Sage of Humanity

When his whereabouts were exposed by Li Baxian, the young man knew there was no escape for him. Those various postures were nothing but attempts to lull Li Baxian into complacency. Now that he was directly called out, he spoke no more. He brandished the two scimitars in his hands and took a stance, "Then bring it on."

Lu Ye raised his hand to the hilts of his blades and gently grasped them.

Li Baxian's voice echoed in his ears, "Junior Brother, be careful on your own. This guy is a ghost cultivator. Don't be fooled by his apparent Level 8 cultivation; his real cultivation is at the 7th Heaven level. He has opened over two hundred and forty spiritual orifices. Of course, his position is tempered by Heaven's Augury, so the power he can leverage is only at the ordinary Level 8 standard.

However, his experience in killing enemies won't be suppressed. His strength and speed are not something an ordinary Level 8 can compare with. Even if you can handle an average Level 8, you might not be his match."

"I know!"

Lu Ye replied. As he did, pebbles flew beneath his feet and he had already pounced toward the ghastly young man. Regardless of Li Baxian's reason for letting him face this opponent alone, the Spirit Stream Defense Battle was drawing to an end. Considering such an opportunity to kill the enemy, he had to cherish it well.

Almost simultaneously with Lu Ye's move, a stream of light had already shot forth, reaching him in the blink of an eye.

With his saber unsheathed, Lu Ye slashed out. Sparks flew, and he felt an immense force coming straight at him. His palm split instantly, and the Boulder Mountain Saber in his hand was forced upward sharply.

Utilizing that force, Lu Ye flicked his long blade, deflecting the stream of light that had slashed toward his chest.

That stream of light turned out to be one of the opponent's scimitars. That strike was merely the might of weapon control. The scimitar spun through the air, and yet a wound had already appeared on Lu Ye's chest. Blood flowed, the result of the striking force of the scimitar.

Before he could stabilize his form, a shadow flickered before his eyes and the ghastly young man was already upon him, his speed astonishing!

Ghost cultivators were inherently known for their speed, not to mention a 7th Heaven level ghost cultivator. The tempering and suppression by Heaven's Augury indeed only allowed him to exert Level 8 power, but even with suppression, such speed was not something an ordinary Level 8 could match.

The opponent's other scimitar was already slashing toward him, and Lu Ye raised his saber to block. A clanging sound rang out and he staggered backward. At the same time, a gust of wind attacked from the back of his head—it was the very scimitar he had previously deflected, coming back at him.

Weapon control was simply unsolvable for Lu Ye at the moment.

Hua Ci looked on anxiously as Li Baxian had already clenched a sword light in his hand. Although he had let Lu Ye face this ghost cultivator, he would not truly stand by idly. If Lu Ye were in real danger, he would make his move.

Just as the returning scimitar was about to pierce the back of Lu Ye's head, a spirit rune abruptly appeared.

With a crack, the defense shattered, and Lu Ye ducked down dangerously, narrowly avoiding a lethal blow. A few broken hairs fluttered in the air while his hand thrust the long saber forward. Fiery red spirit force clung to the blade, enhanced by Sharpness Spirit Runes.

The ghost cultivator dodged the thrust and flicked the scimitar in his hand. With an inconceivable angle, he sliced open the flesh on Lu Ye's arm, leaving it to bleed profusely.

In just three breaths since the fight began, Lu Ye had already suffered two wounds. Although they weren't grave, it was clear to see there was a significant gap in strength between them. If he continued to fight like this, his situation would only worsen.

Feng Yuechan cast a leisurely glance at Li Baxian, her eyes seeking direction.

Li Baxian slowly shook his head. Now was not the time to intervene. The reason he wanted Lu Ye to face this ghost cultivator was that such opportunities were rare. Although he had instructed Lu Ye in the Righteous Blood Sect for twenty days, that was after all a Senior Brother's guidance to his Junior Brother.

No matter how ruthless he became, repeatedly injuring Lu Ye, it was hard for Lu Ye to truly appreciate the feeling of teetering on the edge of life and death, because they both knew Li Baxian wouldn't actually kill him.

But the situation now was different. The opponent against Lu Ye was a cultivator from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. A lack of caution could indeed be fatal.

As a combat cultivator, if one couldn't get accustomed to this sensation of skirting the brink of death, it would be very hard to break through one's self.

However, the current situation made Li Baxian silently hesitate, wondering if he was being overly anxious and had chosen too strong an opponent for Lu Ye. With his current strength, the Junior Brother might have a chance against a typical Level 8, but the current opponent was indeed a challenge.

Fortunately, although Lu Ye had completely fallen into the disadvantage, his fighting spirit was not diminished in the slightest.

In the blink of an eye, the two exchanged several more moves. The ghost cultivator, with his superior speed and strength, not to mention his use of weapon control, really made Lu Ye struggle.

He gradually became familiar with the opponent's rhythm. While he couldn't reverse the downturn, he managed to block several attempts with Defense Spirit Runes and counterattacked just in time.

Amidst the clang of their exchange, the ghost cultivator suddenly withdrew his flung scimitar.

He realized that this cultivator from the Righteous Blood Sect who was well-known at Golden Light Peak was truly remarkable. His real strength was definitely beyond Level 6. He had thought he could easily dispose of him. He was ready, after defeating Lu Ye, to take him hostage and secure his own escape.

