Chapter 2685: I Am Complete

The interior of the Tower of Time is a vast labyrinth. Lu Ye's current location is at the very center of this labyrinth, on a circular platform. From this platform, dozens of passages branch out in all directions, leading to various parts of the maze. The entrance to the next level and the exit from the current one are hidden in various corners of the labyrinth, requiring cultivators to find them themselves. This is because every time the Tower of Time opens, not only do the locations of the entrances and exits change randomly, but the entire labyrinth itself also transforms. Consequently, even the Dragon clan does not possess a map of the tower's interior.

Inside those intricate passages, there are also numerous pits where cultivators can practice. However, safety cannot be guaranteed, as cultivators must arrange their own protective formations.

This Corpse race member was originally cultivating in one of these pits. Attracted by peculiar fluctuations of Dao power, he emerged from his cultivation spot and followed the vibrations forward, soon spotting Lu Ye meditating there. The numerous Dao Fish scattered around immediately drew the Corpse race member's gaze, and he couldn't help but reveal a look of greed.

However, he was a cautious individual. The situation he observed was too peculiar: someone openly cultivating with such a large quantity of Dao Fish at a time like this made it hard not to be suspicious. Could this be a trap? With a shake of his body, streams of corpse aura, as if alive, peeled off his form, transforming into corpse snakes that silently spread out in all directions to scout.

A moment later, the Corpse race member finally confirmed it was not a trap, as there were no other individuals nearby. He could no longer hold back. With a surge of corpse aura around him, he darted out from his hiding spot like a wisp of yellow smoke, pouncing towards Lu Ye. He growled in a low, menacing voice, "Boy, hand over all your Dao Fish if you don't want to die!"

Since this human could produce so many Dao Fish for cultivation, he must surely have more in reserve. If he seized these Dao Fish, he wouldn't have to worry about his cultivation resources until the Tower of Time closed. He dared to act this way because he had a trump card: in his previous observations, he had vaguely noticed that Lu Ye was a Fusion Realm cultivator. Unlike Harmonization Realm cultivation, which would cause the surrounding Star Abyss aura to resonate, Lu Ye's cultivation did not. As he spoke, he stretched out a hand to grab Lu Ye.

Lu Ye, who was in the midst of nurturing his Immovable Mountain Blade, slightly raised his eyes, his brow furrowed deeply. The putrid corpse aura made him nauseous even before it drew close. Grabbing the Immovable Mountain Blade from his lap, he casually swung it. On his Talent Tree, the Fruit of Time pulsed with light at that instant.

Since obtaining the Fruit of Time, Lu Ye had always wanted to test the power of the Way of Chronology. Unfortunately, he had no opportunity while in the Ancestral Abyss, but now, at last, he could unleash it. Subtly, Lu Ye felt a powerful chronological force being drawn from an unknown source and infused into the Immovable Mountain Blade. With chronology disturbed, the Corpse race member instantly showed a look of astonishment, because this seemingly ordinary saber strike had suddenly caused his thoughts to freeze.

In his vision, this saber strike was descending at an extremely slow pace. He could see it and wanted to dodge, but he couldn't control his body to make evasive movements at the right time. All his efforts were a beat slower than this saber strike. Then he watched helplessly as the saber struck him. His corpse aura barrier provided no protection and was pierced by the extremely sharp force. Next, his protective Dao power collapsed completely upon colliding with the Dao power on the long saber.

A thousand Dao of force! The Corpse race member's eyes widened as he truly felt the terror of this saber strike. The chronological disturbance subsided at that moment. The Corpse race member felt a pang of pain and was instantly split in two, with corpse blood spilling everywhere.

Lu Ye frowned. With a sweep of his blade, space power surged, and all the filth in the area, except for valuable spoils, was moved elsewhere. Two Star Abyss Coins gleamed brightly before Lu Ye. He reached out and picked them up, feeling a slight surprise. He hadn't expected that the first enemy he killed in the Tower of Time would actually be a Harmonization Realm cultivator! No wonder he spoke with such arrogance and dared to come out to rob him.

After quickly collecting the other spoils, Lu Ye carefully replayed the sensation of that saber strike. He had seen Dragon Lord activate various chronological secret arts within the Ancestral Abyss restriction. Although Dragon Lord had no Dao Weapon and fought with his fists, Lu Ye was now using a saber, but the underlying principles were the same.

"Temporal Blade!"

That saber strike could be called the "Temporal Blade." The interference of chronological power on an enemy is quite different from spatial power; the former primarily disrupts consciousness, while the latter targets the physical body. In the Way of Space, Lu Ye's current attainment was extraordinary, thanks to the secret art of the Spatial Dao Seed and his previous cultivation in the Phoenix Nest. But in the Way of Chronology, Lu Ye only had a superficial understanding. While the Fruit of Time could borrow the power of Dragon Lord refined within the Ancestral Abyss restriction, that was ultimately someone else's power. Being able to slay this Harmonization Realm Corpse race member with one strike was entirely due to Lu Ye's overwhelming force. Even though he had only a superficial understanding of chronological power, the borrowed power was simply too immense. With his thoughts and senses disrupted, the Harmonization Realm Corpse race member had no way to resist that saber strike.

