Sage of Humanity

When Lu Ye entered the hall, Ye Yang from Mount Qingyu had already arrived and was waiting.

Seeing him arrive, Ye Yang chuckled, "Young friend, you really are quite fast."

"You flatter me."

Walking into the hall, Lu Ye followed his memory from his last visit for Dragon Spring Body Tempering and went to a corner of the hall. There should be an entrance leading underground, but now, the entrance was utterly inconspicuous, obviously obscured by some means or restrictions.

Lu Ye observed for a moment and discerned nothing, so he stimulated the Insight Spirit Runes to enhance his vision.

He did not know whether the Tailuo Sect and the Qin family would come. If these two families were too timid to show up, then he would have to open Dragon Spring himself.

He knew a thing or two about breaking arrays and restrictions.

However, after observing for a while, he realized he had underestimated the restrictions here. Even though he had activated the Insight Spirit Runes, he couldn't make out much, let alone begin to break them.

"Elder Ye, are the restrictions hiding the entrance originally in place here?" Lu Ye suddenly asked.

Ye Yang said, "Indeed."

"Then how did your sect and those two families learn the method to open it?"

Ye Yang chuckled and said, "Actually, we also do not know the method of opening it; we simply rely on a jade cluster. According to our sect's records, an unusual phenomenon naturally occurred here long ago, attracting the attention of cultivators from Mount Qingyu and the Tailuo Sect. A great battle ensued, and afterward, a jade cluster was found here. Since the strength of that generation from our sect and the Tailuo Sect were roughly equal, the jade cluster was split in two, each managed by Mount Qingyu and the Tailuo Sect. When necessary, joining the two halves together would allow entrance to Dragon Spring. Later, as the Tailuo Sect felt they were no match for Mount Qingyu, they brought in the Qin family to balance against our sect, continuing to this day. To win over Qin family, the half of the jade cluster in Tailuo Sect's possession was again split in two, so now, opening Dragon Spring necessitates combining the pieces of jade from all three families."

"I see."

"Young friend, have you noticed anything?" Ye Yang asked, as Mount Qingyu had also studied Dragon Spring, albeit without much success.

Lu Ye shook his head: "I didn't notice anything. I just feel that the restrictions here could not have been arranged by ordinary people."

As the two of them were talking, Lu Ye suddenly turned his head to look outside.

Outside the hall, two figures entered side by side, both looking quite old, probably the powerhouses from the Tailuo Sect and the Qin family.

Ye Yang's eyebrows rose, and he cursed teasingly, "You two old things are still alive?"

The person on the left said gravely, "If you're still alive, Ye Yang, how could we possibly die?"

They had all dealt with each other when they were young at the Spirit Stream battlefield, but since their respective sects were far apart, it became difficult to meet after promoting to Cloud River.

A hundred years had passed in the blink of an eye, and seeing each other now, none possessed the youthful spirit of their earlier days, which made them sigh inwardly.

"Is this young friend Lu Yiye?" the speaking elder looked at Lu Ye.

Ye Yang said, "Yiye, let me introduce you. The one with a mouth full of crap is Zhao Xin from the Tailuo Sect, and the mute over there is Qin Ming from the Qin family."

Qin Ming huffed coldly, indicating he was not at all mute.

Zhao Xin from the Tailuo Sect looked at Lu Ye: "Young friend, you really carry a great presence. The leader of the Spirit Stream Ranking not involved in the core circle, yet you venture to the outer circle to break the protective array of our sect and the Qin family, what are you intending to do?"

Both Zhao Xin and Qin Ming displayed a cultivation level of 8th Heaven, but neither showed a hint of fear when facing Lu Ye, knowing well that fortune or disaster couldn't be avoided, and if Lu Yiye truly intended them harm, fear would be pointless.

The prestige of leading the Spirit Stream Ranking was earned through countless battles.

Moreover, when Lu Ye had topped the Spirit Stream Ranking, he had only been at the 8th Heaven level of cultivation. Now that he was at the 9th Heaven, no one on the entire Spirit Stream battlefield could match him.

Even though both were True Lake Realm cultivators, they probably couldn't withstand a single strike from Lu Ye at the Spirit Stream battlefield.

"Open Dragon Spring!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xin understood: "So it is."

When he received the message from his disciples, he suspected that Lu Ye was targeting Dragon Spring, for what else could attract the attention of such a rank leader to this remote area besides Dragon Spring.

The silent Qin Ming said, "May I ask, young friend, what you need to do in Dragon Spring? With your current strength, even Dragon Spring Body Tempering wouldn't benefit you much, one might even say it would be ineffective."

That was also what Zhao Xin wanted to clarify.

Lu Ye considered briefly before speaking, "There is a commoner who lived to be a hundred years old, still vigorous and healthy. Do you know why?"

Zhao Xin frowned, "A commoner living to be a hundred years old is already of a very old age, nearing life's end, unless they practiced a Body Nurturing Skill."

Lu Ye shook his head.

Qin Ming said, "Then it must be because they took life-prolonging Spiritual Medicine."

Lu Ye shook his head again.

"Then why?"

"Because the old man never meddles in others' business."

Zhao Xin and Qin Ming were taken aback, eventually grasping the implication in Lu Ye's words. Zhao Xin said, "Dragon Spring concerns the tempering of disciples from three families; how could this be meddling in others' business? If you do not explain clearly, Old Man cannot cooperate."

