Sage of Humanity

"How so?" Lu Ye asked earnestly for advice.

"The effects of the Breath Fruit Core are not fixed; some cores have one function, while others have a different one. In Tianzhou, there is a sect that once obtained a Breath Fruit. After using the core, they connected to an unknown small realm which contained a supreme-grade Spirit Vein, with abundant top grade and supreme-grade Spirit Stones throughout. The value is immeasurable." Your adventure continues at My Virtual Library Empire

"Some cores can even induce a cultivator into a strange cultivation state, where cultivating magic and spells, or doing other activities, all become twice as effective."

"Others can be sold directly to the Heaven's Augury treasure vault, with a starting merit of one hundred thousand!"

Lu Ye was shocked by the number, one hundred thousand merits—how many portions of Earth's Core Fire would that be? And that was just the starting number; it could be even more than one hundred thousand.

"Still, others can be placed within certain Arrays to act as the core, significantly enhancing the power of the Arrays several times over. The Core Circle of a provincial state has a 2nd-grade sect that was fortunate to acquire such a core. Their Array is the most powerful among all the sects in the Spirit Stream battlefield, unmatched even by those of 1st-grade."

Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan discussed the variety of uses for the cores, one after the other, leaving Lu Ye marveling at the marvels of Breath Fruits, a treasure unique to Chess Island.

This place was originally dominated by cultivators from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, and without any accidents, Haotian Alliance wouldn't have had the slightest chance to get their hands on it.

However, the outstanding performance of the low-level cultivators this time thwarted the expectations of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. Over the past few days, under the lead of powerful cultivators of the Core Circle, those from the Haotian Alliance had wiped out numerous enemies layer by layer throughout the provincial state, thoroughly driving the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators away.

Seeing a treasure that was almost within grasp being snatched away, the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge was naturally unwilling to let go, and had organized several attacks before. But now, whether it is low-level or high-level cultivators, Ten Thousand Demons Ridge's numbers paled in comparison to the Haotian Alliance, so how could they take it back?

Instead, they suffered heavy losses.

Now that Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had also arrived, Ten Thousand Demons Ridge dared not to act recklessly anymore.

It was foreseeable that the coming days would be peaceful, as the Haotian Alliance intended to hold their position here until the Breath Fruits ripened, not planning any further attacks. Even if Ten Thousand Demons Ridge felt green with envy, they could only swallow their anger and remain silent.

The Spirit Stream Defense Battle was drawing to a close, but before that, the Breath Fruits would be able to mature.

"There are only nine Breath Fruits, with so many sects present, how will they be divided?" Lu Ye voiced the doubt in his heart. Everyone naturally wanted such a fine thing, but low-level cultivators had little chance to compete for it.

They couldn't just fight it out right here, and determine allocation by the strength of the victor – that would just provide an opportunity for Ten Thousand Demons Ridge to launch a sneak attack.

"In this kind of situation, the method of bidding is usually adopted," Li Baxian, who had been through many such events, explained to Lu Ye: "The Governors represent their respective sects to bid, and the highest bidder wins. The proceeds from the bidding are divided among all the sects present."

"That seems reasonable," Lu Ye nodded in agreement. It was a fair and equitable method, and likely, the sects without competitive power would also be willing to proceed this way. No matter what, they'd all get a share of the benefits.

As time passed, many on the side of Haotian Alliance were recovering and healing from injuries. However, more were gathered in small groups, discussing matters.

Such gatherings of Governors and Deputy Governors from many sects were rare; the Spirit Stream Defense Battle was one such opportunity. Almost every sect with a foothold in the Spirit Stream battlefield participated. As such, if any cooperation or important affairs between sects needed to be discussed, this was the place to do it. It was even possible to establish alliances between sects here.

A Governor had the authority to establish alliances within the Spirit Stream battlefield, but to form a true alliance between two sects, the sect leaders or Sect Masters would need to be present.

Lu Ye and Hua Ci also had a lively time, with many acquaintances coming over.

At the moment, Lu Ye was playing with a small and exquisite mechanical gadget—a spherical object with a pair of tiny wings, capable of flight. The sphere had two crystal eyes on its surface, and Loo Yushan was explaining the principles of this mechanical creation to him.

This little device wasn't of much use. It could be regarded as a special kind of Spiritual Artifact, which a cultivator, after refining, could release to scout dangerous places.

"Brother Yiye, if you're interested in this field, you're welcome to visit the Thousand Contraptions Pavilion when you have time." Loo Yushan warmly invited him. They could be considered friends who had been through life and death together. Moreover, the Thousand Contraptions Pavilion had never been stingy with its heritage, because the cover armorer faction had always been a minor one.

Each generation's Pavilion Master of the Thousand Contraptions Pavilion had made it their mission to expand the faction, which is why the doors of the Pavilion had always been open to the big sects of the Haotian Alliance. Regardless of one's background, anyone interested in the Cover Armor Technique could go to the Thousand Contraptions Pavilion to study and learn intensively.

Therefore, within the entire Haotian Alliance, though the Thousand Contraptions Pavilion was only of 8th-grade and not very prominent, it had extensive connections. In each of the Nine Provincial States, many sects had established alliance pacts with them.

However, the Cover Armor Technique required a certain talent. Thus, even with the continuous efforts of the Thousand Contraptions Pavilion generation after generation, the number of cover armorers remained few. Especially at higher levels of cultivation, the number of cover armorers dropped sharply, mainly because of their heavy reliance on external devices.

