Chapter 2152: Entering the Star Abyss

Winds Stir Across the Nine Provinces

Mentioning this, Chen Wulei's expression darkened involuntarily. “It's true. He was the most talented cultivator in our Starry Sky, and once the hope of the entire Starry Sky. But at the time, we knew too little about the Star Abyss. If only we had known then that the Star Abyss harbored so many powerhouses… alas!”

When Chen Wulei had just barely advanced to the Sixth Path, that person was already at the Eighth Path.

He went through the Gate of the Star Abyss, thinking that even if his own strength couldn't directly penetrate to the core, he could at least gather more intelligence about the other side. Who knew he would never return?

Looking back now, an Eighth Path cultivator truly meant nothing in the Star Abyss.

When the Gate of the Star Abyss opened, it was like a beacon in the darkness, attracting countless Star Abyss creatures from the nearby regions. Not to mention Eighth and Ninth Path cultivators, there were many even at the Dao Fusion level.

An Eighth Path cultivator venturing through was simply courting death!

“Why are you suddenly asking about this?” Chen Wulei asked, looking at Lu Ye with confusion.

Lu Ye didn't answer, but asked another question: “When that Eighth Path cultivator crossed over, what was the highest Path level of the Star Abyss creatures that came through from the Star Abyss?”

“Sixth Path!” Chen Wulei replied without hesitation. “I remember clearly, I had just advanced to the Sixth Path myself then, and the strongest enemy we encountered was also at the Sixth Path. That's why we all thought an Eighth Path cultivator had enough strength to defend themselves!”

Lu Ye's eyes flickered. “So, the restrictions of the Gate of the Star Abyss don't apply to Starry Sky cultivators?”

If it did apply to Starry Sky cultivators, then at that time, an Eighth Path cultivator would absolutely not have been able to pass through the Gate of the Star Abyss, because the strongest ones coming from the Star Abyss were only at the Sixth Path.

“Brother Lu, are you…” Chen Wulei was a little confused by Lu Ye's meaning.

“I want to enter the Star Abyss!” Lu Ye stated.

To acquire more Dao power more efficiently, he had no choice but to go to the Star Abyss.

That's why he had specifically come to the Illusion Extinction Galaxy. Currently, among the few weaknesses in the Starry Sky, only this place was relatively viable for him, because Yin Luo was guarding the other side.

Anywhere else, he would probably be surrounded and killed the moment he showed his face.

But before that, there was still one question: could he, with his current Fourteenth Path strength, pass through the Gate of the Star Abyss?

Based on the intelligence currently available, passage through the Gate of the Star Abyss was restricted. Only as it continuously expanded would stronger Dao realms be able to pass. Currently, those coming from the Star Abyss possessed only Third or Fourth Path strength, a mere fraction of Lu Ye's power.

Therefore, he wasn't sure if he could pass through.

His previous return was guided by the power of the Samsara Tree, so it couldn't be used as a measure for anything.

“You want to enter the Star Abyss?” Chen Wulei was startled, but then quickly understood. “If you go in from here, there truly isn't much danger.”

Although he didn't know what Lu Ye had done previously, Yin Luo from Qing Palace seemed to admire Lu Ye greatly. When Lu Ye left before, Yin Luo had even cried.

“When will you return, so I can prepare for your reception?” Chen Wulei asked again.

Lu Ye shook his head. “Entering the Star Abyss this time, I likely won't return anytime soon.” Heaven knew how much Dao power and time it would take to refine his entire set of Dao bones.

Furthermore, he had another idea: to search for a way to save the Starry Sky in the Star Abyss.

Perhaps there was a way, perhaps not, but he had to explore to find out.

The fate of the Mech Starry Sky deeply troubled Lu Ye. Once the Star Abyss fully invaded, the entire Starry Sky would be torn into countless fragments, scattered across various locations within the Star Abyss. If that happened, those Lu Ye knew might never see each other again.

It had to be stopped before then.

“Then, Brother Lu, be careful!”

Lu Ye nodded. Asking Chen Wulei was merely to confirm a suspicion he had. Whether he could enter the Star Abyss through this Gate of the Star Abyss, he would only know by trying it himself.

Without delay, Lu Ye leaped to the front of the Gate of the Star Abyss, reaching out to grab a Star Abyss cultivator who had just burst through from the other side.

This fellow, possessing only Third Path strength, was held in Lu Ye's hand like a tiny chick, terrified for a moment, never imagining there would be a powerful expert lying in ambush here.

“Look at me!” Lu Ye said in a low voice. “Do you recognize who I am?”

The Star Abyss cultivator looked up at Lu Ye, and shook his head, saying, “No, I don't.”

Lu Ye frowned. “Is Qing Palace still in charge on the Star Abyss side?”

The Star Abyss cultivator looked astonished. “How do you know Qing Palace?”

Before he could ask anything else, Lu Ye casually squeezed, crushing him to death.

These few brief exchanges allowed Lu Ye to confirm one thing: Qing Palace was still in charge on the other side, and Yin Luo and Elder Duan should still be there. As for the cultivator not recognizing him, it wasn't surprising. Perhaps this one had been drawn in from nearby regions over the years, or perhaps he had never seen Lu Ye before and naturally wouldn't recognize him.

“Brother Chen, Brother Chang, I bid you farewell here. I'll be relying on you two to handle things on this side.” Lu Ye cupped his fists.

Chen Wulei and Chang Yu returned the gesture.

Lu Ye turned around, without hesitation, and plunged headfirst into the Gate of the Star Abyss.

