Sage of Humanity

In that inexplicable small room, Lu Ye's spirit materialized, and a person was waiting in front of him, presumably the Artifact Crafting Grandmaster who had taken his commission last time. What astonished Lu Ye extremely, however, was that he could actually see the person's face clearly! A woman who looked rather enchanting! Not very old, around thirty, with tender white skin, dressed in a form-fitting floral dress that outlined her shapely curves perfectly. Lu Ye blinked, somewhat puzzled. The last time he had seen this person, they were shrouded in thick fog, making it impossible to discern their gender or see their features clearly, even the voice did not sound quite real. From the other person's perspective, Lu Ye would have appeared the same. This was the protection of Heaven's Augury. Because many people, when making such commissions and transactions, do not wish to expose their true identities, such transactions within the Heaven's Augury treasure vault are blessed by Heaven's Augury with a layer of protection, making it difficult for the parties to infer each other's origins by gender or voice. But now, Lu Ye could actually see the other person clearly. What was happening? The first thing that came to Lu Ye's mind was that the other person might have forgotten to disguise themselves, but disguise was not a matter of personal will but a protection granted by Heaven's Augury. It enveloped everyone in fog regardless of whether they liked it or not. So was the problem on his side? The only difference now from three days ago was that he had moved up a realm, from Spirit Stream to Cloud River, but this advancement was not enough to let him see through the other's disguise. Was it Heaven's Augury Bestowment? As Lu Ye was unclear about the situation, the woman across from him spoke, "Kid, your spiritual artifact is ready, check it yourself!" Her voice no longer had its previous disguise and sounded soft and tender. As she spoke, she passed over the Boulder Mountain Saber. Lu Ye took it, feeling a heaviness in his wrist, indisputably heavier than it was three days ago, but this weight perfectly suited Lu Ye's cultivation level. Lifting his hand, he drew out the Boulder Mountain Saber, the blade flashed swiftly then subdued, the shape of the entire saber had not changed, but the color of the blade had taken on a layer of pitch black, as if filled with endless lethality, the previously damaged and chipped blade was now flawlessly restored. The hilt bore the words 'Boulder Mountain,' which was original to the long saber when Lu Ye had obtained it. However, now on the other side of the hilt, there was a feather pattern, clearly left by the master in front of him, and Lu Ye did not know what this feather represented. The entire saber felt extremely heavy. Carefully examining the restrictions within the Boulder Mountain Saber, and confirming it was undoubtedly 18th Dao restrictions, Lu Ye sheathed the saber, slightly nodding, "Not bad." "Then our transaction is complete," the woman said, retrieving the Heaven's Augury Pact she had signed with Lu Ye last time, gave it a slight shake, and it began to burn. Lu Ye felt the battlefield marking on the back of his hand move slightly as 2,000 merit points were deducted. "Until next time!" said the woman as she prepared to leave the room, then suddenly remembered something, "Next time, don't bother me with low-grade spiritual artifacts!" Hearing her, a woman in her thirties, refer to herself as an old man... Lu Ye's expression turned a bit odd. The woman's figure quickly disappeared. Lu Ye did not leave immediately but stood in place thinking, then spoke again, "Commission: upgrade a spiritual artifact!" He randomly took out a low-grade spiritual artifact from his storage sack and quietly waited. After a moment, a figure suddenly appeared in front of Lu Ye. When Lu Ye looked up, it was an elderly man, and just like before, this elder was not shrouded in fog, allowing Lu Ye to clearly see his visage. "You want to upgrade a spiritual artifact?" the elder asked in a deep voice. Lu Ye nodded and handed over the spiritual artifact in his hand. The elder took it, looked at it, then disdainfully said, "A low-grade spiritual artifact!" The woman from last time had also had this tone of disdain, as if for them, Artifact Crafting Grandmasters, upgrading a low-grade spiritual artifact was somewhat insulting. Still, since he was already there, the elder asked anyway, "Name your price." You never know, he might just encounter an overly generous soul... "One hundred merit points!" No sooner had Lu Ye spoken than the elder practically threw the spiritual artifact back with a huff, disappearing instantly, but not before cursing Lu Ye, "You're sick in the head!" A moment later, Lu Ye left that small room, deep in thought. He was certain now, within the Heaven's Augury treasure vault, others' disguises were nonexistent to him. His own advancement in realm was clearly not the reason; the only reason was Heaven's Augury Bestowment! After receiving Heaven's Augury Bestowment, his own disguise was still in place, but others' disguises were equivalent to none in his eyes. Is this a special privilege granted by Heaven's Augury to him? Yet, it brings no practical benefits. What use is such a privilege? Surely he can't use it to spy on people's identities and then blackmail them... Those people are all Artifact Crafting Grandmasters. There's nothing to blackmail anyway. When Lu Ye stepped out of the Heaven's Augury Hall, he drew the Boulder Mountain Saber, infused it with spirit force, and swung it several times. The