Sage of Humanity

Inside the great hall, as one Divine Sea Realm expert after another spoke up, the situation seemed to become clearer.

No matter what means Lu Yiye used to suppress the punishment from Heaven's Augury, he must have paid a heavy price, and at this moment, it was very likely that he was no longer able to kill.

If this was true, there was nothing to fear from him for those of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge!

He certainly had the ability to sneak into the bases of others, but with the premise that he couldn't kill, his threat to the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side could almost be ignored.

Of course, this was only a hypothesis; without concrete evidence, no conclusions could be drawn.

"To verify it is simple," someone said. "First find out Lu Yiye's whereabouts, then gather some 9th Heaven cultivators to test him, and we'll know if he can still kill."

"Makes sense, let's do that. Any objections?"

"Agreed."

"No objections!"

"I have a suggestion, try to find ones from the Spirit Stream Ranking who are from 9th Heaven. If they are too weak, it won't prove anything. Besides, if possible, we might take the opportunity to eliminate him."

"Good, then it's settled. My Baiyue Sect can provide one person."

"Cape Pavilion will provide one person!"

"My Flying Lightning Order also provides one person."

A group of Divine Sea Realm experts each spoke up, and soon, they formed a team of about twenty to thirty people, all of whom were from the Spirit Stream Ranking, including many strong individuals ranked in the top twenty.

"Then, please quickly convey the message into the Spirit Stream battlefield, and let our young ones set off immediately." Seated in the foremost place, a Divine Sea Realm elder who had not spoken up until now said indifferently.

The crowd acknowledged the order and began to send the message outward immediately.

However, just at that moment, as if some message had arrived from the outside world, many Divine Sea Realm experts began to investigate one after another.

After a short while, everyone looked solemn.

Even the Divine Sea Realm elder who had just spoken knitted his brows and raised his hand, "The matter we just discussed, let's put it on hold." He lifted his seemingly turbid eyes, scanned the hall, and spoke slowly, "Reports have been received that just one incense stick's time ago, Lu Yiye broke through the Yunyang Sect's base and killed more than a dozen people!"

At these words, the entire hall fell silent.

These Divine Sea Realm experts were still discussing how to confirm their previous deduction, but now it seemed there was no need to verify anything; Lu Yiye had already struck at the Yunyang Sect's base and more than a dozen from Yunyang Sect had been slain, naturally invalidating their deduction.

The many gazes converging in the hall caught sight of a Divine Sea Realm powerhouse whose eyes shot flames as he clenched his teeth and cursed under his breath, "This little beast!"

This man was one of the Divine Sea Realm experts from Yunyang Sect, who happened to be present. He had also received a message from his own sect, informing him of the incident that had occurred on the Spirit Stream battlefield.

Although, when compared to the New Moon Sect, there were far fewer casualties among his own disciples, it was only because the New Moon Sect's precedent had made the Yunyang Sect's cultivators retreat more decisively. Otherwise, judging by Lu Yiye's methods, it would have likely turned into another bloody massacre, piling corpses like a mountain.

"Who has the ten-part map of the Spirit Stream battlefield?" asked the elder seated at the head.

He had never imagined that he, a dignified Divine Sea Realm expert, would have to personally inquire about the affairs of the Spirit Stream battlefield. However, the Spirit Stream Realm was the foundation of every sect, and the situation had escalated to a level that warranted his attention.

"I have it," following the voice, a ten-part map of the Spirit Stream battlefield was taken out. The Divine Sea Realm powerhouse poured spirit force into it, while another formed a peculiar set of spirit runes with his hand.

The spirit runes connected with the ten-part map, and in the next moment, a huge pattern was presented in the air before the eyes of everyone present.

Displayed on that pattern was the ten-part map of the Spirit Stream battlefield.

"The New Moon Sect's base is not too close, yet not too far from Yunyang Sect's base," the elder at the head said, looking at the ten-part map. "With Lu Yiye's strength, he should only need half a day to get there, and the timing fits as well. But there are other sects' bases between the two; why did Lu Yiye not disturb those other bases, choosing specifically to attack Yunyang Sect's base?"

Just looking at the trajectory of Lu Yiye's actions, it seemed he was targeting the Yunyang Sect's base deliberately.

"Brother Fu, what is the reason for this?"

The Divine Sea Realm expert from Yunyang Sect, also known as Cultivator Fu, replied with a troubled look, "We received information earlier that one of our disciples named Wei Que was involved in the ambush against Lu Ye in the hunting grounds. That must be why Lu Yiye targeted us."

At these words, many Divine Sea Realm experts began to look uncomfortable.

First, it was Tan Sheng from New Moon Sect, now Wei Que from Yunyang Sect—Lu Yiye was targeting them purposefully.

But in the hunting grounds, those who had ambushed Lu Yiye were not limited to these two people. Many among them also had disciples who had taken part. Did this mean that Lu Yiye would also go after their own bases? Some were uncertain about this situation—they didn't know whether their disciples had been involved in the hunting grounds incident.

A grave crisis indeed!

They hastily sent word out, instructing the disciples on the Spirit Stream battlefield to be vigilant and to retreat to the Nine Provinces immediately upon detecting Lu Yiye's presence. If the base was breached, the augmentation from the Heaven's Augury Pillar would definitely be lost. At this moment, the only thing that could be saved was the lives of their disciples.

