Sage of Humanity-Chapter 306 - 304: Veteran Level 9

Lu Ye’s initial plan was to wait until he reached Level 9 before leaving the base of the Surreptitious Palace, also taking the opportunity to lie low.

But the Hundred Arrays Pagoda mentioned by Zhao Li was too tempting, and he couldn’t hold back.

Having enemies lurking in the shadows, Lu Ye was not afraid, as long as the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge acted within the generally accepted rules, they really couldn’t do anything to him.

What he feared was that Ten Thousand Demons Ridge might take desperate actions.

It wasn’t until dusk that the vague feeling of being spied on finally disappeared.

No matter how meticulously Ten Thousand Demons Ridge set their arrangements, it was impossible for them to monitor him at all times; there were instances when they would lose track of him.

Lu Ye commanded the Giant Armor to descend from the fleeing light and flew into a forest.

After starting a bonfire, Giant Armor took out several pieces of beast meat from his storage sack, gave one piece to Amber, and then grilled the rest over the fire.

He went about these tasks with practiced ease, clearly having done this often while following Sima Yang.

Soon, sizzling hot oil and the aroma of the meat filled the air, and Giant Armor even pulled out some spices and salt from somewhere, sprinkling them over the meat.

The smell immediately became more intense.

Before the beast meat was fully cooked, Giant Armor began to devour it eagerly, but not before he gave Lu Ye a piece as well.

Lu Ye wasn’t particular, and ate heartily with him.

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This way of eating meat heartily undoubtedly pleased Giant Armor greatly, and over these days, his relationship with Lu Ye had grown much closer.

Lu Ye discovered a problem: apart from Yiyi, it seemed that everyone else in his group was a foodie.

He and Amber didn’t need mention, they were total elixir pill consumers, currently using up forty to fifty pills a day.

Giant Armor didn’t used to take elixir pills much, because Sima Yang wouldn’t give them to him. His current level of cultivation was all achieved through meditating and absorbing Spiritual Energy on his own.

Now that he was following Lu Ye, Lu Ye certainly wasn’t as stingy as Sima Yang, and provided plenty of elixir pills. Giant Armor began to freely consume them, although he didn’t use too many because consuming too many pills would affect the purity of his spirit force.

After a satisfying meal for two people and one tiger, Lu Ye took out the Scale Armor, absorbed a blood vein from it himself, and then allowed Amber and the Giant Armor to each absorb one as well.

Previously, he wouldn’t dare to do this; every time, he would place the Scale Armor in the Spirit Gathering Array during his training session in the training room, letting the blood Qi vaporize and absorb it slowly.

But as his cultivation advanced and his soul power increased, consuming it directly was not an issue anymore.

Amber was the same; since returning from Xianyuan City, absorbing the blood veins in the Scale Armor no longer affected him harshly as before, which showed that the enhancements in soul power brought many unexpected benefits.

Lu Ye estimated that if he were to enter the Mirage Realm again now, the aftereffects would not be as severe as before. Previously, after each emergence from the Mirage Realm, he would suffer from splitting headaches.

However, recently, he was so engrossed in studying the Array Path that he hadn’t gone to the Mirage Realm to temper himself.

After putting out the bonfire, Giant Armor sat down to cultivate, while Lu Ye, holding a book, studied by the moonlight. Amber lay next to him, already snoring softly.

Athin figure stealthily approached from a hundred paces away, almost completely merging with the surroundings; his trail was unseen and even his breath and vitality were blocked by some mysterious force, leaking nothing. His body was extremely light, even stepping on leaves wouldn’t make a sound.

His speed was not slow, almost the speed of a person walking normally, obviously very confident in his own concealing abilities.

Previously, Ten Thousand Demons Ridge lost track of Lu Ye’s whereabouts, knowing only that he disappeared nearby without knowing the exact location. Now, many people from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge were secretly searching, all of them spectral cultivators, as only they were most suited for this job.

Hidden in the darkness, the spectral cultivator eyed the young figure ahead, and even his long-stilled heart couldn’t help but ripple with excitement.

Because if he could kill this young man named Lu Yiye, then he might have a chance to reach Cloud River!

Last time, to get Righteous Blood Sect excluded, Ten Thousand Demons Ridge and other big sects jointly issued an extremely generous bounty, which was enough for any cultivator to enjoy for a lifetime. This time, although the bounty was not as substantial, it was enough for him to buy hundreds of barrier-breaking pills. With so many pills, he could open the subsequent spiritual orifices and fulfill the requirements to ascend to Cloud River.

He had waited for this day for a full thirty years!

Within the Spirit Stream Realm, there exists a very special group known as the old Level 9 cultivators!

This term is neither derogatory nor commendatory; it is just an apt description.

Not every cultivator in the Spirit Stream Realm is qualified to ascend to Cloud River. Opening spiritual orifices later becomes increasingly difficult, and everyone reaches their limit.

Out of 360 spiritual orifices in the human body, only 10 percent of those in the Spirit Stream Realm can open all the orifices, and these individuals are undoubtedly the most talented amongst cultivators.

