Chapter 1552: Giant Insect Nest

The Limitless Revelation Pavilion is a renowned secret realm throughout these four star systems, particularly beneficial for cultivators in the Constellation Realm. It opens only once every ten years, allowing access to just three individuals. Historically, only the most talented Constellation Realm cultivators from the Limitless Realm itself were qualified to enter. Yet, this time, Du Lang unexpectedly secured a spot.

Hua Cheng knew this was entirely Lu Ye's doing; without him, Du Lang would never have secured such a good opportunity. While excited, Hua Cheng couldn't help but sigh, reflecting that despite spending his entire life in the Limitless Realm, he hadn't achieved as much influence as an outsider cultivator.

However, this was unavoidable, as not everyone could master a safe route to the Myriad Manifestation Sea.

Burdened with thoughts, Hua Cheng left the Limitless Realm, preparing to return to Scarlet Sky and escort Du Lang there.

Meanwhile, on the starship sailing away from the Limitless Realm, Kang Cheng, with a smile, solemnly apologized to Lu Ye: "Previously, I was inconsiderate and caused offense. I hope you will not hold it against me, young friend."

"It's thoughtful of you, fellow cultivator," Lu Ye replied. "It was merely a small matter, like a breeze passing by."

Seeing that Lu Ye truly bore no ill will, Kang Cheng relaxed his expression and took out a storage ring. "Young friend," he said, "these are some small, inexpensive items the Realm Lord instructed me to prepare before your departure. Please accept them."

Lu Ye didn't decline; he reached out and took the ring. His spiritual sense probed inside, revealing that the contents were nothing but various colorful spirit fruits.

He understood immediately; it seemed Yaya's previous display had caught Jiang Shang's attention, and he had specifically instructed someone to prepare this gift for her.

These spirit fruits were undoubtedly extraordinary, immense in both variety and quantity. It was impossible to claim they were inexpensive; such a large collection would be worth at least tens of thousands of spirit jade.

"The Realm Lord is thoughtful," Lu Ye nodded.

Given the disparity in their ages and cultivation levels, Jiang Shang had instructed Kang Cheng to escort them as an opportunity for him to apologize. Now that the matter was settled, there wasn't much more to discuss. Kang Cheng silently piloted the starship, while Lu Ye placed his Pan Mountain Saber horizontally across his lap, immersed his mind, and entered the verdant great hall to contend with Yan Xi.

Yan Xi was undoubtedly very powerful, yet he was as slippery as an eel, darting back and forth within the verdant great hall. Even with all his effort, Lu Ye couldn't so much as touch his clothes.

But if Yan Xi found an opportunity, a thunderous blow would inevitably follow. Lu Ye was astounded by his wondrous darting technique and realized that to defeat Yan Xi and pass this challenge, he would have to learn Yan Xi's technique himself. Otherwise, if he couldn't even hit him, how could he possibly win?

Time slowly passed, and in the blink of an eye, three months had gone by.

On this day, as Lu Ye opened his eyes, the previously silent Kang Cheng suddenly spoke: "Young friend, we are about to leave the Limitless Realm."

Normally, at Lu Ye's own speed, it would take more than three months to cross the Limitless Realm. However, Kang Cheng's speed was much greater, which was one of the reasons Jiang Shang had him escort Lu Ye; they wanted Lu Ye to return to Jade Snail early and then come back even sooner.

Hearing this, Lu Ye looked up and saw traces of buildings on a massive floating landmass ahead. Furthermore, many cultivators were actively moving around it.

As if noticing Lu Ye's confusion, Kang Cheng explained: "Since that insect nest drifted here decades ago, our Limitless Realm established a defensive front here to guard against insectoid invasions. Currently, two Sunscorch Realm cultivators from our Limitless Realm are stationed there."

As he spoke, he piloted the starship towards the floating landmass.

It took almost half a day to reach the floating landmass. This landmass looked like a fragment of a realm, having drifted in space for untold tens of thousands of years. It had now been anchored here by a Limitless Sunscorch Realm cultivator using some means, serving as a frontline fortress.

Before, with the floating landmass obscuring the view, Lu Ye hadn't seen much. But after disembarking onto it, Lu Ye discovered a wondrous sight in the starry sky.

Far away, countless miles distant in space, an oval-shaped object, resembling a beehive, stood silently.

From this vantage point, the beehive appeared no larger than a fist. But considering the distance, Lu Ye estimated that it was at least the size of a star!

The Insect Nest!

Lu Ye recognized what it was at a glance.

This completely overturned Lu Ye's understanding of insect nests!

The insect nests he had seen before were mostly underground, and even if they were large, they had a limit to their scale. But the sheer size of the insect nest before him was beyond anything he had previously imagined.

This wasn't merely an insect nest; it was practically a star, only different from ordinary stars. Such insect nests, controlled by the insectoids, could drift and wander through space. If they encountered a vibrant realm, the insectoids would swarm out, and after they left, the realm would perish.

Even from a great distance, Lu Ye could see numerous insectoids moving in and out of the nest. Not only around the nest itself, but insectoid activity could be seen everywhere in the nearby starry sky.

Alongside the Blood Tribe, they were the two greatest scourges of the starry sky. In some respects, the insectoids posed an even greater threat than the Blood Tribe! Due to the unique nature of insect nests, countless vibrant realms and stars suffered destruction as they drifted about.

