Sage of Humanity-Chapter 564 - 562
The lead wolf glanced at the demonic pill in Lu Ye's hand, a human-like expression flickering in its eyes, and then it lowered its head ever so slightly, which was taken as an agreement.
Lu Ye felt amazed that he had actually made a deal with a pack of demon beasts. Although this deal was rather vague and the specific price wasn't negotiated, since the lead wolf had agreed, Lu Ye expected he could later collect some demonic pills in return.
Moreover, it spared him the trouble of finding targets to practice his rune tattooing, which was a good thing.
He then sat down cross-legged in front of the steps of his wooden hut and took out the materials that he had previously purchased from the Heaven's Augury treasure vault, laying them out in a line.
Just like the one time he had demonstrated before, he showed the lead wolf the different effects of the three spirit runes.
"Pay attention, you'll choose which one you want later, and I will tattoo the different spirit runes on you," Lu Ye said to the lead wolf with a solemn reminder.
The lead wolf turned around and cocked its head.
Instantly, one large wolf stepped forward and stood in front of Lu Ye.
The lead wolf raised its paw and tapped on the golden bottle that symbolized the Sharpness spirit rune.
"Understood!"
Lu Ye reached out to grab the muzzle of the demon wolf in front of him and pulled out his tattoo needle to begin the tattooing.
In just a short while, a Sharpness rune tattoo was completed, and a golden arrowhead mark now adorned the muzzle of the demon wolf.
The demon wolf activated its Demon Origin, baring its teeth, and a layer of luminous light immediately coated its sharp fangs, making them look even more dangerous.
Even though the pack had witnessed the power of Sharpness in the previous fights, seeing with their own eyes how this power came into being felt entirely different.
Lu Ye could see a touch of amazement in the lead wolf's eyes. Even the usually calm wolf pack began to stir, looking at Lu Ye with a burning intensity.
Such an event had never occurred before. The entire pack of over a hundred demon wolves normally didn't give other people the time of day with the exception of Giant Armor and acted as if these people didn't exist in their spirit ground. But now, realizing that Lu Ye had the power to make them stronger, the wolf pack's view of Lu Ye undoubtedly underwent a subtle change.
Furthermore, this increase in strength was effortless and came without any cost.
This made the wolf pack value Lu Ye even more.
Another demon wolf came forward under the lead wolf's signal, and the lead wolf again tapped the golden bottle symbolizing the Sharpness spirit rune.
Lu Ye took a brief rest before starting again.
The actual time spent on tattooing wasn't long, only about a dozen breaths, but this short period demanded a great deal of concentration and caused a significant drain on the mind.
As one rune tattoo after another was inscribed, Lu Ye's technique became increasingly skilled.
While he was busy, outside of Great Wilderness Mountain, three streams of light raced side by side, streaking across the sky like lightning.
From the fluctuations of spirit force around the three, they were all at the Cloud River Level 9.
Moreover, all three had interacted with Lu Ye before and were cultivators at the Cloud River Level 9 realm.
The one in the middle, wearing a green robe, was none other than Tan Sheng from the New Moon Sect. On the left, Wei Que from the Yunyang Sect, and on the right, with the most biting aura, was Xia Liang from the Mad Saber Sect.
Compared to his state in the hunting grounds before, Tan Sheng's aura was now indisputably more violent, his eyes bloodshot, and his figure had grown thinner.
After New Moon Sect's station at the Spirit Stream battlefield was overrun, with over fifty disciples dead or injured, their losses were significant. The day Tan Sheng received this news on the Cloud River battlefield, he was nearly driven to faint from anger. It was then that he secretly swore to kill Lu Yiye and avenge his fallen sect brothers and sisters.
He was on the verge of advancing to the True Lake Realm and had achieved some gains within the hunting grounds, which meant he could ascend at any time and leave the Cloud River battlefield.
But to execute Lu Ye, he deliberately postponed his own advancement.
If he did not avenge such a deep-seated grudge, what right did he have to ascend to the True Lake?
He admitted that he was the instigator of the incident in the hunting grounds, but that was no excuse for Lu Yiye to target his sect behind his back. As the matter escalated to the Spirit Stream battlefield, the New Moon Sect suffered greatly and couldn't counterattack; Lu Yiye was nothing short of a beast!
So no matter what, he was determined to kill Lu Yiye on the Cloud River battlefield, so that he could peacefully advance to the True Lake.
Wei Que had similar reasons, but compared to the New Moon Sect, Yunyang Sect didn't lose many members—just the loss of their station and a substantial amount of merit.
While Wei Que didn't harbor the same intense hatred as Tan Sheng, he was more interested in the hefty reward for killing Lu Ye.
After Lu Ye's second raid of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge sects at the Spirit Stream battlefield, the bounty for him had increased even more.
As for Xia Liang…
He was not there for Lu Ye. He was looking for Li Baxian!
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For Xia Liang, Yan Xing was a presence akin to both a brother and a father, and Yan Xing met his demise at the hands of Li Baxian.
Ever since he learned that Li Baxian had entered the Cloud River battlefield, he had been searching for the man's whereabouts, but unfortunately, the battlefield was vast, and looking for one person in such a place was akin to searching for a needle in the ocean.
However, Lu Ye and Li Baxian shared an unshakable bond, and if Lu Ye could be captured, Li Baxian would surely not stand idly by.
It was partly for that reason that he made a move against Lu Ye in the hunting grounds.
