Chapter 1644: Three Realms Cultivators Enter the Sea

With Yanmiao accompanied by Luan Xiao'e, and their next visit to the mermaid territory seven days away, Lu Ye found himself with a rare period of leisure.

However, he couldn't afford to be idle, as he needed to seize the opportunity to enhance his own strength.

Old Tang was busy preparing to reinforce the island's grand array, with many formation masters mobilized and working tirelessly, so Lu Ye didn't need to get involved.

He went to check on Yiyi and Amber. Unusually, Yiyi wasn't cultivating; instead, she was chatting and laughing with Li Shang. Amber lay prostrate nearby. Noticing Lu Ye's approach, it immediately opened its eyes, walked over, and rubbed its large head against Lu Ye's hand.

After a brief casual chat, Lu Ye's expression became serious. "Daoist friend," he said, "I still have some minor matters to attend to. Once they are dealt with, we will set off immediately."

Li Shang smiled faintly. "No rush," she said. "Just take care of your own business. It won't be too late to depart once you're ready."

Lu Ye nodded. He vaguely felt something was missing, so he asked suspiciously, "Where's Yaya?"

Normally, Yaya would be with Amber, so her absence naturally made Lu Ye a little puzzled.

"She went out to play," Li Shang said.

Lu Ye didn't pay too much attention. He chatted with Yiyi for a while longer before finally leaving.

He walked to another location, which served as Three Realms Island's alchemy room, where his Second Senior Sister and Hua Ci refined pills.

The Pill Gourd's existence was too sensitive to be widely known. All along, only a few individuals from the Azure Blood Sect understood its true nature; others were completely unaware.

In the past, refining pills was very arduous, as one had to constantly monitor the heat changes and be ready to add different medicinal ingredients at any time.

But now, with the Pill Gourd's assistance, refining spirit pills was much simpler. One only needed to put the corresponding raw materials into the Pill Gourd, and not a single spark was seen.

So, Hua Ci and Shui Yuan's work here was actually quite easy.

Lu Ye came here primarily to bring the flesh and blood of the Sun-Glow Star Beast. This material was the main ingredient for refining Body Tempering Pills. Previous Body Tempering Pills were refined using Constellation-grade spirit fish star beasts, but using Sun-Glow realm material now would surely yield better results.

When Lu Ye arrived, Shui Yuan greeted him warmly. Hua Ci, however, cast a subtle glance at him and said with a faint, knowing smile, "That woman... she's not small!"

*Are you talking about her age or something else?* Lu Ye was exasperated.

He quickly explained, "That's the Mermaid Clan's Grand Elder!"

The words "Mermaid Clan" immediately piqued the two women's interest.

Lu Ye then briefly explained the matters concerning the Mermaid Clan.

Shui Yuan enthusiastically asked, "So, if we ever lack materials for Body Tempering Pills in the future, we can ask them for help?"

"We can just acquire them directly," Lu Ye replied. "Or use some spirit pills as payment."

"That makes sense," Shui Yuan said. "We buy materials from them, refine them into spirit pills, and then sell them back to them. We'll never run out of materials for Body Tempering Pills."

She had previously worried about what to do if their current materials ran out and didn't know where Lu Ye found these materials. Now, however, there was no need to worry. As long as the Mermaid Clan was willing to help, they would have as much primary material for Body Tempering Pills as they needed.

At that time, not only could they sell them externally, but cultivators from the Three Realms could also consume them to strengthen their physique.

Moreover, Body Tempering Pills produced by the Pill Gourd were free of impurities and highly effective. At that point, a group of spell cultivators with physiques no weaker than ordinary body cultivators... if anyone truly came looking for trouble, they would certainly be in for a surprise.

The only pity was that Spirit Refining Pills couldn't be handled in the same way. Although there was a large quantity of Spirit Refining Grass, there was no continuous source. Every bit used meant one less bit, so it still had to be prioritized for those in immediate need, such as Luan Xiao'e, who was preparing to break through to the Sun-Glow realm.

Hua Ci, however, was more interested in something else. "Can we also enter the Sky Conch Palace?" she asked.

"I'll speak with Grand Elder Yanmiao later; it shouldn't be a problem," Lu Ye replied. "You two prepare yourselves. I'll be going to the mermaid territory again in a few days, and we can go together then."

"Alright," the two women agreed.

After leaving the fish meat of the Sun-Glow Star Beast, Lu Ye departed.

With seven days until then, he needed to seize the opportunity to cultivate.

He didn't need to go too far; he could just enter the sea near Three Realms Island. This would save travel time, and since everyone was on the same side, it didn't matter much if he was seen.

Walking to the seaside, Lu Ye saw a small figure standing at the edge of a cliff.

Lu Ye was greatly alarmed. He quickly rushed forward and pulled her back, frowning as he asked, "Yaya, what are you doing?"

Yaya's expression was a little blank, as if she had just woken up. She blinked her eyes, her small mouth drooped, and her eyes turned red. "Daddy," she whimpered, "I had a very scary dream!"

*How could she be dreaming in broad daylight, and how did dreaming even lead her here?*

She had mentioned something similar last time.

Lu Ye vaguely felt that something wasn't right, so he questioned her carefully. But Yaya couldn't explain it clearly, no matter how she tried, only saying that bad people hit her in the dream and it hurt so, so much.

Lu Ye frowned.

Come to think of it, ever since Yaya found her second jade bracelet inside the misty dragon, she seemed to have undergone some changes.

The former Yaya was quite sleepy, but it was just simple drowsiness. Now, the situation seemed a little more serious.

