Sage of Humanity-Chapter 647 - 645 Insect Race and Battle Merit

In the cultivation world of the Nine Provinces, merit and battle merit, although only displayed as numbers in a cultivator's battlefield marking, can allow cultivators to obtain many tangible assets.

Both are crucial for cultivators.

There are generally three sources of merit, the first is killing enemies, the second is selling items to Heaven's Augury treasure vault, and the third is issued by the Governor during one's time in the Spirit Stream Realm, beyond these, there are no other means.

However, the sources of battle merit, aside from killing enemies in certain special occasions, are more diverse, like the last time in the Ten Thousand Beasts Domain secret realm, where Lu Ye didn't earn much battle merit merely by killing enemies, but by leading people like Pang Dahai to address the crisis at its source, he gathered a substantial amount of battle merit.

Therefore, acquiring battle merit is not limited to just killing enemies, it can also be earned by completing certain specific events, and the amount obtained is much more than what one gets from merely killing enemies.

Comparatively speaking, battle merit is undoubtedly more important, as this can be used directly to purchase spirit fortune sticks.

Merit cannot do that.

The only way merit can be exchanged for spirit fortune sticks is by participating in auctions.

This is why many Cloud River Realm cultivators like exploring various secret realms in the Cloud River battlefield and taking part in them.

The Spirit Stream battlefield is rife with inheritances, while the Cloud River battlefield has many secret realms. The former allows cultivators to obtain a more solid foundation, the latter allows cultivators to grow rapidly; thus, powerful cultivators in the Nine Provinces cultivation world can continue to emerge generation after generation.

Since entering the Cloud River battlefield, Lu Ye had only entered one Ten Thousand Beasts Domain secret realm because his time in the Cloud River battlefield was short, he hadn't traveled much, and some secret realms required specific timings to open.

But this does not mean that secret realms in the Cloud River battlefield are rare.

If one truly intends to venture into secret realms, cultivators have the opportunity to experience one almost every month. Many of these secret realms contain battle merits.

Thus, cultivators can earn battle merits by their actions in these secret realms, and then exchange them for spirit fortune sticks.

Although this method is tougher and more dangerous, it is always better than waiting for Heaven-bestowed spirit fortune sticks or cultivating in some lower-quality spirit grounds.

Lu Ye had obtained a good amount of battle merits in the Ten Thousand Beasts Domain secret realm last time, and after exchanging them for some spirit fortune sticks, he was left with only fifty-six points of battle merit, which hadn't changed since then.

Now, fifty-six points of battle merit had turned into five hundred and seventy-six points, in other words, an increase of five hundred and twenty points…

This could be exchanged for two or three white spirit fortune sticks.

Lu Ye immediately realized that the merit he had earned from killing those insects was not merit, but battle merit!

This delighted him somewhat, as relatively speaking, battle merit was undoubtedly more useful, and currently, he wasn't lacking in merit.

After a quick calculation, the number of battle merits received for the strength of the insects wasn't vastly different from the merit received.

For instance, killing a Cloud River Level 5 cultivator would get Lu Ye forty points of merit, and killing an insect equivalent to the Cloud River Level 5 would get him forty points of battle merit!

Therefore, a dozen or so insects equivalent to Cloud River levels contributed five hundred and twenty points of merit to him.

While excited, he became more cautious.

Because once it involves battle merit, things would not be too simple.

Cultivators of the Cloud River battlefield had summarized a rule, secret realms containing battle merits are far more dangerous compared to other realms.

Although Lu Ye didn't enter any secret realm this time, he was in the Mirage Realm, yet the clues suggested that this Mirage Realm was no benign place.

Even though he possessed strength comparable to the True Lake Realm, he might not ensure his safety.

Setting aside his distracting thoughts, Lu Ye remained vigilant.

The entire second floor was littered with parts of insect corpses, their emerald-green blood dyed the floor lush green, and a pungent smell lingered in the air.

There was a bed, seemingly a place for rest, but like the first floor, it showed no signs of life, and the accumulated dust in the corners suggested it had been uninhabited for a long time.

Although encountering insects in the Mirage Realm had become a routine occurrence, Lu Ye had absolutely no clue about what this place truly was.

The second floor wasn't large, a glance was enough to take it all in.

There was a wooden window, currently wide open, presumably how those insects had flown in.

Lu Ye was just about to move and close the window when suddenly there was a thud, darkening the room as a calf-sized silhouette climbed up outside the wooden window, a triangular head protruding through, its grey-green compound eyes reflecting Lu Ye's figure.

