Sage of Humanity

Within the battlefield of Spirit Stream, nature's spiritual energy is rich, making every landscape extremely beautiful. A group consisting of a man, a spirit, and a tiger traveled along this road, taking in the sights. When it comes to knowledge of the places within the battlefield, perhaps no one of the same cultivation level knew more than Lu Ye did.

He left the Qingyun Mountain at Spirit Stream Level 2 and embarked on the journey back to the Righteous Blood Sect, not reaching Spirit Stream Level 5 until after five long months had passed.

This time, he set off from the terrains of the Sky Supporting Sect, starting another long journey.

Although other cultivators occasionally set out to travel, they mostly spent their time cultivating.

The more one travels and sees, the broader one's knowledge becomes.

In a marketplace, a travel-weary Lu Ye arrived arm in arm with Yiyi.

Unlike marketplaces in the outer circle, this one was more bustling, as those coming and going were no longer junior cultivators of Level 3-4. Anyone qualified to venture in the inner circle was at least at Level 6.

And the name of this marketplace was simple: Heaven's Augury Square, because it was a marketplace formed and led by the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union.

Such marketplaces were commonplace throughout the inner and Core Circles.

Cultivators could use merits to buy rare treasures from the Heaven's Augury treasure vault, but for daily life and cultivation needs, they would not use precious merits, which were hard to come by.

Where there's trading, marketplaces naturally arise.

Lu Ye had been to several marketplaces in the outer circle, but this was his first visit to one in the inner circle. As he strolled around, he noticed significant differences from those in the outer circle.

At the very least, the buildings here were more orderly, and the streets cleaner, with many independent cultivators and sect-born cultivators coming in and out.

There were independent cultivators in both the inner and Core Circles, staying as such either out of habit or personal pursuits, or for some other reason, without having joined any sects.

Furthermore, these independent cultivators, generally at Level 7-8, were not very suitable candidates for sect recruitment, as no one knew whether their backgrounds were clean. After all, inducting a spy from a rival sect would be unfortunate.

Besides, it was tough to guarantee their loyalty.

In the outer circle, junior cultivators at Level 3-4 could still find a chance to join a sect. The higher the cultivation, the more difficult it was to be accepted into a sect.

Therefore, not only the Spirit Stream Realm, but also the Cloud River, True Lake, and even the Divine Sea Realm had independent cultivators.

Most independent cultivators chose to practice under the protection of a sect's station because of the rich Spiritual Energy, although a small number did not affiliate with any sect, since aside from enjoying the rich Spiritual Energy within these stations, there were no other tangible benefits, and they would have to follow commands from others.

These independent cultivators often lived around Heaven's Augury Square, earning their own cultivation resources.

It must be said that the lives of these independent cultivators seemed tough but were also filled with freedom.

Lu Ye came to Heaven's Augury Square primarily to rest for a night and to update his ten-part map.

This item, which he had bought for a considerable sum, was now almost a year old, and there were surely many changes in the map.

He also needed to dispose of some booty, such as items he gained from Silver Light Island, which took up much space in his storage sack. Most of them had already been sold to the Heaven's Augury treasure vault on Silver Light Island, leaving only a small amount to exchange for cultivation resources.

He walked into the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union unhurriedly, the layout inside resembling those he had visited before. Under the guidance of a Manager, he entered a private room.

He stated his requirements and took out the items he wanted to trade, then the Manager took them and left.

While waiting, Lu Ye poured himself a cup of Spiritual Tea. This triggered some memories. When he used to visit the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union, he would drink tea until he was stuffed because the Spiritual Tea contained a bit of Spiritual Energy that could be used to improve cultivation…

Back then, he was truly poor, counting the elixir pills he used for cultivation every few days, fearing the day they would run out.

Now, there was no need to worry about things like elixir pills. If he ran out of resources for cultivation, he only had to seize them, and even merits, a valuable commodity, Lu Ye had saved up quite a lot.

After waiting for about the time it took an incense stick to burn, the Manager returned, handed over the updated ten-part map, and gave back a bag of Spirit Stones and elixir pills.
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Lu Ye checked them briefly, and the transaction was completed to their mutual satisfaction.

He then made a request for accommodation and was properly looked after.

Soon after, in a premier room on the third floor of the mercantile union, Lu Ye sat cross-legged, checking the changes on the ten-part map. However, after much inspection, it didn't seem to have any significant differences from before.

It seemed like there weren't many changes after all.

Considering the location, another half a day's journey would bring him into the vicinity of the Fenghua Courtyard's station.

Based on previous experience, Lu Ye decided to be more straightforward this time and head directly to someone else's mining area. Previously, he was at Level 7 and new to the inner circle; he had to be discreet in his actions. Now, at Level 8, he could afford to be a bit more audacious, thinking that if he couldn't win a battle, he could always flee.

Yes, that would be the plan.

Putting away the ten-part map, Lu Ye took out a thick secret tome and flipped through it while constructing and then breaking down spirit runes on the palm of his hand. His daily diligence in practice had made him much more skilled in this task than before, signifying his steady progress in the Path of Spirit Runes.

