Chapter 2512: Future Sword

Two months later, in a secret chamber at the Grand Governor's Residence, Lu Ye and Fu Wei sat facing each other.

Fu Wei wore a bitter expression. "Senior Brother," he said, "if you don't tell me what exactly to divine, how can I do it?"

The six-month period agreed upon with Fu Wei had elapsed. Seeing that Fu Wei's vital energy seemed quite robust recently, Lu Ye summoned him and asked him to perform a divination.

Lu Ye still had no idea about the path of transformation for the Talent Tree. For now, he could only place his hopes on Fu Wei, to see if his abilities could show him a clear way forward.

But this was the crux of the problem. Lu Ye couldn't tell Fu Wei about the Talent Tree, leaving Fu Wei completely bewildered. Divination usually required a clear direction; for instance, last time, he had divined where Lu Ye's gains would lie.

Lu Ye stared steadily at him, with an expression that conveyed, "That's your problem."

Fu Wei rubbed his temples. "Then, Senior Brother," he said, "I'll ask you a few questions. Please answer them as best you can."

"Alright!" Lu Ye nodded.

"Does this matter concern your cultivation?"

Lu Ye nodded.

"Is it unrelated to combat?" Fu Wei asked again.

Lu Ye pondered for a moment. The Talent Tree itself couldn't be directly used in combat, but many of its Dao patterns could, as could its clone.

"It has some connection."

Fu Wei grew even more bewildered. It was related to both cultivation and combat. In a daze, he suddenly caught sight of the Pan Mountain Blade at Lu Ye's waist and instantly wore a thoughtful expression.

*Could Senior Brother be trying to divine about his Dao weapon?* For a cultivator, only such an item was relevant to both. Cultivators relied on their Dao weapons for Dao integration, and especially since Lu Ye was currently at the Fusion Dao cultivation stage, he was about to face this very issue. Dao weapons also played a crucial role in combat.

With a clear direction, he visibly relaxed. He nodded and said, "Senior Brother, please wait a moment. I'll give it a try!"

As he spoke, he flipped his palm, and six turtle shells suddenly appeared.

Last time, he had used three shells for divination. This time, his demeanor seemed much more serious.

As Lu Ye watched, Fu Wei tossed the six turtle shells in front of him. They didn't fall to the ground but floated in mid-air, each moving along different trajectories and directions, circling around Fu Wei's body.

Just like last time, his expression was solemn, and he muttered incantations.

The six spinning turtle shells rotated faster and faster, gradually forming an impenetrable barrier beside him. Numerous intricate patterns flowed across them, appearing ever-changing and unpredictable.

Initially, everything seemed normal, but at a certain moment, Lu Ye suddenly noticed Fu Wei's aura becoming unstable, and his face instantly turned pale.

It was at this very instant that Fu Wei's eyes snapped open.

But his eyes had lost all their blackness, leaving only a blank white, and they trembled violently.

He seemed to have witnessed something incredible, as an expression of extreme dread appeared on his face. He suddenly let out a strange cry: "Oh my God!"

His body suddenly fell backward, his head hitting the ground hard with a thud.

With a clatter of crisp sounds, the six turtle shells circling around him shattered into pieces. A large gash suddenly appeared across Fu Wei's chest, deep enough to show bone, and blood flowed out.

Lu Ye quickly stood up, pulled Fu Wei up and hid him behind himself, then drew the Pan Mountain Blade, warily surveying his surroundings.

But no matter how he investigated, he found no signs of intrusion. All the restrictions and formations of the entire residence were intact, and from beginning to end, Yuan Xi, who was stationed in the city, showed no reaction.

"Senior Brother..." Fu Wei's extremely weak voice came from behind him.

Lu Ye turned his head and saw that Fu Wei's eyes had returned to normal, but they were dull, as if they had lost their luster. Fu Wei himself was extremely weak, covered in cold sweat, and his clothes were damp.

"It wasn't an ambush..." he said, struggling to sit upright. "I saw some things."

"What did you see?" Lu Ye frowned.

He couldn't understand it. He had only asked Fu Wei to divine the direction of the Talent Tree's transformation; how had it suddenly come to this?

And if it wasn't an ambush, then what about Fu Wei's injuries?

As he asked, Lu Ye quickly checked, and his expression immediately changed.

The wound on Fu Wei's body was actually imbued with a power he was extremely familiar with!

The power of Shang!

Across the entire Inner Realm, only Shang could wield the power of Shang. But Shang was Ba Qiu's Dao weapon; how could it have injured Fu Wei, and in such a place?

"I..." Fu Wei opened his mouth, recalling the scene he had just witnessed. For a moment, he found it almost impossible to accept, but it was what he had seen, and for the Divination Clan, what was seen was truth.

"Senior Brother," he said, his tone heavy, "you will have a battle with Ba Qiu... a battle of life and death!"

What he couldn't accept wasn't the conflict between Lu Ye and Ba Qiu, but the deeper implications.

Lu Ye was the destiny he had chosen, and he had even received guidance from the Old Clan Leader. However, Ba Qiu was the Old Clan Leader's destiny; their lives and deaths were intertwined, their honor and disgrace shared. If these two great destinies were to clash, wouldn't that mean his destiny would conflict with the Old Clan Leader's?

Regardless of the outcome of such a confrontation, it was not something he was willing to accept.

"What nonsense!" Lu Ye snapped impatiently.

