Chapter 2038: No Gain in Return

Ever since Lu Ye led the cultivators from the Three Realms into the Myriad Phenomena Sea, he has consistently followed the principle of "an eye for an eye." This began with Baiyue, then Zixuan, and ultimately, he turned the entire Myriad Phenomena Sea upside down.

In such a place, any display of weakness would only encourage others to escalate their aggression. Now that Three Realms Island holds sway over the Myriad Phenomena Sea, it was intolerable that he, its master, was still being hunted down.

Lu Ye did not delve too deep beneath the Myriad Phenomena Sea, having sensed the elder's departure. Moments later, he swiftly surfaced.

Nearby, Luan Xiao'e's aura quickly approached, and Lu Ye promptly went to meet her.

"What happened?" Luan Xiao'e asked nervously.

Hua Ci also looked at him with concern, asking, "Are you alright?"

Given the current circumstances, they couldn't fathom who would dare to pursue Lu Ye, so they rushed over immediately upon hearing the news.

Normally, Little Gua was only close to Lu Ye, apart from her master Hua Ci, which was why Luan Xiao'e brought Hua Ci along.

Lu Ye shook his head. "I'm fine," he said. He reached out, took Little Gua from Hua Ci's arms, placed her on his shoulder, then turned and gave chase. His voice drifted back to them: "You two go back first. Do not leave Three Realms Island until I return."

The tables had turned so swiftly. Before, the elder was the one pursuing Lu Ye; now, it was Lu Ye's turn to give chase.

However, given the disparity in their cultivation levels, it was still challenging for Lu Ye to catch up to him.

It didn't matter, though, as Lu Ye had largely confirmed the elder's identity. The old man might escape, but his base would remain.

As he pursued, to Lu Ye's surprise, the elder did not return to any of the domains within the Myriad Phenomena Star System. Instead, he fled directly out of it.

This left Lu Ye feeling somewhat frustrated. Did the elder know he had caused trouble and simply fled? If so, Lu Ye would truly have no good way to deal with him.

Yet, there was still a chance...

During the ambush, he had retaliated with a backhand strike, inflicting a simple flesh wound. Although not severe, it was caused by the Tusk Blade, and residual Tusk power remained in the wound.

A powerful Sun Gazer like the elder was fully capable of neutralizing the Tusk power, but it would likely take a few days. The window of opportunity lay within that timeframe. As long as the elder paused somewhere, Lu Ye could stealthily approach by tracking the Tusk power's sensation. Then, with a single blast of golden light, he could instantly incapacitate the elder, regardless of his cultivation level.

While Lu Ye pursued the elder, guided by the Tusk power, on Myriad Phenomena Island, Jiuyan's expression drastically changed. She abruptly rose and flew outwards.

The sudden turn of events was entirely unforeseen. It was meant to be a simple meeting, yet the person she had arranged to meet never arrived. Instead, she received some deeply unsettling news.

She was utterly furious.

The situation in the Myriad Phenomena Sea had now stabilized. This was, arguably, the best possible outcome. Three Realms Island had no intention of a complete massacre; the Myriad Phenomena Star System had merely lost its governance over the Myriad Phenomena Sea. While this outcome was frustrating for some within the Myriad Phenomena Star System, they had only themselves to blame for not being strong enough.

In the cultivation world, the strong have always commanded respect.

Moreover, looking back at the upheavals in the Myriad Phenomena Sea, Three Realms Island was not the intentional aggressor. The cultivators from Three Realms Island, led by Lu Ye, had always been forced into resistance out of necessity.

A few days prior, she had learned that her eldest senior brother, who had been traveling, had returned to the Myriad Phenomena Star System. Consequently, she sent a message, inviting him to the Myriad Phenomena Sea. Her intention was partly to have a thorough discussion with him and partly to show him the current state of the Myriad Phenomena Sea.

She had no intention of fully resolving the grievances between Three Realms Island and the Myriad Phenomena Star System, as she herself was a Myriad Phenomena Sun Gazer. Her only desire was to prevent further upheavals in the Myriad Phenomena Sea. To maintain the current status quo, her returning senior brother's attitude was crucial.

She was confident that if she appealed to his reason, her senior brother would not be unreasonable, especially since Three Realms Island was now willing to share half of the Myriad Phenomena Chamber of Commerce's profits.

However, she never anticipated that her actions would trigger another unforeseen incident!

The news she had just received was that Lu Ye, along with the supreme treasure of the starry sky, had departed the Myriad Phenomena Sea, and his whereabouts were unknown.

She was extremely anxious, fearing that Lu Ye, in his wrath, might go to the Myriad Phenomena domains and unleash a massacre. If that happened, the situation would become unmanageable.

The previous deaths of Yuan Du and others were Lu Ye's counterattack, and the fault was not his. But if Lu Ye were to truly direct his anger towards those Myriad Phenomena domains this time, she would not know how to respond.

As she set off, she suddenly felt a powerful Sun Gazer aura emerge from the direction of Zixuan Island, also flying towards the outer reaches of the Myriad Phenomena Sea.

Zixuan Island... now known as Fangcun Island. Recently, many of the Little People had settled there, led by someone apparently named Su Yuqing.

The Sun Gazer who had just set off was undoubtedly her.

