Sage of Humanity-Chapter 429 - 427 Zijin Sect
In just ten days, over twenty sect residences of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge faction within the Core Circle were breached, averaging about two per day.
Some sects, in order to reduce the loss of personnel, would retreat en masse to the Nine Provinces when Lu Ye arrived, taking with them everything they could, but the enhancements granted by the Heaven’s Augury Pillar could not be taken away and were all plundered by Lu Ye.
There were also sects that resisted desperately, but after Lu Ye killed his way in and out several times, causing heavy losses in manpower, they finally recognized the reality.
Now in the Spirit Stream battlefield, truly no one can restrain Lu Yiye!
All the sects of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge in the entire Spirit Stream battlefield, whether 1st grade, 2nd grade, or 3rd grade, were like girls stripped of their clothes, lying at his mercy, for him to ravage and take from as he wished.
It was only at this moment that the powerhouses of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge began to realize in terror that when someone becomes strong enough, they really can do whatever they want!
And riding on the momentum stirred up by Lu Ye, many Haotian Alliance sects were also getting restless; for a time, there were undercurrents swirling within the battlefield, within the Core Circle, indicating the imminent outbreak of a staggering war.
In the sky, Lu Ye ended the communication with his Second Senior Sister, his brows deeply furrowed.
These ten days of relentless activity brought him enormous gains. Not only did he plunder a great deal every time he broke through a Ten Thousand Demons Ridge residence, but the loot he collected from killing those Core Circle cultivators was also immense.
However, he had a faint feeling that if he continued this way, something was likely to go wrong. The greatest possibility was that the Core Circle would descend into complete chaos, at which point neither Ten Thousand Demons Ridge nor Haotian Alliance members would have good days ahead.
Therefore, he specifically reached out to his Second Senior Sister, sharing his concerns.
Shui Yuan didn’t say much, only telling him to follow his heart and act with a clear conscience.
Ahead, a sect’s residence was shrouded in the light of a big array; according to the ten-part map, it belonged to a 2nd grade sect called the Zijin Sect.
Liu Guang veered, thunderously landing outside the array’s light screen.
At this moment, an elder with white hair and beard, his face ruddy, stood serenely outside the light screen, exuding an amiable aura that felt very warm.
Gazing at the youth who descended from the sky, landing before him, the elder smiled slightly, "Are you the friend from Righteous Blood Sect, Yiye?"
Lu Ye’s hand rested on the handle of his blade as he looked up at him.
He could see at a glance that this old man wasn’t a Spirit Stream Realm cultivator; with his advanced age, he must be at least in the True Lake Realm!
Throughout these ten days of relentless killing, the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators he had killed were not only from the Spirit Stream Realm. Several sects even dispatched Cloud River-True Lake Realm powerhouses, because relying solely on Spirit Stream Realm cultivators, they couldn’t defend their residences, and they had no choice but to call upon stronger forces from their sects.
Of course, whether Cloud River or True Lake, once they entered the Spirit Stream battlefield, subject to the suppression and balance of Heaven’s Augury, the strongest power they could display was at most 9th Heaven.
It must be said that these Cloud River-True Lake Realm powerhouses indeed gave Lu Ye quite a bit of trouble. Three days prior in a fierce battle, Lu Ye had to kill his way through the sect’s residence not once but five times, decisively shattering the opponent’s will to fight.
So now, seeing a white-haired old man, Lu Ye was no longer surprised.
His sharp gaze swept over the old man’s vital points, secretly calculating how many strikes it would take to kill him if he were to suddenly attack.
The elder’s expression visibly stiffened, and he quickly said, "Young friend Yiye, please be at ease. I am waiting here today not to cause you trouble, but to discuss a potential deal with you."
Lu Ye remained silent, his gaze lifting slightly to look behind the elder, at the more than a hundred figures within the light screen of the big array.
The elder let out a chuckle, "The young ones are only concerned for my safety, hence the close watch. You have no need to worry. As long as I don’t give the order, they won’t do anything to you. This is not the place for a conversation; if you trust this old man, please follow me."
As he spoke, the elder summoned his Flying Spirit Artifact and flew off into the distance.
Lu Ye glanced at the old man, then at the more than a hundred people inside the light screen of the big array. His hand, which had been stroking the handle of his blade, loosened slightly, and he followed the elder with his weapon control.
After a short while, they landed on a mountain peak some ten miles away from the sect’s residence.
With Insight Spirit Runes enhancing his eyes, Lu Ye checked the surroundings; there was no ambush and no trace of any formation.
With one hand behind his back, the elder stood on the peak, looking down at the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge territory covered beneath him. He then said leisurely, "The view here is quite nice, would you like to see it together, young friend?"
This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.
Lu Ye stepped forward, standing not far beside him, looking down below.
"What you should see in the eyes of a young friend is plenty of merit and wealth, but what I see in the eyes of an old man is the outcome of several generations, even more than a decade of hard work by my Zijin Sect, as well as the future of my Zijin Sect." The elder spoke slowly, "Of course, you and I belong to different camps, standing on different stands, naturally what we see will differ."
