Chapter 1678: Extreme Limits

The closer Lu Ye got to the Yin-Yang Millstone, the more he felt the grandeur of this starry sky wonder. In terms of sheer size, it was definitely the largest he had ever seen, dwarfing even the Myriad-Form Sea. This was to be expected, as the wonder was constantly growing. Its current size was already impressive, and in the future, it might even engulf surrounding star systems, becoming immeasurably vast.

Although its growth involved devouring everything around it, cultivators who entered were not significantly affected. At least, Lu Ye did not feel like he was being consumed.

Several days later, Lu Ye finally reached the outer perimeter of the Yin-Yang Millstone. To his surprise, there was a market-like area nearby, bustling with many cultivators. Ordinarily, he would have loved to explore, but currently being pursued, he had no time. He plunged directly into the Yin-Yang Millstone.

In an instant, it was as if he had entered another starry sky. From the outside, the Yin-Yang Millstone appeared as a colossal millstone, red and blue, grinding in different directions. Lu Ye had entered through the blue section, expecting a world filled with blue, but that was not the case. Here, there was no blue or red, only an invisible field permeating the space. Lu Ye could clearly feel this unseen force, like countless invisible millstones, continuously grinding him no matter where he was.

Due to the interference of this wondrous power, even his vision was affected. The surrounding space was extremely distorted, and even with Lu Ye's sight, he could not see very far. Upon closer inspection, he felt nothing unusual. Although the grinding of the invisible field was constant, his physique was strong enough to ignore its effects. It seemed he needed to delve deeper. It was normal not to feel much right after entering; perhaps only by going deeper would he experience something different.

Uncertain about the mysteries within this starry sky wonder, Lu Ye had recalled all his essence blood avatars before entering. Now, he re-formed one avatar and sent it and his main body in different directions, just in case.

Not long after, Lu Ye felt a divine sense lock onto him from afar. As expected, it was the white-haired elder, relentlessly pursuing him. After a month of being chased, Lu Ye had grown accustomed to it. As long as his avatar could maintain contact with his main body, he had no fear of the pursuit. However, now that he was inside the Yin-Yang Millstone, he needed to find a way to shake off the elder, otherwise he wouldn't be able to properly experience this place while constantly fleeing. The Samsara Tree had only told him to come here if possible, without mentioning any benefits.

Lu Ye was unsure what abilities the elder possessed to consistently pinpoint his escaping direction. It was difficult to escape outside, but the unique environment of this place, with its distorted space, made it significantly easier to break free. There would definitely be an opportunity! He forged ahead, and the elder followed closely.

The elder had once come here to refine his physique, so he naturally knew more about its mysteries than Lu Ye. Seeing Lu Ye foolishly rush deeper, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes, and he scoffed, "Ignorant and fearless!"

The interior of the Yin-Yang Millstone held no great danger, and as long as cultivators knew their limits, they could all gain some benefits here. However, it was ultimately a wonder born with the starry sky, and such wonders could be considered ancient relics. Their internal environment was completely different from the current starry sky. For cultivators of today, even being within such a place caused a certain degree of suppression, and this suppression grew stronger the deeper one went!

Therefore, to this day, no one knew the true conditions at the core of the Yin-Yang Millstone; even Sun-Gazers lacked the ability to enter such a place. It was rumored that there was a starry sky treasure at the core of the Yin-Yang Millstone, but whether that was true was impossible to determine.

Upon initial entry, there was nothing unusual, but as time passed and he delved deeper, the white-haired elder clearly felt the suppression growing stronger. The difference between the ancient starry sky environment and the current one meant that beings born in different environments had different adaptive capabilities. Just as fish are born in water and tigers and leopards in mountains, even if the white-haired elder was a tiger or leopard, he could not move freely in water.

To Lu Ye's surprise, the divine sense locking onto him seemed to be rapidly weakening, and even the spiritual power fluctuations of the white-haired elder pursuing him were diminishing! Initially, he thought a month of chasing had exhausted the elder. But as the situation became increasingly apparent, he quickly remembered something...

When he was returning to the Nine Provinces, and entered the Mist Dragon's starry sky wonder with Li Shang, Li Shang had told him that almost ninety-nine percent of starry sky wonders in the cosmos had a great suppressive effect on entering cultivators. This was because the environment within these wonders retained an extremely ancient aura that cultivators of the current era could not adapt to.

