Sage of Humanity

"The essence of this secret realm lies in the artifact crafting workshop, and the essence of the workshop is the Earth Core Fire," Khong Khong spoke.

Lu Ye's expression stiffened...

This reminded him of the three major secret realms of the human race on the Unparalleled Continent.

Those three secret realms always drifted within the Void, not outwardly visible, but after the Heaven's Augury Pillar had absorbed the Earth Vein power of the secret realm, the three secret realms lost the ability to drift in the Void, as their foundation was broken.

This situation has an uncanny resemblance to the present scenario.

"I originally thought this place could be maintained for some years, at least until you completed your training, but never expected... one can only say it is fate," Khong Khong looked at Lu Ye with satisfaction. "Luckily, you have exceptional talent; even without my guidance in the future, you could possibly surpass me in the Path of Artifact Refining. This obsession of mine should now disperse."

"Sect Master..." Lu Ye didn't know what to say for a moment.

He couldn't possibly admit that the upheaval in the secret realm was his doing.

He too hadn't anticipated such an occurrence; his intention was merely to store more fuel in the Talent Tree for future use, who would have thought that doing so would undermine the secret realm's foundation?

For nearly two months, he had been activating the Talent Tree's power daily to engulf and absorb the Earth Core Fire, and the Talent Tree now stored a vast amount of energy.

"Do not grieve; my true body has long perished, leaving only a segment of obsession guarding for thousands of years. Seeing a favorable outcome now, it can be said that Heaven has not treated me poorly."

Saying this, Khong Khong produced a simple jade slip. "Though I wish to witness the day of your training's completion, since events have transpired, there's no avoidance; this contains many artifact crafting essentials and Sword Dao True Meaning from our Sword Weapon Sect. In the future, without my guidance, you may study it independently."

"Yes." Lu Ye received the jade slip and carefully stored it.

Khong Khong flipped his palm, and a gourd about a foot long appeared in his palm, its surface enwrought with many intricate patterns crisscrossing, seemingly not man-made but naturally formed.

As for the quality, Lu Ye couldn't discern at first glance.

"The sword gourd is the token of the Sword Weapon Sect's Sect Master, this item is naturally conceived; it was collected by the ninth-generation ancestor in a desperate realm and slightly refined by the thirteenth-generation ancestor. It contains many mysteries, passed down to today, and now I hand it to you, hoping one day you will bring glory to the sect."

Lu Ye reached to take it again, feeling its weight, fell silent for a moment, then spoke, "Can the Sect Master leave with me?"

Although Lu Ye already knew that the Khong Khong before him was just an obsession, there was genuine mentorship involved, coupled with Khong Khong's exceptional strength; if he could take him out of the secret realm, it would be a colossal support.

His Sword Qi could easily repel strong cultivators like Nian Yuexian; his strength surely surpasses many Divine Sea Realm cultivators in Nine Provinces.

Khong Khong shook his head with a smile. "I've been able to remain for thousands of years, which is already Heaven's special grace; in the current grand trend of Nine Provinces, a segment of obsession like mine absolutely cannot appear outside."

His words held a deeper meaning, causing Lu Ye to ponder.

Khong Khong waved his hand. "The bond between you and me has ended; go now."

A gentle force swept across Lu Ye's face; he had no resistance and was pushed away, and when he regained his senses, he was already at the valley entrance.

Ying Wuji had somehow returned to this location, still wearing a tiger head hat on his head...

Nian Yuexian, who had been climbing Sword Mountain all the while, also returned.

Looking at Lu Ye, she asked, "What did that old man say, what's happening here?"

"The foundation of this secret realm is unstable; it's likely to collapse," Lu Ye summarized the information he knew.

Nian Yuexian frowned. "Then we must quickly find a way to leave."

Once the secret realm collapses, it will certainly be a grand spectacle; if one doesn't hurry to leave, they could likely be swept in, with life and death uncertain.

As they were talking, a low shout came from beyond the grass hut: "Come!"

A clear and prolonged sword ringing sounded; Sword Mountain hummed, and countless flying swords flew out from Sword Mountain, transforming into streams of light, swooping toward the direction of the thatched hut like swallows returning to their nest.

During this period, Nian Yuexian had been ascending Sword Mountain, passing several tests from flying swords and obtaining many flying swords, but more were left on Sword Mountain.

Now, accompanying Khong Khong's command, thousands of swords flew together.

In front of the grass hut, Khong Khong's figure suddenly expanded rapidly, transforming into a towering phantom image a hundred-zhang tall, hugging streams of light from the gathered myriad flying swords in his hand as if holding an enormous longsword.

He glanced toward Lu Ye's direction for a moment, then burst into laughter and recited, "All is 空, 空 is 空, but 空 is 空 indeed!"

He slashed down with the sword!

Sky collapsed and ground rent.

A massive fissure appeared above Lu Ye and the others, and simultaneously, the enormous phantom figure shrank back; in front of the grass hut, Khong Khong was still Khong Khong, only his figure had become extremely illusory and transparent.

The gigantic longsword in his hand also shattered, countless flying swords rotated and gathered like dragons, enveloping the trio of Lu Ye like a spiral, drilling toward the fissure, disappearing in a blink.

After Lu Ye and his companions left, the space within the secret realm suddenly collapsed, where the artifact crafting workshop was located. The fierce Earth Core Fire surged out aggressively as space collapsed, tongues of fire devoured everything in the secret realm, also engulfing Khong Khong's illusory figure sitting cross-legged before the grass hut.

