Chapter 2105: Sunshine Midterm, Jiuyan's Trouble

The Wind Rises in Kyushu

The group of eight settled down, each finding a place to cultivate. Having arrived in the Star Abyss, and with Zi Ji being the only one in the team who had forged a Dao Foundation, everyone naturally adhered to the principle of acting discreetly.

After a discussion between Lu Ye and Zi Ji, the atmosphere within the team became unprecedentedly peaceful.

Everyone understood their situation. To the entire Star Abyss, they were the outsiders, so they naturally needed to stick together for mutual support and unite everyone's strength.

Zi Ji was responsible for overseeing and monitoring all directions, guarding against potential crises.

Lu Ye wasn't idle either. He spent a few days visiting everyone's cultivation spots, setting up teleportation formations at their locations, and giving further instructions.

This way, even if a real danger arose and Zi Ji couldn't provide timely rescue, these Sun-tier cultivators, dispersed in various places, could use the teleportation formations to leave promptly.

The other end of the teleportation formations was Lu Ye's own location.

After completing all this, Lu Ye finally began his own cultivation.

Checking the Dao power held by his Talent Tree, he found that only a little over two hundred remained.

It's worth noting that at its peak, his Dao power was nearly five hundred, but in the final battle, there were too many powerful enemies, leading to an extremely severe consumption of Dao power. Moreover, at that time, both his main body and Talent Tree clone were expending power, so the loss was naturally immense.

A little over two hundred Dao power could barely maintain the Six Paths level but couldn't sustain a prolonged battle.

The most urgent task was still to accumulate his own Dao power first.

Activating the power of the Talent Tree and constructing numerous spirit-gathering funnels around himself, Lu Ye immersed his mind and immediately noticed how quickly one could cultivate in this place.

Here, the aura of the Star Abyss was extremely rich, so the efficiency of cultivation was naturally far superior to before.

In less than two days, a trace of Dao power appeared on the Talent Tree's leaves. Such efficiency was simply terrifying.

Time passed, and the desolate star remained silent. Occasionally, the aura of living beings, both strong and weak, would pass by. However, with the formations concealing them, as long as these Star Abyss cultivators didn't investigate deeply, they would definitely not discover the group.

Three months passed in a flash.

On this day, Lu Ye, who was deeply immersed in cultivation, suddenly opened his eyes. The teleportation formation not far away had moved; someone must have teleported over.

He quickly sensed his surroundings, confirming there was no major anomaly, and then focused his gaze.

The next moment, Chong Yue's burly figure emerged from the formation, looking radiant.

Lu Ye glanced at him, then immediately cupped his fists and said, "Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on entering the Dao Realm. From now on, you've leaped over the dragon's gate."

In three months, one of those six people finally forged a Dao Foundation, but Lu Ye hadn't expected the first one to be Chong Yue.

Chong Yue laughed heartily, "Pure luck, pure luck. Mainly, the environment here is more suitable for cultivating the Furnace Method than where I was before. As you instructed previously, I specifically came to seek your guidance."

Although Chong Yue had previously entered the battlefield in the Mechanist Starry Sky, he hadn't gone too deep, and the Star Abyss's aura in his location wasn't very dense. Thus, the environment's help for forging a Dao Foundation naturally wasn't as significant as it was here.

Now that he had changed environments, with his profound foundation as a base, success came naturally.

The reason he came was naturally because when Lu Ye had set up the teleportation formations for them previously, he had instructed everyone to come to him immediately after forging their Dao Foundation, as he had something to give them.

"You flatter me," Lu Ye said. "These are just some common knowledge things from the Mechanist Starry Sky." He handed the prepared jade slip to Chong Yue. The information contained within it had originally been given to him by Du Qingsha. He had refined and organized it, believing it would be helpful to Chong Yue and the others.

Chong Yue's expression was solemn as he took it and examined it.

A moment later, an enlightened expression appeared on his face. "So that's how it is," he murmured. "I need to first determine how many Dao-levels I am as a cultivator. Only then can I cultivate in a targeted manner."

If Chong Yue was a Five-Dao cultivator, then his subsequent cultivation would be simple: he would only need to accumulate two hundred Dao power before he could begin refining his second Dao Bone.

If he wasn't Five-Dao, then he would need to continue enhancing his foundation to elevate himself to the Five-Dao level.

Chong Yue's Dao Foundation had just formed, and he had not a single trace of Dao power, so he naturally couldn't determine how many Dao-levels he was as a cultivator.

For a cultivator like him, who had just entered the Dao Realm, even though the speed of refining Star Abyss aura would significantly increase due to his own Dao Foundation, the accumulation of Dao power would still take some time. Before he had enough Dao power, he wouldn't have much combat strength.

Chong Yue entering the Dao Realm was just the beginning. In the following two months, Su Wan and Shui Xian also successively entered the Dao Realm. Meanwhile, Chong Yue, after a period of accumulation, finally confirmed that he was a Five-Dao cultivator, showing how profound his foundation was.

Including himself and Zi Ji, only three of the eight people had not yet entered the Dao Realm.

But when truly tallying it up, only he and Zi Ji still possessed combat strength. Chong Yue could barely be counted as half, and Su Wan and Shui Xian couldn't be relied upon in the short term.

It was time to go out.

Lu Ye silently planned in his mind. To allow everyone to gain combat strength matching their own power more quickly, going out to hunt Star Abyss cultivators and acquire Dao Bones was undoubtedly the best option.

This was because the efficiency of gaining Dao power by refining Dao Bones was much faster than simply cultivating.

