Chapter 1543: Ghost Clan Yan Breath

Almost as soon as Qingli's figure vanished, another figure appeared before Lu Ye. He couldn't help but feel surprised when he looked closely. The figure that appeared after Qingli was, surprisingly, a member of the Ghost Race.

Compared to many other races with similar physiques to humans, the Ghost Race has very distinct characteristics. Their exposed skin is covered in mystical ghost patterns. Some of these patterns are innate, while others are cultivated later, differing from ordinary tattoos.

"The Ghost Race also has powerful blade wielders?" Lu Ye wondered in surprise. Due to the unique nature of the Ghost Race, they possess unparalleled talent in ghostly cultivation. It can be said that every Ghost Race member is a born ghost cultivator. Their greatest strength lies in concealed assassinations; direct confrontation, like that of a soldier cultivator, is not their forte.

As Lu Ye pondered, the Ghost Race member slowly opened his eyes. His pupils seemed to bear the imprint of ghost patterns, making his eyes appear extremely strange. He slowly drew his blade from its sheath, and his voice rang out: "Underworld, Ghost Race Yan Xi!"

The moment he finished speaking, he merged with his blade, transforming into a streak of blade light that slashed towards Lu Ye. The ferocity of the attack was in no way inferior to Qingli's. Lu Ye quickly raised his blade to parry, but the next instant, something astonishing happened. The blade light, which was clearly slashing towards him, seemed to possess a life of its own. It bypassed his counter-attack, sweeping in from his side, causing Lu Ye's long blade to instantly drop.

If he hadn't spent the past six months fighting Qingli, he would almost certainly have been in trouble facing Yan Xi's attack. However, he had grown tremendously during his struggles with Qingli, so even though Yan Xi's attack was bizarre, Lu Ye still managed to discern a hint of its nature.

He thought he could block Yan Xi's attack, but to his surprise, he felt no force at all. When he looked again, Yan Xi had already flickered to the other side and slashed down with another blade.

A moment later, Lu Ye's consciousness withdrew from the green hall. Although he had been defeated and slain in the battle with Yan Xi, his eyes still gleamed with unconcealed excitement.

Yan Xi's blade technique was completely different from Qingli's. Compared to Qingli's agility, Yan Xi's blade technique could only be described as appearing and disappearing like a ghost. Yan Xi's fighting style was not at all like that of a conventional soldier cultivator, because he never directly confronted his enemies. During an engagement, his figure would dart and flit about like a gust of wind, leaving no trace for one to grasp.

But when he struck, it was with thunderous power, making it difficult to resist.

Yan Xi's blade technique inheritance was undoubtedly marvelous. Lu Ye vaguely felt that if he could fully comprehend its subtleties, he would no longer fear being besieged by enemies in the future. Recalling the recent battle, even with his fastest movements, he couldn't inflict the slightest injury on Yan Xi. Instead, he was gradually overwhelmed by Yan Xi's offensive.

Whether it was Qingli or Yan Xi, the strength they could unleash at this moment was exactly the same as Lu Ye's, because the power supporting their blade techniques was all infused by Lu Ye himself into the Panshant blade. Yet, with the same power foundation, Lu Ye was no match for Qingli when they first met. And now, facing Yan Xi, he was still no match.

Lu Ye knew this wasn't because he was inferior to them, but because when the two left their inherited imprints, their insight and experience far surpassed his own. He had spent half a year comprehending Qingli's blade technique, achieving significant growth. He believed that comprehending Yan Xi's blade technique this time wouldn't take as long, because as he grew stronger, the inherited imprints left by these seniors would also become simpler for him to grasp.

Just as he was about to try again, he heard Du Lang say, "Brother Lu, Chikan has arrived!"

Hearing this, Lu Ye looked up. He saw a realm appearing before them. From a distance, it was a mix of blue and earthy yellow, as if the entire realm had been stained with streaks of patterns.

Lu Ye was no longer a novice; he had traveled the starry sky for years, seen many realms, both large and small. However, he had rarely seen what a top-tier realm looked like. Therefore, whether a realm was strong or weak, a glance from afar was usually enough for him to discern some clues. Undoubtedly, Chikan gave him a bad feeling, like an old man on his deathbed. This was undoubtedly a sign that a cultivation realm was nearing its end.

With his eyes empowered by the insight spirit patterns, and observing carefully, there was no sign that Chikan was devouring or absorbing the energy from the starry sky. Instead, Chikan's own foundational energy showed a tendency to dissipate into the starry sky. Normally, a vibrant realm would devour and absorb starry sky energy to slowly strengthen itself. As the realm's foundation grew stronger, its level would gradually increase. However, this process is usually very long, often taking millions of years. Growth-oriented realms like Kyushu, which can actively devour the foundational energy of other realms to enhance themselves, are rare in the entire starry sky.

Chikan had already shown signs of decline a thousand years ago. By today, this process had accelerated. Generally, in the vicinity of a large realm, cultivators would patrol and guard to prevent invasion by external enemies or attacks by star beasts. However, Chikan seemed completely undefended.

Along the way, Lu Ye barely saw any Chikan cultivators. When he did, they were always hurrying. Du Lang piloted the starship into the Chikan continent. During this time, they encountered no inspections or probes. Only when they entered an area occupied by a sect did the divine sense of a Luna cultivator subtly probe them, but it was quickly withdrawn.

