Chapter 2064: A Long and Difficult Road Ahead

Lu Ye settled down on the Giant Red Star.

As the power of his Talent Tree continuously enhanced his internal energy reserves, many spiritual energies were also refined, strengthening the foundation of his magical power.

His observations revealed that this immense Giant Red Star was unlike ordinary celestial bodies. Its entire surface was covered in a paste-like magma, and the deeper he went, the more terrifying the temperature became.

Lu Ye then took out his Fire Gourd.

His primary purpose for this trip was the metamorphosis of his Talent Tree, which required the unique fire nurtured within his Fire Gourd.

Holding the Fire Gourd, Lu Ye channeled his magical power into it. Immediately, the gourd's opening generated a powerful suction, drawing in the surrounding thermal energy.

However, Lu Ye soon furrowed his brow. He noticed that the Fire Gourd's absorption efficiency seemed surprisingly low, which left him puzzled.

Logically, in such an abundant source of fire energy, the Fire Gourd's efficiency should have been much higher. Yet, nurturing the unique fire at this rate was far less effective than when he previously fed the gourd various fire-element resources.

After a moment's thought, Lu Ye vaguely understood the problem.

Previously, the Fire Gourd's absorption of fire-element resources was like directly ingesting and digesting food. Now, however, it seemed as if the gourd was merely "smelling" the food, making its efficiency incomparable to before.

Understanding this, Lu Ye once again channeled his magical power, attempting to make the Fire Gourd absorb the flowing, magma-like substance. To his bewilderment, however, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't succeed.

He even tried enveloping a mass of magma with his magical power to guide it into the gourd, but a repellent force from within the Fire Gourd prevented it from entering.

This was strange.

Lu Ye concentrated, observing carefully.

After a long while, he finally noticed some clues.

Although the magma flowing on the Giant Red Star contained immense thermal energy and could be considered a fire-element resource, it also held other substances. The Fire Gourd could only accept a specific portion, rejecting the rest, which explained the repulsion.

This differed from the various fire-element resources he had previously fed the gourd, which were almost entirely acceptable to it.

Realizing this, Lu Ye understood that he had underestimated the situation.

It wasn't a major issue, however. While the Fire Gourd's efficiency in nurturing the unique fire wouldn't meet his expectations, it simply meant it would take a little more time.

With this thought, he settled down to wait patiently.

Several days later, as Lu Ye sat peacefully, he suddenly opened his eyes. The Ban Shan Saber at his waist instantly unsheathed, and he plunged it downwards. Divine wind spirit patterns flickered along the blade.

A tremendous force erupted from below, causing his body to tremble slightly.

Lu Ye's expression instantly changed to surprise. Although he was only at the early Sunlit realm, his foundation was incredibly solid, and his pure physical strength even surpassed that of demon races at the same level. Whatever had attacked him was not only incredibly stealthy but also surprisingly powerful.

Puzzled, he reached down, rummaging through the scorching magma, and soon pulled out a bizarre-looking creature.

The creature was entirely fiery red, resembling a tailless, furless monkey. Its two eyes took up half of its face, and a few tusks protruded from the corners of its mouth.

A Star Beast! This place actually had Star Beasts.

The beast had a penetrating wound on its head, clearly from the Ban Shan Saber, which was a fatal injury. From the lingering aura on its body, this Star Beast evidently possessed Moonblossom-level strength.

On second thought, however, even places like the Myriad Heavens Sea harbored Star Beasts, so it wasn't surprising for the Giant Red Star to have them.

And Star Beasts living in such a place...

A thought struck Lu Ye. His divine sense swept over, quickly pinpointing a location, and he extracted a crystal core from inside the Star Beast.

As expected, the crystal core from a Star Beast that could survive in such an environment was indeed fire-attributed. A crystal core like this would easily fetch ten to twenty thousand spirit jades on the Myriad Heavens Sea.

Lu Ye casually placed it into the Fire Gourd. This time, the gourd didn't repel it; instead, it swallowed the core, just as it had previously consumed various fire-element resources.

It was evident that the unique fire being nurtured inside the gourd had grown a bit stronger, and its efficiency was now much faster than before.

With that minor interruption over, Lu Ye resumed his task.

To his surprise, however, over the next two weeks, similar Star Beasts continued to attack him periodically.

It seemed there were quite a number of Star Beasts inhabiting the Giant Red Star, all belonging to the same species.

These Star Beasts exploited the terrain, launching extremely stealthy surprise attacks from below. Had Lu Ye's divine sense not been exceptionally powerful, he might have fallen victim.

The attacking Star Beasts sometimes appeared alone, sometimes in groups of three to five. Their strengths also varied, ranging from Moonblossom to Star Constellation levels.

Without exception, no matter how many appeared, they all ended up as nourishment for the Fire Gourd to cultivate the unique fire.

Thus, more than half a month swiftly passed. Since Lu Ye's arrival, the first unique fire was finally nurtured to completion.

Lu Ye sighed with emotion. The efficiency truly couldn't compare to before; cultivating a unique fire used to take only a few days, but now it had required a significant amount of time.

