Chapter 1976: Chapter 1974: Meeting Jiuyan

Speaking of which, running into Chu Shen here in the All Phenomena Ocean really was his fortune. If not for Chu Shen, he would never have met Jiu Yan, nor had the channel of Cheling World, and the predicament Three Worlds Island faced back then would have been impossible to resolve.

Precisely because of Chu Shen, Lu Ye had gone to Cheling World that year to pay respects to Jiu Yan at her mountain. From then on, Three Worlds Island had gone smoothly with the wind at its back, and now that it had advanced to a top-class Spirit Island, no one dared harbor covetous thoughts toward it.

Chu Shen could be considered a Sun Blaze descendant, yet he did not have the usual overbearing arrogance and conceit typical of Sun Blaze descendants. His temperament was simple and sincere, his aptitude outstanding; he was bound to achieve something in the future.

Having left the Nine Provinces for so many years, Lu Ye had met many people—of every stripe and kind—but the ones he could truly befriend were actually very few.

Chu Shen counted as one of them.

The two brothers chatted idly for a while longer before Lu Ye finally opened his mouth: "In fact, the reason I came to find you this time is that there’s something I want to ask."

"About my mother?" Chu Shen understood at once.

Lu Ye nodded slightly: "Has Senior Jiu Yan said anything to you over there?"

Chu Shen shook his head: "She didn’t say much. Mother only said that the Spirit Jade Vein here is beneficial to her cultivation, so she came over. I’d wanted to mention it to you before, but Big Brother, you weren’t on Three Worlds Island, so Mother went in by herself."

As expected... Seen this way, for a Sun Blaze the Spirit Jade Vein really is an extremely important cultivation resource. This has nothing to do with the output of spirit jade, but with another kind of mystery Lu Ye does not understand.

That kind of mystery could even allow Ma Bin’s Dao foundation injury to recover!

After pondering briefly, Lu Ye said, "Since Senior has come, I must pay her a visit. Brother Chu Shen, if you’re free, why not come along with me?"

Whatever the case, he was the First Island Master of Three Worlds Island, and his backing had arrived. As the master of Three Worlds Island, it had been one thing when he wasn’t present before; now that he had returned, he definitely needed to go pay his respects, otherwise it would be discourteous.

Bringing Chu Shen along would undoubtedly make things easier to talk about; this was precisely why he had come to find Chu Shen first.

"But..." Chu Shen was about to nod when his expression suddenly changed; then he shrank his neck and looked pitifully at Lu Ye. "Big Brother, Mother said I should devote myself to cultivation and not let my mind wander about."

Lu Ye blinked.

He had not sensed anyone monitoring this place at all, but since Jiu Yan had sent an audio transmission over, it meant she had been paying attention here the whole time.

The power of a Sun Blaze truly wasn’t something a Moon Jade could fathom.

"Then you just focus on cultivating." Lu Ye said, standing up. "I’ll come see you again later."

"Take care, Big Brother!" Chu Shen waved.

Leaving Chu Shen’s residence, Lu Ye headed straight for the Spirit Jade Vein, feeling inevitably a bit apprehensive. As for Jiu Yan, he couldn’t quite say what he felt; he always felt this Senior was somewhat different from the other Sun Blaze he had come into contact with, especially in her attitude toward him—there seemed to be a hint of dislike.

Yet Lu Ye was sure he’d never done anything to offend her, and if she truly disliked him, why would she be willing to act as the backing for Three Worlds Island?

Unable to figure it out, Lu Ye had no time to dwell on it. Jiu Yan not allowing Chu Shen to come along was probably because she had something she wanted to say to him alone.

He quickly arrived at the entrance to the Spirit Jade Vein. There were local island cultivators stationed here; normally, even cultivators of this island were not allowed to enter without orders.

Seeing Lu Ye, the several cultivators hurriedly saluted.

Lu Ye waved his hand and walked straight into the tunnel.

