Chapter 1293: Outing

In just the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the strange burning sensation in his abdomen vanished, and the energy stored in the Spirit Jade was completely depleted. Lu Ye wore a thoughtful expression.

After various attempts, one thing could now be confirmed.

As he was now, he was not suitable for directly consuming Spirit Jades. He could only rely on the Talent Tree to improve his cultivation efficiency to a limited extent.

Of course, even with this limitation, his efficiency was still nearly ten times higher compared to normal cultivators' practice. This undoubtedly meant that as long as he had ample resources, he could grow much faster.

The Talent Tree had never disappointed him.

This was quite good. Later, once his cultivation gradually improved, he could continue to adjust his cultivation efficiency. One day, he would be able to consume Spirit Jades as easily as Spirit Stones, without worrying about wasting their energy.

However, by the time that day arrived, Lu Ye estimated his cultivation would have reached the Moonfall realm. That would be a long time from now.

"Xiao Jiu!" Lu Ye called softly.

This time, Xiao Jiu did not appear in person, but a voice replied, "What is it?"

"The Heavenly Secret Pillar!"

Jian Gouchong had reminded him that every cultivator who advanced to the Star Constellation realm, before leaving Kyushu, could receive a Heavenly Secret Pillar bestowed by the Heavenly Secret to maintain contact with Kyushu while in the starry sky.

Xiao Jiu had never mentioned this, and Lu Ye hadn't known either. But now that he was about to depart, he should naturally take one with him. The space before him subtly warped, and a small Heavenly Secret Pillar appeared out of thin air. Lu Ye reached out and grasped it.

Xiao Jiu's voice came: "Keep it close to you; do not put it in a storage bag or storage ring. When using it, just channel spirit power into it. However, the greater the distance, the weaker the connection with Kyushu. Be careful."

"Got it!" Lu Ye rummaged through his storage ring, finding a rope. It wasn't an ordinary rope; he didn't know what material it was made from, but it was quite sturdy. He also didn't know when he had acquired this piece of loot.

He tied the Heavenly Secret Pillar securely and hung it around his neck, concealing it beneath his clothes. He stood up, stretched, and walked out of the bamboo house.

His spiritual sense swept out, locating Shui Yuan, and he sent a brief message. Then he shot into the sky!

Everything he needed to try, he had tried. Everyone he needed to say goodbye to, he had said goodbye to. With all preparations complete, it was time to witness the wonders of the starry sky.

His figure continued to ascend, a thousand zhang, ten thousand zhang, a hundred thousand zhang, and soon he reached a height he had never experienced before.

When he was in the Divine Sea realm, Lu Ye, feeling extremely bored one time, had tried continuously flying upwards, wanting to see if he could fly out of Kyushu.

It wasn't just him who had done this; in fact, nine out of ten Divine Sea realm cultivators had done such a foolish thing, as everyone was curious about the starry sky.

But without exception, they all flew to a certain height and then could go no higher.

Above Kyushu, there seemed to be an invisible barrier that blocked all paths for further ascent. Lu Ye estimated that it wasn't an invisible barrier, but rather the inherent limit of the Divine Sea realm itself.

Before gaining the power to connect with the starry sky, Divine Sea realm cultivators could only be considered cultivators within the realm, unable to break free from its shackles.

Of course, teleportation via the Kyushu Heavenly Secret Pillar was an exception, but even then, it only transported one to another realm. Only upon reaching the Star Constellation realm, and possessing the ability to traverse the starry sky physically, did cultivators gain the power to break out of their realm.

Originally, it had been an overcast day in Ao Mountain, with heavy dark clouds covering everything. But as Lu Ye flew to his current height, the brilliant light of the sun suddenly spread forth. Looking down, a magnificent sight unfolded: a swirling sea of clouds. The sun's rays painted the edges of the clouds with a layer of gold, truly grand and awe-inspiring.

As he continued to ascend, the outline of Kyushu began to appear in his vision. The higher he flew, the clearer the overall view of Kyushu became.

Actually, it wasn't the first time Lu Ye had observed Kyushu from such a perspective. He had had similar experiences a few times before.

One time was when he returned to Kyushu from the Blood Refinery Realm, but that was likely just a mental overview, not a physical observation with his own eyes, so it wasn't as shocking as this moment.

The second time was when Yang Qing took him directly back to Kyushu from the Spirit Stream Battlefield. That time was rushed, a fleeting glimpse, and he didn't discern much.

This time was different. This time, he had truly, by his own power, flown out of Kyushu, and now stood in the starry sky, gazing at his homeland.

The entire Kyushu was a spherical body. The atmospheric layer around its periphery refracted the sun's light, creating a splendid and colorful display. The surface of the sphere also had large expanses of azure, which Lu Ye suspected were oceans.

Any cultivator new to the starry sky, upon seeing such a sight, would likely be captivated by it.

Near Kyushu's celestial body, lay the Blood Refinery Realm, which had drifted over. Its appearance remained unchanged, resembling a female creature with its head and limbs severed, like a colossal corpse lying beside Kyushu.

Compared to the two celestial bodies, Kyushu was undoubtedly much more beautiful.

