Chapter 2013: Old Family Visitors

It appears then that Hua Ci was not unconscious at all during the time she was sealed, and she heard everything I said.

Lu Ye still tried to deny it, asking, "What Yu Qing?"

Hua Ci's beautiful eyes danced as she smiled, saying, "You're just putting on an act!"

With that, she subtly channeled her spiritual power and, with a raised hand, tossed Lu Ye onto the nearby bed. In an instant, Lu Ye was sprawled out on it, forming an 'X'.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hua Ci gracefully approach, climbing onto the bed from the foot, on all fours, slowly creeping towards him like a cat.

"What are you doing?!" Lu Ye's heart pounded with panic.

Though Hua Ci's various gestures moments ago had greatly stirred his desires, the situation was now entirely different. The feeling after the roles were reversed was completely unlike before.

With a slight dip of her body, Hua Ci's delicate hand gently traced circles on Lu Ye's chest, her voice languid and soft: "You faithless man, you're dead!"

Her soft body leaned down, and shadow eclipsed the light. Lu Ye closed his eyes, a deep sense of humiliation welling up inside him...

The Three Treasures Ruyi Coin truly lived up to its name as a supreme treasure of the starry sky. Even though the power of the Talent Tree had been constantly burning away its energy, it still took a full four days for Lu Ye to slowly regain his freedom.

This level of sealing power was almost on par with the power of the Asura Pact from the Asura Arena, and utterly beyond human resistance.

Another three days later, Lu Ye finally emerged, with sunken eyes and a pallid complexion.

He couldn't stay in this cursed Grand Cosmos Sea any longer. He had to return to Kyushu quickly!

He truly couldn't understand why Hua Ci's strength was clearly so much weaker than Su Yuqing's, yet her endurance in certain aspects was so much greater. Was this kind of thing not related to strength?

How could it not be related?

"You're finally out," Tang Jun said, suddenly appearing before him with an impatient look. Upon seeing Lu Ye's appearance, he was greatly surprised. "What happened to you?"

Lu Ye's voice was mournful. "Something went wrong with my cultivation; it's nothing serious. What's the matter?"

Old Tang gave him a suspicious glance, then quickly said, "Someone from home has arrived!"

"Who from home?" Lu Ye was momentarily stunned, then looked puzzled. "How did someone from home get here?"

"Come see for yourself."

A moment later, in a secret room, Lu Ye followed Tang Jun inside.

Luan Xiao'e and He Baichuan were both there, one standing, one sitting. Another person lay on a nearby bed. A scent of blood permeated the room, likely from someone being injured and losing blood.

Lu Ye focused his gaze on the bed, and a look of confusion immediately crossed his face. "Fellow Daoist Su?"

He recognized the injured cultivator on the bed. It was Su Yiming, whom he had dealt with back in the Jade Snail Realm. Though they weren't particularly familiar with each other, they had met several times.

"How are you here? Who hurt you?" Lu Ye asked.

Su Yiming smiled at Lu Ye and shook his head. "No one hurt me. My injuries were sustained while passing through a wormhole."

"Passing through a wormhole..." Lu Ye's expression shifted. "Could it be the passage between Grand Cosmos and Jade Snail..."

Su Yiming nodded. "It's traversable now, though it's not very stable!"

Lu Ye was overjoyed. This was truly a timely blessing. He had previously been considering that he would need to bring Luan Xiao'e with him when returning to Kyushu to deal with the Purple Iris demon cultivators' invasion. However, Luan Xiao'e was already a Sun-Grade cultivator, so she couldn't be placed in the Small Flower World. He was also unsure if she could transfer with him through the Soul Clan Ancestral Land.

But if the wormhole was traversable, then all problems would be resolved easily.

"When did this happen?" Lu Ye eagerly asked.

"Just recently... cough, cough..." Su Yiming began to cough violently before he could finish speaking.

"Let me explain," Luan Xiao'e said, patting his back and taking over the conversation.

Through her explanation, Lu Ye gradually came to understand the changes in the wormhole.

In fact, when he last returned to Kyushu, someone had reported to him that there were subtle changes in the wormhole. He had even personally gone to investigate.

Since both Lu Ye and Tang Jun had entered the Grand Cosmos Sea through that wormhole before, the corresponding location of the wormhole could be determined. What couldn't be determined was whether the wormhole would stabilize, and when.

Therefore, long ago, Lu Ye had arranged for the Jade Snail Realm to dispatch people to guard the wormhole entrance, to constantly monitor its changes.

Over the years, Su Yiming had been responsible for this task.

The formation of wormholes involves many fortuitous elements and cannot be interfered with by human power. Not every wormhole is traversable. In this vast starry sky, new wormholes are born and old ones collapse almost constantly. Therefore, after a wormhole forms, it needs to be sufficiently stable for people to pass through.

If it's not stable enough, it won't work. This kind of thing depends on luck. Some wormholes remain chaotic for tens of thousands of years, while others are extremely stable right after forming. There's absolutely no discernible pattern.

No one could predict whether the wormhole connecting Jade Snail to the Grand Cosmos Star System would stabilize. They could only wait for time to tell.

Just recently, Su Yiming noticed another change in the wormhole. He immediately entered it to investigate.

He had done this several times before. Generally, with his Moon-Grade cultivation, there would be no problems if he only briefly explored near the wormhole entrance and didn't stay too long.

But this time, an accident occurred.

