Sage of Humanity-Chapter 517 - 515: When it rains, it pours.

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Within the trap array, powerful magic and spells continuously burst forth. Spirit force was in chaos, and the light curtain of the trap array visibly dimmed at a speed discernible to the naked eye.

Although Lu Ye had used eight array bases and several array banners to set up this trap array, since the setup time was short and it was powered solely by Spirit Stones, the intensity of the Formation was not high.

The strength of a Formation is related to the amount of stored spirit force and the concentration of nature's spiritual energy where the array is established. The more spirit force stored in the Formation and the denser the spiritual energy, the stronger the Formation will be, and vice versa.

Thus, a trap array like this is at its weakest when it is just set up because it doesn't have enough stored spirit force—even with Spirit Stones at its foundation, it won't last long.

However, as time passes, the stored power in the Formation increases, and its might grows stronger, until it reaches a peak.

The biggest advantage of the trap array that held Wei Que was its small coverage area, only a few dozen zhang in radius, which indirectly strengthened the Formation's intensity.

But it was still not enough to stop a Cloud River Level 9 cultivator.

In less than twenty breaths of time, the light curtain of the trap array completely dimmed, followed by a loud rupture.

Wei Que shot into the sky and pursued in the direction Lu Ye and the others had fled.

How could he possibly let Lu Ye escape when such an opportunity was rare? He was lucky to encounter Lu Ye this time, but could he be equally lucky next time?

A few Level 3-4 cultivators, even if he let them escape for twenty breaths, Wei Que was confident he could catch up.

From afar, he saw several streaks of light fleeing swiftly. Wei Que stimulated his spirit force and transformed into a rainbow light, relentlessly pursuing.

Lu Ye, who was running ahead, sensed something, turned his head to look back, and saw the rainbow light that Wei Que had become, knowing that the other party had broken free.

As he had expected earlier, the trap array he had set up could only hold a Level 9 cultivator for twenty breaths at most.

It was enough.

In that moment, the trio disregarded everything and exerted their full strength. Covering a distance of more than ten miles in a moment, they arrived.

Their figures descended, rushing into the cave, straight to the bottom, where they stimulated the teleportation array with their spirit force.

The intricate patterns of the array beneath their feet lit up. The Void Spirit Runes at the center of the Formation emitted a bright light. Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, both curious onlookers, often teleported using Heaven's Augury Pillars, but this was their first time using a teleportation array. They wondered about the difference between the two means of transportation.

Only the experienced Amber, lifting its two front paws, hugged Lu Ye's neck. A glimmer of trepidation flashed in its amber-colored beast eyes.

In the instant the teleportation array took effect, Lu Ye drew his saber, and a crescent-shaped saber light struck the position of the explosion magic array.

Firelight ignited, a loud bang sounded, and the cave shook in a heartbeat. Stones showered down. When everything returned to calm, the place was in ruins.

Twenty breaths later, Wei Que rushed into the cave frantically. Looking around, he saw no trace of Lu Ye and the others—just a large amount of collapsed rubble scattered about. There wasn't even a shadow to be seen.

Where were they?

Wei Que's face was full of doubt.

When he was in the air just now, he clearly saw Lu Ye and company enter this location, followed by a loud noise below, and then the fleeing people disappeared without a trace!

Disbelieving, he searched all the way to the very bottom of the cave where there was no way forward and still found no sign of them.

Three living people had disappeared so mysteriously!

Wei Que quickly left the cave and looked around for a while before heading decisively in one direction. He suspected he had seen wrong earlier. Otherwise, there was no reason for three living people to vanish into thin air.

They must be nearby, and he was determined to find them no matter what!

Meanwhile, two hundred miles away, in a cave thirty feet underground, a hidden teleportation array lit up with patterns. The space twisted as three figures appeared out of thin air.

The moment they materialized, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan staggered, nearly falling to the ground. Their complexions were somber and slightly pale...

They weren't injured in the fight with Wei Que, but they felt this way because the sensation of falling endlessly into an abyss during the teleportation had been all too real.

Crucially, during the teleportation, neither of them dared to recklessly use their spirit force, which led to a lack of a sense of security, and time seemed to become incredibly vague. Although the teleportation was instant, to them, it felt like an eternity.

No wonder Amber had hugged Lu Ye's neck before the teleportation; having teleported many times before, it had experience to draw upon.

Before the two could recover, three faint blue lights emerged from the backs of their hands in the darkness, casting the entire underground space in a ghostly blue glow.

The instant the lights appeared, all three figures on the teleportation array became alert.

The battlefield markings reacted, indicating the presence of people nearby, and they were cultivators from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge.

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Under the powerful perception, indeed, a presence was detected not far away.

Just over ten yards from Lu Ye and his group sat Hea Bing, cross-legged, silently recovering.

Four hours earlier, he had found this place, confirmed it was empty, and began to recuperate here.

