Chapter 1222: Choice

Lu Ye's mind raced with many thoughts. Combining what Xiaojiu and Yang Qing said, he slowly discerned the truth of the matter.

Yue Xin wanted to occupy Kyushu because he realized it was a realm capable of rapid growth. This led to his desire to claim Kyushu for himself. However, at its current stage, Kyushu couldn't meet his demands. Even if it fully absorbed the foundation of the Blood Refinement Realm, Kyushu wouldn't grow to the extent he needed. To accelerate Kyushu's development, he had to provide assistance!

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

After injuring a group of Star Constellation cultivators, he had been absent for a month, and no one knew his whereabouts. It now seemed that during that month, he had been searching for other realms, and he had indeed found one! He then began to set up arrangements in secret.

However, since the two realms were quite distant and couldn't directly connect, he had to leave some nodes on a celestial body between them to serve as a transit point.

While Yang Qing was roaming the starry sky and recovering, he discovered the arrangements Yue Xin had left behind. Following these clues, he found that realm and discerned Yue Xin's true intentions!

So, even though he wasn't particularly skilled in formations, he roughly understood the purpose of this array.

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

This kind of absorption was different from its absorption of the Blood Refinement Realm's foundation. The Blood Refinement Realm now had many Heavenly Secret Pillars, and Xiaojiu primarily used these pillars to absorb its foundation. Each Heavenly Secret Pillar was essentially a straw it had plunged into the Blood Refinement Realm, allowing it to absorb even without a direct physical connection between Kyushu and the Blood Refinement Realm.

Relying on this array for absorption felt like there was a layer of separation, not as swift and convenient as using the Heavenly Secret Pillars, but it was still possible to absorb.

This was truly a great gift!

Yue Xin likely never imagined that all his intricate plans and calculations would ultimately serve Kyushu's interests!

The main reason was that he didn't know a dragon capable of easily killing him was hidden within Kyushu, which made his death quite vexing.

It was only at this moment that Lu Ye truly understood the purpose of the numerous spatial and absorption spirit patterns contained within the array. Just as he had previously speculated, this array possessed both teleportation and absorption capabilities.

If one were to analyze it closely, absorption was the primary function, with teleportation merely serving to transfer the foundation of the opposing realm, not for general transportation!

"Doesn't this mean Kyushu's foundation can grow faster?" Lu Ye couldn't help but feel excited. Kyushu's world tier had already risen, now capable of giving birth to Star Constellation cultivators. If Kyushu was previously considered only a medium-sized realm in the vast starry sky, it could now undoubtedly be classified as a large-sized realm.

Medium and large refer not to physical size, but to the realm's foundation. Only realms capable of producing Star Constellation cultivators within them are qualified to be called large realms, as only such realms can connect with the starry sky.

Above large realms are top-tier realms, which are those capable of producing Spirit Jade mineral veins within them. Kyushu hasn't reached this level yet, but it's the direction Xiaojiu is striving for. In the pre-Kyushu era, Kyushu was at the top-tier realm level.

The foundation of one Blood Refinement Realm was not enough to elevate Kyushu's foundation to the top-tier realm level, nor would another be. However, this process required gradual accumulation.

Without the foundations of other realms to absorb, Kyushu's growth rate wouldn't be very fast.

Xiaojiu said, "No, it's not possible. The Blood Refinement Realm's foundation hasn't been completely absorbed yet. This will take at least several hundred years. Before the Blood Refinement Realm's foundation is fully absorbed, I cannot absorb more."

One can only eat as much as one's stomach allows; one cannot expect to become fat by swallowing everything at once. Kyushu's speed of absorbing other realms' foundations also has limits; it's not simply a matter of devouring as much as it desires.

Therefore, even if Kyushu could absorb the foundation of that unknown realm at this moment, Xiaojiu couldn't do so. It first had to digest the Blood Refinement Realm.

"Furthermore, we still don't know the situation in that realm. If it's inhabited by humans, we can't just absorb it arbitrarily and destroy their homes!"

