Sage of Humanity

"Just taking a relaxed walk," Lu Ye casually said.

The mysterious woman clearly wouldn't easily believe his excuse, but merely smiled enigmatically.

Lu Ye was obviously searching for a way to leave this secret realm, but the only exit was guarded by Dao Thirteen, destined for his efforts to be futile.

"Let's exchange some battlefield markings," Lu Ye suddenly suggested.

The woman was somewhat surprised but looked at him with a teasing expression: "You want to exchange battlefield markings with me?"

"Is there a problem?"

"What are you trying to do?" The woman eyed him warily.

"Forget it if you're not interested," Lu Ye didn't insist, and turned to leave.

"Wait," the woman stopped him, then raised her hand and brushed over her battlefield marking. A bit of blue light floated toward Lu Ye.

Lu Ye exclaimed in shock, "You're with the Haotian Alliance?"

He had always assumed she was part of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, hence being captured, but didn't expect she was actually from the Haotian Alliance.

The woman smiled, saying nothing, exuding an air of mystery.

After calming himself, Lu Ye asked, "What's your name?"

"Looking to find out more about me?" The woman leaned by the window, arms crossed, appearing slightly lazy, which only added to her allure, especially with her arms hugging her chest, making the view even more grand.

Unlike her words, she revealed her name: "Yu Daiwei."

Lu Ye nodded slightly and turned to head back to his cabin.

As he walked, he inspected his battlefield marking, filled with numerous imprints exchanged since he embarked on his cultivation path. Most of these imprints were inaccessible now, except for the one belonging to Yu Daiwei, which could still be contacted.

Lu Ye wouldn't exchange imprints with such a mysterious Divine Sea Realm cultivator without reason; he simply wanted to confirm something.

Whether this secret realm was still within the Nine Provinces.

It seemed it was within the Nine Provinces, so under Heaven's Augury, Yu Daiwei's imprint marking could be reached. However, since the secret realm is an isolated world, external contact isn't possible.

This was similar to the secret realm of the Ten Thousand Beasts Domain he experienced before, where he could still contact Yiyi.

Another day passed, and Lu Ye was in his cabin harnessing the power of his Talent Tree to absorb fire spirit stone energy when suddenly the restriction on his cabin was triggered.

He promptly halted his work and opened the door.

Yu Daiwei stood outside, her demeanor somewhat solemn, "Come with me, someone wants to meet you."

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow, thinking that the real mastermind was finally showing themselves.

He had previously deduced that someone was behind Yu Daiwei and had instructed her to capture him, yet these days the only ones in the secret realm apart from Dao Thirteen guarding the exit were him and Yu Daiwei, with no sign of anyone else.

He speculated that the mastermind was perhaps delayed by something, hence hadn't shown up yet.

But inevitably, they would appear, and Lu Ye was eager to know why they had Yu Daiwei bring him here.

"Let's go," Lu Ye said, stepping out of the cabin.

Yu Daiwei turned and led the way.

Last time when following her, she walked gracefully with swaying hips like a water snake, but this time she was much more composed, her seductive air replaced by quiet meekness.

Lu Ye increasingly felt the powerful presence of the mastermind; someone who could make a strong figure like Yu Daiwei so reverent was certainly no ordinary person.

The mastermind was not far away, in front of Yu Daiwei's cabin, sitting in a chair and fishing with a rod.

As they approached, Yu Daiwei bowed respectfully, "Venerable Lord, I've brought him."

Venerable Lord...

Lu Ye frowned slightly, such a title was not one for ordinary people.

The Venerable Lord didn't look imposing nor did he stand out in any special way. If he were amidst a crowd, Lu Ye might not have given him a second glance.

Yet with Yu Daiwei's respectful demeanor as contrast, Lu Ye knew this person couldn't be underestimated.

The Venerable Lord turned his head to look toward him, his gaze profound as the sea, carrying an analytical glint, then suddenly laughed heartily, seemingly in great delight.

Even Yu Daiwei was puzzled for a moment, not knowing why the Venerable Lord was so joyous, and Lu Ye was even more bewildered by his reaction.

"Sit down!" After a while, the Venerable Lord collected his smile and said to Lu Ye.

There was a chair next to him, obviously prepared for Lu Ye.

Lu Ye pondered for a moment, then sat down boldly, glancing at the float in the lake, and said, "There are no fish in this lake."

When he first arrived a few days ago, he had investigated this lake. It's just a dead lake. Besides the water being relatively clear, there were only some weeds and insects; no fish could possibly live here.

The Venerable Lord smiled gently, his smile warm and infectious: "Whether there are fish or not, fishing is about the mood."

Lu Ye couldn't help but think to himself that this person might have something wrong with his mind, unable to fathom the actions of such a powerful figure.

The Venerable Lord continued, "Moreover, just because you can't see them doesn't mean they're not there."

The float suddenly moved, the Venerable Lord raised his hand, and a lively carp was hooked.

