Sage of Humanity

"Of course, there are always exceptions. In previous God Sea struggles, such situations have occurred before, so when the number of participants reduces to a certain point, the Reincarnation Tree will give you some revelations periodically," Yang Qing added.

The Reincarnation Tree has always upheld the principle of not participating in the struggles among the major domains. It merely provides a battleground for the top cultivators of the Divine Sea Realm from those domains and offers tangible benefits to the winners.

Initially, there were no such revelations. However, several God Sea struggles faced the unexpected situation mentioned by Yang Qing, where certain individuals were naturally adept at concealing themselves, allowing them to take advantage of opportunities.

Only a minority possesses such abilities, naturally causing dissatisfaction among the majority of races. Their strong cultivators fought intensely inside, gaining nothing, not even a hair, and instead becoming stepping stones for others. Understandably, this felt unbalanced, leading to strong demands and suggestions from various strong figures of different races for the Reincarnation Tree to modify some rules. While it still does not directly intervene in the conflicts at this level, it can provide some revelations at certain times.

"Revelations?" Lu Ye was puzzled.

"It will guide you to the exact locations of certain individuals ranked at the front and the back in your minds, making it impossible for anyone to hide!"

Lu Ye asked curiously, "There are rankings as well?"

Yang Qing smiled slightly, "Of course, there are rankings! The place where the God Sea struggle takes place is called the Taichu Realm, rumored to be a wild land at the beginning of the world, and also the ancestral land where the Reincarnation Tree was nurtured. Utilizing its own powers, the Reincarnation Tree integrated this ancestral land into itself. Every hundred years, it will produce a large amount of Spiritual Energy that can help those in the Divine Sea Realm advance to the Constellation stage. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but regardless, to those in the Divine Sea Realm, it's a big piece of meat. The more one eats, the higher their ranking!"

Lu Ye understood. Although there would eventually be a hundred positions available, this matter could not be evenly distributed like raindrops; determining by ranking makes sense.

However, the revelations from the Reincarnation Tree would be unfriendly to those ranked at the top and bottom.

Because if everyone wants a bigger piece of the pie, they must first eliminate those at the top, making higher rankings more likely to incur attacks.

As for those ranked at the bottom... that must mean they lack strength. Eliminating them means one fewer competitor, a calculation everyone understands.

No one would likely want to be marked by the Reincarnation Tree at that time.

"How are the rankings determined?" Lu Ye vaguely guessed but needed to ask to clarify.

"Naturally, it's based on defeating enemies—the more you defeat, the higher your ranking!"

Quite simple and straightforward.

"Besides the ranking, there is another rule to remember: every so often, the Taichu Realm's range will shrink until eventually, it becomes an area only ten thousand miles in circumference."

This rule also directly encourages battles and competition among cultivators.

The Taichu Realm is vast; if it always maintained such a large range, it would be hard to determine the top hundred spots, but continuously shrinking it increases the chances of cultivators encountering and competing with one another.

Until, eventually, within the ten thousand mile range, enemies would be everywhere!

"There are two standards to conclude the God Sea struggle: one is time, lasting three months. When the three-month timeframe is due, it ends. If there are still more than a hundred people alive, then they select the top hundred, and those beyond are eliminated. The other standard is the number of participants. If the timeframe hasn't ended but there are only a hundred participants left, it will also end immediately."

Lu Ye silently nodded, having these two standards seemed quite reasonable.

"The Taichu Realm is also rich in resources, like some exotic flowers and rare herbs useful for Alchemy. Because the environment there is the closest to the wild land at the beginning of the world, things growing inside are basically unavailable outside. If you have the chance, you can collect some; they might come in handy later. Of course, Spirit Jade and Spirit Crystals are also available. When you advance to Constellation, you'll need these things. If possible, gather some in the Taichu Realm for future preparation."

"I've noted it down." Lu Ye nodded.

With this exchange with Yang Qing, the truth of the God Sea struggle unfolded before Lu Ye, making him not fear but eager instead.

Most of the cultivators from various races intending to participate in the God Sea struggle have such a mindset. They are leading figures in their respective domains, gathering here as a true assembly of heroes, desiring to know if they are stronger than others and if there are others stronger than them.

True timidity, however, is rare.

From the information gathered so far, the God Sea struggle within the Taichu Realm presents a significant test for every Divine Sea Realm participant, yet simultaneously, it provides an opportunity.

Not to mention, the many exotic flowers and rare herbs found within the Taichu Realm are enticing, and obtaining Spirit Jade and Spirit Crystals—unattainable for those in the Divine Sea Realm outside—becomes possible here, allowing them to prepare ahead for the future.

The opening of the God Sea struggle is still several days away because the Taichu Realm has not yet activated. This is also why many cultivators from different domains have gathered here.

