Chapter 1610: Self Is the One Being Taken Care Of

It took the fleet a month to enter the Barren Starfield after departing from the Uncertain Realm.

This Barren Starfield was precisely the intersection of the Four Quadrant Star Systems, and also where Lu Ye had originally subdued Liao. The Celestial Dog Star was located in this region.

As the fleet passed the Celestial Dog Star, many cultivators from the Three Realms gazed in awe at the dead star resembling a crouching giant dog, marveling at its strangeness. There were no such peculiar dead stars in the Jade Snail Star System.

In contrast, the cultivators from Kyushu appeared unfazed. They had seen stranger things, even a realm resembling a woman whose head and limbs had been severed, which was currently right beside Kyushu, let alone this dead star that looked like a dead dog.

Aside from his contests with Green Mantis, Lu Ye was also busy deducing spiritual patterns. During this time, the Lunar Essences from the Four Quadrant Star Systems often visited him together.

The accompanying Solar Glare cultivators would not stay long in the Myriad Manifestation Sea once they arrived. Therefore, these four Lunar Essences from the Four Quadrant Star Systems would still be the main decision-makers for this journey. They needed to understand in advance how to establish themselves, acquire cultivation resources, and manage relationships with various forces in the Myriad Manifestation Sea.

They primarily came to seek Lu Ye's advice. Lu Ye, of course, held nothing back and shared everything he knew, which greatly benefited them. After expressing their gratitude, they departed, likely to discuss various matters concerning their arrival at the Myriad Manifestation Sea.

After some discussion, they decided that upon reaching the Myriad Manifestation Sea, they would first gather intelligence, then find a suitable Spirit Island to conquer and use as a stronghold for the Four Quadrant Star Systems.

With so many people wanting to establish themselves in the Myriad Manifestation Sea, it would be impossible without a Spirit Island. Given their current foundation, they might have a chance to conquer a low-level Spirit Island. After securing one, they would continue searching for a better opportunity, to see if they could then conquer a mid-level Spirit Island.

Anyway, Solar Glare cultivators do not interfere in the conflicts on the Myriad Manifestation Sea. With four late-stage Lunar Essences working together and a thousand Star Aspects under their command, who would they fear?

No sooner had they seen off the four Lunar Essences than the accompanying Solar Glare cultivator, who was overseeing the journey, came over.

The Solar Glare cultivator accompanying the Four Quadrant Star Systems to the Myriad Manifestation Sea this time was none other than Luo Xie from the Great Luo Star System.

Firstly, the Great Luo Star System had the most profound foundation among the four major star systems. Secondly, Luo Xie's personality was more amenable, making him suitable for this task. Otherwise, someone like Li Guan, who was not good at communicating with others, might draw swords at the slightest disagreement on the way, which would be difficult to resolve.

In the past, whenever there were important matters for the Four Quadrant Star Systems to discuss, it was always Luo Xie who came forward to mediate among all parties. He was very experienced in dealing with people.

Luo Xie seemed to have no other purpose for visiting Lu Ye than casual conversation. However, Lu Ye perceived that Luo Xie likely had something specific to discuss. But since Luo Xie didn't bring it up, Lu Ye pretended not to know. While simultaneously dedicating part of his attention to deducing spiritual patterns, he chatted with Luo Xie and gained considerable insight from their conversation.

As they were chatting, Luan Xiao'e came over again.

Lu Ye asked her what was wrong, but Luan Xiao'e simply said nothing was wrong and settled herself down nearby, listening to Lu Ye and Luo Xie's casual talk. She even voluntarily brewed fragrant tea.

Luan Xiao'e's feelings were quite complex. Since departing from the Azure Dawn Dao Realm, she had always considered herself the strongest. On this journey, she believed she had to bear the responsibility of the person in charge, not only safely guiding the Three Realms fleet to the Myriad Manifestation Sea, but also protecting and looking after the Star Aspects, especially the cultivators from Kyushu. Apart from Lu Ye, they were all early-stage Star Aspects, and as cultivators from a newly promoted large realm, they had little experience of the world.

