Chapter 1976: Extreme Limits

When Jiuyan suddenly appeared, Lu Ye remained calm, but Zhu Yuan was greatly startled and quickly looked at Lu Ye, asking, "This is..."

Lu Ye quickly introduced, "This is Senior Jiuyan from Cheling World. She's been cultivating on this island recently."

Zhu Yuan had also adventured on the Myriad Manifestations Sea before, so he had naturally heard of Jiuyan's great reputation. Upon hearing the introduction, he immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Senior Jiuyan!"

Jiuyan's silent presence created an unspoken pressure that not only made Lu Ye uneasy but also left Zhu Yuan extremely nervous, with sweat beading on his forehead.

At one point, Lu Ye even sensed signs of Jiuyan's spiritual power surging within her.

But for some reason, she suppressed it. Then she slowly turned her head and looked at Lu Ye: "Your friend?"

Lu Ye quickly replied, "Yes!"

"What brings him here?" Jiuyan asked again.

"Brother Zhu wants to buy some things, but he's not familiar with the Myriad Manifestations Sea, so he came to me to take him to Myriad Manifestations Island," he casually fabricated an excuse.

Jiuyan remained silent. After a long moment, her figure suddenly vanished, and only her voice echoed: "Buy your things and then leave."

"Yes!" Lu Ye quickly replied.

A short while later, he led Zhu Yuan directly towards Myriad Manifestations Island and entered the Myriad Manifestations Chamber of Commerce.

Half a day later, the two left the Myriad Manifestations Chamber of Commerce together and flew out towards the area beyond the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

It wasn't until they reached a desolate star and entered a secluded spot, with Lu Ye setting up a concealing formation, that Zhu Yuan finally let out a long breath.

"Senior, you can come out now," Lu Ye softly called.

A faint silhouette immediately emerged from Zhu Yuan, solidifying into Ma Bin's form. Compared to how he looked a few months ago, Ma Bin's condition now seemed worse, his face slightly pale.

"Jiuyan is truly formidable!" Ma Bin exclaimed with an admiring expression, looking at Lu Ye. "How did you get involved with her?"

Lu Ye gave a wry smile. "She's the backer of this island's sect. She suddenly arrived on the island recently and occupied the spirit jade mine for cultivation... Did she sense you, Senior?"

"She sensed something, but wasn't certain, and she didn't know it was me. Otherwise, she wouldn't have held back," Ma Bin said. "Since she's taken over the spirit jade mine, perhaps it's simply my fate."

"It's fine," Lu Ye said, understanding Ma Bin's meaning. "Although the spirit jade mine on this island is temporarily unusable, there are other places."

"Other places?" Ma Bin looked astonished, but then quickly remembered that Lu Ye had indeed mentioned a third mine back then.

"Please wait a moment, Senior."

A moment later, a spiritual紋 suddenly flashed and vanished before Lu Ye, and then another Lu Ye appeared out of thin air. It was his main body, who had received a message from the clone and rushed over to merge.

With a raise of his hand, he recalled the Blood Treasure Clone.

Zhu Yuan watched, dumbfounded, and even Ma Bin showed a look of keen interest. "What kind of clone technique is this?"

Even he couldn't detect any flaw, and although his strength was currently diminished, he had lived for many years and still possessed keen eyesight. Lu Ye's technique was truly surprising.

"A minor trick, nothing worth mentioning," Lu Ye replied, not wanting to explain that it was a Blood Clan's Blood Treasure Clone. He casually changed the subject, took out a cyan conch, and blew it. Soon, a portal appeared before them.

"Please follow me, Senior."

With that, Lu Ye stepped in first, followed closely by Ma Bin, with Zhu Yuan bringing up the rear.

Moments later, in front of the Sky Conch Palace, Zhu Yuan stared, wide-eyed, at the merfolk moving around him. He had never imagined he would one day encounter such a rare race, as rumor had it that the merfolk had long gone extinct.

Though surprised, Ma Bin managed to remain composed.

However, when he learned that this place was actually beneath the Myriad Manifestations Sea, his composure turned into astonishment. He had never known that such a sight existed beneath the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

Luan Xiao'e and Yan Miao personally came to greet them. Lu Ye had already informed them beforehand, so there was no need for further explanation.

"Senior, please rest and recover here. This portal won't last long, so I need to return quickly. Our island maintains contact with this place, so if you need anything, just have someone relay the message, and I'll make sure it's prepared for you."

Ma Bin looked at Lu Ye with a complex expression. "You've been thoughtful."

Years ago, when he learned about the current state of Kyushu from Lu Ye, while pleased that his homeland still existed, he had never imagined having any further connection with it. Yet, unexpectedly, in his most desperate and helpless moment, it was a junior from his homeland who helped him resolve his troubles, giving him hope and the possibility of a comeback.

"You're too kind, Senior," Lu Ye nodded, then looked at Yan Miao and Luan Xiao'e. "I'll leave things here to you two senior sisters."

"Don't worry," Yan Miao smiled faintly, watching Lu Ye step into the portal and disappear once more.

With Ma Bin settled, Lu Ye had completely resolved a major concern. However, Ma Bin's injury was a fundamental dao injury, and even with the spirit jade mine available, it likely wouldn't heal quickly; it would probably require a long period of recovery.

As for him, there was only one thing left to do: cultivate!