Opportunities like this, which assemble many strong individuals from across the stellar space, are rare. Strong cultivators from various major domains also take this opportunity to connect with each other and discuss potential collaborations.

Some set up stalls, with people from virtually every domain doing so. They bring local specialties from their domains to exchange for things unavailable in their own domains.

Lu Ye followed Yang Qing around, listening to him introduce different races and their characteristics, noting areas that need caution, and watching Yang Qing haggle with stall owners at each booth, feeling his horizons broadened.

Yang Qing probably also realized his prior missteps, so after Lu Ye completed his trials and returned, he intended to supplement his knowledge of the starry space with some common knowledge.

At this moment, he was just like a diligent elder taking a junior out for tempering and training.

Lu Ye felt an all-encompassing care and earnest advice...

Of course, it would be better if he didn't go bargaining with others.

Just like now, Yang Qing squatted in front of a vendor's stall, playing with a strange item that shimmered with a halo, and was seriously engaging in a war of words with the vendor.

Lu Ye stood in the distance, eyeing his nose, nose to heart, putting on a facade of not knowing Yang Qing.

"Fellow Daoist, this Glazed Righteous Heart Chalice is a masterpiece by the strongest Artifact Refiner in our domain. It has the effect of clearing the mind and understanding intentions. The price of five thousand spirit jades is really not high." The vendor was painstakingly persuasive.

"Three thousand!" Yang Qing retorted resolutely.

"How about this, goods are sold to those with fate. I can see Fellow Daoist really likes this item, so four thousand spirit jades, I can't go any lower. If I go lower, I can't explain it later. I'm just selling on behalf of someone else."

"Three thousand!" Yang Qing stuck to his price firmly, with no intention of bargaining like a businessman.

"Three thousand five!" The vendor looked troubled.

"Just three thousand!"

The vendor sighed: "Fine, fine, since it's like this, then three thousand it is!"

Yang Qing tossed the Glazed Righteous Heart Chalice aside, patted his backside, and stood up: "Don't want it!"

The vendor was dumbstruck. If it weren't for this being the Reincarnation Tree, he would have grabbed Yang Qing for a proper debate.

Lu Ye, however, was not surprised, because along the way, Yang Qing had pulled this trick many times.

According to Yang Qing, he was just practicing his bargaining skills, with no real intention of buying or selling.

Moreover... he didn't have much spirit jade on him. He couldn't afford even three hundred, let alone three thousand.

So, never mind that he's of the Dragon Race; he's just a penniless dragon.

After reuniting with Lu Ye, Yang Qing didn't forget to admonish him: "In the future, when bargaining with others, you have to be bold and thick-skinned. Don't be stingy with haggling; otherwise, you'll be the one losing out!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Lu Ye continuously nodded, putting on a demeanor of agreeing with whatever Yang Qing said.

On the platform, there were many strong cultivators like Yang Qing who wandered around with their juniors to broaden their horizons. Mostly they were just browsing, though some were genuinely doing business, for opportunities to trade with other domains were rare.

Lu Ye had some local specialties from various races in his possession, but those things were merely obtained from the Tree World before, so they couldn't stand out in such an environment, losing much of his interest.

Coming to another stall, Yang Qing squatted down once more while Lu Ye habitually distanced himself.

Being around such an elder didn't have many downsides, except you could easily earn people's grudges. The vendors couldn't do much to Yang Qing, but they could certainly instruct their juniors to target Lu Ye.

That stall had several treasures, each one glowing with vibrant colors, obviously extraordinary in quality. Yang Qing casually picked up the most dazzling one and said, "One piece of spirit jade!"

Even Lu Ye was shocked. Although Yang Qing's previous offers were somewhat reasonable, that single spirit jade... was a bit too much.

Lu Ye thought to himself if he were the vendor, he wouldn't even pay attention to Yang Qing.

But to his surprise, the vendor appeared troubled, and after Yang Qing shot him a fierce look, the vendor gritted his teeth and said, "Deal!"

Lu Ye was dumbfounded, utterly confused about what had happened in this world.

Even if he lacked worldly experience, he knew such a treasure couldn't be bought with just one spirit jade; this vendor... must have something seriously wrong with their head?

What left him more astounded came next. Yang Qing said, "I don't have any spirit jade. I'll owe it first!"

Saying this, he stood up and left with the item, yet the vendor made no attempt to stop him, only gazed at Yang Qing's retreating figure with immense resentment. Beside the vendor, a Divine Sea Realm junior also looked on in disbelief.

Meeting Lu Ye's extremely puzzled gaze, Yang Qing smiled slightly, "He had previously offended me. This is just a small lesson for him."

Lu Ye finally understood, but quickly noticed something amiss, because the Divine Sea Realm next to the vendor was glaring at him with eyes full of rage, as if trying to imprint his appearance into his soul.