Chapter 2386: New Star Abyss Gate

The five-year-old prince clutched his wooden top tightly because it was his most precious possession, and no one could take it from him!

As he walked onto a bridge, though it was broad daylight, a strong gust of wind suddenly appeared from nowhere, making the prince sway and stumble, falling to the ground. His knees and palms hurt, and he grimaced in pain, but he was quickly startled to see that his wooden top had flown out of his hand. He quickly looked up and saw his wooden top rolling towards a gap in the railing. He knew this was bad and scrambled after it, but he was a step too late, watching helplessly as the top fell into the water.

Ignoring his pain, he tiptoed and looked down, but he couldn't see any trace of the top. This shouldn't have happened, as the wooden top should have floated when it fell into the water. A five-year-old couldn't think of too much; his first instinct was to jump down and retrieve his treasure. But just as he swung his leg over the railing, he suddenly remembered he couldn't swim! Although the river below him wasn't deep, it was more than enough to drown a child.

He grew anxious, looking around, but saw no one. Such desolation was uncommon in the palace, but this particular area was an exception. Several unfortunate incidents had occurred here, so palace residents avoided it even in broad daylight, let alone now, as dusk approached. It was precisely for this reason that the prince, after getting into a fight, had hidden himself here.

Just as he was fretting, at a loss for what to do, the river water below suddenly churned. The prince froze, looking down. He saw ripples appear on the water's surface without a breeze, and a whirlpool slowly formed. Then, a young boy with red lips and white teeth, appearing only a few years older than himself, slowly surfaced from the whirlpool. This strange sight made the prince freeze on the spot, his face turning pale.

Fortunately, the boy soon smiled gently, waved his hand, and three dazzling lights appeared before him. He asked softly, "Little child, was it a golden top, a silver top, or this wooden top that you dropped into the water?" Seeing the familiar wooden top, the prince's pale face slowly regained its color...

Lu Ye, of course, was unaware that Xiao Jiu had adopted his Dao body as a new toy, intending to spend ten or twenty years diligently teaching it. He simply felt that Xiao Jiu had truly grown up now.

After leaving Kyushu, Lu Ye returned directly to Tiangang and entered Fangcun Mountain. He was, after all, the master of Fangcun Mountain, and his current strength was not weak, so he naturally wanted to try and see if he could control it. Previously, he could barely control Fangcun Mountain, bringing it from the Kyushu galaxy to this location, but strictly speaking, that level of control was nothing more than the simplest manipulation. What he wanted was a level of control that could unleash Fangcun Mountain's true power!

Back at Fangcun Mountain, Lu Ye entered a state of secluded cultivation. Time passed, and the six major war zones remained relatively stable. In Myriad Manifestation Sea and Tiangang, Lu Ye's previous plan had begun to be implemented. Enticed by treasures, the two Dao Fusion peak cultivators on the opposing side began regularly sending Star Abyss creatures in batches. The Starry Sky Dao Entrants in the two major war zones laid out a vast net, waiting for a long time, and all invading enemies were swiftly annihilated. As for the other four war zones, no major disturbances occurred. Chen Wulei and Zixuan had already advanced to Dao Fusion, and coupled with support from the Variegated Human Race and the supply of Dao artifacts, maintaining stability in the starry sky was entirely manageable.

Lu Ye had been continuously strengthening his connection with Fangcun Mountain, and while there were effects, the progress wasn't significant, possibly due to his current cultivation realm. For cultivators, strength was one thing, and cultivation realm was another. Sometimes, when facing certain issues, having only strength without the corresponding realm was unfeasible. Lu Ye estimated that to unleash Fangcun Mountain's full power, he would have to advance to Dao Conjunction, as his current Dao Fusion body seemed to lack something.

He wasn't always in secluded cultivation; occasionally, he would visit Su Yuqing for some tender moments. That sense of trepidation occurred from time to time, keeping Lu Ye highly vigilant.

A year passed in a flash. During this year, Lu Ye's cultivation advanced another level, reaching the third stage of Dao Fusion, still engraving the Divine Edge Dao Pattern. Fortunately, he had accumulated a large amount of Dao power from killing enemies; even the Pan Mountain Blade had been nurtured by him to the level of thirty Dao Marks.

At Dao Fusion's third stage, the foundational Dao power he could wield increased to three hundred Dao Marks. Supplemented by the third-level Dao Pattern's amplification, this reached three hundred ninety Dao Marks of power. If only considering destructive power, adding the Pan Mountain Blade's thirty Dao Marks, he had already surpassed four hundred.

However, Lu Ye had discovered something about his cultivation: the further he advanced, the more immense the Dao power required. This was unavoidable. Others only needed to work on five Dao Bones to advance and engrave Dao Patterns, but he had Dao Bones throughout his entire body, making his consumption incomparable to others. His own Dao power reserves were still considerable, but not enough to break through to the fourth stage. Since he couldn't hunt enemies for Dao Bones for now, if he wanted to improve his cultivation, he could only delve deeper into the Star Abyss.

