Sage of Humanity

Having resolved the matter with Jiu Ying, Lu Ye felt a weight lifted from his heart.

Looking back on all his interactions with Jiu Ying, the methods of this ancient monster that had lived for an untold number of years were truly formidable and unavoidable.

In the battle at the Divine Sea, both Lu Ye and the Dark Butterfly had believed Jiu Ying to be dead.

Later, if it weren't for Lu Ye using the power of incineration from the Talent Tree to burn away the residual poison in the Divine Sea, they never would have detected the lingering trace of its Spiritual Sense.

This creature concealed itself too well.

If it had not been discovered at the time, the consequences would have been endless.

This time as well, due to the oath, Jiu Ying couldn't directly target Lu Ye, but targeting the Dark Butterfly posed no problem. It knew of the existence of the Chains of Life because the entire plan was formulated with Lu Ye, and Jiu Ying was fully aware of the many details.

Previously, Lu Ye had entered and exited the relics multiple times, observing Jiu Ying's arrangements within, yet still hadn't found anything suspicious.

However, an unexpected incident occurred during the Dark Butterfly's refining process.

Jiu Ying could not be left alive; the hidden danger it posed outweighed any benefit it might bring. Keeping it alive could lead to being caught off guard at any moment.

Without rushing to leave the relics, Lu Ye approached the tightly closed door on his right, opened it using a special technique, then activated the Teleportation Array to enter the medicinal garden.

Coming to the previous location of the Enlightenment Tea Tree, he found that the tree was gone.

He didn't know where it had gone this time.

But the medicinal garden was only so large; Lu Ye eventually found it.

Just as before, as Lu Ye approached, the tea tree trembled and curled into a ball.

The tea tree's power was undoubtedly strong, but unfortunately, it lacked clear awareness of this, which gave Lu Ye the opportunity to exploit it.

Standing in front of the tea tree, Lu Ye stifled a chuckle and muttered softly: "Out of tea leaves."

Every time he polished his Dao Bone, he would keep a leaf in his mouth, and over the days, they had indeed been nearly depleted.

As his words fell, the tea tree awoke as if from a dream, quivering slightly as leaves fell one by one.

Lu Ye reached out and scooped up the tea leaves, gently patting the tree's crown: "I'll be back next time!"

He then turned and left.

Only after a long while did the bundled-up tea tree suddenly twist and transform, a petite girl appearing on the spot, sitting on the ground with arms wrapped around her knees, lowering her head in grievance.

Thinking of her sadness, she burst into tears.

Silently resolved, she could not continue giving in so easily. If she did, her head would soon be bald. Next time that vile creature came in, she would definitely make him pay.

Exiting the medicinal garden, Lu Ye made some preparations at the door, then headed toward the door in another direction.

The passage behind this door connected directly to the exit out of Banlan!

Now that he had refined the Banlan Core, he should be able to collect this Dao soldier.

Lu Ye was somewhat excited; if he could accomplish this, in the future, whenever he encountered powerful enemies, he would just need to summon Banlan, trapping them in this piece of stellar space, allowing him to defeat them at his leisure.

Moreover, what excited him even more was that inside Banlan there were many cultivation resources.

The Dao Bone inside the cultivators of the Insect and Blood Races served as capital for him to enhance his own strength.

What was his original intention for leaving the Qing Palace to explore the Star Abyss? It was to hunt Dao Bones for cultivation. If he could carry Banlan with him, he could return home whenever he needed Dao Bones, enter directly, and the path to Dao Fusion would be imminent!

Additionally, on his home planet of the battle alliance, there was the Dao Runes Pavilion, containing many Dao Runes that could assist him in advancing to Dao Fusion.

Currently, he indeed could not easily gain the trust of the human race, but possessing the method to leave Banlan, he didn't believe those at Peak Dao Fusion wouldn't be tempted.

With many thoughts in his head, the future looked promising.

He quickly came to the previous exit, and without hesitation, stepped in.

His vision blurred, and he found himself in the Star Abyss, with the colorful, shrinking stellar space sliding past.

It had been over a year since he last left; in just over a year, everything had changed dramatically. Now, he had become the master of Banlan.

Suppressing a bit of excitement in his heart, Lu Ye raised his hand towards Banlan, as if to grasp the Dao soldier in his hand.

Banlan moved farther away…

Lu Ye's expression turned to astonishment, and after a while he hurriedly moved, chasing after it.

Upon trying again, it still proved futile.

Lu Ye blinked, suddenly realizing a problem.

Banlan was of too high a level, and as someone who had only Entered the Path, even though he had refined the core, he couldn't control it.

The feeling he had when trying to grasp Banlan was like that of a three-year-old child trying to grasp a great mountain, the mountain towering and unmovable, how could a mere child hope to shake it?

Lu Ye felt a chill in his heart; if this were the case, then all his previous plans might be difficult to achieve.

