Sage of Humanity

Moreover, there was the bond of Amber between Lu Ye and Giant Armor.

Lu Ye hadn't figured out how Amber was connected with Giant Armor since they were merely strangers who met by chance but seemed to be intimately close.

"How many merit points do you have now?" Lu Ye suddenly remembered something.

Giant Armor, with his Level 9 cultivation, had opened one hundred and eighty orifices. When a cultivator had opened orifices to this extent, it was time to find a Heaven Rank technique suitable for oneself.

There were very few sources of Heaven Rank techniques, and the biggest source was to exchange for them from the Heaven's Augury treasure vault using merit points. However, due to the restrictions of Heaven's Augury, the Heaven Rank techniques obtained could only be used by the individual and couldn't be transmitted to others. Therefore, it was impossible to learn a Heaven Rank technique from someone else.

A Heaven Rank technique was the key for a cultivator to break through to the Cloud River Realm. Without a Heaven Rank technique, subsequent spiritual orifices couldn't be opened, and one would not be able to advance to the Cloud River.

Hence, for those cultivators who were eligible to advance to the Cloud River Realm, a Heaven Rank technique was essential. These techniques weren't cheap, and many cultivators had been accumulating merit points ever since they began their cultivation journey. Even upon reaching Level 9, they might not have saved enough. In the Spirit Stream battlefield, there were numerous cases of cultivators who were stuck at Level 9 due to the lack of a Heaven Rank technique, especially so for independent cultivators.

When following Sima Yang, Giant Armor didn't kill a single person. Without killing enemies, where would the merit points come from?

"Thirty-five," Giant Armor replied dully.

Although Lu Ye had some guesses, he still found it incredible when he heard the number.

A Level 9 cultivator, having only thirty-five merit points, was most likely attributed to killing a few cultivators from Fenghua Courtyard.

In other words, Giant Armor truly had no merit points while he was with Sima Yang.

Lu Ye didn't know how long Giant Armor's cultivation had been stuck at Level 9, but it certainly hadn't been a short time. He needed to get him a Heaven Rank technique quickly. Relying solely on killing enemies wouldn't accumulate enough merit points in a short period, but there were other ways to earn merit points, which would have to wait until they left Xianyuan City.

They continued forward and soon arrived at the central area of Xianyuan City.

Before this, whether it was cultivators from the Haotian Alliance or Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, they all tried their best to avoid this place because it was close to the Xianyuan City Lord's Residence.

The power of that red-robed woman was already unfathomable, and no one knew what kind of cultivators the City Lord had.

Xianyuan City had been opened many times, but no cultivator had ever seen the City Lord. It was said that those who had seen him were already dead.

The reason Lu Ye came here was not to meet the City Lord.

He was here to see if he could gain some advantages.

Originally, he hadn't thought about this, but after he used the Token to rescue Gu Canyang and many cultivators from the Haotian Alliance from the dungeons, he realized that the Token given by the red-robed woman was somewhat useful.

What was the biggest advantage in Xianyuan City?

It was the legendary Soul Cleansing Pool! Anyone with a hint of knowledge about Xianyuan City knew this piece of information.

Lu Ye was thinking, if he could use his Token to enter the Soul Cleansing Pool, his fortune would be made this time.

The function of the Soul Cleansing Pool was aimed at the psyche, which was intangible and invisible, and at the Spirit Stream Realm one would not be able to interact with it. But not being able to interact did not mean it didn't exist.

Everyone had their own psyche.

If he could gain some benefits from the Soul Cleansing Pool, it would surely be greatly beneficial to his growth.

And the Soul Cleansing Pool was inside the City Lord's Residence, so Lu Ye, even knowing how elusive and terrifying the City Lord's cultivation was, had to bite the bullet and give it a try.

What if his idea was feasible?

In front of the City Lord's Residence, two lines of Xianyuan Guards stood guard, and these weren't ordinary guards—each of them was at the Commander level, and the spirit light on their bodies wasn't any less intense than that of the Commander guarding the dungeon.

When Lu Ye arrived at the entrance of the City Lord's Residence with Giant Armor, pairs of eyes stared over, putting immediate pressure on him like a mountain.

One of the Xianyuan Guards even barked sharply, "The City Lord's Residence is off-limits to the irrelevant! Keep your distance!"

Lu Ye took off the Token he was biting in his mouth, raised it with one hand, and said solemnly, "I come on the order of that Senior."

He was about to bluff again, using the red-robed woman's influence. Discover exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire

Unexpectedly, the Xianyuan Guard was unmoved and coldly said, "Leave at once or face death without exception."

From his demeanor, if it weren't for the Token in Lu Ye's hand, he might have already attacked.

Lu Ye wanted to try again, but a group of Xianyuan Guards suddenly drew their weapons, a killing intent began to fill the air, and they shouted in unison, "Leave!"

Giant Armor, that simpleton, clenched his fists, his blood Qi began to boil, but Lu Ye pulled him back, turned around, and fled at full speed.

It wasn't until they had dashed through two streets that Lu Ye stopped, realizing his plan had fallen through.

The situation was clear; even with the red-robed woman's Token, he couldn't enter the City Lord's Residence. And since the Soul Cleansing Pool was inside, with no access to the Residence, there was no talking about the Soul Cleansing Pool.

There was a slight regret, but it was also within expectations.

