Sage of Humanity-Chapter 447 445: Snatching the Spirit Fortune Stick
In the wilderness, a myriad of colors painted the sky a thousand feet above the ground, and Lu Ye gazed up directly beneath the clouds.
With Lu Ye at the center, within a ten-mile radius, hundreds of cultivators were scattered, standing by in a combat-ready formation, all eager and rubbing their hands in anticipation.
Some cultivators only focused on the clouds, while others silently observed their surroundings, presumably to see if there were any formidable competitors. There were also small groups of two or three cultivators whispering together, seemingly wanting to form temporary alliances.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, several streaks of light suddenly shot out from the clouds above, with something faintly hidden within the light.
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Lu Ye immediately exerted his Ocular Power, but even though he looked at the light as soon as it appeared, he still couldn't make out what was hidden within it.
The light that darted out of the clouds reached a height a hundred feet above the ground in almost an instant.
Lu Ye was secretly alarmed. The reports were right, it was indeed very dangerous to be too close to the clouds at such a time. The speed was simply too fast for cultivators of the Cloud River Realm to avoid, and if the light were to strike someone, it could very well go right through them.
At a hundred feet above the ground, the speed of the light that had burst forth suddenly decreased greatly, and at the same time, the items within became clear. Each streak of light enveloped a spirit fortune stick that was about one finger long, one inch wide, and tapered from top to bottom, looking as if they were carved from a piece of jade.
Among these spirit fortune sticks, four were white, and one was green.
Immediately, some cultivators who were close to these spirit fortune sticks leaped into the air, heading towards them.
The first batch of spirit fortune sticks that fell were only five in number, but more than a dozen cultivators flew out to catch them. Some were lucky enough to grab a stick without competition, while those less fortunate engaged in a struggle. Several people fought over a single spirit fortune stick, and a fight broke out on the spot.
Especially over that green spirit fortune stick—five or six pairs of eyes were fixated on it, battling most fiercely.
Lu Ye didn't make a move, mainly because those few spirit fortune sticks were a bit far from his position. Even if he flew over, he wouldn't make it in time.
However, judging by the way those people were fighting, they all seemed to be holding back somewhat.
The cultivators gathered here did not reveal their allegiance to any faction, so once a battle broke out, their opponents could be from an enemy camp or their own, an unavoidable circumstance.
It was not until then that Lu Ye truly felt for the first time how inconspicuous the allegiance to a faction can be.
Unlike his time in the Spirit Stream battlefield, where cultivators from the same faction rarely had conflicts with each other.
As the cultivators vying for the spirit fortune sticks had yet to determine a victor, another dozen streaks of light poured from the clouds. This time, the number of green spirit fortune sticks that fell was noticeably higher.
Even more cultivators rushed out, joining in the scramble.
As time passed, batches of spirit fortune sticks continued to fall from the clouds, and the ten-mile radius became as bustling as if salt had been sprinkled on hot oil, boiling with activity.
The cultivators kept a close watch on their targets. Whenever a spirit fortune stick close by fell, they would leap into action, launching themselves into the chaos, vying for possession.
Lu Ye stood somewhat innocently atop a small mound, motionless. It wasn't that he didn't want to seize a spirit fortune stick; his luck just didn't seem very good. There hadn't been a single stick falling close to him since the beginning, with the nearest one drifting three miles away.
Gradually, Lu Ye began to see a pattern.
The position directly under the clouds seemed unlikely to have spirit fortune sticks fall. It was much like using an umbrella on a rainy day—the area beneath the umbrella remains dry, with the raindrops all falling from the edge of the umbrella.
Just as Lu Ye was contemplating whether to change location, another batch of spirit fortune sticks fell.
This time, there was a large number of sticks plummeting down, easily over a hundred. One of them happened to be heading straight for his position.
Lu Ye was moved. After waiting for so long, there finally came a time to act.
The streak of light was only a hundred feet away in an instant, and at that moment, the color within the light became clear—it was a blue spirit fortune stick!
Previously, there were blue spirit fortune sticks that fell, but they were relatively rare. The better the spirit fortune stick, the fewer the number, and up until now, he hadn't seen a purple one.
Lu Ye soared into the sky, spanning the hundred feet in the blink of an eye, and grasped the spirit fortune stick in his hand.
At the same time, a fierce gust of wind assaulted him from the side, but out of the corner of his eye, Lu Ye saw a long spear thrusting straight towards him.
The Boulder Mountain Saber burst forth from its sheath, a fiery red blade light flashing, and with a loud clang, Lu Ye was forced to retreat, his palms going numb from the shock.
Lu Ye had little contact with cultivators from the Cloud River Realm, so it was difficult to estimate the opponent's exact cultivation level. However, judging from the exchange of this single blow, the other party was obviously stronger than him. Conservatively, he was likely a Level 4-5 of the Cloud River Realm!
Trouble!
What made Lu Ye feel even more uncomfortable was that as soon as he steadied himself, he saw several figures pouncing towards him from various directions.
The blue spirit fortune stick was of great value, naturally worth the competition from these individuals.
Lu Ye weighed the options of fleeing with the stick or leading the trouble away, and before those people could get close, he threw the spirit fortune stick directly towards the one who had just attacked him, the spear-wielding cultivator.
