Chapter 1280: Divine Sea Nine-Layer Realm

Wind Rises in the Nine Provinces

Lu Ye was so engrossed in his cultivation and the derivation of spirit patterns that he completely lost track of time. His mind was filled with various combinations of Yin and Yang duality. He even completely forgot to use his golden spiritual tokens, yet his cultivation did not cease.

This state continued for an unknown period until Lu Ye suddenly felt his spiritual power surge much faster than usual. At the same time, an invisible barrier seemed to break, and he snapped back to reality. His vital energy was surging, spiritual power and blood qi pulsed in unison, and an invisible aura explosively expanded outwards. He experienced an indescribable sense of comfort from within. He had reached the Ninth-Layer Divine Sea Realm!

This had been a bottleneck that plagued countless generations of cultivators in the Nine Provinces and the highest level they could reach for ten millennia. Generation after generation of cultivators became stuck here, unable to progress, and countless heroes chose to enter secluded death cultivation in search of a chance for breakthrough. Yet, it always ended in failure. Before this generation, no one knew that a cultivator's realm was actually tied to the world level of their realm. If the world level was insufficient, no matter how monstrous one's talent or how rigorous one's secluded cultivation, it was impossible to glimpse the dawn of a breakthrough.

Compared to the cultivators of previous generations in the Nine Provinces, this generation was incredibly fortunate. They happened to catch the elevation of the Nine Provinces' world level, and thus, this generation and future elite cultivators would no longer have to worry about being stuck at the Divine Sea realm. However, this opportunity also brought risks. Connecting with the starry sky meant the Nine Provinces could no longer remain isolated and quietly exist as before. Perhaps one day, the Nine Provinces would face new enemies and new crises. This would require current cultivators of the Nine Provinces to cultivate diligently. Only by continuously improving their strength would they be qualified to protect their homeland and homes during potential future crises.

For cultivators like Lu Ye, the Ninth-Layer Divine Sea Realm was merely another new starting point, one that looked towards the starry sky. Only by reaching this level of cultivation was it possible to step into the starry sky, and even then, it was only a possibility. Although there had been no recorded failures for cultivators advancing from the Ninth-Layer Divine Sea Realm to the Star Lord Realm thus far, that was because those who had advanced to Star Lord in the Nine Provinces had all accumulated vast amounts of time at the Ninth-Layer realm. With such deep accumulation, the success rate of their advancement was naturally extremely high. Furthermore, within the previous environment of the Nine Provinces, those capable of cultivating to the Ninth-Layer Divine Sea Realm were invariably individuals of exceptional talent. Such elite cultivators merely lacked an opportunity to soar. The elevation of the Nine Provinces' world level provided them with that chance, allowing them to rise accordingly.

However, advancing from Divine Sea to Star Lord was ultimately a major realm breakthrough, and a 100% success rate was impossible. Just as before, every major realm advancement in cultivation carried a risk of failure. Advancements before the True Lake Realm were relatively manageable; as long as one accumulated enough, the success rate wasn't low. But the hurdle of advancing from True Lake to Divine Sea had stumped a large number of cultivators. It was foreseeable that with changes in the Nine Provinces' cultivation environment, it would become increasingly easier for cultivators to advance to Divine Sea. Correspondingly, however, failures would inevitably occur during the advancement from Divine Sea to Star Lord.

Ordinary cultivators advancing from the Eighth-Layer to the Ninth-Layer Divine Sea Realm wouldn't feel much beyond an increase in their foundation and strength. Yet, after Lu Ye advanced to the Ninth-Layer, he clearly felt a mysterious power begin to work within him. It was gently nourishing every inch of his flesh and blood, invigorating them with renewed vitality, and even making him feel warm and comfortably at ease. With a brief perception, Lu Ye knew what power was at work.

It was the reward for claiming the top spot in the Primordial Realm! This power had previously been hidden within his flesh and blood. Lu Ye had expected it to only activate when he advanced to the Star Lord Realm, but unexpectedly, it had already begun now. This was undoubtedly better, as the transition from the Ninth-Layer Divine Sea to Star Lord still required a period of accumulation. During this time, the subtle influence of this mysterious power would undoubtedly play a better role. He had a clear realization: the best time for him to advance to Star Lord would be when this gentle power had fully integrated into his flesh and blood! This process might take some time.

He turned his head to look at Little Nine, who resembled a rabbit, and said, "Thanks!" During this period, while immersed in deriving spirit patterns, he had completely forgotten to crush golden spiritual tokens to sustain his cultivation. However, his cultivation never stopped, primarily because Little Nine had appeared at some point. Whenever a golden spiritual token was about to expire, it would crush a new one for Lu Ye, allowing him to maintain his cultivation state without interruption. If not for this, Lu Ye's cultivation probably wouldn't have been greatly affected, but being interrupted during the derivation process would undoubtedly be very frustrating.

Little Nine opened its eyes, glanced at him, and remained silent, wearing a proud expression that seemed to say, "What would you do without me?"

