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Translator: Raikov
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Inside the Rift of Illusions, Lu Ye kept his eyes tightly closed as the mist-enveloped enemy whose face was indiscernible moved around him. However, regardless of how the enemy attacked, Lu Ye could accurately block their strikes with his saber.
And this kind of battle had been going on for a full incense stick worth of time.
If Lu Ye wished, and as long as his Spiritual Power was not drained, he could continue on like this indefinitely.
Having cultivated in the Rift of Illusions for a whole half month, his Mind’s Eye Technique had finally achieved some success.
Entering the Rift of Illusions to cultivate for a dozen times a day cost him around one to two thousand Contribution Points. Over the course of this half month, he had spent more than twenty thousand Contribution Points in the Rift of Illusions.
The price paid was not small, but the gains were great, too. If Xia Liang knew that Lu Ye had achieved this level in just half a month, his jaw would probably drop in astonishment.
It had taken him a whole six months to barely reach the threshold back then.
And now, Lu Ye not only had a rudimentary understanding of the Mind’s Eye Technique, but the range of his defense was also twice as large as Xia Liang’s, extending up to two thirds of a meter.
Within this range, he could clearly sense any imminent danger and make a counterattack accordingly.
For him to have achieved such results, the unforgettable memories branded into him by going through death after death were one aspect, and the other was undoubtedly attributed to how powerful Lu Ye’s Divine Soul was.
Engaged in a fierce battle, Lu Ye, who stood still without moving a muscle, suddenly stepped forward and swung his saber.
This slash erupted with immense power and cleaved the mist-shrouded enemy right into two!
A single enemy was no longer a threat to Lu Ye, so it was time to increase the difficulty of his cultivation.
After waiting quietly for a moment, the mist churned around him, and two figures emerged, one from the left and one from the right.
Even though the number of enemies only increased by one, the difficulty more than doubled.
A short while later, Lu Ye was killed and ejected from the Rift of Illusions.
A slight twinge of pain passed through his mind and quickly disappeared without a trace.
He was about to enter the Rift of Illusions again to cultivate when Yi Yi, who was standing guard nearby, spoke up, “Lu Ye, there are people waiting for you outside.”
Frowning, Lu Ye walked to the window and looked down, only to see Zhou Yuntian and Xie Yunhan.
While he was cultivating in the Rift of Illusions, he always left the Ward of the pavilion activated, so Zhou Yuntian and Xie Yunhan just waited below without disturbing him rashly.
He had no idea what the two of them wanted to have come together.
Noticing Lu Ye’s gaze, Zhou Yuntian looked up and greeted him cheerfully, “Cultivator Lu!”
Lu Ye responded, “Sorry for keeping you both waiting, I was in the middle of cultivating. Please come in.”
With that, he deactivated the Ward.
After a short while, Zhou Yuntian and Xie Yunhan entered side by side, and both host and guests took their seats. Lu Ye served them tea before asking, “What brings you both here?”
Zhou Yuntian remained silent, but he took out a Storage Bag and pushed it towards Lu Ye.
Suspiciously, Lu Ye picked up the Storage Bag and examined its contents, only to find many materials inside that were all used for refining Ward Flags.
His heart sank. He had a bad feeling about the situation.
Sure enough, Zhou Yuntian said, “The mistress has given the order for both of you to refine more Ward Flags to prepare in case of necessity.”
The need for more Ward Flags was clearly to set up new Wards, and with the large number of materials in the Storage Bag, they could potentially create hundreds of the flags, which meant that a considerable number of Wards were surely going to be deployed in time.
Combining this with the information he had previously gathered, Lu Ye knew that the Fox Mutant was likely going to make a move soon.
Though he had his speculations, Lu Ye still asked, “Cultivator Zhou, why does the mistress suddenly want to refine so many Ward Flags?”
Zhou Yuntian hesitated for a moment before sighing. “Let Cultivator Xie explain it to you. I have other matters to attend to. I will leave it to the two of you. Make sure that the preparations are done within ten days!”
Whether he truly had other matters to attend to or simply felt uneasy about disclosing these details to Lu Ye was unclear.
After Zhou Yuntian left, Lu Ye turned to Xie Yunhan.
The latter let out a bitter laugh and said, “Brother, even though you haven’t been in Fox Immortal Valley for long, have you ever wondered why the mistress has been gathering so many people here?”
Lu Ye nodded. “Naturally, the thought has crossed my mind, but surely the mistress has her reasons for her actions.”
Xie Yunhan sighed. “To tell you the truth, the main reason why the mistress has taken in so many people is for the sake of revenge!”
“Revenge?”
“That’s right.” Xie Yunhan nodded. “Even though I don’t know the exact grudge between the mistress and her target, it most certainly is deeply ingrained and irreconcilable. Moreover, this isn’t the first time our Fox Immortal Valley has taken action in revenge.”
Lu Ye looked surprised. “With the talents in the valley, what kind of enemy are they facing that they still haven’t killed them?”
A reminiscing look flashed in Xie Yunhan’s eyes, and his body trembled slightly. He looked into Lu Ye’s eyes and spoke one word at a time, “An elite-level Spirit Beast!”
Lu Ye looked in shock, and he exclaimed, “An elite-level Spirit Beast? Could it be the Berserk Giant Ape?”
Even though Lu Ye had long guessed it, speculation was still just speculation, and Xie Yunhan’s words undoubtedly confirmed his conjecture.
Indeed, the target of the Fox Mutant’s revenge was the Berserk Giant Ape.
