Sage of Humanity

Lu Ye surmised that since Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were lurking in the dark, they must not be too far from Great Reversal Valley, possibly within a ten to thirty li range.

Moreover, to avoid the cultivators of the two sects from the Sacred Universe Spirit Ground, they definitely wouldn't be in the direction of the valley's entrance.

Great Reversal Valley was surrounded by mountains on three sides, especially the back side, which was full of rugged cliffs rising steeply to great heights, not really suitable for hiding.

That left only the two flanks for Xia Liang and Tan Sheng to choose from.

This made Lu Ye's search much easier.

However, while concealing himself, Lu Ye did not move quickly, so even with a rough idea of where they might be, finding the two of them was not an easy task.

Luckily, Lu Ye's fortune was always good.

In less than four hours, Lu Ye sensed the presence of life nearby; the location was only a little over ten li from Great Reversal Valley, within the range he had estimated.

He moved quietly forward and soon, under the moonlight, he spotted two figures seated under a tree.

Upon close inspection, who else could it be but Xia Liang and Tan Sheng?

Lu Ye did not continue to approach further. Both of those fellows were in the Cloud River Level 9 realm, especially Xia Liang, whose senses were sharp. If Lu Ye got too close, they might detect him.

Having pinpointed their location, Lu Ye silently withdrew.

As he meditated, Xia Liang suddenly opened his eyes and looked around, frowning slightly. Just now, he felt as if someone was spying on him, yet after careful scrutiny, found no one around and decided it must have been his imagination, not giving it further thought.

At the entrance of Great Reversal Valley, bonfires flickered, and groups of cultivators from the two sects gathered in clusters, the atmosphere somewhat stifling, with quite a few female cultivators sobbing quietly.

The day's ordeal was like a nightmare for all of them.

Under Huo Liaoyuan's command, they arrived strong and formidable, yet within a short tea time, over sixty of them had fallen within Great Reversal Valley. The lingering fear left everyone feeling cold to their core, with only the dancing bonfire before them offering a sliver of negligible warmth.

There were also those who were angry, clenching their teeth and vowing to kill Lu Yiye to avenge their fallen companions.

At this moment, it was the darkest hour before dawn.

A brief scream tore through the night sky, immediately alerting everyone.

"What's going on!" Huo Liaoyuan flashed over and saw the scene, his eyes about to bleed with rage.

Amongst the pool of blood, two figures lay in the blood, and another hadn't died instantly, but judging by their state, they wouldn't last much longer.

"Lu Yiye..." The person clutched at their throat, fresh blood spurted through their fingers, reaching towards Huo Liaoyuan with eyes full of desperation, "Senior Brother Huo, save... me..."

Huo Liaoyuan abruptly looked up, only to see a fiery-red streak in the night sky speeding away.

He erupted in rage, shooting up into the sky and chasing in that direction, quickly closing the distance between them.

Fury and the impulse to kill overwhelmed him, utterly oblivious to the fact that Lu Ye was not heading towards Great Reversal Valley.

Logically, after sneaking out to kill, the safest course of action for Lu Ye would be to escape back into Great Reversal Valley. Once he returned, the cultivators of the two sects, no matter how capable, would find it impossible to do anything to him. Yet, he did not head back to Great Reversal Valley, but chose another direction.

That direction was precisely where Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were hiding.

Sensing the activity behind him, Lu Ye looked back, frowning. Level 9 was indeed Level 9, their speed was outrageously fast.

Although his cultivation had advanced by two minor levels recently, making his flying speed much faster than it had been in the hunting grounds and faster than an average Level 5 realm cultivator, it was still a far cry from that of a Level 9 cultivator.

Fortunately, he still had Move-Like-The-Wind.

With the Move-Like-The-Wind Spirit Runes activated, the spirit force in the rivers within his body flowed rapidly, and his speed surged.

But even so, the distance between them continued to close.

A single set of Move-Like-The-Wind Spirit Runes was not enough to evade the pursuit of a Level 9, but if he added Wings to the mix, his speed could improve further, possibly matching Huo Liaoyuan's!

However, he wasn't trying to shake off Huo Liaoyuan, so he did not activate Wings.

Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were still deep in their cultivation when they were startled by the sound of breaking air approaching rapidly. Both lifted their heads to look.

They saw two streaks of light racing towards them in the sky, one after the other, both streaks blazing like fire.

"What is..." Tan Sheng did not immediately grasp what was happening, only feeling that the figure in the front streak of light looked vaguely familiar.

In the blink of an eye, the streak of light reached them.

"Lu Yiye!" Xia Liang exclaimed in a low voice, bewildered.

Why was Lu Yiye not hiding in the spirit ground, but out here instead? And it seemed like he was being pursued?

Just as Xia Liang instinctively thought to intercept, Lu Ye, who passed overhead, suddenly threw a Fire Phoenix Technique towards their location and shouted, "I'll leave them to you!"

As he spoke, he sped past!

Xia Liang and Tan Sheng were bewildered, but such a golden opportunity could not be missed. Easily deflecting the Fire Phoenix Technique's attack, they both rose into the air.

But before they could pursue Lu Yiye, the furious Huo Liaoyuan, following closely behind, launched a ferocious magic and spells attack towards them.

