Chapter 2368: Vast Sea of Myriad Phenomena!

Yan Yao didn't understand Lu Ye's relationship with the Mother, but he wasn't particularly concerned. He knew that Lu Ye couldn't possibly have too close a relationship with the Bug and Blood tribes.

Speaking of cultivation, Yan Yao became excited: "I've already found a lead on how to advance to the Dao Integration realm."

"Congratulations then."

After exchanging a few more words with Yan Yao, he left.

From beginning to end, the Mother stood quietly to the side, listening silently. Yet, from the changes in its expression, it was clear its inner state was far from as serene as its outward appearance suggested.

"Do you understand now?" Lu Ye turned to look at it.

The Mother knew what he meant, nodded silently, and finally understood the source of that feeling of unreality. It was unreal because it could never truly experience the kind of joy Yan Yao had just shown. It even regretted accompanying Lu Ye on this trip. Had it not come, it could have forever remained skeptical of Lu Ye's previous claims, instead of being utterly disheartened as it was now.

"Can I go in there and take a look?" The Mother looked at the open Star Abyss Gate.

"No need," Lu Ye refused it. It was merely a starfield invaded by the Star Abyss; what was there to see? That was his starfield, and it had no connection to the Mother.

"Let's go back," Lu Ye said.

The Mother sighed and ultimately flashed back into Lu Ye's divine sea. It did not want to return; it would rather abandon its physical body and remain in the Star Abyss in this state forever than go back to that cage. But it could not resist.

A moment later, Lu Ye reappeared inside the Bug Nest. The Mother's soul returned to its physical body. Under its control, over a dozen storage rings slowly floated towards Lu Ye. "These are three thousand Dao artifacts," it said, "and we hope you will remember the Bug and Blood tribes' contribution today."

These Dao artifacts were naturally prepared by the Bug and Blood tribes. Handing them over now undoubtedly signified the two tribes' complete compromise. However, after the brief journey to the Star Abyss, the Mother's mood was clearly somewhat dispirited.

"As long as you don't go too far, I won't interfere with matters within the Variegated Starfield anymore." Lu Ye put away the storage rings without counting them, trusting that the Bug and Blood tribes wouldn't tamper with the quantity.

"That would be good," the Mother replied, hesitating for a moment. Still unwilling to give up, it continued, "Your Excellency, do our two tribes truly have no chance..."

However, before it could finish speaking, Lu Ye had already disappeared, leaving the Mother with an expression of futility.

Several days later, at a certain altar, several figures swiftly arrived. The one leading them was Huang Chen, the former patriarch of the Huang family. Those accompanying him were all enormous, clearly powerful individuals from the Giant Race. There weren't many, only five of them.

Lu Ye was already waiting there, with You Long resting beside him. During these few days of waiting, Lu Ye had been trying to build a good relationship with You Long, and progress was good; at the very least, You Long no longer harbored much wariness towards him. However, with the arrival of Huang Chen and his group, You Long was still startled. It flashed and disappeared, its whereabouts unknown. This Star Beast was highly curious but incredibly timid.

"Fellow Daoist Lu," Huang Chen said. He had seen You Long but didn't pay much attention, as Star Beasts also existed in Variegated, albeit in small numbers.

Lu Ye nodded slightly, looking at the five Giant cultivators behind him. These individuals had clearly received specific information from Huang Chen, so their gazes at Lu Ye were now full of fervent excitement.

Huang Chen introduced the Giant cultivators to Lu Ye one by one, and they exchanged greetings. Immediately after, Huang Chen slipped a storage ring to Lu Ye, secretly transmitting, "Two hundred Dao artifacts per slot, a total of one thousand Dao artifacts. The Giant race's foundation is much weaker than our Human race's, so they could only gather this much in a hurry."

Lu Ye nodded. Four thousand Dao artifacts might not be much in Variegated, but it was a different story in the Starfield.

There wasn't much small talk. Ultimately, Lu Ye had no particular ties with the Giant race; this was merely a transaction, with each party getting what they needed. The Giant cultivators were indeed interested in trying to curry favor with Lu Ye, but seeing that he was already preparing to lead them into the ruins, they immediately fell silent and followed quietly.

As before, he led Huang Chen and the Giant cultivators through the ruins, exiting Variegated. Lu Ye left the rest to Huang Chen, who would arrange for the Giants and instruct them on the secrets of advancing to Dao Integration.

With the Giant race led away by Huang Chen, Lu Ye stood in place, looking at the open Star Abyss Gate. He had actually considered one thing earlier: to control Variegated and use it to cover this Star Abyss Gate! This way, no one would be able to enter the Starfield through the Star Abyss Gate, because as soon as they stepped into Variegated, they would enter the Variegated Starfield.

But now, upon reflection, this action seemed ill-advised. Not to mention that over a thousand Variegated humans were still waiting here to enter the Starfield, even if this Star Abyss Gate were truly sealed, there would inevitably be no further Star Abyss cultivators invading the Starfield. This would be detrimental to the growth of Starfield cultivators. Only with more Star Abyss cultivators invading the Starfield could the Starfield side better acquire Dao Bones and more quickly enhance their strength. Currently, the Starfield was not without the power to resist invasions. To some extent, provided there was sufficient power to resist, such invasions could actually be a good thing.

