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“Brother Song, is this Lu Yi Ye’s handiwork?” Ning Zizai stared at the corpses lying on the ground.
Song Zhui replied, “I just arrived myself, but it certainly looks like it.”
Ning Zizai asked, “Do you mind if I take a look?”
What was there to mind? It was just some corpses. Hence, Song Zhui readily agreed. “Go ahead, Brother Zizai.”
Ning Zizai crouched down and carefully examined the scene. He even repeatedly touched and groped the corpses. Meanwhile, Song Zhui and the others stood behind him and frowned at the sight. They couldn’t help wondering whether he had some unusual hobbies.
A long time passed before Ning Zizai climbed to his feet with a deep and pensive expression.
“Did you discover something, Brother Zizai?” Song Zhui inquired.
Ning Zizai replied, “I didn’t discover anything major. But, the wounds on their body are identical to the others who died over the past few days. I can confirm that these murders were done by the same person.”
“Have you been examining the corpses over the past few days, Brother Zizai?”
“It wasn’t on purpose. I simply happened to come across the corpses, so I took a look at them.” He turned to look at Song Zhui. “Brother Song, are you sure this is Lu Yi Ye’s handiwork?”
Song Zhui muttered in his heart, [How should I know?]
Unfortunately, he could not say such words in front of his Juniors. He simply said, “Lu Yi Ye uses a saber, and these people died from saber wounds. It’s probably him.”
“As I recall, Lu Yi Ye is a Combat Cultivator!” Ning Zizai seemed doubtful. “But, according to my observations… There is always one out of every batch of the deceased who died from a sneak attack in the back! It’s rather similar to the methods of a Ghost Cultivator, so I suspected that Lu Yi Ye might have a helper with him. If not for that… it would be impossible for him to have killed so many people with his strength alone!”
The helper must be a powerful Ghost Cultivator.
Ning Zizai’s observation coincided with Song Zhui’s previous speculations. Hence, they both believed that Lu Ye had help from others. While Lu Ye did have helpers, the truth was different from what they were imagining. After all, his only helpers were Amber and Yi Yi.
Song Zhui and Ning Zizai casually chatted with each other for a bit, then they went their separate ways. They also agreed to exchange information if they happened to discover anything new. As for whether or not they would actually contact each other… only they would know.
If Ninth Order Realm Masters like themselves discovered Lu Ye’s whereabouts, they would definitely take action to slaughter Lu Ye immediately. Why would they bother to exchange information with others?
The fifth night came and went. On that night, the Thousand Demon Ridge lost another two teams. At the same time, Lu Ye discovered a problem: The opponents he could target were decreasing rapidly.
He had slain a lone Eighth Order Realm Master previously. If he encountered another lone Eighth Order Realm Master, then he would have no trouble defeating his opponent with the help of Yi Yi’s Nine Wards Scroll and her support from the shadows.
However, he was forced to avoid any Eighth Order Realm Masters with companions for the time being. Under the premise that he could not guarantee his ability to safely withdraw from battle, he would never act rashly. He would only launch a sneak attack if he was confident in his ability to slaughter the enemies within his sight.
Many of the groups that were currently scattered throughout the depths of the Grand Wilds Peak had the protection of either an Eighth Order Realm Master or a Ninth Order Realm Master. He naturally refused to attack these groups. Unfortunately, there were fewer and fewer targets he could attack after several consecutive nights of hunting.
As the number of deaths among the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators soared, the surviving Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators became more vigilant and clung to each other for safety.
During the first few nights, the groups that Lu Ye encountered did not contain many members. Each group only had two to four members, and groups of five were basically non-existent. Some even dared to act independently. In contrast, many of the groups he encountered last night were formed by merging two or three groups together. The average size of the group had expanded as a result, ranging from seven to a dozen members in each group.
Even without the protection of an Eighth Order Realm Master or a Ninth Order Realm Master, Lu Ye did not dare to target these groups. At his current level, he could safely target a group with less than five members and without the protection of an Eighth Order Realm Master. Unfortunately, anything beyond these limits was dangerous.
In the end, only two teams of the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators died at his hands after he spent the entire night hunting. The total number of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators he killed that night was seven. Compared to the number of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators he hunted on the first day, the difference was unbelievably large. ɌΆＮо𝔟ƐṤ
He had finally managed to vent the frustrations in his heart after several days of massacre. Although he wished to completely eliminate Song Zhui and the others, he knew that his hopes were unrealistic.
It was time to leave the Grand Wilds Peak… Now that his cultivation was no longer enough to face his enemies, there was no point in staying here to play hide and seek with the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Cultivation was the foundation of a cultivator’s life. He had to focus on improving his cultivation.
The location of the Ameliorate Arcane Glade might have been exposed, but he also left behind the Divine Opportunity Column and various Wards in the Arcane Glade. Li Baxian and the others could freely escape back to Jiu Zhou via the Divine Opportunity Column if they encountered a danger they could not overcome, so their safety was guaranteed.
Besides, the threat he made right before leaving the Ameliorate Valley would prevent any Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator from invading the Ameliorate Arcane Glade as long as he was alive. They were afraid that he would return to the Spirit Creek Battlefield and destroy the Outpost of their Sect if they forcefully invaded the Ameliorate Arcane Glade. It was not as if he had never done something similar in the past. Rather, it was precisely because he had done something similar that his threat became such a powerful deterrent.
