Sage of Humanity-Chapter 1504 - 1502: Sudden Turn of Events

Ascending one level at a time, Ban Ci moved very slowly. Often, after stepping onto one level of the staircase, it would take a long time before she would make her next move. The mist she passed through vanished completely.

Lu Ye became increasingly certain that this mist was indeed the source that helped cultivators refine their spirit force.

He looked up toward the top of the staircase, directing his gaze at that peculiar stone cauldron.

The mist is the source for cultivators to refine their spirit force, and its origin is this stone cauldron. In other words, the stone cauldron is the treasure.

If he could take the stone cauldron away, wouldn't he be able to refine spirit force anytime and anywhere? In the future, if friends and family wanted to ascend to Moon Jade, they wouldn't have to go through the trouble of purchasing expensive elixir pills.

However, Lu Ye only entertained this thought momentarily. Ban Ci had long known about this place, yet the stone cauldron had always been there, which undoubtedly indicated the problem.

This stone cauldron... is probably not so easy to take.

A day passed, and Ban Ci had reached halfway. At this pace, in two or three days, she should reach the end, by which time her spirit force would undergo metamorphosis, satisfying the conditions for ascension to Moon Jade, allowing her to ascend at any time.

This journey, albeit time-consuming, was merely traveling, and the reward was a piece of Phoenix Sky Blue Crystal, which was fairly good.

Another day passed, and Ban Ci had reached over eighty steps, in line with Lu Ye's calculations.

However, upon reaching this point, the pressure Ban Ci endured obviously increased significantly, often requiring a long rest before she could muster the strength to move to the next step.

At a certain moment, Lu Ye suddenly noticed Ban Ci's body trembling slightly, realizing the situation seemed dire; she appeared to have reached her limit.

Upon closer observation, her clothes were drenched with sweat, clinging closely to her body, revealing alluring curves. Lu Ye had long known of her attractive figure but hadn't realized she was so enticing.

Unable to resist, he glanced a few more times, a warmth spreading in his heart, his gaze even becoming aggressive.

As if sensing his gaze, Ban Ci's body trembled even more violently.

No, this is not right!

Lu Ye suddenly became alert.

Though usually, when encountering a pretty or attractively figured female cultivator, he would glance a few more times, it was merely looking. Everyone has their aesthetic preferences, and seeing someone or something that fits one's aesthetic and gazing more is normal; it's instinct.

But never had Lu Ye ever harbored any sordid intentions.

Yet just now, he actually gave rise to some inappropriate thoughts.

Ban Ci the cause? Lu Ye vaguely felt it might not be the case; he wanted to withdraw his gaze, but a voice deep within hindered him, making his gaze more aggressive, like a leech firmly gripping Ban Ci's alluring figure, his mind filled with fanciful imagery.

Lu Ye hurriedly steadied his mind, examining himself.

No anomalies were found!

It seemed everything just followed the dictates of his inner self.

But this was obviously wrong, undeniably something was influencing him.

He had his Talent Tree within him. If any strange external force invaded him, the Talent Tree would react.

Until this point, he had only heard Bai Lu's singing in the Merfolk Territory, which somewhat impaired his rationality. Yet, that was the mystique of the merfolk's song, not something the Talent Tree could resolve; ultimately, he relied on his strong willpower to break free from Bai Lu's song's influence.

But this time, the situation was completely different. He knew the thoughts emerging in his mind were wrong, yet the more he tried to restrain them, the harder it became to escape, seemingly urgently wanting to immerse himself and promptly act upon it.

It could be said that the force affecting him this time was more terrifying than Bai Lu's song.

It's chilling.

Since there were no anomalies within his body, the problem was not within him. With this in mind, Lu Ye quickly examined his own Divine Sea.

As his psyche spirit body manifested, Lu Ye was slightly startled, finding a pink mist drifting within his Divine Sea without knowing when it had appeared.

Moreover, the mist kept expanding along with the changes in his thoughts. The more he tried to control those inappropriate thoughts, the faster the pink mist expanded, seemingly intent on engulfing his Divine Sea.

As the mist expanded, he found those thoughts becoming increasingly wild!

"Fellow Daoist Li!" Ban Ci's voice suddenly rang out from the staircase, trembling, as if enduring something with great effort.

Lu Ye raised his gaze abruptly, seeing that Ban Ci had unbeknownst to him turned around to face him, her face flushed alarmingly red, her fists clenched tightly with her nails embedded into her palms, blood streaming.

Lu Ye could tell at a glance that she was facing the same dilemma as he was, but her willpower was clearly as strong as his, otherwise she would have already succumbed to the constantly emerging chaotic thoughts in her mind.

It wasn't Ban Ci's doing!

Lu Ye initially thought Ban Ci had done something in secret, but seeing her in this state, he realized he was mistaken.

But if it wasn't Ban Ci, then where did the issue arise?

Before Lu Ye could ask, Ban Ci had already given the answer: "Great Lust Demon Spider!"