After Su Yiming entered the wormhole, it changed again, causing him to get lost inside and lose his sense of direction. He could only follow the wormhole forward, encountering many dangers along the way.

Unstable wormholes can erupt with void currents, and Su Yiming's injuries came from these.

During his last encounter with danger, he directly fainted. He didn't know what happened afterward.

When he woke up again, he had already been rescued.

He had been rescued by several cultivators who were only at the Constellation Realm, and he didn't know which star system they were from. They were kind-hearted.

After Su Yiming awoke, he inquired a bit about their situation, only then realizing he had unknowingly arrived in the Grand Cosmos Star System!

He felt both surprised and delighted, and then asked the cultivators for help in reaching the Grand Cosmos Sea, where he found Three Realms Island.

Just over half a day ago, Su Yiming had just arrived at Three Realms Island. When Luan Xiao'e and He Baichuan saw him, they could hardly believe their eyes.

Old Tang had tried to contact Lu Ye immediately, but there had been no response, until Lu Ye suddenly appeared himself.

"Are there any changes in our home star system?" Lu Ye quickly asked. Although he was fairly certain the Purple Iris demon cultivator army hadn't yet reached Jade Snail, since Su Yiming was here, he could naturally inquire.

Su Yiming shook his head. "No changes. Everything is fine. I did hear that a training ground has appeared in your Nine Heavens Realm, where even Constellation Realm cultivators can enter for trials, offering many mysteries and benefits. So many people from Jade Snail and Azure Dawn Dao Realm have taken their families and gone to Nine Heavens for adventure."

That news spread quickly... But it's fine. Even if people come and go from the other two realms, it won't be many, so the burden on Little Nine won't be significant.

"What happened?" Su Yiming asked.

"Nothing much. Fellow Daoist, please focus on your recovery," Lu Ye reassured him.

Su Yiming nodded, then remembered something. "Oh, right, please extend good hospitality to those young fellow Daoists who escorted me here."

Lu Ye said, "Don't worry, we'll certainly be respectful."

Leaving Su Yiming to recuperate, with He Baichuan personally looking after him, Lu Ye led Luan Xiao'e and Tang Jun out.

After a brief moment of thought, Lu Ye turned to Tang Jun. "As for those Constellation Realm cultivators, give them some spirit jades and spirit artifacts. Don't be stingy; give them plenty."

Tang Jun said, "I spoke with them earlier, and it seems they wish to join Three Realms Island. What do you think..."

"You decide." Lu Ye couldn't be bothered with such minor matters. In the past, Three Realms Island would certainly not have accepted cultivators from other star systems. But times had changed. On the Grand Cosmos Sea, Three Realms Island now held sole dominance, and there were fewer taboos. It was only a few Constellation Realm cultivators, after all.

Tang Jun nodded and went to handle the matter.

Lu Ye then looked at Luan Xiao'e. "Senior Sister, come with me to check on the wormhole's situation. If there are no issues, we'll return directly to Kyushu through the wormhole!"

Luan Xiao'e nodded. "Alright! But please wait a moment, Junior Brother. There are others who wish to come with us."

"Who?"

Luan Xiao'e smiled. "You'll see in a moment."

Lu Ye was puzzled. This trip was to return to the Jade Snail Star System. Taking Luan Xiao'e back was reasonable; she was, after all, a Sun-Grade cultivator and could play a significant role. As for others, Lu Ye hadn't planned on bringing anyone else.

Now that the Grand Cosmos Sea was newly settled, Three Realms Island was already understaffed. Thus, Lu Ye was quite unsure who else would want to return with him.

Luan Xiao'e didn't explain further, but simply sent out some messages.

Soon, figures began to converge from all directions.

The first to arrive were a group of Moon-Grade cultivators who had recently advanced on the Grand Cosmos Sea, all originally from the Jade Snail Realm.

Next came the Constellation Realm cultivators, including cultivators from all three realms, led by a group from Kyushu.

The Sect Master, Master Yun Xuechu, Senior Brother Feng Wujiang, Jujia, Third Senior Brother Li Baxian, Nianyuexian, Yue Ji, Meng Jie, Jian Guhong...

Gazing at these familiar faces, Lu Ye was at a loss for words.

Tang Yifeng stepped forward and patted Lu Ye's shoulder. "The matters of our homeland are not yours alone to bear. We have cultivated peacefully on the Grand Cosmos Sea for so many years, and time and again, you've been at the forefront of battles alone. You can't always be the only one exerting effort. We are also capable fighters."

Feng Wujiang also smiled slightly at Lu Ye. "Junior Brother, look ahead and far, but don't forget there are people behind you."

Jian Guhong reached out to stroke his sword, his voice deep: "My sword cries out; it hasn't tasted blood in a long time. I hope this time we can have a satisfying battle!"

Li Baxian looked at the profound demeanor of the senior, and sighed, acknowledging his own inferiority.

Gazing at these many familiar faces and the light in their eyes, Lu Ye knew this was a journey he could not refuse.

Moreover, he knew that Kyushu cultivators were never hothouse flowers. Every Kyushu cultivator had undergone countless life-or-death trials to reach where they were today.

If they were willing to follow Lu Ye back to their homeland, it meant they had already put life and death aside.

"I understand!" Lu Ye nodded. "Then I invite all of you to return to our homeland with me and fight the foreign enemies. Anyone who dares to invade our star system will surely not return!"

"That's more like it!" Tang Yifeng was greatly relieved.