Sage of Humanity
Chapter 895 - 893 Soul Suppressing Pagoda

Knowing that the battle merit was issued by Heaven's Augury and not a special privilege from Nian Yuexian, Lu Ye's worries vanished.

Sweet!

He turned to look in the direction of the Heaven's Augury Hall. The treasure he wanted could finally be his!

He rushed to the Heaven's Augury Hall, placed his hand on the Heaven's Augury Pillar, and connected with the Hall of Battle Merits.

In the next instant, he found himself in front of the ancient door of the Hall of Battle Merits.

Suddenly obtaining a large amount of battle merit, Lu Ye was understandably excited. He then reached out to push the heavy door.

Noticing his arrival, the gold flood dragon and silver flood dragon just poked their heads out, only to be pushed back by Lu Ye.

The door was hefty, but it didn't require much effort to open. Only when it was fully open did Lu Ye realize something seemed off.

He didn't rush in but stood at the entrance and looked around.

The gold flood dragon and silver flood dragon popped their heads out again, and the silver flood dragon asked delightedly, "Kid, did you bring us some delicious food again?"

No way!

He had just fed them two days ago, but the silver flood dragon always seemed as if it was starving.

Besides, he was in a rush to buy that Soul Device today and completely forgot to bring any food for the dragons.

More importantly, Lu Ye was concerned with something else.

After pondering for a moment, he asked, "Isn't the door supposed to require both of you to open?"

The first time he came, the two dragons wriggled around on the door to form a concentric circle, causing the door to gradually open.

This led Lu Ye to initially believe that the door was controlled by the dragons.

But now it seemed that wasn't the case.

Heaven's Augury had granted him permission to enter the Hall of Battle Merits, allowing him free access without needing the dragons' help.

The silver flood dragon was momentarily stunned by Lu Ye's question and didn't know how to respond, so it turned its gaze to the gold flood dragon.

The gold flood dragon spoke with an apparently dignified voice, "Naturally not, but... we can open it too."

Lu Ye was puzzled, "Then why do you twist your bodies into a concentric circle every time before opening the door?"

He thought that pattern was the key to opening the door.

The gold flood dragon was momentarily speechless, and the silver flood dragon next to it was anxiously rolling its eyes.

Lu Ye roughly understood their intent, found it amusing, and didn't expose them. He simply cupped his hands and said, "Thank you both."

With that, he slipped into the Hall of Battle Merits and headed straight for the stone platform where the Soul Device was located.

"Big bro, the kid found out, what do we do?" the silver flood dragon asked anxiously, "If he knows he won't need us to open the door in the future, he might not bring us any more treats!"

"Not really, that kid doesn't seem like the type to destroy bridges after crossing them," the gold flood dragon said with an outward calm, though feeling a bit troubled inside.

How did he get found out? The last kid who came here took years to notice.

"Brother, you're confused; the human race is the most cunning. This kid seems honest, but who knows his true nature? We can't rely on anyone's kindness."

"So you're suggesting..." the gold flood dragon looked at the silver flood dragon.

The silver flood dragon's eyes showed a trace of determination, "Since we've been discovered, we have no choice but to do that; otherwise, we'll have nothing to keep us company as we guard this place. Isn't that a tragedy?"

After some thought, the gold flood dragon sighed and nodded, "Let's go with that, then."

The dragons communicated silently, leaving Lu Ye in the Hall of Battle Merits unaware.

At that moment, he stood before a stone platform, looking at a small tower-shaped treasure on it.

The tower had nine levels, appearing delicate and exquisite. Most importantly, it seemed insubstantial, shifting between reality and illusion.

Soul Device, Soul Suppressing Pagoda!

Both insubstantial and substantial; this is a feature of most Soul Devices, as they are meant to be housed in a cultivator's Divine Sea.

Such items are extremely difficult to craft, and even strong cultivators in the Divine Sea Realm find it incredibly challenging to obtain one.

The gold lock Nian Yuexian had previously given to Lu Ye, while somewhat protective of the psyche, was far from the level of a Soul Device.

This item is rare and invaluable, extremely expensive as well.

One hundred thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight points of battle merit...

Lu Ye had no words for the peculiar pricing by Heaven's Augury, finding it whimsically strange.

Without hesitation, he exchanged the merits. In an instant, his battle merits decreased by said amount, leaving him with two hundred five thousand seven hundred and sixty-two left.

The restriction on the stone platform vanished, and Lu Ye reached out to grasp the Soul Suppressing Pagoda.

The divine consciousness surged, enveloping the Soul Suppressing Pagoda, and Lu Ye could clearly sense that the small pagoda was perfectly merging with his own divine consciousness.

As he withdrew his divine consciousness, the Soul Suppressing Pagoda disappeared along with it, as if it had never been there.

Not in a hurry to leave, with so many battle merits suddenly in hand, things he previously wanted but couldn't afford could now be obtained.

The Hall of Battle Merits contained many treasures. Previously, although Lu Ye had a lot of battle merits, he used them all to exchange for gold-hued spirit fortune sticks in his rush to advance to the True Lake Realm, and could only admire those various treasures without indulging in them.

Now he had the capital, and could proudly declare that he wanted them all.

Combat arena, eleven thousand battle merits, exchanged.

Tracking disc, thirty thousand battle merits, exchanged.

