Chapter 1589: Singing and Dancing

As the butterfly beast of the stars departed, Lu Ye’s expression changed on the starship. He felt a strange resonance between himself and the receding creature as its dust merged with him. Under this peculiar resonance, he faintly felt his body slipping out of his control. His innate talent tree suddenly reacted. Upon inspection, it glowed brightly with fire, and thick black smoke billowed upwards. Lu Ye felt a chill in his heart, realizing an external force had invaded him, causing his talent tree to react. Was this a potent poison? If so, with his talent tree, he might escape, but Wan Guliu, Tao Yan, and Zhou Xingzhi would likely face a grim fate.

While fully activating the power of his talent tree, he looked towards Wan Guliu and the others. The three men's expressions were beginning to show panic. Wan Guliu exclaimed, "That dust is poisonous!" As he spoke, he suddenly stood up, but his movements were extremely stiff, as if invisible threads were manipulating him, turning him into a puppet.

Wan Guliu’s face clearly showed terror, yet under Lu Ye's gaze, he spread his arms and fluttered them up and down like a butterfly, pacing back and forth on the starship. At first glance, it looked like he was performing some bizarre ritual. His terror quickly turned to bewilderment.

"What's happening?" Wan Guliu asked, utterly baffled. He hadn't intended to make these movements, but his body was completely beyond his control. Not only him, but Tao Yan and Zhou Xingzhi beside him were also doing the same, fluttering their arms up and down, their expressions anxious yet performing strange gestures.

The three slowly formed a circle, surrounding Lu Ye, and began to spin continuously. Lu Ye's eyes twitched as he watched… three Constellations from different realms, now like ducks in a mating ritual, showcasing themselves vigorously before him. The sight was truly cringeworthy.

"I want to sing!" Tao Yan wailed, but the words were less spoken than sung, with a peculiar rise and fall in his voice. "Me too…" Zhou Xingzhi expressed that he could no longer suppress the urge in his heart and had to sing a few lines.

"Yi Ye, why are you alright?" Wan Guliu asked, singing his question in an odd cadence. Lu Ye was currently observing the retreating butterfly beast, noticing that every time the butterfly flapped its wings, the three men would swing their arms. It was clear that their strange movements were indeed influenced by the butterfly. Recalling the resonance he had felt with the butterfly beast moments before, Lu Ye secretly shivered. Thankfully, he had his talent tree; otherwise, he too would be singing and dancing like Wan Guliu and the others.

What kind of star beast was this? Although it seemed to bear no ill will towards them, and its dust caused no substantial harm, it could turn those who touched it into puppets. The power of that dust was truly bizarre.

"Do you feel any other abnormalities?" Lu Ye asked."No," Tao Yan replied, singing.Wan Guliu joined in, singing, "Feeling great, suddenly very energetic."Zhou Xingzhi then sang, "And there's even an uncontainable joy in my heart!" His face clearly showed an uncontrollable smile, but when he laughed, it sounded like crying.

The three of them sang back and forth, making it quite entertaining. Lu Ye watched quietly. Although he could probably use the power of his talent tree to solve their current problem, since the three had no other discomfort, he wasn't in a hurry to act. Encountering such a strange star beast for the first time, Lu Ye wanted to observe it more.

He wanted to see how long the dust's effects would last, or if they would stop being affected once they were far enough from the butterfly beast.

The starship became lively. Lu Ye steered it forward, while behind him, three grown men danced and sang as if celebrating a holiday, their strange voices spreading into the depths of space as the ship journeyed on.

Half a day later, Lu Ye confirmed that the butterfly beast was absolutely very, very far away from them, yet there was no improvement in the condition of Wan Guliu and the other two. They continued to sing and dance without stopping. After another half day, there was still no relief. Although the three had no other abnormalities, with no change after a full day, Lu Ye decided to stop observing. Just as he was about to help them, the three dancing and singing men suddenly stopped their movements and sat down on the starship.

"Are you alright now?" Lu Ye asked. Wan Guliu and the other two exchanged glances and nodded, still feeling a lingering fear.

That saved him trouble. If Lu Ye had intervened, he would have needed to infuse his spiritual power into their bodies and then use the power of his talent tree to burn away the influence, which would have inevitably caused some internal injuries to their bodies.

"The three of you should rest first," Lu Ye said. Their current location was not far from the Mound of a Thousand Hills. Once they left the Chaotic Burst Zone and reached the Mound of a Thousand Hills, the rest of the journey would be much easier.

