Sage of Humanity
Chapter 846 - 844: Farewell

Walking leisurely within Ziwei Dao Palace, Pang Huanyin spoke softly, mostly to express her gratitude.

The millennia-long Corpse Disaster that plagued the Unparalleled Continent, the persistent efforts and determination of generations of elders within the Dao Palace, had all been resolved upon the arrival of Lu Ye and his companions. As the current Palace Master, Pang Huanyin's gratitude was heartfelt.

Even though she knew that Lu Ye and the others came here primarily as a form of tempering and had gained many benefits, the fact that the Unparalleled Continent had been saved remained unchanged. No matter how much gratitude she expressed, it would never be too much.

"I haven't yet apologized to the Palace Master; the Earth Vein of the Dao Palace is now exhausted and may be difficult to recover."

After placing the Heaven's Augury Pillars within the Four Great Secret Realms, the Earth Veins within these realms were all devoured and exhausted. Now, while these realms still exist, they have lost their ability to float freely in the Void and can only settle in fixed locations.

Lu Ye had not mentioned this to Pang Huanyin beforehand, even though he knew that she wouldn't have stopped him, even if he had explained it.

"It's no matter. With the Corpse Disaster gone, the Unparalleled humans no longer need to hide. However, the Unparalleled humans now face a long journey of revitalization, with heavy responsibilities ahead."

Lu Ye remained silent. He found it difficult to understand Pang Huanyin's mindset of bearing the future of an entire domain's human race upon herself. If it were him, he wouldn't do so. At most, he would only consider the future of his close ones. As for those unfamiliar and unknown to him, he neither had the mood nor the ability to care.

But Pang Huanyin had been taught this way since childhood, so he didn't criticize her.

"Senior Brother." Pang Huanyin stopped and turned to look at him. "Will we meet again in the future?"

Lu Ye thought for a moment and said, "With the Heaven's Augury Pillars now placed here, technically speaking, this place is likely to become a secret realm of the Nine Provinces. In the future, many Nine Provinces cultivators might come here to train. If the Palace Master wants to lead the Unparalleled humans out of their predicament, you could perhaps use the strength of those Nine Provinces cultivators."

"I'm asking about you, Senior Brother!" Pang Huanyin fixed her gaze steadily on Lu Ye.

Lu Ye didn't quite understand why she started calling him Senior Brother, but it wasn't worth correcting her over such a minor issue. He then explained, "Each domain has its capacity limit. Right now, the Unparalleled Continent's limit is the Cloud River Realm. Thus, Unparalleled cultivators can only cultivate to the peak of the Cloud River Realm. The reinforcements sent by the Nine Provinces are also all within the Cloud River Realm. After I return to the Nine Provinces, I will start working on advancing to the True Lake Realm."

Pang Huanyin's gaze dimmed for a moment. "Does that mean you won't be able to come back to the Unparalleled Continent in the future?"

"Probably." Lu Ye nodded.

After a long silence, Pang Huanyin suddenly smiled. "Then I wish you a bright future! Senior Brother, it's time for you to leave now."

"Take care!" Lu Ye said.

"You too, Senior Brother!"

Watching Lu Ye's retreating figure, Pang Huanyin stood at the mountaintop, silently gazing into the distance with her hands behind her back.

An elderly figure emerged nearby; it was Veteran Siao who sighed slightly, "Palace Master, in one's lifetime, many people come and go. Some things cannot be forced. After all, you belong to two different worlds."

Pang Huanyin smiled slyly. "Who said we belong to two different worlds?"

Veteran Siao looked at her in astonishment. He thought his Palace Master was feeling low and had come to comfort her, but now it seemed he had overthought the situation?

However...

"What do you mean by that, Palace Master?"

"You'll understand in a few days. But for our Unparalleled humans, it's good news!"

...

Returning to the entrance of Ziwei Dao Palace, Lu Ye saw that most of the Nine Provinces cultivators gathered there had already left.

At a glance, he spotted Hua Ci, Giant Armor, Li Baxian, and Feng Yuechan waiting nearby.

Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan had returned earlier, having eradicated most of the Corpse Disaster on the Unparalleled Continent. Even if some remnants of the Corpse Race remained, the Unparalleled humans could handle them without issue.

However, as Lu Ye had been healing, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan didn't disturb him and stayed outside waiting.

They had witnessed Lu Ye intervene to stop the conflict between the two factions, leaving Li Baxian increasingly impressed with how much his little junior brother had grown.

Recalling the first time they met Lu Ye at the Golden Light Peak on the Spirit Stream battlefield, he remembered how Lu Ye needed him and their Senior Sister's combined efforts for protection. Now, Lu Ye had surpassed him on the path of cultivation.

Li Baxian felt genuinely pleased.

"Hey, you're back! They didn't keep you as a live-in son-in-law?" Hua Ci's beautiful eyes glanced over, her words laced with sharpness, clearly having seen the parting scene between Lu Ye and Pang Huanyin.

"Fourth Senior Brother, Senior Sister Feng!" Lu Ye pretended not to hear Hua Ci's words and stepped forward to greet them.

"Little Junior Brother, you were so impressive just now!" Feng Yuechan giggled.

"Please don't laugh at me, Senior Sister."

Li Baxian said, "It's no joke. Your impressive display just now was something even I admired greatly. If only I had achieved a good rank in the Cloud River combat, I could have stood by your side and cheered you on."