The Spirit Jade Vein on Three Worlds Island was actually not very large in scale, so the mine tunnel was not very deep. After walking only about a hundred zhang, he reached the vein itself.

The energy here was extremely dense, especially at the locations of each Vein Source, where many formed or unformed pieces of spirit jade were being nurtured.

A voluptuous figure sat cross-legged over there, eyes closed in concentration, both hands forming seals resting atop her knees. Her long black hair was coiled into a married woman’s bun, exposing a slender, fair neck. Her palace robes were tight-fitting, the exaggerated curve at her chest stirring the heart.

What left Lu Ye helpless was that Jiu Yan’s face was still shrouded in a halo of radiance, making it impossible for him to see clearly. It had been like this last time when he went to Cheling World, and it was the same this time...

He lowered his head and clasped his fists. "Lu Ye pays his respects to Senior!"

There was no response.

Lu Ye simply stood there waiting.

He waited like that for most of the day. Lu Ye didn’t feel the slightest impatience, merely pondering his own matters silently. He knew that when a Sun Blaze cultivated, they had little sense of time, but since Jiu Yan had previously sent an audio transmission to Chu Shen, she certainly wouldn’t really leave him hanging here.

After another spell, Jiu Yan’s voice suddenly rang out: "In the stellar space, Sun Blaze is the peak. No matter who it is, once their cultivation reaches Peak Sun Blaze, there is no longer any room to improve. Do you know, after Sun Blaze, where does the path lie?"

Lu Ye was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head. "This junior does not know."

He was only at Moon Jade Late Stage and hadn’t even reached Sun Blaze yet—how could he possibly know anything about the path beyond Sun Blaze?

"After Sun Blaze comes the Dao!"

"The Dao?" Lu Ye showed a puzzled expression. "But didn’t Senior just say that Sun Blaze is the peak? If so, how can there still be a road after Sun Blaze, and where does this Dao come from?"

"Heh..." Jiu Yan seemed to chuckle lightly, yet also seemed not to. "It is true that Sun Blaze is the peak; it is also true that after Sun Blaze comes the Dao. At different times, the road ahead is different."

Lu Ye racked his brains in bitter thought, completely unable to understand why Jiu Yan had suddenly started telling him these things.

As if seeing through the doubt in his heart, Jiu Yan spoke slowly, "You have peerless talent, your strength is advancing at an astonishing pace. Sooner or later you’ll face these problems. I just don’t know whether, when that time comes, you’ll be able to find your own Dao."

"Senior overpraises me. This junior is still worrying about advancing to the Sun Blaze realm. Those things are still a bit far off for me."

Jiu Yan said, "No need to belittle yourself. When that day truly comes..." She suddenly stopped, then shifted the topic. "Your Three Worlds Island’s foundation is shallow, and it seems there is no powerful figure guiding you from behind. The path of cultivation is full of hardships. Since you and Shen’er are close, I intend to take you under my tutelage. Are you willing?"

Lu Ye was completely stunned.

His dealings with Jiu Yan were actually not many, and judging from the feeling last time they met, Jiu Yan’s impression of him didn’t seem that good. So he never imagined Jiu Yan would have the intention of taking him as a disciple.

However, in the eyes of outsiders, Three Worlds Island’s foundation was indeed extremely shallow. There wasn’t a single Sun Blaze in the entire Jade Conch Star System. Jiu Yan’s proposal was undoubtedly a kindness, and to a large extent was for Chu Shen’s sake...

But in reality...

Lu Ye thought it over carefully. Leaving Ma Bin aside, just on Mount Fangcun’s side alone, there were already close to ten Sun Blazes standing behind him. If he really needed someone to guide his cultivation, a single Su Yuqing was enough; there was absolutely no need to enter the tutelage of some other Sun Blaze.

Yet Jiu Yan had already spoken, and it came from good intentions. If he refused her at this moment, would it make her angry?

Taking a Sun Blaze as master was indeed a good thing, but correspondingly, there would also be constraints and shackles—especially with Ma Bin arriving soon!

