Chapter 1377: Star Lodge Mid-Stage

As Tang Jun was pondering, Lu Ye produced an item in his other hand. It was the core of a Void Beast.

Tang Jun tilted his head, unable to immediately recognize the mysterious object. Although he was knowledgeable and experienced, Void Beasts were rare, and he had never encountered one, let alone its core. He could only vaguely surmise that it was the key to their escape.

The next moment, he felt the power within his body being channeled into Lu Ye through the hand pressed against his back.

Lu Ye's expression began to contort. He had long anticipated the immense pressure of borrowing a Moon-tier cultivator's power, but only in that moment did he realize how much he had underestimated it.

He had only ever used the 'Twin Phoenix Flight' spirit rune on Nian Yuexian. Previously, when they were pursued by Wanzhang Gang from Lone Mountain Pass in Myriad Demon Ridge, Nian Yuexian was severely wounded and unable to fight. Lu Ye had borrowed her power to contend with Wanzhang Gang until Yiyi and Amber arrived, activating a pre-arranged illusory power spirit rune to rescue them and force Wanzhang Gang to retreat. At that time, he was at the True Lake Realm, and Nian Yuexian was at the Divine Sea Realm.

Although their cultivation levels differed by a major realm, the energy within their bodies was both spiritual power, sharing the same nature. Even so, Lu Ye was seriously injured after that battle, falling directly into a coma.

Using power that wasn't his own inevitably caused him harm. If spiritual energy of the same nature had such an effect, the higher-quality power of the Moon-tier was bound to be far more dangerous.

Lu Ye instantly felt as if he might explode at any moment. This sensation... was familiar! It was the same feeling he had when the bead Su Yuqing gave him exploded inside his body on Immortal Spirit Peak in Fangcun Mountain. The powers of Sun-tier and Moon-tier cultivators are of the same nature.

He forced himself to calm his mind and quickly guided Tang Jun's power into the Void Beast's core.

During this process, he could distinctly feel Tang Jun's power damaging his flesh and blood; even his internal organs vibrated relentlessly.

This pain was thousands of times more intense than having his flesh scraped away by spatial turbulence.

Lu Ye knew he had to act, or he wouldn't be able to endure. Remembering his ordeal on Immortal Spirit Peak, he gritted his teeth, activated his Talent Tree, and began refining the higher-quality power. He finally felt a bit better.

At this moment, Tang Jun's expression was solemn. He offered no resistance, allowing Lu Ye to channel his power. He likely understood Lu Ye's intention: to use his power to activate the lotus-root-like treasure. His only concern was whether the young man behind him could withstand the strain. If he could, there was a glimmer of hope; if not, all would be lost.

Although Lu Ye remained silent, the large hand pressed against Tang Jun's back trembled violently, clearly indicating he was enduring immense pain.

Tang Jun was deeply impressed by Lu Ye's perseverance and mental fortitude.

Behind Tang Jun, Lu Ye gritted his teeth and persevered. Blood flowed from his seven orifices, indicating severe internal injuries. The Void Beast's core also began to tremble, almost becoming uncontrollable, but he forcefully suppressed it, preventing its power from fully erupting.

This was a one-time opportunity. It wasn't that the Void Beast's core couldn't sustain more attempts, but if it failed once, any further attempts would be futile.

They certainly couldn't tell Tang Jun to cultivate diligently and advance to the late Moon-tier, could they? At his cultivation level, advancement was no simple matter.

After what felt like an eternity, only when Lu Ye could no longer hold on and Tang Jun's aura weakened, did Lu Ye let out a low cry. A pinpoint of light shot forth from the tip of the Void Beast's core, striking the void ahead. Just like before, with the appearance of the light, the space in front began to dissolve, rapidly expanding outwards.

Lu Ye stared unblinkingly, ready to move at any moment. Tang Jun, knowing this was their make-or-break chance, felt his heart pound in his throat.

As they watched nervously, the space dissolved ever more rapidly, and the surrounding spatial turbulence became incredibly violent, seemingly a chain reaction triggered by the Void Beast core's power. At this critical moment, Lu Ye was severely wounded, and Tang Jun was at his limit. If the raging spatial turbulence swept over them, even Lu Ye's Void Spirit Rune might not guarantee their safety.

In their tense and anxious wait, a peculiar phenomenon suddenly emerged within the dissolving space. It was as if an obstacle had been broken, and in the place of chaotic nothingness, a brilliant starry sky abruptly appeared.

The moment they saw the starry sky, Lu Ye and Tang Jun moved almost simultaneously. Both lunged forward like hungry beasts, bursting out one after the other.

Their vision brightened considerably, revealing a vast starry sky, a stark contrast to the harsh environment they had just left. They had escaped!

Realizing this, Lu Ye immediately darted to one side. Simultaneously, Tang Jun fled in the opposite direction. The two figures who had just cooperated wholeheartedly now scattered like birds.

While they had cooperated, both understood that a healthy degree of vigilance was still necessary.

After flying for dozens of miles, Lu Ye halted and turned to look back. Tang Jun had also stopped, now almost a hundred miles away, and they exchanged glances.

Looking again, where they had escaped, there was now only a massive circular passage, filled with turbid chaos. The opening created by the Void Beast's core had long since vanished.

This was Lu Ye's first time seeing a wormhole firsthand, and he was astonished. However, he also knew that it had only recently formed and wasn't stable enough for safe passage. Perhaps it would stabilize later, or perhaps never. He didn't know where the other end of this wormhole led. Maybe he could explore it once his cultivation was higher, but at this moment, Lu Ye had no such inclination. If he were to fall back in, he would surely be unable to escape.

