Chapter 1972: Not That Intense

After several days, Lu Ye finally departed. Xiao Jiu, the newly acquired treasure from the Asura Field, was like a child who had received a favorite toy and would surely be engrossed in it for a while. Fortunately, Little Flower Fairy was by its side, so it wouldn't feel lonely.

The matters in Kyushu were now settled.

Lu Ye stood in mid-air, his spiritual sense spreading out to probe the direction of the Azure Blood Sect. After a slight pause, he slowly shook his head, abandoning his intention to return to the sect.

In the current Azure Blood Sect, he could barely find anyone he knew or was familiar with.

In the past, his second senior sister and the Sect Master were still in the sect, and every return felt warm, like coming home. But now, neither his second senior sister, nor the Sect Master, nor his master Yun Xuechu were there. Whether he returned or not no longer mattered. Furthermore, with his current cultivation level and strength, a sudden return would only cause the entire Azure Blood Sect to be filled with trepidation.

In this vast Kyushu, he seemed to have nowhere to go, feeling a momentary sense of loss.

He looked up towards the location of the Blood Refining World, sensing that his three Blood Servants were cultivating within. A thought stirred in his mind.

Moments later, three streaks of blood-red light flew from that direction, quickly arriving before Lu Ye.

"Greetings, Master!" Xuan Yu, Xiang Yin, and Ding Beifeng bowed in unison.

"Hmm?" Lu Ye carefully scrutinized the three Blood Servants before him, noticing that they seemed to have undergone significant changes compared to a few years ago. He couldn't help but show an interested expression, "It seems you've all made progress."

Was that Blood Refining World truly beneficial for the cultivation of Blood Race members?

But strictly speaking, he was also a Blood Race member, with a bloodline even closer to the Blood Ancestor than his Blood Servants. Why hadn't he noticed anything?

After a brief thought, perhaps it was precisely because his bloodline was too pure that he couldn't perceive it?

Xiang Yin, being the most lively, happily said, "We've made some progress, and we thank Master for making it possible."

Lu Ye nodded and waved his hand, "Then continue with your cultivation." Promoting to the Sunlit Realm earlier would also allow them to play a greater role. If the three of them were Sunlit, they might have detected Hei Yun's invasion earlier. As for whether these three would break free from his control after advancing, Lu Ye wasn't too worried. His current cultivation wasn't low, so it was hard to say who would advance first.

There was also another Blood Servant... Old Ma was the first one he had subdued, and he had been loyal all these years. It was time to let him return and give him an opportunity.

Xiang Yin and the other two departed again. It was a rare opportunity to glimpse the secrets of the Sunlit Realm, and none of them wanted to miss it.

Lu Ye stood there, thinking for a moment, then decided to set off towards Fangcun Mountain.

On Celestial Spirit Peak, several days of intimacy and Su Yuqing's myriad charms washed away years of Lu Ye's fatigue.

In the secret chamber, Lu Ye sat alone.

One was a Sunlit Realm cultivator, the other late-stage Moonlit Realm, so it was naturally impossible for them to spend every day together like mortal couples.

Previously, Lu Ye had intended to ask Su Yuqing at Fangcun Mountain about some secrets he had seen in the Haichuan Tower of the Heavenly Asura clan. One of them, in particular, he was quite concerned about.

A jade slip mentioned something about "external avatars" and "inner core methods," stating that these methods were merely for preliminary accumulation.

Lu Ye recalled that Su Yuqing possessed something resembling an inner core. It was precisely because of this inner core-like object that their entanglement had begun years ago.

However, after a conversation with Xu Yuan, Lu Ye abandoned his original plan.

Xu Yuan was right about one thing: knowing some things in advance was meaningless. For cultivators, personal cultivation was paramount. When one's strength reached a certain level, what needed to be known would naturally become clear.

The secret chamber wasn't large. Still carrying the lingering scent of Su Yuqing, Lu Ye took out the various resources he had exchanged from the Asura Treasury and placed them beside him.

Various treasures, large and small, of different types, each one was extremely valuable and rare.

The Asura Field had closed too suddenly. Otherwise, he could have exchanged enough treasures in the Asura Field to refine his Dharma Source to perfection.

These current ones... might not be enough.

But regardless of whether they were enough, he could only use them first. Lu Ye casually picked up a fist-sized piece of Azure Moon Spirit Marrow and activated the power of the Talent Tree to begin refining it.

He clearly felt extremely mysterious energy being absorbed by the Talent Tree from the Azure Moon Spirit Marrow, integrating into his own Dharma Source. The Dharma Source, having absorbed this energy, also began to slowly improve in quality.

The treasures were consumed one by one...

The Talent Tree absorbed them at an extremely fast rate. If other Moonlit Realm cultivators were to refine so many treasures, it would take several years to succeed, but for Lu Ye, they were depleted in just a few days.

Lu Ye checked the state of his Dharma Source. He could clearly feel that its quality had significantly improved compared to before. This was easy to verify: he only needed to refine spirit jade and observe the change in efficiency of converting spiritual power into Dharma power.

But as expected, the Dharma Source had not reached a perfect state.

He could feel that it was still a bit short...

This was somewhat frustrating.

After a long time, Lu Ye sighed.

