Sage of Humanity

It had been three days since the Sky Supporting Sect's territory was breached.

In the visitors hall of the Silver Light Island base, Luo Fu was entertaining several cultivators, all of whom were Level 9, both men and women, each one a Governor or Deputy Governor of a sect's base, and without exception, their territories were all not far from Silver Light Island.

Because Qih Shi had warned him earlier, as soon as Luo Fu saw these few coming to visit together, he knew what was going on.

Sure enough, these people were all here to inquire about the quasi-flood dragon, expressing that if Silver Light Island was willing to command the quasi-flood dragon to assist them in capturing enemy sect bases, the spoils would be divided, sixty-forty, in their favor.

The message sent out by Zou Qi before his death had taken effect, and now, not only were the forces of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge near Silver Light Island exceedingly wary, but even people from the Haotian Alliance believed it, which was why they had come here to discuss an alliance with Luo Fu.

However, Luo Fu was willing but unable to help.

If Silver Light Island truly could command the quasi-flood dragon, there would be nothing to discuss. They could completely cooperate with these few factions to take down several Ten Thousand Demons Ridge bases and share all kinds of benefits. How wonderful would that be?

The key point was that they couldn't command the quasi-flood dragon at all. The one who could truly command it was someone else.

But Luo Fu couldn't say this outright.

In the end, being left with no choice, he had to make a Heaven's Augury oath, informing them that Silver Light Island's success in taking down the Sky Supporting Sect base was completely due to luck and that they had nothing to do with the quasi-flood dragon.

Having made the Heaven's Augury oath, his words were all truthful, and only then did the Governors seeking help leave in disappointment.

After sending them away, Luo Fu glanced toward the training room, "Junior Brother Qih, has Brother Yiye mentioned wanting to cultivate and train with us?"

"He has not." Qih Shi shook his head.

"That's a pity."

Had Lu Yiye really been willing to affiliate himself with Silver Light Island, it would undoubtedly have been good news for them. Not to mention the quasi-flood dragon, just the personal strength that Lu Ye had previously shown was enough to warrant their attention.

Since Lu Ye hadn't mentioned it, it was highly likely that he wouldn't be staying here for long. Such matters couldn't be forced and depended entirely on personal willingness.

"Later, I'll try to gauge his intentions, see if I can ask him for help again. If he truly can command that quasi-flood dragon, let's go annihilate the Cloud Mist Cult. I've been annoyed by those pompous fools for a long time."

The Cloud Mist Cult was another faction from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge neighboring Silver Light Island, and although their enmity wasn't as great as that between Silver Light Island and the Sky Supporting Sect, as neighbors, frictions were inevitable.

If they could extinguish the Sky Supporting Sect first and then the Cloud Mist Cult, Silver Light Island could rule as king over this thousand-mile territory and do as they pleased.

At the same time, inside a training room, Lu Ye's spirit force swirled around his body, constantly striking at the barriers of his spiritual orifices under his control.

With a soft sound coming from his spiritual orifice, the barrier of the 144th orifice was breached, and streams of spirit force flowed in.

Having opened up to 144 spiritual orifices was the standard for advancing to Level 8.

Lu Ye didn't rest and continued to drive the spirit force, passing through the idle spiritual orifices, creating a Minor Circumambulation cycle.

As the air waves swept around him, Level 8 was achieved.

Moving from Level 7 to Level 8 had taken Lu Ye roughly fifty to sixty days, which to him, wasn't fast, because previously at the Righteous Blood Sect, he had spent his days training in the Path of Spirit Runes with Madam Yun.

But at this moment, he didn't need to rise through the levels too quickly. Cultivating too rapidly, without sufficient time to consolidate, was not a good thing; it would only create a façade of a cultivator with high cultivation but not the corresponding strength to match.

Li Baxian had also told him that aside from cultivation, it was essential to focus on consolidating oneself.

For a normal cultivator, advancing from Level 7 to Level 8 in less than two months was still very fast, but thankfully, Lu Ye had experienced plenty of battles and also could enter the Mirage Realm at any time to temper himself. Everything experienced in the Mirage Realm was extremely real, including the sensation of dying.

The combat skills and experience accumulated through numerous deaths were not something that ordinary methods could compare with; they were the essence learned with one's life and injuries.

So even though Lu Ye's cultivation speed was fast, he still maintained a combat power far exceeding those of the same level. Find adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

He continued to consume elixir pills for cultivation, wanting to see how many elixir pills it would take to open a single orifice at Level 8.

After half a day, he concluded that currently opening one orifice required approximately thirty-five pills.

This was, without doubt, a terrifying number. When he was at Level 3-4, opening a single orifice only required a dozen or so pills, which seemed a lot at the time, but was negligible compared to now.

The higher the cultivation, the more pills required to open an orifice.

To ascend from Level 8 to Level 9, one needs to open thirty-six new spiritual orifices. Using elixir pills alone for this task would require over twelve hundred pills!

Of course, Lu Ye's current cultivation wasn't only reliant on consuming elixir pills, so the actual consumption would definitely be about half of that figure.

Suddenly, a muffled groan from Yiyi came from the side; her face turned pale instantly—she had died in the Mirage Realm...