"You have misgivings?" Jiu Yan instantly saw through what was in Lu Ye’s heart.

Lu Ye thought for a moment and said, "Please forgive me, Senior. There is much enmity between Three Worlds Island and Governor Yuan Du. Senior and Governor Yuan Du are both Sun Blazes of the All Phenomena Star System. If this junior were really to take you as master, then on Governor Yuan Du’s side..."

"Yuan Du..." Jiu Yan let out a cold laugh. "If you truly enter my tutelage, he would no longer dare harbor any thoughts."

Those words were... extremely domineering!

Lu Ye started to gain a bit of understanding of Jiu Yan’s power and imposing might.

"No need to rush your answer. Whenever you’ve thought it through, come and tell me then." Jiu Yan spoke slowly.

"Many thanks, Senior." Lu Ye secretly let out a breath of relief. If Jiu Yan had really wanted an answer from him now, he would have had no choice but to resign himself.

Taking a Sun Blaze as master was, in the end, not a bad thing.

"If Senior has no other instructions, then this junior will take his leave." Lu Ye lifted his eyes and cautiously glanced at her.

"Go." Jiu Yan waved her hand.

Lu Ye turned and left.

Suddenly, a voice came from behind him again: "The person you’re looking for, have you found them?"

What person? Lu Ye was dazed for a moment, then immediately reacted. Jiu Yan must be asking about Ban Ci; back in Cheling World, he had asked Jiu Yan about this.

"Not yet." Lu Ye shook his head.

"Then just take your time searching. You’ll find them eventually."

Lu Ye stood where he was, his expression slightly dazed. After confirming Jiu Yan had nothing else, he finally left.

On All Phenomena Island, in the governor’s short-stay palace, Yuan Du’s gaze was gloomy.

Several years had passed since the great battle between Three Worlds Island and Zixuan. Though Zixuan had taken back its own top-class Spirit Island, the losses were extremely heavy, and because of this incident, Zixuan had completely severed contact with Yuan Du!

This was clearly Zixuan’s upper echelon expressing their dissatisfaction. If not for Yuan Du’s secret instigation, Zixuan would never have suffered such a calamity—losing their Spirit Island in the end, having their Moon Jade-level cultivators wiped out, and their reputation severely damaged.

Three Worlds Island was indeed the main culprit, but Yuan Du could not wash his hands of responsibility.

As a result, Yuan Du now had no decent Spirit Island attached to him. Originally he had Baiyue, and also Zixuan... but now, he had only the title of governor, with no way at all to gain his own benefits from it.

For Zixuan’s actions, Yuan Du was helpless. He could only pour all his hatred onto Three Worlds Island, onto Lu Ye.

Counting the time, Black Cloud should already have reached that Lu Ye’s homeland. With a Sun Blaze taking action, a domain like that would have no power to resist.

When the news arrived, that Lu Ye would surely be plunged into utter grief and despair, right?

But that still wasn’t enough. From his standpoint, as long as Three Worlds Island did not collapse, his reputation could not be salvaged. So no matter what, he had to destroy Three Worlds Island and kill that Lu Ye!

He already had a detailed plan, and this time it would absolutely be with just cause. That way, even if he personally took the field, it wouldn’t count as breaking the rules of the All Phenomena Ocean. When a Sun Blaze took action, even a top-class Spirit Island could not withstand it!

Yet he had made no move so far, all because an accident had disrupted his plan.

Jiu Yan from Cheling World had actually entered Three Worlds Island—and still hadn’t come out.

This left him extremely vexed. Although his plan could be said to have a legitimate pretext, it couldn’t withstand too much scrutiny. At most it was a suspicious point. Without Jiu Yan, he only needed to solidify that suspicion. But with Jiu Yan present, the matter became much harder to handle.

If Jiu Yan decided to dig to the root of it, what would he use to confront her? He might end up trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice instead.

So what he had to consider now was how to make Jiu Yan leave Three Worlds Island!