Sage of Humanity

"Who?" Jiu Ying was startled.

In the next instant, it knew exactly who the "she" from Lu Ye's mouth was.

In the Divine Sea, a seductive, graceful figure suddenly appeared, an anxious look spread across her exquisite, flawless face.

Dark Butterfly had finally rushed over!

And because her soul body had left her shell, and she was connected to Lu Ye by the Chains of Life, she entered Lu Ye's soul sea almost effortlessly.

Her soul-stealing, spirit-snatching eyes swept across and saw the Jiu Ying remnant soul stirring up a storm, her pupils shrinking.

Then she looked toward Lu Ye's side, where he was desperately holding on under the Ghost Ship's protection, brilliant green light contending with the flames.

"What's going on?" Dark Butterfly asked in a low voice.

She naturally recognized Jiu Ying's identity, but no matter how she racked her brains, she couldn't think of when such an ancient monster had appeared in this Banlan stellar space.

Even though it was just a remnant soul, Dark Butterfly still felt a trace of oppression from Jiu Ying.

Jiu Ying was, after all, a supreme powerhouse, far beyond Dark Butterfly's current realm; only because it had been grievously wounded and slumbering had it ended up like this today. But even a dead camel is bigger than a horse; that faint pressure might be imperceptible to Lu Ye, but Dark Butterfly could sense it.

"It wants to seize my body!"

His backing had arrived; Lu Ye suddenly gained confidence, and his voice grew much louder.

Truly, the ways of the world were ever-changing—who would have thought there'd come a day when he'd treat Dark Butterfly as his support; previously he wouldn't even have imagined it.

Dark Butterfly's eyes narrowed slightly.

Jiu Ying wanting to seize Lu Ye's body was no good thing for her, because once Jiu Ying succeeded, Lu Ye's soul body would certainly be annihilated. What sort of impact that would have on her, Dark Butterfly had no way of deducing.

If it were some Dao Fusion cultivator trying this, Dark Butterfly absolutely wouldn't be polite—she, a Peak Dao Fusion, looking across all of Banlan, truly had no need to fear anyone.

But what stood before her was Jiu Ying; even if it was only a remnant soul, Dark Butterfly did not dare to underestimate it, because she could see that this remnant soul was somewhat strange.

After a brief moment of thought, Dark Butterfly smiled gently and gave a graceful bow: "Insect Race Dark Butterfly pays respects to Fellow Daoist Jiu Ying!"

Jiu Ying snorted coldly: "What kind of status do you have, that you dare to discuss the Dao and call yourself this exalted one's friend?"

A mere Dao Fusion—at its peak, it could be killed in swathes with a single breath.

Dark Butterfly's smile stiffened, but she very deftly suppressed the displeasure in her heart: "Senior speaks rightly; it is indeed this junior who overstepped."

On the Ghost Ship, Lu Ye glared at her, very much wanting to ask what she thought she was doing—calling you over wasn't to make acquaintances, it was to help fight.

Coming in like this only weakened his momentum—could she still do it or not!

"Senior, if you want a body, this junior can help. Whatever kind of body you desire, I can obtain it for you. Why must you fixate on him? Look at him—merely at the Enter the Path stage, and a human race at that, hardly Senior's first choice." Dark Butterfly spoke slowly; if conflict with Jiu Ying could be avoided, that would naturally be best.

Lu Ye's expression became increasingly incredulous; he only felt that calling Dark Butterfly over had truly been a misstep.

"Merely Enter the Path?" Jiu Ying gave Dark Butterfly a sidelong glance, seemingly wanting to mock her, but quickly reacted and let out a fierce laugh: "Looks like you know nothing!"

If she did know, she would never speak like this.

Dark Butterfly was taken aback: "What should this junior know?"

"No need for nonsense. This exalted one only needs his body; I have no use for anyone else's. In view of your knowing your manners, withdraw at once, otherwise this exalted one will kill you together with him."

Dark Butterfly immediately put on a pitiful look: "Senior, he is very important to me, could you not yield a little?"

Jiu Ying fixed her with a cold stare: "If that is so, once this exalted one has seized his body, I can give you a little guidance, help you break through to Dao Harmony. Stand down!"

"Dao Harmony!" Dark Butterfly's expression tightened, a look of longing flashing in her eyes.

Within Banlan, the number of Peak Dao Fusion cultivators was not many, yet not few either; she was one of them. However, from ancient times to now, not a single Peak Dao Fusion had ever broken through to Dao Harmony.

This stretch of stellar space seemed to possess an invisible constraint, hindering Dao Fusion cultivators from peering into a higher realm.

What was this Jiu Ying's background, to speak with such arrogance!

If she could advance to Dao Harmony, then within Branlan she could be called invincible; the human race, Giant Race—she could destroy them with a flick of her hand!

Steadying her mind, Dark Butterfly hesitated and asked: "May I ask where Senior's confidence comes from?"

Jiu Ying said proudly: "Banlan is this exalted one's Dao soldier! What do you think?"

"What?" Dark Butterfly was dumbfounded; she had guessed that Jiu Ying's origin was not small, but never expected something like this. She blankly turned her head to look at Lu Ye, as if wanting confirmation from him.

Lu Ye kept a dark face and refused to look at her.

Now this was great—the backing he'd called over was about to be poached. What the hell was he even playing at.

As if sensing Dark Butterfly's doubt, Jiu Ying said slowly: "This exalted one suffered grievous wounds and slept for many years, only just awakening, and thus cannot exert full strength. But so long as this exalted one regains a body, sooner or later I will return to my peak. By then, let alone Dao Harmony, even above Dao Harmony, this exalted one can point out the path for you!"

"Above Dao Harmony!" Dark Butterfly's heart thumped wildly.

