Chapter 857: Terrifying Upon Closer Thought

"Who is responsible for patrolling this area?" Yuan Chou’s gaze swept over everyone.

A cultivator from the Cloud River Realm stepped out from the crowd, cupping his fists and bowing. "Master-Uncle, it is I."

"In the future, you must patrol meticulously. Do not let similar incidents happen again."

"Yes!" the cultivator replied, but then hesitated, as if he had more to say.

Yuan Chou frowned. "Speak your mind if you have something to say."

The cultivator explained, "Master-Uncle, I am always extremely careful during my patrols, especially in the water. I dare not make any oversights. Just yesterday, I patrolled this very stretch of water, and there was nothing unusual."

"There’s no need to argue," Yuan Chou admonished sternly. "Water demons are adept at concealment; it’s normal for you to have an oversight. Since this demon appeared here and destroyed the dam, it is your fault. It couldn’t possibly be someone deliberately releasing this demon here to harm the mortals under Clear Spring Sect’s governance. If not for that Blood Blight Sect disciple this time, Lou City, fifty miles away, would surely have been lost. At that time, tens of thousands of mortals…"

At this point, Yuan Chou’s expression suddenly changed, and he looked up in the direction Lu Ye had departed.

Lu Ye was already at the Ninth-Level Cloud River Realm. The direction he had taken… was towards Hao Tian City.

He must have received a dispatch order from Hao Tian City and was heading there to report.

As far as Yuan Chou knew, once a dispatch order was issued, the deadline wouldn't be long. Exceeding it was no laughing matter. The state guards in each province operated under military discipline; military orders were absolute, and the law showed no mercy. If Lu Ye couldn't reach Hao Tian City before the deadline, even immortals couldn't save him!

He had only spoken casually just now, but what if… someone truly had deliberately placed this water demon here?

The timing was too coincidental. Lu Ye had just flown nearby when the flood erupted, and he came here to block the source, even getting ambushed by the water demon…

Although the water demon was dead, Yuan Chou could still discern that it was a demon general, capable of causing considerable trouble for Cloud River Realm cultivators without taking their lives. "Senior Brother," a Clear Spring Sect cultivator gently called out, unsure what Yuan Chou was thinking.

"It’s nothing," Yuan Chou composed himself, daring not to dwell on it further. Some matters simply couldn’t withstand scrutiny; the more he thought about them, the more terrifying they became.

He only hoped he was overthinking it. Leaving the great river, Lu Ye continued his journey. He traveled from dawn till dusk without stopping, finally descending late into the night. He found a random spot in the deep mountains, set up a protective array, and settled down to rest and recuperate.

An hour later, as Lu Ye prepared to resume his journey, a whooshing sound reached his ears, as if someone was passing by nearby.

Lu Ye looked up, and under the moonlight, he saw a black-clad man soaring past not far away.

The black-clad man was in a hurry, his expression frantic, as if some danger was closing in behind him.

Moreover, the spiritual power fluctuations emanating from this person were clearly those of the True Lake Realm.

There was indeed danger approaching from behind. Just as Lu Ye saw the black-clad man, a sharp cry echoed from afar: "Where do you think you’re going!"

As the words fell, accompanied by a sword’s hum, sword light burst forth.

The black-clad man was clearly in flight and probably hadn't intended to pay attention to Lu Ye. However, feeling the persistent killing intent like a maggot in his bone, he gritted his teeth and plunged straight towards Lu Ye.

Lu Ye had no idea what was happening. He had merely stopped here to rest, but now it seemed he had been caught up in a conflict between two parties!

This area was considered part of the Boundless Heaven Alliance’s territory. Even if there were minor disagreements among cultivators of the same alliance, they wouldn't engage in such a blatant, large-scale battle.

So Lu Ye instantly understood that one of the combatants had to be from the Myriad Demon Ridge!

Bing Province was a disputed territory between the two major factions. It was common for them to infiltrate each other's territories, create panic, and eliminate the opposing side's rising stars.

It wasn't surprising to encounter someone from Myriad Demon Ridge here.

However, Lu Ye felt unlucky that he had stumbled into this situation.

The pursuer was clearly a swordsman, and he displayed some of the style of the Northern Profound Sword Sect. Combined with the black-clad man's actions, it was very clear which side belonged to the Boundless Heaven Alliance and which to Myriad Demon Ridge.

The black-clad man clearly knew he couldn't shake off the swordsman, so he intended to use Lu Ye to make the pursuing swordsman hesitate.

Regardless, if two True Lake Realm cultivators clashed here, a Cloud River Realm cultivator like himself would definitely be caught in the middle. At that point, the Boundless Heaven Alliance side would be constrained!

In fact, the black-clad man might even be trying to take him hostage!

But the black-clad man was clearly overthinking things.

If it were an ordinary Cloud River Realm cultivator facing such a situation, their only option would be to flee.

However, Lu Ye had already set up a protective array around himself, and to save time, he had even directly used array foundations.

As a result, the protective array was incredibly strong.

The black-clad man swooped down from high in the sky like a falcon, spiritual power surging around him, preparing to seize Lu Ye. Although he was injured during the pursuit, a True Lake Realm cultivator was still a True Lake Realm cultivator; taking down a Cloud River Realm cultivator was naturally not an issue.

