Chapter 1587: Lost and Separated

With the talent tree's blessing, his spiritual power circulated unimpeded within him. But if he merely continued to drift, he would never find the Tiger Shark warship that had been swept in, as everything was rotating in the same direction at the same speed.

To locate the Tiger Shark warship, he needed to increase his own speed, surpassing that of the magnetic storm's rotation.

Upon realizing this, Lu Ye frantically channeled his spiritual power, surging forward rapidly along the direction of the magnetic storm's rotation.

From afar, the cosmic magnetic storm appeared as a colossal tornado, engulfing a vast stretch of space. Lu Ye couldn't determine the Tiger Shark warship's precise location, his divine sense was completely scrambled in this environment, and visibility was severely restricted.

Lu Ye could only employ the most straightforward method: spiraling upward along the tornado's rotational path, searching meticulously.

He no longer needed to worry about colliding with meteorites, because from his perspective, he was chasing the rapidly spinning debris. Therefore, with careful navigation, he would be safe.

The cosmic magnetic storm, shaped like a tornado, was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. Lu Ye steadily widened his search radius but yielded no results, growing increasingly anxious. Though the Tiger Shark warship was well-built, it couldn't endure extended torment in such an environment; over time, the vessel was certain to sustain damage.

The loss of a single Tiger Shark warship was negligible, but without its protection, the three cultivators aboard would likely meet a tragic end.

After searching for half an hour, then an hour, and nearly two hours in total, Lu Ye himself felt dizzy from the constant rotation, and he had no idea how far the cosmic magnetic storm had carried him.

Just as he began to fear that Wan Guliu and the others might truly be lost, his gaze suddenly fixed in one direction. Among the vast amount of swept-up cosmic debris, something familiar briefly flickered into view.

Lu Ye immediately focused, swiftly moving towards the object. Upon reaching it, he indeed found a severely damaged Tiger Shark warship.

The warship was originally equipped with robust protective formations, theoretically capable of withstanding impacts from cosmic debris when swept away. However, within this cosmic magnetic storm, even cultivators' spiritual power was inhibited, rendering the Tiger Shark warship's protective formations completely inoperable.

At this moment, this warship, valued at half a million spirit jades, was nearly ruined, riddled with holes and utterly scarred across its entire hull.

Lu Ye hastened to the Tiger Shark warship. A close-range scan immediately revealed three vital presences inside, causing him to breathe a sigh of relief.

They were still alive!

It appeared the Tiger Shark warship had afforded them some protection; otherwise, had their physical bodies been directly engulfed, survival would have been impossible.

While the three inside were alive, their condition was clearly poor. Lu Ye pressed against the Tiger Shark warship and peered through a fist-sized hole, seeing all three had fallen unconscious. A strong scent of blood permeated the vessel, indicating they were all severely injured.

Without spiritual power to command, cultivators could only rely on their physical bodies. None of the three cultivators aboard this warship were body cultivators specializing in physical prowess, so as the vessel incessantly tumbled and crashed, their conditions deteriorated significantly.

Lu Ye pressed himself against the battered warship, surveyed his surroundings, then climbed to the keel, grasping it firmly, intending to break out while pulling the vessel.

While it had been easy for him to enter alone, attempting to break free while towing a warship proved far more challenging. After a brief attempt, Lu Ye realized this was an almost impossible feat.

With a thought, the Dragon Seat was summoned. The sphere, roughly the size of a baby's head, fragmented, and dragon scales spread to cover Lu Ye's body. In a blink, a ten-meter tall crimson figure stood towering beside the warship.

Lu Ye felt as if invisible needles were piercing his entire body, his inherent energy rapidly consumed by the Dragon Seat. Grabbing the warship's keel with his large hand, he exerted all his strength, surging in one direction.

The resistance was immense. Meteorites of various sizes continuously struck the Dragon Seat, leaving Lu Ye largely unharmed. However, the warship he gripped grew even more damaged from the collisions.

If he were alone, he could simply force his way out. However, he now needed to exit while also ensuring the safety of the three individuals inside the warship.

Lu Ye greatly doubted whether the warship would be utterly destroyed before he could extract it. If that happened, the three unconscious individuals inside would surely perish.

Forcing his way out like this was indeed futile; he still needed to follow the direction of the magnetic storm's flow.

Lu Ye immediately altered his strategy, resuming his rapid movement along the magnetic storm's path, just as before, and steadily increasing his speed.

This time, however, he didn't spiral upward but instead continued rotating in a single direction.

Until a certain point, when his speed reached a critical level, Lu Ye barely exerted any effort, yet he felt himself and the warship being propelled out of the cosmic magnetic storm.

The invisible force field that had encompassed him vanished, along with the powerful current.

As Lu Ye looked back, he saw the colossal tornado swiftly receding, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Tugging the ruined warship, he flew onward for a short distance before stopping, retracting the Dragon Seat, opening the hatch, and entering the vessel.

The interior was thick with the smell of blood. The three cultivators from different realms lay or sprawled in various contorted positions. Lu Ye quickly approached to examine them.

