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When night descended, Lu Ye put on his ghost-motif face mask and left his room. Then, he arrived at the first floor and headed straight to the Sanctum of Providence where the Divine Opportunity Column was located.
Every Divine Trade Association had their own Divine Opportunity Column, and the biggest use of such a column was its positioning system.
The cultivators could make use of these Divine Opportunity Columns to head to or return from the Cloud River Battlefield. When the cultivators in Jiu Zhou wanted to enter said battlefield, they could choose to use a Divine Opportunity Column to arrive at this Divine Trade Association. On the other hand, the cultivators on this battlefield could use the help of the column to return to Jiu Zhou.
As such, the Divine Trade Association on the Cloud River Battlefield was always full of people and bustling with noise.
The Divine Opportunity Column had four sides, which corresponded to four directions. In a particular direction, the space above contorted from time to time, and that was when the cultivators from different parts of Jiu Zhou appeared out of thin air.
In another direction, there was a queue that couldn’t be considered long. These cultivators were ready to leave the Cloud River Battlefield. They just had to stand before the Divine Opportunity Column and press their hands on it, and they would disappear the next moment. The queue was short as the procedure for one to leave the battlefield wasn’t complicated; it could even be said to be simple. Most of the time, this direction was empty as there wasn’t a need to line up.
The other two directions had a lot of people lining up, though. They were there to enter the Vault of Providence through the Divine Opportunity Column.
When Lu Ye arrived, he chose a direction and waited patiently.
There were only over ten people in front of him. Moreover, the cultivators who were there already knew what they wanted to buy or sell, so they were mostly efficient. Rarely any cultivator would take a long time and keep others waiting.
As the cultivators in front of Lu Ye proceeded to leave, he stepped forward.
All of a sudden, a person approached him and stared fixedly at him.
Lu Ye turned his head and saw a young male cultivator, whose gaze was scrutinous as he said slowly, “Fellow cultivator, I think you look like someone.”
Lu Ye asked huskily, “What are you talking about?”
Although he had never learned how to alter his voice, he could easily pull such a trick as a Cloud River Realm Master.
“Why are you asking the obvious question?” The young man shook his head. “If you don’t mind it…”
“I mind it!”
The young man was rendered speechless, and he could only shake his head in the end. “You can’t keep hiding forever unless you can leave the Cloud River Battlefield.”
With that, the young man turned around and left.
Although he felt that this cultivator who was wearing a ghost-motif face mask was Lu Ye, he didn’t dare to make a move in the Divine Trade Association. Therefore, he could only probe him in such a way.
After the young man was gone, several cultivators, intentionally or otherwise, walked past him. Lu Ye could feel that they were observing him in secret.
Anyway, he decided to ignore them. He wouldn’t leave the Divine Trade Association for the time being, so the fact that those people were waiting for him outside didn’t bother him.
When he decided to leave one day, those people might not be able to make him stay.
As the cultivators in front of him left, it was Lu Ye’s turn soon.
He pressed his hand against the Divine Opportunity Column and closed his eyes, but he didn’t immediately sink his soul into it.
Three breaths of time later, a voice was heard growling, “Now!”
The next instant, the powerful Spiritual Powers flared up as three senses of murderous intent engulfed Lu Ye from three different directions. As cold glints flickered, these figures arrived at a spot that was only 15 meters away from Lu Ye. ȑάΝƟ₿ĘṢ
The turn of events shocked everyone in the Sanctum of Providence.
Many cultivators had visited the Divine Trade Association countless times, but they had never encountered such an incident before. That was because they believed that the Association was an absolutely safe place.
Horrifying rumors about getting into fights in the Divine Trade Association had been widely spread throughout Jiu Zhou, but those were rumors, after all. No one knew about the consequences of getting into battles in the Divine Trade Association.
It was said that the last time such an incident happened was over ten years ago.
The passing of time had undoubtedly weakened the Divine Trade Association’s authority, and the reward for capturing Lu Ye was immense. As such, some cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge could no longer contain their temptations.
The three people who made a move were Ninth-Order Masters, and it wasn’t certain which Sects they were from. Before deciding to attack, they had asked around. Even though there were Ninth-Order Masters in charge of protecting this branch of the Association, they just had to kill Lu Ye quickly and flee. They had the confidence that they wouldn’t be detained.
It was a risk worth taking as the reward was tremendous.
As the Spiritual Powers surged, the cultivators in the Sanctum of Providence moved away, and the place descended into chaos in an instant.
Lu Ye, whose hand was still on the Divine Opportunity Column, felt a great sense of danger sweeping over him. Given his cultivation, it would be difficult for him to deal with a Ninth-Order Master, let alone three.
Fortunately, he was vigilant enough not to immediately sink his soul into the Vault of Providence. Otherwise, he couldn’t have reacted swiftly to such an assassination attempt.
