Sage of Humanity-Chapter 649 - 647: Returning to Xianyuan City

In the dilapidated city, broken walls and ruins were everywhere, but amidst these ruins, one could faintly see the former prosperity of the city.

There weren't many buildings with red lanterns hanging at the door; at this moment, this building had become Lu Ye's lifeline.

If everything was as he had thought, then perhaps there was still a chance for survival.

But if he was wrong, then he really could only wait for death.

At this critical moment of life and death, Lu Ye burst forth with a speed he had never achieved before, breaking through the encirclement of countless insects and rushing towards that building.

The Insect Race relentlessly pursued him from behind, especially one chubby, thudding bug that was most fierce in its chase.

A few dozen yards distance closed in a blink; Lu Ye rushed into the building and immediately shut the door.

No sooner had he done this than a thunderous pounding sound came from outside—it was those not-yet-dead insects pursuing him, furiously attacking the building, the violent force causing the wooden planks to clatter.

Something astonishing happened.

No matter how the bugs, whose strength matched that of those in the True Lake Realm, tried, even if the entire building shook and the door panels and planks creaked, they could not damage the building at all.

It was as if an invisible mighty force was protecting this building, ensuring that it would never be damaged.

Lu Ye was initially bracing the door panel, fearing the insects might break through and storm inside, but upon realizing the peculiar nature of the building, he let go of his hands and slowly stepped back.

Logically speaking, without him bracing the door panel, the insects outside could have easily broken the door and flooded in.

But in reality, even though the two door panels were violently shaking from the attacks, there was not the slightest sign they were giving way.

The angry hisses of the insects and the sound of nearby buildings collapsing reached his ears, yet only his building remained as solid as a stronghold.

Lu Ye took a deep breath, his tense emotions relaxing, but more confusion surged in his heart.

The situation was as he had thought; could this place actually be that place?

But why... why had he entered here?

Outside the building, each of the Insect Race attacked fiercely for a good while before slowly dissipating.

The intelligence of the Insect Race ultimately was a flaw; one might even say the insects had little spiritual intelligence, acting mostly on instinct.

Lu Ye had hidden inside this indestructible building, and without seeing or smelling their enemy, they soon forgot about Lu Ye...

Inside the house, Lu Ye sensed the powerful presences of the surrounding area recede one by one until all the pursuing insects had disappeared. Only then did he truly relax.

Exhaustion overwhelmed him, making him sleepy and the wounds on his body transmitting pain more unbearable than usual, an experience he had never had before in the Mirage Scene.

According to his estimation, his current state was of his psyche having left his body based on a projection, and the recent battle had drained him severely; he did not know if he could recover by consuming elixir pills.

This was something that a trial would make clear.

Lu Ye took some elixir pills from his storage space, stuffing them into his mouth and silently refining them.

To his surprise, it worked. As he refined the medicinal effects of the elixir pills, the depleted power within his body slowly returned.

He immediately sat down cross-legged, recovering while pondering his current situation.

From the observations he made during his escape and the verification of rushing into this building, Lu Ye was almost certain that this place he had come to was a secret realm he had visited before.

Xianyuan City!

Xianyuan City was a secret realm that appeared in the Spirit Stream battlefield. When he first entered this place, he was only at Level 8 of the Spirit Stream Realm, and it has been a year or two since that time.

Although it had been a long time, this place remained fresh in his memory because it was here that he obtained several bottles of Soul Cleansing Water, which not only strengthened and empowered his psyche but even contributed directly to the many benefits he later gained in the Hundred Arrays Pagoda.

Moreover, the various experiences he had in Xianyuan City were unforgettable to Lu Ye.

When he first entered this place, he was alone and unaided but managed to thrive by transforming minion spirits, thanks to Amber's ability.

Liu Sanbao, who loved to gamble; the crying Pipa Girl; the scholar who loved praise but was utterly talentless; the Butcher with his bone-stripping saber; and the fortune-telling blind man who boasted unparalleled prophecy skills but was actually just muscular, all became minion spirits because of Amber, and it was with these unique spirits that Lu Ye managed to change the outcome of the confrontation between cultivators of two factions in this place.

Initially, most cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge who entered Xianyuan City were almost completely wiped out, with only a few stragglers surviving.

Starting out in Xianyuan City, Lu Ye had not thought much about it and took it just as a realm to refine and enhance himself, not to mention that he gained quite a few benefits therein.

But now, it seemed this place was not just a mere secret realm; it apparently also concealed other secrets.

This made him inevitably think of the woman in red on the swing, and of the Lord of Xianyuan City...

At that time, Lu Ye felt that these two were beings that the cultivators at the Spirit Stream Realm could absolutely not contend with. Their presence in a secret realm where Spirit Stream Realm cultivators trained was baffling. Fortunately, these two did not harbor much malice towards the training cultivators; otherwise, all the cultivators would have been powerless then.

