Sage of Humanity

Name: Lu Ye

Identity: Disciple of the Righteous Blood Sect.

Cultivation: Opened 29 orifices.

Location: Spirit Stream battlefield.

Merit: 142.

Lu Ye checked the information on the battlefield marking, and if he remembered correctly, his merit was 34 points before coming to the Sky-Splitting Gorge, but now it had increased to 142, an increase of 108 points.

This was all due to Lu Ye slaying the cultivators of the Nine Stars Sect. If it hadn't been for Luo Ji tying him up in the last few days, he could have earned even more.

He didn't know what exact use merit had yet. Although he could ask Chu Tian, doing so could easily expose certain things, so Lu Ye didn't plan on asking anyone. Regardless of its use, he would figure it out once he returned to the Righteous Blood Sect's encampment.

In terms of assets, ten pieces of origin magnetic ore, one ten-part map, one hundred thirty-five Spirit-Nurturing Pills, two hundred fifty-one Spirit Stones, thirty-one healing pills, twenty-two small recovery pills, nine Spirit Talismans, one tiny bell spiritual artifact, and four unopened storage sacks.

Those small recovery pills were found in Luo Ji's storage sack, with the name written on the bottle. Lu Ye had seen Luo Ji taking them while resting from a distance, so he was certain these elixir pills were beneficial for cultivators. The Spirit Talismans were all defensive and supportive in nature.

The four storage sacks belonged to the group of the Young Master of the Nine Stars Sect, but Lu Ye guessed that aside from the Young Master's storage sack, which might have some value, the rest probably weren't worth much.

The specifics would have to wait until he found someone to open the storage sacks.

The resources in his hands seemed plentiful but were actually not very affluent. Lu Ye was currently at Spirit Stream Level 3, and about fifteen elixir pills were needed to open one orifice. Now, with the aid of the Bestial Gluttony Feast and the Spirit Energy Gathering Spirit Runes, the consumption would be a bit less, and the efficiency somewhat higher.

What he needed to do now was to recover quickly. After waking up from a rest, his strength and spirit had quite recovered, but the depleted spirit force had not.

Curious about the effects of the small recovery pill, Lu Ye took out one and swallowed it, converting his Cultivation Technique to the Bestial Gluttony Feast while refining the pill energy and constructing the Spirit Energy Gathering Spirit Runes in his spiritual orifice to accelerate the recovery rate.

Once all his orifices were augmented with the small funnel-shaped spirit runes, there was a clear, intangible force of attraction emanating from his chest and abdomen, gathering the nature's spiritual energy around him. This was the effect of the twenty-nine Spirit Energy Gathering Spirit Runes stacked together.

He had also verified the effectiveness of the small recovery pills. They were much more efficient in restoration than the Spirit-Nurturing Pills. No wonder Luo Ji took these elixir pills every time he rested. Lu Ye cursed inwardly; the disciples born in big sects indeed had rich foundations, consuming elixir pills different from others.

In just over a day, after consuming six small recovery pills, Lu Ye's spirit force was refilled.

Only then did he take out the jade slip that the double-bun-haired woman from Xuanmen had given him to study.

Red Lotus Soaring to Sky Technique—it was the name of this Earth-class technique. By practicing this technique, one could open up to 180 orifices. To Lu Ye's surprise, this technique also came with several magic and spells, although he couldn't practice them at the moment since they required a certain foundation in spirit force.

This item should not have been cheap, yet Xuanmen had only charged him two Spirit Stones for it, which turned out to be quite a bargain for him.

Your journey continues on empire

Lu Ye currently had 29 orifices open and was at Spirit Stream Level 3 cultivation. To advance to Level 4, he would need to open at least 45 orifices, which meant he had to open at least sixteen more.

But it wasn't that simple because he had to take into account the parts that didn't overlap between his current and the new Cultivation Technique, so the number of orifices Lu Ye needed to open was actually more than sixteen.

After comparing the orifices he had opened with those recorded in the Red Lotus Soaring to Sky Technique, Lu Ye concluded that he needed to open eighteen more orifices to advance to Spirit Stream Level 4.

Only then could he fully transition from the Golden Cicada Carefree Method to the Red Lotus Soaring to Sky Technique.

To open eighteen orifices, by a conservative estimate, he would need about two hundred fifty elixir pills. Judging by the number of elixir pills he had, it was far from enough, but fortunately, he still had Spirit Stones.

After some thought, Lu Ye sent a message.

As for whom to find... the only person he could turn to now was one.

"Two hundred and fifty-one Spirit Stones for some of your Spirit-Nurturing Pills and food!"

He had no intention of delaying any further here. The journey to the Righteous Blood Sect's base was long and time-consuming; setting off earlier would also mean arriving earlier.

The sect master there must be quite worried about his safety.

When he left Qingyun Mountain, he had only unlocked his 21st orifice, but now he had unlocked 29. Amber and Yiyi had both grown as well; he had been delayed nearly ten days at the Sky-Splitting Gorge, and it was time to continue on his way.

At Level 3 of Spirit Stream, he already had enough power to protect himself in the outer circle of the battlefield.

As for cultivation, he could cultivate while on the move without any hindrance, especially since he had now mastered the correct way of using Spirit Energy Gathering Spirit Runes. Even without consuming elixir pills, his spirit force was steadily increasing.

However, before he departed, he needed to transform the useless items in his possession into useful ones.

He had little use for Spirit Stones; trading them for elixir pills was best. As for food... both he and Amber had astonishing appetites, so naturally, he had to store plenty.

Chu Tian responded quickly: "No problem, Brother Yiye, are you leaving?"

He obviously realized something.

"Mhm." Lu Ye replied with a message.

"Be ready by morning; I'll come to find you."

After ending the transmission with Chu Tian, Lu Ye continued to delve into the Red Lotus Soaring to Sky Technique, identifying the next spiritual orifice he needed to open.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

With repeated assaults by his spirit force, the barrier of the 30th orifice was breached.

Lu Ye did not continue his cultivation but instead began to practice with his blade. These past few days he had been fighting relentlessly with Luo Ji, leaving him no time for this task.

However, today after he started practicing with the blade, Lu Ye felt distinctly different; his swings and strikes were more natural and smooth...

He faintly felt that this was a benefit from the life-and-death battles of the past few days.

Amber and Yiyi had both returned; now that the two nearby sects had ceased their declarations of war, the interior of the Sky-Splitting Gorge was peaceful, making a surprise attack unlikely.

Amber lay on the ground, having finished its jerky, waiting for Lu Ye to give it food.

When he initially set out with Amber, it only needed to consume two Spirit-Nurturing Pills a day, but as the big tiger's strength increased, so did its consumption—now it needed about four pills a day.

As for Yiyi, there was no consumption at all—she could be considered a minion spirit that accompanied big tiger. When the tiger became stronger, so did she!

Four hours later, Lu Ye sheathed his sword, sat by the campfire to eat some roasted meat, and casually threw two Spirit-Nurturing Pills to Amber. Suddenly, he remembered something and spoke up: "Yiyi, can Amber perform magic and spells?"

When he was confronting Luo Ji in that tunnel, Yiyi had gone up to cause a distraction but was forced back by a Golden Arc Slash from Luo Ji. At that time, Yiyi screamed, and Amber, thinking she was hurt, roared toward Luo Ji's direction.

That roar not only caused some interference for Luo Ji, but even Lu Ye felt as if someone was hammering his head with a tiny hammer...

This was clearly not normal.