Sage of Humanity

In his body, the four Minor Circumambulations circulated dynamically, and spirit force surged within his spiritual orifice, gradually closing the distance between them!

Ten zhang, nine zhang, eight zhang...

Repelled and then charging forward again.

Lu Ye's lips bled and his chest felt stifled. He had thought that the closer he got to Dong Shuye, the better, but he soon realized that it was easier said than done.

The closer the distance, the harder it was to dodge the opponent's magic and spells. Beyond ten zhang, with his current level of perception, Lu Ye could grasp the trajectory of the spells, but within ten zhang, it became much more difficult.

If not for frequently activating the Defense Spirit Runes, he would have already been unable to keep up.

Eight zhang was the limit, just barely manageable!

When he once again pushed forward to a point eight zhang away from Dong Shuye, he roared, "Amber!"

"Roar!" Amber, who had hidden in the rain curtain before the battle started, suddenly bellowed from behind Dong Shuye.

Dong Shuye had been wary of Amber, so when the tiger's roar sounded, he quickly turned his head and swung a Golden Arc Slash in that direction. The golden crescent-shaped attack sliced through the rain curtain, hitting nothing. Amber, being clever, had already moved away from the spot after creating the disturbance.

Dong Shuye did not linger on it; he roughly understood Lu Ye's intent was to probably use his beast pet to take down the young master to threaten him.

Such a childish tactic was bound to fail. If that tiger dared to come within ten zhang of him, he could slay it in an instant! A beast wouldn't activate spirit runes to defend itself, and the young master stood just three zhang behind him, well within his ability to protect while dealing with Lu Ye.

So, after forcing Amber back, he immediately turned to confront Lu Ye. However, before he could activate his spells, a surge of spirit force descended from above.

Looking up, he saw a large bell shimmering with spirit light crash down, rapidly obscuring the light in front of him.

It was the Mystic Spirit Bell!

The protective Spiritual Artifact of the Nine Stars Sect's young master—how could he not recognize it? As the Mystic Spirit Bell fell, he thought to dodge, but had already missed the best moment; the light before him was blocked, and he was covered tightly!

His expression darkened as he realized he had been too careless and finally understood why Lu Yiye was persistently closing the distance, not to attack, but purely to shorten the distance. If it were too far, the Mystic Spirit Bell might not be able to trap him.

A moment of carelessness had him trapped by the Mystic Spirit Bell; however, this artifact was mainly for protection and its trapping effect was not significant. In terms of understanding the Mystic Spirit Bell, Dong Shuye surpassed Lu Ye by far.

Just as he was about to use his magic and spells to break free from the bell's constraints, the Mystic Spirit Bell unexpectedly flew up again.

Following the direction in which the Mystic Spirit Bell retreated, Dong Shuye looked up, his expression grim.

There, Lu Ye had grabbed the young master by the neck, his long knife against his throat, with his entire body sheltered behind the young master, only one eye showing, glaring fiercely at him.

Defeat Dong Shuye by leaping two or three levels? Lu Ye had never considered such a thing. Although he had killed some Level 5 realm cultivators, Dong Shuye was much stronger than those at Level 5, and the recent clash had proven this; Lu Ye couldn't even get within eight zhang of Dong Shuye.

Unable to even get close, how could he kill him? By using his fat bird spell that could only make his enemies die of laughter? The weather was also not suitable for fire type spells.

From the start, Lu Ye's goal had been very clear—the mortal young master brought by Dong Shuye!

He did not know the exact identity of the young master, but from the manner the latter had addressed Dong Shuye, it was clear he held significant status. To win his freedom, he could only succeed by capturing this individual, thus holding leverage over his enemy.

Amber had coordinated perfectly with him, clearly Yiyi's doing. Though they had not agreed on any specific plan beforehand, Yiyi understood Lu Ye's intention from the start of the battle.

That tiger roar had created the opportunity for Lu Ye to deploy the Mystic Spirit Bell.

As their gazes met, Lu Ye saw the fury in Dong Shuye's eyes, and Dong Shuye saw the ruthlessness in Lu Ye's.

The young master, already chilled to the bone with tears and snot mixed together, suddenly felt the cold blade at his throat and became somewhat agitated, "You guys fight your fight, why drag me into this!"

All along, he had lacked the proper reverence for cultivators because, backed by his family's power on the fringes of the battlefield, he could do as he pleased as long as he did not go too far, with those beautiful female cultivators as his playthings.

He just thought that cultivators were nothing special.

However, he quickly realized the seriousness of his situation as a chill and pain spread from his neck, becoming slightly panicked, "Old Dong, save me!" Read latest stories on empire

Dong Shuye only stared at Lu Ye, the fury in his eyes intensifying.

"Tell him to leave, or you die!" Behind the young master, Lu Ye spoke sternly.

"This gentleman, calm down a bit, you're hurting me."

"Tell him to leave!"

"Okay, okay, Old Dong, please step back!"

Dong Shuye spoke, "If I leave, you will undoubtedly die!"

The young master suddenly realized, "Right…"

"If he doesn't leave, you die now; if he leaves, I won't trouble you!"

"You promise?"

"Enough talk!"

The pain in his neck grew more intense, and the dandy young master felt warm liquid flowing down his neck. Without further hesitation, he said, "Old Dong, you better go, I'll be safe if you leave."

