Chapter 2336: The Birth of the Son of the Star Abyss

Ri Yan was indeed still alive, but in a miserable state.

Su Yan's fierce secret technique had directly shattered his protective artifact and severely wounded him.

Before he could even catch his breath, Lu Ye was already upon him.

Ri Yan, whose eyes had already dimmed, suddenly saw a ray of hope. He never expected Lu Ye to charge in alone! To him, this was undoubtedly an opportunity; if he could eliminate Lu Ye here, he would secure the final victory and become a Star Abyss Child with Su Yan.

He had little Dao power left, but he could unleash one last strike. He was confident that no one at the Dao Integration level could withstand this blow.

Ri Yan, cloaked in golden armor that even obscured his face, took a deep breath and punched out with all his might, facing the sudden burst of brilliant saber light. Two hundred and seventy strands of power, all unleashed. He had previously sensed that Lu Ye's strength was around two hundred and forty strands. A difference of thirty strands was substantial, and his punch would be enough to break through Lu Ye's attack and kill him in the process.

The saber light shattered. The moment fist and saber collided, the Pan Shan Saber suddenly vibrated violently. Ri Yan's expression changed abruptly. This was because he felt a tidal wave of Dao power from the long saber; each vibration was the full force of his opponent's power. He quickly squeezed out his last reserves of strength. However, it was futile. After only three vibrations, the Dao power in his fist was extinguished. The saber, pressing against his fist, then struck him directly. As sparks flew, Ri Yan was sent flying.

The armor covering his entire body rapidly dissipated… This armor was an ancillary treasure of a supreme artifact, incredibly sturdy and not easily broken by ordinary means. Ri Yan had nurtured it into his own Dao weapon, which was how he possessed strength beyond typical Dao Integration cultivators. But activating the power of this ancillary treasure also required the consumption of Dao power. Yet, at this moment, Ri Yan had not a single trace of Dao power left in his body.

Defeated! Ri Yan knew he had no chance of recovery. What could a Dao Integration cultivator do without any Dao power to wield?

But even in death, he would face his enemy with dignity! His body suddenly straightened. In his vision, Lu Ye, who was relentlessly pursuing him, was reflected in his pupils. Ri Yan simply gazed at him silently, then watched as Lu Ye swung his saber. Blood splattered, and a head flew.

It wasn't until Lu Ye swept past Ri Yan's remains that he realized his last enemy had been slain. He looked back just in time to see Ri Yan's remains dissipate.

Is it over? Lu Ye stood there, feeling somewhat puzzled. Logically, if it were truly over and he had become a Star Abyss Child, he should have experienced some special sensation, but there was none. Could there be other hidden enemies? Regardless, even if there were more enemies, they couldn't be stronger than Ri Yan. He could just find them and kill them when the time came.

Void Dao patterns appeared beneath his feet. Lu Ye's figure flickered, disappearing from his spot, and reappeared beside his clone.

The weakened Su Yan looked at him, her eyes questioning. Lu Ye nodded slightly. Su Yan, however, did not show the expected joy. Her gaze became complex, as if something was difficult for her to decide.

Lu Ye found this strange and was about to ask when he suddenly felt a chill in his heart and quickly turned to look beside him. Unbeknownst to him, a figure had appeared! But only when he recognized who it was did Lu Ye sigh in relief.

Qi… Qi, who had been quietly standing in the center of the white jade platform since the start of the conflict, had suddenly appeared here.

Lu Ye subtly shifted, shielding Su Yan. He looked at Qi with a hint of vigilance and cupped his fist, saying, "Venerable Saint, how may I help you?" He didn't know what Qi truly was. If she was alive, she seemed like a dead person; yet if she was dead, there was life force on her.

Qi still wore the peculiar mask, her true face obscured. From beneath the mask came her emotionless voice: "This contention has concluded. You two are now Star Abyss Children. I can send you back to your original locations."

So that's why Qi had come. This was good news. He had been worried about how he would return after this contention. He didn't know how vast the Star Abyss was, but if he were simply dropped anywhere within it, it would be troublesome, as he might not find his way back. As it stood, this Qi seemed quite decent, willing to send him back to his original place, which would undoubtedly save him a lot of trouble. However, if she could truly do such a thing, her power would be terrifying.

Just as he was thinking this, Qi added, "But only to one location!"

Lu Ye paused, then quickly reacted, unable to resist asking, "Venerable Saint, can you not send us back to our respective locations?" He was from Colorful, and Lu Ye didn't know where Su Yan was from, but it certainly wasn't the same place as him. According to Qi, they would have to go together—either to Colorful or to Su Yan's origin, with no other choice. Lu Ye, of course, was unwilling to go to Su Yan's origin. Although they had gotten along reasonably well during this time and their cooperation was highly effective, if he truly left with Su Yan, what would happen to Colorful? What about the starry sky? Presumably, Su Yan would also be unwilling to go with him. This was problematic.

