Sage of Humanity
Chapter 858 - 856 Water Demon Creates Havoc

Following the direction of the flood's source, Lu Ye forged ahead, with Wings and Move-Like-The-Wind boosting his speed to the limit.

Finally, he saw the origin from afar.

It was a large river, but a section of the embankment had collapsed, creating a breach through which a massive amount of water surged out.

Lu Ye flashed to the breach; the fiery wings behind him gradually retracted. With a quick glance, he promptly summoned array banners.

The breach was quite extensive, and with the turbulent water alone, it was impossible for him to block it single-handedly. To seal this breach, he needed to rely on the power of an array.

This task wasn't particularly difficult for him.

He always kept various array banners in his storage space.

As he channeled his spirit force, one banner after another was driven out, embedding like nails in the breach caused by the flood. The resonance between many banners quickly sketched out the outline of the big array.

Continued infusement of spirit force made the array's outline increasingly solid. Moreover, a core spirit rune rapidly emerged at the center of the array.

It was the Defense Spirit Rune.

Using the Defense Spirit Rune as the core, the constructed protective array was extremely solid and would serve well to replace the embankment in blocking the surging flood.

However, the current environment wasn't suitable for the array to be maintained for long because this array was crafted by Lu Ye in mid-air, and its maintaining force came from his own spirit force. If he stopped, the array would collapse in a short time.

Unless there was a suitable place to anchor Spirit Stones, using their power to replace his own spirit force.

But where could an in-air array have a place to anchor Spirit Stones?

It wasn't a significant issue; he just needed to buy some time. Whether anyone from the Qingquan Sect came to help, he could figure out a way to permanently seal the breach and thus eliminate the flood threat.

Everything went smoothly, but right before the Defense Spirit Rune was fully formed, something whip-like suddenly surged from the tumultuous flood, reaching directly for Lu Ye.

The water churned, waves crashed, and even Lu Ye's strong mental perception didn't catch this attack at the last moment.

Facing such an assault, Lu Ye's first reaction wasn't to resist or dodge but to fiercely channel spirit force into the newly forming array.

Next instant, his waist tightened as the whip-like thing wrapped around him.

Amber flew urgently, and as Yiyi saw from the distance that Lu Ye was dragged into the water by something, she exclaimed, "Lu Ye!"

Amber accelerated suddenly, but by the time it reached the spot where Lu Ye had vanished, there was no trace of him, only the huge dispersing waves.

Amber let out a low growl, while Yiyi dived into the water, searching for Lu Ye.

Underwater conditions were extremely complex, and though she plunged in nearly right after Lu Ye, there was no trace of him below; she was anxious beyond measure.

At that moment, strong spirit force fluctuations emanated from a certain direction. She turned to see a flash of crimson light.

That was Lu Ye's blade aura!

Overjoyed, she quickly swam towards it.

Before she got close, she sensed that Lu Ye was fighting something, and from its aura, it was clearly not human but a demon beast!

Yiyi suddenly realized that this flood was not a natural disaster but was caused by a monster!

In the Nine Provinces, there were many kinds of monsters. Some demon beasts had spiritual intelligence and understood human nature, knowing better than to provoke cultivators for fear of being hunted down.

But some monsters were different. Their intelligence was rudimentary, still driven by primal instincts, completely unaware of what cultivators were.

That's why every sect had cultivators patrolling their territory, mainly to guard against such monsters.

This was clearly a water demon. It had destroyed the embankment, causing today's flood.

Lu Ye had come to seal the breach, only to become its target.

Yiyi was anxious because the strength of such unintelligent monsters was unpredictable; some were formidable, others feeble. If Lu Ye encountered a strong monster underwater, he might not be its match.

As she thought this, the crimson blade light faded, and she saw Lu Ye's blurry figure rushing towards the surface.

Overjoyed, Yiyi hurriedly followed.

Breaking the surface, she saw Lu Ye hovering in mid-air, holding a monster that looked like a monkey but was different. This one had sleek fur, a long tail, fearsome tusks curling from its mouth, and a fierce expression.

But now that fierce visage had turned deathly. A clear wound ran through its body, blood trickling through its fur.

Lu Ye casually tossed the monster to Amber beside him.

The demon beast at a Demon General level had a demonic pill.