But to his surprise and dismay, the young man below seemed frozen in shock, standing motionless, merely gazing calmly into his eyes.

From the young man's gaze, the black-clad man saw no trace of panic. The young man was completely composed, as if he didn't take the black-clad man seriously at all!

He instinctively felt that something was wrong, but it was too late to retreat now. The pursuing swordsman was incredibly fast; if he couldn't quickly seize the young man, he would have no way out.

He wasn't even sure if the swordsman would hesitate once he had the young man in his grasp.

The distance between them rapidly closed. Soon, they were face to face. The black-clad man reached out to grab Lu Ye's neck.

Then he saw Lu Ye lift a foot and gently stamp it. As spiritual energy surged around him, a bowl-shaped light screen, inverted, suddenly appeared, completely enveloping Lu Ye.

"A protective array!" The black-clad man was startled. He never imagined this young man was an array master, and only an array master would set up an array around themselves when resting in the wilderness.

However... how strong could a protective array set up by a Cloud River Realm cultivator possibly be?

He flipped the outstretched hand, and a short blade appeared in his grip. The True Lake Realm spiritual energy poured into the short blade, activating all its restrictions, and he violently struck the light screen before him.

The expected scene of the light screen breaking did not occur. The light screen merely dented inward sharply, then quickly returned to its original state.

"Impossible!" The black-clad man gasped in shock. Although he was injured now and hadn't used his full strength in that strike, he was confident he could break through a protective array set up by a Cloud River Realm array master.

In fact, when he unleashed that strike, he had already felt the solidity of the protective array before him.

With an array like this, even if he exerted his full strength, it would take at least three strikes to break it!

He finally understood why the young man before him was so composed. It was because he had extreme confidence in his array.

How ridiculous that he had thought...

Realizing the futility of his efforts, the black-clad man shot Lu Ye a resentful glance, as if to engrave him in his soul, then prepared to withdraw.

"Die!"

As the sharp cry came, dazzling sword light, like moonlight, poured down, engulfing the black-clad man.

The sword light was chilling, and spiritual energy surged as the two figures fought fiercely.

But the swordsman's strength was clearly superior, and with the black-clad man already injured, how could he be a match?

If the swordsman hadn't been mindful of Lu Ye nearby, fearing that the lingering power of their battle would harm him, he would have already succeeded.

Lu Ye also noticed this and said, "Senior Brother, please use your full strength. I can withstand it here!"

The swordsman heard him and replied, "Alright, be careful!" As he finished speaking, his attacks suddenly became much more ferocious. The black-clad man was forced to retreat step by step, inwardly cursing Lu Ye to no end.

Thirty breaths later, accompanied by a scream, the sword light receded, and the black-clad man, covered in blood, fell face down to the ground.

The swordsman retrieved his flying sword, took the storage bag from the black-clad man's body, and then pulled out a token from his inner pocket. He nodded with satisfaction and tucked it into his robe.

Only then did he have time to explain to Lu Ye: "This Myriad Demon Ridge scoundrel infiltrated the area with ill intentions and was detected by me. I pursued him all the way here, startling Junior Brother."

"Thank you for your hard work, Senior Brother," Lu Ye said, cupping his fists.

The swordsman nodded slightly: "Although this place is within the Boundless Heaven Alliance territory, Myriad Demon Ridge rogues often appear. Junior Brother, you are alone, so you must be careful. It's best to hurry to a nearby city to stay overnight. Don't linger in the wilderness for too long at night."

He had no intention of talking further with Lu Ye, nor did he intend to protect him. For cultivators, resting in the wilderness was a common occurrence, so he merely offered a simple word of advice.

He departed quickly.

"Alone? Not necessarily!" Lu Ye collected his array flags and foundations, then shot into the sky.

The Nine Provinces were still very lively. He had only cultivated and honed his skills on the two battlefields before, never having experienced the local customs of the Nine Provinces.

This time, leaving the Blood Blight Sect felt like stepping into a new world.

As dawn approached, more than half of his journey was complete. At his current speed, he would reach Hao Tian City before nightfall.

As he passed a spiritual peak, Lu Ye suddenly paused and pressed his hand to his saber hilt.

Amber, crouching on his shoulder, instantly bristled, letting out a low growl.

Just then, from a certain spot on the spiritual peak below, a dragon-like streak of light shot into the sky, heading straight towards Lu Ye.

Its immense power was astonishing.

This was clearly a spell cast by a True Lake Realm cultivator!

Lu Ye immediately shifted his body to evade, but True Lake Realm cultivators had complete control over their spiritual power. No matter how Lu Ye dodged, the spell clung to him like a parasite, rapidly closing the distance.

Feeling the power of the spell, and realizing he couldn't avoid the attack, Lu Ye gritted his teeth and stood still in mid-air. He held both hands flat before him, and as spiritual energy surged, a massive defensive spirit pattern appeared horizontally in front of him, shielding Lu Ye completely.

At the same time, a figure suddenly appeared not far away, enveloped in astonishing power, and charged directly towards the spiritual peak.

Feeling that familiar aura, Lu Ye let out a long breath, knowing that his earlier guess was correct.