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Chapter 526: Tan Sheng’s Choice

Confronting a formidable Ninth-Order elite like Tan Sheng was well beyond what their combined strength was capable of.

To find his glimmer of hope for survival, Lu Ye knew that he could do nothing but endure the relentless pursuit for as long as possible. The key lay in the imminent closure of the Carnage Colosseum. If he could stay alive until the Colosseum ended, he could make his way to the nearest Divine Trade Association where he would find safety and refuge.

Aware of the ever-looming possibility of the Carnage Colosseum’s closure, Lu Ye’s immediate objective was to stall for as long as he could.

After communicating with Li Baxian, Lu Ye swiftly used his Teleportation Wards to travel as far as he could, doing his best to widen the distance between himself and Tan Sheng.

After four successive teleportations, he had put at least several hundred miles between him and his pursuers. 

Standing in the last Teleportation Ward’s circle, Lu Ye could no longer detect any additional Wards ahead. 

Over the course of these events, many of the Wards he had set up must have suffered damage, and consequently, only a few remained functional.

Without hesitation, he stepped out of the cave housing the final Teleportation Ward and took to the skies at once, flying in the opposite direction from where he came. 

He dared not fly too high nor make too much noise, especially since the enemies that abounded the Colosseum extended beyond Tan Sheng; every Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator in the Colosseum was thirsty for his blood now. 

Lu Ye remained vigilant at all times, in all directions; his senses—both physical and spiritual—were heightened to the utmost so that he could hide at the first notice of disturbance.

After more than two hours, Lu Ye finally came to a halt and began setting up new Teleportation Wards. 

The more Wards he has, the more assurance he would have to contend with Tan Sheng and others—a form of insurance to ensure his survival.

While he was engrossed in setting up the Teleportation Wards, hundreds of miles away, Tan Sheng and the Jiang brothers were rapidly closing the distance all thanks to the guidance of the Tracking Disc. 

Being a powerful Ninth-Order, Tan Sheng had nothing to fear and there was no need for him to be discreet, unlike Lu Ye, and that allowed him to travel much faster. 

By the time Lu Ye was done with a Teleportation Ward, Tan Sheng was no more than four hundred miles away from his position. 

However, Tan Sheng’s expression was not anywhere near pleased nor amused. Despite having the Tracking Disc at his disposal, he had not spied any signs of Lu Yi Ye ever since he was caught inside that accursed trap ward. 

It made no sense at all; a Third-Order Cultivator should not have the speed to outrun him, no matter how swift Lu Yi Ye could be. He was inside the trap ward for no more than twenty seconds hence he could not see how Lu Ye had managed to give him the slip so easily. If it weren’t for the Tracking Disc’s consistent pointing in this particular direction, Tan Sheng would have begun to wonder if the magical device was malfunctioning. 

This was further helped by the fact that the glow emitted by the Tracking Disc was growing increasingly red—an indication that they were nearing their quarry. 

Before too long, Jiang Liuzi, who had been attentively observing the Tracking Disc, called out loudly all of a sudden, “He’s within ten miles!” 

At the same time, Lu Ye, who had been sitting in the circle of his Teleportation Ward and meditating peacefully, suddenly opened his eyes. 

That intensely ominous sensation of being watched swelled again. 

His pursuers must be close! 

[They are coming! That’s fast!] he thought anxiously. 

Lu Ye immediately acted without hesitation. He activated the Teleportation Ward, vanishing from sight. This time, he teleported himself in rapid succession, returning to the original spot. 

Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were nowhere to be seen—which was understandable. Staying here was pointless with Lu Ye gone since they couldn’t activate the Teleportation Ward themselves. In fact, they would find themselves trapped if they were to be cornered by powerful foes here. That explained their eventual departure not long after Lu Ye left.

At the moment, they were both quietly lying in hiding somewhere secluded, patiently awaiting the closure of the Colosseum. Like Lu Ye, they were no strangers to being hunted. Their experiences of fleeing from enemies in the Cloud River Battlefield had made them adept in the art of concealment. More so, with Feng Yuechan’s umbrella Spirit Artifact to make their safety relatively assured—unless they were beset by exceptional bad luck that would expose their whereabouts.

Jiang Liuzi, who was still flying in the air, was fixated upon the Tracking Disc when he came to a sudden halt. With a puzzled expression, he stared at the compass in his hand. 

The Tracking Disc had lost its formerly radiant crimson glow and its once-forward-pointed needle was now aimed in the opposite direction! 

