Chapter 1273: The Incident Occurred

## Winds Rise in Kyushu

"Junior Brother Lu, please take care. I hope we meet again someday!" On the white jade platform, Yu Yaorao curtsied gracefully.

Lu Ye cupped his fists in return, then turned and followed Yang Qing outside.

The Divine Sea Competition had concluded, leaving the powerful cultivators from various realms with no reason to linger. They each led their juniors back to their respective homes. Such a lively scene around the Reincarnation Tree would likely not occur again for another hundred years.

Stepping off the white jade platform and into a passage, Yang Qing continued forward.

After a considerable walk, they reached a doorway. Yang Qing turned to Lu Ye and instructed, "Remember this location. If you ever bring your juniors to participate in the Divine Sea Competition in the future, you'll return through here."

Lu Ye nodded silently, vaguely sensing an unspoken meaning in Yang Qing's words, but he didn't rush to ask further.

Yang Qing pushed open the door and entered, with Lu Ye following closely. Stepping through the doorway, they didn't find themselves in a room as imagined, but rather in a vast, empty space that resembled a miniature, infinitely scaled-down starfield. All around, countless stars twinkled, creating a magnificent panorama. Standing there, one couldn't help but feel utterly insignificant.

Yang Qing raised his hand and gently touched the void in front of him. A ripple spread outwards from where his finger landed.

Once the ripple vanished, Yang Qing frowned and looked up, asking, "Elder Tree, what is the meaning of this?"

Normally, a touch from him would open a passage back to Kyushu, allowing him to return with Lu Ye. However, the passage hadn't appeared, which was quite odd.

The absence of a passage clearly indicated interference from the Reincarnation Tree, or rather, the Reincarnation Tree was not allowing them to pass. He just didn't know why.

An ancient, weathered voice abruptly echoed through this small patch of starry sky: "Dragon Lord, do not worry. It is merely that this young friend beside you is carrying something he should not have taken!"

Yang Qing's eyebrow twitched. He turned to Lu Ye, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

Lu Ye immediately looked uncomfortable, scratching his ears and cheeks.

He'd been caught!

He had been acting stealthily before, thinking he'd gotten away with it unnoticed. With no one having sought him out for so long, he'd assumed the matter was settled. Who knew that just as he was about to leave, the Reincarnation Tree would stop him?

He had been so careful to hide them in the Primordial Realm for so long; even against opponents like Baoshi, he hadn't released those two little things to bless him.

On second thought, he might have believed he was acting in secret, but since it happened within the Tree Realm, how could the Reincarnation Tree not know?

The reason it hadn't confronted him for so long was simply that the time wasn't right. Now that he was leaving, the Reincarnation Tree naturally couldn't stand idly by.

Still, being caught red-handed like a thief was truly embarrassing.

Yang Qing hadn't initially understood what the Reincarnation Tree was saying, but seeing Lu Ye's expression, he immediately realized that this boy had likely taken something he shouldn't have.

He couldn't help but chuckle in exasperation. Divine Sea cultivators coming to the Reincarnation Tree usually approached with reverence, walking carefully behind their elders, fearful of making a mistake and embarrassing themselves. But this boy, when Yang Qing wasn't looking, actually went and stole something!

The little rascal was incredibly bold!

Immediately, Yang Qing snapped, "Take it out!"

Lu Ye was reluctant, so he hedged, "What things?"

Yang Qing glared at him. "How would I know what it is? Stop talking nonsense and just take it out when I tell you to!"

The ancient voice spoke again, very gently: "Young friend, the fae folk are not suited to be taken to the outside world. If news of them spreads, it would not only bring about the ruin of the fae but also cause trouble for your own realm."

Only then did Yang Qing realize what Lu Ye had stolen. He had thought the boy would at most pilfer some inanimate objects, but it was fae! This fellow truly dared to think it and dared to do it!

With the Reincarnation Tree pointing it out so clearly, Lu Ye, no matter how unwilling, could only resign himself to fate. With a sigh, he unfastened a spirit beast pouch from his waist and opened its mouth.

Immediately, a small head peeked out, clearly Greeny, looking as if she had been suffocated. After a few gasps, she leaped out, then turned back, plunged most of her body into the spirit beast pouch, rummaged around, and pulled out Reddy too.

Both little fae stared indignantly at Lu Ye. Greeny shook a tiny fist at him, huffing, "Bad person!" Reddy chimed in, "Bad person!"

Lu Ye rubbed his nose, speechless.

The two little fae fluttered their wings, circled once, and then plunged into a passage that appeared out of thin air, vanishing without a trace. They had clearly been sent back to the Fae Tree Realm.

The Reincarnation Tree's voice spoke: "As compensation for your assistance in resolving the Tree Realm's troubles, this old one wishes to offer you a small gift. I hope you will not disdain it."

As it spoke, the void before Lu Ye trembled slightly, and a verdant green leaf appeared out of thin air.

