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Both Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were currently in the Sixth Order Cloud River Realm, but they boasted a deep and profound inheritance. For that reason, the strength they could exert was beyond the level of any ordinary Sixth Order Cloud River Realm Masters.
As for Ju Jia… He was practically a monster thanks to his physique which was as tough as hardened steel. While Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had to remain wary of counterattacks as they hunted down their enemies, Ju Jia had no such reservations. He could recklessly charge forward with complete disregard for the enemy’s attacks bombarding his figure. That was because the attacks that exploded against his body did not affect him in the slightest.
Under normal circumstances, these three would be no match against so many enemies despite their immense strength. However, the cultivators from the Sacred Universe Arcane Glade were currently under the suppression of the Aerial Lock Ward and trapped inside the Grand Ward. They were also being ambushed by numerous Wolf Mutants from all directions. Hence, their panic and the chaotic situation allowed those three to display their strength to the fullest.
“Destroy the Ward! Destroy the Ward!”
Huo Liaoyuan’s furious roar resounded through the sky. His eyes blazed with rage. Following his roar, his entire body seemed to burst into flames. The mighty aura of a Ninth Order Master swept out in all directions, and an enormous ball of flame that resembled the sun slammed into the Grand Defensive Ward. The impact of the blow caused the light barrier of the Grand Ward to sink downward for a moment. At the same time, the dazzling light dimmed by a slight margin.
Likewise, the cultivators from the Sacred Universe Arcane Glade quickly followed suit and unleashed their power. The scene became very lively for a time.
Meanwhile, the number of deaths among the Sacred Universe Arcane Glade cultivators inside the Arcane Glade had exceeded thirty at this point. More and more cultivators continued to perish with each passing moment.
The figures of Li Baxian and the two others weaved across the battlefield while the wolf pack sprinted around the Arcane Glade, bringing about the melody of death.
The surviving cultivators of the Sacred Universe Arcane Glade inside the Arcane Glade had finally managed to organize a defensive front. At this moment, there were over thirty people standing with their backs against the light barrier of the Trap Ward. The Body-tempering Cultivators among them summoned their large shields and stood at the front to form a human shield. Working together, they struggled to repel the aggressive wolf pack with all their might.
Unfortunately, they had no means to escape as long as the Trap Ward stood strong. They barely had enough strength to protect themselves under these circumstances. Where would they find the additional strength to destroy the Grand Ward? Their only hope was for Huo Liaoyuan and the others to destroy the Grand Defensive Ward and rescue them.
*Boom… Boom… Boom…* A series of loud explosions resounded throughout the land, and the light barrier of the Grand Defensive Ward swiftly became dim. Although the strength of the second Grand Ward was much stronger than the first Grand Ward, it was impossible for the Grand Ward to withstand the never-ending barrage of attacks unleashed by so many cultivators. After all, the Grand Defensive Ward was established with Lu Ye’s strength alone. It was practically a miracle that the Grand Ward held out for so long in the first place.
Lu Ye remained standing inside the Arcane Glade and remotely controlled the operation of the Grand Defensive Ward.
A Grand Ward with somebody in control of the operations and a Grand Ward without anybody presiding over the operations were two completely different situations. Even though he knew that the Grand Ward could not last forever, there was no harm if the Grand Ward could last for as long as possible.
At this moment, his figure shifted sideways. A short blade practically brushed against his neck and stabbed at the empty space. Then, a figure appeared out of nowhere and stood several steps behind him.
The Ghost Cultivator who sneakily attacked Lu Ye from behind seemed surprised that Lu Ye had avoided his highly concealed ambush and was rather dumbfounded by the situation. It had to be said that the Ghost Cultivator was very bold. After all, he even attempted to murder Lu Ye under these circumstances.
The main purpose of their trip was to defeat Lu Ye. As long as they managed to kill Lu Ye, then all the losses they sustained so far would be acceptable to a certain extent. It was too bad that the flawless assault had not succeeded.
