Chapter 1375: I Have Someone Above Me

Lu Ye observed, finding the old man's situation far more dire than his own.

Although his power was more profound, in such an environment, he had no means of coping. When he first fell into this place, he blindly charged forward, hoping to break free from the chaotic spatial passage. However, he only sank deeper, and by the time he realized the danger, it was too late to stop.

At this moment, Tang Jun was disheveled and covered in bloodstains. However, he didn't appear to have any external injuries; after all, as a Moonstone realm cultivator, minor flesh wounds could be easily healed with a bit of energy.

Yet, his condition was clearly dire; his aura was as weak as a candle flame in the wind, threatening to extinguish at any moment.

He was enveloped by a layer of light barrier, and a small bell hovered beside him. The revolving bell was clearly a protective artifact, and the light barrier emanated from it.

However, by the time Lu Ye arrived, the light barrier's glow was extremely dim, wavering just like his aura.

Tang Jun was evidently at his limit. Once the bell's protection was broken, complete annihilation awaited him. His continued survival was solely due to the bell's safeguarding.

Good, he's not dead! Lu Ye composed himself.

Almost as soon as Lu Ye noticed him, Tang Jun sensed it, raising his eyes to look in Lu Ye's direction. He gazed at him deeply, his expression calm. "Young friend, you truly have remarkable methods. I've fallen into a trap this time, but it seems you can't escape either, can you?"

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. "You think I planned that?"

"Wasn't it?"

Lu Ye shook his head. "Purely an accident!"

Tang Jun gave a noncommittal grunt, unsure whether he believed him, then spoke after a moment of silence: "Whether it was an accident or not, the outcome is already set. Neither of us can escape now. I won't have a good end, and you won't survive alone either! What a pity..."

"Pity about what?"

Tang Jun smiled faintly. "It's a pity about your promising future, young friend. Now you'll have to perish here with an old wreck like me. All things considered, I don't feel like I'm losing much, ha ha ha!"

Tang Jun's attitude somewhat surprised Lu Ye. He had expected the old man to furiously attack him upon being found, yet to his surprise, Tang Jun seemed to have accepted his fate.

Perhaps it was due to his open-minded nature, or perhaps it was related to his current predicament. Tang Jun's condition clearly wouldn't last much longer; he likely had no energy left for fighting.

"Let's not discuss whether it's a loss or not for now. I came to find you to make a deal," Lu Ye said.

Tang Jun was puzzled. "Given the situation, what kind of deal do you wish to make with me? We're both going to die; what deals could there possibly be?"

Lu Ye got straight to the point. "Do you want to live or die?"

Tang Jun frowned. "Are you threatening me?"

Lu Ye also felt his words might have been a bit ambiguous. He raised a hand. "Don't misunderstand, I'm simply asking. If you're determined to die, then there's no need for a deal. But if you wish to live, then we still have something to discuss."

Tang Jun chuckled. "Although I am old and don't have many years left to live, who would willingly die if they could continue living? However…" At this point, he suddenly seemed to realize something, looking at Lu Ye intently. He asked in surprise, "You have a way to weaken the erosion of spatial turbulence?" Only now did he seem to truly grasp the situation.

He, a Moonstone realm cultivator, had fallen into this place and was now half-dead. It made no sense for Lu Ye, a Constellation realm cultivator, to still be alive; he should have died long ago. Yet, observing Lu Ye's condition, although he looked somewhat miserable, his actual state was many times better than Tang Jun's.

How was this possible?

Upon closer inspection, the spatial turbulence swirling around Lu Ye was indeed not too strong. With his early Constellation realm cultivation, he seemed to be able to barely resist it.

Tang Jun was greatly astonished!

"Spatial turbulence?" Lu Ye looked puzzled.

Tang Jun composed himself and explained, "It's the mysterious power that fills this place, a manifestation of spatial energy. I've heard a master mention it before, though I don't know its profound mysteries."

Lu Ye understood. He had previously suspected that the mysterious power filling this place originated from "space," just like the Void Spirit Mark, which was why the Void Spirit Mark could function here.

