Chapter 671: Hundred Array Tower

**Wind Rises in Kyushu**

After a brief exchange, Li Baxian learned of Lu Ye's upcoming plans.

It was natural for his junior brother, being proficient in array formations, to go to the Hundred Array Pagoda for further study. In fact, it could be said that any array master in the Cultivation World of Kyushu, upon reaching the Cloud River Realm, would try to visit the Hundred Array Pagoda. This was especially true for array masters from Myriad Demon Ridge. The first part of the Hundred Array Pagoda, located in Tianyan Sect in Wuzhou, is their sect's most treasured possession, making it inaccessible to outsiders. However, the section situated in the Cloud River Battlefield had no such affiliation.

Upon hearing Lu Ye's plan, Li Baxian said little, only cautioning him to be careful.

After ending the communication, Lu Ye continued his journey.

A little less than half a day later, as Lu Ye was flying on his artifact, he suddenly received another message from his battlefield imprint.

He quickly checked and found that it was his Fourth Senior Brother contacting him again.

This was unusual, as his Fourth Senior Brother typically didn't bother him so frequently.

“Junior Brother, I had someone inquire about the Hundred Array Pagoda. The situation there is a bit complicated, so let me tell you about it.”

Immediately after, large chunks of information were transmitted.

As Lu Ye reviewed the messages, a warmth flowed through his heart, feeling his Fourth Senior Brother's concern.

In fact, Lu Ye already knew all the information Li Baxian had sent. Even though he hadn't yet set off for the Hundred Array Pagoda during his long time in the Cloud River Battlefield, he had always kept an eye on news from that area.

He knew that one day he would embark on that journey, and there was no harm in being prepared.

Just as his Fourth Senior Brother had said, the situation around the Hundred Array Pagoda was indeed complex. Rushing in without any prior knowledge could easily lead to trouble.

Moreover, during his recent visit to the Heavenly Secret Trade Guild, he had specifically purchased a comprehensive report on the Hundred Array Pagoda. This report was far more detailed than the information Li Baxian had hastily gathered, even including the experiences and accumulated wisdom of many array masters who had successfully challenged the pagoda.

For this, Lu Ye had spent a significant amount of spirit stones. Of course, being as wealthy as he was, mere spirit stones were of little concern, as they were all spoils of war anyway.

However, he didn't reveal this. After Li Baxian finished conveying all the intelligence he had, he added a caution: “With your abilities, you are sure to gain many benefits in the Hundred Array Pagoda. But remember not to be overly ambitious or reckless. Your cultivation is still low, so even if you encounter setbacks there, it won't be too late to explore further once your cultivation improves.”

“I understand, Fourth Senior Brother, please don't worry,” Lu Ye replied.

A moment later, Lu Ye ended his communication with Li Baxian and continued on his way.

On the spirit boat, Yiyi, sitting in front of Lu Ye, subtly sensed something. She turned and smiled, “Was Fourth Senior Brother looking for you?” Although Lu Ye had exchanged imprint marks with many cultivators, he rarely communicated with someone for such an extended period.

Lu Ye nodded, “Yes, he was inquiring about the Hundred Array Pagoda for me.”

Yiyi understood, “Fourth Senior Brother must be very worried about you.”

Lu Ye was well aware of this. His decision to leave Return to Heaven Valley alone and draw away the attacking Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators likely created the illusion for Li Baxian that they had become a burden to him.

But that wasn't the reality; he was already being targeted. Even if he temporarily escaped back to Kyushu and found momentary peace, what would be the point?

Unless he could stay hidden in his sect in Kyushu indefinitely, never entering the Cloud River Battlefield.

For him, that was indeed an option. After all, he could cultivate by simply consuming spirit pills. While his cultivation speed might not be particularly fast within the sect, it wouldn't be too slow either; he could at least maintain an average pace.

However, Lu Ye simply couldn't tolerate it. He was cultivating peacefully in his spiritual land, bothering no one, yet people from Myriad Demon Ridge kept coming after him repeatedly.

In that case, he had no choice but to fight back.

Protecting the spiritual land and providing a stable cultivation environment for Li Baxian, Ju Jia, and the others was merely a convenient byproduct, not the primary reason.

And indeed, it proved that venturing out and facing challenges yielded significant benefits.

It was precisely because he had left Return to Heaven Valley that he achieved the astonishing feat of poisoning thousands of Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators in the mine, acquiring numerous spoils of war, which subsequently led to a change in the Breath Fruit core.

This also led him to enter Immortal Origin City, from which he brought out a large quantity of Soul Water, filling him with confidence for his journey to the Hundred Array Pagoda.

While staying safely in his sect in Kyushu was certainly secure, where would he find so many opportunities and benefits?

Though battling the Myriad Demon Ridge cultivators was tiring and dangerous, the benefits he gained were undeniable.

“So, Lu Ye, you really need to get stronger quickly. Don't make those who care about you worry too much.”

Lu Ye smiled, “Soon!”

Currently, he could already kill cultivators at the Eighth Layer. If his cultivation could advance further, he would even be able to defeat those at the Ninth Layer. At that point, even though the Cloud River Battlefield was vast, there would likely be very few who could genuinely threaten his life.

