Chapter 1295: Lanternfish

Wind Rises in Kyushu

Lu Ye paid it little mind. While spirit jade, unlike spirit stones, lacked distinct categories such as low, medium, high, or supreme grades, its quality did indeed vary, though the differences were minor. Generally, higher-quality spirit jade possesses a deeper color. So, even when he noticed the two pieces of spirit jade before him were slightly brighter in hue, it presented no significant issue.

Yet, the moment his hand closed around one piece of spirit jade, he abruptly realized something was amiss; the sensation in his hand felt unusual. Not only that, but an overwhelming sense of danger suddenly enveloped him. Before his eyes, space twisted. Where there had been nothing, a gaping maw filled with sharp fangs suddenly materialized, lunging to bite him.

Lu Ye instinctively attempted to withdraw, but a peculiar pulling force emanated from within the massive mouth, rendering him unable to retreat for a moment. Seeing the fanged maw about to snap shut, Lu Ye lunged forward, colliding with the mouth just as the fangs descended.

On the asteroid, the spatial distortion subsided, and a figure several zhang tall abruptly appeared. It was a peculiar, rotund creature, covered in spikes and tailless, resembling a sphere. On its forehead were two long, tentacle-like appendages, each tipped with a fleshy sac emitting a purple glow.

These two fleshy sacs were, in terms of color, shape, and surface texture, indistinguishable from spirit jade. The "spirit jade" Lu Ye had seen earlier was precisely the disguise of these two fleshy sacs. However, once the peculiar creature revealed its true form, the sacs' true nature was exposed; they now looked not only like spirit jade but more like two lanterns suspended from the creature's forehead. Anyone living by the sea would surely recognize that this creature bore a striking resemblance to a deep-sea anglerfish. Yet, while anglerfish inhabit the ocean, this peculiar being lived in the starry void.

The anglerfish swallowed Lu Ye whole, then blinked its eyes, revealing a glint of cunning. Before it could savor its meal, an unforeseen change occurred. Bright lights suddenly burst forth from the gaps between the anglerfish's fangs. At first glance, it appeared as if it held a luminous lamp in its mouth. Immediately afterward, linear streaks of light also erupted from the anglerfish's body surface, as powerful, violent spiritual energy abruptly unleashed. A lotus flower bloomed abruptly, erupting like a scorching sun. Its brilliance illuminated a thousand-li radius, transforming it into broad daylight.

No sound echoed in the starry void. The lotus petals scattered, tearing through space. As the lotus slowly dissipated, Lu Ye's figure stood within its pistil, his eyelids slightly lowered. The blade of his Panshan Saber was stained with blood!

The entire blade emitted a faint, fluctuating aura of light—the enhancement of the Divine Blade spirit pattern! Since he had derived this new spirit pattern, Lu Ye had never used it in combat, primarily because the opportunity hadn't arisen. He had not anticipated putting it to use today. The effect was excellent! Although still slightly inferior to Zhu Yan's enhancement with the shimmering green glow, the difference was no longer significant. In the future, once his mastery of spirit patterns improved further, he should be able to refine and optimize the Divine Blade. This was a spirit pattern that could truly assist him in the Star Constellation realm. In comparison, the original Sharpness spirit pattern was now largely inadequate.

This encounter was quite unexpected. To be honest, Lu Ye hadn't noticed anything amiss before the sudden onset of danger, because the creature's camouflage was too perfect. The two pieces of "spirit jade" had further diverted his attention, and coupled with the fact that he hadn't encountered any living beings since leaving Kyushu, he had indeed let his guard down somewhat. However, his reaction was extremely swift. Had he not crashed into the beast's enormous mouth, with that fanged maw closing down, Lu Ye estimated he would surely have lost an arm!

By this point, Lu Ye knew what he had encountered: a Star Beast!

Within the realm, there were various types of demonic beasts, and outside the realm, similar creatures existed. However, those outside the realm were not called demonic beasts but Star Beasts. Star Beasts came in myriad forms, each possessing unique abilities. Lu Ye's experience traversing the starry void was too limited, and his knowledge of stellar intelligence was scarce, so he naturally didn't know the exact nature of this particular Star Beast. He hadn't even had time to clearly see its full appearance. Comparatively, Star Beasts possessed a unique advantage: they were born with the ability to absorb and refine stellar energy, which allowed them to live in the starry void from birth.

Spirit jade and spirit crystals, crucial cultivation resources for cultivators, were also their favorites. Every Star Beast could devour spirit jade and spirit crystals to enhance its strength. For instance, Lu Ye had previously obtained a Void Beast's core in the Insect Race's Tree World. That Void Beast was a type of Star Beast, and a very formidable one, as it naturally controlled the power of the void. Therefore, even if one's strength surpassed it, it would be extremely difficult to hunt it down. This further highlighted the preciousness of the Void Beast core. The Insect Race had acquired a Void Beast core through unknown means and placed it in the Insect Race's Tree World to serve as a conduit for connecting with other Tree Worlds. Ultimately, Lu Ye ended up taking all of it. Such a loss was undoubtedly significant.

