Chapter 1626: Agreement

Yan Miao asked, puzzled, "If that's the case, wouldn't we be unable to go to the Shrine forever?"

Lu Ye replied, "Besides this limitation, my conch has another function: it can leave a mark in a specific location. This means the activated portal will lead to where the mark was left, not the front of the Heavenly Conch Hall."

Lu Ye had already tested this feature. Previously, he left a mark inside the Star Palace, and the portal led there. Without a mark, the portal would lead to his current location. The mark has a time limit, though it's quite long, lasting at least several months. Additionally, the mark can be erased with the conch. Before leaving the Star Palace last time, he used his conch to remove the mark, making it convenient for future visits to the Mermaid territory.

Yan Miao understood. "So, you want to find an object to hold the mark, have us take it to the front of the Shrine, and then you'll activate the portal and come here to open the Shrine?"

"Exactly!" Lu Ye nodded.

He had previously considered how to go to the Star Palace in the future. Due to the conch portal's time limit, he could only go to either the Mermaid territory or the Star Palace. However, by using an object that could carry the mark, he would be able to travel to the Star Palace.

Yan Miao thought for a moment, then took out an object from her storage ring. "Do you think this would work?" It looked like a jade slab, about the size of a tabletop. But the object Yan Miao produced was clearly no ordinary jade slab. Though it appeared unremarkable, the moment it appeared, the surrounding temperature plummeted, radiating an obvious chill. It was unknown where Yan Miao had found such an item.

"We'll only know if it works by trying," Lu Ye said. He held his conch, channeled spiritual power into it, and then pressed it onto the cold jade slab, like stamping a seal. A conch pattern immediately appeared on the smooth, flat slab, but it quickly vanished. Yan Miao looked disappointed, assuming it hadn't worked. However, in Lu Ye's perception, although the conch mark was invisible, it still existed, but... the mark seemed to be dissipating.

This was different from when he left a mark in the Star Palace; there had been no such sign of dissipation then. It seemed that different materials used to carry the conch mark resulted in varying durations of its existence. This cold jade slab was clearly no ordinary item, but a treasure, which must have had some effect on the conch mark placed within it. He silently estimated the rate at which the conch mark was dissipating. At this rate, it should last for a considerable period without issue.

"This object will work," Lu Ye said. "To be safe, Great Elder, please don't put it in your storage ring. Also, after I use this conch once, I can only use it again after seven days. So, in seven days, please wait for me outside the Shrine."

"I understand. Then, in seven days, I will bring them to the Shrine," Yan Miao agreed.

With everything settled, Lu Ye passed through the portal and returned to the barren planet he had been on. As soon as his figure appeared, the portal vanished. He summoned his Star Shuttle and headed towards the Myriad Manifestations Sea. Having just returned, he hadn't fully understood the changes at Peerless Island. Now that he knew the full story from Chu Shen, Lu Ye naturally intended to retrieve the Lesser Star Palace!

That item was the true foundation of Peerless Island. The Sky Flame cultivators probably thought they had seized a top-tier spiritual island and were overjoyed. However, Lu Ye wondered what their mood would be once he reclaimed the Lesser Star Palace and Peerless Island fell silent again.

Old Tang and the others had already set off, so there was no need to worry about losing contact with the cultivators from the Three Realms. Some people from the Azure Dawn Dao Realm had also arrived, including Tang Xiaoyue, making it easy for Old Tang to contact her. He rushed forward for several more days before finally returning to the Myriad Manifestations Sea. He continued flying leisurely until he landed on a deserted island. This area was relatively remote, with few cultivators passing by.

Lu Ye waited for a while, found an opportune moment when no one was watching, and first manifested a clone to guard the spot while his main body plunged into the Myriad Manifestations Sea. As the power of the Talent Tree was activated, vast and surging energy from the seawater uncontrollably permeated his body. The burning leaves of the entire Talent Tree glowed brighter, and wisps of gray mist continuously rose.

It had been a long time since he had entered the Myriad Manifestations Sea, but now that he was back, he needed to cultivate diligently for a period to raise his foundation to the peak of the Star Lord realm. Although he was currently at the late Star Lord stage, there was still some distance to the peak. With the Insight spiritual markings enhancing his eyes, Lu Ye's vision was faintly discernible even in the deep, dark seawater, as long as the distance wasn't too great.

It took a full hour for Lu Ye to reach the area beneath Peerless Island. This was unavoidable; previously, Peerless Island had been sparsely populated, with few people around, so Lu Ye could simply enter the sea anywhere without fear of being discovered. But now, Peerless Island was bustling. The spot he chose to enter the sea was still quite far from Peerless Island itself. He found the location where the Lesser Star Palace had been placed years ago; it remained securely settled there. No one dared to venture deep into the Myriad Manifestations Sea. In these shallower waters, only spirit fish like the White Spirit would appear. Apart from the White Spirit, other Star Beasts of the Myriad Manifestations Sea generally operated in the deep sea. Thus, to this day, cultivators were unaware that beneath the Myriad Manifestations Sea lay numerous precious spirit fish and Star Beasts. The common belief was that only White Spirits inhabited the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

Lu Ye reached out and retrieved the Lesser Star Palace, then returned the way he came without looking back. Another hour later, under the clone's watch, his main body emerged from the sea. Half a day later, Lu Ye established contact with the cultivators from the Three Realms and rushed to meet them.

