Sage of Humanity

In the wilderness, Lu Ye rode Amber in a wretched flight, with several Spirit Talismans exploding behind him. The magic and spells sealed within the talismans burst forth, rendering his escape incredibly clumsy.

Throughout the entire day of skirmishes, the cultivators who were hunting him had also grown wiser, greeting him with Spirit Talismans upon each encounter.

Although Spirit Talismans were expensive, a low-level cultivator could still afford one or two if they gritted their teeth, typically keeping them as a lifesaving trump card.

Launching them recklessly now indeed posed a tricky situation for Lu Ye. Had he not frequently activated the Defense Spirit Runes to protect himself, he and Amber would have been overwhelmed long ago.

Even so, both the man and the tiger bore numerous injuries.

It wasn't just the Spirit Talismans; the unknown force's cultivators also deployed demon beasts to hunt him. Not many cultivators possessed beast pets because demon beasts were difficult to tame, and if not handled carefully, they could even turn on their masters.

Now, as Lu Ye fled ahead, a rumbling noise followed with five or six cultivators riding various beast pets. Although these beasts were not as divine or as swift as Amber, Lu Ye faced constant obstructions ahead, severely hampering his efficiency in breaking through. Any slight delay would allow his pursuers to catch up immediately.

Several times, Lu Ye narrowly escaped being completely trapped, barely managing to fight his way through a gap to continue his flight.

After this entanglement, Lu Ye realized one issue: he shouldn't keep winding around. The more he did, the more numerous the enemies became. In contrast, taking a straight path resulted in fewer encounters with enemies.

He did not know that the Tailuo Sect's cultivators had Han Zheyue guiding them from behind, with the Shadow Moon Disc at their disposal, rendering all his movements visible to Han Zheyue's eyes.

The whistling of air erupted anew as several arrows shot towards Lu Ye from different directions. Though startled, Lu Ye wasn't thrown into disarray. He channeled his spirit force to protect himself and simultaneously swung his blade forward.

He severed an arrow flying towards Amber, and at the same time, Amber rapidly zigzagged to dodge the other arrows.

This was not Lu Ye commanding Amber but rather a grim lesson Amber had learned from experience.

The Tailuo Sect's cultivators knew that to capture Lu Ye, they had to disable Amber first; otherwise, with such a demon beast around, it was difficult to pin Lu Ye down.

So, after the initial encounters, those archers hiding in the shadows targeted Amber, aiming to take it down first.

Unfortunately for Amber, it was hit by several arrows, though none caused serious injuries. Lu Ye snapped the arrows, leaving only the shafts in Amber's body.

Since then, Amber had grown wiser. At the sound of an arrow's whistle, it immediately started dodging adeptly, avoiding many attacks.

Just as they avoided those arrows, several figures sprung out ahead under the cover of night, their spirit light extremely visible.

Three Level 5 cultivators!

Lu Ye's eyes narrowed, sensing the situation turn dire.

If there had been only one Level 5 cultivator, he might have managed somewhat, but two were already too much to handle, let alone three. If he was trapped, he would undoubtedly die.

He wondered whose territory this was, as its heritage seemed profoundly robust. On this journey, he had encountered almost a dozen Level 5 cultivators.

He was unaware that the war declarations between Xuanmen and the Nine Stars Sect had been sudden. Most of those sects' Level 5 cultivators were undergoing trials abroad and couldn't return in time, thus their numbers were few, and they restrained each other, making them invisible to him.

However, the Dragon Spring Meet was different. Held once every three years, the nearby three forces greatly valued it. Ten days prior, all cultivators above Level 2 and below Level 5 had gathered at their respective stations in anticipation of the Dragon Spring Meet.

The number of Level 5 cultivators in a sect was considerable. The dozen or so that Lu Ye encountered were only a small fraction; many more were stationed in various mountains. Although Han Zheyue desperately wanted to have Lu Ye killed, she knew the balance of matters and could not divert all her powerful cultivators for an unknown Level 4 cultivator.

Doing so would leave openings for Qing Yu to exploit, potentially leading to losses far greater than just ten or so lives; many territories could be lost.

Among the three Level 5 cultivators who had appeared, two charged at Lu Ye, while a third stood not too far away, lifting a hand toward Lu Ye's direction, spirit force surging at his fingertips.

It was a Level 5 magic cultivator!

Lu Ye felt a headache coming on.

The archers hidden in the shadows weren't much of a threat; their cultivation levels were generally not high, and with the experience that Lu Ye and Amber had gained, these occasional attacks couldn't harm them. However, a Level 5 magic cultivator posed a different challenge entirely; the power of the magic and spells such a cultivator could unleash was significant.

A careless move might yield disastrous results.

Seeing that the cultivator was casting a spell, Lu Ye made a quick decision, throwing an object with one hand while forming a hand seal with the other.

