Chapter 1778: Remote Resonance

A month passed in a flash, and Lu Ye remained constantly busy. He only stopped after a full month.

He stood in the void, his brows tightly furrowed.

Over the past month, his main body and six avatars had virtually scoured an area three thousand miles in radius. All meteorites and suspicious objects were blasted apart, directly transforming this region into a veritable vacuum. To his disappointment, despite a month of hard work, he found nothing.

He had initially believed that the core of Fangcun Mountain should be within this area, but the outcome was different from what he had expected. The intelligence provided by Chong Xu should be correct. It wasn't that Lu Ye trusted him implicitly, but Chong Xu had no reason to deceive him on such a minor matter. So, where was the problem?

Lu Ye wondered if Chong Xu might have misremembered the location. But upon careful consideration, that seemed unlikely. After all, he was a Moon-Splendor cultivator; there was no reason for him to misremember something from over a decade ago. Or perhaps the disappearance of the two cultivators who mysteriously vanished here back then had a different cause than he imagined, not due to an accidental encounter with the core of Fangcun Mountain, but for some other reason.

Of course, there was another possibility: his guess was correct, but after ten years, the core of Fangcun Mountain, which had been drifting here, had drifted elsewhere for some reason. In recent days, he had discovered that the meteorites and floating landmasses within this wonder were not static; they sometimes changed due to the actions of cultivators. He decided to expand his search area. After all, for now, the intelligence obtained from Chong Xu was the only lead worth pursuing further.

Several more days passed quickly. As Lu Ye was busy, his sound transmission talisman suddenly vibrated. He was startled at first, then realized it must be Chong Xu contacting him. After all, in a place like this, no one else could possibly send him a message. He took out the talisman to check; it was indeed a message from Chong Xu, informing him that the Demonic Eye was about to blink again. This undoubtedly meant Chong Xu had detected it and was notifying him in advance, as per their previous agreement.

Lu Ye sent a message back to thank him, then recalled his numerous avatars, found a place to settle down, and waited patiently. Searching for the core of Fangcun Mountain was the primary objective of this trip, but looking at it now, the difficulty was considerable. Lu Ye wasn't entirely confident; he could only do his best and leave the rest to fate. However, during the Demonic Eye's blink, the Blood-Eyed Spirit Mark imprinted above the Sea of Consciousness was a tangible benefit. If he could comprehend it, even if he didn't find the core of Fangcun Mountain on this trip, it wouldn't be without reward.

While waiting patiently, another half a day passed, and the surrounding environment suddenly darkened for a moment. Just like last time, following this instant of darkness, Lu Ye clearly felt some unusual changes within the wonder, and the sensation of being secretly watched by someone re-emerged. Along with it came a strange connection, as if from a distant location, something was resonating with him from afar!

Lu Ye had felt this sensation the last time the Demonic Eye blinked. However, at that time, he had immersed his mind in his Sea of Consciousness, and after the Blood Eye there was broken by the Seven-Colored Divine Lotus, this subtle connection had also disappeared, leaving him unable to investigate it. Unexpectedly, this connection had reappeared now.

He couldn't help but look up and gaze into the distance, very curious about what exactly within this wonder was resonating with him from afar, and why it only appeared whenever the Demonic Eye blinked. Was this connection unique to him, or did all cultivators present here experience it? What made Lu Ye even more puzzled was that the direction from which this connection came was completely different from last time, originating from two entirely different directions. This also meant that if there truly was something within the wonder connected to him, that thing had moved a considerable distance during this period.

With these thoughts in his mind, Lu Ye made a decision. Comprehending the Blood-Eyed Spirit Mark was an opportunity not to be missed and a necessity, but Lu Ye also wanted to investigate this strange connection thoroughly. He immediately split a portion of his consciousness, immersing it in his Sea of Consciousness to observe the Blood-Eyed Spirit Mark, while his body flickered, moving forward in the direction of the connection.

Under the influence of the Blood-Eyed Spirit Mark, various illusions constantly appeared before his eyes, then shattered, repeating in a cycle. At the same time, a burst of hostility inexplicably surged within him, making him incredibly irritable; he wished he could find someone to fight right then and there. He naturally knew this was an effect of the Blood Eye and didn't deliberately suppress it, because it wouldn't be long before the Seven-Colored Divine Lotus would break the Blood Eye, and then he would be free from its influence.

As he traveled, his spiritual power surged continuously. Coincidentally, there were signs of cultivators nearby who, sensing his spiritual power fluctuations, immediately moved to intercept him. Lu Ye suppressed the agitation and fury in his heart. He originally didn't want any disputes with others; firstly, he didn't want to waste time, and secondly, since they had no grievances, there was no need for conflict. But the moment he saw the appearance of the intercepting cultivator, he knew he no longer needed to suppress anything. Because the one blocking his path was actually an Insectoid!

Although this creature had a humanoid form, its Insectoid features and aura were too prominent. Its body was covered in a layer of white carapace, as if its bones had grown on the outside. Its figure was gaunt, with long arms, and it moved like the wind. In its hand was a long bone-bladed saber with fine, dense serrations along the blade. Its two eyes looked extremely strange, clearly displaying the unique compound eye characteristic of Insectoids.

