Sage of Humanity

With everything packed and ready, Lu Ye and Tong Shuyao flew in one direction under the lead of the Divine Sea Realm woman.

Perhaps due to the death of someone, Tong Shuyao didn't even have the enthusiasm to talk to Lu Ye and stayed silent the whole way.

Lu Ye was quite happy with this.

Though he wasn't sure who the sword cultivator that attacked them before was, he roughly guessed it had to be someone with a personal grudge against Tong Shuyao's Divine Sea Realm Master Uncle, taking advantage of the chaotic situation in Liyuan to secretly retaliate.

"I've heard that the Unparalleled Continent has four great secret realms; aside from one occupied by the Corpse Race, the other three are all with humans. Which secret realm did you come from?" the woman suddenly asked.

Lu Ye was taken aback.

During their interaction earlier, the woman clearly showed little interest in him and didn't ask him anything.

The sudden inquiry about his origin at this moment was evidently because Lu Ye performed well in the recent battle.

Her group, consisting of cultivators all at the True Lake Realm, boasted higher cultivation levels than Lu Ye. Besides Tong Shuyao, who shared the tent with her and remained unharmed, everyone else was killed.

Only the lowest cultivation member, Lu Ye, survived!

Later, Lu Ye aided Tong Shuyao in strategy, displaying noteworthy performances.

These two points were enough for the woman to gauge some depth of Lu Ye.

"Responding to the senior, this junior is an independent cultivator, not a secret realm native," Lu Ye casually said.

Cultivators from secret realms have traceable origins; if the woman sought to verify his identity, his cover would be blown.

However, it's different for independent cultivators. The Unparalleled Continent's unique environment comprises numerous small bases besides the secret realms. Cultivators from these bases can all be considered independent, with little interaction or connection, making it impossible for anyone to investigate deeply.

"Independent cultivator..." the woman remarked with surprise. "Unparalleled Continent's cultivators haven't entered the Nine Provinces for long. As far as I know, there was no True Lake Realm there before. How are you a True Lake Level 3 now?"

Before, indifferent to this unfamiliar person, the woman hadn't thought much. Now it seems, Lu Ye's cultivation level indeed had issues.

Not that she suspected anything, just that the situation was indeed peculiar.

This young man called Li Taibai had an extraordinarily fast cultivation speed.

"Previously, I had a stroke of luck, and also, suppose the junior had accumulated resilience over time, as the senior said, Unparalleled Continent didn't have True Lake, allowing for greater Cloud River Realm accumulation," Lu Ye replied offhandedly.

The woman nodded slightly, accepting Lu Ye's explanation.

In her heart, a notion arose: if all Unparalleled Continent cultivators could accumulate and burst forth like Li Taibai, wouldn't they become endlessly formidable?

If so, one should definitely devise ways to recruit more Unparalleled Continent cultivators.

As thoughts swirled in her mind, she spoke again: "Your Unparalleled Continent people probably aren't too familiar with Nine Provinces' situation. Why did you choose Ten Thousand Demons Ridge over Haotian Alliance?"

Lu Ye laughed awkwardly, rubbing his head: "Actually, this junior didn't think much; just randomly picked one. Most Unparalleled Continent cultivators choose randomly."

Seeing his simple-minded expression, the heavy-hearted Tong Shuyao couldn't help but laugh, feeling much better, and said coquettishly, "Then you chose correctly, for Haotian Alliance people are all bad."

"Would you consider joining our Ten Thousand Demons Ridge provincial guard?" the woman asked.

Lu Ye had no such thought; if it weren't for meeting them, he'd probably already be sneaking toward Cangyan Mountain Pass, away from Liyuan.

Now a powerful Divine Sea Realm cultivator from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge was beside him, making him feel uneasy.

He said, "Forgive me, senior. This junior hasn't been in Nine Provinces long and temporarily has no intention of serving any provincial guard..."

Before finishing, Lu Ye felt the woman's gaze sharpen, suddenly becoming unbearably pressured.

"What now? Are you weighing options to see whether Ten Thousand Demons Ridge or Haotian Alliance is stronger before deciding?"

"This junior dare not," Lu Ye quickly showed a sincerely fearful demeanor.

"Since you don't dare, make a decision early!" the woman coldly snorted, "Once decided, you'll belong, otherwise anyone thinking they can come and go in Ten Thousand Demons Ridge territory as they please is mistaken."

Lu Ye frowned inwardly.

What's going on?

The woman's words seemed to be forcing him to join Ten Thousand Demons Ridge provincial guard.

Did his performance catch her eye?

Must be! She probably wants to recruit him, else why the sudden attitude change?

Lu Ye suddenly felt at a loss!

"This junior... will consider carefully," Lu Ye replied.

The woman no longer paid attention to him, proceeding forward swiftly.

At dawn, a large city appeared in the distance, giving Lu Ye an uneasy feeling, prompting him to ask, "What city is that ahead..."

"That's Ten Thousand Demons City," Tong Shuyao replied, "It's the central hub for Ten Thousand Demons Ridge in Bingzhou."

It's akin to Haotian City of Haotian Alliance.

Lu Ye thought to himself that this was bad. He distinctly remembered the time he entered Haotian City; a restriction swept over him, activating his battlefield marking on the back of his hand.

That restriction clearly served to identify camp affiliations, so even if Haotian Alliance had no one guarding the perimeter, they needn't worry about Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators sneaking in, since the boundary restriction would bar them.

Moreover, many Divine Sea Realm cultivators resided in Haotian City; who'd dare to seek death?

If Haotian City had such a restriction, why wouldn't Ten Thousand Demons City?

Though Lu Ye carried a temporary Ten Thousand Demons Ridge battlefield marking, it differed from authentic ones, counting as temporary, for once activated, it only lasted four hours.

He wasn't sure if his temporary marking could evade detection by Ten Thousand Demons Ridge's restrictions, or what consequences awaited when the marking ceased functioning after four hours.

He must not enter Ten Thousand Demons City...

As he pondered this, the woman spoke first, "Until you decide, follow me; once you've decided, tell me anytime!"

Lu Ye felt heavy-hearted. She really had her eyes on him, otherwise why act as if wanting to bind him to her waist?

These two women were truly infuriating!

The younger one coveted his body, while the older was even more excessive, wanting both body and soul.

As they neared, Lu Ye felt tense.

The woman dashed into Ten Thousand Demons City first, followed by Lu Ye and Tong Shuyao. At the moment he entered, Lu Ye activated his Ten Thousand Demons Ridge battlefield marking.

He clearly felt an invisible force sweep over him, simultaneously seeing a flash of red light on the back of his hand.

Lu Ye's heart was relieved, having successfully passed this checkpoint.