Chapter 1567: Wu Zhuo

In the vast expanse of the starry sky, there are many unwritten rules that have naturally evolved over countless years, rather than being deliberately established.

For instance, among cultivators, unless a special relationship exists, those at the Star Lord level and above can address each other as "fellow Daoist." This is because cultivators are a unique group; their status is not determined by age, but solely by their cultivation level.

While this is true, a Star Lord who insists on addressing a Sun-Gazer as "fellow Daoist" would likely face unpleasant consequences. Therefore, the appropriate form of address depends on the specific circumstances.

If Lu Ye were visiting on his own, addressing Wu Zhuo as "Senior" would be perfectly acceptable. However, on this trip, he represented more than just himself. While calling him "Senior" wouldn't cause him any personal harm, it might create unnecessary constraints in future collaborations.

However, the term "fellow Daoist" clearly displeased Wu Zhuo. The palm strike he unleashed was incredibly powerful, terrifying the cultivators from Clear Wind Realm on the starship, turning their faces ashen. Even Zhou Dingtian and his companions wore solemn expressions.

Looking up, the palm print blotted out the sky and earth, yet the intricate lines within its palm were clearly visible. As the strike descended, everyone felt a chilling dread.

Strangely, as the massive palm print descended, it rapidly shrank. Originally obscuring everyone's vision, it quickly became the size of a normal hand, slowly and deliberately moving towards Lu Ye's chest.

The pressure on everyone else dissipated, but for Lu Ye, the pressure not only remained undiminished but grew even heavier.

Wu Zhuo had no intention of killing; otherwise, the palm strike would not have been so slow. He likely just wanted to teach Lu Ye a simple lesson, letting him know that not every word could be uttered so casually.

Facing the palm strike, Lu Ye stood motionless at the bow of the ship, as if stunned into silence.

It was only when the palm print was about to strike him that he suddenly flicked a jade slip forward. From within the slip, a faint aura emanated.

"Hmm?" From inside the tall tower, Wu Zhuo's voice suddenly rang out, filled with surprise and doubt, for he sensed something familiar from the jade slip.

The palm print heading towards Lu Ye's chest suddenly closed, grabbing the jade slip, then rapidly retracted into the tall tower.

The sky was clear, and a profound silence hung over the starship. Almost everyone was still reeling from the terrifying might of a Moon-Gazer realm expert. Only the wind howled, flapping Lu Ye's clothes.

Moments later, the tall tower vibrated slightly. Then, a beam of light shot out from within, forming a rainbow-like bridge connecting the tower and the starship. Wu Zhuo's voice spoke again, but without its previous sternness: "Fellow Daoist, please come in for a discussion!"

Zhou Dingtian was dumbfounded.

He was a member of the Divine Martial Palace and Wu Zhuo's direct disciple, so he knew his master's temperament intimately. As one of the realm's three Moon-Gazers, and one who had surpassed his predecessors, Wu Zhuo could be considered the strongest in the entire Azure Dawn Dao Realm, a pillar of stability for the realm and its future hope.

His master had high aspirations; he barely paid any mind to the Moon-Gazers from Jade Snail, confident that he would surpass them in the future.

Lu Ye's address as "fellow Daoist" had undoubtedly displeased his master. Yet, in the blink of an eye, his master had personally acknowledged the term, and with such politeness...

Zhou Dingtian truly wanted to know what information was contained in that jade slip that could cause such a drastic change in his proud master's attitude.

"Excuse the intrusion!" Lu Ye said. He then turned to instruct Li Shang to wait for him there, before stepping onto the rainbow bridge and walking steadily towards the tall tower.

The rainbow bridge led to the highest floor of the tall tower. Upon arriving, Lu Ye immediately saw a towering man with long, flowing hair, dressed in a black robe, standing with his hands behind his back.

Lu Ye had often heard of Wu Zhuo's great reputation from Tang Jun, but this was his first time seeing the man himself. He found him to be much as he imagined: Wu Zhuo exuded an extremely unbridled and wild aura, like an ancient ferocious beast that had gained sentience.

Lu Ye had encountered many Moon-Gazers, and even personally killed some, but the feeling he got from them was entirely different from the man before him.

He could vaguely sense that at the mid-Moon-Gazer level, Wu Zhuo's strength was likely among the very best. He vaguely recalled Tang Jun mentioning that Wu Zhuo had once participated in the Divine Sea Contention of the Reincarnation Tree, emerging victorious and gaining enlightenment from the Primordial Realm to advance to the Star Lord stage.

Regardless of the era, anyone who could emerge victorious from the Reincarnation Tree's Divine Sea Contention was extraordinary. It was a contest among the elite Divine Sea cultivators from thousands, even tens of thousands, of large and even top-tier realms, with only the top hundred ultimately prevailing. The difficulty of such a feat was immense.

Wu Zhuo's victory alone demonstrated his exceptional talent. Individuals like him would always possess strength far surpassing others at the same level, regardless of their cultivation stage.

The Azure Dawn Dao Realm possessed a clone of the Reincarnation Tree. Lu Ye had always found this curious because, as far as he knew, Tang Jun and Qin Yuandai were among the first batch of Star Lords in the Azure Dawn Dao Realm. Yet, neither of them had ever traveled far from the Jade Snail Star System, making it impossible for them to have sought a clone from the Reincarnation Tree.