The most significant advantage of Xianyuan City, if it were so easy to obtain, then cultivators who had entered the city in the past would have already gained a lot, and it would not be so precious.

"Let's go."

Lu Ye summoned Giant Armor and contacted Jik Yan while they moved forward.

There was no need to think about the Soul Cleansing Pool, and nearly all the people from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge had been killed. There weren't many benefits within Xianyuan City itself, so there was no need to waste time searching. All that was left was to wait.

Soon, Jik Yan sent a message, directing Lu Ye to the right place.

Four hours later, Lu Ye arrived at a large courtyard, where Jik Yan was waiting at the doorway.

Seeing Lu Ye's return, Jik Yan was naturally warmly welcoming, and he did not ask what Lu Ye had been doing.

This courtyard was very large, originally belonging to a noteworthy family, with multiple gates leading in and out. Under Jik Yan's arrangement, Lu Ye and Giant Armor were housed in an independent courtyard for rest, and the Surreptitious Palace, grateful for Lu Ye's previous favors, sent over prepared meals daily.

Lu Ye did not know how much longer Xianyuan City would remain open. Calculating the time, it had been open for less than seven or eight days, so it seemed he still had some time to wait.

He was not in a hurry. It was rare to have such a peaceful environment; the spiritual energy in Xianyuan City was dense, which was perfect for cultivation to enhance his own strength.

While cultivating, he also studied the books he brought from Madam Yun, learning about the Path of Spirit Runes, without neglecting either activity. At most, constructing spirit runes consumed some spirit force, which slowed down the pace of his cultivation.

Madam Yun provided him with these books because he had expressed interest in array destruction to her. To break an array, one needs to understand how to set up an array, which involves the use of spirit runes.

Staying reclusive inside, he was not disturbed by anyone.

It was not until two days later that visitors arrived. They were the Haotian Alliance cultivators Lu Ye had rescued from the dungeon, led by Gu Canyang, who was accompanied by Jik Yan.

These people had come specifically to express their gratitude.

In the past, cultivators imprisoned in the dungeons of Xianyuan City rarely survived. If not for Lu Ye's rescue, these cultivators would have most likely died there. Only those who had been in the dungeon could understand its peculiarity.

Such life-saving grace naturally left the cultivators profoundly grateful.

After some discussion, most of the cultivators left, but Gu Canyang and Jik Yan stayed behind.

Gu Canyang proposed to form an Alliance Pact with Lu Ye, which Lu Ye readily agreed to since it was one of his goals for coming to the inner circle.

The two immediately established an Alliance Pact with the authority of their respective Governor's roles. Even though such a pact was limited to the Spirit Stream battlefield, it was sufficient.

Gu Canyang then extended an invitation to Lu Ye, asking him to visit the Surreptitious Palace after the matters of Xianyuan City were concluded, and Lu Ye agreed to that as well.

After some more casual conversation, including mention of the dungeon, Gu Canyang, still shaken, recounted that upon entering the dungeon, a person would gradually feel like they were waiting to die. The dungeon constantly sapped the vitality of the imprisoned, which explains why Gu Canyang appeared so listless and drained after being rescued.

He hadn't sustained any injuries, but the loss of vitality was severe. Even returning home would require a good period of recuperation before recovery.

After hearing his explanation, Lu Ye finally understood the strange feeling he'd had in the dungeon.

Since he wasn't there for long, his experience wasn't as profound as Gu Canyang's.

Now he understood why previously, very few cultivators survived imprisonment in the dungeons. With their vitality continuously being drained, a serious depletion would undoubtedly lead to death.

Only those with robust physiques and abundant vitality could last longer in the dungeon, such as Giant Armor. If he had been captured, he likely would have had no major issues lasting until the closing of Xianyuan City.

After chatting a little more, Gu Canyang finally took his leave.

Lu Ye escorted him out of the courtyard and was heading back inside to continue his cultivation when he suddenly turned his head to look aside.

There sat Giant Armor, cross-legged and motionless, deep in cultivation.

If one were to sense carefully, they could even feel the traces of the spiritual energy flowing into his body.

Giant Armor's talent for cultivation was undoubtedly high; otherwise, it wouldn't have caused such a stir.

Indeed, this was the case. Giant Armor was born on the Spirit Stream battlefield, discovered by Sima Yang who led him on the path of cultivation. At that time, Sima Yang was already at Spirit Stream Level 3, but after following him and cultivating, Giant Armor caught up quickly and even surpassed Sima Yang.

Without high cultivation talent, he couldn't have reached that extent.

Perhaps sensing Lu Ye's gaze, Giant Armor opened his eyes and looked at him with a puzzled expression, unsure why Lu Ye was staring at him.

"You've opened a hundred and eighty orifices but lack a Heaven Rank technique. Is there any benefit to cultivating like this?" Lu Ye asked.

Logically, Giant Armor didn't need to cultivate anymore since he didn't have a way to open additional spiritual orifices. No matter how much he cultivated, the spirit force in his body would not increase, at most keeping his orifices always filled, which was meaningless.

However, over the past two days, Lu Ye noticed that Giant Armor was diligent in his cultivation. Besides eating, sleeping, or playing with Amber, he spent most of his time sitting still, without moving.

Seeing his ability to endure solitude further convinced Lu Ye that he needed to secure a Heaven Rank technique for Giant Armor soon.