Sage of Humanity
Chapter 990 - 988 Chen Family

The battle came quickly and ended just as fast. Within the span of twenty breaths, this ferocious demon beast was subdued. Several Spirit Stream Realm cultivators who were rescued stood aside, looking on in shock, unable to come to their senses for a long time.

It was only then that the Nightingale arrived, leisurely.

Lu Ye stood on the green-scaled python and pulled out the Boulder Mountain Saber, glancing at the Nightingale: "Was it this ferocious beast?"

"It should be," Nightingale nodded.

Mission accomplished!

This task was much easier and more straightforward than the search mission, mainly because the squad of six cooperated seamlessly, and each of the six was immensely powerful, allowing them to subdue it perfectly.

There was no need to hurry back. To be prudent, it would be better to inspect the surroundings, and it wouldn't take much time anyway.

Thinking this in his mind, Lu Ye suddenly raised his head and looked in one direction. Over there, a stream of light was rapidly approaching, and from the spirit force fluctuations, it was clearly a True Lake Realm cultivator.

Lu Ye subtly waved his hand, and the Nightingale silently clasped her hands in salute and retreated, disappearing from sight quickly.

The identity of the Nightingale was highly concealed; it was best not to show up in front of others.

Lu Ye didn't know who was coming, but it was highly likely someone from a sect or family nearby, detecting the commotion from the battle, and came to investigate.

A moment later, the person landed, revealing their figure. Lu Ye glanced over and saw a half-elderly man with graying hair, though aged, his build was robust, and his blood Qi was ample, indicating the path of a physique cultivator.

"Great Elder!" The Spirit Stream Realm cultivators, still shaken, cried out mournfully.

"What happened?" The old man demanded.

Among them, a slightly older youth calmed his mind and explained what had transpired: "We were ordered to follow Senior Brother Wan to patrol the surroundings. When we passed by here, this barghest suddenly attacked, swallowing Senior Brother Wan in one gulp... It was about to eat us, but those people saved us." As he spoke, he pointed to Lu Ye and the others.

Upon hearing this, the old man flew into a rage: "How could such a ferocious beast appear in the Chen family's territory without any prior notice!" He looked distressed.

Turning, he addressed Lu Ye and his group: "I am Chen Lie, Great Elder of the Chen family at Mount Mi. May I ask who you are...?"

Lu Ye clasped his hands and said in a deep voice, "Lu Ye of Team D-9, Law Enforcement Hall, Justice Department."

Chen Lie showed a look of surprise: "Law Enforcement Hall?"

Lu Ye explained: "We received intelligence recently suggesting the presence of a ferocious beast in this area, so we came to investigate, just in time to encounter this barghest attacking people."

"I see." Chen Lie's expression softened, "I must thank you all for saving the lives of several of my Chen family's incompetent disciples."

"Eradicating evil and protecting the weak is within the purview of the Law Enforcement Hall."

"It may be within the Law Enforcement Hall's duty, but to my Chen family's disciples, it was a life-saving favor." Chen Lie turned to those cultivators, "Hurry and thank these senior brothers and sisters."

Those cultivators quickly stepped forward, sincerely expressing their gratitude.

Lu Ye waved his hand, indicating not to mind. Their trip here was to execute a mission, though it was regrettable that they arrived too late to save Senior Brother Wan's life.

Chen Lie said, "A life-saving favor cannot be forgotten. If you wouldn't mind, could you come to my Chen family so we may extend some hospitality to you?"

"Great Elder, there's no need for such formalities. We've completed our mission, and after surveying the surroundings, we'll return immediately." Completing the mission meant they needed to hurry back to report and claim their battle merits, with no time to waste here.

"If that's the case, you can rest assured. I will immediately send someone to carefully probe within a thirty-mile radius. If there's any anomaly, we'll notify you right away. After all, this is the Chen family's territory, and safeguarding the safety of the mortals within is our responsibility. How could we trouble the talents of the Law Enforcement Hall?" Chen Lie advised, "Though your squad is strong, it's still only six people. Why not let my Chen family handle this carefully? There will be no negligence, how about it?"

Lu Ye pondered briefly and nodded, "That sounds good."

Normally, matters within a sect's territory are handled by the sect itself. Even if the law enforcement team hadn't arrived, the Chen family wouldn't ignore any commotion caused by the green-scaled python and would have dispatched internal experts to subdue it.

Letting the Chen family thoroughly inspect the territory to ensure no other ferocious creatures are at large would save them some trouble as well.

Moreover, it's already evening, and although this doesn't significantly impact their travel, it's ultimately less convenient than during the day. Resting at the Chen family overnight before leaving wouldn't be too late.

"Please!" Chen Lie extended his hand, inviting them, then took the lead to guide the way.

Lu Ye nodded slightly, leading the group in following Chen Lie.

In no time, they reached the Chen family's location. Unlike the Zhou family in bustling Dingtian City, the Chen family resided at the foot of Mount Mi, in a more serene environment.

Although there was a visible difference in grade between them and the Zhou family, the Chen family's scale was undeniably larger. At the foot of the mountain sprawled a stretch of buildings; all were Chen family properties, with many cultivators moving about.

As they walked in front, Chen Lie introduced the Chen family's circumstances to Lu Ye and the others, with a display of enthusiasm.

