Chapter 1971: Happy Little Jiu

Though he didn't know who had killed his avatar, there was an inherent connection between the main body and its avatar, provided they weren't isolated from each other—a connection independent of distance.

After a bout of rage, Black Cloud frowned in thought, recalling everything his avatar had encountered before its demise.

Kyushu, which had mysteriously vanished after that earth-shattering war ten thousand years ago, was now found in an extremely remote star system. Had he remained ignorant, it would have been one thing, but now that he knew, how could Black Cloud possibly let it go?

His avatar had thoroughly investigated, and Kyushu was merely an ordinary large realm, inhabited only by Star Constituents, without even a single Moon Goddess. How could it have been suddenly destroyed?

Only a Sunlit Realm cultivator could kill another Sunlit Realm cultivator.

Given his avatar's strength, it couldn't have been dealt with by an ordinary Sunlit Realm cultivator. Therefore, there must be more than one powerful Sunlit Realm cultivator hidden within Kyushu!

Indeed, even after ten thousand years, this realm still couldn't be underestimated.

He wouldn't let his avatar's death go unavenged, especially since Kyushu also involved the Dao Tree, a supreme treasure. It seemed he would have to call for assistance and leverage many connections.

Furthermore, he had to consider the possibility that the Dao Tree's legacy had already been claimed.

Thinking this, he suddenly recalled something Yuan Du had mentioned to his avatar: Lu Ye of Three Realms Island had an astonishingly rapid cultivation progression, clearly indicating a great fortuitous encounter.

Previously unaware that Lu Ye originated from Kyushu, Black Cloud hadn't given it much thought. But now, combining it with his current information, could this Lu Ye be...? Black Cloud's eyes flickered, and his spirit was roused. If so, there would be no need to go to Kyushu; he simply needed to find a way to deal with Lu Ye in the Myriad Manifestation Sea.

No, that's not right. Lu Ye was currently in Kyushu, so Kyushu couldn't be spared either!

With numerous thoughts swirling in his mind, Black Cloud quickly formed a vague plan. No one knew if or when the great calamity would strike, but cultivators at his level were already preparing for the future.

If he could obtain the Dao Tree's legacy, he would gain an extra layer of self-preservation when the calamity arrived. After all, it was a supreme treasure of the starry sky, and only such treasures could be effective during a catastrophe that swept across the entire cosmos.

In Kyushu, the scene created by the Asura Arena artifact concealed and isolated everything. The Sunlit Realm cultivator died without a ripple or sound, completely unnoticed by anyone in Kyushu.

Lu Ye thanked Chen Xuanhai and the other two, watching them return to Fangcun Mountain before gracefully proceeding to the Garrison Hall.

Lu Ye didn't recognize the Star Constituent guarding the hall; he must have been newly promoted in the past two years, and it was unfortunate for him to be on duty.

Although Lu Ye didn't know him, the Star Constituent recognized Lu Ye and greeted him respectfully.

As Lu Ye's cultivation improved, his standing in Kyushu became increasingly prominent. In terms of age, many older cultivators might have surpassed him, but when it came to contributions to Kyushu, no one could match even a fraction of what he had done.

Everyone in the cultivation world knew that Kyushu's current prosperity and flourishing state were largely due to Lu Ye of the Bloodline Sect.

Consequently, the Bloodline Sect itself had become an unparalleled top-tier sect within Kyushu, and no one dared to show any disrespect.

After a brief exchange with the Garrison Master, an order was swiftly issued from the Garrison Hall, relayed through various cultivators, and rapidly disseminated to all regions.

On Wushuang Continent, a four-person team was searching for traces of the Corpse Race. All members of the team were only at the True Lake cultivation level. The leader was a handsome young man in a white robe with a long saber at his waist, clearly a Weapon Cultivator.

Influenced by Lu Ye, the number of Weapon Cultivators in Kyushu had significantly increased in recent years, especially those who wielded sabers. Countless young cultivators imitated his style.

This young man was undoubtedly one of them.

"We've been searching for three days and only found a few isolated Corpse Race members. It's getting harder and harder to earn merit points," a female spell cultivator in the team sighed.

It had been several years since Kyushu established contact with Wushuang Continent. The entire Wushuang Continent was no longer overrun by the Corpse Race. With continuous hunting by cultivators, the number of Corpse Race members had steadily decreased. Nowadays, earning battle merits on Wushuang Continent had become quite challenging, largely depending on luck. If fortunate, they might encounter some Corpse Race members; otherwise, they might not see a single one for days.

For them to encounter a few isolated ones in three days was actually quite good.

"Indeed," another Body Cultivator chimed in, "this efficiency is worse than just cultivating in seclusion back in Kyushu."

As Kyushu's foundation continuously grew, the spiritual energy within the realm gradually became much denser. Although most of the spiritual energy had been hoarded by Xiao Jiu using various methods, it was impossible for the realm to have no spiritual energy at all.

Compared to when Lu Ye first cultivated, the cultivation environment in Kyushu was now infinitely better.

While cultivating in seclusion might be less efficient, it was persistent and could be done at any time.

"Do the Divine Ocean cultivators have any solutions?" another Ghost Cultivator asked.

