Chapter 2375: Huge Gains

The sudden turn of events threw the cultivators into a panic; no one knew what was happening.

The plan had been executing smoothly. So far, Lu Ye had killed at least seven to eight thousand enemies, and his storage rings for collecting spiritual bones were countless. If nothing went wrong, Lu Ye would eventually be able to single-handedly wipe out all the invading enemies. But how could such a powerful, even invincible, Lu Ye have fallen like this? Where did the enemy come from? Who was responsible?

Without time to ponder, everyone rushed towards the spot where Lu Ye had fallen into the sea. However, one person was faster: Hua Ci. Hua Ci reached the location within three breaths of Lu Ye falling into the sea and, without hesitation, plunged into the Myriad Manifestations Sea. Witnessing this, Mang Dang shouted, "First, guard the Star Abyss Gate!" Regardless of what had happened to Lu Ye, once he fell into the Myriad Manifestations Sea, no one but Hua Ci could help him. Even they, as cultivators, couldn't venture deep into that majestic sea. Instead, at the Star Abyss Gate, with Lu Ye no longer blocking the way, invaders had begun to appear one after another. They had to stabilize the situation quickly, otherwise, if the invading enemies grew in number, they wouldn't be able to hold them back.

Beneath the sea, Hua Ci was incredibly anxious and worried, yet her expression remained perfectly calm. She easily found Lu Ye's whereabouts, brought him out of the Myriad Manifestations Sea, and landed on the nearby Jade Sword Island. She could feel that Lu Ye was still alive, but he seemed to have fallen into a coma. This was highly unusual. For a powerhouse like Lu Ye, who had merged with the Dao, physical injuries alone shouldn't cause unconsciousness unless his soul had suffered a tremendous impact. She concentrated, examined him, and secretly frowned. Lu Ye was injured, but his injuries were not severe. This meant that the seemingly terrifying attack earlier had not actually caused him much harm. So why was he unconscious? Hua Ci wanted to examine the condition of Lu Ye's spiritual sea, but she dared not act rashly. She could only whisper his name into his ear, hoping for some response.

To her surprise and delight, Lu Ye suddenly let out a long breath, like a drowning person surfacing for air, and abruptly opened his eyes. "Lu Ye!" Hua Ci was almost weeping with joy, but when her gaze met his eyes, she was startled. Because Lu Ye's eyes were trembling slightly, as if he had witnessed something incredibly terrifying. Hua Ci had never seen him like this before... it was heartbreaking. The trembling in his eyes slowly subsided. Lu Ye blinked and let out a light scoff, "That's it?"

It had to be said, the previous lightning-ball-like attack was indeed powerful, bursting with nearly 350 units of energy. Such power would be unstoppable for an average cultivator at the Integration realm. Fortunately, the defensive Dao energy around Lu Ye was not vastly different from the lightning ball's attack, which allowed him to withstand it without severe injury. A difference of a dozen units of energy was not small for an ordinary Integration realm cultivator, but for Lu Ye's profound foundation, it was not significant. However, the lightning ball attack contained an additional power akin to a soul shock, which caused his spiritual consciousness to waver and him to fall unconscious. And in his unconscious state, he caught a fleeting glimpse, witnessing a moment of immense grandeur. Though he scoffed aloud, Lu Ye was filled with relief inwardly. This was because they were in the starry sky, and even though the Myriad Manifestations Sea was permeated with the aura of the Star Abyss, it wasn't particularly dense. It was even slightly less potent than the outer layer of the Star Abyss. Therefore, the Dao energy that the lightning ball could gather was not immense. If it had truly been in the outer layer of the Star Abyss, the Dao energy condensed over such a large area would have been far more than 350 units. And if it had been in the inner layer... it would undoubtedly have been even more terrifying.

"Let's deal with the current trouble first, then we'll talk," Lu Ye stood up and shook his head. In that brief delay, the Star Abyss cultivators had already broken through the blockade of the starry sky cultivators, and the Myriad Manifestations Sea was once again a chaotic battleground. However, the invading Star Abyss cultivators were clearly bewildered, as they had imagined this side would be completely defenseless, and a large number of vanguard troops had already surged into the area before them. But what they saw was completely different: all the previously invading Star Abyss beings were gone, and instead, the starry sky cultivators still had the power to resist. Unable to figure out what was happening, all the invading enemies proceeded with caution, always on guard against the unexpected. Soon, they would know exactly what had happened here. Because an extremely powerful aura suddenly permeated the surroundings, enveloping everything. All the enemies clashing with the starry sky cultivators were startled and looked towards the source of that aura.

Lu Ye strolled forward, accompanied by Hua Ci. His Dao energy surged powerfully, showcasing the might of his Integration realm, causing all enemies to feel an unsettling dread. Some enemies near the Star Abyss Gate, realizing the situation was dire, immediately turned and fled. Those enemies entangled with the starry sky cultivators weren't so lucky. Even if they wanted to run, they couldn't shake off their opponents and could only watch as Lu Ye drew closer and closer. Moments later, Lu Ye casually stepped into a battlefield, reached out, and seized a Star Abyss cultivator. Under the enemy's terrified gaze, he pulled him close. The Star Abyss cultivator thought he was doomed, as the power Lu Ye displayed with every move was far beyond anything he could resist. Unexpectedly, Lu Ye did not deliver a killing blow. Instead, he looked at him with icy eyes and said, "Go back and tell Hai Chen to wait for me. I'll be coming for him soon!" After speaking, he casually tossed the Star Abyss cultivator away. Having narrowly escaped death, the man dared not linger. He immediately turned and ran towards the Star Abyss Gate, quickly disappearing from sight. The chaotic battle around them slowly subsided, and Lu Ye no longer intervened.

Based on his previous experience, he knew that if he continued to obstruct the Star Abyss invasion process, he would undoubtedly face similar repercussions. He might have withstood it the first time, but he couldn't guarantee the next or subsequent times. While his identity as a Child of the Star Abyss brought him many benefits, it was also undoubtedly a form of restriction. At the Star Abyss Gate, no more enemies were invading. Evidently, news from this side had reached the Star Abyss, and the Star Abyss beings dared not make any rash moves until they had thoroughly investigated the situation. Among the three hundred cultivators, some were injured, but none were killed. In this battle, thousands of enemies were slain, and tens of thousands of spiritual bones were collected—such a massive haul would have been unimaginable in the past. If these tens of thousands of spiritual bones could all be assimilated, the strength of the entire starry sky would undoubtedly increase significantly. Unfortunately, the current number of starry sky cultivators was still too small, and refining spiritual bones required time. Only a very small portion of these tens of thousands of spiritual bones could be utilized by them.