Chapter 1560: Qingfeng Realm

The Azure Bird's speed was simply beyond what Lu Ye could achieve with his star-boat. There was at least a tenfold difference, and this was clearly with the bird not even using its full strength. He truly wondered how fast it could fly if it did.

It was difficult to determine the Azure Bird's true strength, but Lu Ye could at least confirm it was more powerful than Yaya.

As expected, Yaya had weakened again after expending her power, curling up in Lu Ye's arms and falling asleep. Lu Ye sat on the Azure Bird's back, letting it carry him forward while he repeatedly consulted his star map to orient himself in the surrounding cosmos.

Having been caught in the magnetic storm earlier, he had become slightly disoriented. Losing one's bearings in space was troublesome, so he needed to quickly re-establish his position.

Fortunately, the star map provided by the Reincarnation Tree was quite detailed. After a short while, Lu Ye confirmed that the Azure Bird was heading precisely in the direction he needed to go.

This was a welcome convenience; he could hitch a ride.

Lu Ye hadn't clearly seen how the cosmic magnetic storms vanished before, though he had his suspicions. However, after following the Azure Bird for two days, he finally witnessed it firsthand.

The Azure Bird seemed to have come here specifically to hunt cosmic magnetic storms. Whenever it spotted one, it would eagerly swoop in, open its massive beak, and swallow the immense whirlwind whole, along with all the meteorites trapped within the magnetic storm.

Lu Ye couldn't fathom the Azure Bird's origins. It could consume things from the Thousand Hill Tomb, and now he saw it could even devour cosmic magnetic storms.

To his astonishment, Lu Ye realized that in just ten days, he was already nearing the edge of the Chaotic Blast Zone.

In his original plan, traversing this Chaotic Blast Zone was expected to take about half a year. This rapid progress was even more surprising considering the Azure Bird occasionally paused to consume cosmic magnetic storms.

Had it not paused at all, its speed would have been even greater.

The Azure Bird changed its flight path, clearly unwilling to leave the Chaotic Blast Zone so soon. Seeing this, Lu Ye promptly jumped off its back and watched it fly away.

Within a few breaths, the Azure Bird's massive form had shrunk to a tiny speck in the distance. Lu Ye then summoned his own star-boat, helped Yaya aboard, and continued his journey.

Following the star map's guidance, he flew safely for about twenty days, finally exiting the range of the Chaotic Blast Zone.

Strictly speaking, he had arrived at the Jade Snail Star System, though this was only its outer boundary.

Lu Ye felt a surge of exhilaration. He recalled being pursued by Tang Jun years ago, inadvertently falling into a wormhole, and ending up in the Myriad Manifestation Sea. Several years had passed in a flash, and after countless hardships, he had finally returned to Jade Snail!

He wondered about the situation back in Kyushu, but before he left, he had distributed some purple talismans to his Senior Brother and the others. Within the broader context of Jade Snail, they should be able to protect themselves.

The surrounding starry sky was unfamiliar; Lu Ye had never been to this region, so he naturally saw no familiar constellations. According to the Reincarnation Tree's star map, returning to Kyushu from here would take approximately four to five months.

Although the Jade Snail Star System was relatively remote and barren compared to mainstream star systems, its actual expanse was quite vast. He recalled how, upon first reaching the Star Constellation realm, a single exploration had taken him a year. However, back then, he had only just advanced and didn't have a star-boat, so his travel speed in space was slow.

Now, it seemed that a journey which had once taken him a year could be completed in just a month, thanks to his star-boat.

This highlighted the unfortunate reality for cultivators from newly ascended major realms: their efficiency was generally low in everything they did. It took many generations of accumulation to gradually reach a normal standard.

However, Lu Ye wasn't planning to return directly to Kyushu. This journey back to the Myriad Manifestation Star System concerned not just Kyushu, but the entire Jade Snail Star System.

Therefore, he planned to first visit either the Qingli Dao Realm or the Jade Snail Realm to inform them and allow them to prepare. That way, once he gathered personnel from Kyushu, they could assemble and set off without delay.

The star map provided by the Reincarnation Tree, however, only indicated Kyushu's location. Lu Ye genuinely didn't know the whereabouts of the Qingli Dao Realm or the Jade Snail Realm.

However, since all three realms were in the same star system, there were bound to be Star Constellation cultivators from those two realms exploring. With some luck, he might encounter one and be able to inquire about their locations.

With this in mind, Lu Ye initially followed the route towards Kyushu. However, the further he traveled, the more disappointed he became. The presence of abundant spirit jade in space indicated that this area was rarely, if ever, frequented by Star Constellation cultivators; otherwise, such deposits would not remain.

Regions rich in spirit jade were typically remote and rarely visited, even by star beasts.

Lu Ye had no interest in collecting the spirit jade. Accustomed to extravagance, a mere piece or two held no appeal for him. He could easily spend that time in the Myriad Manifestation Sea and acquire several thousand spirit jade by catching a White Spirit.