Lu Ye stood up, walked out of the bamboo building, and slowly drew the Pan Mountain Saber from his waist. With a thought, the Sharp Spirit Pattern was applied to the Pan Mountain Saber! However, this time, the applied pattern wasn't the original Sharp Spirit Pattern, but one he had recently derived.

After such a long period of derivation, there were, after all, some results. The moment the new Sharp Spirit Pattern was applied, a faint glimmer clearly flashed on the dark Pan Mountain Saber, subtly exuding an exceptionally keen sensation. Lu Ye swung the saber, slowly moving with it, just as he had practiced when his cultivation was low, every movement meticulous. On the Green Bamboo Peak, as his figure shifted, the sound of the long saber cutting through the air was continuous. Only after a long while did Lu Ye slowly sheath his saber, his brows deeply furrowed.

Although he hadn't had the chance to engage in a real battle with a powerful enemy to test the results of his recent derivations, Lu Ye could still tell that the new Sharp Spirit Pattern he had derived this time was unsatisfactory. Compared to the original Sharp Spirit Pattern, the new one was indeed slightly more effective, but it still hadn't reached the desired level! Not to mention, it couldn't even compare to the blessings imbued by Green Glow. Such a spirit pattern would provide only limited enhancement in a true life-or-death battle. At the Star Lord Realm, relying on such a result to defeat enemies would likely require a lot more effort.

Indeed, deriving new spirit patterns was not so easy. The successful derivation of the Void Spirit Pattern before was because Lu Ye had learned a complete Void Spirit Pattern from a book. His derivation of the Void pattern was merely an optimization of details based on the existing one, not a revolutionary breakthrough. But now, with the Sharpness pattern, it wasn't so simple. It was equivalent to deriving a completely new spirit pattern. Even with the original Sharpness pattern as a foundation, the difficulty was exceptionally high!

Lu Ye felt that even if he continued to painstakingly derive, he likely wouldn't make much significant progress. Fundamentally, while he had some skill in the path of spirit patterns, he was still young, and he hadn't spent enough time on it over the years. Most of his time had been dedicated to cultivation and improving his combat techniques. He had always considered the path of spirit patterns as merely an auxiliary art. It seemed he relied too much on the Talent Tree. Because he could freely use the spirit patterns on the Talent Tree, he had lost the interest and motivation to deeply study the path of spirit patterns. Learning truly had no end! Especially for something as theoretically inclined as the path of spirit patterns, insufficient time and effort spent immersed in it ultimately meant only superficial understanding. Fortunately, his master was still there!

Lu Ye decided to seek guidance from his master! Come to think of it, he hadn't visited his master since returning this time, which was somewhat amiss.

However, when Lu Ye arrived at Bright Moon Peak, he discovered that the vast spirit peak was deserted. Even his master's clone, Little Butterfly, whom he always saw, was nowhere to be found. It seemed as if no one had been there for a long time. He tried to send a message to his master, but it wouldn't go through, so he could only message his second senior sister to inquire about the situation.

Upon receiving a reply from his second senior sister, Lu Ye learned that his master had already advanced to Star Lord and had left the Nine Provinces to venture deep into the starry sky more than three months ago! Not only had his master, Yun Xuechu, left, but even the old Sect Master had gone with her! That's why Lu Ye hadn't even seen the Sect Master upon his return this time.

Currently, in the Blood-Wing Sect, only Shui Yuan remained, steadfastly holding the fort. She couldn't leave; if she did, the entire Blood-Wing Sect would truly be leaderless, and its disciples would be completely without protection, scattering like loose sand. Of course, it was also due to Shui Yuan's insufficient cultivation. Although she had advanced to Divine Sea a long time ago, her cultivation was only at the Seventh-Layer Divine Sea Realm even now.

Lu Ye couldn't help but be a little stunned. Three months ago, he had been competing against the monstrous talents from various realms in the Primordial Realm. However, this was also good news. Both his master and the Sect Master had simultaneously reached the Star Lord Realm and were now exploring the starry sky together, free and unfettered. He just wondered if the old Sect Master could resolve his master's lingering emotional knot.

With his master gone and no one to guide him, Lu Ye thought for a moment and messaged Shui Yuan, asking her to help him inquire about the whereabouts of the renowned spirit pattern masters still remaining in the Nine Provinces. Since his master wasn't around, he could only seek out other spirit pattern masters for discussion. Perhaps these spirit pattern masters still remaining in the Nine Provinces were not as high in cultivation or strength as himself, but Lu Ye would not underestimate them for that reason. In the past environment, for these spirit pattern masters to become widely renowned, they must have had their unique strengths. These were the areas Lu Ye needed to learn from.

He did not leave Bright Moon Peak but instead immersed himself there. His master had indeed left, but the collection of books she left behind remained. Lu Ye decided that before advancing to the Star Lord Realm, he would thoroughly re-cultivate the path of spirit patterns, starting with the books his master had left.