The night passed quickly.

The next day, after a good rest and even a bath, Lu Ye, refreshed and donning clean clothes, walked down energetically from the third floor.

The hall was surprisingly empty; aside from the people of the mercantile union, there were no other cultivators to be seen.

Lu Ye didn't think much of it and walked out of the mercantile union with Yiyi. Once outside, he found that the marketplace also had very few people.

It seemed as though the cultivators had all but vanished overnight.

Lu Ye frowned, unclear about what had happened.

Yiyi said, "Shall I go ask?"

Lu Ye nodded in agreement.

She turned and approached the female cultivator responsible for reception at the entrance, sweetly asking, "Sister, what happened here?"

The female cultivator replied, "I heard something about a Boundless Mirage Realm appearing."

"What's that?"

The female cultivator shook her head: "I'm not very clear on that either." She was just a junior cultivator at Level 4 and wouldn't have been in the inner circle if not for her association with Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union.

Lu Ye had already stepped into the mercantile union and casually found a manager: "Do you have information about the Boundless Mirage Realm?"

The manager replied with a beaming smile, "Of course, sir. What level of detail would you like...?"

"The most expensive!"

Today was different from the past. Previously, buying a ten-part map made him dig deep into his pockets, but now, Lu Ye was not short on money.

"Please wait a moment, sir," said the manager, promptly departing.

Shortly after, he returned and handed a jade slip to Lu Ye: "That will be nine hundred Spirit Stones."

The price... was indeed exorbitantly high.

Lu Ye didn't comment, counting out nine hundred Spirit Stones from his storage sack to give to the manager, then stepped aside to examine the information about the Boundless Mirage Realm.

After the time it took to burn half an incense stick, he put down the jade slip and, sensing Yiyi's gaze, passed it to her to check as well.

According to the information in the jade slip, the Boundless Mirage Realm was a separate small space, similar to Chess Sea, but not as vast.

Moreover, there wasn't just one Boundless Mirage Realm; there were many variations. Some were exquisitely beautiful inside, some grim and ghostly, and some unpredictable.

But without exception, every Boundless Mirage Realm contained treasures, either heavenly materials and earthly treasures, secret techniques, or secret tomes, and some people had even acquired Heaven Rank techniques there.

When it came to Cultivation Techniques, there was a polarizing trend in the Nine Provinces. Below Heaven Rank techniques, everything including Earth-class techniques were common. That's why Lu Ye was able to buy the Red Lotus Soaring to Sky Technique from Xuanmen for just a few Spirit Stones.

An Earth-class technique truly sold would only cost a few dozen Spirit Stones, which wasn't expensive.

But Heaven Rank techniques could not be bought outside; they could only be obtained by exchanging merit points at Heaven's Augury treasure vault.

Wanting to exchange for a Heaven Rank technique, the merit points required would start from at least a thousand, and due to Heaven's Augury's oversight, a Heaven Rank technique exchanged from the treasure vault couldn't be taught to others, otherwise Heaven's Augury would impose punishment.

A thousand merit points weren't much for Lu Ye as he killed enemies easily and, with his Governor status, occasionally granted himself an extra allowance.

But many cultivators might not accumulate enough merit for a Heaven Rank technique even from Level 1 to Level 9. There were many cultivators stuck at the common Level 9 realm because they couldn't afford a Heaven Rank technique.

And yet, this thing couldn't be dispensed with, because a Heaven Rank technique was key to a cultivator's breakthrough from the Spirit Stream Realm to ascend to the Cloud River. Put simply, without a Heaven Rank technique, there was no advancing to the Cloud River.

That's why cultivators from both factions were willing to fight each other; killing enemies earned merit, which was vital for their future.

Therefore, the allure of the Boundless Mirage Realm to cultivators was immense. If someone obtained a Heaven Rank technique inside, it was equivalent to picking up a thousand merit points for free.

The Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union sold comprehensive information about the Boundless Mirage Realm, as after each appearance, they would spend Spirit Stones or elixir pills to buy information from the surviving cultivators, compiling and recording the details.

That was the reason for its high price.

According to the jade slip, the Boundless Mirage Realm would randomly appear anywhere within the Spirit Stream battlefield. Considering the vast size of the battlefield, even though the chance of its appearance wasn't low, encountering it was still a matter of luck.

Normally, as soon as a Boundless Mirage Realm appeared, nearby cultivators would enter to seek fortune.

This was also why there were suddenly so many fewer people in the marketplace.

However, the manifestation of the Boundless Mirage Realm was brief; from its appearance to its disappearance, it lasted roughly only one day. Considering the time it took to be discovered and for the message to spread, not many people could enter. Once, a Boundless Mirage Realm was discovered just before it was about to vanish. By the time the discoverer arrived at the location, the Boundless Mirage Realm had already disappeared, leaving that person to ruefully clutch their wrist in regret.

After digesting the information he had obtained, Lu Ye led Yiyi out.

He asked a few more questions to the female cultivator at reception, then summoned his small boat Spiritual Artifact, taking Yiyi into the sky.