That person was quick to react, catching the spirit fortune stick in hand, but before he could rejoice, several cultivators who were initially heading towards Lu Ye turned and attacked him instead. His expression changed dramatically as he spread his long spear to engage in battle with the newcomers.
A moment later, his face turned green, his nose swollen, and he fell from the sky in disarray, letting out a miserable cry. The blue spirit fortune stick that Lu Ye had tossed to him had already been thrown away by him.
He had no choice but to throw it, for if he continued to hold it, he truly would have died.
When contending for spirit fortune sticks, unless there was some deep enmity, people generally wouldn't go for a killing blow—after all, no one knew which faction the person competing for the same spirit fortune stick belonged to.
Of course, deaths could occur. The cultivators of the Cloud River Realm were all relatively young, their blood Qi vigorous, and fights could easily get out of hand.
Seeing the fate of this person, Lu Ye silently felt fortunate that he had been quick to act; had he thought to flee with the stick, his end might have been the same as that man's.
What a pity, Giant Armor wasn't here.
If Giant Armor was here, then it would have been perfect. The big guy was thick-skinned and resistant to beatings, and a few ordinary cultivators could hardly deal with him, so Lu Ye could have completely handed the spirit fortune stick over to Giant Armor.
The struggle for the spirit fortune sticks persisted, and the colorful clouds in the sky had already shrunk by more than half.
Lu Ye made several more attempts but soon realized that with his current strength, it was very difficult to compete for a spirit fortune stick. Many people were eyeing the green and blue sticks, and even if he managed to snatch one, he couldn't keep it safe. He had no choice but to settle for less, going after the white ones.
However, there were plenty of people who shared his line of thought.
Every time the Heaven-bestowed spirit fortune sticks were dispensed, although the white sticks were the most numerous, so were the competitors. Only if one was lucky enough to seize one early could they succeed.
After another fruitless attempt, Lu Ye looked up at the colorful clouds in the sky, only to see that they had now shrunk to a mere third of their original size.
Just as he was focusing on them, the clouds shuddered and then dissipated, suddenly transforming into hundreds of streaks of Liu Guang, scattering in all directions.
This was the last batch of spirit fortune sticks, and among this batch, there suddenly appeared a few purple spirit fortune sticks!
There were also nearly twenty blue ones.
The cultivators were in an uproar, those who prided themselves on being strong and fast all set their sights on the purple and blue spirit fortune sticks.
Although Lu Ye was tempted, he managed to suppress the impulse, and this time his luck was better. A green and a white spirit fortune stick were falling close to him.
His figure burst forth, as Lu Ye dove straight for the green spirit fortune stick.
At a distance of more than ten zhang, just as he was about to grasp it, a ribbon suddenly attacked from the side. The ribbon was wreathed in spirit light, clearly a Spiritual Artifact. The ribbon wrapped around and swept up both spirit fortune sticks.
Enraged, Lu Ye had not managed to seize a single stick thus far, and now that a chance had at last come along, with two sticks no less, he was determined to snatch at least one!
As the Boulder Mountain Saber slashed down, his sword-wielding right arm was swallowed by a surge of blood Qi, the whole arm swelling in size.
Single Flash!
The saber wrapped in blazing light fell, striking the ribbon. The expected scene of it slicing the ribbon in half didn't occur; after all, this too was a mid-grade spirit artifact, not so easily damaged, especially given that the artifact's specialty was softness over hardness.
Yet the immense force did knock the two entwined spirit fortune sticks out of the ribbon.
Lu Ye, with his quick eyes and hands, grabbed the green stick. Just as he was about to snatch the other one, a delicate hand reached out, its fingers curled delicately as it gave a slight flick toward the back of Lu Ye's hand, and in that instant, Lu Ye felt as if he'd been bitten by a snake.
His hand's back stung painfully, flushed bright red.
A beautiful figure brushed past him, an enticing fragrance lingering at his nose.
Lu Ye stopped in his tracks and looked up to see a seductive woman standing not far from him. She was the one whose Spiritual Artifact was the ribbon that had scooped up the spirit fortune sticks. The ribbon, rather long, was casually wrapped around one arm, draped around her slender waist, then wound around her other arm.
Both of her slim forearms were exposed, dazzling to the eye.
At that moment, the woman held a white spirit fortune stick, eying the green one in Lu Ye's hand with eager anticipation, cooing sweetly, "Little brother, how about we trade?"
Lu Ye quickly stashed the green spirit fortune stick into his storage sack.
"Stingy!" the woman pouted. But her expression swiftly changed as she hurried to Lu Ye's side, adopting a battle stance, a look on her face that said she'd fight anyone who dared come close, while she whispered to Lu Ye, "Let's cooperate!"
Several people were already charging toward them.
Lu Ye nodded silently, standing shoulder to shoulder with this mysterious woman, the Boulder Mountain Saber in his hand flaring with light.
Seeing this, the cultivators rushing over couldn't help but frown.
If the spirit fortune sticks captured by Lu Ye and the woman had been blue or purple, they definitely wouldn't have let it slide, even with the two displaying a united front, it wouldn't guarantee holding on to the sticks.
But for green and white ones, it just wasn't worth making a big fuss.
