Sage of Humanity

Zhoo Kou is dead, Lu Ye turns his head and looks in a certain direction.

In that direction, a figure suddenly appears, transforming into a streak of light quickly fleeing into the distance.

Looking at that figure, it is surprisingly the female cultivator who had escaped earlier!

The woman had somehow snuck back without being noticed, concealing herself nearby, clearly planning to emulate the scenario of the mantis stalking the cicada, only to be caught by the oriole behind. Hopefully, if Lu Ye and Zhoo Kou fought to both suffer serious injuries, she might scoop them up easily, with twin rewards.

To her surprise, however, the battle was completely one-sided from the start; Zhoo Kou, under the berserk and ruthless suppression of the combat cultivator, couldn't even fight back and was brutally beaten to death!

Moreover, she clearly saw that the combat cultivator had discarded his long saber from the start, using two short mace spirit treasures that hadn't even been refined.

In other words, the combat cultivator hadn't even used his full strength! If he had the long saber in hand, one can only imagine the level of crushing dominance.

The situation undoubtedly shook the female cultivator's psyche. She had previously sensed Lu Ye's strength, which prompted her swift departure, yet an unwillingness lingered, thinking she might seize some opportunistic gains, so she had sneaked back. But upon observation, the combat cultivator's might far exceeded her expectations!

Zhoo Kou's strength was certainly not weak; among the current batch of Divine Sea Realm cultivators, although not top-tier, he was at least mid-level. Yet before the combat cultivator, he was like a child being thrashed.

Had she not seen it with her own eyes, the female cultivator would never believe such a thing could occur in this world.

Where did this freak come from? To her horror, the man is only Divine Sea Level 8!

Hence, when Lu Ye turned his gaze towards her, she dared not hesitate anymore and fled instantly, truly leaving this time. In her three-member squad, the ghost cultivator died mysteriously, Zhoo Kou was brutally crushed—she would not follow her companions' footsteps.

Looking in the direction where the female cultivator escaped, Lu Ye did not pursue.

Mainly because the Boulder Mountain Saber was still underground, he needed to retrieve it; otherwise, if someone else picked it up, he wouldn't have time to cry.

With a flash, he glided to where the Boulder Mountain Saber had fallen. Only a section of the hilt was exposed above the ground; the entire saber body was embedded in the earth, cracks radiating from the long saber's center on the surrounding surface.

Raising his hand, he pulled out the Boulder Mountain Saber, still able to feel its deep heaviness. Previously, he had tried dispersing the black light adhering to the saber's body but failed; however, at this moment, attempting again faced no obstacles.

The essence of the black light was tiny grains of black sand, each fine as dust, yet individually immensely heavy, refined by Zhoo Kou, used to restrain cultivators' blades.

Now that Zhoo Kou is dead, no one controls the black light, making its dispersal not too difficult.

Lu Ye spent a bit of time completely dispersing the black light, restoring the Boulder Mountain Saber to its original appearance, and the black sand was also collected. This thing's quality is evidently not common, could be sold later, or maybe incorporated into the re-casting of the Boulder Mountain Saber, increasing its weight to match his growing strength.

The last time the Boulder Mountain Saber was upgraded was a long time ago. Since Lu Ye ascended to the Divine Sea, his cultivation has advanced rapidly, and the quality of the Boulder Mountain Saber could evolve through merging the Soul Severing Saber within at any time to meet Lu Ye's demands, but the Boulder Mountain Saber's inherent texture has somewhat struggled to keep pace with Lu Ye's cultivation upgrade.

Don't mention anything else, just the weight alone is far from satisfactory.

Lu Ye estimates that once he ascends to Constellation, the current Boulder Mountain Saber will hardly satisfy his cultivation needs, so by then, re-casting will be inevitable.

After a brief delay, Lu Ye swiftly pursued in the direction where the treasure gourd fled.

Previously, many cultivators had already chased after it; no one knows the current situation, but with so many people gathered, yet only one treasure gourd, obtaining it wouldn't be easy, and once fighting breaks out, chaos is inevitable.

During the flight, he simultaneously senses the doppelganger's situation nearby.

The doppelganger is currently lurking in a hidden location about 30 miles away, having set up a big array to conceal its presence. Previously, when nearby cultivators were drawn away by the treasure gourd's phenomenon, it's still challenging to detect traces.

At this moment, the sword gourd at the doppelganger's waist is rhythmically vibrating…

Undoubtedly, the sword gourd originates from the Creation Vine, an affiliated treasure of the supreme treasure, hence when the Creation Vine appears, the sword gourd senses it, guiding the doppelganger towards this side.

But before that, it was merely a direction indicator. Even without such guidance, as long as Lu Ye was nearby, he could see the grand and conspicuous phenomenon, gathering hundreds of cultivators here.

However, after the treasure gourd on the Creation Vine matured and fell off, the sword gourd elicited a different response, as it is rhythmically vibrating now.

