Chapter 2385: Future Pathways

"Brother Ye!" Yiyi's voice was very soft as she leaned on Lu Ye's back. For a long time, she had wanted to call him that, but she had always been a little too shy.

Lu Ye paused in his steps and quickly said, "Don't call me that!"

That reminded him of You Die; that's what that fellow called him!

"Then what should I call you?" Yiyi looked up.

"Just don't call me that."

She blinked her eyes mischievously, with a hint of cunning in them: "Brother Ye? Brother? Bro?"

"Naughty!" Lu Ye said softly.

Yiyi looked smug. Lu Ye's back wasn't particularly broad, but clinging to it gave her a full sense of security and contentment.

Back at Cui Bamboo Peak, Yiyi didn't want to get down, as if she intended to stay on Lu Ye's back until the end of time.

It wasn't until Lu Ye reached out and tickled her that she jumped down, pouting and glaring at him.

Soul Clan members are soul entities; they don't have any ticklish spots at all...

"Come here, let me check you properly." Lu Ye waved to Yiyi.

Yiyi smiled instantly and obediently stepped forward.

After a thorough examination, Lu Ye raised an eyebrow: "Impressive, you've reached the late Sun-Illuminated stage. You should be able to try entering the Dao now!"

"Little Nine has been very good to Amber and me," Yiyi said.

She and Amber weren't the first to come to Kyushu for advanced cultivation, but they were definitely the most cared for by Little Nine. That's why their cultivation has advanced exceptionally quickly here in Kyushu.

And before coming to Kyushu, they had already maximized their soul cultivation proficiency in the Soul Clan ancestral land.

As a result, Yiyi and Amber had both reached the level where they could enter the Dao. As for whether they would succeed... no one could say for sure.

After all, with such rapid advancement, Yiyi and Amber showed some signs of unstable foundations.

"I was already planning to take Amber to the war zone in a few days," Yiyi said. "Lu Ye, can I go to Myriad Manifestations Sea?"

The reason she wanted to go to Myriad Manifestations Sea was because there were many familiar faces there. If she went somewhere else, Yiyi wouldn't know anyone.

But before Lu Ye returned, Myriad Manifestations Sea and Heavenly Dipper war zones were the most dangerous places. Yiyi didn't want Lu Ye to worry, so she still wanted to ask for his opinion before making a decision.

"You can go anywhere you want," Lu Ye said, rubbing her little head. He had already handled the matters of the six major war zones, and now, even if he didn't personally intervene, there wouldn't be much danger in the Starry Sky.

"Then I'll go to Myriad Manifestations Sea..." Speaking of Myriad Manifestations Sea, Yiyi remembered something else: "When you came from there, did you see Sister Huaci?"

"Of course I did."

More than just saw her; when he left, Huaci almost drained him dry. Lu Ye shivered slightly at the thought.

"Did Sister Huaci not say anything to you?" Yiyi blinked.

"What would she say?"

Yiyi shook her head: "If she didn't say it, then I won't either. Go ask her yourself later!"

Lu Ye immediately raised his hands, cupped her cheeks, and tugged them from side to side: "It's not a good habit to only say half of something!"

"Wuwuwu..." Yiyi's words were unintelligible.

Once Lu Ye let go of her, she pouted and said: "A few years ago, Sister Huaci came back for a visit. When I was chatting with her privately, she casually mentioned that she wanted to have a few children with you!"

"A few?" Lu Ye was startled. He had no such plans at the moment; let alone a few, he didn't even plan for one.

"Three, four, five, or six?" Yiyi's eyes curved into crescents. She explained that she had asked the same question, and Huaci herself had given that answer.

"What is she trying to do?" Lu Ye was secretly horrified.

"Sister Huaci probably felt that with your fate uncertain out there, she wanted something more to hold onto," Yiyi's voice was a little low.

Lu Ye's expression froze.

Putting himself in their shoes, if Huaci and the others were exploring the Star Abyss while he remained in the Starry Sky, he would likely be just as worried as they were. Without a way to contact them at any time, he wouldn't even know their exact whereabouts, whether they had encountered danger, or if so, whether they could resolve it.

There was too much to worry about.

Huaci simply wanted more to hold onto; she wasn't trying to bind Lu Ye with children. She knew that when a nest is overturned, no eggs remain intact. Looking at the present, only Lu Ye could bear the great responsibility for the Starry Sky's danger. His expeditions were not meant to make them worry, but to find a way to resolve the Starry Sky's crisis.

Lu Ye suddenly felt a little agitated.

When the Starry Sky was stable before, he thought Sun-Illuminated was the end of cultivation. But it wasn't. After Sun-Illuminated, there was Entry into Dao, then Fusion into Dao, and even Dao Integration.

Above Dao Integration, there seemed to be even higher realms.

When would this path of cultivation ever end?

His hand softened slightly, and Lu Ye came back to his senses. Yiyi had taken his large hand and asked, "Should I not have told you all this?"

"Nonsense," Lu Ye said with a smile, raising a hand to pat Yiyi's head. "I was just thinking, if Huaci had several children, would they all be as mischievous as her?"

Yiyi giggled: "Sister Huaci's personality isn't bad at all; she's very gentle."

The little girl is still young; the gentleness you see is just an illusion, a disguise worn by Huaci!

However, he really needed to consider his future path.

Currently, the Starry Sky's crisis had indeed been temporarily resolved. Under his various arrangements, none of the six major war zones would encounter significant problems.

But how would the Star Abyss Gate be closed? And what if the Starry Sky truly shattered one day?

A few days later, Yiyi departed with Amber, heading to Myriad Manifestations Sea to prepare for their Entry into Dao.

