Chapter 2409: Inner Realm

Both You Die and Zi Ying in the past, and the patriarchs of several major families in the present, had described to Lu Ye the process of entering the Inner Realm from the Outer Realm. It was very similar to the feeling of falling into water: a continuous descent where the entire Outer Realm seemed to recede further and further away.

So, upon noticing this, Lu Ye immediately made a judgment. This was clearly not right.

Previously, while guarding the Seventh Star Abyss Gate with Yun Shiwang, Lu Ye had specifically inquired about the Inner Realm. Yun Shiwang had returned from there, and no one knew more about it than he did. Lu Ye would enter the Inner Realm sooner or later, so learning about it in advance was certainly not a bad idea.

According to Yun Shiwang, the entire Star Abyss could be imagined as an inverted conical lake. The Outer Realm was the topmost layer, and below it was the Inner Realm. The further down one went, the denser the Star Abyss aura became, and the more abundant the Dao Power. On the lake's surface, feathers could float freely, but a dropped stone would quickly sink. If feathers represented Dao Enlightenment cultivators, then stones represented Harmonization cultivators, as the Outer Realm's environment could not sustain Harmonization cultivators. However, some powerful and profoundly cultivated Integration cultivators could also be active in the Inner Realm.

In fact, Harmonization cultivators were not entirely unable to return to the Outer Realm; they could, just as Xiaoyue had projected his power onto Kuang Shi, the City Lord of Boundless City, back then. If given enough time, he could even physically force his way back. However, Harmonization cultivators could not remain in the Outer Realm for long! The more they exerted their power while there, the shorter the time they could stay.

The situations Yun Shiwang described were clearly somewhat different from Lu Ye's current experience. Stepping into the Star Abyss from the starry sky, he found himself uncontrollably and rapidly sinking into the Inner Realm... In terms of strength, he indeed possessed power comparable to an ordinary Harmonization cultivator, but even so, this shouldn't be happening. What was causing this? Lu Ye pondered, but couldn't figure it out.

After a brief moment of thought, he exited the Star Abyss Gate again. This time, he intended to observe carefully, hoping to discover the reason. The moment he stepped into the Star Abyss, that feeling descended upon him again: he seemed to be continuously sinking downwards, and everything around him quickly became blurred and indistinct.

The first time he encountered this sudden change, Lu Ye had no time to perceive anything. This time, he was prepared. He carefully investigated, and after three breaths, he turned and rushed back into the Star Abyss Gate.

Back in the starry sky, Lu Ye's expression was grave. Although the investigation was brief, he indeed felt a force, like a large hand underwater grasping his ankle and dragging him downwards. What was going on? It couldn't be that his current strength, comparable to an ordinary Harmonization cultivator, meant he could no longer be active in the Outer Realm. That made no sense at all. Or was it because he had once controlled the Blood Ancestor's corpse? But that wasn't right; the Blood Ancestor's corpse was merely at the Harmonization level.

After much deliberation, Lu Ye surmised that this was very likely still a form of punishment! Nearly twenty years ago, he had resolved the wrath of the Star Abyss Will using the Phoenix Nirvana technique, but the punishment hadn't ended; it had merely changed its form. Some unseen rule was forcing him into the Inner Realm, because only by entering the Inner Realm could he potentially encounter danger.

If this was the case, then many of his plans would have to change. His original plan was to leave the starry sky and visit Banlan to assess the situation. Previously, to rapidly enhance his strength, he had caused extensive slaughter there, severely suppressing the Bug and Blood races. He wondered how long it would take them to recover. But plans couldn't keep up with changes. In his current situation, he couldn't enter Banlan at all; he would likely sink into the Inner Realm halfway there, even though Banlan was very close to the Star Abyss Gate. He also wanted to visit Yin Luo, but now it seemed there was no chance.

Since Yin Luo couldn't take a shortcut to advance to Harmonization, she had started working hard on her own. However, perhaps due to her origin as a Star Beast or for some other reason, her path to Harmonization was very difficult. After so many years, there were still no signs of success. Conversely, the patriarchs of several major families and even some Integration cultivators from the Giant race, whom Lu Ye had brought out of Banlan back then, had all successfully advanced to Harmonization. These patriarchs and Giant race Integration cultivators were old monsters who had been stagnant at the peak of Integration for unknown years, each possessing profound and exquisite foundations. What they lacked was an opportunity. Lu Ye presented the opportunity to them, and when they seized it, success came easily.

Oh well, let all these trivial matters dissipate with the wind. He was going to enter the Inner Realm sooner or later anyway. With his current strength, he would have a certain degree of self-preservation even there. Since he couldn't resist, he could only go with the flow. With this thought, his mind suddenly cleared.

"Elder Tree," he said, "I'm leaving. This time, I'll go directly into the Inner Realm. Please have someone inform Yin Luo to cultivate diligently; I'll wait for her in the Inner Realm!"

