Sage of Humanity

As a ghost cultivator, facing an opponent head-on in battle was never Choo Qing's strong suit. If it hadn't been absolutely necessary, she wouldn't have revealed herself right from the start.

She had previously joined forces with Qiaoyun and Ruo Yan to besiege Lu Ye and knew full well the youth's strength and terror. So, when he said she would be spared if she could block his three strikes, Choo Qing didn't think he was boasting— he truly had the capability to do so.

However, she never imagined that she wouldn't even be able to block his first strike.

That strike involved no particular technique; it was purely a crushing force formed from sheer speed and power...

The terrifying pressure suddenly disappeared, but instead of feeling joy, Choo Qing was horrified, with fiery red Liu Guang flowing once again before her eyes.

The strike, coming from below, lifted and smashed into her twin swords. The shock caused her palms to split and her arms to go numb, while both cutlasses were sent flying from her hands.

Kneeling on the ground, powerless without her Spiritual Artifacts, Choo Qing looked up just in time to see the youth thrusting his saber straight at her heart.

This was the third strike!

If she blocked this strike, would he truly let her go?

The thought uncontrollably flashed through her mind.

She suddenly found herself ridiculous. When she had discovered the youth in the valley, she thought she had found an opportunity to avenge Choo Xue. Yet, their ambush not only failed to kill him but also caused severe losses to their side. Subsequent clashes resulted in countless deaths and injuries to the Fenghua Courtyard.

And now, at the brink of life and death, she was still hoping for mercy from the enemy?

Turns out she wasn't as fearless and unwavering as she had imagined. Faced with death, she still wanted to survive.

A dagger appeared out of thin air in her hand. She did not try to dodge the strike because she couldn't. But this was her chance. She had her treasure armor to protect her, and the enemy's strike wouldn't kill her. As long as she was alive, it would spell the end for her opponent.

The dagger in her hand flashed with spirit light as she took advantage of the momentum to slash at Lu Ye's neck.

The dagger froze at the side of Lu Ye's neck, and Choo Qing felt as if she lost all strength in her body, unable to move an inch, her pupils dilating in shock.

She slowly lowered her head to see the slightly thick, not-so-sharp saber piercing through her treasure armor, impaling her body.

The instant the long saber entered her flesh, countless sharp spikes abruptly emerged, lacerating her insides.

"Who doesn't want to live?" Lu Ye spoke indifferently, slowly withdrawing his Boulder Mountain Saber.

Choo Qing's body fell to the ground, the light quickly fading from her eyes.

Indeed, who doesn't want to live? On Golden Light Peak, that Level 5 realm youth also merely wanted to survive, yet so many people wanted him dead. Perhaps they had never met before nor had any personal grudges... So what exactly was this endless cycle of grudge for?

"ROAR!" A furious roar from Giant Armor came from one side.

Lu Ye shook the fresh blood off his Boulder Mountain Saber and looked up to see Giant Armor enduring attacks from Ruo Yan, forcing her into a desperate situation step by step. It was unclear where he had tossed the defensive spirit artifact he was previously holding. Giant Armor's blood Qi was boiling, the bloody red Qi intertwining with the earthen yellow spirit force, making it difficult for Ruo Yan's sharp blade to inflict significant damage—an at most superficial wound.

Ruo Yan must have been struck by a punch from Giant Armor since the left side of her shoulder was collapsed, her entire arm hanging limply.

She was desperately resisting, but to no avail.

When Giant Armor grabbed her long saber, completely ignoring the laceration on his hand, and viciously dragged her in front of him, everything was over.

Giant Armor's foot kicked the petite body of Ruo Yan, sending her flying through the air. Mid-flight, blood mixed with chunks of her organs sprayed from her mouth.

Upon hitting the ground, Ruo Yan no longer had the strength to move; Giant Armor's kick had essentially taken half her life, leaving her body riddled with broken bones.

Watching Giant Armor fight was a raw display of ferocity, a gut-wrenching spectacle.

Giant Armor flung the long saber from his hand and strode forward, bent down, and grabbed Ruo Yan's head with his large hand, lifting the faintly breathing Ruo Yan in the air. Staring at her, his nostrils blasting hot gusts of air, he resembled a ferocious beast ready to devour its prey.

Ruo Yan's lips quivered, as if she wanted to say something, but the gurgling blood only allowed her to make burbling noises.

Giant Armor held her head and smashed it fiercely against the ground, blood splattering everywhere.

"ROAR!" He bellowed skywards.

Vengeance was served!

When Jik Yan led a group of people from the Surreptitious Palace to the scene, the battle had already ended. The death of the group led by Choo Qing marked the complete annihilation of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge faction.

There might still be a few that managed to escape, but they no longer mattered. If they were encountered, they would be dealt with easily; as for deliberately seeking them out... there was little point.

Lu Ye sat on a step, busy unlocking the restrictions on a storage sack, with Giant Armor sitting beside him, sharing dried meat with Amber.

Jik Yan approached, looking like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Does Brother Jik have something to say?" Lu Ye asked proactively.

"Indeed, there is a favour I would ask of you," Jik Yan nodded. "You see, this time our Surreptitious Palace was actually led by our Brother Gu Canyang..."

