Chapter 1475: Ghosts Being Hunted

"There's a problem with the Qingli Dao Realm!" Tang Jun had no intention of hiding it; this wasn't some disgraceful secret, and if Li Taibai were to agree to his terms, it couldn't be concealed anyway.

It was only after his explanation that Lu Ye understood Tang Jun's intentions.

The Qingli Dao Realm had been promoted to a large realm nearly two millennia ago. Both Qin Yuandai, whom he killed, and Tang Jun were among the first to benefit from this. As their realm ascended, they broke through to the Star Host stage, gradually progressing to Moon Pearl.

However, over the years, despite the significant number of Star Hosts born in the Qingli Dao Realm, no one else had managed to ascend to Moon Pearl.

This was clearly amiss.

Since Tang Jun and Qin Yuandai, only Wu Zhuo in the Qingli Dao Realm had advanced to Moon Pearl. However, Wu Zhuo's advancement to Moon Pearl was due to his participation in the Divine Sea struggle of the Reincarnation Tree. He survived that conflict, gaining the opportunity to ascend to Star Host, which made his cultivation path smooth sailing.

Years ago, Tang Jun had already noticed a problem with their realm. Unfortunately, he never understood the reason. It wasn't until a master passed through the Qingli Dao Realm and offered guidance that Tang Jun finally discerned the truth.

According to the master, the Qingli Dao Realm itself had an issue. Consequently, after cultivators there advanced to the Star Host stage, no matter how talented they were, they couldn't break through to Moon Pearl. In other words, Star Hosts who achieved their breakthrough in the Qingli Dao Realm could only cultivate to the late Star Host stage at most.

The Qingli Dao Realm was not the only one of its kind in the starry sky; there were similar realms, though not many.

To solve this problem, they would have to send their cultivators to other realms to train and break through. This way, they would have a chance to progress further.

This was why Tang Jun had originally followed Qin Yuandai's faction to the Peerless Continent. At the time, he thought that if they could conquer the Peerless Continent, their realm's cultivators would have a path forward. However, he didn't expect Qin Yuandai to be killed by a red talisman, and he himself was drawn into a wormhole while pursuing Lu Ye, ending up stranded in the Myriad Manifestations Star System.

Now that Lu Ye needed his help, and they were essentially in the same predicament, Tang Jun believed that Li Taibai wouldn't refuse such a small request.

Lu Ye naturally wouldn't refuse, but his expression was strange: "Are you sure you want to send your cultivators to the Peerless Continent for training?"

Tang Jun replied, "I don't need many slots, just one person per year. That's not too much to ask, is it?"

If they were truly to send cultivators, they would certainly choose those with exceptional talent and hope of advancing to Moon Pearl. The number of such individuals couldn't be too large, so one person per year would definitely meet the Qingli Dao Realm's needs.

In essence, it would just be occupying one opportunity for someone else to advance to Star Host.

"Not at all!" Lu Ye nodded. Let alone one person a year, even ten or a hundred would be fine. The Peerless Continent itself wasn't a good place, and his roots were in Kyushu, but there was no need to tell Tang Jun about that.

As for how to explain it to Tang Jun if he discovered the truth in the future... that was a problem for another day.

With their agreement settled, Tang Jun was overjoyed: "If we can find our way back, and then unite with the Jade Snail Realm, we can certainly secure a foothold in the Myriad Manifestations Sea."

Relying solely on the Qingli Dao Realm and Kyushu, it would still be difficult to establish themselves in the Myriad Manifestations Sea. The Qingli Dao Realm only had two Moon Pearls, and Kyushu had none. Therefore, if they truly wanted a place to settle in the Myriad Manifestations Sea, they would have to borrow the strength of the Jade Snail Realm. Since they all came from the same star system, they needed to act as a unified entity.

This was how many weaker star systems survived in the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

"Do you have any idea how to get back?" Lu Ye asked.

Tang Jun shook his head: "I've tried to inquire, but unfortunately, there are no valuable leads. I also checked the wormhole a few days ago; it's still chaotic and doesn't seem to be stabilizing anytime soon."

Speaking of which, Tang Jun could only sigh helplessly. The starry sky was vast, with countless star systems. The Jade Snail Realm was remote and unknown; unless a star system had intersected with it, no one had ever heard of it.

Trying to gather information about the Jade Snail Realm in an environment like the Myriad Manifestations Sea was like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

The old man and the young man lost their interest in small talk, and Tang Jun soon departed.

Shortly after Tang Jun left, Lu Ye felt the barrier he had set up at the cave entrance being disturbed again. This disturbance wasn't malicious but more like a knock, clearly indicating a visitor.

Frowning slightly, he extended his spiritual sense to investigate. He found a petite woman standing at the cave entrance, someone he had never seen before.

However, anyone appearing on Peerless Island at this time was likely someone recruited by Chu Shen. Her cultivation was quite impressive, apparently at the late Star Host stage.

Lu Ye didn't know why she was looking for him, but after a moment's thought, he opened the barrier.

The woman calmly walked in.

In a short while, she stood before Lu Ye. In the somewhat dim environment, the woman's bright large eyes scrutinized him from head to toe, looking somewhat curious.

