Chapter 2769: Human Race Without Saints

Over a long period, the Dao Fish Lu Ye consumed for his cultivation all came from Qin Feng's arena.

He had acquired a large quantity of Dao Fish that time, but his own cultivation consumed a lot. Furthermore, successive battles had resulted in a significant expenditure of Dao power.

By now, the Dao Fish in his possession were almost entirely depleted.

Although his talent tree still held some reserves, those were ultimately meant to be kept as backup.

Therefore, if he wished to continue cultivating, he would need to find more resources. While Dao power was abundant in the Origin Realm, and his cultivation method allowed him to accumulate it at a decent pace, it was still not as fast as refining Dao Fish.

Moreover, he had been here for several months, confined to this small island. Lu Ye also wanted to venture out, explore, and incidentally, search for a way to leave.

He was ultimately unwilling to remain trapped in this Origin Realm indefinitely.

Having made up his mind, he tidied up a little and then flew off.

Without a clear destination, he traveled aimlessly. The journey remained peaceful, and as he passed by various small islands, his senses detected no traces of any living beings.

This puzzled Lu Ye. Could it be that this vast Origin Realm was devoid of life?

After traveling for most of the day, Lu Ye, who was still flying, suddenly felt something. He turned his head to look in one direction, where a streaking light was rapidly approaching.

Finally, a living person!

Lu Ye was delighted and quickly flew towards it. Focusing his vision, he saw that it was a woman, likely a human.

Their distance rapidly closed, and they soon arrived close to each other, both stopping.

Observing her up close, Lu Ye confirmed she was human, and judging by her aura, she appeared to be a Harmonization Realm cultivator.

As they were both human, communication should be possible. Just as Lu Ye was about to speak, he heard the woman snap, "It's already this late, why are you still running around recklessly? Are you trying to die?!"

“Huh?” Lu Ye looked at her, bewildered.

“Come with me quickly!” The woman waved her hand and immediately flew off in one direction, appearing to be in a hurry.

Lu Ye pondered briefly before quickly following. He soon caught up with the woman and flew alongside her.

“Lu Ye greets fellow Daoist. How may I address you?” Lu Ye cupped his fist.

The woman tilted her head and glanced at him, appearing somewhat impatient, but she eventually replied, "Xia He."

“Fellow Daoist Xia,” Lu Ye nodded. “Where are we heading?”

Instead of answering, Xia He counter-questioned, “Do you have somewhere to go?”

Lu Ye thought to himself, *I've just arrived; where on earth would I have to go?* He honestly replied, “No!”

“Then come with me to Glazed Island!” Xia He said. Then, as if realizing something, she tilted her head to look at Lu Ye. “Judging by your dazed expression, you probably don't know anything, do you?”

“I was just about to ask for guidance,” Lu Ye replied, his expression serious.

Xia He couldn't help but palm her forehead. “You truly know nothing?” She thought, *It's already this late; how can someone still be wandering alone outside?*

“Didn't your elders tell you? The hunt is about to begin!”

“The hunt?” Lu Ye was even more bewildered. What kind of hunt?

Xia He looked speechless. “Where are you from, that you don't even know about something like this?”

Lu Ye's expression remained calm. “I've been in secluded cultivation until recently, which is why I've only just come out to explore. So, I'm not very familiar with the situation outside.” He found it inconvenient to tell outsiders that he was from the Inner Realm; that would be too startling and difficult to explain later.

Xia He seemed to bear no ill will and was also human, but as the saying goes, 'one knows a person's face but not their heart.' Before truly understanding her, Lu Ye couldn't judge her true character.

“I see,” Xia He said, a look of understanding on her face. On this Cage Sea, people like Lu Ye were rare but not unheard of. She sighed lightly, appearing somewhat reluctant to tell Lu Ye the full truth, and then said, “Don't ask too many questions. Just follow me.”

Lu Ye was silent for a moment, ultimately deciding not to speak further.

Since she didn't want to elaborate, he found it inappropriate to press further. Whatever the situation, he would see for himself later.

As he followed Xia He, they chatted sporadically. After about half an hour, an island appeared ahead.

This small island wasn't much different from the many others Lu Ye had seen; none of them were particularly large. This must be the Glazed Island Xia He mentioned.

The two figures descended directly onto the island and walked a short distance further, reaching a cliff face.

Xia He looked around, took out a jade slip, channeled power into it, and then struck forward with her hand.

The rock wall in front immediately seemed to melt, revealing an opening.

Xia He stepped inside, with Lu Ye following closely.

“Sister Xia He.” A joyful voice rang out as a petite figure came to greet them from ahead, directly embracing Xia He and wiggling about.

“Alright, Xiaoman, stop bothering me.” Xia He pressed down on the petite girl's head, gently pushing her away.

“How's it outside?” Xiaoman asked, standing still. Then she noticed Lu Ye, who was behind Xia He, and asked in surprise, “Who's this?”

Xia He casually explained, “Just a clueless newcomer I met on the way.”

