Chapter 1968: This Person Has a Grudge Against Me!

Though the Jade Snail Galaxy was remote and rarely visited by powerful figures, this didn't mean it was entirely devoid of them.

When Nine Provinces was merely a low-level realm, the Celestial Mystery Disk concealed its existence. Thus, even if powerful individuals passed by, they wouldn't discover Nine Provinces unless they observed it closely.

With Nine Provinces' ascension to a large-scale realm, the Celestial Mystery Disk's concealment became ineffective. It was only a matter of time before powerful figures discovered Nine Provinces. Lu Ye had been urgently striving to improve his cultivation over the years precisely because Nine Provinces' overall strength was too weak to withstand any true catastrophe without formidable power.

Lu Ye had long been mentally prepared for Nine Provinces to be discovered by some powerful individuals, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

According to the intelligence transmitted by Little Nine, this Sun-Exposed Realm individual had arrived in Nine Provinces only recently. Their arrival was silent, and they had consistently hidden themselves. Neither Nine Provinces nor even Mount Fangcun had detected anything; only Little Nine, who continuously monitored all activities in Nine Provinces, discovered them immediately.

This was clearly amiss!

If they were merely a passing Sun-Exposed Realm cultivator, they wouldn't be so cautious or intentionally hide themselves. All signs indicated that this Sun-Exposed Realm individual seemed to have some unknown agenda!

Due to his concealment, Mount Fangcun had no idea of his arrival. After all, a realm separated them, and only if the Pygmy Sun-Exposed Realm cultivators intentionally investigated Nine Provinces would they likely discover his whereabouts. Similarly, because the Pygmy Sun-Exposed Realm cultivators were all within Mount Fangcun, this unfamiliar Sun-Exposed Realm individual hadn't discovered the Pygmies!

From the outside, Mount Fangcun appeared to be nothing more than a small meteorite. Such objects were common throughout the starry sky, so who would have guessed that the renowned Mount Fangcun now lay in the starry expanse just outside Nine Provinces?

The only ones aware of this Sun-Exposed Realm individual's whereabouts were Little Nine... and Little Huaniang, who was always by Little Nine's side.

To Lu Ye's relief, this Sun-Exposed Realm individual hadn't done anything to harm the beings of Nine Provinces since their arrival. They had merely been secretly investigating something.

"Oh, by the way, this fellow should be from the demon race," Little Nine messaged again. "He used his power once, and I sensed demonic energy."

A demon race Sun-Exposed Realm cultivator!

For some inexplicable reason, Lu Ye's mind conjured the image of Demon Venerable Black Cloud, whom he had met on the Myriad Manifestations Sea years ago. To this day, he had only encountered that one demon race Sun-Exposed Realm cultivator.

Of course, it couldn't be such a coincidence that Black Cloud would travel from the Myriad Manifestations Sea all the way here.

"This is his image," Little Nine messaged again, having quietly recorded the other party's appearance at some unknown time.

Lu Ye fixed his gaze on it, and his brows furrowed.

It seemed... things really were a bit too coincidental.

Because this demon race Sun-Exposed Realm cultivator, who had suddenly appeared in Nine Provinces, was indeed Black Cloud from the Purple Jade Demon Star!

Just over three years ago, he had killed many demon cultivators from Purple Jade on the Myriad Manifestations Sea, with seven or eight Moon-Exposed Realm cultivators among the casualties. Afterward, he had negotiated terms with Black Cloud and returned Purple Jade Island.

Now, this fellow had suddenly appeared in Nine Provinces, looking all sneaky...

This was clearly no coincidence. Lu Ye really wanted to know how Black Cloud had found his way here. After a brief ponder, he had some conjectures.

Moreover, the timing matched. It seemed that after the Purple Jade Island matter was resolved, Black Cloud had departed from the Myriad Manifestations Sea and set out for Nine Provinces. Considering his pace as a Sun-Exposed Realm cultivator, taking over three years to arrive was slow.

"Why didn't you notify the Pygmies?" Lu Ye asked, secretly glad he had returned in time.

Little Nine had always been reluctant to interact with others. Thus, until now, only Lu Ye and the former Lord of Immortal Essence City knew of its existence.

However, if Nine Provinces faced an unresolvable crisis, it could still contact the Pygmy Sun-Exposed Realm cultivators. At the very least, several of Lu Ye's Moon-Exposed Realm blood servants were still there; Little Nine could easily have sent them to alert the others.

"What if they start fighting?" Little Nine worried. "Nine Provinces can't withstand a clash between Sun-Exposed Realm cultivators."

That was true. Lu Ye had just recently experienced the aftermath of a Sun-Exposed Realm clash. If they fought here, Nine Provinces would likely be shattered into pieces very quickly.

Therefore, before ascertaining Black Cloud's purpose, Little Nine was hesitant to rashly alert the Pygmy Sun-Exposed Realm cultivators, hoping that the other party was merely passing through and would soon leave, thus ensuring peace.

After all, it was merely the Nine Provinces' Origin combined with a spirit artifact, lacking complex thought. Otherwise, it would have long discerned Black Cloud's ill intentions.

"This person has a grudge against me; he's probably here for revenge," Lu Ye said.

"Ah?" Little Nine was clearly startled. "What should we do then?"

Lu Ye fell into deep thought. Since it was confirmed to be Black Cloud, he certainly couldn't show himself, or he'd definitely get beaten.

Alternatively, he could reveal himself and lure Black Cloud out of Nine Provinces, but before that, he'd need to arrange for the Pygmy Sun-Exposed Realm cultivators to set up an ambush!

However, the other party wasn't foolish. If he threatened Nine Provinces, Lu Ye wouldn't be able to lure him out at all; instead, he would be at his mercy.