The fact that these three people could come together in the vast sea of faces was no coincidence, but rather a targeted operation against Lu Ye led by Tan Sheng, who had invited both Wei Que and Xia Liang.
They didn't invite more people because three Level 9 cultivators were enough to deal with one Lu Yiye. Just like last time, what good was having more people if the target still escaped?
And if the target managed to escape last time, it was fundamentally due to the Golden Body Token. With that item protecting him, no one could break through the defense, but Lu Yiye couldn't possibly have a second Golden Body Token. Therefore, as long as they could find his whereabouts, he would surely be slain!
During flight, Wei Que spoke up, "Brother Tan, are you certain that Lu Yiye has entered Great Wilderness Mountain?"
Tan Sheng didn't say a word, took out something resembling a compass from his chest, and after examining it, he confirmed, "Certain."
The compass appeared similar to a tracking disc, but in reality, its effectiveness was far from that of a tracking disc. A tracking disc could clearly indicate the position of the person being tracked, providing an extremely clear direction, and the closer the distance, the stronger the reaction on the tracking disc. However, the Spiritual Artifact compass in Tan Sheng's hand was not so capable.
It could only point out a general direction.
Strictly speaking, this item was a severely crippled version of a tracking disc.
Still, even so, this item was highly valuable, a rarity throughout the Nine Provinces.
It was obtained by the New Moon Sect at a significant cost from the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union, then delivered to Tan Sheng by a disciple within the Cloud River battlefield.
Their sole purpose was to use this item to locate Lu Ye and avenge the destruction of the sect's outpost and the killing of their disciples.
So even if it was a severely crippled version of a tracking disc, indicating a general direction was still not an issue. It was following this compass that the three of them had rushed all the way to Great Wilderness Mountain.
"That Lu Yiye is only at Level 3 cultivation, even if he received the reward from the Kills Ranking, and even if he is now at Level 4... entering Great Wilderness Mountain was not a wise choice. What is he doing here?"
"Experience, cultivation, there are always reasons," Tan Sheng replied offhandedly, "and don't forget, the first prize of the Kills Ranking also includes a Class A spring spirit!"
At that, Wei Que's expression shifted, "Brother Tan means to say..."
Tan Sheng let out a cold huff, "How precious is a Class A spirit ground. That Lu Yiye, even if he got a Class A spring spirit, he would be afraid to place it just anywhere. To place a spring spirit, one must find a secluded spot, and Great Wilderness Mountain is undoubtedly a good choice. The risks here might be significant, but if he's lucky, he might find a suitable place and lessen the risk of his spirit ground being discovered by others."
Wei Que listened, his eyes shining, "Well argued."
If he entered Great Wilderness Mountain to place a Class A spring spirit, it would make sense. With that being the case, not only could they obtain a hefty bounty this time, but also a Class A spring spirit.
However, compared to the bounty from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, the temptation of a Class A spring spirit seemed lackluster; it was merely an extra perk.
"And Brother Xia Liang, if things go as expected, Li Baxian might just be with Lu Yiye," Tan Sheng threw in another shocking statement.
Always silent, Xia Liang's eyes suddenly turned much sharper, "What do you mean?"
"Given the current few Cloud River Realm cultivators of Righteous Blood Sect, a Class A spirit ground isn't something that Lu Yiye could monopolize. And you are well aware of the situation Li Baxian faces within the Loyal Heart Sect. The Loyal Heart Sect does have its own spirit ground, but would Li Baxian have the chance to cultivate there? If Lu Yiye has a Class A spirit ground, don't you think he would invite Li Baxian to join him?"
Xia Liang's eyes brightened even more, "If that's the case, things could get interesting!"
The sound of a blade suddenly rang out, and as a bright saber light flashed by, Xia Liang shot forward like an arrow released from a bow. A huge flying beast was charging straight at them. As the two silhouettes, one large and one small, passed by each other, blood rained down from the sky.
A powerful avian creature comparable to a Cloud River Level 7 was slain by Xia Liang with a single blade.
Wei Que watched with undisguised envy.
Although they were both at Cloud River Level 9, his own Level 9 cultivation was no match for Xia Liang's, let alone Tan Sheng's. The reason boiled down to an insufficient foundation in the Spirit Stream Realm. Despite all three of them advancing to Cloud River with 360 orifices opened, both Tan Sheng and Xia Liang were renowned on the Spirit Stream Ranking, the only exception being Wei Que, who had never made it onto the ranking.
With fighting spirit surging in Xia Liang, a vengeful Tan Sheng, and a reward-seeking Wei Que, these three Level 9 cultivators traced their quarry and delved deep into Great Wilderness Mountain that day.
Within the spirit ground, Lu Ye had just finished giving nearly thirty demon wolves their rune tattoos, then he gestured to the alpha wolf, "Come back tomorrow."
The mental strain was too great, and he needed a good rest to recover.
Moreover, not all the runes he tattooed were Sharpness runes; some were defense and Move-Like-The-Wind runes.
The choice of the type of spirit runes was up to the alpha wolf, and Lu Ye had figured out a pattern: anything above Level 5, excluding Level 5, was granted a Sharpness rune, while those below were either given a defense or Move-Like-The-Wind rune.
The runes for defense tattooing were placed on the wolf's belly, while Move-Like-The-Wind runes were inked on the legs.
Such choices by the alpha wolf were doubtless aimed at providing the weaker members of the pack with enough power to defend themselves.
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