There were also various floating lands, large and small, closely encircling Kyushu, moving in a highly regular rotational rhythm. Those were the Spirit Stream Battlefield, the Cloud River Battlefield, and many other secret realms themselves.

Since Kyushu was moved here in the past, settling down, and Xiao Jiu's intelligence was born, it had been like a scavenger, collecting broken celestial bodies or floating lands that drifted near Kyushu. It was these collected "junk" pieces that formed the vibrant stage for Kyushu cultivators today, and also allowed cultivators to gain many benefits from them.

In fact, if one were to truly assess it, Xiao Jiu had played an indelible and enormous role in Kyushu's resurgence. This was true not only in the past but also for the future. The fact that Kyushu could now become a rapidly growing large realm was entirely due to Xiao Jiu's efforts.

The Heavenly Secret Disk, crafted with immense manpower, material resources, and effort in the Pre-Kyushu Era, ultimately preserved the inherited flame for this realm.

It was also hard to imagine how powerful the enemies encountered in the Pre-Kyushu Era truly were, forcing those powerful figures to make the decision to relocate their homeland.

But these were not matters for Lu Ye to worry about. The Pre-Kyushu Era had passed. Now was the Post-Kyushu Era, the era of cultivators like him, those in the Star Constellation realm!

When venturing out, as long as one was careful and did not reveal their Kyushu origin, they would probably not provoke those old enemies. After all, who would bother to investigate the background of an unfamiliar cultivator without reason?

Taking out his star map to cross-reference, Lu Ye realized he was heading in the wrong direction.

In the Guardian Hall of Tianzhou Spirit Peak, Lu Ye had told Jian Gouchong the direction he intended to explore, but his current position was not within the projected range of that direction; instead, he was on the opposite side.

This was a lack of experience. If he had been truly experienced, Lu Ye should have used the Heavenly Secret Pillar to teleport to the appropriate location before entering the starry sky.

Fortunately, it wasn't a big deal. This trip was primarily for Lu Ye to familiarize himself with the starry sky, so flying a bit extra wouldn't hurt. He immediately channeled his spirit power and flew towards that direction.

Soon, Lu Ye discovered the difference between flying in the starry sky and flying within a realm.

When flying within a realm, one could feel resistance; that was wind resistance. The faster one flew, the greater the resistance. Therefore, only those with higher cultivation could fly faster, as they could channel deeper spirit power to counteract the oncoming resistance.

But in the starry sky, there was virtually no resistance at all. Lu Ye only needed to expend a very small amount of spirit power to achieve an impressive flying speed.

Once such a speed was attained, even without channeling spirit power, one could still maintain that speed.

A thought suddenly occurred to him: Didn't this mean that if he continuously channeled spirit power, he could achieve nearly infinite speed? What kind of sight would that be?

Driven by curiosity, Lu Ye immediately tried, continuously increasing his speed.

It turned out he was right; under the influence of spirit power, his speed almost explosively increased, growing faster and faster.

There was no sound of rushing wind, only the sensation of streaking like lightning. Furthermore, in the starry sky, because there were no distinct reference points for comparison, even though Lu Ye knew his speed was already very high, he still didn't perceive much change.

It wasn't until a huge meteorite suddenly appeared in front of him that Lu Ye suddenly realized something was wrong.

He wanted to change his direction, but due to his excessive speed, he couldn't adjust in time. He narrowly grazed the edge of the meteorite.

Silently, the meteorite split into many pieces, flying off in different directions. Lu Ye, like a kite with a broken string, drifted off in another direction.

It took him a while to stabilize his body. Lu Ye winced. Even with his strong physique and despite it being only a slight graze, at such an absurdly high speed, the impact had nearly inflicted serious injury upon him.

He moved his body slightly, only to feel excruciating pain where he had grazed the meteorite. His internal organs seemed somewhat displaced, and he felt a bit dizzy.

Only then did Lu Ye realize that flying in the starry sky could theoretically achieve nearly infinite speed, but that came with a prerequisite: there must be no obstructions along the path.

The starry sky was indeed vast and empty, but in reality, it was filled with drifting meteorites. Some of these objects were large enough to be easily noticed, while others were very small and lifeless, making them easy to overlook even by a cultivator's spiritual sense.

Once there was an obstruction and one's speed exceeded the limit a cultivator could control, a collision was bound to occur. Such collisions would undoubtedly be fatal.

He was lucky this time, only suffering minor injuries. If his speed had been twice as fast just now, Lu Ye estimated he would have been flattened into a meat patty.

He felt a secret sense of lingering fear. It seemed that from now on, when flying in the starry sky, he would have to control his speed. It had to be within a speed he could at least manage, otherwise, he might die without even knowing how.

This was a very valuable experience. He should send a message to Jian Gouchong, asking him to record it, to serve as a warning for future cultivators. Thinking this, Lu Ye sent the message.

A moment later, Jian Gouchong replied: "I already know about this."

Lu Ye was stunned: "Senior Brother, if you already knew, why didn't you tell me?"

Jian Gouchong replied: "Even if I told you, would you not try it yourself?"