Chapter 1813: Immense Merit

Deep down, Lu Ye sighed.

In the past, by this time, Xiao Jiu would have already contacted him proactively. Yet, since his return this time, there had been no message from Xiao Jiu. He didn't think anything had happened to Xiao Jiu; if it had, Kyushu would surely not be peaceful. Xiao Jiu was probably now engrossed in Miss Xiaohua's company...

However, this was a good thing; at least Xiao Jiu would no longer be lonely.

Soon, he reached the vicinity of Kyushu. As usual, Lu Ye's presence was immediately detected by the Kyushu Star Constellations patrolling nearby. Upon realizing it was Lu Ye, they immediately lowered their guard, greeted him, and resumed their patrol.

When Lu Ye first returned from the Myriad Manifestation Sea, the Kyushu Star Constellations were incredibly excited and expectant. However, as his departures and returns became more frequent, everyone grew accustomed to it.

For Star Constellations like them, cultivating to become stronger was always the primary task. Since Kyushu had no spirit jade mines of its own, they could only delve deep into the starfield to search for spirit jade, accumulate a certain amount, and then refine it to nourish their own growth.

The Core stopped, observing from afar; this was not unusual. In fact, if an uninitiated cultivator encountered it in the starfield, they wouldn't even give it a second glance, because there were simply too many such things out there. Yet, it was the Core of Fang Cun Mountain. The little people of the three divisions of Fang Cun Mountain had strived for countless years to recover this Core, and finally, today, the dust had settled.

Looking down at the Core beneath his feet, Lu Ye's thoughts stirred, and he gently stomped his foot. The Core trembled slightly, and a wondrous power spread out, as if some seal had been broken.

Indeed, a seal had been broken. Before Lu Ye brought the Core out of the wondrous Illusory Blood Demon Eye, he had used his identity as the Lord of the Source to place a restriction on the Core. The sole purpose of this restriction was to create an isolating force, similar to that of a wondrous sight, preventing the three divisions of Fang Cun Mountain from merging with the Core.

He did this to account for the many changes in his upcoming journey. Without the restriction, the moment Lu Ye brought the Core out of the wondrous sight, the three divisions of Fang Cun Mountain would begin to merge towards it. This would undoubtedly be detrimental to the stability of Fang Cun Mountain.

Only now, upon returning near Kyushu, did Lu Ye lift this restriction. Although he couldn't see the current state of the three divisions of Fang Cun Mountain, Lu Ye still anticipated that a long wait lay ahead. The three divisions of Fang Cun Mountain were currently very far from the Core's location; their merging would not happen in just a day or two.

Almost simultaneously with Lu Ye lifting the Fang Cun Mountain restriction, numerous Sunlit projections in the ethereal grand hall shifted. More than half of them vanished without a trace in that instant, while the remaining ones, though still discernible, warped and changed to varying degrees. This abnormal situation undoubtedly resulted from violent tremors occurring within each division of Fang Cun Mountain. Their true bodies were within their respective divisions, projecting their spirits here; thus, the severe shaking of their original Fang Cun Mountains caused these projections to be affected.

After a moment, the many vanished figures reformed.

A Sunlit from the Southern Division exclaimed, "Everyone, just now, our division's Fang Cun Mountain suddenly changed its direction of movement again, darting straight towards a certain direction, and at an unprecedented speed!"

From the Eastern Division, Chen Xuanhai responded, "The Eastern Division is the same!"

The Sunlits from both divisions simultaneously looked towards the Western Division. Zhang Kun from the Western Division spoke, "The Western Division is likewise!"

As he finished speaking, the group of Sunlits all felt excitement and anticipation from their respective spiritual fluctuations, realizing that the critical moment to reverse Fang Cun Mountain's disintegration seemed to have arrived!

A few days ago, the trajectories of the three divisions of Fang Cun Mountain had suddenly shown significant changes. From this, they inferred that the Core's position must have changed dramatically, leading to the alterations in the divisions' movement. They had gathered here to discuss how to deduce the Core's current exact location. Who would have thought that before they could reach a conclusion, more changes would arise.

And this time was clearly different from the last! Not only had the movement trajectories directly changed, but the speed of Fang Cun Mountain's movement had also increased, as if the three divisions were being pulled by some force... This was something that had never happened before, which prompted a flood of conjectures.

"Let's deduce it!" a Sunlit said gravely, "See if, according to the current direction of movement of each division, an intersection point will appear. If it does..." They didn't finish their sentence, but everyone knew what it would mean for the little people if the trajectories of the three divisions of Fang Cun Mountain converged at one point.

As it concerned the future of their race, the many Sunlits had no objections and immediately began their busy deductions.

Each division of Fang Cun Mountain had drifted throughout the starfield until now, possessing an understanding of the entire starfield arguably unparalleled by any other race. They had basic star maps of all major star systems. Based on their current positions and the direction of their respective Fang Cun Mountains' movements, they could easily deduce when their divisions would pass through which star system within the next few decades or even a century! There might be errors, but they would not be significant.

Sunlit projections constantly disappeared and reappeared. The group of Sunlits busied themselves for half a day, gradually deducing the movement routes of the three divisions of Fang Cun Mountain. The three routes were placed together. Everyone gazed intently, their eyes quickly converging on a single intersection point!

