Sage of Humanity

Lu Ye raised his hand to catch it, feeling a bit surprised.

From the way the other person walked into the mine without planning to ambush him, openly revealing his presence and offering advice, Lu Ye realized that this person was not belligerent, had a good heart, and seemed not to care much about the Divine Sea struggle.

If it were another cultivator eager for the Divine Sea contest, they certainly wouldn't bother to greet him. Instead, they would conceal their aura and initiate a sneak attack, potentially securing a prize.

Especially considering his cultivation level, to any cultivator entering the Taichu Realm, he is indeed a temptation.

Now, he's even voluntarily offering jade-eating ants to him, which is essentially giving away spirit jade!

Of course, he didn't know that Duu Lang initially regarded him as someone similar to himself, feeling a sense of shared fate.

In such an environment, offering a helping hand to those with shared fate subconsciously evokes a hope that someone might extend a helping hand during one's own time of adversity, though Duu Lang hasn't realized this subtle mindset.

Lu Ye wasn't the type to be pretentious. The item that was given to him was precisely what he needed, so he had no reason to refuse. However, he still wanted to reciprocate, thinking for a moment and saying, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist. Consider this as a gift in return, and please don't refuse!"

He had a few treasures he could offer, one of which was the Void Beast Core obtained from the Insect Race Tree World, but this wasn't suitable for showing due to its ties to the Insect Emperor World. Giving it away could be misinterpreted as preparing for a funeral.

Additionally, there were two short maces from the Loathesome Aphid and the treasure fan from the fat magic cultivator, both spoils from enemy confrontations with decent quality, probably worth some spirit jade if sold.

Lu Ye chose to offer the treasure fan.

He wanted to keep the short maces for later forging of the Boulder Mountain Saber, and the treasure fan was more suited for a magic cultivator, not something he would use. He certainly wouldn't pretend to be a magic cultivator.

With a slight spirit force push, the treasure fan floated towards Duu Lang.

Duu Lang caught it casually, chuckling, thinking Lu Ye was quite a character. As with cultivators from small places like them, there's often a common trait: strong self-respect despite being friendly, leading them to reciprocate when accepting kindness from others.

He wasn't particularly worried. What could a Divine Sea Level 8 cultivator possibly offer?

However, upon closer inspection, he was surprised to find that the quality of the treasure fan was exceptional, suitable for both Divine Sea and Constellation Realm cultivators.

Such an item, if sold lightly, could fetch a considerable amount of spirit jade. As for the exact price, Duu Lang wasn't sure. He was only a Divine Sea cultivator and hadn't ventured into stellar space, so understanding stellar market prices was beyond him.

A perplexing thought flashed across his mind.

Why does a combat cultivator possess an item evidently meant for magic cultivators?

Lu Ye returned to his own pathway with the bag of jade-eating ants, releasing them without needing control. The ants quickly spread over the abundant spirit jade, the sounds of their munching were delightfully pleasant.

Lu Ye didn't idle aimlessly. The ants were fewer in number, meaning the yield of spirit jade would be limited over the twenty or so days available, thus he couldn't waste time. As the jade-eating ants helped gather spirit jade, he continued actively collecting it with his previous methods.

Time passed within the spirit jade vein, two diverging paths, two cultivators from different domains busily attending their own matters, without interfering.

During the excavation, Lu Ye gradually discovered something special.

Among the spirit jade in this mine, something similar yet distinct from spirit jade was present, with deeper hue and more solid texture, containing noticeably richer and purer energy.

Even though Lu Ye had never encountered this before, he recognized what it was.

Spirit Crystal!

Spirit Stone's range includes upper, middle, and lower grades. Spirit jade is ungraded, but above spirit jade lies something superior—spirit crystals, which are more valuable but scarce, almost never seen in stellar space.

The collected spirit jade by Jian Guhong and others totaled nearly ten thousand pieces, but only a few spirit crystals were found, all by chance.

Since this place is a spirit jade vein, the emergence of spirit crystals is expected, and their proportion isn't trivial—an unexpected bounty.

Days swept by again, and while Lu Ye was mining spirit jade, he suddenly felt a perception shift, followed by a resounding hum as if muffled thunder roamed the skies.

In the next moment, Lu Ye sensed a faint force of repulsion from a certain direction.

He realized—this was the shrinking range of the Taichu Realm. Calculating the time, today marked the tenth day since its opening.

If the Taichu Realm were seen as a vast circle, its covered area would gradually shrink with time, eventually confining to a territory roughly a thousand miles in radius—the final grounds for the ultimate confrontation of the remaining domain prodigies.

