However, after pursuing him for a while, the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators were horrified to realize that something seemed wrong!

"How is this kid so fast?" someone exclaimed in surprise. He was an eighth-level Cloud River Realm cultivator, and while not known for speed, he was above average. Logically, a fifth-level Cloud River Realm cultivator like Lu Ye should not have been able to escape his pursuit.

Yet, in fact, the distance between him and Lu Ye showed no sign of narrowing.

In other words, Lu Ye, at the fifth level, was almost as fast as him, an eighth-level cultivator, in terms of flight speed.

A cultivator's flight speed generally depended on the strength of their cultivation. Typically, the higher the cultivation level, the faster they could fly.

Therefore, lower-level cultivators rarely had a chance to survive against higher-level ones. If they couldn't win and couldn't escape, their only option was death.

Of course, flying spiritual artifacts were also a factor. Different artifacts had different enchantments, providing varying benefits to cultivators.

Some expensive flying spiritual artifacts could indeed allow cultivators to fly faster, but such artifacts were always very costly.

The eighth-level cultivator quickly realized that a flying spiritual artifact, which would be prohibitively expensive for others, was nothing to the notorious rich spendthrift, Lu Yiye.

This guy had an abundance of nothing but merit points. Summoning one or two Heavenly Chance Pillars was trivial for him, so acquiring a top-tier flying spiritual artifact from the Heavenly Chance Treasure Repository was perfectly normal.

Envy and hatred instantly surged, solidifying his resolve to kill Lu Ye even further.

However, by this point, he also understood that the task of killing Lu Yiye probably wouldn't fall to him. The ninth-level Cloud River Realm cultivators were flying faster than him and were constantly closing the distance with Lu Yiye. Once they caught up, Lu Yiye would surely die.

He felt deep regret, lamenting why his cultivation was at the eighth level instead of the ninth.

As time passed, the more than three hundred cultivators who had chased out of Heavenly Chance City gradually spread out. Those with lower cultivation levels fell to the rear, while those closer to the front had higher cultivation levels.

The dozen or so figures leading the pursuit were all ninth-level Cloud River Realm cultivators. Each of them desperately urged their flying spiritual artifacts forward, their spiritual power surging.

At this crucial moment, their objective was no longer just to kill Lu Ye, but to be faster than everyone else. After all, there was only one Lu Ye, and whoever could strike first had the potential to take his life.

At the very front, Lu Ye popped a few spiritual pills into his mouth and slowly chewed them.

Although relentlessly pursued by a large group of Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators, he showed no signs of panic. He even had the presence of mind to assess his current strength.

His audacity in confidently walking out of the Heavenly Chance Alliance under the noses of so many Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators was not due to recklessness, but rather a certain confidence in his ability to resolve this crisis.

Certainly, he was alone and could not possibly contend with so many enemies. If caught, he would undoubtedly have no chance of survival.

But the premise was that he *had* to be caught!

At this moment, he was merely activating his spirit boat, having augmented it with Wind-Stepping spirit patterns, which allowed him to match the flight speed of a typical eighth-level cultivator.

And this was not his maximum speed. After this assessment, he believed that if he unleashed his full power, even the ninth-level cultivators might not be able to catch him.

His ability to achieve this level of performance at the fifth level of the Cloud River Realm owed much to the fortuitous encounter he had in Fox Immortal Valley.

The baptism bestowed by the Heavenly Chance that time allowed his already strong foundation to reach new heights, and his cultivation level increased by one stage. This not only granted him the ability to defeat enemies three levels above him but also gave him significantly faster flight speed.

Of course, this did not mean he could rest easy while being pursued by ninth-level Cloud River Realm cultivators.

What he lacked compared to ninth-level cultivators was his spiritual energy reserve. Even with his profound foundation and stable cultivation, a difference of four minor levels meant his spiritual energy reserves were inferior to theirs.

Furthermore, maintaining the Wind-Stepping effect consumed a considerable amount of energy for him. Therefore, even though his escape had just begun, Lu Ye was already prepared to replenish his spiritual energy.

Most cultivators didn't have this convenience, as how much medicinal efficacy could one refine from spiritual pills while fleeing? He, however, was unaffected by this.

He had never had the opportunity to properly compare his flight speed with ninth-level Cloud River Realm cultivators before. Now, after this attempt, Lu Ye felt even more confident in himself.

A venomous voice came from behind: "Lu Yiye, you can't escape! Prepare to die!"

Lu Ye ignored it. Honestly, he had heard similar threats many times in different situations, but the outcome was always him remaining perfectly fine, while the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators who troubled him rarely met a good end.

The last person to speak to him like that was Song Zhui, a cultivator from the Abyss Rainbow Palace.

After speeding for over a hundred li, the ninth-level cultivators were getting closer and closer to Lu Ye, clearly within striking distance.

At the same time, Lu Ye clearly sensed a sharp aura locking onto him from behind.

Just as the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators prepared to attack, Lu Ye's figure suddenly plummeted with astonishing speed, catching them off guard.

This sudden move greatly discomforted them, and the spiritual power they had secretly channeled rapidly dissipated.

Then they saw Lu Ye suddenly change direction, hurtle past them from below, and vanish in the blink of an eye.

He had actually flown back in the direction he came from!