Chapter 1959: Extremely Unlucky

Hearing this, Yu Yaorao quickly took out her sound transmission charm and sent out a series of messages.

After a good while, she put away the charm, looked at Lu Ye, and shook her head, "I can't reach anyone."

The people she had tried to contact were all cultivators from her home galaxy, currently training in the Asura Arena. The inability to reach them meant only one thing: they were too far away, beyond the range of the sound transmission charm.

This outcome made Lu Ye's heart sink.

The sound transmission charm's range was actually quite extensive. The fact that Yu Yaorao couldn't even contact a single cultivator from Nine Profound indicated the situation was far worse than he had imagined.

Lu Ye pondered for a moment, then closed his eyes, focusing his mind. He attempted to connect with the Soul Clan ancestral land using the Seven-Colored Divine Lotus within his spiritual sea.

Passages to the Soul Clan ancestral land were scattered across the entire starry sky. This meant that even if he didn't know his current location, he could communicate with the ancestral land, enter its space directly, and then travel to any known place.

To his surprise, however, this attempt at communication yielded no response, leaving Lu Ye greatly astonished. This undoubtedly implied that there were no passages to the Soul Clan ancestral land in any nearby star systems.

This was a problem.

After a moment of thought, Lu Ye said, "Follow me!"

Yu Yaorao quickly fell in line.

Once the two figures emerged from the domain, Lu Ye conjured his starship. Standing aboard, he scanned his surroundings. In their current predicament, the most urgent task was to pinpoint their location; only then could they determine which way to go.

Suddenly, a streak of light appeared in his vision, sweeping past from a distance. It was undoubtedly the silhouette of a cultivator, and judging by the power fluctuations faintly detectable, it was a Moon Brilliance realm expert.

Lu Ye was secretly pleased. He had feared encountering no one, but now that he had, he could inquire about their circumstances.

The other party seemed to have noticed his presence as well, suddenly altering course and streaking towards them.

A moment later, the light converged a short distance ahead, revealing a figure who cupped his fists towards Lu Ye and said, "Greetings, fellow Daoist!"

Lu Ye returned the gesture, observing the newcomer: a mid-stage Moon Brilliance realm cultivator, appearing to be around thirty years old, dressed in a black combat suit. He had a capable demeanor and a rather magnetic voice.

"May I ask if you are from the Asura Arena?" the young man inquired.

"Indeed!" Lu Ye nodded. The question clearly implied the other person was also from the Asura Arena, just like him. Lu Ye's heart settled, relieved that the worst had not come to pass; neither he nor Yu Yaorao had been banished to some desolate, godforsaken place by the arena.

"Then, fellow Daoist, do you happen to know our exact location? If I wanted to travel to the Rain Blossom Galaxy, which direction should I go?"

Lu Ye wore a helpless expression. "I was just about to ask you that very question, fellow Daoist."

The two exchanged glances for a moment before the young man sighed, "So, fellow Daoist, you share my confusion. May I ask if you know what happened to the Asura Arena? Why did we appear here? This doesn't seem like a training ground."

Lu Ye mused, "The Asura Arena... it must have closed. All of us who were training there have been expelled."

The young man nodded. "That's what I suspected. No wonder even the Asura Token is gone." As a Moon Brilliance realm expert, he naturally had his theories about such a drastic change, though he lacked concrete evidence.

"It's a shame about all the Asura Marks I painstakingly accumulated..." The young man's expression was full of regret, lamenting the countless marks he had gathered, now rendered useless. Since the Asura Arena was closed, those marks were undoubtedly worthless. He then added, "Fellow Daoist, would you be willing to exchange sound transmission charm imprints? That way, if either of us manages to figure out our location, we can inform the other."

"Certainly!" Lu Ye nodded, stepped forward, and exchanged sound transmission charm imprints with the young man.

They didn't inquire about each other's names or backgrounds. Such chance encounters in the vast starry sky rarely led to future meetings.

The young man soon departed. Lu Ye, with Yu Yaorao aboard, piloted the starship, heading aimlessly in a single direction.

They continuously encountered cultivators traveling in haste, most of them alone, with only a few in groups of two or three.

The Asura Arena's closure had been abrupt. Nearly ten million cultivators, with the exception of Lu Ye who had received prior warning from Mi Shi, were entirely unprepared. Consequently, after being expelled, many found themselves alone. Only the fortunate few who managed to contact their friends or family were able to travel together for mutual support.

He continued to communicate with various cultivators, exchanging information, but frustratingly, no one knew their current location. As a result, he could only choose a single direction and press straight ahead.

Periodically, he used the Seven-Colored Divine Lotus to try and communicate with the Soul Clan ancestral land, but consistently received no response.

Yu Yaorao, too, sent out several messages every so often, but they all vanished like stones dropped into the sea.

The initial few days passed without incident, but as time wore on, this vast, unknown region descended into chaos. With nearly ten million cultivators having departed the Asura Arena, even scattered as they were, disputes and skirmishes were inevitable. Moreover, there were plenty who revelled in turmoil, and malevolent cultivators seized this opportunity to commit widespread acts of villainy.