Gradually, Lu Ye came to understand what was being asked of him.

Gu Canyang, as the Governor of the Surreptitious Palace, had both strength and prestige, but was simply ill-fated when he was captured by the Xianyuan Guard upon entering Xianyuan City.

Generally, when such incidents occurred, one could only accept the misfortune. Previously, there had been attempts to rescue those captured cultivators, but the end results proved it was not feasible.

Because the dungeon seemed to be a critical area of Xianyuan City, it was heavily guarded by the Xianyuan Guard, including many commanders. It was not something cultivators of the Spirit Stream Realm could handle, regardless of their numbers.

Originally, the Surreptitious Palace had no intention of rescuing anyone, but after Lu Ye received a Token from the red-robed woman, they saw a glimmer of hope.

Lu Ye then understood why the Haotian Alliance and the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge were equally matched in numbers, but were at a disadvantage during the confrontation. It turned out that Jik Yan was not the Governor of the Surreptitious Palace; he was just a stand-in during the crisis, and naturally, his command abilities left much to be desired.

As for rescuing someone from the dungeon, Lu Ye had never considered this before since those who were thrown into the dungeon had little to do with him. However, after listening to Jik Yan, he vaguely felt that the plan might be workable.

Having gone through great pains to help the red-robed woman capture Mochi Ball and only receiving a seemingly useless Token in return was hardly justifiable.

If that Token could grant entry into the dungeon, that would change everything.

He took out the Token from his storage sack and tossed it to Jik Yan.

Jik Yan caught it, his face full of joy as he thanked Lu Ye profusely.

He immediately led a group of the Surreptitious Palace's cultivators toward the dungeon, ready to hurry and rescue Gu Canyang.

However, less than two hours later, the people from the Surreptitious Palace returned disheveled and with a few less in number.

Lu Ye looked at them with a puzzled face, unsure of what happened to them.

Jik Yan said with a woeful expression, "Brother Yiye, it seems we may still need you to take action personally."

"Is the Token not working?"

If the Token didn't work, then him taking action personally wouldn't work either.

"It's not a problem with the Token. Earlier, I sent my disciples with the Token to the dungeon. However, the Xianyuan Guard claimed they were misusing the Token and a few disciples were immediately caught. If it weren't for the disciple holding the Token who reacted quickly and threw it back, we might have lost the Token as well."

Lu Ye then understood why there were fewer people from the Surreptitious Palace. They had been caught by the Xianyuan Guard.

Fortunately, the people from the Surreptitious Palace also probed some information. The Token was indeed useful; the problem was that the person holding it was not suitable, causing the Xianyuan Guard to think they had stolen the Token.

Jik Yan had also confirmed this on the way back. Previously, when Lu Ye encountered the Xianyuan Guard, a flash of the Token was enough to prevent the patrolling guards from overstepping. But now, when he sent someone with the Token to approach those patrolling guards, it was useless and they attacked anyway.

After much deliberation, Jik Yan concluded that only Lu Ye taking action personally might resolve the issue, which is why he came back to find him.

Lu Ye had not expected this turn of events. Now it seemed that when the red-robed woman handed him the Token, it was because she recognized him; only he or Giant Armor could use it, others could not activate the Token's effect.@@novelbin@@

"Then I'll make a trip myself, but I can't guarantee it will work," said Lu Ye as he rose to his feet.

Jik Yan was moved to tears, "Whether it succeeds or not, the Surreptitious Palace will always remember the great kindness of Fellow Daoist Yiye."

"Let's go," Lu Ye beckoned with his hand. He didn't know where the dungeon was, nor had he ever been there.

Jik Yan immediately took the lead.

Half an hour later, they arrived at a corner of the city, facing a building with a large "Prison" plaque hanging above it, which must be the location of Xianyuan City's dungeon.

Dozens of Xianyuan Guards stood outside the dungeon, and squads patrolled nearby, showing that the defensive forces were extremely strong.

Lu Ye watched for a while, knowing that this wasn't a place one could force their way into with brute strength. These were just the guards he could see on the outside; who knew how many Xianyuan Guards were inside the dungeon.

"I'm going," Lu Ye said and then stepped forward, with Amber squatting on his shoulder, her mouth biting the Token.

Giant Armor followed, and Lu Ye turned his head to look at him.

"Together," Giant Armor said.

Fellow Daoist Yiye, if the situation is unmanageable, don't force it," Jik Yan's voice came from behind.

They strode toward the front of the dungeon, and the Xianyuan Guards standing there merely glanced at Lu Ye and did not bother with him any further.

Seeing this, an always-anxious Jik Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief; as he expected, the Token only worked for Lu Ye and Giant Armor, others holding it would instead provoke the Xianyuan Guard's pursuit.

They went straight to the dungeon entrance, where suddenly a Xianyuan Guard stepped forward to block their way.

Giant Armor's flesh began to wriggle, and Lu Ye's hand touched the handle of his saber because the guard seemed very strong. Judging by the spirit light on the guard's body, he was much stronger than Feng Yuechan; he was probably a Spiritual Body from the Cloud River Realm.

If it came to a fight, the two of them together would not stand a chance against this person.