Sage of Humanity

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Just as expected, Thang Yifeng invaded Leizhou, and although the strong cultivators of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge managed to repel him, it was clear he had no intention of stopping there. He lingered at the border of Leizhou and Wuzhou, seeking an opportunity.

This gave the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side an extreme headache. There's a saying that goes, "A thief can only be effective for a thousand days, but no one can defend against one for as long."

In particular, a strong cultivator like Thang Yifeng, once he shamelessly started resorting to all sorts of underhanded tactics, there truly wasn't much that Ten Thousand Demons Ridge could do, unless they could figure out a way to surround and kill him once and for all.

But what kind of man was Thang Yifeng? Describing him as cunning and sly was an understatement by several levels; trying to ensnare him was nothing short of a fool's dream.

While the sect master of the Righteous Blood Sect caused trouble in Leizhou alone, the core circle of the Spirit Stream battlefield also became lively.

Li Baxian stirred up trouble.

There is a fair and impartial ranking on the Spirit Stream battlefield, known as the Spirit Stream Ranking, which is the most authoritative as it contains no human interference. This list is generated automatically by Heaven's Augury, based on the strength cultivators display in battles against their enemies.

This ranking changes frequently because after cultivators reach the pinnacle of the Spirit Stream Realm, it is unlikely they will stay in that realm for long. At most, they would accumulate experience for a while, and when the opportunity arises, choose to advance to Cloud River.

Previously, Li Baxian ranked tenth on the list, the only one listed in the 8th Heaven level, while all others were of Level 9.

But now he had risen to third place, which was not only due to others advancing to Cloud River but also because he had never revealed his true strength in front of others before.

After a fierce battle with Yanh Xing, who ranked second on the list, Li Baxian could no longer hide his true strength.

Now looking at the top three spots on the Spirit Stream Ranking, the geniuses of the major sects on the Spirit Stream battlefield expressed their grievances. They were having a hard time.

These three 'honorable men' had been immersed in this realm for over a decade; how could those rising stars compare with their deep foundations?

It is said that there are benefits to being ranked on the Spirit Stream Ranking, dispensed by Heaven's Augury itself—tangible and real benefits. What exactly these benefits are isn't clear because they seem to differ from person to person, but one can be certain that the higher the rank, the greater the rewards.

However, since these three had occupied the top spots for three years, even though their rankings were high, they had not received any of the rewards anymore.

It appeared that even Heaven's Augury could no longer bear them occupying those spots year after year, treating the trio as if they didn't exist at all. When it was time to bestow blessings, they were simply ignored.

Besides the Spirit Stream Ranking, there are other lists that cultivators established among themselves, such as the Hidden Dragon Ranking, Spirit Stream Beauty Ranking, and so on.

Among these was the Idle Clouds and Wild Cranes Ranking, rating powerful cultivators based on their recent number of enemy kills, frequency of battles, and the threat level to other cultivators.

Prior to the Golden Light Peak battle, the top of the Idle Clouds and Wild Cranes Ranking was Li Baxian. And he had held that position for many years, unchallenged by anyone.

Because he was enough of a recluse, spending days on end stationed at the Loyal Heart Sect's base, like a shy young maiden who never ventured outside. Ostensibly, he was the Deputy Governor of the Loyal Heart Sect, but even the sect's disciples rarely saw him.

However, after the battle at Golden Light Peak, this perennial chart-topper saw his ranking plummet, at one point even falling to the bottom of the list.

Until this time, the Idle Clouds and Wild Cranes Ranking boldly removed his name.

Because he turned the core circle into a complete mess, Li Baxian was now like a robust man who hadn't seen a woman in decades—energetic every day, attacking those Lone Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators. With his third-place strength on the Spirit Stream Ranking, who among those in the core circle could stand as his match? This had already sparked several major battles.

Such a belligerent individual, naturally, had no place on the Idle Clouds and Wild Cranes Ranking anymore.

However, to be fair, all those years with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan stationed at the Loyal Heart Sect's base, the place was as secure as a fortress, invulnerable to any provocations.

The change in Li Baxian was obviously due to Lu Yiye being poisoned, a fact that was clear to everyone.

At the Righteous Blood Sect's base, the door of the training room opened, and Hua Ci, who had been in closed-door cultivation for several days, walked out, stretching her body.@@novelbin@@

Ruan Lingyu was waiting outside for her.

Seeing Lingyu, Hua Ci curiously asked, "Why are you here?"

Lingyu stepped forward, took Hua Ci's hand, and said seriously, "Sister Hua Ci, I have something to tell you, and you must not get too agitated."

Hua Ci tilted her head.

Ruan Lingyu looked around, then whispered into Hua Ci's ear, "Lu Ye... he's been poisoned to death."

Hua Ci's body suddenly stiffened; Ruan Lingyu felt her hands turn icy cold and, knowing this was bad news, quickly added, "It's a fake death. Lu Ye is actually alright. I've asked Second Senior Sister, and she said that Ten Thousand Demons Ridge is currently watching Lu Ye, so he used this method to temporarily get out of their sight. Then Second Senior Sister said that our base is now full of people and it's crowded with-eyed, and you must not expose yourself."

