Chapter 2340: 蚀魂风

In the void, Lu Ye’s spiritual sense spread out. The space around him began to distort, and at the same time, a similar change occurred in a certain area of space ahead.

It was as if two distinct spaces had developed a strange resonance.

After more than ten breaths, Lu Ye suddenly vanished from his original position.

He reappeared at the location his spiritual sense had just locked onto.

The Art of Spatial Teleportation!

This was a true spatial teleportation technique, just like the one Su Yan had used in their previous confrontation. This time, Lu Ye didn't rely on void runes, yet he still managed it.

This was the benefit of gaining a deeper understanding and insight into the intricacies of space, also signifying a significant improvement in his mastery of the spatial dao.

It seemed impressive...

...but in reality, it was not very useful.

Because currently, for Lu Ye to use this secret art, he had to remain perfectly still. Perhaps it was due to lack of proficiency, or insufficient mastery of spatial techniques, but he had never succeeded in doing so while moving.

Moreover, it took too long—over ten breaths to succeed. Such a secret art could not be used in combat.

Su Yan was different. In Lu Ye's previous attempts to pursue her, no matter how fierce the battle, she could teleport away with just a single step.

If Lu Ye hadn't been able to construct void runes to disrupt the space around her, he would truly have had no way to restrain her.

Furthermore, his teleportation distance was limited. The maximum range was within his line of sight; exceeding this limit was not possible.

Nevertheless, the ability to perform teleportation meant a significant improvement in his mastery of the spatial dao.

After trying it a few times and the novelty wore off, Lu Ye stopped wasting time and pressed on.

Because he was carrying Su Yan, Lu Ye remained cautious throughout his journey. Although he was very strong now, he still tried his best to avoid any trouble he could.

The phoenix egg seemed very sturdy, but Lu Ye wasn't sure if it could be damaged by the aftermath of a battle.

Days passed, and a month went by in the blink of an eye.

The phoenix egg showed no activity. Lu Ye could only feel the powerful and pure life force contained within it.

He had no idea when Su Yan would revive.

One day, as he was traveling, Lu Ye suddenly frowned.

He had sensed a trace of warmth and the feeling of wind blowing.

But this was the void; how could there be wind, let alone hot wind?

He looked around, but there was nothing unusual.

However, Lu Ye soon realized something was wrong: as the warm wind blew, his spiritual power was draining away!

And as time passed, the wind's speed and heat increased, and his spiritual power drained even faster, yet his physical body felt little discomfort.

The Star Abyss contained many strange and unexplained mysteries. Lu Ye had heard Nine Infants talk about such things before, and he immediately knew what he had encountered.

This warm wind seemed harmless, but if his spiritual power was completely swept away, he would likely become a living corpse.

Lu Ye quickly checked the phoenix egg behind him and was surprised to find that it was unaffected by the warm wind.

This put his mind at ease somewhat.

However, given the situation, he dared not stay put. He immediately rushed in the direction of the warm wind's source, wanting to escape its strange influence.

To his frustration, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake it off.

The rate of spiritual power consumption wasn't rapid, but it was unstoppable. Such constant spiritual power loss would definitely be detrimental over time.

After nearly half a day, Lu Ye had no idea how far he had traveled, but the situation remained unchanged.

He realized something was wrong.

There was no reason for this warm wind to cover such a vast area. What was going on?

As he pondered, a voice suddenly sounded in his ear: "Young friend, over here, young friend, hello."

Lu Ye immediately stopped, his hand on his Pan Mountain Blade, his expression wary.

There was someone nearby, but the key was that he hadn't detected any aura.

He spread his spiritual sense, searching in all directions, but under the strange warm wind, his spiritual sense dissipated instantly upon leaving his body, vanishing without a trace.

"Over here, to your left!" The voice sounded again, seemingly aware of Lu Ye's current state and kindly offering a warning: "Enveloped by the Soul-Corroding Wind, your spiritual sense cannot leave your physical body."

Lu Ye paused for a moment in thought, then turned and moved to his left.

With his current strength of two hundred and forty dao marks, in this outer realm, few could truly be his match, unless he encountered a Fusion Dao peak cultivator like Ri Yan who possessed an artifact as a dao weapon.

The current situation was bizarre, and he needed to find someone knowledgeable to inquire about it. Otherwise, being constantly harassed by this so-called Soul-Corroding Wind would be unpleasant.

After only a moment, Lu Ye arrived at a floating landmass. There was nothing else on it except for a single stone statue.

It was a gigantic head sculpture, just a head.

Aside from that, there was nothing else.

Lu Ye stood before the mottled, tens of feet tall stone statue, looking up at it.

The head had no hair; its scalp was bald, and it wore a benevolent smile, appearing harmless.

