Sage of Humanity-Chapter 516 - 514: The Power of the Trap Array

Time passed, and sticking to their principle of changing locations after each battle, Lu Ye and his companions harvested kill points almost every day, with each battle yielding at least three hundred and at most five hundred kill points. Accumulating over time, the effect was indeed considerable.

The Kills Ranking had not changed much, but it was worth mentioning that no one knew what had happened to Xia Liang, who had originally ranked second. His kill points had increased very slowly in the past few days, and now he was about to fall out of the top ten. Currently, the second place was taken by an individual named Tan Sheng.

Lu Ye vaguely remembered that when the Kills Ranking first appeared, Tan Sheng's name was on the list, which suggested that he too was a Level 9 cultivator.

According to Li Baxian's recollection, Tan Sheng was a cultivator from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, born into a 2nd grade sect, and possessed considerable strength. At the very least, he had once ranked in the top ten on the Spirit Stream Ranking during his time in the Spirit Stream Realm.

The strong figures currently active on the Cloud River battlefield were almost all those who had once climbed the Spirit Stream Ranking. Li Baxian had spent more than a decade in the Spirit Stream Realm, seeing off batches of Spirit Stream Realm cultivators, so he was naturally familiar with them and had even traded blows with many.

Even some of the current True Lake Realm powerhouses were once Li Baxian's adversaries or friends. It has to be said, prolonged time spent in the Spirit Stream Realm could give one an unrivaled advantage in connections compared to others.

Most of the battles they had encountered these past few days were relatively easy because with sword cultivator Li Baxian launching sneak attacks, they could easily seriously injure one or two enemies. Next, Feng Yuechan would make a move, Lu Ye would strike from hiding, and the battle would usually be quickly settled.

They did, however, encounter a tough battle once when among the enemies there was a Level 6 combat cultivator. But after Lu Ye took out his companion and the three of them combined their strength, that Level 6 combat cultivator could only fall to their blades in resentment.

All three of them had once topped the Spirit Stream Ranking and possessed the ability to defeat opponents above their level. As long as their enemies' foundations were not exceptionally robust, the trio could take them down together.

After another battle concluded, Lu Ye looked up at the sky. The kill points behind his name had reached three thousand seven hundred forty, nearly a thousand kill points ahead of the second-placed Tan Sheng, leaving him far behind.

With such a gap, Tan Sheng must have felt hopeless.

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Suddenly, Lu Ye's attention was grabbed by a streak of light headed straight toward them, arriving in the blink of an eye and crashing down with a thunderous sound.

Lu Ye's eyelids snapped shut.

Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan also tensed up as if facing a great threat.

On the back of their hands, a pale blue light began to bloom, while the newcomer's hand radiated a deep crimson color.

An immense pressure, like a mountain, bore down on them, and the trio froze in place as if they had been struck by a lightning-attracting talisman.

It wasn't for any other reason than that Lu Ye recognized the newcomer.

It was the same man who had fought with Xia Qianqian before. Lu Ye still did not know his name, but he knew that this person was of Level 9 cultivation.

Indeed, as the saying goes, you can't walk along the river without getting your shoes wet; after days of smooth sailing, today they had attracted the attention of a Level 9!

Obviously, it was the commotion from their recent battle that had attracted him.

Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan stood side by side, their spirit force covertly surging. Lu Ye's expression was also grave. Wei Que remained motionless, and they dared not act recklessly.

Wei Que's eyes swept over Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, then landed on Lu Ye. He only saw three different faces, but when his gaze caught the sight of the Amber on Lu Ye's shoulder, he couldn't help but burst into laughter, "I've found you!"

His heart swelled with joy; this was indeed unexpectedly easy after searching so hard without any leads. He had been searching for Lu Ye's trace for days to no avail; given the tens of thousands of miles within the hunting field and the countless cultivators pouring in, finding one person was incredibly difficult.

He had inferred from the daily changes on the Kills Ranking that Lu Ye had been busy these past days; after all, with several hundred kill points increasing almost daily, how could he not be.

Recently, he had his own gains within the hunting field. As a Level 9 powerhouse, he naturally scorned traveling with others, wandering alone in search of opportunities. He had gained various fortunes and even snatched some spirit fortune sticks, although he did not earn many kill points. Now, he ranked just below the twentieth place.

He had never hoped to compete for a good ranking on the Kills Ranking. To him, finding and killing Lu Ye was the main goal.

The rewards of the Kills Ranking were undoubtedly attractive, but they paled in comparison to the bounties issued by the big sects of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. Those were resources he could enjoy for a lifetime, far surpassing what the Kills Ranking could offer.

His target had always been Lu Ye from the beginning to the end.

He was just passing by and felt the aftermath of the battle from this direction, coming to investigate. He hadn't expected to fortuitously discover Lu Ye's whereabouts here.

Despite the different masks they wore, the Amber was a clear identifier, and the Boulder Mountain Saber held by Lu Ye also looked familiar to Wei Que, leaving him with no doubt about Lu Ye's identity.

As Wei Que finished speaking, he lifted his hand and cast a magic spell.

Although it was a casual strike, being of Level 9 cultivation, even a casual strike was not something Lu Ye could withstand. The spell almost instantly reached Lu Ye.

Spirit force surged, and a thick array of Defense Spirit Runes appeared in front of him.

