Translator: Jon Editor : Dhael Ligerkeys Inside the mine, Si Nan stood in front of Yang Kai. The light screen of the Defensive Ward formed an impenetrable barrier, blocking Lu Ye’s murderous intent and giving Song Zhui and the others a sense of safety. Lu Ye merely measured the light screen with a calm expression. Since the Defensive Ward was built in a hurry, it wasn’t robust enough. After all, not much Spiritual Power had been accumulated. When it came to a Defensive Ward, the longer the time of preparation, the more Spiritual Power would be accumulated, and the more robust it would be. Moreover, the Defensive Ward only covered a small area, so it was naturally not very strong. However, with Si Nan in charge, it wouldn’t be easy for Lu Ye to break the ward, and it also wasn’t suitable for him to do so, considering his condition. With that said, he had never relied on brute force to shatter any ward. A glint flashed across his eyes. With the help of Insight, he could see the nodes and the weaknesses of the ward clearly. A myriad of scenes shifted before his eyes, and the traces of the colorful Spiritual Powers were visible. The seemingly smooth light screen showed some almost imperceptible weaknesses with the help of Insight. It had to be said that Si Nan was truly adept at the Way of Wards. Lu Ye hadn’t come across any Ward Cultivators who were worth his attention, but Si Nan was the first one to impress him. Just then, Si Nan said, “I’ve heard that you’re skilful in the Way of Wards, but the wards you’ve built are not so impressive. Since I’ve shattered your wards, can you do the same to mine?” Although he had never directly dealt with Lu Ye before, breaking each other’s wards could be considered an exchange of moves for the Ward Cultivators. He had previously settled many of the Explosive Wards in the passageway, and in the end, Lu Ye was forced to activate even more wards in advance. From his perspective, he believed that Lu Ye was inferior to him when it came to the Way of Wards. That was the reason he had the confidence to stay at the back of the crowd to stop the man from advancing further. He believed that he could fend Lu Ye off with his Defensive Ward. As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Ye raised his arm and cast a Ward Flag, which accurately penetrated a particular spot in the light screen. Si Nan looked at it in shock, for he could clearly feel that the spot where the Ward Flag struck was where the Ward Node was located, and that spot was the weakest in the ward. It could be said to be the weak spot of the light screen. Others were not aware of where the Ward Nodes were, but how could Si Nan be oblivious to them when he was the one who built the ward and was in charge of it? For a ward with a light screen such as a Defensive Ward or a Trap Ward, the best way to break it was through the Ward Nodes. However, regardless of how adept one was at the Way of Wards, it wasn’t easy to find the Ward Nodes. One had to come into direct contact with the light screen and search for the nodes slowly before being able to find them. However, that was merely a possibility. The Ward Nodes found could be false. With Si Nan in charge of the ward, he could change the speed of the Spiritual Power flowing around the light screen with a flash of thought, thus covering up the locations of the Ward Nodes. Could it be a coincidence? Otherwise, how did Lu Ye strike the Ward Node so accurately? While he was in his thoughts, he instinctively controlled the ward and hastened the speed of Spiritual Power flowing around the light screen in an attempt to move the Ward Nodes around. Just then, another Ward Flag appeared and inserted itself into another Ward Node, followed by the third one and the fourth one. Si Nan’s eyes widened in disbelief. With a look of horror on his face, he exclaimed, “That’s impossible!” It wasn’t until now that he realized all of this wasn’t a coincidence. If it were, Lu Ye wouldn’t have accurately found the rest of the nodes in succession. Was Lu Ye able to locate the Ward Nodes with his bare eyes? However, how did a Fifth-Order Cloud River Realm Master like him pull off such a feat? The sight before Si Nan’s eyes was beyond him. Finally, he realized that he was in hot water. Regardless of whether Lu Ye was indeed inferior to him when it came to building wards, he came to the realization that he was no match for Lu Ye when it came to breaking them. It was laughable that just several breaths of time ago, he still believed that the Defensive Ward he was in charge of was impenetrable. With the four Ward Flags embedded in all of the nodes, Lu Ye stepped forward and touched the light screen. As he activated his Spiritual Power, a fiery light flowed out of his palm, and under his precise control, the powers of Yin and Yang spread across the light screen. Si Nan was flabbergasted because, as the powers of Yin and Yang proliferated, the flow of Spiritual Power around the light screen became sluggish. He felt as if an immense force was obstructing his control over the ward. He gritted his teeth and waved his Ward Flag. At the same time, he activated his Spiritual Power to control the ward and go against Lu Ye. Nevertheless, barely five breaths of time later, the Spiritual Power around the light screen stopped flowing altogether. The halt made the ward look like a pond of dead water, and it was no longer useful. Lu Ye pressed his hand harder against the light screen. The next moment, the light screen shattered with a crack. Si Nan was petrified in an instant. It was as though his soul had also come apart