The remaining ninety percent don’t have a way to advance to Cloud River? Naturally, there is.

Once a cultivator reaches Level 9, as long as they acquire a Heaven Rank technique and subsequently open up to 240 spiritual orifices, switching their original cultivation technique to the corresponding Heaven Rank technique, they can choose to advance to Cloud River.

In other words, to advance to Cloud River, a cultivator needs to have opened at least 240 spiritual orifices, and no fewer.

However, inevitably, many people are unable to open that many spiritual orifices. Some reach their personal limit after opening just over 200 orifices, like this skinny spectral cultivator, who has only managed to open 223 orifices, still seventeen short of the minimum requirement to advance to Cloud River.

And he has been stuck at the Spirit Stream Level 9 for thirty years.

Those whose cultivation has stagnated at Spirit Stream Level 9 for many years, unable to open further spiritual orifices to advance to Cloud River, are what are known as veteran Level 9 cultivators.

They are a very special group within the Spirit Stream realm.

The strength of these people cannot often be defined simply by Level 9, as almost every one of them can display power beyond their level.

Many sects have such individuals, and if you see aged cultivators in the Spirit Stream battlefield, they are generally these so-called veteran Level 9 cultivators.

Cultivation stagnant and unable to continue cultivating, they look for ways to enhance their own strength, so these veteran Level 9 cultivators often possess intriguing methods not available to ordinary cultivators.

Take this spectral cultivator, for example, setting aside everything else, his Path of Concealment has almost reached a transcendent state—even those spectral cultivators in the Core Circle who have switched to Heaven Rank techniques mostly can’t match him.

Righteous Blood Sect’s Lu Yiye specializes in battling beyond his level. Atop the Golden Light Peak, he had once demonstrated this talent. During the previous assault on the Fenghua Courtyard compound, he managed to sever Moon Charm’s arm with his Level 8 cultivation in two slashes, taking the Great Array Jade Cluster.

This news was not a secret, and the spectral cultivator had naturally heard of it.

However, battling beyond one’s level is not exclusive to Lu Ye. Many geniuses in the cultivation world possess this ability, and the spectral cultivator group thrives on fighting stronger opponents, as they seldom engage in direct combat. Given the right opportunity, not to mention battling beyond one’s level, even two or three levels higher would not be an issue.

Thus, this spectral cultivator, who had stealthily approached, had a very simple task at the moment, which was to sneak up behind Lu Ye, suddenly strike, deliver a fatal blow, and bring back his head for a reward!

The physique cultivator named Giant Armor might be a bit of trouble. Once he revealed his presence, that big fellow would definitely attack him, but he was confident in his speed. As long as he could block Giant Armor’s first strike, he would be able to escape effortlessly.

It was risky, but compared to the rewards, what did this risk count for? To advance to Cloud River, it was a necessary risk to take.

The plan was perfect.

However, when he got within three meters of Lu Ye, his figure suddenly stiffened.

Because in that instant, Lu Ye, who was reading a book, suddenly closed the pages and looked up in his direction. Their eyes met, and the spectral cultivator felt a chill from head to toe.

Had he been discovered?

Impossible!

How could an insignificant Level 8 combat cultivator possibly detect his presence? He was fully confident in his concealment skills, having once assassinated a 7th Heaven level cultivator with these skills. He still remembered the incredulous look of disbelief in that man’s eyes as he died.

If even a 7th Heaven level couldn’t detect him, how could a mere Level 8?

No, he hadn’t been exposed; there must be something unusual behind him that had drawn Lu Yiye’s gaze.

He made that judgment because not only did Lu Yiye look up at him, but the Giant Armor sitting in meditation beside him also opened his eyes and looked his way, and even the demon beast by Lu Yiye’s side had raised its head and stared blankly in his direction.

With three pairs of eyes focusing on him, the spectral cultivator felt a mountainous pressure...

If he had been a typical young man, he might not have been able to withstand such pressure, but having cultivated for many years, what kind of storm hadn’t he seen? Thus, even though he was taken aback, he remained unperturbed. He immensely suppressed his own aura, pushing his concealment skills to the extreme and slowly shifted a step to the side.

What horrified him happened next—the three pairs of eyes turned following his movement.

Lu Ye was particularly intrigued, propping his chin with one hand, the other hand resting on the Boulder Mountain Saber at his waist, his fingers lightly tapping the scabbard.

This completely flustered the old spectral cultivator.

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Being discovered by Lu Ye might have been forgivable as maybe that man was extraordinarily gifted.

But why did Giant Armor, that beefy savage brute, have such strong perception? And what about that demon beast, why the hell? Were his decades of Netherworld spectral cultivation so easily dismissed?

An adjacent, half-extinguished bonfire crackled softly.

The spectral cultivator’s figure blurred as he lunged towards Lu Ye, now three meters away, but he was met with a bright flash of saber light.

Blood splattered—the spectral cultivator’s chest opened with a gory wound, nearly being cleaved in two. He rapidly pulled back, perfectly embodying the specter cultivator’s essence of fleeing thousands of miles if a strike missed.