Sage of Humanity

An auxiliary Cultivation Technique that doubles efficiency! That's obviously nonsense.

If there really were such a Technique, it would undoubtedly be a secret tome that even the top big sects would treasure and consider extremely valuable. Why would anyone need to sell it by seeking customers everywhere?

Lu Ye watched the man's behavior and knew he wasn't seeking him out specifically, but rather was squatting outside the mercantile union, randomly choosing targets.

He just happened to catch his sight.

"Not interested," Lu Ye refused to get entangled with him further.

Yet unexpectedly, the man still pursued him persistently, continuously explaining the wonderful aspects of that Technique—how simple it was to practice, how highly compatible it was with various low-grade Techniques, how easily anyone could master it, and even solemnly stated, "If Fellow Daoist doesn't believe it, I am willing to swear by Heaven's Augury that every word I say is true and that I would never deceive Fellow Daoist."

Lu Ye stopped in his tracks and frowned at him.

He had taken oaths by Heaven's Augury before, so he knew that such oaths weren't to be taken lightly.

He couldn't help feeling skeptical. Could there really be such an impressive Technique in this world? One that could triple a person's cultivation efficiency—what kind of concept was that?

Seeing Lu Ye showing interest, the man gestured with his hand and said, "There are too many people here, not a good place to talk. Please, this way, Fellow Daoist."

After thinking for a moment, Lu Ye followed the man to a less crowded area.

"Swear the oath!" Lu Ye went straight to the point.

The man swallowed back the words he was about to say, then smiled wryly, "Alright, but Fellow Daoist, if I take the oath, you can't decide not to buy."

"If the price is right, I'll naturally buy," Lu Ye responded.

The man nodded, his expression became serious, and he intoned, "I, Chen He, an independent cultivator, respectfully call upon Heaven's Augury to witness that everything I just said is true. If I've spoken a half-truth, may I suffer all the tortures of the human world and die!"

In the unseen, an intangible force descended, landing on the back of the hand of the man named Chen He, which was clearly where his battlefield marking was.

Lu Ye's expression was stern. This guy was desperate to sell that Technique, even daring to make such a vicious oath.

"Bring out the item for me to see," said Lu Ye.

Chen He shook his head, "Fellow Daoist must be jesting. The Technique is straightforward; if I let Fellow Daoist see it, you could immediately memorize it, so why would you need to buy it?"

"What's the price?"

"Thirty Spirit Stones!" Chen He gave his price.

Lu Ye turned and walked away.

Although he didn't know the particulars of that Technique and despite Chen He's willingness to swear by Heaven's Augury, Lu Ye was certain there was some trick to the Technique; otherwise, forget about thirty Spirit Stones, even three thousand would be a bargain.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait. Business is all about bargaining. You should try making a counteroffer, not just walk away. One must have some integrity," Chen He hurriedly caught up with Lu Ye, earnestly persuading him.

"Three," Lu Ye agreed amicably and made a counteroffer just to see.

"Deal!" Chen He took out a jade slip and slapped it into Lu Ye's palm.

The corner of Lu Ye's eye twitched.

"Fellow Daoist, I have taken an oath by Heaven's Augury, and you also said you would buy if the price was suitable. The price of three was offered by you yourself; you can't go back on your word now, can you?"

Lu Ye had nothing to say. In the end, he took out three Spirit Stones and handed them over to Chen He, who left with glee after getting the Spirit Stones.

Holding the jade slip, Lu Ye hadn't yet had a chance to look at the content when someone walked over with a chuckle and teased, "Got tricked, huh?"

Lu Ye glanced at the person, who shrugged, "I was tricked by him too; that Cultivation Technique is useless."

Lu Ye understood, "You've been watching the whole time?"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The man laughed and said, "Two people being unlucky is always better than just me, right? I feel much better now." He even winked at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye said indifferently, "If I were you, I would compete with him for business. If he can sell that Cultivation Technique, why can't you? Instead of watching others get cheated, it's better to cheat some Spirit Stones for yourself. You might even make a good profit."

The man thought deeply about Lu Ye's words before slapping his thigh, "You're making sense!"

When he looked up, there was no trace of Lu Ye to be found.

Outside the marketplace, Lu Ye rode away on Big Tiger's back, leaving the dust behind without caring to deal with those sly merchants' schemes.

Although he could be sure that he had indeed been cheated, the cost wasn't high—just three Spirit Stones. He had just traded for over a hundred Spirit Stones from the mercantile union, so he was quite wealthy and didn't care too much.

However, Chen He had even initiated the Heaven's Augury oath, indicating that the Cultivation Technique was truly as he said, capable of increasing cultivation efficiency; otherwise, the oath would have already backfired on him.

What exactly was going on? Enjoy exclusive content from empire

Curiosity piqued, Lu Ye started to investigate the true nature of that Cultivation Technique.

Bestial Gluttony Feast— that was the name of that Cultivation Technique.

Moreover, it was a Technique whose grade was difficult to judge because it encompassed only fifteen orifices!

Lu Ye knew that the Golden Cicada Carefree Method he was cultivating was already the lowest Yellow Rank Technique, with twenty-seven orifices opened.

The Bestial Gluttony Feast only had fifteen orifices, which was even inferior to a Yellow Rank Technique.

But considering this was not a Technique used for cultivation but rather an auxiliary one, it seemed understandable.

As Chen He had previously said, the cultivation pathway of this Technique was clear at a glance and extremely simple because it encompassed only a small number of orifices. Plus, since all the orifices were located near the lower abdomen, it had strong compatibility with all lower-grade Techniques.

The level of compatibility between two Techniques depends on how many orifices their respective cultivation pathways share; the more overlaps there are, the higher the compatibility.

All lower-grade Techniques open orifices scattered around the lower abdomen because the Root Spiritual Orifice is located there. Many lower-grade Techniques open nearly identical orifices, and they only differ in characteristics due to their different cultivation pathways.

The same nine orifices, linked in different sequences, result in different flow speeds of the spirit force, thereby affecting the cultivator's strength.

Therefore, the sequence in which the orifices are connected is a matter of precision.

The fifteen orifices of the Bestial Gluttony Feast's cultivation pathway mostly overlapped with the twenty-seven orifices of the Golden Cicada Carefree Method, with only two orifices not included by the Golden Cicada Carefree Method.

In other words, if Lu Ye fully cultivated the Golden Cicada Carefree Method and then opened those two additional orifices, he would be able to glimpse the secrets of the Bestial Gluttony Feast.

There was no rush. Once he had fully cultivated the Golden Cicada Carefree Method, he would see if the Bestial Gluttony Feast truly had the miraculous ability to double the efficiency of cultivation.

After tucking away the jade slip, Lu Ye took out the ten-part map to compare the distance between Qingyun Marketplace Three and Five on the map with the time he had spent.

He then looked at the route he had planned to head to the Righteous Blood Sect.

After a quick calculation, Lu Ye couldn't help but sigh. At this speed, even without any delays on the road, it would take a very, very long time to return to the Righteous Blood Sect's territory.

If anything happened to cause a delay, it would take even longer.

The journey ahead was long, but fortunately, Lu Ye was not alone, as he at least had Yiyi and Big Tiger as his companions.