Sage of Humanity-Chapter 1569 - 1567: Wu Zhuo
In the stellar space, there are many conventions and rules that have naturally evolved over countless years, not established by humans.
For example, between cultivators, if there is no special relationship, they can completely refer to each other as Fellow Daoist on the Constellations. After all, the cultivator group is quite unique, not judging respect and inferiority by age but by cultivation level.
Of course, that's the theory, but if a Constellation insists on calling a Sun Blaze Fellow Daoist upon meeting, there's probably no good outcome, so the title should depend on the actual situation.
If Lu Ye were visiting on his own behalf, calling Wu Zhuo "Senior" would be fine. However, this time, he represents not only himself, and calling "Senior" wouldn't harm him directly, but might complicate future cooperation.
But addressing him as Fellow Daoist clearly displeased Wu Zhuo. He unleashed a palm strike, its power shaking the heavens, causing the cultivators from Qingfeng World on the starboat to turn pale, and even Zhou Dingtian and others looked grave.
Looking up, the palm print covered the sky, yet the lines within the palm were clearly visible, and as it approached, everyone felt cold to their core.
Strangely, the giant palm print shrank rapidly as it swept in, initially blocking everyone's view, but soon transforming into the size of a normal palm, slowly and deliberately reaching for Lu Ye's chest.
Other people's pressure dissipated completely, but for Lu Ye, the pressure only intensified.
Wu Zhuo didn't seem to have murderous intent; otherwise, the palm strike wouldn't be so slow. He likely intended to simply admonish Lu Ye, teaching him that not every word should be spoken.
Facing this palm, Lu Ye stood quietly at the prow of the ship, motionless, as if petrified.
Only when the palm was about to strike did he suddenly throw out a jade slip toward the front, from which a faint aura emanated.
"Hm?" Wu Zhuo's voice suddenly echoed from inside the tower, as he sensed something familiar from the jade slip.
The palm heading for Lu Ye's chest abruptly snatched the jade slip and quickly retracted into the tower.
The sky cleared, and silence enveloped the starboat. Nearly everyone was still immersed in the terrifying momentum of the Moon Jade powerhouse, with only the fierce wind whistling, Lu Ye's clothes flapping.
Moments later, the tower lightly quaked, followed by a blaze of light racing outward, forming a rainbow bridge connecting the tower and the starboat. Wu Zhuo's voice rang out again, lacking its former majesty: "Fellow Daoist, please come inside for a talk!"
Zhou Dingtian was dumbfounded.
He, being from Shenwu Temple and Wu Zhuo's Direct Disciple, knew his master's temper well. As one of the three Moon Jades of this domain, Wu Zhuo was a rising force and the strongest in Qingli Dao World, a pillar and hope for the future.
Master's aspirations were lofty; even Moon Jade from Jade Conch didn't particularly impress him, for he was confident in surpassing Jade Conch's Moon Jade in the future.
Lu Ye's Fellow Daoist clearly displeased Master, yet shortly after, Master personally acknowledged the term and spoke so politely...
Zhou Dingtian was curious to know what the jade slip contained that could cause such a drastic change in attitude from his prideful master.
"Pardon the intrusion!" Lu Ye said, turned slightly to advise Lih Shang to wait here, and then walked onto the rainbow bridge step by step toward the tower.
The rainbow bridge connected to the topmost level of the tower, where Lu Ye saw a majestic man with long hair draped over shoulders, clad in a black robe, standing with his hands behind his back.
Having heard Wu Zhuo's name a lot from Tang Jun, Lu Ye was meeting him for the first time and found he matched the impression; Wu Zhuo exuded an aura of extravagance and wildness, akin to an ancient ferocious beast possessed of spiritual intelligence.
Lu Ye had encountered many Moon Jade before, having even personally fought and killed them, yet none gave him the same feeling as the one before him.
He vaguely noticed that Wu Zhuo's strength at the Moon Jade Mid-Stage was likely top-notch, remembering that Tang Jun had mentioned Wu Zhuo participated in the Reincarnation Tree's Divine Sea struggle, emerging victorious, and benefitting from the spirit light gained from Taichu Realm.
In any era, those who succeed in the Divine Sea struggle of the Reincarnation Tree are never ordinary, as it involves elite confrontations among thousands of large and top-tier domains' Divine Sea cultivators, with only the top hundred emerging victorious—a testament to its high difficulty.
Wu Zhuo's victory already indicated his aptitude, making him far surpass others in any realm or competition.
Qingli Dao World possessing a doppelganger of the Reincarnation Tree puzzled Lu Ye, for as far as he knew, Tang Jun and Qin Yuandai were the initial batch of Constellations, yet neither had ventured far from the Jade Conch Star System, naturally not visiting the Reincarnation Tree for a doppelganger.
As for where this doppelganger came from, even Tang Jun couldn't say. It seemed that this doppelgänger tree had always existed in the Qingli Dao World, and only after he and Qin Yuandai ascended to Constellation did they gradually notice its anomaly, and after some research, understood its function.
