Chapter 1137: The Changes in Our Sect

The vast Aoshan territory, once lush with vegetation and dense forests, is now completely barren and desolate, save for a few spiritual peaks where the Jade Blood Sect and Ziwei Dao Palace are based. The scars left by the insectoid ravages cannot be healed in a short time.

Currently, only seven or eight spiritual peaks of the Jade Blood Sect remain in their original state. These peaks are encompassed within a triangular area formed by the sect's most crucial ShouZheng Peak, MingXin Peak (where Master Yun Xuechu resides), and Lu Ye's CuiZhu Peak. Ultimately, the sect's foundation of cultivators was too weak. When the insectoid disaster struck, even with the assistance of the Ziwei Dao Palace, they couldn't protect a large territory, forcing them to abandon less significant areas.

Lu Ye had returned to the Jade Blood Sect yesterday. He first met his second senior sister, then eagerly paid respects to his Master, listening to her teachings for a while before finally returning to CuiZhu Peak. He had a wonderful sleep. At his cultivation level, dedicated sleep is largely unnecessary; even when exhausted, he can recover by simply closing his eyes and resting for a short period. However, as a human, many ingrained habits are not easily abandoned.

Since he was conscripted into the Law Enforcement Division several years ago, he has been constantly on the move. First, he undertook various missions, then was sent to the Blood Refinery Realm. After returning to Kyushu, he immediately faced the insectoid disaster, and he might soon have to return to the Blood Refinery Realm again. On the eve of what could be a major war at any moment, stealing half a day of leisure felt good.

Amber was sleeping on his chest, while Yiyi was nowhere to be seen, though he assumed she was with his second senior sister. Lu Ye lifted Amber, walked out of the bamboo building, and stretched. He stared blankly in one direction, his thoughts drifting aimlessly.

After a considerable time, Lu Ye suddenly came back to his senses. He patted his cheek and softly called out, "Xiao Jiu."

"I am here," an ethereal voice immediately responded in his ear.

"The spiritual energy within Kyushu is under your control, isn't it?" Lu Ye asked.

The Heavenly Secret Disk envelops Kyushu, meaning everything within Kyushu is under its control. It is precisely because of the Heavenly Secret Disk that cultivators possess battle marks, which record so much information, allowing even the merits and achievements gained from defeating enemies to be instantly updated. Lu Ye hadn't understood the intricacies of the battle marks before, but having learned the truth about the Heavenly Secret, he now knew it was all Xiao Jiu's doing. The control of spiritual energy followed the same principle.

"Yes."

"Then, the fact that the spiritual energy in Kyushu itself isn't particularly dense, is that also intentional on your part?"

Although Kyushu and the Blood Refinery Realm are both great realms, they have a fundamental difference: the distribution of spiritual energy. In the Blood Refinery Realm, for instance, the spiritual energy is quite dense throughout, with concentrations in blessed lands far exceeding ordinary areas. Kyushu, however, is different; its native spiritual energy has never been particularly dense. Even the Dragon Soaring Realm, which Lu Ye once visited, surpassed Kyushu in spiritual energy density.

This is why lower-tier cultivators flock to the Spirit Stream Battlefield and Cloud River Battlefield, as these locations provide the spiritual energy necessary for their cultivation. Once cultivators reach the True Lake Realm, they no longer need to consider their environment for cultivation, as they adopt a method that leverages the Heavenly Secret. With sufficient merit, they can activate a channel for spiritual energy to flow. This was clearly unusual, indicating interference from an external force.

It was difficult to say whether Kyushu's current environment was good or bad, but cultivators had long grown accustomed to this method of practice, with generations having lived this way.

"If you need to cultivate, you must adhere to the rules. Before you refine me, I cannot offer you direct benefits," Xiao Jiu said, clearly misunderstanding, believing Lu Ye wanted special treatment.

"I don't need it," Lu Ye shook his head. He was quite satisfied with his current cultivation speed; as long as he wished, his cultivation could rapidly advance. In terms of cultivation efficiency alone, no one in Kyushu's history, past or present, could compare to him. "Kyushu needs it."

