Chapter 2071: Fire Seed

The Winds Rise in Kyushu

The Winds Rise in Kyushu

During their time together, Lie Huo found Lu Ye to be quite approachable, which naturally led him to consider the idea of commanding the Sunfire Beast King.

If successful, this endeavor would undoubtedly bring him immense benefits.

Lu Ye, however, smiled and shook his head. "I can't help with this matter," he said.

Lie Huo felt a pang of regret upon hearing this but said no more. He believed Lu Ye's ability to control the Sunfire Beast King was a beast-taming skill, one that couldn't simply be taught and learned by others.

In truth, however, Lu Ye commanded the Sunfire Beast King using the power of his Tusk. The beast king's wounds had never healed, and it was actually very cunning. Without the power of the Tusk, it would have undoubtedly fled immediately, never allowing Lu Ye to control it at will.

Time passed...

Lu Ye had initially thought that in the uniquely endowed environment of Gigantic Red Star, achieving his goal wouldn't take much time. Yet, even with the entire Sunfire Beast pack assisting him and Lie Huo's help, the entire process still took a full three years before he truly saw hope!

One could imagine that without the Sunfire Beast pack, relying solely on the Fire Gourd to absorb the intense heat and nurture the extraordinary fire would have taken not just decades, but at least a century.

The spirit jade, spirit crystals, and top-grade Soul Refining Pills he had brought from the Myriad Manifestation Sea were almost completely depleted. In return, both his personal cultivation and his Soul Suppression Secret Art had improved to some extent.

One day, three years after arriving at Gigantic Red Star, Lu Ye sat cross-legged on its surface, his expression calm, showing neither joy nor sorrow.

Even so, Lie Huo, who was nearby, noticed something. He looked at Lu Ye curiously and asked, "Friend, have you encountered something good?"

Lu Ye nodded slightly. "I've had some insights!" he replied.

Before him, Sunfire Beasts lined up one by one, delivering the refined Blazing Sun Essence, which was then consumed by the Fire Gourd.

An extraordinary flame slowly began to form.

After less than half a day, the extraordinary flame was finally complete. Lu Ye immediately activated the power of his Talent Tree, and invisible roots extended into the Fire Gourd, consuming the extraordinary flame completely in the blink of an eye.

The next moment, Lu Ye felt a slight tremor within his body, as if some wondrous change had occurred.

The Talent Tree, burning fiercely within him, suddenly erupted with a bright fiery light, like a newborn sun. Immediately afterward, the light rapidly converged, gathering entirely at the location of his Origin Spirit Aperture.

At this moment, Lu Ye felt the connection between himself and his Talent Tree become extremely faint, yet his expression was one of joy and excitement.

Upon introspection, he could no longer see the Talent Tree. Only a tiny flame burned within his Origin Spirit Aperture, like a seed of fire!

He quietly sensed wondrous, indescribable, profound, and mysterious changes occurring within that seed of fire...

Of the Talent Tree's several transformations, this one gave Lu Ye the most novel sensation. He immediately knew his thoughts were correct: the cost of this transformation was incomparable to previous ones, and his Talent Tree was likely about to undergo a massive change.

He didn't know what this change truly was yet, or what new powers his Talent Tree would manifest. He would only be able to investigate once the seed of fire broke open and the Talent Tree reappeared.

And this would take some time...

But in any case, his purpose for coming here had been achieved. His long wait had finally paid off at this moment. Lu Ye felt a great sense of relief and quietly exhaled.

Lie Huo, standing by, watched on in bewilderment.

Lu Ye was not in a hurry to leave Gigantic Red Star. Since it was a rare opportunity to easily obtain the Blazing Sun Essence, he naturally wanted to stockpile more. It would be needed in the future, whether as fuel for his Talent Tree or for the Fire Gourd to nurture extraordinary fires.

He stayed on Gigantic Red Star for another month, collecting a large amount of Blazing Sun Essence as reserve, all stored within his Small Flower Realm.

This much Blazing Sun Essence was enough for the Fire Gourd to nurture dozens of extraordinary fires, sufficient for short-term use.

Furthermore, Gigantic Red Star was right here. Traveling from the Myriad Manifestation Sea wasn't difficult, so it wouldn't be troublesome to make another trip if needed in the future.

"Fellow Daoist Lie Huo," Lu Ye said, turning to look at him. "I'm leaving."

Lie Huo was somewhat surprised. "Leaving already? What about our previous agreement..." he asked.

"Consider it fulfilled, Fellow Daoist," Lu Ye said, nodding. In three years, Lie Huo certainly hadn't refined a thousand strands of Blazing Sun Essence.

Lie Huo sighed. "Now it's really just me left," he muttered.

Nearly three years ago, Lu Ye had said he wouldn't stay here for too long, but Lie Huo hadn't expected him to leave so suddenly, without any warning.

Moreover, having spent time together these days, he still didn't know what Lu Ye had truly been doing. All the Blazing Sun Essence had been consumed by the Fire Gourd, and logically, even if the Fire Gourd was a precious artifact, it shouldn't be that insatiable.

Lu Ye stood up, drew his Cragblade, and gave it a slight shake.

Beneath the magma, the Sunfire Beast King, who had diligently worked for Lu Ye for several years, suddenly sensed something. It then fled deep into Gigantic Red Star without looking back.

The strange power entwined around its wounds had vanished! It had been waiting for this moment; why would it hesitate?

And with its suppression gone, the Sunfire Beasts gathered there quickly scattered like birds and beasts.

Lu Ye noticed this. Although he had long anticipated this outcome, he was still speechless.