This was undoubtedly the sect where Du Lang originated. Currently, there weren't many cultivators above the Constellation realm in all of Chikan. Du Lang's status here was not low. After making arrangements, he settled Lu Ye and Lishang, and then said, "Brother Lu, I will go report to my master. If my master wishes to see you, I will come back to inform you."

"Of course," Lu Ye nodded. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. This was their territory, so naturally, he had to follow their arrangements.

After Du Lang left, Lu Ye looked at Lishang: "Do you want to hide?" Lishang was, after all, of the Soul Race, and it was not convenient for her to be exposed before outsiders, to avoid attracting covetousness. Constellation cultivators might not spot any flaws, but Luna cultivators might. Lishang thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Then I'll hide in your Divine Sea." Although she could also attach her soul to Lu Ye's body, doing so would consume Lishang's power. Hiding in the Divine Sea would require no power at all.

Lu Ye opened his Divine Sea, and Lishang's figure flickered as she entered. Lu Ye didn't know when Du Lang would return with news, but he wasn't in a hurry. So he continued to enter the green hall and spar with Yan Xi.

Meanwhile, in a grand hall, Du Lang stepped inside. He approached an old man seated cross-legged there, and bowed respectfully: "Master!"

The old man didn't react, so Du Lang waited quietly. After a long while, the old man slowly opened his eyes. He glanced at Du Lang and sighed faintly: "I already know about your Senior Brother Yu. His fate was sealed; there's no need to grieve."

The Senior Brother Yu the old man spoke of was the Constellation cultivator who had previously perished in the jaws of the Heavenly Dog Star Beast in the Barren Starfield. Du Lang said indignantly: "If Xu Dingyang hadn't dragged us into provoking that group of star beasts, Senior Brother Yu wouldn't have died in vain. It's hateful that Xu Dingyang abandoned me after Senior Brother Yu's death and fled."

The old man grunted and scolded: "Let alone Xu Dingyang being a cultivator from another realm with no ties to you, even if he were a fellow disciple, one has the freedom to flee when faced with danger. Du Lang, a cultivator's life must ultimately be held in their own hands, and not placed on the benevolence of others."

Du Lang lowered his head, clenching his fists: "Your disciple understands the principles, but I'm unwilling to accept it!"

The old man looked at Du Lang and let out a long sigh: "If you truly aren't willing to accept it, then strive to become stronger. If one day you achieve the Sun-Illuminated realm, you might have the chance to find a way out for the cultivators of Chikan." Although he said this, achieving the Sun-Illuminated realm was incredibly difficult. Chikan hadn't produced a Sun-Illuminated cultivator in many years. Looking across the entire Indefinite Star System, only the Indefinite Realm had Sun-Illuminated cultivators.

Changing the subject, the old man asked again: "How did you manage to escape alive?" Du Lang quickly replied: "Your disciple was lucky. I met a friend who saved my life in a moment of peril. That's how I was able to return."

"Oh?" The old man was slightly surprised. Du Lang was his disciple, and he generally knew whom Du Lang knew and associated with. Few people were called friends by Du Lang, so the old man couldn't help but wonder who exactly had saved him.

"Master, you've met that person before," Du Lang said.

The old man raised an eyebrow: "Is it that Qin kid from the Eclipse Cloud Realm?" The Eclipse Cloud Realm was also a realm within the Indefinite Star System. The old man knew that Du Lang had a decent relationship with a Constellation cultivator named Qin from the Eclipse Cloud Realm. If any of Du Lang's few friends could have saved him in that situation, it could only be this Qin kid.

"Not Senior Brother Qin," Du Lang shook his head. "Master, do you still remember when you took me to participate in the Divine Sea Competition at the Reincarnation Tree several years ago?"

The old man pondered for a moment. The scene from back then was vivid in his mind, and he was immediately surprised: "You didn't happen to meet Lu Yiye from the Nine Heavens, did you?" During that Divine Sea Competition, Du Lang had only stayed in the Grand Beginning Realm for a month before coming out. The old man knew he had met one person inside, and that was Lu Yiye from the Nine Heavens. The master and disciple could have left earlier, but they didn't leave simply because Du Lang wanted to see how long Lu Ye could last. What they saw was the birth of a miracle. Lu Yiye from the Nine Heavens, with an absolute advantage, claimed the top spot in that Divine Sea Competition.

Du Lang suddenly brought up the Divine Sea Competition at this moment, and the old man's mind was extremely sharp, so he naturally made the connection. Du Lang excitedly said: "Master, you're right! The one who saved me was indeed Lu Yiye from the Nine Heavens!"

"How did he end up in the Barren Starfield?" the old man asked with a surprised expression. Although he didn't know which star system the Nine Heavens Realm belonged to, it certainly wasn't one of the Four Quadrant Star Systems, because if it were, the old man would have heard about it long ago.

"Your disciple doesn't know," Du Lang shook his head. He was also very curious why Lu Ye was in the Barren Starfield, but it wasn't appropriate to casually inquire about such matters.

The old man said: "If I recall correctly, that young man was only at the eighth level of the Divine Sea Realm back then, one level lower than you, right?"

"Yes," Du Lang nodded.

The old man said: "Such a person is bound to achieve great things in the future. Since you have a connection with him, you might as well cultivate a good friendship. Even if you can't rely on his strength in the future, having such a friend would be enough to be proud of."