Humanity’s Great Sage

“Because this world harbors malice towards the Human Race, our cultivation, upon reaching a certain limit, becomes exceedingly difficult to improve further. This is the primary reason why our Human Race has no Saints,” Xia He said, her expression dimming.

Lu Ye asked curiously, “Isn't it said that there is still one Saint? Why was that one able to break through?”

Xia He shook her head and said, “That one is not a native of this world. He came from the outside world many years ago. Some of the Saints of various races in this world have such origins. As for where they came from, no one knows.”

Lu Ye couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

Xia He didn't know where those foreign Saints came from, but he knew that they must have come from the Inner World.

Xue Jiu had also said before that throughout history, among so many powerful individuals, not many became Saints, but there were some after all. However, there was no trace of them in the Inner World. Those who became Saints had all entered the Source World.

But… things were a bit strange.

After a moment of contemplation, Lu Ye said, “I once saw a Saint, but that Saint gave me the feeling of being a walking corpse. Are all the Saints in this world like that? If so, why can they still interfere in worldly affairs?”

Saints like Qi Sheng should not be concerned with any worldly matters. She was just a puppet, a marionette.

Xia He looked astonished: “You saw a True Saint?”

“True Saint?” Lu Ye asked, puzzled.

Xia He explained, “Saints are also divided into two types. One is the one you mentioned, the True Saint. They… are indeed like walking corpses, detached from the world. The other type is Half-Saint. Half-Saints are not like that. The Saint I was talking about is a Half-Saint.”

Lu Ye frowned.

Half-Saint, True Saint, was this division in name due to a difference in cultivation realm, or for some other reason?

“Regardless of whether they are True Saints or Half-Saints, our Human Race lacks them greatly. This has led to our Human Race only being able to live in Cage Sea. This Cage Sea can also be said to be a place where other races keep the Human Race like livestock. They come to bully and invade every now and then, and every hundred years, there is an extremely large-scale hunt.”

Lu Ye's expression darkened: “They are hunting… our Human Race?”

“Yes,” Xia He said with a bitter smile, “It has been like this for countless years. To any other race, the Human Race is an excellent sacrificial material.”

“Sacrifice…”

“The purpose of their hunt is to capture Human Race cultivators alive for the purpose of sacrifice, in order to obtain various benefits. The stronger the sacrificed object, the greater the benefits they can obtain.”

“Where do these benefits come from?” Lu Ye felt anger rising in his heart.

Xia He sneered, “Naturally, they are bestowed by this world. This world has a will, perhaps you have not noticed it, but that will does exist.”

Lu Ye's expression was heavy.

If he wasn't mistaken, the will of this world was the Star Abyss Will.

He had previously noticed that the Dao power of this world was extremely pure and rich, and thought that this was a pure land similar to the Hehe Realm, a place where the tentacles of that will could not reach.

But now it seemed that he was wrong. There were indeed no traces of that will left in the Source World, but this place was not a pure land.

But if that was the case, why was the Star Abyss aura in the Source World so pure? Lu Ye couldn't figure it out.

“So, the current situation is that the hunt targeting our Human Race has already begun?” Lu Ye asked.

Xia He nodded: “Yes, it has already begun.”

Lu Ye finally understood why he hadn't seen a single living creature in this Cage Sea before. He had previously thought that this place was sparsely populated, but now it seemed that this was not the case. On those small islands he had passed, there might be Human Races hidden, just not showing themselves, just like they were now.

“Is there no way to fight back?” Lu Ye asked.

Xia He shook her head: “We are weaker, how can we fight back? It's okay at other times, but during the hunt, the elites of various races are dispatched. Our Human Race is weak and isolated, and we cannot resist at all. All we can do is try to hide ourselves as much as possible.”

“Just now, Fellow Daoist Xiao Man mentioned the big island?” Lu Ye asked.

Xia He said: “That is where our Human Race gathers. It cannot be hidden and will inevitably be targeted. But don't worry, those races participating in the hunt will not do anything to wipe us out completely. They will leave some vitality for our Human Race to recuperate.”

“Isn't this just harvesting韭菜 (jǐu cài, chives - slang for being exploited)?”

“It is just harvesting韭菜!” Xia He smiled bitterly, “In the Cage Sea, the situation of our Human Race has always been like this, and it has never improved for countless years.”

Lu Ye didn't ask any more questions.

He had a general understanding of the situation in the Source World. Undoubtedly, the Human Race here was living extremely hard. Although his current strength was not bad, the current situation was indeed not suitable for running around.

He could only wait for this hunt to pass before making plans.

He intended to pay a visit to the only Human Race Half-Saint. Since this one had come from the Inner World and had stayed in the Source World for countless years, he should know something, and perhaps he could learn the method of leaving from him.

Although the hope was not great, it was worth a try.

But that was ultimately a matter for later.

In the next few days, Lu Ye stayed in his position peacefully, cultivating silently.

