Chapter 2087: Forging the Method to Establish the Dao Foundation

"As you said, the signs revealed in your starfield are indeed precursors to the Star Abyss invasion. It probably won't be long before the Star Abyss invasion officially begins!" The Fortress Lord's smile faded, replaced by a hint of reminiscence. "If the Star Abyss Gate isn't dealt with in the initial stages, the fate awaiting the starfield will be slow erosion."

"The Star Abyss Gate..."

"It's that red, swirling wormhole. As you mentioned before, you should have seen it."

Lu Ye nodded. The Star Abyss Gate and the Star Abyss Wormhole were the same thing, just different names.

"Then, Fortress Lord, may I ask how to deal with the Star Abyss Gate?" Lu Ye quickly asked.

The Star Abyss Gate in the Myriad Manifestations Sea had been sealed by the Constellation Palace, but there wasn't just one Star Abyss Gate. With precursors to the Star Abyss invasion, many Star Abyss Gates were bound to appear in the starfield in the future. If he could know the method...

"I don't know!" The Fortress Lord shook his head. "Isn't it laughable? It's been three hundred years, but no one yet knows how to resolve the Star Abyss Gate."

"Not a single clue?" Lu Ye's expression was grim.

"Someone did propose a theory: Since the Star Abyss Gate opens from the other side during an invasion, perhaps it's possible to go to the other side and find a way to destroy the Star Abyss Gate. So, some people ventured across. The result... no news, their fates unknown."

Lu Ye fell silent. Those who dared to venture from the starfield into the Star Abyss were absolutely among the strongest cultivators in this starfield. Yet, even they had no success, which showed how dangerous the Star Abyss side was.

During the silence, the Fortress Lord said, "Although I don't know which starfield you are from, since you can't go back, just stay here from now on. No matter what, we all ultimately share the same enemy." As he spoke, he looked at Jiuyan. "Furthermore, this fellow Daoist seems to be facing the stage of forging her Dao Foundation. This place might be an opportunity for you."

Jiuyan had remained silent, with Lu Ye doing all the communicating with the Fortress Lord. Until this moment, she finally couldn't help but ask, "May I ask, Fortress Lord, what is your current cultivation level?"

"My cultivation level..." The Fortress Lord scratched his face with a plump hand. "According to the classification on the Star Abyss side, I should have entered the Dao Realm."

"Dao Realm..." Jiuyan murmured.

The Fortress Lord chuckled. "After so many years entangled with the Star Abyss, we haven't been without gains. Although it's getting harder for lower-level cultivators to break through, top-tier cultivators have made significant progress. The so-called Dao Realm is the realm after forging the Dao Foundation. This information was all gathered from the Star Abyss side. However, Dao Realm is a general term; there are more detailed divisions within it. You don't need to understand them now; you'll naturally learn in the future."

Jiuyan's face was filled with longing. Her cultivation path, stagnant for years, finally saw a glimmer of hope at this moment.

The Fortress Lord knew what she was thinking. "Before the Star Abyss invasion, the cultivators of this starfield faced the same dilemma as those in your region. Once they reached the Divine Realm, they could no longer advance. Only after the Star Abyss invasion did this situation change." At this point, he scoffed. "Back then, countless cultivators sought a path forward but were trapped without progress. In the end, they found it in this manner. How tragic, how regrettable."

He waved his hand. "You can stay in the fortress for now. Later, I'll have someone send you some things. How you choose to proceed after that is entirely up to your own will."

"Thank you, Fortress Lord!" Lu Ye quickly expressed his gratitude.

A moment later, a tall woman walked in from outside, leading Lu Ye and Jiuyan away.

In front of a three-story building, the woman stopped and said, "This will be your residence. The Fortress Lord has instructed that if you need anything in the future, you can send me a message, and I will arrange it for you."

Hearing her voice, Lu Ye suddenly realized she was the same cultivator who had been wearing the mechanical armor earlier. He immediately cupped his fist and said, "Thank you, fellow Daoist."

"And these." The woman handed over some jade slips. "These are from the Fortress Lord for both of you. You can take a good look; they should help you better understand the current situation."

Lu Ye thanked her again.

The woman left. Lu Ye and Jiuyan exchanged glances and entered the three-story building.

A moment later, on the third floor, the sister and brother sat opposite each other, each holding a jade slip, engrossed in examining its contents.

The jade slip Lu Ye was reading very detailedly introduced various events, big and small, in the starfield over the three hundred years since the Star Abyss invasion, as well as numerous changes in the starfield.

It became increasingly unsettling because many of these records corresponded to the starfield near the Myriad Manifestations Sea.

After examining one jade slip, he picked up another. This one recorded the situations of various front-line battlefields, allowing Lu Ye to quickly gain a clearer understanding of the situation within the battlefields.

As he was engrossed in reading, Jiuyan suddenly gasped softly, "This is..."

"What's wrong?" Lu Ye quickly looked up at her, only to see Jiuyan's face full of excitement, as if she had found some treasure. She directly handed the jade slip in her hand to Lu Ye, saying, "Junior Brother, take a look yourself."

