Not far in front of him sat a figure quietly. The person looked quite young, just over twenty, with a slightly youthful face, dressed in a magnificent robe.

This was an incredibly unbelievable thing. One must understand that Zhao Shoumu had just advanced to the Constellation, significantly increasing his strength. Not to mention seeing someone in front of him, even an ant crawling by wouldn't escape his perception.

Yet, before he saw this person, he had no inkling whatsoever.

For such a situation to occur, either the other person's cultivation exceeded his by far, so he couldn't sense it, or the person was dead, a lifeless entity with no aura to reveal.

The reason Zhao Shoumu felt his scalp tingle was mainly that he immediately saw that the young man in front of him was still alive…

He just didn't know what method the other used to completely restrain their aura, so even when so close, Zhao Shoumu hadn't noticed.

Only at that instant did he realize why so many spirit jades had formed on this meteorite; it was clearly no coincidence but because of this young man.

The formation of spirit jades is directly related to the gathering and condensing of stellar space energy. Normal meteorites could not possibly have such abundant stellar space energy gathering; the presence of this young man was the key! As for what connections there were, he couldn't figure it out just yet.

Who was this person? What level of cultivation? Zhao Shoumu didn't know any of it, but he knew there was definitely a great disparity in their cultivation realms, so he absolutely couldn't disturb the other person.

Without being able to judge the stranger's nature, he naturally dared not take risks.

So after standing rigidly for a moment, he retreated silently!

However, at that very moment, the young man who had been sitting still, seemingly truly dead, suddenly opened his eyes.

The moment their eyes met, Zhao Shoumu showed the decisiveness cultivated over years of practice, immediately activating his best Escape Technique, fleeing madly backward.

The young man remained seated, his eyes flickering with a trace of bewilderment.

He had been on this meteorite for over a hundred years, in a state akin to suspended animation, both to heal and to avoid being hunted by an enemy.

A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye. Now awoken from a long dream, even with his formidable cultivation, he was momentarily bewildered.

The abundance of spirit jades on this meteorite was entirely due to him healing; during this healing process, stellar space energy gathered at his location, mostly being absorbed and refined by him, while the small unrefined portion congregated, gradually forming into spirit jades.

The bewilderment faded quickly, and he recovered swiftly. Although he confirmed he had basically escaped pursuit, he still found it unwise to expose himself.

Pointing towards Zhao Shoumu's retreating direction, he extended one hand from afar. With a grasp in the Void, instantly, the surrounding stars dimmed slightly.

At the same time, Zhao Shoumu, desperately escaping, found in despair that though he was rapidly retreating forward, he inexplicably began to move backward.

Completely unaware of what befell him, he nonetheless understood this strange situation involved that mysterious young man, and felt utterly bitter inside. Sure enough, just as he'd guessed, the disparity in their cultivation was too vast. Therefore, before seeing that young man, he hadn't sensed the presence at all, and thus, he had no idea how the other had intervened.

The faster he fled earlier, the faster he returned now. In just a few short breaths, he was involuntarily back to his original spot, his back to the young man, his body rigid, not daring to move.

Yet his mind was working swiftly.

Now at Constellation Realm, even if the other's cultivation was a whole major realm higher, it probably couldn't execute such a wondrous method. Thus, the other's cultivation was highly likely much more than a single major realm above his.

This person… is at least a Sun Blaze Realm cultivator!

Zhao Shoumu couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. Though he'd cultivated for nearly a thousand years, at this moment, his mind was a chaotic mess.

What virtue or ability did he possess, having just left Nine Provinces, only to encounter such a Great Cultivator so quickly! Was this fortune or misfortune?

With a slight sigh, he obediently turned around, bowed, and greeted, "Greetings to this senior!"

At this point, he was rather straightforward about the situation, acknowledging the immense difference in cultivation. Being honest didn't seem wrong at all.

A quick glance, and Zhao Shoumu was once more astonished, because the young man before him looked noticeably paler than before, seemingly due to deploying that miraculous method earlier.

This person… is seriously injured! He immediately concluded, yet there was not a hint of ulterior motives in his heart. Even gravely wounded, a cultivator at Sun Blaze Realm was no target for his schemes.

An injured lion is still a lion, not someone a mere bunny can challenge.

The young man looked at him with a half-smile and gently said, "Not running away anymore?"

Zhao Shoumu, extremely earnest, replied, "Forgive me for the display, senior, there's no escaping, so I won't."

The young man nodded, "A wise man recognizes and accepts his circumstances. You're decent. So… where are we?"