He hurriedly activated his Spiritual Power and fully covered himself with several Protection Glyphs. At the same time, he charged toward the spot where most people gathered.
He didn’t need to exchange moves with those Ninth-Order Masters because he was in the Divine Trade Association. As long as he could stall for time, the powerful cultivators of the Association would make a move.
However, he and the three Ninth-Order Masters had underestimated the responsiveness of the Association.
In fact, the moment Lu Ye left his room and arrived at the first floor, those of the Association started keeping an eye on him.
“How dare you!” a voice was heard bellowing just then. Somewhere in the crowd, a cultivator emerged, and the fluctuations of his Spiritual Power showed that he was a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm Master.
Nevertheless, in the blink of an eye, his aura broke through the limit of the Cloud River Realm and reached an inscrutable level.
“Real Lake Realm!” someone exclaimed, and even more people were trembling in fear.
So, the rumor was true.
The people of the Divine Trade Association were able to temporarily break through the restraints of the Heavens on the Cloud River Battlefield and reach a height unrivaled by an average cultivator.
Many people had heard of such a rumor, but no one knew if it was true. After all, no one had witnessed it before.
It wasn’t until now that they saw it with their eyes.
The Divine Trade Association was a mysterious organization; its very name was a telltale sign.
In the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou, anything related to divinity or the Heavens couldn’t be underestimated. Since time immemorial, the cultivators in Jiu Zhou had always suspected that the Divine Trade Association had something to do with the almighty and mysterious Heavens.
That was because most of the time, the goods in the Association were also found in the Vault of Providence.
Somebody once sold a thing to the Association, but he soon found the very same thing in the Vault of Providence.
Moreover, the Association had never been involved in the fight between the two sides. The impression people had of it was that it was a neutral organization purely for the purpose of doing business.
However, no one dared to underestimate the Association, for they had no idea how powerful its heritage was.
The aura of Real Lake Realm continued to rise until it reached its peak. All the cultivators in the Sanctum of Providence were pressured by the horrifying aura. They were unable to straighten up, and they found it hard to breathe.
It was as if someone had bound them to their spots. The three Ninth-Order Masters who had flared up, Lu Ye who was running away, and the cultivators in chaos were all rooted to their spots.
Then, blood was heard spurting out as a metallic tang permeated the place. They could also feel some vitality withering.
It was as if everything had merely been an illusion as the immense pressure disappeared the next second. When the cultivators realized what had happened, they were horrified.
That was because there were three corpses in the Sanctum of Providence now. They were the Ninth-Order Masters who had attacked Lu Ye.
No one knew how they were even killed, but when the cultivators came to their senses, these people already had no vitality left.
A middle-aged cultivator stood silently in front of the three corpses, giving off an authoritative vibe. His aura showed that he was a Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm Master.
Nonetheless, no one would still believe that he was only in the Ninth-Order Cloud River Realm.
This person was apparently a Real Lake Realm Master, and he wasn’t an average one at that; he must be at the peak of the Real Lake Realm.
On the Spirit Creek Battlefield, cultivators above the Spirit Creek Realm could barge into it by spending Contribution points.
However, the same couldn’t be applied to the Cloud River Battlefield. Only Cloud River Realm Masters could enter the said battlefield. It was a rule the Heavens had set, and no one could break it.
Now, that didn’t seem to be the case.
At the very least, those of the Divine Trade Association could break this rule. They seemed able to temporarily break through the restraints on the Cloud River Battlefield.
What was even more shocking for the cultivators was that three Ninth-Order Masters had been killed like they were ants. None of them could see it clearly when they were destroyed by the person from the Divine Trade Association, which had always been impartial.
In front of everyone, the middle-aged man said slowly, “Duan Hua and Xue Feihan of Heartless Pavilion, and Luo Huai’an of Sacred Heart Sect. These three people made a move in the Association and broke our rules, which was why I killed them. This should serve as a warning to others. Also, we won’t do business with the cultivators of Heartless Pavilion and Sacred Heart Sect for the next three years.”
Upon hearing that, the cultivators broke into a commotion.
The death of three Ninth-Order Masters didn’t matter. After all, cultivators were always at risk of losing their lives. Just a while ago, around 2,000 cultivators were killed in a mine.
What astounded them was that the person of the Divine Trade Association was aware of the Sects these people came from and even their names.
Apart from the fact that they were adept at collecting information, it seemed that they had put up their guard in advance. Perhaps those of the Association had already noticed it when those three people were coming up with a plan, and they were ready to strike when those people made a move. Otherwise, this middle-aged cultivator couldn’t have reacted so quickly even though he was able to fully activate his power.
This time, those of the Association had made their stance clear, and there was no room for negotiation. They would not do business with the cultivators from the two Sects for the next three years.
Compared to the death of three Ninth-Order Masters, this decision had undoubtedly dealt a heavier blow to the two Sects.
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