Chapter 2658: Space Dao Seed

The Phoenix Lord waited only three breaths in place. The shattered phantom from moments ago already showed signs of re-coalescing, clearly indicating the Dragon Lord was exerting power from the other side.

Unfortunately, even someone as powerful as the Dragon Lord could not fully re-coalesce the phantom due to the immense distance.

As a result, the phantom appeared fragmented and much less substantial than before, unlike the lifelike image it had been.

The Phoenix Lord raised her hand again, and the scattered phantom immediately solidified.

The Dragon Lord rubbed his forehead. "Let's talk properly."

The Phoenix Lord retorted, "Were you talking properly?"

The Dragon Lord angrily said, "What? You can do it, but I can't say anything? You knew that scoundrel Ba Qiu disgraced my Dragon City, yet you still..." Seeing the Phoenix Lord about to raise her hand again, the Dragon Lord abruptly stopped speaking. "Fine, Huang Shiniang, you win!"

The Phoenix Lord's lips curved into a smirk.

"Let's get serious!" The Dragon Lord's expression became stern.

He knew the Phoenix Lord wouldn't contact him like this without a reason.

The Phoenix Lord's expression also grew serious. "I just learned today that the Will has grown even stronger!"

"What? Are there any signs?" The Dragon Lord's expression changed.

"You should remember the last time the Scions of the Star Abyss competed. A junior from our clan became one of the Scions this generation," the Phoenix Lord slowly began.

The Dragon Lord said, "You mentioned this to me before. Could this matter be related to her?"

"Precisely. And there's more than one Scion of the Star Abyss this generation!"

"How is that possible?" The Dragon Lord was greatly astonished. "Historically, only one Scion of the Star Abyss has survived each generation. How could this time be an exception? How many are there, specifically?"

"Two. Besides our junior, there's also a human male." The Phoenix Lord's voice was grave. "That's not the crucial part. The crucial part is that after that competition ended, these two were affected by the Will of the Star Abyss, their minds and emotions muddled. The Will intends to be born through their offspring!"

Upon hearing this, the Dragon Lord's pupils contracted.

This was something never heard of before. No wonder the Phoenix Lord said the Will had grown stronger; it actually harbored the ambition of truly manifesting.

"Regarding the Seventh Lord..." The Dragon Lord trailed off.

The Phoenix Lord slowly shook her head. "There has been no news. It seems the situation is not optimistic."

"Sigh." The Dragon Lord let out a heavy sigh. "If the Will has grown stronger, wouldn't our ancestors' situation become even more difficult? If things continue like this, I fear we must prepare for the worst." After a brief contemplation, he added, "I want to glimpse the River of Chronology."

The Phoenix Lord was startled. "Are you sure you can?"

The Dragon Lord replied, "Whether I'm sure or not, I must try. After so many years of waiting with no news, our two clans cannot simply sit and wait for death. Perhaps there will be some insight in the River of Chronology. Conveniently, the grand ceremony of our city is approaching, which can serve as a cover."

His attempt to peer into the River of Chronology would inevitably create some disturbance. The Dragon City's grand ceremony would be bustling with activity and filled with powerful individuals, perfectly masking any unusual movements.

"Is there anything I can help with?" the Phoenix Lord asked, concerned.

The Dragon Lord thought seriously for a moment. "Go find Ba Qiu now. While his injuries haven't healed, strike him down with a single palm!"

"Get lost!" The Phoenix Lord waved her hand, and the phantom before her shattered again. She was truly infuriated by that Dragon Lord.

It was true that although Ba Qiu had caused a commotion in Dragon City, no one had actually died; Dragon City had simply lost face. The Dragon Lord, being so petty, had held a grudge ever since.

However, she could also understand the Dragon Lord. If the Phoenix Nest had been similarly disgraced, she would have held a grudge too.

She withdrew her gaze, her expression wistful. Was all these years of waiting for Dragon City and the Phoenix Nest truly worth it? When would the person mentioned in their ancestor's prophecy finally appear?

In Su Yan's Phoenix Nest, inside her boudoir, Lu Ye sat cross-legged. Su Yan sat before him, raising a finger to touch his forehead.

After the Phoenix Lord left, he contemplated the method of the Spatial Dao Seed and immediately decided to begin cultivating.

With his injuries fully healed, his condition exceptionally good, and his spirits high, it was naturally the best time for cultivation.

A faint fragrance filled his nostrils, yet Lu Ye seemed oblivious. Guided by Su Yan, he began to unearth the lingering traces of phoenix primal blood within his body.

After his one nirvana in the starry sky, this phoenix primal blood had essentially been consumed. He would no longer have the chance for rebirth through nirvana in the future.

For him, such an opportunity was singular and unique.

Although the primal blood was consumed, traces of it remained.

Normally, Lu Ye couldn't detect these traces himself, but with Su Yan's assistance, he felt them very clearly.

Those faint imprints, deep within his flesh and blood, were guided and converged towards his Source Spirit Acumen in the Dantian, where they were refined according to the secret art's cultivation method.

Time passed.

Until, at a certain point, when there were no more residual traces to unearth within Lu Ye's body, he distinctly felt as if something extra had appeared within his Source Spirit Acumen.

Lu Ye quickly immersed his mind to investigate.

Soon, he clearly saw that within his Source Spirit Acumen, there was a tiny, ice-clear, translucent object resembling a snowflake.

This was the Spatial Dao Seed.

