Chapter 1962: Separation

On the asteroid, Lu Ye’s gaze swept past Nan Lian and looked ahead. He saw an old man with white hair and beard. Though aged, he seemed full of vigor, and faint energy fluctuations around his body were like a slumbering dragon gently breathing.

Sun-Exposure! Lu Ye immediately realized.

“So it’s Fellow Daoist Nan Lian,” the old man recognized Nan Lian and bowed slightly.

There were quite a few Sun-Exposure cultivators in the Asura Arena, but not so many that most didn't know each other. Even if they hadn't met in person, they had at least heard of one another.

The arriving old man clearly knew Nan Lian.

“Fellow Daoist Changfeng!” Nan Lian smiled and nodded. “You seem to be in a hurry. What brings you here?”

Changfeng… Lu Ye’s heart stirred. Ma Bin had called out this name earlier, so it seemed this old man was one of those who had just ambushed Ma Bin.

Almost at the same moment Lu Ye had this thought, Changfeng suddenly glanced at him. This made Lu Ye’s heart tighten. As expected, Sun-Exposure cultivators had sharp senses. Even a tiny change in his expression had been noticed by the other party. He quickly lowered his gaze.

Changfeng’s gaze swept over him, then to Hetao and Yu Yaorao, before he spoke. “It’s good that you are here, Fellow Daoist. I wanted to ask if you have noticed anything or anyone noteworthy in this area?”

Nan Lian looked puzzled. “In what respect?”

“In any respect,” Changfeng replied.

Nan Lian chuckled. “If you put it that way, I don’t know how to answer. I’ve been standing here the whole time and haven’t noticed anything suspicious.”

Changfeng said, “And these young friends behind you are…”

Nan Lian smiled. “They are all juniors from my star system. They happened to be with me before the Asura Arena closed.”

“I see,” Changfeng nodded slightly. “Then I apologize for the intrusion.”

“Fellow Daoist!” Nan Lian raised her hand. Changfeng, who was about to leave, turned to look at her. “Is there anything else?”

Nan Lian asked, “May I ask what you are doing? Of course, if it’s a secret, just pretend I didn’t ask.”

Changfeng considered for a moment, then said, “It’s no secret, and there’s nothing I can’t say. Since you’ve been standing here, you must know about the battle just now. The Green Demon King Ma Bin’s behavior was a bit strange, so I suspect there might be someone or something he cares about in this direction. That’s why I came to investigate.”

Nan Lian was not foolish. Hearing him say this, she suddenly understood. “No wonder he suddenly turned back and attacked.”

Behind her, Lu Ye kept his eyes lowered, his expression calm as water, but his mind was not as serene as it appeared.

Sun-Exposure cultivators remained Sun-Exposure cultivators. Lu Ye had been able to deduce the reason for Ma Bin’s strange behavior because Ma Bin’s divine sense had paused on him for a moment. Yet, even such a subtle, almost unnoticeable flaw, was still detected by Changfeng.

He secretly felt fortunate to have encountered Nan Lian. Otherwise, if he and Yu Yaorao had been stopped by Changfeng, who knew what attitude or methods the other party would employ.

Under the scrutiny of a Sun-Exposure cultivator, any unusual behavior from him would be infinitely magnified. It was entirely possible that Changfeng could have discerned something amiss.

Changfeng departed, continuing his investigation. The other two Sun-Exposure cultivators were also searching nearby. If there truly was someone Ma Bin cared about in this direction, the three of them would surely uncover it with their abilities!

A moment later, Lu Ye was sitting in a starship shaped like a flower basket, soaring through space like a flash of lightning.

The speed of the Sun-Exposure cultivators was indeed extraordinary. Yu Yaorao sat to his left, and Hetao to his right, chatting with him.

As fellow Moon-Travelers, she and Lu Ye naturally had many topics in common. She was especially curious about Lu Ye’s incredible strength and often sought his guidance.

Although she had a Sun-Exposure master to guide her, her own master was sometimes unreliable. In contrast, her conversations with Lu Ye often yielded significant insights.

Lu Ye could feel Nan Lian’s gaze subtly sweeping over him several times, indicating she had grown suspicious.

Before encountering Changfeng, Lu Ye had tried his best to conceal things, but he had still asked Nan Lian for information about Ma Bin. If Changfeng hadn’t appeared, Nan Lian naturally wouldn’t have thought much of it. However, with Changfeng’s arrival and his words, Nan Lian, unless she was foolish, would surely have suspicions.

But she was probably just guessing… it wouldn’t cause any real harm.

Especially since she had personally stated in front of Changfeng that they were all juniors from her star system. Given that, she shouldn’t make any trouble.

Following a Sun-Exposure cultivator ensured peace along the way.

After several days, Nan Lian suddenly showed delight. “Ah, I’ve found the direction to Myriad Hues.”

To think that she, a Sun-Exposure powerhouse, would one day get lost in space and take so long to pinpoint the direction of her homeland was quite disheartening.

“Master, you’re amazing!” Hetao clapped her hands from the side.

Nan Lian hummed, looking pleased with herself. “Of course.”

Lu Ye quickly asked, “Senior, in which direction is Nine Profundities?”