Yin Luo had more than once sent messages to Lu Ye expressing her longing for him... though what she longed for wasn't Lu Ye himself, but primarily his crispy, edible blood clone. However, it was undeniable that Yin Luo had greatly assisted Lu Ye and the starry sky in many ways. Lu Ye held this kindness deeply in his heart.

"Take care!" Elder Tree responded in a deep voice.

Lu Ye nodded slightly, and for the third time in a short period, he exited the Star Abyss Gate! This time, he neither resisted nor avoided. Standing before the exit of the Star Abyss Gate, he quietly observed his own descent. Everything around him, as before, quickly became blurred and indistinct.

Until a certain moment, the blurring and indistinctness suddenly solidified again. But everything around him had completely changed. The most obvious difference was the change in the Star Abyss aura. It was noticeably several times denser. In such an environment, the efficiency of cultivators' cultivation was clearly incomparable to that in the Outer Realm. This was why many qualified Integration cultivators were active in the Inner Realm; it wasn't that they were unaware of the dangers, but the cultivation environment here was simply too superior.

The Inner Realm!

Lu Ye hadn't expected to enter the Inner Realm so quickly. According to his original plan, he was going to explore it, but certainly not in such a passive manner. He was so passive that he had absolutely no psychological preparation.

Looking around, everything actually had no essential difference from the Outer Realm, or even the starry sky. Yun Shiwang had once discussed the origin of the Star Abyss with Lu Ye, and a particular statement he made resonated with Lu Ye: that the entire Star Abyss was composed of countless shattered starry skies. Therefore, in essence, the Star Abyss was a hodgepodge of starry skies, and as such, the scenery in both the Outer and Inner Realms was largely similar to that of the starry sky.

His divine sense extended, finding no signs of life. Entering the Inner Realm from the same location in the Outer Realm did not necessarily mean appearing in the same place within it. This was information Lu Ye had confirmed from several patriarchs in Banlan. Because these patriarchs all had the cultivation needed to enter the Inner Realm, everyone initially assumed they could travel together after entering, thus being able to look out for each other. Later, they discovered that even if they entered the Inner Realm from the same spot in the Outer Realm, they would appear in different locations, making it impossible to meet. So it was not surprising that Lu Ye found no signs of life nearby. He secretly reined in his aura, observing his surroundings cautiously.

Yun Shiwang had said that, truly, the Inner Realm was actually a bit livelier than the Outer Realm, because the Outer Realm was too vast, and the Inner Realm's volume seemed to be much smaller. Of course, this "smaller" was only relative, as both the Inner and Outer Realms were composed of countless shattered starry skies. Even Yun Shiwang wouldn't claim to have traversed every corner of the Inner Realm. Furthermore, the Inner Realm had many wormholes, making travel within it quite convenient. This was similar to the current starry sky, where even across vast distances, cultivators could quickly reach their destinations by using known wormhole routes. This was an advantage the Outer Realm did not possess.

Now that he was here and safe, the first thing Lu Ye needed to do was not cultivate, but to alter his own aura. Due to the Talent Tree, his aura had always been pure and flawless. It was fine if he didn't exert his power on a daily basis, but once he did, this purity would be exposed, making him incredibly conspicuous when active in the Star Abyss, like a bright lamp in the darkness. It was fine in the Outer Realm before, as there were many lost cultivators from recently shattered starry skies whose auras were also quite pure. Additionally, when Lu Ye left the Azure Palace, Elder Duan had given him a Foul Essence, which he could use for concealment. But this was the Inner Realm; pure-aura beings could not exist here. And as Lu Ye's cultivation continuously improved, the Foul Essence given by Elder Duan was no longer of much use.

It could be said that if Lu Ye didn't find a way to solve the issue with his aura, he would face great difficulties in the Inner Realm later on. No matter where he went, he would be destined to become a focal point. Actually, solving it wasn't troublesome. Lu Ye had been considering this problem for years and already had some ideas. Now, he just needed to try them out more. However, the immediate priority was to find a suitable place to settle down first.

There was a desolate planet nearby, and Lu Ye set off towards it. However, as he traveled, Lu Ye discovered that this desolate planet seemed to have suffered a powerful attack; the entire sphere was missing a large chunk, as if bitten by a giant mouth. Through that gap, not far from the desolate planet, a colossal city suddenly appeared in Lu Ye's sight. He paused, reining in his aura even more carefully.

A Harmonization City!

To better cultivate and battle, Harmonization cultivators in the Inner Realm often built their own Harmonization Cities, which offered many profound mysteries and benefits. Of course, not all Harmonization cultivators had this ability, but those who were qualified to build their own Harmonization City were not beings one could easily provoke. Yun Shiwang had specifically warned Lu Ye that if he encountered a Harmonization City while traveling in the Inner Realm in the future, he should avoid it as much as possible, because there might be more than one Harmonization cultivator within. The desolate planet had just blocked his view, and Lu Ye hadn't seen the existence of this colossal city! He only just discovered it now.