Lu Ye's eyes widened. He truly couldn't understand why. When he had checked the lake before, he hadn't seen any fish; where did this carp come from that the Venerable Lord fished up?

Settling his mind, he suddenly spoke, "Is Chen Tianchui your man?"

He hadn't thought of this before, but when Yu Daiwei referred to this person as the Venerable Lord, Lu Ye suddenly remembered the gibberish Chen Tianchui said before he died.

No wonder... someone valued.

Lu Ye couldn't hear clearly then, but there were too many doubts about the events at the Chen family that day, many things he couldn't understand. But if what Chen Tianchui said before his death was "No wonder you are valued by the Venerable Lord," it would make sense.

The topic shifted too quickly. Even someone like the Venerable Lord didn't react immediately, but he still admitted calmly, "That's right, Chen Tianchui is my man. Your insight is quite sharp. Can you tell me how you discovered it?"

"I guessed." Lu Ye shook his head, not intending to explain much, "Since you want to harm me, why capture me?"

Beside him, Yu Daiwei had already helped the Venerable Lord remove the fishhook and reattach the bait. The Venerable Lord cast the bait into the water before speaking, "Although Chen Tianchui is my man, what happened on the Chen family side has nothing to do with me. Chen Tianchui acted on his own, so he is not worth pitying. I never had any intention to harm you. Let's put it this way, if there is still one person under the sky who is unwilling to harm you, it is definitely me."

Lu Ye thought he was talking nonsense. How could he believe such words meant to coax children: "So why did the Venerable Lord bring me here?"

The Venerable Lord was silent for a long while, then suddenly turned to Lu Ye and asked, "What do you think of the world's current situation?"

This topic also shifted too quickly. Lu Ye was caught off guard and frowned, "I'm just one of the countless ordinary souls, going with the flow."

"You underestimate yourself." The Venerable Lord smiled slightly as he lifted the fishing rod but caught nothing this time; the bait on the hook had disappeared.

He put down the fishing rod, losing his desire to continue fishing, and said slowly, "The world is bustling with two large factions constantly at odds. Since records began, this has been going on for over two thousand years. Over such a long time, how many heroes have perished in the Nine Provinces, how many young talents died before achieving their goals, how many sects have collapsed into obscurity, and how many cultivators die each year because of this, it's hard to count."

This topic was too heavy, so heavy that Lu Ye found it hard to interrupt. Besides, he wasn't qualified to comment on this issue.

Since each cultivator's cultivation started, the Haotian Alliance has fought the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, and the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge has fought the Haotian Alliance. This concept is deeply ingrained and not easily shaken. Lu Ye is merely a member of the Nine Provinces cultivators and naturally cannot escape custom. To say nothing of the many Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators who have died at his hands over the years and the deep hatred held against him by the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge.

"But why must the world be this way? Can't it be another way?"

Lu Ye frowned, "What does the Venerable Lord want it to be like?"

The Venerable Lord smiled slightly, showing a look of longing: "Without the Haotian Alliance, without the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, naturally there'd be no endless confrontation between the two great factions. Mortals could live and work in peace, cultivators could practice safely. The world would be at peace, without war and factional conflict, universal harmony!"

"It's a nice world, but the Venerable Lord is thinking too much."

He felt a chill in his heart; the Venerable Lord's ambitions were so grand, he actually wanted to unite the Nine Provinces and eliminate the divides between factions.

But such a thing is simply impossible!

"You also said the confrontation between the two great factions has been going on for over two thousand years, with bloody feuds between them. How could such enmity be easily dispelled and resolved?"

"Not easily dispelled doesn't mean it can't be resolved. Ultimately, it depends on human effort."

"I'd like to hear it in detail."

"Are you thinking that I want to unify the Nine Provinces?" The Venerable Lord didn't answer but asked in return.

His thoughts exposed, Lu Ye wasn't embarrassed, "Isn't that the case?"

The Venerable Lord shook his head, "Someone tried to do such a thing decades ago, and he almost succeeded, but ultimately he failed. That person was talented in managing affairs of the world, far beyond me. What he couldn't achieve, I naturally can't either."

Lu Ye understood who he was talking about; besides his senior brother, there was no one else. It seemed this Venerable Lord had some connection to his senior brother?

"However, that person relied on the Haotian Alliance faction back then. In the final battle, they faced a fierce counterattack from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, and their failure was only to be expected. So trying to use either the Haotian Alliance or the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge to completely eliminate the other side won't work. The enmity between the two factions is as deep as the sea; who willingly wishes to be eliminated by whom? The more oppressive, the stronger the rebound. That person's failure was because of this reason."

"But if there could be an additional faction in this world, a brand-new faction, one that could embrace diversity, would you say, if such a faction emerged, would many people flock to it?"

Lu Ye frowned even more tightly, "That would depend on what the foundational principles of this faction are." He faintly felt that the next words from the Venerable Lord would be shocking.