Lu Ye took it and examined it, also startled. "This is a method for forging the Dao Foundation!"

This jade slip might not hold much value in this starfield because it's already a widely circulated method. Anyone who reaches the peak of the Divine Realm and qualifies to forge a Dao Foundation can receive a copy.

But if this item were in the Myriad Manifestations Sea starfield, its value would be immeasurable. It would absolutely cause major powers to fight tooth and nail!

What was missing for the Sunlit Peak cultivators of the Myriad Manifestations Sea starfield? It was precisely the method for forging a Dao Foundation. That's why those Sunlit Peak cultivators could not advance further.

When Jiuyan had asked about the Fortress Lord's cultivation level earlier, she had considered asking him how to forge her own Dao Foundation. But considering that she and Lu Ye had just arrived, it wasn't appropriate to ask.

Who knew the Fortress Lord would directly provide it?

Perhaps to the Fortress Lord, this was nothing, but to Jiuyan, this was an unimaginably grand gift!

Lu Ye briefly examined it and found that this method for forging the Dao Foundation was called the 'Furnace Method'. It required one to use their own body as a furnace, melt their accumulated foundation into it, and then, by facing death, be reborn to forge the Dao Foundation.

Furthermore, this method also had special environmental requirements.

A normal starfield did not meet the requirements for forging a Dao Foundation. It could only be performed in areas enveloped by Star Abyss aura. Currently, the only places in this starfield enveloped by Star Abyss aura were the front-line battlefields!

To forge one's Dao Foundation in such an environment, fraught with danger, was no simple matter.

Moreover, the method itself was extremely dangerous, because it required using one's own body as a furnace to melt one's accumulated foundation. If successful, it was fine, but if it failed, the burning away of one's entire foundation and the complete ruin of one's cultivation was the best outcome. A worse outcome was the furnace shattering, leading to death and the dissipation of one's Dao.

Jiuyan clearly also recognized the danger of this method. After her initial excitement, her expression became solemn.

The two stayed in Thunder Fortress for several days.

What Lu Ye had worried about finally happened.

"Junior Brother, I want to enter the front-line battlefield!"

Lu Ye knew it. After obtaining the Furnace Method, Jiuyan couldn't possibly remain indifferent. This was the pursuit of her entire cultivation life; with hope finally within reach, how could she ignore it?

If it were Lu Ye himself, he would make the same choice.

So he didn't try to dissuade her, nodding, "Together."

Jiuyan said, "You should know why I want to go in. You..."

Lu Ye interrupted her, "Since we're here, we can't just idly wait for death in the fortress forever. Besides, if you're going to forge your Dao Foundation, someone needs to protect you."

Jiuyan pursed her red lips. Just as Lu Ye knew he couldn't dissuade her, she also knew she couldn't dissuade Lu Ye. After a moment of silence, she finally said, "Thank you!"

Lu Ye shook his head. Going to the front-line battlefield wasn't just because of Jiuyan; even without Jiuyan, he would have made this choice.

With a decision made, there was no hesitation.

Soon, the two flew out together.

Over these past few days, the woman had visited again, distributing communication devices to Lu Ye and Jiuyan and registering them.

Because ordinary communication devices were difficult to use in areas covered by Star Abyss aura, cultivators in this starfield had continuously experimented over three hundred years, combining information gathered from those from the Star Abyss, and re-refined a type of item similar to a sound transmission talisman.

Although the range of this item's communication in areas covered by Star Abyss aura was also limited, it was at least much better than ordinary sound transmission talismans.

Cultivators from Thunder Fortress faced no major restrictions entering the battlefield. Except for some special operations requiring powerful cultivators to lead, at other times, when there were no specific missions, cultivators' actions were entirely by their own will.

This was also why Lu Ye hadn't seen many cultivators around when he arrived a few days ago. Most cultivators were in the battlefield; this stronghold was merely a place for cultivators to rest and resupply.

Hundreds of other similar strongholds within this battlefield served the same purpose.

Leaving the stronghold, the two advanced together. After just one hour, Lu Ye felt as if he had stepped into a different world.

The surrounding scenery hadn't changed at all, but the feeling was distinctly different.

He knew that this meant they had entered the edge of the battlefield because Star Abyss aura was already present here. The ubiquitous Star Abyss aura possessed a strange suppressive quality. It didn't suppress the cultivators' raw power, but rather other aspects.

For example, the range of spiritual sense detection, and the distance of orthodox sound transmission talismans...

The range of this battlefield was vast. At its very center was the red, swirling Star Abyss Gate!

When this Star Abyss Gate first appeared, it couldn't be contained and destroyed in time. Dense Star Abyss aura emanated from the gate, corroding this starfield and continuously spreading outwards. This led to the battlefield's scope constantly expanding, and this expansion was ongoing at all times.

For this reason, the closer one was to the center of the battlefield, the denser the Star Abyss aura became.

And for the Star Abyss creatures, this Star Abyss aura was like water to fish. Once the weaker Star Abyss creatures left the area enveloped by Star Abyss aura, their strength would be greatly diminished.