Lu Ye guessed that this might be related to her second jade bracelet.

This jade bracelet certainly belonged to Yaya. Linking this with the nightmare Yaya had just described, Lu Ye suspected that the so-called nightmare might be something Yaya had experienced in the past.

Were her memories recovering?

If so, it would be a good thing for Yaya. Regardless of her attitude towards him once she truly recovered, it was ultimately a bit tragic for a Sun-Glow realm cultivator to be reduced to her current state.

However...

"You can't run around alone anymore," Lu Ye reprimanded her, feeling a chill down his spine. She had even run to the edge of a cliff; what if she fell?

"Oh," Yaya nodded obediently.

Lu Ye took Yaya back and informed Li Shang of what had just happened. Li Shang, too, felt a chill down her spine.

Although she, like Lu Ye, knew that Yaya was actually a Sun-Glow realm cultivator, calling her "Daddy" and "Mommy" for so long had, in the end, fostered some genuine affection.

She secretly blamed herself and kept Yaya by her side. At the same time, she felt a bit melancholic, wondering what would happen to Yaya once she eventually had to leave.

Lu Ye's true self entered the sea, leaving his clone outside to watch over things, and cultivated peacefully.

Seven days quickly passed, and Yanmiao and Luan Xiao'e returned.

Yanmiao also wanted to explore more, but ultimately, tribal matters were more important. So, by the time agreed with Lu Ye, she returned early.

In these past few days, she had truly broadened her horizons. She had never imagined that the world above the sea could be so wonderful.

Such wonders were not meant to be enjoyed alone; true happiness lay in sharing them with her clan members.

Her travels of several days also made Yanmiao realize something else: her ability to strike a spirit pill deal with Lu Ye was an enormous advantage!

The largest Myriad Manifestation Chamber of Commerce on the Myriad Manifestation Sea also sold Body Tempering Pills and Spirit Refining Pills. However, their quality couldn't compare to those provided by Lu Ye. Even if there were some top-grade spirit pills, their quantity was extremely scarce. Top-grade Spirit Refining Pills, in particular, were practically out of stock year-round; it was said that once available, they would be put up for auction, with many powerhouses scrambling for them.

After learning all this, she felt even more grateful to Lu Ye.

A person who could help her clan resolve the curse poison problem and also provide immense assistance to herself and her clan would undoubtedly become the Mermaid Clan's most important friend.

So when she returned and Lu Ye mentioned the Sky Conch Palace, Yanmiao readily agreed without the slightest hesitation.

Lu Ye had entered the Sky Conch Palace before, and so had You Ling, so it was not exclusively open to the Mermaid Clan.

Lu Ye immediately instructed Luan Xiao'e to start arranging personnel to prepare for their joint entry into the mermaid territory.

With five hundred people on Three Realms Island, it was impossible for everyone to go at once; most of their forces needed to remain behind to guard the spirit island. Under Luan Xiao'e's arrangements, the five hundred people would enter in five separate batches.

He did not inform everyone beforehand about the truth of the Sky Conch Palace's trial, because for that kind of trial, knowing in advance was useless. Even if one played instruments or sang wonderfully, receiving the Sky Conch Palace's blessings still depended on one's own destiny and fortune.

Back then, Lu Ye himself had been sent into the Sky Conch Palace by Bailu without any prior knowledge.

Soon, the selected hundred people began to gather. Most of them didn't know what was happening, but no one asked too many questions, only waiting quietly.

Among the crowd were Hua Ci, Shui Yuan, Yiyi, and Yaya. Even Amber had come to join in the excitement; it was unclear how it would pass the trial once it entered the Sky Conch Palace.

In a large hall, everyone looked at Lu Ye. Then they saw him take out a cyan conch and gently blow into it.

Because of their previous experience fighting against the insect race and blood race outside Wuding, everyone's heart tightened when they saw Lu Ye blowing this inexplicable item, fearing another dancer would appear and lead them all in song and dance.

Fortunately, there was no dancer here. As the conch sound resonated, a portal appeared before Lu Ye.

"Grand Elder, please go first!" Lu Ye said.

Yanmiao nodded, not declining, and was the first to step into it.

Immediately after, over a hundred cultivators orderly entered the portal, disappearing one by one. Finally, it was Tang Jun's and Lu Ye's turn.

Stepping through the portal, they immediately appeared before the Sky Conch Palace. At this moment, the hundred cultivators from Three Realms Island were in an uproar because they had actually seen mermaids!

In front of the Sky Conch Palace, several mermaid elders and Bailu were waiting, having timed their arrival. The elders were one thing; like Yanmiao, they appeared no different from humans. But Bailu truly had a human upper body and a fish tail, and her exotic charm greatly broadened the Three Realms cultivators' horizons. Bailu, never having been stared at by so many people before, blushed and hid behind the elders.

"Grand Elder!" Lu Ye said.

Yanmiao understood. She immediately took out a piece of cold jade from her storage ring, the same one that had previously carried the conch imprint.

Lu Ye certainly didn't want to swim all the way back again. Although he had treasure money for protection and there wasn't much risk, it would simply take too long.

So he thought of a method that would allow him to open a portal here and return directly to Three Realms Island!

Taking the cold jade handed to him by Yanmiao, Lu Ye quickly left a conch imprint on it, then handed it to Tang Jun, who had come along.

"Then this old man will head back first," Tang Jun said.

Saying this, he returned to Three Realms Island through the portal.

In this way, with the conch imprint on that cold jade, the next time Lu Ye blew the conch to open a portal, it would connect to Three Realms Island.