Li Shang smiled happily. Lu Ye couldn't be bothered with her, but it was the first time he had seen her smile in all the time they had spent together.
The starship continued forward, occasionally overtaking other cultivators also heading in the same direction. They all appeared to be individuals who had received Luo Shenzi's summons and were preparing to travel to Sirius.
Lu Ye sensed the might of this Four Directions Star System. Even in such a desolate region, there were so many Star Constellations, let alone within their home star realms.
He wasn't sure of Sirius' exact location, but Du Lang knew. Guided by Du Lang, they reached Sirius after more than ten days of travel.
From a distance, it appeared to be a barren planet, but its shape was unique. It wasn't the typical spherical shape commonly seen in the starry sky; from a certain angle, it resembled a giant dog lying horizontally in space.
It didn't seem much different from the hyena-like creatures that had previously attacked Du Lang.
Lu Ye vaguely guessed that this was likely the origin of Sirius' name.
They did not approach Sirius closely, as many cultivators were gathered in the void outside the planet. Starships of various designs had converged there, numbering at least three hundred, creating quite a magnificent sight.
More cultivators were still en route, as there were still a few days left until the time Luo Shenzi had specified. Therefore, although the cultivators had assembled, there was no substantial action yet.
Lu Ye piloted his starship to a relatively spacious spot and moored it, looking around.
In terms of performance, his starship should have been quite good compared to others there. However, Lu Ye had considered certain issues when he bought it, so its exterior was plain and unadorned, making it difficult to discern its quality and thus not drawing much attention.
He vaguely felt a gaze directed his way. Lu Ye followed the gaze and saw that it belonged to the cultivator named Xu Dingyang.
The other party was clearly surprised to see that Du Lang was still alive, but merely glanced before retracting his gaze.
At that moment, several figures were gathered around Xu Dingyang, who appeared to be cultivators from the Unbounded Realm. Xu Dingyang himself was a descendant of the Sunlit Realm, so his status within the Unbounded Realm should be quite high.
"Which one is Luo Shenzi?" Lu Ye asked.
Du Lang pointed in a direction and replied, "That's him!"
Lu Ye looked in the direction he pointed and saw a young man, exquisitely handsome and richly dressed, standing on the deck of a starship, chatting and laughing casually with the surrounding cultivators, appearing at ease.
Despite being acclaimed as the strongest Star Constellation in the Four Directions Star System, Luo Shenzi showed no arrogant demeanor; instead, he seemed very gentle.
That starship was likely his. The cultivators gathered around him were all quite strong, mostly at the late Star Constellation stage. However, Lu Ye could tell that while they were laughing and chatting with Luo Shenzi, there was an undetectable hint of restraint in their expressions.
Perhaps sensing Lu Ye's gaze, Luo Shenzi casually glanced in their direction, his eyes lingering on Lu Ye for a moment before he gave a slight nod.
Lu Ye also nodded in return.
Unexpectedly, Luo Shenzi flew directly from his starship, heading straight towards Lu Ye's, landing just a short distance in front of him in the blink of an eye. With a smile, he said, "Friend, you seem unfamiliar. May I ask which realm you hail from?"
Lu Ye didn't bat an eye. "Crimson Void!"
Luo Shenzi slowly shook his head. "No, that's not right. Crimson Void has no one like you."
Lu Ye calmly stated, "Friend, you are from the Grand Luo Realm, which is far from my Crimson Void. Are you implying you know every cultivator from my realm by name?"
Before Luo Shenzi could react, one of the cultivators exclaimed, "Impudent! Answer young master Luo directly; don't speak such nonsense."
That cultivator was one of those who had been gathered around Luo Shenzi, chatting with him. His origin was unknown, but from his posture, it was clear he intended to curry favor with Luo Shenzi.
Luo Shenzi smiled gently. "Naturally, I don't know every cultivator from Crimson Void by name. I am only interested in powerful individuals, and I know most of the strong Star Constellation cultivators in the Four Directions Star System. But I haven't seen you before."
Lu Ye found it strange. He was just standing there quietly, not even exerting his presence, so why did Luo Shenzi consider him a powerful figure? He continued to speak nonsensically: "I spend most of my time in seclusion and rarely venture out."
Luo Shenzi nodded. "That's more like it. Since you're here, I'll have to ask for your significant help later. This task won't be easy to resolve."
After a brief exchange, Luo Shenzi quickly departed.
However, the information revealed by his previous words caused many to secretly size up Lu Ye. Luo Shenzi was naturally gifted with discerning eyes and mysterious abilities; if he declared Lu Ye a powerful individual, it was most likely true.
Unfortunately, despite their scrutiny, they couldn't discern anything particularly remarkable about Lu Ye.
Time slowly passed, and more starships continually arrived.
By the time the one-month period was up, the number of cultivators gathered there had exceeded a thousand, showcasing the immense foundation of the Four Directions Star System. As Lu Ye had observed before, about eighty percent of the arriving cultivators were martial cultivators. Only a few belonged to other factions, but they had accompanied the martial cultivators, likely to assist them.
