Sage of Humanity

In the cave, Lu Ye had prepared numerous array banners, and everything was ready. Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had also fully recovered.

The three of them got up, and Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan each took out an object and applied it to their faces.

Lu Ye looked closely and saw that Li Baxian's face now bore the mask of a child with rosy lips and white teeth, his smile beaming, while Feng Yuechan had applied a mask depicting a young girl with a grievous expression and tear stains on her cheeks.

Li Baxian also took out another mask and handed it to Lu Ye, "Junior Brother, put this on, it will make our activities more convenient."

Lu Ye silently fetched a menacing mask with a green face and sharp fangs from his own storage space and fixed it onto his face.

Li Baxian, taken aback, chuckled and said, "It seems the Junior Brother was well-prepared."

All of them were easy targets for the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators, but it seemed they were all telepathically in sync, keeping masks ready on hand.

They left the cave, each concealing their aura, and chose a random direction to head forward.

Although competing for the Kills Ranking was the goal, ensuring their own safety was the primary objective. Thus, they couldn't stray too far from the cave; otherwise, it would be too late to retreat in case of danger.

As long as they did not venture too far from the cave, even if they encountered an overwhelmingly powerful enemy, they could still rush back to the cave and escape to safety using the teleportation array.

They could only go as far as ten or twenty li at most.

With this distance limitation, naturally, it was not advisable to launch proactive attacks. Therefore, they could only lie in wait for their prey.

As they moved forward, Lu Ye shared his thoughts, and both Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan agreed. The rewards on the Kills Ranking were indeed tempting, but what was the use of gaining them if one lost one's life? It was always better to play it safe. Taking the initiative could bring more opportunities but also greater risks.

With their base approach established, the rest became easier.

An incense stick's time later, at a spot less than twenty li from the cave, Lu Ye stopped and looked around before nodding slightly at Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan.

Without needing further discussion, the two quickly split up, each scouting in different directions, while Yiyi darted out from Amber's form and swept towards another direction.

Lu Ye was left alone, retrieving the array banners one after another and beginning to set up the formation.

The formation this time was not meant primarily for killing enemies but rather for trapping them; thereby, if they indeed encountered an enemy too powerful to defeat, they could use the formation to delay the enemy's pursuit.

This was not a trigger-based formation, but one that needed to be actively controlled, ensuring it could be utilized at crucial moments.

During this time, powerful beings soared overhead, and Lu Ye, having been warned in advance, promptly concealed himself, avoiding exposure.

Two hours later, the major arrays were properly set up.

With all preparations complete, they quietly lay in wait.

The hunting ground had been open for over three days now, and most of the cultivators inside moved in groups of three to five. This strategy reduced the benefits they obtained but also diminished the risks.

Those who still moved alone were at least in the Level 7 realm, and only cultivators above Level 7, who were sufficiently confident in their capabilities, would choose to wander alone.

Time passed, and the surroundings remained eerily quiet.

On the high Kills Ranking board, the rank standings of the powerful cultivators continually changed. Xia Liang, who was in second place, pursued relentlessly, closing the gap in kill points with Lu Ye and threatening to surpass him and reclaim the top position.

One hour, two hours...

Sitting and waiting like this made it indeed challenging to encounter enemies. Although there were many cultivators in the hunting ground, the area was vast, and everyone was extremely cautious, especially the ghost cultivators, who moved without leaving a trace.

Suddenly, a speck of faint light caught Lu Ye's eye, and he looked up to see a spot of bright white light underneath a large tree not far from him.

It was certain that the white light hadn't existed there just moments ago; it had appeared suddenly.

Lu Ye understood what it was: a chance dropped by Heaven's Augury, which he had encountered before, gaining a white-hued spirit fortune stick from it.

So this was how these opportunities were born... Lu Ye's perception of Heaven's Augury grew a bit more profound.

In the hunting grounds, each day Heaven's Augury would select someone to bestow a gold-hued spirit fortune stick, every day there would be colorful clouds from which spirit fortune sticks descended, and occasionally, various opportunities like this would appear, along with the Kills Ranking board hanging high for all to see...

All these benefits and opportunities invariably sparked fierce fights among the cultivators. Heaven's Augury acted like an invisible hand behind the scenes, fueling the cultivators' battles and covering the hunting ground with their blood.

"Junior Brother..."

Li Baxian communicated telepathically.

Lu Ye replied, "I see it."

He had thought that lying in wait like this would hardly allow him to encounter enemies, but now that such an opportunity presented itself here, it seemed it wouldn't be long before someone would come.

Indeed, as predicted, merely after the time it took to sip a cup of tea, Lu Ye noticed four stealthy figures entering his line of sight.

These four individuals moved with extreme caution, pairing up in twos and approaching from different directions. However, they lacked ghostly abilities and thus couldn't conceal their movement, only managing to minimize their presence and reduce the chance of exposure as much as possible.

