Chapter 1279: 推衍新灵纹

The wind rose across Kyushu.

After handing the Elixir Gourd to Shui Yuan, Lu Ye left Shou Zong Peak and headed straight for Emerald Bamboo Peak.

In mid-air, he encountered many junior disciples moving quickly, who all stopped and saluted him after sensing his aura.

Aoshan had gradually grown livelier. This was because the cultivation levels of previously admitted disciples had steadily risen, unlike in the first few years after Lu Ye joined, when he would return to Aoshan to find only a handful of people, making the place seem deserted.

Now, the Blood Sect truly exuded the vibrant atmosphere a sect should possess!

With a continuous stream of new generation disciples and the steady rise in cultivation levels of those admitted in previous years, a sect could truly flourish through such a legacy and progression.

Lu Ye encountered a few familiar faces, all from the earliest batch of disciples to join the Blood Sect. Most of them were now at the Cloud River Realm.

Compared to his own rapid cultivation progress, their advancement was slow, but this was, in fact, the normal pace for a cultivator.

Not only Lu Ye himself, but also individuals like Hua Ci and Ju Jia, possessed extraordinary talent. Coupled with their significant combat merits and contributions, they were able to far surpass the cultivation speed of ordinary individuals.

While the Blood Sect was flourishing overall, it still lacked high-end combat power. This wasn't a problem that could be resolved quickly; it would only improve in the future, once a steady stream of disciples advanced to the True Lake and then the Divine Sea Realms.

This might take fifteen to twenty years.

Emerald Bamboo Peak remained quiet. As its peak master, Lu Ye had absolute jurisdiction and control over his spirit peak. Any other disciples wishing to settle there would first need to inform him and obtain his consent.

However, since Lu Ye was often away from the sect, even if disciples wanted to establish their own cave dwellings on Emerald Bamboo Peak, they had no one to consult.

In any case, with so many spirit peaks in Aoshan, there was no need to focus solely on Emerald Bamboo Peak. Most disciples qualified to establish cave dwellings within the sect chose other spirit peaks.

Upon arriving at Emerald Bamboo Peak, Lu Ye swept his divine sense across the area and was surprised, for he couldn't sense Yiyi or Amber's auras.

He had been puzzled earlier because he had a pet contract with Amber, and later they had even formed the Vitality Art and Beast Seal Method. As long as they weren't too far apart, they could sense each other. Yet, after returning to the sect this time, he hadn't detected Amber's presence.

He tried to send a message, but that also failed.

There was only one possible explanation for this situation: Yiyi and Amber were not in Kyushu!

If they weren't in Kyushu, then there was only one place they could be: on the Boundless Continent.

He presumed they found cultivation monotonous, or perhaps they needed more combat merits, which would explain their journey to the Boundless Continent to temper themselves. This was, after all, the correct method of cultivation; constant secluded practice was ultimately undesirable, as it could easily lead to an unstable foundation and unpredictable future implications.

Taking Lu Ye himself as an example, if he had focused solely on advancing his cultivation realm, he could have reached the Stars Realm long ago. Yet, he was currently only at the eighth level of the Divine Sea Realm.

This was the result of him deliberately suppressing his cultivation speed: advancing when necessary, but always consolidating his foundation. Only by doing so could he truly progress further in the future.

Emerald Bamboo Peak was deserted. Lu Ye entered the bamboo building he had constructed earlier, tidied it slightly, and sat down cross-legged.

Three months of combat in the Initial Realm had broadened his horizons, as he witnessed monstrous cultivators from various realms and races. This period also served to consolidate his eighth-level cultivation.

Now that Kyushu had connected with the starry sky, Stars Realm cultivators were emerging in droves and embarking on paths to explore the cosmos. Lu Ye felt it was time for him to advance further.

The goal of this closed-door cultivation was to advance to the ninth level of the Divine Sea Realm!

This wasn't difficult for him; it was simply a matter of time.

Before arriving at Emerald Bamboo Peak, he had already exchanged for enough golden spirit tokens. He took one out, crushed it, and a golden vortex immediately appeared before him.

The roots of the Aura Tree extended into it, devouring the energy fiercely!

Simultaneously, he quieted his mind and observed the Aura Tree.

The number of burning leaves on the Aura Tree was already substantial; the spirit tattoos etched upon those leaves alone numbered several dozens. Each of these spirit tattoos had played an indelible role in Lu Ye's growth and combat.

As his cultivation improved and the spirit tattoos on the Aura Tree's leaves were continuously developed, the Aura Tree no longer produced new spirit tattoos.

However, he could engrave the spirit tattoos he desired onto those newly burning leaves.

The Void Spirit Tattoo was his most significant and, currently, sole achievement. With this tattoo, Lu Ye could often appear and disappear like a ghost during battles in the Initial Realm, catching enemies off guard. This was particularly effective against spell cultivators, as the Void Spirit Tattoo easily allowed him to close the distance for melee combat.

A single Void Spirit Tattoo had immensely benefited Lu Ye, giving him a taste of its power. Naturally, he desired to engrave more spirit tattoos.