This monkey-like water monster was indeed formidable. An average Cloud River Level 9 cultivator might not have subdued it so quickly; a prolonged struggle would be inevitable. Being underwater causes a significant reduction in a cultivator's strength.

Recalling the recent combat, Lu Ye felt there was little chance to fully exert his strength.

It seemed... he needed to save battle merits to buy a treasure from the Hall of Battle Merits. Without it, he couldn't maximize his power in similar situations. This time the opponent wasn't too strong, but he could suffer against a more formidable foe in the future.

Feeling the urgency, Lu Ye quickly dashed back towards the array he had set up.

He had channeled spirit force into it just before being pulled underwater, barely maintaining it. But it wouldn't last long, and without ongoing support, his efforts would be in vain.

With Lu Ye's spirit force sustaining it, the precarious array finally stabilized.

By using the array to cut off the flood's source, the flood could be controlled. While some mortals had suffered, the impact would not be too severe, and at least the small town he had seen earlier wouldn't be submerged.

After an incense stick's time, a streak of light rushed over from the distance, its aura strong, clearly a True Lake Realm cultivator.

It was likely a Qingquan Sect cultivator who had received a disciple's message and rushed to investigate.

Seeing the scene from afar, the cultivator was astonished. As he drew closer, he marveled, "An array formed in mid-air!"

Even more surprising was that the spirit force fluctuation from Lu Ye indicated he was only in the Cloud River Level 9, far from the True Lake Realm.

Such cultivation and Array Path skills were beyond imagination.

He noticed the array had become a barrier, containing the flood but treating the symptoms rather than the cause. The breach in the embankment still needed to be sealed.

"Yuen Chou of Qingquan Sect greets this Junior Brother. Many thanks for your righteous help. Dare I ask, from which sect do you hail?"

Given his age and cultivation, calling Lu Ye 'Junior Brother' was natural.

His inquiry suggested he believed Lu Ye came from a top-tier big sect given his cultivation and Array Path expertise.

"Lu Ye of Righteous Blood Sect!"

"Righteous Blood Sect!" Yuen Chou was slightly surprised, realizing, "So it's Junior Brother Lu."

Seeing he had more to say, Lu Ye quickly interrupted, "Senior Brother Yuen, please figure out how to seal this breach."

Startled, Yuen Chou responded apologetically, "Junior Brother, give me a moment!"

He swiftly dashed away, returning with large stones which he submerged.

After repeating this several times, the breach's situation finally stabilized.

Returning one last time, Yuen Chou saw Lu Ye was gone. Looking up, he saw only a streak of light disappearing at the horizon.

"Righteous Blood Sect, they indeed have a good disciple!" Yuen Chou mused. He had known of Lu Ye when he joined Righteous Blood Sect, preventing its downfall. Though as a True Lake Realm cultivator, he hadn't paid much mind to Lu Ye then.

In just a few short years, Lu Ye had reached Cloud River Level 9, nearing True Lake Realm, with exceptional Array Path skills, provoking envy.

Indeed, the best disciples were always someone else's.

Figures arrived from afar, landing beside Yuen Chou, saluting him with "Master Uncle" and "Senior Brother"—all Qingquan Sect cultivators arriving after receiving the news.

Lu Ye had thought to stem the flood at its source, an idea they too considered, but Yuen Chou, with the highest cultivation, arrived first.

"Senior Brother, who set up this array?" a cultivator of similar age to Yuen Chou asked in surprise. He knew his senior brother wasn't skilled in Array Path; forming such an in-air array required high proficiency.

"A disciple from Righteous Blood Sect named Lu Ye did. He was a tremendous help." Yuen Chou explained, "This array won't last long. Let's seal the breach first."

Despite his makeshift attempts with large stones, they had gaps, so a thorough sealing was essential.

A group of cultivators set to work, quickly solving the issue, letting the array collapse naturally.

"Senior Brother, look." The cultivator, who had spoken earlier, brought over a tattered corpse, showing it to Yuen Chou.

Upon inspection, Yuen Chou recognized it as a Demon General-level water demon, recently slain, with its demonic pill removed.

"Was this water demon causing the trouble?" Yuen Chou realized, finally understanding why the embankment had abruptly failed. Qingquan Sect disciples patrolled diligently, especially the river embankments, to avoid such disasters.

Seeing the water demon made it all clear.