Sage of Humanity
Chapter 892 - 890: Harvest

Almost at the same moment Lu Ye's Mental Consciousness perceived her, Nian Yuexian turned her gaze and spoke lightly, "There is a considerable risk in letting your Mental Consciousness leave your body. If I were an enemy, I could have severed your consciousness, damaging your psyche. Therefore, even if one has reached the Divine Sea Realm, they wouldn't recklessly let their Mental Consciousness leave their body. Be cautious when you do this in the future."

After saying this, she averted her gaze and looked up at the moon.

Lu Ye quietly noted her words, then directed his Mental Consciousness past her, continuing to probe ahead.

However, the further he went, the more difficult it became, and Lu Ye could clearly sense his psyche force rapidly depleting, with a feeling of exhaustion arising within moments.

He dared not continue trying and hastily retracted his Mental Consciousness.

Upon opening his eyes, his head felt a bit dizzy, clearly knowing that it was due to the excessive depletion of his psyche force.

Ultimately, the Divine Pool was still too small. Although he had already nurtured a soul body and spawned Mental Consciousness, he still couldn't sustain it for long periods.

However, through this attempt, he confirmed one thing.

His Mental Consciousness could probe a radius of about a mile, which was far greater than the range his simple perception could cover, and it was also more precise and comprehensive.

Feeling a bit fatigued mentally, Lu Ye did not hesitate and directly consumed a drop of Soul Cleansing Water.

For others, Soul Cleansing Water was rare, but for him, it was something he could exchange with battle merit. In the Hall of Battle Merits, one drop of Soul Cleansing Water was worth thirteen thousand battle merit points; even if he used it all up, he could obtain more at any time.

Moreover, he still had quite a few on hand, so there was no need to be stingy.

In retrospect, it was precisely this generous mentality of his that had allowed his psyche to become strong enough, giving him a chance to turn misfortune into a blessing this time.

Familiarizing oneself with Mental Consciousness is not something urgent; it's not difficult to do in the first place. For Lu Ye, it's simply another means to scout enemy positions and target them.

With time, he would gradually become accustomed to it.

It's time to check the harvest from this trip.

He initially headed to the Cangyan Mountain volcano to ignite the spirit runes he had been yearning for two or three months, but unexpectedly, so many things happened.

Not only did he acquire seven new spirit runes, but the Talent Tree also showed signs of undergoing a transformation, and he obtained a large number of fire spirit stones.

Aside from putting himself in danger at the last moment to rescue Nian Yuexian, he had gained a lot.

But given the situation at the time, he could not stand by. Nian Yuexian was exposed and besieged by several Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators at the Divine Sea Realm all because of him.

So in the end, the two of them were even.

Among the seven new spirit runes, Lu Ye was not yet clear on the effects of the Pseudo-Might, as Yiyi and Amber returned when he was already unconscious.

He immediately sought Yiyi to inquire about the situation at the time.

Upon learning that the two of them could simulate the might of the Divine Sea Realm, Lu Ye immediately realized that he had underestimated this spirit rune.

It indeed couldn't enhance his strength directly, but at crucial moments, this spirit rune could have some miraculous effects.

Take this time, for example: if it weren't for Yiyi and Amber rushing over with the might of the Divine Sea Realm at the last moment, Wan Zhanggang wouldn't have retreated so easily, and it's likely they would have fought to the death with Nian Yuexian.

The Moon Return requires no further explanation, as it is the core spirit rune of the anti-array. Although Lu Ye activated it to resist Wan Zhanggang's attacks, seemingly with little effect, it actually worked wonders.

At that time, without Moon Return, merely relying on defense, he wouldn't have been able to withstand even a hurried strike from a Divine Sea Realm, let alone if it were an intentional attack.

The Twin Flying Phoenixes was crucial in rescuing Nian Yuexian this time, and the corresponding Telepathy point Lu Ye had yet to try, but this spirit rune was not something to be tested casually unless he used Yiyi as the test subject.

Besides these four spirit runes, the remaining three are Thousand Faces, Split Shadow, and Single-Stalk Twin Lotus.

Thousand Faces is a camouflage type of spirit rune; by activating it, Lu Ye can alter his appearance.

A while ago, he intended to purchase a treasure that could alter his appearance from the Heaven's Augury treasure vault, as he was quite famous, and many Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators had seen his images, with many occasions requiring him to conceal his identity.

But he never found a suitable one, so he only used masks as substitutes.

However, masks are ultimately conspicuous. While many cultivators did use them to hide their true faces, sometimes it's inconvenient to wear them.

Like previously, when accompanying Ying Wuji to Gushan City Pass, the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge powerhouses were busy dealing with the Fire Spirit Race army's attack and didn't pay him much attention. Plus, being with Ying Wuji, they naturally assumed he was one of their own.

But in usual circumstances, wearing a mask would only draw more suspicion, and if they truly checked his identity in Gushan City, he wouldn't pass.

Now with the Thousand Faces spirit rune, he could completely discard the mask, freely transforming into any appearance he could imagine.

However, unlike wearing a mask, the Thousand Faces spirit rune requires spirit force to maintain, which is a drawback compared to just wearing a mask to achieve its effect.

