Translator: Jon Editor : Dhael Ligerkeys Many wards were hidden within a radius of 30 kilometres around Hundred Wards Tower, and it was a dangerous area. Only a passageway was safe. One had to pass through the arch formed from the intertwined branches of the crooked trees and walk forward in a straight line. Only then could one arrive at the When Lu Ye landed on the ground, he saw two people who were ready to pass through the arch. They turned to look at Lu Ye upon hearing the noise, but they soon looked away. Presently, Lu Ye was wearing a mask, and he had kept Amber inside Spirit Beast Bag earlier. Although this kind of disguise was not useful against those sharp enough, it was better than nothing. The two of them moved through the arch as they walked forward and conversed. Both of them were Ward Cultivators. They were discussing how to build a particular ward, and they had different opinions. The discussion was intense as they respectively felt that their ways were more efficient. Although Lu Ye was also a Ward Cultivator, he had never had a similar experience apart from the time when he had a discussion with Zhao Li from the Heavenly Derivative Sect while he was in the Spirit Creek Battlefield. As he followed them and listened to their conversation, he found it interesting. However, they did not seem to be experts in the Way of Wards. Therefore, from Lu Ye’s perspective, it was like an adult listening to an argument between two kids. At that instant, he realised that his mastery of the Way of Wards was far ahead of the cultivators in the same Realm. A while later, the shorter Ward Cultivator suddenly fell silent and appeared meditative. Seeing that, his companion teased him by saying, “It seems that you finally acknowledge that my way of building the ward is more efficient, Cultivator Qi.” The person’s silence made him misunderstand something. He thought that the other party had acknowledged his view to be correct, so he appeared smug. Cultivator Qi remained silent. He took a look at the person behind them and said to the cultivator surnamed Yu, “Did you notice that person, Cultivator Yu?” “Huh?” Cultivator Yu appeared puzzled. “The person behind us… Don’t look back.” “What’s wrong with him?” Cultivator Yu became nervous upon hearing how serious his companion sounded. Cultivator Qi reminded him by saying. “Think about it. Don’t you think he looks like a certain someone?” He had been discussing how to build a ward with Cultivator Yu, so he did not pay attention to Lu Ye even though he had seen him at the entrance. However, he soon realised Lu Ye’s identity. That was the reason he fell silent. He was not convinced by his companion. Cultivator Yu tried to recall it. However, he only took a brief look at Lu Ye earlier, so he could not remember anything. He whispered, “Stop keeping me on tenterhooks, Cultivator Qi. Who is that?” Cultivator Qi replied in a small voice, “If I’m not mistaken, he’s Lu Yi Ye!” Cultivator Yu’s expression changed drastically. Even though he was only interested in studying the Way of Wards, he had heard about the infamous Lu Yi Ye from Crimson Blood Sect. He was also aware that the cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge had been trying to track him down, but their attempts had not been fruitful. If the person behind them was indeed Lu Yi Ye, that would be interesting. “Are you sure about that, Cultivator Qi?” Cultivator Qi replied, “I can’t see his face since he’s wearing a mask, but his figure is similar to what’s described in the rumour.” “There are countless people in the world with similar figures.” “It’s said that Lu Yi Ye is well-versed in the Way of Wards,” Cultivator Qi added. Cultivator Yu’s eyes brightened. “You’re right. That’s why he’s heading to Hundred Wards Tower.” “It’s fine even if we’re mistaken. We can just apologise to him. However, if he’s indeed Lu Yi Ye, we’ll be rich, Cultivator Yu!” Lu Ye was only a Fifth-Order Master while they were respectively Seventh-Order Master and Sixth-Order Master. If they joined forces, there was no way Lu Ye could flee. As they exchanged glances, they understood each other without a word. Cultivator Qi suddenly stopped in his tracks and pointed at the open space beside him. “Cultivator Yu, there’s a Killing Ward here. Do you see anything special about it?” He had no idea if there was a Killing Ward. It was just a random topic he came up with. Cultivator Yu understood his intentions as he stopped and looked in that direction before saying, “Let me see.” About 30 metres behind them, Lu Ye was ambling forward while letting out a sigh in secret. He knew that it was pointless for him to wear a mask. It seemed that his identity had been exposed. The two cultivators were still pointing at an open space when Lu Ye walked past them. Just then, they fell silent at the same time. A halberd appeared in the hands of one of them as he activated his Spiritual Energy and pushed his weapon towards Lu Ye’s back. His power as a Seventh-Order Cloud River Realm Master broke out as the sound of breaking through the air was heard. The other person seemed to be a Spell Cultivator. A golden light glowed in his hands and elongated before turning into a golden arrow, which fluttered and shot forward. Although Cultivator Qi had fully activated his power, his halberd still missed the target. The Seventh-Order Master was wondering what was going on when Lu Ye abruptly appeared three metres