Sage of Humanity

Hua Ci returned from the Cloud River battlefield.

This means that the Five Poisons Pond can no longer provide her with cultivation support, and this forbidden land might end up becoming as insignificant as the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest in the Spirit Stream battlefield.

"Out in the wild, there are nothing but ghouls and ghosts, where are the alluring foxes?" Lu Ye said with a smile, looking at her.

Since they parted ways after returning from the Unparalleled Continent, they hadn't seen each other for almost three years.

For a young man like Lu Ye, such a separation period is quite long. However, this is the life of cultivators; unlike ordinary men and women who can cling together all day, they each have their own matters to attend to. A sudden encounter doesn't diminish the feelings they have for each other despite the passage of time; instead, the mutual longing and yearning only make those feelings richer and more intense.

"Besides, wildflowers can't compare to the fragrance of home flowers."

Hua Ci was amazed: "Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

Lu Ye replied earnestly, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; I like the flowers at home."

Hua Ci lifted her hand to shade her eyes, pretending: "Where is this home flower? Why can't I see it?"

"It's in my eyes."

Hua Ci's face suddenly turned red, and she softly muttered, "Smooth talker!"

Nearby, the third and fourth senior brothers showed expressions of disdain, watching these two flirt publicly, while Feng Yuechan and Lin Yinxiu were entertained by the scene.

Yiyi peeked her small head out from behind Hua Ci, making faces at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye laughed out loud, waving her over, "Look, this is my little flower at home."

Yiyi gave a cheerful cry and leapt into Lu Ye's arms, hugging him tightly before giving a pinch to the flesh at his waist, "Next time, don't leave me and Amber behind!"

Lu Ye felt the pain but didn't show it, nodding, "Won't happen again, won't happen again."

Only then was Yiyi satisfied and let go.

A moment later, they each took their seats. Hua Ci served tea, and Xiao Xinghe raised a cup, "Let's toast first to the safe return of our little junior brother, second to his ascension to the Divine Sea, and third, may we all keep up with his pace. Everyone, drink this cup together."

Lu Ye was curious, "Why only tea, no wine?"

Li Baxian smacked his lips, "Given the times, we can barely guarantee food, let alone spare grain for brewing wine. Little junior, don't mention wine; I haven't tasted it for over half a year and I really miss it."

Lu Ye laughed heartily, taking out several jars from his storage space and placing them on the table.

Li Baxian's eyes lit up immediately.

They opened the jars and refilled everyone's cups, even Amber got a bowl. Xiao Xinghe raised his cup again, and they all drank together, the atmosphere lively.

Without snacks to accompany the wine, everyone was still in high spirits, especially Li Baxian, who drank three bowls in a row and finally let out a satisfied breath.

After a long separation, there was much to discuss, freely chatting without constraint over various topics.

After a while, Xiao Xinghe asked, "Little junior brother, where were you trapped these past two years?"

This question immediately piqued everyone's interest, all eyes turning to him.

Lu Ye pondered for a moment before speaking, "I can't say exactly where for now, but I promise, when there's an opportunity, I'll take everyone to see it."

When he returns to the Blood Refinement World, he will definitely gather a group of helpers, and Team D-9 is inevitably included.

He could lie to others, saying he was trapped in a small secret realm, but with these close companions, he couldn't deceive them. However, the specifics about the Blood Refinement World couldn't be disclosed yet, so he could only offer this guarantee.

No one pressed him further. Since Lu Ye said so, they would know in time; there was no urgency. The question was simply out of concern.

Lu Ye then inquired about everyone's experiences here, and Xiao Xinghe and Li Baxian took turns answering.

The drinking lasted from dusk till dawn, and Lu Ye's reserve of alcohol was entirely consumed.

Amber lay sprawled on the ground, snoring thunderously.

The faces of the ladies were flushed, especially Hua Ci, whose neck also radiated a pink hue.

At dawn, a sharp whistle suddenly sounded from within the city, followed by a mass of cultivators rising into the air.

Xiao Xinghe stood up tall and announced, "The Insect Plague is here!"

Although cultivators have been eradicating the Insect Race from all directions, large-scale insect invasions are now rare, but they still occasionally occur.

Especially when a strong Divine Sea Realm insect rises from the ground fissure, leading a large number of insects to assault human settlements.

Red River City had experienced several such Insect Plagues, none too large; united efforts managed them every time.

This time would be no different. This сhаptеr wаs mаdе pоssiblе by thе соmmunity аt МV|LЕМ|РYR.

"Junior Brother, let's stop drinking for today. Once the situation stabilizes, we'll have a proper gathering again with the brothers."

"Alright!" Lu Ye responded.

Everyone stood up, raising their last cup of wine and downed it in one gulp.

"Go!" With Xiao Xinghe's command, they soared into mid-air, and the others followed suit, including Hua Ci, the healing cultivator. As she flew, she waved her hand, and a massive gold toad appeared out of thin air with imposing ferocity. She stood atop the toad's head and smiled at Lu Ye, "Don't die."

