"Giant Red Star?" Lu Ye turned his head, somewhat puzzled.

"Senior doesn’t know?" The man was astonished. "Seeing Senior’s earlier actions, I thought Senior was headed to the Giant Red Star for cultivation."

"Oh?" Lu Ye’s expression shifted. "Is the Giant Red Star beneficial for cultivating the fire element?"

The man chuckled: "That’s precisely why my wife and I came here, and many other fire-element cultivators have gathered there as well."

Lu Ye blinked: "In that case, I must take a look."

It was certain now, Ma Bin wanted Lu Ye to come to the Hengyue Galaxy precisely for this Giant Red Star! Since it’s beneficial for fire-element cultivation and attracts many fire-element cultivators, it must be a place rich in fire-type energy, a gathering spot for cultivators.

The man remarked: "If Senior doesn’t mind, my wife and I would be happy to guide you. To be honest, we have visited this place once before."

He wasn’t attempting to curry favor with Lu Ye; mainly, traveling with Lu Ye ensured safer passage. Even if they encountered star beasts like before, it would be less worrisome.

"Alright, let’s go." Lu Ye nodded, then launched his starship and stood upon it first, with the couple following closely.

The man pointed out the direction to Lu Ye, who then steered the starship onward.

Engaging in casual conversation along the way, Lu Ye learned that the couple was named Fey Zhuang and Hong Yan. They weren’t from the same galaxy; rather, they had met on the Sea of Myriad Phenomena and developed feelings over years of companionship.

Such occurrences weren’t common; although cultivators aren’t overly particular about origins, it’s rare for those from different galaxies to come together.

Fey Zhuang inquired about Lu Ye’s name, to which Lu Ye casually replied Li Taibai.

As they traveled, perhaps sensing Lu Ye’s amicable nature, Fey Zhuang and Hong Yan grew bolder, seeking advice on cultivation puzzles. Lu Ye answered each query, rendering the couple deeply grateful.

Two days later, Lu Ye glanced ahead at a red dot appearing in the dark stellar space.

As they drew closer, the red dot grew larger and brighter, like an enormous fireball burning in space!

This is the Giant Red Star!

And its essence was undoubtedly that of a sun nearing its demise!

All celestial objects have their destinies and fates; even the dazzling sun, seemingly eternal, faces eventual extinction.

Such a sight is rare even in the vastness of stellar space.

Lu Ye finally understood Ma Bin’s guidance; for Lu Ye at this moment, the massive Giant Red Star was exactly what he needed.

Among the fire-type resources Lu Ye acquired in the Sea of Myriad Phenomena was something called Scorching Sun Essence, refined by cultivators through special means from the sun’s vital energy.

This task isn’t for any cultivator; it’s time-consuming, labor-intensive, and requires special methods and magic treasures. Yet, some cultivators make a living from it, earning cultivation resources.

The best target for refining Scorching Sun Essence is indeed the Giant Red Star. True sun’s essential power isn’t so easily collected.

"Senior Taibai, we need to take a detour ahead," Fey Zhuang suddenly spoke, just as Lu Ye was looking intently at the approaching Giant Red Star.

Lu Ye returned to focus, steering the starship sideways, casually asking, "What’s ahead?"

Fey Zhuang replied, "There used to be a spatial loss in this area, where space is extremely fragile. Venturing in recklessly might provoke unintended incidents."

"Spatial loss?" Lu Ye frowned, looking over there, noticing indeed some unusual features, which wouldn’t be apparent without intentional investigation.

The abnormal spatial area covered quite a vast range.

"Why is it so?" Lu Ye asked.

Fey Zhuang shook his head: "I’m not sure, heard some people mention it before, so I remembered it."

Lu Ye nodded, suddenly an idea dawned on him.

That location of spatial loss could very well be where the Former Nine Provinces is! Back then, during the great war, the Former Nine Provinces faced annihilation but was teleported away by the Heavenly Mechanism Plate, now lost without a trace.

Thinking this way, what the Heavenly Mechanism Plate teleported wasn’t just a Nine Provinces, but an entire section of stellar space, thus causing spatial loss here. Even after thousands of years, the space remains inherently weak.

Looking again at the distant Giant Red Star...

Lu Ye had a bolder speculation.

The Heavenly Mechanism Plate’s teleportation involved not just the foundation of the Former Nine Provinces but the power of this sun itself. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have made sense for something like the Heavenly Mechanism Plate to teleport such a massive domain to such a distant location.

The force of this sun was consequently depleted substantially, leading it towards its demise thousands of years later!

Ma Bin definitely came to investigate, knowing that Lu Ye had a huge demand for fire-type resources, so he specially pointed it out.

In this way, the Nine Provinces were able to remain largely due to the efforts of this big sun. If it weren’t for this big sun, the Nine Provinces might have shattered in the process of Teleportation and could not have been preserved.

