Sage of Humanity

Sitting on the rock, Lu Ye checked the storage sack in his hand, which was not very full yet still had a decent amount—about thirty or forty Spirit Stones worth of items.

Not every cultivator was as wealthy as he was, who had on this occasion taken from his base several hundred elixir pills and several hundred Spirit Stones in his storage sack, though there were few Spirit Talismans. As his cultivation improved, those low-level Spirit Talismans were of little use to him now.

Both he and Amber increased their cultivation through consuming elixir pills. At this stage, the daily consumption for a man and a tiger was about thirty or forty pills. It could be said that Lu Ye had almost become sick of consuming elixir pills, having thought more than once that it would be great if the elixir pills came in different flavors.

Thus, even though Lu Ye had quite a few elixir pills with him, it would not last long.

This was one of the reasons he didn't wait to advance to the Level 8 realm before coming to the inner circle; the consumption for cultivation was too great. Continuing like this, it would only be a matter of time before he exhausted all his resources. Although Hua Ci had many elixir pills, he could not keep taking from her indefinitely.

Compared to him, most cultivators were actually quite poor, having few avenues to acquire cultivation resources beyond their monthly stipend from their sect. Whatever elixir pills and Spirit Stones they obtained were generally used up in cultivation, rarely having any surplus.

Compared to Lu Ye's previous gains from fighting in the outer circle, his situation was undoubtedly better now, since the cultivators in the inner circle possessed higher cultivation levels and richer bases.

"Lu Ye!" Yiyi called softly.

Lu Ye looked up and saw a man and a woman approaching. Observing their spirit light, they were evidently two Level 8 cultivators.

"Fellow Daoist, over here!" The man was still several tens of feet away when he called out, revealing the gloss of his battlefield marking as he spoke, "Hao Ren of Silver Light Island greets you."

A good person? Lu Ye raised his eyebrows.

The good person stopped several feet ahead and pointed at the woman beside him: "This is my younger sister, Hao Qing."

Lu Ye nodded slightly.

Silver Light Island lay adjacent to the Sky Supporting Sect base, both being 6th grade powers of the Haotian Alliance, and were the nearest inner circle sects to the Righteous Blood Sect.

Lu Ye chose the Sky Supporting Sect as his entry point into the inner circle firstly because its cultivators had troubled him at Golden Light Peak, and secondly, he hoped to find an opportunity to connect with Silver Light Island and see if he could establish an alliance with their governor.

If possible, then in the future when Righteous Blood Sect cultivators entered the inner circle, they could affiliate with Silver Light Island, saving them much travel.

However, he had no interaction with the cultivators of Silver Light Island and had not seen either the governor or deputy governor in the Chess Sea, guessing they might have died.

Unexpectedly, he encountered two from Silver Light Island here.

Although both Hao Ren and Hao Qing were Level 8 cultivators, their manner was quite courteous.

They had just witnessed how Lu Ye had fought fiercely; even though they were one level higher than Lu Ye, they dared not act arrogantly. Ultimately, interactions between cultivators were still based on strength.

"Lu Ye!"

The siblings, Hao Ren and Hao Qing, paused. That name... sounded so familiar.

They couldn't help but size Lu Ye up and down...

They had heard that Lu Yiye always had a snow-white big tiger with him, but they didn't see any snow-white big tigers, just a cat-sized white one.

That's not a cat.

But this cultivation level... on Golden Light Peak, that Lu Yiye was a Level 5 realm. It didn't make sense for him to have ascended to the Level 7 realm in just a few months?

"Fellow Daoist, are you from Righteous Blood Sect?" Hao Ren asked, although he felt it unlikely.

"Indeed."

Hao Ren's pupils constricted, "Could it be that Fellow Daoist is that Lu Yiye?"

Lu Ye felt a twinge of sadness inside while Yiyi behind him stifled her giggles with her hand.

"Yes, I am that Lu Yiye!"

"Oh my!" Hao Ren slapped his thigh, his expression turning eager, "So it really is Fellow Daoist Yiye. I've long admired your great name! In the battle at Golden Light Peak, you brought great honor to the Haotian Alliance. You made us yearn and feel ashamed by comparison."

Hao Qing also showed admiration in her eyes.

Hao Ren continued to shower praise, clearly holding Lu Ye in high esteem. Indeed, after the battle at Golden Light Peak, all the major sects of the Haotian Alliance glorified the event to motivate their lower-level disciples, proclaiming, "If a Level 5 can achieve such a feat, even if you cannot, you should strive in this direction."

Even the embarrassed forces of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge propagated the battle, their motive being to encourage their disciples to strive harder. Failure is not fearful; what's fearful is having your backbone broken by failure.

It can be said that, in the Nine Provinces cultivation world, among the low-level cultivators, the name Lu Yiye of Righteous Blood Sect was indeed as loud as thunder.

This left Lu Ye feeling somewhat helpless, thinking that perhaps he should adopt a pseudonym for future engagements on the battlefield—it wasn't convenient for his actions if everyone knew his origins upon just reporting them.

"I've been too caught up just talking. I truly didn't expect to meet Fellow Daoist Yiye here. Please forgive my rudeness," Hao Ren said, patting his head.
Your adventure continues at My Virtual Library Empire

"No harm done."

