Sage of Humanity

After a moment, atop the roof of a building, Lu Ye cautiously poked his head out to look down. Below appeared to be a square, where several bodies lay across the ground while quite a number of cultivators gathered around, seemingly more than thirty in total.

To gather a team of this size, it must have been primarily formed by the three powerful factions that entered this area.

From the information previously obtained from the Haotian Alliance cultivators, people from the Haotian Alliance weren't gathered here, hence, these people were very likely from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge.

Sure enough, Lu Ye saw the figure of the woman known as Ruo Yan in the crowd, yet Choo Qing was nowhere to be found, leaving her whereabouts unknown.

The person they were attacking, Lu Ye recognized as well—it was Giant Armor, with whom he had just parted ways not too long ago.

Right then, Giant Armor was curled up on the ground, his back facing down. Each strike of magic and spells followed by the streams of weapon control hit him, causing the spirit light on his back to flash wildly. His already tattered hemp clothing had shattered, revealing his muscular and gnarly back covered in trails of blood.

Lu Ye watched, his heart pounding with fear.

During their brief encounter before, he had witnessed the terrifying robustness of Giant Armor. Even a strike enhanced with Sharpness that he delivered only left a white mark on Giant Armor's chest.

The strength of his physique was beyond imagination, and it was a wonder how someone of Level 9 cultivated such a formidable physique.

Looking over now, Lu Ye was even more aware of Giant Armor's horror, for despite so many attacks hitting him, none had killed him yet.

Such a scene was something no ordinary Level 9 physique cultivator could withstand, yet Giant Armor had managed to do so.

Of course, this was also because not everyone from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side was attacking, but even though it wasn't everyone, there were still seven or eight people attacking Giant Armor.

Giant Armor faced each strike without dodging, simply enduring them. His curled up body seemed to be protecting something.

Lu Ye concentrated and spotted a figure underneath him.

It was the small-mustache magic cultivator. Giant Armor's large physique shielded him underneath, taking all the hits, ensuring the small-mustache magic cultivator was unharmed.

But seeing the Blood Water flowing from beneath Giant Armor, it seemed the small-mustache magic cultivator's fate was grim...

In other words, what he was probably protecting now was likely the corpse of the small-mustache magic cultivator.

It remained unclear how they ended up being attacked and falling into such a dire situation.

Suddenly, Ruo Yan spoke, "Giant Armor, join Fenghua Courtyard, and today you shall not die!"

The group led by Ruo Yan had come specifically looking for Giant Armor. Before entering the Boundless Mirage Realm, Choo Qing had already formulated the initial two missions for this journey: one was to kill Lu Ye, and the other to kill Giant Armor.

To kill Lu Ye was certainly to avenge Choo Xue, and as for killing Giant Armor... his renowned prowess and extremely strong physique meant that if they didn't find a way to kill him, and he ended up being recruited by the Surreptitious Palace, it would spell trouble.

Not only people from Fenghua Courtyard were searching for Giant Armor, but individuals from Illuminating Sun Mountain were as well, and in the subsequent time, they were destined to join forces against the Surreptitious Palace's side. Thus, it became crucial to eliminate some potential threats early.

Giant Armor was their main target.

Once Ruo Yan and her team spotted traces of Giant Armor and the small-mustache magic cultivator, a fierce battle ensued—first the small-mustache magic cultivator fell, and Giant Armor did not succumb immediately.

Although Ruo Yan had long heard of Giant Armor's capabilities, witnessing his formidable physique still left her somewhat shocked. She had thought that Qiaoyun was among the top tier among Level 9 physique cultivators, but Giant Armor was evidently far superior.

This gave Ruo Yan the idea to recruit him.

Since Fenghua Courtyard already had few physique cultivators, and their strongest—Qiaoyun—was already dead. Recruiting Giant Armor would be a significant achievement. After communicating and receiving approval from Choo Qing,

at that very moment Choo Qing was leading another group on their way to meet up with Ruo Yan's team soon.

Fenghua Courtyard's attitude toward Giant Armor was clear—if they could recruit him, that would be ideal; if not, they were ready to kill him!

What they could not possess, they would destroy.

"Giant Armor, don't be stubborn, you know well how Sima Yang has treated you, joining Fenghua Courtyard would ensure no more mistreatment!"

Sima Yang—that was the small-mustache magic cultivator's name.

Was it possible that such a uniquely talented physique cultivator like Giant Armor had never been recruited? Of course, he had. Ever since he had shown his talents, several nearby sects and forces had tried to recruit him to take him in as their disciple. After all, one cultivator like him was worth ten others.

But would Sima Yang agree to that? The two of them had never allied themselves with any sect, because choosing to do so would mean obeying someone else's orders, which Sima Yang could never accept.

Rumors had it that Giant Armor had not spared a single life under his command—though unbelievable, this was true. In every battle, Giant Armor would charge to the forefront with Sima Yang supporting from behind. After crippling and disabling the enemies, Sima Yang would step forward to reap lives, gaining merits and various benefits from their foes.

Long ago, Sima Yang had realized a problem: the cultivation speed of Giant Armor greatly exceeded his own. If he did not resort to such measures, Giant Armor's cultivation could eventually surpass him, making it impossible for them to act together.