"Brother Fu, after Lu Yiye killed someone, did Heaven's Augury hand down any punishment?"

Cultivator Fu said, "I'll ask."

He reached out to his sect to inquire about the situation, and soon received a response. He spoke up, "Yes, from the moment he killed the first person, he was beset by purple lightning."

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In the grand hall, nearly a hundred Divine Sea Realm cultivators were all silent.

They couldn't figure out what was going on with Lu Yiye's situation. At first, they suspected that he had some special means to suppress the punishment from Heaven's Augury, but the information they had obtained now seemed a bit off.

If there were indeed means to suppress it, there would be no reason for there to be lightning still entwined around him, yet if there were no suppression, how could Lu Yiye remain unharmed?

After a while, the elder sitting at the head of the table finally spoke, "Several months ago, our Ten Thousand Demons Ridge had already compromised once. Now, it's only been a few months, and Lu Yiye has made such impertinent demands again. We must not foster such perverse trends, or else he'll come back every few months. Are we to cave in every time?"

The crowd remained silent.

Upon reflection, although Lu Yiye was somewhat detestable, he was actually a reasonable person.

After receiving the protection money last time, he didn't trouble the sects of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge again, and not long afterward, he was promoted to Cloud River, leaving the Spirit Stream battlefield.

This time there was a cause as well, if not for being targeted in the hunting grounds in such a way, he probably would not have come to the Spirit Stream battlefield.

Of course, even though they thought this, they definitely wouldn't say it out loud.

"Does Veteran Chen have any thoughts?" someone asked.

"Let's send some people into the Spirit Stream battlefield to clarify the severity of matters with him. This young man acts with thought. I believe he is not brainless; he should understand that acting recklessly would lead to severe consequences."

Following that, Veteran Chen laid out his plan. After hearing it, the many Divine Sea Realm cultivators nodded in agreement.

Since Lu Yiye, like last time, had given a ten-day deadline, regardless of the outcome, it was better to go and talk to him first.

Although the hope was slim, what if they managed to reach an agreement?

Even if they couldn't agree, with a ten-day deadline for preparation, it would be sufficient.

They couldn't just give him whatever he wanted each time; how would the cultivators of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge face others when they went out? Didn't they have any dignity?

While the Divine Sea Realm cultivators were discussing matters here, Lu Ye was diving into his consciousness in the Yunyang Sect's territory, checking the situation of the Talent Tree.

Patches of grey fog were rising from the tree, which meant that the fuel was still quite ample.

Mainly because he hadn't killed too many people this time.

Not that he didn't want to, but he hadn't managed to.

Once the cultivators of Yunyang Sect realized that Lu Ye had stormed their station, they quickly began to evacuate, leaving the place completely empty in a short span of time.

This had also spared Lu Ye some trouble.

The only thing that made him feel helpless was his own merit…

Previously, he had spent all his merit to buy Earth's Core Fire to fuel the Talent Tree.

As a result of this venture, the merit column in his battlefield marking unbelievably read: owed four hundred and thirty-five points.

It was Lu Ye's first time learning that merit could actually end up in a deficit!

Truly, it was an eye-opener.

Given this, it seemed that Heaven's Augury would definitely not engage in a losing deal, and Lu Ye had to admire it for that.

Fortunately, he had obtained some spoils of war. After carefully selecting and then depositing the spoils into the Heaven's Augury treasure vault, he managed to clear his outstanding debt and even ended up with a slight surplus.

Lu Ye didn't know what consequences owing merit to Heaven's Augury could lead to, as no one had ever tried it before; after all, who would end up in merit debt?

But during that moment he owed Heaven's Augury, he always had a sense of unease, as if something bad might happen to him at any time.

So it seemed, running a deficit on Heaven's Augury might affect one's fortune, leading to things not going as planned.

If someone like him, whose fortune was astounding, had such feelings after running a merit deficit, one could imagine what the outcome for a normal person who owed merit would be. They'd probably trip when walking and even get choked on water.

As the Talent Tree burned continuously, the entwined purple lightning gradually dissipated.

Tao Zhengyu stepped out from the Heaven's Augury Hall, his face brimming with excitement, "Fifth Senior Brother, where are we heading next?"

He had acquired a taste for it; following his Fifth Senior Brother, he faced no danger, could plunder the blessings from other sects' territories, and these were enhancements from the Core Circle sects' territories. The spoils from the last two raids had been substantial, although plundered blessings needed to be converted to sect merit upon returning to the sect's territory. As the current governor of the Righteous Blood Sect's station, he could give himself a bit of special treatment and grant himself a monthly salary.

Not to mention, he wouldn't have to worry about the merit required to purchase Heaven Rank techniques in the future.

This could be considered his travelling expense for the trip he took with Lu Ye for official business. He believed Second Senior Sister would allow this as well.

Among the past governors of the Righteous Blood Sect, only he and Fifth Senior Brother have had the chance to plunder multiple enemy sects' territorial blessings. No one else had ever had such an opportunity.

He was extremely proud to have joined the Righteous Blood Sect. Initially, he was but a mere independent cultivator, lonely and unable to guarantee his own cultivation resources. After joining the Righteous Blood Sect, however, life got better day by day. The monthly salary he received from the sect now was comparable to the treatment of a disciple from a 1st grade sect, and just this aspect alone was enough to make almost ninety percent of the Spirit Stream Realm cultivators across the Nine Provinces envious.

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