Thousand Faces is practical, and Split Shadow is also a very useful spirit rune. When activated, it can create an identical shadow using his blood Qi and spirit force, which can be utilized to escape or confuse enemies in critical situations.

This time, if he weren't constantly holding Nian Yuexian, he could have activated this spirit rune in response to Wan Zhanggang's assault... Yet, as for how effective this spirit rune would be in front of a powerful Divine Sea Realm, that was unknown.

Regarding the Single-Stalk Twin Lotus...

This spirit rune is quite peculiar, somewhat like a combination of Twin Flying Phoenixes and Telepathy yet not entirely.

Lu Ye wasn't sure when to use this spirit rune.

However, after experiencing the Pseudo-Might Spirit Runes, Lu Ye is quite hopeful about these runes. Spirit runes that require dozens of leaves to bear are extraordinary items. Currently, he can't find the correct way to use them, but he should discover something in the future.

Obtaining seven new spirit runes at once has already broken the previous record. This was mainly because of the massive amount of energy absorbed by the Talent Tree at the Cangyan Mountain volcano's mouth, not only lighting up seven spirit runes but also giving the Talent Tree signs of transformation.

The transformation of the Talent Tree will certainly require absorbing a large amount of energy. Fortunately, he harvested quite a few fire spirit stones on this trip.

The fire spirit stones mined by Ying Wuji's squad are all in his hands, though these are only a portion. The real bulk is what he and Yiyi found in that underground city.

The enormous quantity should be enough for the Talent Tree's transformation.

But to speak of it, he and Yiyi only searched a small area and reaped such rewards. If the entire underground city was searched thoroughly, the gains would surely be greater.

There's also a hidden fire type earth vein there. If he can obtain it, who knows how the Talent Tree might change.

Sadly, it's likely all falling into the hands of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge now. The Fire Spirit Race army didn't conquer Gushan City Pass, and instead suffered heavy casualties. The Ten Thousand Demons Ridge's side is bound to completely eliminate this hidden threat.

Once the Fire Spirit Race is eradicated, everything inside the volcano will belong to the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge.

Feeling slightly regretful, it remains beyond his control.

At Cangyan Mountain Pass, there's only him and Nian Yuexian, having just experienced a dangerous situation, naturally needing to keep a low profile for a while.

Not wanting to dwell on these matters, Lu Ye took out his Boulder Mountain Saber, drew it to examine, and his eye twitched.

Though the harvest was great, there were losses as well.

The biggest loss is the Boulder Mountain Saber. This magic-artifact class saber suffered several cracks on its blade because it blocked Wan Zhanggang's punch, clearly rendering it unreliable.

Lu Ye cannot simply switch sabers unless the Boulder Mountain Saber completely shatters.

Since he won't switch sabers, he can only have it repaired.

He raised his hand and tapped on the battlefield marking, sending out a message.

He quickly received a response, unaware of why Feathered Master seemed so leisurely.

He flashed out of sight, arriving under the large tree where Nian Yuexian was, calling up, "Madam, is there a Heaven's Augury Hall here?"

In theory there should be, but Lu Ye didn't know the exact location.

"City center, go find it yourself," Nian Yuexian replied casually.

Lu Ye clasped his fists in farewell and darted towards the ruined city.

Moments later, he reached the city center and found a still decent hall.

Upon entering, he indeed saw a Heaven's Augury Pillar standing there.

Stepping forward, he pressed his hand on the Heaven's Augury Pillar and silently uttered, "Spiritual Artifact upgrade, Feathered Master!"

The next moment, the world spun around him and then he found himself in a room resembling a sealed chamber.

In the center was a stone platform, opposite him stood a woman around thirty years old, with fair skin, wearing a form-fitting floral dress, awaiting him.

Their eyes met, and she spoke in an ancient voice, "Little friend's strength has improved again?"

Last time, during the Spirit Stream competition, Lu Ye had entrusted her with the Spiritual Artifact upgrade, elevating the Boulder Mountain Saber from spiritual-artifact class to magic-artifact class.

In theory, it shouldn't be so soon to seek her again.

Yet today she received Lu Ye's transmission to meet at the usual place.

"No." Lu Ye didn't waste words, directly handing over the Boulder Mountain Saber.

The woman accepted it, drew the blade to inspect, her beautiful eyes narrowing. She had crafted this magic artifact herself, and she knew well how durable the Boulder Mountain Saber was, being fundamentally robust.

But now cracks were clear on the saber, and the patterns evidently created by brute force.

"You got hit by the Divine Sea Realm?" Her surprise was immense.

Lu Ye was speechless, having said nothing, yet this woman inferred such details merely by looking at the blade. Evidently, she was a shrewd character.

"Interesting, you actually survived!" The woman chuckled gently.

The Boulder Mountain Saber was severely damaged, and there was no logical reason the wielder survived, but here Lu Ye stands before her.

From this, the young man must have hailed from a top-tier big sect, possessing life-saving exotic treasures; otherwise, there's no reason he'd survive.

"Name your price."

Having interacted several times, Lu Ye roughly knew her temperament, hence he was not inclined to exchange more pleasantries.

Soon, they agreed on the price and delivery time, setting down a Heaven's Augury Pact, each etching their mark on it.