The second layer of the Mirage Realm led to Xianyuan City, which puzzled Lu Ye and left him wondering why.

The reason he was able to tell this place was Xianyuan City stemmed first from the many familiar sensations he experienced while fleeing.

He had been here before, after all, and revisiting an old place naturally evoked a sense of familiarity.

The second and most important reason was the building with red lanterns hanging at the entrance!

When the cultivators first entered the secret realm of Xianyuan City, their enemies, apart from the cultivators from hostile camps, were the Xianyuan Guards scattered throughout the city.

The strength of these Xianyuan Guards was not insignificant, especially those at the captain level, who were incomparably formidable. To them, the cultivators were foreign invaders. Upon detecting any trace of cultivators, the patrolling Xianyuan Guards would immediately act, capturing the cultivators and imprisoning them in dungeons.

Generally, those thrown into the dungeons faced grim fates.

Rarely could cultivators escape the pursuit of the Xianyuan Guards.

However, cultivators could hide inside those buildings with red lanterns hanging at the door, as the Xianyuan Guards could not enter these lantern-adorned buildings.

That was exactly what Lu Ye had done back then. Cornered by the Xianyuan Guards, he had hidden inside a building, escaping their pursuit, where he encountered the gambling-addict Liu Sanbao...

That was also where Amber had subjugated his first minion spirit.

History always bore astonishing similarities.

The first time he came to Xianyuan City, Lu Ye had escaped the Xianyuan Guards by taking refuge in this special building.

Now, on his second visit, he was still relying on this unique kind of building to evade the pursuit of the Insect Race.

These special buildings seemed to have been endowed with a unique protective force, indestructible and impervious, offering cultivators a haven in times of peril.

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Of course, simply deducing that this place was Xianyuan City based on these facts alone was somewhat presumptuous, but Lu Ye felt it was highly probable.

This place was very likely Xianyuan City.

Never mind why the second layer of the Mirage Realm connected to Xianyuan City, the current situation indicated that Xianyuan City had clearly been occupied by the Insect Race.

Thinking about it, the Xianyuan Guards were indeed powerful, but they were merely equivalent to the Spirit Stream Realm.

Since entering, the Insect Race Lu Ye had encountered included those at the Spirit Stream Realm, but also at the Cloud River Realm and True Lake Realm...

Fortunately, he hadn't encountered any from the Divine Sea Realm, but recalling the huge gap he had seen in the sky, it was possible that Divine Sea Realm Insect Race members existed—he had just been lucky not to run into any.

How could the Xianyuan Guards possibly stand against such members of the Insect Race? Even the seemingly inscrutable woman in red and the City Lord from back then likely couldn't have resisted them.

Spiritual Bodies also die...

Thinking of Liu Sanbao and many other spiritual intelligences, Lu Ye felt somber. Regardless, those figures had provided him with tremendous assistance back then, and now they were likely gone.

Although it was inexplicable to end up in Xianyuan City again, and the situation was extremely dangerous, this was a rare opportunity.

This city had a Soul Cleansing Pool! And in the Soul Cleansing Pool was Soul Cleansing Water!

That was a treasure even strong cultivators of the Divine Sea Realm coveted, unavailable anywhere but in secret realms like Xianyuan City, not even for sale in the Heaven's Augury treasure vault.

Last time, Lu Ye obtained quite a bit of Soul Cleansing Water here. He used much of it himself, enhancing his psyche far beyond that of cultivators in similar realms, and shared some; now only a small half-bottle remained for emergencies.

But who would ever complain about having too much of such a treasure?

However, to get the Soul Cleansing Water, he must first reach the Soul Cleansing Pool, located towards the City Lord's Residence, right in the center of Xianyuan City.

Lu Ye wasn't sure if his current strength was sufficient for the task, but since the opportunity was before him, he had to try. If he succeeded, he would strike it rich.

He had been unable to obtain more Soul Cleansing Water previously because his time was limited; the Xianyuan City Lord had only allowed him so much time.

Now, the City Lord was most likely gone. As long as he could reach the Soul Cleansing Pool, he could take as much as he wanted without any restrictions. He might even be able to move the entire Soul Cleansing Pool!

Thinking this, Lu Ye felt an intense excitement, even though the situation was somewhat bewildering; this might turn out to be a blessing in disguise after all.

With many thoughts swirling in his mind, Lu Ye continued to focus on healing and recuperating.

However, to his surprise, no matter how many elixir pills he consumed, the feeling of exhaustion remained, and his wounds showed no signs of healing.

Upon reflection, Lu Ye understood.

He was in a state similar to his psyche leaving his body; in strict terms, he was a Spiritual Body. Although he didn't know why he was able to consume elixir pills to replenish his spirit force, the Psyche Force he had expended in the great battle couldn't be replenished in such a short time.

Especially considering the numerous injuries on his body, these were wounds on his Spiritual Body, unrelated to the strength of his physical body; thus, consuming elixir pills was useless for healing his injuries or recovering his spirit.