Sage of Humanity
Chapter 915 - 913 True Lake 3rd Layer Realm

The duration of a single gold-hued spirit fortune stick lasts for a little over a day and a night, so since he began cultivation, Lu Ye has not been able to conduct his daily patrols.

He can only patrol once every other day.

Fortunately, there hasn't been any sign of enemy activity at Cangyan Mountain Pass. As long as Nian Yuexian is stationed here for a day, the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge wouldn't dare to make a move. The deterrent power of a top-tier Divine Sea Realm ghost cultivator is too great; no one knows where she might be hiding. If anyone dares to try to infiltrate, they're bound to be exposed eventually and easily slain by her.

The transaction with the Justice Department is proceeding as scheduled, with the Explosive Fire Spirit Stones that Lu Ye casually refines during his cultivation more than sufficient to meet the task's needs.

Time flies, and nearly half a month has passed.

The last of his ten gold-hued spirit fortune sticks has been completely consumed, and the golden swirl in front of him gradually dissipates, signaling the end of his cultivation.

Lu Ye opened his eyes, examining his own cultivation and feeling the rapid advancement he achieved over the past half month.

The transformation of the Talent Tree brought him benefits even greater than he anticipated because when the roots of the Talent Tree burrowed into the golden swirl, drawing and devouring the pure and concentrated spirit force within, the efficiency was incomparable to that of the small spirit energy gathering funnel he had.

Initially, he thought the environmental difference was threefold, making the cultivation efficiency threefold as well.

But once he truly started cultivating, he realized that this was not the case.

If constructing a small spirit energy gathering funnel could be called absorption, then the way the Talent Tree's roots delved into the swirl's opposite world was outright plundering!

One method passively receives the spirit force that leaks out from the golden swirl, while the other actively acquires it — they are completely incomparable.

Lu Ye felt that using a single gold-hued spirit fortune stick increased his cultivation efficiency more than tenfold compared to the normal speed.

Of course, the environmental differences between outside and inside the swirl were also a reason for this result.

Outside the swirl, the spirit force was pure enough for direct absorption, but inside the swirl, it had already liquefied into Spiritual Liquid.

In half a month's time, his cultivation underwent an earth-shattering change; he had never experienced such terrifying advancement speed since he began his cultivation journey, not even in the Cloud River Realm.

Such rapid advancement isn't necessarily all good. During this time, apart from cultivating, he occasionally entered the Mirage Realm to hone himself, wanting to quickly familiarize himself with his cultivation growth.

The ten-gold-hued spirit fortune sticks he exchanged were already used up. Lu Ye wasn't planning on exchanging for more gold-hued spirit fortune sticks for cultivation in the short term; though the rapid advancement was tempting, he wouldn't allow himself to indulge.

His realm needed to be stabilized for a while before he could continue cultivating.

Leading Amber and Yiyi out of the bamboo house, just as he was about to inspect the surroundings, a fragrance suddenly wafted to his nose.

By the time Lu Ye came to his senses, Nian Yuexian was already standing in front of him.

Less than a foot apart!

Startled, Lu Ye quickly stepped back a few paces and cupped his fists in salute, "Your Excellency!"

The Mountain Pass Chief was always this elusive; he hadn't seen her shadow for half a month, and today she suddenly appeared.

At that moment, Nian Yuexian was looking at Lu Ye with uncertainty and suspicion, her Mental Consciousness permeating as she carefully examined him; even though she had reached a conclusion, she still couldn't be certain: "True Lake Level 3?"

Half a month ago, when Lu Ye returned from Haotian City, he was at True Lake Level 1.

Half a month later, he had already reached True Lake Level 3?

Even someone as well-traveled as Nian Yuexian had never seen such an absurd occurrence.

Moreover, how could such a thing be possible? Cultivation in the True Lake Realm requires spirit force to undergo nine transformations. Every phase of cultivation enhancement requires an immense amount of spirit force, and the further he advances, the harder it becomes. Even if Lu Ye had enough battle merit and could consistently cultivate with gold-hued spirit fortune sticks, it shouldn't be possible to jump two small realms in just half a month.

Yet such an absurd phenomenon happened right under her nose!

Nian Yuexian always seemed cold as ice, but now her face was full of amazement and shock, creating an amusing visual contrast.

Lu Ye did not dare to laugh and solemnly replied, "Your Excellency has an eye like a torch."

Lu Ye was not surprised that Nian Yuexian could see through his cultivation; the gap between their levels was evident, and a sweep of her Mental Consciousness naturally left nothing hidden about his cultivation.

Nian Yuexian paused for a moment.

After waiting for a while with no words from her, Lu Ye could only speak, "If Your Excellency has no orders, this humble subordinate will proceed with the patrol."

"Go ahead," Nian Yuexian nodded.

As she watched Lu Ye's figure depart, she still hadn't come back to her senses.

In her mind, a familiar figure appeared once again.

The last time she was gravely injured and near death, Lu Ye used some unknown means, allowing her to come back from the brink. In her daze, she saw that person's figure on Lu Ye.

Back then, she nearly faced the same peril, and that person had also descended like a divine weapon to rescue her. From then on, she followed and served him wholeheartedly until he died in battle.

Today was no different!