Generally, cultivators of any race, upon encountering the Blood Tribe or insectoids in space, would try to exterminate them. These two races were truly infamous, universally despised and hunted. Yet, over countless years, neither race had been wiped out.

The insect nest stood right at the doorstep of the Limitless Realm, looking menacingly. Although there were no immediate signs of invasion, no one would feel comfortable with such a presence at their doorstep. No one knew if the insect nest might suddenly intrude into the Limitless star system.

Of the two Sunscorch Realm cultivators stationed here, only one remained; the other had gone out to investigate the situation.

Kang Cheng led Lu Ye to pay respects to the Sunscorch Realm cultivator. She was a woman with a cold expression. For some unknown reason, she had lost an eye and wore an eye patch over her left eye, giving her an extremely peculiar appearance.

She was likely a soldier-cultivator, as her attire was neat and efficient, and her aura was exceptionally sharp.

Kang Cheng seemed to hold her in great awe. He transmitted a message with his spiritual sense for a while, and only then did the woman look at Lu Ye with extreme surprise, then at the restless Yaya in Lu Ye's arms.

Had Kang Cheng not explained, she truly would not have seen anything unusual about Yaya. But how could such an ordinary little girl, seemingly without any cultivation traces, possibly be a Sunscorch Realm cultivator, just like her?

"The insectoids have been rather restless lately," she said. "It won't be easy for you to pass through the starry sky ahead. Even with a Sunscorch Realm cultivator protecting you, carelessly exposing your whereabouts would be troublesome. There's more than one Sunscorch Realm insectoid on their side!"

"Please, senior, could you point out a suitable route?" Lu Ye asked.

Although he could conceal himself, and the new concealment spirit patterns he had deduced were more effective than before, Yaya, however, couldn't. He had already tried to get her to conceal herself on the way, but Yaya simply looked at him blankly, seemingly completely unaware of what concealment was.

Furthermore, moving with concealment activated was far slower than traveling by starship, so Lu Ye believed it was better to proceed with the starship.

Thus, a relatively safe route was necessary. This was why he had followed Kang Cheng to visit this Sunscorch Realm cultivator; having been stationed here for decades, she undoubtedly understood the situation thoroughly.

"There is no 'suitable' route," the woman replied. "The insectoids' tendrils are now spread everywhere. If you want to pass through here, I cannot guarantee you won't expose your whereabouts. At most, I can only reduce some of the risks."

"That's enough!" Lu Ye nodded.

The female Sunscorch Realm cultivator didn't waste words. She immediately pointed out a route to Lu Ye, explaining that according to her intelligence, taking this path carried the lowest risk of exposure. Even if they were exposed, it was unlikely to attract the attention of a Sunscorch Realm insectoid.

"When will you depart?" the female Sunscorch Realm cultivator asked.

"I'll leave now!" Lu Ye replied.

"Then set off," the female Sunscorch Realm cultivator said, before stepping outside.

Leaving Lu Ye and Kang Cheng to exchange glances, Kang Cheng said, "Young friend, I can only escort you this far. Please be careful on the rest of your journey."

"Thank you, Fellow Cultivator Kang!" Lu Ye said. Although their first meeting had been somewhat unpleasant, Lu Ye had suffered no loss, while Kang Cheng had lost an arm. Now that Kang Cheng had escorted him all this way, Lu Ye naturally wouldn't dwell on the minor unpleasantness.

Just as Lu Ye was about to depart, he heard a cold, sharp shout echo from deep within the starry sky: "Get out!"

Lu Ye was startled, because he recognized the voice as that of the female Sunscorch Realm cultivator. He wondered what she was doing.

However, Lu Ye soon realized what she was doing, because shortly after her voice rang out, extremely violent power fluctuations emanated from deep within the starry sky.

Even from a great distance, they could feel the residual waves of the clashing powers, which made them uneasy.

Lu Ye and Kang Cheng quickly flew out from the floating landmass to observe the depths of the starry sky. They saw powerful individuals seemingly engaged in a fierce battle, stirring up the starry void.

One of them was clearly the female Sunscorch Realm cultivator. As for the other, there was no doubt it was an insectoid Sunscorch Realm cultivator!

While Lu Ye was still sensing the might of the two Sunscorch Realm cultivators' attacks, Kang Cheng urged, "Young friend, if not now, when will you depart?"

The female Sunscorch Realm cultivator provoking an insectoid Sunscorch Realm cultivator for no apparent reason and engaging in a major battle was clearly not a whim. This was undoubtedly to create chaos and divert the insectoids' attention, making it easier for Lu Ye to leave safely.

Lu Ye understood her intent and didn't hesitate. He immediately summoned his starship and departed into the depths of the starry sky along the route the female Sunscorch Realm cultivator had given him.

They traveled onward, and indeed, it was relatively peaceful. It wasn't until almost half a day later that they could no longer feel the residual waves of the battle behind them.

On the starship, Lu Ye sat upright, Yaya ate spirit fruits, and Li Shang piloted the starship.

After hiding in Lu Ye's spiritual sea for several months, she could finally come out and breathe freely.

Lu Ye was actually not very worried about passing through this starry sky. With Yaya present, even if they were unlucky enough to encounter an insectoid Sunscorch Realm cultivator, they would not be powerless to retaliate.