Chapter 2389: I Shouldn't Have Come Back

Yun Shiwang, a dignified Path Harmonization cultivator, now looked like a child who had made a mistake, his expression anxious and nervous, filled with self-reproach and remorse.

Just moments ago, he had been chatting and laughing with Elder Tree, but in the blink of an eye, he was consumed by such terror. Lu Ye, unsure what had happened, quickly comforted him, "Senior, don't panic. Whatever has happened can be resolved. Please compose yourself!"

Yun Shiwang looked at Lu Ye, then at Elder Tree, his guilt almost overflowing from his eyes. "I shouldn't have come back. I am a sinner against the Starry Sky!"

Elder Tree also noticed something was amiss with him. Even a Star Constellation or Moon Glimmer cultivator, let alone a Path Harmonization expert like Yun Shiwang, wouldn't be so mentally fragile. Yun Shiwang's current state clearly indicated a massive shock to his spirit, making his mental state unstable.

"What happened? Tell us slowly," Elder Tree comforted him. However, the next moment, he exclaimed, "The Star Abyss Gate in the Purling Galaxy has reopened! Foreign enemies are invading!"

Lu Ye's expression drastically changed.

He suddenly realized he had overlooked something!

The Star Abyss Gate opens at a weak point in the Starry Sky. Even if it temporarily closes, that weakness doesn't disappear. Just like the previous Star Abyss invasion, the gates that appeared then, though later closed, had all reopened this time.

The Star Abyss Gate through which Yun Shiwang entered was no exception!

Lu Ye had not expected that closed Star Abyss Gate to reopen so quickly. More importantly, this Star Abyss Gate was opened by Yun Shiwang, who was one of their own, leading Lu Ye to instinctively place a considerable amount of trust in him.

But now it seemed...

"I was wrong, I was wrong!" Yun Shiwang cried out, his face contorted in pain, staggering. There was no trace of his Path Harmonization demeanor left.

"Senior!" Lu Ye called out softly.

Yun Shiwang was deeply engrossed in self-reproach and didn't hear Lu Ye's voice at all.

Lu Ye stepped forward, grabbed him by the collar, pulled him closer, and suppressing his anger, said, "Senior, pull yourself together!"

Perhaps never having been treated this way, Yun Shiwang was startled. He then slowly regained his composure, his gaze unfocused as he looked at Lu Ye in front of him.

"Self-reproach solves nothing. Now that enemies are invading, I'm going to fight them. Are you going to stay here wallowing in guilt, or will you come with me?" Lu Ye asked.

Yun Shiwang's vision gradually cleared. He took a deep breath. "I'll go with you!"

"Then let's go!" Lu Ye released him and shot into the sky without a moment's delay. Yun Shiwang's expression was complex. Just as he was about to follow, Elder Tree called out, "Yun Sheng!"

When Yun Shiwang turned his head, he saw a leaf floating towards him. He knew what it was, grabbed it, and nodded slightly.

After exiting the Realm, Lu Ye's hand felt a slight warmth, and the mark of the Samsara Tree appeared on the back of his hand. Immediately, Elder Tree's voice came through it: "Lu Ye, there are two invading enemies this time. They split up after entering the Purling Galaxy. I will do my best to track their locations and report to you at all times!"

Elder Tree had only recently finished his Samsara cycle and was not at his peak. Therefore, he would not usually establish contact with Lu Ye in this manner unless it was absolutely necessary and urgent, as it consumed his energy.

However, with the current emergency, he could not afford to consider anything else.

Yun Shiwang's emotions were much more stable than before, and he finally regained some of his Path Harmonization composure. Hearing the report, he asked, "Elder Tree, do you know what cultivation levels those two enemies are?"

Elder Tree replied, "Cannot determine. The hunting group only saw them from a distance."

Lu Ye frowned. "Anyone who can enter from the Inner Realm, aren't they all Path Harmonization cultivators?"

Yun Shiwang shook his head. "Not all those active in the Inner Realm are Path Harmonization. There are also many powerful or sufficiently deep-rooted Path Integration cultivators."

Lu Ye was astonished; this was the first time he had heard of such a thing, as even Jiu Ying had never mentioned it to him before.

He had always thought that one had to reach the peak of Path Integration to enter the Inner Realm, but now he knew it wasn't so.

If that were the case, did he already qualify to enter the Inner Realm?

"Elder Tree, are there any supreme treasures in the direction they're heading?" Yun Shiwang asked again.

"Yes, one is heading towards Square Inch Mountain, and the other is heading towards the Ashura Field!"

Yun Shiwang's face darkened. "Then they must be Path Harmonization cultivators. They've sensed the aura of the supreme treasures and are targeting them, intending to refine them."

Hearing this, Lu Ye's eyes lit up. "They are new here and unfamiliar with the Starry Sky's routes. They likely won't use the wormholes. This means it will take them some time to reach the supreme treasures' locations. We can intercept them on the way!"

Yun Shiwang nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

Lu Ye quickly added, "Elder Tree, please plan suitable routes. Senior Yun and I will each take responsibility for one area."

Yun Shiwang looked at him askance. "Young friend Lu, that's a Path Harmonization cultivator. How can you possibly contend with one?"

"I was just about to ask you, Senior, how much Path Power can a Path Harmonization cultivator wield just from their own being?" Lu Ye asked. He wasn't going to recklessly throw his life away, so he needed to be cautious.

The power of Path Harmonization cultivators isn't solely determined by the amount of their own Path Power. Their strength is more significantly reflected in their ability to resonate with and mobilize the Path Power freely available around them.

