Sage of Humanity

"Heaven's Augury grants protection that can last for several Shichen?"

Lu Ye was astonished.

"At the very least, as for exactly how long it can last, I'm not clear on that, I've only heard about it before, this is the first time I've seen the actual item."

Feng Yuechan also spoke up, "This is a blessing from Heaven's Augury, I have only heard of people obtaining the Golden Body Token in the secret realm, but I did not know it could also appear in this hunting ground. However, since it is an item bestowed by Heaven's Augury and the hunting ground is filled with various fortunes scattered about, it's possible for it to appear. It seems someone acquired this Golden Body Token but didn't get the chance to use it, and now it's our good fortune."

Hearing her say this, Lu Ye suddenly remembered a detail.

During the ambush on that group of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators, one of them indeed seemed to be trying to take something out of his storage sack but, unfortunately, before he could do so, he was slain by Lu Ye who was lurking close by.

Now it seems that person must have been trying to take out the Golden Body Token from his storage sack; otherwise, what would he have been reaching into his storage sack for at such a life-and-death moment?

"Junior brother, this item is rare, store it well, it can save your life at a crucial time," Li Baxian instructed.

A Golden Body Token is a barrier to death, after all, it's a form of protection gifted by the heavens, and it's simply not something ordinary means can break through.

In the past few days, having experienced trials and tribulations, both encounters with Level 9 experts and desperate fights with Level 7 entities, Li Baxian thought something had gone wrong with his junior brother's luck. But now, seeing that his junior brother's luck still held strong, obtaining something as rare as the Golden Body Token, that's not something that could be attributed to ordinary luck.

"How should this item be used?" Lu Ye inquired.

Li Baxian replied, "Activate it by infusing it with spirit force."

It was indeed simple; Lu Ye nodded and carefully stored the Golden Body Token.

This kind of item that could save one's life in times of crisis was truly more valuable than any treasure. Many treasures might be good, but one's own life is ultimately unique.

After a brief rest, they continued their mission.

Two days later, Lu Ye was hiding his figure, lying in wait in the shadows.

Since acquiring the Golden Body Token, his luck had been on a winning streak; these past two days had been fruitful. Currently, Lu Ye's ranking on the Kills Ranking had reached third place, only about five hundred kill points behind the first place Tan Sheng. At this rate, he would be able to surpass in just a few days.

Of course, with the hunting ground having been open for half a month already, whether he could return to first place before it closed was still uncertain.

He had been waiting at this spot for about six hours, and in that time, a group of cultivators did pass by, but upon Li Baxian's attempt to ambush them and determining they were from the Haotian Alliance, they decided to halt.

Just as he was getting bored, a violent surge of spirit force came from a few miles away, and Lu Ye looked up in the direction from which the spirit force emanated, a dazzling column of light catching his eye.

This is...

This is the commotion caused by the activation of that special gold-hued spirit fortune stick!

Having witnessed such a gold-hued spirit fortune stick granted by Heaven's Augury explode in his hand no fewer than four times, Lu Ye was naturally familiar with such a commotion.

This was the first time he had seen someone else's spirit fortune stick explode, indeed a sight to behold.

Although every day someone is chosen by Heaven's Augury and granted a spirit fortune stick, the hunting ground is vast, and since Lu Ye and his group usually lay in wait for their prey, they didn't cover a wide range, so the explosions of those spirit fortune sticks were far from them and undetected.

But he didn't expect to be so close this time.

Lu Ye's thoughts churned, and quickly he regained his composure, deciding not to get involved in the excitement. Although he had once reaped the benefits of that special gold-hued spirit fortune stick, now that it had activated, all the nearby cultivators would surely be rushing over. There would inevitably be many formidable opponents that could not be defeated. A Level 7 like Hea Bing had already forced them to recuperate for three days; attracting stronger figures would leave them with no way out.

The Golden Body Token could only protect one person anyway.

Even so, if he were not concerned about exposing his whereabouts, Lu Ye would prefer to leave this place of trouble.

A few miles distance was indeed too close for Cloud River Realm cultivators, but making any rash moves now was not a wise choice, better to continue hiding.

While he was considering this, a figure suddenly came into his field of vision. The person appeared anxious, as if fleeing from something, traveling through the air at a height of only seventy or eighty feet from the ground. Judging by the spirit force fluctuations emanating from this individual, they were a Level 6 cultivator.

The man was muttering under his breath as he fled, his expression showing extreme indignation.

Lu Ye's mind stirred with a hunch, and just as he was about to inform Li Baxian, a streak of sword light flashed by, and Li Baxian's figure was revealed, rushing towards the Level 6 cultivator.

Already on edge, the man turned pale when faced with the surprise attack, frantically attempting to defend himself.

The brief skirmish caused the battlefield markings on the back of Li Baxian's and the stranger's hands to emit lights of two colors.

Noticing Li Baxian was of Level 4 cultivation, the man was furious, "A Level 4 dares to fight for treasures, courting death!"

As he said this, he pointed a finger, and streaks of weapon control light bombarded Li Baxian, who countered with a flying sword, the clanging of metal ringing through the air.

While the stranger was locked in combat with Li Baxian, he failed to prevent an attack from Feng Yuechan on the flank. With spells thundering in, the assault from both sides left the man in a state of absolute disarray.

