Chapter 2164: Colorful

Winds Stir Kyushu

Lu Ye quickly sensed the location of his Blood Clone, which had entered just before him. Due to the isolation, the Blood Clone had been completely unconscious, like a living dead person, before his main body arrived, and it was still quite far from his current position. He also detected the location of his Talent Tree Clone, which was equally far away. Not to mention the Talent Tree Clone, even Lu Ye's main body and his Blood Clone, though they entered one after the other, seemed close in terms of entry points, but in this expanse of starry sky, they were actually vast distances apart.

Lu Ye breathed a sigh of relief. His Talent Tree Clone was too important to lose, and he was glad to have found it. However, at this very moment, something seemed amiss with the clone. With a thought, he constructed a Void Spirit Pattern and instantly teleported to the clone's location.

"Hey, wake up! If you don't wake up, I'm going to abandon you." As soon as he appeared, an anxious voice reached his ears. Lu Ye looked up to see his Talent Tree Clone being carried on a man's shoulder. The man was fleeing, accompanied by two other individuals who looked panicked. It was no wonder they were in such a state; pursuers were close behind them.

Lu Ye's sudden appearance clearly startled the three of them. They quickly spread out and adopted defensive postures. However, after getting a clear look at Lu Ye's face, the three paused again, especially the man carrying the clone, who couldn't help but glance at the clone's face once more.

Lu Ye raised a hand and beckoned; the clone flew out and was retrieved by him. This brief delay allowed the pursuers to catch up. The man who had been carrying the clone cursed loudly, "Let's fight them to the death!" The other two said nothing but showed resolute expressions.

The man then looked up at Lu Ye, his expression stern. "Friend, we can talk later. If you want to live, help us. Don't even think about begging for mercy; falling into the hands of the Blood Clan means becoming a bone-cultivating vessel, a fate worse than death!"

"No problem!" Lu Ye nodded. In that short moment, he had also seen who the pursuers were. They were, unexpectedly, the Blood Clan. He was speechless. He had just escaped from the Insectoids, only to encounter the Blood Clan again.

"Kill!" the man roared, charging forward first, with his two companions close behind. Lu Ye hadn't been sure of their strength initially, but as they activated their Dao power, he vaguely perceived that their strength wasn't very high, only around the sixth or seventh Dao level. Judging by that, the pursuing Blood Clan members shouldn't be much stronger.

Indeed, the Blood Clan members were not particularly strong; they were only able to act aggressively due to their greater numbers. Lu Ye drew his blade and advanced, striking them down almost one by one. In just a few moments, he had eliminated all the Blood Clan members.

They had expected a desperate fight with uncertain survival, but who would have thought the battle would end so quickly? Three pairs of eyes stared at Lu Ye in astonishment. Only then did they realize that they had just saved someone at the Ninth Dao level!

"Friend, I know you have many questions, but this is not the place to talk. Please follow me for now." The man said, leading the way. Lu Ye nodded and followed him.

Inside a large floating landmass, the four of them hid. The three men had evidently been through a fierce battle earlier and were all injured. Honestly, if Lu Ye hadn't intervened, they might not have survived. However, since they were all Dao Entry cultivators, recovering from their injuries was not difficult.

After exchanging names, Lu Ye learned that the leader was named Kang Xing, and the other two, a man and a woman, were Jiang Yuning and Zhao Tuo. Among them, Kang Xing was at the Seventh Dao level, while Jiang Yuning and Zhao Tuo were at the Sixth Dao level.

"Did you enter here by accident, friend?" Kang Xing asked.

"More or less," Lu Ye nodded. His main body hadn't entered by accident, but his clone had, which was why he had to follow.

"Alas," Kang Xing sighed. "It's the same for us. Most, if not all, cultivators here were swallowed in by accident."

Lu Ye frowned at this. "How long have you all been here?"

Kang Xing replied, "Not too long, really. I've been here the longest, just a few decades. They've only been here for twenty years or so." He paused, then continued, "I know what you're going to ask. Once you're in here, there's no way out. Not just us Dao Entry cultivators, but even many Integration Realm cultivators have been trapped for thousands or even tens of thousands of years."

Lu Ye was startled. "Even Integration Realm cultivators are trapped?" This was not good. If he were trapped here for thousands or tens of thousands of years, what would happen to the Starry Sky? He had come to the Star Abyss precisely to quickly increase his strength and then resolve the Starry Sky crisis. Let alone thousands or tens of thousands of years, Lu Ye couldn't even afford to waste a few hundred years.

"What exactly is this place? And what was that cloud of stardust I saw before I came in?" Lu Ye asked.

Kang Xing explained, "This is the One-Origin Starry Sky. However, unlike a normal starry sky, it wasn't naturally formed; it was cultivated by a powerful individual."

"Cultivated?" Lu Ye questioned, surprised, then his expression changed to shock. "A Dao Weapon?" If something could be 'cultivated' like that, it could only be a Dao Weapon.

Kang Xing nodded gravely. "Precisely, a Dao Weapon named 'Splendor'!"