In other words, a Path Harmonization cultivator's strength is divided into two parts: their inherent power and the external power they can mobilize. The augmentation from external power often accounts for a large portion of their strength, becoming more pronounced at higher cultivation levels.

Therefore, for Path Harmonization cultivators, the denser the surrounding Path Power, the stronger the power they can unleash.

For example, when Xiaoyue projected his power onto Kuangshi back then, because they were in the Outer Realm, the resonating power wasn't much. Coupled with Kuangshi's limited capacity to bear that power, Lu Ye and others were able to defeat him together.

Under the same combat conditions, if the fighting environment were switched to the Inner Realm, Lu Ye and his companions would surely be defeated, because Xiaoyue would be able to mobilize more and stronger external power.

In the Starry Sky, apart from the vicinity of the Star Abyss Gates, there naturally wouldn't be any Path Power. So, what Lu Ye now needed to consider was how much Path Power a Path Harmonization cultivator could wield on their own, disregarding how much external power they could resonate with.

"Are you serious?" Yun Shiwang was wide-eyed with disbelief. The more he interacted with Lu Ye, the more he felt this young junior was incredibly daring. Lu Ye was only at Path Integration Third Stage, yet he intended to intercept a Path Harmonization cultivator alone. Such courage was not something ordinary people possessed.

And just now, when Yun Shiwang had been so flustered due to his unstable mental state, Lu Ye remained as solid as a rock. In contrast, he, the senior, was truly embarrassed.

"Please enlighten me, Senior!"

Yun Shiwang was silent for a moment before speaking. "The weakest Path Harmonization cultivator possesses over three hundred units of Path Power on their own. Beyond that, it's hard to say. I've encountered Path Harmonization cultivators with over a thousand units of Path Power."

"At least three hundred units of Path Power..."

This number was within Lu Ye's estimation, as normally, a peak Path Integration cultivator would have two hundred units of Path Power. Without accounting for the augmentation from Path Soldiers, three hundred for Path Harmonization seemed quite reasonable. Xiaoyue's projection back then was roughly at this power level.

However, Path Harmonization cultivators definitely had their own Path Soldiers.

And this was just the *weakest* Path Harmonization cultivator!

Lu Ye suddenly realized that while his own strength was unmatched in the Outer Realm and unrivaled among Path Integration cultivators, it still fell significantly short compared to Path Harmonization.

Yun Shiwang added, "We can use the wormholes to shorten the journey. Don't take such a risk. I can deal with one first, and then it will be quick enough to handle the other."

Lu Ye calmly said, "My fear is that they might capture a cultivator from our Starry Sky and obtain a star map."

Yun Shiwang's heart sank; that was indeed a problem.

Once those two invading enemies acquired a star map, they would lose all their advantages.

"This is how it will be. Senior and I will split up. I'll be as careful as possible on my end, and you just resolve your opponent as quickly as you can!" With that, he said no more and flashed to the side.

Unable to dissuade him, Yun Shiwang could only hasten on, hoping to resolve his opponent quickly and then assist Lu Ye.

Of course, that assumed Lu Ye wasn't killed by the other Path Harmonization cultivator.

Under Elder Tree's guidance, Lu Ye passed through two wormholes and finally arrived at a barren star domain.

This was a place Elder Tree had specifically chosen.

According to the enemy's projected route, this was an unavoidable path, and there were no star realms nearby, making it ideal for a major battle.

A Path Harmonization cultivator...

Lu Ye's emotions surged. After all his cultivation, he was finally about to face the might of a true Path Harmonization cultivator. Xiaoyue didn't count, as that was merely a projection of some of his power.

Indeed, even the Path Harmonization cultivator he was about to face was destined not to display their full strength due to the environment, but it was a true Path Harmonization cultivator nonetheless!

Lu Ye arrived at the location and waited for less than half a day when he felt a magnificent aura rapidly approaching from afar.

Its speed was something Lu Ye had never witnessed in his life.

His heart sank, and he secretly found it tricky.

At this speed, if he couldn't quickly deal with his opponent, and the enemy found an opportunity to escape, he wouldn't be able to catch up, no matter how hard he tried.

He carefully concealed himself, but even so, his presence was still detected.

The Path Harmonization cultivator invading the Starry Sky had not yet arrived at the location, but a wisp of divine sense had already pierced through Lu Ye's concealment.

The difference in cultivation realms was too vast. Lu Ye's concealment was as conspicuous as a lamp in the dark night before them.

What frustrated Lu Ye even more was that although the newcomer had seen through his presence, they didn't take him seriously at all. They merely swept past him, not even intending to make a move.

Lu Ye knew he was being underestimated. If he were walking by the road and saw an insect, he probably wouldn't pay it much mind either.

Since his presence was discovered, there was no need to hide. He surged out from his concealed spot, moving like lightning towards the opponent.

His gaze was sharp as he finally clearly saw the newcomer's appearance.

Their skin was pale green, their eyes crimson, two fangs protruded from their mouth, and their fingernails were sharp.

A member of the Undead Race!

And a zombie at that.

Lu Ye secretly got a headache. Years ago, he had dealt with the Undead Race quite a bit on the Boundless Continent, and he certainly knew the mysterious nature of this race. Relatively speaking, he preferred dealing with decaying corpses rather than zombies, because zombies, like the Insectoids, possessed unparalleled physical strength. For a weapon master who needed to fight in close combat, such enemies were tough nuts to crack.