"Little friend Taibai!" Tang Jun's voice echoed from a hundred miles away.

Lu Ye turned to see the old man cup his hands in a distant salute. "Many thanks for this time, little friend. Rest assured, everything I told you before was from the heart. The grievances between our two realms are now settled, and no one from the Azure Dawn Dao Realm will offend your realm again."

Lu Ye nodded faintly. "That would be for the best."

Tang Jun likely believed Lu Ye's earlier claim that Wushuang was a subordinate realm of Fangcun Mountain in the east. From the old man's perspective, continued hostility between the Azure Dawn Dao Realm and Wushuang would be extremely irrational. Setting aside other factors, just one red talisman in Lu Ye's possession was equivalent to one of their Moon-tier cultivators; if he had a second, who knew if he possessed a third.

Having shared the ordeal of being trapped in the wormhole, their joint mediation meant the dispute between their two realms could now be considered resolved.

"Until we meet again!" Tang Jun cupped his hands once more, then turned and flew away. The old man's energy was severely depleted, and he clearly needed to find a place to recover.

After watching Tang Jun's figure disappear, Lu Ye finally turned, spat out a mouthful of blood, and grimaced in pain.

Tang Jun was merely exhausted, but Lu Ye's injuries were severe; he needed to find a place to heal quickly.

He secretly decided not to easily use 'Twin Phoenix Flight' to borrow power from others in the future, as borrowing overly strong power was not always beneficial.

A short while later, Lu Ye landed on a barren planet.

Such barren planets were numerous in the starry sky, typically possessing extremely harsh environments incapable of supporting life. Besides barren planets, there were also dead planets. While similar in nature, they had subtle differences. A dead planet might have once been a vibrant realm where life thrived, but its vitality and all living beings were extinguished due to various reasons, hence its designation as a "dead planet."

The primary difference between them, therefore, was that many dead planets bore traces of past civilizations, or at least imprints left by living beings.

Barren planets, on the other hand, were devoid of any such signs.

On the barren planet where Lu Ye landed, fierce winds howled, ocean waves surged hundreds of feet high, and the sky was dim. While such an environment was undoubtedly harsh for mortals, Lu Ye could manage. The primary benefit of healing there was the absence of the ubiquitous meteoroid collisions common in open space.

He placed a spirit jade in his mouth, then found a bottle of healing elixirs from Tang Jun's storage ring. He began refining them as he recuperated.

His injuries this time were not superficial but internal. Tang Jun's power had inflicted immense damage to his physical body as it passed through him, making recovery a difficult process.

After a full half month, as all his injuries healed, Lu Ye suddenly experienced a peculiar sensation. With this feeling, his flesh and blood rapidly pulsed, as if revitalized with new vigor, becoming more vibrant than ever before.

This peculiar vitality and vigor were not merely evident in his flesh and blood; Lu Ye perceived that his bones also seemed imbued with this life force.

He paused, then understanding dawned on him.

He had broken through! He was no longer in the early Constellation Realm but had advanced to the middle Constellation Realm!

Cultivation in the Constellation Realm primarily involves refining one's essence: the early stage focuses on the essence of flesh and blood, the middle stage on bone marrow essence, and the late stage on internal organ essence.

Every Constellation cultivator has a very clear objective during their cultivation, progressing from shallower to deeper stages. Consequently, breakthroughs and advancements in the Constellation Realm occur without unusual phenomena; they are always natural progressions when the time is right.

Calculating the time, it had been less than three years since he advanced to the Constellation Realm. Achieving the middle stage in such a short period was largely due to the immense contribution of his Talent Tree; without it, his cultivation efficiency would not have been so astonishing.

His experience on Immortal Spirit Peak also served as a catalyst. He had refined a portion of Su Yuqing's power, which was insignificant to Su Yuqing but a substantial enhancement for him. Refining Tang Jun's power in the wormhole was likely the final push. Similarly, the power Tang Jun lost might not have been much, but it was precisely enough to propel Lu Ye from the early to the middle stage.

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

Confusion, bewilderment, and a host of other emotions flooded his mind.

Where was this?

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

A single dorm room?

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

And his body... why wasn't there a single injury?

Puzzled, Shi Yu's gaze quickly swept around the room, finally settling on a mirror at the head of the bed.

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

But the problem was, this wasn't him!

His former self was a distinguished, handsome young man in his twenties who had been working for some time.

But now, this appearance seemed to be that of a high school student...

This transformation left Shi Yu stunned for a long time.

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

His body and face had changed; this wasn't a matter of surgery at all, but rather immortal arts.

He had completely transformed into another person!

Could it be... he had transmigrated?

Besides the mirror at the head of the bed, whose placement clearly had bad feng shui, Shi Yu also discovered three books nearby.

Shi Yu picked them up and looked. The titles instantly rendered him speechless.

*Essential Handbook for Novice Beast Keepers*

*Postpartum Care for Pet Beasts*

*Guide to Appraising Beast-Eared Girls of Different Races*

Shi Yu: ???

The titles of the first two books seemed normal enough, but what was with the last one?

"Ahem."

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

Just as he was about to open the third book to investigate its contents, a sharp pain shot through his brain, and a flood of memories surged forth.

Icefield City. Pet Beast Breeding Base. Intern Pet Beast Breeder. Beast Tamer?