Chapter 680: How Could I Not Die

Within a thirty-li radius around the Hundred Array Tower, except for the safe passage connecting it to Hundred Array City and the hundred-zhang area where the tower itself stands, all other places are saturated with various arrays.

These arrays were left behind by array masters who came to train at the Hundred Array Tower throughout history.

Due to the unique resonance of the Hundred Array Tower and the accumulation of time, even if these arrays were set up and left by Cloud River Realm cultivators, the power they unleash far surpasses that of normal arrays.

The entire Cloud River battlefield contains many perilous areas, such as those occupied by overlord-level demon generals or natural treacherous lands.

However, if all perilous areas were ranked, the vicinity of the Hundred Array Tower would undoubtedly be among the top three.

Previously, an individual who ambushed Lu Ye in the safe passage was struck by Lu Ye into this perilous area; their fate remains unknown.

Days later, Lu Ye found himself following the same path.

Xia Liang held his saber, his brow deeply furrowed. He watched helplessly as Lu Ye's figure vanished, powerless to intervene unless he was willing to pursue him into the depths.

As he was not an array master, he dared not rashly venture into such a perilous place. Even among the array masters present, few possessed the courage to enter that area.

The sudden turn of events astonished everyone present. Although array masters from both major factions frequented the Hundred Array Tower area for training year-round, never before had a conflict erupted here.

After all, they came to refine their array skills, and engaging in combat would be highly inappropriate. Consequently, the atmosphere here had always been relatively harmonious; array masters, despite differing faction allegiances, could spar and verify their knowledge with each other.

However, on this particular day, the long-standing peace and harmony were finally shattered.

Fortunately, the battle concluded swiftly.

An array master emerging from the Hundred Array Tower was jointly blasted into the perilous area by four Cloud River Ninth Realm cultivators.

"Was that... Lu Yiye?" someone in the crowd suddenly exclaimed.

Influenced by the immense information impacting his spiritual essence, Lu Ye instinctively stowed Amber into his spirit beast pouch when he emerged from the Hundred Array Tower this time, completely forgetting to don his mask.

When he appeared, many people saw his figure, and naturally, some recognized his identity.

A single word sparked an uproar throughout the crowd.

The incident of poisoning twenty million cultivators from Ten Thousand Demon Ridge in the mine tunnel had caused a huge sensation, as it was truly an incredibly shocking event.

Although some time had passed, the commotion had not subsided. Even array masters who had cultivated here for years had heard about it, aware that the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge faction was actively searching for Lu Ye's whereabouts.

Unexpectedly, he would appear at the Hundred Array Tower, only to be instantly eliminated upon his arrival.

Recalling Lu Ye's figure engulfed in flames as he finally fell into the perilous area, no one believed he had any hope of survival in such circumstances.

After all, the attackers were two Cloud River Ninth Realm spell cultivators.

Xia Liang turned to look at Chu Yun and Zhou Pei. They knew best whether Lu Ye was dead or alive, as they were the ones who delivered the final blow.

After a moment of silence, Chu Yun shook his head, and Zhou Pei followed suit.

If Lu Ye had died, their accumulated merits would have undoubtedly changed, and the blue glow of the battlefield mark would have drifted towards them. Yet, none of that occurred.

In other words, Lu Ye was still alive!

"His dog's life is incredibly tough!" Xia Liang gritted his teeth.

All four attackers had wounded Lu Ye. He was enveloped by those two spells, turning into a ball of fire. Yet, he was still alive?

How resilient could Lu Yiye's 'dog's life' possibly be?

Tan Sheng's expression was also grim. Honestly, Lu Ye's survival from such a lethal assault was truly unexpected. Recalling Lu Ye's growth from their first encounter to the present, Tan Sheng couldn't help but shiver. The brief exchange just now had made him realize that Lu Ye's cultivation had advanced again, now surprisingly reaching the Cloud River Sixth Realm.

He remembered how, in the hunting grounds, this fellow could only flee frantically like a stray dog when chased by him. Now, he could still preserve his life even under a combined assault from him and Xia Liang.

Throughout this period, he had virtually witnessed Lu Ye's astonishingly rapid growth.

"Brother Xia, an unkilled snake always poses a hidden threat," Tan Sheng murmured softly.

Xia Liang was acutely aware of this. For days, he and Tan Sheng had sought to end Lu Ye's life, but opportunities for a direct confrontation were rare. This time was arguably the closest they had come to success, yet they still failed to achieve their objective.

With this in mind, he declared loudly: "Fellow Daoists of Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, I am Xia Liang of the Mad Saber Sect. I have a request: Could you please help us break these arrays and find the traces of that escaped individual?"

Xia Liang had heard about the perilous area outside the Hundred Array Tower and would never dare to venture in alone. However, most cultivators gathered here were array masters. If the array masters of Ten Thousand Demon Ridge could unite and dismantle the arrays, Lu Yiye would surely have nowhere to hide.

They needed to see him alive or find his corpse; otherwise, they would never be at ease.

The Mad Saber Sect was a first-rank sect with a formidable reputation, and Xia Liang possessed Ninth Realm cultivation. As he spoke, an array master in the crowd called out, "May I ask, Fellow Daoist Xia, was the person who just escaped Lu Yiye of the Jade Blood Sect?"

Although some had recognized Lu Ye and even spoken his name, among those present, only Xia Liang and his group had truly seen Lu Ye in person. Until definitive confirmation, no one could be certain it was him.

