Chapter 696: Regardless, You're Definitely Dead

Pei Yuanhua, though in his seventies, had achieved significant cultivation, making him appear only forty or fifty years old with a ruddy complexion.

Logically, with Ye Ying dead and most of the Ye family's young talents wiped out, the Bladed Saber Villa should have been annihilated. But now, in his eyes, the silent villa resembled a sleeping beast, capable of erupting at any moment and baring its fangs.

The Ninth Elder, whose strength was comparable to his own, had vanished without a trace after a single reconnaissance mission to the Bladed Saber Villa. How could this not make him wary? He couldn't understand how things had come to this.

No one knew how Pang Wanhai died. Although many had escaped from the Bladed Saber Villa that day, no one had witnessed the battle firsthand. However, all current intelligence suggested that Ye Liu had a powerful master behind him, one with exceptionally high attainments in array formations. At the very least, far superior to the Ninth Elder. Because the Ninth Elder was also an array cultivator, he had volunteered to scout the Bladed Saber Villa some time ago and was never seen again.

“I refuse to believe you can hide in there forever!” Pei Yuanhua gritted his teeth, glaring in the direction of the Bladed Saber Villa.

While powerful array cultivators were formidable, their individual combat strength was usually unremarkable. As long as they weren't given room to utilize their arrays, they were nothing to fear. The Divine Will Sect had suffered heavy casualties, yet they still hadn't acquired the Bladed Saber Technique. Xiong Tieshan was furious; if he weren't recovering from injuries, he would have likely come in person. Nevertheless, he had already given Pei Yuanhua a death order: kill the two young men from the Ye family. Having cultivated in the Dragon Ascent Realm for many years, he understood the principle of rooting out trouble completely. As long as the two Ye family youths were alive, he would not know peace.

Suddenly, screams and spiritual energy fluctuations came from a certain direction. Pei Yuanhua immediately turned his head to look, seeing sharp saber light flashing several miles away. A few Divine Will Sect cultivators, tasked with monitoring the Bladed Saber Villa's movements, were being slaughtered, their blood flowing like a river. Within the saber light, the figure of a young man moved swiftly.

“How dare he!” Pei Yuanhua roared in anger, flinging his wide sleeve. Like an eagle soaring into the sky, he launched himself toward that direction. He had been wondering how to draw out that Ye family youth, but to his surprise, the opponent had revealed himself and even dared to attack his Divine Will Sect disciples. Before this, no one had noticed how he had emerged from the Bladed Saber Villa.

Several miles away, Lu Ye stood with his saber, several corpses strewn around him. The Divine Will Sect only thought he had a hidden master behind him, never imagining that the Bladed Saber Villa's array formations were his own doing. He was not only proficient in array formations but also skilled in stealth and assassination. The current Ye Liu was no longer the original Ye Liu of the Dragon Ascent Realm. He was the infamous 'Ye of Extermination' from the Spirit Stream Battlefield and Cloud River Battlefield, known as the 'Three Calamities of the Spirit Stream'. The few Divine Will Sect cultivators had low cultivation levels themselves. When he stealthily approached them, they had no chance of survival.

In fact, if Lu Ye had wished, he could have even ambushed and killed Pei Yuanhua. But his goal wasn't simply to kill enemies; it was to lure away the Divine Will Sect members, which was why he intentionally revealed his presence.

Looking up, he saw a figure rapidly closing in from several miles away. The aura emanating from this person clearly indicated an eighth-level Cloud River Realm cultivation. He immediately understood that this was a high-ranking member of the Divine Will Sect, very likely an elder.

From a distance, Pei Yuanhua saw a Divine Will Sect disciple pinned under Lu Ye's foot. The disciple wasn't dead yet and struggled, but couldn't get up due to Lu Ye's restraint.

Pei Yuanhua roared, “Impudent young whelp!”

As if in response, Lu Ye pressed down with his foot. The Divine Will Sect disciple's chest instantly caved in, and a mouthful of blood mixed with organ fragments gushed out as his life force dissipated.

“You seek death!” Pei Yuanhua grew even angrier. He naturally didn't care about the life or death of one disciple. What angered him was Lu Ye's attitude; the boy was clearly provoking him.

In the blink of an eye, they were only half a mile apart. Only then did Lu Ye unhurriedly leap into the air and flee into the distance. In an instant, streams of light rose into the sky near the Bladed Saber Villa, streaking like a meteor shower as they pursued Lu Ye.

On the small island in the center of the Saber Lake, Yiyi listened to the commotion outside. She knew Lu Ye had made his move, but she didn't act rashly. Instead, she left Amber to watch over Ye Liuli and quietly slipped out to investigate the villa's surroundings. She indeed found a few Divine Will Sect disciples still remaining. However, their cultivation levels were low, and after Yiyi's sudden ambush, they had no chance to retaliate and were all killed. An incense stick's time later, the agile figure of a large white tiger sprang out of the Bladed Saber Villa. On its back sat two young girls.

They headed north.

One hundred *li* east of the Bladed Saber Villa was a narrow valley. Through Lu Ye's intentional and unintentional maneuvers, and the strenuous efforts of the Divine Will Sect cultivators, he was finally 'cornered' here, with no way out.

“Boy, now I'll see if you die or not!” Pei Yuanhua roared.