Xie Yunhan wasn’t surprised that Lu Ye knew about the Berserk Giant Ape. After all, it was marked on the 10-point map. He nodded gravely. “It is precisely that beast!”
“To seek revenge against an elite-level Spirit Beast, the mistress has…”
“The mistress has her reasons for doing this, and our duty as subordinates is to follow her orders. But don’t worry, Cultivator Lu. As Ward Cultivators, we won’t have to confront the Berserk Giant Ape directly. We need only assist the others with our Wards, so there is some assurance of safety in that regard.”
Lu Ye understood now how Xie Yunhan had survived for twelve years in Fox Immortal Valley.
Even though Fox Immortal Valley could gather many cultivators, the number of Ward Cultivators was always scarce. Every time they launched an attack against the Berserk Giant Ape, Xie Yunhan only had to activate the pre-set Wards to assist them with the formations without engaging the Berserk Giant Ape directly. Even if the attack failed, Xie Yunhan could still survive.
As for the others… they were not so fortunate. Each attempt resulted in the deaths of many cultivators.
“Is it very dangerous?” Lu Ye asked with a serious tone.
Xie Yunhan laughed bitterly. “I’ve been in Fox Immortal Valley for twelve years, and I’ve participated in these missions six times… Almost every time, we suffered a loss of over eighty percent of our manpower. Apart from me, Cultivator Zhou has survived the longest, and he arrived six years ago. You haven’t seen the power of the Berserk Giant Ape, so you don’t know how formidable an elite-level Spirit Beast is. Once you meet one, you’ll understand just how dangerous it is. Our lives are truly worthless in the face of it.”
Lu Ye furrowed his brow. “If that beast is so powerful, why doesn’t the mistress accumulate enough strength at once before seeking revenge? Instead, she chooses to repeatedly deplete the manpower of the valley!”
“Naturally, the mistress has also considered that, but this place is deep within Great Wilds Peak which rarely sees visits by cultivators. Gathering manpower is not as easy as you might think. After Cultivator Zhou brought you and the others here, no new recruits arrived during this period. So, it’s not that easy to accumulate enough strength.”
“In that case… Does Brother Xie think that there’s a chance of success this time?”
Xie Yunhan replied, “This time, the number and strength of the cultivators in the valley are greater than before. Moreover, with Cultivator Lu as an extra Ward Cultivator, I believe there is a great chance of success. However, we must not be careless. Right now, what we need to do is to refine as many Ward Flags as possible, and deploy more Wards in order to weaken the beast’s power. Only then will the mistress have a chance at exacting revenge.”
“It seems like we have a lot of responsibility weighing on us and a long way to go,” Lu Ye remarked.
Xie Yunhan laughed and said, “In that case, Brother should understand why the mistress values you so much, right? To be honest, when dealing with such enemies, the power that Ward Cultivators can exert is what the mistress relies on the most.”
“I understand.” Lu Ye nodded and said firmly, “I will not fail the mistress’s trust.”
“Then, let’s get to refining the Ward Flags.”
As they were about to begin their mission, the atmosphere in Fox Immortal Valley became tense. Many cultivators were unaware of the specific details. They just knew that a fierce battle awaited them in a few days. Under the orders of the Fox Mutant, a large amount of cultivation resources were distributed, and everyone cultivated diligently to improve their strength.
Lu Ye and Xie Yunhan spent their days either recovering their Spiritual Power or refining Ward Flags.
As the large amount of resources were used up, and as the Ward Flags came fresh out of the furnace one by one, all of the materials were exhausted on the sixth day, and they had produced more than five hundred Ward Flags.
These many Ward Flags were enough to set up over a hundred Wards. If they still couldn’t do anything to the Berserk Giant Ape even with the support of so many Wards, then the cultivators of Fox Immortal Valley could do nothing but put their heads up on the chopping block, and it was unknown just how many lives would be lost in that event.
While Fox Immortal Valley was busily preparing for revenge, Feng Yuechan and Ju Jia, having received Lu Ye’s message, departed from the Arcane Glade with the wolf pack and headed towards Fox Immortal Valley.
Feng Yuechan and Ju Jia alone might not have the ability to penetrate deep into the Grand Wilds Peak, but it was different with a pack of wolves with them. Even if they encountered powerful Spirit Beasts, the wolf pack could handle them.
The size of the wolf pack had now grown to over three hundred members. Besides the few dozens of young wolf cubs that had not yet matured, the rest were all Wolf Mutants with strength comparable to the Cloud River Realm.
Regardless of whether the Fox Mutant’s attack against the Berserk Giant Ape succeeded or not, the power of Fox Immortal Valley would undoubtedly be greatly diminished after this battle. This was the opportunity that Lu Ye had been waiting for.
If the Fox Mutant died in the battle against the Berserk Giant Ape, then that would be the best case scenario. Everyone’s Divine Soul Secret Techniques would be lifted.
If she didn’t die, then he would have the wolf pack attack Fox Immortal Valley and surround the Fox Mutant!
The plan was nothing overly complicated, but oftentimes, it happened that the simpler the plan, the higher the chances of success.
Now, the only problem that Lu Ye had to consider was Li Baxian’s safety.
Among them, he and Li Baxian had the lowest cultivation levels in Fox Immortal Valley, but as a Ward Cultivator, he didn’t have to fight the Berserk Giant Ape directly. However, Li Baxian was different. No matter how profound the foundation he had accumulated in the Spirit Creek Realm, the role he could play against a Cloud River Realm overlord would still be extremely limited.