In the hunting grounds, he had no companions. Being a Level 7 cultivator, his situation was actually somewhat awkward, as such cultivation was not enough to compete for the Kills Ranking. Even if he made the list, his ranking wouldn't be very high, nor the rewards particularly good.

Since he had no chance at the Kills Ranking, he didn't force the issue. Therefore, his recent goals had always been the Heaven-bestowed spirit fortune stick and various serendipitous opportunities. With some luck, he was also able to hunt down some Haotian Alliance cultivators; all in all, his gains were rather satisfactory.

He had encountered some enemies beyond his ability to defeat, but as a Level 7 cultivator, even if he couldn't overpower those at Level 8 or Level 9, it wasn't easy for them to kill him either. In other words, he had the capacity to ensure his own safety, which is why he dared to act alone.

However, just a moment ago, a light shone in the dark cavern, and an array abruptly appeared, followed by something even more incomprehensible – three figures suddenly emerged atop the array.

Hea Bing's eyes widened in astonishment, momentarily unable to comprehend how these three individuals had appeared out of nowhere!

Quickly, he seemed to recall something, and his brows lifted.

If he wasn't mistaken, these three must have used a teleportation array, specifically the one that had lit up with patterns earlier.

Cultivators from Cloud River Realm could actually set up a teleportation array? Hea Bing couldn't help but become interested and slowly stood up.

On the teleportation array, Lu Ye inwardly cursed when he saw the solitary Hea Bing. This timing to encounter a lone figure was clearly not a good sign. Although he couldn't yet discern the depth of the other party's cultivation, it was very likely above Level 7.

Previously, his escape through teleportation was accidentally witnessed by a cultivator from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. He hadn't expected to be discovered again this time.

But this could also be understood. If he could find such a hidden cave, naturally, others could too. Judging by the other's stance, it was clear that he was resting here, and it was unknown how long he had stayed.

Last time they were lucky; the enemy wasn't very strong, and he and Yiyi managed to join forces to kill him, but what the situation was like this time was unknown.

Lu Ye didn't want to gamble, especially if the other party was at Level 8-9; the three of them were not his match.

Therefore, the instant Hea Bing stood up, he once again activated the teleportation array, preparing to escape.

Every teleportation array he set up was at the very least connected to two other arrays. The array they had arrived at had already been destroyed, but there was still at least one teleportation array connected to the one beneath their feet. If they could successfully activate it, they could reach another location.

However, his mood immediately sank.

He could no longer sense the existence of any other teleportation points!

This was truly like it was raining on a leaking roof, and the boat being struck by headwinds just as it was getting late.

Trapped here by an enemy likely above Level 7, and now the teleportation array couldn't be utilized; the lack of other teleportation points undoubtedly meant the other arrays linked with this one had been destroyed.

Now there was no escape.

Lu Ye couldn't figure out why his luck had turned so sour all of a sudden; it had been quite favorable before.

The situation was unprecedentedly dire; fighting in such a place, regardless of whether they could defeat the opponent, the mere aftershocks of the battle would be enough to collapse the underground cavern, burying everyone inside.

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Lu Ye raised his hand and touched the Amber.

Li Baxian flashed into view in front of Lu Ye, saying, "Fellow Daoist, this place is narrow and the terrain is inconvenient, it's not suitable for conflict. What do you think?"

His expression under the mask was one of helplessness; never had he imagined that having just escaped from the tiger's den, he would fall into a wolf's pit. Although he was unaware of the teleportation array's issues, he knew that such a place was indeed not ideal for fighting.

Moreover, he shared the same judgment as Lu Ye: the fact that the other party dared to act alone meant his strength certainly wasn't weak. If it really came to a fight, the three of them might not be opponents.

First, they needed to stabilize the other party and talk about getting out of this situation.

Hearing Li Baxian's words, Hea Bing grabbed a long spear with his hand, plunged it into the ground, spirit force swirling around him as he smirked, "Do you think, you few can threaten me?"

With the surge of spirit force, Hea Bing's Level 7 cultivation was undisguised.

This both relieved and frustrated Lu Ye and his companions.

They breathed a sigh of relief because the other party was Level 7, not Level 8 or Level 9 – the situation wasn't as desperate. If the other party really were at Level 8-9, the three would have to consider whether to perish together with him.

The frustration also stemmed from the fact that the other party was a Level 7 cultivator. Previously, the three had indeed managed to kill a Level 6 cultivator by joining forces. However, facing a Level 7 right now… none of the three felt confident. Most importantly, Wei Que was likely searching for them at this very moment. To a Cloud River Level 9, a distance of about 30 miles wasn't much. If a battle broke out here, even if the cavern didn't collapse, there was still a risk of being located by Wei Que or other enemies.

"Overestimating oneself!"

Without a word, Lu Ye and his companions stood still, as Hea Bing grew more arrogant and scoffed, "Sneaky and sly, at a glance you're up to no good. Take off your masks!"