Chapter 2508: Shen's Compromise

"Where have you hidden them?" Lu Ye asked. He had seen hundreds of dilapidated Converging Dao Cities within this Divine Ability Domain. Over countless years, how many Converging Dao Beads had the Mirage truly acquired? It must be an unimaginable number. If Yuanxi City could obtain these Converging Dao Beads, wouldn't it soar to new heights?

"I can't tell you that! Promise to release me first!" The Mirage shook its small head vigorously. It wasn't foolish; Lu Ye's killing intent was so clear that it naturally prioritized its own safety.

"If you won't tell me, then so be it." Lu Ye slowly drew his sword.

Converging Dao Beads were unique; they couldn't be stored in any spatial artifact. Therefore, the Mirage most likely used some method to conceal their aura and hide them in a secret location within this Divine Ability Domain.

Since that was the case, as long as the Mirage was dealt with, Lu Ye could take his time searching for them later. They were bound to be found.

"Wait, wait, wait..." The Mirage panicked again. "I have other benefits for you!"

"If you don't have any other truly compelling benefits, then there's no need to say anything!" Lu Ye strode forward, sword in hand.

The Mirage was filled with bitterness. Its only bargaining chip was the Converging Dao Beads; what other compelling benefits could it possibly offer? It felt that trapping Lu Ye and his companions was the biggest mistake of its life. It had never expected that among them, there would be a member of the Brahma Clan, and one who had even achieved Converging Dao.

"Senior, I'll give you another choice!" Lu Ye said calmly.

"What?" The Mirage's spirit was roused. A sudden glimmer of hope in such a desperate situation made it feel greatly expectant.

"Submit to me and swear to become my beast companion!"

The Mirage's abilities were too powerful, making Lu Ye feel a touch of envy. While its combat strength was not impressive, as long as it wasn't restrained, it didn't need to act personally. It could manipulate others within its Divine Ability Domain alone.

If such an exotic beast could be tamed, then in this inner realm, as long as Lu Ye didn't forcefully enter the Ten Converging Dao Cities, he could practically move unhindered.

Under normal circumstances, such an opportunity would be impossible, but now was the time to try. Lu Ye felt it was quite hopeful, for who would choose death when they could live?

The Mirage remained silent.

Lu Ye thought it was pondering, but the next moment, it sneered, "Kid, you underestimate your elders too much. Death is indeed terrifying, but if you want me as your beast companion, I can only tell you it's a pipe dream. I once tried to subdue one of your human race. Do you know what he told me then?"

"What did he say?"

"He said, 'No freedom, rather die!'" The Mirage chuckled.

"Honestly, at the time, I thought that fellow was incredibly stupid. If a person dies, everything is gone, so what good is freedom? But now... I've come to understand him a little."

Lu Ye nodded slightly, and his long blade vibrated in his hand. "Then, Senior, please prepare for death!"

If it couldn't be subdued, and couldn't be easily released, then the only option was to kill it.

"Hey, why so quick to fight and kill!" The Mirage changed its tone. "I've suddenly thought of something else; I can give you another benefit. Would you like to consider it?"

"What?"

"I can leave behind a Natal Secret Art for your Converging Dao City. With it, your city will be able to activate my divine ability in the future!"

Lu Ye's eyebrows rose at the words. "Is that true?"

"Absolutely no falsehood!" The Mirage nodded repeatedly. "I can swear upon the Will of the Star Abyss that I speak nothing but the truth."

Lu Ye's thoughts immediately became active.

Currently, Yuanxi City's biggest problem was insufficient personnel, especially at the Converging Dao level. For a Heavenly-grade, or even soon-to-be Desolate-grade, Converging Dao City, three Converging Dao cultivators were indeed too few. Moreover, after this incident, Huan Qing would likely depart, leaving only two Converging Dao cultivators.

Not to mention Converging Dao, even the number of Merging Dao cultivators was far from adequate.

The biggest problem caused by insufficient personnel was the inability to be strong in both offense and defense.

If they encountered a strong enemy, Yuanxi, being powerful, could certainly go out to battle, but their defensive capabilities were ultimately somewhat weak. For instance, during the last major battle with Shen Shuang, their defense relied entirely on the cooperation between Lu Ye and You Die, which was a very strenuous fight.

However, if Yuanxi City could activate the Mirage's divine ability, the situation would be different. He had experienced the power of the Mirage's divine ability firsthand during this period. Once the illusory divine ability was activated, any enemy attempting to attack Yuanxi City would fall into it.

As for the Natal Secret Art it mentioned... the Brahma Eye was Huan Qing's Natal Secret Art. Such secret arts could often only be used once in a lifetime, and no one would easily deploy them unless absolutely necessary.

Huan Qing had activated the Brahma Eye for her freedom.

And the Mirage was doing it to survive.

For them, such a sacrifice was worth it.

"How about it?" the Mirage asked.

"Senior, are you sure your secret art can be imbued into a Converging Dao City?"

"Don't worry, I wouldn't have brought it up if I wasn't sure. I'm not looking to joke around with my life."

"What's the cost of activating it?" Lu Ye asked again. If the cost of activating such a secret art was too high, it would be impractical.

