Sage of Humanity

Shui Yuan knew Lu Ye had a dragon scale because she had seen him refine his body using the blood Qi energy within that dragon scale.

At that time, she had inquired about the origin of the dragon scale, and Lu Ye naturally didn't hide it.

Shui Yuan then speculated that there might be some hidden secrets or opportunities beneath Dragon Spring.

Lu Ye had already made up his mind that once his cultivation in the Spirit Stream Realm reached its limit, he would definitely make a trip to Hundred Peaks Mountain to see if he could obtain more dragon scales.

Mount Qingyu, Tailuo Sect, and the Qin family, although they had occupied Dragon Spring for so many years, they probably were unaware of what lay beneath it, otherwise, they would have started exploring long ago.

In other words, the dragon scale that Lu Ye obtained might be the only one.

If his conjecture was true, that a True Dragon truly was suppressed beneath the Dragon Spring, then why would it give him a dragon scale without any reason?

It was definitely not due to luck or because it found him pleasing to the eye; there had to be another deeper reason.

There was probably something about him that other cultivators did not possess!

Reflecting on his last experience in Dragon Spring, Lu Ye faintly guessed it in his heart.

In the secret chamber, he stimulated his spirit force and began to construct various spirit runes.

Sharpness, Defense, Gathering Spirit...

Bloodstain, Sun Blaze, Foundation Fortification, Move-Like-The-Wind, Hefty Weight...

Cactus, Breath-concealing, Insight...

Audio Message, Image Message, Spirit Energy Storage, Underwater Breathing, Explosion, Concealment...

Golden Arc, Lightning Attracting, Wings...

Apart from the Fire Phoenix Spirit Runes, he constructed all the spirit runes he had mastered so far, one by one.

He repeated the process a full three times!

The spirit force surged, the spirit runes transformed, and their connections were extremely smooth. Even Madam Yun, a spirit runes master of her caliber, would have been taken aback if she were here to witness it.

Because even with her mastery in the Path of Spirit Runes, she couldn't construct so many complex spirit runes in such a short time, let alone transition between various spirit runes without fault.

But with the help of the Talent Tree, Lu Ye did it with ease.

No response...

Lu Ye couldn't help but frown. Had he made a mistake?

If it really was a mistake, then he might have made the trip for nothing.

Without too much regret, after all, everything here was just his speculation, and his understanding of the Nine Provinces cultivation world was not deep enough; it was inevitable to make some mistakes in some things.

Standing up, he took steps to leave the chamber.

Suddenly, his movement halted, as his keen awareness detected a pair of eyes watching him from behind. His skin instantly tensed, and he felt as though he was being pricked by a million needles, experiencing an indescribable tingling sensation.

Amber, crouching on his shoulder, instantly bristled and flattened against him, growling in a low tone.

Lu Ye grasped the Boulder Mountain Saber in his hand.

Beads of sweat the size of beans slid down his forehead!

He slowly turned his leaden body and suddenly met a pair of huge blood-red pupils!

There was an indifferent and superior air about those pupils. Under their gaze, Lu Ye felt an ant-like insignificance.

He hadn't been mistaken; it was very likely that a True Dragon was indeed suppressed here, and the immense blood-red pupils he felt last time were not an illusion, as they had appeared again now.

At this moment, above the Dragon Spring, a dragon head formed purely of condensed blood Qi filled most of the secret chamber. The dragon head had two dragon horns, was covered with fine dragon scales, and the dragon whiskers beneath its jaw fluttered as endless draconic might pervaded the space.

Lu Ye felt as if a mountain had been placed upon his shoulders, the weight was so heavy that he struggled to breathe.

The tremendous pressure caused Lu Ye's body to bend slightly, and despite using all his strength, he couldn't resist it.

"Roar!" Amber roared, with visible waves of energy impacting forward. At the same time, the figure of the Fire Phoenix standing on the Talent Tree came to life, with its loud cries echoing from within Lu Ye's body.

The indifferent dragon eyes clearly showed a surprised expression.

The Boulder Mountain Saber thundered out of its sheath, Lu Ye's right arm swelled, and he slashed at the dragon head with his saber.

Single Flash!

The saber strike, which could have instantly killed a 9th Heaven physique cultivator, did not harm the blood Qi dragon head, as it was not a physical being.

With that strike, Lu Ye felt as though he had severed something, and the heavy pressure suddenly disappeared.

He let out a breath of relief and looked toward the dragon head.

"Did you choose me specifically because you want me to save you?"

It was merely a conjecture before, but now he could be certain.

Lu Ye didn't know why the real body of this dragon head was suppressed here, but it definitely wasn't content to be oppressed like this. Since it wasn't content, it needed someone to save it. Other cultivators might not catch its eye, but Lu Ye's talent in the Path of Spirit Runes was quite obvious, giving the dragon head a ray of hope.

That's why when he was at Level 5 realm and refined his body here, it had rewarded him with a dragon scale.

However, looking at the current situation, Lu Ye was somewhat inclined to leave, being oppressed with such might; should it be released, what a fierce existence it would be.

"Young man, you are very smart!" the dragon head suddenly spoke.

"This is not the attitude of someone seeking help," Lu Ye's eyelids drooped. The other party first demonstrated a false retreat, revealing itself only when he was about to leave and then tried to intimidate him into nearly kneeling; clearly, it was not a good thing.