along with the light screen. As a Saber Light flickered, Lu Ye brushed past Si Nan and inched closer to the people in the passageway with his blood-covered saber. Behind him, Si Nan collapsed to the ground. Despite being an Eighth-Order Cultivator, he was a Spell Cultivator. So, he didn’t have a sturdy figure, and he was more badly affected by the poison than the cultivators in the same Order. After his ward was rendered useless, only death awaited him when he had to deal with Lu Ye. As his corpse lay on the ground, his eyes were still wide open. It was as though in the last moments of his life, he still couldn’t believe that the ward he had set up was so fragile and that Lu Ye could easily destroy it. Before his demise, he doubted his very existence as someone who had spent most of his time studying the Way of Wards. Anyway, he was overthinking it. There was no doubt he was more skilful than Lu Ye when it came to his mastery of the Way of Wards. It wouldn’t be easy for anyone to break his Defensive Ward using the traditional method. However, Lu Ye had Insight to help him with breaking wards. Many Glyphweavers in the world could build Insight, but only Lu Ye had the audacity to bless his eyes with this Glyph. That was because even the experienced Glyphweavers couldn’t guarantee that the Glyphs they built would always turn out to be a success, and the eyes were the weakest part of a cultivator. Even with Body-tempering Cultivators who were known to have robust physiques, their eyes were still frail. Blessing the eyes with Insight would be wonderful if one succeeded, but if one failed, they would incur some irreversible damage to their eyes. As such, no Glpyhweavers had the guts to do such a thing. Lu Ye was bold enough to do that because his Insight came from the Tree of Glyphs, so there wasn’t a chance of it failing. The Glyph would form with a thought. In the depths of the passageway, Song Zhui and the others, who were relieved a moment ago, felt cold all over their bodies. Just several breaths of time ago, Si Nan challenged Lu Ye to break his Defensive Ward, but it was shattered a moment later, and he also lost his life. Overwhelmed by a great sense of fear, the remaining cultivators couldn’t help having the urge to laugh at Si Nan for his incompetence. It was like an ant getting in an elephant’s way and challenging the latter to kill it, and the elephant stamped on it the next instant. “Lu Yi Ye!” Song Zhui growled. “You’re indeed a jinx!” Around 2,000 people were killed in four hours, and these few dozen people were the only ones left. Moreover, they only had one opponent, and even Si Nan’s Defensive Ward couldn’t stop him for long. A person killing 2,000 people on his own was unheard of in the cultivation world of Jiu Zhou, and no one in his right mind would think it was likely to happen. However, such a thing happened right before their eyes. Song Zhui could only blame Ying Wuji for being useless. Back then in Ameliorate Valley, if he had been careful enough not to be discovered, he could’ve killed Lu Ye and prevented all of this from happening. Now, a siege meant to destroy Lu Ye turned out to be a disaster for the cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge instead while the man himself was still alive and kicking. “Fellow cultivators!” Song Zhui bellowed. “We do not have any other choice. If you want to live, come with me and destroy this brat!” He didn’t try to boost their morale, for it was meaningless to do so at this point. Things had come to such a point where they had no choice but to fight back as either they or Lu Ye would survive in the end. Even though they had been weakened by the poison, they had many people on their side. Moreover, the green fog had become thinner, which allowed them to see their surroundings more clearly. As such, they stood a chance of defeating Lu Ye. As soon as Song Zhui finished speaking, he took the initiative to charge forward. It wasn’t that he didn’t fear death; it was just that he was the strongest among the cultivators. If he didn’t make a move first, things would only get worse. Only when he dashed forward first would the rest of them have the confidence to go against Lu Ye. But soon, following a grunt, Song Zhui was sent flying away as he sprayed out a mouthful of blood in midair. He was flabbergasted that he couldn’t even take a move from Lu Ye. One had to know that even though he was poisoned, he could still use the power that was equivalent to the Sixth Order. Lu Ye was only a Fifth-Order Master, and he seemed to be on his last legs. How did he even exhibit such immense power? The narrow passageway was restrictive for these cultivators as only three to four people could deal with Lu Ye at the same time. Lu Ye stepped forward and cast fiery Saber Lights at them using his Inviolable Saber. Shrieks and wails were continuously heard. Wherever he went, the corpses collapsed into a pool of blood. In just several minutes, only a few cultivators out of the dozens of people were left. They were all injured, looking despondent. The weapon holder at Lu Ye’s waist buzzed as nine rays of light shot forward. Following some grunts, the cultivators, who had been struggling earlier, fell to the ground. Only Song Zhui was left with a bit of vitality, but he was already on his last legs. He had launched two rounds of attacks on Lu Ye, but he was sent flying away on both occasions. There was a huge cut across his chest, and his heartbeat was clearly audible. Presently, he pressed his back against the wall, appearing to be in despair as he watched Lu Ye approaching him.