Behind her, Lu Ye maintained a calm and composed demeanor.

“Where are Senior Brother Liu and the others?” Xia He asked again.

Xiaoman replied, “They're all inside. Everyone was worried because you were gone for so long.”

Xia He said, “I just went to check the situation outside; I was delayed a bit on the way. Let's go in first.”

A moment later, several figures gathered in a grotto.

There weren't many people, only five in total: aside from Xia He and the girl named Xiaoman, the remaining three were men.

To Lu Ye's slight surprise, all five of them were human.

Among the five, the male cultivator named Liu Chang appeared to be the leader, while the other two were surnamed Zhou and Sun.

The group exchanged a few brief words, all appearing deeply concerned, as if something extremely bad was about to happen.

None of them showed much reaction to Lu Ye's arrival; they were neither warm nor cold. Only Xiaoman seemed somewhat curious about Lu Ye, staring at him for a long time.

Lu Ye secretly observed and found that all five of them were quite strong. Besides Xiaoman, who was a Low-tier Harmonization Realm cultivator, two of the remaining four were Mid-tier Harmonization Realm, while Liu Chang and Xia He were both High-tier Harmonization Realm.

Lu Ye wasn't particularly surprised by this.

In fact, when he first arrived in the Origin Realm, he had a premonition that the cultivators here wouldn't be weak, as the cultivation environment was exceptionally superior, allowing cultivators to grow stronger very quickly.

“No one should wander around for a while; just stay here quietly,” Liu Chang said, glancing around at everyone. “I hope all of us can safely get through this tribulation.”

Xiaoman asked, “Senior Brother Liu, why don't we go to the large island? There are more people there, and even if we encounter danger, we'd at least have a chance to resist.”

Liu Chang shook his head. “It's true that many people gather on the large island, and they might offer some resistance in the face of danger. However, they also present a conspicuous target. If we're truly singled out, our fate might not be good. Hiding like this, as long as our luck isn't too terrible, is actually safer than going to the large island.”

Xia He patted Xiaoman's hand. “Going to the large island or staying here both have their pros and cons. Last time, I went to the large island, and if I hadn't been lucky, I wouldn't be alive today.”

Xiaoman nodded. “Anyway, I'll stay with Sister Xia He. Wherever Sister Xia He goes, I'll go too.”

“Let's leave it at that. I just hope we're favored,” Liu Chang said with a wry smile, waving his hand.

They dispersed. There were places to rest in the grotto. After arranging a spot for Lu Ye to rest, Xia He did not leave but stayed with Xiaoman.

“I can tell you have many questions. You can ask anything you want now,” Xia He said, sitting not far from Lu Ye.

Lu Ye indeed had many questions.

He didn't hesitate. “It seems you all are hiding from some danger? And what's this 'hunt' about?”

Xiaoman asked, “Have you always lived alone? Has no one ever told you anything?”

Lu Ye shook his head. “I know nothing about the outside situation.”

Xiaoman looked at Lu Ye with an incredulous expression, as if she hadn't imagined such a person could exist in the world.

Xia He, however, seemed unfazed. She had encountered people like Lu Ye before; sometimes, ignorance was bliss, and the more one knew, the crueler reality seemed.

“Do you know what this vast sea is called?” Instead of directly answering Lu Ye's question, Xia He asked one of her own.

“No,” Lu Ye shook his head.

“The Cage Sea!” Xia He's voice was bitter. “The 'Cage' as in a prison! Because this entire sea is a prison for us humans.”

“Our human race is imprisoned in this sea?” Lu Ye frowned.

“You could say that. There are humans living outside as well, but their situation is far more difficult than ours. Most of them are slaves to various major races, living lives worse than death, with no certainty of survival from one day to the next.”

“Why is this? Did our human race offend some powerful entities?”

Xia He smiled bitterly. “It's not about offending. It's simply because our human race has no Sages! Without powerful protectors, we are naturally bullied.”

Xiaoman interjected, “There is one, but that one has long since ceased to involve themselves in worldly affairs.”

“The human race has no Sages!” Lu Ye raised an eyebrow.

“One can't blame him either. He's ultimately alone and can't provide much protection,” Xia He shook her head.

Lu Ye asked curiously, “Do other races all have Sages?”

“Mostly, yes. Major races often have several Sages,” Xia He said, looking at Lu Ye. “You've cultivated to the Harmonization Realm; can't you feel that this world holds malice towards our human race?”

Lu Ye hadn't felt this significantly, as he hadn't been there long. However, throughout his journey, the human race's situation in the Star Abyss had indeed been grim.

Especially in the Outer Realm, due to the prevalence of the 'Bone Nurturing Art,' many humans were kept in a state of captivity. The purpose of their existence was to have their bones repeatedly harvested by others, serving as a renewable cultivation resource.

This situation in the Outer Realm reflected into the Inner Realm, where the number of human powerhouses was very small.

And now, in this Origin Realm, the situation remained unchanged.