Sage of Humanity

Lu Ye went to the Mad Saber Sect to ask for twenty sets of saber skills cultivation experience. For the Mad Saber Sect, this was not an issue at all, and he could be certain that the saber skills cultivation experience they provided were all quite basic, and would definitely not include any advanced cultivation techniques.

Lu Ye never expected them to offer anything profound.

As he looked through the contents of the letter, he gradually gained some insights.

It was only when Yiyi came over with a washbasin, wet a towel, and meticulously scrubbed Lu Ye's face a few times.

Moments later, in the small courtyard outside the wooden house, Lu Ye and Hua Ci sat opposite each other, feasting heartily.

After eating his fill, Lu Ye said, "I'm going back to the garrison. I should be promoted to Cloud River in a while. What are your plans?"

"I don't have any plans for the moment," Hua Ci replied indifferently while cleaning up.

"Are you planning to stay here indefinitely?" Lu Ye didn't understand.

"Don't worry about me. I have my own plans. Besides, if you diligently cultivate, who knows, even if I were at the Spirit Stream battlefield, I might progress faster in cultivation than you," Hua Ci said, squeezing her eyes at him.

Lu Ye snorted, "Then I really need to work hard."

Standing up, he summoned his spirit ark and leapt onto it, "I've left some cultivation resources for you in the room on the third floor. I'll wait for you at the Cloud River battlefield."

"Go ahead."

Lu Ye nodded his head, soared into the sky, and disappeared as a trail of light.

Watching Lu Ye leave, Hua Ci smiled and continued to clean up the messy dining table. She didn't feel too much bitterness from the departure because a brief separation was just for a better reunion later on.

When Lu Ye first set out from the garrison into the Core Circle, he had to relay with Giant Armor for weapon control, and it took him a total of ten days to travel from the Righteous Blood Sect's garrison to the Loyal Heart Sect's garrison.

But now his cultivation had greatly increased, and both the speed and the endurance of his weapon control were incomparable to before, so this time, it took him less than three days to return to the Righteous Blood Sect's garrison.

Being a Governor, he was able to enter the protective array without raising any alarm, but as soon as he entered, he was detected by a cultivator responsible for monitoring the garrison. The cultivator approached to investigate and, seeing that it was Lu Ye, exclaimed joyfully, "Fifth Senior Brother is back!"

The news rapidly spread outward, with more and more people gathering here.

Lu Ye glanced around, noting the large number of cultivators in his sect's garrison, most of whom were unfamiliar faces with only a small number being recognizable.

Among those unfamiliar faces, some appeared noticeably young, around twelve or thirteen years old...

Lu Ye guessed that these young kids were probably new disciples recently accepted into the sect. As for the older ones, perhaps some were from his sect, but many were likely from outside sects that had come to the Righteous Blood Sect for affiliation and cultivation.

Looking at the outer circle of the battlefield, there were countless sects, but in terms of nature's spiritual energy richness, the Righteous Blood Sect's garrison was second to none because Lu Ye had already bought the enhancement of the garrison's Spiritual Energy to its limit the last time he was here.

The concentration was eleven times greater than outdoors, unmatched by any other sect in the outer circle.

If there were to break this limit, it could only happen if the grade of the Righteous Blood Sect was elevated to 6th grade, allowing the garrison to move into the inner circle of the battlefield.

Moreover, the Righteous Blood Sect was currently riding high, with other sects within the vicinity of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge being completely suppressed, unable to raise their heads. Coming here for affiliated cultivation guaranteed efficiency and safety, which is why sects on good terms with the Righteous Blood Sect were willing to send their less advanced Disciples here.

The only downside might be the slower rate of earning merit.

In the garrison, pairs of eyes watched with curiosity, admiration, reverence – a mix of emotions.

To Lu Ye's surprise, he found that most of the cultivators he used to know were no longer visible.

People like Kong Niu, Ruan Lingyu, He Xiying, and Guo Yang had all entered the inner circle.

The Spirit Stream battlefield was always like this, new generations replacing the old, cultivators forever toiling on the vast battlefield, striving for their cultivation and future. Those who survived in this tumultuous tide were the ultimate winners.

Lu Ye didn't even know who the current Deputy Governor of the Righteous Blood Sect was...

Entering the Heaven's Augury Hall, he exchanged the enhancements plundered from the devastating of those Ten Thousand Demons Ridge garrisons into sect merit. He could see, with his naked eye, the number representing the sect's merit crazily and rapidly increasing.

To think, garrisons belonging to twenty or thirty Core Circle sects had been breached, and all their enhancements had been taken by Lu Ye alone. Even though there had been heavy losses during the plundering, the final amount he obtained was still terrifying.

After one incense stick's time, the sect's merit settled on a figure starting with the number three, in tens of millions...

With such a vast amount of sect merit, looking across the entire Spirit Stream battlefield, probably only the Righteous Blood Sect could claim such wealth.

With so much merit, the Righteous Blood Sect's garrison could extend its radiation range by more than a dozen times.

However, Lu Ye did not plan to use these merits for the time being. It was certain that the sect's grade would be elevated, only the timing was a question. Once the grade was advanced enough to relocate to the inner circle, a substantial amount of merit would inevitably be spent. There was no particular need to spend merit on the current Righteous Blood Sect's garrison, so accumulating more was no harm.

