Chapter 1374: Unexpected Delight

The Void Spirit Mark had been refined over a long period. Lu Ye first learned it from his master's ancient texts. After the second mutation of his talent tree, he further refined this spirit mark, making detailed adjustments until it gradually took its current form. Therefore, the Void Spirit Mark he now utilized was very similar to the one recorded in his master's texts, but not entirely identical.

Lu Ye had always believed there was significant room for further improvement in this spirit mark. However, his current mastery of the spirit mark path wasn't sufficient to advance it further; he could only await future opportunities. Unexpectedly, at this very moment, he began to have some peculiar ideas. The more he urged his talent tree to absorb the surging power around him, the clearer these ideas became.

Lu Ye suddenly realized that the mysterious power washing over him must be related to space. This was why, as he channeled his talent tree to absorb it, new insights emerged regarding the Void Spirit Mark, which was also space-related. The two were of the same origin! If this situation could be maintained, Lu Ye felt certain he could deduce an even more sophisticated Void Spirit Mark!

However, in his current predicament, this was hardly the time to deduce new spirit marks. He had initially only sought to resolve his immediate crisis; the current discovery was an unexpected bonus. He had prematurely triggered the creation of the wormhole by activating the Void Spirit Mark, and the mysterious power within the wormhole had an inexplicable connection to the Void Spirit Mark... Lu Ye vaguely felt he had discovered a way to resolve his crisis.

Acting on his thought, he swiftly activated the Void Spirit Mark. The spirit mark disintegrated the moment it formed because the surrounding currents constantly buffeted him, preventing the mark from stabilizing for long. Yet, as the spirit mark dissipated, Lu Ye keenly noticed that the current engulfing him had eased slightly, becoming less turbulent. Indeed, the Void Spirit Mark was helpful in his current situation. Although it wouldn't resolve the crisis completely, it could definitely reduce the damage he sustained! This way, he could endure for a longer period.

Lu Ye immediately began continuously constructing the Void Spirit Mark again. After about a dozen such spirit marks dissipated, the current engulfing him completely vanished, as if the peculiar mysterious power had been neutralized by the Void Spirit Mark. However, before Lu Ye could rejoice, another new current surged forth, engulfing him. The sensation of his flesh being scraped away by sharp blades returned.

Enduring the piercing pain, Lu Ye resumed constructing the Void Spirit Mark. Through his recent experience, he realized he couldn't let the current disappear completely, as a new one would emerge if it did. He needed to find a balance: reducing the current's damage to a minimum while ensuring it didn't dissipate entirely. This would require many attempts.

During this time, he occasionally heard Tang Jun's furious shouts. The voice, initially full of vigor, gradually became agitated and angry, eventually weakening. By the time Lu Ye had gained enough experience to cope with the surrounding currents, he could no longer hear Tang Jun's voice. He didn't know if the other party was dead, but in a place like this, with no escape route and no means of self-preservation, merely resisting and struggling offered virtually no hope of survival.

Well, now, of the three Moon Luminaries from the Azure Dawn Realm, one was killed by him, another was trapped here, leaving only the last one. That remaining individual would certainly have to perpetually guard their realm until a new Moon Luminary emerged in Azure Dawn Realm, meaning they'd have no opportunity to cause trouble for the Nine Provinces. Furthermore, the Azure Dawn Realm had deployed two Moon Luminaries and nearly twenty Star Constellations, only to suffer a complete annihilation. It was likely that the Azure Dawn Realm would now believe they had provoked someone they shouldn't have. Currently, the Azure Dawn Realm would surely be in a state of panic, too busy with self-preservation to bother anyone else.

With this realization, Lu Ye's heart settled. Even if he were truly trapped here with no hope of escape, the Nine Provinces wouldn't face any trouble in the short term. Once new Moon Luminaries emerged in the Nine Provinces in the future, they would possess even stronger self-preservation capabilities.

The current engulfing him was suddenly replaced by another, even stronger one. Lu Ye hastily began constructing the Void Spirit Mark again, repeating his previous actions. His talent tree continued to absorb the mysterious powers around him, but in this situation, Lu Ye had no mind for further deductions. His current situation was one of guaranteed self-preservation, but the inability to escape was truly vexing.

He checked the various spirit marks he had mastered, finding that nothing, apart from the Void Spirit Mark, could help in his current predicament. He then examined his storage ring and spatial storage, hoping to find something useful. He hadn't held much hope, as he was well aware of his possessions. To his surprise, this check revealed an unexpected delight. He retrieved a pure white, lotus-root-like object from his spatial storage: a Void Beast's Core!