Only one type of person in this world could ignore such an effect: cultivators who had participated in the Samsara Tree's Divine Sea competition, emerged victorious, and advanced to the Constellation Realm by refining the spiritual light nurtured within the Tai Chu Realm! This was because the Tai Chu Realm was also the most ancient environment in the world. When cultivators refined the spiritual light born within it, they gained the ability to adapt to such ancient environments.

When Lu Ye went with Puke and You Ling to participate in the Star Palace competition, entering the Star Palace projection, both Puke and You Ling were greatly suppressed, while Lu Ye was completely unaffected. This was why so many realms were eager to send their rising stars to participate in the Divine Sea competition. It wasn't just for fame; once they won and grew, they would have a natural advantage in exploring starry sky wonders!

There were countless wonders in the starry sky, many of them dangerous, but also containing numerous opportunities and benefits. Sun-Gazer powerhouses were most keen on exploring starry sky wonders, and having the ability to ignore the environmental suppression of these wonders naturally provided immense advantages.

Lu Ye was not the only one in this world who could be exempt from the suppression of ancient environments; any cultivator who had refined Tai Chu Realm spiritual light possessed this ability, but it did not include the white-haired elder who was chasing him. Realizing this, Lu Ye felt a great sense of relief. He had been worried about what to do if he couldn't shake off the enemy even within this wonder, as he couldn't keep running forever. Now, it seemed, as long as he continued to go deeper, the enemy would eventually be unable to keep up!

Thinking this, Lu Ye immediately recalled the essence blood avatar he had sent out earlier. There was no longer any need for the avatar to remain outside, as it consumed the power of his essence blood.

As Lu Ye continued to delve deeper, the distance between him and the elder gradually changed. Initially, the distance between them was continuously shrinking, but as time passed, the rate of closure slowed, then stopped, and eventually began to widen.

The relentlessly pursuing white-haired elder's eyes turned red with frustration! By this point, how could he not understand that Lu Ye was a cultivator who had participated in the Divine Sea competition and emerged victorious? Only such individuals in this world had the ability to remain unaffected by the ancient environments of starry sky wonders.

He persisted, because even though Lu Ye was unaffected by the ancient environment, the power of the Yin-Yang Millstone itself was something no cultivator could resist. That omnipresent grinding force was also a test. The elder hoped that with his greater strength, he could go deeper than Lu Ye, thus having a chance to catch up.

His cultivation gradually plummeted due to the suppression of the ancient environment, slowly dropping from late Moon-Gazer to mid, and finally to early Moon-Gazer… It was only when he was about to fall out of the Moon-Gazer Realm that the white-haired elder, filled with unwillingness, stopped. He glared in the direction Lu Ye had fled, roaring in frustration. He couldn't catch him! This was simply intolerable for him.

But he dared not continue. This position was already his limit. If he went further, once his cultivation was suppressed below the Moon-Gazer Realm, the terrifying grinding force would very likely cause him to explode on the spot. He truly couldn't understand how a late Constellation Realm cultivator could endure what he, a Moon-Gazer, couldn't. This depth was simply not for Constellation Realm cultivators, not even body refiners!

A Constellation Realm body refiner might not manage it, but Lu Ye could. His physique had always been comparable to body refiners of the same realm, and after reaching the peak of the Constellation Realm, comprehending the Bloodline inheritance, and condensing his essence blood, his physique had ascended another level. It could be said that among Constellation Realm cultivators, there were almost none who could compare to him in terms of physique, unless they were cultivators from extremely unique races.

Even so, Lu Ye felt he was nearing his limit. Fortunately, the white-haired elder had stopped. If the other party had continued to pursue, Lu Ye truly didn't know how he would have shaken him off. Now, finally free from the relentless pursuer, Lu Ye was in a much better mood.

He ventured a little further, stopping only when he reached what felt like his own limit. During his escape, he had actually sensed the aura of some other cultivators. These cultivators were clearly here to refine their bodies. However, this place was not suitable for combat, so almost everyone who entered generally maintained a principle of non-interference. There were not only Constellation Realm cultivators but also Moon-Gazers here to refine their physiques. At Lu Ye's current depth, he couldn't even spot a single Moon-Gazer, given that even a late Moon-Gazer like the white-haired elder couldn't go deeper. The intensity was clearly immense. Of course, if there were Moon-Gazer cultivators who had refined Tai Chu Realm spiritual light, this position would definitely not be their limit; being able to ignore the cultivation suppression from the ancient environment, they could naturally go much further.

Lu Ye sat down, calmly sensing the omnipresent grinding force and experiencing the changes within himself.