Sage of Humanity

"That's exactly the point," the Venerable Lord seemed invigorated. "Since it's a new faction, it must naturally differ from the Haotian Alliance and the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. The foundation of this new faction is non-competition! I believe that if it truly becomes that way, it would certainly attract a large number of cultivators. In this world, there are not a few cultivators tired of the conflict between the two major factions."

Yu Daiwei stood behind the Venerable Lord, looking at the exuberant expression on his face, feeling quite incredulous.

Because after all these years following the Venerable Lord, she had never seen such an expression on his face, and what made it even more unbelievable was that the person who elicited this reaction from the Venerable Lord was actually a young man in the True Lake Level 5 realm!

She understood the Venerable Lord's high aspirations and pride. Even the Sect Masters of the top sects in the Nine Provinces might not catch his eye. In the Venerable Lord's view, those so-called Sect Masters were mostly corrupt beings, and summer insects cannot speak of ice.

Yet, in front of her now, the Venerable Lord was chatting happily with Lu Yiye, almost as if they were sitting and discussing the Dao. How could she not be astonished, and further realized how much the Venerable Lord valued this young man.

But even she did not understand why the Venerable Lord regarded Lu Yiye so highly.

"There should be," Lu Ye nodded.

If such a faction truly emerged in this world, it would likely attract many people to join, just as the Venerable Lord said, there were many who were tired of the conflict between the two major factions, only often caught in the momentum, unable to extricate themselves.

Most cultivators had no real grievance with each other, but simply because of factional rivalry, they found reasons to draw their swords.

Changing the topic, Lu Ye said, "Strictly speaking, the Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union is such a faction."

The Venerable Lord was momentarily taken aback, then chuckled, "That's different. The Heaven's Augury Mercantile Union is in the business of trading. They indeed do not compete with others, but business relies on harmony for wealth. How can they contend with others?"

"Is the Venerable Lord considering founding such a faction?" Lu Ye roughly grasped his meaning.

"Chaos!" the Venerable Lord uttered, "Haotian Alliance, Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, one is Yin, the other Yang. Yin and Yang do not coexist, harmonize Yin and Yang, and Yin and Yang together form Chaos!"

"So ultimately, the Venerable Lord still wants to unify the Nine Provinces!" Lu Ye incisively pointed out.

The Venerable Lord shook his head, "Uniting the Nine Provinces is not my goal. I just want to change the current structure of the Nine Provinces."

Lu Ye was silent for a while. One must admit that it was a good thing for this person to have such grand aspirations. If he could truly achieve such a feat, it would benefit the entire Nine Provinces. The confrontation between the two major factions would become history, and many lives could be spared.

But while some intentions are good, the process may not be so pleasant. Lu Ye could foresee that if a faction called Chaos did suddenly rise, the state of the Nine Provinces would only become more chaotic.

"Then why did the Venerable Lord apprehend me?" Lu Ye voiced his inner doubt.

Even after the Venerable Lord spoke so much with him, Lu Ye still couldn't understand why he had been captured.

"I need your help!" The Venerable Lord looked at him, his eyes full of sincerity.

Lu Ye met his gaze for a moment and said lightly, "The Venerable Lord overestimates me. I am but a small True Lake realm cultivator, how can I assist the Venerable Lord in achieving such great ambitions?"

"I told you not to underestimate yourself. You possess energy that is yours alone, energy that I do not have," the Venerable Lord smiled as he spoke, then took out a palm-sized round disc from his robe and handed it to Lu Ye.

Lu Ye hesitated for a moment, then reached out to take it, examining it closely.

This disc appeared stone-like, with numerous intricate patterns on its surface that dazzled the eye. After looking at it for more than a few moments, it gave one a sense of dizziness, as if one's entire spirit was being sucked into it.

This was clearly no ordinary stone disc, though exactly what it was, Lu Ye couldn't discern.

As Lu Ye was observing the disc, the Venerable Lord was observing him. With a top-tier expert scrutinizing him at close range, Lu Ye's slightest reaction couldn't be hidden. But after watching for a while, the Venerable Lord couldn't help frowning, because some things were not quite as he had imagined.

"What is this?" Lu Ye asked.

"You can't tell?" the Venerable Lord countered.

Lu Ye shook his head.

The Venerable Lord smiled slightly, without offering further explanation, took the peculiar stone disc back from Lu Ye's hand, "That's all. You can go back now."

The conversation ended abruptly, even though they had been talking nicely just moments before.

Lu Ye thought nothing of it, stood up, and headed towards his cabin.

After he left, Yu Daiwei finally spoke, "Venerable Lord, isn't he the one you were looking for?"

"He is."

"Then why..."

"The time isn't right," the Venerable Lord leaned back in his chair, frowning, with a slightly disappointed look.

"What is this stone disc?" Yu Daiwei couldn't suppress her curiosity any longer.

The Venerable Lord played with the stone disc in his hand, silent for a long time before speaking, "A token to establish a new faction!"

Yu Daiwei's pupils contracted...

Having followed the Venerable Lord for so long, she naturally knew some secrets unknown to ordinary people.

