Humanity's Great Sage

Chapter 541: Old Rules

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“Run!” Senior Brother Miao shouted as his thoughts raced.

His few junior brothers and sisters looked puzzled. The person who had just spoken prior asked tentatively, “Senior Brother Miao?”

“That’s Yi Ye. Run!” Senior Brother Miao summoned his Spirit Artifact as he spoke, assuming a defensive posture. It was clear that he intended to stay behind and buy time for his junior brothers and sisters so they could escape.

One had to admit that as a senior brother, he was truly quite responsible.

Their faces turned pale at the mention of that name, and for a while, they were at a loss for what to do.

It was just a man’s name, yet its shadow was as tall as that of a tree.

Lu Ye was relatively unknown in the Cloud River Battlefield, but in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, it would not be an exaggeration to say that everyone knew him.

Especially after the astonishing feat he accomplished at the New Moon Sect’s Outpost, where he single-handedly broke through the defenses of a Core Circle sect’s Outpost and slew over fifty people. Such remarkable achievements would leave a great impact on anyone.

Who would have thought that they would encounter this plague when they came to the New Moon Sect’s Outpost to gather information?

In their brief hesitation, it was already too late to escape.

Yi Ye’s figure was already less than a thousand meters away.

“Watch for my eye signals!” Senior Brother Miao shouted while circulating his Spiritual Power.

The others also felt a sense of imminent danger and hurriedly brought out their Spirit Artifacts, standing behind Senior Brother Miao as if to back him up.

A short while later, Lu Ye flew past them at a distance of less than three hundred meters, heading straight ahead.

Senior Brother Miao and the others stiffened in midair, their expressions tense as sweat rolled down their foreheads.

It wasn’t until Lu Ye went far away that they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

They thought that they were doomed just now, but unexpectedly, Yi Ye left just like that.

[Did he not see them?]

Of course, that was impossible. They were less than three hundred meters away, and Yi Ye wasn’t blind, so how could he not have seen them?

In that case, he must’ve simply chosen to ignore them.

The rest were fine, relieved at having escaped from death, each celebrating their good fortune. Only Senior Brother Miao felt ashamed on top of that relief. He was glad that Yi Ye didn’t attack them or they would all have died, but he also felt ashamed for even feeling relieved at that…

Yi Ye was now in Heaven Nine, just like him. Though he had the courage to fight Yi Ye in the same realm, he didn’t have the confidence to win against him. To think that he also ranked in the top fifty on the Roll of Supremacy…

“Senior Brother Miao…” one of his junior sisters called out in a trembling voice, “He’s coming back!”

Senior Brother Miao turned quickly and there Lu Ye was indeed. He who should have been flying away was now turning back.

[So  was he still going to attack them?]

Senior Brother Miao made up his mind. Even if he had to die in battle today, he had to let this Annihilator of Sects know that cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge were not to be trifled with!

The flying Spirit Artifacts stopped at a distance of less than a third of a kilometer from them, which was the limit that a Heaven Nine cultivator could attack.

“Are you from Thousand Demon Ridge?”

Lu Ye asked.

Panicking, Senior Brother Miao almost released his weapon in response, but after coming to his senses, he nodded solemnly. The man standing in front of him didn’t feel like someone on the same level as him but rather a Powerful Real Lake or Divine Ocean Realm cultivator.

His shame intensified. Facing Yi Ye, he found that he didn’t have the determination he had imagined. He didn’t even have the courage to refuse to answer.

“Since you seem to know who I am, I won’t waste any time. Don’t be nervous, I’m not feeling the urge to kill today, so I won’t do anything to you.”

Mainly, killing would be too wasteful. Previously, killing enemies in the Spirit Creek Battlefield earned him Contributions, but now, not only would he lose Contributions for killing, he would even have to spend Contributions to buy some Flames of Earthen Spirits to burn the Judgement of the Heavens.

This statement left the eyes of the group twitching.

He had just destroyed the New Moon Sect’s Outpost and killed over fifty people. He called that not having the urge to kill?

“What do you want?” Senior Brother Miao steeled himself and asked.

“Go back and pass on a message to the major sects of Thousand Demon Ridge. Old rules. Skysword Peak in ten days! If I don’t get what I want within ten days, I’ll knock on each door one by one to pay you all a visit.”

With that, Lu Ye turned and left, leaving Senior Brother Miao and the others behind with uncertain expressions.

It wasn’t until Lu Ye’s figure disappeared that someone asked, “Senior Brother Miao, what does he mean?”

Senior Brother Miao did not answer. Naturally, he knew what Yi Ye meant. After all, the same thing happened only a few months ago. At that time, the major Core Circle sects of Thousand Demon Ridge were unwilling to cooperate. After all, who would be willing to give away so many resources for no reason, and to one’s enemies at that?

But following Yi Ye’s battle against an elite-level Spirit Beast, achieving the status of an elite-level existence as a mere Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, the sects that were unwilling to cooperate had no choice but to comply…

When one’s fist was smaller than another’s, and with many previous examples laid out before oneself, what else could one do but cooperate? Compared to the resources they had to give out, the losses they would incur by having their Outposts destroyed were unimaginable.

“Let’s go!” Senior Brother Miao called out and quickly led the group towards their own Outpost. He had to pass on the news quickly. As for the rest, it was not something he, a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, could consider. The experts of the sect would handle it.

In less than two hours, Lu Ye’s request was brought forward by Senior Brother Miao and quickly transmitted to the major sects of Thousand Demon Ridge.

