Sage of Humanity-Chapter 1559 - 1557: Thousand Mounds Cemetery

A slight pain flickered through his mind, and Lu Ye furrowed his brows.

Undoubtedly, the legacy of the Praying Mantis is not so easily comprehended, because it employs twin sabers, so if Lu Ye truly wishes to understand the Praying Mantis' legacy, he'll need to find another saber.

Since beginning his cultivation, Lu Ye had never used twin sabers, and was completely inexperienced in that area. Hastily attempting it would not only fail to enhance his strength but also hinder him somewhat.

Yet, to grasp the legacy left by the Praying Mantis, he has no choice but to reluctantly give it a try, because if he fails the Praying Mantis' test, he won't be able to witness more of the predecessors' excellence later on.

However, he quickly thought of a problem: in the Hall of Green, he was merely a manifestation of mental consciousness, not a physical body. The Boulder Mountain Saber wasn't something he brought in but appeared on him directly. Even if he did find another long saber, could he bring it into the Hall of Green?

With doubts in his heart, he ultimately had to give it a try.

He had quite a few collected storage rings; some were collected from Mist Dragon, and others previously obtained by Lih Shang from Insect Race cultivators. Lazy to investigate before, now he could only check if there were any saber-type treasures within those storage rings.

Taking out those storage rings and opening them one by one, the Insect Race cultivators' storage rings contained almost nothing valuable, just some low-quality items.

However, those obtained from Mist Dragon's storage ring allowed Lu Ye to find several valuable treasures, including spirit jade and spirit crystals in abundance.

Indeed, he found a saber!

Lu Ye took out the saber, looked it over carefully, and felt a bit astonished.

Because this saber was very long, longer than the Boulder Mountain Saber by half, without a sword sheath, even after being stored in the ring for who knows how many years, it showed no signs of decay.

Moreover, when Lu Ye tried to pour spirit force into it, there was no reaction at all.

This item... it seemed to be a magic-treasure class long saber!

The cultivation level of the fallen cultivator inside the Mist Dragon was hard to determine, but just looking at Yaya, one could tell it was a stellar marvel that even Sun Blaze would lose themselves in. Therefore, speculating that Moon Jade or Sun Blaze fell in there too was normal; having magic-treasure class items in their storage rings wasn't surprising.

This magic-treasure class long saber had a somewhat unique shape. Overall, it resembled a giant fang snapped from the mouth of some ferocious beast. When Lu Ye examined the hilt, he noticed a symbol carved upon it. Upon closer inspection, he vaguely discerned it was a character for "Fang".

Fang Saber!

With twin sabers in hand, Lu Ye wasted no time, immersing his mind again, emerging in the Hall of Green.

Immediately, he looked at his left hand, and was a bit dumbfounded, because the Fang Saber hadn't been brought along; his left hand, which originally grasped the Fang Saber, was empty.

How to proceed?

To comprehend the Twin Sabers Technique of the Praying Mantis, twin sabers are indispensable, but he only had the Boulder Mountain Saber in hand and couldn't bring a second saber in. How was he supposed to comprehend it? He couldn't very well use the Boulder Mountain Saber's sheath, could he?

While he stood there helplessly, the Praying Mantis didn't hesitate, launching its assault just like the first time, its silhouette spinning as the twin sabers cut continuously faster and with increasing force. Lu Ye found it harder and harder to defend himself; he attempted to use the Boulder Mountain Saber's sheath as a second saber, but it always felt awkward.

Before long, the Praying Mantis drove him out of the Hall of Green.

Lu Ye was frustrated. The problem before him seemed insurmountable. With his mind dwelling in the Hall of Green, he could only manifest the Boulder Mountain Saber; without a second saber to use, he wouldn't be able to comprehend the Praying Mantis' legacy. Without understanding it, he wouldn't see more of his predecessor's splendor.

It seemed using the Boulder Mountain Saber's sheath as a substitute for the second saber was the only option, but having experimented earlier, Lu Ye found that dire.

Pausing in thought, Lu Ye's eyes lit up; he seemed to have remembered something. If that item could be taken into the Hall of Green, his problem would be resolved.

If his mind could manifest in the Hall of Green and the Boulder Mountain Saber was already mirrored inside, logically, that item should've been mirrored as well, he merely overlooked it.

Thinking this way, Lu Ye took a brief rest before entering the Hall of Green once more.

This time, not letting the Praying Mantis make a move, Lu Ye gazed down at his Boulder Mountain Saber and with a thought, reached to grab, pulling forth another long saber.

Soul Severing Saber!

This treasure, acquired from the Nine Provinces Heaven's Augury Treasure Vault, is a Soul Device. However, it possesses the characteristic of melding with one's weapon, and can even change its shape at will. Lu Ye has always used it to construct restrictions within his blade, enhancing the power of his transforming Boulder Mountain Saber.

Now it appears that the Soul Severing Saber can indeed manifest within this azure hall. As such, Lu Ye now has two sabers to use!