He dared not delay any longer, feeling significant pressure from Feng Yuechan and Li Baxian watching closely. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

In such close combat, weapon control couldn't unleash much power, so it was better to retract it. With both scimitars in hand, his attack speed abruptly increased.

Lu Ye immediately faced greater difficulty, with new wounds appearing all over his body.

But as the number of wounds increased, so did the speed and force of his slashing. Moreover, the spirit force clinging to the blade became much more intense.

After a dozen breaths or so, Lu Ye slowly steadied himself and was surprisingly able to trade blows with his opponent.

The ghost cultivator's face was a picture of astonishment, completely failing to understand how Lu Ye could have made such a vast improvement in such a short time.

A dozen or so breaths later, to his horror, he found that in the contest of speed and strength, he was actually starting to fall behind!

As the Spiritual Artifacts clashed, not only did Lu Ye sustain injuries, but his opponent also gradually accumulated wounds.

At this moment, the Boulder Mountain Saber in Lu Ye's hand had taken on a deep crimson color, as if it had drunk its fill of blood. Upon closer examination, one could notice a faint blood Qi steaming around Lu Ye's body.

The ghost cultivator finally noticed something was amiss and exclaimed in shock, "A Blood Treasure?"

A Blood Treasure was a special kind of Spiritual Artifact with Blood Sacrifice Spirit Runes stamped into it, which would grow stronger after its owner was injured or voluntarily offered their own fresh blood. The more blood the Blood Treasure consumed, the greater its power became.

Therefore, upon seeing the change in the Boulder Mountain Saber that Lu Ye wielded, the ghost cultivator thought the saber was a Blood Treasure—which, although powerful, posed a great danger to its user as it would incessantly devour fresh blood. One moment of carelessness could lead to bleeding out.

Thus, in the cultivation world, Blood Treasures were generally frowned upon, and ordinary cultivators would not use such Spiritual Artifacts.

If even the ghost cultivator could tell there was something off with the Boulder Mountain Saber, Li Baxian naturally noticed it too. His expression grew solemn as he had only wanted Lu Ye to gain some experience fighting against formidable enemies. He hadn't anticipated that his junior brother would activate a Blood Treasure.

This was not a good sign, and if it damaged his junior brother's foundation and vital energy, the Second Senior Sister would surely smash his head in.

"It's not a Blood Treasure. Fourth Senior Brother, rest assured," Hua Ci's voice sounded.

"Then what is it?" Li Baxian asked.

Hua Ci explained, "Lu Ye has mastered a type of spirit rune called 'Bloodstain.' What he's probably activating right now is the power of that spirit rune." Previously, at Madam Yun's place, Lu Ye had revealed information about the four spirit runes he controlled, and Hua Ci, having been present, naturally remembered this.

"Bloodstain?" Li Baxian furrowed his brows. He did not know much about spirit runes and could not calm his mind enough to study them, so he was also unaware of what exactly Bloodstain Spirit Runes were.

But as long as the sabre was not a Blood Treasure, it was fine.

The clanging sounds of combat persisted, the confrontation continued, and Lu Ye was covered in wounds from head to toe. Strangely, all the blood flowing from the wounds turned into a mist, not spilling a single drop.

If Lu Ye's clothes were to be stripped off at this moment, one would see a complex spirit rune slowly rotating on his chest, constructed entirely of fresh blood, with a blood mist swirling around his body, turning his eyes a crimson red.

The Bloodstain Spirit Runes were not imposed on the Boulder Mountain Saber but on his body itself.

As his blood continued to vaporize, Lu Ye's sword strikes became faster and more ferocious, already exceeding his own limits.

The situation had completely reversed. The ghost cultivator, who had been entirely dominant before, now found himself only able to parry against Lu Ye's chopping blade, with no strength left to counterattack.

After a fierce battle, the ghost cultivator was struck in the chest by a slash from Lu Ye's saber, letting out a scream of agony. He staggered back several steps, a deep cut in his chest oozing blood.

Looking up, he saw a pair of eyes glowing with floating red light, and from the blood mist-shrouded figure, the long saber slashed down like a storm.

He roared and lifted his own Spiritual Artifact in defense.

The sound of the saber slicing through flesh rang out as Lu Ye, saber in hand, had already flashed behind the ghost cultivator, lightly landing, flicking the traces of blood off the Boulder Mountain Saber, and sheathing it.

The ghost cultivator behind him remained stiff, in a defensive stance, then rigidly fell over, blood spilling beneath him.

The blood mist enveloping Lu Ye burst open, revealing the figure that had been obscured by the mist. His body went limp, and before he could fall to the ground, Li Baxian had already caught him.

"Just exhausted," Lu Ye explained, his face paling visibly as he lost too much blood.

Li Baxian's expression was complicated, and after struggling for quite some time, he finally said, "Junior brother, you've pushed yourself too far."

This outcome was entirely unexpected to him. Even when Lu Ye had claimed earlier that he could kill a Level 8 combative cultivator, Li Baxian had merely assumed it was youthful arrogance and was ready to intervene in the fight at any moment.

But his junior brother had actually killed his opponent!

Alone, he had killed him!

This was too fierce.

That was a 7th Heaven level cultivator! Even if supressed, he would not be much weaker than an ordinary Level 9 cultivator.

Li Baxian suddenly realized that he might have underestimated his junior brother.