Chapter 2563: Appetite Grows Bigger

Lu Ye returned to the Grand Commander's Mansion, filled with anticipation. The moment he stepped into his room, he sensed something was off.

On his large bed, which he had never used, a pink gauze curtain hung, shrouding it. Through the veil, a graceful figure lay reclining, propping her face with one hand and gazing towards him.

An intoxicating scent permeated the air around them.

Lu Ye stood still, staring intently at the hazy figure before him.

"Brother Ye... you're back." You Die's soft, languid voice drifted over, filled with allure.

Lu Ye took large, powerful strides and walked directly towards her.

Moments later, You Die was thrown out the door, her neck clutched in his hand.

You Die quickly spun around and pounded on the closed door, fuming, "What makes those foxy hussies outside better than me? Lu, you better explain yourself!"

She was so angry her nose was almost crooked.

During the previous battle, she had stayed behind in Yuan Xi City and had a clear view of Lu Ye's situation.

He had been so impatient and eager outside, but upon returning home, he seemed like a completely different person.

The door suddenly reopened. You Die quickly put on a smile. "Brother Ye..."

Before she could finish speaking, Lu Ye threw something at her. She quickly caught it, only to realize it was the body of the female cultivator from before. However, the clothing over the woman's chest was torn, clearly revealing her intimate undergarment.

With a thud, the door closed again.

You Die held the cold body of the female cultivator, utterly bewildered and completely unsure of what Lu Ye meant by this.

Inside the room, Lu Ye sat cross-legged, a set of golden silk soft armor resting on his lap. It was the same armor he had just stripped from the female cultivator's body.

The 獠's voice echoed in his ear, "What a pity, what a real pity..."

How wonderful it would be if this item were an offensive treasure like a sword, spear, or staff; it could then definitely become its food. But alas, this was a defensive treasure worn on the body, completely useless to it. Even if acquired, it could only stare longingly.

"That female cultivator shouldn't have achieved Harmonization Realm relying on this treasure," Lu Ye said, stroking the soft armor. The power of the Talent Tree had already been activated, and its invisible roots extended into the armor, greedily devouring the mysterious essence within.

"Indeed!" the 獠 agreed.

Because if the female cultivator had advanced to the Harmonization Realm using this treasure, her strength would have been significantly greater, and her defensive power would far exceed cultivators of the same level. If that were the case, Lu Ye would have had no effective way to deal with her.

Therefore, there was only one possibility: this treasure was acquired by the female cultivator after she had already reached the Harmonization Realm. Although it had been nurtured, its practical use was ultimately limited. The only benefit it provided her was enhanced defensive capability. That's why, despite being weaker than the Harmonization Realm cultivator from Ling Feng City, she remained unharmed throughout the earlier engagement, relying on the protection of this treasure.

When the Talent Tree devoured the treasure, it didn't just gain the mysterious essence; Lu Ye's Dao Power also increased, and by a considerable amount.

It was worth noting that when he had devoured the Dice of Fate back then, it was purely for Dao Power. That Dice of Fate had not been nurtured, yet it still brought him considerable gains at the time.

Now, this treasure had been nurtured by a Harmonization Realm cultivator for an unknown number of years, so devouring it would naturally yield a substantial amount of Dao Power.

Time passed. Several days later, Lu Ye suddenly opened his eyes. The golden silk soft armor, which had been resting on his lap, had become dull and lifeless, as if it had endured the erosion of countless years.

With a slight movement, the formerly intact golden silk soft armor suddenly crumbled into dust, scattering around him.

This greatly astonished Lu Ye.

He had refined many Dao artifacts. The Dao artifacts left behind after cultivators died in battle contained Dao Power, and refining them could replenish his own Dao Power reserves.

However, those Dao artifacts did not behave like this after being refined. Most of them retained their original appearance, merely losing their previous durability and function. They certainly did not turn to dust like the treasure before him, as if it had never existed.

Unsure of the reason, Lu Ye promptly inspected the Talent Tree.

A moment later, joy appeared on his face.

It was now confirmed: the Talent Tree's next transformation required the mysterious essence found within treasures. The Talent Tree had previously devoured a Dice of Fate, but at that time, Lu Ye was solely focused on accumulating Dao Power and hadn't noticed the subtle changes in the Talent Tree.

This time, he paid special attention and finally noticed.

However, joy quickly turned to worry. Although the Talent Tree had changed, the change didn't seem significant. This undoubtedly meant that to reach the point where it could transform, it might need to devour many treasures.

This thing's appetite was even greater than the 獠's!

For the 獠's advancement, Lu Ye at least had a general goal, but for the Talent Tree's transformation, he couldn't discern the objective, feeling as if it was endlessly distant.

He then considered another question.

How exactly was the Talent Tree born?

He had obtained this item from Kyushu. Looking across the entire starry sky, Kyushu at its peak was indeed extraordinary, but within the Star Abyss, Kyushu was nothing remarkable.

The Talent Tree, acquired from Kyushu, continued to play a crucial role even today and could even devour treasures. If it transformed again, perhaps it could even devour supreme treasures?