Tang Jun himself couldn't explain the origin of this clone, as it seemed to have always existed within the Azure Dawn Dao Realm. It was only after he and Qin Yuandai advanced to the Star Lord stage that they gradually noticed the unusual nature of this clone tree, and only after some study did they understand its function.

Tang Jun only speculated that this clone had been present in the Azure Dawn Dao Realm for a very long time. Perhaps in ancient times, the Azure Dawn Dao Realm was a large realm that somehow fell into decline, only to be re-promoted over three thousand years ago.

The rise and fall of realms are common occurrences in the vast starry sky, thus not surprising.

On the top floor of the tall tower, Wu Zhuo quietly observed Lu Ye. His eyes were profound, showing nothing on the surface, but inwardly he was profoundly shocked.

In just that short period, he had received an overwhelming amount of incredible information from the jade slip.

The source of this information was none other than Tang Jun, who had been missing for many years!

He was certain that the information in the jade slip was indeed imprinted by Tang Jun; there could be no deception. As Moon-Gazers from the same realm, they knew each other well, and no one could fool him in this regard.

The mysterious wormhole, the all-encompassing Myriad Manifestations Star System, the magnificent Myriad Manifestations Sea, the flourishing Peerless Island, and the Star Lord Hall where a million Star Lords gathered...

All this information assailed Wu Zhuo's Divine Sea. Even as a mid-Moon-Gazer, he couldn't remain unaffected.

Compared to the magnificent and bustling Myriad Manifestations Sea, Jade Snail was little more than a desolate backwater. If he were a cautious and timid person, the grandeur outside wouldn't concern him, and he could find contentment in his own small corner. But how could someone who had triumphed in the Primordial Realm lack ambition? Thus, he was immensely interested in all the information within the jade slip.

However, one detail puzzled Wu Zhuo: Tang Jun had also left a message in the jade slip, instructing him that if a young man calling himself "Peerless Li Taibai" ever came to him with the slip, he must treat him with utmost courtesy and never show him any disrespect. This was because the island master of Peerless Island, where Tang Jun currently resided, had an excellent relationship with Li Taibai. Tang Jun's ability to enter Peerless Island was thanks to Li Taibai's connections. If people from the Azure Dawn Dao Realm were to enter the Myriad Manifestations Sea in the future, they would need to rely heavily on this individual. Offending him now would mean closing off any future path for the Azure Dawn Dao Realm.

The person Tang Jun spoke of was called Peerless Li Taibai, and the spirit island was also named Peerless Island. Given Li Taibai's excellent relationship with the Peerless Island master, one couldn't help but make certain associations.

But then Wu Zhuo thought carefully: the person who just arrived seemed to have introduced himself as Nine Heavens Lu Yiye...

Unable to figure it out, he simply asked directly, "Who exactly is Peerless Li Taibai?"

Lu Ye pondered briefly, immediately understanding the situation. He had always called himself Peerless Li Taibai in front of Tang Jun. So, with a calm expression, he replied, "That's also me! Peerless Realm is a subordinate realm of my Nine Heavens. As for the name Li Taibai... Fellow Daoist must know that when one wanders the starry sky, one inevitably faces dangers, and there are times when an alias is necessary."

His candid admission momentarily stunned Wu Zhuo, who then nodded slightly in understanding. Yet, a sliver of doubt remained in his mind: was this old fellow Tang Jun truly reliable? He didn't even know the person's true origins, only an alias like Peerless Li Taibai. This seemed rather questionable.

"Please, sit," Wu Zhuo said, gesturing with his hand before taking a seat himself.

There were no tables or chairs in the tower, only two meditation cushions. Wu Zhuo sat on one, leaving Lu Ye to sit on the other.

Facing each other, Wu Zhuo had many questions but was unsure where to begin. After a moment of thought, he spoke, "According to Senior Brother Tang, you and he accidentally fell into a newly formed wormhole and ended up in the Myriad Manifestations Star System?"

"Precisely!" Lu Ye nodded. He hadn't checked the contents of the jade slip himself. Firstly, he deemed it unnecessary. Secondly, jade slips used for transmitting information usually contained special restrictions; if Lu Ye had examined it, the slip would undoubtedly have been destroyed, making it impossible for him to bring it back to Wu Zhuo and gain his trust and cooperation.

"Calculating the time, that was precisely the day Senior Brother Tang went missing," Wu Zhuo continued. "Have you, fellow Daoist, perhaps encountered another Moon-Gazer from my Dao Realm?"

In recent years, of the three Moon-Gazers in the Azure Dawn Dao Realm, one died and one went missing, leaving only him to shoulder the burden alone. This left him with no time to even venture into the starry sky to seek cultivation resources, which was incredibly frustrating.

Although it was confirmed that Qin Yuandai had died, and even a group of Star Lords from Mount Baimang had perished, no one knew exactly how or where she died, as none of the people Qin Yuandai had brought with her returned alive.

Wu Zhuo had merely asked casually, not expecting any answer from Lu Ye, but to his surprise, Lu Ye actually nodded. "I have!"

Wu Zhuo was taken aback. "Where did you see her? What was the situation then? Was she pursued by enemies?"

Lu Ye looked at him and said, "Fellow Daoist, you want to know how that Moon-Gazer died, don't you?"

Wu Zhuo's face showed surprise. "You know how she died?"

"Of course."