The intervals of range reduction seem to occur every ten days.

The reason for feeling a slight repulsion is due to the shrinking boundaries. Following the direction of the repulsive force leads toward the center.

Currently, this slight repulsive force is very weak because the shrinking boundaries haven't enveloped the area where this Spirit Jade Vein is located. Once the shrinking boundaries cover this place, the repulsion will become immense, and cultivators won't be able to stay, being pushed forward instead.

Therefore, the area where this Spirit Jade Vein is will be the region covered by the third-time shrinking boundaries of the Taichu Realm!

This was also why Duu Lang previously reminded Lu Ye about only being able to stay here for twenty days or so.

The boundaries have shrunk partially, so the cultivators are naturally more concentrated. However, the area still active in the Taichu Realm is quite large, just slightly better than before.

The doppelganger wandering outside finally made a new discovery two days after the first boundary shrinkage in the Taichu Realm.

Following the sounds of battle, he quickly saw two figures entangled together: a horned Demon Race and a human physique cultivator with vigorous blood Qi, engaged in a fierce battle with a grand scene.

It was apparent that these two had already ignited true fire, adopting a life-and-death stance. Due to their fighting style, every punch connected fiercely and intensely.

The doppelganger concealed his presence and aura, silently observing from the sidelines. But the more he watched, the more he felt something was amiss, as their battlefield rapidly shifted toward his hiding spot.

Had he been exposed?

Lu Ye couldn't understand how he got revealed, since his concealment skills were quite profound, being almost impossible to detect in the Nine Provinces. Yet these prodigious beings from different domains had unexpected abilities beyond common sense.

Lu Ye didn't know who discovered his trail, but now these two evenly matched beings have apparently reached a consensus—to first deal with the sneaky spectator!

This explained why their battlefield subtly shifted toward him.

Being decisive by nature, once knowing he was exposed, there was no need to hide. The sword gourd vibrated, and a torrent of Sword Qi turned into a long river rushing toward the duo.

The physique cultivator and the Demon Race didn't expect Lu Ye to be so bold, but at this point, retreat was not an option. With mutual understanding, they split apart and each mobilized their power, rushing out of the sword stream from the left and right to attack the doppelganger.

At the first exchange, Lu Ye realized these two had substantial foundations. No ordinary Divine Sea Realm could easily break through his sword stream blockade. While partly due to their tough skin, it also showcased their strength.

One-on-one, the doppelganger had confidence in taking down either one.

However, one-on-two proved a bit troublesome. Even unleashing the Blood River might not resolve the battle quickly. The doppelganger, not being the main body, couldn't compare to those Insect Race bodyguards in the hive.

Each of these two was a top-tier Divine Sea Realm from their respective domains.

Of course, the level of cooperation these two, who were just in a life-and-death fight, might achieve together was uncertain. They would certainly guard against each other.

Realizing the troublesome nature of these two, the doppelganger turned and fled.

The physique cultivator and the Demon Race pursued relentlessly, with three figures—one in front, two behind—swiftly traversing the air.

During the pursuit, even as the physique cultivator and Demon Race continually deflected the Sword Qi's harassment, their speed showed no delay at all.

Just when the Demon Race, making a booming show, blocked numerous Sword Qi, a peculiar energy surge suddenly appeared from behind, followed by a formidable aura.

Startled, the Demon Race turned to find an additional figure behind, whose face was eerily similar to the escapee ahead but with a different outfit.

The fugitive was evidently a sword cultivator, but this sudden appearance was a combat cultivator!

They both shared the same cultivation, only at Divine Sea Level 8.

Twins? The Demon Race was confused, but it shouldn't be. Generally, major domains would only have one spot in the Taichu Realm, with two or three spots reserved for top domains. But why would a top domain allow a Divine Sea Level 8 to participate?

No time for more contemplation, as the combat cultivator suddenly appeared, wielding a long saber with Sharpness, cleaving down fiercely.

The Demon Race raised its arms, blood Qi surging for protection!

This slash caused the Demon Race's body to dip sharply but was otherwise unharmed, highlighting its robust defense.

Lu Ye was dissatisfied, thinking that if Lü Yingying were released to bless him, this slash might have achieved something. Even if merely scratching the skin, the Soul Severing Saber's power could have blossomed.

However, without Lü Yingying's blessing aid, relying solely on his Sharpness spirit runes, the performance was disappointing.

The opponents in the Taichu Realm were, after all, not ordinary Divine Sea Realm.