Chapter 2441: 融道 Seven Realms

Lu Ye was highly anticipating Llao's current promotion, unsure how long it would take. He knew that if all went well, when Llao awakened, it would have ascended to the level of an artifact. At that point, Llao would experience another upgrade. While the boost to his personal strength was secondary, the most crucial aspect was laying a stronger foundation for his future path to Harmony.

For the time being, Lu Ye put aside his concerns about Llao and took out the storage ring he had acquired from the battle arena. A quick scan with his divine sense revealed it was packed with nearly a hundred thousand Dao Fish. This represented only ten percent of the earnings from that particular fight, highlighting the enormous profits the entire battle arena must have generated from the event. And this was purely profit; if the various operational expenses, human resources, and effort involved were considered, the total earnings would be even greater.

Lu Ye remembered Gong Mao's initial offer: 50,000 Dao Fish if he survived the deathmatch against a ninth-level Harmonizer. However, Lu Ye wasn't content and had instead proposed his own conditions. In hindsight, his choice had been the right one. His greatest gain wasn't the Dao Fish, but rather the detailed intelligence on the advancement of weapon spirits that he had acquired from Qin Feng. With this information, Lu Ye could systematically upgrade Llao to the level of a supreme artifact. However, that was a concern for another day, as he still lacked many of the necessary conditions.

With a wave of his hand, a large quantity of Dao Fish spread out around him. Lu Ye focused his mind, activated the power of his Talent Tree, and began to frantically devour and refine them. Golden light flowed abundantly across the leaves of the Talent Tree, each one becoming brilliantly radiant. Lu Ye felt a surge of joy. Ever since his promotion to the sixth level of Harmonization after the final 'carnival,' he had carried a subtle anxiety about the direction of his future cultivation. Now he had finally found his path, and though it was by chance, it was uniquely his own. As long as he followed it, improving his cultivation would be effortless.

As the Talent Tree frantically devoured and refined, Dao Fish vanished one by one, replaced by a concentrated accumulation of Dao energy on the tree itself. Then, at a certain point, Lu Ye suddenly felt a sense of repletion, and the Talent Tree's refining and devouring process spontaneously halted. Sensing something, he quickly checked and confirmed his suspicion: the Dao energy reserves on his Talent Tree had reached their maximum capacity. He had previously observed that he couldn't store an infinite amount of Dao energy. Given the current state of his Talent Tree, his limit for Dao energy reserves appeared to be around one million. This immense reserve was something no Harmonizer, or even a Dao-harmonizer, possessed. Therefore, with sufficient Dao energy, Lu Ye had no fear of engaging in wars of attrition; compared to his enemies' reserves, his own seemed almost inexhaustible. A million Dao energy was enough for his promotion.

Without hesitation, Lu Ye immediately began engraving Dao patterns within his own Dao bones. It was still the Divine Edge. It could only be the Divine Edge. As early as his initial Harmonization promotion, Lu Ye had resolved to pursue one path to its conclusion. This was due to his unique advantage: the risk involved in engraving Dao patterns would be greatly reduced. In fact, as long as he could endure the pain and had sufficient Dao energy, there would be virtually no risk at all. The sole disadvantage was the immense consumption of Dao energy during the process of promotion and breakthrough. This was likely due to the unusually large number of Dao bones throughout his body. During his initial Harmonization promotion, he had already expended 200,000 Dao energy, and each subsequent promotion would require an additional 100,000. Following this pattern, his current promotion and breakthrough would demand approximately 800,000 Dao energy! This was a burden no Harmonizer could withstand.

If Lu Ye hadn't discovered the battle arena path, accumulating 800,000 Dao energy purely through diligent cultivation in Yuanxi City would have required continuous effort for five and a half years. While Yuanxi City's grade might improve, potentially increasing efficiency, nothing compared to the sheer satisfaction of achieving so much all at once.

Pain more intense than ever before surged through his entire body. Even Lu Ye's formidable willpower couldn't prevent his body from trembling uncontrollably, sweat pouring off him like a torrent. In a flash, as the final fundamental element was completed, the seventh level of Divine Edge was successfully engraved! Lu Ye let out a long breath, still feeling a lingering sense of trepidation. The process of each promotion and breakthrough felt like being sliced into a thousand pieces, forcing him to endure boundless pain. It was no wonder that many Harmonizers made errors during their promotions, leading to a decline in their cultivation. Moreover, unlike Lu Ye, most Harmonizers didn't choose to engrave only one type of Dao pattern. Each promotion presented a choice, and opting for a single Dao pattern meant the engraving difficulty would continuously rise, increasing the likelihood of errors.

He had reached the seventh level of Harmonization! All his Dao bones still felt numb and tingling, as if countless ants were crawling within, causing both pain and itchiness. This explained why Harmonizers were advised to nourish their bones after each promotion; during this period, the Dao bones were more fragile than usual but would recover after the buffer phase.

