Sage of Humanity

This thick soul mist had already reached the verge of condensing into water, so it didn't require any cumbersome measures, just needed to make the soul mist more compact and dense.

He didn't know whether it would work, for it was merely a sudden whim, but if it did work, the rewards would be significant, and if it didn't... there wouldn't be any loss anyway.

He raised his hand and pressed it on the mist in front of him, his spirit force crazily urging on, each visible Yin-Yang Dual Origins merging and connecting with each other; each basic element was almost the size of a palm, instantly spreading out all around.

Sitting leisurely by the Soul Cleansing Pool, the City Lord was slightly taken aback, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, apparently not expecting that Lu Ye was a spirit runes master, and moreover able to construct spirit runes so freely.

These spirit runes... The City Lord meticulously examined the rapidly shaping massive spirit runes, were they Spirit Energy Gathering Spirit Runes?

Only, this Spirit Energy Gathering Spirit Rune was somewhat different from the usual ones, not only massively huge but also strangely shaped with a protruding middle and curves expanding upward around the edges, looking just like a funnel.

A funnel? The City Lord immediately straightened up, vaguely realizing something.

The young one who came this time seemed a bit tricky, he had agreed to let Lu Ye and the others into the Soul Cleansing Pool because even if they entered, it wouldn't consume much of the Soul Cleansing Pool's power. As compensation for releasing those transformed minion spirits, it seemed like a fair trade.

But if things really were as he suspected, it seemed he was about to lose out on this deal.

Below the Soul Cleansing Pool, Lu Ye took a deep breath. This was the largest Spirit Energy Gathering Spirit Rune he had ever constructed to date, covering a ten Zhang area, and it was even shaped like a funnel.

This alone had consumed almost half of his spirit force.

He didn't want to construct a larger one, because if he did, even he might fail.

The spirit runes were now constructed, whether the idea would succeed or not, depended on what happened next.

With careful perception, he noticed that the soul mist within the covered range of the spirit runes became even thicker, surging from all directions and continually gathering, then bursting forth from the opening of the funnel, instantly, a strong current appeared at the tip of the large funnel, continuously spewing out a large amount of soul mist.

This won't do, while it could gather soul mist, it couldn't condense it.

He immediately raised his hand, urging the spirit force into action.

The gathered soul mist, having no outlet, kept accumulating within the funnel, compressing gradually until the walls of the funnel began to show a liquid-like presence, slowly enlarging and trickling down the walls of the funnel, accumulating at the tip.

It worked!

Lu Ye was overjoyed, watching the accumulated soul water, watching it grow drop by drop, expanding like dew flowing to the center of a lotus leaf in the early morning.

By the Soul Cleansing Pool, the City Lord couldn't stand it anymore, seeing the scene unfold. The Soul Cleansing Pool wasn't just the foundation of Xianyuan City, but also of other Boundless Mirage Realms; too much power from the Soul Cleansing Pool couldn't be lost.

At this moment, he regretted giving Lu Ye six hours of time because he thought that, for a junior cultivator like Lu Ye, six hours would have been more than enough to satisfy his desires, but now, it seemed, he had given too much!

He should have given just one hour instead.

But what's said is said, what's spilled is spilled, it wouldn't look good to just pull Lu Ye out now.

He looked around, saw all the Xianyuan Guards standing nearby with their backs to him, then he raised a finger and gently stirred towards the direction of the Soul Cleansing Pool.

Below the Soul Cleansing Pool, Lu Ye, who was overjoyed watching the continuous accumulation of soul water, suddenly witnessed the soul mist's surge intensify, the large funnel distorted violently, and collapsed with a roar, the gathered soul mist no longer restrained, dispersed in all directions.

The hard-accumulated soul water also splashed out with the dissolution of the spirit runes.

Lu Ye, quick-reacting, urged his spirit force to wrap around the soul water. Though some was lost, he managed to salvage most of it, reaching into his storage sack and pulling out a jade vial for medicine to contain the soul water into it.

Gently shaking it, it looked to be about half a vial, which would at least contain more than ten drops.

In the past, even if someone had managed to bring soul water out from Xianyuan City, it was only ever a few drops, far fewer than what he had now.

Having had one successful experience, performing it a second time was easier.

However, the past experience made him realize that the spirit runes he had constructed were still too large. Large had its advantages, able to gather soul mist faster and in larger quantities forming soul water, but it wasn't stable enough, and once the soul mist surged violently, it easily led to the collapse of the spirit runes.

So, it was best to make the spirit runes a bit smaller.

Once again, he raised his hand, urging his spirit force, and the Yin-Yang Dual Origins quickly spread around.

In a moment, another large funnel took shape, though this time the funnel was smaller, only covering a seven-zhang area.

With a huge consumption of his own spirit force, Lu Ye quickly took out Breath Fruit wine from his storage sack and drank it down, rapidly restoring his depleted energy.

Although the funnel was smaller than before, and the efficiency of condensing soul water was less, what puzzled Lu Ye was that this funnel could withstand shorter durations than before...

