saint of humanity

Xue Wei and the others aren't stupid. How could they not foresee what kind of situation they would be in once Yuan truly took control of the entire Xingyuan?
Yet they remained driven by the abyss, for they had no way to resist.

But since it wasn't voluntary, there must have been some ulterior motives in mind, such as Xingzhou's actions this time.

"Does Si Sheng want to have a talk with him?" Lu Ye asked.

Si Shengya asked, "Do you think it's feasible?"

Lu Ye pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head: "Xing Zhou may have some ideas, but after all, there is still the Golden Eye Clan living in the Origin Realm behind him. The fact that he didn't make it too obvious this time means that he has some concerns. Especially after our defeat and abandonment of the city, if we look for him, he will definitely not express his opinion."

Si Shengya thought for a moment after hearing this and nodded, saying, "You're right. Xingzhou is a very cautious person. Even if I had the chance to meet with him alone, given our current situation, he would never be willing to join forces with us."

"Therefore, we need to find a way to create an advantage so that Xingzhou has no worries." A glint flashed in Lu Ye's eyes. "In this way, we might have a chance to win over this first half-saint!"

The biggest problem on our side right now is that there are too few strong people. There are indeed many semi-saints, but the vast majority of them are dragon semi-saints. Yuan's little trick completely wiped out this advantage. The rest are basically all newly promoted. The only strong people with real foundation are him and Si Shengya.

If we could bring Xingzhou to our side, the situation would undoubtedly be much better.

“But…” Si Shengya looked worried, “Can we still create an advantage in our current situation?”

Dragon City has been abandoned, leaving only Phoenix Nest. Although it has a geographical advantage, it can only serve to delay the enemy. Sooner or later, the enemy will come to the city gates. At that time, with an absolute disadvantage in military strength, how can it be a match for the enemy?
Lu Ye lowered his head, his gaze shifting slightly downwards: "It's all up to us."

The matter of Xingzhou was ultimately just Si Shengya and Lu Ye's speculation. No one knew what they were really planning, so it couldn't be taken as anything to rely on. As the saying goes, one must be strong enough to succeed; only when one is strong enough will others add to one's success.

When you are strong enough, whether or not there is any icing on the cake becomes irrelevant.

Shortly after, Si Sheng left.

Even if Xue Wei and the others wanted to target Phoenix Nest, it wouldn't be something that could be done in a short time. From ancient times to the present, the location of Phoenix Nest has been a mystery. Apart from the Phoenix Clan itself and a few Dragon Clan members, no one knows the exact location of Phoenix Nest.

Even if someone has heard about it, they only know the general idea.

Therefore, we still have some time to prepare for the war.

Lu Ye spent several days healing and recovering.

Several days later, when his condition had returned to its peak, he slowly opened his eyes, raised his hand to unsheathe the Panshan Knife from his waist, and placed it horizontally on his lap.

"Is it about to begin?" Liao's voice came, filled with excitement and anticipation, yet also mixed with fear and unease—a complex mix.

“Liao…” Lu Ye gently stroked the blade.

"Hey, enough with the nonsense." Liao interrupted him. "The calculations we did before have a very high probability of success, with virtually no chance of failure. Aren't Jin Yao's Soul-Suppressing Bell and the Little Black Coffin just examples right in front of us?"

Lu Ye sighed, "That's true, but you are ultimately different from them."

Jin Yao's Soul-Suppressing Bell and the black coffin she refined back then are both treasures, but the Panshan Blade is a partner and family member to Lu Ye. Lu Ye dares not take risks with it, so even though he and Liao had discussed this matter, he never put it into action.

"There's no difference. I am a treasure too. The Soul-Suppressing Bell and the Little Black Coffin can do it, so can I!" Liao's voice was loud and clear. "Besides, Senior Sister Shang sacrificed herself to make me who I am. Now that it's your turn to rely on me, how can I back down? Wouldn't that be letting down Senior Sister Shang for all she did? You should know that I inherited everything from Senior Sister Shang!"

Lu Ye remained silent, his brows furrowed with hesitation.

Lu Ye had some worries as early as when he had reached the ninth level of perfection in cultivating the Inner Heaven Secret Technique.

His cultivation method was obtained from the Dragon and Phoenix Ancestors. After merging with the Dao, his strength improved rapidly. However, this cultivation system has reached its end. So how can he improve his strength in the future?
Of course, he could also cultivate orthodoxly like other cultivators, inscribing Dao traces within his own Dao body, but that would be too inefficient and simply not enough time.

Besides that, it is about improving the quality of one's own Dao weapons. This is the path that Ba Qiu took back then, because both he and Lu Ye relied on the Dao weapons of the weapon race to achieve Dao integration. Therefore, improving the quality of Dao weapons can also make their strength and foundation stronger.

The improvement of the quality of the soldier race can only be achieved through bloody battles with the enemy, and in the process of fighting, the soldier race will devour the mystery of the supreme treasure.

This limitation is too great. First, one must find a suitable treasure to devour, and second, one must find an equally matched opponent, which is quite risky.