Not to mention the huge current disparity in strength between him and Ba Qiu, making a confrontation impossible, there was also their relationship. They had no enmity whatsoever, so why would there be a battle of life and death?

Moreover, Liao and Shang also had a good relationship. If this relationship continued, even if they didn't become friends, they certainly wouldn't become enemies.

"I asked you to help me divine the direction of my future cultivation. How did you see these things?"

"I don't know either?" Fu Wei shook his head.

Lu Ye frowned.

Lu Ye had witnessed Fu Wei's abilities; whether it was his divination in the wonder or the matter of Huan Qing, all demonstrated the young man's mastery of the path of divination.

But what was he divining now? Even if he were to concede a point and imagine he reached Ba Qiu's level in the future and had some disagreements with him, at such a high level, unless there was an irreconcilable grudge, they wouldn't fight to the death.

Then he suddenly remembered that Bright Moon Wheel had once asked him to help her get revenge. After being refused, she had clearly stated that some things would eventually happen, even if he didn't want them to.

Bright Moon Wheel had already sensed her own fragmentation at that time, and the object of her revenge was undoubtedly Ba Qiu.

First Bright Moon Wheel, and now Fu Wei — could it be that he and Ba Qiu would truly have a battle?

Even so, at most, it should be a spar, not a battle of life and death.

"What else did you see?" Lu Ye felt it would be better to ask for clarification.

Fu Wei shook his head. "Many things were unclear, hazy," he said. "Oh, right! There seemed to be a tree behind Senior Brother, its roots hanging down, coiling around the void!"

Lu Ye's eyes narrowed instantly. "What kind of tree?"

"Golden, very large, and it seemed to be burning," Fu Wei described. "I don't know what kind it was; I've never seen it before. Its roots seemed to be wrapped around Ba Qiu's Dao weapon, furiously devouring something..."

A golden, burning tree — that was undoubtedly the Talent Tree.

Fu Wei had actually seen the Talent Tree!

But ever since Lu Ye acquired the Talent Tree, it had always been hidden within his body, never manifesting externally. How did Fu Wei see it? Could it be that the Talent Tree would be able to manifest after its next transformation?

Roots hanging down, coiling around the void, devouring Ba Qiu's Dao weapon.

Shang was a supreme treasure! The Talent Tree could devour it?

Lu Ye's eyes suddenly lit up, and a bold idea faintly formed in his mind.

"Senior Brother, my head hurts so much..." Fu Wei said with a pained expression. "My chest hurts too, and I feel as if my power has been sealed by some force."

"What's wrong with your injury?" Lu Ye still hadn't understood this.

Even if Fu Wei had seen something extraordinary, this injury seemed somewhat inexplicable.

"This is a sword strike from the future!" Fu Wei explained, clutching his head. "Senior Ba Qiu's destiny cannot be divined. This is the backlash from divination."

A sword strike from the future!

Lu Ye was startled. No wonder he hadn't found any signs of intrusion, and he felt this was the power of Shang.

In fact, this was indeed the power of Shang, but it was triggered by Fu Wei peering into a corner of the future.

Could what Fu Wei saw truly happen?

"One last question," Lu Ye asked, "in the battle between me and Ba Qiu, who won?"

Fu Wei shook his head. "I don't know," he said, "I didn't see the outcome..."

Lu Ye nodded, no longer pressing the issue. He had asked that question merely out of curiosity and wouldn't take it seriously. Even if he and Ba Qiu truly had a battle of life and death in the future, Fu Wei's answer at this moment wouldn't affect his mindset in the slightest.

"Sit still!" Lu Ye commanded. He sat cross-legged opposite Fu Wei, raised his hand, pressed it against Fu Wei's chest, and activated the power of the Talent Tree to help him dispel the power of Shang.

This time, Fu Wei had suffered because of him. Fu Wei himself would be severely depleted after this divination, needing at least half a year to recover. If he were still affected by the power of Shang in this weakened state, his recovery period would undoubtedly be even longer.

Lu Ye couldn't help him quickly recover his depleted vital energy, but at the very least, he could help him neutralize the power of Shang.

Fu Wei groaned and whimpered, looking very uncomfortable.

The power of Shang was not easy to dispel, as Shang was already on the level of a supreme treasure, and the power lingering in the wound was that of a supreme treasure.

Previously, every time Lu Ye helped himself dispel it, it would take him ten days to half a month.

However, this time the progress was significantly faster because Lu Ye discovered that the power of Shang left by this sword strike from the future was much weaker compared to what he had endured before.

So, in just three days, the power of Shang on Fu Wei's body was completely dispelled.

He was greatly astonished!

In the Inner Realm, if anyone knew Ba Qiu best, it would undoubtedly be the Old Divination Clan member who had followed him back then.

The Old Divination Clan member had told Fu Wei many things about Ba Qiu, so Fu Wei naturally knew how tricky and difficult the power of Shang was.

This was a power greatly feared by the other ten Dao Integration City Lords. If wounded by Ba Qiu during a fight, their strength would undoubtedly be weakened, and the more severe the injury, the greater the impact.

Even powerful cultivators at the same level as Ba Qiu who wished to dispel it would have to pay a great price.

As for ordinary Dao Integration cultivators, they simply had no means or ability to dispel it.

Yet Lu Ye, merely a Fusion Dao cultivator, had accomplished this in three days. How could Fu Wei not be astonished?