Upon entering the All Phenomena Ocean, Su Yuqing parted ways with Lu Ye. She needed to return to Fangcun Island, which was not in the same direction as Lu Ye.
From start to finish, she didnât ask anything, only gently snuggled beside Lu Ye.
Back at Three Worlds Island, Lu Ye immediately met with many concerned gazes.
"Itâs fine now," Lu Ye said briefly, then returned Little Fella to Hua Ci and went to see Ma Bin, telling him about the matter.
Ma Bin felt a chill upon hearing it; it was indeed Lu Ye. If it had been a typical new Peak Sun Blaze cultivator facing a top-tier expert like Charng Feng, there would have been no room for resistance. Itâs hard to imagine the consequences if Lu Ye had been captured by Charng Feng.
"That old dog is always so treacherous, with no boundaries to his actions. I probably know where he might go. Once I recover from my injuries, Iâll get his dog head for you!" Ma Bin said.
Lu Ye hurriedly advised, "Donât overthink this, senior. I escaped danger unharmed this time. Itâs more important for you to recover well first."
"Hmm." Ma Bin responded sullenly, but Lu Ye sensed that heâd developed a killing intent this time. Last time, when he was besieged by Charng Feng and others, even though his Dao foundation was damaged, he didnât take much hatred to heart. Cultivators face risks in combat, and Ma Bin has long understood this.
But Charng Fengâs attack on Lu Ye was something Ma Bin could not tolerate.
It can be expected that once he recovers, he will undoubtedly seek revenge on Charng Feng.
Lu Ye immediately regretted coming to tell Ma Bin about the matter. His original intention was to gather more intel on Charng Feng from Ma Bin to prepare for the next possible encounter.
Leaving the Spirit Jade Vein, Lu Ye sent a message to Tang Jun, instructing him on certain matters, and then returned to his own short-stay palace.
With his cultivation now at the Sun Blaze level and being the master of the All Phenomena Ocean, the originally constructed small bamboo building no longer suited his status. Therefore, Three Worlds Island had built a short-stay palace for him.
This time, having suffered a setback, Lu Ye planned to first cultivate the Sword Qi of the sword gourd. If the Sword Qi had been at Perfection beforehand, his response to Charng Fengâs ambush wouldnât have been so difficult. The sword gourd is ultimately his strongest trump card. As a newly ascended Peak Sun Blaze cultivator, there are still many powerful experts in this stellar space whose strength surpasses his. Having such a trump card for protection surely adds an extra layer of security.
The matter entrusted to Tang Jun was to deliver a large number of magic treasures. Lu Ye still had some left from last time, not yet fully absorbed, but likely insufficient.
After all, nurturing a Sword Qi to its fullest requires the cost equivalent to magic treasures worth five billion spirit jade.
"Big brother!" A familiar voice suddenly called out. Lu Ye looked up to see Chu Shen rushing in, his eyes full of concern: "Big brother, are you alright? I heard you got ambushed. I just returned to the island and hurried over to check. Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere? Is there any place where I can help? Just let me know, and Iâll do it without hesitation!"
Listening to his repeated calls of big brother and little brother, Lu Yeâs eyelids twitched.
Previously, he didnât find any issues with Chu Shenâs way of calling him, not even after he ascended to Peak Sun Blaze, and Jiu Yan wanted to treat him as an equal; the brotherly relationship between the two remained unchanged.
After all, Jiu Yan isnât like a direct mentor or master to him, so everyone could maintain their duties respectively.
But today, after seeing Jiu Yanâs true appearance, something changed.
He opened his mouth, wanting to tell Chu Shen not to call him big brother anymore...
Yet not knowing how to start.
"Big brother, whatâs wrong?" Chu Shen asked in alarm.
"Itâs nothing!" Lu Ye shook his head, firmly staring at Chu Shen. He wondered what would happen if Chu Shen found out about him and Jiu Yan.
"Why is big brother looking at me like this?" Chu Shen was puzzled, feeling that Lu Yeâs gaze today seemed odd.
Lu Ye smiled, "You look even more handsome today."
"Really?" Chu Shen touched his face, chuckling: "It must be because my cultivation has advanced. Oh, by the way, big brother, I heard that the incident even alerted my mother. Is there anything going on there?"
"Didnât you send a message to ask her?" Lu Ye inquired.
Chu Shen shook his head, "I heard she went to Yiyuan World. The distance is too far for audio talisman messages to reach."
Lu Ye then remembered this to be the case and said, "Nothingâs wrong. She should be back soon."
"Thatâs good then." Chu Shen felt relieved and made a decision: "Then Iâll wait for her at All Phenomena Island."
Saying this, he hurried away.
Across todayâs All Phenomena Ocean, the cultivators of Three Worlds Island are undoubtedly the most respected. Even ordinary Constellation cultivators can become centers of attention wherever they go, receive preferential treatment, and no one dares to do anything to Three Worlds Island cultivators over the All Phenomena Ocean.
And Chu Shen, being a cultivator of Three Worlds Island and the descendant of Jiu Yan, also calling Lu Ye his brother, is now albeit only at the Moon Jade level, even the outside Peak Sun Blaze cultivators wouldnât dare to look down on him; he is one of the most untouchable cultivators on the All Phenomena Ocean.