None of the three had died, but their injuries were severe, indicating a need for a considerable period of recovery.

Lu Ye administered recovery elixirs to each of them before beginning to assess the warship's condition. The situation was grim; most of the vessel's functions were currently inoperative. Given such extensive damage, it was indeed difficult for it to retain its original capabilities.

Fortunately, the warship could still be piloted, though its speed was significantly reduced. Lu Ye surmised this was due to certain damaged formations, and having not studied them extensively, he had no idea how to repair them.

With the individuals rescued, the immediate priority was to quickly rejoin the fleet.

He checked his communication talisman and attempted to transmit a message, but it failed. There was only one possible reason: their distance from the fleet exceeded the talisman's communication range.

The cosmic magnetic storm moved rapidly. He had spent over two hours inside, swept along for a considerable duration, so he was undoubtedly a great distance from the main fleet.

He surveyed the surrounding starry sky but made no particular discoveries. Although he possessed a starmap route from the Samsara Tree, it merely depicted a path and lacked detailed information about the Chaotic Blast Zone. He could identify star patterns near the route by cross-referencing them with the map, but beyond that range, he was unable to determine his exact location.

His only option was to proceed in the opposite direction of the magnetic storm's flow, hoping to eventually encounter the fleet.

The severely damaged Tiger Shark warship was effectively useless due to its slow speed. Lu Ye had initially intended to store it, as it was valued at half a million spirit jades and could likely be repaired for future use upon returning to the Myriad Manifestation Sea. However, a damaged formation prevented the warship from shrinking. Though classified as a small warship, its size was still too large for a storage ring to accommodate.

Left with no alternative, Lu Ye reluctantly abandoned the warship. He summoned his own Star Shuttle, transferred the three unconscious individuals onto it, and piloted the Star Shuttle forward.

Fortunately, there were only three individuals; otherwise, his Star Shuttle wouldn't have been able to accommodate them.

He had expected that by moving forward, he would either encounter the fleet or their search party. However, to his surprise, after several days of travel, he encountered no signs of life.

Lu Ye knew the fleet would not abandon him and would undoubtedly dispatch search parties. The only reason they hadn't reunited was likely due to heading in divergent directions.

Directions in space are three-dimensional, radiating in all directions with no blind spots, which often leads to slight deviations resulting in vast positional differences.

Lu Ye surmised that he had likely missed the fleet's search trajectory.

He remained unconcerned because if the fleet failed to locate him, they would presumably continue their journey. Thus, as long as he found the correct route and pressed onward, he was certain to eventually meet them.

With this in mind, Lu Ye piloted the Star Shuttle, observing the surrounding celestial phenomena to ensure he returned to the correct course as soon as possible. Simultaneously, he instructed Wan Guliu and the others to continuously send out communication signals, hoping to reach the fleet.

Wan Guliu and the other two gradually regained consciousness over the past few days. Upon waking to discover they were alive, they were all immensely surprised and overjoyed. Given the situation, they had fully resigned themselves to death, knowing that even Luan Xiao'e couldn't have saved them once they were caught in the cosmic magnetic storm.

To their astonishment, they awoke to find Lu Ye.

Wan Guliu, being from the same sect, had little to say. However, the two late-stage Star Constellation cultivators from Qingli Dao Realm and Jade Snail Realm sincerely expressed their profound gratitude to Lu Ye. This was a genuine life-saving act, something many cultivators held in high regard.

Upon understanding their current predicament, the three wasted no time. While tending to their injuries, they persistently attempted to establish external contact, hoping to reach the fleet, but unfortunately, their efforts proved fruitless.

Meanwhile, back with the fleet, a disagreement arose for the first time among the cultivators of the three realms. This was primarily a divergence between the cultivators of the Nine Provinces and Luan Xiao'e.

The fleet had been searching this Chaotic Blast Zone for several days, yet they had found no trace of Lu Ye or the other three, and even communication attempts went unanswered.

The cultivators of the Nine Provinces naturally insisted on continuing the search. They refused to abandon Lu Ye, believing it impossible for him to have met with an accident. They reasoned that if he hadn't been found, it was simply because the search direction was incorrect, and expanding the search area would surely yield results.

However, Luan Xiao'e did not concur.

It wasn't that she was indifferent to Lu Ye's life or death. This joint venture of the three realms' cultivators towards the Myriad Manifestation Sea was largely orchestrated by Lu Ye; he provided the starmap, and his contributions would be crucial for many subsequent endeavors.

Moreover, when Lu Ye ventured to rescue them, he saved not only the cultivators from the Nine Provinces but also those from her own Jade Snail Realm. To charge fearlessly into such a terrifying cosmic magnetic storm was a heroic feat that would move anyone. If circumstances allowed, Luan Xiao'e, too, would have preferred to find Lu Ye before resuming their journey.

However, as the person in charge of the fleet, she had numerous factors to consider. After much deliberation, she ultimately had to decide that the fleet must continue its journey, and it was at this point that the disagreement escalated.