It wasn't until he had flown for over a month that Lu Ye's spirits lifted. The diminishing traces of spirit jade ahead suggested that the area was either frequented by Star Constellation cultivators or inhabited by active star beasts. Indeed, it wasn't long before Lu Ye encountered some star beasts.

His initial hopes, however, soon turned to disappointment...

Several more days passed, and a realm appeared ahead. Lu Ye focused intently, confirming it was indeed a living realm, not a dead or barren planet. It was teeming with vitality, indicating active life forms within. As for its developmental level, he would need to investigate further.

The only certainty was that this was neither the Qingli Dao Realm nor the Jade Snail Realm, as there were no Star Constellation cultivators visible outside its boundaries.

The Jade Snail Star System currently had only three confirmed major realms: Jade Snail, Qingli Dao Realm, and Kyushu. However, the number of realms that harbored life was far greater. Many realms merely possessed vitality without ever giving rise to sentient beings in the traditional sense, while others contained life forms that were simply ordinary flora and fauna.

Additionally, some realms might have touched upon the path of cultivation, but their level was not high.

For example, the Blood Refining Realm had active members of the Divine Sea Blood Race, but because it hadn't produced any Star Constellation cultivators, it wasn't classified as a major realm.

It was likely there were still several such realms within the Jade Snail Star System.

Lu Ye wasn't entirely sure about the nature of the realm before him. After a moment's thought, he retracted his star-boat, took Yaya, and descended towards it.

Since he was passing by, there was no harm in taking a quick look; it wouldn't delay him for too long.

Passing through the thick cloud layer, Lu Ye immediately saw cities and villages dotted below like stars. Exerting his full vision, he could even discern active figures moving within them.

It was a realm occupied by humans! Moreover, from various signs, the humans in this realm seemed to practice cultivation, as Lu Ye observed traces of flying spirit boats.

He sensed no hostility from the realm, suggesting its will wasn't particularly strong.

However, Lu Ye's brows gradually furrowed. He had a faint feeling that something was off about this realm. From space, it certainly appeared vibrant and, by all accounts, should be thriving. Yet, upon entering, Lu Ye felt an odd sense that something was amiss.

Unable to pinpoint the issue, Lu Ye called out to Li Shang. Li Shang materialized from his Divine Sea, conducted a thorough examination, and nodded, confirming, "There are indeed some problems."

However, she couldn't articulate the exact nature of the problem.

She then looked at Yaya in Lu Ye's arms and softly asked, "Yaya, have you noticed anything?"

Both she and Lu Ye were merely at the Star Constellation realm, so their limited perception was understandable. Although Yaya's consciousness was impaired, she possessed the foundation of Sun Exposure, and thus might be able to discern something.

Yaya bit her thumb, then pointed in a direction, saying, "There's something in there!"

"What is it?" Lu Ye promptly asked.

"I don't know!" Yaya shook her head, then looked towards another direction and cheerfully said, "Daddy, it's so lively over there! Let's go!"

Lu Ye had already noticed the lively atmosphere. He wasn't sure what day it was, but all the cities and populated areas across the realm were adorned with lanterns and decorations. The specific city Yaya pointed to was particularly crowded.

Seeing Yaya's enthusiasm, Lu Ye didn't want to refuse her. "Then let's go!" he said. After traveling through space for so long, Lu Ye was also eager to join the festivities.

Yaya became even happier, climbing onto Lu Ye's shoulder like a monkey and settling on his neck.

Lu Ye instantly moved towards the city, with Li Shang close beside him.

While this realm did have cultivators, the highest among them were only at the True Lake Realm. With Lu Ye and Li Shang deliberately concealing their presence, there was no way they could be detected.

They soon entered the city, which was bustling with joyful people, as if celebrating a grand festival.

Lu Ye extended his divine sense, listened intently, and gradually pieced together the situation.

This realm was called Qingfeng Realm. Every ten years, powerful cultivators from an Upper Realm would arrive to select suitable individuals with cultivation potential, bringing them back to the Upper Realm for training. Therefore, this period marked Qingfeng Realm's grandest festival, serving both to welcome the powerful cultivators and to select the realm's most outstanding talents.

To Lu Ye's surprise and delight, information gathered from the local cultivators' conversations revealed that this so-called Upper Realm was none other than the Qingli Dao Realm!

What a remarkable coincidence.

Lu Ye had spent a month fruitlessly searching for any sign of cultivators from the Qingli Dao Realm or Jade Snail Realm in space. Yet, by coincidentally passing through Qingfeng Realm, he had stumbled upon information about the Qingli Dao Realm.

This suggested that Qingfeng Realm was a lower, subordinate realm of the Qingli Dao Realm, much like the current relationship between the Blood Refining Realm and Kyushu.

In the Blood Refining Realm, there were no longer any Blood Clan; only a large human population remained. The major sects of Kyushu had partitioned territories there, and promising cultivation talents born within those territories had the opportunity to be brought to Kyushu for training.

While the methods differed from those here, the outcome was the same: both systems aimed to select the most promising talents.