"Who is this?" Hao Ren looked at Yiyi, who was standing behind Lu Ye. He had witnessed Yiyi's performance in the battle just now. Her ability to appear and disappear magically, as if diving into the earth, carried a hint of ghostly cultivation yet was distinctly different. At least, ghost cultivators couldn't dive into the ground so effortlessly.

"This is my junior sister, Lu Yiyi!"

"What a coincidence!" Hao Ren laughed heartily.

On his side, he was accompanied by his sister just as Lu Ye was, which could be considered a kind of fate in itself. Moreover, both being part of the Haotian Alliance, they felt a sudden affinity for each other.

Upon hearing Lu Ye introducing her in such a manner, Yiyi's eyes curved into crescent moons, and she greeted them generously, "Nice to meet you, Senior Brother Hao, Sister Hao."

Her honeyed words were indeed endearing, and Hao Qing responded with a smile.

"Have you two traveled all this way here on some particular mission?" Hao Ren suddenly asked with a solemn expression.

"Just strolling around. What about you?"

Hao Ren didn't believe his casual excuse of just wandering. People from the Righteous Blood Sect idly wandering into Ten Thousand Demons Ridge's territory clearly spelled trouble.

There were reports that someone from the Sky Supporting Sect had confronted Lu Yiye at the battle of Golden Light Peak, and he had heard that Lu Yiye was somewhat vengeful...

"My sister and I are here for the Purple Cloud Flower," Hao Ren said, pointing to the purple flower bud beside him.

He then explained further.

This mission was assigned to him and his sister by their sect. Although Silver Light Island was isolated and housed many exotic plants rare on the mainland, finding specific types native to the mainland was not easy.

A senior in their sect needed a Purple Cloud Flower to prepare some medicinal syrup, and as it was not available on Silver Light Island, they had asked the disciples to keep an eye out for it on the Spirit Stream battlefield.

They found it here and planned to wait until the flower was fully mature before they made their move to seize it. However, Lu Ye suddenly showed up and cut in.

"Would Fellow Daoist Yiye be willing to part with it for one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones?" Hao Ren said somewhat sheepishly.

"Since we've met by fate, and as it's Brother Hao's mission, you can have it,"

Lu Ye was still keen on establishing a connection with people from Silver Light Island. Previously, without any contacts, it wasn't appropriate to just show up at their doorstep. Meeting Hao Ren and his sister here seemed like an opportunity.

"That won't do," Hao Ren quickly refused. "You slew the enemies, and taking this would be improper."

Seeing his firm stance, Lu Ye understood that giving away something so directly when they had just met wouldn't be appropriate either. If it were him, he wouldn't feel comfortable accepting such a benefit for no reason either.

"Then let's make it a round figure, one hundred Spirit Stones."

"That would be very good," Hao Ren agreed immediately.

One hundred and twenty Spirit Stones was the reward given by their elder for completing the mission. Still, should they manage to complete their mission, they would also receive sect contributions, which could be exchanged for cultivation resources. So, even if they gave all one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones to Lu Ye, they wouldn't be at a loss.

After asking Hao Ren, he learned that the Purple Cloud Flower would need about a day more to fully mature.

He had killed four cultivators from the Sky Supporting Sect here, and he didn't know if that would attract more people. Moreover, as the flower bloomed, its fragrance would spread further, and anyone passing nearby would surely notice something.

Just to be safe, Hao Ren and his sister Hao Qing hid in ambush while Yiyi also took cover, leaving Lu Ye boldly sitting alone beside the Purple Cloud Flower.

It was the same hiding spot behind a large rock where Hao Ren and his sister concealed their presence.

"Brother, he asked about the location of the Sky Supporting Sect's mines earlier. What's he planning?" Hao Qing suddenly asked.

Just now, Lu Ye had asked them about the location of the Sky Supporting Sect's mines. As a native of Silver Light Island and neighbor to the Sky Supporting Sect, Hao Ren naturally knew and marked it on Lu Ye's ten-part map.

"What else would he do? He's definitely up to something!"

"Just the two of them?" Hao Qing was surprised.

The mine was garrisoned by no fewer than dozens of Sky Supporting Sect cultivators, including definitely some at the Level 9 realm. The notion that just the two of them thought to stir trouble was not just audacious but somewhat foolhardy.

"Let's advise them later," sighed Hao Ren. Although Lu Ye could slaughter an eighth-level ghost cultivator as easily as butchering a chicken, if truly ambushed by many, his fate wouldn't be promising. It would be a pity for someone from the Righteous Blood Sect to die so senselessly.

"Someone's coming!" Hao Qing suddenly shouted, her gaze fixed in one direction, her heart lifting.

But she saw that it was just a streak of light swiftly passing by, apparently just crossing the area.

The situation between the inner and outer circles was clearly different. In the outer circle, it was rare to see cultivators flying through the air, but in the inner circle, it was another story. Once cultivators reached the realms of Level 8-9, they could control weapons to fly, so in the inner circle, it was common to encounter cultivators traveling swiftly through the air on controlled weapons.

However, they generally didn't dare to fly too low, as that would make it easy for enemies on the ground to launch a surprise attack. This streak of light was about sixty to seventy yards above the ground, which was a relatively safe distance. Even in case of an attack, they could quickly drop down to face the enemy.