Chapter 2717: Second Perfect Completion

Lu Ye’s irritation subsided considerably as he gazed at the Yellow-grade Harmony Bead.

It was truly remarkable how things had turned out. He had once accompanied Yuan Xi in building Yuan Xi City, and the Harmony Beads within the city had evolved from nothing, steadily reaching the Cosmic-grade level it held today.

Yet now, he found himself embarking on a similar journey once more.

However, his Harmony Beads were not intended for building a Harmony City, but for cultivating the Minor World Secret Art.

This art had previously reached the first stage of perfection, granting him a hundredfold increase in basic strength, but it had also hit a bottleneck.

To cultivate the second stage, this Yellow-grade Harmony Bead was of paramount importance.

Lu Ye calmed his mind and focused, once again meticulously studying the key principles of the second stage of the secret art. It was only after a long period that he began his cultivation.

Within his Origin Spirit Aperture, the power of the Spatial Dao Seed was activated. On the Talent Tree, the temporal power from the Time Fruit permeated, harmonizing Yin and Yang within his human body.

A wondrous energy permeated the Minor Bloom World, with spatial-temporal power flowing within this miniature world.

It was like an invisible river, resembling the infinitely shrunken River of Time, passing through.

In that instant, the flow of time throughout the entire world changed dramatically.

Time passed, and the Minor Bloom World gradually expanded. This increase in size placed an immense burden on the entire world. Had Lu Ye attempted this immediately after reaching perfection in the first stage, the Minor Bloom World would most likely have collapsed during expansion, rendering all his previous efforts futile.

However, the Minor Bloom World now contained a Yellow-grade Harmony Bead, which, during Lu Ye's process of refining and absorbing it with the aid of the Talent Tree, had fused with the entire Minor Bloom World.

The pressure of the world's expansion was borne by this Harmony Bead, averting the potential collapse of the Minor Bloom World.

Although Lu Ye was currently cultivating the second stage of the secret art, he dedicated a portion of his attention to observing the changes in the Minor Bloom World. Watching it grow in size, he couldn't help but feel a subtle sense of wonder.

He didn't know how other worlds were born, but the secret art he was cultivating undeniably offered a glimpse into the origin of worlds.

Numerous wonderful insights continuously arose in his mind.

After an unknown period, Lu Ye suddenly perceived a slight pressure on the Yellow-grade Harmony Bead, prompting him to stop.

As the world continued to expand, the pressure on the Harmony Bead would only increase. This was clearly its current limit; forcing it further would undoubtedly lead to unfavorable consequences.

In other words, the Minor Bloom World had reached its current maximum size, unless the quality of the Harmony Bead was further improved.

However, there was no rush for this. Cultivating the Minor World Secret Art was like building a house, layer by layer. There were specific considerations for what quality of Harmony Bead was appropriate at each stage.

Although he could currently attack other Harmony Cities and upgrade his Harmony Bead to Profound-grade or Barren-grade, doing so would not meaningfully enhance his personal strength.

Just like now, the Minor Bloom World's size had increased, and under Lu Ye's observation, the entire world was several times larger than before. But what did that achieve? It merely enlarged his storage space, providing no increase in his actual strength.

He still needed to construct more World Pillars and then engrave Dao Marks. Only then would his strength truly increase.

In the cultivation of this secret art, the expansion of the world and the construction of World Pillars were preparatory steps. The final engraving of Dao Marks was the ultimate outcome.

Now that the Minor Bloom World's expansion was complete, the next step was to construct the World Pillars.

He had only recently completed this task, so he had ample experience. Starting now was naturally not difficult; it simply required some time.

Moreover, Lu Ye had a faint feeling that his efficiency in constructing the World Pillars this time would be significantly faster than before.

This proved to be true.

Previously, constructing each World Pillar had taken him at least half a month.

But this time, the first World Pillar was completed in just a few days. The main reason for this was his stronger control over temporal power.

The brief observation of the River of Time, lasting only a few breaths, had brought him immense gains.

His previous observation of the Minor Bloom World's temporal changes also provided him with frequent bursts of inspiration.

If cultivating with Zhu Yin for three years in the Tower of Time had barely allowed him to enter the path of temporality, then now he stood inside the gate, having advanced a good distance.

It might not be a vast distance, but being inside the gate versus outside represented two entirely different concepts.

One by one, the World Pillars were successfully constructed, gradually making the Minor Bloom World incredibly stable.

Lu Ye only stopped after constructing a full twenty-seven World Pillars.

For the second stage of the Minor World Secret Art, twenty-seven World Pillars was the limit.

All preliminary preparations were complete. It was now time to reap the rewards. Although Lu Ye had mentally prepared himself, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

For cultivators who possessed a Dao Body, improving their strength was exceedingly difficult due to the immense challenge of engraving Dao Marks directly onto their Dao Body. In contrast, his current cultivation method, which differed from the prevailing system, offered a simpler path to advancement, though it required greater expenditure.

However, none of that was an issue. As long as he could strengthen himself, Lu Ye was willing to pay any price.

The first stage of the secret art had boosted his basic strength by a hundred points. How much could this second stage enhance it?

