Chapter 2252: Stopping Banlan

Lu Ye's support came without warning, which was key to his ability to help humanity achieve a great victory.

Among the Insect and Blood races, there were certainly Integration realm cultivators stronger than him. If one could be swiftly deployed to target him, he could naturally be contained. Unfortunately, Lu Ye used his authority as the Multicolored Lord to traverse the void, making him impossible to defend against.

Furthermore, something else baffled everyone: every time Lu Ye killed an enemy Integration realm cultivator, he received a Star Abyss blessing! This was very strange. Star Abyss blessings were hard to come by, yet Lu Ye acquired them frequently, which truly made others envious. In the intervals between battles, Lu Ye also took the time to find the remaining few 'Ants'. He urgently needed a large amount of Dao power, and waiting for Yan Xiaowu would take who knows how long; acting himself was more efficient.

He then sent a message to Yan Xiaowu, asking him to deliver news to the noble families on the main planet. Calculating the time, it should be about ready. As expected, shortly after he rested, his waist token vibrated.

It was Yan Xiaowu's message: "Senior Brother Lu, I don't know why, but I can't enter the ruins anymore." He had entered the ruins without issue several times before, but this time, no matter what he did, he couldn't activate the altar to enter.

"Wait for me!" Lu Ye replied with a message, then leaped out from his hiding place. There was an altar nearby connecting to the ruins.

Half a day later, he arrived at the altar, entered the ruins, and with familiar ease, reached the innermost great hall, where he made some arrangements using the Multicolored Core. A moment later, Yan Xiaowu's figure entered from another passage.

"Senior Brother Lu." Yan Xiaowu bowed, a hint of shock still lingering on his face. To be valued by Yan Hong, Yan Xiaowu was undoubtedly astute and quick-witted. Previously, he couldn't enter the ruins no matter what he tried, but after speaking with Lu Ye, he was able to. This led him to ponder. Could Senior Brother Lu have already taken control of the ruins? It wasn't impossible; after all, he was the first to explore the depths of the ruins. Rumors had consistently circulated among the major families on the main planet that he had made significant discoveries there. Some even suggested that his terrifyingly rapid increase in strength was greatly linked to the ruins. After all, Lu Ye's strength had improved far too abnormally. Before he was abducted, he was only at the Dao Entry level, yet in just over a year, he could even kill Integration realm cultivators. Especially recently, several Integration realm cultivators had died by his hand, the strongest one even a seventh-level Integration realm cultivator! Everyone believed he was already an Integration realm cultivator, yet he could freely enter and exit the ruins, doing what others could not. If these anomalies had nothing to do with the secrets of the ruins' depths, no one would believe it.

"Did you bring everything?" Lu Ye asked. Yan Xiaowu quickly took out several storage rings: "Yes, I brought them all. As Senior Brother Lu instructed, I checked, and the numbers are correct." As he spoke, he handed the storage rings to Lu Ye. Each of these storage rings contained a large quantity of Dao Bones, used by several families on the main planet to trade for the 'Ants', one portion per family. They had collaborated several times before, and many families on the main planet had already acquired 'Ants'. However, this time was different; previously, it was one item per transaction, but this time it was several at once. So before entering, the Integration realm cultivators from those families specifically instructed Yan Xiaowu to ensure they saw the 'Ants' before handing over the Dao Bones. Yan Xiaowu naturally agreed verbally but didn't take their instructions seriously. Because he trusted Lu Ye. Besides, he had already brought the Dao Bones in, and with Senior Brother Lu's strength, if he truly intended to seize them, Yan Xiaowu couldn't resist.

Lu Ye took the storage rings without checking them and casually tossed another storage ring to Yan Xiaowu. Yan Xiaowu picked it up and was visibly moved. Inside the storage ring, several 'Ants' were placed together; the number was clearly correct.

"Senior Brother Lu, the 'Ants' are very popular among the great noble families on the main planet," Yan Xiaowu said, putting away the storage ring. "Before I came, several families' Integration realm cultivators asked if they could have priority next time."

Lu Ye shook his head: "There are no more. These are the last of the 'Ants'." The number of 'Ants' crafted by Nine Infants back then was originally not large. Including the four that had appeared before, only a dozen or so were left scattered. Accounting for those destroyed over countless millennia, Lu Ye had now found all of them, even the one he had previously hidden in the medicinal garden.

"I see. I'll relay that message when I go out," Yan Xiaowu nodded. "Also, the Integration realm cultivators from the four great families asked me to tell you something: you can visit the main planet anytime you wish." His tireless efforts across various battlefields and repeated killings of the Insect and Blood races had proven Lu Ye's stance. The powerful individuals on the main planet were not fools; it would be unreasonable to still suspect Lu Ye.