Nan Lian had previously mentioned that Myriad Hues and Nine Profundities were not too far apart and were generally in the same direction. Now that she had located Myriad Hues, it should be no problem to deduce the direction of Nine Profundities based on that.

If not for the previous events, Lu Ye wouldn’t have minded traveling with Nan Lian for a bit longer, as Sun-Exposure cultivators were indeed fast. However, at this moment, he felt it was best to part ways as soon as possible.

Nan Lian didn’t really give him any sense of threat; the woman had always seemed approachable. But Lu Ye had something to hide, so he still needed to extricate himself quickly.

“As for Nine Profundities…” Nan Lian calculated with her slender fingers, then pointed in a direction. “It should be this way.” Then she looked at Lu Ye. “What, leaving already?”

“Yes, thank you for your care these past few days, Senior,” Lu Ye replied.

Hetao showed a reluctant expression. “Senior Brother Lu, why don’t we travel together for a few more days? Our general direction is the same anyway.” She had gained considerable insight from discussing combat experiences with Lu Ye over the past few days. If the Asura Arena were still open, she felt her ranking could easily rise by several hundred places.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Nan Lian slapped her on the back of the head. “All good things must come to an end. Don’t disturb the lovely companionship between the senior brother and junior sister!”

Yu Yaorao, looking innocent, froze for a moment, then blushed and lowered her head, saying nothing.

Hetao rubbed the back of her head, her face full of grievance. “Master, you hit me again! I’ll become stupid!”

Nan Lian ignored her, simply looking at Lu Ye and smiling. “Young friend, take care.”

Lu Ye bowed respectfully. “Thank you, Senior!”

Yu Yaorao also quickly curtsied gracefully.

The two leaped off the flower-basket-shaped starship. A few moments later, Nan Lian and her disciple disappeared from sight.

“Let’s go,” Lu Ye said, summoning his own starship. He called to Yu Yaorao and flew off in the direction Nan Lian had pointed out earlier.

It had been half a month since the Asura Arena closed, and the bustling activity throughout the Asura Domain had significantly subsided. Most people, like Lu Ye, would try to leave this star domain as soon as possible. Consequently, the number of cultivators here would steadily decrease over time.

Only a few ill-intentioned individuals would remain, wandering around and engaging in nefarious deeds.

After another period of time, as Lu Ye was piloting his starship, Yu Yaorao suddenly exclaimed in surprise, “Senior Brother, I’ve made contact with people from our star system!”

She had been sending out messages continuously during this time, but unfortunately, there had been no reply until now!

“What did they say?” Lu Ye asked.

Yu Yaorao sent another message and, after a moment, replied, “Senior Nan Lian is truly amazing! Her calculations were correct; this direction really does lead to the Nine Profundities star system. The senior brother I contacted said that many people from our star system have gathered there, led by a Sun-Exposure senior martial uncle. They are trying their best to gather scattered cultivators from our star system on their way back.”

“That’s good,” Lu Ye nodded. This meant he only needed to escort Yu Yaorao there and wouldn’t have to accompany her all the way to the Nine Profundities star system.

While Yu Yaorao was contacting cultivators from her star system, he had also been attempting to communicate with the Soul Clan ancestral land. He had already achieved some slight progress; in a certain direction, he felt an extremely faint response, which undoubtedly indicated a passage to the Soul Clan ancestral land at that location.

After delivering Yu Yaorao, he could set off in that direction.

“Ask them how we can rendezvous,” Lu Ye said.

“Okay!” Yu Yaorao nodded quickly and began exchanging messages with the other side.

Three days later, Lu Ye and Yu Yaorao waited on an asteroid. Before long, a massive multi-deck ship came into view. The ship was six or seven stories high, grandly decorated, and bore a large ‘Xuan’ character on its hull.

“That’s it, it’s our realm’s ship!” Yu Yaorao grew excited. After many days of wandering, she was finally about to see familiar faces.

The next moment, she took the lead, and Lu Ye followed closely behind.

On the spacious deck, many people stood by the railings, looking out, and some waved towards them. Lu Ye also felt the divine sense of a Sun-Exposure cultivator sweep over him.

He couldn’t help but glance up at the highest point of the ship, which should be where the Sun-Exposure senior martial uncle Yu Yaorao had mentioned was staying.

“Junior Sister Yaorao,” a handsome man on the deck greeted the descending Yu Yaorao with a smile, showing a look of relief.

“Senior Brother Sun!” Yu Yaorao returned the bow, a somewhat aggrieved expression on her face, like a stray kitten finally returning home.

“It’s good that you’re safe,” Senior Brother Sun nodded, then turned to look at Lu Ye. He hadn’t paid much attention initially, even though Yu Yaorao had mentioned being with a Moon-Traveler friend when she contacted him. After asking Lu Ye’s name and background, he hadn’t thought much of it, as he had never heard of him.

However, upon seeing him now, he was startled, then immediately became respectful. “So it is the top-ranked Moon-Traveler in person. My apologies for the oversight.”

There were many cultivators on the deck, mostly Star-Constellations, but also a few Moon-Travelers. Upon hearing Senior Brother Sun’s words, they all widened their eyes and looked at Lu Ye in unison.