In the cave, Lu Ye and Ma Bin sat facing each other, conversing. Most of the time it was Lu Ye talking while Ma Bin listened intently. As the conversation grew lively, Ma Bin took out wine and drank heartily, his expression full of delight.

A few days passed by quickly.

Ma Bin finished the last jug of wine, wiped his mouth, and said, "Alright then, since Nine Provinces are still somewhat peaceful, an old concern of mine has been eased. It's getting late, I should be on my way."

Saying so, he rose to his full height.

Even when seated, Lu Ye felt that he was mighty in stature, but standing up, he appeared even more imposing.

Lu Ye didn't know where Ma Bin was headed or what he intended to do, but couldn't help asking, "Is there any way I can assist you, elder?"

Ma Bin chuckled, "The task I have is not something you can handle, nor do you need to be involved."

Looking at the young and vibrant face in front of him, Ma Bin's expression grew solemn as he advised, "Remember, from now on, you do not know me, and I do not know you. Our meeting here never happened."

Both were smart enough that such matters need not be spelt out. Had he not been eager to understand the current state of Nine Provinces, Ma Bin wouldn't have asked Zhu Yuan to find a way to bring Lu Ye here. For people like him, even such an extremely secretive meeting carried risks.

Now that his wish was fulfilled, Ma Bin naturally wanted to avoid any association between Nine Provinces and himself.

A span of millennia is a clear divide between two eras; matters of the pre-Nine Provinces era should be handled by those from that era, without involving the later Nine Provinces.

Even if Nine Provinces faces an overwhelming enemy or enslavement, it's still better than being implicated with him.

Before this, he even subjected Lu Ye to a test through the application of pressure.

If Lu Ye had buckled at that moment and actually begged for mercy, then after inquiring about Nine Provinces' current situation, Ma Bin would have killed him to silence him.

Due to the uniqueness of Nine Provinces, people who value their lives too much cannot be allowed to roam freely, lest they unwittingly exposed Nine Provinces and bring disaster.

But Lu Ye's resolve certainly pleased him; in such a precarious situation, Lu Ye not only refused to kneel and beg for mercy, instead opting to fight desperately, which was exactly to Ma Bin's liking.

As he saw it, Nine Provinces cultivators ought to live by the creed: better to die standing than to live kneeling.

As Ma Bin walked out of the cave, Lu Ye caught sight of Zhu Yuan standing there, unharmed and with his severed arm reattached.

Given Zhu Yuan's cultivation at the Constellation Late Stage, reattaching a limb was normal, but coming back to life was not. Apparently, Zhu Yuan's supposed death was merely a deception, cleverly executed by Ma Bin to fool him.

With hands clasped behind his back, Ma Bin turned his head for one last look at Lu Ye, patted his shoulder, and earnestly said, "Live well!"

As he spoke, his body lunged forward, merging directly into Zhu Yuan's form, vanishing like a wisp of smoke!

Such magical technique left even Lu Ye in awe, finally understanding how Ma Bin had managed to create chaos in the All Phenomena Ocean yet still lay low here peacefully.

With such exquisite Black Rank Secret Technique, it would indeed be a miracle for Sun Blaze of the All Phenomena Galaxy to locate him.

Zhu Yuan summoned his starboat and ascended into the sky, with Lu Ye watching him go.

This brief journey significantly impacted him, gladdening him to realize that powerful beings from the pre-Nine Provinces era still remained.

Ma Bin's advice was deeply ingrained in his mind, clearly understanding that getting involved was unwise. Ma Bin roamed freely, having slain a Sun Blaze in the All Phenomena Ocean without a care in the world, precisely because he had no ties. If Nine Provinces were entangled with him, they'd become his weak point and constraint, which would be greatly disadvantageous for Nine Provinces.

In their several days of conversation, Ma Bin left an impression of being bold and straightforward, unrestrained by trivialities. Yet, through his conduct, Lu Ye realized he was not inherently good, having a vicious and ruthless nature.

Not a good person, but ultimately one of their own!

Returning to the cave, he found two withered corpses, those of the unfortunate Fan Yunhua and Jia Yu. They had been dragged into the cave by Ma Bin's hands, losing all vitality in an instant, even their flesh and blood turning dry, looking just like zombies from the Corpse Race.

Ma Bin ignored these two bodies, but Lu Ye couldn't leave them be.

After searching, he found a few storage rings on them, skillfully disposing of the bodies.

In no rush to leave, since the All Phenomena Ocean was in a fishing off-season, heading back wouldn't serve much purpose. Therefore, he decided to unlock the restriction locks on these storage rings here first to see if there was anything valuable.

Both these individuals were at the Constellation Late Stage, their assets shouldn't be shabby, right? Though Lu Ye was aware such expectations shouldn't be too high; cultivators who seek work on Zhaolai Island aren't exactly affluent.