When the violently surging soul mist blasted the funnel open, Lu Ye, being prepared, quickly gathered the scattered soul water and put it into the jade vial.

Lu Ye began constructing the large funnel once again.

As time passed, through several cycles, even with the recovery provided by Breath Fruit wine, Lu Ye was beginning to falter; the recovery speed couldn't keep pace with his consumption. The funnels he built were getting smaller and the yield from each was diminishing.

It was unclear how much time had passed when suddenly, a powerful force seized him. Lu Ye instantly realized something was wrong. He didn't have time to think too much, and hurriedly gathered the bit of soul water he had just managed to form.

The next moment, his view whirled dramatically, and when he came back to his senses, he had returned to the previous courtyard, ending up sprawled on the ground in a quite disheveled state.

Yiyi, Amber, and Giant Armor stood by his side. Seeing Lu Ye fall, Yiyi probably intended to come forward to help him, but her condition was clearly not normal; her body flickered with bursts of spirit light and she couldn't walk in a straight line.

Not only her, but Amber and Giant Armor too seemed as if they were drunk, stumbling around unsteadily.

Six hours had passed in the Soul Cleansing Pool, and the benefits they received were tremendous, making everyone feel dizzy and lightheaded, unable to adapt for the moment.

However, this wasn't a bad thing, as they should be able to recover in a few days.

Lu Ye got to his feet, waved his hands at them to indicate he was unharmed.

Seeing this, Giant Armor simply sat down on the ground and closed his eyes to meditate.

Yiyi couldn't keep up any longer and plunged into Amber, disappearing from sight, while Amber jumped onto Giant Armor's thigh, coiled up, and didn't move, soon emitting snores.

Inside the City Lord's Residence, the City Lord was checking the situation of the Soul Cleansing Pool, sighing faintly after a moment. The loss this time wasn't small, but it was bearable.

He hadn't expected the junior cultivator from Level 8 to have such a peculiar method, actually managing to condense soul mist into soul water and take it away.

He thought that even if the other had such methods, given his spirit force reserves, he wouldn't be able to continue for long. But that young man also possessed an item that quickly restored his spirit force, repeatedly constructing those large funnel spirit runes.

He couldn't be too obvious, only waiting for the other to get a little harvest before taking action to destroy the funnel, lest his manipulation be discovered.

If he hadn't been so malicious in secret, who knows how much soul water that young man would have taken away.

At this moment, Lu Ye was examining his gains from this venture. Setting aside the improvements to his psyche for now, just the soul water alone filled three or four vials.

The vials weren't large, intended originally to hold pills, but even if a vial of soul water held only thirty drops, he had gathered over a hundred drops of soul water this time.

This was the condensed essence of the soul mist.

He could take this item out and give some to the sect master, which would certainly be of great benefit to him.

And Second Senior Sister, who is currently at the True Lake Realm, seemed about to advance to the Divine Sea; she needed this as well.

And there was Li Baxian, Fourth Senior Brother, like him, who was temporarily unable to touch the power of the psyche. Yet, the soul water could strengthen the foundation of his psyche, beneficial in many aspects.

Silently planning in his mind, Lu Ye examined the changes in himself.

Although he felt he gained a lot while in the Soul Cleansing Pool, he had been preoccupied with obtaining soul water back then and hadn't explored the changes.

Upon examining, he immediately noticed the difference from before.

Previously, his perception of his own body was somewhat vague. Even with the aid of the flow of spirit force giving him a rough idea, it wasn't very clear, as if obstructed by a thick membrane. But now, it became very clear, as if there was an invisible pair of eyes inside him that could see anything he wished to see.

He had felt this sensation once before when his psyche left his body, so it was not unfamiliar.
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This ability to clearly inspect his own condition was very useful, for instance in fierce battles where concealed injuries were received; previously, he might not have been able to discern the specific injuries, but now he could see them clearly.

It wasn't just his own body; Lu Ye felt that his perception seemed to have formed into an invisible and intangible force that, with a slight exertion, could cover an area within a ten-yard radius.

He could sense any anomalies within this ten-yard range. The farther away, the more vague the perception; the closer, the clearer, especially within a one-yard range around him.

This made him realize a great advantage.

He would no longer have to worry about ghost cultivators sneaking up close to him.

There had been times before when ghost cultivators got behind him intending to stealthily attack, and had it not been for the Nine Worlds map that trapped the opponent, Lu Ye wouldn't have noticed in time.

His Insight Spirit Runes could also uncover the stealth of ghost cultivators, but the runes needed to be actively activated, whereas perception was constant and omnidirectional without any blind spots, clearly having a greater advantage over needing to be constructed in his eyes.

Currently, the ghost cultivators he encountered were of low cultivation. Although they could employ some ghost cultivator methods, they hadn't mastered the essence.

In the future, as his own cultivation increased, he would encounter increasingly troublesome ghost cultivators. With such strong perception power, he would undoubtedly be able to handle their stealth attacks more composedly.