Ahead, several figures were clashing. Lu Ye piloted his starship directly through them, acting as if he hadn't seen anything.

The cultivators involved were not high-level, all at the Star Constellation realm. Their conflict was unclear, but they were fighting fiercely, three on each side, seemingly evenly matched.

In the midst of their intense battle, they suddenly sensed Lu Ye and Yu Yaorao approaching. Both warring factions tacitly ceased fighting, retreating far back to create a wide passage.

They were all shrewd enough to know that anyone daring to ignore their ongoing conflict must possess formidable strength, far beyond what they could contend with.

Once Lu Ye's starship had passed, the two factions clashed once more, seemingly intent on fighting to the death.

Many cultivators had formed deep grudges within the Asura Arena, but the highly random nature of its trials made revenge exceedingly difficult, unless one happened to enter the exact same training scenario as their enemy.

Furthermore, within the Celestial Asura Realm, protected by the Arena's rules, no one dared to act on impulse.

Now that everyone had been expelled from the Asura Arena, if sworn enemies encountered each other, it was naturally a time for settling scores and exacting revenge.

Some even recognized this as a prime opportunity and were actively searching for their enemies. Such individuals were numerous, knowing that missing this chance would effectively eliminate any hope of finding their foes again.

Not only were Star Constellation realm cultivators clashing, but Lu Ye had also witnessed several battles among Moon Brilliance realm cultivators during his journey.

Yu Yaorao secretly felt a chill of fear. Had she not sought out Lu Ye and remained by his side, she would have possessed no means of self-preservation in such an environment, being alone.

Especially a charming and alluring woman like herself, who could easily stir men's desires. It was highly probable she would have been captured by a Moon Brilliance realm cultivator.

Now, by Lu Ye's side, she had no such concerns, which made her immensely grateful for her decision and reflective of her good fortune.

One day, as Lu Ye piloted the starship forward, he suddenly felt a premonition. He looked up at the starry sky ahead, then frowned, and quickly changed the starship's direction, veering to the side.

"What's wrong, Senior Brother?" Yu Yaorao asked, perplexed.

Lately, Lu Ye had always traveled in a straight line, never altering his course. Yet, this time, for some unknown reason, he had changed direction.

"Sun Glow realm cultivators are clashing ahead!" Lu Ye replied.

Yu Yaorao's cultivation was ultimately lower, and her perception less acute than his, so she hadn't yet grasped the gravity of the situation. He, however, clearly sensed powerful Sun Glow realm cultivators engaged in a fierce battle in the starry sky ahead. Even from a great distance, the aftershocks pulsed like incoming tides, wave after wave.

While the number of Sun Glow realm cultivators in the Asura Arena wasn't exceptionally large, it was significant. Naturally, grudges had formed among some of these Sun Glow cultivators, and it was common for them to clash upon encountering each other.

However, such clashes could be deadly for anyone below the Sun Glow realm; even slight involvement in the aftershocks would lead to a dire outcome.

Having detected this, Lu Ye naturally opted to change course.

He had initially believed he was being careful enough, thinking that by actively avoiding the Sun Glow cultivators' battle zone, they would be safe. Yet, in this world, things rarely unfolded as one wished.

Moments later, Lu Ye's expression suddenly shifted. He turned his head to look to the side, then frantically channeled his spiritual power, causing the starship's speed to surge dramatically.

"Senior Brother?" Yu Yaorao called out softly, sensing that something was amiss from the change in Lu Ye's expression.

Lu Ye had no time to respond, for he felt the Sun Glow realm cultivator's aura rapidly closing in on them!

Had a victor been decided? Had one party escaped?

But if they were fleeing, why in this specific direction?

Lu Ye felt utterly jinxed.

If he were alone, he wouldn't be overly concerned. At the very least, he had two red talismans on him, ensuring his self-preservation.

But Yu Yaorao was merely a Star Constellation realm cultivator. If she were caught in the residual power of a Sun Glow realm expert, she would perish instantly.

The speed of a Sun Glow realm cultivator was incredible; in just three breaths, Lu Ye realized the formidable aura had significantly closed the distance.

Within his field of vision, he could even see bright bursts of light exploding in the distance.

There was no time to evade!

Lu Ye immediately relinquished control of the starship and activated the portal to the Small Flower Realm. Within a few breaths, a portal materialized before him.

"Get in!" he commanded Yu Yaorao.

The only way to save Yu Yaorao's life was to have her enter the Small Flower Realm for safety; Lu Ye could think of no other solution.

Without further questions, Yu Yaorao instantly vanished into the portal.

The next moment, the portal vanished.

Lu Ye immediately channeled his spiritual power, preparing to activate the red talisman that could instantly transport him away. This was merely a precaution, of course; these talismans were precious, and he would conserve them unless absolutely necessary.

Just then, a chilling voice drifted from the distance into his ears: "Ma Bin, despite your renowned reputation, is all you can do to flee in panic?"

The voice, though originating countless miles away, still reached Lu Ye's ears with startling clarity. Not only him, but every cultivator within the vicinity heard it distinctly.

Lu Ye couldn't help but show a startled expression.