Sage of Humanity

All preparations complete, Lu Ye arrived at the last position with an array banner in his hand that he gently waved, causing spirit force to surge.

The other thirty-one array banners immediately resonated, and all the array cultivators wielding them began their work.

Exactly thirty-two array banners adhered to the surface of the big array's light screen, and as the array cultivators, led by Lu Ye, worked their spells, the pitch-black banners merged into the screen at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow.

These array banners, rewarded from the Hundred Arrays Pagoda, were a bit easier to utilize than he had anticipated.

Zhao Li and Song Yin, who were watching this scene, were invigorated. Zhao Li, being an array cultivator himself, recognized the significance, while Song Yin, though ignorant of the Array Path, could tell that things were progressing smoothly.

The governor of Qingfeng Gate panicked.

He had never seen such a bizarre tactic before. Holding the Great Array Jade Cluster in his hand, he could clearly sense that some foreign objects had merged into the big array. But when he tried to activate the jade cluster to expel these objects, he couldn't lock onto any targets—it felt as though the foreign objects had already integrated with the big array.

Not only had he never seen it, but such tactics had never appeared on the Spirit Stream battlefield since ancient times.

The cultivation of Spirit Stream Realm cultivators wasn't high; even those seasoned cultivators who had dedicated themselves to the Array Path for decades after losing hope of advancing their cultivation realms, due to their limited cultivation, could only achieve so much. They might be able to break some small-scale formations, but it was extremely difficult to shake the protective arrays at the garrisons, which were enormous constructs.

As the thirty-two array banners merged into the light screen of the big array, Lu Ye, who was holding the main array banner, immediately felt the flow of spirit force in the big array. It was like reaching his hand into a flowing stream.

What came next was simple. Using the power of the thirty-two array banners, he would curb the flow of spirit force in two nodes of the big array. By doing so, the array in that particular area could be broken.

Right, Lu Ye never intended to break the entire big array from the start. Even with his past experience of breaking arrays alone, and now with thirty-one array cultivators to assist him, it would still take a lot of time.

Furthermore, the big array he had broken inside the Hundred Arrays Pagoda had been unattended, unlike the current situation.

He only needed to create a breach in the big array, a gap wide enough for the cultivators of the two sects to burst through.

When storming the garrison at Illuminating Sun Mountain, he had used a similar method. However, his understanding of Array Path had been lacking at the time, so he had chosen to tear through a node of the big array and led Giant Armor and ten physique cultivators to charge into the Illuminating Sun Mountain garrison to seize the Great Array Jade Cluster.

That approach was only feasible when there were not many guards at the garrison. If the Illuminating Sun Mountain had been able to spare a few dozen more men to stay at the garrison, Lu Ye wouldn't have dared to act so recklessly.

If the flowing spirit force on the light screen of the big array were compared to river water, what he was about to do was to construct two dams at one segment of this river by using the power of the array banners, turning the active water into stagnant water, and then directly breaking through this isolated segment.

The array banners hummed, spirit force flowed from Lu Ye, and the thirty-one array cultivators, feeling the feedback from the banners, coordinated with Lu Ye's actions.

The governor of Qingfeng Gate's face changed instantly as he clearly detected abnormalities in the big array. He hurriedly activated the jade cluster, attempting various maneuvers, but to no avail—no matter what he tried, Lu Ye could adjust his countermeasures promptly.

In the area covered by the array banners, the flow of spirit force in the big array visibly slowed down and subsequently stagnated.

The whole process took merely fifty breaths!

"Brother Zhao!" Lu Ye shouted loudly.

Waiting for just that call, Zhao Li immediately roared: "Charge!"

In the next instant, wave after wave of the might of Flowing Light Technique rained down ahead.

With just one fierce assault, the light screen of the big array shattered like a mirror, breaking apart with a crashing sound!

The governor of Qingfeng Gate was stunned.

All the disciples of Qingfeng Gate were stunned.

Song Yin was stunned as well.

When Lu Ye told him he could break the array within the time it took an incense stick to burn, he was utterly unwilling to believe it, thinking Lu Ye was merely bluffing. If not for Zhao Li's sake, he would have wanted to lead his cultivators away right then.

But in fact, it took less than the time to burn half an incense stick from when Lu Ye made his move until the light screen of the big array shattered.@@novelbin@@

Even the composed Song Yin couldn't help swallowing hard.

A protective array was supposed to be this easy to break? What he had just witnessed completely overturned his understanding.

Although shocked, Song Yin's men did not hesitate. Almost at the moment when the big array shattered, a ferocious battle cry already roared out.

Through the massive gap in the light screen of the big array, the cultivators of the two sects surged in like a flood into the Qingfeng Gate garrison.

The moment both sides clashed, the Qingfeng Gate was quickly overwhelmed, and in an instant, twenty to thirty people fell into a pool of blood, while the rest retreated in panic.

It wasn't that Qingfeng Gate couldn't hold up to the strain; no one had anticipated their protective array to be so fragile.

Before the array was broken, the cultivators of Tianyan Sect and Canglan Mountain had already positioned themselves in an aggressive formation. The cultivators from each faction took their own spots, and the seven to eight hundred cultivators became one entity. The physically strong physique cultivators held Spiritual Artifacts for defense up front to withstand the enemy's attack, advancing layer by layer inward.