The reason she had been waiting there this whole time was to inform Hua Ci of this news firsthand, to avoid Hua Ci learning about it from someone else and not being able to handle it, potentially revealing something in the process.

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Upon hearing Ruan Lingyu's words, Hua Ci felt her emotions violently surge, and she raised her hand to touch her battlefield marking. Sure enough, Lu Ye's imprint had not disappeared. Still uneasy, she sent out a message and only after receiving a reply did she feel at ease.

On the surface, however, she appeared calm and composed, even though her body suddenly went limp and she fell to the ground, her eyes instantly reddening as tears flowed from her eyes.

"Sister Hua Ci!" Ruan Lingyu was horrified. She had already said that Lu Ye was only pretending to be dead, so why was the reaction still so intense?

If Lu Ye had been there, he would have praised Hua Ci for her excellent acting.

Half a day later, in a secluded area of the Righteous Blood Sect's grounds, Hua Ci led some of the core members of the sect to gather there.

Burning joss paper money...

A raging fire burned as Hua Ci tossed paper money into it while silently shedding tears.

Chen Yu, Kong Niu, Guk Yang, He Xiying, Zhu Wenbo, Yinn Haoran, Luo Qisheng, one by one, they were all called here, their expressions incredibly odd.

They had all been notified in advance that Lu Ye was not actually dead, yet here was Hua Ci, crying with swollen eyes, leaving them unsure whether Lu Ye had died or not.

"Everyone, cry for me!" Hua Ci softly ordered while burning paper money.

Several people looked at each other, and Chen Yu was the first to start weeping loudly, "Oh, how tragically you have fallen, my fifth junior brother!"

Cries and sobs rose and fell in waves, as Guk Yang cried while burning paper money and chant loudly, "May your soul return, may your soul return..."

He Xiying really wanted to laugh, but then Hua Ci glared at her.

"Whimper, whimper, whimper..." He Xiying immediately caved, rubbing her eyes and looking the picture of sorrow.

From a distance, Phong Yue watched the scene, unable to suppress a cheer. What goes around comes around; good and evil will always be repaid!

Ever since she was kidnapped by Lu Ye, who then tricked her out of thousands of merits, Phong Yue had stayed with the Righteous Blood Sect. She couldn't go back to the Phong family; having lost its territory on her watch, she, as a Deputy Governor, bore a great responsibility. If she returned to the Phong family, even if she wasn't executed, her ultimate fate would be to marry into another cultivator family as a political tool, with no future to speak of.

This was a consequence she could never accept. After all, she had been a Deputy Governor; how could she just give up?

Staying with the Righteous Blood Sect, despite having no title or status, her position as a healing cultivator meant that the sect's members treated her quite well. The resources distributed by the sect never fell short for her, and over the days, her strength improved.

The only issue that troubled her was her lack of merits. She was now at Level 8 of cultivation, about to reach Level 9, but without sufficient merits, she could not buy any Heaven Rank techniques.

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Thinking about the four thousand merits she had donated made Phong Yue feel wronged; those were what she had saved to buy Cultivation Techniques with...

Fortunately, that detestable Lu Yiye had been poisoned to death. With Hua Ci in charge of the Righteous Blood Sect, Phong Yue's mood brightened considerably.

In Wuzhou, at the Tianyan Sect headquarters, a heavy gloom hung in the air, and the atmosphere was grave.

The occupation of their territory had caused the Tianyan Sect great losses. Though the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators had withdrawn after Shui Yuan's disruptive incursion, rebuilding the territory was not a simple matter. At the very least, they needed to gather enough merits to establish a protective array before they could consider other matters.

Furthermore, to guard against any ambushes from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, the Tianyan Sect currently prohibited its disciples from entering the Spirit Stream battlefield.

Even the sect's big array had been activated, isolating the inside from the outside. The Tianyan Sect was now in complete lockdown; outsiders couldn't enter, insiders couldn't leave, and not even messages could get through.

This obviously had to do with the Seal Envoy of the Righteous Blood Sect making a scene. This led to Tianyan Sect's resentment towards the Righteous Blood Sect.

The poisoning and killing of Lu Yiye was not what they wanted to see either; the Righteous Blood Sect's Seal Envoy had made quite an unreasonable fuss in their territory.

It was said that the fight resulted in injuries to the Great Elder Bai Qian, who was now in a state of quiet recuperation.

In Bai Qian's residence, Lu Ye, Giant Armor, and Zhao Li were all arranged to stay there.

After Shui Yuan's treatment, both Giant Armor and Zhao Li had woken up, Giant Armor with no serious problems and Zhao Li very weak. However, waking up meant he was out of danger. The female healing cultivator from the True Lake Realm had checked Zhao Li thoroughly and confirmed there was no remaining poison in his body. His current weakness was only a side effect of the way Shui Yuan had healed him, indicating he would be fine after some rest.

This allowed Yooi Xiao and the others to finally relax.

Inside the library, Lu Ye ended his communication with Second Senior Sister and let his thoughts drift.

The situation had developed completely differently from his original plan.

He had previously told Second Senior Sister to act out a play alongside the sect master, thinking a display of grief would suffice. But who could have known that Second Senior Sister would actually attack Yooi Xiao? Seeing Yooi Xiao's reaction at that time, he was clearly confused, getting into a fight with Second Senior Sister without knowing what hit him.