It certainly seemed to be the case now.

"Young friend, what method is this?" Tang Jun's eyes lit up, as if a drowning man had spotted a lifeline.

Honestly, he had already resigned himself to his fate because he had exhausted all his methods, which not only proved useless but also left him in an even more desperate state. In the end, he could only activate his defensive artifact and sit there, waiting for death.

But if Lu Ye had a way to weaken the spatial turbulence, perhaps he could still fight for a chance?

The fact that this person came looking for him at this time and asked if he wanted to live or die suggested that he likely had something in mind.

Having lived for over three thousand years, Tang Jun was truly an old fox; he immediately perceived certain implications.

Lu Ye didn't answer his question, simply nodding. "It seems you wish to live."

Tang Jun said, "Young friend, are you willing to help me? What is your demand?" No wonder this young man immediately brought up a deal.

"No rush, no rush!" Lu Ye calmly sat down not far from him, causing Tang Jun's eye to twitch.

This young man wasn't in a hurry, but Tang Jun was, and he couldn't show it.

"Before we get down to business, there are a few things I need you to understand." As Lu Ye spoke, he raised his hand and squeezed, and a red talisman appeared in his palm. It was the second red talisman he had nurtured within his body.

Seeing this, Tang Jun's eyes narrowed slightly. As he had suspected, Li Taibai indeed possessed more than one red talisman. From this perspective, his immediate pursuit earlier had been correct; otherwise, if this young man had recovered his strength with the red talismans at hand, even Tang Jun would have had to be wary.

"Old Tang, you're well-informed. Can you tell the origin of this red talisman?"

"Old Tang," Tang Jun's narrowed eyes couldn't help but twitch. Having lived for so long, it was the first time anyone had addressed him this way. Too weary to argue with Lu Ye, he lowered his gaze and spoke indifferently, "Red talismans can only be refined by Sunlit realm cultivators. However, a common red talisman, when deployed by an early Constellation realm cultivator like yourself, would absolutely not possess the power to instantly kill a mid-Moonstone realm cultivator, even if the latter was careless. In this world, only red talismans crafted by the Small Human Clan, and nurtured within a cultivator's body, can achieve such power. So, I boldly surmise, is this red talisman from the Small Human Clan?"

Lu Ye gave him a thumbs-up. "Indeed, the older you get, the more knowledgeable you become!"

"Young friend, are you showing me this red talisman because you want to tell me you have the means to deal with me?"

"No!" Lu Ye shook his head. "I merely want to tell you that I have powerful backing! My Wushuang Continent is a subordinate realm of Eastern Square Mountain. Your Azure Dawn Dao Realm attacked without cause, initiating hostilities. My killing them was simply them getting what they deserved! To be honest, those Constellation realm cultivators Qin Yuandai brought with her should all be dead by now. We Wushuang cultivators don't just have red talismans; Eastern Square Mountain has bestowed quite a few purple talismans upon us. Old Tang, do you think those Constellation realm cultivators can withstand the power of purple talismans?"

Tang Jun was half-convinced, half-doubtful. "Why didn't you mention this earlier, young friend?" He doubted it because the Small Human Clan rarely interacted with other races, let alone took a realm as a subordinate territory; this was unheard of.

However, the young man genuinely possessed two red talismans from the Small Human Clan. If he also had more purple talismans, then the Constellation realm cultivators Qin Yuandai brought with her were certainly doomed.

Based on his observations, the Wushuang Continent had indeed only recently ascended to a large-scale realm. Logically, cultivators from such a realm would have only just entered the starry sky, let alone befriended the Small Human Clan. Without the Small Human Clan's powerful figures actively bestowing them, it would be impossible for them to possess red or purple talismans.

"Would it have been useful to say anything?" Lu Ye scoffed. "In the cultivation world, ultimately, whoever has the bigger fist has the louder voice! Instead of telling you and letting you guess, it's more direct to just take action! I originally thought that since your Azure Dawn Dao Realm only had three Moonstone realm cultivators, killing one would deter the other two from invading again. Who knew you, old man, were still hiding in the back!"

