Lu Ye did not know much about the Inner Realm, for all his information had come from You Die and the others; he had no ability to investigate it himself.
But judging solely from the intelligence currently at hand, the Inner Realm was undoubtedly the deeper reaches of the Star Abyss. Though it and the Outer Realm were both part of the Star Abyss, they were already separate spaces.
There were Merging Dao cultivators there, as well as Dao Integration cultivators, but no Dao Entry cultivators.
Entering from one location in the Outer Realm would bring one to a corresponding location in the Inner Realm. The correspondence between those two locations was fixed and would not change with the passage of time.
Lu Ye did not know where Howling Moon currently was in the Inner Realm, but even if he emerged from the Inner Realm, he would certainly not be nearby. That was why there had been no trace of him after all this time.
His rapid descent before had merely been a projection of power across the void, guided by certain methods Mad Lion employed. Howling Moon's true body had not arrived.
Even so, Lu Ye had almost been no match for him even after guiding everyone into formation...
One had to prepare for danger before it arrived. Howling Moon was a formidable enemy, and having Variegated continue drifting away from here was undoubtedly Lu Ye's only choice.
He had actually entertained this idea long ago. The crisis had merely brought the timing forward.
This time, he would have Variegated drift in the exact opposite direction from before!
By his reckoning, five years had passed since he left Azure Palace, and Variegated had been adrift for four of them. Until a few months ago, Variegated had continued drifting forward.