NOVPUBAcross from the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union, inside a tavern.
At a table near the window on the second floor, two people sat opposite each other, Xia Liang and Tan Sheng.
Not far from them at another table sat Chu Yun and Zhou Pei from the Sacred Fire Order.
The two from the Sacred Fire Order sat motionless, one closed his eyes to rest while the other kept his gaze firmly fixed on the entrance of the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union.
This had been their state for an entire month!
In other words, since Lu Ye had hidden himself in the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union, they had been waiting here.
It was not just the four of them; in this tavern and the nearby buildings, there were shadows of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators hiding as well.
Unlike the calmness of Chu Yun and Zhou Pei, both Xia Liang and Tan Sheng were filled with melancholy at this moment.
The delay had been too long!
From their first encounter with Lu Ye in the hunting grounds, they had wanted to kill him. Nearly ten months had passed, but they still hadn't succeeded.
Under normal circumstances, either of them should have advanced to True Lake by now, but they were still wasting time here.
And looking at the current situation, how familiar was this scene?
The last time Lu Yiye had poisoned and killed two million Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators in that mine, he hid in a branch of the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union, while these people stayed outside to keep watch.
The same thing had happened again.
It was somewhat unimaginable.
The endless frustration and oppression all turned into profound sorrow.
On the table were several dishes, where Xia Liang and Tan Sheng drank to drown their sorrows.
Putting down his cup, Tan Sheng glanced towards the direction of the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union and sighed, "Brother Xia, in ten days, whether Lu Yiye shows up or not, I will have to leave."
Xia Liang's action of picking up food paused, and he looked up at him, "Brother Tan intends to give up just like that?"
Tan Sheng shook his head, "Of course I don't want to, but I have no choice. The Cloud River struggle is about to begin, and I need to calm my mind and rest for a few days. Such a grand event might only happen once in a Nine Provinces cultivator's life, and since we've encountered it, we should give it our all." As he spoke, he looked at Xia Liang and persuaded, "Brother Xia, you should also learn to let go, don't be too obsessed with things."
Xia Liang remained silent.
Tan Sheng and Lu Ye actually didn't have such a deep-seated grudge, making it easy for him to let go, but it wasn't that simple for him.
How could he kill Li Baxian if he didn't kill Lu Ye? How could he avenge Yan Xing?
After spending so much time together, Tan Sheng knew why Xia Liang was so obsessed, and seeing that he couldn't persuade him, he said no more.
"One last time!"
Moments later, Xia Liang spoke.
"What?" Tan Sheng didn't understand.
Xia Liang said, "I have a premonition that we only have one last chance."
"You mean..."
"That guy's power is growing too quickly!"
Even though the Cloud River Realm was known for rapid progression in cultivation, Lu Ye's growth rate was terrifying enough.
If it were only his cultivation that was increasing, that would be one thing.
Being at Level 6 of the Cloud River Realm, he was still a considerable distance from them at Level 9.
Yet, the power that Lu Ye had shown was truly shocking.
Killing a Level 8 cultivator as if slicing through melons and vegetables, if he were to advance to Level 7, wouldn't he have the capability to kill those at Level 9?
"He disappeared for over a month previously, surely using that broken teleportation array to go to some secret realm, likely gaining some benefits. This past month he's been hiding in the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union, mostly to enhance his own cultivation," Xia Liang said with a serious expression, not even realizing that at this moment, he already had quite a bit of trepidation towards Lu Ye.
"He's very likely already reached Level 7!"
Tan Sheng's movements paused slightly, and after a moment of contemplation, he realized Xia Liang's words could very well be true.
"So, Brother Tan," Xia Liang said seriously as he looked at Tan Sheng, "we only have this one chance. If we can't succeed this time, there probably won't be a next time!"
The next time they encountered him, it would probably be them hiding from Lu Ye.
"Moreover, it shouldn't be long before he shows himself," Xia Liang said with certainty.
If it were any other Haotian Alliance cultivator facing this situation, naturally, using the Heaven's Augury Column of the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union to return to the Nine Provinces sect headquarters would be the safest.
But that Lu Yiye... that wasn't likely!
He hadn't done so in Great Reversal Valley, he hadn't done so the last time, and it was even less likely he would do so this time. 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
If he really was enhancing his strength in secret, once he emerged, he would certainly reappear and stir up storms.
And this was what Xia Liang had been waiting for, the last opportunity.
"Brother Xia, how confident are you?" Tan Sheng asked.
If that were the case, this one and only opportunity really couldn't be missed!
"Eigh..." Xia Liang had just uttered a word when suddenly his eyelids twitched, his sharp gaze locking onto the entrance of the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union, where a figure memorable enough to be engraved in his bones slowly walked out.
Seeming to sense his gaze, he looked up in this direction.
As their eyes met, Lu Ye's eyes were as calm as water, while Xia Liang's blazed like torches.