After some casual conversation, Li Baxian patted Lu Ye on the shoulder, "Alright, let's go. Have you forgotten anything, Junior Brother?"

"No," Lu Ye shook his head.

Hua Ci gave him a sideways glance. "Are you sure?"

Lu Ye thought for a moment and said, "Yes, I'm sure. Previously, I provided a batch of spiritual artifacts to the Dao Palace here, but now it would be inappropriate to take them back. I'll leave them there."

Those spiritual artifacts were just his spoils of war; for him, they were meant to be exchanged for merit at the Heaven's Augury treasure vault and weren't of great value. Considering the sacrifices made by the Dao Palace to restrain the Corpse Race, he had no qualms about giving them away.

Feng Yuechan, who was standing nearby, chuckled lightly. "Junior Brother, I think you left behind more than just a batch of spiritual artifacts!"

She seemed to know something.

Lu Ye was puzzled. "What else could there be?"

He certainly knew what he had left behind, didn't he?

Full of doubt, the group of several people stepped into the Nine Provinces portal, and the world spun around them.

...

The withdrawal of the Nine Provinces cultivators didn't take long. From the portal's opening to its closing, it took only about four to six hours.

After all, all the cultivators who came to the Unparalleled Continent had been guided by Heaven's Augury, instructed to reach Ziwei Dao Palace at a specific time. Since their return to the Nine Provinces was at stake, none dared to be careless, preferring to be early rather than late.

Once the portal closed, the previously bustling area in front of the Dao Palace was left with only a few native cultivators.

Interestingly, some cultivators from various strongholds tried to mingle with the Nine Provinces cultivators, attempting to use the portal to enter the Nine Provinces.

The idea was good, but it proved impossible to execute.

The Nine Provinces cultivators could easily enter the portal, but the native Unparalleled cultivators couldn't get through. The portal seemed to have the ability to distinguish the identities of the cultivators, stopping all local ones from sneaking in, leaving them sighing in frustration.

The local cultivators naturally longed for the Nine Provinces. Despite the resolution of the Corpse Disaster, the Unparalleled Continent itself was a broken domain with unimpressive Spiritual Energy, scarce cultivation resources, and even a lack of necessary living materials.

In contrast, the Nine Provinces cultivators were well-dressed, equipped with fine spiritual artifacts. Seeing the Nine Provinces cultivators' demeanor, how could the local ones not yearn for the Nine Provinces?

Unfortunately, it was impossible for them to leave…

At that moment, an order was suddenly issued within Ziwei Dao Palace.

Fresh from the recent battle, Ziwei Dao Palace once again began sharpening their weapons and preparing for war.

This time, however, they were not preparing to fight the Corpse Race, but to march on the other two human Secret Realms!

Throughout the millennia of resisting the Corpse Disaster, even the stronghold cultivators had paid a huge price and effort, but Silver Snake Valley and Mount Sumeru had hidden within their Secret Realms, living in seclusion. Occasionally, they only ventured out to bring stronghold humans into their realms to replenish their servants, selecting mostly inexperienced youths and children.

Previously, with the threat of the Corpse Disaster, Ziwei Dao Palace had to ally with any force they could, repeatedly sending messages to the other two Secret Realms seeking alliance, but they had never received any proper response.

Now, with the Corpse Disaster resolved, Ziwei Dao Palace had no more concerns.

This wasn't about settling old scores but about achieving a goal crucial to the Unparalleled Continent's future, which required bringing the other two secret realms under control!

Pang Huanyin needed only her voice to be heard in the Unparalleled Continent!

Her actions were not out of spite or for personal gain, but for the welfare of all humans on the Unparalleled Continent.

Many stronghold humans had not yet dispersed. Upon learning of this, they volunteered to join the crusade.

They had long taken note of the behavior of the three Secret Realms during these years. When the news of the decisive battle against the Corpse Race spread before, numerous stronghold humans had come to support Ziwei Dao Palace from all directions.

Ziwei Dao Palace had a solid reputation, unlike the other two realms, which weren't worth mentioning.

Thus, upon hearing that the Dao Palace was marching against the other two Secret Realms, those who hadn't left willingly joined the cause.

In their view, under the governance of Ziwei Dao Palace, the Unparalleled Continent would surely carve out a bright future for humanity, and they were willing to contribute to this cause.

Previously, seeking out the other two realms would have been challenging for Ziwei Dao Palace. Even if Veteran Siao knew how to deduce and open portals, large-scale deployments were unrealistic.

But now, with the Earth Veins of the three Secret Realms exhausted, there was no way for them to remain hidden in the Void, and locating them was easy.

The takeover proceeded smoothly, with no fierce battles.

The reason? As the portals of the three Secret Realms had appeared earlier, the Dao Palace had many Nine Provinces cultivators helping to protect them, keeping the place secure from Corpse Race attacks.

However, Silver Snake Valley and Mount Sumeru weren't so lucky.

No Nine Provinces cultivators had appeared in those locations.

A large number of Corpse Race flooded in from all directions, and the panicked cultivators of the two Secret Realms were hastily unprepared for the invasion.

Years of living in seclusion had eroded their courage and resolve to fight the Corpse Race, and despite their numbers, they suffered greatly in the conflict.