Sage of Humanity

"Sky 3" Room was precisely where Lu Ye was staying.

The elder pondered for a moment, "Such talent is indeed rare."

The higher the talent, the more spiritual energy one can inhale and exhale. And the reason why spiritual energy was denser in the "Sky" rooms was as Lu Ye had surmised—the room had been discreetly fitted with a spirit energy gathering array, which concentrated nature's spiritual energy while also consuming Spirit Stones.

The more pronounced the Array's operation, the greater the consumption of Spirit Stones.

Though the elder had seen many cultivators with outstanding talent, there were plenty who consumed even more than Lu Ye. However, for someone in Level 4 realm to require three to four more Spirit Stones daily was quite extraordinary.

"Shall we ask him to leave?" the Manager inquired.

"He doesn't owe us any Spirit Stones, how can we drive him out? Remember, we are running a business here. No matter who comes, we must treat everyone fairly and justly, not acting according to our personal preferences."

"Yes."

"Go now." The elder waved his hand dismissively.

The Manager respectfully took his leave.

The elder sat stupefied in his chair for a while before slowly shaking his head.

He was probably a Disciple from some big sect, venturing into the outer circle to temper himself. Alas, a cultivator in the Level 4 realm being targeted by someone in Level 6, his chances of survival weren't too high.

On the sixth day of his stay with the mercantile union, while Lu Ye was resting, Amber came up to him for a rub.

Lu Ye looked at Yiyi, "What does Amber want?"

After a brief communication with him, Yiyi said, "Amber would like that scale you took out last time."

Lu Ye suddenly realized and hurriedly took out the Scale Armor again. Amber approached and took a ferocious inhale at the scale, a line of blood surged into Amber's nostrils. Just like the time before, it staggered backward a few steps, shook its head a bit, and then collapsed on the ground, falling unconscious. A pale red glow roamed its body's surface, tempering its physique.

Lu Ye had no intention to follow Amber's example—the bloodline within the Scale Armor seemed intoxicating. Even a demon beast like Amber barely withstood it, and Lu Ye estimated if he tried inhaling it, he would likely meet a grim end.

However, the item did have miraculous effects on Body Refining. Amber had vastly improved its physique after the last tempering. Now undergoing it a second time, who knew how much growth it would experience.

He continued to maintain his cultivation frequency.

One spiritual orifice after another was continuously opened.

On the fifteenth day at the mercantile union, as spiritual energy constantly bombarded him, the barriers of his 63rd orifice gradually loosened. Just before the barrier was about to break, Lu Ye halted his cultivation.

He stood up to inspect his condition—full of energy, blood Qi abound, the 63rd orifice on the verge of breaking. It was time to start enacting his plan.

He took Amber and went to the first floor of the mercantile union, found a Manager, and bought a few Spirit Talismans for a hundred Spirit Stones.

With that, he was left with a mere two hundred and thirty-something Spirit Stones. The half-month stay had cost him a hundred and fifty Spirit Stones, but it was worth the payout. Cultivating in that room had greatly increased his efficiency. A schedule intended to last around twenty days took only fifteen, saving him several days.

With less than a hundred elixir pills in hand, he thought for a moment and then converted another two hundred Spirit Stones into elixir pills, leaving over thirty Spirit Stones in reserve.

All set, Lu Ye mounted Amber and left the mercantile union.

A pair of sharp eyes immediately focused on him, belonging to Dong Shuye, who had been waiting outside the union for half a month.

As their gaze met, Lu Ye's expression soured as if mourning a great loss, whereas Dong Shuye's lips curved slightly, chewing the jerky in his mouth a couple of times before swallowing it whole.

Finally, the moment had arrived!

Without hesitating, Lu Ye slapped a Move-Like-The-Wind Talisman on Amber, picked a direction, and dashed away.

Dong Shuye took flight, in hot pursuit.

The shop owner behind him was in tears... Life is so hard; he hadn't had any business in half a month. Ever since Dong Shuye, radiating a fierce aura, took his stand there, no customer had dared to visit.

He didn't dare drive the man away—with Dong Shuye's Level 6 cultivation, he had no right to offend him as a mere Level 3.

Now, at last, that plague-like presence had left! The shop owner, reminded of the half-month's hardships, couldn't help but burst into tears.

Amber's speed had increased slightly, likely due to the earlier Bloodline Body Tempering, and with the Move-Like-The-Wind effect, even if Dong Shuye could glide in pursuit, he couldn't catch up immediately, which irritated him.

Luckily, he had learned. While chasing, he would pop an elixir pill into his mouth to replenish his energy, and in both hands, he held a Spirit Stone, absorbing the spirit force within.

The situation reverted to that of half a month earlier. Amidst the chase into the wilderness, after a good half-day, Amber began to slow down from exhaustion. Fortunately, Dong Shuye was similarly strained. Even with elixir pills and Spirit Stones for recovery, they could not offset the loss of spiritual force. Stay tuned to empire

It was as if they had a telepathic understanding. They each stopped to recuperate, but this time Lu Ye didn't rest for long before he started fleeing again, and Dong Shuye, unwilling to let him escape, immediately got up to chase.

A day later, Dong Shuye stopped in front of a mountain cave, his eyebrows tightly furrowed!

He had just been midair when he saw Lu Ye riding that white big tiger rush into this cave, a sight that aroused some doubts in him.

Logically, the party being pursued wouldn't easily trap themselves in a dead end, and the fact that the other party had done so clearly wasn't normal.