Giant Armor did not kill, hence he lacked merit, without which he couldn't exchange for a Heaven Rank technique, and his cultivation would constantly be stuck at the ordinary Level 9.

Meanwhile, Sima Yang could slowly catch up in his cultivation while accumulating enough merit to exchange for a superior Heaven Rank technique.

As long as the two could escape from the Boundless Mirage Realm this time, Sima Yang could acquire his desired Heaven Rank technique. Later, he could find a way to procure a Heaven Rank technique for Giant Armor as well, ensuring that they remained good partners and brothers, fighting side by side in the Spirit Stream battlefield!

This was not a secret among nearby cultivators. Some had even secretly informed Giant Armor about this, but he had never cared because he had been following Sima Yang since he was very weak.

This was the reason why Sima Yang previously tried to rope others into cooperation but found no willing parties.

With such a notorious reputation, who would want to cooperate with such a person only to possibly be betrayed later?@@novelbin@@

Selfishness and greed had inevitably planted hidden dangers. Sima Yang probably hadn't expected that the Boundless Mirage Realm was actually connected to a perilous place like Xianyuan City, and that Fenghua Courtyard and Illuminating Sun Mountain unexpectedly aimed to eliminate him and Giant Armor first. Normally, these two forces should have targeted the Surreptitious Palace, but once they started fighting, he could take advantage of the situation alongside Giant Armor as he was best at this.

Once their whereabouts were exposed, there was no good outcome to expect.

At that time, Lu Ye was encircled and attacked. Had he not had enough minion spirits under his command, he too would likely have perished on the spot.

To attack Sima Yang and Giant Armor, the Fenghua Courtyard assembled a force of thirty to forty people and lost several of their own, not because Sima Yang was particularly formidable, but because Giant Armor was extremely powerful.

The first time Lu Ye saw Giant Armor, he noticed that his spirit light was as lucid as his own, because Giant Armor's cultivation had been stuck at the Level 9 for two to three years. During these years, he hadn't consumed a single elixir pill, naturally making his internal spirit force pure and refined.

On the other side, Ruo Yan's persuasion proved futile as she had already lost her patience. She slightly raised a hand, ready to order Giant Armor's execution on the spot.

An enemy you can't persuade is naturally someone you wouldn't keep around.

As she prepared to give the order, Ruo Yan's hand suddenly paused. Her eyes glared in a certain direction, where a familiar figure stood atop a rooftop, gazing down upon her.

Ruo Yan's eyes narrowed, a strong sense of hatred emanating from them as she exclaimed, "You really aren't dead!"

Previously, when Qiaoyun died, she and Choo Qing speculated that Lu Ye must not have met a good end either; however, when the mist dispersed and they went to collect Qiaoyun's body, they found no trace of Lu Ye's corpse.

At that time, Choo Qing suspected that Lu Ye might not be dead.

The two of them each led a squad, splitting up to act, one to search for Giant Armor, and the other to trace Lu Ye's whereabouts, determined to thoroughly eliminate them.

Currently, as Giant Armor was cornered, that Lu Yiye also boldly emerged, openly standing there as if challenging her.

Ruo Yan, furious, only laughed, recalling that last time, their ambush by the Fenghua Courtyard failed due to the interference of the Xianyuan Guard. Surely there wouldn't be another interruption by the Xianyuan Guard this time.

While she was contemplating this, suddenly a crying sound came from nearby. Simultaneously, Xianyuan Guards emerged from all around, their Spirit-Binding Locks flying from their hands, aiming directly above their heads.

The crying of the Pipa Girl was a highly unique form of sonic attack. If it hadn't been for Amber's suppression, Lu Ye and his minion spirits really wouldn't have had an effective counter to her before.

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After being transformed into a minion spirit, the Pipa Girl's cultivation had plummeted to that of just Level 9. Her crying's power was greatly diminished, but when this eerie sonic attack sounded, it still caused many Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators to suffer dizziness and disorientation.

As the Pipa was gently strummed, ding-dong sounds resonated, accompanied by her continuous crying, making the atmosphere suddenly sinister and chilling.

Quite a few Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators felt dizzy and light-headed as if intoxicated.

The Spirit-Binding Locks had already descended from above, immediately capturing many Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators. A single Spirit-Binding Lock might not have strong binding power, but if two or three were combined, they weren't so easily escaped.

Beside the Pipa Girl, Liu Sanbao launched three streams of Liu Guang, coordinating with the Xianyuan Guards to strike down enemies.

Furthermore, two rays of weapon control light also darted out beside Lu Ye, intertwining and circulating like a gyroscope. Everywhere they passed, they raised a storm of blood and violence.

There were also magic and spells released by Yiyi.

In the blink of an eye, the situation changed drastically, leaving seven or eight dead on the side of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, with more than a dozen others bound by the Spirit-Binding Locks.

"Guard your minds!" Ruo Yan's eyes reddened, her spirit force boiling as she broke free from a Spirit-Binding Lock binding her and pointed a finger, sending a weapon flying towards the nearest squad leader of the Xianyuan Guard.

The cultivators from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge who caught on also hastily took action, each deploying their own moves.

Screams rose and fell as several more were killed.

As the fierce battle raged, no one noticed Amber jumping down from Lu Ye's shoulder, taking light steps to approach the fallen Giant Armor.