Tang Jun was somewhat speechless. "I merely happened to be passing by and decided to follow along and take a look." He paused, then continued, "So, you had four people disguised as early Moonstone realm cultivators, also by leveraging the power of the Small Human Clan's spirit talismans?"

He had been observing those four fake Moonstone realm cultivators. When the power of the red talismans erupted and their true cultivation levels were revealed, he was also startled, unable to comprehend what kind of mysterious technique that was.

Lu Ye immediately nodded. "Naturally. The Small Human Clan's spirit talismans possess infinite mysteries. What's so special about disguising as a Moonstone realm cultivator? If it weren't for the fear of scaring you away, even a Sunlit realm cultivator could be disguised by us Wushuang!"

Since the other party had misunderstood, Lu Ye might as well let them continue to misunderstand. Of course, he wouldn't be so kind as to explain the truth.

Tang Jun said nothing, remaining silent for a long time before asking, "Young friend, how long has your Wushuang Continent been a large-scale realm?"

"About three or four years, why?"

"Then, young friend, do you know what this place we are in is called?"

"The chaotic spatial passage!" After Lu Ye said it, he realized Tang Jun's intention and continued, "There's no need to probe. I've been to Eastern Square Mountain before, stayed in their Breath Abyss Pavilion for several months, and consulted tens of thousands of jade slips containing various information about the starry sky. So, don't mistake us Wushuang cultivators for novices who are completely clueless about the starry sky. We know what we need to know."

Tang Jun, of course, wouldn't easily believe him. He casually mentioned a few pieces of information that were common knowledge in the starry sky but would be utterly inaccessible to cultivators from newly ascended large-scale realms. Lu Ye answered them all fluently.

Only then did Tang Jun sigh. "Your Wushuang Continent truly has good fortune!"

He recalled that when their Azure Dawn Dao Realm ascended over three thousand years ago, the first batch of Constellation realm cultivators knew nothing about the starry sky. It took them many years of exploration to slowly integrate into it.

In comparison, this Wushuang Continent was incredibly fortunate. It had only been a large-scale realm for a few years, yet it had already established ties with the Small Human Clan.

He took deep breaths of fresh air, his chest heaving.

Confusion, bewilderment—a myriad of emotions surged within him.

Where was this?

Then, Shi Yu subconsciously surveyed his surroundings, growing even more bewildered.

A single dormitory room?

Even if he had been successfully rescued, he should be in a hospital room now.

And his body… why was there not a single injury?

Filled with doubt, Shi Yu's gaze quickly swept across the room, finally settling on a mirror on the bedside table.

The mirror reflected his current appearance: approximately seventeen or eighteen years old, with a handsome face.

But the problem was, this wasn't him!

His former self had been a handsome young man in his twenties with an extraordinary demeanor, having worked for some time.

Yet now, this appearance looked like nothing more than a high school student's age...

This change left Shi Yu in a daze for a long time.

Please don't tell him the surgery was a success...

His body and appearance had both changed; this was no longer a question of surgery, but rather, a magical art.

He had completely transformed into another person!

Could it be… that he had transmigrated?

Aside from the mirror on the bedside table, which was clearly placed in a bad feng shui position, Shi Yu also found three books nearby.

Shi Yu picked them up, and the titles instantly rendered him silent.

*Beginner Breeder's Essential Beast Rearing Manual*

*Post-Natal Care for Pet Beasts*

*Guide to Appreciating Different-Race Beast-Eared Girls*

Shi Yu: ???

The first two book titles seemed normal, but what was up with the last one?

"Cough."

Shi Yu's gaze sharpened, and he reached out, but his arm quickly stiffened.

Just as he was about to open the third book to see what it was, a sharp pain suddenly struck his brain, and a flood of memories surged forth.

Icefield City.

Pet Beast Breeding Base.

Intern Pet Beast Breeder.

Beast Tamer?