Lu Ye's fingers caressed the hilt of his blade: "With one slash of my blade, who knows how many of your sect's disciples would survive; you better think carefully."

Zhao Xin waved his hand: "No need to think anymore. Others may want to enter Dragon Spring, but my Tailuo Sect would definitely not agree. Since it's young friend who wants to enter, then let it be. Brother Qin, what do you think?"

Qin Ming nodded: "I have no objections!"

Ye Yang stepped forward with a smile, "Shall we start then?"

"Start!"

The three of them each took out their own jade clusters and poured their spirit force into them. The three jade clusters radiated bright light, attracting each other, and quickly assembled together.

It was a dragon-shaped jade cluster!

The jade cluster vibrated, resonating with an invisible force. Accompanied by a humming sound from the mountain's belly, a gap suddenly opened in a corner of the great hall, leading straight underground.

Each of them raised their hands, taking back their respective jade clusters.

"This matter is concluded, I bid farewell!" Zhao Xin said, and with a clasped fist, he prepared to leave.

Lu Ye looked at Ye Yang with an inquiring expression.

Ye Yang said, "After activating the Dragon Spring, they are no longer involved. This place will close automatically in a few days."

Lu Ye nodded.

Zhao Xin and Qin Ming immediately flashed out of the great hall, summoned their Flying Spirit Artifacts, and soared into the sky, vanishing in the blink of an eye. Although they appeared calm and composed in front of Lu Ye, they were actually very nervous. If not for the fear of offending Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer, they would never have dared to come here.

"Young friend, go ahead, I will keep watch outside for you."

"Thank you!"

Lu Ye followed the entrance, venturing downwards.

Just like his previous visit, there was a spiral staircase below. As he descended, the hollow sound of footsteps echoed. After a long walk, he reached the bottom, arriving in front of a bronze door.

The bronze door was heavy and ancient, exuding an immense sense of age. Carved on it was the figure of a dragon, lifelike as if it were alive.

The door was already open, and a faint red mist was swirling inside.

Lu Ye stepped inside and immediately felt a sense of weightlessness. Looking around, he found himself in a secret chamber about thirty feet long and wide.

The chamber was filled with a light red mist, and in the center of the chamber, there was a spring, its waters churning.

Lu Ye tried to absorb the mist in the chamber for Body Tempering, but found the blood Qi contained in the mist very thin, which was almost insignificant for a 9th Heaven cultivator like himself.

This was also why cultivators with slightly higher cultivation levels didn't find the Dragon Spring Body Tempering very effective. The mist contained too little of what was beneficial for cultivators; for those with lower cultivation levels, the improvement was quite substantial, but for those above level 6-7, it was almost useless.

Yiyi emerged from Amber, curiously looking around, and asked, "Lu Ye, what are you doing here?"

"Meeting an old friend," Lu Ye replied offhandedly.

"Old friend?" Yiyi did not understand.

During Lu Ye's last visit for the Dragon Spring Body Tempering, Amber had not followed him, hence Yiyi was also unaware of what Lu Ye had encountered inside the Dragon Spring.

While speaking, Lu Ye sat down cross-legged.

Recalling his previous experience, during the process of the Dragon Spring Body Tempering, it seemed as though a pair of enormous blood-red pupils were watching him. For a long time afterwards, he thought it might have been an illusion.

But as his cultivation level rose and as he delved deeper into the knowledge of the Nine Provinces cultivation world, Lu Ye gradually understood that it was probably not an illusion.

Moreover, he had obtained a piece of Scale Armor from the Dragon Spring!

It was indeed a genuine dragon scale!

After obtaining the Phoenix True Fire, Lu Ye specially sent a message to inquire from Second Senior Sister, subsequently learning about the Four Auspicious Sacred Beasts.

Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, White Tiger, Black Tortoise!

These were the legendary sacred beasts said to exist in the Nine Provinces cultivation world.

The Vermillion Bird truly existed; the Phoenix True Fire Lu Ye had obtained was the best proof.

According to Second Senior Sister, Amber likely possessed the bloodline of the White Tiger because no other tiger demon beast could transform its spiritual body into a minion spirit, yet Amber possessed this ability.

In addition, Amber had many divine skills that tiger demon beasts did not...

If the Vermillion Bird and White Tiger were real, then Azure Dragon and Black Tortoise definitely existed.

Only then did Lu Ye confirm that what he had obtained in the Dragon Spring was an actual dragon scale, and the dragon blood stored within had such a powerful effect on body tempering.

And this place was Dragon Spring, from where the dragon scale had been obtained.

Thus, Lu Ye conjectured that there might be a True Dragon suppressed beneath this Dragon Spring.

He had traveled thousands of miles not for anything else, but to gather more dragon scales, as their effect on body tempering was incredibly powerful, necessary not only for himself but also for Amber and the Giant Armor.

How to obtain more dragon scales was an issue.

The previous time, the dragon scale had suddenly appeared before him, which meant it was given to him by the True Dragon suppressed here. The enormous blood-red pupils he felt were probably the dragon eyes.

No good deed goes unpunished; the True Dragon suppressed here had given him a dragon scale apparently without reason, definitely having something it desired. Therefore, Lu Ye felt that he could approach it from this angle.