At this juncture, Xia Liang naturally wouldn't conceal the truth. He nodded and affirmed: "That's right, that was Lu Yiye of the Jade Blood Sect."

"It truly is that villain!" The array master gritted his teeth. "This villain has committed countless atrocities, slaughtering our Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators far and wide. His crimes are too numerous to list, yet he dares to come to the Hundred Array Tower! As fellow array masters, I, Zhang, am ashamed to be associated with such a person. Fellow Daoist Xia, count me in for breaking these arrays."

One person spoke, and immediately more array masters chimed in, their collective responses echoing across the area.

However, many from the Vast Heaven Alliance were also present, all with deeply furrowed brows.

But given the circumstances, they dared not intervene rashly, as it would undoubtedly ignite a chaotic battle.

Too many cultivators were gathered here. If a large-scale conflict erupted, aside from the lack of a commanding leader on their side, leaving them disorganized, the mere presence of Xia Liang and a few Ninth Realm cultivators posed a significant deterrent. If it truly came to blows, the Vast Heaven Alliance would certainly suffer heavy losses.

Therefore, despite their displeasure, no Vast Heaven Alliance cultivator stepped forward to argue.

The situation greatly favored Xia Liang and his allies. Moments later, under the guidance of Xia Liang, Tan Sheng, and others, numerous array masters from Ten Thousand Demon Ridge began to dismantle the arrays within the perilous area.

This was an unprecedented undertaking.

Although the arrays in the perilous area were vast in number and posed immense danger, if the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge faction were truly united, they could flatten this area. If Lu Ye had perished by then, so be it; but if he survived, he would have nowhere to hide.

The previously harmonious array masters now stood clearly divided.

The Ten Thousand Demon Ridge array masters were all contributing to breaking the arrays, while those from the Vast Heaven Alliance gathered together, observing from a distance.

Xia Liang and his group paid them no heed. Finding Lu Ye's whereabouts was paramount, and this was not the time to create further complications.

In the Vast Heaven Alliance camp, a cultivator surnamed Luo gazed at the Hundred Array Tower, his heart churning with turbulent thoughts.

Everyone else's attention had been captivated by the recent conflict, but only he, with his prior knowledge, noticed some unusual circumstances.

Or perhaps, others had noticed too, but simply hadn't given it much thought.

Lu Ye had emerged from *inside* the Hundred Array Tower!

Array masters challenging the tower usually didn't take much time. If they failed, they were directly teleported out. Even if successful, they could only remain inside for a limited period.

Furthermore, the Hundred Array Tower had been resonating recently, a highly sought-after benefit for array masters.

Therefore, for several days, no array masters had entered the Hundred Array Tower, and those already inside had left early.

Until today, when Lu Ye appeared.

In other words, Lu Ye had been *inside* the Hundred Array Tower all this time.

He had also quietly calculated that the Hundred Array Tower's resonance had occurred a total of thirty-four times in recent days!

If the first instance was excluded, that would be thirty-three times, precisely matching the number of layers in the Hundred Array Tower.

He had always suspected Lu Ye was challenging the tower inside, but if that were truly the case, it would be beyond astonishing.

In the main sect of Tianyan, he cleared thirty-three layers in one go, triggering thirty-three resonances. Could he really clear thirty-three layers in one go in the Cloud River battlefield and trigger thirty-three resonances?

What kind of terrifying talent in array arts would that imply?

And what profound level of array mastery must Lu Ye possess now?

As far as he knew, the highest record for the Hundred Array Tower in the Cloud River battlefield was twenty-five layers. In other words, no one had ever cleared twenty-six layers.

The one who set this record was a grandmaster of array arts three hundred years ago, whose mastery in array arts was awe-inspiring, reaching a pinnacle never before attained in all of Kyushu.

Even that grandmaster, when challenging the Hundred Array Tower back then, didn't clear twenty-five layers in a single attempt. He did it over many attempts, especially after the twentieth layer, where he could only clear one layer at a time, waiting for his array mastery to improve before attempting the next...

This array master was renowned throughout Kyushu at the time. With his strength, he could have lived until now. It's a pity that he was somewhat of a philanderer and was ultimately ambushed and killed by a powerful cultivator from his own faction due to a romantic dispute, a truly lamentable fate.

Clearing twenty-five layers yielded such remarkable achievements.

It's difficult to imagine what kind of future accomplishments Lu Ye, who cleared thirty-three layers in one go and triggered thirty-three resonances, would achieve in array arts.

Such an individual... if he were to perish prematurely, it would undoubtedly be an immense loss for the Vast Heaven Alliance.

But given the current situation, even if he wished to save him, he was powerless, unless he could instigate other Vast Heaven Alliance array masters to launch a desperate struggle against Ten Thousand Demon Ridge.

This thought crossed his mind, and the cultivator surnamed Luo sighed softly.

He had clearly witnessed Lu Ye's final descent into the perilous area. Under such a terrifying assault, it would be extremely difficult for him to survive; he was probably dead by now, wasn't he?

What a pity, what a lament!

The Ten Thousand Demon Ridge array masters were extensively dismantling the arrays, while Xia Liang and his group stood by, waiting, and simultaneously keeping a vigilant eye on the movements of the Vast Heaven Alliance array masters.

He then turned his head again and glanced at Chu Yun and Zhou Pei.

The two slowly shook their heads. The former said, "He's not dead yet!"

In his heart, he was utterly bewildered. How could he not be dead?