Chapter 2862: The Beginning of Chaos

The Winds of Jiuzhou

It's undeniable that once these powerful individuals' strength reaches a certain limit, making further progress becomes extremely difficult.

Regardless, Fugang is absolutely a powerhouse on par with the Ten City Lords, and his overall foundation likely surpasses that of Zong Shenliang and others like him.

Therefore, Lu Ye couldn't quite understand why he would hole up in the Hehe Realm, living anonymously for so many years.

"It should be related to the omnipresent erosion," Jin Yao said slowly. "With your foundation, you must have also sensed that erosive power, right?"

Lu Ye nodded.

"The longer one lives, the deeper the erosion becomes. Fugang has lived for an unknown number of years; he must have been nearing a limit for a long time. The Hehe Realm is the only pure land in the Star Abyss, and only by hiding here can he avoid further erosion."

That's possible. It suggests that powerful individuals like Fugang, who have been living anonymously in the Hehe Realm, are all in a similar predicament.

Once that erosion reaches the limit a cultivator can bear, it causes them to lose their sanity and become puppets of the Abyss.

No one would want to face such a fate.

Fugang and others might not know the full truth, but having cultivated for so many years, which of them wouldn't possess an instinct to seek good fortune and avoid disaster?

As they spoke, Lu Ye stopped, raised a hand, and pointed forward. The portal they had used to leave reappeared.

Without hesitation, he stepped through.

In the small courtyard within the Hehe Realm, Lu Ye and Jin Yao reappeared. He turned and looked around, immediately spotting Fugang still hovering in mid-air.

The man's eyes were wide, a look of incredulity on his face: "Is that really you?"

Just now, he almost thought he was hallucinating; otherwise, how could he see that obnoxious woman, Jin Yao, again after so many years?

Only upon seeing her again now did he finally confirm it was no illusion.

It really was Jin Yao, the nightmare who had always outshone him in every way back then.

And beside Jin Yao, who else could it be but Lu Ye, the one who had recently slain Zong Shenliang?

He might not have feared Jin Yao alone; over the years, his strength had significantly grown, and even if he still couldn't defeat her, he could at least defend himself. But with Lu Ye added to the mix, it was a different story.

This person could kill in the Hehe Realm!

And judging by their demeanor, they were clearly very close.

If they teamed up against him...

Therefore, after recognizing Jin Yao and Lu Ye's faces, Fugang didn't hesitate for a moment. He flashed towards the Initial Hall and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Jin Yao watched him disappear and couldn't help but sneer, "Still as timid as a mouse!"

Fugang had always been like this; whenever he encountered her, he would immediately flee, only to be pursued by Jin Yao. She hadn't expected his nature to remain unchanged after so many years.

A few breaths later, Fugang's aura vanished, indicating he had left the Hehe Realm.

"Let's go," Lu Ye called out.

He had no intention of pursuing Fugang. The enmity between Fugang and Jin Yao was their affair; Lu Ye had no personal dealings with him. Moreover, his ability to kill Zong Shenliang earlier was mainly due to catching him by surprise and acting swiftly. Fugang had a profound foundation of strength and was unharmed; even if he were to fight, Lu Ye might not be able to kill him in one blow.

A moment later, in the Battlefield Arena, Qin Feng stared in astonishment at Lu Ye, who had come to visit. "Brother, you... how did you..."

When Gong Mao came to inform him just now, he simply refused to believe it. After all, he had personally witnessed Lu Ye being enveloped by that white light and disappearing.

Based on his understanding, Lu Ye had undoubtedly triggered the Hehe Realm's restrictions, being banished into the nameless place, from which he would never escape in this lifetime.

These past few days, he had been despondent; though he wanted to rescue Lu Ye from that dreadful place, he had no idea how.

Because from ancient times until now, there had never been a precedent of a banished cultivator returning, and no one knew where that nameless place truly was.

Yet, unexpectedly, in just a few short days, Lu Ye reappeared before him, completely unharmed.

This was truly a huge surprise.

"I've made you worry, Brother Feng," Lu Ye said, cupping Bobo in his hands and kneading it. It felt as good as ever.

He had specifically come to the Battlefield Arena to reassure Qin Feng that he was safe. When he was swept away by the white light in the Initial Hall earlier, he had heard Qin Feng's and Lotus Master's voices.

"It's good that you're out, it's good!" Qin Feng lightly patted Lu Ye's shoulder, not bothering to ask how he had managed to get out.

While the two chatted idly in the Battlefield Arena, somewhere in the Star Abyss, in a highly concealed location...

A Dao Confluence City was hidden there. The city itself was empty and not of particularly high grade, only Earth-tier.

Inside the central hall, a figure flickered, and Fugang appeared.

Although he had escaped from the Hehe Realm, he still looked shaken, his brows deeply furrowed.

This Dao Confluence City was his contingency plan in the Star Abyss. He had originally thought he couldn't stay in the Hehe Realm indefinitely and would eventually need to return to the Star Abyss for affairs, but he never expected it to be his escape route today.

But... why was Jin Yao still alive? And that human, Lu Ye, he had clearly been banished to the nameless place, so how could he have escaped?

