Chapter 2237: Standing Position

Even if the old man guarding the ruins wasn't particularly powerful, he was still a Daoist Master. Anyone with connections to him would likely also be a Daoist Master. A remarkable young woman… Lu Ye could only think of one person!

"Who is she to you, senior?" Lu Ye asked, looking ahead.

The old man smiled slightly, "I mentored her for a period of time."

Lu Ye understood. Having mentored her for some time meant a significant debt of gratitude. Even if there wasn't a formal teacher-disciple relationship, the reality was the same, and cultivators valued such connections.

Just as Lu Ye was about to ask another question, the old man added, "When something happened to you, she felt very guilty and worried, intending to help. But you should know that her position is sensitive; one move could affect everything, making it difficult for her to act freely."

"I understand," Lu Ye nodded. Although Zi Ying was powerful, she was, after all, the guardian of a stronghold. In such a large war zone, she couldn't single-handedly storm the insect nest to do anything. That wouldn't be rescuing someone; it would be suicidal. Especially after Li Qi's betrayal, the Human Race Alliance's situation in the Yellow Springs War Zone must not be good.

"The young lady asked me to ask you something!" Lu Ye noticed the old man rubbing a waist token in his hand. He must have sent a message about the situation here while they were talking. The Yellow Springs War Zone was far from here, so even if they knew Lu Ye had appeared, they couldn't rush over. They could only entrust the old man to relay the message.

"Please tell me, senior," Lu Ye said, his expression solemn.

"She asked if you have ever done anything to betray the human race?"

"Never!" Lu Ye shook his head.

The old man watched him silently, his gaze profound. After several seconds, he smiled warmly and said, "You were abducted for so long, then suddenly reappeared in the Shaocong War Star. Your strength has undergone tremendous changes, and in a few days, you've killed two Daoist Masters from both the Blood Race and the Insect Race, yet you haven't harmed a single human cultivator. To be honest, I'm also very curious, are you... on the human side now, or on the side of the two alien races?"

"Did she ask that too?"

The old man shook his head, "That's just my own curiosity."

"If I said I was on the human side, would you believe me, senior?"

The old man didn't answer directly, only saying, "She also asked me to tell you one more thing: don't come back until you're confident you can gain the trust of the Human Race Alliance. When each waist token is made, a blood sample and a wisp of divine sense are taken, and these are recorded on the home planet. So, even if you disguise yourself or change your name, as long as you reveal any of this information, the home planet will immediately know."

Lu Ye suddenly understood. He had wondered how he was exposed so quickly; this was the reason. He really hadn't known about this.

"Please proceed, young friend," the old man said, gesturing with his hand. Lu Ye stopped contemplating and walked towards the altar. As he passed the old man, he hesitated slightly but ultimately decided against speaking.

Standing on the altar, Lu Ye activated his Dao power. As his figure vanished, only his voice reached the old man's ears: "Please tell her for me that I am safe in the insect nest. There's no need to worry."

The old man remained seated for a long time before suddenly rising. He stepped onto the altar and activated his Dao power, but the altar remained unresponsive. He couldn't help but scratch his head. What was going on?

Based on all the information he had received, Lu Ye was undoubtedly a Daoist Master, but how did he enter the ruins? This place had always been accessible only to those at the Dao Entry level. And he had paid close attention just now; Lu Ye hadn't made any extra movements, simply activating the altar with his Dao power. He did the same, so why couldn't he enter? He was completely baffled.

Back in the ruins, Lu Ye looked around. What he saw was no different from what he had seen when he first entered the ruins, but he knew this was already a different passage.

Stepping forward, he quickly reached the first grand hall. As expected, there was an altar connecting to the outside. Continuing on, he arrived at the second grand hall, the deepest part of the ruins. Looking up, Lu Ye raised an eyebrow.

The Nine Infant statue, now devoid of its luster, was still there, but beneath it stood a figure. As if sensing Lu Ye's arrival, the person turned, immediately showing joy, and strode forward to greet him: "Brother Lu!"

"Brother Yan?" Lu Ye was surprised. "Why are you... are you waiting for me?"

"Exactly," Yan Hong said, stopping a short distance from Lu Ye. "I knew Brother Lu would definitely return, so I've been waiting for you here."

"You're alone?" He looked around, finding no one else. He mainly wanted to ask if Huang Zhihuan had entered with him, but on second thought, he had a good relationship with Yan Hong, but none with Huang Zhihuan. He had even injured Huang Zhihuan here that day, so how could Huang Zhihuan possibly dare to come in again?

Yan Hong knew what he was implying and chuckled, "Brother Huang is preparing to advance to the Daoist Master level, so he's in secluded cultivation." For hundreds of years, he had been dedicated to exploring the ruins, experiencing countless failures and injuries, yet in the end, he still hadn't fully understood them. Now that the ruins had clearly been deciphered, there was naturally no need to remain at the Dao Entry level.

"Oh, right!" Yan Hong suddenly remembered something and quickly handed Lu Ye a storage ring.

"This is..." Lu Ye looked at him suspiciously, took the storage ring, and after a brief inspection, his expression turned strange.