"What do you mean?" Xiao Jiu's voice conveyed confusion.

"Kyushu's land is currently barren and needs to recover its vitality quickly. More spiritual energy would accelerate its recovery. Therefore, I'd trouble you to supplement more spiritual energy to Kyushu itself."

Xiao Jiu understood. "As you wish," it replied. The moment the words fell, Lu Ye distinctly felt a tremor beneath his feet, followed by a surge of immense spiritual energy from an unknown source, spreading across the Aoshan territory.

Simultaneously, similar disturbances occurred across all regions of Kyushu, causing countless cultivators to change their expressions. The last time such a large-scale disturbance occurred, countless fissures appeared across Kyushu, followed by an insectoid disaster that swept across the entire realm, ravaging it for several years. Thus, upon feeling such a disturbance once more, cultivators inevitably developed a sense of unease, unsure of what was about to unfold.

However, cultivators quickly became aware that as the disturbance spread, the concentration of spiritual energy throughout Kyushu was continuously increasing. No one knew exactly what was happening, but it was undeniably a good thing for the human race of Kyushu. The increased spiritual energy concentration would greatly aid Kyushu's recovery, potentially even shortening the farming cycle for mortals and allowing them to grow necessary crops in a shorter time.

On CuiZhu Peak, Lu Ye quietly observed, feeling a slight surge of emotion. He had never imagined that one day, a few words from him could trigger such profound changes across Kyushu. Although Xiao Jiu was the one who enacted everything, he had played a crucial role in initiating it. After all, Xiao Jiu was merely an artifact spirit; even with thousands of years of existence, its thought processes were not as meticulous as those of humans. It must have realized this, which was perhaps why it sought out Lu Ye to collaborate.

In just over an hour, the overall spiritual energy in Kyushu more than doubled, and the disturbances gradually subsided.

Lu Ye leaped up and soared towards ShouZheng Peak. Figures of cultivators moved back and forth across Aoshan; they were from the Jade Blood Sect. In the past, whenever Lu Ye returned, the sect would only have the Sect Master, his second senior sister, and Master Yun Xuechu. Due to their cultivation practices, disciples typically gathered in the Spirit Stream Battlefield and Cloud River Battlefield. However, upon his return this time, he distinctly felt that the sect had become much livelier, and he recognized many long-unseen faces.

Among them were Ruan Lingyu and Kong Niu, who had once journeyed with Hua Ci; Chen Yu and He Xiyin, who were among the first to join the Jade Blood Sect; and Gu Yang and Luo Qisheng, who had served as the Jade Blood Sect's Spirit Stream Battlefield Envoys after him and Hua Ci. Even after several years of not seeing them, Lu Ye recognized them at a glance. They were all at the Cloud River Realm cultivation level, mostly above the seventh layer. The one with the highest cultivation was undoubtedly Chen Yu, who had already reached the ninth layer of the Cloud River Realm, just one step away from advancing to the True Lake Realm.

Compared to Lu Ye, their cultivation speed was very slow. Even when compared to Hua Ci alone, without even mentioning Lu Ye, they lagged considerably. However, this was the normal cultivation speed for ordinary cultivators. Lu Ye possessed extraordinary efficiency due to his talent tree, while Hua Ci benefited from her unique inheritance—such supreme opportunities are not something just anyone can encounter.

In the Spirit Stream Battlefield, Lu Ye had exchanged battle marks with the envoys of many sects, but how many could still keep pace with his cultivation progress today? Only his fourth senior brother and Feng Yuechan could barely keep up. Yet, it was precisely these vast numbers of ordinary cultivators who formed the stable foundation of Kyushu's cultivation world, bridging the past and future, ensuring the legacy was passed down through generations. Some familiar names and faces were now gone forever, but that was the nature of cultivation—it always carried various dangers.

According to his second senior sister, there were still several talented and promising disciples in this generation, particularly one named Tang Jian, who had joined the Jade Blood Sect in the same batch as him, but was currently still only in the Spirit Stream Realm.