Sage of Humanity

Choo Qing gazed across the valley towards the direction of Surreptitious Palace, her ocular power clashing with that of Surreptitious Palace's Governor, Gu Canyang, as both caught the hint of coldness in each other's eyes.

The Surreptitious Palace bordered Fenghua Courtyard, so the animosity was not minor, and both parties were set to enter the Boundless Mirage Realm this time. Regardless of prior relations, should the opportunity arise within, a battle was certain to ensue.

Currently, with the Boundless Mirage Realm yet to open, no one dared to act rashly, rendering provocations unnecessary.

Choo Qing's beautiful eyes scanned the vicinity, attempting to discern if there were any cultivators worth noting.

Soon, she noticed a man seated on the ground, his broad frame clothed in a tattered hemp garment, chest partially bare. Her eyes involuntarily narrowed; if she was not mistaken, this was the independent cultivator known as Giant Armor.

This man boasted a significant reputation among independent cultivators, even recognized by the nearby big sects. Both Surreptitious Palace and Soaring Cloud Palace had sought to recruit him, wishing to bring him into their fold.

Under normal circumstances, big sects would not recruit a Level 9 independent cultivator, but Giant Armor was an exception, highly sought after by several nearby sects.

His allure was not merely because of his simple nature but, more importantly, because as a physique cultivator, he was unlike any other known to common understanding.

It was said that since the beginning of his cultivation, Giant Armor had never killed a person.

Amongst the cultivators who roamed the Spirit Stream battlefield, it was rare to find any whose hands weren't stained with lives, yet Giant Armor's were clean.

His survival to this day without having killed anyone had one reason behind it: he had a magic cultivator companion. Reportedly, ever since they were at the Level 2 and Level 3 realms, they had acted together, with his companion taking care of eliminating enemies.

The second reason was that Giant Armor's defensive capabilities were extremely exceptional; cultivators of the same level could hardly breach his defenses, and even those one to two levels above found it difficult to injure him.

In unison, the physique and magic cultivator had advanced from junior cultivators at Level 2 and Level 3 realms and cultivated together to reach the Level 9 realm.

Both Surreptitious Palace and Soaring Cloud Palace's attempts to entice Giant Armor were unsuccessful, as the magic cultivator he was partnered with did not agree. It seemed he had always treated Giant Armor as his own cash cow, not allowing any powers to interfere.

Hence, when Choo Qing saw the figure of Giant Armor, she felt a slight headache brewing, yet was somewhat relieved that he had not joined Surreptitious Palace. It appeared he was still acting alongside his magic cultivator companion, which meant there should be no trouble as long as she didn't provoke him.

To confirm her suspicions, Choo Qing began searching for the magic cultivator's whereabouts; he was easily recognizable with his small mustache and short stature, hardly seeming like good news.

Then, her gaze brushed past Lu Ye, who stood beside Giant Armor, and her eyes swiftly returned to him. She channeled spirit force into her eyes and scrutinized him carefully, utilizing her Ocular Power.

Ensuring she wasn't mistaken, Choo Qing's eyes slowly narrowed.

How could this man be here? And considering his spirit light... he's actually at Level 8?

Choo Qing's heart skipped a beat. Just a few months ago, this man was at Level 5, and now he had ascended to Level 8 realm. Such a speed of cultivation was indeed terrifying.

She withdrew her gaze, her eyelids drooping down as she clenched her fists lightly, a surge of murderous intent swirling around her.

Across the way, Lu Ye, sensing something, looked up towards Fenghua Courtyard. For a moment, he had felt someone probing him, but with too many eyes in the crowd, he couldn't pin it down.

Amber, having feasted by the physique cultivator's side, hopped back.

The physique cultivator seemed somewhat reluctant to leave, asking in a deep voice, "What's its name?"

"Amber."

The physique cultivator nodded, "Giant Armor."

That must be his name.

Just then, a large ship-shaped Flying Spirit Artifact rapidly approached from the distance. The cultivators from Fenghua Courtyard visibly perked up upon seeing its insignia, for it belonged to Illuminating Sun Mountain.

In no time, Illuminating Sun Mountain's large ship descended, led by an attractive young cultivator; the nearly one hundred people merged with those from Fenghua Courtyard. The scene instantly filled with cheer as they exchanged lively greetings between "brother" and "sister," basking in harmonious joy. These two sets of cultivators clearly cherished a good rapport.

In contrast, the expressions of those from Surreptitious Palace were palpably grave.

Jik Yan, who had previously attempted to recruit Lu Ye, stood by a bronze-skinned man, whispering, "Senior brother, how much longer till Soaring Cloud Palace arrives?"

The bronze-skinned man was none other than the leader of Surreptitious Palace's delegation for this venture and the residing Governor of the sect's base, Gu Canyang.

"Soaring Cloud Palace might not make it in time," Gu Canyang spoke. "They need at least four to six hours to get here, and the Boundless Mirage Realm is about to open."

Jik Yan was anxious, "What do we do then? If we enter, it's one against two. Should we withdraw?"

Gu Canyang shook his head, "To dread the fight before it starts will tarnish Surreptitious Palace's reputation. How could we hold our heads high after that? The Boundless Mirage Realm has diverse environments; as long as we avoid certain places, what does it matter if we're up against two? Having more people doesn't guarantee success."

