Sage of Humanity

The flame mentioned by Dark Butterfly is undoubtedly the power of incineration from the Talent Tree.

Earlier during the fierce battle with Jiu Ying in Lu Ye's Divine Sea, she gained some benefits while being burned by that flame and has been craving for it ever since.

Lu Ye was indeed surprised; the soul body of Dark Butterfly wasn't affected by the incineration from the Talent Tree, which didn't make much sense.

Logically speaking, the soul body of Dark Butterfly, being a foreign entity invading his body, should have been treated the same way as Jiu Ying's soul body.

Yet, that wasn't the case.

After some thought, Lu Ye felt this was likely attributed to the Chains of Life, which closely bonded his soul body with Dark Butterfly's under the effect of the Dao Runes, sharing life and death. Evidently, the power of incineration from the Talent Tree regarded her soul body as an ally, not only not harming her but also benefiting her.

The Insect Matriarch had originally focused on specializing her psyche; if she could further purify the impurities in her soul body with the power of incineration from the Talent Tree, it would not only enhance her strength but potentially aid her future advancement to Dao Harmony.

"That fire, it..."

Lu Ye hadn't finished speaking when the Insect Matriarch coldly snorted: "If you dare to say 'no', you'll stay here forever and never leave!"

"It's definitely possible!" Lu Ye quickly shifted his tone, "I'll discuss it when I get back."

"Alright, I'll wait for you," Dark Butterfly responded gently, reminding Lu Ye of the first life cycle where the little wife stood tip-toed before the hut waiting for her husband to return.

Unable to resist a cold shiver, Lu Ye was curious, "Aren't you afraid I'll run off?"

He had thought Dark Butterfly wouldn't agree so easily and was already considering negotiating terms with her, but she agreed without hesitation.

"You belong to me; where could you possibly run to?" Dark Butterfly laughed softly, "Return to the human race's side? Can you really go back?"

Lu Ye remained silent, as that was the most annoying aspect. He had been abducted in front of everyone, so even if he returned to the human race and explained the truth, no one would believe him.

The Insect and Blood Races have numerous agents, and means to control them, which are quite unusual.

Ever since he was abducted, he had been branded with the label of the Insect and Blood Races.

"Your only refuge is here with me; don't harbor futile thoughts," Dark Butterfly chuckled softly.

"You have the power, so whatever you say goes," Lu Ye shrugged indifferently, patting his backside and standing up, "I'll be off then, could you arrange a stone bug to show me the way?"

"Wait a moment, someone will take you there," Dark Butterfly said.

"Who?" No sooner had Lu Ye asked than a name popped into his mind.

Li Qi!

Since his identity was exposed, this guy seemed to have been on standby with Dark Butterfly.

Sure enough, shortly afterward, Li Qi's figure stepped into the core of the insect hive, arriving before Dark Butterfly, and respectfully saluted, "Greetings, Insect Matriarch!"

While speaking, he glanced at Lu Ye standing nearby smiling, full of curiosity.

Li Qi wasn't sure of the events transpiring between Dark Butterfly and Lu Ye during this period, but judging by Dark Butterfly's urgent intervention to save him last time, she evidently valued Lu Ye greatly!

This level of importance was unprecedented.

A single Crane Wings Array Runes wouldn't cause a strong entity like Dark Butterfly to take such an attitude, so what on earth was the reason?

Without coming up with an answer, Li Qi dared not ask and could only ponder it privately.

"Fellow Daoist Li Qi," Lu Ye greeted cheerfully upon his gaze.

Though an initiate, Li Qi didn't dare be negligent, nodding slightly, "Fellow Daoist Lu."

Lu Ye said, "Many thanks for your help earlier, Fellow Daoist."

Li Qi maintained his usual composure, "I was merely following orders, Fellow Daoist Lu was too kind."

Lu Ye nodded, "Let's not dwell on the gratitude; since we'll be working under Little Butterfly together, I ask for your guidance in the future!"

Little Butterfly...

Li Qi's eyelids twitched violently, almost thinking he misheard, but he restrained his inner shock, "Certainly, I was quite rude earlier, I hope Fellow Daoist Lu can forgive me."

What's happening here? How did Lu Ye come to refer to the Insect Matriarch so intimately? And why did she not object?

Between these two... something significant seems to have transpired.

"Li Qi, lead Lu Ye to a relic, a giant ant is lost inside," Dark Butterfly's soft and alluring voice instructed.

"Yes!"

Li Qi accepted the orders, turned his complex gaze toward Lu Ye, and gestured, "Come, Fellow Daoist Lu!"

Moving forward, Lu Ye warmly patted Li Qi's shoulder, "Please lead the way, Fellow Daoist Li Qi, I'll follow you."

Li Qi nodded, proceeded to walk out, but abruptly halted two steps in as overwhelming danger overcame him. Before he could react, his view inverted, and simultaneously, the Insect Matriarch exclaimed with shock, "Lu Ye, what are you doing?"

At that moment, Lu Ye stood behind Li Qi, shaking fresh blood off the Boulder Mountain Saber with a cold expression.

Li Qi, originally standing in front of him, now lay decapitated.

At the insect hive core, in front of the Insect Matriarch, Li Qi had no defenses, never expecting the smiling Lu Ye to suddenly launch a surprise attack.

What made him even more incredulous was that Lu Ye actually succeeded!

I, a dignified 6th Order Dao Fusion cultivator, was ambushed and killed by someone who had just Entered the Path?

As his head rolled to the ground, not yet dead, Li Qi's eyelids fluttered twice, full of confusion.

Lu Ye stepped on his head, exerting force, and the head shattered. The already clouded vision turned completely dark.