However, the previous battle had truly shocked her.

Lu Ye actually had a Solar Glare cultivator by his side! Her self-proclaimed strongest power had turned out to be mere wishful thinking.

Furthermore, because of that battle, the Solar Glare cultivators from the Four Quadrant Star Systems were extremely courteous towards Lu Ye. No one treated him as a junior Star Aspect, but conversed with him as an equal. Even she herself had benefited, being treated as an honored guest.

Were it not for Lu Ye, Luan Xiao'e knew that even as a late-stage Lunar Essence, those Solar Glare cultivators would not have regarded her with such special attention.

She had originally thought she would be taking care of others, but unexpectedly, she was the one being cared for...

Currently, the Great Luo Solar Glare cultivator was chatting and laughing easily with Lu Ye. If it were her, she definitely wouldn't be able to maintain such composure. Luan Xiao'e was secretly astonished, wondering what kind of realm the Nine Heavens Realm was to actually produce a figure like Lu Ye.

Moreover, she had also noticed during the previous battle that although the cultivators from Nine Heavens generally weren't very strong, their performance in combat was far superior to that of cultivators from the Azure Dawn Dao Realm and the Jade Snail Realm. It was as if they were very familiar with such conflicts, knowing how to act in a tense situation to best ensure their own safety. And when fighting enemies, they displayed a fearless bravery, often striking terror into their foes.

“Old Luo, if there's something, just say it directly,” Lu Ye sighed. It was a bit tiring to pretend not to know what a Solar Glare cultivator was hinting at. The old fellow was extremely patient, but Lu Ye didn't want to continue chatting like this. He'd rather spend this time sparring with Green Mantis. After their recent contests, he had gained an increasingly clear understanding of Green Mantis's twin-blade secret technique and should be able to fully grasp it soon.

Luo Xie chuckled, saying, “Actually, there's nothing else. I just wanted to ask how you Nine Heavens cultivators practice. How can everyone form battle arrays with each other? This shouldn't be the result of ordinary cultivation, right? Is there some... trick to it?”

Lu Ye had originally been unaware of Luo Xie's true purpose for coming. It was only at this moment that he realized it was for this matter.

During the previous battle, Luo Xie had naturally observed the performance of the Kyushu cultivators. However, at that time, he was busy defending himself and didn't have much energy to pay close attention. Later, recalling it, he realized something was amiss, as it made no sense for so many cultivators to be able to form battle arrays so easily.

Luan Xiao'e, who was brewing fragrant tea nearby, heard this and couldn't help but look over. She was also very curious about this matter but had never felt comfortable asking.

In the previous battle, the Kyushu cultivators suffered so few losses partly due to Lu Ye's timely rescue and partly because of their formidable battle arrays, which provided them with stronger self-preservation capabilities on the battlefield.

Lu Ye didn't waste words with Luo Xie. He directly tossed him a Shared Spirit Formation Plate, saying, “This item is the key to forming arrays!”

Luo Xie was stunned, seemingly not expecting Lu Ye to be so forthcoming. He had originally thought this would be a closely guarded secret of the realm, which was why he had been hesitant to bring it up.

After briefly studying the formation plate, Luo Xie immediately showed a look of astonishment. “What is this thing?” he asked.

He could tell that this item was a spiritual treasure, and its quality didn't seem particularly high. Yet, after activating it, his aura could connect intimately with Lu Ye and Luan Xiao'e. In other words, the three of them could now perfectly form a battle array.

However, this item seemed unable to withstand the burst of his Solar Glare power, or even that of a Lunar Essence. Furthermore, when Solar Glare or Lunar Essence cultivators fought, their range of movement was too large, and the range covered by this formation plate's power was insufficient. It was probably only suitable for Star Aspects to use.

Even so, it was still incredibly astonishing.

Luan Xiao'e also sensed it, and her beautiful face showed a change in expression.