Lu Ye was still looking at her golden toad, not sure where Hua Ci had found such a thing, but it seemed likely it came from a perilous land like the Five Poisons Pond.

Hearing Hua Ci's words, Lu Ye quickly nodded.

Though the reunion was short and there were many things left unsaid, and despite not wanting to part, Lu Ye knew this was how it had to be.

Friends had their paths, and he had his own matters to attend to.

Just like water flowing in a river, when it leaves the source, it embraces and protects, but as it flows, it inevitably faces many tributaries and streams. Yet, as long as it keeps flowing, it'll eventually meet in the sea.

The Insect Plague was imminent, and as the only Divine Sea Realm cultivator in the city, Shie Yuan was coordinating his forces. From the current situation, it looked like this Insect Plague wasn't very large, and Red River City's defenses could withstand it. What troubled him was that there were about a dozen Divine Sea Realm Insect Races in this event.

Although, due to the Insect Race's low spiritual intelligence, a human race cultivator with the same cultivation could easily handle multiple opponents, once their numbers reached a certain point, they were still hard to deal with.

The Insect Race may have low spiritual intelligence, but they have their own strengths, namely various strange abilities, especially the solid defense provided by their thick carapaces.

In the past two years of the insect disaster sweeping the Nine Provinces, many human Divine Sea cultivators lost their lives due to various reasons. Shie Yuan didn't want to follow in their footsteps.

He was hesitating whether to request support when he suddenly saw a stream of light shoot up from somewhere in the city, followed by a bold and fearless turn in mid-air, heading directly towards the direction of the Insect Plague.

Shie Yuan was startled, but quickly realized that the figure rushing out was Lu Yiye, who had arrived at Red River City just the day before.

Indeed, the young are full of vigor, though a bit reckless in action.

Before he could warn against it, the stream of light had already plunged into the swarm, and then Shie Yuan witnessed an awe-inspiring scene.

With the blade flashing, a path of blood and carnage was carved through the swarm like a plow sweeping through, creating a vacuum in the Insect Plague. Neither the Cloud River Realm nor the True Lake Realm Insect Races could withstand it.

In mere moments, that figure reached the center of the Insect Plague, where the Divine Sea Realm Insect Races were gathered.

The blade light remained furious, and with Shie Yuan's eyesight, he couldn't even grasp the trajectory of that figure's movements. In his vision, one Divine Sea Realm Insect after another was being dismembered, their blood staining the ground, severed limbs flying through the air.

After several swift maneuvers, the massive swarm was directly split apart, and all those dozen Divine Sea Realm Insect Races were completely vanquished.

The stream of light quickly receded, and a voice echoed from afar: "The mountains are high and the waters long, brothers and sisters, let's gather again another day!"

Shie Yuan gazed steadily for a long time, only then exhaling a breath: "Under a great name, there are no empty men!"

Some years ago, Lu Yiye of the Righteous Blood Sect caused quite a stir, but that was all within the tier of the Spirit Stream Realm and Cloud River Realm. Frankly, except for those Divine Sea Realm cultivators who kept a close watch on him, most Divine Sea Realm cultivators didn't pay much attention.

A person who could display such sharpness at the Spirit Stream and Cloud River Realms might not necessarily achieve anything at the True Lake or Divine Sea, let alone the Divine Sea Realm.

Cultivators' growth is always accompanied by various unexpected events, and someone like Lu Yiye, who shows initial sharpness, might not necessarily go far.

In fact, in recent years, Shie Yuan hadn't heard of Lu Yiye doing anything significant, and for the inquisitive, this was a sign of potential exhaustion.

But upon seeing him today, Shie Yuan realized that some people are destined to shine, even if silent for a while, they have times of intense bursts.

He was at Divine Sea Level 4, his cultivation two levels higher than Lu Ye's, but even if given ten times the courage, he couldn't dare to strike Yellow Dragon directly like Lu Ye did. If he really did that, he'd likely not return alive.

The rise of Lu Yiye of the Righteous Blood Sect had already started to feel unstoppable.

Composing his mind, Shie Yuan shouted loudly, "Open the formation and kill the enemy!"

His original plan was to rely on Red River City's protective array to fend off the enemy outside, which was a safe and secure method, minimizing their losses. But after witnessing Lu Ye's sweeping victory, the many cultivators in the city were all excited and eager for battle, and following the original strategy would only dampen their morale.

Since that was the case, they might as well charge out.

A swarm without Divine Sea Realm Insect Races was not worth fearing.

At his command, the protective array was lifted, and numerous cultivators, like a torrent, charged at the disrupted Insect Race, and a small-scale battle broke out immediately.

Lu Ye was already several hundred miles away.

He hadn't annihilated all those Insect Races, not because he didn't want to, but because it wasn't necessary.

To the current Nine Provinces cultivators, the Insect Race were walking battle merits. If he killed too many, the others would reap fewer benefits.

But since he encountered them, he couldn't just stand by.

Striking down the Divine Sea Realm Insect Races in the plague was the best response, and as for the remaining Insect Races, they could be left to the cultivators of Red River City to handle.