As time passed, the power of the Immovable Mountain Blade gradually increased. The cost, however, was a massive consumption of Lu Ye's Dao power. Just as he had thought, nurturing the Immovable Mountain Blade to its limit would require at least two to three million units of Dao power. He could only continuously refine Dao Fish to replenish himself. As a result, he gained quite a few unexpected benefits.

Many cultivators in the Tower of Time roamed around. Whenever they wandered near Lu Ye and sensed the Dao power fluctuations, they would come to investigate and then try to snatch the resources. Naturally, they never returned. In this period, nearly twenty Harmonization Realm cultivators died by Lu Ye's saber alone. He was greatly surprised. According to the Tower Spirit's classification, the 49th floor should be where Fusion Realm cultivators appeared. How could there be so many Harmonization Realm cultivators? But a second thought made him understand. These Harmonization Realm cultivators were undoubtedly the weakest among their realm; unable to gain a foothold on or above the 50th floor, they had to settle for a lower level. Anyway, the time flow difference between the 49th and 50th floors was not significant, so cultivating on either was the same. Lu Ye estimated that currently, the entire 49th floor probably no longer had any Fusion Realm cultivators daring to stay; those who remained must all be Harmonization Realm cultivators! Furthermore, Harmonization Realm cultivators might even be found on several floors below.

This nurturing of the Immovable Mountain Blade consumed a vast amount of resources and also took a considerable amount of Lu Ye's time. Until one day, while Lu Ye was comprehending the marvels of chronological power, Liao's voice suddenly rang out: "I... am complete!"

Only then did Lu Ye snap back to reality. With a surge of Dao power, he silently sensed it. It was indeed complete. The Immovable Mountain Blade had been nurtured to its limit and could no longer be improved further. After passing its second threshold, Liao's current limit was 256 Dao of force! It could be said that the power of a single Dao Weapon in Lu Ye's hand right now was stronger than a Fusion Realm cultivator without a soul artifact, because a Fusion Realm cultivator without a soul artifact had a maximum strength of only 249 Dao. And supplemented by his own power, Lu Ye's current strength had reached approximately 1,160 Dao.

Since his promotion to Fusion Realm Ninth Stage, his personal strength had not directly increased for a long time, but in reality, Lu Ye's overall power had continuously been on the rise. Not to mention his status as an External Official of the Phoenix clan allowed him to master the Way of Space, and now the appearance of the Fruit of Time gave him the qualification to wield chronological power. These were all manifestations of his increasing power. Looking across the universe, no cultivator had ever reached such a height at the Fusion Realm level. Even many Harmonization Realm cultivators might not achieve Lu Ye's current power even after a lifetime of effort.

If he were to advance to the Harmonization Realm with this as his foundation, Lu Ye couldn't be sure how much stronger he would become. However, he did not hold great expectations. For a long time, he had vaguely perceived a problem: the power cultivators wielded at the current stage was problematic and distorted. After obtaining the Fruit of Time in the Ancestral Abyss restriction, this idea became even more solidified. This was because after cultivators reached the Harmonization Realm, they often relied on external forces. Setting aside the external forces ordinary Harmonization Realm cultivators relied on (which was the resonance with the Dao power in the Star Abyss aura), the lords of the various Harmonization Realm cities appeared powerful, but they too relied on external forces through their Harmonization Orbs. It was undeniable that cultivators capable of building Harmonization Realm cities and becoming their lords were no ordinary individuals; their aptitude and talent were superior to ordinary Harmonization Realm cultivators. But if the boost from the Harmonization Orbs was excluded, the power gap between these city lords and ordinary Harmonization Realm cultivators was not actually that great.

What if one day these means of relying on external forces were cut off? Then the power of all Harmonization Realm cultivators throughout the entire Inner Realm would be halved. The stronger they originally were, the greater the impact would be. And such a thing was possible. Not just Lu Ye; many strong individuals in the Inner Realm subtly shared this concern: what if one day that will gained sentience? Would it try to control everything? This was not an unfounded conjecture, because although it currently had no sentience, it was acting according to its instincts, eroding the bodies and minds of all cultivators. It had already revealed its intentions!

Among all cultivators in the entire universe, only Lu Ye was an exception, because with the Talent Tree at his side, he could incinerate that erosion and remain unaffected. Lu Ye increasingly admired the foresight of the Dragon-Phoenix Ancestor. The Talent Tree inheritance must have come from him, and he had also left him the Minor World secret art within the Ancestral Abyss restriction to break the current predicament. He didn't know if he could achieve it, but for now, only by pressing forward bravely would he have a chance to dispel the fog.

What Lu Ye found somewhat perplexing was that since that ancestor possessed such earth-shattering abilities, why didn't he personally resolve that will? Furthermore, where was he now? Lu Ye refused to believe that such a powerful individual would have perished somewhere; he must still be alive. If he was alive, there should be traces of him. But in fact, let alone this legendary ancestor, even the Dragon clan itself didn't know the whereabouts of their second ancestor, Yang Qing. The entire Inner Realm was still shrouded in a massive fog, preventing Lu Ye from seeing its true situation clearly.