Lu Ye first checked his Dao Power reserves on the Talent Tree, finding them low. He decided to replenish them fully by taking out a large quantity of Dao Fish.

Only then did he begin engraving Dao Marks.

As before, a vast amount of Dao Power was consumed, and Dao Marks were imprinted one by one into the world. The sensation of clearly feeling his strength incrementally increase was exquisite, and Lu Ye quickly became fully immersed.

During this process, he replenished his Talent Tree's Dao Power reserves twice, each time filling them to their maximum capacity.

It was only when he could no longer engrave any more Dao Marks that Lu Ye suddenly realized the second stage of the Minor World Secret Art had reached perfection.

He immediately checked the number of Dao Marks within his Minor World.

With a sweep of his divine sense, his eyebrows instantly rose.

As he had anticipated, there were now three hundred Dao Marks in his Minor World.

Before cultivating the second stage, there had been one hundred Dao Marks in the Minor World. This meant the second stage had yielded him an additional two hundred points of power!

Currently, his basic strength alone was over 1,600 points. With full effort, it would further increase by sixty percent, resulting in a potential unleashing of over 2,600 points of power. This was an increase of a full 500 points compared to when he first advanced to the Harmony Realm.

How much time had passed?

For someone like him, a Harmony Realm cultivator possessing a Dao Body, increasing strength was exceedingly difficult.

Yet, strictly speaking, Lu Ye's cultivation realm was merely that of a Lower Harmony cultivator. Which of those powerful individuals possessing Dao Bodies weren't at the Upper Harmony level?

He still had two more opportunities for resonance.

Furthermore, his Minor World Secret Art had only been cultivated to its second stage.

In that instant, Lu Ye felt his prospects were promising and his future vast.

No, he had overlooked something.

The amplification from Harmony Cities!

Yuan Xi City was now a Cosmic-grade city. The amplification provided by a Harmony City wasn't exclusively for the city lord; given Yuan Xi City's current foundation, appointing eight or nine vice-city lords was entirely feasible. If he returned to Yuan Xi City, within a certain range, his unleashed strength would receive an additional percentage boost.

As for the exact percentage, it would depend on his ranking within Yuan Xi City.

Thinking of Yuan Xi City, Lu Ye couldn't help but feel a pang of self-reproach. When he returned from the Harmony Realm previously, he should have visited Yuan Xi City. Two or three years had passed since the battle on the Star Chessboard, and he wondered how everyone in the city was doing.

However, he supposed there shouldn't be any major issues. Neither Yuan Xi nor Lian were individuals to be trifled with. Now that their city had been promoted to Cosmic-grade, the few Harmony Realm cultivators within the city should all have received strength amplifications, making each of them effectively city-lord level.

Therefore, even if Yuan Xi City wasn't large, its overall strength should rank among the upper-middle tier in the entire Inner Realm.

Just as he emerged from the joy of his strength increase, Lu Ye frowned. The inexplicable sensation he felt seemed to have grown subtly stronger.

This further solidified some of the suspicions he held.

Deep down, he didn't want to heed this sensation, but it seemed to intensify over time, subtly urging him.

If he continued to ignore it, he would be constantly bothered no matter what he did in the future.

He could tolerate this interference for now, but if it ever reached a point where he could no longer ignore it, his cultivation itself would become problematic.

Therefore, Lu Ye felt that he would likely have to follow this sensation and investigate its source.

On another note, why hadn't the Dragon Pool in Dragon City opened yet? He had spent a considerable amount of time cultivating the second stage of the Minor World Secret Art this time.

After a brief thought, Lu Ye stood up and left his dwelling.

A moment later, Zhu Yin looked at Lu Ye with a surprised expression. "Brother-in-law, you've come out of seclusion?"

"Uh..." Lu Ye mused to himself that he hadn't been in seclusion, merely cultivating, yet Zhu Yin seemed to think he was. "Junior Sister, is there any news about the Dragon Pool?"

He was thinking that if there was enough time, he would go out first and investigate the nature of that sensation.

"The Dragon Pool can be opened at any time," Zhu Yin replied, giving Lu Ye an unexpected answer. "The Dragon Lord sensed you were in secluded cultivation earlier, so he said he would wait. Just inform him when you're ready to come out."

Lu Ye felt a flush of embarrassment.

He had thought the Dragon Pool wasn't ready, only to find out they were waiting for him. He couldn't help but feel a little flattered.

He wasn't entirely clear on the significance of the Dragon Pool's opening in Dragon City, but it was certainly no minor matter. Unless there was a particularly crucial reason, the process would never be delayed for the sake of one person.

Yet, the Dragon Lord had done exactly that.

Lu Ye deeply felt the Dragon Lord's goodwill and high regard.

He presumed it was due to his assistance in resolving the Ancestral Abyss restriction issue.

"Brother-in-law, can you enter the Dragon Pool now?" Zhu Yin asked again.

Lu Ye nodded. "Anytime!" He was quite looking forward to the trip to the Dragon Pool.

"Then I'll go report to the Dragon Lord," Zhu Yin said, and then left.

An hour later, she gracefully returned and found Lu Ye. "Brother-in-law, the Dragon Pool will open in three days. The Dragon Lord wants us to be prepared."