Translator: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Earlier, no one had stood up to assume command because they didn’t think it was necessary. Considering the sheer amount of people that were chasing after Lu Ye, it was only a matter of time before one of them succeeded. Why would they make trouble for themselves when it wasn’t necessary?
But after witnessing Lu Ye’s ward creation abilities, the Thousand Demon Ridge finally realized that they were going to fail unless they all came together as a cohesive group.
A brief discussion later, a group more tightly knit than the one from before was formed. There was only one objective in this group, and that was to slay Lu Yi Ye!
In order to increase their morale further, Qin Zheng had even given their group a name. He named them the Yi Ye Elimination Front. Everyone who wished to kill Lu Ye was allowed to join the group unconditionally, and information was freely shared.
“Since Lu Yi Ye is adept in creating wards, I am sure that he has laid a good number of traps for us. The only way to minimize our casualties is to identify and avoid or destroy these wards before we trigger them! If there is anyone among you who is a ward cultivator, then please be sure to give them the best protection you can afford. Also, I would like our fellow Beast Tamers and Golem Masters to take the lead and scout the road ahead with their Spirit Beasts and Golems.”
As Qin Zheng issued order after order, the Yi Ye Elimination Front began operating in a swift and organized fashion. Soon, the squads scattered once more to dive deeper into the Misty Mountains and search for Lu Ye.
It didn’t take long before a massive explosion mixed with traces of chaotic Spiritual Power appeared from within the mountains. By the time the closest Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators rushed over to their allies’ aid, they only found some broken ward flags, destroyed ward keystones, and a dozen or so dead bodies.
An entire squad was eliminated just like that.
More and more squads triggered the wards Lu Ye had left behind and suffered massive casualties, but the Yi Ye Elimination Front’s efforts definitely weren’t useless. Thanks to the ward cultivators, Golem Masters and Beast Tamers’ efforts, some wards were triggered prematurely or avoided entirely thanks to early identification, which allowed them to keep their casualties to a minimum.
Both sides ventured deeper and deeper into the Misty Mountains as time passed. The Yi Ye Elimination Front had lost almost two hundred people at this point, but the casualties only affirmed their determination to eliminate Lu Ye once and for all. It was because the young man’s abilities were terrifying enough despite being at the Heaven Seven Realm. If he was allowed to ascend to the Heaven Nine Realm, then there truly was no one in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield who would be able to defeat him.
In fact, he might actually dominate the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield like a god when that happened.
This was something the Thousand Demon Ridge could not accept no matter what, literally. Their seniors and elders had already given the order to eliminate Lu Yi Ye at all costs.
Seven days had passed since the pursuit began. The Yi Ye Elimination Front’s total casualties had exceeded three hundred. It was such a horrific loss that even the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators could not help but wince when they heard the report.
That was three hundred people who had switched to a Heaven Grade cultivation technique; three hundred younglings who could have ascended to the Cloud River Realm at any moment. One could even say that Lu Ye had wiped out three hundred Cloud River Realm cultivators single handedly, not to mention that a good amount of them were Heaven Nine cultivators who had a huge chance of becoming a Divine Ocean Realm cultivator in the distant future.
How could they not be hurt by such loss?
The hunt for Lu Yi Ye did not stop, however. In fact, it was growing more and more intense over time. It was because things were developing exactly as Qin Zheng had anticipated earlier. Not only was Lu Ye laying less and less wards over time, he ambushed them much more than he waited for them to fall into his traps as of late.
This could only mean that he was running out of ward flags. Unlike the beginning, he could no longer create as many wards as he liked.
The moment he confirmed this, Qin Zheng immediately ordered the closest two squads to merge together into a larger group.
The reason they didn’t dare to do so before was because they were afraid of Lu Ye’s wards. Losing one small squad was better than losing two so to speak.
But now, the risk that they might lose the squads to Lu Yi Ye’s traps was considerably smaller. Moreover, a bigger squad would stand a bigger chance at killing Lu Ye.
The order was simple, but the effect it had on Lu Ye’s group was immediate.
Previously, the Thousand Demon Ridge did not dare to form a squad that consisted of more than a dozen people. With Ju Jia as their frontliner and Yi Yi and Amber’s support, their chances of routing an entire squad was pretty high.
Now though, each squad consisted of at least twenty Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. The pressure on his group more than doubled, to put it mildly.
He had used up the ward flags and ward keystones he had spent over four thousand Contribution Points to purchase completely. All he had left was the thirty two ward flags he had received from the Hundred Wards Tower, and he wasn’t going to waste them on single-use wards.
It was worth it though. Lu Ye had made a small fortune up to this point. Killing an enemy cultivator already yielded Contribution Points, but he got to collect all kinds of loot as well. It should not need to be said, but Core Circle cultivators were generally wealthier than Inner Circle cultivators. The Spirit Artifacts they used were better as well. Right now, Lu Ye was carrying four Storage Bags around his waist. Besides the one he normally used, the other three were filled to the brim with loot.
Currently, the group was quietly recuperating after an encounter with a Thousand Demon Ridge squad.
The reason Lu Ye had chosen to enter the Misty Mountains at the beginning was because he was unwilling to be hunted like a mouse. Here, he was the one who called the shots instead of reacting passively to his enemy’s assault.
It was out of this consideration that he bought four thousand Contribution Points worth of ward flags and ward keystones at the Three Sages School’s Outpost.
Now though, he realized that he had underestimated their tenacity. He thought he would have deterred them by now, but in reality the Thousand Demon Ridge was still coming after him. In fact, they were acting like no cost was too great as long as they could kill him.
