This was intentional!

Thinking about it, even as a Constellation Early Stage cultivator, brimming with the Essence of Blood and Flesh, any damage to the skin and flesh would quickly recover. There's no reason for such a mark to persist.

Yet, that's exactly the case!

This was clearly a method left by Su Yuqing. With her Sun Blaze cultivation, she certainly had the ability to do this without Lu Ye noticing.

The key is that Lu Ye simply cannot dispel this mark! And he has no idea how long it will last...

To say this wasn't intentional by Su Yuqing, Lu Ye wouldn't believe it even if you killed him.

No wonder Nian Yuexian looked at him with such a subtle gaze.

A single man and woman together for three days, and now with such a mark on his neck, anyone who's not blind could guess what happened during those three days.

But why? Why did Su Yuqing do this?

Lu Ye really couldn't figure it out.

While he was trying various methods to remove the mark, Nian Yuexian was on the side, occasionally sneering.

"Who would've thought? That seemingly pure and pristine Senior Su had such interests. What's that saying among mortals...?"

"Oh yes, an old cow eating young grass, do it before you grow old! Junior brother, any thoughts?"

"Don't be embarrassed, love between men and women is normal. Only three days, and you two were so intense. If I had known, I would have left earlier, so as not to disturb your graceful enjoyment."

"When did it start? I didn't notice a thing."

"Does Hai Tang know? You are nominally her Dao companion. She probably doesn't know, right? If she knew her master and her nominal Dao companion..."

For the first time, Lu Ye discovered, Nian Yuexian showed signs of being such a chatterbox, and with a wry face, he saluted her: "Dear senior sister, please spare me. This is just an accident."

There was an inexplicable feeling of being caught red-handed doing something wrong by a parent.

Nian Yuexian snorted coldly: "Whether it was an accident or not, you better be careful the next time you see that Senior Su."

Lu Ye was confused: "What do you mean?"

Nian Yuexian said: "Wild beasts have innate behaviors to proclaim territorial sovereignty, and some girls have it too. She knew you'd be traveling with me but still left this mark. Isn't that proclaiming sovereignty? If you have any flirtation in the future, better not let her know, or you'll be in for a beating!"

Lu Ye said guiltily: "I don't have any flirtations."

Nian Yuexian smirked: "You know best."

With a push of spirit force, she left Lu Ye behind.

Lu Ye, helpless, followed along.

Initially, Nian Yuexian was curious about what method Su Yuqing used to send Lu Ye into the Black Abyss to participate in the Dwarf Race's Martial Arts Meet. She planned to clear it up on the way back, but now there was no need to ask.

Things were clear as day!

With such secret relations, how could Lu Ye not enter Black Abyss?

The road ahead was long. Nian Yuexian no longer mocked Lu Ye. She also knew that in such relationships, Lu Ye couldn't be the proactive one. The cultivation gap was too large, only the one with higher cultivation could take the initiative, otherwise, Lu Ye would certainly have died countless times if he tried.

Lu Ye also stopped worrying about the mark on his neck. He couldn't remove it with his abilities. Fortunately, he found it wouldn't last long, so he let it fade naturally.

He retrieved and examined the two storage rings Su Yuqing gave him last.

One of the rings contained nearly a hundred talismans!

This matched Lu Ye's expectations. Talisman-making was the Dwarf Race's specialty. If they were to offer something as a reward, the talismans were the best choice.

These items were highly sought after among the stellar space by all races, but since the Dwarf Race rarely interacted with the outside world, their talismans in circulation were scarce and very expensive.

Over a hundred talismans held immense value, especially considering these were being offered as rewards, and the Dwarf Race wouldn't be stingy in their dealings.

The hundred or so talismans were divided into several types, largely similar to the types of spirit runes, categorized into attack, defense, and support, followed by various subcategories.

Each talisman came with a jade slip, detailing the talisman's type and effect.

Very considerate, so even someone like Lu Ye, who didn't know much about talismans, could understand when and how to activate these talismans by reading the contents of the jade slip.

Especially the two red Jade Talismans that particularly caught Lu Ye's attention!

Talisman-making by the Dwarf Race also had different qualities, and it was evident from the color. Regular Jade Talismans were white, the lowest quality, which basically met the needs of Constellation cultivators in battles.

The next level up were purple Jade Talismans, crafted by Moon Jade Realm cultivators, theoretically capable of unleashing the power of Moon Jade Realm cultivators when activated.

Of course, this is only theoretical; actual effects will inevitably differ due to the cultivator's level and the time spent nurturing the talisman.

During the Black Abyss Martial Arts Meet, there were Dwarf Races that used purple jade talismans, which showed considerable power, but there was still a significant difference compared to a personal strike from a Moon Jade Realm. This was due to the insufficient cultivation level of the one activating it.