The starboat bypassed that patch of missing stellar space and continued to approach the Giant Red Planet.

Gradually, Lu Ye felt the atmosphere around him becoming scorching, as if a hot wind was blowing towards him from the direction of the Giant Red Planet.

The wind not only carried heat, but seemed to contain stellar space spirit energy. Compared to ordinary stellar space spirit energy, the spirit energy here seemed more rampant and destructive.

Solar wind!

Lu Ye slightly activated the power of the Talent Tree and found that it could indeed absorb some of the heat, transforming it into fuel reserves, though the efficiency was low.

This was undoubtedly due to the great distance from the Giant Red Planet. If closer, the efficiency would surely increase, and even more so if he could delve into the red giant star itself...

The starboat pressed onward.

Lu Ye remained indifferent, but Fey Zhuang and Hong Yan, the couple, began to activate their Cultivation Technique, cultivating while warding off the encroachment of the solar wind.

After another half day, Fey Zhuang suddenly spoke, "Senior, we as a couple can only go this far."

He hadn’t yet reached his limit, but Hong Yan, who had a slightly weaker cultivation, already had. Any further would be beyond her endurance.

Lu Ye nodded, "You may go."

"Thank you, Senior, for your protection along the way. May you return loaded with rewards!" Fey Zhuang uttered some auspicious words, then took Hong Yan off the starboat, finding a spot nearby to start cultivating.

Lu Ye continued his advance.

As Fey Zhuang previously mentioned, many fire-element cultivators came here, utilizing the unique environment to cultivate. The spot where Fey Zhuang and his wife were located was on the outermost area, a place where Constellations stayed.

The further in he ventured, the stronger the cultivators Lu Ye sensed. As he passed, he naturally aroused the vigilance of nearby cultivators, but seeing he made no extra moves, they gradually relaxed.

After crossing the Moon Jade region, Lu Ye finally encountered the first Sun Blaze.

His cultivation level was the same, Sun Blaze Early Stage. Their Mental Consciousness briefly clashed, and Lu Ye could perceive the other party’s warning without words.

It suggested that this area was the other cultivator’s domain for cultivation and urged Lu Ye to seek another place.

Lu Ye paid no heed and continued deeper, quickly moving beyond that Sun Blaze’s range of perception.

By this time, the Giant Red Planet had grown tremendously large due to their proximity. Such a location was hard for even fire-element Sun Blaze cultivators to endure for long. The terrifying high temperature was secondary; Sun Blaze cultivators could withstand such heat. The key was the devastating spirit energy in the ceaselessly blowing solar wind. Sun Blaze cultivators needed to find balance between warding off and refining, and this point of balance marked their limit.

Lu Ye, however, continued deeper, enveloped fully by the power of the Talent Tree—common cultivators’ difficulties and dilemmas were insignificant to him.

After a while, Lu Ye could see the rolling fire-type energy on the surface of the Giant Red Planet, like molten lava flowing non-stop over its vast surface.

Occasionally erupting pillars of lava could reach tens of thousands of feet, terrifying to behold.

The Talent Tree was greedily devouring the surrounding fire-type energy, its fuel reserves swelling frantically.

Lu Ye suddenly realized something interesting: in this place, cultivation did not require spirit jade or spirit crystal. As the Giant Red Planet emitted terrifying heat, it was also constantly dispersing spirit energy.

This meant Lu Ye only needed to activate the Talent Tree’s power to not only stockpile fuel but also cultivate simultaneously, although the efficiency was far less than under the All Phenomena Ocean.

Yet it was still much faster than cultivating by absorbing spirit jade.

This place... was definitely worth the visit, Lu Ye rejoiced inwardly.

He finally landed on the Giant Red Planet, moving forward towards its interior.

At almost the moment he steadied his footing, a Mental Consciousness reached out from afar, followed by a strange voice in his ear: "Oh? Another new Fellow Daoist, how rare."

Lu Ye was slightly startled, sensing towards the origin of the Mental Consciousness. The voice’s owner was located quite far away yet could still detect his arrival in such chaotic surroundings, which revealed formidable depths.

According to Lu Ye’s observations on his way over, those who could stand on the Giant Red Planet were surely Sun Blaze Late Stage; without such cultivation, one couldn’t manage this feat.

The voice was slightly elderly but not malicious. Lu Ye’s Mental Consciousness surged: "I am Li Taibai. How should I address Fellow Daoist?"

The voice chuckled: "No need to rush, ask again later if you still remain here. Speaking more now is pointless."

This was clearly to see if Lu Ye had the qualifications to stay long term. The other person seemed prideful, for if Lu Ye merely passed through and soon departed, he obviously wouldn’t be worthy of knowing the cultivator’s name.

Lu Ye wasn’t bothered. He came here for cultivation, not to make friends.