Suddenly, several more days passed in a flash.

When a well-structured city appeared in his sight, Lu Ye knew he had reached his destination.

Hundred Array City.

It was one of the few cities in the entire Cloud River Battlefield that had its own distinct name.

Within the Cloud River Battlefield, most cities were named Heavenly Secret City, followed by different numbers for distinction. However, there were also some special cities that possessed their own unique names.

The name Hundred Array City was clearly derived from the Hundred Array Pagoda.

The two were not far apart, merely thirty li. For Cloud River Realm cultivators, this distance was negligible. Many array masters resided permanently in Hundred Array City, periodically visiting the Hundred Array Pagoda to further their studies in array formations.

Initially, there was no city here.

But due to the Hundred Array Pagoda, many cultivators from various parts of the Cloud River Battlefield would gather in this location.

While the path of array masters was not an especially large school, it was still considerably larger than niche paths like beast taming or artificers.

In any case, every sect would have some array masters responsible for setting up and maintaining array formations.

Furthermore, among the numerous rogue cultivators who had no sect affiliation, many had also cultivated the path of arrays.

As a result, the number of array masters in Kyushu was actually quite high.

With so many array masters gathering at the Hundred Array Pagoda's location, it naturally brought a significant influx of people to the area. Wherever people gather, settlements gradually form, and thus, Hundred Array City came into being.

Once the settlement grew to a certain size, the Heavenly Secret Trade Guild even established a presence there.

It could be said that Hundred Array City was almost entirely dedicated to serving array masters. About eighty percent of everything in the city was related to array formations.

There were also reasons why the Hundred Array Pagoda was located thirty li outside Hundred Array City, rather than within the city itself.

Many array masters would spend long periods outside the Hundred Array Pagoda, honing their skills with peers, or gaining inspiration and benefits when someone challenged the pagoda and caused it to resonate.

Therefore, the area around the Hundred Array Pagoda was not suitable for too much activity. As a result, Hundred Array City naturally didn't form around the pagoda as its center, as the array masters would never have agreed to such an arrangement.

Lu Ye's destination was not Hundred Array City itself, so he naturally didn't need to enter it.

However, to proceed to the Hundred Array Pagoda, he still had to follow certain rules.

As for who set these rules, it was impossible to ascertain, as they were traditions passed down by generations of array masters. Of course, if one truly possessed exceptional ability, they could disregard these rules, but that would ultimately make things very troublesome.

So, after spotting Hundred Array City, Lu Ye's gaze swept past it, landing on a section of a dilapidated pagoda thirty li away.

He had previously visited Tianyan Sect and seen the first part of the Hundred Array Pagoda. Now, looking at this second part, it seemed to perfectly match the first. If someone could bring this section out of the Cloud River Battlefield and place it within Tianyan Sect, it would undoubtedly restore sixty to seventy percent of the Hundred Array Pagoda's former glory.

Unfortunately, no one had managed to do so throughout history.

The second part of the Hundred Array Pagoda was its middle section, without a base or a top. At first glance, it appeared incongruous, yet it clearly bore the marks of centuries of erosion, its entire structure simple and unadorned.

Lu Ye flew past on his artifact and descended ten li outside Hundred Array City. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a few crooked-necked trees.

The branches of those large trees were intertwined, vaguely forming an archway. Standing before this archway and looking straight ahead, one could clearly see the Hundred Array Pagoda.

This archway of entangled tree branches was like a gateway to the Hundred Array Pagoda.

And indeed, it was.

Passing through the location of these branches and proceeding straight ahead would lead one safely to the Hundred Array Pagoda. However, any slight deviation along the way could result in an unpleasant experience.

This was because, within a thirty-li radius centered around the Hundred Array Pagoda, no spot was entirely safe.

These areas were riddled with various array formations left behind by cultivators from different eras. Seemingly inconspicuous spots might very well conceal deadly traps.

Throughout history, generations of array masters had refined their art here, almost every one gaining some degree of insight. They would sometimes spar with others—a competition between array masters typically involved setting up and breaking down arrays, and many of the existing formations were left behind in this manner.

Others might have had different intentions, deliberately laying down array formations in certain places, leaving behind challenges to test subsequent array masters.

Thus, through generations of inheritance, the thirty-li radius outside the Hundred Array Pagoda had accumulated countless hidden array formations. One might trigger an array simply by walking a few steps.

This was also why Lu Ye was willing to follow the rules.

While he could certainly fly directly to the Hundred Array Pagoda from any direction, who knew if he might encounter an anti-flight array? If he did, he would surely fall. To then proceed, he would have to dismantle each array formation one by one.

Such incidents had indeed occurred. There was once an arrogant array master who chose not to follow the established path, only to become trapped outside the Hundred Array Pagoda, with even his remains never found.

At the Cloud River Realm level, Lu Ye believed his array formation skills were unmatched. However, array formations were not something one could disregard just because they had superior mastery.

Some array formations had existed for a very long time, accumulating spiritual power over years and months. Even an ordinary array, once triggered, could unleash terrifying power.