Chapter 1660: Five Colors... Not the End

“Watch your words!” Soul Void said faintly. The Soul Clan has enjoyed such peaceful living conditions since ancient times, all thanks to the will of the Ancestral Land. The Divine Lotus, being the embodiment of the Ancestral Land's will, naturally bestows itself upon whomever it pleases, leaving no room for others to comment.

Even so, watching the activity in the Lotus Pond, even Soul Void couldn't help but feel that the Ancestral Land's will was showing a bit of favoritism.

No Soul Clan member had ever received such preferential treatment before.

In the Lotus Pond, Lu Ye saw the four-colored light flowing before him and immediately knew he had stumbled upon great fortune.

This was his first time seeing a Divine Lotus beyond three colors. Getting closer, he confirmed it was indeed a four-colored Divine Lotus. He immediately extended and retracted his spiritual sense, and the four-colored Divine Lotus vanished.

Just as he finished refining the four-colored Divine Lotus, he sensed an aura approaching rapidly from nearby.

It soon arrived. Lu Ye looked closely and, by coincidence, it was the Soul Clan cultivator he had encountered earlier.

The cultivator, seeing it was Lu Ye, couldn't help but be startled, clearly not expecting to meet him again so soon.

He naturally held no fondness for Lu Ye and initially intended to ignore him. However, unable to suppress his curiosity, he asked, “Is a four-colored Divine Lotus forming here?”

“No,” Lu Ye replied, shaking his head candidly.

The Soul Clan member eyed him suspiciously. “No?” He seemed to have seen a four-colored light just now, but why did it disappear so quickly? If it had been refined by this person in front of him, that was clearly impossible. The other party had just refined a three-colored one right under his nose; how could they possibly refine a four-colored one again?

It seemed he must have imagined it.

Having no interest in further conversation with Lu Ye, the Soul Clan member quickly departed.

Lu Ye was already eagerly examining his Divine Sea, and discovered that his original three-colored Divine Lotus had turned into a four-colored one, and was even in a state of evolving towards a five-colored form.

This undoubtedly proved his initial conjecture was correct: as long as he continued refining, he would eventually obtain a five-colored Divine Lotus!

At this moment, the nourishment of the soul provided by the four-colored Divine Lotus in his Divine Sea was undoubtedly much stronger than that of the initial two-colored one. This made Lu Ye somewhat anticipate the effects of a five-colored Divine Lotus.

He continued forward.

He felt his luck was good, as he constantly found single-colored and two-colored Divine Lotuses to refine. He faintly sensed this might be related to the abundance of these two types of Divine Lotuses. Furthermore, after the Soul Clan members entered, they would certainly prioritize seeking higher-quality Divine Lotuses. Only if they couldn't refine the high-quality ones would they settle for refining lower-quality ones.

Currently, the Lotus Pond had only been open for two or three hours. The Soul Clan members were probably all focused on Divine Lotuses of three colors or higher, so these single-colored and two-colored ones were naturally ignored.

He didn't mind them; he accepted everything that came his way!

Occasionally, he would encounter Soul Clan members fighting over a three-colored or four-colored Divine Lotus.

Lu Ye did not participate in the scramble. At this rate, even if he only refined the single-colored and two-colored ones, he could obtain a five-colored Divine Lotus within three days, so there was naturally no need to compete with other Soul Clan members for the three-colored or four-colored ones.

If he encountered them by himself, refining them would be fine. However, as a guest, it wasn't good to snatch the host's opportunities.

With his good fortune, the evolution of the four-colored Divine Lotus in his Divine Sea proceeded smoothly.

Two hours later, after Lu Ye refined the last three-colored Divine Lotus he encountered, he immediately noticed a distinct change in the Divine Lotus in his Divine Sea.

Upon quiet observation, the Divine Lotus in his Divine Sea had indeed transformed into a five-colored one.

He quietly sensed its effects: the five-colored Divine Lotus was several times more potent than the four-colored one, and his soul power, after being nurtured through the Divine Lotus, showed a very clear growth feedback.

Success!

However, on second thought, his experience was somewhat peculiar. According to Li Shang, Soul Clan members could only refine one Divine Lotus and absolutely couldn't refine a second. Yet, how many had he refined?

Moreover, as he refined them, the Divine Lotus in his Divine Sea continuously evolved and grew. This was clearly not normal.

The Soul Clan certainly couldn't do such a thing, otherwise, Li Shang wouldn't have failed to tell him.

So, why was this happening?

Was there something unique about the first two-colored Divine Lotus he refined, or was it due to another reason?

He also recalled that, since ancient times, no living being with a physical body, other than the sacred beasts, had ever been able to enter the Soul Clan's Ancestral Land. His ability to enter was most likely due to the Talent Tree, because when he was enveloped by that peculiar refinement earlier, Lu Ye had clearly sensed that the Talent Tree resonated with it!

So, was his ability to continuously refine and evolve the Divine Lotuses also due to the Talent Tree?

However, he hadn't detected any reaction from the Talent Tree during this process. In other words, the Talent Tree wasn't playing a role in the Divine Lotus's evolution.

This was very strange.

He couldn't figure it out at the moment, and it wasn't wise to inquire rashly.

Now that he had the five-colored Divine Lotus, Lu Ye was ready to quietly refine the pond water here. However, just as he was about to do so, another three-colored lotus bloomed nearby, clearly a newly formed three-colored Divine Lotus.

Above the Lotus Pond, seeing the busy Lu Ye finally cease his activities, the Sun-Illuminated of the Soul Clan all breathed a sigh of relief.