"Can I help you?" Lu Ye asked.

The woman shook her head and said, "You must be Palace Master Chu's friend, right? My name is Ban Ci. I was recruited by Palace Master Chu, and I'll be living on Peerless Island from now on."

She acted as if they were old acquaintances, leaving Lu Ye completely bewildered and unsure of her intentions.

Ban Ci then asked, "How should I address you?"

Lu Ye thought for a moment before giving his name: "Li Taibai!"

Ban Ci nodded slightly: "I'll remember that."

With that, she put her small hands behind her back, turned, and leisurely walked away.

What was that woman's deal?

However, Lu Ye guessed she was simply curious about who lived here and had come specifically to take a look — a normal human curiosity.

Only after Ban Ci left did Lu Ye take out his sound talisman.

He had two sound talismans: one belonging to Li Taibai and one to Fa Wuzun. Fa Wuzun's talisman had very few contacts.

He decided to contact Ghost.

During this time, utilizing the power of the Talent Tree's three transformations, he had successfully deduced a new concealment spirit pattern. Now, this spirit pattern appeared on the vigorously burning leaves of the Talent Tree.

The cost was significant, with a large consumption of the Talent Tree's fuel. However, compared to the time saved, it was negligible.

The new concealment's effect was undoubtedly much more powerful than before. While it might not compare to Ghost's activated spectral patterns, it wasn't far off.

However, concealment always needed to be complemented by breath control. Simply hiding one's figure was useless. The stronger a cultivator's power, the stronger their spiritual sense; even if their figure was hidden, if their aura wasn't concealed, they would still be easily discovered.

Ghost was undoubtedly very proficient in this aspect. Unfortunately, Lu Ye hadn't been able to discern the breath control spectral patterns from her last time; it seemed to be something beyond money.

Lu Ye decided to try again. If that truly didn't work, having Ghost engrave the breath control spectral patterns for him to observe would be the same; he didn't necessarily need to see her body.

He sent the message, but there was no response. He didn't know what the woman was doing.

After a while, the sound talisman suddenly vibrated. Lu Ye checked it and found that Ghost had indeed replied, but there was no specific detailed information, only a location.

It was clearly meant for him to meet her at that location.

Lu Ye took out his star map to cross-reference and confirmed the location. He immediately stood up, constructed spirit patterns, applied the new concealment to himself, and quietly left the cave, heading outwards.

Tang Jun, who was setting up a large array, seemed to sense something and glanced in the direction Lu Ye had departed.

On the other side, the woman named Ban Ci also raised her gaze and subtly observed.

After getting away from Peerless Island, Lu Ye summoned his star-boat and rushed towards the agreed location.

The location Ghost sent wasn't too close to the Myriad Manifestations Sea. Even with Lu Ye traveling by star-boat, it took a full two days. There was a massive floating landmass here, appearing to be a fragment of a shattered dead star. The entire landmass was shaped like a large bowl, with a huge depression in the center.

From afar, Lu Ye put away his star-boat. He then changed into Fa Wuzun's appearance and attire, concealed his figure and aura, and glided towards the location.

He wasn't worried about Ghost ambushing him here with others. He hadn't interacted with her many times, and while he knew she wasn't a good person, she wasn't so vile and shameless as to set such a trap.

However, Fa Wuzun's identity was sensitive, so it was still wise to be cautious and vigilant.

He circled the floating landmass from a distance, investigating for a while. He found nothing unusual and no sign of Ghost.

"Where are you?" Lu Ye sent a message.

Moments later, he received Ghost's reply: "Here!"

After waiting a little longer, he indeed saw a figure rapidly approaching from afar. Who else could it be but Ghost? However, upon seeing the scene behind Ghost, Lu Ye's eye twitched involuntarily!

Because he discovered that Ghost was actually being pursued!

And she was being chased by a Moon Pearl cultivator!

In an instant, Lu Ye grasped Ghost's intention. No wonder she chose this spot for their rendezvous. He figured she had already been pursued when he contacted her two days prior. This woman was truly remarkable; she had managed to evade a Moon Pearl pursuer until now.

However, judging by her appearance, she was clearly not having an easy time and looked very disheveled.

For a late Star Host to endure such a long pursuit by a Moon Pearl cultivator was a testament to her profound foundation. She had summoned him here either to shift the danger to him or to join forces with him to slay this Moon Pearl cultivator.

Yet, even though Lu Ye had recently advanced to the late Star Host stage, he knew he was definitely no match for a Moon Pearl cultivator. This was because the nature of the power within Star Hosts and Moon Pearls was fundamentally different.

Back then, when the three of them had teamed up to fight the Skeletal General, who was a weakened Moon Pearl cultivator, it took them a great deal of effort, even with their formation, to finally kill him. Now, the one pursuing Ghost was a mid-stage Moon Pearl, infinitely stronger than the Skeletal General. How could the two of them possibly defeat her by joining forces?

Lu Ye couldn't even fathom how Ghost had managed to hold on for so long.

After clearly assessing the situation, Lu Ye immediately summoned his star-boat, preparing to flee this dangerous place!