Chapter 2659: Zhu Yin

Inside a certain tree hollow of the Primordial Firmiana, a brilliant, luminous Dao Assimilation Bead glowed, illuminating the entire hollow as bright as day.

This was precisely the central hall of the Phoenix Nest.

Unlike the central halls of other Dao Assimilation Cities, which were heavily guarded, the Phoenix Nest only had one elder-level expert permanently stationed here.

Firstly, the Phoenix Nest didn't have many personnel available. Secondly, the unique nature of the Phoenix Nest was enough to ensure that no one foolish enough would dare to trespass.

Not to mention the spatial fissures that pervaded the area outside the Phoenix Nest, forming an excellent natural barrier, the Primordial Firmiana itself was a supreme treasure. Who would dare to attack it?

When the several peak powerhouses in the Inner Realm battled previously, Zong Shenliang boasted that he would raze the Phoenix Nest. However, that was merely talk; he wouldn't actually have the courage to do it.

As the Dao Assimilation Bead subtly flickered, a petite figure suddenly appeared. It was clearly a young maiden in her early youth, not tall but curvaceous. Most striking was her pure white hair, untainted by a speck of dust.

Her long hair reached her waist, casually tied back, and her entire demeanor exuded lively and adorable vitality.

The Phoenix Elder stationed there slowly opened his eyes and then smiled, "Ah, it's little Yin'er."

Zhu Yin stepped forward, curtsied obediently, and said clearly, "Greetings, Elder!"

The Phoenix Elder appraised her from head to toe, nodding slightly. "No wonder I haven't seen you for so long. So you went through Dao Assimilation. Excellent, excellent. It was indeed time for you to take this step."

Zhu Yin smiled, "Thanks to your blessing, Elder."

The Phoenix Elder laughed heartily. "It's not thanks to me, but to your elders in Dragon City who have been looking after you." He waved his hand, "You may go now."

Zhu Yin bowed again. "Then this disciple bids farewell."

After leaving the central hall, she flew directly downwards.

Not long after, Zhu Yin's eyes suddenly lit up, and she exclaimed in surprise, "Sister Yan!" Her figure transformed into a streak of white light and shot forward.

Su Yan, who was waiting for Lu Ye, turned her head and was unexpectedly embraced.

"Sister Yin!" Su Yan was also overjoyed.

Members of the Phoenix Clan were few, and although Dragon City had many members, truly pure-blooded dragons were also scarce. This meant that companions of the same age were rare for both dragons and phoenixes.

Su Yan and Zhu Yin were born in the same year, a very rare occurrence in both Dao Assimilation Cities. The two girls had practically grown up together, fostering a naturally close bond. They were not blood sisters, but they were closer than sisters.

Su Yan possessed exceptional talent, and Zhu Yin was no less remarkable. Her talent was so profound that even the Dragon Venerable spoke highly of her. It was well-known within Dragon City and the Phoenix Nest that the Dragon Venerable intended to cultivate Zhu Yin to be the next Dragon Venerable, highlighting the high expectations Dragon City had for her.

"Sister, when did you emerge from seclusion? The last few times I came, you were cultivating in seclusion, so I didn't disturb you. I didn't expect to see you today! Oh, Sister, have you also assimilated the Dao?" Zhu Yin chattered incessantly, like a sparrow.

The two girls hadn't seen each other in a long time, so they naturally had much to say.

However, Su Yan's temperament was much calmer, so Zhu Yin did most of the talking, with Su Yan occasionally interjecting a few words.

"What are you doing here, Sister?" Zhu Yin suddenly asked again.

"Waiting for someone," Su Yan replied.

"Waiting for someone? Who are you waiting for?" Zhu Yin was puzzled.

Su Yan suddenly didn't know how to explain. She blinked and changed the subject, saying, "You came here to cultivate, didn't you? Go ahead and cultivate; I'll wait for you here."

Zhu Yin was overjoyed. "So you were waiting for me, Sister!"

"That's right!" Su Yan raised her hand and playfully tapped her nose. "Go on now."

Zhu Yin said, "Seeing you, Sister, I suddenly don't feel like cultivating anymore. We haven't seen each other in so long; why don't we talk a bit longer?"

"Alright!" Su Yan looked at her indulgently.

After talking for most of the day, Zhu Yin reluctantly walked towards the tree hollow in front of them, looking back every few steps as if afraid Su Yan would suddenly vanish. She didn't forget to remind her, "Then Sister will wait for me here."

"Okay!" Su Yan nodded.

Zhu Yin's figure vanished, reappearing in a void not much different from where Lu Ye had been earlier, though on a much larger scale.

Moreover, Zhu Yin's experience was different from Lu Ye's. Lu Ye encountered spatial power as gentle as wind and water, subtly nurturing everything. The moment Zhu Yin appeared, a colossal spatial blade, formed from pure, concentrated spatial power, struck towards her with immense force.

Zhu Yin's expression was solemn, yet she neither dodged nor needed to, enduring the blow head-on.

Even with her Dragon Clan body, the strike tore through her flesh, and blood seeped onto her clothes. Yet, her eyes brightened. Cultivating the Dao of Space after achieving Dao Assimilation was indeed vastly different from before, leading to deeper insights.