"Speak plainly!"
Lu Ye said.
The elder nodded and continued, "Since you are a straightforward person, the old man will not beat around the bush. From the time of the Xuanqing Palace’s stance to today, in these ten days, there have been twenty-three forces of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge that you have destroyed, and several hundred cultivators from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge have died by your hands. Admittedly, with the strength and foundation you have shown so far, the sects in the Core Circle might not be able to stop your slaughter even if we old folks make a move, if you wish, you can just attack one sect after another, breaking through all the strongholds of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge in the Core Circle!"
This is the reality that the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side needs to face now; if Lu Ye really wanted to, not a single force of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge could keep its stronghold!
"Say ’but’!"
The elder felt somewhat helpless due to Lu Ye’s attitude, so he could only continue, "But have you considered what would happen if it really came to that?"
Without waiting for Lu Ye to speak, the elder answered himself, "If it really comes to that, then there will be countless Heaven rank cultivators in the Core Circle without worries about their rear. They don’t need to defend their already destroyed strongholds; they can join forces to attack other Haotian Alliance strongholds. If a hundred people can’t take it down, then two hundred, if two hundred can’t, then three hundred... There will be a time when it will be taken down. Observing your actions, you are not the kind of person who acts recklessly and should be able to foresee this outcome. Of course, if you also kill all the enemies within the stronghold while taking it down, then naturally there is no hidden danger."
The elder stated methodically while Lu Ye listened with an expressionless face.
What the old man said was precisely what Lu Ye had been worried about these days.
Ever since he entered the Core Circle, he had been variously targeted by the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side. Before ascending to 9th Heaven, he had resolved to retaliate with interest against all those who targeted him once he reached 9th Heaven!
But after advancing to 9th Heaven and actually doing it, he realized that he had oversimplified the situation.
The elder was right; for every stronghold of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge he breached, an additional hidden danger would arise in the Core Circle unless he killed all the enemies upon taking a stronghold.
But that was impossible. With Lu Ye’s fearsome record now public, the cultivators of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge forces simply didn’t dare to defend their strongholds and directly confront him. The most likely scenario was that whenever Lu Ye arrived somewhere, the cultivators of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge would abandon their strongholds and retreat to the Nine Provinces to conserve their strength.
Hence, for every additional stronghold of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge he occupied, the hidden danger grew.
Once these risks accumulated to the limit, they would definitely erupt, engulfing the entire Core Circle in war, and the undistracted Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators would definitely band together to attack the Haotian Alliance’s strongholds.
It was precisely this concern that had led him to send a message to Second Senior Sister Shui Yuan before, wanting to ask how he should proceed next, but unfortunately, Shui Yuan didn’t give him clear guidance.
"Of course, if you only care about your own satisfaction and do not consider the adverse consequences that the Haotian Alliance may face in the future, then consider it as if the old man had said nothing. My Zijin Sect can’t stop you, and even though the old man is of the True Lake, he is not a match for you in the Spirit Stream battlefield. You can kill me and then take over the territory of the Zijin Sect. This old skeleton of mine should be worth a few hundred points of merit."
Could Lu Ye disregard the adverse consequences that the Haotian Alliance might face in the future?
Of course, that was impossible.
When his identity as a disciple of the Righteous Blood Sect was exposed, it was the many sects of the Haotian Alliance who relayed protection all the way, ensuring his safety. On his previous trip to the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest, it was the cultivators of the Haotian Alliance who protected him along the way, giving him enough time and energy to stimulate the Fire Phoenix Spirit Runes, breaking through the blockade of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators, and killing his way into the Ten Thousand Poisons Forest.
As a member of the Haotian Alliance, no matter what, he had to consider the pros and cons of matters from the Alliance’s perspective. How can people of the same camp fight against another camp if they are not united and of one mind?
If an action could benefit oneself but put the entire camp into deep trouble, then it was absolutely not to be done; otherwise, it would be difficult for disciples of the Righteous Blood Sect to gain a foothold in the Nine Provinces in the future.
He was now nominally the fifth senior brother of the Righteous Blood Sect cultivators but actually the eldest senior brother, and his actions naturally had to consider his junior brothers and sisters more.
"If the young friend does not take action to kill the old man, then the old man will continue speaking." Seeing how Lu Ye reacted, the old man was greatly relieved. Knowing that Lu Ye was listening, he finally relaxed the tension in his heart.
To be honest, even though he appeared calm on the surface, he was actually quite nervous inside. After all, standing next to Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer required a great deal of courage, especially since the youth was full of vigor and strong—it would not be surprising if one word set him off, and a single strike came hurtling down.
It’s not strange for hot-blooded youths to do something unbecoming.
Now it seems that Lu Yiye understood the situation quite well.
"Given the current situation, it is you, the young friend, who reigns supreme as the strong, and there is only one rule in the cultivation world: the one with the bigger fist makes the rules. The destruction of the territories of twenty-three sects has already established your invincible position in the Spirit Stream battlefield; this is something even Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cannot deny."