First, he needed to raise his cultivation to the peak of the Moonstone realm. Once his fundamental origin was perfected, he could then condense the Flower of Qi and advance to Sunstone!

The Blood Treasure Clone returned to Three Realms Island. Jiuyan didn't show herself again, nor did she ask anything.

It seemed that, as Ma Bin had said, Jiuyan had vaguely sensed something but couldn't make a definite judgment, which was why she told Zhu Yuan to buy his things and leave quickly.

It wasn't that there were no foreign Sunstone cultivators in the Myriad Manifestations Sea, but they never stayed too long. A brief stopover was generally fine, provided it was reported. For instance, when Luo Xie from the Great Luo Star System escorted many cultivators here years ago, he was immediately noticed by the local Sunstone cultivators and summoned for a discussion.

Even so, Luo Xie couldn't stay in the Myriad Manifestations Sea for too long; that time, he seemed to have only stayed for less than a month.

Time passed, and another year slipped by.

Beneath the Myriad Manifestations Sea, Lu Ye slowly opened his eyes.

His cultivation had reached its limit. The improvement in the quality of his fundamental origin had greatly increased his cultivation efficiency, allowing him to achieve such significant progress in just one year.

Generally, Moonstone cultivators at his level would consider preparing for advancement to Sunstone. However, this hurdle was not easy to overcome. Luan Xiao'e and Yan Miao from back then, and now He Baichuan, Yu Xichengxin, and others, were all stuck before this breakthrough.

Looking across the starfield, countless Moonstone cultivators were unable to break through this particular bottleneck.

The cultivation of the Upper Three Realms involves refining essence, qi, and spirit. Sunstone corresponds to spirit!

Therefore, for a Moonstone cultivator to advance to Sunstone, not only must their cultivation meet the standard, but their spiritual sense must also. This is the fundamental reason why top-grade Spirit Refinement Pills are so popular.

Luan Xiao'e and Yan Miao were able to advance smoothly largely due to their consistent consumption of top-grade Spirit Refinement Pills over the years.

While the Moonstone cultivators on this island had such convenience, others did not. They could only painstakingly search for elixirs or treasures that could enhance their spiritual cultivation. However, consuming too many elixirs, unless they were of top-grade quality, would not be beneficial.

It is foreseeable that for He Baichuan and others on this island, advancing to Sunstone will be much easier than for other Moonstone cultivators, because they are currently being supplied with top-grade Spirit Refinement Pills. However, this doesn't guarantee their advancement, as it also depends on their past accumulation and foundation.

But for Lu Ye...

He wore a wistful expression, because when his Moonstone cultivation accumulated to its limit, he clearly felt a bottleneck restricting him. Yet, this bottleneck, which was the greatest hurdle for all Moonstone cultivators, he felt he could break through with just a gentle push!

This was absolutely not an illusion, but a reality.

In other words, if he wanted to advance to Sunstone, he could achieve it right now!

This undoubtedly indicated that this bottleneck posed no obstacle to him. In fact, upon closer thought, it was quite logical.

Back when he cultivated in Kyushu, even at the True Lake realm, he had already cultivated his own spiritual body and spiritual sea. Compared to ordinary cultivators, his spiritual sense had always been stronger than those at the same realm.

Later, he obtained a Seven-Colored Divine Lotus in the Soul Clan ancestral land. Ever since then, his spirit has been continuously nourished and strengthened.

Many years had passed, and even though he hadn't consumed any top-grade Spirit Refinement Pills, the effect of the Seven-Colored Divine Lotus was far greater than merely taking elixirs.

His spiritual strength was sufficient to meet the requirements for advancing to Sunstone!

With sufficient spiritual strength and cultivation accumulation, the bottleneck was, of course, no longer a bottleneck; it could be easily broken.

However, Lu Ye naturally couldn't just advance to Sunstone like this. If he merely wanted to raise his cultivation, he could have pushed hard to advance years ago. For years, he had been searching for resources to refine his fundamental origin, and his various experiences in the Asura Arena had brought him close to success. If he were to give up now, all his previous efforts would be meaningless.

Therefore, no matter what, he still needed to condense the Flower of Qi.

Unfortunately, over the past year or so, even though Three Realms Island had increased its bounty, the returns were still meager.

To date, he had only acquired one treasure capable of refining the quality of a fundamental origin.

Lu Ye even considered making a trip to Cheling World...

He had once obtained such a treasure as spoils from Zixuan, but he had casually given it to Aunt Yue. By the time he realized its significance, it was too late.

But he thought better of it. Generally, Moonstone cultivators who obtained such a treasure would refine it immediately, and Aunt Yue was not someone who lacked spirit jade, so it was unlikely she would still have it.

Besides, how could he ask for something back that he had given away?

Based on his current need for such treasures and his own estimation, if he could only acquire one per year, it would take him at least twenty or thirty years to achieve his goal.

Returning from beneath the sea, Lu Ye felt frustrated. Where should he look now?

He couldn't help but think of the Asura Arena again. Mi Shi, the Clan Leader of the Heavenly Asura, had advanced too quickly. If he had advanced a year or two later, and the Asura Arena had closed a year or two later, Lu Ye wouldn't be in such an awkward predicament.

This was the Myriad Manifestations Sea, a gathering place for cultivators from countless star systems, arguably the center of the entire starfield. If he couldn't find what he needed even here, where else could he possibly find it?