Chapter 667: Mysterious Woman

After a quick scout, Lu Ye swiftly changed direction and rushed towards a particular area where a large river flowed, hoping to use it if the situation became critical.

The distance between him and his pursuers grew shorter, and the spiritual energy stored in his Spirit-Storing Ring diminished, causing the situation to gradually worsen.

The roaring sound of the river reached his ears, signaling that he had arrived at the great river he had spotted on his detailed map.

On the detailed map, this great river was marked as the Pi River. It stretched nearly ten thousand miles from east to west, with murky, turbulent waters, and was home to several powerful demonic beasts.

Just as Lu Ye pondered diving into the river to conceal himself and escape, the speed of his pursuers behind him suddenly slackened.

Having maintained their secret techniques for an extended period, the ninth-level cultivators were beginning to falter.

They were all frustrated, wondering how a mere fifth-level cultivator could run so incredibly fast. Despite pushing themselves to the limit, they couldn't catch him.

At this point, they found themselves in an awkward predicament.

Giving up felt unacceptable, as they had already pursued him for so long, and Lu Yiye might be nearing exhaustion himself. Yet, if they pressed on, there was no guarantee they would succeed.

Faint, almost imperceptible glances were cast towards the ninth-level cultivator who had spoken earlier. His face was slightly pale; having been the first to activate his secret technique, his consumption was the greatest. By now, his aura was unstable, and he was clearly nearing his limit.

Yet, he gritted his teeth and insisted, "He must be at his limit soon. Fellow cultivators, do not give up. If we miss this opportunity, there won't be another."

The group of ninth-level cultivators were at a loss for words.

However, human endurance has its limits. Suddenly, one of the ninth-level cultivators halted his advance and began to descend.

He could no longer hold on. If he continued the pursuit, regardless of Lu Ye's fate, he would certainly be completely exhausted. Having used a secret technique and suffering its backlash, he risked permanent damage if he didn't recover quickly.

While he certainly wanted to kill Lu Ye, when faced with an uncertain outcome versus his own future prospects, he chose the latter.

One by one, others followed.

In just the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, four ninth-level cultivators successively abandoned the chase.

The remaining cultivators, though still gritting their teeth and holding on, clearly couldn't last much longer. However, they persisted in the chase, not because they were confident they could catch Lu Ye, but because they had already sent out distress calls during the pursuit, and reinforcements were now arriving from nearby.

Their current goal was to keep Lu Ye within sight; once reinforcements arrived, Lu Yiye would have no chance of escape.

Throughout the chase, they continuously broadcasted Lu Ye's current location to others.

Lu Ye noticed this, feeling a subtle sense of dread, but he had no way to prevent it.

Time passed. After another incense stick's worth of time, Lu Ye suddenly turned his head to look in one direction and saw several streaks of light rapidly approaching him.

Judging by their speed, they were all cultivators at the eighth or ninth level.

These were undoubtedly the reinforcements called by his pursuers.

He quickly changed direction, fleeing away from the approaching figures. However, he hadn't gone far before several more streaks of light appeared in his field of vision.

People were also arriving from this direction.

As expected, those pursuing him were all ninth-level cultivators with extensive connections, each calling upon friends. As the news spread, anyone wishing to take his life would naturally come to get involved.

Lu Ye sensed that he had likely entered an encirclement; no matter which direction he fled, there would be cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge waiting to intercept him.

In the end, he would still have to rely on the Pi River for his escape.

The turbulent, murky river water could effectively conceal his aura and movements. Once he plunged into the Pi River, the cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge would struggle to find any trace of him.

However, if he did so, the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators would simply need to set up controls on either side of his entry point, making it difficult for him to resurface unless he held his breath and swam a very long distance underwater.

He could utilize Yi Yi's Nine Formation Diagram; if he had to hold his breath for too long, he could enter the diagram to breathe, as the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators would surely not expect him to possess such a rare treasure.

So, for Lu Ye, while the situation was critical, it hadn't yet reached a point where he was completely helpless.

Furthermore, his current energy consumption was too high, and he couldn't continue fleeing like this. He needed to conserve some strength for unforeseen circumstances.

Just as he resolved to plunge into the Pi River, a sudden surge of intense spiritual energy erupted from a certain direction. Lu Ye quickly looked up.

From that direction, a streak of light suddenly shot out from the ground, crashing directly into the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators' formation and immediately initiating a fierce battle.

This sudden turn of events startled everyone. What was even more astonishing was the incredible power of the figure that had suddenly appeared. A long sword danced, sending sword energy in all directions, quickly throwing the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators into disarray.