The sky was slowly getting brighter. Lu Ye raised his hand and tapped on his Battlefield Imprint to send a message to Li Baxian. “Senior Brother, I’m planning to leave the Grand Wilds Peak.”
He had communicated with Li Baxian over the past few days, but they did not chat much. It was just a simple exchange to relay his safety to his companions.
Inside the Ameliorate Arcane Glade, Li Baxian heaved a sigh of relief when he read Lu Ye’s message. Lu Ye might not have told him much over the past few days, but he knew that Lu Ye had probably remained in the Grand Wilds Peak to exact revenge upon the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators.
Therefore, he was relieved to hear that Lu Ye was planning to leave the Grand Wilds Peak. Those words clearly meant that Lu Ye would no longer be contending with the Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators. Leaving the Grand Wilds Peak might not change the fact that Lu Ye was being watched by the Thousand Demon Ridge, but the situation outside was bound to be better than the situation here.
In his opinion, Lu Ye’s decision to leave the Grand Wilds Peak was a good thing.
“Be careful. If you are undecided about something, think about Yi Yi!”
Seeing Li Baxian’s response, Lu Ye burst out laughing. Li Baxian was clearly telling him not to be impulsive because Yi Yi would also disappear from existence if he died.
After he ended communications with Li Baxian, he then sent a message to Ju Jia telling him to concentrate on cultivating in the Arcane Glade and refrain from running around. He also reminded Ju Jia to speak with Li Baxian or contact him before making any decisions.
Ju Jia’s response was short and simple, containing only one word. “Okay!”
The sky had brightened completely, but that did not make much of a difference to Lu Ye. Seeing as he could cast a Blessing upon himself with the Concealment Glyph and the Conceal Presence Glyph, he would not be easily discovered as long as he was careful enough.
As he embarked on his journey, he couldn’t help feeling frustrated. He was going to be alone again…
Ever since he started cultivating, he had spent most of his time on his own. There was a short period when he traveled with Ju Jia, but that had not lasted for very long.
After obtaining the Primus-level Wisp of Sanctification and placing the Wisp of Sanctification in the depths of the Grand Wilds Peak, he was accompanied by Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan. He originally thought that these peaceful days would last until he became a Real Lake Realm Master, but things did not work out the way he wished. In the end, he was embarking on another lonely journey a few months later.
He wistfully reminisced about the short time he spent in the Arcane Glade. Although they generally focused on their respective cultivation and rarely interacted with each other, it was a different feeling since there was always somebody around. More importantly, he always had somebody to discuss with and rely upon no matter what difficulties he faced. Not to mention, those were some of the closest people in this world to him.
Luckily, he had never been lonely even though he was always alone. That was because Amber and Yi Yi were always by his side.
To this day, he was extremely grateful for his fateful encounter with Amber and Yi Yi. He was even more grateful for the fact that he had brought them along with him when he left Green Cloud Mountain. Thanks to his decision, he had two companions who were always by his side to grow and experience various hardships together.
Lu Ye’s sudden disappearance left Song Zhui and Ning Zizai wondering about the situation. They couldn’t help feeling that something was strange.
Just a few days ago, numerous Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators would go missing every night. However, there had been no attacks for the past two to three days. These signs clearly indicated that Lu Ye had left the Grand Wilds Peak!
How could the Ninth Order Realm Masters be happy when they had been running around on a wild goose chase during their search for Lu Ye? Nevertheless, what did their feelings matter? They had failed to locate Lu Ye’s whereabouts from the beginning to the end. In fact, they were powerless in this situation despite having great strength.
At this moment, Lu Ye had arrived at the edges of the Grand Wilds Peak. His journey over the past few days had been rather difficult. The main reason was that the number of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators he encountered as he reached the outer edges of the Grand Wilds Peak increased the further he went.
When the news about Lu Ye and the Ameliorate Valley Arcane Glade spread to the public, an overwhelming number of cultivators had rushed to the Grand Wilds Peak. It was just that some of these cultivators were too weak to venture deep into the Grand Wilds Peak. These cultivators made up most of the crowd, so the figures of countless Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators could be seen everywhere outside the Grand Wilds Peak. Not to mention, they were all in the Sixth Order Realm or below.
Lu Ye did not bother to create any unwanted trouble. Since he had made his decision to leave the Grand Wilds Peak, he naturally had no intention to expose his whereabouts. Once he left the Grand Wilds Peak, he would be free to travel in the vast outside world. All he needed to do was wear a mask and hide Amber from sight, then nobody would be able to find him again.
While traveling forward, Yi Yi suddenly appeared from nearby.
Their journey had been smooth and safe over the past few days. Part of the reason stemmed from the effects of the Concealment Glyph and the Conceal Presence Glyph, but the biggest reason was Yi Yi. She often scouted the way ahead and detected the slightest movement in their surroundings, which allowed them to avoid many unnecessary troubles.
“Lu Ye, Lu Ye! There’s a cave in that direction!”
Over the past few days, Yi Yi was in charge of scouting the way ahead. At the same time, she was also responsible for finding shelter. Seeing as how she specifically came to tell Lu Ye about the shelter she found, she must have found a suitable resting spot indeed.
“Good job,” Lu Ye praised. “Let’s go and have a look.”
A smile immediately spread across her face, and she sported a smug expression on her face. Her light body seemed to dance in the air as she led the way ahead.
After walking for several kilometers, they came across a cave. The location was very hidden, and grass as tall as a man grew at the entrance of the cave. It would be difficult to notice the existence of the cave without searching carefully.
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