When Lu Ye saw this Insectoid, he immediately thought of the praying mantis-like Insectoids he had once killed. If those praying mantis-like Insectoids had matured enough and transformed into humanoid forms, they would likely look like this.

The opponent's cultivation was quite good; its spiritual power fluctuations even seemed slightly more profound than Chong Xu's. Chong Xu's true cultivation should be at the peak of Moon-Splendor, as he was preparing to break through to Sun-Glow. It was just that within this wonder, his power was suppressed by the environment, only allowing him to display the level of late Moon-Splendor. But the foundation displayed by this Insectoid was even stronger than Chong Xu's, which was somewhat unusual.

Lu Ye immediately realized that the opponent had likely also participated in the struggle for the Reincarnation Tree and had gained benefits in the Primordial Realm. Just like him, the opponent was not suppressed by the environment of this wonder! It was also normal. Apart from the time he participated, the Insectoid and Blood races almost always secured victory slots in the Primordial Realm.

During the Demonic Eye's blink, this Insectoid's sanity was clearly affected. It roared as it lunged towards Lu Ye, its bone saber glowing with spiritual light as it fiercely slashed down. With this single strike, space itself seemed to be severed, leaving a black line where the blade passed.

Lu Ye had no time to get entangled with it. Before the Blood-Eyed Spirit Mark was broken by the Seven-Colored Divine Lotus, he had to get as close as possible to the target he wished to investigate. Moreover, he was also under the influence of the Blood Eye at this moment, and his emotions were extremely volatile. So, facing this slash, he didn't hesitate at all. As the Pan Mountain Saber was drawn, the might of the Drawing Saber Slash was already activated.

Strictly speaking, this was his first true confrontation since advancing to the mid-Moon-Splendor stage. The opponent's strength was considerable, perfect for testing the growth of his own power. In the early Moon-Splendor stage, he had once used the Drawing Saber Slash to wound a late Moon-Splendor cultivator. Now that he was in the mid-Moon-Splendor stage, the might of this strike was even fiercer than before.

A flash of light instantly illuminated a vast expanse of void, obscuring the vision of the Insectoid Moon-Splendor. The instinct for survival in a life-or-death crisis made it hastily turn its blade to block, while its body rapidly retreated!

Spiritual power collided, and immense force struck. The Insectoid felt a sharp pain in its chest, and its agitated and furious emotions, influenced by the Blood Eye, suddenly cleared for an instant. It steadied itself and looked down, only to see a massive wound extending from its abdomen to its shoulder blade. A late Moon-Splendor cultivator like itself had nearly been bisected by a single strike!

Cold sweat immediately broke out on the Insectoid. Seeing Lu Ye, who had gained the upper hand, relentlessly pressing forward with a menacing aura, it immediately reached out and grabbed something from the void, and another identical bone saber appeared in its hand. Immediately, it steadied its stance, one saber pointed skyward and the other held horizontally. Its crimson eyes became focused, reflecting Lu Ye's figure.

The next instant, the bone saber slashed out!

Lu Ye, who was in pursuit, had an inexplicable sense of familiarity after the opponent took out a second bone saber and adopted such a strange posture. Similar scenes… he had faced countless times during his time as a Constellation cultivator!

As the thought crossed his mind, the Insectoid's bone saber had already struck down, and at the same time, its body began to rotate. Each strike was faster and heavier than the last. In the blink of an eye, the Insectoid's body seemed to transform into a spinning top, and the area it occupied became a storm of blades, sweeping across the vast void!

Such a fierce offensive could not be ignored by anyone. Anyone caught within it would undoubtedly be engulfed by this storm of blades; if even one strike couldn't be blocked, they would be cut into smithereens, with not even a complete corpse remaining. Lu Ye felt like a small canoe amidst a raging storm, at risk of capsizing at any moment.

However, as the Pan Mountain Saber lightly thrust straight forward, the violent storm of blades suddenly ceased, and the spiritual power surging around the Insectoid also dispersed. The Insectoid Moon-Splendor stood rigidly in place, still clutching its two bone sabers. It looked down at the Pan Mountain Saber piercing its heart, then looked up at Lu Ye standing before it, and three words escaped its lips: "Impossible!"

This supreme secret art, inherited from its ancestors, was supremely powerful in combat. Since it began cultivating it, it had used this saber secret art to slay countless powerful enemies and even achieved numerous feats of overcoming stronger foes with weaker strength. Facing Lu Ye, a mid-Moon-Splendor cultivator, it had already used its full strength, like a lion hunting a rabbit. But it never expected that its unfailingly effective secret art would be so effortlessly broken by someone else. And it had to pay the price of its life for this!

If the opponent had broken it before its saber momentum had fully activated, that would be understandable. But its saber momentum was already fully activated; even someone stronger than it shouldn't have been able to break it so easily.

Shock, fury, and disbelief—a myriad of complex emotions surged in its heart. The Insectoid felt its life force rapidly draining away; it desperately raised its bone saber and slashed down at Lu Ye for its final strike! However, how could Lu Ye give it such an opportunity? As his spiritual power surged, the Pan Mountain Saber vibrated, and the Insectoid's body was instantly riddled with holes. Its downward slash became light and powerless, and was easily dodged by him.