Sage of Humanity
Chapter 833 - 831: Nine Provinces?

Nine Provinces, Cloud River Battlefield, West Thirty-fifth Heaven's Augury City.

As the only Heaven's Augury City within a radius of thirty thousand miles, the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union here was naturally bustling with activity.

Every day, cultivators from Nine Provinces came and went incessantly. The spacious streets were crowded with people, shoulder to shoulder.

Business within the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union was even more booming, making a fortune every day.

It had been more than a month since the Yunhe Battle ended. Those who were supposed to advance to the True Lake Realm had already done so. Now was the time for a new batch of Cloud River Realm cultivators to compete for remarkable achievements. Those with some cultivation were diligently consolidating their foundations, preparing for the next Yunhe Battle, while the newcomers to the Cloud River Battlefield were striving to improve their cultivation, following in the footsteps of their predecessors.

In the big cultivation environment of Nine Provinces, there were two treasured lands to cultivate cultivators: the Spirit Stream battlefield and the Cloud River battlefield. Generations of young talents emerged like waves in the river, with new waves pushing the old, endlessly flowing.

In front of the Heaven's Augury Pillar at the mercantile union, four long lines extended in four directions. The cultivators, while waiting, whispered to each other if they were familiar.

Although it had been more than a month since the end of the Yunhe Battle, it was still a hot topic among the cultivators.

Especially the top-ranked Lu Ye, whose deeds as a Cloud River Level 8 cultivator created an unprecedented miracle since ancient times, destined to be remembered by those who came after.

Many were already familiar with him, and many were not. Naturally, those interested unearthed his story.

Looking at his path of cultivation, it was simply a history drenched in blood and tears, constantly struggling against the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge faction. Wherever he went, conflicts arose, making it remarkably lively.

The name of Lu Yiye, the Sect Destroyer, the Three Calamities of Spirit Stream, also spread far and wide.

"Speaking of which, there hasn't been any news about Lu Yiye recently," someone suddenly spoke.

"What, you miss him?"

"No, no, it's just that such a person is bound to soar upwards and be remembered in history, so paying more attention to him is natural."

"That fellow took the top spot in the Yunhe Battle, got twenty gold-hued spirit fortune sticks. He's probably in seclusion for cultivation, or perhaps he's already advanced to the True Lake Realm."

"That would be unfortunate. Without Lu Yiye, the Cloud River battlefield will be much less lively in the future."

"Such a disaster star, wouldn't it be better for him to leave early? Once he leaves the Cloud River battlefield, stronger cultivators will deal with him."

"By the way, his cultivation speed is truly fast, making others envious."

"It's just that he has many opportunities. If we had as many opportunities, our cultivation speed would not be slower than his."

"It's easy to say, but opportunities don't just appear out of nowhere. It's because they are rare that they are… what's happening?"

The lively conversations came to an abrupt halt, and all the cultivators waiting in line for trades looked at the Heaven's Augury Pillar in front of them in astonishment.

Those closer couldn't help but take a few steps back.

This was because the Heaven's Augury Pillar, which had never shown any abnormalities, suddenly radiated light. Under the bewildered gazes of the cultivators, intricate patterns suddenly lit up on the pillar, flowing with light that then spilled out, gathering in the void in front of the pillar.

In a moment, an oval-shaped gate of light, three zhang high, large enough for four people to walk through side by side, appeared in everyone's view.

The whole place fell silent. In the grand hall of the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union, everyone's eyes were focused on it.

The event even alerted the strong cultivator stationed there. A thin, indifferent-looking middle-aged man flashed to the front of the gate of light, observing it intently.

The mercantile union manager who witnessed the formation of the gate reported the situation immediately.

The middle-aged man's thoughts raced as he listened, observing the gate with many questions in his heart.

Why would a gate appear in front of the Heaven's Augury Pillar?

Where did this gate lead to?

Such a bizarre event had never happened before.

"I'll check it out." Confident in his strength, the middle-aged man instructed the manager beside him before stepping towards the gate.

However, the next moment, he seemed to collide with an invisible wall.

He involuntarily stepped back, realizing that only Cloud River Realm cultivators could pass through. Although he outwardly displayed the cultivation of a Cloud River Realm, he was actually a True Lake Realm cultivator, and naturally could not pass.

"Senior, what's the situation with this gate?" someone with higher cultivation asked.

The middle-aged man, visibly receiving some information, was checking his battlefield marking. Soon, his brow furrowed.

Many pieces of information showed that it wasn't just this mercantile union that had a gate appear, but many other mercantile unions as well. Whether this was happening across the entire Cloud River battlefield was still uncertain, as time had been too short.

But the gate opening in such a place was clearly not a bad thing.

After a brief consideration, the middle-aged man said, "It may be an opportunity bestowed by Heaven's Augury…"

Before he finished speaking, numerous cultivators became visibly excited. Truthfully, some had already thought of this the moment the gate appeared but dared not act recklessly.