"What solutions could the Divine Ocean cultivators have?" The Weapon Cultivator gave a bitter smile. "They are also troubled by their future cultivation path. It's not just us who can't hunt the Corpse Race; it's the same for the Divine Ocean realm cultivators too."

The Body Cultivator asked with concern, "Then what is Kyushu's future path?"

The others fell silent. Who could know where the path forward lay?

Suddenly, the Weapon Cultivator's expression shifted, indicating he had received a message. Almost simultaneously, the other team members also began receiving messages.

A moment later, they looked up and exchanged glances, seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

"I just received a message from my sect," the Weapon Cultivator announced, "A new trial ground has appeared within the realm. It can meet the training needs of cultivators below the Star Constituent level, and even Star Constituents themselves! Any cultivator from Kyushu can enter it with their battle imprint to temper themselves and earn merit points!"

"I received this message too," the female spell cultivator nodded.

"Me too!"

After a brief pause, the Weapon Cultivator called out, "What are we waiting for then? Let's hurry back and check it out!"

With that, he took the lead and flew towards the nearest camp, the other three following closely.

As they flew, they saw countless cultivators from all directions rushing towards the camp, clearly having received similar messages from their respective sects.

Everyone was curious about what kind of trial ground it could be that could support Star Constituent realm cultivators in their training—this was truly unprecedented.

It wasn't just cultivators on Wushuang Continent returning to Kyushu; Star Constituents scattered across the starry sky, who had been searching for spirit jades, also rushed back to Kyushu after hearing the news.

This was different from when Kyushu first ascended to a large realm. Back then, the space near Kyushu was largely undeveloped, and Star Constituents could easily find abundant spirit jades, more than enough to meet their cultivation needs.

However, over the years, the number of Star Constituents in Kyushu had continuously increased. Any spirit jades that formed in the nearby starry sky were quickly discovered and collected. As a result, Star Constituents now had to spend much more time and effort to acquire spirit jades.

Although Lu Ye had previously brought back a large quantity of spirit jades from Three Realms Island, enough to satisfy the cultivation needs of Kyushu's Star Constituents, cultivators required not only cultivation but also various trials. Therefore, the Garrison Hall had always strictly controlled the distribution of spirit jades to prevent Kyushu's Star Constituents from becoming overly reliant.

In a short span, the entire Kyushu became incredibly lively.

In a void space, Lu Ye stood quietly with Xiao Jiu beside him. Little Flower Nanny, still timid, hid within Xiao Jiu's thick neck fur, occasionally peeking out at Lu Ye, but shrinking back in fright whenever Lu Ye's gaze turned her way.

Near Lu Ye and Xiao Jiu, large and small mirror-like surfaces reflected various scenes. Each scene depicted cultivators from Kyushu of all different cultivation levels, undergoing trials within their respective scenarios.

The Asura Arena artifact had been officially put into use. Although Lu Ye generally understood how it worked, he was still a bit uneasy and remained there to observe.

He was mainly concerned about whether Xiao Jiu could truly control this artifact.

However, as it turned out, his worries were unfounded. Xiao Jiu handled this task with surprising ease. It made sense; as Kyushu's Heavenly Mechanism, Xiao Jiu had always maintained the Spirit Stream Battlefield, the Cloud River Battlefield, and various secret realms. It had flawlessly managed the comprehensive calculation and distribution of merit points for all Kyushu cultivators, as well as the exchange of resources and spirit tokens, never making a mistake for thousands of years.

Now, by leveraging the power of the Asura Arena artifact, it was even easier than what it had accomplished in the past.

"Lu Ye, Lu Ye, you've brought back a great treasure!" Xiao Jiu was undoubtedly a little excited. As an intelligent entity born from the combination of Kyushu's origin and the Heavenly Mechanism Disk artifact spirit, Xiao Jiu had only one wish since its inception: to protect Kyushu and ensure its prosperity.

Anything that benefited Kyushu was something it would vigorously pursue.

The power of the Asura Arena artifact, once unleashed, completely resolved a long-standing concern for Xiao Jiu. From now on, it no longer had to worry about the future path of Kyushu's cultivation world.

"You'll have to put in a lot of effort from now on," Lu Ye said, looking at it with a hint of apology. From a human perspective, Xiao Jiu was like a tireless steward, despite its childlike nature.

Xiao Jiu waved its paw. "It's no trouble at all, very simple." As it spoke, it suddenly remembered something. "Lu Ye, tell me, now that we have this, is there still a need to maintain the Spirit Stream Battlefield and the Cloud River Battlefield?"

Without waiting for Lu Ye's reply, it made a decision. "Indeed, there's no need to maintain them. Let cultivators from the Spirit Stream and Cloud River realms come in for training too."

"Whatever you prefer," Lu Ye smiled.

Although the phantoms recorded within the Asura Arena were all above the Star Constituent level, their strength could be adjusted. Therefore, even if Spirit Stream Realm cultivators entered for training, Xiao Jiu could use the artifact to tailor the phantoms' power to an appropriate level, ensuring cultivators wouldn't face inescapable death traps.

There were no unsolvable situations in the trials; this was one of the Asura Arena's principles, and the artifact naturally inherited it.