Sage of Humanity

"What sound is that?" Suddenly, someone tilted their ear to listen.

Everyone immediately fell silent.

"What sound? Maybe you heard wrong?"

"No, listen carefully..."

As the words fell, everyone's expressions turned uncertain because a soft 'ding' was indeed heard beside their ears, as if someone was flicking a metallic object.

Initially, the sound was light and infrequent, but it quickly grew louder, and the 'ding ding' sound became continuous.

"Where is that sound coming from?"

The crowd's faces changed color. At this point, the sound appeared right next to their ears as if someone was causing a commotion, but they couldn't see anything!

The next moment, a valiant voice suddenly sounded beside their ears, shocking everyone.

"Pang Huanyin of Ziwei Dao Palace here to pay respects. Please open the gates!"

"Ziwei Dao Palace..."

"Pang Huanyin?"

The group of guarding cultivators were dumbfounded.

This name was undoubtedly familiar to them, as they had just been discussing this woman. What amazed them was how her voice could reach their ears!

So close, yet they couldn't see a single figure.

In the crowd, an elderly guarding cultivator seemed to realize something and spoke, "Quick, activate the Heaven Reflecting Mirror to see outside!"

"You mean..."

"No time for questions, quickly activate the Heaven Reflecting Mirror!" The elder urged urgently.

Almost immediately, the group of guarding cultivators activated the power of the Heaven Reflecting Mirror, and they were all startled by the reflection in the bronze mirror.

Reflected in the mirror were several figures. At the forefront was a woman dressed in men's attire, hands behind her back, exuding heroism. Even if one hadn't met her, just one look would confirm her identity.

"Pang Huanyin!"

"She's outside!"

As they spoke, Pang Huanyin seemed to become aware and lifted her gaze, meeting the eyes of the guarding cultivators, as if they were looking at each other through the void.

Her sharp gaze made the group involuntarily step back a few steps.

"She... she... she can calculate the location of our Mount Sumeru's gate?" Someone turned pale with shock.

The three Great Secret Realms of the human race drifted in the Void. Each had their own method for calculating the gate's position. Without knowing the method, it was impossible to pinpoint the gate's location at any time.

For Pang Huanyin to wait outside the secret realm now, she must have found a way to calculate the position of the gate.

This was simply unbelievable.

What was more shocking was what means she used to transmit her voice inside.

"Report to the mountain lord quickly!" The elder, Chiang, urgently ordered.

Someone immediately complied and sped towards Mount Sumeru.

"Veteran Chiang, what should we do now that she's outside?"

Elder Chiang replied calmly, "What are you afraid of? Even if she calculated the gate's position, she can't break in! But this is important; we must inform the mountain lord immediately."

The group snapped out of it. Yes, as long as they didn't open the gate, Pang Huanyin couldn't break in. There was nothing to worry about.

As they sighed in relief, the void in front of them suddenly fluctuated with unusual spirit force. A large area of golden light spread, outlining the shape of a gate.

"What the..." Veteran Chiang couldn't help but retreat several feet, his face full of shock.

He had just said Pang Huanyin couldn't break into Mount Sumeru, but now the gate showed signs of opening.

It was certain that the gate was not being opened by any of the guarding cultivators.

Pang Huanyin, unexpectedly, had some mystic method to forcibly open Mount Sumeru's gate!

Elder Chiang was deeply horrified.

"Close the gate quickly!" Someone shouted.

The guarding cultivators scrambled into action.

If a gate could be opened, it could also be closed. Whatever strange means Pang Huanyin used, she must not be allowed in.

Allowing her to break in would be a dereliction of duty for the guarding cultivators.

At that moment, a large hand suddenly reached through the golden gate, grasping the edge. The gate, formed from spirit force, seemed solidified.

Everyone's eyes were drawn to that large hand, and a deep sense of dread welled up, as if the hand were a claw of a ferocious beast rather than a human hand.

And from within that gate, it seemed a ferocious beast was about to emerge.

The large hand grasped the gate's edge forcefully, and a figure leaped out, standing before the gate like a door deity.

The crowd looked up and saw a young man, barely twenty, in tattered clothes, drenched in blood, standing there. Through the shredded gaps in his clothes, they could faintly see his gory wounds.

These were not the marks of battle but the price of breaking through before the gate fully stabilized, being cut by the Void.

Yet, he remained unfazed, standing quietly, eyes slightly lowered, black hair casting a shadow over his face, hiding his expression.