Moreover, the doppelganger can obviously feel that the sword gourd faintly seems to want to detach from him, flying forward. However, this tendency is not strong and is easily suppressed by the doppelganger.

Reflecting on the direction in which the treasure gourd fled when it fell, coinciding precisely with the location of his doppelganger, an exhilarating thought surged in Lu Ye's mind.

Could it be that the newly emerged treasure gourd is attempting to fly towards the doppelganger?

Treasure with a spirit, both originating from the Creation Vine, even if their effects differ, are naturally drawn to each other, sharing a kindred source.

Now, with the Creation Vine having concealed itself, the newly emerged treasure gourd is in a state of confusion and lost, naturally gravitating towards a familiar aura!

Truth be told, Lu Ye previously harbored little desire for the treasure gourd. While it is indeed valuable and highly sought after, trying to seize such a valuable treasure under the gaze of hundreds was not just a test of strength.

The reason he remained here was first out of opportunistic curiosity—a rare chance to gain knowledge and insight—and second, to see if there was an opportunity to eliminate some competitors and gain a few more victories. His stance on the treasure gourd was simply go with the flow.

Most cultivators likely shared this sentiment; if luck were on one's side and they obtained the treasure gourd, it would be for the best. Its value was sufficient to cause any cultivator to immediately withdraw from the Taichu Realm and give up the pursuit of the top hundred spots.

Yet the situation has changed now; the treasure gourd has shown signs of connection with his sword gourd, prompting Lu Ye to think more deeply.

Compared to others, his doppelganger undoubtedly holds a significant advantage.

This was something Lu Ye hadn't anticipated before.

But how could he take the treasure gourd from under hundreds of people without leaving any concerns? Forcefully snatching it wouldn't work. Even if he succeeded, he'd become the target of everyone, making survival in the Taichu Realm impossible, leaving him no choice but to exit early. That's not what Lu Ye wanted. He now had some thoughts on the treasure gourd, but he was determined to claim a top hundred spot.

He could only find a way; obviously, if that treasure gourd could fly directly to his doppelganger, that would be perfect. At that point, when everyone was chasing the treasure gourd, the doppelganger could directly teleport it back to Lu Ye, naturally shaking off others. The doppelganger could then activate the Thousand Faces Spirit Runes to change his appearance. Thus, without notice, no one would know that he, Lu Ye, had obtained such a valuable treasure.

But the distance was around thirty miles, and the treasure gourd hadn't flown to the doppelganger yet, suggesting a problem had occurred.

Lu Ye quickly realized the problem. After flying less than sixty miles, he saw hundreds of cultivators forming a large circle in the sky up ahead, with a treasure light darting left and right among them, but all intercepted and blocked. That treasure light was evidently the treasure gourd!

At first glance, it seemed like hundreds of cultivators were united in suppressing the treasure gourd; in reality, it was far from it. While intercepting the treasure gourd, these cultivators were also attacking each other, albeit with restraint, resulting in minimal casualties.

No one wanted to engage in mutual destruction with others, allowing others to reap the benefits.

Moreover, the strange thing was, despite being attracted to the phenomenon caused by the treasure gourd, no one dared touch it.

There was a precedent...

Before Lu Ye arrived, several unsuspecting individuals tried to seize the treasure gourd, but in that instant, they were annihilated by attacks from all directions, their psyche shattered. In such chaos, no one knew who delivered the deadly blows.

Thus, the cultivators opted for this current approach—only intercepting, absolutely avoiding contact!

Every cultivator found this situation troubling. Faced with the valuable treasure, it was impossible not to be moved, but having a life to take it but not to use it was futile.

Nobody knew how long this situation would last, but it certainly couldn't endure much longer because they were roughly in the inner circle of the Taichu Realm. When the specific time limit expired, cultivators would be unable to remain, causing this tight defensive circle to collapse on its own.

Upon Lu Ye's arrival, he did not attract much attention. Currently, most cultivators were distracted by others, so who would pay attention to someone else?

Moreover, Lu Ye did not step forward, just stood observing from a distance, making it even harder to attract attention.

After watching for a moment, he gained a rough understanding of the situation, and a plan began to form in his mind!

To seize the treasure gourd, the doppelganger had a natural advantage, so what he needed to do was simply break through this impenetrable defensive circle, giving the treasure gourd a chance to escape!

If the gourd managed to break through, it would most likely fly in the direction of his doppelganger, who could then directly secure it.

However, before that, some arrangements were still necessary!

After all, if the doppelganger did succeed, he would have to face the pursuit of hundreds of cultivators. If Lu Ye had no one by his side, the doppelganger could teleport over, but the actual situation was unpredictable, so making some prior arrangements was more prudent.

With this thought, Lu Ye turned and left, while at the same time, his doppelganger also started busying himself.

The situation here wouldn't change much in the short term. Considering the time, the activity area of the Taichu Realm should shrink within two days; by then, no one could remain here, so Lu Ye had to act before then, for any delay might lead to unexpected changes.