"Still not withdrawing!" Jiu Ying barked coldly. "Could it be you intend to become this exalted one's enemy?"

Dark Butterfly's expression changed, her features shifting for a moment, then she once again bowed gracefully: "This junior wouldn't dare. To meet Senior today is the utmost honor for this junior. From this day forth, I am willing to follow Senior and serve like a dog or a horse. If Senior does not cast me aside, this junior will never leave!"

"Very good!" Jiu Ying revealed a satisfied look.

"Then… this junior will take her leave!" As Dark Butterfly spoke, she cast a glance at Lu Ye, who was lowering his head over there, and her soul body swiftly withdrew from the soul sea.

The firelight and green radiance still clashed.

On the Ghost Ship, Lu Ye's figure stood alone, solitary and unsupported.

And while Jiu Ying and Dark Butterfly were talking, the flames on the Ghost Ship were almost completely suppressed.

Jiu Ying gazed at Lu Ye indifferently: "Still want to resist? Your trump card is gone."

Lu Ye said nothing, looking utterly dejected and hopeless.

Jiu Ying nodded in satisfaction: "Since that's the case, I'll be taking your physical body as my true vessel."

As the words fell, the green radiance flared.

With a cracking sound, the Ghost Ship's protection shattered, and Jiu Ying's body shot forward like lightning, lunging straight at Lu Ye.

In that very instant, Lu Ye suddenly lifted his head and looked over at it.

Meeting Lu Ye's playful gaze, Jiu Ying's expression changed; it vaguely felt that something was off, but there was simply no time to think.

A thunderous roar rang out as the Array on the Ghost Ship activated, unleashing a sweeping offensive.

The shattering of the defenses just now had actually been Lu Ye's deliberate action, all for the sake of this one instant of counterattack!

"Petty tricks!" Jiu Ying was unafraid. Lu Ye's strength was far inferior to its own, so this level of assault meant little to it. It let the barrage strike its body, which only rippled faintly.

Yet at that moment, Jiu Ying's face suddenly changed. It hurriedly turned around, and a familiar graceful figure already entered its sight.

Dark Butterfly had come back to kill!

With a lifted palm, a ferocious force crashed down toward the one remaining head of Jiu Ying.

This strike caught Jiu Ying utterly off guard. It had never imagined that Dark Butterfly, who had just acted so sincere and submissive, would give it a backstab at such a moment, and moreover, her coordination with Lu Ye was flawless.

"You're courting death!" Jiu Ying bellowed in rage. Faced with this blow, it didn't dodge at all, opening its bloody maw to bite straight toward Dark Butterfly.

It hated betrayal most of all. Back in the day, its defeat in that great battle had been due to this very reason. Dark Butterfly had just sworn allegiance to it, yet in the blink of an eye she launched a sneak attack, forcing it to recall that former betrayal, eyes blazing with fury that was almost impossible to quell.

A delicate cry rang out as Dark Butterfly's figure flew off to the side like a paper kite. In that split-second clash she was completely outmatched; seeing that bloody maw about to clamp down on her soul body, a mass of firelight suddenly surged forth.

Jiu Ying immediately halted. It still held some dread toward this strange flame.

Dark Butterfly narrowly escaped with her life. Stabilizing her stance, her expression grew incomparably grave.

She had already tried to estimate Jiu Ying's strength as highly as possible, yet discovered she'd still underestimated it.

Lu Ye's voice drifted from the Ghost Ship, somewhat leisurely: "Stop holding back. If you don't go all out, you're not its match. As the saying goes, even a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. It's at least an ancient Senior—show some proper respect."

Dark Butterfly shot him a glance and ground her teeth: "Sooner or later I'll be killed by you!"

Lu Ye sneered repeatedly: "This time you're the one who got me killed. If you hadn't sent me into the ruins, how would I have met it? Don't think I don't know what kind of scheming you were up to!"

Dark Butterfly pressed her lips together, momentarily at a loss for words.

Strictly speaking, this really was her fault. If she hadn't wanted to use the isolating power of the ruins to break the Chains of Life, none of what followed would have happened, and the current crisis wouldn't exist at all.

"Not going all out?" Jiu Ying's expression tightened as it looked at Dark Butterfly: "Then this sovereign would like to see just how strong this 'full strength' of yours really is!"

Dark Butterfly forced out a faint smile: "Senior, how about we just let today's matter go? You leave this place, and we'll pretend we never met."

Jiu Ying said coldly: "Impossible. Since this sovereign has awakened, it will never sleep again."

For it, there was only this one chance. It had waited so hard for it—how could it possibly let it slip? If it missed this time, then it truly could only wait for death, or casually snatch some random body.

So there was no way it would agree to Dark Butterfly's proposal.

Dark Butterfly sighed: "Senior, you've ruined me completely."

Her face wore a bitter look. If she had a choice, she truly didn't want to fight Jiu Ying, but given Jiu Ying's stance, this battle was unavoidable.

The bitterness on her face suddenly vanished, turning into steely resolve, and her voice grew calm: "In that case, this junior will brazenly ask Senior for guidance!"

Another Dark Butterfly suddenly appeared out of thin air. The two Dark Butterflies drew together toward the middle, swiftly merging into one!

The Dark Butterfly that had appeared earlier was clearly just a Secondary Soul, the very Secondary Soul shackled by the Chains of Life, only able to exert thirty percent of Dark Butterfly's full strength!

Though they had clashed only once, Dark Butterfly already understood that relying on the power of a Secondary Soul alone, it was absolutely impossible to be Jiu Ying's match.

This remnant soul looked incomplete, even not entirely solid, but the strength it could unleash was not to be underestimated.

If she fought Jiu Ying with merely thirty percent of her strength through that Secondary Soul, then both she and Lu Ye would die here today!

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