Upon hearing the news, it was not Lu Ye’s rude request that the major sects were more concerned about, but his current condition.

Based on the observations of Senior Brother Miao and his group, there was not a trace of purple lightning coiling around Yi Ye’s body. He was quite clearly in a normal state.

This puzzled the countless experts of Thousand Demon Ridge.

More than fifty New Moon Sect disciples died by Yi Ye’s hands and the cultivators that escaped from the Outpost personally saw Yi Ye being surrounded by purple lightning, but how long had it been? How could the Judgement of the Heavens that struck fear even into the hearts of Divine Ocean Realm cultivators have vanished out of nowhere?

Only after Senior Brother Miao and the rest made the Heavenly Oath was this news seen as confirmed.

The Thousand Demon Ridge couldn’t help but be bewildered.

They had hoped that Yi Ye would not be able to endure the soul-destroying torment and even if he didn’t die, he would find it difficult to come out and stir up trouble. However, it seemed now that he had suppressed or even eliminated the Judgement of the Heavens entwining his body by some unknown means.

Thousand Demon Ridge was more inclined to believe the former possibility. After all, the existence of an ability that could eliminate the punishment of the Heavens seemed hard to believe.

They remembered that woman from the Crimson Blood Sect, called Mo Yuan. She had forcibly entered the Spirit Creek Battlefield twice, killing a good number of Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators, and came out unscathed even after facing Heaven’s punishment.

Did the Crimson Blood Sect truly possess some special and incredible means that could suppress Heaven’s punishment?

If that were the case, things would become troublesome.

Facing the Annihilator of Sects, they could neither fight him nor defend against him. Other than obediently cooperating with him and appeasing his anger, it seemed there were no other options.

Most of the sects of Thousand Demon Ridge were discontented because the cultivators who had given Yi Ye trouble in the Carnage Colosseum were not their own, yet they had to suffer such undeserved calamity.

Yi Ye clearly had no idea who had bothered him in the Carnage Colosseum either, so he simply decided to deal with all of them in one fell swoop.

How could they be content with this?

A few months ago, they had already sent some peace money to Lu Ye, which was a sense of shame that Thousand Demon Ridge couldn’t wash away. Now, a few months later, were they going to experience this humiliation again? What was the difference between that and rubbing salt into their wounds?

Most importantly, Yi Ye was from the Crimson Blood Sect, and the Crimson Blood Sect was under the Grand Sky Coalition.

The peace offering sent by so many First, Second, and Third-Tier sects, when combined, constituted a huge amount of resources, perfectly feeding their enemy. Such a large bounty would allow the Crimson Blood Sect no need to worry about its acolytes’ cultivation expenses for decades. It was said that the monthly salary of the Crimson Blood Sect acolytes was comparable to that of the top First-Tier sect in Jiu Zhou. Even the treatment of some initiates was better than that of many major sects.

A Ninth-Tier Sect like them could only afford such generous treatment for its disciples by bleeding resources from the major Sects of Thousand Demon Ridge.

If it were to happen again, Heavens knows how the Crimson Blood Sect would develop in the future.

Fortunately, Yi Ye gave them ten days to prepare, just like last time. So, there was still room for negotiation on Thousand Demon Ridge’s side.

Whether to compromise or not was a big question.

Many Divine Ocean Realm cultivators from different sects gathered together in order to discuss this matter.

Soon, someone raised a crucial question.

Why didn’t Yi Ye kill Senior Brother Miao and his group?

If his intention was just to deliver a message, leaving one person alive would be enough. What was more, he could even have personally delivered the message to any one of Thousand Demon Ridge’s Outposts.

Senior Brother Miao and the others were all unharmed, and Yi Ye had never shown any intention to attack them from beginning to end, a thought-provoking result.

Given the strength he showed at the New Moon Sect’s Outpost, Senior Brother Miao and his group should have had no reason to escape unscathed. Despite the fact that Lu Ye let them go claiming that he wasn’t feeling the urge to kill them, his decision seemed to be full of contradictions upon further contemplation.

Yi Ye must have had some concerns that kept him from acting against Senior Brother Miao and his group.

This discovery enlightened many of the Divine Ocean Realm cultivators.

Someone slowly spoke up, “Currently, we are speculating that the Crimson Blood Sect might have some special means that can allow them to suppress the Judgment of the Heavens, but what if this method also comes with some drawbacks?”

“What do you mean, Elder Chen?” someone asked.

Elder Chen stroked his beard. “This old man has lived for so many years, yet I have never heard of anyone being able to resist Heaven’s punishment. While the idea of suppressing the Heavens’ punishment sounds ridiculous, the fact is before us, and I’m willing to believe it for now. However, Heaven-defying methods must come with a great price. It’s highly likely that Yi Ye was not unwilling to kill, but unable to do so!”

As soon as these words were spoken, many Divine Ocean Realm cultivators felt enlightened.

Someone nodded. “There is sense to Elder Chen’s words. Perhaps if Yi Ye were to kill again, the Judgement of the Heavens that is suppressed might erupt even more fiercely.”

“If that’s the case, does it mean he was just bluffing?”

“Do you all remember when he broke through the defenses of nearly thirty Sects in the Core Circle at Heaven Nine? That was how he forced us to make concessions, but now? Half a day has passed, and if he still had the ability to break through the defenses of a second Outpost, why would he not try and exert pressure on us?”

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