Sage of Humanity-Chapter 701 - 699: A Familiar Sky Ravine

In the deepest part of Haoran Academy, in front of a thatched cottage, there stood a man in green robes leisurely holding a scroll in one hand and a fishing rod in the other.

The Imperial Heaven Sect had Li Sa, Vajra Temple had Fa Hua, and Haoran Academy had Liu Tianyi.

These three could be said to be the oldest of their generation in the entire Soaring Dragon World. Unlike Li Sa and Fa Hua, who were both very old, Liu Tianyi appeared to be only around forty years old at first glance, undoubtedly much younger than his peers.

This was not because he had a secret to maintaining his youth, but because the path of cultivation he followed was different.

The path of cultivation at Haoran Academy emphasized an unyielding spirit and a heart as vast as the winds, leading to a more carefree life. A young mindset reflected in one's physical appearance, making it difficult for old age to show.

Of course, this was also because Liu Tianyi had a high level of mastery in the Path of Haoran, and this mastery was not related to his Cultivation Realm but was a cultivation of the mind.

The float bobbing on the water suddenly submerged. A pulling force transmitted through the fishing rod, but Liu Tianyi made no move, instead lifting his gaze toward the north.

The leisure that was present moments ago had somehow vanished, replaced by a solemn and puzzled look.

A breeze passed by, and Liu Tianyi's figure had already disappeared without a trace, letting the fishing rod get pulled into the water.

At the edge of the sky, a streak of light shot directly toward the north.

Almost at the same time, Liu Tianyi felt a sensation, as did Fa Hua of Vajra Temple, albeit three days after the already transcended Li Sa.

This was not because Li Sa's cultivation was higher, but rather that a person, on the verge of death, can see and feel things that others cannot.

All three were the longest-lived powerhouses of the Soaring Dragon World, each carrying a part of the domain's destiny. They might not be able to advance their cultivation further, but changes within the Soaring Dragon World allowed them some vague premonitions.

The heavily injured cultivator Liu Tianyi from Haoran Academy, along with Lu Ye and Ye Liuli, were all advancing toward the north. For a time, a convergence of powerful figures was taking shape.

...

The territory of the Soaring Dragon World was not actually very large, much smaller compared to the Nine Provinces.

In a day, Lu Ye left Fengzhou with Ye Liuli and Yiyi and entered Jiazhou. Another day passed and they crossed Ganzhou; continuing on, they would reach Xuezhou.

Although Xuezhou bore "snow" in its name, it wasn't always snowing. It was only colder on the whole since it was located in the north.

However, these changes in temperature didn't greatly affect cultivators.

Lu Ye was relieved that over these last few days, Ye Liuli's chronic condition showed no sign of acting up. But to be fair, her condition didn't flare up that frequently—sometimes it would be months or even years between incidents, so they likely still had ample time.

After a brief rest outdoors at night, they continued to travel at dawn, and finally reached the lands of Xuezhou.

The Medicine Valley of Little Miracle Healer was located within Xuezhou, and they were not too far from it—according to Lu Ye's current pace, he could arrive in just one more day.

Upon reaching Xuezhou, the Sky Ravine was already faintly visible.

Entering this domain, Lu Ye had received some information about Sky Ravine in his mind and was somewhat interested in this phenomenon that had appeared eight hundred years ago.

According to cultivators of the Soaring Dragon World, the current difficulties faced by the cultivation world seemed to have started with the appearance of Sky Ravine. Despite looking harmless to the Soaring Dragon World, the ravine seemed to have a subtle influence, continuously reducing the upper limit of cultivators, making each generation weaker than the last.

Lu Ye wasn't clear about the specifics, but he faintly felt that his journey to the secret realm of the Soaring Dragon World might inevitably involve this mysterious Sky Ravine.

Looking up, he indeed saw a massive rift stretching across the horizon as if the sky had been torn apart.

It resembled a giant, dark centipede crawling across the firmament, the cracks around the Sky Ravine like the creature's many legs.

"Lu Ye," Yiyi suddenly spoke up. "Don't you think that this Sky Ravine looks familiar?" freewёbnoνel.com

Lu Ye had noticed it too. He glanced at Ye Liuli, who was sleeping in Yiyi's arms, and a contemplative look flashed in his eyes.

The Sky Ravine stretching across the horizon indeed looked familiar, for it resembled the birthmark on Ye Liuli's back, even the number and position of the legs of the 'centipede' corresponded accurately.

One was immensely vast, while the other was merely a birthmark.

Could such a coincidence exist in the world?

If it truly were a coincidence, that would be one thing, but as they continued their journey northward, Ye Liuli's condition was turning for the worse. Even though she was a Cloud River Realm cultivator, she increasingly fell into deep sleep, spending most of her days in slumber.

This was obviously abnormal.

Lu Ye had only glimpsed Ye Liuli's birthmark once, but with his ocular power and memory, there was no way he would forget it.

Was it really just a coincidence?

But if it was not coincidence, what connection did Ye Liuli's birthmark have with this Sky Ravine?

Lu Ye found it difficult to understand.

Although he hadn't been in the Soaring Dragon World for long, Lu Ye always felt that the entire realm was laden with secrets, and there was an unsettling premonition of a great disaster looming.