"I wish you early gains, Fellow Daoist," Lu Ye said to Lie Huo. "When your divine power is perfected one day, you can find me on Three Realms Island in the Myriad Manifestation Sea." He then leaped away, rapidly flying out of Gigantic Red Star.

"Three Realms Island?" Lie Huo stood in place, lost in thought. He hadn't heard of this spirit island, and when did the spirit islands in the Myriad Manifestation Sea begin allowing Sun-tier cultivators to reside there?

He couldn't be bothered to think more about it. Lu Ye had left, his wish fulfilled, but he still had to continue his efforts.

After leaving Gigantic Red Star, Lu Ye returned along his original path. Along the way, he occasionally encountered cultivators who came here to cultivate or refine Blazing Sun Essence. The further out he went, the lower the cultivators' cultivation levels were.

Passing by places he had visited before, he specifically took note but didn't see the couple, Fei Zhuang and Hong Yan.

In this place, the further out one went, the greater the fluidity of cultivators. Some left after gaining something, others met with accidents in conflicts, and in three years, anything could happen.

In contrast, Sun-tier powerhouses like Lie Huo stayed on Gigantic Red Star for over twenty years.

Lu Ye had originally intended to give Fei Zhuang and Hong Yan some gifts of gratitude, as thanks for guiding him earlier. Since he didn't encounter them, he let it go.

Flying towards the Worm Path, it was already more than half a month later by the time Lu Ye returned to Three Realms Island.

Sensing his return, Tang Jun and He Baichuan immediately rushed over, ready to report on the situation in the Myriad Manifestation Sea over the past few years.

During the years Lu Ye was away, the Myriad Manifestation Sea had undergone quite a few new and surprising changes.

In the palace, Lu Ye looked at Tang Jun in surprise. "Old Tang, you actually advanced?" he asked.

Tang Jun chuckled. "What's so difficult about a mere late Moon-tier? It's just that I didn't want to. If I had been willing, I would have advanced to Sun-tier long ago. How could it be your turn, you young brats, to excel?"

Old Tang had indeed advanced to late Moon-tier. This was evident from the spiritual power fluctuations he intentionally revealed. Moreover, after advancing, Old Tang's mental and physical state had greatly improved, making him look somewhat younger than before.

He Baichuan then interjected, undermining him, "Yes, yes, your esteemed self is indeed exceptionally talented. As for late Moon-tier, you only failed three or five times, so what's the big deal?"

"Three or five times?" Lu Ye said, astonished.

Old Tang waved his hand. "Past events are like smoke; no need to mention them!" he declared.

It was clear that Old Tang's advancement to late Moon-tier hadn't been easy. When Lu Ye last returned, he heard Old Tang was in secluded cultivation but hadn't succeeded. He must have tried several more times in these past few years and finally succeeded.

"Good news!" Lu Ye said, delighted. Among the cultivators of the Three Realms, putting aside those from Kyushu itself, Lu Ye's bond with Old Tang was the deepest among the cultivators from the other two realms. After all, the old man and the young man had relied on each other for a while when they were stranded in this place years ago.

"That's not the only good news," He Baichuan chuckled. "On our island, in the past few years, over a hundred new Moon-tier cultivators have emerged. Furthermore, Senior Brother Qiu Wu, Elder Yuxi of the Merfolk, and Junior Sister Hua Ci have all had insights and are currently in secluded cultivation, striving to reach Sun-tier!"

"Oh?" Lu Ye's eyes lit up. "Senior Brother Qiu Wu and Elder Yuxi are one thing, but Hua Ci is also striving for Sun-tier?"

Qiu Wu was the former Realm Master of Jade Snail Realm. Although this title was merely nominal, his cultivation was indeed the highest in the entire Jade Snail Realm. The reason Luan Xiao'e was able to advance to Sun-tier earlier was due to the good fortune of cultivating in the Myriad Manifestation Sea and receiving guidance.

If Luan Xiao'e could advance to Sun-tier, Qiu Wu, in fact, had long possessed this potential.

Elder Yuxi was the second elder of the Merfolk race, second only to Yan Miao in cultivation.

Their attempts to reach Sun-tier didn't surprise Lu Ye; it was just that Hua Ci was also in secluded cultivation.

This was likely related to Little Gua.

Little Gua was a supreme treasure of the starry sky, and it was Hua Ci's life-bound beast companion. With such a companion, any astonishing performance from Hua Ci would not be excessive.

Tang Jun said, "It's not just our island. The overall foundation of all spirit islands in the Myriad Manifestation Sea has seen an explosive increase. Many cultivators' long-standing bottlenecks have loosened, and advancement to Moon-tier and Sun-tier is much simpler than before."

Lu Ye knew in his heart that this was likely related to the arrival of the great trend. From the current perspective, the closer the great trend's arrival, the more apparent the changes in the starry sky.

And this change manifested itself in cultivators by making cultivation simpler.

"And spirit islands!" He Baichuan added. "More and more barren islands have become active, and many spirit islands have advanced from their original tiers. In recent years, two more top-tier spirit islands have appeared in the Myriad Manifestation Sea."

The biggest difference between top-tier and high-tier spirit islands was the birth of their own spirit jade veins. This was a huge boon for any force.

"What about Four Directions Island? What's the situation there?" Lu Ye asked. He remembered He Baichuan mentioning last time that Four Directions Island also had some positive changes.

He Baichuan replied, "Four Directions Island is still a high-tier spirit island, but it already shows signs of a qualitative change. According to information from Four Directions Island, there are signs of a spirit jade vein forming, so it will likely become a top-tier spirit island in the future!"