Therefore, it was better not to seal this Star Abyss Gate. A moment later, Lu Ye returned to the Starfield alone.

Traversing almost the entire Extinction Star System, he returned to the war fortress and immediately received good news from Gu Yunliu. Chen Wulei had advanced to the Dao Fusion realm!

The process was very smooth, without any hitches. All of this was thanks to Lu Ye, who, regardless of the consumption of Dao power, allowed him to familiarize himself with the construction of the "Same Qi, Linked Branches" Dao patterns. Furthermore, during the construction process, Lu Ye's meticulous guidance enabled Chen Wulei to resolve and become familiar with many potential issues that might arise during his advancement. That was why he could succeed in one go.

Although he was only at Dao Fusion First Stage, with the strength of twenty-two Dao marks, it was still Dao Fusion. Now, with a Dao Fusion cultivator stationed in the Extinction Star System battlefield, it was truly impregnable. When the time came, Chen Wulei would only need to lead a group of Dao Entry cultivators wielding Dao artifacts to guard the Star Abyss Gate. Any number of invading enemies could be easily dealt with. It could be said that from now on, any invaders would simply be delivering Dao Bones.

The only problem currently facing the battlefield in the Extinction Star System was dealing with the enemies scattered throughout Extinction. This matter was already being addressed, and the two hundred Variegated Dao Entry cultivators who remained were not to be underestimated. The situation in Extinction was now sufficiently stable.

Lu Ye then went to see Elder Tree again and recounted how he had obtained another four thousand Dao artifacts from Variegated. Elder Tree was overjoyed. Dao artifacts were practically a specialty of Variegated. Lu Ye had never seen them elsewhere during his travels in the Starfield, let alone Elder Tree. However, these items provided an immense boost to cultivators at the Dao Entry level, and their current assistance to the Starfield was immeasurable. Although over a thousand Dao Entry cultivators wielding Dao artifacts had already been dispatched to various battle zones, there was still a shortage of personnel, as dispersing over a thousand cultivators meant only about two hundred per battle zone. These four thousand Dao artifacts had arrived at precisely the right time.

The only problem now was that this Starfield didn't have enough Dao Entry cultivators, which was quite awkward. But not having them now didn't mean they wouldn't have them in the future.

Lu Ye handed most of the Dao artifacts to Elder Tree. From now on, Elder Tree would be responsible for allocating and distributing them, while Lu Ye kept only two hundred for himself.

After discussing for a while with Elder Tree, Lu Ye immediately set off for the Myriad Manifestations Sea. Currently, among the Starfield's six major battle zones, the top priority was to address the Myriad Manifestations Sea and Mount Fangcun, because the Star Abyss Gates in both locations now allowed passage for cultivators of the Nine Dao. However, since both the Myriad Manifestations Sea and Mount Fangcun had Dao Fusion cultivators stationed there, no major disturbances had occurred.

Comparatively, Mount Fangcun was guarded by Qingniao, who was more reliable, so Lu Ye decided to return to the Myriad Manifestations Sea first. The Dancer, who was stationed there, possessed strength, but possibly due to its origin as a Star Beast, its power, once unleashed, would indiscriminately harm both friend and foe. The Myriad Manifestations Sea had initially experienced several chaotic incidents because of this. Moreover, according to information received from Elder Tree, the enemies on the other side of the Myriad Manifestations Sea's Star Abyss Gate seemed to have reached their limit of patience and had begun launching frequent probing invasions. According to Elder Tree's estimate, within half a year, the Myriad Manifestations Sea would inevitably face a large-scale invasion. Should this occur, the Dancer alone, as a Dao Fusion Star Beast, would be utterly unable to control the situation.

Lu Ye received a brand new star map from Elder Tree. In recent years, with the continuous invasion of the Star Abyss, many more wormholes had been created throughout the Starfield, making travel within the Starfield much more convenient than before. What used to be a journey of decades or even centuries could now be reached by simply crossing a new wormhole. Even so, it still took Lu Ye several days to reach the Myriad Manifestations Star System.

Gazing at the familiar surroundings, Lu Ye was filled with a myriad of emotions. The time he had been away wasn't long, just over ten years, which for cultivators was merely the snap of a finger. Yet, experientially, Lu Ye felt as though he had been gone for a very long time...

The invasion of the Star Abyss's aura had not affected the entire Myriad Manifestations Star System, something Lu Ye had already heard from Elder Tree. Perhaps because the Myriad Manifestations Sea was a wonder of the Starfield, the Star Abyss aura had not yet spread beyond its boundaries. As for the reason, even Elder Tree couldn't fully comprehend its mysteries. Thus, currently, only the Myriad Manifestations Sea was enveloped by the Star Abyss aura; other parts of the Myriad Manifestations Star System remained as they were.

Following a familiar path, Lu Ye headed straight for that magnificent expanse. Jade Sword Island, initially just a lower-grade spiritual island occupied by a small faction, successfully advanced to a medium-grade spiritual island on the eve of significant events, and could now be considered a high-grade spiritual island. Jade Sword Island's name came from the Jade Sword Star System, which was not a particularly powerful star system; otherwise, its combined strength would not have been limited to occupying just a lower-grade spiritual island back then. The Star Abyss Gate had opened near this spiritual island back then.