“A Shared Spirit Formation Plate!” Lu Ye explained. “They are available for sale in the Myriad Manifestation Sea.”

Luo Xie raised an eyebrow. “How much does this item cost?” he asked.

Lu Ye replied, “When I left, they seemed to cost almost ten thousand spirit jades per piece. Now, they are probably a bit cheaper.”

Several years had passed, and the major powers should have made significant progress in their research of the Shared Spirit Formation Plate. As long as the production volume of this item increased, the price would naturally drop.

“So cheap!” Luo Xie was greatly surprised. One could buy a piece for ten thousand spirit jades, yet the effect this item could produce was far more valuable than ten thousand spirit jades. He couldn't help but sigh in admiration, “The Myriad Manifestation Sea is truly extraordinary!”

Such wondrous items were all available for sale in the Myriad Manifestation Sea. If they hadn't been able to connect with the Myriad Manifestation Sea, where would they acquire them? If this treasure were to be widely equipped, the power that Star Aspect cultivators could unleash across the entire realm would significantly increase.

Lu Ye's heart stirred, and he said, “Old Luo, I have some extra formation plates on hand...”

Luo Xie immediately looked over. “How many?” he asked.

Lu Ye retorted, “How many does Old Luo want?”

Luo Xie thought for a moment, took out a storage ring and rummaged through it for a while, then handed it to Lu Ye. “See how many these can buy?” he said.

Lu Ye's divine sense scanned it and found nearly several hundred thousand spirit jades inside, along with a few magic treasures.

A Solar Glare cultivator only having a few hundred thousand spirit jades on him seemed quite meager. However, on second thought, Luo Xie wasn't a solitary individual. Spirit jades were mostly useless for his cultivation; they were primarily used to power starships or other treasures. So, it was natural for him to keep a few hundred thousand as reserve.

Lu Ye wasn't sure about the quality of those magic treasures. He hadn't reached the Lunar Essence level and hadn't had much contact with magic treasures. However, magic treasures seemed to be priced based on their star-rank quality.

As far as he knew, a three-star magic treasure cost around ninety thousand spirit jades, and for every increase in star-rank, the price would at least triple.

The magic treasures Luo Xie took out were likely ones he didn't use, so their quality wouldn't be too high. At best, they were three or four-star.

Having a rough idea in mind, Lu Ye said, “How about three hundred formation plates?”

Luo Xie quickly said, “Deal!”

Lu Ye then realized he had overestimated the value of Luo Xie's magic treasures. However, since the formation plates were ultimately items he had refined himself, it didn't matter if he sold them for more or less. Later, when the people from the Four Quadrant Star Systems arrived at the Myriad Manifestation Sea, having the formation plates would provide them with greater self-preservation, and it was no harm to him.

He immediately counted out three hundred formation plates and handed them to Luo Xie.

As Luo Xie was about to leave, Lu Ye quickly said, “Old Luo, I have a request!”

Luo Xie readily said, “Speak freely!”

Lu Ye looked at Luan Xiao'e. “Senior Sister Luan is a late-stage Lunar Essence, but she has no clue on how to advance to Solar Glare. Old Luo, if you have time, could you perhaps offer some guidance?”

Luan Xiao'e's tea-brewing movements paused, and she gave Lu Ye a grateful look. She hadn't expected Lu Ye to understand the purpose of her visit.

For days, she had wanted to seek advice from Luo Xie, but unfortunately, they had no prior relationship, and she felt awkward approaching him. She had gained much from Qin Yi previously, but advancing to Solar Glare wasn't something that could be achieved by simply listening to one person's experience. Thus, she wanted to seek advice from more Solar Glare cultivators.

Now that Luo Xie was accompanying the fleet to the Myriad Manifestation Sea, she naturally didn't want to miss the opportunity.

Therefore, after hearing that Luo Xie had arrived, she had taken the initiative to come, mainly to make herself known, to make it easier to seek his guidance later.

She felt ashamed. Indeed... she was the one being cared for!