Luo Shenzi wasted no time. He leaped out and calmly began, "Fellow Daoists, your arrival here must be for that great opportunity. However, to seize it, we face a major hurdle." He pointed at Sirius behind him and continued, "I presume everyone is aware of the situation on Sirius. It's a nest of star beasts, not only teeming with Star Constellation star beasts but also home to two Moon Shadow beasts. Therefore, to enter Sirius, we must unite and first eliminate those two Moon Shadow star beasts."
If not for concerns about those two Moon Shadow beasts, why would Luo Shenzi have summoned so many cultivators? He would have simply led his people to acquire the opportunity once he confirmed it was on Sirius.
But precisely because of the two Moon Shadow beasts, Luo Shenzi had to gather forces to deal with them collectively.
Someone shouted, "We have all been summoned by Young Master Luo! In that case, Young Master Luo, please give your commands, and we shall obey!"
Immediately, many people loudly agreed.
No one present was foolish; they naturally understood that the current situation required a leader. Luo Shenzi had sent out the summons himself, and he was acclaimed as the strongest Star Constellation in the Four Directions Star System. It could be said that only he was qualified to lead this assembly; anyone else would struggle to gain widespread respect.
Luo Shenzi took the lead without hesitation. "Since that's the case, I, Luo, will do my best. However, let me state this upfront: before we deal with those two Moon Shadow beasts, if anyone shrinks back from battle or takes the opportunity to harm an enemy, they will be considered an enemy of me, Luo Shenzi. If such actions lead to the failure of this operation, I, Luo Shenzi, will hunt you down, no matter where you hide!"
The crowd affirmed again, stating they would absolutely follow his command.
Luo Shenzi immediately began assigning tasks. He clearly had a deep understanding of the cultivators in the Four Directions Star System; even if he didn't know everyone, he was aware of the strengths of many late Star Constellation cultivators, calling them out by name and giving them various assignments.
With so many cultivators gathered, dealing with the two Moon Shadow beasts wasn't difficult, as there is strength in numbers. However, Sirius harbored not only those two Moon Shadow beasts but also many Star Constellation star beasts, so a significant portion of the forces would be needed just to deal with them.
Luo Shenzi arranged everything methodically, showing his excellent capability and meticulous thinking.
Everyone proceeded as commanded.
Lu Ye hadn't been assigned anything and was about to enjoy the idleness when he saw Luo Shenzi looking his way. "Fellow Daoist," Luo Shenzi said, "when the time comes, I ask that you join forces with me to slay the Moon Shadow beasts!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Ye gave a slight nod. "No problem!"
Seeing his calm and collected demeanor, Luo Shenzi became even more convinced that Lu Ye's strength was formidable.
With everything arranged, the operation began. A dozen teams moved toward Sirius from different directions, each led by a late Star Constellation cultivator.
The environment of the barren planet was extremely harsh, with rolling seas of clouds below and swirling sands. The cultivators from the dozen teams entered Sirius and quickly disappeared from sight. Even with Lu Ye's full visual prowess, he couldn't discern what was happening inside.
However, within moments, the cultivators flew out from various directions, with a large number of star beasts relentlessly pursuing them.
The star beasts resembled the hyena-like creatures Lu Ye had encountered before; it seemed this barren planet was their lair.
Most of the pursuing star beasts were Star Constellation level, numerous and appearing chaotic, but not posing a significant danger. These teams fled while simultaneously retaliating, infuriating the star beasts and luring them into pre-arranged encirclement zones.
However, the situation for two of the teams was dire, as they were being pursued by none other than the two Moon Shadow star beasts.
Judging by their power, these were surprisingly two mid-stage Moon Shadow beasts, more than ten times larger than typical hyena-like star beasts—truly ferocious giants.
As they fled, unlucky cultivators were constantly caught, pursued by the Moon Shadow beasts and bitten down upon. No matter how the cultivators retaliated, they couldn't budge them, and blood splattered across the sky.
The terrifying might of the Moon Shadow beasts sent shivers down the spines of the watching Star Constellations.
It was just bad luck for the cultivators in these two teams to be pursued by the Moon Shadow beasts...
Lu Ye stood beside Luo Shenzi, his gaze calmly fixed on one of the Moon Shadow beasts approaching them.
Li Shang hadn't followed; she remained on the starship, looking after the unconscious young girl. Therefore, Li Shang couldn't possess Lu Ye in this battle.
However, Lu Ye didn't need to face the Moon Shadow beast alone, so he wasn't particularly flustered.
If not for the presence of so many people, he would have liked to test the true power of that silver coin. Although it had consumed three million spirit jades, some things, unless attempted, yield unknown results.
Those ambushing the Moon Shadow beasts were hidden within a concealment formation. This formation had been previously set up by a formation master, so there was no fear of being discovered by the star beasts. Furthermore, star beasts generally have lower intelligence, otherwise, they wouldn't have been so easily lured out.
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