Mental Consciousness Destruction Sword, twenty-six thousand battle merits, exchanged.

...

After acquiring various exotic treasures, about one hundred and forty thousand battle merits remained.

Lu Ye had never experienced such a sense of wealth before. In the past, although he occasionally acquired a large amount of battle merits, they would quickly be spent, unlike this time, when so many treasures were exchanged and there was still a considerable surplus.

He didn't use the remaining battle merits; the cultivational level had already advanced to the True Lake Realm, and there was no rush to further enhance it.

Without lingering further, he stepped out of the Hall of Battle Merits.

Just at the door, he was stopped by the silver flood dragon.

"What advice does the senior have?" Lu Ye was eager to return and investigate the powers of the Soul Suppressing Pagoda, naturally not wanting to linger here.

Though he hadn't brought food for the two dragons this time, it had only been two or three days since his last visit. Moreover, feeding the two dragons was something he did voluntarily, with no obligation to do so.

The two dragons were unlikely to trouble him over this.

The silver flood dragon tried to appear profound: "Kid, the last time you came by, I noticed you had already nurtured a soul body and birthed a divine consciousness."

"Indeed!" Lu Ye nodded, still unsure of what it wanted.

"Divine consciousness has always been the exclusive domain of strong cultivators in the Divine Sea Realm. I don't know what fortune you have or what kind of providence you encountered that allowed you, a True Lake God, to birth a divine consciousness. But have you considered, if you encounter a Divine Sea Realm cultivator, you are still merely an ant that can be crushed at will; the divine consciousness attacks from the Divine Sea Realm are something you are utterly incapable of withstanding."

"Yes!" Lu Ye deeply agreed, recalling the psyche attack from Wan Zhanggang that left him unconscious, not without a shudder.

"If you hadn't birthed a divine consciousness, it would be fine; the most that would happen is your psyche would be injured. But since you have birthed a divine consciousness, there must be a Divine Sea. Should you encounter a divine consciousness attack from the Divine Sea Realm again, it wouldn't just injure the psyche; it could very likely shatter your Divine Sea, rendering you unable to ever tread into the Divine Sea Realm again!" The silver flood dragon's tone gradually became serious.

Lu Ye nodded repeatedly: "What the senior says is true."

Nian Yuexian had mentioned this before in the jade slip she gave him, which was also why Lu Ye was eager to exchange for the Soul Suppressing Pagoda.

As a True Lake God, nurturing a soul body and birthing a divine consciousness seemed like a good thing, but in reality, it increased its own risks, and he had to quickly prevent the potential for such adverse scenarios.

"What does the senior mean to say?"

The silver flood dragon's roundabout speech left Lu Ye not knowing what it intended.

The silver flood dragon chuckled: "Kid, do you want to know if there's a way to protect the Divine Sea?"

Before its voice faded, Lu Ye had already summoned the Soul Suppressing Pagoda: "Will this do?"

The silver flood dragon's eyes widened like copper bells, utterly not expecting Lu Ye had purchased this treasure, leaving it speechless for quite some time before murmuring: "This... can be done."

If this gadget couldn't, then nothing in this world could protect the psyche.

Quickly, it looked over at the gold flood dragon.

The gold flood dragon, understanding without words, spoke with authority: "Although this item is wonderful, it can only suppress internally, not defend externally."

Lu Ye stored the Soul Suppressing Pagoda, solemnly looking at the gold flood dragon: "I ask the senior for guidance."

The gold flood dragon said: "This item is called the Soul Suppressing Pagoda. If you refine it, it can be stationed in your Divine Sea, so that when you encounter divine consciousness attacks later, even if the opponent's power is immense, it can ensure your Divine Sea remains unperturbed and unbroken. But its effect is limited to this, unable to guard against external divine consciousness attacks. Do you understand?"

Lu Ye suddenly understood: "You mean, even with this item, which can guard my Divine Sea and keep it intact, I would still have to endure the attacks that come my way."

"Smart," the gold flood dragon had a look of someone who finally found a teachable student.

Lu Ye's good mood faded by half, because if this was the case, the Soul Suppressing Pagoda was actually no better than the golden lock given by Nian Yuexian, which though not a Soul Device, could at least somewhat resist divine consciousness attacks.

Lu Ye initially thought that with the Soul Suppressing Pagoda, he wouldn't have to worry about divine consciousness attacks from the Divine Sea Realm in the future. But now it seemed that the object's efficacy fell short of his expectations.

It also showed how short-sighted he was. If a true Divine Sea Realm cultivator saw the Soul Suppressing Pagoda, they would surely discern all its functions without assuming, as Lu Ye did, that having this pagoda meant he could even contend against the Divine Sea Realm.

The two dragons suddenly mentioned these things again and hinted at internal suppression and external defense, giving Lu Ye some guesses, and he immediately respectfully said: "Again, I ask the senior, is there a means to resist divine consciousness attacks?"

"You asked the right person." The silver flood dragon immediately became proud, "My brother and I find you quite agreeable and have decided to pass on a secret technique to you, specially used to protect the psyche, as a way to repay you for your previous deeds."

"How could this be accepted…" Lu Ye said as such but straightforwardly cupped his fists: "A gift from an elder is not to be declined, so thank you both for your kindness."

The silver flood dragon looked at him speechlessly, only now realizing that this kid before him had quite a thick skin.