Chapter 2711: Inner World

The Minor World Secret Art was designed specifically for the Inheritors of the Dao Tree. Only the Inheritors of the Dao Tree, upon entering the Ancestral Abyss Seal and detecting anomalies within it, could acquire the Fruit of Chronos. The Dragon and Phoenix Ancestors created the Ancestral Abyss Seal, and successive Dragon Lords of the Dragon Clan voluntarily sealed themselves within it to nurture the Fruit of Chronos. This way, after obtaining the Fruit of Chronos, the Inheritors of the Dao Tree could mobilize the Chronos power of all past Dragon Lords.

One could say this was a plot spanning countless eons. For this grand scheme, generations of dragons strictly adhered to ancestral teachings, committing themselves to the Ancestral Abyss and imprisoning themselves within. They were not even aware of the true nature of this plot.

Chronos and space are fundamentally intertwined. Without the bearing capacity of space, chronos would be meaningless; similarly, without the flow of chronos, space would be utterly stagnant. It is precisely for this reason that the creation of an Inner Heaven and Earth requires both Chronos and spatial power.

Lu Ye suddenly recalled Banyan. Honestly, since entering the Inner Realm, he had encountered various powerful individuals, including almost all of the Ten City Lord-level figures. The Dao Weapons in their hands were all incredibly potent, yet he had never again encountered a Dao Weapon as peculiar as Banyan. That was a Dao Weapon refined from an entire star system.

In that case, did Banyan's owner, Jiuyin, also intend to create an Inner Heaven and Earth? Jiuyin must have sensed something, which is why it treated the Dao Weapon as its own Inner Heaven and Earth. Unfortunately, while the idea was brilliant, it seemed to have failed, otherwise Jiuyin would not have perished. Even so, it was sufficient proof of Jiuyin's talent. Lu Ye suddenly regretted having destroyed it back then. Otherwise, he could have found an opportunity to discuss and exchange ideas with it later, which might have given him more insights.

Time passed, and Lu Ye exchanged various affiliated treasures from the Star Abyss Treasury, which he then absorbed one by one. Lu Ye only stopped when he had just over a hundred Star Abyss Coins left. Inspecting his Talent Tree, Lu Ye couldn't help but sigh. Although it had absorbed numerous affiliated treasures this time, it was still a long way from its full transformation. He wondered when it would finally be complete.

Gathering his thoughts, Lu Ye focused his mind. He had almost fully comprehended the Minor World Secret Art; it was time to begin cultivating it.

Creating an Inner Heaven and Earth within oneself was not an easy task, but fortunately, Lu Ye had a shortcut. He had carefully deduced earlier that this shortcut was viable and would save him a lot of time and effort. That shortcut was to use the Minor Flower Realm to create his Inner Heaven and Earth!

Bringing anything from nothing into existence was an extremely difficult process, but if the thing itself already existed, perfecting it would be much simpler. Strictly speaking, the Minor Flower Realm was indeed a minor world, but it was a rather special one. It had been imprinted on Lu Ye by the Realm Spirit after Lu Ye brought the Boundary Flower back to Kyushu and the Spirit of Heaven and Earth was born.

Lu Ye had always used the Minor Flower Realm as a storage space. He had not expected it to prove so extraordinarily effective now.

Lu Ye first took out everything from the Minor Flower Realm. He had to prepare for the possibility of the secret art cultivation failing. If it failed, the Minor Flower Realm might shatter, and everything stored inside would be annihilated. He certainly did not want to suffer such a loss.

A moment later, with all preparations complete, Lu Ye simultaneously activated the powers of the Spatial Dao Seed and the Fruit of Chronos, slowly injecting them into the Minor Flower Realm. This was not a mere injection. Lu Ye also needed to harmonize the powers according to the secret art's guidance, using Chronos power and spatial power to construct the pillars of the minor world. Only then would this minor world be stable enough to proceed with the next stage of cultivation. Otherwise, a mere Minor Flower Realm would be utterly incapable of sustaining the demands of subsequent cultivation; this minor world was actually extremely fragile.

This process severely tested Lu Ye's patience and his mastery over both powers. Lu Ye had no shortage of patience. His mastery of spatial power was also good. The only thing that worried him was his control over Chronos power. He did not possess Dragon clan bloodline; his ability to mobilize Chronos power was solely due to the Fruit of Chronos. Therefore, this was purely a borrowed power, and he could hardly claim mastery or control over it.

The first attempt quickly failed. The second failed. The third failed. The fourth... If Lu Ye could manipulate spatial power with ease, his handling of Chronos power was completely inept. He couldn't grasp the nature of this power at all, making mastery out of the question. Sometimes he mobilized too much, other times too little, utterly failing to construct the world pillars for the Minor Flower Realm.

After a month of attempts, Lu Ye ceased his cultivation of the secret art. He frowned in thought for a moment, then sent out a message. After a brief wait, he stood up. About an incense stick's time later, Lu Ye arrived in another cave dwelling.

"Did Brother-in-law need something?" Zhu Yin looked at Lu Ye with a puzzled expression. She had been cultivating just moments before when she received Lu Ye's message asking for her exact location, after which he had come looking for her.

