Chapter 1208: Choice

Lu Ye's mind was racing with various thoughts. Combining what Xiaojiu and Yang Qing had said, he slowly began to grasp the truth of the situation.

Yue Xin wanted to conquer Kyushu because he realized it was a realm with rapid growth potential. This led him to the idea of claiming Kyushu for himself. However, at its current stage, Kyushu couldn't meet his demands. Even if it completely absorbed the Blood Refining Realm's essence, Kyushu wouldn't reach the level he desired. To accelerate Kyushu's growth, assistance was needed!

Absorbing the essence of more realms was the method Yue Xin devised.

After injuring a group of Star Constellation Realm cultivators, he had disappeared for a month, his whereabouts unknown. Now, it was clear that during that month, he had been searching for other realms, and he had indeed found one! He then began to secretly make arrangements.

However, since the two realms were quite far apart and couldn't directly resonate, he had to leave some nodes on the celestial bodies between them to act as transfer points.

While Yang Qing was traversing the starry sky and recovering, he discovered Yue Xin's arrangements. Following the clues, he located that realm and understood Yue Xin's intentions.

Thus, even though he wasn't proficient in array formations, he generally understood the function of this particular array.

However, there was one thing he didn't realize: this array not only had a teleportation effect but also granted Xiaojiu the ability to absorb.

This kind of absorption was different from how it absorbed the essence of the Blood Refining Realm.

Currently, numerous Heavenly Secret Pillars stood in the Blood Refining Realm. Xiaojiu primarily used these pillars to absorb the Blood Refining Realm's essence; each pillar acted like a straw inserted into the realm. Therefore, even without a physical connection between Kyushu and the Blood Refining Realm, it could still absorb.

Using this array felt somewhat indirect, not as swift and convenient as using the Heavenly Secret Pillars, but it still allowed for absorption.

This was truly a great gift!

Yue Xin probably never imagined that all his elaborate plans and calculations would ultimately benefit Kyushu.

This was mainly because he was unaware that a dragon capable of easily killing him was hidden within Kyushu, making his demise quite frustrating.

It was only now that Lu Ye fully understood the function of the numerous void and absorption spiritual patterns contained within the array. Just as he had previously speculated, the array possessed both displacement and absorption capabilities.

Upon closer examination, absorption was the primary function, while displacement merely served to move the essence of the opposing realm, not for direct teleportation.

"Doesn't this mean Kyushu's essence can grow even faster?"

Lu Ye couldn't help but feel excited. Kyushu's world tier had already improved, allowing Star Constellation Realm cultivators to emerge. If previously, Kyushu was considered a medium-sized realm in the vast starry sky,

Then it could now be considered a large-sized realm.

"Medium" and "large" referred not to physical size, but to the realm's essence. Only realms capable of birthing Star Constellation Realm cultivators were qualified to be called large-sized realms, as only such realms could truly connect with the starry sky.

Above large-sized realms were top-tier realms, which were capable of producing spiritual jade mines within their boundaries. Kyushu hadn't reached this level yet, but it was Xiaojiu's goal. In the pre-Kyushu era, Kyushu was indeed a top-tier realm.

The essence of a single Blood Refining Realm wasn't enough to elevate Kyushu's essence to the level of a top-tier realm, nor would another one suffice.

However, this kind of growth required gradual accumulation.

If there were no other realms' essences to absorb, Kyushu's growth rate wouldn't be very fast.

Xiaojiu said, "No, that won't work. The Blood Refining Realm's essence hasn't been fully absorbed yet. That will take at least a few hundred years. I can't absorb more before the Blood Refining Realm's essence is completely consumed."

One can only eat as much as one's stomach can hold; one cannot expect to get fat in one bite. Kyushu's speed of absorbing other worlds' essences also has limits; it's not simply a matter of devouring as much as it wants.

Therefore, even if Kyushu could now absorb the essence of that unknown realm, Xiaojiu couldn't do so yet. It first needed to digest the Blood Refining Realm.

"What's more, we don't know the situation in that realm yet. If it's inhabited by humans, we can't just absorb its essence and destroy their home!"

Xiaojiu's core philosophy had only two tenets: protecting Kyushu and protecting humanity. Therefore, if the unknown realm was inhabited by humans, Xiaojiu absolutely couldn't destroy it.

It had no moral qualms about absorbing the Blood Refining Realm because it was the realm of the Blood Race, and absorbing its essence wouldn't affect the survival of the humans living there.

Currently, all major sects had established branch sects in the Blood Refining Realm. Those with cultivation potential would be sent to Kyushu, while those without would remain in the Blood Refining Realm. This wouldn't cause any hindrance because the two realms were currently close enough that teleportation incurred minimal consumption.

"Senior Yang," Jian Guhong asked, "since you've been to that realm, do you know what the situation is like over there?"

