Chapter 1198: Evil Guest Arrives

Xiao Jiu, the Heavenly Secret of Kyushu, is omnipresent. Lu Ye could contact it anytime, anywhere, as long as he was within Kyushu.

But now, Xiao Jiu was unresponsive!

The Heavenly Secret being out of contact was quite unsettling. Lu Ye wondered what had happened to Xiao Jiu. Kyushu was in the process of absorbing the Blood Refining Realm's essence to enhance itself, so perhaps something had gone wrong during that process.

This worried Lu Ye. If an issue had arisen from absorbing the Blood Refining Realm's essence, it would undoubtedly have an immense impact on Kyushu.

He couldn't offer any help in such a situation, nor did he know how to, so he could only wait for Xiao Jiu to reach out.

As for who was fighting within Kyushu and causing such a massive commotion, he would have to see for himself.

As he soared, the Grand Master also emerged from Shou Zheng Peak. They exchanged knowing nods and continued flying forward together.

They hadn't flown long when Lu Ye's battlefield imprint suddenly vibrated. Simultaneously, the Grand Master checked his own, indicating he had also received a message.

Before Lu Ye could investigate, Xiao Jiu's voice, tinged with panic, echoed in his ear: "Lu Ye! Lu Ye! Disaster has struck!"

Since he had first interacted with Xiao Jiu, it had always exuded confidence. Never had it been this flustered, as if it had encountered something deeply unsettling.

"What's wrong?" Lu Ye asked.

"A powerful individual has arrived in Kyushu. He seems to have taken a liking to this realm and intends to claim it as his own!"

Lu Ye's expression hardened. "How powerful?""Likely a Sunlit Realm cultivator."

Lu Ye stumbled mid-air, nearly losing his balance and falling.

"Sunlit Realm? Are you certain?"

"Absolutely not. I sensed him the moment he arrived in Kyushu," Xiao Jiu affirmed emphatically.

Lu Ye immediately realized the gravity of the situation. Kyushu's cultivators had only just advanced to the Star Host realm and entered the starry expanse. Above Star Host was Moon Gazing, and only then came Sunlit — a full two major realms apart!

It was well-known that advancing to higher cultivation realms became increasingly difficult, and the power gaps widened significantly.

The difference between a Star Host and a Sunlit cultivator was even greater than that between a Cloud River and a Divine Sea cultivator! A Divine Sea realm cultivator could effortlessly wipe out countless Cloud River realm cultivators. If a Sunlit realm expert so chose, not a single one of Kyushu's newly ascended Star Host cultivators would likely survive.

How could this be happening?

Lu Ye had long known the dangers of the starry expanse and that it bred countless powerful individuals. However, Kyushu had only just connected with it. How could they have already attracted such a formidable figure?

Was their luck truly this bad?

He slowly processed the information. "Was the recent battle between that person and the Star Host cultivators?"

"It wasn't a battle so much as a one-sided annihilation," Xiao Jiu replied. "Most of the Star Host cultivators who had left, except for a few who traveled far, had rushed back. Yet, even dozens of them combined were defeated by a single palm strike!"

If the opponent had been a Moon Gazing Realm cultivator, with only one major realm separating them, perhaps they could have contended through sheer numbers. But a two-realm difference was an insurmountable chasm.

"Were there any casualties?"

"No one died. Since he desires Kyushu, he wouldn't wantonly kill. He merely demonstrated his power to make the Star Host cultivators understand the reality of the situation." Xiao Jiu paused before continuing, "This person is injured. He had been recuperating on an asteroid that drifted here. He was awakened by someone named Zhao Shoumu and subsequently discovered Kyushu."

Zhao Shoumu… Lu Ye remembered that name. After he had advanced to the Divine Sea Realm in the Blood Refining Realm, dozens of elder cultivators had taken turns training him, and Zhao Shoumu was one of them.

"How is Senior Zhao?"

"He's dead! He died after that person performed a soul-searching technique on him."

Lu Ye's mood immediately grew heavy.

The elder cultivators of Kyushu had been fortunate to live in this era, waiting for the world's level to advance, finally seizing the opportunity to ascend to the Star Host realm and step into the starry expanse. Yet now, some had been killed before they had even ventured far from Kyushu.

Lu Ye had heard of soul-searching techniques, but it seemed no one in Kyushu practiced such a malevolent art, perhaps due to insufficient cultivation. He knew, however, that victims of soul-searching endured immense terror and torment before their deaths.

"Why would a Sunlit Realm powerhouse be interested in Kyushu?" Lu Ye was utterly baffled. Logically, such an expert shouldn't target Kyushu; there were no apparent benefits here to tempt him, unless he was inherently tyrannical and enjoyed slaughter.

However, based on the current information, that didn't seem to be the case. If he truly enjoyed slaughter, all the Star Host cultivators who rushed back from the starry expanse would have died.

"He likely witnessed Kyushu absorbing the Blood Refining Realm's essence, which made him realize Kyushu is a realm capable of rapid growth. That's probably why he became interested."