"Lu Ye!" The Insect Matriarch was visibly furious.

Let alone Li Qi being completely unguarded against Lu Ye, even she hadn't sensed anything before Lu Ye acted. Lu Ye hid his intent to kill so well, if there had been even the slightest anomaly before acting, the Insect Matriarch would have noticed.

"Don't shout!" Lu Ye put away the Boulder Mountain Saber, crouched down, and began dismantling his bones. The Dao Bone of a 6th Order Dao Fusion cultivator, after all, contained Dao force incomparable to a regular Entering the Path cultivator.

"You..." The Dark Butterfly was furious.

Although Li Qi was of no great use after his identity as a spy was exposed, he was nonetheless a 6th Order Dao Fusion cultivator, yet he was killed just like that under her watch.

What's more infuriating was that the instigator was calmly dismantling bones and collecting spoils.

This was completely disregarding her!

"I am very angry!" The Dark Butterfly spoke, rich Soul Power surging, and the surrounding space slightly twisting.

Lu Ye turned his head: "So what to do? Either you kill me, a life for a life!"

As early as when Li Qi brought him to the insect hive, Lu Ye had murderous intentions, but at that time Li Qi was clearly somewhat guarded against him, so even if Lu Ye had a chance of a sneak attack, it wasn't high, and he would risk exposing his strength.

Because of Li Qi, he was captured and brought to the insect hive, and now returning to the human race side was becoming a luxury.

Because of Li Qi, the previous battle at the Fengji Stronghold saw heavy human casualties.

A person like this did not deserve to live.

This time, seized by Lu Ye, how could he miss the chance?

Li Qi did not know Lu Ye's strength, and he was completely off guard with the Insect Matriarch present. This was why Lu Ye succeeded in one strike.

Of course, it also had something to do with his recent increase in strength. Now with the Hundred Dao Power, even if not as strong as Li Qi, the gap wasn't as vast. With a calculated effort and Li Qi being taken by surprise, who else would die if not Li Qi?

Hearing Lu Ye's words, the Dark Butterfly became visibly angrier, Soul Power surging even more clearly. What did 'a life for a life' mean, if she really killed Lu Ye, could she still live?

If it were before, abandoning the Secondary Soul would suffice, but after the fierce battle with Jiu Ying, the Secondary Soul and Primary Soul had thoroughly fused, along with binding the Chains of Life to the entire soul body.

The bulky flesh body was trembling slightly...

"Alright, stop being angry, wait for me to come back and burn you, guarantee it'll be exhilarating!"

"Do you think you have me completely figured out?" The Dark Butterfly gritted her teeth, discovering for the first time how detestable this guy was, yet she was helpless.

Lu Ye sneered: "It's the Insect Matriarch that has me figured out! Or why don't we undo the Chains of Life?"

"Alright!" The Dark Butterfly immediately responded, "Do you dare?"

"Just a casual remark." Lu Ye sniffed and then suddenly his eyes brightened as he pulled out a small square cauldron from Li Qi's storage ring and held it up in front of the Dark Butterfly: "This is a Dao soldier, right? Isn't it? I didn't mistake it, did I?"

He had long suspected that someone like Li Qi, at the Dao Fusion level, would definitely start nurturing his own Dao soldier, but it was unfortunate that he hadn't seen it before.

He only discovered it now when searching the corpse.

"Get lost!" The Dark Butterfly was full of anger but didn't know where to vent it.

"Alright!" Lu Ye didn't act politely, striding directly towards the exit of the insect hive.

"Where are you going?" The Dark Butterfly hurriedly asked.

"To the ruins!" Without looking back, Lu Ye said, the predetermined itinerary couldn't change, and what Jiu Ying said earlier caught his attention, so he needed to investigate the ruins.

"Take the stone bug!" The Dark Butterfly spoke again, and immediately Li Qi's stone bug flew onto Lu Ye's shoulder.

Lu Ye didn't mind, heading straight out of the core of the insect hive.

Only leaving behind Li Qi's corpse and a pool of blood, but with the writhing of the flesh wall, the blood and remains quickly disappeared without a trace.

The Dark Butterfly was in a gloomy mood, originally planning for Li Qi to take Lu Ye to the ruins, but Lu Ye ended up killing Li Qi with a single strike.

She had no desire to dispatch other Dao Fusion cultivators back, knowing Lu Ye's strength; ordinary Dao Fusion cultivators truly weren't his opponents, so there was no need to have someone escort him.

As for whether Lu Ye would take this opportunity to escape… the Dark Butterfly wasn't worried at all, the Chains of Life still in place, no matter where Lu Ye ran, he couldn't escape her control. Besides, as she said earlier, from the moment Lu Ye was captured, he was tagged by the Insect and Blood Races, it was impossible to return to the human camp.

While lost in thought, the Dark Butterfly suddenly cursed angrily: "Bastard!"

With the help of the stone bug's reconnaissance, she discovered that Lu Ye was killing all the way inside the insect hive, turning it into a river of blood, countless cultivators of the Insect and Blood Races fell victim.

This bastard, when his strength hadn't been exposed before, was still pretending, now that his strength was exposed, he didn't even bother to act!

Using the stone bug, she cursed Lu Ye across the air, telling him to stop being so wanton, but Lu Ye treated it as a breeze past his ear, even leisurely replying: "If you nag some more, I'll kill the stone bug too!"

The Dark Butterfly felt like she was about to explode!

Ultimately, she held back, but Lu Ye found he could no longer continue his slaughter because as he went along, he saw not a single enemy, clearly, the Dark Butterfly had warned them in advance, instructing any possible Insect and Blood Race cultivators he might encounter to avoid him.

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