The leaf looked no different from an ordinary one, perhaps even slightly smaller, about the size of a baby's palm. Yet, it was entirely emerald green, as if carved from jade, brimming with vitality.

Although Lu Ye didn't know the leaf's exact mystical properties, since it was compensation from the Reincarnation Tree, it clearly wouldn't be an ordinary leaf.

He turned to Yang Qing, his face showing an inquiring look.

Yang Qing nodded almost imperceptibly. Only then did Lu Ye respectfully say, "A gift from an elder, I dare not refuse. This junior thanks Elder Tree for the treasure!"

Cupping his hands, the leaf immediately settled into his palm. However, before Lu Ye could put it away, the leaf suddenly transformed into a green light and merged into his hand.

Immediately afterward, Lu Ye felt a slight warmth on his right wrist. He lifted his sleeve to look and found a green leaf mark distinctly visible on his wrist. The mark still looked incredibly lifelike, as if a real leaf was pressed there, but it was, in fact, just an imprint. A moment later, this imprint also vanished without a trace.

Yang Qing gave no instructions, so it shouldn't be anything bad. It wasn't a good time to ask many questions either, so Lu Ye could only suppress his curiosity.

"Elder Tree, the matter here is concluded. We bid farewell," Yang Qing said, cupping his fists.

"Safe travels, Dragon Lord!"

This time, without waiting for Yang Qing to act, a passage spontaneously appeared before Lu Ye. Yang Qing stepped into it first, with Lu Ye following closely behind.

In a slight daze, his vision spun. When Lu Ye regained his senses, he was already on the Spirit Peak in Tianzhou. Before him stood an unremarkable tree with withered leaves, looking as if it were dead – it was indeed a branch of the Reincarnation Tree.

This branch underwent a cycle every hundred years, transitioning from vibrant life to complete dormancy. Currently, it was in its silent, death-like state. Had Lu Ye not learned of its various mystical properties from Yang Qing, he wouldn't have paid much attention to it, even if he had come here and seen the tree.

Yet, it was precisely by using this Reincarnation Tree branch that he was able to travel from Kyushu to some unknown, distant part of the starry sky and back again, all within just three months.

The marvels of the world were truly beyond imagination.

"Senior, that final gift from Elder Tree..." Only now did Lu Ye have the opportunity to inquire about the mysterious leaf from Yang Qing.

"That can, for now, be considered a 'catalyst' to the Reincarnation Tree," Yang Qing said. He held up his right hand, revealing his wrist. With a slight surge of power, a leaf imprint immediately appeared on his wrist, looking identical to the one Lu Ye had received.

He actually had such an imprint too. "A catalyst?"

"With this imprint, you can freely travel to the Reincarnation Tree's location in the future. Of course, this is provided there are no interferences, as using it is quite troublesome and requires a long charging period. It's not like when we used the power of the Reincarnation Tree's branch to arrive instantly. This might be helpful for your future travels in the starry sky, for instance, if you get lost somewhere, or if you need to use the Reincarnation Tree as a transit point to reach a certain place. You can use this imprint to get to the Reincarnation Tree's location."

Lu Ye understood. If that were truly the case, it would indeed be quite useful. The starry sky was vast; although Lu Ye hadn't yet ventured into it, he knew that traveling through such an immense environment consumed a lot of time. However, if there was a fixed location that could serve as a transit point, it would undoubtedly save a significant amount of travel time in many situations.

For now, this item was useless to him, but no one could guarantee he wouldn't need it in the future.

Trading the two little fae for such an imprint, while seemingly a loss, was ultimately acceptable. The fae couldn't be taken out anyway, whereas the imprint was a gift from the Reincarnation Tree, carrying a different significance.

Yang Qing reminded him, "However, this imprint is for your personal use only; you cannot bring others with you. You must remember this."

Lu Ye nodded: "It seems the Reincarnation Tree has bestowed this imprint upon many people."

Yang Qing replied, "Indeed, it has been given to many. So, if you use the Reincarnation Tree as a transit point in the future, you might encounter cultivators from other realms, as many will use it as a hub. This is the Reincarnation Tree's way of survival. It undergoes a cycle every ten thousand years, and each time it cycles, it is at its most vulnerable. In ordinary times, powerful individuals from various realms use it for transit, saving time and energy. When it needs help, there will naturally be those who offer assistance. This is also a rule of survival in the cultivation world: to gain something, you must also give something!"

Lu Ye appeared thoughtful.

"However, generally speaking, the Reincarnation Tree doesn't just casually bestow its imprint on anyone; it only gives it to those it values. Very few cultivators at the Divine Sea realm level receive this imprint. Your good performance this time likely led to you receiving this gift. The Reincarnation Tree probably sees you as a promising talent. It might even ask for your assistance when it undergoes its next cycle, so be mentally prepared for that."

Lu Ye nodded silently: "Since I've benefited from its convenience, it's only right to lend a hand when the time comes."

"It's best that you think that way."