saber was still the same one, except it had been upgraded to a mid-grade spirit artifact. Moreover, Lu Ye had experienced a breakthrough in his realm, so the power of his strike was much greater than before. The weight had increased, and he might not be used to it at the moment, but it was indeed suitable for the weight of Lu Ye's current realm. He would get used to it eventually. Sheathing the saber, Lu Ye thought for a moment, and the supply box at his waist buzzed as nine weapon-controlled items flew out! These nine controlled items were no longer the original spirit artifacts; the original nine low-grade spirit artifacts had all been replaced by Lu Ye with mid-grade ones. Before advancing to the Cloud River, Lu Ye had some difficulty controlling these nine weapon-controlled items because his spirit force was somewhat insufficient. But after advancing to the Cloud River, controlling them had become much easier. With the realm advancement, he still needed to familiarize himself with various techniques for a while. After briefly trying the weapon control, Lu Ye found Shui Yuan and handed her his Boulder Mountain Saber, "Second Senior Sister, could you please check the marks left on the handle? Is there anything wrong with it?" Shui Yuan turned the Boulder Mountain Saber in her hand and looked at the feather-like mark, smiling, "There's no problem. Some Artifact Refiners like to leave their unique marks on their creations, but these are just marks, nothing else. Since you must have signed the Heaven's Augury Pact, those people wouldn't dare play tricks. However, this mark... it was probably left by Feathered Master." "Feathered Master? Do you know him?" "No, I've only heard of him. He's a very capable Artifact Refiner. Any spirit artifact from his hands is of high quality. But until now, no one knows exactly who he is, nor from which faction he belongs." "Why such secrecy?" Shui Yuan said, "Probably because he doesn't want to be fame-driven, to avoid people seeking him out for refining. The Nine Provinces cultivation world is vast, and there are many capable individuals. Many skilled people prefer solitude. That's why Feathered Master only accepts various commissions within the Heaven's Augury treasure vault. With Heaven's Augury's protection, he doesn't need to worry about exposing his identity." Lu Ye thought to himself that the identity of Feathered Master had already been exposed, although at the moment he wasn't clear about who that woman was. Shui Yuan returned the Boulder Mountain Saber and asked, "Now that you've advanced to the Cloud River, how do you feel?" "Still a bit unaccustomed." "It's normal. A sudden surge in strength always requires some time to stabilize. It'll get better in a few days." After some idle talk, Lu Ye said, "I'll go see Madam Yun. She asked me to find her after my advancement to the Cloud River." "Go ahead." With the surge of spirit force, Lu Ye soared into the sky. This time, he didn't use any weapon control or activate the wings spirit runes. After reaching the Cloud River Realm, cultivators can fly through air. However, since this was Lu Ye's first time directly using his body to travel through air just after advancing to the Cloud River, he inevitably appeared a bit clumsy. His figure swayed left and right in mid-air, struggling to maintain direction. Although he intended to fly towards Madam Yun's Bright Heart Peak, he ended up veering off course. And compared to weapon control-flying, directly using his body to travel through air consumed much more spirit force. Thus, even after advancing to the Cloud River, cultivators still need Flying Spirit Artifacts for long journeys. Using Flying Spirit Artifacts consumes much less spirit force than using their bodies to travel through air, and the speed is also faster. More practice is needed! Lu Ye suddenly realized that after advancing to the Cloud River, there were still many things he needed to do. Finally reaching Bright Heart Peak, Lu Ye walked straight into Madam Yun's chamber. Led by a maid, he entered a room where Madam Yun was reading. "Greetings to Madam Yun," Lu Ye bowed. "You've advanced to the Cloud River?" Madam Yun sized him up with a glance. "Yes." "Your cultivation speed is commendable." Madam Yun nodded slightly, put down the scroll in her hand, and stood up, "Come with me." Lu Ye followed closely as they stepped out of the room. As they walked, Madam Yun said, "The Path of Spirit Runes is profound and intricate. For those who are not battle runes masters, spirit runes can often be used as an external force, like embedding a rune tattoo. You must have encountered such opponents in the Spirit Stream battlefield." Lu Ye immediately pictured an opponent covered in tattoos that he had encountered while ranking up. When he first saw that man covered in tattoos, Lu Ye was on guard for a while, only to find out later that among those tattoos, only one was a real rune tattoo, the rest were merely decorative. "I have!" "Rune tattoos can be either hidden or visible, and either temporary or permanent. Generally speaking, cultivators below the Cloud River Realm can only sustain temporary rune tattoos. However, after advancing to the Cloud River, the body can bear a permanent rune tattoo. So, in the future, you might encounter some opponents who are not spirit runes masters, but can still utilize the power of spirit runes. Those are rune tattoos, their hidden trump cards. Always be cautious, and never underestimate any opponent." "I have noted it, madam." "This time I've called you here to embed a permanent rune tattoo on you. What type would you like?"