Wan Guliu and the other two quickly called out to him in unison. Lu Ye looked at them with confusion, seeing their hesitant expressions. Finally, Wan Guliu spoke, "Yi Ye, about what happened earlier…" Lu Ye looked utterly bewildered, "What happened earlier?" Wan Guliu was stunned for a moment, but Tao Yan's eyes lit up, and he quickly interjected, "Nothing! Nothing at all happened before!" Zhou Xingzhi nodded vigorously like a pecking chick, "It's been a peaceful journey, with wonderful views of the starry sky. What could have happened?" Lu Ye turned and continued to steer the starship.

Wan Guliu and the other two exchanged glances, all seeing the embarrassment on each other's faces. This concerned their reputation, and it absolutely could not be leaked. If other cultivators from their realms found out, they would surely be ridiculed for a lifetime.

After continuing for more than half a month, they finally exited the Chaotic Burst Zone. Gazing at the magnificent stellar spectacle filling their vision, Wan Guliu and the others were all captivated.

Lu Ye, having seen a few stellar wonders before, had a broader perspective than them and remained composed. He steered the starship around the area for a while but saw no sign of the Three Realms' fleet, and his spiritual message notes received no reply.

He could only wait. By his estimation, the fleet couldn't have stayed in the Chaotic Burst Zone for too long; they would surely emerge. Once out, they would undoubtedly follow the starmap's guidance to this vicinity, where contact could then be established. However, the fleet's speed was ultimately slower than his single ship, so arriving earlier was normal for him.

Wan Guliu and the other two were already discussing whether something was buried inside the visible nebula mounds. Wan Guliu speculated that the corpses of powerful beings were definitely interred there, while Zhou Xingzhi guessed that each mound contained treasures. Tao Yan felt both were wrong but couldn't explain why.

Lu Ye didn't interject. He actually knew what was inside the nebula mounds, and that substance greatly benefited the advancement of a realm's foundation. If someday Little Nine could relocate the Nine Provinces to this place and freely devour the contents of the nebula mounds, then the Nine Provinces' ascension to a top-tier realm would be within reach. However, while the nebula mounds were inanimate, they possessed an instinctive defensive capability. Before this defense could be overcome, even if Little Nine moved the Nine Provinces here, it would be useless.

Lu Ye looked around, hoping to find the blue bird or any mound it might have excavated, and perhaps pick up something useful. Unfortunately, as far as he could see, all the mounds were intact, and the blue bird was nowhere to be found, so he gave up.

After waiting for several more days, his message note suddenly stirred. Lu Ye checked and found that it was a message from Yi Yi, and soon after, he received one from Hua Ci. Overjoyed, he knew things had unfolded as he had guessed: after failing to find their traces in the Chaotic Burst Zone, the fleet had chosen to continue their journey. The fleet should now be out of the Chaotic Burst Zone and nearby, otherwise, the message notes wouldn't be able to connect.

Not only was Lu Ye contacted, but Wan Guliu, Tao Yan, and Zhou Xingzhi also received messages.

A moment later, a fleet was indeed seen slowly approaching from the direction they had come. On the leading starship, the figure of Luan Xiao'e was faintly discernible, and many others stood at the bow, waving towards them.

They soon rendezvoused. Seeing that Lu Ye had actually rescued Wan Guliu and the other two, Luan Xiao'e's face was filled with disbelief. She had witnessed the situation then and, although she didn't know what confidence Lu Ye had to brave the spatial magnetic storm, even with confidence, he could at most protect himself. Rescuing people in such an environment would be incredibly difficult. Yet now, all three of Wan Guliu's group were with Lu Ye, a feat that was truly astonishing.

"Fellow Daoist Luan!" Lu Ye stepped forward to greet her. Luan Xiao'e said, "After you left, the fleet searched for you for several days without success. So, I decided for the fleet to continue forward, thinking that if you were safe, you would also proceed. The junction between the Chaotic Burst Zone and the Mound of a Thousand Hills is the safe meeting point." Lu Ye nodded, "Your decision was very wise, Fellow Daoist." Luan Xiao'e glanced at Tao Yan behind Lu Ye, "And I must thank Fellow Daoist for your righteous intervention."

"I couldn't stand by idly when I was capable of helping." Luan Xiao'e said, "Now that we're out of the Chaotic Burst Zone, I intend to rest here for two days before setting off again. What do you think, Fellow Daoist?" Although the fleet mostly relied on the power of spirit jade for travel, cultivators also needed to activate their spiritual energy to maintain some spell arrays. However, there were enough cultivators on each spirit vessel, so they could take turns, making it not too exhausting.

There was no longer any danger from the Chaotic Burst Zone here. With a long journey ahead, resting for two days before setting off again would allow everyone to be more energized.

"Fellow Daoist is the leader of the Three Realms, just give the order." Seeing his agreement, Luan Xiao'e immediately issued the order.