No one knew who this sudden newcomer was, as the person wore a white mask, obscuring their true face. However, judging by her curvaceous figure, it was clearly a woman. Her wide-sleeved robes couldn't conceal her proud physique; as she moved and twirled, her graceful figure was perfectly outlined.

The Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators fighting her were all inwardly terrified. The strength this woman displayed far surpassed that of an ordinary Cloud River ninth-level cultivator. They had originally been on their way to encircle Lu Ye with others, but this mysterious woman's interference immediately threw them into disarray.

Lu Ye also didn't know who this woman was. Since he began cultivating, he had experienced numerous pursuits and often received assistance from cultivators of the Haotian Alliance, but most of those instances had occurred on the Spirit Stream battlefield.

On the Cloud River battlefield, the only time he had received such help was previously in the hunting grounds, when his fourth senior brother had entrusted some friends to assist him.

Therefore, he hadn't expected anyone to step in and help him at such a critical moment.

But undeniably, this woman's strength was formidable!

After a brief hesitation, Lu Ye's fiery red wings flapped, and he abandoned the idea of diving into the Pi River, flying directly towards the woman's location instead.

He didn't join her in battle. As he flew past her, not far away, he shouted, "Let's go!"

The woman clearly understood that the current situation was not suitable for prolonged engagement with the enemy. After seeing Lu Ye break out of the encirclement, she unleashed an astonishing sword glow, forcing back the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators in front of her, then turned and quickly caught up with Lu Ye.

Her strength was formidable, and her speed was exceptional; she caught up with Lu Ye in just a few breaths.

Lu Ye secretly felt fortunate that none of the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who had been pursuing him possessed such formidable strength; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to escape for so long.

However, it made sense; she was a sword cultivator, and sword cultivators are renowned for their combat prowess and speed.

"Follow me!" the woman said, leading the way.

Lu Ye followed closely, while to their side and behind them, numerous Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators who had received the news were rushing to catch up.

As they sped along, Lu Ye and the mysterious woman had no communication, but Lu Ye maintained a distance of about thirty zhang from her.

The mysterious woman appeared to be helping him, but Lu Ye dared not trust her lightly before ascertaining her identity. Who knew if she was from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, and what if everything that had happened was merely an act? His situation would then become dire.

However, this possibility was slim. If the mysterious woman truly intended him harm, she could have acted already.

Lu Ye was merely suspicious of her secretive behavior.

Although he himself sometimes concealed his identity...

However, he typically wore various types of face masks, whereas the woman wore a simple white mask.

Seemingly sensing Lu Ye's caution, the mysterious woman said nothing more. She appeared to have a cold disposition, naturally exuding an aura that kept strangers at bay.

Soon, they arrived before a smooth, seemingly unremarkable rock wall. However, upon reaching it, Lu Ye immediately spotted some incongruities.

A formation!

There were signs that a man-made formation had been set up here.

He was about to activate his Eye of Insight spiritual pattern to observe when he saw the mysterious woman produce a jade pendant. She activated it with spiritual energy and gently waved it towards the rock wall. A mystical light shot out, and an entrance quickly appeared on the smooth, mirror-like rock wall.

The mysterious woman stepped inside, but after only a few steps, she turned back to look at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye remained standing still.

Seemingly sensing Lu Ye's apprehension, the mysterious woman spoke, "If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already!"

Lu Ye offered no comment.

"They're catching up!" the mysterious woman said, her eyes, visible beneath the mask, looking past Lu Ye. She clearly saw streaks of light flying towards them, knowing that the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators would catch up in less than twenty breaths.

Lu Ye shook his head and said, "Fellow cultivator, I will engrave your great kindness in my heart. Let us part ways here!"

Even if he could mostly confirm that the mysterious woman didn't harbor many ulterior motives, Lu Ye was still unwilling to follow such a powerful individual into a cave. That would be tantamount to putting his life in her hands.

Whether one called him ungrateful or stubborn, there was no harm in being cautious.

Visibly, the mysterious woman's chest heaved suddenly. She clearly hadn't expected such a reaction from Lu Ye and was genuinely a little angry.

But at this moment, there was clearly no time to argue with Lu Ye. Seeing that Lu Ye was truly about to leave, she quickly declared, "Let Heavenly Secrets bear witness, I have no ill will towards you!"

Lu Ye felt a little embarrassed. Someone had come to save him, yet he had suspected her, and she had even initiated a Heavenly Secrets oath...

"My apologies!" Lu Ye said, nodding slightly.

The mysterious woman ignored him, turned, and walked inside. Lu Ye quickly followed.

With the Heavenly Secrets oath as witness, whatever her ultimate purpose, at least one thing was certain: she truly had no ill will towards him, which put Lu Ye's mind at ease.