Sage of Humanity
Chapter 852 - 850: Should?

"This place called Nine Provinces is somewhat different from what I imagined."

While gliding leisurely, Pang Huanyin suddenly spoke.

Lu Ye asked casually, "What kind of Nine Provinces did the Palace Master imagine?"

"I call you Senior Brother, yet you call me Palace Master, it feels a bit distant." Pang Huanyin did not answer Lu Ye's question but was mindful of other matters, "How does Senior Brother address Junior Sister Hua?"

"By her given name," Lu Ye replied honestly.

"Then Senior Brother might as well try calling me that way?"

"Pang Huanyin?"

"You can drop the Pang..."

"Junior Sister!"

Pang Huanyin shook her head with a smile, not delving further into this trivial matter: "Well, I'll leave it to you, Senior Brother."

After a brief ponder, she said, "Previously, when I saw Senior Brother's remarkable prowess, I assumed the Nine Provinces were vast, abundant in spiritual force, and rich in resources. But now that I've come here, I find it somewhat different."

"Very disappointed?"

"How can that be!" Pang Huanyin said, "Compared to the environment we originally lived in, the Nine Provinces is a dreamland. Now that I'm here, there's no time to be disappointed, how could I dare to be? Generations of Dao Palace predecessors sacrificed continuously to ensure that the Unparalleled human race would not be troubled by the Corpse Race, so they could have a stable living environment. Now that this has been achieved, we have gained even more!"

After a pause, she continued, "I somewhat understand the vastness of the Nine Provinces, although I haven't been to other places yet. However, the spiritual energy here... doesn't seem abundant. How did Senior Brother attain such cultivation at this age in this kind of environment?"

This was what puzzled Pang Huanyin the most because, in her perception, the spiritual energy in the Nine Provinces was not even as abundant as their original Ziwei Dao Palace, only slightly better than the conditions on the Unparalleled Continent.

Logically speaking, such an environment shouldn't produce very strong cultivators.

But in reality, above the Spirit Stream Realm, there were True Lake cultivators, and divine ones beyond Cloud River. Not to mention others, just the two Divine Sea Realm strong cultivators of the Righteous Blood Sect alone gave her a profound feeling. When she suddenly appeared in the Heaven's Augury Hall earlier, Shui Yuan immediately arrived, immobilizing her with just a glance.

"The local spiritual energy in the Nine Provinces is indeed not thick. However, the Spirit Stream Realm has the Spirit Stream battlefield, and the Cloud River Realm has the Cloud River battlefield. The spiritual energy in these two places is still abundant, incomparable to the local Nine Provinces. Also, there are many methods to enhance the spiritual energy intensity in these places."

The Spirit Stream battlefield has the blessing of the Heavenly Pillars in each resident's location, and the Cloud River battlefield has spirit grounds like this. They are means of enhancing spiritual energy intensity.

"Why is that?" Pang Huanyin was even more puzzled.

"I'm not sure either. Probably Heaven's Augury encourages cultivators of these two realms to go to the battlefield to temper and cultivate."

Precisely because the spiritual energy in the local Nine Provinces is not abundant, most Spirit Stream Realm cultivators stay in the Spirit Stream battlefield, while Cloud River Realm cultivators mostly stay in the Cloud River battlefield. As a result, cultivators of the two camps constantly clash and become each other's whetstones.

Lu Ye had pondered these things before, so he responded fluently to Pang Huanyin's doubts.

"When the Palace Master establishes a sect in the Nine Provinces in the future, Ziwei Dao Palace will have its place in the Spirit Stream battlefield. Then the Palace Master will see the situation clearly."

Pang Huanyin seemed thoughtful and did not correct Lu Ye for calling her Palace Master again.

Since it rolls off the tongue easily, let him call her that.

She suddenly smiled, "In any case, we have finally come to the Nine Provinces!"

She once wondered what fantastic kind of domain the Nine Provinces were to nurture figures like Lu Ye. The more she interacted with people like Lu Ye, the more she longed for and desired the Nine Provinces.

So when guided by the Nine Provinces Heaven's Augury and having the opportunity to come here, Pang Huanyin agreed without hesitation.

Because she knew this was the only way out for the Unparalleled Continent!

Although the corpse plague on the Unparalleled Continent had been resolved, the entire world's cultivation environment had deteriorated. In the past, there were several human race secret realms, but now the secret realm's Earth Veins had dried up. If the existing situation continued, it would likely worsen.

To merge the Unparalleled Continent with the Nine Provinces not only fulfilled her own wish but also sought a way out for the Unparalleled human race.

"When did the Palace Master receive Heaven's Augury guidance?" Curiously, Lu Ye asked.

Pang Huanyin smiled craftily, "Actually, I had a feeling since the moment the Nine Provinces reinforcement arrived on the Unparalleled Continent. It's just that I hadn't made a decision then. When I sent Senior Brother away, I decided."

From her perspective, Pang Huanyin was extremely envious of the Nine Provinces cultivators because they had an entire domain as their backing! To rely on and be supported by an entire domain was a feeling Pang Huanyin and the Unparalleled human race had never experienced.

"Since you have decided to join the Righteous Blood Sect as your superior sect, you must have some understanding of the Nine Provinces situation. The Nine Provinces is not a peaceful place."

"I understand, the confrontation between the Haotian Alliance and Ten Thousand Demons Ridge is something I'm well aware of."

