Chapter 1289: Star Lodge

The Winds of Kyushu Rise

Lu Ye wasn't sure what it was like for other Kyushu cultivators to advance to the Star Realm, as he hadn't observed anyone else's advancement. However, he suspected his own process might be somewhat different. Kyushu cultivators relied on spiritual light born directly from Kyushu itself for their advancement, whereas he had obtained spiritual light nurtured within the Primordial Realm. It was said that such spiritual light offered greater future benefits to cultivators. As for the specific differences, he would have to discover them gradually over time; he couldn't perceive them at present.

Time slowly passed. Then, at a certain moment five days later, Lu Ye suddenly felt the mysterious power he had acquired from the Primordial Realm completely deplete within him. It was precisely at this instant that the shackles of his Divine Sea Realm shattered with a resounding crash. His entire body's flesh and blood began to writhe, and his blood surged vigorously through his meridians, appearing more vibrant. At that moment, his mind also elevated considerably, and he subtly felt a much closer connection forming between himself and Kyushu.

There were no peculiar phenomena or overly complex procedures. The entire advancement process was smooth, natural, and came to fruition effortlessly. Only an invisible aura, centered around him, surged outwards with a roar, spreading continuously. This ripple showed no sign of weakening, as if it intended to permeate the entire land of Kyushu.

Within Ao Mountain, the cultivators of the Pure Blood Sect were the first to notice. However, as the current disciples of the Pure Blood Sect had low cultivation levels, even if they sensed something, they didn't understand what exactly was happening. Only Shui Yuan looked with relief towards Green Bamboo Peak, knowing that her junior brother had taken that crucial step.

A moment later, Lu Ye's elevated mind settled back, still feeling a bit dazed. "That's... it? I've advanced to the Star Realm?"

Silently, he perceived the changes within himself and quickly noticed the differences from before. The biggest change was his physical body! Ultimately, cultivation in the Upper Three Realms involves a leap in essence, qi, and spirit. As the first threshold of these realms, the primary objective for Star Realm cultivators is the enhancement of their essence. Essence is the foundation of the body and the origin of life. From the moment cultivators begin their practice, they are connected to the path of essence.

The method of "refining essence into qi" is a cultivation technique. When Lu Ye first began cultivating, he used this technique to generate his own spiritual qi. Cultivators often use this method to aid their practice because, compared to consuming spiritual pills, it has no significant side effects. Of course, one must maintain proper moderation; refining too much could lead to a lack of vitality, making the effort counterproductive. Therefore, human essence is not exclusive to the Star Realm; it is something cultivators possess from birth, influencing all aspects of their being. Sufficient essence leads to strong qi and blood, and strong qi and blood lead to a powerful physique. However, before the Star Realm, cultivators focused on refining essence into qi, but after reaching the Star Realm, they must concentrate on enhancing their own essence.

Compared to before his advancement, Lu Ye could clearly feel that his own essence seemed to have undergone a qualitative leap. This leap wouldn't instantly make his physique stronger; in fact, there wasn't much difference in his physique compared to before. However, it would make his own flesh and blood more vibrant, leading to a direct result: cultivators could physically traverse the starry sky without fearing the pervasive erosion of its wondrous energies! Without such vitality, cultivators who rashly ventured into the starry sky would simply be eroded to death by its energies. Of course, this was just one aspect; there were many more benefits. For instance, after a physical injury, Star Realm cultivators could recover more quickly than Divine Sea Realm cultivators under the same environmental conditions. This was because their flesh and blood were more vibrant, naturally leading to faster recovery.

Previously, Lu Ye had asked Xiao Jiu about aspects of the Upper Three Realms, but his understanding wasn't comprehensive because Xiao Jiu didn't know much about them either. Its sentience was born in the post-Kyushu era, a time when no powerful cultivators existed in Kyushu. With no subjects to observe, its knowledge was limited to what was recorded in some remnant Kyushu classics. However, for cultivators of the pre-Kyushu era, these were common knowledge passed down orally; who would bother recording them in writing? Therefore, even these remnant classics were few in number and mostly incomplete.

According to Xiao Jiu, cultivators in the Star Realm could eventually regenerate lost limbs when reaching the peak of their cultivation. Previously, Lu Ye had dismissed this as too mystical and perhaps untrue, but now that he had advanced to the Star Realm, careful perception revealed that it might indeed be possible. Currently, he couldn't achieve limb regeneration or even flesh regeneration. However, if he continued cultivating and made his own flesh and blood more vibrant, flesh regeneration would become possible. At that point, he would be able to recover quickly even from injuries. One level above limb regeneration was regeneration from a single drop of blood, but that was not achievable in the Star Realm—not even in the Sunlit Realm! However, in the Blood Clan inheritance Lu Ye had obtained, there was a record stating that when Blood Clan secret techniques were cultivated to their peak, one could regenerate from a single drop of blood! He wondered if it was true or false. The path of cultivation was long, and before reaching a certain level, it was impossible to truly comprehend its wonders.