Yet, the age difference was considerable, and with differing status tiers, and Lu Ye not being much of a conversationalist to begin with, he could only occasionally respond, rendering the atmosphere neither cold nor lively.

Soon, they arrived at a large hall, presumably the Chen family's visitors hall.

Lu Ye and the others each took a seat.

Chen Lie said, "Please wait a moment, I will go invite the Clan Leader and arrange for personnel for the patrol."

Lu Ye had no objection.

Chen Lie departed.

After a short moment, a maid from the Chen family brought tea.

On their journey, they had just fought a battle. Lu Ye was somewhat thirsty, so he picked up the tea cup and took a sip.

As he swallowed the tea, his expression slightly changed. He looked up at Lin Yinxiu across from him: "Don't drink!"

Lin Yinxiu had already lifted the tea cup to her lips, and was startled by his words: "What's wrong?"

The others also paused in the action of raising their tea.

"It's poisoned!" Closing his eyes, Lu Ye concentrated his mind and inspected the Talent Tree. At this moment, a gray mist arose from the tree, and not only that, he suddenly sensed an anomaly in his Divine Pool.

He quickly examined it.

Outside the Divine Pool, there was a foreign object, resembling an unknown insect. If Lu Ye hadn't developed Mental Consciousness, he would have been unaware of it.

It was unclear what kind of insect it was, but even the Talent Tree couldn't immediately burn it away.

It must have entered his body through the sip of tea he just took.

Lu Ye suddenly understood, there wasn't poison in the tea, it was this foreign object!

The Talent Tree has a keen reaction to foreign objects invading the body, which is why it burned a gray mist.

Before the insect could approach the Divine Pool, a cluster of flames enveloped it out of nowhere. Lu Ye faintly heard a sharp, shrill scream, and the insect vanished.

The flame that burned the insect shared the same color as the flames on the Talent Tree, clearly the Talent Tree had exerted its power.

"Clang." Lin Yinxiu was so frightened that she dropped her tea cup. Though she didn't understand how Lu Ye could discern whether the tea was poisoned with just one taste, she was always the most obedient, following the captain's orders without question.

Lu Ye opened his eyes, suddenly stood up: "Let's go!"

This place of right and wrong is not suitable for staying long.

He had a strange feeling earlier, because the Law Enforcement Hall's reputation has always been bad, often offending people. Generally, sects and families kept their distance, yet the Chen family warmly invited them.

Lu Ye hadn't thought much of it, after all, they did save some Chen family disciples. It was only natural for them to be thanked and appreciated.

But now it seemed, this so-called gratitude was nothing but a facade, the Chen family had plans against them.

He couldn't understand what the Chen family was trying to do!

Offending the Law Enforcement Hall wouldn't end well. Such a large family had no reason to play with fire like this.

What was the use of the insect?

Time was pressing, Lu Ye didn't have the leisure to ponder too much. He only knew the priority was to leave here quickly.

Meanwhile, in a concealed chamber, a Moon Reflection Disc displayed the situation within the main hall. Chen Lie and Chen Tianchui were observing the developments inside.

Seeing Lu Ye take a sip of tea, Chen Tianchui couldn't help but show a happy expression; the situation was as good as settled, but soon his happiness turned to astonishment.

Because Lu Ye actually noticed the anomaly in the tea and quickly stood up, while across from him, a woman even dropped her tea cup.

"What's happening?" Chen Lie was a bit dumbfounded. The means bestowed by the Venerable Lord couldn't be detected by anyone below the Divine Sea Realm. No matter how capable Lu Yiye was, he shouldn't have noticed it.

Just like that Nightingale before, who obediently complied soon after being captured by them, now that Nightingale may officially still belong to the Justice Department, but in reality, he was already theirs.

Yet all indications clearly showed their methods had truly been exposed by Lu Ye.

"Don't let them escape!" Chen Tianchui's reaction was undoubtedly much swifter than Chen Lie's. Realizing something was amiss, he immediately took out a jade cluster, infused spirit force into it.

The next instant, a buzzing sound echoed out.

"The big array has been activated, hurry and take people to intercept them. They must not be allowed to leave, nor given a chance to transmit messages! Except for Lu Yiye, the rest can be killed!" Chen Tianchui urgently ordered.

"Understood!" Chen Lie responded and swiftly dashed out.

Chen Tianchui felt sweat on his forehead, feeling that things today were not going well. Mostly because he truly didn't expect Lu Ye to be so alert and capable of detecting the anomaly in the tea.

A person valued by the Venerable Lord indeed shouldn't be underestimated!

Although flustered, he quickly concluded, Lu Yiye had already drunk the tea and the thing should have hatched, making Lu Yiye one of their own.

As long as they didn't allow the other five an opportunity to communicate, and eliminated them here, the situation could still be salvaged.

Many thoughts quickly crossed his mind. Chen Tianchui wiped away his sweat and tapped on his battlefield marking, sending out a message: "Kindly report to the Venerable Lord..."

Meanwhile, in a remote place in Bingzhou.

The lake shimmered, and the autumn water rippled.

By the lakeside, two grass huts stood. Along the lake's edge, a man held a fishing rod; he hadn't caught a fish after a long time, yet he wasn't in a hurry, merely sitting calmly on the chair with a leisurely expression.

Beside the man stood a curvaceous woman silently, it wasn't clear how long she had been standing there, but there was no hint of impatience on her face. Occasionally glancing at the man's profile, her eyes were filled with admiration.