Sage of Humanity

Two days earlier, Lu Yiye employed some unknown method to summon the Vermillion Bird of the Four Auspicious Sacred Beasts, wiping out over two hundred cultivators from the Core Circle of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge in a single move—an incredibly powerful tactic, inconceivable to the cultivators, and certainly placing an unimaginable burden on him.

Afterwards, he was picked up by Giant Armor, and escaped deep into the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest. Everyone thought his life would soon end and anticipated his death from poisoning within a short period.

Yet, today, two days had passed and he was still alive and well because his name still prominently appeared on the Spirit Stream Ranking, without disappearing.

How on earth could he survive!

The Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side particularly couldn't understand this.

Even though he was proficient in Array Path and could create a suitable survival environment for himself through formations, he had already been severely poisoned during his venture into the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest—it made no sense for him to keep hanging on.

Perhaps... maybe... probably he was about to die?

Hanging on to this hope, the cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side continued to wait outside the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest.

As long as Lu Yiye lived, they would not be able to rest easy; they determined to stand guard here, wanting to see with their own eyes this catastrophe dying in the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest before they would be willing to give up.

During the wait, some unsettling news quickly spread— the Haotian Alliance was ambushing Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators rushing from all directions; losses were already mounting on their side.

This scenario was within expectations. With Ten Thousand Demons Ridge making such a significant move this time, the Haotian Alliance was bound to respond accordingly. However, currently the Haotian Alliance didn't have as many hands as Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, making it difficult to initiate a major battle, thereby resorting to this tactic.

On one hand, Ten Thousand Demons Ridge transmitted messages in all directions, advising arriving reinforcements to proceed with caution, and on the other hand, they dispatched personnel to provide support.

About 30 miles from the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest, a battle had just ended—it was more a one-sided slaughter than a battle. Lying on the ground were the corpses of several Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators, and beside these corpses stood a quiet woman with a serene and dignified demeanor, a blue light shining from the back of her hand she lifted.

It was Hua Ci, the healing cultivator who had been captivated to this location by several Ten Thousand Demons Ridge Heaven-rank cultivators.

Looking at the few corpses on the ground, Hua Ci felt somewhat helpless; she had intended to follow these people from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge to the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest and then enter the forest to find Lu Ye, but who would have expected these unfortunate souls to be so unlucky as to be ambushed and killed by a squad of Haotian Alliance cultivators upon arriving here!

With no choice left, Hua Ci had to reveal her battlefield marking.

There were eight Haotian Alliance cultivators who had killed these men, with the leader having 9th Heaven cultivation, his longsword halting just three inches from Hua Ci. Seeing the blue light, he immediately withdrew his sword, looking surprised, "Junior Sister, how come you are with people from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge?"

Hua Ci explained, "I am a healing cultivator, and I was captured by them."

The group suddenly realized; it was common on the Spirit Stream battlefield for enemy healing cultivators to be captured, and generally, captured healing cultivators weren't treated too harshly, which led them initially to think Hua Ci was allied with those men.

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"Junior Sister, this place isn't very peaceful right now, would you like to join us?" the sword-bearing cultivator asked.

Although Hua Ci's Level 9 cultivation wasn't considered very high, she was qualified to compete in the Core Circle, mainly because she was a healing cultivator.

Cultivators often clashed with others, and injuries were a common occurrence. Having a healing cultivator nearby allowed them to fight more freely.

Hua Ci shook her head.

The sword-bearing cultivator didn't insist, seeing her response, "Then you should leave quickly, Junior Sister. This place might soon be checked by cultivators from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge."

After advising Hua Ci, the group quickly flew away on their weapon control.

As Hua Ci watched the group disappear, she looked again at the corpses lying in the pool of blood, feeling somewhat frustrated, thinking these fellows were too weak—they had been so arrogant in front of her, yet so ineffective against the Haotian Alliance cultivators.

Still having 30 miles to go, she could only deploy her Flying Spirit Artifact, heading towards the direction of the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest.

Her storage sack had been taken by the people from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge and had now become the spoils of war for those several Haotian Alliance cultivators; she didn't ask for it back since there was nothing valuable in it; the only item left on her was this Flying Spirit Artifact.

As she progressed, her luck was strangely good; she didn't encounter anyone from the Haotian Alliance or the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, until she reached the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest, where she saw large groups of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators gathered together.

If viewed from above, one could see these Ten Thousand Demons Ridge people had completely surrounded the entire Ten Thousand Poisons Forest, not only on the ground but also a large number of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators patrolling the air, watching for Lu Ye to escape.

However, the interior of the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest was filled with pervasive deadly toxins, making it extremely dense, so cultivators patrolling the air couldn't see clearly inside the forest.

Hua Ci didn't descend but floated in mid-air, looking towards the toxic forest ahead.

Some Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators noticed her, but most merely gave her a few more glances because of her beauty, not paying much attention.

No one suspected that here, in a place crowded with Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators, there was a Haotian Alliance healing cultivator who had boldly come over and was so brazenly hovering in mid-air.

As if she didn't care if others saw her.