Establishing a faction was not as simple as it sounded, nor could it be done just by raising a banner; it had to be acknowledged by Heaven's Augury.

Just like the current Haotian Alliance and Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, both were factions acknowledged by Heaven's Augury, so the battlefield marking of Haotian Alliance cultivators glowed blue, while that of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge was red.

The vast land of the Nine Provinces is shrouded in Heaven's Mandate, and nothing can escape its mysterious influence.

If one cannot gain the recognition of Heaven's Mandate, even if they raise the banner of a new faction, it will ultimately be difficult to sustain. To say nothing of the fact that if one gains Heaven's Mandate's recognition, they can change their battlefield marking, allowing cultivators of the same faction to quickly discern friend from foe.

"Since there is such an item, why does the Venerable Lord not use it?" Yu Daiwei asked, puzzled.

For so many years, the Venerable Lord had been preparing for the matter of the new faction, and now with such an item, establishing the new faction would be merely a matter of moments.

The Venerable Lord shook his head: "I cannot use it, and neither can you; only those favored by Heaven's Mandate can use this item!"

Decades ago, there was someone qualified to use this item, but he chose to hide it away, because at that time, he bore too many blood feuds, and even if he used this item, he could not win the hearts of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge.

And now, decades later, the only one qualified to use this item seems to be Lu Yiye.

But judging by his reaction just now, he cannot use it either; otherwise, once he obtained it, he would have known its use.

The time is not yet ripe... the Venerable Lord sighed inwardly.

"Then... how do we deal with him?"

Only here did Yu Daiwei understand why the Venerable Lord wanted her to capture Lu Ye and bring him here; obviously, it was for this stone disc. Now that Lu Ye cannot use the stone disc, its value is greatly diminished.

Killing him is definitely not an option. The time is not ripe now, but that doesn't mean Lu Ye won't be able to use the stone disc in the future.

But he cannot be simply let go either.

"Do not worry about him; he will leave by himself."

The Venerable Lord said this as he slowly stood up.

Yu Daiwei couldn't help but feel astonished: "Does the Venerable Lord believe he can leave here?"

This is a split-off secret realm with Dao Thirteen guarding the exit. Without her or the Venerable Lord's order, Dao Thirteen would not let anyone pass. How could Lu Yiye, who is only in the True Lake Realm, possibly escape from here?

"One favored by Heaven's Mandate can always do what others cannot. If he cannot leave, then he is not the one I am looking for. If he is not the one I am looking for, then let him live here until he dies of old age." The Venerable Lord walked towards the exit.

There was one more thing he did not tell Yu Daiwei, and that is from observing Lu Ye up close, he found that Lu Ye had not been manipulated!

But Yu Daiwei clearly reported before that Chen Tianchui had already used manipulation techniques on Lu Ye, a means that ordinary people could not resist.

Yu Daiwei's report must be accurate. In other words, Chen Tianchui indeed used manipulation techniques on Lu Ye, but somehow, those means failed on Lu Ye.

This was also why he laughed heartily when he first saw Lu Ye, because he needed a Lu Ye who could maintain his self, not a puppet after manipulation.

Capable of what others cannot do, favored by Heaven's Mandate, this further confirmed to him that Lu Ye was the one he was looking for!

A short while later, Yu Daiwei respectfully escorted the Venerable Lord out of the secret realm. She stood in place and pondered for a moment, then walked towards the wooden cabin where Lu Ye was located.

Moments later, Lu Ye pushed the door open and looked at her, perplexed: "What is it?"

Yu Daiwei pointed to Dao Thirteen, whom she had summoned here: "From now on, he will follow you closely, so do not even think about attempting to escape."

Saying this, she turned her head and instructed Dao Thirteen: "If this kid tries anything to open the secret realm's exit, kill him without mercy!"

"Yes!" Dao Thirteen replied.

The Venerable Lord said that those favored by Heaven's Mandate can always do what others cannot. She was curious to see how Lu Yiye could leave this secret realm under such circumstances!

Being followed like this by Dao Thirteen and still managing to escape would be truly astonishing.

Lu Ye's eye twitched: "Are you seriously ill or something?"

Yu Daiwei pouted with a coquettish smile: "Before you act so rudely, you'd best consider the gap in our strengths."

Lu Ye immediately adjusted his expression: "Why do you do this?"

"To guard against you, of course."

Lu Ye mused: "Are you leaving?"

He looked towards the lake, but the Venerable Lord's figure was already out of sight. The other party had evidently left.

Once Yu Daiwei left, wouldn't that leave only Dao Thirteen here?

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask."

"If that's the case, let's discuss a bit." Lu Ye looked at Dao Thirteen beside her, "I understand your intention of having him watch over me, but there's no need for him to stick so close, right? I need to have some privacy."

"A prisoner under surveillance, what talk of privacy?" Yu Daiwei sneered.

Lu Ye growled in anger: "Even if you captured me, I'm still a person. Don't overdo it. Your Venerable Lord seems to need something from me, so be careful, next time I see him, I'll tell him how you wronged me."