His battles against various monstrous cultivators in the Initial Realm had made Lu Ye aware of some of his shortcomings. Specifically, during its multiple upgrades, the Panshan Blade's sharpness hadn't been prioritized, leading to somewhat insufficient destructive power when fighting enemies at his current realm.

Previously, Lu Ye could imbue the Panshan Blade with Sharpness Spirit Tattoos to enhance its destructive power and compensate for this weakness. If one wasn't enough, he would apply two. However, as his cultivation steadily improved and he encountered stronger enemies, the destructive power provided by the Sharpness Spirit Tattoos began to feel inadequate.

If this was the case now, it would be even more pronounced in the Stars Realm.

This was because in the Upper Three Realms, the focus of a cultivator's practice lay in Essence, Qi, and Spirit, with the Stars Realm specifically corresponding to the Path of Essence!

Abundant essence and vigorous vitality result in strong physical defenses. Consequently, when engaging enemies, sharper strikes are crucial. If one couldn't even penetrate an opponent's physical defenses, then no matter how exquisite one's combat techniques, they would be futile.

To remedy this, there were only two approaches: one was to enhance the inherent sharpness of the Panshan Blade itself.

However, such an enhancement would be a superficial fix, not a fundamental solution. As a Spirit Realm Master, every battle required close-quarters combat, and each strike was delivered with full force. If the Panshan Blade became sharper, it would also mean it was more prone to damage.

Consequently, it might require meticulous repair after just a few battles, proving quite troublesome.

Take, for example, his previous battle with Baoshi. After that fight, numerous tiny nicks appeared on the Panshan Blade, directly impacting its effective power.

Therefore, simply recasting the Panshan Blade to be sharper was not advisable. The Panshan Blade had never been characterized by its sharpness. In his several upgrades, Lu Ye had always prioritized its sturdy quality. Only when it was sufficiently robust could he wield it with full force for his attacks without worrying about damage during combat, which would otherwise impair his performance.

This was the Panshan Blade's greatest advantage, and Lu Ye had no intention of altering this characteristic.

That left only the second approach: finding a solution through spirit tattoos!

After the Aura Tree underwent its second transformation and gained the ability to deduce spirit tattoos, Lu Ye had a vague idea: to deduce a new Sharpness Spirit Tattoo that would possess superior effects compared to the original.

However, at that time, he was busy deducing the Void Spirit Tattoo and couldn't multi-task. Moreover, this idea was too vague, and Lu Ye didn't know how to implement it, until he encountered the fairy race in the Fairy Tree Realm!

The fairies' blessings gave him hope.

Greeny's blessing, in its ultimate effect, was no different from a spirit tattoo: both enhanced the Panshan Blade's destructive power. It allowed him to be invincible in battles against the insect race, his blade cutting through everything like rotten wood. However, Greeny's blessing was vastly superior in effect to the Sharpness Spirit Tattoo.

Lu Ye's initial thought of "stealing" Greeny and Hong Dandan wasn't out of greed for the little fairies themselves. He simply wanted to bring them back to study their blessings. If he could, through their blessings, complete his previous idea of deducing a new Sharpness Spirit Tattoo, that would be ideal.

Unfortunately, his plan ultimately failed. He was stopped by the Samsara Tree before leaving, and the two little fairies were exchanged for a leaf from the Samsara Tree. He wasn't sure if it was a loss or a gain.

Regardless, he didn't bring the fairies back, but Lu Ye had, after all, experienced being blessed. At that time, he had deliberately tried to discern the blessing's power and had formed some vague ideas. Now, it remained to be seen if he possessed the ability to transform those concepts into reality.

This was undoubtedly a very difficult task, as it required deducing the process from the desired outcome.

The desired outcome was a sharper Panshan Blade through the blessing's enhancement. Lu Ye needed to deduce a new spirit tattoo, building upon the Sharpness Spirit Tattoo, to achieve the same effect as the blessing.

This would require continuous exploration and experimentation.

Fortunately, Lu Ye now had ample time. During his cultivation, he didn't need to expend much mental effort; he simply had to activate the Aura Tree's power to absorb pure spiritual energy. Therefore, this deduction wouldn't impede his cultivation progress.

Immersing his mind, the dual elemental forces of Yin and Yang began to transform and intertwine on the Aura Tree's newly burning leaves. They gradually covered one leaf, then spread towards an adjacent one.

As the original Sharpness Spirit Tattoo served as the foundation for this deduction, the process had a discernible path and wasn't entirely conjured out of thin air.

The Aura Tree's deduction ability was remarkably mystical. The moment Lu Ye began the process, he became completely immersed, utterly forgetting his surroundings and unaware that he was still cultivating. All his energy and mental focus were poured into it.

In this state, numerous ingenious ideas continuously emerged in his mind, transforming into individual Yin and Yang elements. All his past knowledge regarding the path of spirit tattoos constantly clashed within his mind, sparking new insights.

This was a deduction that reviewed old knowledge to gain new insights, and also a summation of his current understanding. Although completely immersed, Lu Ye could still vaguely sense that if this concept succeeded, his mastery of the path of spirit tattoos would experience a significant leap.