This item was a trophy he had acquired in the Insectoid Tree Realm. According to Green Glow of the Fairy Clan, Void Beasts were extremely rare exotic creatures in the starry sky, naturally possessing peculiar spatial abilities that allowed them to traverse the void and travel anywhere. After their death, a core would remain, which was incredibly precious. The Insectoids had obtained this core from an unknown source and placed it at the heart of their Tree Realm. Using its power, they opened passages to other Tree Realms to plunder rare races like the Fairies. After acquiring it, Lu Ye had put it in his spatial storage and had forgotten about it since returning from the Cycle Tree. If not for being forced to search for viable solutions this time, he wouldn't have remembered it.

This thing... it might be useful! If the Insectoids could use it to connect with other Tree Realms, it meant the core still retained the Void Beast's ability to traverse the void. Now that he was trapped in the wormhole, unable to escape, perhaps with its help, he could break free from the wormhole's confines and leave this place? Regardless, this was ultimately a glimmer of hope.

Lu Ye immediately began studying the core in his hand. When he first obtained it, he had only briefly examined it, not observing it closely. Now, upon closer inspection, he was astonished to find that the core's interior was filled with intricate and wondrous patterns. Lu Ye even discovered traces of the Void Spirit Mark within these crisscrossing lines! Comparatively, the patterns within the core were far more complex than the Void Spirit Mark; besides its traces, there were many more intricate patterns. This was truly a marvel of nature's craftsmanship. Void Beasts were star beasts, with nascent intelligence, naturally not understanding the path of spirit marks. Yet, they were inherently capable of wielding certain spirit mark abilities, and their ability to traverse the void undoubtedly relied on the complex patterns contained within this core.

The Insectoids had placed it in their Tree Realm, and even those Divine Sea realm Insectoids could activate the core's power. Lu Ye, now a Star Constellation, had no reason not to be able to activate it. After a brief attempt, he quickly understood how to control it. It simply involved infusing spiritual power to activate the complex spirit marks within the core, thereby breaking through the void barrier.

Lu Ye secretly felt excited and began to try. He steadily infused his spiritual power into the core, clearly feeling the internal spirit marks being activated. Immediately, a point of light shot out from the core's front, striking the area directly ahead. A passing current there instantly dispersed, and then the space seemed to melt, spreading outwards from where the light struck, like a piece of paper ignited by a spark from its center. Lu Ye stared intently, vaguely realizing this was a sign of the spatial barrier dissolving. Once the barrier completely disappeared, he could escape from here and enter the space beyond it. As for what kind of space lay on the other side... Lu Ye didn't know. Regardless of whether it was a perilous place, it had to be better than being trapped in this chaotic wormhole.

Just as he was secretly excited and hopeful, the dissolving spatial barrier began to rapidly reform, returning to its normal state in an instant, once again filled with currents. Lu Ye frowned. Refusing to believe it, he tried again, this time increasing the spiritual power he infused. A moment later, as the core's power was activated, the spatial barrier began to dissolve again. But the same scenario as before replayed: the spatial barrier started reforming before it was fully broken through. Lu Ye couldn't help but feel annoyed. For his third attempt, he held nothing back, pouring almost all of his spiritual power into it. Still useless!

He consumed spirit jades to restore his power while he pondered. From the three attempts, one thing was certain: the Void Beast's core was helpful in his current predicament; it could indeed allow him to escape this place. The prerequisite was that its power had to completely break through the spatial barrier. It was a matter of his own strength! With his current power, the activated core's might wasn't enough to achieve this. Therefore, a stronger force was needed. Realizing this, Lu Ye understood the root of the problem.

He was currently at the early-stage Star Constellation cultivation, not far from the mid-stage. But even if he managed to elevate his cultivation to the mid-stage here, it might still not be enough. Early and mid-stage were still both Star Constellation; the nature of spiritual power hadn't changed, only its reserves. Therefore, to use the core to escape, it would be best for a Moon Luminary realm cultivator to activate its power! Because the power of the Moon Luminary realm was of a different nature, far stronger than spiritual power, it would definitely meet the requirements!

His mind raced, and Lu Ye inwardly cursed, then quickly channeled his spiritual power to shout: "Tang Jun, are you dead?" Earlier, he had wished Tang Jun dead, but now he felt a pang of anxiety. He hadn't expected to ever need Tang Jun's power. How unpredictable fate was! If Tang Jun was truly dead, then his own escape from here would be hopeless. Ignoring everything else, he began moving, searching all around for traces of Tang Jun, while continuously shouting, hoping for a response.

However, there was no response. Lu Ye suspected Tang Jun might truly be dead, as he hadn't heard any sounds from him for a long time. Just then, he suddenly detected a faint spiritual power fluctuation from a certain direction. In this place, besides himself, there was only Tang Jun! Lu Ye quickly followed the direction of the spiritual power fluctuation. After considerable effort, he finally reached the spot and saw, sitting amidst the turbulent currents, none other than Tang Jun.