She knew that if she didn't leave, Lu Ye would continue to stay by her side. This was not what she wanted to see, because now, Lu Ye alone was tied to the fate of the entire Starry Sky. No one had the right to keep him constrained by their side.

Lu Ye wanted to see her off, but Yiyi wouldn't let him, so he could only let her go.

In Heavenly Continent, inside the Kyushu Defense Hall, Lu Ye stepped inside. Someone was already waiting there.

"Senior Brother!" Lu Ye cupped his fist in greeting.

"It's good you're back," Ma Bin said, smiling and nodding.

Previously, Lu Ye had always addressed Ma Bin as 'Senior'; after all, Ma Bin was much older than him. But ever since Lu Ye returned from the Star Abyss for the first time, Ma Bin had insisted that he call him 'Senior Brother'.

In cultivation, the more accomplished takes precedence.

And the twenty Entry into Dao cultivators who had previously guarded Kyushu were led by Ma Bin.

Looking across the Starry Sky, the person before him was truly the first to achieve Entry into Dao. A very long time ago, Ma Bin had already entered the Dao. However, because he lacked Dao Power, he only possessed the Dao Foundation and couldn't unleash the true strength of an Entry into Dao cultivator.

Even so, he was still a cut above typical Sun-Illuminated cultivators. This was the main reason he had built a formidable reputation in the Starry Sky.

After Lu Ye left that year, Ma Bin remained on Three Realms Island, cultivating with the help of the spirit jade ore veins on the island and the Wind Gourd Lu Ye had left behind, to enhance his strength.

Later, when Kyushu needed powerful cultivators to guard it, no one else could spare themselves, so only Ma Bin personally stepped forward.

At that time, he was alone, guarding the vast realm. Fortunately, Kyushu had a strong foundation, and Little Nine was willing to help him improve his strength. Thus, Ma Bin's cultivation efficiency here was no worse than on Three Realms Island.

There were no enemies to hunt here, but the source veins of the spirit jade ore could still be refined and converted into Dao Power.

Later, as more Entry into Dao cultivators gradually emerged in the Starry Sky, they successively rushed to Kyushu to guard it alongside Ma Bin.

Currently, Ma Bin had already reached the Ninth Dao!

Lu Ye had come this time specifically to help him break through to Fusion into Dao.

"Shall we start now?" Ma Bin asked.

Elder Tree's main body was here, and he often communicated with Elder Tree on a daily basis, so he naturally knew what Lu Ye had been doing recently.

The successive promotions of Chen Wulei and Zixuan had made Ma Bin a little impatient as well.

"If Senior Brother has no issues, we can start anytime."

"Then let's begin."

The Dao Bones didn't need preparation; Lu Ye had brought them from Lanyun. Not much time had passed, so the Dao Power within the Dao Bones wouldn't have dissipated much. They were enough for Lu Ye to help Ma Bin raise his Dao Power reserves to a full state.

By the time Lu Ye finished with Ma Bin, several more days had passed.

He walked out of the Defense Hall and approached Elder Tree's main body to greet him.

Elder Tree sighed: "Chong Yue and Mei Ying both failed their promotion attempts. They now need to recuperate."

Lu Ye wasn't surprised by this news. Advancing from Entry into Dao to Fusion into Dao, a major realm transition, was not easy to succeed at. This could be seen from the situation within the Motley, where there were so many Entry into Dao cultivators, but the proportion of Fusion into Dao cultivators was small.

Perhaps some Ninth Dao cultivators could never advance to Fusion into Dao in their entire lives.

Even with his assistance, not everyone could succeed.

In fact, the successful promotions of Chen Wulei and Zixuan were unexpected joys.

On the other hand, regarding Ma Bin, Lu Ye had strong confidence, feeling that this Senior Brother, originally from Kyushu, would eventually be able to advance to Fusion into Dao. Even if he didn't succeed this time, he would in the future.

The failures of Chong Yue and Mei Ying would not affect Lanyun.

Currently, with hundreds of Entry into Dao cultivators there, and with Dao artifacts in hand, there were at least twenty or thirty cultivators who could unleash power beyond the Ninth Dao. With such a force, the invading enemies from Lanyun wouldn't be able to stir up any trouble.

Subsequently, as the number of Entry into Dao cultivators in the Starry Sky continuously increased, the situation in the Starry Sky would become increasingly stable.

Just as he was thinking this, Lu Ye suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of dread, as if something bad was about to happen.

The feeling came abruptly and left just as quickly, leaving him feeling very unsettled!

He didn't know if this sense of dread was related to his identity as the Star Abyss Son. He had already stopped actively interfering in the battles of the major war zones and wasn't even planning to kill any more invading enemies. So why would he still feel this dread?

He carefully checked, but there was no longer any abnormality.

"What's wrong?" Elder Tree seemed to sense something.

Lu Ye shook his head and asked, "Elder Tree, I've actually always had a question I wanted to ask."

"Go ahead and ask."

"Why can the power of supreme treasures seal the Star Abyss Gate?"

Elder Tree said: "Origin power! Every realm has its own origin power, and the Starry Sky has its own origin power! The appearance of the Star Abyss Gate is a loophole in the Starry Sky caused by the depletion of its origin power. To solve this, only origin power can be used to repair it! In the Starry Sky, only supreme treasures contain origin power, because every supreme treasure is an artifact born with the Starry Sky itself. That's why the power of supreme treasures can seal the Star Abyss Gate!"

Lu Ye was slightly lost in thought: "Does this mean that if we use the power of supreme treasures to seal the Star Abyss Gate, the supreme treasures themselves will be damaged?"

Elder Tree said: "Precisely. If a supreme treasure loses too much of its origin power, it could even be destroyed!"