Yan Hong said, "The agreement between you, Brother Lu, and my Yan family is still valid. These are the Dao Bones for the recent period. My family asked me to bring them in and give them to you if I met you." Originally, when Lu Ye gave the Termite to the Yan family, he received many benefits, including a monthly supply of Dao Bones until he advanced to the Daoist Master level. Not only the Yan family, but the Military Affairs Bureau also had a similar agreement. Before Lu Ye was abducted, neither party had ever violated the agreement, but naturally, the supply of Dao Bones stopped when he was taken.

It was surprising that the Yan family had specifically sent Yan Hong to deliver all the Dao Bones from the recent period at this time...

"What do you want to know, Brother Yan?" Lu Ye asked, putting away the storage ring. The amount of Dao Bones was considerable, a collection from several months, and he was certainly happy to accept them. However, he estimated that this would likely be the last batch of Dao Bones he would receive from the Yan family. The agreement stipulated a monthly supply of Dao Bones until Lu Ye advanced to the Daoist Master level. Yet, after what had happened, anyone would assume Lu Ye had already advanced, thus nullifying the previous agreement.

Yan Hong likely didn't know about those events before he came in.

Yan Hong sighed, "Please forgive me, Brother Lu." Given his personal friendship with Lu Ye, he wasn't eager to make this trip, but he was a member of the Yan family, so he had to come even if he didn't want to. Fortunately, Lu Ye didn't seem to mind.

"The elders in my family heard about what happened and know that the ruins have been deciphered. So, they wanted to entrust me with asking you, Brother Lu, if there were any unusual discoveries here." After speaking, he added with a wry face, "I've already told them that there's no way to leave the ruins from this place, but..."

Although there was constant warfare within Banlan, every faction had always sought a way to escape this quagmire. The ruins represented the only hope for countless years. If this hope were shattered, then all those years of exploration and anticipation would be meaningless. Therefore, even though Yan Hong had relayed Lu Ye's words upon his return that day, the Daoist Masters of the Yan family couldn't bring themselves to believe it. This was why they had him wait here with numerous Dao Bones, hoping to gather more information.

"I understand," Lu Ye nodded. "However, there is indeed no way to leave the ruins from within this grand hall." After witnessing Lu Ye's abilities, Yan Hong still dared to wait for him here, showing no trace of caution or vigilance. This indicated that Yan Hong genuinely considered Lu Ye a friend and subconsciously believed Lu Ye would not harm him.

If possible, Lu Ye didn't want to deceive him, but the secret hidden here was too vast; he couldn't even tell Yan Hong. As a disciple of the Yan family, there were things beyond Yan Hong's control. If he learned the secret from Lu Ye and then concealed it from his family, it would be an act of disloyalty.

This was also one of the reasons Lu Ye didn't want to return to the Alliance. He was already suspected of being a mole or a traitor, and now that the ruins were involved, if he really returned to the Alliance, he would be imprisoned immediately.

He didn't want to deceive Yan Hong, so he could only subtly shift the concept, using his previous explanation.

"I believe you, Brother Lu!" Yan Hong wasn't foolish; he naturally knew Lu Ye was withholding information from him. For instance, while waiting, he had discovered two large doors here that he couldn't budge, and he didn't know what was hidden behind them. But he didn't ask, because he could sense that asking would only make things difficult for Lu Ye.

His family had also specifically instructed him to ask Lu Ye what secrets he had discovered here, asserting that even if there was no way to leave Banlan, there must be other hidden aspects. Yet, he still didn't voice the question.

"Brother Yan, let's exchange contact imprints," Lu Ye said, taking out his waist token. He hadn't destroyed this token precisely to use it now, as it was the only way to establish contact with the human side.

Earlier, he had considered exchanging imprints with the old man guarding the ruins entrance, but ultimately, they weren't familiar with each other. Even if the old man had a de facto teacher-disciple relationship with Zi Ying, it didn't concern Lu Ye. Yan Hong, however, was different; they had some rapport, and Yan Hong was trustworthy. In the future, if he wanted to contact anyone on the human side, it would be convenient to have Yan Hong act as an intermediary.

Yan Hong naturally had no objections; he was eager to re-establish contact with Lu Ye and immediately took out his own waist token. After exchanging imprints, Yan Hong said, "Don't worry, Brother Lu. This matter will remain a secret between us, known only to heaven, earth, you, and me. No third person will ever know."

Lu Ye smiled, "Brother Yan, there's still a long road ahead. We'll meet again if fate wills it. There's no longer any need to explore these ruins. Go back and start preparing for your advancement to the Daoist Master level soon."

"Alright!" Yan Hong agreed. A moment later, they went their separate ways.

It wasn't until Yan Hong left the ruins that he learned about everything that had happened recently, and he was momentarily stunned. The last time in the ruins, Huang Zhihuan was no match for Lu Ye and fled, injured. At the time, Yan Hong had only thought it was because Lu Ye possessed the Termite and hadn't given it any further thought.

But only today did he understand the truth. "Brother Lu is a Daoist Master? And he killed two Daoist Masters from both the Insect and Blood races? This... how is this possible?"