Qi did not respond, acting as if she hadn't heard.

Lu Ye cupped his fist: "Venerable Saint, please make an exception. After all, we come from different places, and now that the contention is over, we naturally need to return to our respective origins." Logically, they had been brought here by the Star Abyss Will without any prior warning. Now that the Star Abyss Children had been chosen, they should be sent back. Things should be seen through to the end. But since their power was inferior, reasoning was out of the question; he could only resort to polite persuasion.

Qi still showed no reaction.

"Senior Brother Lu," Su Yan spoke weakly from beside him, "I will go with you."

Lu Ye was astonished and turned to look at her: "Junior Sister, have you thought this through?"

Su Yan merely lowered her head, making it impossible to discern her expression, but her tone was resolute: "I'll just go with you." *Is she homeless, or did she have some conflict with her family?* Lu Ye wondered to himself.

But if Su Yan was willing to go with him, then there would be no problem. As long as he returned to Colorful, he could return to the starry sky!

"Venerable Saint, please send us to the place I came from!" Lu Ye said, casually retracting his Talent Tree clone. Su Yan took two steps and stood beside him.

Qi finally reacted: "As you wish!" Saying this, she raised both hands, extending one finger from each, and pointed them towards Lu Ye's and Su Yan's foreheads. At the tips of her fingers, a faint glow lingered.

Lu Ye couldn't clearly see what the glow was, but he instinctively wanted to dodge. Yet, Qi's movements were clearly slow, but he somehow couldn't evade them. A slight warmth spread across his forehead, and Lu Ye felt himself struck by an immense force. His body tilted backward, as if he were falling into an endless abyss, sinking deeper and deeper, without end. Everything around them transformed into strange, kaleidoscopic lines of light, endlessly streaking by. Only Su Yan, by his side, remained quietly standing.

His large hand tightened; Su Yan had gripped it. She seemed a bit nervous; after all, her Dao power was exhausted, and her mind was incredibly weary. In such a state, she felt very insecure. Realizing this, Lu Ye gently squeezed her hand, offering a reassuring response.

Suddenly, all the strange phenomena around them vanished, their rapidly falling figures halted, and the surroundings became clear.

Lu Ye quickly turned to look around, but the next moment, his expression of anticipation changed. This was not Colorful at all! The scenery within the Colorful starry sky was distinct, vibrant, and dazzling, but the surroundings here bore no resemblance to Colorful. Most critically, he could sense Colorful's location, far behind him. Since he had once refined Colorful's core, he was considered its master, and as its master, he could naturally sense the Dao weapon's whereabouts. That Qi… she lied! She had claimed she could send them back to their origins, but instead, she sent him to this place, an unknown distance from Colorful. However, Lu Ye soon realized that Qi might not have lied. Colorful had always been in a drifting state, and his current location might be where Colorful was originally. It was just that after such a long time, Colorful had already drifted far away. If that was the case, the problem wasn't too big; he just needed to follow his senses to catch up with Colorful.

On another note, this grand competition for the Star Abyss Children felt somewhat anticlimactic, as Lu Ye hadn't noticed any particular changes within himself. *Is this really what it means to be a Star Abyss Child? I haven't gained any tangible benefits…*

Just as he was thinking this, a warmth suddenly spread from his forehead, rapidly flowing throughout his entire body. At that moment, the Talent Tree reacted more violently than ever before! Lu Ye suddenly felt his body burning, an inexplicable emotion surging within him. Deep in his mind, desires he had never felt before were suddenly magnified infinitely.

"Senior Brother Lu…" A slightly breathless voice reached Lu Ye's ears from beside him.

Lu Ye slowly turned his head, and a beautiful, delicate face, like a blooming flower, came into view. Su Yan's eyes gazed at him, shimmering with moisture. Two blushes had appeared on her cheeks, and her red lips, parted slightly, looked incredibly alluring to Lu Ye. His throat felt dry, and he instinctively sensed that something was wrong!

Su Yan was undoubtedly a beauty; Lu Ye wasn't blind, so he naturally saw that. But honestly, despite their long period of interaction, he had never harbored any inappropriate thoughts towards her; their relationship had simply been one of cooperation. Yet, at this moment, his heart stirred with desire.

They had been holding hands the entire time. As Su Yan's voice came out, Lu Ye felt his hand being gripped more tightly.

"We… have been tampered with!" Su Yan's body trembled slightly, clearly struggling to endure something. Lu Ye also realized this.

He remembered the finger Qi had gently pressed to their foreheads when sending them away. And the warmth at his brow just now was undoubtedly the burst of power contained within that finger.