Whether he would succeed depended on this moment. If it truly didn't work, he would have to remain in this Starry Sky and slowly accumulate strength. However, doing so would be far less efficient.

As his body entered the red vortex, the anticipated difficulty did not materialize. Lu Ye simply felt his body lighten, and suddenly found himself in an unnamed place.

He couldn't help but be startled.

Looking around, everything was a deep crimson. He felt solid ground beneath his feet. His current location seemed to be a passage!

He had never expected that after stepping into the Gate of the Star Abyss, he would appear in such a place.

The last time he entered the Star Abyss, they were taken by the Ghost Carriage. When returning from the Star Abyss, Elder Tree had met them. Neither experience was anything like this.

What was this place?

Lu Ye turned his head to look back, and saw a red vortex slowly spinning behind him. It was indeed the Gate of the Star Abyss, and he must have entered from there.

At this very moment, the aura of the Starry Sky was clearly emanating from the Gate of the Star Abyss.

Heavy footsteps echoed from ahead. Lu Ye fixed his gaze forward, seeing a Star Abyss cultivator stumbling towards him. His state was as if he were climbing a tall mountain. When he saw the Gate of the Star Abyss, his face was filled with excitement.

However, he suddenly saw Lu Ye blocking the Gate of the Star Abyss, and his expression froze.

“Starry Sky dregs!” The Star Abyss cultivator's face lit up with glee. Although he didn't understand why Lu Ye was here, the pure aura emanating from Lu Ye was too obvious—an aura untouched by the Star Abyss's corruption.

He vigorously urged his Dao power, and threw himself at Lu Ye, aiming to kill.

The passage wasn't very wide, at most allowing a few people to walk side-by-side. This was truly a clash where the brave would prevail.

Lu Ye drew his saber, and casually slashed forward. He didn't even bother to activate too much Dao power, only using five Dao paths to face the enemy.

The charging figure was split in two, falling in the passage, with blood flowing from the two halves of the corpse.

Lu Ye casually picked up a section of Dao bone, and, holding his saber, walked forward step by step.

If he wasn't mistaken, all Star Abyss creatures invading the Starry Sky entered through this peculiar passage. Then, he just needed to fight his way through to enter the Star Abyss in reverse.

Indeed, as he expected, after walking a few breaths forward, he saw another Star Abyss cultivator struggling to advance.

Lu Ye didn't know what kind of resistance they encountered, because he felt none at all, walking with ease.

As they approached head-on, and passed each other, Lu Ye had already killed the creature and taken its bone.

He continued forward, slaying as he went.

In a short period, blood flowed like a river throughout the passage. Countless Star Abyss cultivators fell beneath his saber. With his current strength, these Star Abyss creatures, at most of Third Path strength, and some not even having entered the Dao realm, were utterly powerless to retaliate.

Just as Lu Ye was about to push through and enter the Star Abyss in one go, a small bulge suddenly appeared on the side of the passage.

The bulge rapidly grew larger, with something vaguely appearing to burst forth.

Lu Ye focused his gaze. A burst of blood splattered, and a figure several meters tall emerged.

It was clearly a gigantic mosquito, its body covered in grotesque patterns. Its long proboscis resembled a sharp sword, and with a flap of its wings, it darted towards Lu Ye.

Instinctively sensing that this suddenly appearing giant creature was not to be trifled with, Lu Ye raised his saber to block, activating the power of nine Dao paths.

With a crash, Lu Ye slid a considerable distance along the passage, before finally steadying himself, his heart immediately tensing.

Fortunately, he had been careful enough, otherwise he would certainly have suffered a loss from that blow.

This suddenly appearing giant creature actually possessed Ninth Path strength!

What was this thing? He had never seen it before. And since it could appear in this strange passage, why hadn't it entered the Starry Sky?

The Mech Starry Sky had fought against the Star Abyss for hundreds of years, but such a monster had never appeared there.

In the previous clash, Lu Ye hadn't fared well, and neither had the giant creature. It seemed dazed from the impact, its body swaying.

Before it could recover, Lu Ye, saber in hand, had already charged close. This time, he held nothing back, wielding the power of fourteen Dao paths, and brought his saber down.

The giant creature was instantly decapitated, and fell to the ground.

Just as Lu Ye was about to retrieve the Dao bone, he was astonished to find that the giant creature transformed into a pool of blood, which quickly vanished, leaving no Dao bone whatsoever.

This was the first time he had encountered such a peculiar Star Abyss creature.

Suddenly, strange sounds came from all around. Lu Ye looked intently, his scalp tingling, to see small bulges rapidly forming everywhere in the passage, just like the sign of the giant creature's earlier appearance.

Unlike before, when there was only one, this time there were over a dozen!

If killing them yielded Dao bones, Lu Ye might still have been interested in a widespread slaughter. But these things left nothing behind after being killed, and the passage wasn't wide. If he were surrounded, it would definitely consume a lot of Dao power.

Lu Ye immediately began running forward.

A buzzing sound erupted behind him, as over a dozen giant creatures burst out, pursuing him relentlessly.

Not only that, but small bulges also intermittently appeared in front of Lu Ye, where he was fleeing, clearly indicating that more giant creatures were forming.

This passage… it seemed alive! A terrifying thought emerged in Lu Ye's mind.

He had been slaying Star Abyss creatures in the passage, which then triggered some unexpected changes. What puzzled him even more was that these giant creatures were different from the other Star Abyss creatures; they showed no signs of being restricted at all.

Fleeing with all his might, even when he encountered stumbling Star Abyss creatures ahead, Lu Ye no longer had any interest in slaying them.

He now had only one thought: to escape into the Star Abyss as quickly as possible.