Chapter 1288: Still Not Strong Enough

For half a month, Hua Ci felt utterly worn out. If this man didn't leave soon, she genuinely feared she might die from exhaustion.

"You're really too much!" Lu Ye lowered his head, a wry smile on his face.

He couldn't believe Hua Ci would resort to such unconventional tactics; it was utterly dishonorable.

He hadn't noticed before, but when he did, Lu Ye was startled. Hua Ci was covered in bruises, and a thick aura of death emanated from her. Her eyes were ringed with deep black.

In this state, an uninformed person would surely think she was a member of the Corpse Clan!

She lay motionless with her eyes closed, feigning death. Clearly, she hoped this would deter him.

Unexpectedly, Lu Ye, whose passion had already waned, upon seeing her unique appearance, suddenly found himself intensely interested.

Such an experience was incredibly rare and not to be missed.

With a raise of his hand, the lid of the coffin flew back on, blocking the view of the female corpse-clan members. In the dark confines, Hua Ci weakly cursed, "Beast!"

A day later, Lu Ye sat dressed neatly in a chair, while Hua Ci stood behind him, carefully combing his hair.

Lu Ye quietly gazed at the beautiful woman's face reflected in the mirror opposite him. Her fair skin had an unusual rosy glow and looked exceptionally radiant, stirring a renewed urge within him.

Sensing his thoughts, Hua Ci gently tapped his head, and Lu Ye promptly settled down.

At this moment, silence spoke louder than words.

Once his hair was neatly done, Hua Ci stepped back a few paces, carefully scrutinized it, and finding no messy or overlooked spots, she nodded in satisfaction.

Lu Ye stood up and turned his head, meeting her gaze.

It was truly time to go. Though he was reluctant, a cultivator's future ultimately lay among the stars.

"Go on," Hua Ci said with a smile.

Lu Ye nodded, stepped forward, and pulled her into a tight embrace. He held her with such force, as if to meld her into his own body and take her with him.

Moments later, Lu Ye released her soft body, turned, walked out of the wooden house, shot up into the sky, and broke through the clouds.

From below, Hua Ci's voice reached his ears: "Out there, don't hold back. Fight when you should, kill when you must. If you die, I'll raise the child in my belly by myself."

Lu Ye stumbled, nearly falling from the sky.

This woman... even as he was leaving, she didn't forget to get in a last jab.

This drawn-out experience was clearly not a whim of Hua Ci's, but a premeditated plan. She knew that once Lu Ye left Kyushu, his life and death would be beyond his control. The starry sky was far from as peaceful as Kyushu, and he could encounter powerful, unmatchable enemies at any time.

Her concern was that Lu Ye might never return.

That's why she first tried to persuade him, but finding persuasion ineffective, she had to personally intervene, sacrificing herself to the tiger.

At the very least, she wanted to create a bond of concern for him, so that he wouldn't act impulsively when facing challenges outside, thus better preserving himself.

As for the "child in her belly"... Hua Ci had joked about this before, and Lu Ye naturally didn't take it seriously.

Suppressing the urge to turn back and scold her, Lu Ye continued to ascend until he reached the clouds, where his expression finally sagged, and he reached back to rub his lower back.

Although he was already at the Divine Sea realm and his physique was exceptionally strong, half a month of unrestrained intimacy still left him with some lingering effects.

Lu Ye telling Hua Ci his legs were weak and his back ached was truly no joke.

He couldn't quite understand why Hua Ci, with her soft body, who looked on the verge of death every time, seemed to recover much faster than he did.

Perhaps it was the difference between men and women.

He was still not strong enough; he still needed to cultivate diligently! Lu Ye had a sudden realization.

Not long after returning to Kyushu via the great array left by Yue Xin, a message came through his battle imprint. A quick check revealed it was from Master Yu.

Lu Ye exchanged a few words with her, agreed on a meeting place, and immediately used a Heavenly Mechanism Pillar to teleport there.

Shortly after, their figures appeared in a private room within a Heavenly Mechanism Merchant Alliance.

Master Yu had arrived early. Seeing Lu Ye, she took out the reforged Mountain Blade and placed it before him.

Lu Ye picked it up, first gauging its weight. He nodded in satisfaction, then drew the blade to examine it.

The small nicks that had previously marred the long blade were gone. The overall shape of the blade was no different from before, almost identical, but its inherent quality was undoubtedly much improved, as Lu Ye had provided some valuable materials for this reforging.

Master Yu was somewhat puzzled. "While your blade is certainly heavy and hard now, there are no enchantments within it. Even with your formidable strength, wielding it might not unleash much destructive power!"

This was what puzzled her most. The essence of a treasure lay in the enchantments imprinted within it; the power it could unleash was entirely dependent on the quality and quantity of those enchantments. Yet, when Lu Ye asked her to reforge it, he specifically requested that no enchantments be added.

As a result, while it was simple for her to modify, and the finished product's quality was excellent, if strictly categorized by treasure quality, such a long blade wouldn't even qualify as a spirit artifact.

Furthermore, the blade itself wasn't sharp enough. What use could such a blade have in combat? He couldn't possibly use it to bludgeon people, could he?