"The Jade Snail Star System!" Su Yuqing's eyes lit up, and she murmured.

Based on the intelligence currently at hand, if the three divisions of Fang Cun Mountain did not change their direction, they would eventually pass through the Jade Snail Star System. And Jade Snail... she was all too familiar with that name.

"Is the Core here now?" a Sunlit questioned.

"This Jade Snail... does anyone know about it?" a Sunlit asked. There were countless star systems in the starfield, and even as Sunlits, they couldn't claim to know every single one thoroughly. Most of them were familiar with the more famous star systems, and Jade Snail sounded like a relatively weak one, naturally not catching their attention.

Even Wu Qimo and Chen Xuanhai showed thoughtful expressions. Although the Eastern Fang Cun Mountain had indeed passed through Jade Snail, they had never bothered to learn about it and thus had never heard of it.

Only Su Yuqing slowly spoke, "Jade Snail is the star system where Lu Ye was born!"

The group of Sunlits immediately looked over. One straightforward individual exclaimed in surprise, "Lu Ye is that young Dao companion of yours, Junior Sister?" No sooner had the words left their mouth than another Sunlit nearby slapped away their spiritual projection...

Although it was no secret that Su Yuqing from the Eastern Division had found a young Dao companion, and Su Yuqing herself had not shied away from denying it, no one mentioned it in front of her. They were all Sunlits, all needing to save face. If it were a man, such an age gap might be more readily accepted, but the key was that Su Yuqing was a woman, and some things were better left unsaid.

"Yes!" Su Yuqing's expression was normal. "His birthplace is called Nine Heavens, and the Nine Heavens Realm is in the Jade Snail Star System, and what's more..."

"And what?"

"That day, when he came to our Eastern Division from the Myriad Manifestation Sea, I mentioned the Core to him. He once asked me if, after finding the Core, it could be placed near Nine Heavens, so that Fang Cun Mountain could merge there."

"This boy... ahem, Junior Brother Lu wants Fang Cun Mountain to protect Nine Heavens?" a Sunlit discerned Lu Ye's intention.

"That should be the meaning," Su Yuqing replied. "As far as I know, Nine Heavens only recently ascended to a large realm, and its foundation is still very weak."

The Sunlits fell silent.

After a while, Zhang Kun slapped his thigh. "Good heavens, that boy actually pulled it off!"

The matter was already very clear: Lu Ye had found the Core and brought it back to Jade Snail, which was why the three divisions of Fang Cun Mountain were being pulled towards Jade Snail by the Core. From Zhang Kun's perspective, who had personally sent Lu Ye on his way that day, this was simply unbelievable. Throughout history, the little people had dispatched too many external Moonlit cultivators to search for the Core, many of whom they had invested immense effort in cultivating. Yet, until now, none had succeeded. Either they vanished without a trace, their fates unknown, or they returned empty-handed, having never even seen the Core.

For so many years, the efforts of so many had yielded no results. How many years had Lu Ye been gone? Just over three years, and he had actually brought the Core back!

Regardless, this was a great joyous event for the little people. The three divisions had waited for this moment for many years, enduring repeated expectations and repeated disappointments. No one had expected the surprise to come so suddenly, leaving even these Sunlits somewhat at a loss.

"Junior Sister's eye for choosing a husband is truly remarkable!" a Sunlit couldn't help but praise.

Never mind the age gap, and regardless of Lu Ye's potential, aptitude, or cultivation, simply by helping the little people retrieve the Core, he had earned immense merit. Even if Lu Ye were a good-for-nothing, the little people would have to properly support him in the future.

A Sunlit from the Western Division chuckled and said, "Perhaps you all don't know yet, but our Junior Brother Lu is also quite famous on the Myriad Manifestation Sea. He currently leads a group of cultivators who have occupied Three Realms Island, which is a top-grade spirit island. Furthermore, he once led his forces to conquer another top-grade spirit island. In that battle, the enemy Moonlits were completely wiped out, and even a defending Sunlit who intervened was thoroughly humiliated by him."

Upon hearing this, all the Sunlits inevitably showed expressions of surprise. They all knew to some extent what it meant to occupy a top-grade spirit island in a place like the Myriad Manifestation Sea. Generally, top-grade spirit islands were the exclusive preserves of top-tier powers. Without sufficient means and ability, one couldn't occupy them at all, or even if occupied, it wouldn't last long. Let alone forcibly conquering another top-grade spirit island; this was countless times more difficult than simply occupying a top-grade spirit island.

Lu Ye had not only occupied one top-grade spirit island, but also forcibly attacked another? The group of Sunlits suddenly realized that they seemed to have underestimated this Junior Brother's capabilities. Otherwise, how could he have accomplished something no one had done in so many years, and in just three years? This was undoubtedly a powerful testament to his own abilities.

"Congratulations, Junior Sister, on choosing such an excellent husband and performing such a great service for our race!"

"When the three divisions merge in the future, Junior Sister, you must properly introduce Junior Brother Lu to us."

A chorus of praises arose. Su Yuqing smiled with dignified composure, looking proud, and the concern that had weighed on her for three years finally settled.