That's why Ba Qiu needed so many years to accumulate power before taking that final step.

One day, when Lu Ye was absorbing treasures to improve the quality of the Soul-Suppressing Bell, Liao suddenly blurted out, "Lu Ye, can we let your talent tree absorb me, and then absorb other treasures to nourish me?"

Lu Ye was taken aback by these words. His first thought was that Liao was being a bit far-fetched, but he quickly realized that it might not be far-fetched at all, but rather a brilliant idea.

This way, the Liao will have the opportunity to grow rapidly and can completely avoid the various restrictions and risks of the orthodox cultivation of military clans.

After that, the two of them brainstormed various ideas to explore the feasibility of the matter.

The final result is that it is completely feasible!
But Lu Ye didn't do that, because if he had, then the Fang would have become a fruit on the talent tree!
It is indeed a treasure, but it is also a soldier. Although it has no flesh and blood, it is still a living being.

It is different from Jin Yao's Soul-Suppressing Bell and the little black coffin with its nascent intelligence.

Lu Ye couldn't predict what risks it might face after becoming a fruit.

He always knew that during the process of devouring treasures, the Talent Tree would retain a portion of the mysterious essence. This mysterious essence would become the talent tree's own nourishment. Therefore, the more treasures it devoured, the greater the power of the Talent Tree would become.

But now, it seems that we have no choice but to take this step!

With his current strength and resources, Lu Ye is simply not capable of dealing with the impending crisis. Although Si Shengya is stronger than him, it is impossible for Si Shengya to become stronger in a short period of time.

Therefore, Lu Ye needs to become stronger. Even if he can't single-handedly resolve the future crisis, he at least needs to become stronger to have a chance.

"I'll ask you just one question." Seeing his hesitation, Liao spoke again: "Even if you don't devour me, will you separate from me in the future?"

"Of course not!" Lu Ye replied in a deep voice.

This sword has been with him since the beginning of his cultivation. Later, he acquired a demon and devoured it, returning to its original form. It can be said that this sword witnessed his cultivation journey.

They are partners, friends, and even family.

How could it possibly be discarded?

"That settles it then," Liao said. "Since you won't be separated from me, what difference does it make whether I devour you or not? After I devour you and turn into a fruit, I will truly be bound to you for life. Alright, stop arguing and hurry up and get started. Don't hinder my grand plan to become stronger. I can't wait to experience it."

Lu Ye chuckled.

If he were to continue nagging after saying all that, it would seem pretentious.

Moreover, given the current situation, neither he nor Liao really had any other choice.

"Then let's begin!" As Lu Ye spoke, he didn't hesitate any longer and drew his Panshan Blade.

The next instant, the power of the Talent Tree was activated, and invisible roots spread out as if they had a spirit, wrapping around and enveloping the entire longsword.

Before making the decision, Lu Ye felt uneasy, but once he actually took action, he felt a sense of peace.

Driven by the power of the Talent Tree, invisible roots burrowed into the Rock Mountain Blade, devouring its mysteries.

Lu Ye focused his mind, guiding the mysterious energy that was being devoured to converge on the Talent Tree.

A moment later, his eye twitched: "Stop whining and disturbing my peace of mind!"

A sly, lewd voice came from behind: "Sorry, it's a little itchy, like someone's scratching me. I'll press it down!"

A moment later, Lu Ye's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. He regretted saying what he had just said, because the whimpering fang's voice was even more disturbing.

He just couldn't understand how the Liao, a warrior race without flesh and blood, could feel an itch.

He could only focus even more.

It must be said that after inheriting the essence of Shang, Liao's essence is indeed much stronger than that of ordinary treasures.

This can be clearly seen from the process of the talent tree absorbing other talents.

Compared to other treasures, the mystery contained within the Fang is much richer and more profound.

With Lu Ye's guidance, a bulge quickly appeared on a branch of the Talent Tree, then it blossomed and bore fruit. When the fruit was fully ripe, it had transformed into the shape of the Panshan Blade, only a Panshan Blade shrunk countless times.

Jin Yao's figure suddenly emerged from the Soul-Suppressing Bell, staring at the Panshan Blade with a look of astonishment: "Isn't this your sword? How did you manage to devour and refine it as well?"

Lu Ye did not respond to her; at this moment, his expression was extremely solemn.

The reason was that from the beginning, Liao's slutty voice suddenly disappeared, and no matter how Lu Ye called out, there was no response.

This made his heart sink to the bottom, wondering if something unexpected had happened.

But upon closer reflection, the entire process of devouring was smooth and without any setbacks. After all, he had devoured so many treasures and was already very experienced.

There shouldn't be any problems this time either.

"Liao, are you trying to scare me?" Lu Ye suddenly thought of a possibility.

Given the nature of the fang, this is indeed something that could happen.

"What?" Liao's voice suddenly rang out.

Lu Ye breathed a sigh of relief, his heart finally at ease.

"Huh..." Liao exclaimed in surprise, "I've arrived here. This is the Talent Tree!"

It had heard of the Talent Tree before, but this was its first time actually seeing it, so it couldn't help but be amazed. (End of Chapter)