Sage of Humanity-Chapter 794 - 792: Stronghold

These two were able to rescue Yuan Xiang from the hands of zombies that almost wiped out Yooi Zhen's squad, so their strength must be extraordinary.

But once involved in a formation, mere strength no longer holds significance.

Therefore, capturing them should not be a difficult task.

Wu Jun thought this when suddenly he heard a low exclamation and quickly turned to look at the gaunt old man beside him, "Veteran Xu, what's the matter?"

The reason their base had managed to survive safely in this place for over ten years was not only due to Zui Shan's wise leadership but also the old man known as Xu Wang, who played an indispensable role!

Because he was an array cultivator.

The various formations inside and outside the base were all arranged by him.

What's most precious in this apocalypse?

Naturally, it's all kinds of talented individuals from outside the mainstream.

Array cultivator, alchemy cultivator, Artifact Refiner...

Streams that were once common in prosperous times have now become exceedingly rare, and those who have achieved success in these alternate paths are few.

Yet, these external paths are indispensable for cultivators.

Cultivation requires the use of elixir pills, defending the base needs formations, and cultivators rely on Spiritual Artifacts to kill enemies—omitting any of these would not work.

The base under Zui Shan's control, though small, had all kinds of talents; it was, as they say, small but complete, with some renown within tens of thousands of miles. Occasionally, several nearby bases would bring some materials to trade with them, exchanging things like elixir pills and Spiritual Artifacts.

In this way, the living environment of the base was slightly better than other bases.

Xu Wang was quite senior in age and held in high regard within the base, having long passed the age of easily getting startled. Yet at this moment, he exclaimed in surprise as if he saw something unbelievable.

"They... they... them..." Xu Wang pointed towards the area enveloped by the big formation, stumbling over his words for quite a while without completing his sentence.

But in the next instant, Wu Jun knew what had shocked Xu Wang.

For in the midst of the swirling fog within the big formation, two figures were seen walking one after the other, leisurely as if they were strolling in their courtyard!

The big formation that had protected the base for over ten years did nothing to block or trap the enemies.

Those two were unmistakably the uninvited guests who should have been trapped within the big formation!

Wu Jun's eyes narrowed, and everyone else's expression changed as they all stimulated their spirit force in preparation.

Following behind Lu Ye, Ying Wuji remained silent until now when he finally realized the gap between himself and Lu Yiye in the Array Path.

The formation that trapped them was not incredibly advanced; Ying Wuji could see some flaws and felt that breaking it wouldn't be hard, but it would likely require some effort.

Yet, as he followed Lu Ye, with mere steps east and west, just after a dozen or so steps, they had safely walked out of the big formation!

No killing array was triggered during this period.

Such a skill definitely demonstrated a profound mastery in the Array Path, with Lu Yiye leaving him far behind.

The sudden change left Wu Jun and others somewhat at a loss, as until now, they hadn't considered that there could exist someone who could walk out of an activated big formation like this; for a moment, they wondered if the big formation was broken.

But observing the big formation where fog still swirled, it was clearly still operational.

This was bad news.

With the newcomers' intentions unknown and considering their previous assumptions, Wu Jun always felt these two harbored ill intentions—could it be they were ready for a hard fight?

If a fight broke out and if there were any Corpse Race nearby, they would surely be attracted to the scene.

Observing the two in front of him, the one holding the knife was only a year or two older than Yuan Xiang but carried a tranquil demeanor and a posture as profound and imposing as a mountain, his aura concealed yet still emitting a faint oppressive feeling from his calm body, as if an extremely terrifying power was hidden beneath.

The other one appeared sneaky and looked not to be trifled with.

The only option was to send a warning and ask the people in the base for help!

Just as Wu Jun made up his mind, Xu Wang regained his composure and stepped forward, bowing with a polite gesture: "Old Xu Wang here, has the honor to meet the two young friends".

"Veteran Xu..." Wu Jun and the other two had stunned expressions.

Because of Xu Wang's identity as an array cultivator, under only Zui Shan in the base, he was easygoing and fair in his dealings, yet Wu Jun had never seen him be so courteous before.

They were naturally astonished.

Xu Wang, knowing what they were thinking, waved his hand and, looking intently at Lu Ye, said, "This young friend, being able to spot the flaws of the big formation silently and walk out unscathed without disturbing it, has a higher mastery in the Array Path than myself."

Deducing the profound from the trivial, one who could so easily break his proud formation must have a much higher mastery in the Array Path than him.

"Such a person, even when visiting those secret realms, would surely be treated as a distinguished guest—how could he target our small base."

Xu Wang's words were clearly intended for the others.

Wu Jun and the others looked dazed, never expecting Xu Wang to rate the newcomers so highly, which was somewhat unbelievable.

But upon reflection, they realized Xu Wang was right.

Secret realms have strict criteria for selecting individuals, but if indeed a highly accomplished array cultivator existed, the secret realms would surely not refuse them, and there was no need to target their small base.