Two days later, Lu Ye bid farewell to Su Yuqing and embarked on the journey to the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

He had an appointment with Ma Bin, so he couldn't stay in Kyushu for too long. It wouldn't be good if Ma Bin went to the Myriad Manifestations Sea first and couldn't find him. Furthermore, given the current situation, if he wanted to obtain more treasures for refining his Dharma Source, he could only do so from the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

When he left Three Realms Island back then, he had instructed He Baichuan to issue a bounty for such treasures, acquiring them regardless of cost. After all these years, there should be some results.

Furthermore, Yuan Du was a problem. Some Kyushu Star Lords had been soul-searched by Yuan Du. If the Human-Fish Tribe's affairs were exposed, so be it; Yuan Du had no right to criticize. But what if Yuan Du realized that Kyushu was the same Kyushu from ten thousand years ago?

He needed to find a way to deal with this old man. They had been enemies for a long time, and there was no possibility of peaceful coexistence.

But this old man was ultimately a Sunlit Realm cultivator, and he constantly stayed on Myriad Manifestations Island. How could he be dealt with?

Regardless, he could only return to the Myriad Manifestations Sea first. He was also afraid of what might happen on Three Realms Island while he was away.

However, if that were truly the case, he already had a contingency plan: by using the portal opened by the Azure Conch, he could transfer the cultivators of Three Realms Island to the Human-Fish Tribe's territory, preventing major casualties.

The journey was long.

A month later, Lu Ye's figure appeared over the Myriad Manifestations Sea, heading directly towards Three Realms Island.

Looking from afar, Three Realms Island was still as prosperous as ever, with many cultivators coming and going. Only then did Lu Ye feel at ease, seeing that nothing significant had happened on Three Realms Island during his absence these past few years.

This was also to be expected.

During the last conflict with Zi Xuan, Three Realms Island had completely established its reputation. Now, in this vast region, assuming a Sunlit Realm cultivator didn't intervene, who would be so foolish as to provoke Three Realms Island?

The Baiyue and Zi Xuan were cautionary tales. After these two major forces went to war with Three Realms Island, almost all Moonlit Realm cultivators were wiped out, and countless Star Lords were killed or injured.

When Lu Ye had left originally, he had done so quietly, and no one knew he had departed. With his formidable reputation acting as a deterrent, Three Realms Island had actually become more prosperous over the past few years.

This time upon his return, Lu Ye also disguised himself.

His spiritual sense swept across the entire Three Realms Island. Soon, he appeared in the Little People's talisman shop, where he met Haitang in the back room and handed over the items Su Yuqing had given him.

These were all materials for refining spirit talismans, mostly specialties of Fangcun Mountain, unobtainable elsewhere. Almost every time Lu Ye came to Three Realms Island from Kyushu, Su Yuqing would prepare a batch of such materials for him to bring.

Haitang was very happy. She chatted with Lu Ye for a while, asking about her master's recent situation, and Lu Ye told her truthfully.

A moment later, Lu Ye stood up, ready to leave.

Haitang suddenly called out, "Senior Brother."

"Hmm?" Lu Ye turned to look at her.

Haitang lowered her head and said, "Although Master is a Sunlit Realm cultivator, she has never experienced romantic love in her entire life. And she is much older than you. Her emotions might not be as passionate as a young person's. Senior Brother, please... don't mind too much."

She had mustered her courage to say these things to Lu Ye. The reason was simple: during her years on Three Realms Island, she had gradually heard some things. It seemed that Senior Brother Lu Ye had a fellow disciple, a senior sister, whom he had known since his humble beginnings and shared deep feelings with. She was currently on Three Realms Island but was in seclusion somewhere due to some unknown incident.

Although Master's cultivation was indeed higher compared to that person, what man didn't prefer someone younger and more vibrant?

She was afraid that Lu Ye, making a comparison, would dislike her own master.

Her feelings towards Lu Ye were actually somewhat complex. Initially, Lu Ye had saved her life. Then, under Master's arrangement, she became Lu Ye's Dao companion, thus gaining the qualification to participate in the Black Abyss struggle of the Little People. But later, Master actually got involved with him...

Although she had always called Lu Ye "Senior Brother," with that layer of connection to her Master, how could she truly treat him as just a senior brother?

Lu Ye's eyes flickered. *Not that passionate?*

Haitang knew... nothing about her own master!

"Of course not, Yuqing is wonderful!" Lu Ye's expression was sincere.

"That's good!" Haitang smiled and nodded.

Leaving the Little People's talisman shop, Lu Ye directly returned to the main island's cultivator garrison area. Immediately, his spiritual sense surged.

Moments later, He Baichuan, Ma Shangsi, Yu Xi, and Cheng Xin gathered in the deliberation hall. Tang Jun also came with them.

This was essentially all the management personnel of the main island. Among them, Yu Xi and Cheng Xin were the two elders from the Human-Fish Tribe.

After exchanging a few greetings, He Baichuan directly got to the point, beginning to report Three Realms Island's revenue situation from the past few years to Lu Ye.

Lu Ye quickly raised a hand to stop him, "Senior Brother He, when Senior Sister Luan was here, she never mentioned these matters to me. You don't need to be so formal."

He Baichuan said, "It's not about being formal or not, Junior Brother. You are currently the Great Island Master. You should understand how much spirit jade we've earned, where it's been used, and how much is leftover. After all, Three Realms Island is our collective power."

"I don't need to know!" Lu Ye looked at him earnestly. He only needed Three Realms Island to provide full support when he required spirit jade.