They soon arrived at a desolate island. Tang Jun had already arrived with a few female cultivators, but the number of cultivators remaining on the island was not large. Out of nearly three hundred people, only fifty remained; the others had all vanished. Having suddenly arrived in a place like the Myriad Manifestations Sea from a remote region like the Nine Provinces, the cultivators from Nine Provinces were like country bumpkins in a city, finding everything new and fascinating. Before Lu Ye left, he had instructed everyone to familiarize themselves with the Myriad Manifestations Sea, so recently, they had all formed teams and gone exploring. Those who remained were mostly mature and steady individuals, such as the sect master and others. Upon Lu Ye's return, the group immediately gathered around him as if they had found their pillar of strength. To be honest, when Lu Ye was away, they truly felt a bit uncertain. Only after arriving here did they realize how weak their own star system was. Looking across the Myriad Manifestations Sea, the overall strength of the Jade Snail Star Lords, even if not at the very bottom, was far below average.

Fortunately, there was still Luan Xiao'e; a late-stage Moon Realm cultivator could provide some reassurance. However, to establish a foothold in the Myriad Manifestations Sea, relying solely on one late-stage Moon Realm cultivator was insufficient. Others had four or five Moon Realm cultivators, while they only had two, including Tang Jun.

From Tang Jun, everyone had learned the full story of the Peerless Island incident. Although they were indignant that a perfectly good top-tier spiritual island had been seized so easily, they also understood that in the cultivation world, might makes right. Being robbed was a consequence of their own insufficient strength. No one mentioned revenge, as it was unrealistic. However, everyone held this matter in their hearts, vowing to repay it if the opportunity ever arose in the future.

"You said your name was Li Taibai?" Tang Jun immediately questioned Lu Ye. He couldn't believe it, having known Lu Ye for so many years, wandering together, relying on each other, and believing they were sworn brothers. Who would have thought that even his name and origin were fake! It wasn't until this meeting with the cultivators from the Three Realms that he learned Li Taibai was not Li Taibai, but Lu Yiye! Tang Jun felt deeply hurt.

Lu Ye's expression remained unchanged. "When you're out and about, you always have to be careful. Li Taibai is just another one of my aliases. You know me as a person; what does a name matter?" Tang Jun was stunned by his words. He vaguely felt there was some truth to it, yet something also seemed off. Some cultivators from Nine Provinces also looked at Lu Ye with strange expressions.

This was because, back in Nine Provinces, there had been a Li Taibai, who, along with Lu Yiye, was hailed as one of the 'Dual Prodigies of Bing Province'. At that time, many Divine Sea cultivators from the Myriad Demon Ridge held great expectations for Li Taibai, hoping he would surpass Lu Yiye. However, for some unknown reason, Li Taibai suddenly vanished without a trace! At that time, some Divine Sea cultivators from Myriad Demon Ridge had tried to find him but never found any clues, eventually concluding that Li Taibai had been ambushed and killed by someone from the Vast Heaven Alliance. Now they finally knew that Li Taibai was Lu Yiye, and Lu Yiye was Li Taibai. The 'Dual Prodigies of Bing Province' was, in fact, just one person! It was truly incredible because when the title 'Dual Prodigies of Bing Province' first emerged, Lu Ye was merely at the True Lake realm, yet he had managed to fool countless Divine Sea cultivators from both major factions.

Moreover, according to the clues they had gathered, there were instances where the 'Dual Prodigies of Bing Province' appeared simultaneously, and the two had even teamed up to slay insectoids. It was genuinely baffling how Lu Yiye managed to achieve such a feat. However, on second thought, Nine Provinces had been pacified because of him, risen because of him, and it was also because of him that numerous cultivators were able to come to this prosperous land of myriad phenomena. Such a person could not be regarded as ordinary and was naturally capable of things beyond common individuals.

Luan Xiao'e didn't understand the intricacies of the conversation, but from the context, she knew Tang Jun had been tricked by Lu Ye. She smiled slightly and changed the subject, saying, "Junior Brother, take a look at this island. Do you think it will work?" When Lu Ye departed for the Cheling Realm, he had instructed Luan Xiao'e to find a desolate island, with no other requirements except that it be large enough. So, they had found this desolate island.

It was indeed large enough, more than three times the size of Peerless Island. This was still not the largest desolate island, but many other desolate islands were already occupied by cultivators. Since this one was unoccupied, the cultivators from the Three Realms had taken it as a temporary base. "It'll do!" Lu Ye nodded. He had specifically observed the desolate island when he arrived earlier and felt it met his requirements. Too large wouldn't be ideal either, as setting up a protective grand formation would be costly. An island of this size was barely within an acceptable range.