It had been less than a day, and they couldn't even calculate how many Divine Lotuses this young man had refined; there were at least several hundred. The single-colored and two-colored ones were fine; the Soul Clan themselves didn't value them much. But he had also refined some three-colored and four-colored ones.

It was truly disheartening.

Although they didn't know why this human had decided to settle down, it was ultimately a good thing for the other Soul Clan members. The elders were genuinely afraid that this human would continue refining, lest he refine all the Divine Lotuses in the pond, leaving nothing for anyone else, which would be truly disastrous.

Of course, it was impossible for everyone to get nothing. Some Soul Clan members had already refined their own Divine Lotuses, though not many. More Soul Clan members were still waiting and observing, hoping to find higher-quality Divine Lotuses.

Regardless, it was best if this human young man could settle down. He shouldn't run around anymore.

However, no sooner had this thought arisen among the elders than they saw Lu Ye, who had shown signs of settling down, actually refine another three-colored Divine Lotus that appeared near him.

Upon seeing this, the elders couldn't help but sigh, feeling that the benefits their clan's cultivators would gain from this Lotus Pond opening would likely be minimal…

In the Lotus Pond, Lu Ye's expression was utterly strange.

Because he discovered that even though his Divine Lotus had turned five-colored, he could still continue refining. And after refining, the five-colored Divine Lotus itself underwent some changes!

This quickly made him realize something.

The five-colored Divine Lotus... was not the endpoint!

His belief that five colors represented the highest quality was entirely a preconceived notion, because Li Shang had said that the highest quality Divine Lotuses born in the pond were five-colored!

Looking at it now, Li Shang was likely correct, but his own understanding was flawed.

The five-colored Divine Lotus could still continue to evolve. If he continued refining, could it evolve into six-colored, seven-colored, or even higher qualities?

Upon this thought, Lu Ye felt a great sense of loss!

Previously, he had encountered some three-colored and four-colored Divine Lotuses. He hadn't participated in the struggle because Soul Clan members were contending for them, as he had been certain he could obtain a five-colored Divine Lotus within three days.

If he had known earlier that five colors weren't the end, he wouldn't have let those three-colored and four-colored ones go!

At this moment, he had no sense of being a guest. Such opportunities were rare, and it would be a great pity to miss them. He had initially thought three days was ample time, but now... time was tight!

He immediately turned around and headed back the way he came.

Because there was a four-colored Divine Lotus in that direction, and three Soul Clan members were contending for it.

That four-colored Divine Lotus... would now belong to Lu!

Lu Ye quickly arrived at the location of the four-colored Divine Lotus. He looked intently, seeing four-colored light blooming and soul power fluctuations continuously swirling around. Clearly, the contention hadn't ended yet.

Moreover, it wasn't three Soul Clan members contending anymore; only two remained.

One Soul Clan member must have known they were outmatched and voluntarily retreated!

At this moment, both contending Soul Clan members were at the late Constellation realm of cultivation. However, the Soul Clan's contention differed from that of ordinary cultivators. Because their bodies were not made of flesh and blood, their combat methods primarily consisted of spiritual soul secret arts.

As various spiritual soul secret arts were unleashed, rumbling sounds echoed. Soul power continuously collided and surged, creating quite an extraordinary spectacle.

In such contention, the side with weaker soul power would easily fall into a disadvantage. Furthermore, being in the Lotus Pond, surrounded by pond water formed from pure soul power, allowed the Soul Clan members to easily replenish their energy. Therefore, if the strength of both sides was not significantly different, it would be very difficult to determine a winner in the contention.

This was why, even at this moment, these two Soul Clan members had not decided who would claim the Divine Lotus.

Both knew the adage that delays invite trouble. After all, with the four-colored Divine Lotus emitting light and their continuous fighting, it was very likely to attract the covetousness of other clan members, making the situation even more complicated.

While contending, the two Soul Clan members had already discussed and reached an agreement: they would join forces, and if one of them successfully refined this Divine Lotus, then they would protect the other in seeking and contending for another four-colored or even five-colored Divine Lotus.

Although the agreement was reached, they couldn't agree on who should attempt to refine it first...

It was at this moment that Lu Ye charged over.

Seeing this, the two Soul Clan members exchanged a glance. They unexpectedly abandoned their conflict with each other and simultaneously surged their soul power, attacking Lu Ye!

They clearly intended to drive Lu Ye away first!

The external manifestation of the Soul Clan's secret arts greatly resembled arcane spells. However, the power source for arcane spells was spiritual energy, while for the Soul Clan's secret arts, it was soul power. Therefore, while their appearances were similar, their essences were different.

The Soul Clan specialized in cultivating soul power. The combined assault of two late-Constellation Soul Clan members was something no ordinary Constellation realm cultivator could withstand.

Lu Ye, however, ignored them, charging directly towards the four-colored Divine Lotus. At the same time, his spiritual sense surged, outlining intricate patterns in front of him.

In an instant, an oval-shaped barrier, purely condensed from soul power and covered in complex, profound patterns, appeared before him.

Saint's Aegis!

The Saint's Aegis, derived by the Talent Tree, when activated by spiritual energy, was a spirit-rune. When activated by soul power, it was a divine-rune.

Not only the Saint's Aegis, but Lu Ye had also experimented with other spirit-runes derived by the Talent Tree. Most of them could be activated by soul power. In other words, these derived spirit-runes were both spirit-runes and divine-runes.

It was just that Lu Ye had never had the opportunity to use these divine-runes until now.