"Understood," Lu Ye nodded, not offering much more of a response. He didn't plan to go to the main planet for now. Undeniably, his efforts during this period had cleared him of suspicion, but caution was still necessary. After all, he was the first to explore the depths of the ruins, and his increase in strength was so immense and strange. No one could say whether someone might harbor ulterior motives. Therefore, until he had absolute self-preservation capabilities, he wouldn't easily put himself in danger. Perhaps one day he would go to the main planet, but definitely not now.

Yan Xiaowu didn't linger and soon departed. After he left, Lu Ye used the Multicolored Core again to set up an arrangement, sealing the ruins.

He took out all the Dao Bones, placed them beside him, and activated the power of the Talent Tree to refine them! On the Talent Tree, leaves changed color, and the entire canopy appeared golden, a magnificent sight! After all the Dao Bones were fully refined, Lu Ye immersed himself to check his Dao power reserves and was stunned by what he saw.

His Dao power reserves had undoubtedly reached a new peak at that moment. He couldn't calculate it precisely, but after refining this batch of Dao Bones, combined with his gains from battling enemies across various battlefields, Lu Ye estimated his reserved Dao power to be around two or three hundred thousand. If all of it were used to refine Dao Bones, increasing his strength by over twenty Daos would certainly be no problem. He currently possessed 160 Daos of power; adding over twenty more would bring him to over 180...

Lu Ye barely managed to suppress the urge in his heart. Previously, he would not have hesitated; this Dao power would undoubtedly have been invested in refining Dao Bones to prioritize improving his own strength, as only by being strong enough could he better protect himself. But the situation was different now. He was now the Multicolored Lord, and acquiring Dao power in the future wouldn't be as troublesome. While it might not be as efficient as this time, with more effort and time, he could accumulate it gradually.

The top priority was still to stop the Multicolored's wandering. He had been here for over three years, during which the Multicolored had constantly drifted. He didn't know how far he was from Qing Palace. If it continued to drift, he might never find his way back. Therefore, he had to first stop the Multicolored's wandering and fix it in one place. This way, he wouldn't drift further from Qing Palace, and with the Multicolored as a point of reference, he would have a clear way back if he ventured into the Star Abyss again, never getting lost. The Multicolored's level was indeed very high; with his current abilities, he couldn't possibly collect it. But simply preventing it from wandering further would only require some Dao power. Lu Ye couldn't believe that such a large amount of Dao power could be entirely consumed. First, stop the Multicolored's wandering, then use the remaining Dao power to increase his strength!

A moment later, Lu Ye was already in the Star Abyss, with the multicolored, miniature starry sky before him.

With previous experience, Lu Ye skillfully maneuvered, his divine sense surging, and Dao power continuously depleting. At first, Lu Ye remained calm, but as time passed, his expression gradually changed. The Multicolored's wandering speed was indeed slowing, but the consumption of Dao power was excessively severe, depleting at a rate of nearly twenty to thirty thousand Dao power per day.

Lu Ye slowly became less confident. He realized he had been somewhat naive, or perhaps he had underestimated the gap between his own strength and the Multicolored's level.

About ten days later, Lu Ye withdrew his hand with a grim expression. The Multicolored was still drifting forward, but the Dao power he had previously accumulated was almost completely depleted! A full two or three hundred thousand Dao power, yet it couldn't completely stop the Multicolored. Such consumption was simply absurd.

However, compared to ten days ago, the Multicolored's wandering speed was indeed much, much slower. If its previous drift was like a person running, it was now as slow as a crawling turtle. Based on this rate, it would probably require tens of thousands more Dao power to completely stop the Multicolored.

Lu Ye felt that something wasn't quite right. Even if his current strength was insufficient, the consumption shouldn't be so immense. He was only trying to stop the Multicolored from drifting. Nine Infants, its former master, was undoubtedly at a very high realm. But if it were here, would it also need to expend so much Dao power to achieve the same thing? That was hundreds of thousands of Dao power; even someone as powerful as Nine Infants wouldn't find it easy to acquire, would they? This was just to stop the Multicolored from drifting. What about controlling it? Wouldn't that casually consume hundreds of thousands of Dao power?

Lu Ye felt there were some things he hadn't figured out. However, things had come to this, and for now, it had to be this way. The Multicolored's drifting speed was now very slow; he could deal with it later once he accumulated more Dao power.

With this matter resolved, Lu Ye's mood became less urgent. He had always worried about not finding his way back. If that were the case, no matter how strong he became in the future, if he couldn't return to the starry sky, he wouldn't be able to resolve the crisis there. Several years had passed, and he didn't know what the situation in the starry sky was like. However, based on his past experience in the Mech Starry Sky, the Star Abyss invasion was a very long process. Barring any accidents, a mere few years should not have brought about significant changes.