What on earth just happened? Jiang Liuzi could barely fathom what was going on.

“How is this possible?” he gasped, filled with bewilderment. 

“What’s going on?”

Tan Sheng, who was in front, immediately stopped as he recognized something amiss. 

“The Disc’s needle just changed, Brother Tan Sheng,” Jiang Liuzi croaked with difficulty.

“Again?” Tan Sheng’s face darkened as he uttered those words. He hurriedly approached to examine the Tracking Disc. Indeed, the needle had changed, now pointing back in the direction they had come from.

Furrowing his brow and pondering for a moment, he turned to Jiang Liuzi and asked, “Has the Tracking Disc been damaged in any way?”

The Tracking Disc might be a valuable magical instrument, but it wasn’t exactly sturdy enough to withstand impacts and collisions. Any knocks or bumps could have a high chance of rendering it faulty. 

Plus, Tan Sheng’s question made Jiang Liuzi aware that he was not the only one to suspect that the Tracking Disc might be broken; even Tan Sheng was wondering about that possibility too. 

“No. It hasn’t been bumped or knocked on anywhere before,” Jiang Liuzi shook his head.

“Brother Tan Sheng,” Jiang Chengzi interjected, “The Tracking Disc should still be functioning properly. If there’s anything worth suspecting, I’d say it’s that Lu Yi Ye.”

Tan Sheng pondered that statement for a moment and realized the possibility of truth in Jiang Chengzi’s claims. The Tracking Disc had worked in leading them to Lu Yi Ye in the first time. But it was due to the trap ward that they lost their chance to seize him. Therefore, it was logical to believe that the problem did not likely stem from the Tracking Disc.

“What do you mean?” Tan Sheng inquired. 

“I’m not entirely sure, but I wonder if he has the means to instantaneously shift himself through distances as far as several hundred miles,” Jiang Chengzi suggested.

“That’s ridiculous! No Cloud River Realm Cultivator could do that!” Tan Sheng scoffed.

“With the help of some magical artifact perhaps?” Jiang Chengzi proposed.

They could think of no other way to explain the peculiar ability of Lu Ye to traverse vast distances in just the blink of an eye. The Tracking Disc was clearly indicating their imminent arrival, but before they could catch up to him, he suddenly shifted to the opposite direction.

Tan Sheng furrowed his brow in contemplation. As much as he did not want to admit it, he could barely deny that while Jiang Chengzi’s speculation seemed unrealistic, it definitely sounded like the most plausible explanation for now.

Lu Yi Ye hailed from the infamous Crimson Blood Sect of Bing Zhou province, the very same martial order that was once a name that invoked great fear and respect across all of Jiu Zhou, the realm of the nine provinces. Its strength might have declined since then but who knew what hidden heritage they still possessed? It wasn’t entirely impossible that the sect could have kept some unknown artifact capable of instantaneous conveyance across over several hundred miles.

But Tan Sheng had never heard of such an artifact before, making it difficult for him to confirm that explanation.

“If he’s really relying on some magical artifact, then I’m sure, as a drawback of such a potent artifact, it must have the weakness of being unable to be utilized frequently. To that end, Brother Tan Sheng, I believe that we just need to keep pressuring him. Sooner or later, there will come a moment when we will corner him like a cat catching a vole,” Jiang Chengzi suggested.

“Continue the pursuit!” Tan Sheng growled, feeling a surge of annoyance as he immediately wheeled around and headed back to where they came from.

His rank on the Carnage Roster had plunged down to third place, much to his frustration. What should have been an easy hunt for Lu Yi Ye with the Tracking Disc—which should have secured him the top spot on the Roster and untold riches and prestige—had just turned into a wild goose chase. 

To say nothing of slipping down the rung on the Roster after all the time and effort. 

With the situation as it was, it had become nearly impossible for him to amass enough Carnage Points to contend for the top spot on the Roster. But if compared to the rewards of being the winner of the Carnage Roster, the bounty and fame for being the one to slay Lu Ye were undoubtedly more tempting.

In the heart of a remote valley almost a day later, three weary figures sat in a meditative stance, shrouded in an atmosphere of tension and exhaustion. 

Jiang Liu Zi and his brother’s faces betrayed their apprehension, but it was Tan Sheng’s frustration and irritation that matched the ominous clouds that gathered above them.

