Sage of Humanity

Assuming the role of a Cloud River Realm cultivator and arriving at the Spirit Stream battlefield to deploy such overwhelming force was indeed unseemly.

If Tan Sheng had truly outsmarted Lu Ye on his own and caused him such a great loss, he wouldn't have acted this way. Being inferior in skill meant there was nothing to complain about; he could only strive to enhance his cultivation, improve his strength, and then seek ways to seek revenge.

But Tan Sheng had used the second ability of the tracking disc, leaving him nowhere to hide within the hunting ground, ultimately leading to his encirclement by many powerful beings from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. He couldn't escape, and had to use the extremely precious Golden Body Token. The cost had been a hundred thousand merits, a heavy loss indeed.

The origin of the incident in the hunting ground lay with Tan Sheng, so naturally, the losses had to be recouped from the New Moon Sect.

It was also a statement—if they couldn't kill him, then they had to bear his ruthless retaliation.

In the New Moon Sect's quarters, after killing a person, purple lightning enveloped Lu Ye. The first punishment from Heaven's Augury, the pain brought by the Soul-Destroying Divine Lightning, was almost unbearable.

Before coming here, he had estimated as high an intensity as possible for the Soul-Destroying Divine Lightning, but in the end, it turned out to be an underestimate.

Having killed only one person and already experiencing such pain indicated that greater punishment awaited if he killed more.

Lu Ye estimated that, given his current endurance, he could at most kill five or six people before reaching his limit. By then, even if he didn't die, he would lose the ability to move.

Although the number of cultivators in the New Moon Sect's quarters wasn't large, there were always a couple of hundred individuals. Just a few people could hardly make a difference.

As his thoughts turned, a strange sensation suddenly emanated from his Root Spiritual Orifice. As this sensation spread, the pain he was experiencing diminished significantly.

With a thought, Lu Ye simultaneously dodged several incoming attacks while part of his mind examined the Root Spiritual Orifice.

Looking into it, he saw the Talent Tree within the Root Spiritual Orifice bursting into sky-reaching flames, seeming to set the entire tree ablaze. With the flames climbing and rolling, a large amount of gray mist evaporated.

The purple thunderbolt twined around him was dissipating at a visible rate…

The Talent Tree could burn away the Soul-Destroying Divine Lightning!

This discovery astounded Lu Ye, but upon reflection, it made perfect sense.

All along, the Talent Tree had been able to burn away energies that invaded and harmed his body, including many toxins. Hence, as long as there was enough fuel, Lu Ye could resist all poisons. Although the Soul-Destroying Divine Lightning was a punishment sent by Heaven's Augury and unavoidable, fundamentally, it was similar to toxins, an invasive and harmful energy.

Therefore, the Talent Tree could naturally burn it away.

However, compared to toxins, the act of burning away Divine Lightning appeared much more intense and seemed to consume more fuel.

Within moments, Lu Ye felt a significant lightness throughout his body as the purple thunderbolt completely vanished from his surface.

Initially, he had been somewhat hesitant in his actions, fearing killing too many people and had resolved only to kill a few key personnel to frighten off the other cultivators from New Moon Sect.

Discovering that the Talent Tree could even burn away the Soul-Destroying Divine Lightning, he was no longer apprehensive.

A flash of light swept over the 9th Dao weapon, and with the enhancement of spirit runes, both its speed and power were much stronger than before.

More screams echoed as several figures bled and fell from midair.

The nearly vanished purple thunderbolt once again clung to Lu Ye's body, slithering like a spirit snake.

The severely injured Tan Li continued to shout angrily, "Lu Yiye, you're courting death!"

Seeing his junior brother killed pained him, but if Lu Yiye continued this stubborn approach, his fate wouldn't be favorable either.

If they could kill Lu Yiye here today, any loss they sustained would be worthwhile—provided they didn't let Lu Yiye escape.

With that thought, Tan Li shouted, "Don't let him escape! He won't last much longer."

Originally, as Lu Ye continued to kill several cultivators under the multitudes' assault, the New Moon Sect cultivators grew wary; life is precious to everyone after all. However, seeing the intensifying purple thunderclap on Lu Ye and hearing Tan Li's command, they mustered up their courage and continued to engage Lu Ye in battle.

With the lights of weapon control crisscrossing and saber lights slashing, Lu Ye transformed into a fluttering butterfly traversing through the crowd, leaving a trail of blood and carnage in his wake.

The figures of New Moon Sect cultivators fell like dumplings from the sky.

In such a ferocious battle, alone against an entire sect, Lu Ye struggled to block all the attacks. However, he had Defense Spirit Runes to protect his vitals; other hits only caused minor injuries. Among his peers in terms of cultivation, Lu Ye's physique was comparable to that of a physique cultivator.

But for New Moon Sect cultivators, receiving a slash from Lu Ye wasn't just about injury; it was a matter of life and death.

As more cultivators fell, Lu Ye almost became a purple thunderbolt, darting across the battlefield.

Unable to bear the pressure, someone couldn't help but cry out, "Senior Brother Tan, we are no match for him!"

If someone had told them before today that there was a man capable of challenging their entire garrison of cultivators alone, they would never have believed it. Yet at this very moment, such an unimaginable event unfolded right before their eyes!

