Sage of Humanity-Chapter 795 - 793

Xu Wang left, leaving Yuan Xiang standing there with an embarrassed expression.

After a slight hesitation, she suddenly bowed deeply to Lu Ye and apologized with sincere eyes, "Senior Brother Lu, I'm sorry. You saved me, and yet I lied to you." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

Actually, on the way back, she was filled with self-reproach, but for the safety of the stronghold, she had no choice but to act that way, which was related to the teachings she'd received since she was young.

Had they casually brought an outsider of unknown origin back with them, this stronghold would not have been able to exist peacefully for over a decade.

Before Lu Ye could speak, Ying Wuji intervened with a sardonic tone, "Just apologizing with words hardly shows any sincerity!"

"Sincerity..." Yuan Xiang seemed to understand and stood up, saying, "Please wait a moment, dear Senior Brothers."

With that, she turned around and ran out, leaving them to wonder what she was going to do.

Ying Wuji and Lu Ye were left sitting alone, the atmosphere suddenly becoming subtle.

When he had accompanied Lu Ye before, there was at least something to do, but now alone in the room, their relationship was essentially adversarial. As the weaker party, Ying Wuji naturally felt somewhat uneasy.

He regretted his words, wondering why he had brought up the topic of sincerity unnecessarily. If there had been another person around, he would at least not feel so awkward as he did now.

"Cough." Ying Wuji coughed lightly, trying to drum up conversation, "Lu Yiye, shouldn't we ask them about the location of the secret realm?"

Lu Ye knew that to solve the dilemma of this realm, they had to start with the secret realm, and Ying Wuji was no fool; he could certainly think of that too. Although Yuan Xiang mentioned that the gateway to the secret realm was hidden and difficult for outsiders to find, as long as they had a rough idea of its location, it would eventually be discoverable.

Unfortunately, Lu Ye had no intention of responding to him and simply turned his head to look at him indifferently.

After staring at each other for three breaths, Ying Wuji averted his gaze.

Pressure mountainous!

Why did I speak recklessly?

Turning his head, he happened to see a small head peeking into the stone chamber, those eyes filled with curiosity.

It was a boy of about seven or eight, his curiosity at its peak. He had lived here at the stronghold since birth, never seen the sunlight outside, nor any people from beyond the stronghold.

The arrival of Lu Ye and Ying Wuji had undoubtedly stirred his inquisitiveness.

With a naturally cautious nature, the boy only peered in from outside and had no intention of entering.

Yet to Ying Wuji, the boy seemed like a savior. He waved at the boy, saying, "Kid, come here!"

Startled, the boy quickly withdrew his head.

But after a moment, he couldn't resist peeking again, and this time, his gaze did not wand.

Mainly because Ying Wuji's hand had somehow produced a bright red fruit, filling the entire chamber with an odd, tantalizing scent.

"Come here!" Ying Wuji beckoned to the boy again, trying to look as harmless as possible.

The boy glanced at him and then at the spirit fruit in his hand, unable to resist the temptation any longer, he shyly stepped out and entered the chamber.

Arriving in front of Ying Wuji, the boy stood obediently and looked up at him. Just as Ying Wuji reached out to pat his head, the boy quickly snatched the spirit fruit from Ying Wuji's hand with lightning speed.

And then he ran away!

"That rascally kid!" Ying Wuji laughed in irritation.

With his Cloud River Level 9 cultivation, even if he was utterly off-guard, he should not have had something snatched away by a seven- or eight-year-old child. The only reason it was taken from him was that he allowed it to happen.

Thankfully, the boy's interruption had dissipated the pressure Lu Ye had put on him moments ago.

"Haven't you been told that it's unwise to show off your wealth?" Lu Ye suddenly remarked.

Ying Wuji snorted, "A single fruit, what of it..."

He had not finished speaking when he turned, with a twitch in the corner of his eye, to see several more little figures appear at the door; other children, seeing that there was something good here, had all swarmed over.

They didn't speak but looked at Ying Wuji with eyes full of longing.

Ying Wuji suddenly realized... What was quite ordinary for him, even just used to quench thirst, might be considered something extraordinary in the Unparalleled Continent!

He wanted to shoo the children away, but the yearning hidden within those nascent eyes made him sigh and raise his hand, conjuring several spirit fruits magically in his palms, and flaunting them at the children.

"Wow…" The children erupted with excitement, rushing in en masse, each grabbing a spirit fruit from Ying Wuji's hands before running off as if they were escaping.

As they dashed to the door, they ran into Yuan Xiang, who had just returned—the children all bustling against her.

"Slow down, slow down, what brought you here? Don't disturb the honored guests!" Yuan Xiang said as she straightened out the children, who were all over the place. Just as she was about to scold them further, she noticed the spirit fruits in their hands and the strange scent that whetted her appetite like she'd never smelled before.

Taking advantage of her distraction, the children vanished without a trace.

Yuan Xiang, however, quickly hid the object in her hand behind her back.

She was clutching dried fruit in her hand, which she had treasured for so long and hadn't been willing to eat…

With such spirit fruits in front of them, her gesture of apology no longer seemed sufficient to offer.