Though there was only one level difference between Level 7 and Level 6, the disparity in strength was great, and it was clear this man's foundations could not compare to Hea Bing's. Hea Bing had advanced to the Cloud River Realm with three hundred and sixty orifices open, but this man had not reached Great Perfection before advancing. He had only opened two hundred ninety-eight orifices back in the Spirit Stream Realm.

Such a Level 6 cultivator, being attacked simultaneously by Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, naturally showed signs of being hard-pressed.

Don't mention them joining forces, even alone, each had the capability to fight against it.

Realizing Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan were not to be messed with, this person's expression turned ugly. He just felt incredibly unlucky, having escaped only to be intercepted here, and from the looks of it, his opponents had been waiting here for quite some time.

This was not an ambush targeted at him; they were merely hunting here, but he walked right into their trap.

If it were not because the treasure could not be given away once blessed, he would have already offered it up in exchange for his life. But he had previously attempted to discard it and found it impossible, a truly desperate situation.

He had also considered seeking the protection of a powerful Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivator, but those strong ones were currently vying for rankings on the Kills Ranking, and no one had the time to protect him. Besides, with time pressing, he couldn't even contact a suitable strong cultivator.

He cursed the heavens for being blind; there were so many people in the hunting field, yet it just had to be him who was chosen.

Already in dire straits, as these wild thoughts swirled in his head, the situation grew increasingly unfavorable for him.

Suddenly, a piercing killing intent struck from behind, followed by intense pain engulfing his body. Caught completely off guard, his figure was sent flying and he landed in a sorry state.

At his original location, Lu Ye's figure emerged, flames entwining the Boulder Mountain Saber.

Having struck with a single sabercut, Lu Ye charged forward. Li Baxian's flying sword and Feng Yuechan's magic and spells also came from the sides.

The man scrambled to his feet, clumsily deflecting the flying sword, only to be staggered by the magic.

Lu Ye was already upon him. As the Boulder Mountain Saber swung down, the man had no power to resist.

Blood splattered, and his mangled body thudded to the ground.

Somewhat surprisingly, this Level 6 cultivator... was unimaginably weak.

In the past, Lu Ye, together with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, had also teamed up to kill two or three Level 6 cultivators, but none had been as frail as this man turned out to be.

It seemed that this man's foundation was very weak, likely having opened few spiritual orifices during his time in the Spirit Stream Realm.

Hurriedly collecting the spoils of war, Lu Ye took the man's storage sack and Spiritual Artifact, then reached into the man's chest and, sure enough, found a gold-hued spirit fortune stick wrapped in faint aqua-colored light...

"Let's go!"

With a call from Lu Ye, Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan hurriedly followed, not even having the time to collect the array banners and array base scattered around.

They hadn't run a hundred yards when a streak of light came flying towards them from ahead, arriving in a blink of an eye and revealing a person's figure.

Clearly, sensing the commotion of the fight, he came to investigate.

Lu Ye and his companions were on high alert.

Fortunately, the battlefield markings on the backs of their hands did not light up; the newcomer was from the Haotian Alliance.

Realizing the cultivation of Lu Ye and his companions, the man waved his hand, signaling for them to leave quickly.

Lu Ye bowed with a fist, and he, together with Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, swiftly left the scene.

Shortly after, intense sounds of combat came from behind them; it was likely that the Haotian Alliance cultivator had encountered a Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivator. Such noise would undoubtedly attract many cultivators to investigate. The greater the disturbance, the safer Lu Ye and his companions would be.

After a short while, the three of them rushed into a cave, with Lu Ye immediately activating the cave's Concealment Array to hide their auras and then stationing on the teleportation array.

This time they were fortunate. On the way back they only encountered someone from the Haotian Alliance and no others, so their position hadn't been exposed yet, there was no rush to teleport away.

It wouldn't be too late to start the teleportation when others truly found this place.

Time passed, with the sounds of swift movements occasionally reaching their ears, as well as the intermittent noise of fierce fights from a distance, all likely attracted by the previous anomaly involving both factions of cultivators.

By now, neither side knew into whose hands the gold-hued spirit fortune stick had fallen. Mainly because Lu Ye and his companions were lucky and acted quickly, the anomaly had just started when the holder of the gold-hued spirit fortune stick entered their ambush circle.

With his death, the whereabouts of the gold-hued spirit fortune stick became unknown.

Two hours, four hours...

The noise outside gradually subsided, and Lu Ye and his companions, who had been on edge the entire time, also relaxed.

Only now did they have the mood to check the spoils of war.

There were several storage sacks, each opened one by one, but they found nothing particularly valuable except for the gold-hued spirit fortune stick Lu Ye had found on the man.

Undoubtedly, it was a special spirit fortune stick bestowed by Heaven's Augury, with the faint aqua-colored light being the best indicator.

Lu Ye himself had not expected to get his hands on such a spirit fortune stick again, but with the experience from before, he was quite confident in keeping it safe. As long as his luck was not too terrible, the spirit fortune stick should not be taken from him.

A spirit fortune stick like this, bestowed by Heaven's Augury, was not necessarily a good thing for ordinary cultivators, because it couldn't be used, stored in a storage sack, or even discarded before the deadline; it had to be carried on the person.