Zhao Shoumu was a bit taken aback, "Senior doesn't know where this is?"

The young man flicked his finger, and Zhao Shoumu involuntarily groaned, feeling as if he had been punched hard in the face, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.

The young man's cold voice rang out: "Answer whatever I ask you."

He truly didn't know where this place was. A hundred years ago, he had hidden in a crack of this meteorite to heal his wounds, shrinking away as the meteorite drifted through space. A century has passed, who knows where it has drifted? The speed of meteors in stellar space is incredibly fast.

Zhao Shoumu's heart tightened, understanding that this person wasn't of good temperament. This was just a slight lesson; who knows what will happen next? He immediately said, "I don't know either, I have just stepped into the stellar space and am unfamiliar with the nearby stellar region."

He was speaking the truth. The cultivators from the Nine Provinces didn't know where this was, and they didn't have any stellar maps to reference. They had yet to formally interact with the stellar space in any substantive way and were still in a phase of exploration.

"What? Didn't your elders tell you anything?" the young man asked.

Zhao Shoumu shook his head: "Never."

In the Nine Provinces, they were actually the elders themselves.

"How troublesome!" The young man looked impatient, "I'll see for myself!"

With that said, he reached out to grab Zhao Shoumu. Although the action was not fast and Zhao Shoumu saw it clearly, he could not evade it at all.

His body involuntarily bent over, and the young man grabbed his head.

With mysterious power cascading down, Zhao Shoumu trembled like a willow, his eyes vibrantly shaking. He knew something was wrong, yet he couldn't resist at all. All he felt was his psyche defense being penetrated, his Divine Sea churning unsettled, and a sudden sensation of being exposed from inside out.

He understood what was happening to him, this was undoubtedly a Soul Search!

His heart was filled with despair, knowing his life would most probably end here, with much regret...

He had just ascended to the Constellation Realm, stepped into stellar space, and encountered such misfortune—it seemed heaven had no eyes.

But even though he was unwilling, he was powerless.

The degree of being explored grew deeper, and his psyche fractured more and more. Such a violent Soul Search rarely gleaned much information; mostly just fragments of memories, but it caused indelible damage to the person being searched.

Moments later, light flashed in the young man's eyes as he withdrew his hand.

Zhao Shoumu collapsed limply like a puddle of mud.

The moment he exposed the young man's presence, his death was certain. The other party would never allow him to continue living to prevent exposure of their whereabouts. Although it seemed that enemies might have given up on hunting him, such things are uncertain. For people of their realm, a chase could last hundreds of years and not be unusual.

The information obtained from the Soul Search wasn't complete but was still considerable. At least he had grasped what was necessary.

"Nine Provinces?" The young man murmured with a frown, feeling like he had heard of this domain's name somewhere, and soon his expression brightened, "Could it be that domain?"

He vaguely thought of a domain, a realm in legend, once prolific with Great Cultivators, a domain that, due to its strength, was exterminated by the collective forces of various races!

He had lived long enough to know some ancient secrets of stellar space. If this Nine Provinces was truly the legendary Nine Provinces, it would be too extraordinary.

After all, according to legend, that famous stellar space domain had been completely obliterated.

Perhaps it was just the same name?

Moreover, based on the intelligence gathered from the Soul Search, the overall level of this Nine Provinces had only just reached the point of venturing into stellar space, and from his perspective as a powerful cultivator, such a domain was not noteworthy at all.

His mind settled, and it seemed the name was merely coincidental.

The stellar space is vast, with countless human race domains, and identical names were not unusual.

If this Nine Provinces was indeed the fabled Nine Provinces and he had slain its people, it would spell trouble; presently, he only faced a group of cultivators of at most Constellation level and had no fear.

With a sweep of his Mental Consciousness, he quickly detected the presence of the Nine Provinces. He had little interest in domains of such caliber; once the Cultivation Realm reached a certain level, even with volatile emotions and violent temper, one wouldn't take pleasure in bullying the weak unless provoked.

Such a mindset is like adults not bullying children without cause; it holds no substantial benefit and only adds to karma.

Initially, he was simply surveying but then noticed something intriguing!

He immediately raised his eyes, fully energized his Ocular Power, and gazed in the direction of the Nine Provinces, his eyes marveling: "Is this... a growth-oriented domain?"

Though the current Nine Provinces wouldn't pique his interest, its current state caught his attention because he saw at a glance that it was devouring the essence of the Blood Refinement World, rapidly and significantly enhancing itself.