"Those spirit fruits…" Xu Wang, appearing unexpectedly, couldn't help but be moved as he watched the departing children with the spirit fruits in their hands.

In prosperous times, those spirit fruits might not have been anything special, but in the current climate, cultivators found it very difficult to locate spirit fruits of such quality.

Where did these two come from?

To give away such spirit fruits so freely, and to children at that…

But this made Xu Wang even more certain that the two bore no ill will toward their outpost. Such esteemed individuals would hardly covet a humble outpost like theirs.

"Veteran Xu." Yuan Xiang, her cheeks flushed, looked toward Xu Wang and then gave a respectful bow to a tall man beside him: "Senior Zui Shan."

Zui Shan nodded and ordered, "Go fetch some tea."

Yuan Xiang, as if granted amnesty, quickly left.

After Yuan Xiang departed, Zui Shan straightened his washed and whitened clothes and stepped into the stone room. He glanced at Lu Ye and Ying Wuji before cupping his hands in greeting: "Esteemed guests, my apologies for not greeting you sooner. I hope you'll forgive the oversight."

Lu Ye stood up and returned the gesture, as did Ying Wuji.

Seeing that Lu Ye didn't seem inclined to speak, Ying Wuji took up the conversation: "Fellow Daoist is too kind. It is us, brothers, who have imposed ourselves without invitation. For any inconvenience caused, we ask for your understanding."

Zui Shan relaxed slightly. Xu Wang had briefly informed him about Lu Ye and Ying Wuji, and he realized that their origins might not be simple, which was why he came personally to investigate.

Having encountered Ying Wuji distributing spirit fruits to the children of the base, and now hearing what Ying Wuji had said, Zui Shan quickly surmised that these two didn't appear to harbor any malicious intent.

He was particularly taken by Ying Wuji's demeanor. Someone who could show such kindness toward children was unlikely to be a bad person.

"Please have a seat!" Zui Shan gestured with his hand, and host and guests took their seats.

After some brief pleasantries, Zui Shan got straight to the point: "I have heard that you two previously saved Yuan Xiang. For such a great kindness, we have little with which to repay you. If there is anything you require, just say the word. We will not hesitate to fulfill your request if it is within our capacity."

As the leader of this outpost, Zui Shan naturally wanted to understand the purpose of their visit. It had been said that it was a chance encounter, their saving Yuan Xiang, but then escorting her all the way back to the outpost clearly meant they had their own agenda, not just fulfilling Yooi Zhen's dying wish.

However, he didn't state everything; the implication was that any overly excessive demands would certainly not be accommodated.

Ying Wuji turned his head toward Lu Ye: "Senior Brother, shall you speak with this Daoist?"

Though he had his own thoughts, he dared not take action without consultation. It was better to leave the matter in Lu Ye's hands.

Zui Shan looked at Lu Ye with surprise, now realizing that among the two, it was Lu Ye who was in charge.

"We seek the locations of the three great secret realms," said Lu Ye, direct and to the point.

Zui Shan's expression shifted: "Do you wish to join the secret realms?"

He was astonished. These two were not from the secret realms. Otherwise, they wouldn't come here seeking their locations. Moreover, it was very likely that both of them had lived in a small outpost all along, knowing nothing of the outside world, otherwise, they wouldn't have made such a request.

Shaking his head slightly, he said, "We might not be able to assist you with this matter. The positions of the three great secret realms have never been fixed; they drift within the Void. Perhaps they are here today, and somewhere else tomorrow. Without knowledge of divination, they are impossible to find."

If the secret realms had fixed locations, they would not have remained hidden up to this day, but would have been obliterated by the Corpse Race long ago.

Furthermore, even cultivators who emerge from the secret realms need to rely on the guidance of a specific Spiritual Artifact at a specific time and place to open the portal and gain entry.

The drifting locations of the secret realms do indeed have tracks and patterns to be followed, but as Zui Shan said, without the art of divination, they simply cannot be found.

Lu Ye and Ying Wuji both looked astonished upon hearing this. It had never occurred to them that the three great secret realms could be so elusive.

This was something Yuan Xiang hadn't mentioned before, likely because even she was unaware.

Prior to the cataclysmic change, the locations of the secret realms were indeed fixed, each belonging to a top tier sect as part of its assets. The names of the secret realms mirrored the identity of their owners.

For instance, the Mount Sumeru Secret Realm belonged to the Mount Sumeru sect, and the Ziwei Dao Palace Secret Realm was owned by the Ziwei Dao Palace.

But after the cataclysm, sensing impending doom, the top cultivators activated some wonderful technique, and the three secret realms began to lose their fixed positions and vanish into obscurity.

Other secret realms without this capability remained stationary and thus fell to the Corpse Race.

Now, the only realm with a fixed location is the Huntian Holy Temple Secret Realm controlled by the Corpse Race, also known under its new name, the Corpse King Palace.

Lu Ye's original plan was to inquire about the locations of the secret realms from this outpost, and then to search for the realms with Ying Wuji.

It wasn't just to use the power of the secret realms to resolve the crisis in this world, they also needed to regroup with others.

The several from the Nine Provinces, now scattered and whereabouts unknown, should they gain even a slight understanding of the situation on the Unparalleled Continent, would likely seek out the secret realms.