Lu Ye could sense that the Star Beast he had just slain was at the Star Constellation realm, as its spiritual energy fluctuations were evident the moment it appeared. The pulling force emanating from its enormous mouth was likely its innate ability, or perhaps a natural divine power! For a Star Beast of the same Star Constellation realm to die in a single blow demonstrated Lu Ye's profound foundation. Even as a newcomer to the Star Constellation level, his past abundant accumulation continued to ferment. Of course, it also related to Lu Ye's circumstances. Regardless of how powerful this Star Beast's defenses were, its mouth was always relatively vulnerable. The third form of the Overlord Saber, enhanced by the Divine Blade spirit pattern, possessed terrifying power.

However, Lu Ye felt no joy from slaying a formidable enemy; instead, his scalp tingled. The reason was simple: within his divine sense, powerful auras rapidly revived, and in his sight, numerous rotund, lantern-headed Star Beasts, resembling anglerfish, were hurtling towards him from all directions. This asteroid belt contained not just one, but a whole swarm of anglerfish-like creatures! Lu Ye even detected auras belonging to the Moon Glimmer realm among them! In other words, there were Moon Glimmer realm existences within this group of anglerfish. As they flew, they smashed into and scattered asteroids, which slightly impeded their speed but didn't seem to cause them much trouble. Lu Ye immediately knew these creatures were the thick-skinned and tough-bodied type. He had stumbled into a den of thieves!

Without hesitation, Lu Ye turned and fled, rapidly pushing his speed to a controllable limit by channeling his spiritual energy. Thanks to his accumulated experience, he had entered this asteroid belt from its tail end and had only penetrated a dozen li. At this point, escaping wouldn't be difficult. Had he foolishly entered from the middle of the asteroid belt, he would undoubtedly be attacked from all sides, making self-preservation difficult. The sudden death of their companion undoubtedly infuriated these anglerfish. They pursued relentlessly, though the weaker ones were quickly left behind. Only the higher-cultivation anglerfish clung to Lu Ye like leeches, refusing to let go.

Lu Ye realized his speed wasn't quite sufficient. The distance between them was continuously closing; the closest few anglerfish were already within a hundred li. Such a distance might be considered relatively safe within a realm, as attacks from Divine Sea realm cultivators couldn't reach that far. But in the starry void, it was barely enough. Lu Ye's skin immediately tightened, and a needle-like pain pricked him—a sign of imminent danger. Without thinking, he instantly angled his body downward. Almost simultaneously with his movement, several purple light beams pierced through the spot where he had just been.

Lu Ye instantly broke out in a cold sweat. Although he didn't know what these purple light beams were, he presumed they were attack methods employed by the anglerfish. He couldn't withstand the attacks of several Moon Glimmer realm anglerfish. Hastily, he turned his head to look back, only to see that both lanterns hanging from the anglerfish's heads were emitting increasingly brilliant purple light, which then transformed into rapidly approaching beams. Lu Ye maneuvered erratically in the starry void, constantly dodging the attacks from behind, narrowly avoiding them several times, appearing quite disheveled.

But this slowed down his escape speed. He could indeed increase his speed further, but that would exceed his controllable limit, and if he collided with anything ahead, the consequences would be unimaginable. Lu Ye found himself between laughter and tears, never imagining that his first battle in the starry void would unfold like this. Simply by killing one of their companions, they pursued him so relentlessly; it was truly pushing things too far.

A moment of ruthlessness welled up in his heart. Lu Ye turned back and conjured a controlled artifact with a raised hand. He didn't aim at the pursuing anglerfish, knowing such an attack would be useless. The controlled artifact had another purpose. Unexpectedly, shortly after he deployed the controlled artifact, a purple light beam intercepted it, shattering the artifact into dust. Helpless, Lu Ye had no choice but to choose another direction, launching another controlled artifact. This time, having learned his lesson, he didn't send it towards the direction the anglerfish were flying from, but to the side.

He continued to flee forward, constantly dodging the purple light attacks from behind. A moment later, his figure suddenly flickered and instantly vanished from his original spot. The relentless anglerfish immediately fell into a state of bewilderment. They possessed intelligence, and while drifting with asteroid belts in the starry void, they had encountered methods used by cultivators of other races. However, such an outlandish technique was truly new to them. How could such a large living being simply vanish into thin air? The anglerfish flew to the spot where Lu Ye had disappeared and searched in all directions. Moreover, the lanterns suspended from their heads continuously fired purple light beams in all directions, as if they believed Lu Ye must be hiding nearby and wanted to force him to reveal himself. Little did they know, Lu Ye had already reappeared nearly ten thousand li away.

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