"How so?" Lu Ye asked, still somewhat confused.

"As I've told you before, once some realms reach a certain level of growth, spirit jade veins will naturally form within them. Even a Sunlit Realm cultivator needs spirit jade. Instead of painstakingly searching the vast starry expanse, it's far more efficient to simply occupy a realm, wait for it to mature enough to produce spirit jade, and then easily harvest it."

"How long would that take?" Lu Ye struggled to comprehend the mindset of such a powerful individual.

"As a Sunlit Realm cultivator, he can afford to wait. Furthermore, rapidly developing realms like Kyushu hold immense appeal for someone like him. He could use Kyushu as a base to create his own world and establish his own influence. In any case, he has set his sights on Kyushu and won't leave easily."

That's why Xiao Jiu had declared disaster. Kyushu was truly unlucky.

If it had been a few years later, the asteroid where Yue Xin was hiding might have drifted far from Kyushu, and no one would have discovered him, leaving him undisturbed.

Yet, precisely at this moment, Kyushu's world level advanced, and cultivators began to ascend to the Star Host realm. In such a time, the asteroid where he hid was bound to be discovered by a Kyushu Star Host cultivator, whether it was Zhao Shoumu or someone else.

"Where is he now?"

"He left. He suddenly departed after demonstrating his absolute power, but he'll definitely return. I don't know what he went to do."

Lu Ye suddenly realized, "You were hiding before, weren't you?" That explained why he couldn't contact Xiao Jiu. It had sensed danger and concealed its presence, only contacting Lu Ye after the powerful individual had departed.

"He's targeting Kyushu out of greed. If he were to discover my true form, he would undoubtedly try to refine me, which would destabilize Kyushu's very foundation. So, under no circumstances can he detect me."

If Yue Xin were to discover the Heavenly Secret Disk, it would undoubtedly be catastrophic for Kyushu. Xiao Jiu is the fusion of the Heavenly Secret Disk's artifact spirit and Kyushu's world will. If Yue Xin refined it, Kyushu would suffer immense damage to its foundation, losing any chance of further growth and possibly even regressing from its current world level.

Fortunately, Xiao Jiu never revealed itself publicly. If the truth about the Heavenly Secret were known to Kyushu's cultivators, Yue Xin would undoubtedly gain insight through soul-searching.

Currently, only Lu Ye and the City Lord of Xian Yuan City knew Xiao Jiu's true form. Therefore, this secret would remain safe for now, and Xiao Jiu was temporarily out of harm's way.

Lu Ye suddenly remembered something else. "He invaded Kyushu, why didn't you unleash heavenly punishment on him?"

He recalled his own invasion of the Blood Refining Realm, where heavenly punishment had immediately descended. Had he not cleverly entered the Blood Sea and refined its energy, he would have been reduced to ash.

Xiao Jiu's voice was tinged with worry. "Do you think I didn't want to? I simply couldn't. The power of heavenly punishment is directly linked to the world's level. If an external Star Host Realm cultivator were to invade Kyushu now, they would surely perish under its might. But he is a Sunlit Realm cultivator; Kyushu's heavenly punishment is nothing to him; he could easily resist it. If I were to unleash it, he might even follow the clues and uncover my true origins."

Every world has a capacity limit. Kyushu's current limit is the Star Host realm, meaning Star Host cultivators cannot withstand heavenly punishment. Even Moon Gazing realm outsiders would face some degree of suppression and threat, a display of the world's power. However, a Sunlit realm cultivator far exceeds Kyushu's ability to suppress or threaten.

When a cultivator's individual strength surpasses a certain threshold, they might not be able to do absolutely anything they wish, but in specific environments, they become effectively unrestrainable.

There was another concern: Kyushu's existence had been exposed because of Yue Xin. In the pre-Kyushu era, cultivators were powerful enough to make countless enemies while venturing into the starry expanse. They were eventually besieged by those formidable foes and forced to relocate to escape disaster.

Although thousands of years had passed since those events, hatred does not simply fade with time.

For now, this wasn't a major concern. Yue Xin desired Kyushu for himself and would naturally not announce its existence; he would act covertly.

He likely feared that news would leak, and other powerful individuals would come to claim a share. Xiao Jiu and Lu Ye had considered the various scenarios that might arise after Kyushu connected with the starry expanse. However, they couldn't simply self-isolate due to potential dangers. Cultivators needed opportunities to advance, and Kyushu needed to grow, so they had no choice but to break down the barriers.

What they hadn't anticipated was how quickly disaster would strike, or how powerful the incoming threat would be.

"So, that person left, and you don't know where he went or what he's doing?"

"I don't know."

"So, what do we do now?"

When the disparity in strength was so vast, any planning would be futile. Lu Ye was currently only at the seventh level of the Divine Sea Realm; even if he were to advance to the Star Host realm, he likely wouldn't be able to withstand a single blow from the opponent.

The current situation in Kyushu seemed utterly hopeless.