"Are you speaking?" Lu Ye asked.

Although he sensed no life force from the statue, there was nothing else of interest in the area.

"Greetings, young friend. It is I who am speaking."

The stone statue remained motionless, yet a voice reached Lu Ye's ears.

Lu Ye marveled. Indeed, the vast world was full of wonders. He had seen many transformed spirits and monsters, but he had never encountered something with sentience yet no life force.

"Friend, what is your situation?" Lu Ye asked.

The stone statue chuckled: "To be honest, I don't know what my situation is. One day, I suddenly gained sentience, and it's been like this ever since."

"You cannot move?"

"I cannot."

Quite pitiable... Although it gained sentience, it had been stuck here for countless years, unable to move. It might have been better off without sentience.

"You just called that the Soul-Corroding Wind?" Lu Ye asked again.

"Yes, it's a strange warm wind that constantly lingers in this area and drains spiritual power. I've heard other fellow cultivators describe it this way before."

"Oh?" Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. "Others have encountered it? Do you know how they resolved it?"

The stone statue chuckled: "Young friend, are you perhaps curious as to why this Soul-Corroding Wind covers such a large area?"

"Yes, I can't shake it off no matter how far I run."

"Indeed, you won't be able to shake it off like that, because this Soul-Corroding Wind doesn't cover a vast area; it has been following you."

"Is that so?" Lu Ye frowned, pondering. It was certainly possible. No wonder he couldn't escape it no matter how far he ran. So this so-called Soul-Corroding Wind had been following him all along.

If that were the case, it would be easy to resolve.

He would only need to use spatial teleportation to escape it. However, to be safe, it would be best to use his clone and utilize the connection between the clone and his main body for long-distance teleportation.

"Actually, solving it is quite simple," the stone statue continued. "This Soul-Corroding Wind is only attracted to life force. I see that the egg on your back has a powerful life force. Why don't you leave this egg here? The Soul-Corroding Wind will then stay, and you can proceed safely."

Lu Ye blinked and said, "No need. Thank you for the explanation, farewell!"

He paused, then, facing the statue, floated backward.

The stone statue remained perfectly still, watching him with the same harmless expression.

Lu Ye, however, suddenly felt something was wrong, because the distance between him and the statue wasn't increasing. The surrounding scenery also began to distort.

"Young friend, you should still leave that egg here," the statue spoke.

Lu Ye remained silent.

"You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit! Since you are unwilling, do not blame me for taking it by force!" As the statue growled, a rumbling sound echoed, and the ground shook.

It, which had been standing on the ground, slowly rose.

Beneath it, numerous legs of different shapes and sizes appeared, at least dozens of them, looking bizarre. These legs clearly did not belong to the same creature, nor even the same race, as if someone had cut off the legs of many cultivators and pieced them together beneath the statue.

Not only did it have many legs, but as the statue rose, it also grew dozens of arms where it previously had none!

"Brat, with your mere Dao Entry stage strength, how dare you be so presumptuous before me? Let alone a Dao Entry cultivator like you, I have been here for many years and have killed dozens, even hundreds, of Fusion Dao cultivators. If you know what's good for you, obediently leave that egg behind you."

The statue spoke fiercely, no longer gentle as the wind, but more like a highway robber.

Lu Ye lowered his gaze and said calmly, "That so-called Soul-Corroding Wind, that was your doing, wasn't it?"

It made no sense for him to be so unlucky as to encounter such a bizarre event. Coupled with the statue's current behavior, Lu Ye naturally understood that this was the other party's tactic.

It used this method to interact with passing cultivators, then lured them here to kill them.

If that was the case, the Soul-Corroding Wind wouldn't last too long. After all, it was a secret art, and it must consume something from the statue. It couldn't maintain it indefinitely.

But anyone encountering such a strange phenomenon would make the same choice as Lu Ye: come over to inquire.

As for its ability to discern Lu Ye's cultivation level...

Enveloped by the Soul-Corroding Wind, Lu Ye had been continuously activating his dao power. How could it not sense it?

The dao power of the Dao Entry stage was too distinct from that of the Fusion Dao stage.

"You are clever, but unfortunately, you made a foolish choice!" The statue snorted. "I'll say it again: leave the egg behind you, and you can get lost. I'm in a good mood today, so I won't kill you!"

Lu Ye suddenly looked up: "Who gave you the courage to speak to me like that...?"

As the voice sounded, he moved, sweeping past the statue, leaving a dazzling flash of blade light in his wake.

The statue, which had been arrogant and aggressive, waving its dozens of mismatched arms, suddenly froze, its eyes wide with immense terror. Lu Ye's voice, delivering the latter half of his sentence, reached its ears.

"...courage?"