Huo Liaoyuan had been relentlessly pursuing his target all the way here, fuelled by raging anger with the sole thought of killing Lu Ye to vent his pent-up hatred. Yet, the sudden appearance of two Level 9 cultivators was like a bucket of cold water, dousing him with a bone-chilling realization.

Furthermore, the words that Lu Ye had spoken earlier dissipated his anger in a flash, leaving only fear. He cursed inwardly at his misfortune, afraid that he might have fallen into Lu Yiye's trap!

This wretch must have found two powerful allies to lie in ambush here and then lured him into their grasp...

Now, without any allies by his side, things looked grim. Given his concerns, he dared not hold back at all, unleashing his full strength as soon as he attacked.

Xia Liang and Tan Sheng, who were about to chase after Lu Ye, were instantly stunned and could only fight back in defense. For a while, three figures intertwined in mid-air, battling fiercely.

It only took a moment for Xia Liang to vaguely realize something...

The feeling of being watched before wasn't an illusion; Lu Yiye had been here. Otherwise, he couldn't possibly have known where he and Tan Sheng were hiding, let alone lead Huo Liaoyuan here.

Was this a scheme to use them as pawns to kill by proxy, or simply to prevent him and Tan Sheng from staying hidden in the shadows?

It was very likely the latter.

"Stop!" As Xia Liang slashed out a saber light, he bellowed angrily, and then pulled back, signaling his sincerity.

Tan Sheng quickly joined his side.

Dozens of feet away, Huo Liaoyuan appeared calm on the surface, but was shocked to his core. In his clash with the two Level 9 cultivators, he was outclassed on both counts. They were far beyond his ability to contend with when working together.

In those brief moments, he had almost believed he was surely doomed, but unexpectedly, the other party had stopped their assault first.

And the combat cultivator wielding the saber...

"Mad Saber Sect member?" As Huo Liaoyuan recalled the Level 9 cultivators of the Mad Saber Sect, one name slipped from his lips: "Are you Xia Liang?"

Xia Liang's expression turned cold and he stayed silent; being manipulated this way would sour anyone's mood.

What's more, he and Tan Sheng had originally planned to stay hidden in the shadows, and now thanks to Lu Yiye's machinations, their presence had been revealed.

Silence served as consent.

Huo Liaoyuan's heart relaxed slightly, thankfully thankfully. Xia Liang was from the Mad Saber Sect, an affiliate of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge—not an enemy, thankfully.

"And this Fellow Daoist is..." Huo Liaoyuan turned to look at Tan Sheng.

Tan Sheng helplessly clasped his fists: "New Moon Sect, Tan Sheng!"

Huo Liaoyuan returned the courtesy: "Sacred Fire Order, Huo Liaoyuan!" Then he asked, "What brings you two Fellow Daoists here?"

No sooner had he spoken than he suddenly realized something, his amiable expression faltering as his eyes narrowed.

Two Level 9 cultivators had no reason to be hiding here for no apparent cause, especially since a major battle had broken out in this area during the daytime.

Plus, it was said that within the hunting grounds, the campaigns against Lu Yiye were led by these two men, who in the end allowed Lu Yiye to break into the Spirit Stream battlefield, shatter the New Moon Sect's encampment, and extort a great deal from the Mad Saber Sect.

These two had significant grievances with Lu Yiye!

Tan Sheng turned to look at Xia Liang, only to see him calmly saying, "Just passing by. Who was Fellow Daoist Huo chasing just now?"

Tan Sheng had to admire him; to utter such a statement with an unchanging expression was something he could not match.

"Just passing by, huh..." Huo Liaoyuan clenched his fists tightly, his facial muscles trembling visibly, clearly struggling to suppress his burning anger.

With a vague understanding of the truth, how could he not realize that the substantial casualties suffered by the disciples of both sects were largely due to their own complacency, yet the root cause still lay with these two men withholding crucial information!

If he had known earlier about the Great Sky Prohibition Array in Lu Yiye's spirit ground, would he have let the disciples of both sects charge in so recklessly?

He had always been curious who it was that passed the information to him; now it was clear.

During the day, they must have been watching in secret from here, and now they were pretending to be clueless!

Huo Liaoyuan wished he could throw a massive fireball in Xia Liang's face to see just how thick his skin was, but he could only suppress the anger boiling within him.

Leaving aside the fact that the Sacred Fire Order was a 4th grade sect and couldn't afford to offend the Mad Saber Sect, now was not the time to turn against these two men...

If he couldn't beat them, what good would turning against them do?

"The one I was chasing was Lu Yiye!" Huo Liaoyuan's demeanor had become calm as he stated this.

"Oh? Lu Yiye!" Xia Liang raised an eyebrow as if he had just found out, "The Lu Yiye from the Righteous Blood Sect?"

What kind of a ridiculous question are you asking! Huo Liaoyuan nearly let his hard-suppressed rage surge forth again.

"Indeed!"

"What a coincidence; Brother Tan and I were also looking for his whereabouts. Unthinkably, he was right under our noses all this time, finding him without any effort after searching so hard!"

"Heh heh heh..." Huo Liaoyuan gave a pained, insincere laugh.

Tan Sheng spoke up, "Fellow Daoist Huo, we were used by Lu Yiye just now, allowing him to luckily slip away. Please forgive us."