"What?" Lu Ye was suspicious and uncertain.

Ban Ci closed her eyes, her chest heaving violently: "The Great Lust Demon Spider we killed wasn't all of them; there's an even stronger one. It might have been hiding here all along or followed us here secretly. We have to find it and kill it to escape, otherwise..."

She didn't say what would happen otherwise, but Lu Ye knew the outcome wouldn't be good.

But how could there be a Great Lust Demon Spider here? He hadn't detected any abnormalities at all.

As he surveyed the surroundings, Lu Ye was shocked to notice that the cavern was now filled with white spider silk, crisscrossing and weaving throughout the cave. Looking back, he saw that the entrance where he and Ban Ci had come in was covered with a web.

It was almost unbelievable; although he'd been observing Ban Ci's situation for the past two days, he hadn't relaxed his vigilance. Yet, he had no idea when all these spider silks and webs appeared.

Lu Ye had a sense of foreboding. No matter if the Great Lust Demon Spider was originally hidden here or had followed them secretly, it surely possessed immense power, likely being a Moon Jade star beast. His complete unawareness of its presence indicated its formidable strength.

Suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind, Lu Ye raised his hand and drew the Boulder Mountain Saber, slashing it down towards the web behind him.

The long saber descended, and to Lu Ye's amazement, the web that didn't seem particularly sturdy was completely impervious to the attack. Even with the Divine Sharp Edge Spirit Runes empowered Boulder Mountain Saber, he couldn't sever it, and the web's adhesive strength firmly held onto the saber.

Lu Ye's spirit force surged around him as he crazily channeled it into the saber, igniting a violent flame in an instant.

The web remained intact, further convincing Lu Ye that the Great Lust Demon Spider hiding in the shadows was a Moon Jade level star beast. Just the web it spun was so resilient, incomparable to the ones spun by those Demon Spiders he had slain earlier.

The sound of the air being sliced was heard as several strands of spider silk suddenly flew out of the web, coiling towards Lu Ye. His heart skipped a beat as he quickly retreated.

The Boulder Mountain Saber, however, was left on the web, soon covered by spider silk, and the blade could no longer be seen.

This was the first time a combat cultivator like Lu Ye had ever lost his weapon, but in that situation, had he not abandoned the saber, he would have been ensnared by the web.

Spider silk attacked from all sides, and Lu Ye was dodging in utter disarray.

His situation was far from optimistic. On one hand, he was battling various chaotic thoughts deep in his heart, and the more he resisted, the more fiercely they retaliated. On the other hand, he had to evade the harassment of the spider silk and search for the Great Lust Demon Spider's whereabouts.

In a matter of moments, Lu Ye felt the struggle was becoming too much for him to handle.

With the Insight Spirit Runes empowered, Lu Ye couldn't even spot a Spectral Shadow, let alone the Great Lust Demon Spider.

In this situation, he could use the weapon control he left outside the cave and activate the Void Spirit Runes to escape, but if he left, the Boulder Mountain Saber would be lost, and leaving Ban Ci here alone would lead to her certain death.

Ban Ci's situation was worse; though she was also avoiding the harassment of the spider silk, the swirling desires in her heart were clearly having a significant impact on her, so it wasn't long before a strand of spider silk ensnared one of her hands, worsening the situation. A few more strands wrapped around, and Ban Ci was no longer able to evade, becoming tightly bound hand and foot.

Lu Ye saw at a glance that she was doomed, and in the next moment, Ban Ci was likely to meet her end.

But what puzzled Lu Ye was that after binding Ban Ci, the hidden Great Lust Demon Spider didn't seem intent on taking her life.

And judging by Ban Ci's expression, she didn't appear overly panicked.

Her eyes had become extremely mesmerizing, like spring water, yet her expression was one of extreme shame and anger. But the moment she was completely bound, the shame and anger vanished, replaced by a look of determination, as if she had made a resolute decision.

"Li Taibai, do you know why it doesn't kill us?" Ban Ci suddenly spoke.

"I don't know!" Lu Ye dodged the spider silk's harassment coming from all directions. Ban Ci's question was also something he was puzzled by; at this moment, if the Great Lust Demon Spider wanted to kill Ban Ci, it could do so with ease, and Lu Ye could feel that the spider silk harassing him was only trying to imprison him without any intent to harm or kill.

The hidden Great Lust Demon Spider bore no intent of murder.

"Because it wants to consume our Essence Blood!" Ban Ci explained.

"It could just kill us and still consume it!" Lu Ye retorted amid his busyness.

"It's different!" Ban Ci shook her head. "This is a Moon Jade level Great Lust Demon Spider. Ordinary Essence Blood doesn't entice it much. What it wants is Essence Blood from those emotionally driven to the utmost pinnacle, in the most fervent states of mind. That's what it craves. Especially since both of us are in the Constellation Late Stage, which is immensely attractive to it. Now it hides in the shadows, and with our abilities, we can't find it. Until it gets what it wants, it won't easily reveal itself!"