Chapter 2060: Little Nine's True Form

Lu Ye had always been curious about something: Since the Insectoids and Blood Clan were universally reviled in the Starry Sky, why hadn't the major races joined forces to annihilate them?

Logically, this should be achievable. No matter how powerful the Insectoids and Blood Clan were, they couldn't withstand a united front from all races.

Now, he was slowly starting to understand.

Both the Insectoids and Blood Clan possessed their own unique foundations for survival. The special nature of the Insect Emperor Realm was the source of the Insectoids' peace of mind; as long as they controlled it, they would never face the crisis of extermination.

Although the Blood Clan's realms did not have the same inherent advantages as the Insect Emperor Realm, each Blood Clan realm possessed its own ancestral artifact. With these artifacts, they could mobilize the power of their realm, granting them powerful self-preservation capabilities.

Taking down Blood Extinction Realm and Blood Jade Realm might seem effortless, but that was largely due to Lu Ye's significant role. During the assault on Blood Extinction Realm, he single-handedly obstructed the Blood Clan's mobilization of realm power. This time, the Blood Clan suffered even more severely, as he, in conjunction with the Lilliputian Sun Glimmers, captured them all in one fell swoop. Even a top Blood Clan Holy Venerable like Jiu Tian died inexplicably, not to mention the other Blood Clan members.

Lu Ye's unique abilities made him almost a natural nemesis for the Blood Clan.

The matters concerning Blood Jade Realm were now completely resolved.

Several days later, Lu Ye returned to the core region with Chen Xuanhai and the other reinforcements.

The great battle yielded rich rewards. Not only did they gain Blood Jade Realm itself, but also the resources of an entire realm – an unimaginable quantity.

Once the western region returned and Fangcun Mountain was unified in the future, Kyushu could also allow Xiao Jiu to absorb the essence of Blood Jade Realm, achieving two goals with one action.

Lu Ye did not linger long at Fangcun Mountain and soon departed.

His current Sun Glimmer cultivation, the practice of the Soul Suppression Secret Art, and the transformation of his Talent Tree all required significant time accumulation and massive material consumption. These activities were inconvenient to perform outside, so he needed to go to the Myriad Phenomena Sea and the Soul Clan Ancestral Land.

Although he didn't fully understand what the Insectoids meant by the "advent of the great trend," he felt a growing sense of urgency. He had to raise his cultivation as much as possible before this trend arrived. That way, no matter what changes its advent brought, he would possess the means to protect himself and his loved ones.

Kyushu had expanded once again.

Compared to its original size, Kyushu was now twice as large in volume, clearly the result of Jade Snail having completed its realm fusion.

Currently, the three major realms of the entire star system had merged, truly becoming bound together.

Lu Ye hadn't originally planned to return to Kyushu, but he soon sensed something, revealing a surprised expression, and turned to streak towards Kyushu.

Before long, Lu Ye descended in front of the Protector Hall in Tianzhou.

He looked up and saw a familiar, imposing figure standing beneath the Reincarnation Tree clone, hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the seemingly withered clone with a nostalgic expression.

Lu Ye walked towards him and, after a moment, stood beside him, softly calling out, "Senior."

Ma Bin turned to look at him, smiled faintly, and patted the Reincarnation Tree clone. "When I was little, a senior brother and I used to play around in this tree, climbing up and down. One day, I accidentally broke off a branch and got a severe beating for it. I couldn't get out of bed for days; my master certainly didn't hold back."

Lu Ye's eye twitched. He wasn't sure what to say, but it seemed Senior Ma Bin also had a very full childhood.

Lu Ye had chosen the site for the Protector Hall primarily because of the Reincarnation Tree clone there, allowing the Kyushu Protector to oversee it incidentally.

This location was also the ruins of the Human Emperor Sect, Kyushu's strongest sect ten thousand years ago, a fact Yang Qing had once mentioned to Lu Ye.

Ma Bin originated from the Human Emperor Sect; one could say he grew up right here.

Over ten millennia, even though Ma Bin knew Kyushu might exist somewhere in the Starry Sky, he never considered searching for it. Even after encountering Lu Ye years ago and learning about Kyushu's recent situation, he had no intention of returning to see it.

It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he didn't dare!

He feared that his own troubles would bring disaster to Kyushu, so he had tried his best to weaken, or even sever, his connection with Kyushu.

But now, he no longer had that concern.

In the Myriad Phenomena Sea, he had received more news about Kyushu and learned about Kyushu's previous battle against Zi Xuan.

Kyushu now possessed sufficient self-preservation capabilities!

Thus, he had returned, solely to see his long-separated homeland. Upon seeing it, though Kyushu was not at its peak, its current prosperity was unexpected, bringing him great comfort.

"Senior, have your injuries healed?" Lu Ye asked.

"Almost," Ma Bin nodded. "And it's largely thanks to you."

He never imagined that Lu Ye, a junior from Kyushu, would thrive so remarkably in a place like the Myriad Phenomena Sea, now even becoming its master.

This was something even the Human Emperor had failed to achieve in his time, and Lu Ye was currently only in the early stages of Sun Glimmer.

If not for Lu Ye, his previous injuries would have surely worsened, leading to a gradual loss of cultivation, and he might have died of old age in some forgotten corner.

