Sage of Humanity
Chapter 849 - 847: Cloud River 9th Layer Realm and Anomalies

Lu Ye certainly couldn't afford to feed them fully. With the enormous size of the two flood dragons, truly feeding them would require an immense amount of merit points.

This was just the first attempt. He might have to come in regularly in the future. He could afford to spend ten or twenty thousand merits each visit, but spending too much wouldn't be sustainable for him.

"Kid, not bad!" The gold flood dragon spoke, its tone slightly more amiable, perfectly demonstrating the saying 'take someone's food, be soft in speech.'

"Remember to bring more next time. That bit of flesh and blood was just an appetizer," the silver flood dragon instructed.

"Understood," Lu Ye responded.

The gold flood dragon said, "The rules of the Hall of Battle Merits were explained to you last time, correct?"

Lu Ye nodded, "All things within the Battle Merits Hall are for personal use only, and nothing about the hall should be disclosed to anyone else!"

"Good that you remember," the gold flood dragon said, withdrawing. "Head on in."

The two flood dragons coiled around and soon formed a concentric circle. With a cracking sound, the gates of the Hall of Battle Merits opened.

Lu Ye stepped inside.

Various stone platforms immediately came into view, each one holding a rare treasure scarcely seen in the outside world.

Last time he entered, he didn't have much time. He was borrowing the Heaven's Augury Pillar in the mercantile union, with a crowd waiting behind him. He had just taken a quick look without thoroughly exploring. This time, he didn't have such a rush in his own spirit land.

Here was an opportunity for a thorough search.

Passing the areas he had checked last time, Lu Ye walked deeper into the hall, excitement building with each step.

Every item here was incredibly precious and rare, unattainable from the Heaven's Augury treasure vault. For example, the orifice repair pills in the Heaven's Augury treasure vault were almost sold out, yet they were still available here.

There were not only numerous exotic treasures with varying effects but also many high-quality magic artifacts. All the artifacts placed here were the best of the best. Lu Ye even spotted a top-tier magic-artifact-class saber, which he could afford given his current wealth.

However, he only took a glance, as his Boulder Mountain Saber was enough for him. Even if its quality wasn't as high, the one that suited him best was the best.

Going further inside, Lu Ye was surprised to find the stone platforms there covered with a hazy white light, making it impossible for him to see the items clearly.

After a moment of contemplation, Lu Ye suspected that this was due to his insufficient cultivation level, preventing him from perceiving the true nature of the treasures on those platforms.

It seemed that to see more of the good stuff, he needed to work harder on improving his cultivation.

Having roughly browsed through all the treasures he could see, Lu Ye had a clear plan in mind. He quickly approached a stone platform and reached out to grab the treasure on it.

The treasure was in hand, but there was no sign of merit points being deducted. This was an extra reward from his trip to the Unparalleled Continent.

Upon returning to the Cloud River battlefield through the portal, he received guidance from Heaven's Augury, granting him the privilege to freely choose one treasure from the Hall of Battle Merits!

Being able to choose freely naturally disregarded the value of the items. He could take whatever he wanted.

This extra reward was likely Heaven's Augury's acknowledgment of his deeds in the Unparalleled Continent.

Of the four Heaven's Augury Pillars, one was placed in Mount Sumeru by Ying Wuji, while the others were placed by Lu Ye himself. Not to mention finding the secret realms and figuring out ways to enter them, all were challenging tasks.

Additionally, before the Nine Provinces Heaven's Augury established a connection with the Unparalleled Continent, Lu Ye had already slain many Corpse Race members. These feats weren't included in his total battle merits.

Heaven's Augury naturally didn't overlook these efforts.

Thus, Lu Ye was granted the freedom to choose one treasure from the Hall of Battle Merits. Whether others received similar rewards was unknown to him.

Even if they did, it was likely just an additional amount of battle merits, unlike his reward.

This extra reward in hand gave Lu Ye a strong sense of security.

He then moved to the stone platform holding the gold-hued spirit tokens and exchanged for ten more tokens.

Including the twenty gold-hued spirit tokens he already had, he now possessed a total of thirty tokens!

With such wealth, he definitely stood as the top in the Cloud River, even compared to those in the True Lake Realm who might not possess this many tokens at once.

Promotion to True Lake, secured.

After the exchange, he only had 46,072 points of battle merits left.

He didn't spend them all, wanting to keep some for emergencies in the future.