"Yes, I need to ask for your guidance," Lu Ye replied, his expression solemn. He hadn't expected to encounter an insurmountable difficulty so early in his cultivation of the Minor World Secret Art. No wonder only those with Dragon clan bloodline could control Chronos power; without the corresponding bloodline foundation, one couldn't even discern the nature of the power, let alone cultivate it. Thus, he decided to pause his cultivation and seek Zhu Yin's advice. On this ninety-ninth level, there was no one else suitable besides her.

"Tell me, Brother-in-law," Zhu Yin said, also sobering her expression.

"I wish to consult you about the cultivation of Chronos power."

"Chronos power..." Zhu Yin's expression froze for a moment. She pursed her lips and asked, "Does Brother-in-law possess a Dragon Vein?"

"Why do you ask?" Lu Ye looked at her.

Zhu Yin replied, "Earlier, on the tenth level, when you acted to slay the Azure Mantis, I sensed for a moment that you had activated Chronos power, and it seemed very potent!" She had been somewhat puzzled at that time. Lu Ye was clearly human; there was no doubt about that. His ability to cultivate the path of space stemmed from his status as an External Official of the Phoenix Clan, allowing him to cultivate the Spatial Dao Seed secret art. But how could Lu Ye activate Chronos power? Despite her confusion, she hadn't asked further. Until now, when Lu Ye had actively sought her out.

Lu Ye nodded. When he had activated Chronos power at that time, he knew Zhu Yin would surely detect it, so it was no big deal. He said, "I don't have a Dragon Vein, but I can indeed activate Chronos power due to certain reasons."

Zhu Yin understood. "I see."

Lu Ye chuckled, "What do you understand?"

Zhu Yin smiled. "Since Brother-in-law says it's due to 'certain reasons' and doesn't wish to elaborate, it must be something that cannot be revealed."

"Clever!"

"So, the predicament Brother-in-law faces now is being able to activate Chronos power but not being able to wield it freely."

Lu Ye almost couldn't resist giving her a thumbs-up.

Zhu Yin pondered for a moment. "Since Brother-in-law has cultivated the path of space, you should naturally understand that this power is exceptionally profound, and without a certain bloodline foundation or a status like yours as an External Official, it cannot be cultivated. Chronos power is the same, and even more profound than the path of space... Hmm, words alone won't explain it clearly. How about this: I'll demonstrate it for you?"

"Good!" Lu Ye nodded. This was exactly what he wanted. If Zhu Yin were to merely explain the profound mysteries of Chronos power, he might not fully grasp it, but a demonstration was different; he could personally feel it. Especially since he could already activate this power, he also had a certain foundation.

The next moment, Zhu Yin gently raised a hand, extending a finger. A gentle power coiled around her jade-like finger, not dissipating in the slightest. Lu Ye observed intently. The finger suddenly poked towards his glabella, resting on his forehead. Lu Ye immediately calmed his mind and silently felt the sensation.

Three years passed in a flash! On this day, Lu Ye slowly rose and bowed formally to Zhu Yin, saying, "Thank you, Junior Sister, for all your guidance these past days."

Zhu Yin's eyes curved into crescent moons. "It's good if I could help Brother-in-law." She also breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. Three years, a full three years! She genuinely couldn't understand why Lu Ye, who could activate such powerful Chronos energy, was so poor at controlling it. During these three years, Lu Ye made almost no progress in the first year. Only after a year did the situation slowly begin to improve. By today, although Lu Ye's mastery over Chronos power was still extremely crude, it was incomparably stronger than three years ago. It should now be sufficient to meet the requirements for constructing the world pillars.

Returning to his own cave dwelling, which had remained unchanged for three years, Lu Ye activated the formation and restrictions, then sat cross-legged on the ground. After concentrating his mind carefully for a while, he finally unleashed his efforts.

Chronos power and spatial power flowed into the Minor Flower Realm. Lu Ye, fully focused, harmonized these two powers according to the Minor World Secret Art's cultivation method, striving to achieve a miraculous balance. The situation was indeed much better compared to three years ago. Yet, he still failed; this was never an easy task. Without delay, he immediately started anew. Failure after failure, a continuous cycle.

But Lu Ye was filled with anticipation, because three years ago, his failures had left him clueless, whereas now, each failure brought him new insights. He clearly knew that he was getting closer to success; he had already seen hope.

After countless more failures, a full month later, when the Minor Flower Realm suddenly vibrated, Lu Ye almost burst out laughing. The vibration quickly subsided. Compared to before, the Minor Flower Realm seemed to have become more stable, and the essence of the inner world within it had grown slightly denser. This change occurred because Lu Ye had successfully constructed a world pillar for this minor world. It was the result of harmonizing Chronos power and spatial power, invisible and intangible, perfectly integrated into this minor world.

Lu Ye immediately set about constructing the second world pillar. The more world pillars he could construct, the more stable the Minor Flower Realm would become, and the better it would meet his subsequent cultivation needs. He was still fumbling his way through failures. While the first success was certainly a result of Lu Ye's three years of diligent cultivation, a part of it was actually due to luck. It wasn't until more than half a month later that the second world pillar was successfully erected. Just like before, the Minor Flower Realm vibrated once again.