Chapter 2040: Big Brother and Little Brother

Upon entering the Myriad Manifestations Sea, Su Yuqing parted ways with Lu Ye. She needed to return to Square Inch Island, which was in a different direction from Lu Ye's.

From beginning to end, she didn't ask anything; she simply leaned gently by Lu Ye's side.

Upon Lu Ye's return to Three Realms Island, he was immediately met with many concerned gazes.

"It's nothing," Lu Ye said, then returned Little Gua to Hua Ci. He then went to see Ma Bin and told him about the incident.

Hearing this, Ma Bin felt a surge of apprehension. If an ordinary newly advanced Sunseeker had encountered a top-tier expert like Changfeng, there would have been no room for resistance. It was hard to imagine the consequences if Lu Ye had been captured by Changfeng.

"That old dog has always been insidious and acts without any bottom line," Ma Bin declared. "I probably know where he'll go. Once my injuries heal, I'll go take his dog's head and avenge you!"

Lu Ye quickly tried to dissuade him: "Senior, don't overthink it. This time, I was alarmed but not harmed; I'm perfectly fine. Your priority is to recover from your injuries."

"Hmm," Ma Bin grunted in response, but Lu Ye sensed that this time, Ma Bin was truly set on killing. Last time, when Changfeng led people to besiege him, even though his cultivation foundation was damaged, he hadn't really held a grudge. Cultivators' battles were often fraught with danger, and Ma Bin had long accepted this reality.

But Changfeng actually attacking Lu Ye was something Ma Bin could not tolerate.

One could imagine that once his injuries healed, he would definitely seek revenge on Changfeng.

Lu Ye instantly regretted telling Ma Bin about this. His original intention was merely to gather more intelligence about Changfeng from Ma Bin, to avoid being unprepared for their next encounter.

After leaving the Spirit Jade Mine, Lu Ye sent a message to Tang Jun, giving him some instructions, then returned to his own residence.

Now that his cultivation had reached the Sunseeker realm and he was the Lord of the Myriad Manifestations Sea, the small bamboo building he had originally built no longer befitted his status. Therefore, Three Realms Island had constructed a residence for him.

Having suffered a setback this time, Lu Ye decided to first nourish the sword light of his Sword Gourd. If the sword light had been perfected before, his response to Changfeng's sneak attack wouldn't have been so difficult. After all, the Sword Gourd was his strongest trump card. As a newly advanced Sunseeker, there were still many powerful experts in the starry sky stronger than him. Having such a trump card for protection naturally provided an extra layer of security.

The instruction he gave Tang Jun was to send over a large quantity of magic treasures. Lu Ye still had some leftover from last time, which he hadn't fully absorbed, but it probably wouldn't be enough.

After all, perfecting a single sword light required magic treasures worth five hundred million spirit jades.

"Brother!" A familiar voice suddenly called out. Lu Ye looked up to see Chu Shen rushing in, his eyes full of concern: "Brother, are you alright? I heard you were ambushed! I just got back to the island and rushed over to check on you. Is there anything bothering you, or anywhere I can help? Just say the word, Brother, and I'll do whatever it takes!"

Hearing him repeatedly address him as "Brother" and himself as "little brother," Lu Ye's eyelids twitched.

Previously, he hadn't thought anything was wrong with Chu Shen's way of addressing him. Even after he advanced to Sunseeker, and Jiuyan sought to interact with him as an equal, it hadn't changed the brothers' usual way of interacting.

After all, Jiuyan wasn't a direct mentor or elder to him, so they could completely set their own terms for their relationship.

But now, after Lu Ye had seen Jiuyan's true appearance, some things had changed.

He opened his mouth, wanting very much to tell Chu Shen not to call him "Brother" anymore...

...but didn't know how to begin.

"Brother, what's wrong with you?" Chu Shen was greatly alarmed at his reaction.

"It's nothing!" Lu Ye shook his head, staring intently at Chu Shen, wondering what would happen if Chu Shen found out about him and Jiuyan.

"Brother, why are you looking at me like that?" Chu Shen was puzzled, feeling that Lu Ye's gaze today was somewhat strange.

Lu Ye smiled: "You're even more handsome today than before."

"Really?" Chu Shen touched his face and chuckled, "That must be because my cultivation has advanced. Oh right, Brother, I heard this incident also alarmed our mother. Is she alright?"

"Didn't you send a message to ask her?" Lu Ye asked.

Chu Shen shook his head: "I heard she returned to One Origin Realm. It's too far from here to One Origin Realm for message talismans to transmit."

Lu Ye then remembered that this was indeed the case. He immediately said, "It's nothing serious. She should be back soon."

"That's good," Chu Shen said, relieved. He made a decision: "Then I'll go to Myriad Manifestations Island to wait for her."

With that, he left in a hurry.

Looking at the current Myriad Manifestations Sea, cultivators from Three Realms Island were undoubtedly the most esteemed. Even if they were only at the Constellation stage, they would become a focal point wherever they went and receive good treatment. No one dared to do anything to cultivators from Three Realms Island in the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

And Chu Shen was not only a Three Realms Island cultivator but also Jiuyan's descendant, and he was also sworn brothers with Lu Ye. Although he was currently only at the Moon Gazer stage, even foreign Sunseekers dared not show him any disrespect. He was one of the most unprovokable cultivators in the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

It could be said that Chu Shen could walk unhindered in the Myriad Manifestations Sea. Fortunately, Jiuyan's upbringing of him had always been good, and he hadn't adopted any dissolute young master tendencies.