Itâs fair to say that Chu Shen can walk unimpeded on the All Phenomena Ocean, yet fortunately, Jiu Yan has always educated him well, and he hasnât adopted any spoiled behavior typically associated with privileged individuals.
Once Chu Shen left, Lu Ye took out the sword gourd, and then brought out the remaining magic treasures, allowing the sword gourd to absorb them, cultivating Sword Qi.
Not long after, Old Tang delivered an abundant amount of magic treasures.
Lu Ye, while urging the sword gourd to devour the treasures, contemplated what to say when he met Jiu Yan in the future.
He actually hadnât figured out some things.
Back then, he and Ban Ci went to a secret location, a place beneficial for Ban Ciâs advance to Moon Jade, where they unexpectedly encountered the Great Lust Demon Spider, leading to some unforeseen events.
During that process, Ban Ci revealed her true appearance, and only then did Lu Ye realize that the face he had seen was just a disguise.
Lu Ye never understood why Ban Ci showed her true face at the last moment, but that appearance stayed with him, and since then, Ban Ci disappeared without returning to Unparalleled Island.
Over the years, Lu Ye investigated many times and only found a little girl named Ban Xia in Cheling World, suspected to be the child he and Ban Ci rescued in a domain years ago.
Ban Ci and Ban Xia were evidently connected, especially since Chu Shen mentioned that Ban Xia is the child of the domainâafter a domainâs destruction, she became the last bearer of its fortune, increasingly confirming to Lu Ye that she was indeed the rescued child.
But he never found any trace of Ban Ci in Cheling World, and Chu Shen never saw her either.
It was only today he understood that Ban Ci was Jiu Yan, explaining why Ban Xia appeared in Cheling World.
This brought forward a problem: if the person with him at the secret location indeed was Jiu Yan, how could she, with the cultivation of Peak Sun Blaze, struggle with a Great Lust Demon Spider?
This was precisely what Lu Ye couldnât figure out.
It couldnât be that she deliberately feigned weakness; it made no sense, no woman would act that way in such a situation, implying that Ban Ci then possessed only Peak Constellation cultivation.
Not understanding... meant he had to ask face-to-face, but regrettably, Su Yuqing was present, preventing Lu Ye from speaking.
A short moment later, Lu Ye suddenly lifted his head, faintly sensing Jiu Yanâs presence coming to Three Worlds Island, but moments later, she swiftly left.
Lu Ye waited with furrowed brows.
After a moment, Luan Xiaoâe entered with a treasure gourd: "Junior brother, this is from Sister Jiu Yan. She said it was what she promised earlier."
Lu Ye took the treasure gourd, and upon probing, he confirmed it was unmistakably the fire gourd, the domain-stabilizing artifact from Yiyuan World he had seen that day.
"Sister Jiu Yan left?" Lu Ye inquired.
"Yes, she said thereâs something urgent on All Phenomena Island, so she hurried back," Luan Xiaoâe replied.
"Understood." Lu Ye nodded, realizing Jiu Yan must have been unsure about how to face him, explaining her haste.
Ultimately, there was still Chu Shen between them, with Chu Shen and Brother Ye being well-known associates in All Phenomena Ocean, the most awkward part.
But some matters must be clarified.
After pondering, Lu Ye stood up, intending to visit All Phenomena Island, knowing that understanding could not be avoidedâJiu Yan was still too naive.
Just as he stepped out of the short-stay palace, he heard a soft voice by his ear, "Heading out?"
Lu Ye turned to see Hua Ci smiling gently on the side, looking at him.
"Ah... yes," Lu Ye replied instinctively.
"Perfect timing, I need to head out too. Take me with you," Hua Ci approached, wrapping her arm around Lu Yeâs, her soft body pressing against him.
"Where are you going?" Lu Ye was stunned.
"To All Phenomena Island, where are you headed?" Hua Ci countered, her breath like orchids in Lu Yeâs ears.
With Hua Ci making him feel ticklish, a tremor ran through Lu Yeâs heart: "What are you going to do on All Phenomena Island?"
For some reason, Lu Ye suddenly felt uneasy.
"Just sightseeing. All Phenomena Island is the largest top-class Spirit Island here, I havenât seen it yet." Hua Ci blinked her long eyelashes, "Letâs go."
With that, she activated her Mana, flying out with Lu Ye.
Along the way, Hua Ci chatted happily, seemingly excited about All Phenomena Island, while her faint fragrance constantly drifted into Lu Yeâs nose, yet brought him discomfort rather than ease.
For Hua Ciâs occasional glances seemed off!
"Did someone tell you something?" Lu Ye gritted his teeth and asked.
Hua Ci has never been one for crowds, calling into question her aimless venture to All Phenomena Island, and lingering outside his short-stay palace was problematic!
Hua Ci smiled gracefully, "Who could tell me anything? Iâm merely a little Moon Jade. Whatâs wrong? Did you do something shady?"
Lu Yeâs forehead sweated profusely, "Have you been to Fangcun Island these past two months?"
Hua Ciâs smile widened, "Oh, Fangcun Island... thatâs a delightful place, Sister Yuqing is so gentle, beautiful, and kind. Iâm well taken care of there."
Disaster!
Lu Yeâs expression darkened. How did Su Yuqing and Hua Ci, this crazy woman, become friends? He had been in retreat for merely two months, and now they were calling each other sister.