This sense of crisis grew stronger as he continued to move forward.

Suddenly, fluctuations of spirit force came from the side. Lu Ye turned his head and saw that on the other side a ray of Liu Guang wrapped around a large spirit ship, maneuvering and flashing intermittently, as it propelled weapon control attacks toward the large ship, which were, however, thwarted by the cultivators aboard.

The Liu Guang emanated the aura of the Cloud River Level 9, but this person seemed to have suffered severe injuries, with their aura fluctuating erratically.

Even though the cultivators on the spirit ship had lower cultivation levels than him, he was temporarily unable to do anything about it.

Yet he didn't retreat. While feigning attacks, he shouted, "Beasts of Sky Ravine Sect, how dare you commit such atrocities! Just wait to be exterminated... cough, cough, cough..."

As he shouted, the man vomited blood profusely, looking as if he was about to die.

Sky Ravine Sect...

Lu Ye recollected, having a vague impression of this power. It seemed to be a group of rather fanatical cultivators, dedicated to unraveling the mysteries of Sky Ravine, always believing that the secrets contained within were the only way out for cultivators in the Soaring Dragon World.

The entire Soaring Dragon World didn't have a very good impression of the Sky Ravine Sect, but because it had a concentration of powerful individuals and as they mostly operated within the confines of Xuezhou, rarely venturing out, ordinary cultivators had little interaction with them.

Unexpectedly, he encountered them here.

As for conflict between cultivators, Lu Ye wasn't keen on getting involved. After all, he didn't know who was right or wrong in the dispute and rashly meddling would only bring trouble for himself.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly looked toward the cabin of the large ship where there was a window. Given its position, it should be the lower hold. Through the window, he saw many people gathered together.

What astonished him was that these people were all commoners without any cultivation experience, each looking desperate and terrified, with many appearing to be injured.

Conflicts between cultivators rarely affected commoners; this was the case both in the Soaring Dragon World and the Nine Provinces.

After all, cultivators also ascended from commoners one step at a time—without this group of people, where would cultivators come from?

Throughout the Nine Provinces, the territories of big sects were teeming with commoners, each sect having a duty to protect the commoners within their territory because the continuation of the sect's lineage relied on selecting distinguished disciples from these commoners.

The numerous commoners inside the cabin of the ship looked like they had been abducted, evidenced by their frantic expressions.

Linking this to the words of the coughing Level 9 cultivator, Lu Ye vaguely understood what was happening.

What on earth is the Sky Ravine Sect planning?

Even rabbits don't eat the grass around their burrows. Their foundation lay within Xuezhou, and now they were abducting so many commoners without any apparent reason—weren't they afraid that the news would spread and lead to a joint siege by the Three Great Overlord Sects?

Such events had occurred before in the Soaring Dragon World. There had been an evil cult that disregarded the lives of commoners and slaughtered them indiscriminately. As a result, the Three Great Overlord Sects took action, and in a single night, the vast evil cult was eradicated.

Regardless of their intentions, they were clearly up to no good. The coughing Level 9 cultivator had likely stumbled upon this and tried to intervene but was somewhat powerless due to his severe injuries.

"Stay here and don't move," Lu Ye instructed Yiyi, before he dashed out from the spirit ark and sped toward that direction.

If it were merely a fight between cultivators, he would be reluctant to interfere, but since it involved some commoners, he couldn't stand by idly.

Once, he was a commoner who had been rescued from Evil Moon Valley by cultivators of the Haotian Alliance and had made his way to where he was today.

He moved at an incredibly fast pace, closing in on the battlefield within three miles in the blink of an eye.

The bleeding cultivator sensed his approach and turned his head to look this way, showing a wary expression in his eyes. His condition was dire; otherwise, he would have already breached the defense of the large ship.

With a newcomer suddenly appearing, who was to say whether this person was a member of the Sky Ravine Sect, especially since this was their territory?

Upon discerning Lu Ye's cultivation level as Cloud River Level 6, he felt less threatened.

In his wary state, Lu Ye came closer, and what reassured him was that Lu Ye showed no hostility but merely stood in the path of the large ship, staring intently at it ahead.

A friend, not a foe!

He made his judgment immediately and shouted, "Young brother, the Sky Ravine Sect has abducted a large number of commoners for some unknown reason, seemingly intending to send them north. Let's join forces to break their shell and rescue the people first."

"Alright!" As Lu Ye responded, he had already drawn the Boulder Mountain Saber from his waist and slashed fiercely at the ship ahead.

Seeing this, the Level 9 cultivator said, "This spirit ship has a Protective Array. Don't waste your strength, young brother, let us together..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Lu Ye's saber had already chopped down. The strike caused the protective light enveloping the entire spirit ship to tremble violently, like a calm lake surface disturbed by a thrown stone, with ripples spreading wildly.

The sight took the man by surprise; he was a Level 9, and even though he couldn't exert his full strength, his attempts shouldn't be weaker than those of a Level 6. His previous strikes hadn't caused such a commotion.

Moreover, in his eyes, the force of Lu Ye's strike didn't seem exceptionally powerful, so it didn't make sense for it to have such a pronounced effect.