Yiyi also had merits. Since the sect master had stamped her with a battlefield marking, she was a disciple of the Righteous Blood Sect, and she could earn merits by killing enemies. However, most of her merits came from the monthly allowance that Hua Ci had given her last time, which wasn't much. Together with her previous battle spoils, she had less than a thousand in total.

Her merits were of little use, so Lu Ye encouraged her to train in the Mirage Realm. They would undoubtedly face many battles in the future, and the Mirage Realm was an excellent place for tempering oneself.

"Is it fun?"

"Not a bit!" Yiyi was annoyed, obviously having been taught a lesson by the bugs inside the Mirage Realm.

"Take your time."

"Hmm." Yiyi responded sullenly, sitting down to meditate and recover.

Lu Ye then took out an object from his storage sack to refine.

It was a Flying Spiritual Artifact, from a cultivator named Yuan Guang at Level 9; the quality was quite decent.

The cultivation level past Level 7 was a watershed; once a cultivator reached this stage, they could start controlling weapons to fight enemies.

Upon reaching Level 8, one could control weapons for flight, of course—how fast and how far one could fly depended on one's own foundation.

Generally, cultivators at Level 8 didn't fly using weapon control because it consumed too much energy, and it wasn't particularly swift or high. Out in the open, it was easy to become a target. Getting knocked out of the sky by someone meant a bad outcome.

This situation improved at Level 9, so most of those who dared to fly using weapon control in the wild were cultivators at Level 9.

Although Lu Ye had the Wings Rune Tattoo, such a thing had a life span. Initially, Madam Yun said the tattoo could last at most six hours. Since obtaining the tattoo, Lu Ye had used it occasionally; hence, the lifespan of the tattoo had been greatly reduced, and it probably couldn't be used much longer.

That's why he needed his own power of flight, and Level 8 was just the threshold for flying with weapon control.

A day later, Lu Ye walked out of the training room, followed by Yiyi.

Luo Fu messaged him immediately.

Shortly after, the two settled themselves as host and guest in the visitors hall.

"Brother Yiye, I'm a straightforward person, so let's get straight to the point." Luo Fu dispensed with pleasantries now that they were familiar with one another, "Recently, a few Governors from the Haotian Alliance have approached me, wanting to cooperate with Silver Light Island to attack the stronghold of the forces from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge."

Lu Ye nodded, it was normal for neighboring or nearby forces of the same coalition to cooperate; when he had previously led a team to attack the Phong Clan, he also contacted Infinity Heights.

"But Brother Yiye also knows, breaking through a sect's Sect Protection Array is no easy feat. Without strong support, even two forces joining hands might not guarantee success, and the support they're relying on is the quasi-flood dragon!"

By the time Luo Fu had said this much, Lu Ye already understood his implication.

"So I wanted to ask Brother Yiye if it's possible to command the quasi-flood dragon again. If so, then let's undertake a big heist."

"Brother Luo misunderstands; I don't have the means to command the quasi-flood dragon. In fact, I can only guide its direction to a certain extent."

"That's sufficient, as long as Brother Yiye can direct the quasi-flood dragon to the front of those few Ten Thousand Demons Ridge forces' strongholds. With the precedent of the Sky Supporting Sect, those from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge surely won't dare to resist and might even be scared off. Then, we just have to swoop in for the benefits!" Luo Fu said excitedly, rubbing his hands together with anticipation.

Lu Ye pondered for a moment and nodded, "That could be tried."

Luo Fu was delighted, "Then is it agreed?"

"Let's not contact those forces yet; I'll inform Brother Luo when I have concrete news. There'll be time for action then."

"Excellent!"

As Lu Ye stood up to leave, Luo Fu saw him off. Soon, Lu Ye was riding Amber away from the territory of Silver Light Island's stronghold. Luo Fu had wanted to have Brother Hao Ren and his sister accompany Lu Ye, but Lu Ye declined.

While he was willing to give it a try, he didn't find the plan very reliable, which was why he hadn't agreed outright.

A fierce creature like the quasi-flood dragon had enough spiritual intelligence; having been tricked once, it might not be deceived a second time.

Ten miles after leaving Silver Light Island's stronghold, Lu Ye dismounted Amber's back, took something from his storage sack, and threw it before him with a surge of spirit force.

The object immediately transformed into an airy skiff about ten feet in length, its surface carved with exquisite patterns and finely crafted.

That was Yuan Guang's Flying Spirit Artifact, which was about four feet wide.

At the bow and stern of the skiff, there were several slots for placing Spirit Stones.

When flying using weapon control, it wasn't just the cultivator's spirit force that was consumed but also the spirit force of the Spirit Stones placed in advance on it. This could reduce the consumption from the cultivator themselves.

The better quality the Flying Spirit Artifact, the greater the reduction it provided.

The quality of Yuan Guang's skiff was excellent.

Such a skiff could seat up to two or three people at most; any more, and it would be a tight fit. However, it was sufficient for Lu Ye.

With the skiff hovering before him, Lu Ye stepped aboard, cautious from his previous experience with the Wings Spirit Runes.

Once he was steady on his feet, he called for Amber. Amber shrank down to a foot in length and hopped onto his shoulder, and Yiyi had already hidden herself within Amber's body.

With everything ready, Lu Ye activated his spirit force, and the skiff began to lift off, shaking unsteadily. It hadn't gone far before pitching forward and plunging towards the ground.