This was also largely due to the Star Beasts contributing their crystal cores. Had he relied solely on the Fire Gourd's independent absorption, it would have taken at least a month to succeed.

On second thought, however, he realized that he had paid for resources before, while now he was essentially conducting a cost-free business. Naturally, the efficiency wouldn't be comparable.

He activated the power of his Talent Tree, extending its roots into the gourd's opening to absorb the unique fire. As he observed the Talent Tree, it showed no signs of metamorphosis, indicating that the conditions for its transformation had clearly not yet been met.

The task was arduous and the road ahead long!

One day, as Lu Ye sat quietly, he suddenly opened his eyes and squinted downwards.

A Star Beast was once again attempting to ambush him. Although the creature was very well-hidden, he still detected its presence.

Life had been rather monotonous lately, and battling the local Star Beasts provided one of his few sources of entertainment. Furthermore, these Star Beasts' crystal cores accelerated the nurturing of the unique fire, so Lu Ye naturally welcomed as many as possible.

He rested his hand on the Ban Shan Saber, waiting for the opportune moment to deliver a fatal blow.

The next moment, however, Lu Ye sensed something. This incoming Star Beast seemed... different from the previous ones.

No sooner had this thought crossed his mind than the Star Beast beneath the magma suddenly surged in speed. Simultaneously, Lu Ye's Ban Shan Saber unsheathed and plunged fiercely downwards.

A massive force struck, sending Lu Ye soaring into the air. Beneath the magma, a faint silhouette flashed and vanished.

Lu Ye rapidly descended, his long saber carving out a series of afterimages. But the Star Beast was already gone; his surging magical power merely churned up the surrounding magma!

Standing there, Lu Ye wore an expression of surprise.

He hadn't expected there to be Sunlit-level Star Beasts here. That momentary contact had proved that this creature was no ordinary Sunlit beast; it was at least equivalent to a mid-Sunlit level.

While a mid-Sunlit level beast wouldn't ordinarily concern Lu Ye much, the environment here clearly favored the creature's abilities. A mid-Sunlit beast here would undoubtedly possess the deterrent power of a late-stage one.

It was a pity he couldn't capture it. If the Fire Gourd had consumed the crystal core of such a powerful Star Beast, it surely would have nurtured the second unique fire much faster.

Lu Ye hadn't paid much attention to this Sunlit Star Beast at first, but who would have thought it would be so relentlessly persistent?

After its initial failed ambush, the Star Beast not only showed no fear but seemed to have been enraged by Lu Ye, launching ambushes every few days.

The crucial point was that the creature's every move was incredibly stealthy, almost like a ghost cultivator. It would immediately retreat if its attack missed, much to Lu Ye's annoyance.

He was here for the metamorphosis of his Talent Tree; he had no time to engage in a battle of wits with such a Star Beast.

One time, thoroughly exasperated, Lu Ye pursued it directly into the interior of the Giant Red Star, only to return disappointed, unable to find any trace of the creature.

The internal environment of the Giant Red Star was extremely harsh. Even when Lu Ye ventured deep inside, his divine sense couldn't extend very far, making it impossible to pinpoint the creature's movements.

Left with no choice, he moved to a different location.

Lu Ye had thought this would resolve the issue, but the Sunlit Star Beast clearly had other ideas. Even after Lu Ye changed his location, it still accurately tracked him down, persistently harassing him.

It appeared to be because Lu Ye had previously killed too many Star Beasts, causing the creature to hold a grudge.

Several more days passed. Lu Ye sat cross-legged on the Giant Red Star. Below him, the Sunlit Star Beast slowly drew closer, its aura so perfectly concealed that even Lu Ye remained completely unaware.

Although Star Beasts lacked significant intelligence, their highly refined instincts could sometimes be far more troublesome. After numerous skirmishes with Lu Ye, this beast had roughly grasped his weaknesses, understanding the most covert way to approach him and the optimal moment to launch an attack.

As the distance steadily closed, the Star Beast emitted not the slightest aura. Only when it reached its optimal range did it suddenly erupt into an attack.

Previously, whenever it attacked at this distance, Lu Ye would react, and it would then flee.

But this time, Lu Ye remained motionless, as if he hadn't detected it.

The Star Beast's limited intelligence couldn't fathom why Lu Ye hadn't reacted, nor did it dwell on it. Its instinct simply told it that this was an opportunity.

A large, furless hand emerged from the magma, thrusting directly towards Lu Ye's chest. The tips of its five fingers gleamed with a cold light, sharper than most magical artifacts in the world.

In a single strike, it pierced through Lu Ye's protective magical power, threatening to take his life the very next moment.

Just then, however, Lu Ye's magical power surged around him, and he abruptly opened his eyes.

With a thought, layers of defensive spirit patterns materialized, safeguarding his vital points.

Simultaneously, he reached out, seizing the Star Beast's arm. With his other hand, he drew his saber and brought it down with a powerful slash!

This Star Beast was exceedingly vigilant, so Lu Ye had to employ this tactic to make it drop its guard. Fortunately, its limited intelligence allowed him to seize the opportunity. This lack of advanced intellect was a common weakness among most Star Beasts, and it was the only vulnerability he could exploit.