The object he had thrown instantly arrived above the magic cultivator's head, rapidly enlarging and transforming into a huge bell radiating spirit light, which crashed down resoundingly.

The magic cultivator clearly hadn't expected Lu Ye to have such a move up his sleeve. It was too late to dodge, and he was squarely trapped under it.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The other two Level 5 cultivators had nearly closed in, the leader of them being a burly man with a vigorous build and abundant blood Qi, clearly one who followed the path of a physique cultivator.

As Amber lunged at him, he did not dodge or evade but even provocatively met the charge head-on, raising his hands to intercept Amber's front legs, seemingly aiming to flip Amber over.

"Roar!" The tiger roared throughout the forest; the physique cultivator only managed to fend off Amber for two breaths before being toppled to the ground.

He had overestimated his abilities; although Amber was not as strong as him, demon beasts had their own advantages, especially one as robust as Amber, whose charge could hardly be stopped without sufficient power.

While he was delayed by those two breaths, another Level 5 realm cultivator had attacked him from behind; this guy was likely a combat cultivator since he wielded a huge hammer, as big as a human head, and certainly looked formidable.

Like a thousand-pound hammer, which in his hands seemed weightless, he leaped from behind his fellow sect member and struck at Lu Ye with his hammer glowing with spirit light as he bellowed, "Come down!"

This strike was powerful and heavy, truly overpowering.

Such an attack was something Lu Ye could not block no matter what; had he tried, he would only end up with severed tendons and broken bones.

Thus, he hurriedly activated the Defense Spirit Runes, forming a shield in front of him. Read exclusive chapters at empire

Bang… A loud noise erupted; Lu Ye felt the spirit force inside him flow out like floodwaters escaping a broken dam.

Even the Defense Spirit Runes barely withstood the fierce strike, displaying tiny cracks and shattering completely after a mere three breaths.

This was the first time Lu Ye encountered someone who could shatter his Defense Spirit Runes with a single blow; even that Level 7 cultivator Dong Shuye hadn't managed that.

It seemed that the Defense Spirit Runes had some advantage in resisting magic and spells, but their defense was somewhat weaker against pure physical attacks.

Though the runes shattered, they had at least blocked most of the impact.

As the hammer struck down, Amber's body lowered, with front legs kneeling on the ground, while Lu Ye was smashed backward; had he not hastily propped his long sword in front of him, his chest might have been crushed.

Just as Lu Ye was about to fall off the tiger's back, at the crucial moment, a small hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his waistband, pulling him back; it was Yiyi who had been hiding inside Amber all this time.

She could only help so much during the fight and had remained hidden, but this timely move saved Lu Ye.

His mouth tasted of iron, his chest and arms aching tremendously, clearly injured.

Such a hammer strike was not easily fully blocked.

At this moment, Lu Ye was incredibly relieved that he had trapped the Level 5 magic cultivator with the tiny bell spirit artifact. Otherwise, with these three coordinated together, he might have really been left behind.

The physique cultivator got up from the ground and retreated several yards, warily watching Lu Ye. The combat cultivator also stepped back a few yards, gripping the hammer with a grave expression—if one looked closely, they could see his hands trembling intensely.

That hammer strike was the result of him exerting all his strength… and it took a great toll on him as well.

In this brief moment of delay, rustling sounds emerged from the surrounding jungle; cultivators were cornering from all directions, and those riding demon beasts were also closing in rapidly.

Lu Ye did not have the luxury to assess his injuries and quickly pinpointed a weak spot in their defense, immediately finding a direction to exploit.

Just as he was about to direct Amber in that direction, a prolonged cry echoed in the distance, accompanied by strong fluctuations of spirit force from that direction.

Lu Ye turned to look and saw a mountain peak nearest to him where colorful spirit light flickered non-stop.

Someone was fighting over there—and it was a fierce battle.

Lu Ye slapped the tiger's back and pointed his sword in that direction, "Charge there!"

Instead of choosing the spot where their defense was weakest, he chose the position where the combat cultivator with the big hammer was!

Regardless of who was fighting there, one of the sides must be part of the sect chasing him… It seemed they had enemies of their own.

Lu Ye immediately felt that this was a good direction to head towards.

Moreover, the past encounters made him realize something—escaping was not the solution since the other party seemed capable of tracking his movements and appeared to be led by a very adept individual, making it easy to encircle him repeatedly.

Seeing Lu Ye rushing in that direction, the Level 5 physique cultivator urgently shouted, "Don't let him get away!"

The combat cultivator with the big hammer stepped forward, blocking in front of Amber, his arms bulging with veins as he raised the hammer high, his arm blood vessels bursting, blood instantly staining his clothes.

"Come and die!" he roared, charging at Lu Ye.

With red-glowing spirit force surging, Lu Ye raised his hand and immediately cast a magic spell at him.