How could he deal with this fellow without affecting Nine Provinces?

Regardless of the opponent's purpose, it surely harbored ill intent. The Purple Jade Demon Star had suffered immense losses, and Lu Ye had extorted ten billion spirit jades directly from him. And as if that weren't enough, Lionheart had been personally delivered by him to Lu Ye, only to be killed. For a Sun-Exposed Realm cultivator, this was undoubtedly a great humiliation.

Black Cloud certainly wouldn't let the matter rest.

Having the Pygmy Sun-Exposed Realm cultivators directly confront him might be feasible, but Lu Ye quickly thought of another, safer possibility.

"Little Nine, help conceal me; I need to enter Nine Provinces!" Lu Ye messaged. "Can you do it without him detecting me?"

"If it's just you, no problem," Little Nine replied.

"Excellent."

A moment later, with Little Nine's assistance, Lu Ye silently returned to Nine Provinces.

At the Jade Blood Sect, on Verdant Bamboo Peak, Lu Ye appeared, and Little Nine, in its rabbit form, materialized before him.

It glanced left and right, then whispered, "How did you end up making an enemy of a Sun-Exposed Realm cultivator?"

Lu Ye also lowered his voice, "It's a long story. The situation in the Myriad Manifestations Sea was quite complex; you wouldn't understand if I told you."

"So what do we do now?" Little Nine asked.

"Now..." Lu Ye's eye twitched as he spoke, "Why are we acting like thieves? He's the one who should be feeling guilty!"

Little Nine blinked, then suddenly realized, "Oh, right."

"Here's something good for you." Lu Ye took out the Asura Arena artifact and handed it over.

Little Nine curiously took it. "What is this?"

Lu Ye promptly gave a simple explanation of the Asura Arena artifact's power, making Little Nine's rabbit eyes gleam.

"Logically, an artifact's power can't compare to a true starry sky supreme treasure, but if you only use it to create a scenario capable of supporting a Sun-Exposed Realm battle, would there be an issue?"

In a true Asura Arena, there are countless scenarios where Star-Exposed, Moon-Exposed, and Sun-Exposed Realm cultivators can train, existing peacefully and without mutual interference. An artifact certainly can't achieve that level, but creating just one scenario that can host a Sun-Exposed Realm battle might be possible. If so, there would be no need to worry about Nine Provinces being affected.

"I'll have to try it to know," Little Nine replied.

"You familiarize yourself with it first; I'm going to find some help." As Lu Ye spoke, he quietly left Nine Provinces again under Little Nine's concealment, heading towards Mount Fangcun.

Meanwhile, within Nine Provinces, in front of the Tianzhou Guardian Hall, Black Cloud stood beside the withered clone of the Samsara Tree.

The Guardian Hall was not empty; several Star-Exposed Realm cultivators were moving in and out, but they seemed oblivious to Black Cloud's presence, as if they hadn't detected him at all.

Indeed, that was the case; if a Sun-Exposed Realm cultivator wished to conceal themselves, Star-Exposed Realm cultivators simply couldn't detect them.

Black Cloud touched the withered clone of the Samsara Tree, an excited expression on his face.

Confirmed. This realm... truly was Nine Provinces!

To be honest, the moment he first saw this realm, he felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had vaguely seen it somewhere before.

However, because many realms in this world shared similarities, he couldn't be certain. He had been secretly investigating for days until he saw this Samsara Tree clone.

He had come here for only one purpose: to avenge the demon race cultivators of the Purple Jade Demon Star who had died!

On the Myriad Manifestations Sea, he had been helpless against Lu Ye, but Lu Ye always had an origin. He had obtained precise intelligence from Yuan Du, rushed all the way here, and found Lu Ye's homeland. He had originally intended to completely annihilate all living beings in this realm, making that arrogant brat regret it for the rest of his life and showing him the consequences of offending Purple Jade.

But after seeing Nine Provinces, he grew suspicious and didn't act immediately. Instead, he entered to investigate secretly.

The reason he knew about Nine Provinces was because he had participated in the encirclement and suppression of Nine Provinces in the past!

The lifespan of the demon race was generally much longer than that of humans. So, even after ten thousand years, he was still alive and well, having even advanced from his Star-Exposed Realm cultivation back then to the peak of the Sun-Exposed Realm.

That battle years ago had shattered the universe and shaken the starry sky. Afterward, news spread that Nine Provinces had been broken, but only cultivators who had participated in that war knew that Nine Provinces hadn't actually shattered; rather, it had suddenly disappeared at the last moment.

Since then, there had been no news or trace of Nine Provinces. Many forces maintained searches in the starry sky for nearly a thousand years, always without success, and eventually gave up.

Black Cloud had never imagined that after ten thousand years, he would once again behold Nine Provinces!

This realm harbored immense opportunities! When various major forces had collectively besieged Nine Provinces back then, although it was said to be because the Dao Tree's successor had committed acts that incurred both divine and human wrath, inciting universal animosity, how could a battle of such magnitude erupt casually without sufficient profit?

The Dao Tree Legacy was the very interest that all parties vied for!

This was a supreme treasure of the starry sky, and the only legacy-type supreme treasure in the entire starry sky. If one gained its recognition, even with low cultivation, they could make it acknowledge them as its master.

In contrast, how difficult was it to subdue other starry sky supreme treasures? What did it matter if one was as powerful as a Sun-Exposed Realm cultivator? There were so many Sun-Exposed Realm cultivators in the starry sky, yet how many truly commanded a starry sky supreme treasure?

Unfortunately, during that great battle, Nine Provinces vanished, and the Dao Tree Legacy disappeared along with it.