Sage of Humanity-Chapter 1530 - 1528: The Source
Lih Shang didn't know what means Lu Ye had to deal with the Soul-Devouring Aphids, but once these bizarre insects entered the soul sea, they will rapidly reproduce. What awaited Lu Ye was certainly the exhaustion of the divine sea and complete loss of soul power.
The Soul-Devouring Aphids that invaded her body just moments ago were not actually that numerous, yet in a fleeting moment, they had already multiplied into a small mass, showcasing their eerie nature.
Lu Ye acted as if he hadn't heard, simply staring at the cluster of Soul-Devouring Aphids that had rushed into his soul sea.
He had initially been considering how best to solve Lih Shang's problem safely and effectively, but unexpectedly these little bugs ran out by themselves, saving him a lot of effort.
Once the Soul-Devouring Aphids entered the soul sea, Lu Ye immediately felt a piercing pain, the sensation of his psyche being torn apart. Under his perception, he could clearly detect the Soul-Devouring Aphids frantically gnawing at the power within his divine sea, splitting and reproducing rapidly into more individuals.
In just a brief moment, the number of Soul-Devouring Aphids had doubled.
This thing... it's truly mysterious.
Lu Ye had wanted to observe more, but the pain from his psyche was truly unbearable, forcing him to activate the power of the Talent Tree.
Instantly, a peculiar flame emerged within the divine sea, encompassing all the Aphids, and under the flame's shroud, each Soul-Devouring Aphid was completely turned to ashes, obliterated.
Filled with anxiety yet unsure of what to do, Lih Shang couldn't help but be stupefied, staring at the mysterious flame. She could vaguely sense the enormous threat the flame posed to her...
Thinking back to how she had once challenged Lu Ye to a soul battle, hoping he'd release her, Lih Shang felt a chill. Luckily, Lu Ye had never harbored any intent to kill her, otherwise, she would've long met the same fate as the Aphids when the flame came forth.
"Are you alright?" Lih Shang asked worriedly.
"I'm fine." Lu Ye shook his head.
The psyche was slightly damaged, but he'd recover by refining one psyche refinement herb later.
"Li Taibai, can I stay here?" Lih Shang asked shyly, though she was not timid and had a firm will, but the Soul-Devouring Aphids were indeed the nemesis of the Soul Race. With the Aphids in the Mist Dragon, she dared not wander outside carelessly.
Previously, the Aphids only attacked her and didn't disturb Lu Ye, attracted by her soul body.
Lu Ye sensed her fear, secretly amused, but replied, "Of course you can."
He stepped out of the divine sea, holding a torch to continue onward, feeling quite puzzled.
The star map given by the Reincarnation Tree clearly marked no peculiar dangers within the Mist Dragon; the sole threat was the dragon itself, so how could there be Soul-Devouring Aphids?
But upon reconsideration, the Reincarnation Tree's knowledge of this place might not be timely. Perhaps it's from years ago, and Aphids invaded here and became trapped; it wouldn't be too strange.
Earlier, he had Lih Shang as a companion, but now, with her hiding in his divine sea, he felt rather alone.
After another brief walk, under the torchlight, another corpse appeared within the illuminated area. Lu Ye was not surprised, but he was momentarily taken aback upon glancing at the corpse.
Because this corpse was too small.
It looked like a little girl about five or six years old...
Lu Ye knew this couldn't really be a child; normal children wouldn't appear in such a place.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed the child was exquisitely crafted, chubby all over, her wrists like lotus roots adorned with a jade bangle.
While scrutinizing, Lu Ye suddenly noticed a plume of black mist emanating from the child's body, rushing straight toward him.
The black mist seemed very familiar to him; instinctively, Lu Ye activated his spirit force to protect himself, but the mist ignored his defensive spirit force and directly entered his body, vanishing.
In the next moment, a scream from Lih Shang echoed within the divine sea: "Li Taibai, there are more Soul-Devouring Aphids!"
Lu Ye immediately manifested his psyche spirit body, indeed seeing a mass of black mist formed by Aphids within his divine sea. Without delay, he activated the Talent Tree's power, burning the little pests clean away.
Lih Shang was horrified: "How could there be more Aphids?"
She thought she'd be safe here, yet was scared again, her face pale.
"I think I've found the source," Lu Ye stated, his mind alert as he looked up at the plump corpse. It was probably the origin of the Aphids.
The little girl must have encountered an Aphids attack, accidentally entered the Mist Dragon, and became trapped here. The girl died, but the Aphids survived.
That explains why this place has Aphids; they were from outside.
Lu Ye gazed at the little girl's corpse and sighed lightly. Regardless of her true identity, she looked like a child and died in such a location; it's truly pitiful.
