Chapter 770, Staying Away From Lu Ye

Translator: Jon

Translation Checker: Silavin

 

In the dark forest, Ying Wuji crouched down on the branch of a great tree as he activated his Secret Technique to conceal himself and curb his aura. Certainly, he had heard of how powerful Lu Ye was.

 

The man had contended with 200 cultivators of Thousand Demon Ridge on his own and destroyed them. Outside the City of Heavens, he slaughtered Xia Liang right in front of everyone, establishing himself as one of the most powerful Cloud River Realm Masters.

 

Ying Wuji had to acknowledge that he couldn’t deal with such a formidable opponent head-on. However, Ghost Cultivators didn’t rely on their cultivation to kill their enemies. Just like Sword Cultivators, they could naturally destroy stronger opponents.

 

Nevertheless, unlike how straightforward Sword Cultivators were, Ghost Cultivators had always been stealthy. Regardless of how powerful Lu Ye was, Ying Wuji could kill him as long as he found a chance.

 

He had suffered a setback because of Lu Ye. Back then, Song Zhui led a group of cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge to invade Ameliorate Arcane Glade. Song Zhui was responsible for attracting Lu Ye’s attention while Ying Wuji would lurk in the dark. For some reason, when he was 30 metres away from Lu Ye, the man discovered him and hurt him with a Ward. Left with no choice, he could only flee.

 

Since he was injured, he had to recuperate in the depths of Grand Wilds Peak. It was when he came across Lu Ye, who happened to leave Ameliorate Valley through a Teleportation Ward, and he suffered another setback.

 

At that time, Lu Ye was only a Sixth-Order Master while Ying Wuji was a Ninth-Order Master. There was no doubt it was his greatest humiliation.

 

After that, he returned to the main Sect in Jiu Zhou. While recuperating, he cultivated a Secret Technique of Yama Temple. Half a year later, he managed to attain some achievements.

 

Although his cultivation didn’t increase much, he had transformed into a much stronger cultivator. After suffering such setbacks, he naturally had to retaliate against Lu Ye.

 

That wasn’t the only reason he took the initiative to challenge Lu Ye, though. The main reason was that, in Ameliorate Valley back then, Lu Ye could figure out his whereabouts. Ying Wuji reckoned that it wasn’t because of the Ward.

 

Lu Ye seemed to have a special ability to see through his concealment. This was intolerable for Ghost Cultivators. Concealing their presence was their biggest advantage. If the advantage was gone, there was no point for Ghost Cultivators to exist.

 

During the past half a year, Ying Wuji could hardly sleep whenever he recalled Lu Ye turning around to glance at him at that time.

 

Now that he had mastered the Secret Technique, and that his mastery of the Way of Ghosts was much better compared with half a year ago, he had the confidence to challenge Lu Ye. This time, he had to destroy Lu Ye, who seemed able to see through his weaknesses, and he had to redeem the reputation of Ghost Cultivators.

 

The wind breezed through the forest. Lu Ye was hovering nine metres above the ground. He seemed completely at ease and unsuspecting.

 

Ying Wuji appeared calm and collected. Just like a ghost, he leapt away from the branch and flew towards Lu Ye. He made no noise and left no traces behind.

 

In his mind, he had imagined contending with Lu Ye many times. When he finally made a move now, he fell into a state of perfect calmness. There was no doubt it was the best state for a Ghost Cultivator.

 

Considering his current state and his heritage, he even had the confidence to kill a Real Lake Realm Master. While he was flying forward, two dark machetes appeared in his hands. When he was finally nine metres behind Lu Ye, he flared up.

 

The tranquillity in the space was suddenly disturbed by the explosive Spiritual Power. A gale swept through the forest, causing all the trees to shake.

 

Ying Wuji seemed to have turned into a bolt of dark lightning as he charged towards Lu Ye’s back. He reached him in the blink of an eye.

 

Just then, a red light flickered before his eyes. Faced with the violent Saber Light, he was flabbergasted. His figure abruptly appeared as he held his machetes in front of him and warded off Lu Ye’s attack.

 

They were close to each other. As their eyes met, Ying Wuji could see the iciness behind Lu Ye’s gaze.

 

“You…” Ying Wuji was horrified.

 

He had no idea if his whereabouts had been exposed earlier. If that was the case, Lu Ye’s perception was incredibly sensitive. Ying Wuji was already much stronger than half a year ago. Since he had mastered a Secret Technique of Yama Temple, he was able to conceal himself better.

 

No one in the Cloud River Realm could see through his concealment, not to mention that Lu Ye’s back was against him.

 

If Lu Ye hadn’t found out his whereabouts in advance, his responsiveness would have been considered amazing. He turned around and counterattacked as soon as Ying Wuji made a move. Could a Cloud River Realm Master even do that?

 

“Oh, it’s you.” Lu Ye finally recognised Ying Wuji.

 

They had exchanged moves in Ameliorate Valley and on Grand Wilds Peak. Ying Wuji suffered two setbacks, and he went missing after that. Much to Lu Ye’s surprise, they met again in the Fight for Supremacy.

 

In their first exchange of moves, he made use of a Ward to hurt Ying Wuji. In their second exchange, he injured Ying Wuji when the latter was already badly wounded. That wasn’t the manifestation of his true power.