Moreover, that person was none other than the notorious Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer, who was still killing people despite being punished with the Soul-Destroying Divine Lightning.

Tan Li's gaze was bloody with rage as he watched his sect members fall one by one, leaving him breathless with pain. But after such a huge sacrifice, giving up now would mean all those deaths were in vain.

The purple thunderbolts on Lu Yiye's body were so dense that they were impenetrable. He must be enduring unimaginable torture and agony.

"He can't hold on! Make sure to keep him pinned down!" Tan Li roared.

Lu Yiye's endurance was beyond Tan Li's imagination. He had thought Lu Yiye could at most kill a few people, but now, nearly thirty had died by Lu Yiye's hand.

There were not even two hundred cultivators at the New Moon Sect's base, and now ten to twenty percent had been killed. What a grievous loss! If they could not capture Lu Yiye, he wouldn't know how to explain it to the sect headquarters.

The governor had already spoken, and despite their fear, the New Moon Sect's cultivators had no choice but to continue their siege on Lu Ye.

However, Lu Ye appeared not only undisturbed by the Soul-Destroying Divine Lightning but was growing stronger with each fight. Wherever his long saber pointed, a cultivator would surely fall.

Next to Tan Li, the healing cultivator treating his wounds suddenly spoke up, "Senior Brother, I heard that previously on Golden Light Peak, a cultivator of the True Lake Realm from the Righteous Blood Sect forced her way into the Spirit Stream battlefield, and dozens of cultivators died by her hand!"

Tan Li sharply turned, his eyes a bloody red, "What are you trying to say?"

The healing cultivator continued, "I'm not sure how powerful the Soul-Destroying Divine Lightning is, but it's said that even those in the Divine Sea Realm can't withstand its punishment. Logically speaking, Lu Yiye should have already been incapacitated, but I see the number of Divine Lightnings on him increasing, yet it seems they hardly affect him. Senior Brother, does the Righteous Blood Sect have some special method to negate the effects of the Divine Lightning?"

"Impossible!" Tan Li dismissed the idea outright, "It's Heaven's Augury's punishment, and there's no way to avoid it."

"But what if..."

Tan Li's expression became dazed. Yes, what if?

Since the moment Lu Yiye had killed the first person, so much time had passed and so many had died by his hand. If he were truly suffering the punishment of the Soul-Destroying Divine Lightning, he shouldn't be able to move, let alone fight, without experiencing extreme pain.

Yet there he was, fighting with increasing ferocity, his expression as calm as ever, showing not the slightest sign of pain.

Could the Righteous Blood Sect really have a way to dodge Heaven's Augury's punishment? If so, that would be utterly mind-boggling.

Heaven's Augury was always fair and impartial, so why would it favor the people from the Righteous Blood Sect?

"Senior Brother, we can't test Lu Yiye's condition with the lives of our own brothers," the healing cultivator pleaded earnestly.

Tan Li snapped out of his reverie. That's right, those were his own brothers. His decision to let his cultivators continue the siege on Lu Ye wasn't because he thought they could overpower him, but because he believed that Lu Ye couldn't withstand the agony of the Divine Lightning.

But if Lu Yiye really could evade Heaven's Augury's punishment, then no matter how many died, it would all be for nothing!

With that thought, Tan Li was no longer hesitant. He suddenly stood up, shouting loudly, "Back to Nine Provinces!"

As he spoke, he charged toward Lu Ye.

At Tan Li's command, the already anxious New Moon Sect cultivators hurried towards Heaven's Augury Hall. Just as Lu Ye was about to pursue, Tan Li's massive figure collided with him, yelling, "Stop killing my brothers!"

Spirit force and blood Qi surged wildly, turning Tan Li's entire figure an abnormal shade of dark red, making him appear like a frenzied beast, unstoppable and imperious.

Lu Ye paused, raised his Boulder Mountain Saber, and executed three slashes.

Three crescent-shaped saber lights slashed towards Tan Li, who blocked with his forearms.

Thud, thud, thud—the three dull sounds denoted deep, bone-exposing cuts on Tan Li's arms, and his forward momentum was hindered.

Looking up, he saw a purple-wrapped figure lunging straight at him. A bright saber light flashed before his eyes, and Tan Li froze in place.

Lu Ye had already moved past him, chasing down the cultivators heading for Heaven's Augury Hall, leaving a trail of corpses along the path.

Behind him, Tan Li's eyes dimmed as his body fell from the sky, splitting apart before it even hit the ground.

Despite both having 9th Heaven cultivation, in his heavily injured state, Tan Li couldn't even block a single strike from Lu Ye.

Moments later, as the battle subsided, Lu Ye flicked the blood off his Boulder Mountain Saber and sheathed it back inside the Heaven's Augury Hall.

Many from the New Moon Sect had escaped, a situation Lu Ye couldn't help, as he alone couldn't possibly keep everyone from fleeing.

Still, the outcome was quite satisfactory.

Turning, he walked out of Heaven's Augury Hall and approached Tan Li's decapitated body. He rummaged through it for a while, took out the Great Array Jade Cluster, refined it slightly, and shut down the base's protective array.

Then, he sent a message to Yiyi, asking her to bring Tao Zhengyu over.