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Another Mantis Insect had arrived, and this one seemed far more dangerous than those Lu Ye had previously killed.

It might be a coincidence, or perhaps it was attracted here by the aura of his recent actions.

The instant the Insect encountered Lu Ye, it immediately rushed in through the window, wielding two mantis sabers as if it were a combat cultivator skilled in saber skills, whipping up a storm of slaughter in the not-so-spacious room.

As the Boulder Mountain Saber moved, its blade flashing, Lu Ye had already tangled with the Insect.

The clanging sounds were incessant, and the turbulence of the spirit force left the room in complete disarray.

Suddenly gaining power comparable to the True Lake Realm, Lu Ye was still somewhat unfamiliar, as he himself was merely at the Cloud River Level 5 Realm, so before he could fully familiarize himself with his powers, he was unable to exert his full strength.

This Insect that suddenly attacked was definitely much stronger than the previous ones, at least in one aspect: its mantis sabers, incredibly tough, were actually able to block the slashes from the Boulder Mountain Saber.

This was definitely an Insect from the True Lake Realm!

Lu Ye was curious if the battle merits he would gain from killing this Insect would be calculated based on his current True Lake Realm strength or based on his Cloud River Level 5 Realm cultivation.

If it were the latter, then the rewards from this single Insect could be quite significant.

In the merit calculation system, a cultivator from the True Lake Realm represents a base merit of one hundred points, with a hundred points added for each small increase in realm.

In other words, the True Lake Level 1 realm represents one hundred points of merit, True Lake Level 2 is two hundred, and as for True Lake Level 9, that's a full nine hundred points of merit.

If someone from Cloud River Level 5 were to slay a True Lake Level 1, transcending five small levels, the merits gained would then be six times the base… six hundred points of merit.

The corresponding battle merits are the same.

Six hundred points of merit could be exchanged for a green spirit fortune stick, and this is still calculated at the True Lake Level 1; given that this Insect likely has more than True Lake Level 1 strength, the stronger it is, the greater the benefits from killing it, increasing exponentially.

All these thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, then disappeared; Lu Ye didn't think too much, his figure nimbly moving throughout the room, blocking the opponent's fierce attacks like a storm.

The rapid exchanges in the confined space helped him become more adept at controlling his current state.

Seizing the moment when the Insect raised its mantis sabers, Lu Ye's Move-Like-The-Wind boost allowed his figure to surge forward like a shadow or lightning, moving within a meter as the Boulder Mountain Saber blazed with light, and an extremely complex pattern emerged on the dark blade surface.

Double-Sharpness Spirit Runes enhancement.

The sharp mantis saber struck down, aiming directly at Lu Ye's back, but it merely grazed his body and struck the air instead.

A wet stabbing sound was heard; the Boulder Mountain Saber had pierced the mantis's front chest, and the moment the Cactus Spirit Runes were activated, the Insect's body shook violently, emitting a short shriek from its mouthparts.

Another mantis saber came chopping down; Lu Ye quickly withdrew, the Boulder Mountain Saber pulling out with a spurt of stinging, emerald green blood splattering the floor.

The badly injured Mantis Insect Race swayed from side to side, instinctively swinging its dual mantis sabers.

With a booming sound, the second-floor wall was broken open, shattered wood plummeted from the sky, and dust rose in clouds.

When the dust settled, the Mantis Insect was already dead, but Lu Ye had no intention of checking the change in his battle merits, his gaze instead fixed in stunned wonder at the distant sky.

The sky seemed to have split open, revealing a massive gap, within which lay another world hidden in shadows; at this very moment, a vast number of Insects were swarming out from that gap, pouring into this world.

The Insects varied in shape, many of which Lu Ye had seen in the Mirage Realm, and many more he had never encountered before.

They swarmed into this place like cats that had smelled fish, pouring in from an unknown space.

Lu Ye didn't observe for long, merely casting a brief glance before dropping his gaze, hiding the shock and many questions in his heart, his expression growing solemn.

He had previously thought he was safe while inside the house and had only realized there was danger hidden amid that safety upon reaching the second floor.

But now, he finally saw the truth.

The safety he assumed existed, was nowhere to be found.

All around were various kinds of Insects; he hadn't noticed them before for two reasons: firstly, these Insects hadn't been very active, and secondly, because he had arrived here in a manner similar to projecting his psyche, his senses had yet to fully recover, so he had been completely unaware of the situation outside, even the Insects on the second floor.