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One after another, cultivators from various sects came to pick up their people, leaving fewer and fewer behind.
Yu Xiaodie followed a female cultivator from Hundred Flowers Valley away, bidding Lu Ye farewell before she left.
Less than one hour had passed, and nearly a hundred people had vanished without a trace, leaving Lu Ye standing alone.
After waiting for more than two hours, there was still no sign of the Righteous Blood Sect, leaving him clueless about what they might be busy with.
With nothing else to do, Lu Ye found a clean spot, sat down cross-legged, and attempted to open his second orifice.
His first orifice had long been filled to the brim, and he had thoroughly studied the Golden Cicada Carefree Method he had obtained from Manager Yang. However, he had not been able to locate the position of the second orifice, which had delayed his cultivation progress.
Yu Xiaodie had told him that this was a common issue for cultivators who had just begun their cultivation journey, as they did not have sufficient spirit force within their bodies to accurately locate their spiritual orifices. There were two solutions to this problem: one was to grope around slowly and try their luck; the second was to seek guidance from cultivators above the Cloud River Realm.
Lu Ye's desire to join a sect was largely due to this reason.
He had groped around in the mines several times without success in finding the position of the second orifice. If he could join a sect, he could ask for guidance from the elders of the sect, which would save him a lot of trouble.
But with the Righteous Blood Sect still out of sight, and with nothing else to do, he might as well waste a bit of spirit force—on the off chance that he got lucky and stumbled upon it, he would strike it big.
After more than two hours had passed, Lu Ye opened his eyes, looking rather frustrated. As expected, luck had nothing to do with him; his recent attempt had ended in failure.
Fortunately, his diet had been good these days, and he had nourished himself with blood Qi pills. His blood Qi was abundant, and by refining some of it, he had replenished the loss.
More cultivators came and went in the valley, many of them assembling on a large scale. It seemed they were preparing to evacuate this place?
Come to think of it, before his death, Manager Yang had told him that the Haotian Alliance could not hold onto this place for long—they would have to withdraw in a month or two at most. Given the current situation, it indeed appeared to be the case.
Hence, if Manager Yang had managed to kill Lu Ye at that time and hide in that dark tunnel, he would have had a good chance of escaping from this disaster.
Unfortunately for him, he had not anticipated that a mere mortal like Lu Ye would dare to scheme against him, leading him to a place shrouded by the origin magnetic field, where his cultivation could hardly be unleashed, resulting in his unclear and unjust death.
Suddenly, a shout came from not too far away. Lu Ye followed the sound and saw a middle-aged cultivator floating in mid-air, with spirit force swirling around him, releasing something from the palm of his hand.
The distance was substantial, and Lu Ye could not make out what it was. Then, the scene he would never forget unfolded before his eyes.
The object that flew out from the palm of the middle-aged cultivator swelled with the wind and, in an incredibly short span of time, transformed into an enormous thing that spanned across the sky.
It was a huge ship!
A ship floating in mid-air!
The ship had three levels and was nearly a hundred zhang in length. Its dark hull made of unknown material gave it an imposing presence, and the fluid lines of the ship's structure along with the unrecognizable fixtures on it exuded a chilling sensation.
Lu Ye had never seen such an incredible scene and was stunned in his tracks.
It was not just one ship. Following the middle-aged cultivator's method of bringing forth one ship, several more appeared one after another.
And then, someone shouted loudly, "All sect members, board the ships!"
The cultivators from various big sects, already gathered together, transformed into colorful streaks of light, one after the other diving into the several large ships. From a distance, the sight was spectacular.
After a short shock, Lu Ye was overwhelmed with excitement.
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Having been here for over a year, he knew this was a world where cultivation was practiced, yet his daily companions were rocks, and the people around him were lowly, impermanent mining slaves.
He had never imagined that the act of cultivation could be revealed before his eyes in such a spectacular and colorful manner.
This had exceeded what he could understand, making him more acutely aware that this world was completely different from the one he had come from.
"Quite a sight, isn't it?" Just as he was dizzily watching the spectacle, a voice suddenly sounded beside him.
Lu Ye instinctively responded, and then realizing who it was, he turned his head to see a middle-aged elder had appeared beside him at some point.
The middle-aged elder smiled and stroked his beard, gazing at the several large ships floating in the sky, and slowly said, "Those are the Flying Dragon Ships of the Haotian Alliance, powerful weapons for assaulting forts and strongholds, not easily deployed."
Looking at the profile of the middle-aged elder, Lu Ye recognized him as the old man who had led him out of the mine. Remembering how others had referred to him, he quickly paid his respects, "Veteran Thang."
Veteran Thang responded with a slight smile and summoned, "Let's go."
"Where to?" Lu Ye was puzzled.
Veteran Thang raised his hand and pointed, "Board the ship!"
Lu Ye hesitated, "But I'm supposed to wait here for the senior brothers and sisters from the Righteous Blood Sect..." Mid-sentence, he vaguely realized something, "Is Veteran Thang from the Righteous Blood Sect?"
It made no sense for Veteran Thang to suddenly seek him out and ask him to board the ship unless he was from the Righteous Blood Sect.
"I was temporarily detained by some matters, didn't make you anxious, right?" Veteran Thang asked kindly.
He really was from the Righteous Blood Sect!
"No, not at all." Lu Ye was somewhat excited. Although the ones who had come to receive him before were all handsome senior brothers and gentle senior sisters, here at the Righteous Blood Sect, it was an old man; but this old man was a very nice person.
From the help he offered previously in unlocking the restriction on Zhou Cheng's storage sack, Lu Ye could tell. Although he did not know how advanced Veteran Thang's cultivation was, at that moment, if he had really wanted Zhou Cheng's storage sack, Lu Ye had no right to refuse.
But the old man only took a bottle of what was called Dragon-Tiger Pill as a reward and returned the rest of the items to Lu Ye.
"Let's go." Veteran Thang smiled, his figure soaring into the air, and Lu Ye felt a gentle force envelop him, as he followed Veteran Thang toward one of the Flying Dragon Ships.
Upon reaching the Flying Dragon Ship, Veteran Thang headed straight for the interior of the cabin, and Lu Ye followed closely behind.
The cabin had many rooms, bustling with people, all cultivators from the big sects. Those cultivators who passed by and saw Veteran Thang all respectfully paid their respects, which amazed Lu Ye.
The Righteous Blood Sect was only a 9th grade sect. According to the knowledge Yu Xiaodie had imparted to him, Veteran Thang should only be a cultivator of the Cloud River Realm; because if there were any from the True Lake Realm, then the Righteous Blood Sect would be more than just 9th grade.
It seemed, though Veteran Thang's cultivation was not high, he was still treated with great respect, perhaps due to his age?
They walked all the way to the innermost area, standing at the door of a room. Veteran Thang waved his hand, and a flash of light appeared on the door, then he pushed it open and entered.
Lu Ye followed right behind, closing the door behind him.
Once inside, Lu Ye looked around and found it to be a very simple cabin. The furnishings were extremely plain; there was no bed, not even a table, just a meditation cushion on the floor.
There was a window, but it could not be opened; the round window was sealed with a transparent material similar to glass, allowing the outside scenery to be seen.