Chapter 2677: Dragon Clan's Request for Help

Dragon Lord remained silent, and Phoenix Empress also kept quiet. The failure of this attempt clearly weighed heavily on both of them.

After a long while, Dragon Lord finally spoke, "Since you are an external official of the Phoenix Clan, there's no harm in telling you this. The reason only humans can harmonize Yin and Yang is that the ancestors of both the Dragon and Phoenix Clans were human!"

"What?" Lu Ye instinctively felt he must have misheard. The Dragon and Phoenix Clans were arguably the noblest races in this realm. How could their ancestors be human? He was already surprised when he heard that the two clans shared a common ancestor, but for that ancestor to also be human? This made no sense at all.

But then he remembered that he himself possessed the bloodline of the Blood Clan. If that mighty ancestor of the Dragon and Phoenix Clans had somehow merged the bloodlines of both clans, then it would make sense.

Phoenix Empress said, "There's no need to be surprised. This universe originally had no Dragon or Phoenix Clans. These are all bloodlines inherited from our ancestor. Therefore, we alone cannot recreate the glory of our ancestor. Only humans, who share the same origin as our ancestor, can mediate and harmonize the powers of both clans."

Lu Ye was pensive. This explained why he could cooperate with Zhu Yin to evolve spatio-temporal power; it wasn't without reason, but rather a confluence of many coincidences.

"Lu Ye." Phoenix Empress addressed him by his full name for the first time.

"Your disciple is here."

"Dragon Lord and I called you here because we actually need your help."

Lu Ye decisively said, "If it is within my disciple's power, please command me, both of you. Your disciple will do his utmost and never decline!"

He could vaguely sense that the help these two required was no small matter, but for him, since Phoenix Empress had made the request, he had no room to refuse. So, no matter what, he had to agree readily. His attitude undoubtedly greatly pleased both Dragon Lord and Phoenix Empress.

Dragon Lord nodded, "No need to be nervous. This matter isn't particularly dangerous, though it might require some time and effort. Additionally, my Dragon City can offer you some benefits. So, tell us what you want. You can ask for anything; as long as it exists in this realm, I will procure it for you."

It wasn't surprising that Dragon Lord's tone was so grand; he truly had the confidence to back it up. If the Dragon and Phoenix Clans truly joined forces, even the Hegemon Qiong would have to retreat three paces. Who in this realm would dare to provoke them?

However, the very next moment, he regretted it. Because Lu Ye pondered for only a moment before saying, "Then, just a few treasured artifacts?"

The evolution of the Talent Tree had a massive demand for treasured artifacts, far exceeding what was needed for Liao's advancement. Naturally, he had to seize every opportunity to acquire resources, especially since his ascension to Harmonization was imminent. Once he ascended, it would no longer be so easy to gain Star Abyss Coins by killing enemies.

Dragon Lord felt his already suppressed blood energy stir again, and silently nodded, "Acceptable!" Dragon City was a vast entity with immense resources, so producing a few treasured artifacts was certainly possible. However, these would only be auxiliary artifacts; only such items would remain available, as treasured artifacts truly capable of aiding ascension to Harmonization already had masters. It was the same for the Phoenix Clan. Lu Ye had only asked for a few treasured artifacts, without specifying type or quality, so Dragon City could still supply them.

"The matter for which we need your help must take place after the Grand Ceremony of Dragon City. In the meantime, you and Yin'er should familiarize yourselves with working together, practice diligently, and strive for precise control over the spatio-temporal power you evolve."

"Understood," Lu Ye replied.

Dragon Lord and Phoenix Empress had specifically brought over a powerful Void Beast this time because they wanted to personally witness the spatio-temporal power he evolved in cooperation with Zhu Yin. Thus, Lu Ye had long guessed that the help Dragon Lord required was related to spatio-temporal power. However, what puzzled him slightly was why it still had to be Zhu Yin cooperating with him. In fact, he only needed a Dragon Clan member proficient in temporal power to cooperate, so it would be the same if Dragon Lord personally participated. But since Dragon Lord had said so, he naturally could only comply.

Lu Ye originally thought he could return to Zhu Yin's side, and it would simply involve more cooperative evolution with her. At worst, he would just spend more effort on this matter during this period. Who would have thought that after he finished speaking, both Dragon Lord and Phoenix Empress suddenly vanished, leaving him alone in the grand hall.

The hall was sealed, with no way out. A moment later, a figure abruptly appeared—it was Zhu Yin.

The two stared at each other, eyes wide. Lu Ye sighed, "Junior Sister, you must know the reason now, right?"

Zhu Yin nodded, "Dragon Lord spoke to me and told me to cooperate with Senior Brother in evolving spatio-temporal power."

Lu Ye helplessly said, "Junior Sister, please wait a moment." After speaking, he looked up at the void, cupped his fists, and said, "Senior, may I ask if there are any texts related to my Dao紋 here in Dragon City? Any connection at all would be fine. Your disciple wishes to improve that Dao紋 first. As the saying goes, 'a craftsman must sharpen his tools to do his work well.'"

He didn't know if Dragon Lord was secretly observing, but Dragon City would definitely leave people to watch over this place. Dragon Lord clearly valued Zhu Yin greatly and wouldn't leave them, a single man and woman, alone here. No one responded. However, in less than a quarter of an hour, a large pile of jade slips suddenly appeared out of thin air before Lu Ye.