Above that, there are the red jade talismans that only Sun Blazes can forge. Like the purple jade talismans, theoretically, they can unleash the power of a Sun Blaze cultivator's strike, but the actual effect depends on the situation.

Among the hundred talismans, there were two red jade talismans, ten purple ones, and the rest were all white.

For other cultivators, even a white jade talisman is extremely precious, but for someone like Lu Ye, who is proficient in the Path of Spirit Runes, the value of a white jade talisman is not significant.

Essentially, the power displayed after activating a spirit talisman is also the power of spirit runes. Since Lu Ye can construct spirit runes himself, he naturally doesn't need to activate spirit talismans.

These white jade talismans can be taken back and left at the Nine Provinces Governor's Palace for others to use.

For Lu Ye, the purple and red ones are useful, especially the two red jade talismans; Lu Ye could feel that one of them had Su Yuqing's aura.

In other words, this was definitely a talisman crafted by Su Yuqing.

No wonder there are two... It seems the reward from the Mount Fangcun side was supposed to be just one red jade talisman. Su Yuqing made an executive decision and added another one.

It's not that she's stingy for not giving more, it's just that even for her, crafting this is extremely difficult, and if one red jade talisman can't help Lu Ye turn a crisis into safety, giving more wouldn't make any sense.

This was something Su Yuqing had prepared long before she left Mount Fangcun with Lu Ye and Nian Yuexian, showing that her heart was not as cold as she appeared before.

Not in a hurry to deal with these spirit talismans, Lu Ye took out the second storage ring for a check.

Upon seeing its contents, Lu Ye halted.

Nian Yuexian noticed and hurriedly stopped, turning her head to look: "What's wrong?"

"There's something good!" Lu Ye smiled with joy, and directly took out the item from the storage ring, placing it on his palm.

It was a starboat!

However, compared to Su Yuqing's two-layered starboat, it was rather humble. This starboat's design resembled the sort of ferryboats commonly seen in the mundane world, with no two layers, just one, with the front and rear decks exposed and a canopy in the middle.

The number of cultivators this kind of starboat can accommodate is evidently not too many.

But no matter how humble, it's still a starboat! A plain appearance doesn't mean it truly is a cheap product!

This is something currently unattainable to forge in Nine Provinces.

When Lu Ye was previously aboard Su Yuqing's starboat, he was dreaming of when he could own one himself, so he wouldn't have to rush so much while traveling in the stellar space. Little did he know this dream would come true so soon.

Instantly saving decades of effort!

Nian Yuexian clicked her tongue and said, "Junior brother, your ability to live off others is top-notch..."

Lu Ye's great mood was suddenly ruined, and with a bitter face, he said, "Senior sister, let's not bring up the past!"

Nian Yuexian gave him a sidelong glance and urged, "Hurry up and test it out."

Lu Ye immediately infused spirit force into the starboat, and the boat on his palm suddenly swelled, transforming into a ferryboat about two zhangs long.

Compared to Su Yuqing's starboat, it was much smaller, but it had better overall fluidity, and the whole starboat's surface was glowing with a layer of silver light.

Lu Ye leaped onto it, looking around with the demeanor of a country bumpkin experiencing the world for the first time, touching everything, unwilling to part with it.

Nian Yuexian landed on the other side and saw two large characters at the stern: "Junior brother, this starboat even has a name."

"What's the name?" Lu Ye flashed over, lowered his head, and indeed saw the two characters.

Silver Fish!

This indeed matched the starboat's characteristics; when this boat sets sail, it should be like a silver fish swimming in the water.

Lu Ye flashed into the canopy, found the array hub controlling the starboat, and quickly got the hang of it after a brief familiarization.

A moment later, just as Lu Ye imagined, the silver Silver Fish transformed into light, moving like a fish swimming in the vast stellar space, heading toward Nine Provinces.

Gradually increasing speed, it soon exceeded the flight speed of his and Nian Yuexian's.

However, Lu Ye quickly discovered a problem, which was that this kind of flight greatly consumed his own spirit force, far more than flying himself.

The reason is simple: flying himself only requires controlling his body, and after reaching a certain speed, a cultivator needs to use very little spirit force to maintain it. But right now, he's piloting a starboat.

Fortunately, the array hub had a recess for placing spirit jade, which, once attached, greatly reduced the consumption of one's spirit force.

This follows the same principle as the spirit arks in Nine Provinces, allowing anyone to quickly get the hang of it.

Another point is that the speed of this boat needs to be gradually increased and cannot reach its maximum speed all at once. Therefore, if being pursued by a strong adversary, it's not suitable to use, lest delays close the distance and cause more harm than good.