Xiaojiu's core principles were only two: protect Kyushu and protect humanity. Therefore, if that unknown realm was inhabited by humans, Xiaojiu could not destroy it under any circumstances.

It had no psychological burden absorbing the Blood Refinement Realm because it was the Blood Clan's realm, and absorbing its foundation wouldn't affect the survival of the humans within it.

Currently, major sects have established branch sects in the Blood Refinement Realm. Those with cultivation aptitude are sent to Kyushu, while those without remain in the Blood Refinement Realm to live. There are no hindrances because the two realms are close enough now that teleportation requires very little consumption.

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

The existence of other realms beyond Kyushu was no longer new. Originally, the two realms were located in different parts of the starry sky, unconnected and thus not interfering with each other. But now, with such an array linking 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, whether they were friends or foes.

Yang Qing, however, was disinclined to say more on the matter. His anger towards Kyushu hadn't subsided; offering one helpful hint was his limit. He couldn't be expected to attend to every detail meticulously. So, he said impolitely, "If you want to know the situation, go and see for yourselves."

As he spoke, he reached out, and the white rabbit in Lu Ye's arms flew to him involuntarily. He grabbed its two long ears, and the next moment, Yang Qing and the rabbit vanished. A group of Kyushu cultivators were left looking at each other in bewilderment.

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

Another choice lay before the Kyushu cultivators.

"Yue Xin was undoubtedly a Sun-Embracing Realm cultivator. We cannot guess his speed, but in just one month, he not only found a realm but also made arrangements. So, it's safe to assume that even if the opposing realm isn't extremely close to Kyushu, it's definitely not far!" Jian Guhong slowly stated, and everyone agreed with his words; it was a reasonable deduction.

"Therefore, I think it's still necessary to explore and see what the situation is like over there. Since the distance isn't too great, there might be interactions in the future. Having more intelligence is always beneficial. What are your opinions?"

No one had any objections; they likely 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 when it was right in front of 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 understand their potential adversaries.

"I have a question," Lu Ye said. "Does that realm have Heavenly Retribution?"

Once bitten, twice shy, he was. When he first descended to the Blood Refinement Realm for the second time, he was almost killed by Heavenly Retribution. So, what he worried about most when invading other realms was precisely this.

A realm's Heavenly Retribution was not easily resisted. Taking Kyushu's current Heavenly Retribution as an example, if a Star Constellation cultivator came to Kyushu with hostility and was targeted by Heavenly Retribution, they would surely die without a burial place. Even a Moon-Shine Realm cultivator would face immense pressure.

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

Therefore, the power of Heavenly Retribution was directly related to the world's tier. It could easily destroy cultivators equivalent to the world's tier and could also suppress an existence one tier higher than the current world tier.

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

However, not every realm had Heavenly Retribution. This phenomenon was related to the World Will. If the World Will was sufficiently clear, Heavenly Retribution would inevitably exist; if not, then it wouldn't.

Generally speaking, the proportion of realms with Heavenly Retribution was small, roughly one or two out of ten.

"Kyushu isn't far from that realm. If there were Star Constellation cultivators on the other side, they should have discovered Kyushu long ago. From this, it seems that the opposing realm is likely at most a medium-sized realm. So, even if there's Heavenly Retribution, its power won't be too great. I'll go investigate the situation; at worst, I can escape," Jian Guhong said, showing his confidence.

No one argued with him. Since a decision had been made, there was no room for 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 what Jian Guhong had just said made a lot of sense: the opposing realm was very likely a medium-sized realm, and even if it had Heavenly Retribution, it wouldn't pose a fatal threat to him.

Lu Ye quietly contacted Xiaojiu: "Does this kind of teleportation severely deplete Kyushu's foundation?"

The energy consumed by teleportation was directly related to two factors: distance and the cultivator's cultivation level. Inter-realm teleportation undoubtedly involved great distances, and Jian Guhong was a Star Constellation cultivator, arguably Kyushu's strongest current fighting force. Such a teleportation would certainly highlight the issue of consumption.

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

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