He had this plan before because in confrontations between Dao Realm cultivators, provided the strength gap wasn't too large, numbers often became the key to victory or defeat. Therefore, helping others improve their strength would also allow them to better protect themselves in the Star Abyss.

Not rushing to depart, he instead took out a large quantity of spirit jade and spirit crystals, scattering them around him, and activated the power of his Talent Tree to begin refining them.

He felt that he was not far from the mid-stage Sun-tier.

During this time, although he had been continuously refining Star Abyss aura and acquiring Dao power, the Star Abyss aura also contained a large amount of starry sky spiritual energy. Therefore, while acquiring Dao power, his cultivation was also accumulating.

According to his previous conjectures, if he could advance to the mid-stage Sun-tier, he should be able to easily control the power of Six Paths without experiencing the immense pressure he did before.

As the saying goes, "sharpening the axe does not delay the work of chopping wood," Lu Ye could afford to wait this short amount of time.

Spirit jade and spirit crystals were consumed in large quantities as Lu Ye, completely absorbed, immersed himself in cultivation.

For a full half-month, Lu Ye suddenly trembled as the circulation of spiritual power within him became much more vigorous. An invisible barrier seemed to shatter, and the sensation welled up within him.

Mid-stage Sun-tier!

He slowly opened his eyes, and just as he was about to verify his previous conjecture, he suddenly noticed a familiar figure sitting not far away.

"Senior Sister? When did you arrive?"

The one sitting there was none other than Jiu Yan. He had been so focused on breaking through that he hadn't noticed her arrival. Of course, it was mainly because Jiu Yan harbored no hostility towards him; if it had been Zi Ji, he would have sensed it immediately.

Jiu Yan didn't speak; she just gazed at him with profound eyes.

"Senior Sister, have you encountered some difficulty?" Lu Ye's heart tightened. Unsure what had happened with Jiu Yan, he quickly released his spiritual sense to investigate. Jiu Yan hadn't changed much; it seemed she hadn't yet forged her Dao Foundation.

Just as Lu Ye was puzzled, she stood up and walked step by step to stand before him, looking down at him.

Lu Ye looked up, feeling even more bewildered. "Senior Sister?"

Jiu Yan's expression shifted, as if she had made a huge decision. Then she raised a hand, touched Lu Ye's forehead, and gently pushed him backward.

The unprepared Lu Ye was pushed directly to the ground by her.

A weight settled on him. When he looked again, Jiu Yan had already sat down. She was looking down, her hands propped on his chest, her body trembling slightly, and she said softly, "The Furnace Method, transforming one's body into a furnace, melting one's entire foundation to forge one's Dao Foundation. In this process, one must be without thought, desire, self, or form!"

She slowly raised her face, looking at Lu Ye with a complex expression. "I can't do it!"

Lu Ye was stunned.

He naturally knew about forging a Dao Foundation with the Furnace Method, but he had never cultivated this method himself. How could he know its intricacies?

At this moment, listening to Jiu Yan's words, he finally understood why Jiu Yan hadn't been able to enter the Dao Realm after such a long time.

It wasn't that her foundation was insufficient, nor that her cultivation method was wrong, but rather that her mind had distracting thoughts. In other words, she had an unresolved inner knot.

And this inner knot...

He hadn't expected that the incident with Ban Ci would become Jiu Yan's trouble at this moment.

With a sigh, Lu Ye raised a hand and sealed the nearby teleportation formations. He then activated various formations he had previously set up to isolate them from the outside. With his other hand, he embraced Jiu Yan's slightly trembling shoulders and gently rolled over.

Since there was an inner knot, it could only be broken, which was also why Jiu Yan had come to him.

With the inner knot eliminated, Jiu Yan should have no problem entering the Dao Realm. This could be seen from her flushed face and lighthearted reaction as she departed.

Since Jiu Yan was about to enter the Dao Realm, then he should all the more go hunt for Dao Bones.

With a plan set in his mind, Lu Ye immediately took action.

He first went to find Zi Ji.

A moment later, Zi Ji looked at him with a shocked expression. "What? You want to hunt Star Abyss cultivators to acquire Dao Bones? Do you know what you're saying?"

He scrutinized Lu Ye up and down, as if wanting to assess Lu Ye's capabilities.

Lu Ye naturally knew of his doubts, so he raised a finger and pointed it towards Zi Ji, activating his Dao power. "Would Demon Venerable care to try?"

Zi Ji frowned and also pointed a finger. Immediately, his body trembled, and a look of horror appeared on his face. "You actually have Dao power! How many Dao-levels are you?"

"Six Dao-levels!" Lu Ye didn't hide it.

"Impossible!" Even though he had lived for an unknown number of years, he found it hard to accept such a thing. "This is absolutely impossible."

But the fact was before his eyes: in the recent test, the ability Lu Ye displayed in controlling Dao power was indeed superior to his own.

It's worth noting that he was a Five-Dao cultivator!

In addition to being shocked, he was filled with lingering fear.

Fortunately, he hadn't harbored any murderous intent towards Lu Ye earlier. Instead, after a heart-to-heart talk, he had turned hostility into friendship with Lu Ye. Otherwise, he would definitely have been the one to die!

This guy, he hides so well!

Mainly, no one would have thought that someone with Lu Ye's cultivation could actually be Six-Dao. It's important to know that any Six-Dao cultivator in the Mechanist Starry Sky is a powerful individual overseeing a region.

Zi Ji suddenly had a realization. "Because of the Dao Tree?"

All the incredible things about Lu Ye, if one were to find a source, it would definitely be the Dao Tree. This was a supreme treasure-level inheritance, and no one knew how many profound mysteries it contained.