Chapter 2113: Survivors

In a quiet part of the starry sky, a region bore visible traces of a great battle. Lu Ye led his companions there, and after a search, they found the wreckage of a dilapidated battleship.

It was a Sun-level battleship, a formidable weapon for siege warfare in any star domain, but now it was just a pile of scrap.

And there were countless other such ruins in this area.

They flew through a gap in the battleship's hull, navigated a winding path inside, and finally arrived at a cabin.

A faint glow suddenly flickered, and a formation array set up there opened a narrow passage. Lu Ye slipped through, with the others following closely behind.

As Lu Ye stood firm, he saw a familiar figure directly in front of him: Du Qingsha.

She was also looking at Lu Ye, an expression of disbelief on her face, clearly not expecting to see him again in her lifetime.

Years ago, she and Lu Ye had been hunted by numerous Star Abyss cultivators and had narrowly escaped. Lu Ye, however, was suddenly carried away by a mysterious sedan chair that appeared out of nowhere, and there had been no news of him since.

"Sister Sha, it's been a long time," Lu Ye said.

Du Qingsha snapped back to reality and nodded slightly. "You're still alive... that's wonderful!" In recent years, she had witnessed too much death. One after another, companions, both familiar and unfamiliar, had perished before her eyes. The deaths she had witnessed in the past few years far exceeded the total of all previous deaths combined.

Lu Ye then looked at the two other people behind her.

One was a stout man, round like a ball of flesh, and the other was a young man with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes.

Including Du Qingsha, there were only three of them there.

To Lu Ye's surprise, he knew both of them.

"Fort Master, Captain Chang!" Lu Ye greeted with clasped fists.

The stout man was Chen Wulei, the Fort Master of Thunderclap Fortress, and the young man was Chang Yu, Captain of the A-6 Squad, who had previously cooperated with the A-3 Squad in hunting Six Paths cultivators!

Chen Wulei was now looking at Lu Ye with curiosity. "Didn't they say you were taken away by that ghost sedan? How did you come back?"

When Lu Ye and Jiu Yan first entered Thunderclap Fortress, they had told Chen Wulei some things. Within the entire Mechanized Star Domain, only Chen Wulei knew their origins.

Later, when he heard from Du Qingsha that Lu Ye had been taken away by the ghost sedan, he vaguely guessed that Lu Ye had returned to his own star domain.

Who would have thought they would meet again here?

"It's a long story," Lu Ye sighed. "Let's sit down and talk."

Naturally, no one objected.

A moment later, Lu Ye introduced the two groups to each other before recounting his experiences.

After listening, Chen Wulei finally realized his previous guess was wrong. The ghost sedan had not taken Lu Ye and the others back to their original star domain; instead, it had brought them directly to the Star Abyss.

Now that the Mechanized Star Domain had been swallowed by the Star Abyss and completely become part of it, various coincidences had led to their reunion here.

Chen Wulei pondered, "As you said, your group was picked up by the ghost sedan twice, but it hasn't appeared again in several years since the last time?"

"Yes."

"What is the ghost sedan's intention?" Chen Wulei asked, puzzled.

Lu Ye shook his head. "We've discussed this internally. The ghost sedan is very likely a supreme treasure, and it possesses its own will. While we can't fully grasp its intentions, we ultimately benefited from it, regardless of what its purpose is."

Without the ghost sedan, they might still be living scattered across the Myriad Manifestations Sea Star Domain, unaware of the true nature of the impending great tide, and perhaps even engaging in conflicts due to various disputes.

Without the ghost sedan, no one would have been able to forge their Dao Foundation and enter the Dao Realm.

Although they were now stranded in the perilous Star Abyss, at the very least, they had found the path beyond Sun-level cultivation and were advancing further along it, barely qualifying to survive in the Star Abyss.

"Fort Master, are there only three of you left? What about the others?" Lu Ye asked.

Chen Wulei sighed, shaking his head with a somber expression. "The Star Abyss Gates expanded, and the Star Abyss fully encroached. After years of war, almost everyone is dead." Although a considerable number had survived the initial chaotic period, extensive purges by Star Abyss cultivators steadily reduced their numbers. The three of them had only managed to survive countless battles by sheer luck.

"Three months ago, we passed through the area where the Hekan Fortress was located and saw Fort Master Nan there."

Chen Wulei's expression brightened. "Oh? And where is she now?"

Lu Ye shook his head. "Fort Master Nan was under siege at the time. We arrived too late."

Chen Wulei fell silent, undoubtedly understanding Fort Master Nan's fate.

"There should still be other survivors; those who can endure such a calamity are no ordinary individuals," Lu Ye said, looking at Chen Wulei. "My suggestion is that we try to establish contact. In the current situation, only by integrating our scattered strengths can we have greater hope of survival."

Du Qingsha interjected, "We've already tried that, but... the situation is a bit different from what you might imagine."

"What happened?" Lu Ye asked, confused.

Du Qingsha considered her words carefully before explaining, "After our star domain was invaded by the Star Abyss, it was torn apart. The entire star domain fractured into many pieces. The area we're in now is one part of our original star domain, but as for the many other parts, no one knows where they integrated into the Star Abyss."