One day, as Lu Ye was deepening his connection with Fangcun Mountain, Su Yuqing's voice suddenly echoed in his ear: "Lu Ye, Elder Tree needs you. Come quickly!" Lu Ye's expression hardened; Su Yuqing's tone clearly indicated something had happened. He dared not delay, quickly sweeping out from his secluded cultivation place and soon arriving at Immortal Spirit Peak. Su Yuqing was waiting for him, and beside her, Elder Tree's avatar was on the nearby table.

Before Lu Ye could ask, Elder Tree spoke: "Lu Ye, a new Star Abyss Gate is about to open!" Lu Ye's face changed; though he knew Elder Tree summoning him meant something had happened, he hadn't expected it to be this.

"Location. I'll go there now!" Lu Ye said urgently. A new Star Abyss Gate opening meant a new wave of enemies. At such a critical moment, he couldn't worry about whether he could act or not; he had to get there first and seal the Star Abyss Gate. Later, some manpower could be allocated for suppression.

"Puling Galaxy!" Elder Tree reported the location. "I've already dispatched people there, but they certainly won't be as fast as you, so I still need you to go and oversee the situation. The Star Abyss Gate takes time to open, so when you arrive, it might not have opened yet. If it has opened, avoid acting yourself if possible; the initial invading enemies aren't strong, and others can handle them." Lu Ye had previously informed Elder Tree about his identity as the Child of the Star Abyss, so Elder Tree knew that the current Lu Ye could not easily impede the Star Abyss's invasion process in areas of the starry sky covered by its aura.

"Understood," Lu Ye replied and hastily departed. Leaving Fangcun Mountain, he took out a star map and determined his route. Instead of using a wormhole, he utilized the Soul Clan ancestral land as a transit point. While using wormholes was now convenient and fast, transiting through the Soul Clan ancestral land was even faster. Although the Star Abyss Gate might not open quickly, it was never a bad thing to arrive sooner. Thus, in just a single day, Lu Ye had already arrived at the Puling Galaxy.

The anomaly in the Puling Galaxy was discovered by a hunting party. Their current mission was to pursue and eliminate invading enemies scattered throughout the starry sky; otherwise, in such remote galaxies where even Moon Gazers were rare, any anomaly would be difficult to detect. Previously, a team from the hunting party had passed through this area, discovered the anomaly, and reported it. The message was then relayed through various channels and eventually reached Elder Tree.

Upon arriving at the Puling Galaxy, Lu Ye successfully contacted the two members of the hunting party, who were both Seven-Path cultivators from the Variegated Clan. Under their guidance, just two hours later, he saw the slowly rotating black vortex in the distance.

Lu Ye's heart sank! The Star Abyss Gate had opened!

This was beyond his expectation because the speed was too fast; only three days had passed from the anomaly's discovery to Lu Ye's arrival, yet the Star Abyss Gate had already opened. Moreover, this Star Abyss Gate seemed somewhat different from those Lu Ye had seen before; its blackness was deeper, like an abyss, swallowing all sight. What surprised Lu Ye even more was that although the Star Abyss Gate was open, no enemies were present.

This was clearly not right. The opening of a Star Abyss Gate was a very lengthy process. During this process, the Star Abyss Will would summon nearby creatures, which would then gather into a vast army. Once the Star Abyss Gate opened, this army would surge into the starry sky. What was the situation here? Had it just opened, and the enemies on the other side hadn't had time to invade yet?

Lu Ye flashed before the Star Abyss Gate, his brows furrowing even deeper. The Star Abyss aura emanating from within the gate was incredibly dense—comparatively, it was even denser than the starry sky fragments where the Child of the Star Abyss had previously contended. Due to his identity as the Child of the Star Abyss, Lu Ye's perception of the free-floating Dao power around him was extremely acute. His heart grew heavy. He realized something. This dense Star Abyss aura very likely did not originate from the Outer Realm. But rather... the Inner Realm! Only the Inner Realm possessed such a dense Star Abyss aura and such abundant free-floating Dao power!

If this were true, then the problem was serious. Because this Star Abyss Gate connected to the Inner Realm. But... how could this happen? All six Star Abyss Gates in the starry sky connected to the Outer Realm, and he had never heard of the Inner Realm connecting to the starry sky.

Gazing at the profound Star Abyss Gate, Lu Ye gritted his teeth, preparing to enter and investigate. But at that moment, the open Star Abyss Gate suddenly became unstable, showing signs of disappearing. This sudden change was extremely abrupt, and Lu Ye immediately dared not act rashly. Entering might be fine, but if the Star Abyss Gate closed after he went in, how would he return? If he were trapped in the Inner Realm, even if he could find a way back to the Outer Realm, he wouldn't be able to return to the starry sky anytime soon.

The Star Abyss Gate was indeed closing. Under Lu Ye's gaze, in less than an hour, the slowly rotating black vortex disappeared. Lu Ye let out a long breath. It was a blessing in disguise; if this Star Abyss Gate hadn't disappeared, he truly wouldn't have known how to resolve it.

However, just as he relaxed, Lu Ye's expression changed, and he focused his gaze on a certain spot.