Lu Ye slowly drew his saber. The sound of the long saber leaving its sheath was prolonged and raspy, making anyone who heard it feel as if ants were crawling in their heart, causing extreme discomfort. With his eyelids lowered, he spoke softly, “I don't know if I'll die, but…”

His figure suddenly blurred into a streak, instantly pouncing before Pei Yuanhua. The speed caused Pei Yuanhua's expression to change drastically. Was this brat feigning weakness? A ridiculous thought suddenly flashed through his mind, but his body had already instinctively reacted. A ruler-shaped spiritual artifact suddenly appeared in his hand. Infusing it with spiritual energy, he conjured several ruler-shadows, striking them towards Lu Ye's head.

However, the next instant, he felt as if he had plunged into an ice cellar. It was broad daylight, yet in his perception, night seemed to have suddenly descended, followed by scattered starlight blossoming in his vision. An indescribable sense of aggression and oppressive force, like a towering mountain descending, made his body stiffen abruptly.

Bladed Saber Technique!

Pei Yuanhua's heart was filled with dread, for the might of this saber strike far exceeded his imagination. He had participated in the previous battle where Ye Ying was surrounded. Ye Ying had unleashed this very strike before his death, and under that single saber strike, both Sect Master Xiong Tieshan and the Grand Elder were injured. The reason Pei Yuanhua remained unscathed was primarily because Ye Ying's strike wasn't aimed at him. But having personally experienced the power of that strike, he naturally remembered it profoundly. Compared to Ye Ying's strike, the one Ye Liu now unleashed was indeed slightly inferior, yet it seemed to be not far behind either.

How could this young man, at such a tender age, cultivate the Bladed Saber Technique to this extent? He had never heard of this boy possessing such profound mastery of the Bladed Saber Technique before! He didn't know that Ye Ying could only enter the inheritance space once every half-month to a month, while Lu Ye had been entering four or five times a day recently. What Lu Ye gained in half a month was equivalent to Ye Ying's harvest over seven or eight years. In terms of Bladed Saber Technique cultivation, Lu Ye had already achieved foundational mastery, barely able to unleash a trace of the First Form of the Bladed Saber's might. It was probably not as powerful as Ye Ying's, but far stronger than what Ye Xiong had unleashed that day.

What poured forth with this saber strike was his essence, energy, and spirit. Originally, Lu Ye didn't need to use the Bladed Saber Technique to deal with an eighth-level cultivator. This saber art possessed terrifying power, but it also incurred a significant toll on himself. However, Lu Ye still employed it, primarily to test the results of his recent cultivation. One always needed a practice target to understand their gains and losses; otherwise, merely practicing alone made it difficult to detect many shortcomings.

In Pei Yuanhua's vision, under the night sky, starlight enveloped the heavens and poured down. Yet, in the eyes of the many Divine Will Sect disciples, the world lost its colors, leaving only this brilliant saber light. The ruler-shadows shattered, and Lu Ye's figure brushed past Pei Yuanhua. Only then did the second half of his sentence leisurely emerge.

“Anyway, you're definitely dead!”

Behind him, Pei Yuanhua stood rooted to the spot, as if struck by a lightning charm, rigid and unmoving. His face twitched, and his eyes quickly filled with horror. How could this Ye Liu be so strong? While the Bladed Saber Technique was formidable, it required a corresponding cultivation level to unleash its full power. Ye Liu was merely at the sixth level; even if he could perform the Bladed Saber Technique, it shouldn't have been enough to kill him. But in reality...

A realization dawned on him: this boy was indeed feigning weakness. The Divine Will Sect had consistently underestimated him. If this child wasn't killed, the Divine Will Sect would surely face utter annihilation. Specks of crimson oozed out, quickly staining Pei Yuanhua's robes. Outwardly, Pei Yuanhua appeared unharmed, but in reality, his heart had been pierced. The First Form of the Bladed Saber was, by nature, a direct thrust.

Thump...

Accompanied by Lu Ye's long exhale, the corpse fell heavily to the ground. The group of Divine Will Sect disciples was terrified out of their wits. Under the leadership of the Third Elder, they had finally managed to corner Ye Liu here. They had expected a casual encirclement and kill, but before they could even exert their full strength, their own Third Elder had fallen. Not a single person present had clearly seen what had just happened.

“Third Elder?” someone stammered, fantasizing that the Third Elder would suddenly rise and continue to lead them. However, there was no response.

“Ah!” A chorus of exclamations rose. Their strongest Third Elder had been killed by Ye Liu with a single strike. How could any of them be a match?

Yet, there were also those with both courage and prudence. Seeing many of their comrades terrified, one immediately shouted, “Attack together! He is only one person after all!” In this situation, scattering and fleeing was absolutely not an option, as it would only give the enemy a chance to defeat them one by one. By working together to encircle and kill him, there was still a glimmer of hope.

His words startled the dazed Divine Will Sect disciples, jolting them back to their senses. That's right. Although Ye Liu was powerful, he was still just one person. There were over thirty Divine Will Sect disciples present. If they attacked together, how could they possibly fail? Moreover, they had heard that the Bladed Saber Technique was extremely taxing on the user. Perhaps Ye Liu's recent burst had already exhausted him...

However, this illusion was quickly shattered, because just as that person's voice fell, Lu Ye moved. Ye Xiong was exhausted after one use of the Bladed Saber Technique because his cultivation of the technique was insufficient. For Lu Ye, while the Bladed Saber Technique's consumption was indeed significant, it was still within an acceptable range. At this moment, he still had ample strength to fight.

(To be continued)