Without showing the glow of her battlefield marking, aside from those who knew each other, no one could tell which faction she belonged to.

With Hua Ci exhibiting such composure and her Level 9 cultivation status, who would think to investigate which camp she was from?

This is a typical case of "darkness beneath the lamplight."

"Does anyone need a healing cultivator? We need a healing cultivator!" Suddenly, someone's voice sounded nearby.

Hua Ci turned her head and saw a young man shouting loudly nearby.

She originally had no intention of paying attention, but the next words the young man shouted changed her mind.

"Entering the forest to search for Lu Yiye, is there any healing cultivator to assist?"

"I am a healing cultivator." Hua Ci lightly landed in front of the young man.

The young man looked her up and down and, although he found her pleasing to the eye, he still felt slightly disdainful, "Your cultivation is a bit low…"

He preferred a healing cultivator who had switched to cultivating a Heaven Rank technique since they were venturing deep into the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest, where a higher cultivation in a healing cultivator would provide more security.

"I am skilled at detoxifying." Hua Ci said indifferently.

The young man looked at Hua Ci skeptically, then walked over to a man with a sharp chin and monkey cheeks, whispering something in his ear. The man snickered and took a pink elixir pill from his storage sack.

The young man took the elixir pill, came up to Hua Ci, and handed it to her, "If someone were poisoned with this, could you cure it?"

Hua Ci picked up the elixir pill, didn't even glance at it, and swallowed it right away.

The few nearby onlookers were stunned, and the young man was speechless!

He had only intended to test Hua Ci's detoxification skills, but to his surprise, she had directly consumed the pill.

The owner of the elixir pill, the man with the sharp chin and monkey cheeks, couldn't help but come closer, carefully observing Hua Ci's reaction. After a good while, he incredulously said, "You… are alright?"

That elixir pill wasn't a deadly poison, but for a woman, it was something not to be trifled with lightly. Even a female cultivator who had switched to cultivating a Heaven Rank technique would be overwhelmed by it, becoming delirious and infatuated. Such things were usually used discreetly. No one would openly consume it in public, unafraid of making a fool of themselves.

"Do you have more?" Hua Ci looked at the man with the sharp chin and monkey cheeks, appearing still unsatisfied.

The man involuntarily twitched the corner of his eye, having never before encountered such an extraordinary woman!

"Junior Sister's detoxifying skills truly are incredible!" The young man who had been shouting earlier laughed loudly, "It's settled then, you're with us. Once inside the forest, we'll all rely on Junior Sister."

Hua Ci revealed a gentle smile, "Dear Senior Brothers, rest assured and entrust your lives to me!"

Though her words sounded a bit odd, the young man didn't think much of it and waved, "Everyone is here, let's set out!"

With that call, a group of more than twenty people gathered around and followed the young man deep into the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest.

The Ten Thousand Demons Ridge squad, though certain that Lu Ye's life would not last much longer, still periodically sent people into the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest to search for him and restrict his mobility to prevent any tricks he might have up his sleeve in the forest.

Even if they couldn't find Lu Ye, they couldn't let him escape from deep within.

The dangers in the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest didn't only come from the omnipresent poisonous fog and barriers. Numerous poisonous creatures also lived there, but fortunately, due to the recent continuous flow of a large number of people moving in and out, the poisonous creatures on the outer perimeter had been mostly cleared away.

As the group of more than twenty people ventured deeper into Ten Thousand Poisons Forest, they didn't spread out too far apart. Having had the experience in the Fog-shrouded Mountain previously, they truly did not dare to disperse their forces too much for fear of being ambushed by Lu Ye.

Hua Ci was undoubtedly a key individual for protection; being the only healing cultivator in the team and one who hadn't switched to cultivating a Heaven Rank technique, everyone was naturally vigilant.

"Junior Sister, remember to use protective spirit force." The lead young man inadvertently noticed that Hua Ci hadn't activated her protective spirit force. Instead, she was breathing the toxic fog naturally and hurriedly reminded her.

"Hmm," Hua Ci casually replied, slightly invoking her protective spirit force.

Seeing this, the young man was reassured.

As they continued deeper, after walking for about three miles, the toxicity of the poisonous fog became much more intense. Even after taking some Detoxification Pills before entering, some were beginning to struggle.

The young leader thought about retreating. Searches like this had been conducted many times recently by the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side with no avail.

However, for Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, having no findings was their biggest gain, indicating that Lu Ye was still within the depth of the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest and had not escaped.

Just when the young man was about to order a retreat, a faint thump was suddenly heard nearby.

Suddenly someone exclaimed, "Not good, Junior Brother Wang has been poisoned."

The voice had barely faded when several more thumps signified others collapsing.

One man, his consciousness blurring as he fell, cried out, "Run, the poison is fierce…"

He never finished his sentence before all went quiet.

This sudden event startled everyone; they had entered the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest several times before and reached such depths, but never had they experienced anything like this. No one knew how such a mishap had occurred this time.

With continuous thumping sounds of bodies falling, the squad of more than twenty people quickly dwindled to just a few who were still barely managing to stand but were also dizzy and confused.