In fact, Lu Ye had long suspected whether the Talent Tree itself was a supreme treasure. However, this particular supreme treasure was different from others he had seen; it possessed significant growth potential.

Yuan Xi City's current period of recuperation was quite long. It wasn't that Yuan Xi enjoyed solitude, but rather that successive battles in a short span had severely depleted everyone, regardless of whether they were Harmonization Realm or Integration Realm cultivators, they all needed to replenish their Dao Power.

For any cultivator, their reserved Dao Power should ideally be maintained at least at seventy percent of its full capacity. This allowed for maneuverability during combat. If reserved Dao Power was insufficient, it was highly probable that one would run out during a major battle, which would be extremely awkward.

Lu Ye rarely had such concerns because his Dao Power reserves in the Talent Tree were enormous, and replenishing them was much simpler than for other cultivators. Thus, even if he expended a significant amount in every major battle, he could still maintain his strength.

This was also why many Harmonization Cities began to lie dormant after participating in a major battle in the Snowfield. On one hand, cultivators needed to heal, but the main reason was to replenish their expended resources.

Therefore, when Lu Ye emerged from his residence one time, he found Yuan Xi City completely silent, with not a single person in sight. From Yuan Xi herself down to the Integration Realm slaves, everyone was engaged in intense cultivation.

He leisurely made his way to the Dao Pool and immediately saw Fan Wu, who was sitting cross-legged there.

The last time, he had asked Fan Wu to keep a constant eye on the lotus seed's condition, so Fan Wu had remained there without moving.

Sensing the movement, Fan Wu opened his eyes, cupped his fist, and said, "Grand Commander."

Lu Ye nodded and walked to the Dao Pool. He saw the lotus seed swimming around amidst the mist. Compared to before, its condition seemed better, though still somewhat weak.

The three previous blasts of poisonous gas had indeed drained it considerably.

"It's eaten all the Dao Fish here?" Lu Ye watched for a while, his eye twitching.

Since the Dao Pool was created, it had begun to cultivate Dao Fish. With Yuan Xi City's promotion to the Hong-rank, the production of Dao Fish was actually quite good. In the past, when Lu Ye passed by, he could still see traces of Dao Fish in the pool. But now, where were they?

Fan Wu replied, "It eats one as soon as it's spawned. I'm afraid our Dao Pool can only be used to raise the lotus seed now."

"It hasn't fully recovered yet!"

"Yes," Fan Wu nodded. "If the Grand Commander wants it to recover faster, it's best to feed it some Dao Fish."

Lu Ye immediately shook his head. How could he have any Dao Fish left? He had long since refined them all.

You Die might have some, but those were for a greater purpose and couldn't be touched for now.

As for Yuan Xi... his city lord always regarded Dao Fish as dirt, so she likely had none on her. The richest person in the city was probably Lian.

This Master of Golden Core Pavilion possessed a vast enterprise in the Integration Realm, surely making her immensely wealthy.

He needed to find a way to get the City Lord to make Lian "bleed" a little to nurture the lotus seed. If successful, the lotus seed would be a trump card against any difficult-to-breach Harmonization City they encountered next.

Acting on the thought, Lu Ye greeted Fan Wu and headed straight for the City Lord's Mansion.

He soon met Yuan Xi and spoke with her for a while. Yuan Xi nodded repeatedly as she listened, then shook her head, saying, "Grand Commander, you don't know Lian. That fellow is extremely stingy. Last time, when I asked to borrow money from her to buy slaves, she refused. If I hadn't made a profit by betting on you in the fighting arena that time, I probably wouldn't even have those slaves."

Lu Ye thought for a moment and realized Yuan Xi was referring to his first deathmatch as the anonymous guest.

He then coaxed, "How will you know it won't work if you don't try? My lady, consider this: the lotus seed can break formations. With its help, we can quickly conquer enemy Harmonization Cities, rapidly acquiring Harmonization Orb fragments and strengthening our own city. This way, we'll soon advance from Hong-rank to Zhou-rank, and Yu-rank will be within reach. Then, all those top ten Harmonization Cities will have to rely on us for their very existence!"

Yuan Xi had few weaknesses, and leading her Harmonization City to its peak was certainly one of them. Upon hearing Lu Ye's words, she was immediately swayed. She rose abruptly. "I'll go find her now. From now on, feeding the lotus seed will be her responsibility. If she dares refuse... Hmph hmph!"

She spoke through gritted teeth, as if she would inflict some terrible torture on Lian if she refused.

A short while later, at Lian's residence, Lian was rubbing her forehead, looking at Yuan Xi, who was clutching her thigh and gazing up pitifully. Lian felt a massive headache. "You're a Hong-rank City Lord now, can you please stop being so shameless?"

Yuan Xi tightened her grip on Lian's leg. "No one else is watching anyway. If you don't agree, I'm not getting up!"

"Alright, alright, fine! It's just the lotus seed, isn't it? I'll raise it!" Lian had no other choice.

Yuan Xi immediately jumped up, cupped Lian's face, and gave her a series of fierce kisses. "It always has to be you, Lian!"

Lian remained expressionless, her face covered in Yuan Xi's saliva. Only after Yuan Xi released her did she distastefully wipe herself clean.