However, Lu Ye discovered something interesting through his perception: the more abundant a cultivator's essence, the greater their advantage after advancing to the Star Realm. From this perspective, body cultivators undoubtedly had a significant advantage. But ultimately, it was just a minor advantage; physically weaker spell cultivators could compensate for this gap through cultivation, so it wasn't a major issue. Lu Ye's essence was undoubtedly extremely abundant. Not only was his physique comparable to body cultivators of the same level, but he had also cultivated the Blood Clan's secret techniques. This alone set him apart from ordinary cultivators. Therefore, after his advancement, his foundation was much stronger than that of ordinary cultivators.

The most direct manifestation was that when he looked inward, he could faintly see specks of starlight within his flesh and blood! These specks of starlight were unique to the Star Realm, a manifestation of his essence, and the origin of the realm's name. Each speck of starlight contained extremely powerful energy that surpassed the Divine Sea Realm level.

Lu Ye had a sudden realization and roughly understood what cultivation in the Star Realm entailed. Regardless of the method used to increase the accumulation of starlight within his body, once this mysterious energy, materialized as starlight, accumulated to a certain degree, he would enter the next level! This was merely his speculation based on his current state; he couldn't be sure if it was truly the case. So, he gently called out, "Xiao Jiu!"

A speck of spiritual light gathered beside him and quickly transformed into the shape of a rabbit. It looked very cute, but its first words ruined any desire to play with it. "What do you want?!"

"What's the deal with cultivation in the Star Realm? Is it also divided into first, second, and then up to ninth layers?"

Lu Ye hadn't understood this before; partly because it wasn't the right time, and partly because he wasn't sure if Xiao Jiu knew. Now that he had advanced to the Star Realm, it was time to learn more. Unfortunately, he hadn't consulted Yang Qing when he was still around, so now he could only rely on Xiao Jiu.

The rabbit Xiao Jiu had transformed into scratched its ears and head, evidently stumped by the question. After a moment, it said, "Wait a moment!" Its figure flickered and disappeared. When it reappeared, its rabbit paw held several ancient-looking jade slips. It tossed them to Lu Ye and said, "Read them yourself." Having said that, it flickered and vanished, and Lu Ye didn't know where it went or what it was doing.

Lu Ye picked up the jade slips, casually taking one. His divine sense surged, and he delved into it to examine its contents. The jade slips were remnants from the pre-Kyushu era, too ancient. Lu Ye found them difficult to read because much of the information within was incomplete, fragmented, and confusing. Moreover, what was recorded in the jade slips was not the cultivation methods or realm divisions of the Star Realm. They actually contained other information, only briefly mentioning various aspects of the Upper Three Realms.

Lu Ye spent a considerable amount of time before he finished examining the contents of these jade slips. Although his understanding of the Star Realm was still not comprehensive, at least he was no longer completely clueless. It was somewhat different from what he had imagined: the Star Realm's level divisions were not as complex. There were no "first layer" or "second layer"; instead, there were only three stages: early, middle, and late. Not only was this true for the Star Realm, but it also seemed to be the case for the subsequent Moonlit Realm and Sunlit Realm. Such a division method was undoubtedly an extremely ancient tradition; if it existed, there was a reason for its existence. It sounded as if advancement after the Star Realm was simpler, since there were only three minor stages. However, Lu Ye knew this was definitely an illusion. Although there were only three minor stages, advancement within each one would likely be infinitely more difficult than before.

While he was in deep thought, his battlefield mark vibrated. He checked it and found that it was a message from Jian Guhong! "He's still here?" Lu Ye was a bit stunned. The last time he returned from the Reincarnation Tree, Jian Guhong, Wuchang, and others had specifically sought him out to ask his opinion on remaining in Kyushu. Lu Ye had expressed that it was currently a good time for Kyushu's Star Realm cultivators to practice, and there was no need to remain in Kyushu. Furthermore, with the Heavenly Mystery's protection, even if powerful cultivators arrived, as long as they weren't Sunlit Realm cultivators, they shouldn't be able to do anything to Kyushu. Lu Ye had originally thought that Jian Guhong and the others had left Kyushu to venture into the starry sky, but unexpectedly, he was still in Kyushu. A message at this time undoubtedly meant that Jian Guhong had detected Lu Ye's advancement to the Star Realm.

"Senior, what is it?" Lu Ye asked.

"Come to Tianzhou for a visit!" Jian Guhong replied, giving a location that turned out to be the spiritual peak where the Reincarnation Tree avatar resided. Lu Ye didn't know what Jian Guhong was doing there, but since it was an invitation from a senior, he naturally had to go.

He stood up, walked out of the wooden house, and went to the Heavenly Mystery Hall for teleportation. After half a day, Lu Ye arrived at the spiritual peak. Looking around, he was slightly stunned because a magnificent hall had appeared there. It hadn't been there before; when Yang Qing was here, there was only a wooden house. That wooden house was still present, but at some unknown time, a grand hall had also been erected. There was Jian Guhong's aura inside the hall. Lu Ye stepped in curiously. Their eyes met, and Jian Guhong nodded slightly, saying, "As expected, you've advanced to the Star Realm!"