The past twenty-four hour pursuit had been a grueling marathon, as they doggedly followed the elusive trail of the slippery Lu Yi Ye. Despite their best efforts of traveling back and forth, retracing their steps repeatedly, and yet coming up empty-handed, all three of them came no closer to laying eyes on Lu Yi Ye.

Every time they thought they were gaining closer to Lu Yi Ye, the compass’s needle would abruptly and mercilessly alter its course, and they were left with no choice but to recalibrate their trajectory to continue the snipe hunt.

Even the formidable Tan Sheng, a seasoned Ninth-Order Cultivator at the pinnacle of the Cloud River Realm, felt the strain of this fruitless and yet relentless pursuit. In the meantime, the Jiang brothers were utterly spent, their once-vibrant countenances now a pallid reflection of their former selves.

They would not even have a whit of Spiritual Power left enough to use Telekinesis if they did not stop to rest. 

Desperation and bewilderment plagued their restless meditation as they pondered the enigma of Lu Yi Ye’s seemingly impossible elusiveness. 

Could Lu Yi Ye indeed possess such a convenient artifact? One that was really capable of instantaneous teleportation over vast distances? If such a magical treasure existed, then their quest for his head would be nothing but a mere pipe dream.

With such a potent talisman in his possession, Lu Yi Ye could easily evade capture so long as he wasn’t being fully encircled by foes.

An awkward silence lingered over the three as they mulled over this daunting possibility. 

Jiang Liuzi and his brother traded furtive and sour glances. Tan Sheng was here by their invitation upon the promise of success. Yet they found themselves empty-handed, and to their dismay, the three companions felt like mere pawns in a grand game, toyed around with like monkeys.

Before too long, Tan Sheng’s ranking had plummeted further down to the fourth place on the Carnage Roster while Lu Yi Ye’s name was now in the second. From the looks of things, their names would continue sliding in an unstoppable descent.

The situation was far from ideal for both of them; one was on the hunt and the other in desperate flight, leaving no room nor time for them to stop and gather more Carnage Points. 

Seated not far away from the brothers, Tan Sheng raised his hand and placed a finger upon his Battlefield Imprint, seemingly engaged in urgent communication with someone unknown.

After a brief moment, he turned his gaze to Jiang Liuzi and barked, extending a demanding hand, “The Tracker Disc! Now!”

Jiang Liuzi guessed his intent immediately, his brow furrowing with concern, “Wait, are you thinking of using its other function, Brother Tan Sheng?”

Tan Sheng nodded solemnly, retorting quietly, “Unless you have other ways of tracking down Lu Yi Ye?”

“But that would mean it’s open season on Lu Yi Ye! We’re not going to be the only ones pursuing Lu Yi Ye, Brother Tan,” Jiang Liuzi voiced his concern, a sudden realization washing over him. “You were in contact with other elites in the Colosseum, weren’t you, Brother Tan?”

Again, Tan Sheng acknowledged this, confirming, “Indeed, I have disseminated the message and struck agreements with the others. Whoever manages to capture and slay Lu Yi Ye shall yield two-tenths of the whole bounty to me. Your shares will be derived from my cut.”

Their initial arrangement entitled Jiang Liuzi and his brother a direct two-tenths of the full bounty. But with this new arrangement, their share had been forcibly shrunken down to the paltry two-tenths of Tan Sheng’s two-tenths, which was a drastic abatement of what they were originally promised. 

Jiang Liuzi’s heart swelled with reluctance. “Surely there are better approaches to this situation, Brother Ta—” he feebly attempted to voice his disagreement. 

“We are running out of time!” snapped Tan Sheng stubbornly, “The Colosseum has been open for seventeen days. We don’t know when it will close. It could be any time! If that happens and we’re still nowhere near to catching Lu Yi Ye, then all we sacrificed will have been for nothing! Besides, it’s too late to say no now; I have already spread the message, and there are people who are eager for success. If and when we catch him, you’ll have your cut of the reward. It should be handsome enough and let us not succumb to greed!”

Tan Sheng had made a daring gamble. With his ranking on the Carnage Roster plummeting and the prizes now nothing more than dissipating vapor, Tan Sheng’s only way of recovering was through hunting down and slaying Lu Yi Y that the costs would be covered. .

Jiang Liuzi heaved a sigh, recognizing that the Ninth-Order would brook no objection to the new plan, rendering further persuasion futile. Resentment churned within him, but he had no choice but to surrender the Tracking Disc.