Chapter 1604: Owing a Great Debt of Gratitude

The Dancer inexplicably appeared on the battlefield. Her power corrupted all living beings there, yet one human remained unaffected. If that were all, it wouldn't matter; a mere Star Realm human couldn't possibly change the tide of this war.

But he actually possessed the ability to free others from this influence! Li Guan had already been freed and had slain a Sun Realm insectoid. Next was Ning Bu'ao. The few Blood Tribe Sun Realms knew the tide had turned. They were filled with resentment but powerless.

They couldn't understand why the Dancer had appeared on the battlefield at this moment. A small, unexpected change had rendered four centuries of planning by two races completely futile.

Lu Ye was still helping Ning Bu'ao burn away the Dancer's strange power when Li Guan attacked again, slaying the second Sun Realm insectoid.

Just like the first time, after striking, she began to recuperate. It seemed her injuries from the previous battle were still severe.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Ning Bu'ao recovered. He immediately shot out, charging towards where the four Blood Tribe Sun Realms were gathered. His voice echoed from afar: "Young friend, Ning Bu'ao owes you his life!" Lu Ye, without pause, rushed towards Luo Xie.

Luo Xie watched enviously as Ning Bu'ao, now unrestrained, unleashed his power and began a slaughter among the four Blood Tribe Sun Realms.

In a blink, the aura of a powerful being vanished from that area. Clearly, a Blood Tribe Sun Realm had fallen to Ning Bu'ao.

Ever since Bai Jin revealed his Blood Tribe identity and ambushed Chen Zong, Ning Bu'ao and the others had been consistently disadvantaged. As a body cultivator, he had been nearly beaten to death by enemy Sun Realms. Now, finally able to vent his frustration, how could he show mercy?

By the time Li Guan had recuperated, Ning Bu'ao had almost annihilated the four Blood Tribe Sun Realms. Li Guan glanced over, then, moving with her sword, began to roam the battlefield. Wherever her figure passed, sword light flashed brilliantly, and terrified Blood Tribe and insectoid creatures were instantly cut down.

Normally, as a Sun Realm cultivator, she wouldn't bother with Moon Realm or even Star Realm opponents. But this was a battlefield; everyone not human was an enemy. This was no place for personal morality or mercy.

In this battle, the cultivators of the Four Directions Star Systems had suffered heavy losses. These Blood Tribe and insectoid creatures had shown no mercy when slaughtering humans before.

After dealing with the four Blood Tribe Sun Realms, Ning Bu'ao also began to act. The two Sun Realms were like two blazing suns; the insectoids and Blood Tribe were like snowflakes, rapidly melting wherever the sun's rays touched.

Luo Xie watched, anxious, suppressing his physical discomfort, and said, "Young friend, please hurry." He was afraid that by the time he could act, all the enemies would be gone. If he couldn't kill Sun Realms, killing some Moon Realms would still be good; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to relieve the frustration in his heart.

"Alright!" Lu Ye replied, his spiritual energy surging even more intensely. Luo Xie's expression twisted, primarily from the intense pain; he felt as if he were being roasted over a fire. Yet, the effect was significant, and he gradually regained control of himself.

A moment later, Luo Xie let out a hearty laugh: "Here I come!" The third Sun Realm cultivator joined the slaughter!

Lu Ye watched the three figures wreaking havoc on the battlefield and slowly exhaled. When Ning Bu'ao had killed those Blood Tribe Sun Realms, the outcome of the battle here was already decided. Without Sun Realms to command them, no matter how numerous the insectoids and Blood Tribe were, they couldn't withstand the onslaught of their opponents' Sun Realms.

The three Sun Realms appeared to be killing indiscriminately, but they actually followed a certain pattern. Their priority was undoubtedly to slay the Moon Realms.

However, the number of Moon Realms on the battlefield was limited, with Star Realms being the most numerous. So, the Moon Realms of the insectoids and Blood Tribe were quickly wiped out.

Lu Ye returned to the warship and slumped down, his face a little pale. The burst of power used to kill Bai Jin had put an immense strain on his body. The tearing of his flesh was secondary; his entire body, from inside to out, had suffered damage from the immense burden. This damage wasn't severe, but he would still need a day or two of rest to recover.

"Lu Ye!" Yiyi pleaded, looking pitifully at Lu Ye while hopping, her voice like a whine.

She wasn't the only one looking at Lu Ye; everyone on the warship was. After all, constantly hopping wasn't sustainable, and since Lu Ye could free the three Sun Realms, he could naturally help them too.

Lu Ye keenly noticed that Hua Ci's gaze was somewhat dangerous. It strongly implied that if he didn't quickly free her, he would face unpleasant consequences.

He quickly explained, "It's not that I don't want to help; it's just that using that method would cause significant damage to your bodies, so it's better not to try it lightly. Besides, the Dancer's influence only lasts about a day. Old Wan and the others were fine after a day last time." In any case, with the three Sun Realms acting on the battlefield, no one else needed to do anything. They just had to wait, and the three Sun Realms would wipe out the enemies.

