Chapter 1609: Thank You Gift

Qin Yi visited late at night solely to express her personal gratitude. After presenting Lu Ye with two gifts, she rose to leave. However, as she reached the doorway, she suddenly turned and looked at Lu Ye again, smiling slightly. "I've always had a good eye for people. You possess the same potential as Chen Zong, and even greater!"

Back then, hundreds of top families and forces in Beixuan wanted to send their cultivators to Qin Yi for training. Yet, Qin Yi chose only Chen Zong, who had no background or powerful connections, simply because she saw that kind of potential in him. Facts proved her judgment was correct; Chen Zong indeed advanced to Sun-Exposure, becoming one of Beixuan's two great pillars.

However, for many years after that, she had not seen such potential in anyone else, until she met Lu Ye today.

This was also one of the reasons why a Sun-Exposure cultivator like her would visit late at night. Coming to express gratitude was one reason; forging a good relationship with Lu Ye was the second.

After watching Qin Yi depart, Lu Ye closed his door and continued to immerse himself in his confrontation with the Green Mantis.

The next day, as dawn approached, someone else came to find him. This time, it was three Sun-Exposure cultivators: Li Guan leading, accompanied by Luo Xie and Shi Hanqing.

After Li Guan explained their purpose, Lu Ye understood why they had come to him. He had anticipated this, so he readily agreed and followed the three out.

Soon, the four appeared in a secluded, enclosed area.

A large number of cultivators were gathered there, with varying cultivation levels, from Moon-Gatherer to Spirit-Stream, covering all ranks.

These cultivators were all from Jingyue, brought there by Shi Hanqing from the Jingyue Star System.

Jingyue had produced a Bai Jin, and over the past few centuries, he had secretly placed an unknown number of Blood Clan members in Jingyue. The situation during the previous battle alone showed that the Blood Clan in Jingyue were far more numerous than revealed; there must be others hidden.

However, Shi Hanqing lacked the ability to discern Blood Clan members. So, he brought all the cultivators who had any connection or contact with Bai Jin, or even the deceased Blood Clan members, from Jingyue in one go.

His main goal was to have Lu Ye take a look and identify the hidden Blood Clan members among them.

If he didn't seize this opportunity to use Lu Ye's ability, Shi Hanqing would have to investigate each person thoroughly to find the Blood Clan, which would be troublesome and somewhat inappropriate.

"Little friend Lu, everyone is here. I must trouble you to help identify their true forms. Shi is extremely grateful!"

"You are too polite, senior brother. It's merely a small effort," Lu Ye nodded, looking at the crowd.

There were roughly twenty thousand cultivators gathered here, demonstrating Shi Hanqing's firm resolve to eradicate the Blood Clan. It seemed anyone with even the slightest connection to Bai Jin or the deceased Blood Clan members had been brought here.

No one knew why this was happening, but with their Sun-Exposure cultivator giving the command, who dared to disobey? However, among the crowd, a small number of people indeed looked uneasy. They knew that if everything had gone as planned, this should have been the time for the Blood Clan and Insect Clan allied forces to attack the Wuding Star System. Yet, the Blood Clan and Insect Clan were nowhere to be seen, and the Quad-Sect Star System's fleet, which should have been annihilated yesterday, had actually returned.

These were all very bad signs.

Lu Ye's gaze meticulously swept over everyone, and he quickly found the answer in his heart. After pointing out the hidden Blood Clan members, he departed.

He didn't need to intervene in the remaining matters; Shi Hanqing would handle them.

However, among the twenty thousand people, there were only a dozen or so hidden Blood Clan members, and all of them were above Constellation rank, with only one Moon-Gatherer.

This suggested that while the Blood Clan possessed means to conceal themselves, those with lower cultivation might not be able to use them.

The cultivators from the Three Realms received the most enthusiastic hospitality here. Wuding cultivators held banquets daily, inviting them to attend, and they truly spent a few days of delightful indulgence.

Five days later, the fleet was ready to set sail again.

However, this time, the fleet's size had doubled. In addition to the fleets from the Three Realms, the Quad-Sect Star System had jointly contributed fifteen star-ships, with a total of a thousand people preparing to advance towards the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

A thousand people might sound like a lot, but averaged across each star system, it was only about two hundred and fifty people.

Originally, in the discussions led by Jiang Shang and others, three thousand cultivators were planned for this expedition to the Myriad Manifestations Sea. It was a rare opportunity, and they wanted to make a big push. Other star systems typically had to operate independently when heading to the Myriad Manifestations Sea, so their available manpower was limited. But the Quad-Sect Star System was different; their alliance made them far stronger than typical star systems.

However, the Quad-Sect Star System suffered extremely heavy losses in the battle against the Insect Clan and Blood Clan. Now, only this many could be dispatched.

Each star system had one late-stage Moon-Gatherer accompanying them. For Wuding, the one accompanying them to the Myriad Manifestations Sea was Lu Ye's old acquaintance, Kang Cheng. Lu Ye was unfamiliar with the Moon-Gatherers from the other three star systems, but they had all participated in the previous battle, so he had at least seen them.

Four late-stage Moon-Gatherers and a thousand Constellation cultivators – this was already an impressive lineup. Once inside the Myriad Manifestations Sea, if preparations were made properly, there might indeed be a chance to conquer a Spirit Island.

They didn't deploy battleships, not because they didn't want to, but because this journey would cross the Changyun Star System. Traveling only by star-ship posed no major issues. However, venturing into someone else's star system with battleships would be somewhat provocative.