At the same time, the sound of swords ringing filled the air as several flying swords shot through the sky. Arriving faster than they were released, they slammed into the spell, reducing its potency.

Li Baxian immediately realized that Lu Ye wouldn't be able to fend off this hit, so instead of attacking Wei Que, he chose to preserve Lu Ye's life first.

He wasn't the only one to act—Feng Yuechan also joined in.

Yet even with the two of them working together, they could only weaken the spell's might and were unable to completely shatter it.

With a thunderous boom, the spirit force exploded, shattering the Defense Spirit Runes in front of Lu Ye. The massive impact sent him flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground.

Wei Que snorted coldly, opening his other hand towards the direction of Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan. A huge spirit force disc appeared, with mystical patterns swirling dynamically within. From the center of the disc, a series of pale cyan Wind Blades swept out, slashing viciously towards Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan.

He had held back in his attack on Lu Ye, fearing that Lu Ye would be smashed to pieces, as he still needed Lu Ye's head to claim the bounty.

But his strikes against Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had no such reservations, as they were executed with full force.

Many flying swords returned, forming a sword curtain barrier in front of them, while Feng Yuechan, with a surge of spirit force, conjured a three-zhang-tall fog giant that stood in her defense.

The Wind Blades pierced through the body of the fog giant, instantly shattering the magic, and Li Baxian's sword curtain was also unable to hold, collapsing after a mere moment.

At the crucial moment, Feng Yuechan produced a Spiritual Artifact resembling an umbrella. With the umbrella open and spirit force surging, a protective barrier was formed, just in time to block the sweeping Wind Blades.

"A Magic Artifact!" Wei Que immediately recognized that the spirit umbrella was no ordinary item, and he began to speculate about Feng Yuechan's identity since someone at the Cloud River Realm using a Magic Artifact was definitely extraordinary.

He laughed inwardly, feeling as if the heavens were smiling upon him. Not only had he found Lu Yiye, but he also stumbled upon two other worthy prey. If he could slay these three, his future cultivation resources would not be a concern anymore.

Priority one: slay Lu Yiye!

As the thought crossed his mind, Wei Que ceased to pay attention to Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, and instead lunged straight at Lu Ye. As a magic cultivator, he should engage the enemy from a distance, but with his cultivation being a full six levels higher than Lu Ye's, and considering the high stakes involved with Lu Ye, he could not afford to risk obliterating him with a powerful spell. If Lu Ye were to be blasted to oblivion, there would be no proof of his kill, and he would have nothing to show for his reward.

For safety's sake, close-quarters combat was the better approach.

However, just as he sprinted forward ten-odd zhang, he saw Lu Ye, who had been knocked to the ground, leap up, with an array banner suddenly appearing in his hand, which he fiercely waved.

A droning sound resonated, and a layer of light curtain abruptly emerged, forming a barrier that looked like an inverted bowl, covering a few dozen zhang around.

Wei Que was caught off guard and was completely ensnared.

"Formation!"

Wei Que internally cursed his luck; this area had been prepared with a Formation in advance. Judging by the looks of it, it seemed to be a trap array!

He absolutely couldn't let Lu Yiye escape!

As thoughts raced through his mind, Wei Que raised his hand and released a Golden Arc Slash toward where Lu Ye was.

However, Lu Ye had already turned and dashed out the moment he activated the Formation. Holding the array banner, he broke through the light curtain barrier without any hindrance. The approaching Golden Arc struck the light curtain, only to be stopped by it, creating ripple after ripple.

This trap array appeared quite similar to a protective array but was inherently different.

When a cultivator was inside a protective array, its light curtain could block attacks from the outside.

However, if a cultivator was caught within a trap array, the light curtain wasn't defending against attacks from the outside, but rather attacks from inside.

To put it simply, a protective array defends from the outside, a trap array from the inside.

To the untrained eye, both arrays look identical, but their effects are totally opposite.

To escape the trap, one must break through the big array.

And since Lu Ye was the one who set up the array, holding the array banner, he naturally wasn't restricted by it.

This was the confidence he had in striving for the Kills Ranking as a Level 3 cultivator.

With the coordination of Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, an ordinary cultivator from the Cloud River Realm was no match for them. Even if they encountered an overwhelmingly powerful foe, activating the trap array that had been previously set up here would buy them some time.

And during that time, the trio would seize the opportunity to make their escape.

The moment the trap array emerged, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had already risen into the air, fleeing into the distance.

Lu Ye was a bit slower in his movements, but not by much, quickly following in the heels of the two. With Wings constructed and Move-Like-The-Wind spell reinforced, his speed surpassed even Li Baxian, catching up quickly.

Wei Que was flabbergasted, watching as Lu Ye made his escape, feeling as if his heart was bleeding.

He was so close, just a hair's breadth away from slaying Lu Yiye and securing a lifetime of wealth!

Spirit force surged as fierce spells bombarded the light curtain barrier of the trap array, causing ripples to surge forth and the light to rapidly dim.

This grand disturbance, of course, did not escape the perception of Lu Ye and his companions, who quickened their escape.

Although the trap array was quite effective, it was certainly not capable of completely trapping a Level 9 cultivator, only of buying a bit more time. How much time it could buy depended on Wei Que's skills.