Cultivating this secret art was not difficult; it could be achieved with the Phoenix clan's aid, provided one had previously obtained phoenix primal blood.

However, the difficulty lay precisely there: how many people in this world had ever obtained phoenix primal blood?

Thus, this secret art was only qualified for cultivation by the Phoenix clan's external retainers throughout history.

With the Dao Seed newly formed, Lu Ye clearly felt that it was extremely fragile and could not yet exert much power.

The only effect was that when his Dao power circulated through the Source Spirit Acumen, it gained a somewhat ethereal quality.

Furthermore, as the Dao Seed solidified, Lu Ye's comprehension of the Dao of Space deepened significantly. He was eager to re-deduce his Void Dao Patterns.

Earlier, when he refined the soul crystal containing Blood Blight's fragment soul, he had gained immense insight into the Dao of Space. Now, with further gains, if he were to re-deduce them, his Void Dao Patterns would undoubtedly become much stronger.

However, it was not the right time now. He slowly opened his eyes and asked, "Yan'er, the Dao Seed has been successfully refined. How do I cultivate it from now on?"

Unlike improving cultivation realms and accumulating Dao power, which had a very clear direction.

However, Lu Ye was completely clueless about how to cultivate this Spatial Dao Seed. He could feel that if it wasn't cultivated, it would likely collapse on its own before long.

Su Yan pursed her lips, stood up, and took his hand. "Come with me!"

Lu Ye obediently followed.

Soon, Su Yan led him out of the Phoenix Nest. Looking up, he saw a colossal figure hovering outside—a fiery red phoenix, massive in size, clearly an adult.

A pair of majestic phoenix eyes were fixed on Lu Ye.

Lu Ye paused for a moment, then cheerfully greeted it, "Little brother-in-law, we meet again!"

This fiery red phoenix was none other than Su Yun; Lu Ye recognized his aura.

Su Yun opened his beak, exhaling a scorching breath. "I heard you were coming, and you actually came! Good! Let's have a fight first!"

He had suffered a loss at Lu Ye's hands last time. Although they later cooperated sincerely and he even seized the Moon Disc artifact for Lu Ye, he still harbored some lingering resentment.

Hearing that Lu Ye had been brought by the Phoenix Lord, he eagerly rushed over, wanting to redeem himself.

"Stop fooling around!"

Before Lu Ye could speak, Su Yan reached out and grabbed forward. The enormous fiery phoenix then seemed to have its neck squeezed by an invisible force, was casually flung away, and transformed into a streak of fire.

"Sister, you..." Su Yun's voice came from afar.

"Don't mind him!" Su Yan said, pulling Lu Ye out of her Phoenix Nest and flying straight in one direction.

Before long, they arrived at a certain spot on the Primordial Wutong Tree.

Lu Ye was immediately astonished, for there was a dark, gnarled tree hollow here, looking neither natural nor man-made, extremely peculiar.

After all, the Primordial Wutong Tree was a supreme treasure. Lu Ye wondered how such a tree hollow could exist on it.

"This is one of our Phoenix clan's training grounds. Once you enter, Grandfather Tree will help you temper your Dao Seed," Su Yan explained. "As for the content of the training, you'll know once you're inside. But senior brother, don't be overconfident. Although Grandfather Tree possesses sentience, he is mostly asleep. Even when awake, he's often muddled, so there might be times when he can't fully attend to you. If you feel you can't endure it, remember to withdraw promptly."

"How about you come with me, Yan'er, so we can look out for each other?" Lu Ye suggested.

Su Yan shook her head. "The space inside is layered. Anyone who enters finds themselves in an independent space, so even if I wanted to go with you, I couldn't." She hesitated, her voice dropping slightly. "I'll wait for you here."

"Alright!" Lu Ye smiled. "Then I'll go in."

He flashed and darted into the tree hollow.

A sensation of spatial displacement washed over him. By the time Lu Ye regained his senses, he was in a void.

His divine sense swept out, and he was surprised to find that the void's expanse was not large, only about a hundred li in circumference. Behind him was a portal, presumably for exiting at any time.

Lu Ye was somewhat puzzled. This place was empty; how was he supposed to train here, and how could he temper his Dao Seed?

Just as he was thinking this, a gentle breeze suddenly swept past his body.

Lu Ye's brow lifted as he instantly perceived that it wasn't a mere breeze, but a wondrous spatial energy. This energy, like a gentle breeze, also enveloped him like flowing water.

When this spatial energy appeared, the Spatial Dao Seed within his Source Spirit Acumen immediately reacted.

Lu Ye even felt a hint of yearning emanate from it, like hunger for food or thirst for water.

He suddenly understood how to temper his Dao Seed and make it stronger.

He immediately immersed his mind, connected with the Dao Seed within him, and activated it according to the secret art's cultivation method.

Sure enough, in the next moment, Lu Ye felt some unseen power being drawn by the Dao Seed, condensing and flowing into it.

The water-like and wind-like spatial energy continued to envelop him, transforming into wisps and threads that surged into the Dao Seed like moths drawn to a flame.

Lu Ye carefully controlled the intake. The Dao Seed was newly formed and extremely fragile, so he couldn't absorb too much spatial energy, or there was a high risk of it shattering.

If that happened, he would never be able to cultivate this secret art again, as the residual traces of phoenix primal blood in his body had completely vanished, and even with Su Yan's help, he wouldn't be able to form a second Dao Seed.