If that were the case, it would be more convenient to just make it into a club.

Lu Ye smiled faintly. With a surge of spiritual power, a faint glow instantly appeared on the edge of the Mountain Blade. The previously unadorned long blade now suddenly exuded an exceptionally sharp sensation.

"This is..." Master Yu was instantly moved. "Divine Edge?"

The augmentation of a Sharpness Spirit Rune couldn't possibly achieve such an effect, so she immediately recalled the Divine Edge Spirit Rune Lu Ye had previously deduced. Only Divine Edge could make even someone of her Divine Sea realm feel an unstoppable sharpness.

"Precisely!"

Master Yu was stunned, gazing at Lu Ye with an expression of disbelief, as if he were a monster!

When Lu Ye had deduced Divine Edge, she had observed the entire process from beginning to end. It was a spirit rune that required a full 2046 base elements to construct. In the assessment of many spirit rune masters, such a spirit rune was impractical because it was too complex to be widely applied, existing at most as a theoretical research rune.

But only at this moment did Master Yu realize it wasn't that the spirit rune was impractical, but that all other artifact refiners lacked the necessary skill.

Had she not witnessed it herself, Master Yu would have found it hard to believe that someone in this world could instantly construct the extremely complex Divine Edge Spirit Rune and imbue it into their weapon.

She finally understood Lu Ye's strange requests when reforging the Mountain Blade.

If one could freely construct the Divine Edge Spirit Rune, then why bother imprinting other spirit runes? The Mountain Blade itself might not be sharp enough, but with such a spirit rune augmentation, and coupled with Lu Ye's own formidable strength, within Kyushu alone, there was likely nothing he couldn't cleave with a single strike!

"Indeed, there is always someone more capable, and heights beyond heights. I have been enlightened!" Master Yu conceded, thoroughly convinced.

When Lu Ye first deduced the Divine Edge Spirit Rune, she already knew that in terms of mastery of the spirit rune path, Lu Ye was miles ahead of her. But now, it seemed her own estimation of Lu Ye's mastery of the spirit rune path had still been too low.

"It's just a matter of specialized skills," Lu Ye said with a faint smile, sheathing the Mountain Blade. "What about the remuneration?"

Master Yu hadn't mentioned this before, nor had Lu Ye asked. They had cooperated several times, and Master Yu's prices were always fair.

Master Yu shook her head. "No need. To have my eyes opened today is already a huge gain. How could I dare speak of remuneration? Moreover, the spirit runes you left in the Holy Land are enough to benefit me for a lifetime."

Hearing her words, Lu Ye didn't insist, and simply expressed his thanks.

Master Yu then changed the subject, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. "It seems you've been quite carefree lately, fellow cultivator?"

"What do you mean?" Lu Ye asked, puzzled.

Master Yu, however, only smiled without speaking, gave a slight bow, and gracefully walked out of the private room.

Leaving Lu Ye completely bewildered.

The Mountain Blade had been reforged ahead of schedule, and next up was his promotion to the Stellar Constellation realm.

In fact, Lu Ye could feel that the opportunity for his promotion to the Stellar Constellation realm was imminent. The benefits he had gained from the Reincarnation Tree had been subtly nourishing his body for the past half year. This nourishment didn't significantly impact his current strength, but it made his physical body seem to exude greater vitality and possess more mysterious power.

Now, this nourishment had reached its peak, and the chance for promotion was close at hand.

He turned and left the private room.

A short while later, he had returned to the main branch of the Azure Blood Sect.

Walking out of the Heavenly Mechanism Hall, just as he was about to head to Verdant Bamboo Peak, he happened to meet Shui Yuan walking towards him.

Lu Ye stopped and exchanged a few words with her. Shui Yuan, however, leaned in and kept sniffing at Lu Ye. "W-what's wrong?" Lu Ye suddenly felt a little guilty.

Shui Yuan pulled back, a knowing smile on her face. "Nothing," she said. "Congratulations, junior brother. No matter what, cherish it well!"

Then she turned and entered the Heavenly Mechanism Hall.

Lu Ye looked bewildered, but recalling Master Yu's earlier words, he soon understood. He raised his arm and sniffed carefully at his nose, but smelled nothing.

It must have been because he had spent too much time with her and had grown accustomed to Hua Ci's scent, which was why he couldn't smell it. But Master Yu and Senior Sister Shui Yuan clearly could.

Cultivators' noses were indeed very sensitive.

Lu Ye felt a little awkward, feeling as though he'd been caught red-handed by his second senior sister doing something illicit. And there was no easy way to explain it in detail.

He covered his face and left, heading straight for Verdant Bamboo Peak!

Back in his bamboo dwelling, he sat down in meditation, calmed his mind, and quietly awaited the final opportunity.

As he quietly sensed, he could still perceive the surging of the mysterious power within him. Ever since he had advanced to the ninth layer of the Divine Sea realm, this power had been continuously at work, up until this day.

Lu Ye wasn't entirely sure of the essence of this power, but he knew that it was precisely due to the nourishment from this power that he possessed the ability to step into the starry sky. Without the propulsion of such a power, he would be unable to break through the Divine Sea realm's limitations.