"Complete success!" Xia Liang drained his cup and slammed it down, suddenly standing up.
As he rose, Chu Yun and Zhou Pei also moved simultaneously. Not only that, the entire tavern became noisy in that instant, the commotion spreading to several nearby buildings.
"There are really a lot of people!"
In front of the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union, Lu Ye muttered softly, summoned his spirit ark, stepped onto it, and soared into the sky, rushing towards the distance.
No sooner had he left than a large group of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators followed.
Hua Ci, looking out the window of a third-floor guest room of the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union, was puzzled. "Why is it always so lively wherever he goes?"
Turning to look at Yiyi beside him, "Aren't you worried?"
Yiyi smiled, "Lu Ye is very confident... there's nothing to worry about."
Having been by Lu Ye's side, following him through the south and north, facing various life and death crises, Yiyi had already gotten used to such dramatic ups and downs. If she were anxious every time, she would be exhausted to death.
This time, Lu Ye didn't even bring Amber with him, clearly very confident, so she had even less reason to worry.
In the sky, under the scorching sun, a stream of light in front leads, with a large group of lights chasing incessantly, making for a lively scene.
Leading at the front, naturally, were Xia Liang and Tan Sheng, the powerful cultivators of the Cloud River Level 9 and Level 8.
While in pursuit, Tan Sheng felt the fluctuations of spirit force from Lu Ye's body, using this to gauge his current level of cultivation.
Xia Liang's earlier comments had made a lot of sense, so Tan Sheng also felt that Lu Ye's cultivation must have improved, otherwise, he wouldn't have suddenly appeared like this.
He sensed covertly, but could never be certain.
Because Lu Ye seemed to be intentionally concealing his own aura and spirit force fluctuations, it was very likely he was using something like a Breath-concealing Talisman.
"Brother Xia, can you tell what his current cultivation level is?" Tan Sheng asked during the chase.
"Definitely Level 7!" Xia Liang replied.
Even though Lu Ye was very likely using something inside the Breath-concealing Talisman to hide his true strength, such weapon control-flying could not completely conceal it. This led to his fluctuations in aura and spirit force being erratic, sometimes appearing to be Level 5-6 and other times like Level 7.
Of course, it was also because of the distance.
Lu Ye wasn't flying too fast, and they dared not follow too closely, fearing that Lu Ye would turn around and rush back to the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union; the two sides thus maintained a tacitly agreed speed.
"I think so too," Tan Sheng nodded.
Heart shocked, truly already at Level 7.
How long had it been?
This Lu Yiye, how does he always have so many opportunities and encounters?
Just as Xia Liang had said before, this was indeed their last chance. If they couldn't eliminate him root and branch this time, it was hard to say who would kill whom the next time they met.
As they were discussing, Chu Yun and Zhou Pei not far away had almost reached the same conclusion.
Normally, a cultivator cannot hide their cultivation level once they stimulate their own spirit force, as the fluctuations will surge out. Experienced cultivators can easily judge another cultivator's strength based on the intensity of these fluctuations.
The fluctuations and even the aura from Lu Ye were variably unstable, and even the following cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge failed to detect his true level, relying on nothing other than one thing.
Breath-concealing Spirit Runes.
To be able to stimulate Breath-concealing Spirit Runes while controlling a weapon to fly was no easy task for Lu Ye.
This led to the erratic fluctuations in his spirit force, making it seem like he had just advanced to the Cloud River Level 7 and hadn't even stabilized his own level.
Luckily, they were not very close to each other, otherwise, it really would have been easy to give himself away.
The people from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge hadn't pursued too closely; Lu Ye naturally knew what they were worried about; clearly, they feared he might duck back into the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union if things looked bad.
Curiously enough, Lu Ye had such plans too.
This matter just got more interesting.
As time passed, they moved farther and farther from the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union.
Until a certain moment, unable to contain his eagerness any longer, Xia Liang shouted, "It's about time!"
The moment the words fell, his speed surged, instantly darting forward like an arrow released from a bow.
But in the next instant, he suddenly halted his movement, standing solemnly in mid-air.
The large group of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators chasing after him also abruptly stopped.
No other reason, Lu Ye had suddenly descended towards the ground ahead.
Just standing there plainly, he turned his body around, quietly watching them.
What was he about to do?
That question arose in every Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivator's mind.
It was unavoidable to be suspicious, being on the run yet suddenly stopping like that; it was just too eerie.
"Is there an ambush?" someone suddenly asked in alarm.
This immediately threw many of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators into disarray.
Though the question was asked, it sounded to those nearby like a confirmation.
The scene became chaotic for a moment, many Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators scrutinizing their surroundings, but no trace of an ambush could be seen there. The area was completely open, devoid of any cover or hiding spots.
On the ground below, Lu Ye looked up, his expression revealing a hint of disappointment. "A rabble!"
