Sage of Humanity

Watching Giant Armor leave, Jik Yan withdrew his gaze, his expression serious as he said, "Brother Yiye, currently our sect headquarters' situation is not too good. If Brother Yiye is willing, could you stay and join us in facing the enemy?"

Lu Ye said, "I came here with that intention."

Although Jik Yan knew that Lu Ye, upon arrival, likely would not leave, receiving such a response still set his mind at ease.

"That is very good." He then asked, "Brother Yiye, during your exploration outside, did you encounter anyone from Fenghua Courtyard?"

"I've encountered some."

Not only had he encountered them, but he had also clashed with them quite a few times.

"This time, there's something strange about the people from Fenghua Courtyard." Jik Yan frowned, voicing his concerns, "In the previous battle, our sect was able to hold out for so long under the assault from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge mainly because the people from Fenghua Courtyard did not come. Although some showed up later, the number was not large, and where the main force of Fenghua Courtyard was busy with was unknown. If they had come earlier, our sect would definitely have been unable to withstand them."

He did not take pride in the previous battle's victory, for he knew where their disadvantage lay: their numbers were fewer than those from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. Although the forces from Illuminating Sun Mountain had been repelled this time, as long as they joined forces with the main squad from Fenghua Courtyard, it would not take long for them to return, and then it would be highly probable that this side would not be able to hold them off.

"As for Fenghua Courtyard..." Lu Ye interrupted, "Brother Jik needn't worry too much; there should only be so many of them left."

"Hmm?" Jik Yan looked at Lu Ye, puzzled.

"The rest are dead." Lu Ye mentally calculated the numbers; in the initial ambush led by Choo Qing, Fenghua Courtyard had lost a dozen people. Later, some of Fenghua Courtyard's people mistakenly wounded Giant Armor, resulting in a dozen deaths on the spot. He had then led the minion spirits in pursuit for half a day, costing Fenghua Courtyard another thirty or more lives. Adding it all up, that was nearly sixty people gone.

About a hundred people from Fenghua Courtyard had entered this time, and there might have been some unlucky ones who were captured by the Xianyuan Guard, now detained in the dungeons.

So at this point, there should only be the batch that Choo Qing led remaining of the people from Fenghua Courtyard.

Jik Yan really wanted to ask how they died, but he soon realized that if Lu Ye spoke so confidently, he clearly had a hand in it.

"Was this Brother Yiye's doing?"

"Somewhat," Lu Ye replied.

Jik Yan was astounded by Lu Ye; with his own power... even if including Giant Armor, it was only two people, yet they had managed to reduce Fenghua Courtyard's forces down to just thirty people, an incredible feat.

Only then did he realize that his previous worries had been unnecessary; it was not that the people from Fenghua Courtyard hadn't come to join forces with Illuminating Sun Mountain, but that they had already joined. What he had seen was all there was.

"Was it those Spiritual Bodies?" Jik Yan immediately thought of something. The reason he was being so courteous to Lu Ye was partly due to the name of the Righteous Blood Sect and secondly because he had just seen those Spiritual Bodies fighting alongside Lu Ye.

Especially the Spiritual Body that cried and played the Pipa erratically; it was fair to say that without her, the battle would not have ended so easily.

"Right," Lu Ye nodded, not denying it.

Since he had already decided to fight side by side with the Surreptitious Palace, there was no need to conceal some matters. At the very least, he had to let the cultivators on his side know what capabilities he had so that they could cooperate better.

"Brother Yiye's methods are truly unfathomable," Jik Yan exclaimed with admiration.

Lu Ye changed the subject, "What does Brother Jik plan to do next?"

Jik Yan said, "We shall first recuperate. Now that Brother Yiye and Brother Giant Armor have joined, the people from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge probably won't dare to cause trouble."

"Has Brother Jik not considered counterattacking?"

Jik Yan said, "Of course, we have to fight back. Xianyuan City is large, but it cannot accommodate two tigers. Moreover, if I am not mistaken, Ten Thousand Demons Ridge will definitely not let the matter rest; although their arrangements have been disrupted by Brother Yiye, and they have suffered losses, they are not yet crippled. Once they regroup their forces, they will inevitably come back. My thought is, instead of passively defending, it's better to take the initiative to attack. We rest for today, and tomorrow we will go and fight them. What do you think of this, Brother Yiye?"

"I have no objections."

Indeed, what Jik Yan thought was exactly what he had in mind. However, at the moment, he was on his own, and the Haotian Alliance was dominated by the Surreptitious Palace; without a stance from that side, things would have been difficult.

Having ascertained Jik Yan's attitude, Lu Ye was reassured.

"Brother Jik, do you know where nearby I can find those kinds of special spirit bodies?"

If they were to fight against Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, then naturally, he would need to quickly supplement his minion spirits, especially special spirit bodies like Liu Sanbao and Pipa Girl, which were beneficial in abundance.

Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

He only had two special spirit bodies under his command at the moment, but both Liu Sanbao and Pipa Girl were able to perform far beyond any other minion spirits. No need to mention Pipa Girl; in large-scale battles, her crying and pipa playing could cause a certain degree of mental disruption to the enemy, invisibly restraining their power.

Liu Sanbao's performance was not as eye-catching as Pipa Girl's, but that was because Pipa Girl overshadowed him. His three dice were extremely lethal, and the role he could play far exceeded any Level 9 cultivator.