Moving forward, Xia He acted silently. After turning a corner, several figures appeared in front of them, it was Liu Chang and the others.

They had obviously noticed something as well.

Meeting each other, they understood each other's intentions. Liu Chang took the lead and rushed forward, with the others following closely behind.

Three breaths later, a rumbling sound came from behind, and even more powerful aura of power escaped. Obviously, an enemy was chasing after them.

However, there was undoubtedly more than one entrance and exit to this hiding place, precisely to guard against the current situation.

Ten breaths later, Liu Chang, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped and turned to look at the others, his face full of pain, gritting his teeth and shouting: “Who is it?”

Lu Ye frowned.

In his perception, several powerful auras were rapidly approaching ahead, which undoubtedly meant that the road ahead was also blocked.

This was obviously not a coincidence.

Even if the enemy had discovered the entrance to their hiding place, there was no reason for them to find another exit so quickly. But now that there were enemies invading both entrances and exits, the only explanation was that someone had leaked the detailed situation of their hiding place, which was why they were being targeted like this.

As Liu Chang spoke, his sharp gaze was fixed on Lu Ye, his eyes full of suspicion and vigilance.

The five of them had known each other for a long time and knew each other's backgrounds, so they gathered together to keep warm. Only Lu Ye was brought in by Xia He, so it was normal for Liu Chang to have such suspicions.

Not only Liu Chang thought so, but the others undoubtedly had the same idea. Even Xia He, who was standing next to Lu Ye, frowned, her expression surprised and uncertain.

“It really is you! I knew you were strange!” With an angry shout, the Zhou cultivator raised his hand and sacrificed his Dao weapon, urging his whole body of power and attacking Lu Ye fiercely, without showing any mercy.

In the not-so-spacious passage, such a sudden attack left Lu Ye with no way to avoid it.

As the Zhou cultivator attacked, the aura of Liu Chang and the others suddenly became sharp.

As the light flickered, Lu Ye's expression was calm, and he suddenly kicked out.

This kick shattered the Zhou cultivator's fierce attack and kicked him hard in the chest.

The Zhou cultivator's eyes suddenly widened, and his body flew backwards like an arrow, directly hitting the leading Liu Chang. The violent force caused Liu Chang to retreat more than a dozen steps before he stabilized his body.

In front of him, the Zhou cultivator's chest was sunken, and blood was overflowing from his mouth and nose. He was already seriously injured.

Several pairs of eyes narrowed sharply.

Especially Xia He.

Among the few people, she had the most contact with Lu Ye. In her perception, Lu Ye's cultivation was not very high. Like Xiao Man, he should only be a Lower-rank Dao Harmonization Realm cultivator, but the violent power of that kick just now was simply shocking.

Moreover, the Zhou cultivator was a Middle-rank Dao Harmonization Realm cultivator. Even if he didn't use his full strength, his attack shouldn't have been broken so easily by a Lower-rank Dao Harmonization Realm cultivator.

Suddenly, she realized that this greenhorn she had picked up from outside didn't seem as simple as he appeared on the surface.

Could it really be him?

Lu Ye had already stepped forward, one hand on the hilt of the Pan Mountain Blade, his expression leisurely: “Now is not the time for infighting. See the truth for yourselves.”

As he spoke, he had already passed Liu Chang and the injured Zhou cultivator, and led the way.

Liu Chang frowned slightly, but did not stop him. Noticing Xia He's questioning gaze, he tilted his head slightly, signaling her to follow.

In the current situation, they were facing wolves in the front and tigers in the back. If they wanted to survive, they could only break through in one direction.

Regardless of whether Lu Ye had exposed their position or informed the enemy, they had no choice at the moment.

Lu Ye, who was leading the way, quickly saw the enemy's figure. It was a Winged Race, holding a long sword in his hand, rushing fiercely from the front. Behind him, there were several figures following closely.

Upon seeing Lu Ye's figure, the Winged Race couldn't help but smile: “The information is correct, you really are hiding here.”

As he spoke, he raised his hand and stabbed with his sword. The sword light suddenly split, and boundless sword shadows filled the passage.

The power of this sword was very strong. This Winged Race should have a Middle-rank Dao Harmonization Realm cultivation. With a full blow, nearly three thousand Dao power erupted.

In the sky full of sword shadows, a flash of saber light passed.

The sword shadows shattered. The Winged Race stared blankly at the long sword Dao weapon in his hand.

After a moment of daze, a deep sense of horror flashed in the depths of his eyes.

Because this Dao weapon that had accompanied him for many years had actually been cut off in the middle!

With just one strike.

The power of that saber light did not diminish. After cutting off his long sword, it slid across his neck.

Lu Ye had already passed him, meeting the few enemies behind him.

Behind him, Liu Chang and the others, who had been in a state of vigilance, looked at this scene in disbelief, almost not daring to believe their eyes.