"Currently, you are too weak."

"Then give me something that can make me stronger, like those dragon scales last time. Just a hundred or eighty pieces will do."

The dragon head burst out laughing, the thunderous laughter causing the secret chamber to shiver incessantly.

In the midst of laughter, the dragon head gradually dissipated.

Lu Ye frowned.

But after the dragon head disappeared, Dragon Spring suddenly surged, and from the spring's eye, a dragon scale emerged, followed by another, and then a third, a fourth...

A total of five dragon scales emerged before Dragon Spring returned to its normal state.

"Cultivate well, young man. When you understand the truth of this world, come find me again. I look forward to our next meeting!" The voice came from an unknown place, clearly reaching Lu Ye's ears.

It seemed convinced that Lu Ye would come to find it again!

Lu Ye stepped forward, muttering "stingy" while he put away the five dragon scales.

The five dragon scales were roughly the same size as the ones he had gotten before, each about the size of a palm, but Lu Ye could feel that the blood Qi energy contained within was much denser, almost several times stronger.

He excitedly placed the five dragon scales into his storage sack.

Lu Ye thought back to the dragon head's parting words; the dragon head clearly had more to imply, even mentioning something about the truth of this world...

As a cultivator of the Spirit Stream Realm, how could Lu Ye know anything about the truth of this world?

He had just put away the dragon scales when a repelling force surrounded him, and the next moment his vision blurred, and he found himself outside the bronze gate.

The gate slowly closed, and Lu Ye looked at the dragon shadow engraved on it, noting the dragon head in the pattern looked almost like the one he had seen.

A True Dragon lay suppressed beneath Dragon Spring, a fact probably no one had ever expected.

Following the way he had come, Lu Ye walked into the main hall, where Ye Yang was waiting.

Seeing Lu Ye returned so soon surprised Ye Yang, as Lu Ye had been gone for less than half a day, and he hadn't expected him to be back so quickly.

"Have you finished your business, young friend?"

Lu Ye nodded, then shook his head. The situation was about what he had expected, but it was also much more complicated than he had thought.

Without prying further, Ye Yang knew some things were not to be asked, nor did they need to be. It was enough to understand in his heart.

"Since the matter here is settled, this junior will take his leave now."

Ye Yang tried to persuade him to stay: "It's rare for you to come by. Won't you sit a while at our sect?"

"No, thank you. Second Senior Sister sent me a message asking me to return early."

Ye Yang nodded: "Then I won't keep you any longer, young friend. May you have a smooth journey."

"I take my leave!"

Summoning his spirit ark, Lu Ye stepped onto it and soared into the sky, disappearing in an instant.

The journey there had taken nearly ten days, and the return trip was the same.

However, the time spent on the road was not wasted, as Lu Ye devoted himself to studying the saber cultivation insights he had obtained from Mad Saber Sect. Thanks to Yiyi's reminders, he did not get lost or fly in the wrong direction during weapon control-flying.

It was about ten days later that Lu Ye returned to the territory of the Righteous Blood Sect. Looking up at the nearby spirit mountaintop, he saw that Little Gray was back.

Diverting his gaze, a voice suddenly came from the side: "Brother Yiye is back!"

Lu Ye looked toward the voice and was surprised to find Governor Situ Han from the Three Saints Sanctuary, accompanied by several disciples.

"Brother Situ!" Lu Ye called out. "What brings you here? Is there something wrong with the Three Saints Sanctuary?"

"Not at all," Situ Han laughed. "Both Xuanqing Palace and Half-Moon Pavilion have suffered heavy losses. Now everything is fine at our sect headquarters. We heard you were about to ascend to Cloud River, so we've come to watch the ceremony."

Lu Ye laughed: "It's just an advancement to Cloud River."

Situ Han looked puzzled at him: "Doesn't Brother Yiye know?"

"Know what?" Lu Ye was confused by his question.

Situ Han chuckled: "It seems Brother Yiye really doesn't know. But no matter, you'll understand when the time comes."

Just as Lu Ye was about to ask for clarification, more people approached to greet him and, soon, more and more people gathered around.

The arrivals were all cultivators from the Core Circle, and they were led by governors or deputy governors of the big sects, with several people from a single sect attending.

Some of those people were ones Lu Ye had heard of, especially the strong ones on the Spirit Stream Ranking. Even if he hadn't met them, he had heard their names. But most were people he had neither seen nor heard of before.

They had all come to observe the ceremony.

Lu Ye was truly bewildered. He was merely advancing to Cloud River, yet it seemed to have turned into a grand event, attracting governors and deputy governors from all the big sects in the Core Circle to come and watch.

He had recently wondered why there were so many extra people in their territory.

Now, the Righteous Blood Sect's territory was bustling with people. It wasn't only about the sect's few hundred disciples; nearly two thousand people had come from hundreds of sects in the Core Circle...

So much so that Duan Yi had to ask Second Senior Sister for instructions, spending a considerable amount of merit to temporarily expand the sect's territory.

Not only that, a tall platform had also been built in front of the Heaven's Augury Hall square.

Reportedly, that was where Lu Ye would breakthrough from Spirit Stream Realm and ascend to Cloud River!

The platform was over a dozen zhang high to ensure that all the visitors could see everything clearly.

Lu Ye was completely bewildered. He had been away for just about twenty days, and somehow the world had become somewhat unfamiliar to him.