Previously, searching for these kinds of special spirit bodies on his own had yielded only a small chance of success, but now that he had joined forces with the people from Surreptitious Palace, he could certainly make some inquiries.

Jik Yan's expression shifted slightly upon hearing this, quickly realizing something, and he spoke, "If it's special spirit bodies you're after, I do know of one not far from here. If Brother Yiye is in a hurry, I'll have someone lead you there."

"Then I'll trouble you."

Jik Yan immediately sent a message to call for a Level 8 combat cultivator and instructed him briefly; the combat cultivator nodded and led the way.

This combat cultivator obviously knew of Lu Ye's identity and had seen Lu Ye and the minion spirits' tactics from a distance during the great battle. However, some matters were not to be asked casually, so he kept his questions to himself and simply chatted with Lu Ye, mentioning various information about the special spirit body, which Lu Ye committed to memory.

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Lu Ye couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed for not encountering any Xianyuan Guards on the road.

After passing through several streets, he quickly arrived in front of a building with lanterns hanging at the entrance.

Lu Ye looked up to see the dilapidated signboard at the entrance, its words no longer decipherable.

The Level 8 combat cultivator stopped in his tracks and cleared his throat, "Fellow Daoist Yiye, I won't accompany you inside."

Lu Ye nodded and pushed the door open to enter.

As soon as he stepped in, the door slammed shut behind him. Lu Ye surveyed the area ahead and saw a literary-looking Spiritual Body, head down, furiously scribbling away at something. Whatever he was writing, he didn't even notice someone had entered.

Lu Ye walked straight up to sit opposite the scholar and waited quietly.

A whole hour later, the scholar finally finished a sheet of paper, picked it up with a beaming smile, looked it over, appraised it, and arrogantly exclaimed, "Truly, this is a peerless masterpiece."

He looked up at Lu Ye with a presumptuous familiarity, "You've come at the right time, help me appraise this piece."

Saying this, he extended the paper towards Lu Ye.

Lu Ye didn't accept it and instead gently caressed Amber's fur, which lay on his lap, watching the scholar silently.

According to the combat cultivator, this scholarly Spiritual Body wasn't dangerous, unlike Liu Sanbao who would end up betting one's life while gambling. This one simply wrote an article for visitors and was satisfied with just a word of praise.

That was also why the combat cultivator didn't come inside; he had seen the scholar's writing before, which was complete nonsense. Praising it would go against his conscience and indeed caused him some pain.

Lu Ye was unsure of the scholar's capabilities, but the spirit light emanating from his body was indeed denser than Liu Sanbao's.

His fingers stopped on Amber's head, tapping gently twice. Streams of Spiritual Bodies suddenly floated out, encircling the scholar.

The scholar looked around, picked up his writing brush, and held it in front of his chest in a timid yet fierce stance, "Gentlemen prefer to use their words, not their fists."

"Agreed!"

Lu Ye promptly consented.

Then Amber lifted its head and let out a tiger's roar straight at him.

After a moment, the door opened, and the waiting combat cultivator sighed with relief when he saw Lu Ye walk out unscathed; he had felt the commotion inside just moments before.

"Brother Yiye, Senior Brother Jik just sent a message, he found out about two more places from some other independent cultivators."

"Do you know where they are?"

"I have a rough idea."

"Then lead the way."

On their journey, the Level 8 combat cultivator finally got a glimpse of how Lu Ye commanded Spiritual Bodies. They encountered Xianyuan Guards; Lu Ye, thrilled, pounced on them. Then one after another, Spiritual Bodies floated out from his beast pet, quickly taking down a squad of Xianyuan Guards. The beast pet consumed the guards one by one.

This left the combat cultivator in wonder; he was no stranger to extraordinary sights, but he had never seen a demon beast with such a unique ability, capable of devouring Spiritual Bodies and then commanding them.

Two hours later, the two arrived at the second location. This time, the Level 8 combat cultivator entered with Lu Ye, perhaps wanting to broaden his knowledge. He then witnessed a group of Xianyuan Guards emerge, Spirit-Binding Locks flying towards them. Lu Ye jumped into action, slashing a few times, and his beast pet followed suit.

The entire process was executed with expert precision, provoking thought.

Another two hours passed, and they arrived at the third location.

Shortly thereafter, the two walked out side by side.

"Is there any more?" asked Lu Ye, still seeming eager for more.

"No more," the Level 8 combat cultivator shook his head, still somewhat bewildered.

"Then let's look for some Xianyuan Guards."@@novelbin@@

Special spirit bodies were hard to come by, unlike the Xianyuan Guards, of which there were quite a few. Although their numbers had diminished compared to the beginning, it was still possible to encounter them by traveling around a bit more.

Not until a few hours later did Lu Ye manage to replenish his minion spirits.

There weren't many of the squad leader level, only seven, but the special spirit bodies numbered five in total, including Liu Sanbao and Pipa Girl from the beginning, and now there was an additional scholar, a fortune-telling blind man, and a butcher.

The lineup was indeed a bit odd.

But that wasn't surprising after some thought; these special spirit bodies were originally cultivators from Xianyuan City. When Xianyuan City was destroyed, they, for various reasons, transformed into Spiritual Bodies and remained. Naturally, they included all sorts of people from different walks of life.

Returning to their own base with the Level 8 combat cultivator, Jik Yan greeted him with an effusive warmth, clearly having received some news from his sect mates.

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