A long sword was at his waist, one hand on the sheath, the other on the hilt, fingers lightly gripping.

No one dared to act rashly because the moment he appeared, everyone felt a sharp aura locking onto them, any movement might bring devastating consequences.

The atmosphere was instantly tense, and some cultivators nervously broke out in a sweat.

The golden gate quickly stabilized, and another figure emerged, spirit force roiling, radiant light shining as if counteracting something. It was Pang Huanyin.

As her light faded, everyone noticed she was not alone; an elderly man followed closely behind.

Having entered Mount Sumeru, she smiled lightly at the on-guard but unmoving cultivators. "Thank you for the trouble."

All the guarding cultivators' faces twitched involuntarily.

What trouble? How could this be trouble? This was clearly a forced entry, and wasn't as if we had opened the gate for you!

It was the first time knowing that the master of Ziwei Dao Palace had a knack for turning black into white.

She then turned to Lu Ye, who had rushed in first, frowning with concern, "Are you alright?"

Forcing open someone else's gate wasn't easy. They would certainly try to resist, which would only alert the enemy.

Therefore, after opening the gate, there couldn't be any delays. Someone had to enter first to restrain the guarding cultivators.

But crossing before the gate completely stabilized was very risky.

Lu Ye's wounds were the price of this action.

This forced intrusion was different from when they left Silver Snake Valley last time. Although the gate there hadn't fully stabilized, it was better prepared. Lu Ye and Ying Wuji were only slightly disoriented, uninjured.

At this moment, the wounds on Lu Ye's body would be considered severe for any cultivator.

What amazed Pang Huanyin was that Lu Ye showed no signs of weakening, seemingly unaffected by his injuries.

"I'm fine," Lu Ye replied, finally moving his right hand from the sword hilt.

The sense of horror gripping the guarding cultivators also dissipated. Elder Chiang, full of apprehension, looked at Lu Ye before bowing to Pang Huanyin, "Palace Master Pang, we have sent someone to notify the mountain lord. Please wait a moment. The mountain lord will be delighted to hear of your arrival."

Being seasoned, he did not begin by accusing Pang Huanyin of forcefully opening the gate. The situation had already occurred, and blame was pointless. Moreover, having entered Mount Sumeru, how this would be resolved was up to the higher-ups. The guarding cultivators would pretend ignorance.

Thus, his task was simple: detain Pang Huanyin.

"Very well, I shall await your mountain lord then," Pang Huanyin replied.

Having already broken in, she would now adhere to their rules. Attempting to leave forcibly would only provoke conflict.

The guarding cultivators' willingness to turn a blind eye suited her.

She turned and said, "Veteran Siao, please recover first, Yiye, tend to your wounds."

In front of others, it was inappropriate to address him as Fellow Daoist Lu. She simply called him by name.

As for Veteran Siao... opening someone else's gate forcibly was no easy task, even with a treasure from the Dao Palace ancestors; his spirit force was severely depleted.

Lu Ye and Veteran Siao both nodded. One went aside to meditate and recover, while the other removed his tattered clothes, cleansing his wounds with clear water.

The guarding cultivators watched intently. Lu Ye's numerous wounds had stopped bleeding, and the flesh around them had tightly closed, leaving them in awe.

Pang Huanyin merely stood quietly, spreading her awareness to perceive something.

But soon she gave up.

Because she detected nothing.

Secretly impressed, the Path of Concealment of Ying Wuji, the cultivator, was nearly divine.

In forcing the gate, Lu Ye had moved first to distract the guarding cultivators. Pang Huanyin followed quickly, deliberately causing a commotion with spirit force and radiance to cover Ying Wuji.

Ying Wuji followed closely behind her, vanished upon entering, and then disappeared.

At this moment, Ying Wuji's whereabouts were unknown.

This scenario had been part of the plan, so she wasn't worried.

Pang Huanyin couldn't understand why Lu Ye insisted on coming to Mount Sumeru or what means he had to compel Mount Sumeru to join the alliance against the Corpse Race.

If Mount Sumeru and Silver Snake Valley truly intended to resist the Corpse Race actively, they would have done so already, rather than delay until now.

If the three Great Secret Realms of the human race cooperated sincerely and fought together, they might indeed defeat the Corpse Race. Alas, despite Ziwei Dao Palace's efforts over millennia, they had achieved no success.

Thus, she looked forward to Lu Ye's assurances with some skepticism, waiting to see what he intended.