"Senior, you are too kind. Your injuries were caused by me; I should be thanking you," Lu Ye sighed. When the Asura Arena closed that day, if Ma Bin hadn't covered him, he wouldn't have fought to the death with Chang Feng and others. He now regretted that Chang Feng had escaped too quickly; he and Xiao Gua couldn't pursue him that day. Otherwise, he could have avenged both himself and Ma Bin.

Ma Bin said no more. He merely reached out and grabbed something in the air. A profound and mysterious power surged forth, and then an ancient, simple disc appeared in his hand.

Lu Ye froze. "This is..."

He felt an extremely familiar aura emanating from the disc.

Xiao Jiu's rabbit form suddenly appeared nearby, baring its teeth and pouncing towards Ma Bin, shouting, "Give it back to me!"

Lu Ye had never seen Xiao Jiu so anxious before and was momentarily surprised, though he wasn't worried, knowing Ma Bin wouldn't harm Xiao Jiu.

Ma Bin chuckled and, with a casual wave of his other hand, sent the furiously pouncing Xiao Jiu flying back, landing precisely in Lu Ye's arms.

Lu Ye caught her.

Xiao Jiu's rabbit eyes turned red, and the entire Kyushu suddenly trembled as an incredibly terrifying aura gathered in the sky.

Lu Ye quickly patted Xiao Jiu. "Senior has no ill will towards you; don't be nervous."

"An artifact spirit?" Ma Bin scrutinized Xiao Jiu with interest. "That's quite unexpected." He then asked Xiao Jiu, "Do you recognize me?"

Xiao Jiu huffily replied, "I don't know you, don't try to get close to me! Now give me my main body back, or Lu Ye will beat you to death!" She then turned to Lu Ye and urged, "Lu Ye, quickly, he stole my main body!"

Only then did Lu Ye realize that the disc Ma Bin held was actually Xiao Jiu's main body, no wonder the aura felt so familiar.

Honestly, for all these years, Lu Ye only knew that Xiao Jiu was the artifact spirit of the Heavenly Mystery Disk, but he had never actually seen what the Heavenly Mystery Disk looked like.

He had only ever seen Xiao Jiu herself.

He hadn't expected to see it today.

"Alright, alright," Lu Ye soothed. "Senior Ma Bin was a cultivator from the Human Emperor Sect ten thousand years ago. Your main body was something he helped create; he won't harm you."

"Huh?" Xiao Jiu was dumbfounded.

Ma Bin toyed with the Heavenly Mystery Disk and slowly began, "Saying I 'helped create' it is giving myself too much credit. At that time, I had only just advanced to Star Constellation. Moreover... the Heavenly Mystery Disk wasn't actually created; it was a treasure our sect's top expert stumbled upon by chance. We merely found a way to activate its power. It's actually a subordinate artifact of a supreme treasure!"

"Subordinate artifact?" Lu Ye was astonished, looking down at Xiao Jiu. "Are you a subordinate artifact?"

Xiao Jiu looked confused. "I don't know, am I a subordinate artifact?"

"That's precisely why I'm curious how a subordinate artifact developed its own will," Ma Bin said, looking at Xiao Jiu. "Logically speaking, subordinate artifacts don't undergo such changes."

Lu Ye explained, "Xiao Jiu's birth seemed to be due to some changes arising from the Heavenly Mystery Disk's artifact spirit combining with Kyushu's will."

"That still doesn't explain it," Ma Bin slowly shook his head, looking at Xiao Jiu. "Can you sense anything?"

"Sense what?" Xiao Jiu retorted.

"There's an invisible link between a subordinate artifact and its supreme treasure. Now that you've gained sentience, you should be able to sense the corresponding supreme treasure."

Xiao Jiu shook her head. "There's nothing."

Ma Bin looked pensive, evidently still puzzled.

Xiao Jiu's eyes darted around, and she suddenly leaped out of Lu Ye's embrace, displaying a speed Lu Ye had never witnessed before. She snatched the Heavenly Mystery Disk from Ma Bin's hand and vanished without a trace in a flash, only her triumphant laughter echoing from the void.

"Xiao Jiu's temperament... is a bit childish," Lu Ye explained.

Ma Bin nodded, unfazed, and simply said, "Lu Ye, I'm leaving."

Lu Ye was startled, then quickly said, "Senior, you don't have to worry about the Chang Feng matter." Ma Bin had mentioned years ago that once his injuries healed, he would seek out Chang Feng and kill him to settle Lu Ye's grievance. Now that his injuries were recovered, it was natural for him to set off.

"It's not just about Chang Feng," Ma Bin waved his hand. "My cultivation level has reached a point where I can no longer advance, and this has been the case for many years. But recently, I've suddenly had a different feeling. The entire Starry Sky seems to be undergoing some miraculous changes, hinting at the possibility for me to progress further. So, I need to go out, explore, and find my future path."

"Recently?" Lu Ye frowned. "How long ago did this start?"

"Only a few years. Why do you ask?" Ma Bin looked at him.

"It's like this, Senior. I recently visited Fangcun Mountain in the west and attacked a Blood Clan realm, where I encountered some unusual circumstances."

He immediately recounted everything that had happened in the Blood Jade Realm, particularly emphasizing the Insectoids' mention of the "advent of the great trend."

"Senior, with your extensive knowledge, do you know what the advent of the great trend is?" Lu Ye finally asked.

Ma Bin shook his head. "I've never heard of it. But if what you say is true, then could the feelings I've had in recent years be related to the advent of the great trend?"