Having gotten the rewards and made the exchanges he needed, Lu Ye leisurely walked out of the Hall of Battle Merits. Under the watchful eyes of the two flood dragons, his figure gradually faded.

Dimly, he heard the silver flood dragon telling him to come back soon...

Returning to his wooden hut, Lu Ye first activated his Talent Tree to absorb the uncanny fire and pill fire he had bought. Seeing the leaves on his tree become brighter, though they still didn't ignite, left him a bit disappointed.

He was eagerly anticipating the new spirit rune on the verge of forming on the tree. However, the spirit runes on the Talent Tree required all the leaves to ignite before revealing themselves. The current state was frustrating.

He still had some Earth's Core Fire in reserve, kept for emergencies. In case his Talent Tree ran short of fuel, these could come in handy in a dire situation.

Even if he absorbed the Earth's Core Fire, it seemed it wouldn't be enough to fully ignite the leaves.

That had to wait for another day.

"Cultivation, cultivation!" Lu Ye gathered himself, yelled softly, and took out all thirty gold-hued spirit tokens, placing them before him.

"So many!" Yiyi exclaimed, squinting against the dazzling golden light.

As usual, Lu Ye began setting up the small spirit energy gathering funnels on himself, then picked up a gold-hued spirit token and crushed it.

The golden powder swirled and formed a vortex, from which a surge of pure spiritual power emerged, enveloping Lu Ye completely.

The spirit energy was abundant, inexhaustible, and remained concentrated within three feet around Lu Ye, continuously drawn in by the small funnels, quickly converted into his strength.

Seated cross-legged, Lu Ye sank into meditation, focusing on the remnants of the Soaring Dragon Origin.

He refused to believe he couldn't reflect a strong cultivator with saber skills!

A gold-hued spirit token lasted about a day and a night. When its power depleted and the golden vortex disappeared, Yiyi would take out another one and crush it for him. With the help of the small spirit funnels, Lu Ye didn't need to worry about anything other than his cultivation.

Time passed, and one gold-hued spirit token after another was consumed.

One day, upon opening his eyes, Lu Ye discovered he had unknowingly advanced to Cloud River Level 9.

Moreover, he had only used a dozen or so gold-hued spirit tokens.

Compared to other cultivators, Lu Ye had a significant advantage using the spirit tokens. The duration was the same, around a day and a night, but no one in the same level could benefit as much as he did.

The small spirit funnels continuously absorbed the pure energy from the golden vortex. While a single funnel's effect might be negligible, together in the Circumambulation, the effect was tremendous.

This was the main reason his strength in the Cloud River Realm progressed so rapidly. The benefits he received from each gold-hued spirit token were two, three, or even more times greater than those of other cultivators.

Even with Yiyi and Amber cultivating alongside him, his gains weren't diminished.

Cloud River Level 9, just a step away from True Lake.

Lu Ye remained calm. After confirming that his advancement was secure, he immersed himself back into the Soaring Dragon Origin.

The gold-hued spirit tokens continued to decrease. Lu Ye would wake every few days, ensuring he wouldn't accidentally advance to True Lake and leave the Cloud River battlefield suddenly.

His plan was to stop at the brink of True Lake, as his spirit land's expansion should be complete. The formations he had set up, while extensive, would need adjusting to the expanded spirit land.

Before leaving the Cloud River battlefield, these matters had to be settled.

However, man proposes but Heaven disposes; despite his detailed plans, unforeseen disruptions arose.

A month after returning to his spirit land, while meditating on the Soaring Dragon Origin, mimicking a strong cultivator's insights, his mind was suddenly jolted.

Realizing something was amiss in the outside world, he quickly pulled back his focus and opened his eyes.

Yiyi had also interrupted her cultivation, looking around in confusion.

Lu Ye turned, frowning at the odd sight before him.

This was his wooden hut, simply furnished. But now it seemed the interior overlapped with another blurry scene that kept shifting, making it hard to decipher.

At first glance, it felt as if another space-time had merged with his own.

Moreover, he sensed a familiar repelling force surrounding him.

This sensation was familiar from when he had ascended to the Cloud River on the Spirit Stream battlefield. After his ascension, the repelling force had reached its limit and ejected him from the Spirit Stream battlefield.

Recognizing this feeling made Lu Ye immediately wonder if he was about to advance to True Lake?

Yet, his detailed examination confirmed it wasn't the case. Though close, he wasn't at the breakthrough point yet.

And then… what was this overlapping, time-space-like anomaly?

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