 

This time was different, though. Although there was a difference of one Order between them, Ying Wuji could no longer pose a threat to Lu Ye as his figure had been exposed.

 

As soon as Lu Ye finished speaking, he activated his Spiritual Power.

 

Ying Wuji was too stunned to react. He felt an immense force coming right at him through his machetes. His weapons were cast away, and the fiery saber was about to slash at him. His pupils dilated as his Spiritual Power surged. He hurriedly shouted, “Hidden Shadow. Invisible!”

 

The saber struck Ying Wuji and cut him in half.

 

Lu Ye arched his brow, for he didn’t feel he had struck a tangible being. It seemed that he had only cut a shadow in half. [What Secret Technique is this?]

 

He immediately turned around and stared fixedly in a particular direction. Then, he stomped his foot on the ground, causing it to crack as he charged forward.

 

Ying Wuji, who had concealed himself, felt a crawling sensation on his scalp. [Has he discovered my whereabouts again? No way!]

 

He had fully activated the power of the Secret Technique, so it was unlikely that Lu Ye could so easily see through him.

 

Although he had concealed himself, he could still see his figure through the reflection of Lu Ye’s eyes. Immense pressure swept through him as Lu Ye approached. The air felt so stuffy that he could hardly breathe.

 

At that moment, he came to the realisation that Lu Ye had a wonderful perception, which was why his whereabouts were easily exposed.

 

Also, there was no way he could fend off Lu Ye’s second attack. He didn’t think he would be lucky enough to survive, and he gave up resistance altogether. With that in mind, he quickly yelled, “I admit defeat!”

 

He disappeared as soon as his figure was revealed. He was sent out of this place.

 

Lu Ye stopped in his tracks and put his saber back into the sheath. A moment later, his figure dissipated as well.

 

In the Sanctum of Providence in Yama Temple, Ying Wuji appeared with a pale face. When he looked around and saw the familiar place, he was finally at ease.

 

Upon seeing an emaciated old man, he walked over with a guilty-looking face. “I lost the fight, Honoured Master.”

 

The old man formed some speculation the moment he saw Ying Wuji, but he didn’t blame him or anything. “A defeat means nothing. A cultivator will experience many defeats in his lifetime. No one can guarantee he will always win. Examine your weaknesses and rectify them. Only then will you become stronger.”

 

“Yes.” Ying Wuji nodded respectfully. After giving it some thought, he said, “Honoured Master, Lu Yi Ye seems to have a ridiculously sensitive perception. He can easily see through my concealment. Even Hidden Shadow does not help at all.”

 

The old man was shocked upon hearing that. “Can he see through Hidden Shadow as well?”

 

Ying Wuji dipped his head.

 

“That’s strange, then. Supposedly, only a much stronger cultivator can see through your concealment. He’s only an Eighth-Order Cloud River Realm Master. How powerful can his perception be?”

 

“I suspect he might be gifted, and he has a stronger Mental Power than the others,” Ying Wuji said.

 

One’s Mental Power was directly correlated to the strength of his soul. Before the Divine Ocean Realm, the increase in cultivation and the passing of time could help strengthen a cultivator’s soul, but that was passive accumulation, so a cultivator couldn’t actively cultivate it unless he consumed a treasure that could nourish his soul.

 

A treasure like that must be costly. Even the Divine Ocean Realm Masters would scramble to get it, so a Cloud River Realm Master like Lu Ye naturally didn’t have a right to acquire it.

 

Therefore, Ying Wuji’s speculation was reasonable.

 

“In that case, don’t fight him and stay away from him. When you become strong enough in the future, you can look for him again.”

 

“Yes,” Ying Wuji replied respectfully and made up his mind.

 

From now on, he would stay away from Lu Ye wherever the latter appeared. It’d be best if he didn’t have to see him again.

 

Defeating Ying Wuji meant nothing to Lu Ye. The Ghost Cultivators’ biggest advantage was useless in front of him. Ying Wuji was even weaker than Xia Liang when it came to his combat skills, so how was it possible that he could defeat Lu Ye?

 

When Lu Ye returned to the Sanctum of Providence in the Crimson Blood Sect, he sank his soul into the Battlefield Imprint and tried to choose a lucky cultivator.

 

He didn’t have a specific target, so he was only choosing randomly. Certainly, he wouldn’t choose Li Baxian and the others.

 

He had selected several people, but the Battlefield Imprint informed him that they were in battles.

 

It didn’t take him a long time to defeat Ying Wuji, but it was a different case for the others. One had to know that those who were in battles were on the top 100 list, so all of them were powerful. Once they fought, the battles would last a long time.

 

Lu Ye wasn’t in a hurry anyway, so he continued browsing the list of names. He was sure there were some idle people.

 

It wasn’t until he chose a particular person that the Battlefield Imprint reacted differently.

 

A hollow voice spoke in his mind. “You’ve taken the initiative to challenge Lan Zi Yi.”

 

Lu Ye thought that the woman was pretty unlucky. That said, the fact that she was chosen proved that she was truly powerful. As such, she was able to defeat her opponent in a short time and became available.

 

After a moment, the hollow voice sounded again. “The other party has accepted the challenge. You can choose a battleground.”

 

To a Combat Cultivator like him, the best battleground would be a simple arena.

 

His vision blurred, and he soon appeared in an arena. He lifted his head and saw Lan Zi Yi staring at him with a frown from a distance.