Lu Ye's eyes lit up immediately. He picked up one jade slip and began to examine it, discovering that the content recorded within it indeed had a subtle connection to the "Co-Existence Dao紋." Dragon City had stood in this realm for so many years; there was no type of text they didn't possess. Whatever Lu Ye could think of, Dragon City could find. He immediately began to peruse them. Zhu Yin sat beside him, quietly cultivating.

This occupied him for over ten days until Lu Ye finally finished perusing the many jade slips. Various insights flashed continuously in his mind. He immediately sat cross-legged on the ground, activated the power of his Talent Tree, and began to deduce the "Co-Existence Dao紋."

The last time he deduced a Dao紋 was when he left Banyan. At that time, he had gained a lot from the Dao紋 Pavilion within Banyan, which enabled him to achieve that deduction. However, the Dao纹s preserved in the Dao纹 Pavilion could not be compared to the collections here with the Dragon Clan. Furthermore, Lu Ye's current cultivation level was incomparable to what it had been back then. In fact, the effect would be better if he waited until the Talent Tree had advanced before deducing, but time was pressing, and he couldn't wait that long.

The deduction of a Dao纹 was greatly related to Lu Ye's own understanding. If his understanding of a certain Dao纹 didn't change, then no matter how much his cultivation improved, the deduction process wouldn't advance significantly. Therefore, his understanding was the key to Dao纹 deduction, and the power of the Talent Tree served as a medium. This time, Lu Ye only performed the deduction for one Dao纹, so the time spent wasn't very long.

In just a few days, the new "Co-Existence Dao紋" was finalized. Compared to before, the Dao纹 was significantly more streamlined, yet its effectiveness had improved by about twenty to thirty percent.

"Junior Sister, let's begin," Lu Ye said, turning to glance at Zhu Yin, who was still cultivating, and called out to her.

Zhu Yin opened her eyes.

Lu Ye immediately constructed the Dao纹 and spread it out. The two then activated their respective powers.

Zhu Yin's eyes immediately lit up. She could clearly feel that, compared to their last collaboration, their joint effort this time was much smoother. This wasn't because they were more familiar with each other, nor was it due to their previous two collaborations; rather, it was because the Dao纹 had connected their qi mechanisms more closely. As a result, the fusion of their powers became even easier and simpler. All Zhu Yin had to do was continuously maintain the supply of her power, but Lu Ye had much more on his plate. He not only had to do the same as Zhu Yin but also integrate and evolve it, and furthermore, control it.

Dragon Lord had specifically instructed him and Zhu Yin to cooperate more and to achieve precise control over this power, indicating that the task he was about to undertake would demand extremely high levels of control over this power.

Time flowed by. Both Lu Ye and Zhu Yin were immersed in it. They had frequent exchanges during this period, and both benefited greatly.

Suddenly, one day, as Lu Ye was meditating to recover, the Pan Mountain Blade at his waist trembled slightly, followed by a familiar voice entering his ears: "Ugh, this sleep I had... it felt so good!"

Lu Ye's spirits immediately lifted. He lowered his head and looked towards his waist.

Liao had awakened!

On that day, after slaying Jiao and shattering Jiao's treasured artifact in the Starry Sky Chessboard, Liao had entered a deep slumber. This awakening undoubtedly signified that it had overcome its second hurdle. This also meant that its limits had been further elevated, and similarly, it signified an increase in Lu Ye's strength. Although this enhancement was external, Liao's awakening meant that Lu Ye could advance to Harmonization at any time. Furthermore, advancing to Harmonization with Liao as the foundation would bring immense benefits to Lu Ye.

"Who's this little girl? You little rascal, were you up to something while I was asleep?" Liao chirped incessantly.

This fellow was a chatterbox. Having spent so many years together, Lu Ye had long understood its nature and naturally knew how to deal with it. Without responding at all, Lu Ye slowly drew the Pan Mountain Blade and quietly sensed its changes.

Having overcome its second hurdle, Liao's quality as a treasured artifact had once again improved and grown. The original limit of 108 paths was indeed no longer its maximum. Lu Ye could clearly feel that there was now considerable excess capacity within Liao, meaning he could once again nurture his Dao soldiers. He immediately activated his Dao power and poured it into Liao.

A moment later, a corner of Lu Ye's eye twitched. After Liao had overcome its first hurdle and advanced as a treasured artifact, he had discovered a problem: nurturing Liao required a vast amount of Dao power. This time was even more terrifying. He had just raised Liao's power by a single path, yet it had cost him a full ten to twenty thousand units of his own Dao power. And this was just the beginning. With subsequent nurturing and Liao's continuous increase in power, each subsequent enhancement would require more and more Dao power.

If he wasn't mistaken, Liao's current limit was 256 paths. When nurtured to its maximum, Lu Ye, wielding the Pan Mountain Blade, would be able to increase its destructive power by that many paths. One must understand that for an ordinary Harmonization cultivator, without the aid of Dao soldiers, the limit was only 200 paths. In comparison, the power of a single Dao soldier in Lu Ye's hand was stronger than most Harmonization cultivators. But the cost of this nurturing was too great. Lu Ye estimated that for him to nurture Liao to its limit, two to three million units of Dao power would barely be enough.