Back then, that person's cultivation advanced at a speed that was equally incredible!

She had no interest in probing Lu Ye's secrets. Not only was Lu Ye her subordinate, but also given her life-saving debt to him last time, Nian Yuexian could never harbor ill intentions toward Lu Ye.

A wave of doubt washed over her heart. Could the Righteous Blood Sect always produce such prodigies?

Earlier, when she heard that the major sects from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge regarded him as a thorn in their side, she felt that Ten Thousand Demons Ridge was making a mountain out of a molehill. No matter how outstanding Lu Ye's performance was on the Spirit Stream battlefield or Cloud River battlefield, he was merely a small cultivator of Spirit Stream Realm and Cloud River Realm, not enough to influence the two camps' situation.

But now it seemed that there were sensible people on Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. Coupled with previous events, there's a sense of once bitten twice shy.

Such potential threats must be nipped in the bud.

True Lake Level 3 Realm already...

If that's the case, perhaps that matter can be prioritized.

Originally, she had long given up on that matter, but ever since Lu Ye saved her life with his miraculous techniques, she couldn't help but reconsider. With such skills to aid her, perhaps she might stand a chance of succeeding.

And should she succeed in that endeavor, her strength would undoubtedly grow significantly. Then, given the opportunity, she would surely be able to slay Wan Zhanggang!

With thoughts swirling in her mind, Nian Yuexian made her decision.

Several miles outside the Cangyan Mountain Pass, Lu Ye stood firm, gazing in the direction of the volcano's crater.

At the end of Gushan City's defense and attack battle, he raced out, worried about Nian Yuexian's safety. He wasn't too clear on the subsequent battle developments.

However, considering the situation back then, it didn't seem like Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators would have any issues defending Gushan City. Just there'd likely be quite a few casualties.

He wasn't concerned about the happenings in Gushan City but was focused on the volcanic crater.

There were many unmined fire spirit stones in the underground caves...

Even though he now had a stable channel to acquire fire spirit stones, and the ones he had scavenged last time weren't yet used up, every time he cultivated, triggering the Talent Tree's power required consuming reserve fuel.

His current cultivation mostly involved simultaneously activating the Talent Tree's power while absorbing the energy from fire spirit stones, consuming quite a bit.

There were still many leaves on the Talent Tree waiting to be ignited, which needed fire spirit stones the most.

Without efforts to increase income, sooner or later, he'd face the day of exhausting his resources.

Should he go check it out?

Despite feeling that the chances were slim, who knew what gains he might find? A look wouldn't hurt.

Previously, he was too busy cultivating to think about this matter. With the notion arising today, he couldn't restrain himself.

He rushed all the way, and before reaching the volcanic crater, he saw many figures flying and bustling around from afar.

With just a glance, Lu Ye knew his plan was a no-go.

Clearly, Ten Thousand Demons Ridge was busy excavating the fire spirit stones in the underground caves, sweeping everything valuable clean.

Though Lu Ye could use Ten Thousand Demons Ridge's battlefield marking to infiltrate, last time he managed to do so smoothly only because the enemy loomed large over Gushan City, leaving no time to verify his identity.

This time, if he tried the same trick again, success wasn't guaranteed. If someone attempted to check his identity, he couldn't convincingly explain it.

Moreover, even if he infiltrated, what could he achieve? He couldn't solely rely on himself to stealthily mine fire spirit stones; how many could he gather?

Unless he's capable of breaking into Gushan City's treasure vault and raiding the entire place!

This thought crossed his mind, which he promptly dismissed as too dangerous.

Just as he was about to retreat, a familiar-looking figure flew out of the volcanic crater.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed someone he recognized, and the spirit force emanating from her body clearly wasn't something the Cloud River Realm level could possess.

She too had advanced to the True Lake Realm!

Observing her direction, it seemed she was heading towards Gushan City Pass.

Lu Ye contemplated a bit and refrained from disturbing her. Although they had spent time together day and night for a period, and collaborated briefly once, their camp stances differed ultimately, making them battlefield enemies necessitating sword-crossing.

That said, back when Lu Ye was at the Great Reversal Valley Spirit Ground, there was a time when numerous Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators planned to besiege him, and it was her who discreetly tipped him off to flee.

Although Lu Ye ended up not escaping, he still owed her a favor.

So, in the future, if they truly clashed in battle, he might consider showing some mercy.

Upon returning from patrol, he happened to see a cultivator from Haotian City standing outside his bamboo building awaiting his return.

This person was under Qian Wudang, responsible for retrieving refined Explosive Fire Spirit Stones from Lu Ye. His name was Cheng Xiu, and after several encounters now knew him superficially.

At this moment, though, something seemed amiss with this combat cultivator of True Lake Level 5 Realm.

He stood rigidly in front of the bamboo building, not daring to move a muscle, face ashen pale like paper, sweat beads as big as beans rolled down his cheeks, drenching his clothes.

One hand clung tightly to the sword at his waist, gripping without drawing, the knuckles turning pale from pressure.

The cause being Nian Yuexian sitting on a tree trunk nearby, hands braced on either side as she dangled her long legs, an expression seemingly relaxed yet exuding an overbearing aura pervading the surroundings, affecting Cheng Xiu's will.

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