A storm surged in Lu Ye's heart. Although these words came from Kang Xing, a mere Seventh Dao cultivator, they were certainly not baseless rumors. For a Dao Weapon named Splendor to *be* an entire starry sky, how terrifying was that? Although his Pan Mountain Saber had already become a Dao Weapon, Lu Ye found it hard to imagine how much effort it would take to cultivate it to the level of Splendor.

"What about the owner of this Dao Weapon?"

"Naturally, they died in battle. That's why the Dao Weapon was left behind."

Lu Ye's eye twitched. The grandeur and power of Splendor were unimaginable; its owner must have been a formidable mighty figure. For such a powerhouse to have died in battle was shocking. Kang Xing added, "Splendor drifts through the Star Abyss, swallowing whatever it encounters. If cultivators accidentally fall into it, they become trapped like us."

Zhao Tuo, nearby, chimed in gloomily, "You all were trapped by accident. I was trapped because of my excessive curiosity. I regret it deeply."

Lu Ye looked at him, and Kang Xing chuckled, "When Brother Zhao first saw Splendor, he thought it was some kind of treasure and wanted to explore it. That's how he got in." There were surely many like Zhao Tuo. Greed is common to all people. A treasure it certainly was, but such a treasure was not something ordinary people could enjoy.

"Over countless years, who knows how many cultivators have been trapped in this Splendor Starry Sky. Such situations will undoubtedly continue in the future. Since you're here, friend, what are your plans?" Lu Ye pondered in silence. Having roughly understood the situation from Kang Xing, he wasn't sure what to do for a moment.

"Is there really no way to leave?" Lu Ye asked, unwilling to give up hope.

Kang Xing shook his head. "At least, we've never heard of anyone leaving. Perhaps the Integration Realm cultivators know more, but that's information beyond our reach."

Lu Ye nodded. That was to be expected. After a moment of thought, Kang Xing said, "If you want to gather more information, friend, why not return to the War Alliance with us? There are Integration Realm cultivators stationed there."

"War Alliance?" Lu Ye showed a confused expression.

Kang Xing explained, "Although there are cultivators of various races within this Splendor Starry Sky, they are generally divided into three major forces. The first is led by us humans, occupying a portion of the territories as our base. This includes not only humans but also cultivators of some other races."

"The second force is led by the Giant Race, also accommodating many cultivators from other races. The third, and most powerful, consists of the Insectoid and Blood Races!" At this point, Kang Xing's expression became grim.

Lu Ye immediately showed a look of distaste. Although he had already seen Blood Clan members chasing Kang Xing and his companions, encountering these two races no matter where he went was truly annoying.

"The Insectoid and Blood Races have always sought to dominate the Splendor Starry Sky. That's why we and the Giant Race have always allied to resist their oppression. The central region of the entire starry sky is a battlefield, and the War Alliance is our human race's base at the edge of this battlefield."

"Then let's go together!" Lu Ye nodded. In this Splendor Starry Sky with three major forces, as a human, he would naturally join the human side. Even if he hadn't intended to, he would still need to choose a side to establish himself here.

"Excellent! With your Ninth Dao strength, friend, you are already formidable. You are bound to achieve great things in the future, and your prospects are bright when you ascend to the Integration Realm!"

"Oh, by the way, Brother Kang, I forgot to ask, are there any Dao Harmonization cultivators here?"

"No, there are no Dao Harmonization cultivators. Such powerhouses would certainly have heard of Splendor's formidable reputation and would naturally not rush in recklessly."

Lu Ye understood. This meant that anyone who had heard of Splendor was unlikely to fall into this place, unless, like his clone, they were swallowed without warning.

Kang Xing and his companions had originally planned to return to the War Alliance, but on their way back, they suddenly encountered that Blood Clan squad. They were forced to hide, hoping to avoid them. It was at this moment that Lu Ye's clone suddenly appeared, attracting the Blood Clan squad. They could have chosen to abandon him, but out of shared humanity, they couldn't quite bring themselves to do it, so they fled with Lu Ye's clone.

Although Lu Ye wouldn't have suffered a significant loss even if his Talent Tree Clone had been killed (he only needed to retrieve the root segment later), he was still very grateful for Kang Xing and his companions' help. As a token of his gratitude, Lu Ye simply gave them all the Dao bones he had collected from the Blood Clan squad he had just slain. Kang Xing initially declined but eventually accepted.

This area was already close to the edge of the battlefield, so there were no major powerhouses. Approximately a day later, the four of them exited the battlefield and saw the War Alliance in the distance. It was a territory, and within that entire territory, there was only one gigantic city, stretching for an unknown number of thousands of miles. Upon first sight, Lu Ye was somewhat taken aback. Honestly, he had never seen such an enormous city.

Inside the city, people moved like a flowing tapestry. There were not only Dao Realm cultivators but also those below the Dao Realm, and even a large number of ordinary mortals! As if sensing Lu Ye's confusion, Kang Xing explained, "Splendor has existed for countless years. These mortals are the result of continuous reproduction and proliferation. It's not just here; our human-controlled territories include several other regions with large populations of living beings."