"I know what you're asking, but don't worry. With the foundation of your Converging Dao City, you will be able to control that secret art."

During their conversation, Huan Qing suddenly spoke, "Half an incense stick of time!"

"What?" Lu Ye turned to look at her, his heart startled, because the blood-colored eye at Huan Qing's brow seemed to have changed.

"The Brahma Eye can only last for half an incense stick of time now!" Huan Qing explained.

Lu Ye immediately understood that she was urging him to resolve the current situation quickly. Otherwise, once the Brahma Eye secret art lost its effect, there would be no means to restrain the Mirage.

He quickly turned back to the Mirage. "Swear the oath, and also, I need all the Converging Dao Beads you've hidden!"

The Mirage rolled its eyes, clearly having some other thoughts.

Lu Ye activated his Dao power, unleashing a furious slash. A massive blade aura grazed the Mirage's body and sliced into the void, continuing far into the distance.

"Ten breaths. Swear, or die!" Lu Ye's tone was icy.

Feeling the firmness of his resolve, the Mirage sighed deeply, its eyes becoming somewhat moist. Knowing there was no possibility of further resistance, it immediately said, "I can swear, but boy, you must first swear that you will let me leave after I fulfill my promise!"

Without a word, Lu Ye immediately made an oath.

His decisiveness left the Mirage no room to back down, so it could only follow suit and swear an oath.

As its words fell, Huan Qing retracted her silk ribbon and looked at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye raised his hand and tossed the jade token towards her. Huan Qing caught it, examined it briefly, then tucked it into her embrace and turned to leave!

What slightly surprised Lu Ye, however, was that Huan Qing's direction of travel was towards Yuanxi City.

He had initially thought Huan Qing would leave after obtaining the jade token. Now, he wasn't sure what she was thinking and could only ask her later when there was time.

"How embarrassing..." The Mirage curled itself into a ball, its fluffy tail covering half its face, seemingly feeling very ashamed.

Speaking of which, it had roamed this inner realm for so many years, with even Cosmos-grade Converging Dao Cities falling to it, yet it had capsized in the ditch that was Yuanxi City.

Just half a day ago, it had been happily playing with Fu Wei and the others in Yuanxi City's council hall, and now things had come to this.

Indeed, the hearts of outsiders were treacherous; its own intentions were far too pure.

"Senior, I apologize for the offense," Lu Ye said, walking up to it and nodding with a smile.

The Mirage looked up at him and couldn't help but tease, "You change your expression so quickly."

When it was useless to him, he exuded killing intent, but when it became useful, he greeted it with a smile. This person was truly too pragmatic.

"Where shall we start?" Lu Ye asked.

The Mirage sighed, its face showing distress. "I'll take you to find the Converging Dao Beads first."

A moment later, inside an abandoned Converging Dao City, the Mirage used both its feet to rummage around, unearthing the Converging Dao Beads hidden in a concealed spot.

Just as Lu Ye had expected, the Converging Dao Beads here had their aura concealed by the Mirage's methods, which was why he hadn't detected them earlier.

But...

"Why are there so few?" Lu Ye frowned. The number of Converging Dao Beads was vastly different from what he had expected.

The Mirage rolled its eyes at him. "This is just one spot. Would you put all your eggs in one basket?"

"You're right!" Lu Ye nodded, stepped forward, and collected the Converging Dao Beads.

Then, filled with anticipation, he followed the Mirage to the next treasure hiding spot.

An hour later, Lu Ye looked at the Mirage, his face filled with dissatisfaction. "Don't tell me all the Converging Dao Beads are here!"

After all the Converging Dao Beads were taken out, although there were many, the total still fell far short of Lu Ye's expectations.

"They really are all here!" The Mirage's eyes were sincere. "These things are useless to me, and I'll be leaving after you do, so hoarding them would be pointless."

"But how can there be so few?" Lu Ye simply didn't believe it. He had seen hundreds of dilapidated Converging Dao Cities previously. Although most fragments of broken Converging Dao Beads would dissipate into the void, some would inevitably remain. The accumulated remnants from at least hundreds of Converging Dao Cities, even with a minimal amount per city, wouldn't amount to such a small quantity.

The Mirage scratched its face with a paw, saying somewhat awkwardly, "I used quite a few..."

"You used them?" Lu Ye was puzzled. "What did you use them for?"

He truly couldn't figure it out. Could these Converging Dao Bead fragments have some other wondrous use?

The Mirage extended a paw towards Lu Ye, signaling him to give it a Converging Dao Bead fragment.

Lu Ye took one out and handed it to it.

Then, he watched as the creature flicked its finger, emitting a strange cry, and the Converging Dao Bead fragment was flicked away.

Lu Ye kept his gaze on the disappearing Converging Dao Bead fragment, wanting to see if there were any special changes, but even after it vanished completely from sight, nothing happened.

He stiffly turned his head to look at the Mirage.

"You know, fishing always requires bait. Over the years, I occasionally threw out a fragment to see if I could attract people to come and investigate."

The Panshan Blade at Lu Ye's waist vibrated, and he suddenly felt an urge to draw his sword and cut the creature down.