It was widely known that dragons commanded time and phoenixes commanded space. Since ancient times, no member of the Dragon or Phoenix Clans had ever transcended this boundary.

Zhu Yin was an anomaly.

Her Dragon Clan bloodline allowed her to cultivate the Dao of Time with ease. More astonishingly, she also possessed the aptitude to cultivate the Dao of Space.

This was highly peculiar, and neither Dragon City nor the Phoenix Nest had yet understood the reason, only faintly suspecting it was related to the two clans' ancestors. While the world viewed them as two distinct races, only the high-ranking members of both clans knew that their bloodlines, traced back to their origins, actually shared a common ancestor.

That ancestor had exceptionally high attainments in both the Dao of Time and the Dao of Space. It was presumed that this ancestral bloodline manifested in Zhu Yin's generation, which was why she, as a member of the Dragon Clan, possessed the aptitude to cultivate the Dao of Space.

This was why she could freely enter and exit the Phoenix Nest. She had been cultivating there since she was very young, making it effectively her second home.

At this moment, in another part of the void.

Lu Ye suddenly showed a look of delight.

After a long period of continuous refinement, the spatial Dao Seed within his Origin Spirit Aperture was finally no longer as fragile as before.

He could sense that the spatial Dao Seed's strength had significantly increased, no longer feeling as if it would shatter at a touch.

It was time to test his idea.

He immediately activated the power of his Talent Tree, allowing its invisible roots to spread out and gently, soothingly absorb the spatial power enveloping him.

He took this action primarily because Lu Ye had discovered that cultivating the spatial Dao Seed was fundamentally no different from accumulating his own Dao power.

Accumulating Dao power involved refining the Dao power from the Star Abyss aura or Dao Fish into his body, while refining the spatial Dao Seed now meant refining the spatial power enveloping him into his body.

If that was the case, the Talent Tree should be able to function.

He hadn't dared to do this before because the Dao Seed was too fragile and couldn't withstand the rapid accumulation of too much spatial power.

Now that the Dao Seed had become robust, it was capable of this.

Upon trying, Lu Ye was greatly delighted.

It proved that his idea was correct: the spatial power enveloping him, like the Dao power freely flowing in the void, could be refined and absorbed by the Talent Tree.

This significantly increased the efficiency of the Dao Seed's refinement.

He even had to carefully control the speed at which the Talent Tree absorbed and refined, as the Dao Seed, though sturdier now, was still in its nascent stage, so caution was advisable.

During this process, insights into the Dao of Space continuously emerged in his mind, aligning with many of the miraculous applications he had observed when Blood Scourge controlled his physical body.

He had initially wanted to quickly re-deduce his Void Dao patterns, but given the current situation, there was no need to rush.

Because as his understanding and perception of the Dao of Space continued to deepen, the deduction process would become more efficient, and the resulting patterns would be more powerful.

As time passed, the Dao Seed grew increasingly solid and translucent. Its shape remained the same, but if the initial Dao Seed was like a snowflake that could melt at any moment, the current Dao Seed had transformed into an ice flower.

With the Dao Seed's increased solidity, the Talent Tree's absorption and refinement speed also gradually improved, creating an excellent cycle.

After an unknown period, Lu Ye suddenly realized that the spatial power, as gentle as water and wind, that had enveloped him had completely vanished.

He was startled, showing a puzzled expression.

It was like someone suddenly cleared the table when he was eagerly devouring a meal, leaving him with an immediate sense of emptiness.

However, the next moment, the void changed.

Visibly, something resembling a thread rapidly formed and sliced towards his position.

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow, his mind clear as a mirror, and he roughly understood what was happening.

The spatial Dao Seed was a cultivation method unique to the Phoenix Clan's external disciples. The practice of this secret art required gradual progress, aided by the will of the Primordial Firmiana. As a supreme treasure, even in slumber, it maintained a trace of spiritual awareness.

The change in the void here undoubtedly indicated that Lu Ye had passed the first stage of Dao Seed cultivation, and thus, the intensity of the subsequent cultivation had increased.

It was evident from the cutting threads themselves that they were entirely condensed from spatial power, slicing through the void wherever they passed.

Lu Ye focused briefly but did not resist, allowing the threads to cut into him. His flesh immediately pained him, as the threads cut open bloody gashes.

Yet, instead of alarm, he felt joy, because as the threads dissolved, an even denser and purer spatial power than before permeated his flesh.

With the activation of the Talent Tree's power, it was instantly refined into capital for the Dao Seed's growth.

Another thread emerged from thin air, cutting towards him just like before.

One after another, initially, the speed and frequency of these spatial threads weren't very fast, but as Lu Ye continuously refined them, their appearance rate noticeably increased.

After about half an hour, the threads became continuous, often with one appearing before the previous one had vanished.

No Phoenix Clan external disciple had ever cultivated the spatial Dao Seed in this manner, because refining the spatial power from their wounds required a vast amount of time and effort.

Lu Ye, relying on his Talent Tree, required virtually no time at all; the spatial power entering his body was refined away in the blink of an eye.