As his words trailed off, the mist within the valley suddenly surged violently.

"It's opening!" someone shouted in a low voice.

In an instant, the noisy valley became quiet, and everyone's gaze was fixated on the fog ahead.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the fog tumbled and gathered in different positions, quickly forming vortexes of various sizes.

In just a moment, the surging fog suddenly froze in place, with only those vortexes slowly spinning. From within those vortexes, an indescribable aura seeped out.

"Senior Brother," Jik Yan called out.

Gu Canyang waved his hand, "Enter!"

Having decided to enter the Boundless Mirage Realm, there was no turning back at this juncture. Saying so, he took the lead and jumped toward the vortex closest to him, his figure immediately vanishing. With him leading the way, the cultivators from the Surreptitious Palace followed one after another.

Across the valley, the cultivators from Fenghua Courtyard and Illuminating Sun Mountain, having joined forces, followed their respective leaders and leapt into the same fog vortex.

At the same time, the independent cultivators around the valley also formed teams and jumped into different vortexes.

The small-mustache magic cultivator who had been with Giant Armor had already returned, apparently unsuccessful in recruiting help. Annoyed and feeling the chill of human hearts, he found it so difficult to find a suitable partner. Upon his return and seeing Giant Armor still eating ravenously, he kicked him and said, "Get up, let's go!"

"Oh."

Giant Armor stuffed the beast meat in his mouth, his cheeks bulging out as he followed the small-mustache magic cultivator and charged head-first into a vortex.

Lu Ye also jumped into a nearby vortex, originally wanting to peer through the vortex to observe the environment inside, but he saw nothing.

Riding the vortex into the mist, Lu Ye suddenly felt a force holding him in mid-air, and he immediately found himself suspended.

From around him came a cacophony of noise, and turning his head, he saw the cultivators who had jumped in through the vortex, everyone without exception, were frozen in the air.

Looking back, he saw the grey sky as if it had many holes torn through it, with cultivators continuously leaping in through those holes.

Lu Ye tried to stimulate his spirit force but was completely unable to do so.

"Damn it, it's Xianyuan City!" someone shouted.

This comment seemed to spark panic and soon led a group of people to express their dismay with colorful language.

Lu Ye turned his head and saw below a grand city come into view. The city was majestic and occupied a vast area. However, it seemed to have experienced warfare, with ruins and broken walls everywhere, even the towering walls that were dozens of meters high had collapsed in sections.

On some sections of the walls, there were huge claw marks.

It seemed as if some colossal creature had once climbed the walls using its sharp claws; on the remaining walls, large swaths of black bloodstains lingered, from which black mist emanated, giving a sense of foreboding.

Lu Ye's eyelids drooped slightly, his expression solemn.

According to the intelligence he purchased from the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union, the Boundless Mirage Realm connected to many different small spaces, each one an ancient force's ruins. No one knew from what era these forces were or how they were destroyed.

Some parts of the Boundless Mirage Realm were not dangerous, and there were even plenty of benefits. After those forces were wiped out, many treasures were left behind, as well as storage sacks from cultivators who had entered in the past and died here.

Someone had found an ancient medicinal garden in the Boundless Mirage Realm, where each medicinal herb was worth a fortune.

Someone else had obtained a spirit treasure in the Boundless Mirage Realm, significantly increasing their power thereafter.

There were even those who received the legacy of the most powerful beings...

That's why the Boundless Mirage Realm held such great allure for cultivators, with crowds flocking to explore it whenever it appeared.

However, due to the differences in the ruins, the levels of danger also varied.

Xianyuan City, among all the small spaces connected by the Boundless Mirage Realm, was undoubtedly one of the most dangerous. The reason being that there were some perils within it that cultivators at the Spirit Stream Realm level would find difficult to withstand; encountering them would almost certainly mean death.

The most important thing was that in Xianyuan City, there were many Spiritual Bodies. It seemed these were the original cultivators of Xianyuan City, who died along with the city's downfall and then became trapped here as Spiritual Bodies. Some of these Spiritual Bodies were mindless, acting only on instincts they had in life, but some retained their spiritual intelligence from when they were alive.

Therefore, in Xianyuan City, the crises one faced were not just hostile cultivators but also Xianyuan City itself.

Lu Ye recalled all the information he had about Xianyuan City, and looking down at a massive palace in the center of the city, he silently decided that he must absolutely avoid that place.

Because that was the residence of the Xianyuan City Lord, and the Spiritual Body of the Xianyuan City Lord was inside!

The swearing around him grew louder. If the cultivators had known that the Boundless Mirage Realm connected to Xianyuan City this time, perhaps very few would have chosen to enter. Treasures are enticing, but one must be alive to enjoy them.

Although Lu Ye didn't swear, he did feel somewhat regretful because among the small spaces connected by the Boundless Mirage Realm, there was one called the Great Brahman Hall. That place contained many precious ancient texts, and although for some reason they could not be taken out, cultivators could still receive various legacies there, including the legacy of spirit runes masters.

The Great Brahman Hall was the place all cultivators most wished to enter because once inside, they would definitely gain benefits, and moreover, there were not many risks.