He merely allocated himself a monthly stipend, rounding up his own merits to an exact 100,000.

Using the Heaven's Augury Pillar, he returned to his sect headquarters.

Shui Yuan, who had already received the news, was waiting in front of the Heaven's Augury Hall. Sensing movement, she looked up to see Lu Ye with a row of storage sacks hanging from his waist walking out, and she couldn't help but chuckle.

She had long heard that their little junior brother, after breaking through over twenty garrisons of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, had extorted quite a lot of benefits from the remaining hundreds of Ten Thousand Demons sects. It seemed now that those benefits were quite substantial indeed.

"Second Senior Sister," Lu Ye approached.

Shui Yuan nodded and gave him a glance, "You've gotten darker and stronger."

"Can't help it with the wind and sun," he replied while untying the storage sacks from his waist and handing them all to Shui Yuan, immediately feeling much lighter.

"So many!" Shui Yuan knew that Lu Ye had made a fortune this trip, but she didn't know the exact amount. After all, Ten Thousand Demons Ridge had not broadcasted the details. Only now, after a brief inspection, did she realize the extent of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge's loss this time.

"Leave it for the sect's development, handle it as you see fit," Lu Ye said, "I'm going to greet the sect master."

"The old man's not here," Shui Yuan informed him.

"Then I'll go greet Madam Yun." Every time he returned from the outside, these two elders were the first ones he had to see, as a matter of courtesy.

"Wait a moment," Shui Yuan called out, then took a wooden box out of the storage sack and handed it to Lu Ye.

Lu Ye took it and opened it to see two jade vials inside, each containing some amber-colored elixir pills, the size of soybeans.

"These were refined using the honey you had Giant Armor bring back. They have beautifying effects. Madam Yun should like them," Shui Yuan said.

Women always care about their appearance, especially those of a certain age, fearing the day when their beauty fades. So in the cultivation world, items with beautifying effects are generally highly sought after by female cultivators.

Lu Ye was surprised, "That honey has that kind of effect?"

He really didn't know.

Last time, when Giant Armor advanced to Cloud River in the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest and before returning to the sect, Lu Ye had him bring back a large quantity of honey. His original intention was to let Shui Yuan research whether it could be used to refine elixir pills for restoring spirit force, but now it seemed that instead of pills for restoring spirit force, they had refined ones for preserving beauty.

"It does. I've tried it," Shui Yuan said with a smile, "And bringing this is certainly better than every time you bring fish."

"Second Senior Sister has thought things through." With that, Lu Ye simply handed over all his stored honey to Shui Yuan. Since the honey had beautifying properties, it would be wasted staying in his possession.

He also handed over the remaining royal jelly to Shui Yuan, not much was left. As for how to handle it, that was Second Senior Sister's matter now.

Summoning his Spiritual Artifact, he went straight to Bright Heart Peak to see Madam Yun and present the gifts he brought. Madam Yun was indeed delighted, praising Lu Ye for his filial piety and understanding.

However, there were still assessments that needed to be made. During his time outside the sect, Lu Ye had improved his skills in the Path of Spirit Runes, so dealing with Madam Yun's assessment wasn't difficult.

After receiving some advice, Lu Ye benefited greatly.

He returned the books he had borrowed earlier and borrowed a new set.

Lu Ye discovered that he had already read nearly half of the books on the Path of Spirit Runes collected by Madam Yun.

By evening, Lu Ye bid farewell to Madam Yun.

"Come find me after you advance to Cloud River."

"Yes," Lu Ye acknowledged.

"Go on then."

It was the same maid who did not speak but only smiled that saw Lu Ye out.

Every time he saw this maid, Lu Ye always felt a bizarre sensation, as if the maid wasn't as real as she appeared...

Back at Jade Cauldron Peak, Second Senior Sister had prepared a table of medicinal meals.

Lu Ye rolled up his sleeves and dug in.

"By the way, Second Senior Sister, why did you want me to come back to the sect before advancing to Cloud River?" Lu Ye asked while he ate.

"Nothing much, just wanted you to advance here at the sect's location so the other disciples could observe. Also, the old man said your advancement this time might be a little out of the ordinary."

"Out of the ordinary?"

"Yes, I can't explain it now because the old man isn't certain either. You'll find out whether it's true or not when the time comes," Shui Yuan said as she served food to Lu Ye.

Lu Ye nodded and then said, "Then tell me about the Cloud River battlefield, Second Senior Sister."

Since he would be entering the Cloud River battlefield after advancing to Cloud River, he naturally wanted to understand some information about it in advance.

"The Cloud River battlefield..." Shui Yuan's eyes glimmered with reminiscence, and she smiled, "That place is completely different from the Spirit Stream battlefield, and it's much more interesting than the Spirit Stream battlefield, but also much more dangerous..."

It was apparent that Shui Yuan had also experienced the trials of the Cloud River battlefield. She then explained some of the rules within the Cloud River battlefield to Lu Ye, who listened intently and memorized them carefully.

In the end, Shui Yuan cautioned him, "Remember one thing, in the Cloud River battlefield, the forces from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge are not eternal enemies. Sometimes you even need to cooperate with them to achieve your own goals."

"Understood," Lu Ye said.