She wasn't entirely clear about the exact relationship between Lu Ye and the Little People, but given that they could settle on Zixuan Island, their connection must be very close. Otherwise, there would be no reason for Three Realms Island to entrust a top-tier spiritual island to them.

Su Yuqing's departure towards the outer Myriad Phenomena Sea at this moment clearly indicated she had also received information and was going to support Lu Ye.

The divine senses of the two Sun Gazers briefly met in the distance, conveying mutual understanding. Soon, they spotted each other beyond the Myriad Phenomena Sea. After a fleeting gaze from afar, they both withdrew their attention and flew side-by-side, maintaining a certain distance.

As they journeyed, Jiuyan continuously sent out messages, inquiring about the situation in the major domains of Myriad Phenomena from Yuan Se and others.

Soon, she calmed herself, as Lu Ye's presence had not been detected in any of the major domains within the Myriad Phenomena Star System. This signified that the worst-case scenario had not materialized.

Lu Ye had evidently taken the supreme treasure of the starry sky and gone in pursuit of that senior brother!

Yuan Se and the others had undoubtedly also received messages from that senior brother, informing them of the trouble he had caused. At this moment, they were all gathered in the One Origin Realm, filled with apprehension.

They were debating whether to flee.

Fleeing at this moment was undoubtedly their best option. Later, if Lu Ye were to free himself and decide to trouble them, none could stand in his way.

But Myriad Phenomena was their root, their homeland. While the senior brother who caused the trouble had to leave, they themselves had no desire to depart.

As Sun Gazers, leaving Myriad Phenomena would mean endless wandering and living as dependents, a fate no Sun Gazer wished to face.

Jiuyan offered some words of comfort, feeling utterly exhausted.

Meanwhile, Lu Ye had pursued for several days without catching a glimpse of the elder. Through the feedback of the Tusk power, Lu Ye confirmed that his opponent was not moving at full speed. Despite Lu Ye exerting his utmost, his speed was still inferior to the elder's.

This was frustrating; the speed disparity caused by their vast difference in cultivation was simply insurmountable.

Over the course of several days, the Tusk power's feedback gradually faded until it vanished entirely today.

This undoubtedly indicated that the elder had neutralized the Tusk power remaining in his wound.

Although the Tusk Blade's quality had significantly improved with his ascension to Sun Gazer, the elder was no ordinary individual. After several days, he had naturally managed to neutralize the Tusk power's erosion.

Lu Ye did not give up, pursuing for two more days based on where the Tusk power had vanished, only then reluctantly stopping.

Without the Tusk power's guidance, he was utterly unable to locate the old man in the vast starry expanse. This pursuit... had completely failed.

Bearing this grudge in mind, Lu Ye gazed into the depths of the starry sky before turning and retracing his path.

During this ambush, the elder had no intention of killing him; otherwise, he would not have merely suppressed him with the Soul Suppressing Secret Art. He likely intended to capture him. Even so, Lu Ye suffered a considerable setback; the injury to his Spiritual Sea had not yet fully healed, and he still felt a faint, throbbing pain in his head.

Before he became a Sun Gazer, his understanding wasn't profound enough. Since his promotion, he had suffered spiritual setbacks more than once in combat. The veteran Sun Gazers' mastery of spiritual cultivation was unfathomable; a newly advanced Sun Gazer like him, even with some inherent advantages, could not hope to contend.

He needed to visit the Soul Clan ancestral land soon to practice the Soul Suppressing Secret Art; otherwise, he would continue to face such challenges. Lu Ye had made up his mind, though he had already planned this, he simply hadn't had the chance to act on it.

But before that... while exacting full revenge on the old man was out of the question, collecting a bit of interest certainly wasn't!

After several more days of rapid travel, Lu Ye arrived near the One Origin Realm.

From a distance, he spotted a familiar figure standing there. He quickly flew over, surprised. "Yuqing, why are you here?" he asked.

The person standing there was none other than Su Yuqing.

He was, of course, aware that Su Yuqing had arrived in the Myriad Phenomena Sea. The Little People now occupied Fangcun Island, with a significant number of their clan members settling there, attracting attention from the entire Myriad Phenomena Sea. However, the original Zixuan Island was not a trade-oriented spiritual island, nor was it particularly large, so it couldn't accommodate many cultivators entering and exiting. Therefore, cultivators in the Myriad Phenomena Sea who wished to purchase spirit talismans still had to go to Three Realms Island.

At present, Three Realms Island had cleared an entire street, dedicating over twenty shops for the Little People to sell spirit talismans.

He simply couldn't understand why Su Yuqing was here.

"I came to find you when I heard something happened," Su Yuqing explained. "Someone told me you would come here and asked me to wait." As she spoke, she scanned Lu Ye, only relaxing once she confirmed he was unharmed. She couldn't help but add, "Even with the supreme treasure of the starry sky, you shouldn't take such risks next time. The one you were pursuing is likely a peak Sun Gazer. While he may not be able to defeat the supreme treasure, someone of his cultivation possesses many methods and might have a chance to incapacitate you before you can even use it."

Feeling her profound concern, Lu Ye nodded repeatedly. "I understand," he affirmed. He had dared to pursue this time precisely because he relied on the Tusk power's feedback, which allowed him to pinpoint the elder's location and ensure he wouldn't be ambushed. Without that crucial factor, he would never have pursued such a formidable opponent alone, even with the supreme treasure of the starry sky.