When their cultivation levels were low, they could use various ingenious mechanical beasts to exhibit strength far surpassing their own. But over time, this reliance was bound to hinder their personal cultivation progress.

The Thousand Contraptions Pavilion was aware of this drawback, but there was no real solution to this issue. The nature of cover armorers doomed them to spend a lot of energy on mechanical devices.

Another faction that shared a similar fate with cover armorers was the beast-taming faction. This faction was also rare; their practitioners focused on beast taming, and from a young age, they would select a natal demon beast, living and growing together with it. They regarded the demon beasts as lifelong partners.

Whether from the cover armorer faction or the beast-taming faction, although niche, they were certainly not to be trifled with. They often turned weakness into strength, with their prowess tied to their mechanical creations and the demon beasts they tamed. Judging their true abilities merely by their cultivation levels was impossible.

"Brother Loo," Lu Ye suddenly remembered something, "do you have those huge constructs on your side, ones that a cultivator can stay inside to fight enemies together with? It doesn't necessarily have to be a mechanical beast; a humanoid one would also do, hmm, preferably humanoid."

"You're talking about cover armor?"

Lu Ye immediately became intrigued, "Really? Do you have one?"

"We do, but I can't make them just yet; I need to continue my cultivation practice," Loo Yushan said with a smile, "When the day comes that I can create one, I'll give you one."

"Then I'll thank you in advance, Brother Loo," Lu Ye said, full of anticipation.

Cover armor, huh... He wondered if it was the same as what he envisioned; that would surely be a great thing.

This time, at the Spirit Stream Defense Battle, he had his eyes wide open to marvels. The more he learned, the more he realized the unfathomable depths of the cultivation world.

Despite the bustling congregation, they didn't let their guard down. Ten miles away from the Breath Fruit Tree, ghost cultivators had camouflaged themselves to monitor the surroundings, to prevent any sneak attacks from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, even though this possibility was already slim. Still, precautions had to be taken.

At one moment, the scent of the fruit suddenly vanished. The cultivators who noticed it immediately looked towards the Breath Fruit Tree and saw that the fruits had ripened; nine shimmering blue fruits weighed heavily on the branches.

At the same time, a barrier that had been lingering around the perimeter of the tree also dissipated instantly.

The reason why the cultivators from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge didn't destroy the Breath Fruits before they were repelled was mainly that the Breath Fruit Tree had a natural protection. A transparent barrier surrounded the tree, which persisted until the fruits matured. Not only was destroying the Breath Fruits impossible, but even approaching them was not allowed.

Otherwise, why would Ten Thousand Demons Ridge leave such treasures to the Haotian Alliance if the situation turned sour? What they couldn't have, they would destroy.

A multitude of gazes turned eager; everyone's eyes were filled with longing. Although the uses for a Breath Fruit Core were manifold and diverse, every one of them was immensely useful. At the very least, it could be sold to Heaven's Augury treasure vault for a hundred thousand merits.

One could say that each Breath Fruit was priceless.

Desire aside, no one dared to go up and pick them. At this moment, anyone who acted rashly would undoubtedly be blasted to bits.

"Fellow Daoist Li, please!" someone suddenly spoke up.

All eyes turned to Li Baxian.

Li Baxian smiled slightly and cupped his fists to all sides, "Then I will respectfully comply!"

With a leap, he hovered in mid-air, searching among the nine fruits. Whether he saw any differences among them was unknown, but he promptly picked one, took out a wooden box, and carefully placed it inside.

He then approached Lu Ye, handing over the wooden box, "Junior Brother, Sister Hua Ci, this is for you."

Lu Ye looked at him in astonishment.

Li Baxian said with a smile, "This time, you and Sister Hua Ci have made such significant contributions. The big sects cannot merely thank you verbally. It was discussed earlier that a share of the Breath Fruits would belong to you."

Mong Si also looked at Lu Ye and nodded, "This is rightfully deserved by the Righteous Blood Sect. Take it."

Lu Ye's gaze swept over the crowd, meeting pairs of eyes filled with smiles and appreciation.

This sudden fortune took Lu Ye by surprise. He of course wanted such a valuable thing as the Breath Fruit, but previously, his Fourth Senior Brother had said that they would decide the ownership of the Breath Fruits via an auction, where the cultivators would represent their respective sects and bid, the highest bidder winning.

The Righteous Blood Sect was currently in decline, with nothing much of value besides a few minor members and some spirit mountaintops; how could they have the capital to participate in such an auction?

He had thought that he would be content with sharing a portion of the auction proceeds, which should have been a considerable gain. Little did he expect such a windfall to come his way.

In the Spirit Stream Defense Battle, the two members from the Righteous Blood Sect had made enormous contributions. Without the cultivator team gathered around them, the current situation wouldn't exist. When Chess Island completed its final integration to form the provincial state, the high-level cultivators were evading the pursuit from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge.

Even Li Baxian had come with dozens of people to join Lu Ye, not to mention others. It was the battle fought by the low-level cultivator team on the outskirts that quelled the momentum of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge and turned the tide of defeat.

For such merits, verbal thanks would not suffice to express the gratitude of the big sects. A Breath Fruit was something tangible and real.

As Mong Si said, they deserved it.