in front of him. A red Saber Light slashed across him as one of his arms flew away, causing him immense pain. He shrieked as his expression turned hideous. While he staggered backwards, Lu Ye attacked him for the second time. His saber skirted past the halberd and slashed across Cultivator Qi’s neck. Then, he brushed past the person and charged towards Cultivator Yu. It was not until this moment that Cultivator Yu was done casting his Golden Arrow Technique. Faced with Lu Ye’s immense pressure, he found it difficult to breathe. Realising he was in danger, he retreated without hesitation. Lu Ye wielded his saber. With the blessing of Twin Peaks Edge, he broke apart the opponent’s Spiritual Power Shield and formed a huge wound on his chest. Upon impact, Cultivator Yu flew away from the safe passageway. As though breaking through an invisible barrier, he abruptly disappeared the moment ripples were seen spreading. Lu Ye stopped in his tracks and hesitated for a moment. In the end, he decided not to run after him. The place where the Spell Cultivator had fallen was covered in a ward. No one knew who built the ward or when it was left behind. Before he found out everything about the ward, it would be unwise for him to barge into it. The person was injured and fell into a mysterious ward, so he was supposedly doomed. Even if he had the energy to break the ward, he might not be able to return to the safe passageway. At the thought of this, Lu Ye retracted his saber. It was not until this moment that Cultivator Qi’s corpse fell to the ground. His blood spurted from his dead body and dyed the ground red. Lu Ye stepped forward and snatched the person’s Spirit Artifact and Storage Bag before kicking the corpse out of the passageway. The moment the corpse landed on the ground, a series of explosions were heard. The heatwaves, the deafening noise, and the dazzling firelight showed that an Explosive Ward had been activated. Lu Ye was astonished. He had bought a document from the Divine Trade Association that contained information about Hundred Wards Tower, so he knew that nowhere was safe other than the passageway. However, he did not expect the situation to be so serious. The area was indeed covered in hidden wards. The Explosive Ward before his eyes was more powerful than what he could build. It was not that the person who built this ward was more skilful than he was. It was just that the ward had been around for a long time, so it had accumulated massive energy. It was only natural that its power was horrifying after it was triggered. He continued moving forward. Only the blood on the ground showed that there was an intense battle earlier. The two cultivators thought that since they were more powerful than Lu Ye and they had joined forces, they could certainly destroy the other party. Nevertheless, they did not know that Lu Ye was even able to kill an Eighth-Order Master. Therefore, it was no wonder a Seventh-Order Master and a Sixth-Order Master were no match for him. After moving across a dozen kilometres, he finally arrived at Hundred Wards Tower where there was a relatively safer area. With the tower as the centre, a radius of 300 metres around the area was safe. Lu Ye looked ahead and saw that many cultivators had gathered in this place. They were all Ward Cultivators. He was relieved to see that some people were wearing masks just like him, so he didn’t look odd among them. There was an unspoken rule in this place. Regardless of their backgrounds, they were all Ward Cultivators while they were here. Moreover, no fights were allowed in this area. That was because many Ward Cultivators would cultivate in silence to comprehend the secrets of the Way of Wards. If there were fights, they would be affected. Not only that, but they also spoke as softly as possible. Therefore, even though there were many cultivators, the atmosphere was peaceful. Some cultivators were seated on their own as they closed their eyes and meditated. Some sat across from each other as they discussed the Way of Wards. Some people even had friendly competition using wards. Most of them knew nothing about each other’s backgrounds. Perhaps two people who were discussing the Way of Wards respectively came from Thousand Demon Ridge and Grand Sky Coalition. Compared to the overall environment on the Cloud River Battlefield, this place was tranquil. Back then, after Lu Ye ascended to the Cloud River Realm and was ready to head to the Cloud River Battlefield, his Second Senior Sister, Shui Yuan, told him that Cloud River Battlefield was more complicated than Spirit Creek Battlefield because the outposts of the Sects were not existent. Therefore, other than those who already knew each other, it was hard to tell which side a person was from on the Cloud River Battlefield. As such, the cultivators from both sides had a chance to coexist peacefully most of the time. Sometimes, they might even work together to achieve a particular goal. However, Lu Ye had only been targeted and hunted down endlessly. As he felt the tranquillity in this place, he secretly let out a sigh. He wondered if he would ever be treated like an ordinary cultivator. He knew that it was nothing more than a pipe dream. Almost everyone from Thousand Demon Ridge was aware of who he was, and they had been searching for him. If they ever came across him, they would only try to kill him and even reach out to their companions for help.