This was common knowledge for interstellar travel. Putting themselves in the other's shoes, if such a fleet, including battleships, were to intrude upon the Wuding Star System, Wuding would certainly not be pleased.

Furthermore, a Sun-Exposure strong cultivator was also accompanying them to the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

Lu Ye had already clearly explained the rules of the Myriad Manifestations Sea to Jiang Shang and others. So, this accompanying Sun-Exposure cultivator was just going to the Myriad Manifestations Sea and wouldn't stay there long. They likely wanted to learn the route for convenience when sending their own people to the Myriad Manifestations Sea in the future.

On the day of departure, as the fleet ascended, the entire Wuding Realm was adorned with lanterns and streamers, and drums and gongs resounded, creating an atmosphere of sending their brave sons off to battle.

Numerous powerhouses from the Quad-Sect Star System watched from below as the fleet gradually moved further away.

After leaving the Wuding Realm, the fleet headed towards the Barren Star Domain.

The fleet now comprised thirty-one star-ships and five Tiger Shark battleships, three times larger than when it departed from Kyushu.

Lu Ye's star-ship led the way, with the remaining star-ships following in sequence, and the five Tiger Sharks accompanying them on either side, all proceeding in perfect order.

On the star-ship, Lu Ye held a storage ring, checking its contents. Upon seeing what was inside, he couldn't help but be moved.

This was the ring Jiang Shang had given him just before their departure, saying it was a small token of gratitude from the Quad-Sect Star System.

Lu Ye's previous contributions could be said to have saved the Quad-Sect Star System from the ravages of war. Qin Yi had personally come to express thanks because Lu Ye killed Bai Jin, so how could other Sun-Exposure cultivators not show some appreciation?

And the gift inside this storage ring was their expression of gratitude.

Lu Ye hadn't paid much attention to it at first, but upon checking, he discovered the ring contained a full ten million Spirit Jade!

He was not someone unfamiliar with wealth; he recalled that at his wealthiest, he had over a hundred million Spirit Jade. So, a mere ten million was truly nothing compared to his peak.

However, his Spirit Jade was earned in the Myriad Manifestations Sea, specifically from auctioning the "Connected by Breath" formation disks.

Such an opportunity was unlikely to recur.

The four major star systems pooled ten million Spirit Jade, meaning two and a half million per star system. For Wuding and other star systems that had never interacted with the Myriad Manifestations Sea, this amount of Spirit Jade was no small sum. These were all collected piece by piece by cultivators from the starry sky.

This demonstrated the sincerity of the four major star systems.

Luan Xiao'e stood beside Lu Ye. Seeing his unusual expression, she asked, "What's wrong?"

Lu Ye handed her the storage ring: "Have a look."

Luan Xiao'e took it, and her divine sense probed within, immediately revealing surprise: "So much Spirit Jade?"

She had never seen so much Spirit Jade piled together in her entire life.

"This is their thank-you gift?" Luan Xiao'e realized. She had been present when Jiang Shang handed the storage ring to Lu Ye earlier and had secretly marveled at the Quad-Sect Star System's generosity. They had produced so much Spirit Jade so readily. Indeed, Jade Snail couldn't compare.

However, considering the impact a lost battle would have had on the Quad-Sect Star System, such a large amount of Spirit Jade seemed only natural.

"Let's share it!" Lu Ye said.

Luan Xiao'e's hand holding the storage ring trembled, and she couldn't help but say, "What?"

"During the great battle, everyone contributed. Please trouble you, fellow Daoist, to distribute this Spirit Jade among everyone."

Luan Xiao'e stared intently at him, as if trying to see if he was joking. But no matter how she looked, Lu Ye showed no hint of jest.

This was ten million Spirit Jade! Not a thousand, not ten thousand!

"I won't distribute it!" Luan Xiao'e pushed the storage ring back to Lu Ye. "If you want to distribute it, give it to your Jiuzhou cultivators yourself. The people from Qingli Dao Realm and Jade Snail Realm survived because of you; they have no right to take it, and I have no right to distribute it."

After a pause, she added, "Besides, I advise you not to do this. The people from Qingli Dao Realm and Jade Snail Realm are already so grateful to you. If you give them Spirit Jade again, how could they accept it?"

Cultivators all had dignity, especially those chosen to go to the Myriad Manifestations Sea. They had already received Lu Ye's life-saving grace; who would have the face to accept Spirit Jade?

Lu Ye thought about it and realized she was right. His initial thought was that everyone came together and experienced life and death together, so sharing ten million Spirit Jade equally wouldn't matter. Anyway, people from Qingli Dao Realm and Jade Snail Realm only made up a small portion; most were cultivators from Jiuzhou.

Now that Luan Xiao'e had said that, Lu Ye gave up the idea of giving it to those two realms.

As for the Jiuzhou cultivators... he believed no one would refuse. They were all family; if Lu Ye wanted to give it, they would accept it. It wasn't the first time, and it was important to improve their strength first.

Lu Ye took back the storage ring and found the sect master, leaving this troublesome matter to him.

Ten million Spirit Jade, for three hundred Jiuzhou cultivators this time, averaged out to over thirty thousand Spirit Jade per person. It wasn't a huge amount, but for Jiuzhou cultivators, it was a significant sum. At their wealthiest, no one had more than a thousand Spirit Jade on them. Basically, any Spirit Jade found in the starry sky was quickly refined for cultivation.

With this over thirty thousand Spirit Jade, Jiuzhou cultivators wouldn't have to worry about their cultivation needs for a short period.

Indeed, no one declined. Each person received their share of Spirit Jade from the sect master, beaming with smiles.