Lu Ye eagerly drew his Stonepeak Blade. As he infused it with Dao energy, a brilliant light immediately gleamed on its dark, straight blade, emanating a profound sense of sharpness. Compared to when he was at the sixth level, this brilliant light was significantly more pronounced and sharper. Lu Ye's eyebrows subtly lifted. Before reaching the sixth level of Harmonization, while the Divine Edge Dao pattern sharpened his Stonepeak Blade, he didn't experience any direct, intuitive sensation of its enhanced keenness. The sixth level marked a point where quantitative change brought about a qualitative one. Now, at the seventh level, this qualitative shift was even more pronounced; the Stonepeak Blade's sharpness had improved by at least thirty percent. Lu Ye was filled with anticipation, wondering how incredibly sharp the Stonepeak Blade would become once he reached the ninth level of Harmonization, amplified by the ninth-level Divine Edge. By then, the Stonepeak Blade would undoubtedly have reached the artifact level. What in this world, apart from supreme artifacts, would it be unable to cleave through?

After casually swinging it a few times, Lu Ye put Llao away. He then proceeded to examine his own condition. Having ascended to the seventh level of Harmonization, his basic controllable Dao energy had indeed increased to 390 units, as anticipated. Including the amplification from the seventh-level Dao patterns, his strength, based solely on his controllable basic Dao energy, should now be around 660 units! This calculation didn't even include his Dao soldiers. Such power was monstrous within the Harmonization realm. However, Lu Ye was unsure how his current strength compared to that of a Dao-harmonizer.

A direct comparison seemed difficult. While Dao-harmonizers were indeed powerful, a portion of their strength's manifestation depended on environmental factors. If they were in an area with abundant Dao energy, they could potentially unleash their full power. However, if Dao energy was scarce, their effective strength would be diminished. This was particularly true in pure lands like the Harmonious Realm, which lacked the Stargulf aura. Similarly, in the starry sky of the past, Dao-harmonizers who entered could only rely on their own power, unable to draw upon any external forces.

Anyway, while waiting, Lu Ye continued to refine the remaining Dao Fish, simultaneously nourishing his bones. He kept 10,000 Dao Fish in reserve for emergencies and refined all the rest. This provided the Talent Tree with a substantial amount of Dao energy reserves, though still insufficient for him to break through to the next level. Furthermore, if Llao's promotion was successful, he would need to continue nurturing it, which would undoubtedly entail a significant expenditure of Dao energy.

Lu Ye then took out another Stargulf Coin and used it to connect to the Stargulf Vault. He hadn't been particularly interested in the Stargulf Vault before. While it undeniably contained many rare treasures, including numerous artifacts, he already possessed one, so more wouldn't have been of much use. But now, things were different. He now needed more artifacts because, if the intelligence from Qin Feng was accurate, weapon spirits had to overcome three significant hurdles to ascend to the supreme artifact level. The first hurdle was the promotion from an ordinary Dao soldier to an artifact. This was precisely what Llao was currently experiencing, and it was the most perilous stage, as failure was a distinct possibility! Weapon spirits were a race; despite lacking flesh and blood, they could promote and break through just like cultivators. And naturally, with any breakthrough, there was a chance of failure. This was Lu Ye's current concern. Even as Llao's master, he was helpless at this critical moment; Llao had to succeed on its own. If Llao were to awaken one day, it would signify a successful promotion. However, if it remained dormant, its fate would undoubtedly be grim, and should the spirit within the blade shatter, the Stonepeak Blade itself would cease to exist.

The second hurdle involved enhancing the artifact itself. Lu Ye learned for the first time that artifacts also possessed different grades. While there were no clear distinctions, there were indeed discernible differences in quality among them. This was vividly evident in the Stargulf Vault, where the prices of artifacts varied significantly, with some requiring three or even four times more Stargulf Coins than others for exchange. The artifact level was not Llao's ultimate goal; rather, it was just a starting point. For Llao to elevate its grade, it would need to follow its previous method: Lu Ye, as its master, would wield it in life-and-death battles against enemies who also possessed artifacts. During these clashes, Llao would have the chance to absorb mysterious essences from the opponents' artifacts, thereby enhancing itself. Consequently, Lu Ye now required more artifacts, particularly those suitable for use in combat. This was why he had previously asked Qin Feng if artifacts were sold at the battle arena, only to receive a disappointing answer. Of course, even if artifacts were available for sale, Lu Ye's current wealth wouldn't be enough to purchase them.

However, his identity as a Son of the Stargulf offered him a distinct advantage. If he couldn't buy them, he could exchange for them from the Stargulf Vault, provided he had enough Stargulf Coins. So far, he had accumulated a good number of Stargulf Coins. However, after searching for a suitable artifact for some time, he realized he didn't quite have enough Stargulf Coins. The deficit wasn't large, but it was enough to prevent him from exchanging for it. He needed to find some formidable enemies to defeat. For the first time, he felt that higher cultivation wasn't always a good thing. Previously, when he was at the Enlightenment stage fighting Harmonizers, he always gained something from each kill. Now, it was different; defeating Harmonizers no longer guaranteed Stargulf Coins, but only offered a chance.