"The star domain was torn apart?" Lu Ye and the others were all utterly astonished.

"That's right," Chen Wulei nodded. "We conducted a detailed investigation. Beyond this area, the celestial phenomena are completely different from what we know; it's an entirely unfamiliar environment."

"Such a thing actually happened..."

Could a star domain actually be torn apart after being encroached upon by the Star Abyss? And then the entire star domain would fragment into countless tiny pieces, each integrating into a different part of the Star Abyss.

If that were the case, searching for survivors from their original star domain would be almost impossible, as no one knew where in the Star Abyss they might be.

Lu Ye and his group had encountered Fort Master Nan earlier purely by chance; the area where Hekan Fortress was located had happened to merge into their travel path.

After a brief deliberation, Lu Ye said, "Fort Master, Sister Sha, Captain Chang, if the three of you have nowhere else to go, come with me."

Du Qingsha asked, "Where are you going?"

"Home!"

"Home?" Du Qingsha frowned. "Back to your star domain?"

"Yes!" Lu Ye nodded.

Du Qingsha was puzzled. "How will you get back?"

This was the Star Abyss. Even if Lu Ye and his companions' home star domain still existed, how could they possibly return?

Lu Ye slowly explained, "Our star domain possesses a supreme treasure called the Samsara Tree..."

As he spoke, Lu Ye showed them his Samsara Tree imprint.

Chen Wulei and the others gradually understood.

Du Qingsha said, "So you've traveled a great distance, following the sensation of this imprint? At the end of this imprint's guidance, there should be a way back to your star domain."

Lu Ye nodded. "About six years ago, a Star Abyss Gate was opened in our star domain. Although it was sealed by the power of a supreme treasure, that location should be a weak point in our star domain. I speculate that it's precisely because of this weakness that the imprint can sense the Samsara Tree. If there's a connection, then it should be possible to return to our star domain."

"That is indeed possible," Chen Wulei acknowledged, then looked at Du Qingsha and Chang Yu. "What are your thoughts?"

Chang Yu said, "I have no specific thoughts. Wherever you go, I'll go!"

There might still be other cultivators remaining from their star domain, but only the three of them were left from Thunderclap Fortress. With their star domain shattered and nowhere else to go, their companions were their home.

Du Qingsha said, "I'll follow the Fort Master's lead."

Chen Wulei gave a bitter smile. "Thunderclap Fortress is gone, so what Fort Master is there?" The bitterness in his smile slowly turned into anger. "The Star Abyss invaded our star domain, and countless cultivators fought for centuries, yet we couldn't stem the tide. Our realm was shattered, and lives were devastated; we failed! But I, Chen Wulei, was born unwilling to admit defeat. Now that there's a chance, I want to try again and see if this rolling tide is truly unstoppable!"

With that, he slowly rose and formally cupped his fists in a salute to Lu Ye. "Fellow Daoist, your benevolence is appreciated. Please take in us three defeated stragglers. If we can truly return to your star domain and face the Star Abyss invasion, you may command us as you wish, without any complaints!"

Du Qingsha and Chang Yu also quickly rose, solemnly cupping their fists.

Lu Ye hastily returned the salute. "It is my star domain's good fortune that the three of you agree to my proposal. Thank you!"

Lu Ye could see the anger in Chen Wulei's eyes and knew that his agreement was not merely out of a desire for survival, but entirely because the Myriad Manifestations Sea Star Domain was about to face the same fate as the Mechanized Star Domain.

The Mechanized Star Domain had fallen, and Chen Wulei was unwilling to accept it. How could Du Qingsha and Chang Yu be any different?

Now that they had this opportunity, they naturally wanted to fight once more.

The addition of the three bolstered the team's strength, expanding it from eight to eleven members. Chen Wulei was a Seven-Path strong cultivator. Du Qingsha had already advanced to Six-Path several years ago, and Chang Yu, who was previously Five-Path, was now also Six-Path, clearly having made a breakthrough in recent years.

In other words, the entire team now consisted of two Seven-Path cultivators, five Six-Path cultivators, and the rest were all Five-Path.

Both Chen Wulei and Du Qingsha had the potential to break through at any time. The latter's breakthrough would merely add another Seven-Path cultivator to the team, but if Chen Wulei broke through, he would become an Eight-Path strong cultivator.

This was the highest level ever reached by cultivators from the Mechanized Star Domain.

Lu Ye had initially believed that with the team's current strength, they would be sufficiently capable of self-preservation in the Star Abyss. However, as his conversation with Chen Wulei deepened, his heart sank.

This was because Chen Wulei had been severely wounded not long after Lu Ye was taken away by the ghost sedan. Recalling that devastating experience, Chen Wulei shuddered. "That didn't feel like a Nine-Path cultivator. Although I am Seven-Path, I'm confident I wouldn't be so powerless even against a Nine-Path. That fellow's strength... it must be above Nine-Path!" The moment he clashed with that opponent, Chen Wulei felt like an egg shattering against a rock. If the opponent hadn't considered him utterly insignificant and left quickly after a single strike, Chen Wulei would have long been dead.