Lu Ye thought of Tang Jun again, having left earlier after explaining the details and requesting travel expenses, now suddenly returning. Will the old fellow think he swindled him?

Like the storage sack, storage rings also have restriction locks, but for Lu Ye, well-versed in the Path of Spirit Runes, unlocking them wasn't hard. He had long since become proficient in this skill.

Checking one ring after another, he garnered some gains. As he expected, whether it was Fan Yunhua or Jia Yu, while they had some assets, they weren't very wealthy; together, the spirit jade from both amounted to fewer than two thousand pieces. Besides that were the necessary elixir pills for cultivation, some miscellaneous materials, and a few spirit treasures.

If those spirit treasures were sold at the All Phenomena Merchants Guild, they could roughly fetch over ten thousand spirit jades.

Though reluctant to return to the All Phenomena Ocean, it was still necessary. Despite the All Phenomena Galaxy's vastness, beyond the All Phenomena Ocean, he truly didn't know where else to go.

Just as he was preparing to leave, a fluctuation of spirit force suddenly came from outside, as if someone had descended from the sky.

Lu Ye hurriedly restrained his aura.

It wasn't that he intended to hide anything, he was just habitually cautious.

But the newcomer apparently discovered this cave too, accompanied by a light laugh, a figure abruptly barged in!

In an instant, their eyes met. Lu Ye scrutinized the newcomer coldly and was slightly surprised upon seeing his appearance, because he looked very young!

Although cultivators have various ways to maintain their looks, and the higher their cultivation, the slower they age, whether someone is genuinely young or not, experienced people can still tell a few clues.

Some may look young, but the weariness in their eyes cannot be hidden.

Some are truly young...

The one before him was the latter. Lu Ye even wondered if this guy was even twenty years old. He was dressed well, not luxurious but clearly from a notable background at a glance.

No doubt his aptitude was high, otherwise, it would be impossible to have Constellation Early Stage cultivation at this age.

In the Nine Provinces, people of this age would mostly still be struggling on the Cloud River battlefield. By comparison, even if he had an extraordinary background and no lack of cultivation resources, his cultivation at this age was undoubtedly extremely outstanding and exceptional.

The young man was initially stunned, then extremely annoyed: "How could I run into someone here? What bad luck!"

Speaking those words, he turned to leave but after walking two steps, suddenly seemed to remember something, turned around, and his youthful face made a fierce expression: "I warn you, you didn't see me, and I didn't see you, understand?"

Lu Ye gazed at him quietly.

Similar words, he'd heard twice today...

"Did you hear me? Nod if you did, or I'll be impolite!" The young man spoke, pinching his fingertips, a ray of red light blossomed from his fingertips.

It was a red talisman!

With his Constellation Early Stage cultivation, activating such a red talisman would only be able to unleash the power of a Constellation Late Stage at most, far from reaching Moon Jade, but a red talisman is still a red talisman. It further confirmed to Lu Ye that this young man came from an extraordinary background, as not just anyone would have such a treasure on them.

Glancing at the red talisman, Lu Ye nodded slightly.

Only then did the young man reveal a satisfied expression: "You've got it!"

With those words, he slipped away.

After he left, Lu Ye also tidied up his things, stood up, summoned his starboat, and left.

He had to consider how to explain this to Tang Jun, and also whether to visit the All Phenomena Merchants Guild again to see Cao Xiang. The information was inaccurate, but the spirit jades were paid. Shouldn't the All Phenomena Merchants Guild continue to investigate the Jade Conch Galaxy's information for him?

But upon careful consideration, he decided against it, because if he went to see Cao Xiang, Cao Xiang would undoubtedly ask for details he couldn't clarify.

For now, he could only leave it at that and wait for a while to see.

Following the star map's guidance, Lu Ye approached the All Phenomena Ocean.

But he soon discovered something strange; the number of cultivators coming and going on the way significantly increased, and from their posture, they seemed to be searching for something.

Initially, Lu Ye didn't pay much attention; whatever they were searching for had nothing to do with him in the end.

Until a starship blocked his starboat!

The travel artifacts used by cultivators to navigate the stellar space come in two types: starboats like the Silver Fish and the one Lu Ye now had, both fall into this category.

The other type is starships!

The Ghost Ship Lu Ye had been on before was a starship.

The biggest difference between starboats and starships lies in their offensive capabilities. The former is purely for travel, with decent defense but no active attack capabilities. They rely on the cultivators onboard to take action if needed.

However, a starship has offensive capabilities because it is equipped with assault magic arrays and attack artifacts as its Array Eye. Just from the exterior, a starship appears much more formidable.

Of course, the price is vastly different as well; starships cost at least ten times more than starboats.

In other words, the cheapest starship would require at least two hundred thousand spirit jades!

Like the Ghost Ship, if it were intact, it would cost at least a million spirit jades. Such things are not something ordinary cultivators can afford, only domains and sects with sufficient foundation can provide them.