Flying swords converged like dragons, drilling out from the massive spatial fissure, then ascended all the way, ravaging everything in their path.

The location of the secret realm's entrance was unknown fathoms deep underground, with solid rock above. However, at this moment, under the disturbance of the sword dragon, these rocks were as fragile as tofu.

Until a certain moment, the sword dragon broke through all restraints, and the three of them saw the light of day again.

At that instant, the sword dragon suddenly shattered, transforming into thousands of flowing lights, scattering away.

Nian Yuexian frowned deeply, primarily because the sound was quite loud, possibly attracting the attention of nearby cultivators.

Just as she prepared to swiftly leave this place with Lu Ye and Ying Wuji, a surge of fiery light burst up from below, unmistakably the eruption of the Earth Core Fire from the secret realm.

The flames swept across, distorting the void.

Lu Ye and Ying Wuji simultaneously felt a great calamity looming over them.

At this moment, it was too late to escape. Nian Yuexian swiftly stood in front of them, channeling her spirit force, and fiercely slashed with the Willow Catkins Longsword in her hand!

The sword light, like a long strip of white silk, directly cleaved the surging flames in two, rolling them to the sides, leaving the position of the three unscathed by the fire.

Nian Yuexian also exerted all her spirit force to protect the two men's bodies.

Ying Wuji was deeply moved!

If at this moment Nian Yuexian didn't care whether he lived or died, even ten lives wouldn't be enough for him. Though he understood he was merely an attachment to Lu Ye, he was still being protected.

Only after more than ten breaths did the flames surging from below gradually calm down.

Lu Ye and Ying Wuji took a deep breath.

Nian Yuexian's expression was extremely grave, and she turned to instruct Lu Ye: "Separate and move, you sneak back to Cangyan Mountain quietly!"

With these instructions, she lifted Ying Wuji by the collar and, under his helpless gaze, dashed into the void, not concealing at all her spirit force and the imposing manner of a strong cultivator of the Divine Sea Realm, gleaming like a big sun.

Lu Ye's expression also changed, hurriedly putting Amber into the spirit beast sack, and fled in the opposite direction.

The reason Nian Yuexian didn't take him was actually because she was already exposed.

The immense display of the sword strike just now had likely alarmed nearby strong cultivators of the Divine Sea Realm, and she was quite well-known on the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge's side, with this place being the heartland of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge.

In such a situation, once the Divine Sea Realm strong cultivators of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge knew she was here, they would inevitably engage in all sorts of pursuit.

Under such circumstances, if she brought Lu Ye along, it would naturally be extremely unwise. Once Lu Ye was caught up in the confrontation among the Divine Sea Realm strong cultivators, it would likely not end well for him.

This time was unlike the last confrontation against Wan Zhanggang, where the opposing side had only three Divine Sea Realm strong cultivators, not many, thus allowing room for Lu Ye to employ the Twin Flying Phoenixes.

But this time, it was unknown how many Divine Sea Realm cultivators would be dispatched from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge.

Nian Yuexian deliberately revealed her aura and power when leaving to draw the attention of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge's strong individuals, making it easier for Lu Ye to sneak away.

The reason for taking Ying Wuji was clearly to prevent him from exposing Lu Ye's identity without her oversight. In the current situation, it was best for Lu Ye to act alone.

Nian Yuexian didn't know how Lu Ye initially infiltrated Gushan City Pass, but being able to sneak into even the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge's mountain pass safely clearly demonstrated Lu Ye's unique skills.

So, upon sensing the current situation, she decisively instructed Lu Ye to separate from her.

She needed to consider Lu Ye's life and death, but could disregard Ying Wuji's. If she were truly besieged by Divine Sea Realm cultivators, Ying Wuji might still be of some use in her hands.

After all, Ying Wuji was a core disciple of this generation of Senluo Hall, so the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge would somewhat consider the reputation of Senluo Hall.

Nian Yuexian had already left, and Lu Ye didn't dare fly too far, immediately landing after just thirty miles, finding a concealed spot, activating Breath-concealing and Concealment Spirit Runes, and quietly hiding.

He felt a headache.

Khong Khong had caused trouble; the method he used to send the three out of the Sword Weapon Sect secret realm was too ostentatious. Apart from attracting numerous Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators to snatch the scattered flying swords, the collapse of the secret realm itself would also draw the attention of nearby cultivators.

Combined with Nian Yuexian's actions, this area likely already attracted a gathering of cultivators from all directions.

The fact indeed was so.

Lu Ye soon sensed a Divine Sea Realm strong cultivator's aura passing by not far away, in a hurried manner, likely in pursuit of Nian Yuexian.

A moment later, the sound of something breaking through the air came from nearby, clearly indicating that Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators, who had received news, were coming to investigate this area.

In the next half a day, the situation developed as Lu Ye expected, with many Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators gathering from all directions to investigate the anomaly here, further fueled by the allure of the numerous masterless flying swords scattering around.

Above Liyuan, it was bustling with activity.

There was no news from Nian Yuexian's side, and Lu Ye didn't dare to send messages to disturb her.

Asking Ying Wuji was an option, but given their differing camps and stances, even if he asked, he couldn't easily trust the answers he received.

He could only continue to wait.