Now that his figure had been exposed, the Ghost Cultivator immediately attempted to retreat. However, a fiery-red blade light was already slashing down on him from the front. A storm of attacks swiftly followed…
Xia Liang, who was secretly observing the battle, watched this scene quietly. The corners of his eyes twitched slightly. He couldn’t help recalling how he had patiently and carefully taught Lu Ye the blade techniques in the Fox Immortal Valley back then. In addition, he also taught Lu Ye everything he knew about the Mind’s Eye Technique…
Although Lu Ye had helped to tattoo a Protection Tattoo on him, the effects of the Tattoo were temporary and would gradually disappear after several uses. Compared to what Lu Ye received in return, what was that Tattoo worth?
What shocked him the most was that Lu Ye had gotten so proficient in the Mind’s Eye Technique in such a short time. Based on the reaction speed displayed earlier, the range of Lu Ye’s Mind’s Eye perception might even be larger than his own.
During their first meeting two months ago, Lu Ye had only been in the Third Order Cloud River Realm. At the time, he had fled in a panic when Xia Liang pursued him. Afterwards, he had achieved the Fourth Order Cloud River Realm by the time they encountered each other again in the Fox Immortal Valley. It had only been several days since they last met, but he seemed to have advanced again and entered the Fifth Order Cloud River Realm during that period.
“Bleurgh!” The Ghost Cultivator coughed up blood and fell backwards with large wounds covering his chest and abdomen. Before he even landed on the ground, several Wolf Mutants pounced on him. What followed next was a mixture of bone-chilling screams and the sound of flesh being ripped apart.
The Ghost Cultivator was similar to Yan Gui, whom Lu Ye slaughtered previously, in that they were both Seventh Order Cloud River Realm Masters. Lu Ye had needed to exhaust all his skills just to kill Yan Gui at the time, but a Seventh Order Cloud River Realm Master was no longer his opponent now.
*Crack…* The sound of something breaking filled the air. Countless cracks appeared on the Grand Defensive Ward, which suddenly seemed on the verge of collapse.
The Ghost Cultivator’s ambush had failed to damage Lu Ye, but he had managed to keep Lu Ye busy for a brief period. By preventing Lu Ye from controlling the Grand Ward, his actions had inadvertently allowed the Sacred Universe Arcane Glade to destroy the Grand Defensive Ward at a much faster pace.
More intense cracking sounds followed until the entire light barrier shattered to pieces.
“Save them!” Huo Liaoyuan roared through gritted teeth. Although he wanted to tear Lu Ye to pieces, he did not allow himself to be swallowed by his rage and issued an extremely crucial order instead.
The cultivators swarmed forward and passed through the Trap Ward without the slightest trouble. Joining the rest of the surviving cultivators, they worked together to repel the attacks from Li Baxian, Feng Yuechan, Ju Jia, and the wolf pack. At the same time, they also directed their attacks at the light barrier of the Trap Ward behind them.
The durability of the Trap Ward was much lower compared to the Grand Defensive Ward. If not for the constant assault from the wolf pack, the trapped cultivators would have easily destroyed the Trap Ward a long time ago. Therefore, it only took them thirty seconds to completely shatter the Trap Ward with the support of their companions.
Lu Ye and Huo Liaoyuan stared at each other across a distance of several hundred meters. One party was calm while the other party was absolutely livid.
A few seconds later, Huo Liaoyuan suppressed the rage in his heart and snarled through gritted teeth. “Retreat!”
Following his command, the Sacred Universe Arcane Glade cultivators immediately began to retreat from battle. It did not take long before they withdrew from the range of the Arcane Glade.
The wolf pack did not pursue the cultivators. Thanks to the Aerial Lock Ward in the Arcane Glade, they could compete with the cultivators on equal footing. However, the cultivators would be able to fly outside of the Arcane Glade. The threat that they posed to the cultivators, under those circumstances, would reduce considerably.