Could it be... they had been wrong before, and these two were genuinely unaware of the external situation?

"The old gentleman flatters me too much," Lu Ye replied lightly. "It seems our misunderstanding has been resolved?"

He did not take Yuan Xiang's previous actions too seriously. From her perspective, her actions were justifiable—it was not right to simply bring a stranger back to their base.

Moreover, these people did not make a move to kill immediately after the big array was activated, which clearly indicated they had intended to capture but not kill.

A minor squall hardly counted as a grudge.

"We were too sensitive," Xu Wang apologized, then gestured with his hand, "Since you have come from afar, how about coming in for a chat?"

However, he harbored a small scheme in his heart; he was old and would not live much longer. Although he had been searching for someone to inherit his mantle among the base's residents for years, none had the talent for the Array Path. Despite teaching them, a few youths couldn't even reach minimal standards.

If he could enlist this Lu Yiye into their base, even after his death, the security of the base would be somewhat assured.

But the idea just emerged—he would need to consult Zui Shan before making any decisions.

Moreover, they must first ascertain the characters of these two newcomers. As for their origins... that wasn't so important. In such chaotic times, just surviving was tough enough; no one would delve too deeply into someone's background.

As long as their character was good, they could be recruited.

"Sure!" Lu Ye agreed, and then stepped forward.

Ying Wuji followed him nonchalantly.

If he had been alone, his mindset would certainly not have been so relaxed; entering someone else's base was, after all, somewhat dangerous.

But following Lu Yiye, he didn't need to think too much.

It could not be denied that Lu Yiye always managed to provide a great sense of security, making him subconsciously feel that even if there were dragons and tigers ahead, Lu Yiye could turn the world upside down.

Suddenly, he was shocked by his own mindset—how did it become like this?

Not good, not good. Lu Yiye was ultimately a member of the Haotian Alliance, an enemy, not a Fellow Daoist one could rely on!

He silently warned himself, and Ying Wuji's mood suddenly became inexplicably heavy.

Xu Wang personally led Lu Ye and Ying Wuji toward the base. Yuan Xiang accompanied them, her expression filled with guilt as if she wanted to say something but ultimately didn't speak.

Along the way, Xu Wang casually inquired about the backgrounds of Lu Ye and Ying Wuji, and Lu Ye repeated the explanation he had given to Yuan Xiang.

Xu Wang did not comment, clearly not easily convinced.

The location of the base was less than ten miles from that big array, hidden by an extremely concealed entrance with cultivators guarding it, and further obscured by formations.

Seeing Xu Wang arriving with guests, one person emerged from the shadows, looking at Lu Ye and Ying Wuji with surprise, "Veteran Xu, are they...?"

"Our guests, no need to ask more," Xu Wang waved his hand.

"Yes!" the person replied, then hid back into the shadows, showing that Xu Wang's authority in the base was quite high.

With Xu Wang's actions, the concealed entrance to the base became apparent—a dark cave with faint, dim lights shining from within.

"Please," Xu Wang said and led the way first.

Entering the cave, they indeed saw the firelight. Every fixed distance, there were torches illuminating the surroundings.

As they spiraled deeper down the path, Lu Ye estimated they had descended about three hundred meters underground before a huge cavern suddenly appeared in front of them.

The cavern was spacious, with several figures moving around inside.

Along the sides of the cavern, there were stone chambers carved out.

Seeing Xu Wang's return, many people greeted him and also curiously sized up Lu Ye and Ying Wuji.

For them, the appearance of strangers in the base was a rarity; like theirs, most bases generally did not allow outsiders easy entry.

As Lu Ye walked by and observed, he roughly gauged the overall strength of this base.

The number of people was not large, and their overall strength was not strong; more than half of them were ordinary humans without any cultivation.

In today's Unparalleled Continent, it was already difficult for cultivators to survive, let alone ordinary people. However, ordinary people were essentially the foundation of the cultivators; without them bearing children, how could there be cultivators?

Children born between cultivators may not necessarily be suitable for cultivation themselves.

The remaining half, though cultivators, had mixed levels of cultivation, most only equivalent to the standard of the Spirit Stream Realm.

Such a base was even inferior to the weakest 9th grade sect in the Nine Provinces.

The scarcity of living resources left the ordinary people here mostly thin and pallid. Even the cultivators had weaker blood Qi compared to those in the Nine Provinces.

Lu Ye had noticed this the moment he met Yuan Xiang and the others.

Therefore, under the same level of cultivation, the Nine Provinces cultivators were able to beat the local cultivators here.

He wondered what the cultivators from the so-called resource-abundant secret realm were like.

Xu Wang led Lu Ye and Ying Wuji to an unoccupied stone chamber to rest, then said, "Please rest here for a moment; I will go find Zui Shan."

He instructed Yuan Xiang, "Take care of our guests," before turning to leave.