Now that even the mercantile union's people said so, it must indeed be the case.

Gates like these often led to some secret realm, places cultivators loved to explore because there was a high chance of obtaining battle merits there!

Just a moment ago, someone had mentioned how rare opportunities were. Who would have thought that a secret realm gate would appear before their eyes in the blink of an eye? This was truly saying something and having it happen immediately.

Impatient and bold, someone immediately stepped out from the crowd, striding towards the gate.

Opportunities were rare, and encountering one meant it had to be seized.

The middle-aged man naturally did not stop them, nor was there any need to. Though the destination and dangers beyond the gate were unknown, cultivation was always filled with obstacles and thorns, never smooth sailing.

He merely reminded, "If you encounter danger beyond the gate, the mercantile union will not be responsible for it. Take care, everyone!"

Who would still care about him?

As the first cultivator stepped into the gate and disappeared, a massive crowd of cultivators swarmed towards the gate from all directions, as if afraid they would miss out on the benefits by being late.

Similar scenes were occurring in mercantile unions across the Cloud River battlefield almost simultaneously. Those cultivators who had come to buy or sell goods flocked to the gates appearing in front of Heaven's Augury Pillars.

...

Unparalleled Continent, Huntian Holy Temple Secret Realm.

"Battle merits, these are battle merits!" Ying Wuji's excited voice rang out because he discovered that after killing those Corpse Race entities, he could actually obtain precious battle merits!

Others discovered it too, and their hearts were elated.

But Lui Qing poured a bucket of cold water over them: "You need to be alive to spend those battle merits!"

Their enthusiasm was doused instantly.

In their current predicament, they were nearly in a hopeless situation, each with varying degrees of injuries. Of the eight of them, four had already been infected with Primordial Corpse Poison.

Only Lu Ye, Lan Ziyi, Muk Qingyun, and Giant Armor were not yet afflicted by the Primordial Corpse Poison.

Unless the four infected could quickly escape and find Hua Ci for treatment, they would inevitably be turned into members of the Corpse Race. The more they activated their spirit force, the less effective the elixirs they took, hastening the poison's outbreak.

Once the four were turned into the Corpse Race, the remaining four would also face dire outcomes.

It was truly a dead-end!

The Golden Corpse King Corpse Fiend clearly saw this, for it hadn't appeared since being repelled by Lu Ye. Even the Silver Corpse Commander and Iron Corpse Commander no longer bothered them, and only waves of Corpse Race entities overwhelmed them repeatedly.

Just as the eight from Nine Provinces squad were at their wit's end and resigning themselves to fate, unusual spirit force fluctuations suddenly surged not far away.

Everyone was shocked and quickly looked over.

On the ten-zhang-high Heaven's Augury Pillar beside them, lights were flowing non-stop. The pillar itself even trembled violently.

What was going on?

Everyone was uncertain and bewildered.

With a crashing sound…

It was as if stars shattered, with lights radiating from the Heaven's Augury Pillar, scattering across the Huntian Holy Temple Secret Realm. When the lights landed, they did not dissipate but instead twisted and stretched, quickly transforming into oval-shaped gates.

Each light became a gate.

Thousands of lights turned into thousands of gates!

Above, below, and even through the Huntian Holy Temple Secret Realm, lights fell near the battlefield where Ziwei Dao Palace and its point cultivators were located.

Within the Huntian Holy Temple Secret Realm, the nearest gate to Lu Ye and the others was less than a hundred zhang away!

A familiar aura emanated from the gate.

"Is this…"

Amidst the chaos, Lui Qing glanced at the gate, sensing the familiar aura. Suddenly realizing something, he turned to the always calm Lu Ye, who remained unfazed even in this desperate situation: "Nine Provinces?"

Ignoring the question, Lu Ye continued to battle fiercely.

Unyielding, Lui Qing pressed further: "Lu Yiye, is that the Nine Provinces? Did you anticipate this all along?"

Only then did Lu Ye coolly reply, "Since Heaven's Augury can establish contact with us and the Heaven's Augury Pillar is placed here, naturally Nine Provinces cultivators can transmit here too."

Lui Qing was briefly stunned before bursting into laughter: "So that's how it is. Lu Yiye, you sure hide things deeply, ha! This was our backup plan and reliance. No wonder you're so unflustered in this desperate situation; I thought you were unafraid of death!"

"It's not that I hide things deeply, it's that you're too dense!"

"Fine, I'm dense!" Lui Qing wasn't annoyed, feeling relieved. No result was more joyous than finding hope in despair, and Lu Yiye's verbal jabs didn't matter much.

"We're getting reinforcements?" Fong Rulie asked excitedly.

He wasn't as smart as Lui Qing, but hearing their conversation, he pieced things together.

With the Heaven's Augury Pillar there and so many gates to Nine Provinces, it was clear that reinforcements would soon arrive from Nine Provinces.