The cultivators fled in disgrace. Every one of them was filled with a sense of lingering fear. Some of the female cultivators with weaker mental fortitude even burst into tears. Even though they had experienced various dangers at some point in their cultivation journey, they had never felt so helpless before.
The aura of death resembled an invisible beast licking away at their hearts while they were trapped inside the Arcane Glade, and the despair had nearly crushed them. Not to mention, innumerable companions and acquaintances had suffered tragic deaths right before their eyes. After what happened today, this battle was bound to become a nightmare that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
“Lu Yi Ye, your days are numbered!” Huo Liaoyuan roared furiously, blood oozing from how hard he clenched his teeth earlier.
He originally thought that this mission would end with an easy victory, but he ultimately suffered heavy casualties and terrible losses instead. Furthermore, the entire process took less than a cup of tea’s time from the beginning until the end!
As the decision-maker and leader of this operation, he would surely be held accountable for these losses. He might even be punished by the Sect for his grievous mistake even though the main culprit behind everything was none other than Lu Ye. Consequently, the deep hatred he harbored toward Lu Ye could never be forgotten or forgiven.
There was also the sneaky person who secretly leaked the information to him… He previously guessed that the person who secretly gave him the information had suffered a loss at the hands of Lu Ye and wanted to use his strength to exact revenge upon Lu Ye. For that reason, he had estimated Lu Ye’s strength as highly as possible based on the information he received. He would not have brought so many people otherwise.
Nevertheless, his party suffered a crushing defeat and crippling casualties during their initial conflict. He would never have expected to encounter such setbacks before coming here, but there was no denying that everything had practically taken place under his nose.
Inside the Arcane Glade, Lu Ye calmly stared at Huo Liaoyuan without speaking. There was no triumph or complacency over his victory in his eyes. Then, he swung the Ward Flag lightly and reactivated the Concealment Ward. The entire Arcane Glade vanished from sight once more.
Lu Ye’s bland reaction annoyed Huo Liaoyuan even more. At this point, Huo Liaoyuan was livid enough to explode in flames.
“Senior Brother Huo.” An Eight Order Combat Cultivator approached Huo Liaoyuan. He was covered in numerous wounds, and his face was stained with blood. It was evident that he had experienced a harsh battle earlier. “What do we do now?”
Huo Liaoyuan looked around. What entered his vision were the fearful and panicked expressions of his subordinates, as well as the faint joy of survival in their eyes. He had brought more than one hundred and fifty people with him, but less than one hundred remained alive at this moment. In other words, more than sixty people had died in the Arcane Glade during the short span of time earlier!
Moving his lips soundlessly, he couldn’t help feeling very confused and lost for a time!
With their current strength, they might be able to slaughter Lu Ye if they reorganized their forces and attacked once more. However, they would inevitably suffer even more casualties. After losing so many people, how could he dare to allow further casualties at this point?
The other party would not counterattack either. They had the support of the Aerial Lock Ward inside the Arcane Glade, which would greatly reduce the strength of the cultivators. After all, the Wolf Mutants could only participate in battle by relying on the Aerial Lock Ward. On the contrary, they would only be marching to their deaths if they launched a counterattack.
In other words, it did not matter who took the initiative to attack in this situation. The one to make the first move would inevitably suffer huge losses.
“We will set up camp and wait for reinforcements!” A long while passed before these words came out of Huo Liaoyuan’s parched lips.
Following Huo Liaoyuan’s command, the Eight Order Combat Cultivator visibly breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that Huo Liaoyuan might do something stupid in his rage.
The Spirit Boat suspended in mid-air slowly landed on the ground. Then, the miserable and disheveled Sacred Universe Arcane Glade cultivators made camp at the mouth of the Ameliorate Valley and rested their bodies.
On the other hand, Xia Liang and Tan Sheng fell silent in their hiding spots. They had hidden here in hopes of taking advantage during the chaos of the battle. In the end, they witnessed an unimaginable turn of events that left them with complicated emotions instead.
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