He reached to grab her arm, intending to collect her alongside the previous corpses, to bury properly later.
But upon touching, Lu Ye felt something was amiss; squeezing the tender, lotus root-like arm, he found it still had elasticity, despite being cold, not like a typical corpse.
He paused slightly, carefully feeling, and his face showed surprise the next moment.
This little girl... is actually still alive! But her life force has weakened to the extreme, like a candle in the wind and rain, ready to extinguish at any moment.
Lu Ye couldn't help but hesitate...
If she were just a corpse, there wouldn't be much to say, just collect the body and find a place to bury it. But she still had a hint of life.
Leaving her to die felt wrong to him. Yet if he tried to save her without knowing her true nature, and she turned out to be a villain with strong powers, it could be disastrous.
After a long pause, Lu Ye gritted his teeth. He couldn't overcome his conscience if he left her be like this. He decided to try saving her first and see if she could be revived.
Taking a step back, even if she were truly malicious, he had saved her life. Anyone with a shred of conscience shouldn't kill him.
With this thought in mind, Lu Ye quickly took out an elixir pill, placed it in the girl's mouth, and activated his spirit force to help her swallow and refine it.
Pill after pill was swallowed, and Lu Ye could clearly feel her life force slowly getting stronger, her body no longer felt as icy cold as before.
Yet she showed no sign of waking up, likely due to having been injured for too long, and her physical functions were difficult to restore.
Lu Ye was particularly concerned that while he was working on her, a black mist of Soul-Devouring Aphids emerged from the girl occasionally, entering his Divine Sea, where it was quickly burned away by the power of his Talent Tree.
After some time, Lu Ye confirmed that the girl's body was mostly fine but still showed no signs of awakening.
Linking this to the Soul-Devouring Aphids, Lu Ye had a hypothesis and moved his Divine Soul Power, invading her Divine Sea.
If she were in a normal state, Lu Ye wouldn't have been able to do this, yet the girl had been unconscious for who knows how long, tortured by the aphids, her soul defenses shattered, allowing Lu Ye easy entry.
Glancing around, Lu Ye was shocked—this wasn't a Divine Sea; it was a nest of insects!
The entire Divine Sea was dried up, without a trace of Psyche Force leftover. Every sight was filled with a swarm of Soul-Devouring Aphids, a vast expanse of black!
The aphids that had previously bothered Lu Ye had evidently flown out from here.
Sensing the aura of Lu Ye's psyche spirit body, the aphids flocked towards him, enveloping him tightly in an instant.
Mysterious flames suddenly ignited, sweeping in all directions, large numbers of aphids disintegrated into nothingness, the flames continued to spread, more aphids burned up.
After a while, Lu Ye withdrew the power of the Talent Tree, and there was no sign of aphids left in his vision.
Except at the center of the dry Divine Sea, there stood a white cocoon.
Lu Ye flew forward, checked carefully, and discovered a trace of Psyche Force emanating from within the cocoon; through its haziness, he could vaguely see a small figure curled inside.
If he wasn't mistaken, this cocoon should house the girl's psyche spirit body.
Whether this cocoon was a Soul Device or a Psyche Secret Technique, either way, it was remarkable to persist amidst endless aphids' encirclement.
Lightly knocking on the cocoon, the silhouette within didn't react, leaving Lu Ye helpless to withdraw for now.
The voice of Lih Shang came to his mind: "Li Taibai, what's the situation now?"
Lu Ye briefly recounted his earlier experiences, and Lih Shang finally emerged from his Divine Sea, standing with a stunned look at the seemingly sleeping small figure before them.
"Do you know her cultivation level?"
Lu Ye shook his head, "I'm not sure."
Though her physique didn't seem strong, possibly not reaching Constellation, anyone surviving in stellar space had to be one, so what could her dried Divine Sea reveal about her cultivation?
"What now?" Lih Shang asked.
Lu Ye really wanted to know what to do next. He thought he was collecting a corpse, only to discover it was a living person and didn't know her cultivation level or character, which was troubling.
Her physical vitality had gradually been restored, and the Soul-Devouring Aphids in the Divine Sea had all been eliminated; her survival was assured.
Yet her psyche sustained serious injury, and it was unknown when she might recover.
After hesitating for some time, Lu Ye said, "Let's take her along."
Having saved her, he couldn't just abandon her; might as well save her completely, perhaps forming a good bond.
Lih Shang nodded, stepped forward, and picked up the small figure, while Lu Ye held up the torch to continue onward, Lih Shang following closely.
They traveled for several days more, suddenly the fog cleared, and boundless starlight struck their view.
Lu Ye rejoiced.
Finally made it out!