"Standing with the Righteous Blood Sect, you naturally fall into the Haotian Alliance camp. Subsequently, the Dao Palace cultivators will surely have conflicts with those from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge."

"Wherever there are people, there will be conflicts. The Dao Palace cultivators have experienced the darkest times; they do not lack the courage and determination to fight. I trust they can establish themselves in the Nine Provinces!"

"Since the Palace Master possesses such awareness, it is enough," Lu Ye nodded, "What about the other two secret realms?"

Pang Huanyin shook her head, "I don't know how they will decide, nor do I want to concern myself with them. But the situations there are different from that of the Dao Palace. Dao Palace's inheritance has never been broken, which is why I have the idea of establishing a sect in the Nine Provinces. The other two's inheritance has long been fragmented, with each large family holding power. Their decisions do not concern my Dao Palace. But they will likely seek out their own paths. If we meet again in the future and are on the same side, we can support each other. If we are enemies, my Dao Palace will show no mercy."

As they spoke, the two flew while admiring the picturesque mountains and rivers.

"Is all this broad mountain range part of Mount Ao's territory?" Pang Huanyin looked in awe.

It seems there's only a handful of people in the Righteous Blood Sect occupying such a large area, truly enviable. She thought she had a basic understanding of the Nine Provinces' vastness and abundance, but seeing it herself, she realized her narrow view.

"It should be…right?" Lu Ye's expression was a bit embarrassed.

"Should be?" Pang Huanyin was puzzled.

Lu Ye touched his nose, "To be honest, it's my first time leaving the sect headquarters as well."

Pang Huanyin looked at Lu Ye in astonishment and then burst into laughter.

Lu Ye explained, "Back then, when the Sect Master accepted me as a disciple, we were ambushed on the way back to the sect. To avoid collateral damage, the Sect Master sent me into the Spirit Stream battlefield. I spent almost my entire Spirit Stream Realm period there, and occasionally, when I returned to the sect, I didn't leave Righteous Peak for more than thirty miles. The same during the Cloud River Realm, so my understanding of the Nine Provinces isn't much more than yours."

"I see." Pang Huanyin restrained her laughter, "Shall we travel more together then?"

"Sure!"

Lu Ye nodded.

Before long, as they flew over a Spirit Mountaintop, they suddenly sensed a conflict below. Judging from the aftermath of the clash, both parties were apparently Cloud River Realm cultivators.

Lu Ye frowned and swiftly descended towards the direction of the conflict.

Pang Huanyin followed closely.

A moment later, Lu Ye landed on a part of the spirit mountaintop, where his line of sight fell on a middle-aged man and a half-aged elder fiercely fighting for some reason, with spirit force surging incessantly.

Their ages were both advanced, yet their cultivation was not very high, one in Cloud River Level 6, the other Level 7.

On the Cloud River battlefield, such people were quite common; the world had its limits on acceptance, and cultivators had their limits.

Some might never progress beyond the Spirit Stream Realm; some might barely advance to the Cloud River Realm but achieve little in it.

The four cultivation realms were like day and night, each realm eliminating those who couldn't progress. Those who advanced tirelessly were always individuals with excellent talents.

The two facing him, especially the half-aged elder, seemed to have reached their limit and couldn't advance any further in cultivation.

The middle-aged man, with some fortune, might touch the True Lake Realm but wouldn't progress far.

Although their cultivation levels differed by a tier, the one with lower cultivation evidently had better accumulation, likely opening more spiritual orifices in the Spirit Stream Realm.

This resulted in both possessing comparable strength.

Lu Ye immediately saw they weren't engaging in a life-and-death struggle since neither radiated any killing intent, only quarrelling.

A soft, sweet scent filled the air. Tracing the source, Lu Ye saw a three-petal red sandalwood flower in full bloom.

He roughly understood what they were fighting over and vaguely recognized their identities.

Upon their sudden arrival, the combatants immediately stopped and stood together, watching Lu Ye and Pang Huanyin vigilantly.

Positioning themselves like this indicated they knew each other, so they quickly united against Lu Ye and Pang Huanyin, these uninvited guests.

Seeing their attire and sensing their exposed spirit force fluctuations, both the middle-aged man and the half-aged elder grew serious.

The strength of this man and woman clearly surpassed their own.

Indecisive about what to do, Lu Ye was the first to speak, "Is this Mount Ao's territory?"

The middle-aged man immediately nodded, "Yes, this is indeed Mount Ao. Where are you two from, and where are you heading?"

He subconsciously assumed that Lu Ye was asking for directions.

Little did he know, Lu Ye just wanted to confirm whether he had left the sect's territory.

"Righteous Blood Sect, Lu Ye!"

Lu Ye stated his identity.

"Hm?" The middle-aged man and the half-aged elder were both stunned, then their expressions turned awkward, and they quickly put away their spiritual artifacts, the middle-aged man cupping his hands, "So, you are a high disciple of the Righteous Blood Sect, my apologies!"

He pondered, Lu Ye…the name seems familiar? Where have I heard it before?

The half-aged elder immediately recalled Lu Ye's reputation, his expression becoming extremely cautious, apologetically smiling, "Fellow Daoist, excuse us. We will leave right away, and the three-petal red sandalwood flower is yours."

So saying, he tugged the sleeve of the middle-aged man, signaling him to leave quickly.