The group didn't immediately move toward the source of the white light but instead gradually searched the area from the periphery inward.

Under such careful precautions, ordinary concealment methods would hardly suffice. Fortunately, Lu Ye had previously set up Concealment Formations at the locations of Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, meaning that as long as the others' perception wasn't extraordinarily strong, they were unlikely to detect them.

As for Lu Ye himself, with Concealment Spirit Runes on him, one could say he was akin to a ghost cultivator at that moment.

Two of the four individuals passed three meters in front of Lu Ye without noticing anything, while the other two headed straight for where Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were positioned.

"Junior brother, I'm preparing to make a move," Li Baxian sent another message.

Lu Ye did not respond, as there was nothing necessary to reply.

As for cultivators who move in groups, as long as their numbers weren't too high, he truly wasn't concerned because only those with lesser cultivation would band together. It was the solitary 'lone wolves' one had to be wary of.

Suddenly, a cold light burst forth accompanied by the sound of a sword's hum. Li Baxian's concealed form was revealed as he controlled over a dozen flying swords that burst forth in a moment, striking towards one of the cultivators.

The sudden change alarmed the four who had come, especially the two heading toward Li Baxian. Their faces turned pale as they sensed the piercing murderous intent, causing goosebumps all over, and one of them immediately shouted, "It's an ambush!"

They immediately brought out their Spiritual Artifacts, confronting the oncoming sword light.

When Li Baxian made his move, he was unaware of which faction they belonged to, but this didn't matter. Being a sword cultivator, especially one who had been refining his art in the Spirit Stream Realm for over a decade, he handled his flying swords with ease.

Upon his action, his silhouette was revealed and their respective affiliations were determined.

Had the others also been from the Haotian Alliance, Li Baxian would naturally ensure he didn't hurt them, but since they were from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, those deceiving strikes from his flying swords could certainly give him the upper hand.

Almost simultaneously with the other's shout, the battlefield markings on the backs of their hands burst into blue and red light.

Li Baxian was not only observing the opponent's battlefield markings but also their cultivation levels. In such a sudden attack, everyone would undoubtedly exert their full strength in response, thus revealing their cultivation levels clearly.

The responses from the two assured Li Baxian, one was a Level 5 realm and the other a Level 4. To him, they were inconsequential.

The other two not far from Lu Ye also reacted instantly. One of them, with a robust frame and abundant blood Qi, likely a physique cultivator, immediately dashed toward Li Baxian's position, while the other, surrounded by surging spirit force and with magic forming in front of him, was a magic cultivator.

The physique cultivator had just started to charge when he witnessed a scene that horrified him.

The dozen sudden sword lights that attacked were initially blocked by his two comrades, but more sword lights were approaching.

Before confirming the opponent's affiliations, Li Baxian naturally couldn't go all out; a dozen flying swords were merely a test. Once he confirmed they were from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, he exerted his full power, and this wasn't even his limit.

During his time in the Spirit Stream Realm, he could control up to a hundred flying swords. Now in the Cloud River Level 4, the quantity he could manipulate had only increased.

Sword cultivators were renowned for their lethal attacks, and such a surprise assault left little chance of defense unless the opponent's cultivation was significantly higher by two levels.

The sword lights rampaged, breaking through the two's protective spirit force and piercing their bodies, drawing out sprays of blood.

Cloud River Realm was a stage where the disparity in strength was vastly pronounced. Although these two barely possessed the foundation of Level 4-5, Li Baxian's foundation was undoubtedly unmatched.

In just a clash, the Level 4 and Level 5 realms were nearly slain instantly, and had it not been for leaving them to Lu Ye, they likely would have died.

The physique cultivator charging at Li Baxian felt a chill run through his blood-soaked body as he stared at the mocking, child-like face before him, internally screaming at the emergence of such a monster.

Instinctively, he halted his charge, yet from the side, a thunderbolt like a spirit snake struck, causing his whole body to tremble in fear.

Turning his head, he saw an additional female figure appear, also wearing a pitiful, tear-stained young girl's mask, a stark contrast to the child's mask, creating a strong visual impact.

They weren't just ambushed by one or even two people!

The physique cultivator was terrified.

Meanwhile, the last magic cultivator cried out, "Run!"

The magic cultivator had barely formed a Dao technique when he saw his companions quickly falter. How could he dare stay, hastily launching his magic at Feng Yuechan and trying to soar into the sky, spirit force surging around him.

However, he never managed to take flight; just as his body lifted less than a foot off the ground, a tremendous force descended from above, accompanied by a sharp slash.

A fiery red sword light split open the spirit force barrier around the magic cultivator and slashed a massive wound on his back, causing him to fall heavily to the ground, with his soul nearly escaping.

Behind him, there was also someone!