Sage of Humanity

After a day of recuperation, Lu Ye felt the exhaustion from consecutive days of cultivation sweep away—it was time to advance towards Spirit Stream Level 3!

He didn't rush to consume an elixir pill but first stimulated his spirit force to pinpoint the location of the 19th orifice.

Now at Spirit Stream Level 2, his spirit force was much more robust and plentiful than it had been two months earlier, making the task of locating the spiritual orifices all the more effortless.

Within the time it took for one incense stick to burn down, he found the location of the 19th orifice.

Only then did he take out a Spirit-Nurturing Pill and consume it, refining the pill energy and directing his spirit force to assault the spiritual orifice barrier of the 19th orifice.

Three days later, having used nearly eleven Spirit-Nurturing Pills, the 19th orifice was filled.

This result was expected.

Before achieving the Spirit Stream Realm, the frequency of his orifice-opening was roughly one orifice every three days, costing six elixir pills.

Once he reached Spirit Stream Level 1, the frequency of opening orifices didn't change much, but the number of pills needed increased—about eight or nine each time.

Now at Spirit Stream Level 2, the consumption had further increased to eleven pills, with little change in the time required, mainly because his cultivation had improved, and he was refining the elixir pills more efficiently.

From this, it seems that the higher the Cultivation Realm, the more elixir pills would be needed to open orifices in the future.

He still had twenty elixir pills left, which should be enough to open two more orifices.

Lu Ye silently calculated that at the rate of one orifice every three days, it would take him a total of one thousand and eighty days to open all 360 orifices!

This calculation made him inwardly gasp; he didn't know how other cultivators practiced, but his own cultivation speed should be relatively fast. Yet even so, nearly three years would be needed to cultivate to Spirit Stream Level 9.

In the following days, Lu Ye stayed inside, not stepping out of his cave until the very last Spirit-Nurturing Pill was consumed.

The outcome was almost as he had anticipated—the spiritual orifice had opened to the 21st orifice, but was not yet filled.

To cultivate to the 27th orifice, at the very least, he would need nearly seventy more Spirit-Nurturing Pills. The only ore he had left now was the origin magnetic ore, having traded away the other miscellaneous ores to Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union during the previous two transactions.

This time he would have to sell two pieces of origin magnetic ore, in order to buy back seventy elixir pills.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Half a day later, when Lu Ye entered the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union and came out again, his storage sack held eighty-one more Spirit-Nurturing Pills and a few Spirit Stones.

A slender figure stood at the window on the second floor of the mercantile union, watching his departing figure. After hesitating for a long while, she sighed, placed her finger on the back of her hand, and immediately a marking emerged, unlike the blue battlefield marking on Lu Ye's hand, the one on the woman's hand was yellow.

She whispered a few words to the marking, and it disappeared.

A short while later, she exited the mercantile union, smiling and greeting acquaintances she encountered.

In Qingyun Mountain, Lu Ye ran towards the direction of the cave. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or something else, but he'd been feeling an odd sensation ever since he left the Qingyun Marketplace.

Yet he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly felt strange.

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Not until he had circled the jungle several times did he suddenly notice a figure lurking nearby; but before he could get a clear look, the figure had vanished.

Was he being watched? Lu Ye immediately became alert.

Each time he entered or left the marketplace, he was extremely cautious, especially on the way back. The previous two times nothing had happened, but this time he found himself inexplicably targeted by a mysterious cultivator, leaving him perplexed. He wasn't sure whether his pursuer had set out specifically to find him or if it was a chance encounter.

If it was the latter, then so be it; but if it was the former, it would be rather intriguing.

Luckily, the other's speed wasn't very fast. With Lu Ye fully exerting himself, the person found it difficult to catch up. This indicated that the pursuer's cultivation wasn't very high.

This wasn't hard to understand, as the cultivators who could roam the outer circle of the battlefield weren't known for their high cultivation.

Just as he was thinking this, there was a surge of spirit force from behind, followed by a chill. Lu Ye turned his head to look and saw an ice spike hurtling through the air, reaching him in the blink of an eye.

Lu Ye was startled and hastily turned around, drawing his sword and slashing out. As he channeled spirit force, his longsword shattered the ice spike, and the scattered chill covered his face.

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Knocked off balance by the impact of the ice spike, Lu Ye stumbled several steps backwards. Rolling with the momentum, he managed to regain his footing, though he appeared extremely disheveled.

However, by the time he stood up, the ambusher had already closed in. The man was a few years older than him, pale and beardless, with fist-sized earrings on both ears, exuding quite an exotic flair.

The weapon in his hand resembled both a sword and a knife, longer than an average sword, but only half as wide as a normal blade, similar to the legendary Xiuchun Sword.

Seizing the moment Lu Ye was getting up, the fair-skinned male cultivator swung his sword down with force.

Caught off guard, Lu Ye had no time to stimulate the Sharpness spirit runes to reinforce his longsword and could only lift it to block.

With a clang, sparks flew, and a numbness shot through Lu Ye's palms. His longsword nearly flew out of his grip, and under the force of the slash, his form buckled, almost bringing him to his knees.

"Oh?" The fair-skinned man appeared somewhat surprised, not expecting Lu Ye to have withstood his fully powered strike.

As the man was still puzzled, Lu Ye's longsword had already parried his weapon, thrusting towards the man's chest.

The male cultivator didn't panic, flicking his long knife a few times. Before Lu Ye could react to what happened, he felt a pain in his arm, his thrust losing power and easily dodged by the other party.

The void thrust caused Lu Ye to lean forward, and a flash of blade light caught his eye. Lu Ye felt a piercing cold envelop him as the breath of death rushed toward his face.

Clang... the long knife struck Lu Ye's chest without the sensation of cutting flesh; instead, it sent him flying backwards.

Upon closer examination, Lu Ye was enveloped in a golden light. It was this layer of light that had protected him and saved him from a severe injury! Realizing he was no match, he had hastily taken out a defensive Spirit Talisman and slapped it onto himself.

"Golden Body Talisman?" The fair-skinned man's eyes reddened slightly—not from jealousy of Lu Ye's use of the Spirit Talisman, but because the talisman should have been his spoils of war. Seeing Lu Ye waste it made him feel pained.

However, this confirmed that the information he had obtained was correct; this Spirit Stream Level 2 independent cultivator indeed had substantial wealth. Otherwise, how could he have a Spirit Talisman to use? After all, a single talisman could be worth a dozen or more Spirit Stones, and it was rare for low-level cultivators to use them in fights.

Most could only afford to keep one or two for emergencies.

Watching the golden glow enveloping Lu Ye, the fair-skinned man glided back several yards, holding the knife in one hand and forming hand seals with the other. As a sneer curled on his lips, visible spirit force gathered at his fingertips.

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