Tang Jun could only speculate that this doppelganger had been in the Qingli Dao World for a long time, perhaps dating back to an ancient era when it was a large domain, but for some unknown reason, it declined and only re-ascended three thousand years ago.
It's not uncommon for domains to rise and fall when viewed from the stellar space, nothing out of the ordinary.
At the top level of the tower, Wu Zhuo silently watched Lu Ye, a deep look in his eyes, though he appeared calm, he was deeply shocked inside.
Because in that brief moment, he had gathered too much unbelievable intelligence from the jade slip.
The source of this intelligence was none other than Tang Jun, who had been missing for many years!
He could confirm that the information in the jade slip was indeed imprinted by Tang Jun, which couldn't be faked. After all, as fellow Moon Jade of the same domain, they were familiar with each other, and no one could deceive him on this matter.
The mysterious and unfathomable Insect Path, the all-encompassing All Phenomena Galaxy, the grand and magnificent All Phenomena Ocean, the thriving Unparalleled Island, and the Constellation Palace where a million constellations gathered...
Such information impacted Wu Zhuo's Divine Sea, and even though he was at the Moon Jade Mid-Stage, he couldn't remain indifferent.
Compared to the grand and bustling All Phenomena Ocean, the Jade Conch was simply a remote backwater. If he were a cautiously prudent person, it would be nothing, the grand and bustling outside wouldn't concern him, and he could enjoy his leisure within his small domain. But someone who excelled in the Taichu Realm couldn't lack ambition, so he was highly interested in the intelligence from the jade slip.
However, there was one point Wu Zhuo found baffling because Tang Jun also left a message in the jade slip, informing him that if ever someone claiming to be Unparalleled Li Taibai came to him with the jade slip one day, he must be treated with respect and not be slighted. This was because the Island Master of Unparalleled Island, where he currently resided, had an excellent relationship with Li Taibai, and it was through Li Taibai's connection that he entered Unparalleled Island. In the future, when people from Qingli Dao World do enter the All Phenomena Ocean, they'd have numerous things to rely on from others. Offending this person now would leave Qingli Dao World with no path in the future.
The person Tang Jun mentioned was called Unparalleled Li Taibai. And the spirit island was also named Unparalleled Island. Given that Li Taibai had a good relationship with the Island Master of Unparalleled Island, it inevitably led to some speculations.
But upon closer thought, Wu Zhuo remembered the visitor seemed to claim he was Lu Yiye of Nine Heavens...
Unable to make sense of it, he straightforwardly asked, "Who is this Unparalleled Li Taibai?"
Lu Ye pondered briefly and understood the situation. He had always referred to himself as Unparalleled Li Taibai in front of Tang Jun, so he calmly said, "That is also me! Unparalleled World is a subordinate world of my Nine Heavens. As for the name Li Taibai... Fellow Daoist should know, in the expanse of stellar space, one inevitably encounters danger, and sometimes there's a need to use an alias."
He admitted this candidly, leaving Wu Zhuo momentarily surprised. He subtly nodded in understanding but couldn't help feeling a bit skeptical. Whether Tang Jun was reliable, after all, he didn't even know the person's actual identity, only an alias of Unparalleled Li Taibai, which seemed somewhat unconvincing.
"Let's sit down and talk." Wu Zhuo gestured as he took the lead in sitting.
There were no tables or chairs atop the tower, only two mats. Wu Zhuo sat on one, so Lu Ye could only take the other.
Facing each other, Wu Zhuo had many questions but didn't know where to start. After thinking for a moment, he asked, "According to Senior Brother Tang, you and he accidentally got trapped in a newly formed Insect Path and ended up drifting into the All Phenomena Galaxy?"
"Precisely!" Lu Ye nodded. As for the contents of the jade slip, he hadn't investigated—firstly, he didn't find it necessary, and secondly, jade slips used for conveying messages usually had special restrictions. If Lu Ye had probed it, the jade slip would have been destroyed, and he wouldn't have been able to bring it back to Wu Zhuo, to earn his trust and cooperation.
"Considering the timing, that was precisely when Senior Brother Tang disappeared. Have you seen another of our Dao World's Moon Jade?" Wu Zhuo asked again.
In recent years, among the three Moon Jades in Qingli Dao World, one had died, and another disappeared, leaving only him to hold the fort alone. He even had no time to enter stellar space to seek cultivation resources, which was exceedingly distressing.
Though it was confirmed Qin Yuandai had died, and a batch of Constellations from Baimang Mountain had also perished, none knew exactly how or where, because none of the people Qin Yuandai took out ever returned alive.
Wu Zhuo's question was merely a casual one, with no expectation of getting an answer from Lu Ye. Yet unexpectedly, Lu Ye nodded, "I have seen her!"
Wu Zhuo was startled, "Where did you see her? What was the situation? Was there an enemy chasing her?"
Lu Ye looked at him, "Are you trying to ask how that Moon Jade died?"
Wu Zhuo looked surprised, "You know how she died?"
"Of course, I know."