It was no longer news that other realms existed beyond Kyushu. Originally, the two realms were in different parts of the starry sky, unrelated and coexisting peacefully. However, with this array connecting them, Kyushu had no choice but to treat the situation with caution.

At the very least, they needed to understand the situation in that realm and determine if it was friend or foe.

Yang Qing, however, was reluctant to say more on the matter. He was still upset with Kyushu. Offering a kind word of advice was his limit; he couldn't be expected to be considerate in every detail. So, he unceremoniously replied, "If you want to know the situation, go and see for yourself."

As he spoke, he raised a hand and, with a grab, the white rabbit in Lu Ye's arms flew towards him involuntarily. He seized it by its two long ears. The next moment, Yang Qing, along with the white rabbit, vanished. A group of Kyushu cultivators were left looking at each other.

The array had been activated, and the teleportation channel remained open. At this moment, the cultivators had two choices: destroy the array, which would naturally close the channel, or enter it and investigate the reality of the situation.

Another choice lay before the Kyushu cultivators.

"Yue Xin is undoubtedly a Sun-Embracing Realm cultivator. We cannot fathom his speed, but in just one month, he not only found a realm but also set up arrangements. Therefore, it's certain that the opposing realm, even if not extremely close to Kyushu, is definitely not far," Jian Guhong slowly stated. His words garnered agreement from everyone, as it was a reasonable deduction.

"So, I think we should explore it and see what the situation is like over there. Since the distance isn't too great, there might be interactions in the future. Gathering more intelligence is always beneficial. What are your opinions?"

No one had any objections; they probably all thought the same.

Although the Kyushu cultivators had just advanced to the Star Constellation Realm and stepped into the starry sky, they weren't afraid of trouble. There was no reason to avoid a problem presented to them instead of trying to solve it.

As Jian Guhong said, there might be interactions in the future. If they could become friends, that would be ideal, but if not, they still needed to know their opponents.

"There's one problem," Lu Ye spoke up, "Does the opposing realm have heavenly tribulation?"

He had been bitten once, so he was twice shy. When he first descended into the Blood Refining Realm the second time, he was almost killed by heavenly tribulation. Therefore, this was his biggest concern when invading other realms.

A realm's heavenly tribulation was not easy to resist. Taking Kyushu's current heavenly tribulation as an example, if a Star Constellation Realm cultivator arrived in Kyushu with hostile intent and was targeted by it, they would surely perish without a trace. Even a Moon-Shine Realm cultivator would face immense pressure.

Only against Sun-Embracing Realm cultivators was Kyushu's heavenly tribulation powerless, which was why Xiaojiu silently hid when Yue Xin arrived.

Therefore, the power of heavenly tribulation was directly related to the world's tier. It could easily destroy cultivators equivalent to its world tier and also suppress beings slightly above its current world tier.

Lu Ye had discussed these matters with Xiaojiu, so he naturally knew about them.

However, not every realm had heavenly tribulation. This phenomenon was related to the world's will. If a world's will was clear enough, heavenly tribulation would inevitably exist; if not, then it wouldn't.

Generally speaking, the proportion of realms with heavenly tribulation was not large, usually around one or two out of ten.

"Kyushu and the opposing realm are not too far apart. If there were Star Constellation Realm cultivators there, they should have discovered Kyushu by now. From this, it seems the opposing realm is likely at most a medium-sized realm, so..."

"Even if it has heavenly tribulation, its power won't be too great. I'll go and investigate the situation. At the very least, I can escape." Jian Guhong said, showing his confidence.

No one argued with him. With the decision made, there was no hesitation.

Under everyone's gaze, Jian Guhong flashed and flew towards the vortex at the center of the grand array.

The others waited quietly, not overly concerned about his safety. This was because Jian Guhong's reasoning was sound: the opposing realm was very likely a medium-sized realm, and even if it had heavenly tribulation, it wouldn't pose a fatal threat to him.

Lu Ye secretly contacted Xiaojiu:

"Does this kind of teleportation severely deplete Kyushu's essence?"

Teleportation consumes energy directly related to two factors: distance and the cultivator's cultivation level. Inter-realm teleportation undoubtedly covers vast distances, and Jian Guhong was a Star Constellation Realm cultivator, arguably Kyushu's strongest combatant at the moment. Such a single teleportation could highlight the issue of consumption.

"There shouldn't be much loss," Xiaojiu replied. "This isn't teleportation via the Heavenly Secret Pillars. Although this array is set up within Kyushu, it actually consumes other forces. Didn't Yang Qing just say that Yue Xin left nodes on the celestial bodies between the two realms? These nodes aren't just for guidance; they also gather starry sky energy. Since he wanted to quickly enhance Kyushu's essence, he naturally wouldn't take actions that would deplete it."

Lu Ye understood. It had to be said that although Yue Xin had met with misfortune, he was still very thorough in his planning.