Dong Shuye stared at Lu Ye, his face unwilling, remembering his recent ordeals. His expression twisted ferociously, and his heart burned with a desire to kill, but he ultimately restrained himself and said sternly, "Swear by Heaven's Augury! Without the vow, you won't be able to leave today!"

Lu Ye looked into his eyes for a moment before speaking, "I respectfully invoke Heaven's Augury, if Dong Shuye ceases to trouble me, I will spare this mortal, and return his freedom in three days!"

Amidst the obscurity, Heaven's Augury descended.

Though Dong Shuye's heart was not pacified, this was the best outcome at the moment. He gave Lu Ye a deep look and said, "Remember what you said."

He took steps toward the curtain of rain.

One step, two steps, three steps…

He stopped, looked up at the sky, and let the rain drench his face, suddenly laughing derisively at himself, "How pathetic!"

Two months ago, he, with his Level 7 cultivation, had pursued someone of Level 3; he was careless and didn't complete his mission. Two months later, him of Level 6 came to kill one at Level 4, and still hadn't succeeded.

His spiritual orifice had been damaged, his cultivation had plummeted, leaving him hopeless. Furthermore, he had defected from his sect, and had reluctantly become a bodyguard for a mundane person.

The other's cultivation had improved too fast. Missing this chance, would there be another? He had fallen into such a state all because of this man; how could he not avenge such deep and grievous hatred!

Spirit force started to surge, and he suddenly pointed a hand toward Lu Ye, sending a Golden Arc Slash slicing through the air toward him.

Almost the instant he stopped, Lu Ye sensed something amiss. As the Golden Arc Slash approached, he grabbed the dandy young master in front of him and dashed forward, covering several yards in a few steps. His other hand had been holding the Mystic Spirit Bell, which he now summoned instantly.

The sharp strike ripped the dandy young master apart, spattering blood everywhere, and striking the Defense Spirit Runes on Lu Ye's chest. The runes shattered, and Lu Ye was thrown backward in disarray.

The Mystic Spirit Bell fell, once again encompassing Dong Shuye, but the next moment, violent sounds came from within, and the outer surface of the bell began to flicker with spirit light.

"Roar!" Amber charged out of the rain, rushing to Lu Ye's side. Lu Ye climbed onto the tiger's back and simultaneously slapped a Move-Like-The-Wind Talisman onto Amber.

"Go quickly!"

Damn it, Dong Shuye has gone mad!

He didn't know who the dandy young master really was, but since the man could command Dong Shuye around, he obviously had significant influence. Dong Shuye had apparently reached an agreement with him earlier, but then suddenly turned hostile, intent on killing him, even at the cost of that mortal young master's life!

Lu Ye felt Dong Shuye's determination to kill him. At the moment, his spiritual force was greatly depleted, and he was internally injured, leaving him no option but to flee, not even daring to retrieve the Mystic Spirit Bell.

Just as Amber carried him away for about ten breaths, the Mystic Spirit Bell suddenly exploded. Dong Shuye, furious and slightly disheveled, appeared, having finally freed himself.

He glanced around swiftly, identified the direction in which Lu Ye had fled, and soared into the air in pursuit. This time, without the encumbrance of the young master, his speed was visibly faster.

The rainfall began to lighten, and two hours later, the rain stopped. A rainbow hung across the sky like a bridge. Several cultivators arrived at the previous battleground and discovered three corpses, along with traces of the fight.

Recognizing one of the bodies, the cultivators felt a chill, knowing that their own dandy young master was dead, a catastrophe indeed...

Before long, the news spread. The family of the dandy young master immediately issued a wanted order against Dong Shuye. However, by then, Dong Shuye had already followed Lu Ye out of reach.

Night fell, and Amber, carrying Lu Ye, rushed into a chaotic stone forest. Here, massive stone pillars stood tall, each over sixty feet high, a countless number densely packed together.

Amber was out of strength, having used up all three Move-Like-The-Wind talismans. Fortunately, Dong Shuye hadn't pursued them for the past two hours, leading Lu Ye to guess that his spiritual force was also nearly exhausted.

After all this time, even if Dong Shuye had a higher cultivation level than him, he couldn't endure it.

On the other hand, Lu Ye not only hadn't exhausted his spiritual force, but had also fully replenished it while Amber was fleeing.

Although Lu Ye knew Dong Shuye wouldn't give up so easily, he needed to put as much distance between them as possible, but Amber really couldn't run anymore. The Move-Like-The-Wind enhancement made it run faster, but it also greatly increased its exhaustion.

He didn't need to rest, but Amber did.

There were natural shelters under the stone pillars, and Yiyi found a relatively hidden spot where Amber went and lay down on the ground, its chest heaving and tongue hanging out like an exhausted dog.

Yiyi looked on with pity, cursing Dong Shuye for his cruelty, while she fed and watered Amber.

Lu Ye checked his injuries; there were no serious external wounds, just some internal injuries from clashing with Dong Shuye during the battle, nothing severe. Taking a healing pill would suffice.

Considering Dong Shuye's actions during the day, he would never give up the pursuit. They couldn't keep fleeing forever, but his Level 4 cultivation was only barely sufficient to face him.

If he could reach Level 5, Lu Ye felt he might stand a chance in a fight against Dong Shuye!