And indeed, as Lu Ye said, activating the power of the Talent Tree would cause them some damage. Since they would be free in a day at most, it was better to wait patiently. Furthermore, with so many people on the warship, if Lu Ye were to help them one by one, the Dancer's power would dissipate on its own before he could finish.

"Is that true?" Qian Wudang turned to look at Wan Guliu.

"Old Wan, you've experienced this before?" Wan Guliu stammered awkwardly, "Ah? Uh... mm-hmm!" He then 'sold out' the other two: "I'm not sure. You should ask Daoist friends Tao Yan and Zhou Xingzhi." Not far away, Tao Yan and Zhou Xingzhi wore resentful expressions. Everyone immediately understood that the last time these three had such an encounter, it was likely after being swept by the stellar magnetic storm. Otherwise, there was no reason it would coincidentally be just the three of them.

However, no one would willingly bring up such an embarrassing incident. Now, it was a case of the pot calling the kettle black; every single member of the Three Realms fleet had experienced it.

Even Luan Xiao'e, the strongest and most imposing among them, had performed a split for Lu Ye.

Lu Ye suddenly realized he wasn't the only one on the battlefield unaffected by the Dancer. There was also one other person who hadn't been affected.

That was Ya Ya. After Ya Ya had attacked earlier, repelling the Blood Tribe Sun Realm and being called back by him, she had quickly fallen into a deep sleep and was still quietly sleeping beside him.

Lu Ye wasn't sure if Ya Ya wasn't affected by the Dancer because she was asleep, or if it was due to something special about her. There was no way to investigate it.

The three Sun Realms were still clearing the battlefield. However, their speed was incredibly fast, and their efficiency extremely high. In less than half an hour, all insectoid and Blood Tribe forces on the battlefield had been completely annihilated.

Reunited, the three stood side by side, looking at the ravaged battlefield. But there was not much joy in their victory.

Ning Bu'ao sighed, "The losses this time are considerable!"

Although there were occasional conflicts and disputes among the Four Directions Star Systems, these were generally contained and would never escalate into large-scale inter-system confrontations.

This time, to advance to the Myriad Manifestations Sea, the Four Directions Star Systems had set aside their past grievances and genuinely united, preparing to first eliminate the insectoid nest here.

Who would have thought that after one battle, a large number of cultivators would be dead or wounded? The deaths of Star Realm cultivators weren't particularly painful. But it wasn't just Star Realms who died; some Moon Realms were also lost, and those were truly heartbreaking losses.

"Be thankful," Luo Xie lamented, "Had it not been for young friend Lu's help, this wouldn't be the outcome. We would have been completely annihilated."

If, before today, someone had told him that on a large-scale battlefield involving three major races and nearly ten Sun Realms, a mere Star Realm cultivator could single-handedly turn the tide and completely alter the course of the battle, Luo Xie would surely have dismissed it as a madman's fantasy and slapped them.

Yet, in today's battle, Lu Ye truly single-handedly saved a collapsing edifice. He rescued the cultivators of the Four Directions Star Systems from dire peril. Without Lu Ye, none of them would have survived.

Now, at the very least, their three Sun Realms and a portion of the allied cultivators had survived. The Blood Tribe and insectoids' scheme against the Four Directions Star Systems had been thwarted.

To put it simply, Lu Ye's actions saved the lives of those on the battlefield. To put it broadly, he saved the entire Four Directions Star Systems, the lives of billions of sentient beings, and the foundation built by the Four Directions Star Systems over countless years.

"This debt of gratitude is considerable," Luo Xie said with a solemn expression. It is said that one should repay a life-saving kindness with utmost devotion, but how could such an immense favor ever be repaid?

"Let's put that aside for now. What do you think about the matter of Quiet Moon?" Li Guan asked. Luo Xie and Ning Bu'ao both couldn't help but frown.

After a good while, Luo Xie said, "Shi Hanqing is human; I can confirm that!" Shi Hanqing, whom he referred to, was the other Sun Realm cultivator from the Quiet Moon Star System.

Among the Four Directions Star Systems, the Great Luo Star System had the deepest foundation, boasting four Sun Realm cultivators. Next was the Unbounded Star System, with three Sun Realms, while Quiet Moon and North Profound each had only two Sun Realm cultivators.

The reason Luo Xie could confirm Shi Hanqing was human was that the two had started interacting when they were very young. One could say they grew up competing with each other, eventually both ascending to the Sun Realm, becoming lifelong rivals. Regarding understanding Shi Hanqing, no one in the Four Directions Star Systems knew him better than Luo Xie.

Therefore, Shi Hanqing could not have been a Blood Tribe disguise.

Ning Bu'ao said, "If I recall correctly, Bai Jin drifted to the Quiet Moon Star System over four hundred years ago. He was severely injured at the time and was taken in by Daoist friend Shi Hanqing, remaining in Quiet Moon until today..."

Luo Xie nodded, "Indeed, that's correct. Looking at it this way, Bai Jin's arrival in Quiet Moon back then must have been deliberate. The Blood Tribe and insectoids' scheme against our Four Directions Star Systems must have begun around that time."

Li Guan said, "Daoist friend Shi Hanqing..."