After Chu Shen left, Lu Ye took out his Sword Gourd. He also brought out the remaining magic treasures from before, allowing the Sword Gourd to absorb them and nourish the sword energy.

Not long after, Old Tang delivered another large quantity of magic treasures.

As Lu Ye activated the Sword Gourd to absorb the magic treasures, he pondered what he should say when he saw Jiuyan later.

There were some things he hadn't quite figured out.

Back then, he and Ban Ci went to a secret place. That place was beneficial for Ban Ci's advancement to Moon Gazer, but they encountered a Heavenly Desire Demonic Spider there, leading to some unexpected events.

During that process, Ban Ci revealed her true appearance. Only then did Lu Ye realize that the face of Ban Ci he had seen was merely a disguise.

Lu Ye also didn't understand why Ban Ci revealed her true appearance at the last moment, but he never forgot that face. After that, Ban Ci disappeared and did not return to Peerless Island.

Over the years, Lu Ye had made many inquiries, and only found a young girl named Banxia in Chariot Bell Realm, who was suspected to be the child he and Ban Ci had rescued in a certain realm years ago.

"Ban Ci" and "Banxia" clearly had a connection, and furthermore, Chu Shen had also mentioned that Banxia was a Child of the Realm, the final bearer of luck after a realm's destruction. This further convinced Lu Ye that she was indeed the child they had rescued back then.

But Lu Ye had never found any trace of Ban Ci in Chariot Bell Realm, and Chu Shen had never seen her either.

Only today did he understand: Ban Ci was Jiuyan! That's why Banxia appeared in Chariot Bell Realm.

But if that were the case, a problem arose: if it truly was Jiuyan who accompanied him to the secret place back then, how could she, with her peak Sunseeker cultivation, have been unable to deal with a Heavenly Desire Demonic Spider?

This was what Lu Ye couldn't figure out.

It couldn't be that she was deliberately feigning weakness; that made no sense at all. In such a situation, no woman would do something like that. Therefore, Ban Ci at that time must have only had peak Constellation cultivation.

If he couldn't figure it out, he could only ask her in person. Unfortunately, Su Yuqing was present at the time, so Lu Ye couldn't speak.

A short while later, Lu Ye suddenly looked up, vaguely sensing Jiuyan's aura arriving at Three Realms Island. But after only a moment, it swiftly departed again.

Lu Ye frowned, waiting.

After a moment, Luan Xiao'e walked in, holding a treasure gourd: "Junior Brother, this is something Senior Sister Jiuyan sent over. She said it was what you agreed upon earlier."

Lu Ye took the treasure gourd and, upon a brief inspection, knew it was indeed the true Fire Gourd, the Realm-Suppressing Artifact of One Origin Realm that he had seen that day.

"Senior Sister Jiuyan left?" Lu Ye asked.

"Yes, she said there were still matters to handle on Myriad Manifestations Island, so she rushed back," Luan Xiao'e replied.

"Understood." Lu Ye nodded. It seemed Jiuyan didn't know how to face him, which was why she came and went so quickly.

After all, there was still Chu Shen between them. Chu Shen calling Lu Ye "Brother" was known to everyone in the Myriad Manifestations Sea, and this was the most awkward part.

But some things ultimately had to be clarified.

After a moment of thought, Lu Ye stood up, preparing to make a trip to Myriad Manifestations Island. No matter what, he had to get to the bottom of it. Some things couldn't be solved by avoidance. Jiuyan was still too naive.

Just as he stepped out of his residence, a soft voice reached his ears: "Going out?"

Lu Ye turned his head to look, and saw Hua Ci standing there, smiling sweetly and looking at him.

"Ah... yes," Lu Ye replied instinctively.

"Perfect, I also need to go out. Take me with you," Hua Ci said. She stepped forward and took Lu Ye's arm, her soft body pressing against him.

"Where are you going?" Lu Ye asked, startled.

"Myriad Manifestations Island. Where are you going?" Hua Ci countered, breathing softly into Lu Ye's ear.

Lu Ye felt a tickle from her, but his heart suddenly dropped: "What are you going to Myriad Manifestations Island for?"

For some reason, Lu Ye suddenly felt uneasy.

"To look around," Hua Ci said, blinking her long eyelashes. "Myriad Manifestations Island is the largest top-tier spirit island here, and I haven't seen it yet. Let's go."

As she spoke, she activated her magic power and flew off with Lu Ye.

As they traveled, Hua Ci chatted and laughed, seemingly very excited about Myriad Manifestations Island. The delicate fragrance from her body constantly drifted into Lu Ye's nostrils, but instead of bringing him any comfort, it made him feel as if he had thorns in his back.

Because Hua Ci's occasional glances were somewhat amiss!

"Did someone tell you something?" Lu Ye gritted his teeth and asked.

Hua Ci had never been one to enjoy bustling places. Her wanting to go to Myriad Manifestations Island this time for no reason, and waiting right outside his residence, was clearly suspicious!

Hua Ci smiled gently: "Who could tell me anything? I'm just a small Moon Gazer. What? Have you done something shady again?"

Cold sweat trickled down Lu Ye's forehead: "In the past two months, have you been to Square Inch Island?"

Hua Ci smiled even more brightly: "Square Inch Island... that's a wonderful place. Sister Yuqing is so gentle, beautiful, and kind. I stayed there for a few days, and she took very good care of me."

This is bad!

Lu Ye's face fell. How did Su Yuqing get involved with this crazy woman, Hua Ci? He had only been in secluded cultivation for two months. How did they start calling each other "sister" already?