Suddenly, he felt a bit of regret for killing Jiu Ying; if it were still alive, perhaps there would be a solution.

But upon reflection, even Jiu Ying would probably be powerless in this situation. There's no shortcut to acquiring Banlan; it depends entirely on one's own strength.

What now? Lu Ye felt a headache creeping in.

He had been immersed in the joy of refining the Banlan Core, completely unaware that such a situation would occur.

He recalled his previous investigations of various places within Banlan; in just a brief moment, his mind was greatly depleted, undoubtedly due to insufficient strength.

He felt a bit helpless.

Should he have Dark Butterfly come out to assist? With the support of Twin Flying Phoenixes, he could borrow her strength, but even if Dark Butterfly was at Peak Dao Fusion, could she really subdue Banlan?

Moreover, if Dark Butterfly were brought out, would she be willing to return?

For someone like her at Peak Dao Fusion, Banlan was a prison. After finally getting out, she certainly wouldn't want to go back.

Furthermore, if Dark Butterfly discovered she had made wedding clothes for someone else with her efforts, she wouldn't let it go easily. This matter couldn't be concealed, but if Lu Ye subdued Banlan in front of her, borrowing her strength, Dark Butterfly would definitely be displeased.

This was problematic.

After some thought, Lu Ye realized he really had no short-term solution to subdue this Dao soldier.

But if he didn't subdue it, it would continue drifting aimlessly; who knows where it might take him? Returning would then be a troublesome affair.

Considering this, Lu Ye's brows furrowed.

If he couldn't subdue it, could he stop Banlan from drifting? If he could keep it here, he could still find his way back, maybe even use Banlan as a reference point!

His thoughts opened up, and Lu Ye immediately activated his Dao force, attempting to control Banlan.

It was difficult, but stopping Banlan's drift had feasibility, unlike the impractical task of a three-year-old seizing a mountain.

Lu Ye could clearly feel that as he exerted himself, Banlan's drifting speed slightly slowed.

His Dao force was being consumed rapidly.

Moments later, Lu Ye stopped.

It wasn't futile; it's just that his Dao force was depleted. During the refinement of Banlan he had already consumed much Dao force, though it went smoothly due to the foundation laid by Dark Butterfly.

However, trying to stop Banlan's drift now required a substantial amount of Dao force, much more than during refining.

He needed to replenish it first.

Thinking of this, Lu Ye didn't hesitate. He dashed back into Banlan.

Outside the ruins, at the altar, Dark Butterfly's face was as dark as water!

With Lu Ye's departure from Banlan, that distant feeling returned once again. Dark Butterfly couldn't fathom what Lu Ye was doing in the ruins, not emerging for days and constantly changing positions.

Indeed, she shouldn't have trusted him! Saying he wouldn't wander off was purely deception.

Recalling past experiences, Dark Butterfly clearly thought he had fled again. She was deeply resentful, vowing to break his leg when she caught him again!

Yet, she hesitated, remembering how in the ruins she wanted to break the Chains of Life, but Lu Ye disagreed, instead using Twin Flying Phoenixes to help her overcome danger.

As she pondered distractedly, Lu Ye's position changed drastically again.

Without any forewarning, that distant feeling disappeared; Lu Ye had appeared in a new location, still far but entirely different from before.

Inside Banlan, at Lu Ye's first appearance, he concealed himself.

He took out the star map to check and was astonished to find his new location was within the Giant Race's territory.

To stop Banlan from drifting further, he needed to replenish his Dao force first and accumulate plenty to have hope.

The quickest way was, of course, trading giant ants with the human race.

He had previously communicated to Yan Xiaowu the location of the next giant ant, but no response had come, suggesting they were still looking.

The location of the giant ant was within the Giant Race's territory.

Though the human race and Giant Race were allies, able to travel back and forth, it's not ideal for a group to openly search for ants here, hence the slow progress.

After pondering, Lu Ye took out his authority waist tablet, sending a message to inquire about Yan Xiaowu's progress.

Soon Yan Xiaowu replied, saying he and a team had reached the location, but alas, after days of searching, they hadn't found anything.

While Lu Ye could mark a specific spot, the ants were so tiny that finding them wasn't easy.

He checked the star map carefully, noticing Yan Xiaowu's current location wasn't close, but nearby insect paths meant he could reach them in less than half a day!

Lu Ye immediately set out.

Half a day later, on a dead star, Yan Xiaowu was leading a group of cultivators in search. Despite days of effort, they'd found nothing, but based on past experiences, Yan Xiaowu unconditionally trusted Lu Ye now.

The marked position was sure to have ants; if they hadn't found them, it's because they hadn't searched thoroughly enough.

Suddenly, he sensed an aura rapidly approaching.

Yan Xiaowu immediately became alert, sending audio transmissions around to warn his group to be cautious and conceal themselves.

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