But he quickly thought of a possibility: the cave might be connected to another exit. If the other party fled through here, his sliding advantage would be lost.

With this thought, Dong Shuye hesitated no longer, plunged into the cave, and quickly made his way deeper inside. Of course, he wasn't foolish—the moment he did this, in case Lu Ye had set an ambush, he slapped a Golden Body Talisman onto himself. That way, even if the enemy launched a surprise attack from the shadows, he would have time to react.

The cave was dark and damp, contrary to Dong Shuye's expectations, the other party hadn't set any traps in this cramped environment.

The further he went, the more spacious the cave became.

Until, at a certain moment, he charged into a wide cavity within the belly of the mountain. The cavity was about two acres in size and more than ten zhang high, with stalactites hanging from the ceiling, dripping water continuously, making sounds.

Even though it was dark, he spotted Lu Ye, who was hidden in the deepest part of the cave, now sitting cross-legged with spirit force roiling and surging around him.

Dong Shuye could confirm that the other party had some kind of plot or scheme, but this was a semi-enclosed space. Other than the entrance he had used to come in, there were no other exits, which meant that as long as he blocked the entrance, the other party had no means to escape!

Reassured, he thought: Finally, I've got you, you bastard! Even if the other party has any cunning tricks, they're nothing in the face of absolute strength.

He took a light breath and revealed a mocking smile on his face, "Is this the burial place you've chosen for yourself?"

No sooner had he spoken than the qi at Lu Ye's side fluctuated violently, the spirit force rippling and surging, creating waves of aura that rolled outwards, and the spirit light on his body flared up sharply.

Spirit Stream Level 5!

Dong Shuye was shocked; when he had been chasing Lu Ye before, the latter was clearly at Level 4, yet now, after just a little while out of sight, he had reached Spirit Stream Level 5, which only meant one thing—Lu Ye had been on the verge of the Level 5 realm and had deliberately chosen this time to advance!

Such a rapid cultivation speed!

Two and a half months ago, Lu Ye had been only at Level 3 realm. Dong Shuye had already been inwardly astonished to see Lu Ye reach Level 4, but considering that the other party might have stayed at Level 3 for a long time, an improvement of one level seemed normal.

But the current advancement was not normal!

Advancing from Level 3 to Level 5 in just two and a half months was a shocking cultivation speed.

Dong Shuye felt more and more convinced that his decision was right; missing this chance, he might not be the match for Lu Ye the next time he encounters him, by which time who would be the hunter and who the prey was uncertain.

Just as he was astonished, a ripple of spirit force suddenly emanated from behind him. Dong Shuye, without thinking, raised his hand and cast a magic and spells toward that direction.

A shadow flickered and vanished, and at the same time, a Spirit Talisman exploded by the entrance. Complemented by the magic and spells he had cast, rocks at the entrance crumbled to pieces with a rumble and fell, sealing the entrance tight.

Dong Shuye was slightly startled, only then realizing that the Spirit Talisman just now was not attacking him, but intended to blockade the exit. Now he couldn't retreat even if he wanted to!

As the intense fluctuations of spirit force rapidly approached, Dong Shuye hurriedly turned his head, just in time to see Lu Ye coming at him with the speed of thunder.

By this point, Lu Ye no longer looked as dispirited as when he had left the mercantile union; his expression was calm, his demeanor steady. Facing Dong Shuye's Golden Arc Slash, he twisted his body and evaded it nimbly.

This was indeed a place for burial, but it was the one he had chosen for Dong Shuye!

On his escape route, he had already asked Yiyi to find a suitable terrain, considering Dong Shuye's advantage in sliding. If Dong Shuye decided to flee at the sight of trouble, there was little Lu Ye could do. To kill Dong Shuye, he needed a favorable geographical location.

Yiyi found this cavern, which was not too big but not too small either, just meeting Lu Ye's requirements.

Having Yiyi activate the power of the Spirit Talisman to seal the entrance was also due to the fear that Dong Shuye might escape.

Now that the cavern was completely sealed, today only one of them would walk out alive!

Having advanced to Level 5, he had added a Minor Circumambulation system within his body, enhancing both his speed and explosive power. Lu Ye was confident that if he could get close to Dong Shuye, he would be able to kill him!

Magic cultivators are indeed formidable, mastering various magic and spells with ferocious might, but they also have another name.

He had heard it from Hua Ci during a chat before, she had mentioned that in the cultivation world, cultivators call physique cultivators beefy savage brutes, combat cultivators a group of hot-headed brawlers, and as for magic cultivators, they are a bunch of frail skins!

Relative to physique cultivators and combat cultivators of the same level, magic cultivators undoubtedly have the weakest physical condition, as they spend years studying magic and spells, leaving no time to temper their bodies.

Even the spectral cultivators with their ghostly and elusive ways have stronger bodies than magic cultivators.

Low-level cultivators, when in conflict, dominate from a distance, but once close combat is achieved, the combat capability of magic cultivators greatly diminishes.

Half a month ago in the skirmish, Lu Ye had only been at Level 4 and could only charge to within eight zhang of Dong Shuye, but now that he was at Level 5, he was confident he could break through Dong Shuye's magical barriers and close in on him.

As he charged, Lu Ye maneuvered his body, dodging the onslaught of magic and spells coming his way; the distance between them rapidly closed in. Under the illumination of the magical light, Dong Shuye's expression became slightly panicked.