Originally, Lu Ye and Nian Yuexian thought it would take nearly five to six months to return to the Nine Provinces, as Nian Yuexian had fallen near the limits of Heaven's Augury's coverage in Mount Fangcun.

But now, if they fly back at this speed, it will probably only take half a month.

In comparison, Lu Ye suddenly realized that when Su Yuqing sent the two back earlier, he hadn't used his full strength, otherwise, it would have been even faster.

With such a starboat, the time spent traveling through stellar space will be greatly reduced in the future.

Unfortunately, this requires high materials and crafting skills, which the current level of the Nine Provinces cannot achieve. Otherwise, if everyone had one, exploring the surrounding stellar space would become extremely convenient.

Battlefield marking received a message; Lu Ye didn't need to investigate to know who was looking for him.

Diving into his mind, indeed, it was Number Nine.

He had disappeared for over eight months, and Number Nine was still very worried, especially with Nian Yuexian's precedent. Luckily, both Lu Ye and Nian Yuexian have safely returned now.

After a brief conversation with Number Nine, knowing that everything in the Nine Provinces was stable and unchanged, he ended the communication.

Lu Ye then had Nian Yuexian pilot the starboat while he began nurturing two spirit talismans of the Dwarf Race.

There are two ways to nurture the spirit talismans of the Dwarf Race: external and internal.

External nurturing is akin to nurturing some treasures, keeping them close to the body and slowly nourishing them with spirit force to take them out to confront enemies when needed. Generally, not too valuable and frequently used spirit talismans are nurtured this way.

Lu Ye chose internal nurturing because he wanted to nurture those two red jade talismans.

He drew his Boulder Mountain Saber, applied the Divine Sharp Edge Spirit Runes, and rolled up his sleeve, making a cut on his arm, then immersed the red jade talismans into the wound. After absorbing his blood, the red jade talismans immediately transformed into a red glow imprinted into his flesh.

There was no foreign sensation, but Lu Ye could clearly feel the presence of the two jade talismans.

This nurturing method is better than the previous one and can more effectively unleash the power of the jade talismans.

The not-too-large wound slowly showed signs of healing under the squirming of Lu Ye's flesh.

The Constellation Realm cultivation mainly improves the essence of the cultivator's physique. At the early stage, one tempers the essence of blood and flesh. Lu Ye has not yet reached the Transformation Realm at this level, otherwise, he could heal his wounds instantly with a thought.

Compared to the Divine Sea Realm, the recovery speed of blood and flesh injuries is already incomparable.

In just half the time of a burning incense stick, the wound completely healed, leaving no trace.

The rest doesn't need much worry from Lu Ye. The two red jade talismans will slowly be nurtured within his body and can be invoked whenever needed.

The longer the nurturing time and the higher his cultivation, the greater the power he can wield.

He replaced Nian Yuexian who was piloting the starboat and took out two purple jade talismans, giving them to her, instructing her on the nurturing method, and having her follow suit.

The journey ahead was smooth.

Lu Ye piloted the starboat while taking out the hefty tome to study and observe.

Half a month passed by in a flash, and when a familiar celestial body appeared in sight, both Lu Ye and Nian Yuexian knew they had reached home!

Without pause, the starboat glided into the Nine Provinces like a silver fish.

At the same time, a woman, transformed into the form of the Dwarf Race, observed from afar in a region of stellar space ten thousand miles away.

She had followed along all the way without Lu Ye or Nian Yuexian noticing, given their significant cultivation gap; her intentional concealment made it impossible for two early-stage Constellation cultivators to detect her.

This act was not out of malice but simply to see what the Nine Heavens World was like and where exactly this domain was located!

If not for her apprehension about the "powerful figure" behind Lu Ye, she would have quietly infiltrated the Nine Provinces to investigate more thoroughly.

However, because there is a "powerful figure" behind Lu Ye that even she couldn't rival, she had to stop here to avoid any misinterpretations.

She saw the Nine Provinces, and the Blood Refinement World alongside it, which in size was not inferior to the Nine Provinces. With her eyesight, she immediately recognized the nature of this world and marveled silently. That "powerful figure" was indeed extraordinary, having drawn such a domain, and it seemed the Nine Heavens World was consuming the foundation of this realm to fuel its growth.

Such a skill is indeed remarkable.

After another long glance, the woman turned and left.

In stellar space, encounters among people are like fish passing each other in the sea; a brief encounter doesn't mean a long stay.

In this life, they might never meet again!

Bingzhou's Mount Ao, Lu Ye and Nian Yuexian returned together.

Nian Yuexian had nowhere to go in the Nine Provinces. She was originally the Mountain Pass Chief of the Cangyan Mountain Pass in the Bingzhou guard, stationed there for years. Now that the mountain pass has become obsolete, she, being without a sect, naturally could only return to Mount Ao with Lu Ye.

She had a very good relationship with Shui Yuan, having known each other well from early on.

Compared to the last time they returned to the Righteous Blood Sect, the sect headquarters undoubtedly became much livelier, with many more people coming and going.

Shui Yuan remained at the sect headquarters, but Lu Ye observed her state, and she seemed not far from the Constellation stage.