With a thought, he quickly transformed the Soul Severing Saber into the form of a Fang Saber, because he believed that to truly succeed in cultivating the Twin Sabers Technique, he would definitely need to rely on the Fang Saber in future battles. Familiarizing himself with its various characteristics in advance would naturally allow him to unleash its full potential.

Just as he finished these preparations, the Praying Mantis charged at him.

This time, although Lu Ye still couldn't hold on for long, he was finally able to truly cultivate, and couldn't help but feel joyful inside.

On this day, as Lu Ye withdrew his spirit from the azure hall, he heard Lih Shang say, "Ahead lies the Thousand Mounds Cemetery."

Hearing this, Lu Ye lifted his eyes and, sure enough, he saw a vast area of pink before him. The clusters of pink were scattered throughout stellar space, resembling fluffy pink cotton candy. It was unclear when they had formed or how long they would remain.

The shapes of these pink nebulae were quite peculiar, each resembling a burial mound, hence the name Thousand Mounds Cemetery.

This is a stellar marvel, but unlike most stellar marvels. Although its coverage spans several star systems, the nebula tombs are scattered widely. So while it's a stellar marvel, there's not much danger as long as one doesn't enter those nebula tombs, merely passing through without incident.

Yaya climbed onto Lu Ye's head, looking out at the pink nebulae, cheering joyfully, seeming very happy.

"Truly magnificent!" Lu Ye gazed quietly. The celestial sights were endlessly varied. Such a magnificent scene was hard to witness within a domain. Even the mighty Sun Blaze would only sense their insignificance in the face of such a stellar marvel.

However, the Reincarnation Tree had marked on the star map it provided Lu Ye that while there was no particular danger at the Thousand Mounds Cemetery, one absolutely must not approach the pink nebulae lightly, as they were inherently mysterious and inexplicably odd, beyond what a constellation like Lu Ye could contend with.

Lu Ye didn't know what strange phenomena lay within these nebulae, nor would he lightly try to find out.

"So is it you or I returning home?" Lih Shang couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. Since starting the return journey, handling the starboat had mostly fallen to Lih Shang. And while she piloted the starboat, Lu Ye was mostly in a meditative trance state. If not for Yaya accompanying her, the journey would've been dreadfully boring for her.

Lu Ye was embarrassed, feeling it truly inappropriate. After all, it was his own return home journey, using Lih Shang as a workhorse was his fault. He quickly took out many psyche refinement herbs, placed them into a storage ring, and presented them with both hands, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for your hard work!"

Lih Shang gently huffed, "That's more like it."

She wasn't really looking to extract any benefits from Lu Ye, but she truly couldn't refuse the psyche refinement herbs, as they were of great use to her. Happily accepting them, she felt considerably more pleased.

The starboat entered the area covered by the Thousand Mounds Cemetery, weaving through the tomb-like pink nebulae. Lu Ye no longer entered the azure hall. Although the Reincarnation Tree had marked the star map, it was better to be cautious and prudent in all matters, he thought.

It was just the right time to familiarize himself with the Fang Saber. A combat cultivator wishing to fully unleash the power of their weapon typically needed to sharpen it through life-and-death experiences. The Boulder Mountain Saber had followed Lu Ye since he was very weak, having long reached a Man-Sword Synthesis with him. Thus, Lu Ye could wield its full power, but switching to another long saber felt less comfortable.

The Fang Saber was specifically for comprehending the Praying Mantis Saber Technique, not Lu Ye's primary saber. Currently, he lacked those life-and-death grinding experiences. Moreover, as a magic-treasure class item, reaching Man-Sword Synthesis with it wouldn't be straightforward for Lu Ye.

So Lu Ye devised a clever method, one commonly used by many combat cultivators when acquiring a new weapon: merging a drop of his Essence Blood into the blade every so often, allowing the Fang Saber to become familiar with his aura. This way, when he needed to use it, it would respond seamlessly.

According to the star map's markings, passing through the region covered by the Thousand Mounds Cemetery would take at least three months.

The journey was peaceful. Since the tomb-like nebulae were distributed sparsely, there was rarely a need to change course. If needed, he'd just steer clear of the tombs in advance.

More than a month passed in a flash. One day, as the starboat was traveling, Yaya excitedly pointed in a direction, "Daddy, look!"

Following her finger, Lu Ye initially saw nothing out of the ordinary. But as the distance closed and he looked closely, he was struck with awe.

In that direction, perched atop one of the nebula tombs, was an immense bird.

The nebulae within the Thousand Mounds Cemetery were each as large as a star, yet here this bird stood atop one as if roosting in a nest.

The bird's immense size was unlike anything Lu Ye had ever seen in his life. The bird's entire body was an azure hue, and whether it was a star beast remained unknown.

At this very moment, the azure bird was clawing at the pink nebula with its talons, seemingly searching for something within.

With each movement, the pink nebula undulated and transformed as if alive. Occasionally, pink tentacles would lash out from within the nebula toward the azure bird, possessing immense power enough to destroy stars and shatter moons.