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But Qingfeng Gate was far from prepared; they gathered together in a disordered fashion, utterly unprepared for an attack.

Moreover, there was a huge disparity in numbers.

This was why Qingfeng Gate seemed so delicate and vulnerable.

The sounds of battle rose and fell one after another as the cultivators from both sects rushed into Qingfeng Gate's residence without stopping, heading determinedly in one particular direction.

That was the location of Qingfeng Gate's Heaven's Augury Hall.

Merely seizing someone else's territory, although it would yield plenty of benefits, would not permanently weaken the enemy if they were not killed; they could rise again sooner or later.

Therefore, this time Tianyan Sect and Canglan Mountain not only aimed to seize Qingfeng Gate's territory but also to slay its cultivators—whomever they could kill would be a gain.

The offensive momentum of the two sects' cultivators was unstoppable. Along the way, many from Qingfeng Gate were cut down. Giant Armor advanced in the vanguard, his body swirling with a mixture of spirit force and blood Qi, creating a layer of visible, solid protection. Attacks hastily unleashed by Qingfeng Gate cultivators merely scratched him as if tickling.

This caused his fellow physique cultivators who were charging with him to frequently cast envious glances his way.

At the same moment the great array was dismantled, Lu Ye casually waved his hand to retrieve his thirty-two array banners. As the cultivators of the two sects stormed into Qingfeng Gate's residence, four Spiritual Artifacts became streaks of light, flying back and forth within a radius of sixty yards, bringing forth sprays of blood. Wherever they passed, tiny specks of red light rose from the fallen bodies on the ground and drifted into the battlefield marking on the back of his hand.

Now at Spirit Stream Level 9, Lu Ye's strength had improved from before, particularly his control over weapons, which had increased several times over what it was at Level 8. This was not solely due to the increase in his Cultivation Realm but also greatly due to the enhancement of his psyche's power.

In the Hundred Arrays Pagoda, he continuously consumed Soul Cleansing Water to wash away the fatigue of his mind and spirit. But the effect of Soul Cleansing Water was not as simple as relieving mental exhaustion. After using nearly half a bottle of the water, the resilience of his psyche was now unmatched by even an average Cloud River Realm cultivator.

The most evident sign was that Lu Ye now could channel four Spiritual Artifacts without any pressure and even strengthen the four items with double spirit runes effortlessly.

The usual control range of a Level 9 cultivator over their weapons was about forty yards; beyond that, control was no longer possible. However, Lu Ye could now extend his weapon control up to sixty yards.

What did a twenty-yard difference imply? It meant that cultivators of the same realm could not even come close to him without being cut down by his controlled weapons.

Moving through the chaotic battlefield, Lu Ye kept advancing without stopping, his gaze fixed on the governor of Qingfeng Gate.

With the enhancement of the Move-Like-The-Wind Spirit Runes, he surged forward swiftly.

Qingfeng Gate cultivators trying to escape turned around to block him, but Amber, crouched on Lu Ye's shoulder, let out a tiger's roar. A visible blast of air surged forth, causing those cultivators to wince in pain, seeing stars before their eyes.

Although they quickly regained their senses, they were greeted by the slicing light of controlled weapons and spells cast by Yiyi, who was following close by Lu Ye's side.

Screams arose one after another as more than a dozen Qingfeng Gate cultivators fell, the ground stained red with their blood.

Without pausing, Lu Ye quickly reached the Qingfeng Gate governor. The governor himself was a combat cultivator and, in a state of shock, he summoned his Spiritual Artifact; however, a flash of bright sword light passed before his eyes, and his head soared into the air.

As Lu Ye swept past him, he had already acquired a Great Array Jade Cluster in his hand. He did not rush to refine it but continued to pursue and kill the Qingfeng Gate cultivators.

At this very moment, Qingfeng Gate's Heaven's Augury Hall had fallen into the hands of the two sects. Under the joint strategy of Zhao Li and Song Yin, some were posted to block the entrance, preventing any Qingfeng Gate cultivators from getting close. The rest maintained their previous formation, continuously pressing forward, reducing the escape space for Qingfeng Gate cultivators.

Although Lu Ye had breached a section of the Qingfeng Gate array, it was still operating. After Lu Ye retracted his array banners, the broken section began to self-repair under the array's own process, slowly recovering.

Judging by the pace of recovery, it wouldn't be long before the protective array would be completely restored.

This resulted in the Qingfeng Gate cultivators having only one escape route through that breach; otherwise, there was no way out.

But how could the cultivators of the two sects allow them to escape so easily in that direction?

In the history of clashes between the two camps on the Spirit Stream battlefield, never had there been such a desperate scene where the cultivators who had their residences seized faced such despair.

In the past, even if their residence's grand array had been broken, they could still return to the Nine Provinces through Heaven's Augury Hall. But now, Heaven's Augury Hall had fallen, and the protective array that was supposed to shield them from the elements had turned into their cage.

In an absolutely dire situation, the surviving Qingfeng Gate cultivators did not just wait to die but began to fight back.

However, the numerical disparity was too great.

The Qingfeng Gate had fewer cultivators than the joint forces of the two sects to begin with. Now with some dead and others escaped through Heaven's Augury Hall, fewer than two hundred were left.

How could they possibly stand against a formation of seven to eight hundred cultivators?