The current situation was neither too good nor too bad for him right now. The Misty Mountains naturally made it unlikely for him to be surrounded by a large group. As long as he wasn’t hopelessly outnumbered and trapped, they should be able to handle anything the enemy threw at them.
For example, he was the attacker in the latest battle. Since the Thousand Demon Ridge wasn’t going to stop, he couldn’t relent on the pressure either. The enemy had lost over three hundred cultivators already. There had to be a point where the Thousand Demon Ridge would decide enough was enough and call off the hunt.
His injuries weren’t too severe. Lu Ye was currently waiting for his body to recover after consuming a Healing Pill. Unfortunately, they didn’t get to rest for long before Yi Yi reported that a massive group of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators was swiftly approaching their location. He had no choice but to climb back to his feet and travel deeper into the Misty Mountains.
Most other cultivators would’ve run out of Spiritual Power a long time ago, and a cultivator without Spiritual Power might as well be a mortal.
However, Lu Ye possessed the Tree of Glyphs and the Gluttonous Feast. Not only could he replenish his Spiritual Power in a short time, he still had a dozen or so Mystic Fruit ciders in his Storage Bag.
If the Thousand Demon Ridge thought that they could squeeze him dry of Spiritual Power by pressuring him relentlessly, he could only say that they had miscalculated.
That said, he was slowly but surely running out of stamina. There just wasn’t enough time to rest and recuperate. It had been a week since the hunt began, and Lu Ye could clearly feel fatigue settling into his body. The fatigue was only growing worse and worse over time.
The group marched forward for another six or seven kilometers before taking another small break. Lu Ye shared some jerkies with Amber and Ju Jia before chewing on the meat.
At this point, the hunt had transformed into a battle of patience and mental fortitude. The side who broke first would be the loser. For Lu Ye, giving up was the last possible option. He was going to fight back for as long as the Thousand Demon Ridge came after him.
Suddenly, Lu Ye heard a buzzing noise. He turned his eyes and saw a three-inch long bee circling around Ju Jia.
The body-tempering cultivator grabbed the bee in one quick swipe before spreading his palm. While holding the bee in place with two fingers, he did something to it that Lu Ye couldn’t see.
When Ju Jia released the bee back into the air, Lu Ye saw that a nigh invisible string had been tied to it.
Ju Jia might look like he couldn’t walk down a narrow corridor without bumping the walls, but in reality not even Lu Ye could match his finesse in certain departments. For example, his skill in telekinesis was so great that Lu Ye often found himself astounded by a certain move or maneuver he pulled with his Spirit Artifacts.
The string he just tied to the bee’s body was proof of his talent as well.
The bee flapped its wings and flew away. Ju Jia then beckoned Lu Ye to follow the bee.
Lu Ye had a feeling what the body-tempering cultivator was plotting.
For a while, the two men and one tiger trailed behind the bee for several kilometers. Many, many turns later, they finally arrived at a massive tree with a bee nest on a tree branch. ．
The bee nest was at least three meters in radius. It was bone white in color and oval-shaped.
Countless bees were flying in and out of the nest.
Ju Jia summoned his flying Spirit Artifact and flew up to the nest. He then plucked it right out of the tree with its fan-sized hand.
In an instant, countless bees flew out of the nest and covered nearly every inch of Ju Jia’s body. However, not even the softest part of the body-tempering cultivator’s body could be hurt by these little things. As he dropped back down to the ground, he casually beckoned Lu Ye to his side and broke open the nest to reveal a sheen of light golden honey. A sweet scent immediately wafted into his nose.
Ju Jia passed half of the nest to Lu Ye and kept the other half for himself. He sat down by the tree and, like he was holding a giant watermelon, scooped out the honey with his bare hands and ate to his heart’s content. Judging from his honey-covered lips and his silly grin, Lu Ye knew that he must have done this many times in the past. His movements had been a little too practiced and unhesitant.
Lu Ye did as Ju Jia demonstrated and consumed a mouthful of honey as well. Sweetness immediately filled his entire mouth.
Lu Ye was immediately surprised by two things. One, the honey was sweet but not nauseating. Two, it contained a small amount of refined Spiritual Power, which meant that it was beneficial to one’s recovery.
He realized that the bees must have collected the honey from nearby Spirit Flowers. No wonder it contained a bit of Spiritual Power.
This was an incredibly valuable type of food. A cultivator who just began their cultivation journey would experience tremendous growth if they ate this.
Of course, it was no longer very useful for Lu Ye or Ju Jia.
The two men gobbled down the honey like their lives depended on it. From time to time, Lu Ye would share a piece with Amber as well. As for Yi Yi, she could only watch from the side with deep envy…
Oh, the bees were “watching” from the sidelines as well. Their incessant buzzing almost sounded like loud protests against the honey stealer.
The meal was a fulfilling one. The trio looked satisfied to the brim as they lay comfortably on the forest floor.
Suddenly, Lu Ye discovered that his fatigue was vanishing at an astonishing rate. As it turned out, the honey was useful for recovering one’s stamina as well. Its value in Lu Ye’s mind immediately skyrocketed especially considering their current circumstances.
He had never embarked on a journey without stocking up on some food, but unfortunately he, Ju Jia and Amber were all massive gluttons. After seven days of relentless pursuit, his food reserves were almost all gone.
The Thousand Demon Ridge had given them no time to hunt. Even if they managed to catch some prey, there was no time to cook it properly.
Therefore, this bee honey could not have come at a better time. If possible, he would like to collect as much of it as he could.