Earlier, when Jin Yao attacked him, the white light appeared, meaning they had definitely triggered the Hehe Realm's restrictions again and were banished.

Yet they quickly escaped from it again.

If the first time was a coincidence, the second time certainly wasn't.

Jin Yao had reappeared and was now connected to that human Lu Ye; the Hehe Realm was no longer safe!

But if he didn't stay in the Hehe Realm, where else could he go?

His mind was troubled. As he suddenly snapped back to reality, he felt something was wrong; the Star Abyss's aura around him had inexplicably become extremely active, surging into his body like a living thing, so much so that he couldn't suppress it.

"No good!" he exclaimed, sensing his own condition rapidly approaching a critical limit.

Just as Jin Yao and Lu Ye had said, the reason he had hidden in the Hehe Realm was that it was the Star Abyss's only pure land. He had lived too long, and many years ago, he had felt himself nearing a limit, which was why he had sought refuge in the Hehe Realm.

Over the years, he hadn't always stayed in the Hehe Realm. Based on past experience, as long as he didn't remain in the Star Abyss for too long—just ten days to half a month—there generally wouldn't be any issues.

But this time, it seemed somewhat different.

It felt as if the omnipresent Star Abyss aura had targeted him.

He couldn't be sure what would happen once he breached that limit, but it certainly wouldn't be good.

Numerous thoughts surged through his mind when he suddenly roared, "Who's there!"

He raised his hand and struck sideways, for just now, his peripheral vision seemed to have caught sight of a figure.

Dao power surged, and even with only the enhancement of an Earth-tier Dao Confluence Bead, his strike was still exceptionally potent.

Yet, when it landed on the person, it failed to budge the figure in the slightest.

Only then did Fugang clearly see the newcomer, and he was startled.

For this individual, who had abruptly appeared beside him, not only had no discernible aura but also an unidentifiable face. He wore a white mask, upon which a blood-red character 'Si' was emblazoned, like a brand of fresh blood.

Even with the mask as a barrier, Fugang still felt the person's intense gaze fixed upon his eyes, which sent shivers down his spine.

For no apparent reason, a great unease surged within Fugang. Without thinking, he retreated backward.

But it was too late. He only saw the person raise a finger and lightly point it at him. The finger rapidly expanded in his vision, instantly obscuring everything.

Who was this person?

How could they be so powerful?

Even Jin Yao, it seemed, was no match for them.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Fugang felt a burning sensation between his eyebrows, and his consciousness grew hazy. Vaguely, he heard the clanging sound of chains rattling and indistinctly seemed to see a circle of dark chains appear on the masked powerhouse who had attacked him. Dragged by those chains, the figure vanished without a trace.

In the Hehe Realm's Initial Hall, Lu Ye activated the Thousand Faces Dao Mark, changing his appearance.

He had just gone to Qin Feng to report his safety, then made a trip to the Golden Stamen Pavilion to see Lotus Master.

Just like Qin Feng's reaction, Lotus's face was filled with disbelief upon seeing Lu Ye.

Nevertheless, it was good that Lu Ye had managed to escape from the banished place.

With Zong Shenliang now dead, Lu Ye was eager to return to the Starry Sky to handle the aftermath, so he didn't linger long at the Golden Stamen Pavilion.

With a slight thought, his figure vanished.

When he reappeared, he was inside Yuanxi City.

Inside the grand hall, You Die was present. Sensing something, she looked up and was overjoyed. "Brother Ye!"

Before her words fully faded, she rushed forward and threw herself at him.

Lu Ye raised a hand and pressed it against her head. You Die immediately pouted, looking wronged.

Lu Ye pretended not to notice, concentrating as he sensed his surroundings. A look of confusion immediately crossed his face. "Where are you all?"

His senses told him that currently, only You Die and a few formation masters like Fan Wu were in the city. Everyone else was absent, and there seemed to be a major battle nearby. He could sense the auras of Su Yan, Zhu Yin, Huan Qing, and others from there, and even... Yuanxi!

At this very moment, the Dao Confluence cultivators in the city were clearly assaulting a nearby Dao Confluence City under Yuanxi's leadership. Judging by its scale, it was an Arid-tier city.

It wasn't surprising that he could sense the auras of Su Yan and the others, but why was Yuanxi here? Shouldn't she be in the Starry Sky?

"This is Senluo City's territory," You Die said, taking a step back and rubbing her forehead as she explained. "We came with the Dao Confluence Cities from Dragon City and Phoenix Nest."

Lu Ye realized it then.

When he had previously returned to Yuanxi City to take Fu Wei away, the city had still been adrift. It seemed Zhu Yin had received some information from Dragon Lord, and the city had then moved together with Dragon City and Phoenix Nest.

The reason he had previously needed to use the power of the Primordial Wutong to return near Balan was primarily because after the inner and outer realms merged, existing star maps were no longer accurate.

However, after all this time, cultivators had long since charted the star map. So, if Yuanxi City used the wormhole, it wouldn't take long to get here.

This certainly saved trouble. His return to the city was originally to have You Die and the others head towards Balan, but he hadn't expected them to already be there.

Because in his perception, Balan was not far from here.