The only awkward situation at present is that the Righteous Blood Sect doesn't have many outstandingly strong individuals, especially lacking in the Divine Sea Realm. If Shui Yuan were to leave, there would be no one to guard the sect headquarters.

Not sensing the presence of Yiyi and Amber, it seemed they were still on Unparalleled Continent earning battle merit.

Nian Yuexian went to spend time with Shui Yuan, but before leaving, she gave Lu Ye a meaningful look, leaving him a bit anxious, wondering if she would tell Shui Yuan about his embarrassing moments.

Lu Ye didn't plan to stay long at Mount Ao; what one should worry about depends on their stage. If he were still in the Divine Sea Realm, naturally, he would focus on the sect headquarters, like other sect cultivators do, which is understandable.

However, now that he was in the Constellation Realm, his concern shouldn't be limited to just the Righteous Blood Sect; he needed to care for the entire Nine Provinces.

All Constellation practitioners should think this way; only then can a domain flourish continually.

He initially planned to stay at the sect headquarters for two or three days before setting out to guard at the Governor's Hall, wanting to take a period for reflection. He wouldn't be leaving the Nine Provinces in the short term, so he would sit at the Governor's Hall, replacing others in collecting spirit jade.

He hadn't expected to be volunteered by Shui Yuan.

Although he returned silently, some sect disciples still noticed him. In today's Righteous Blood Sect, he is a living legend, in terms of admiration and fame, far surpassing the former senior brother.

After all, the era of the former senior brother was decades ago, and his rise has been in recent years.

In the eyes of the current Righteous Blood Sect disciples, he truly is the title-bearing senior brother.

Word spread quickly, and soon the entire Righteous Blood Sect became aware of the legend's return. In no time, outside of Emerald Bamboo Peak, disciples would intentionally or unintentionally pass by, wanting to glimpse him.

Seeing this, Shui Yuan didn't want to dampen the disciples' enthusiasm; sometimes appropriate encouragement can inspire people to cultivate diligently, so she decided to arrange a dharma assembly for Lu Ye.

As for the theme of the assembly... there was no set theme, and Shui Yuan told Lu Ye to say whatever came to his mind.

A mission assigned by Second Senior Sister was naturally not one Lu Ye dared to defy.

And so, a transformative dharma assembly for the future of the Righteous Blood Sect was born.

On the day of the assembly, Righteous Peak was packed. The residence at the Spirit Stream battlefield within the Righteous Blood Sect was left empty as every Spirit Stream Realm cultivator returned, and the same went for the Cloud River Realm. Even a few True Lake Realm cultivators, who were earning battle merit on Unparalleled Continent, also made their way back.

Looking at this thriving scene before him, Lu Ye was filled with satisfaction.

He recalled the first time he entered the sect's residence in the Spirit Stream battlefield; it housed only a group of independent cultivators, and he had to think of ways to recruit people to maintain the sect's continuity. Swiftly, over these years, the sect had taken on a fresh appearance.

Seeing the ardent eyes of respect below, Lu Ye smiled, adopting an innocent expression: "I don't quite know where to start, nor what to speak on. How about this, if you have any questions, feel free to ask, and I'll answer them one by one."

Silence fell over the crowd for a moment, until suddenly a Spirit Stream Realm disciple called out, "Senior Brother, can you tell us how the name 'Three Calamities of Spirit Stream' came about?"

Though Lu Ye had left the Spirit Stream battlefield long ago, his many tales were still circulating, like 'Lu Ye the Sect Destroyer,' and 'Three Calamities of Spirit Stream,' which were widely known.

"Heh..." Lu Ye glanced over, memorizing the disciple who asked the question. Since it was asked, he naturally couldn't avoid answering, so he began to narrate.

Listening, the group below was filled with excitement and exhilaration.

The assembly lasted for nearly two days, addressing a wide range of questions. Aside from some initial frivolous questions, the majority pertained to cultivation and combat, which caught most disciples' attention.

Not to mention cultivation, Lu Ye excelled in combat, answering with ease, bringing great insights to the young junior brothers and sisters.

If Shui Yuan hadn't eventually forcefully concluded the assembly, it would have likely continued even longer.

Spirit Stream Realm cultivators returned to the Spirit Stream battlefield, Cloud River Realm went to the Cloud River battlefield, and True Lake Realm set off to Unparalleled Continent, continuing their hunt against the Corpse Race.

Lu Ye arrived at Tianzhou, where the Reincarnation Tree's doppelganger was located.

In front of the Governor's Hall, Lu Ye bid farewell to his senior brother Feng Wujiang.

Initially, it was Jian Guhong who was guarding the Governor's Hall; he was the first Nine Provinces Governor. However, such a task naturally couldn't be shouldered by one person, so soon after Lu Ye left the Nine Provinces, his senior brother advanced to the Constellation stage, taking over Jian Guhong's position to continue the guard.

Anyway, his senior brother wasn't in a hurry to step into the stellar space because he had already decided to stay in the Nine Provinces for a while longer, to spend time with his sister-in-law, Qiu Min, and also to wait for her to advance to the Constellation stage.

Reckoning, that was about a year ago.

Meanwhile, his sister-in-law Qiu Min successfully advanced to the Constellation stage three months ago, now having the qualification to fly alongside her senior brother.