Chapter 2728: Strength Surge

Two years had passed in the blink of an eye.

In the void, outside an oval, cocoon-shaped bug nest, the scattered remains of insectoids and blood kin lay strewn. Within the nest, the reverberations of a fierce battle continued to erupt.

Suddenly, a brilliant flash of a blade pierced through the bug nest, tearing a gaping hole in it before disappearing into the void. As the blade light flared, a powerful life force was simultaneously extinguished.

At the core of the bug nest, Lu Ye gazed at the Dao Integration Pearl before him, scratching his head.

He currently had little need for Dao Integration Pearls. Over the past two years, he had traveled extensively, conquering many Dao Integration Cities, and the Pearl fragments he acquired were sufficient for his cultivation of the Lesser World Secret Art.

Now, within his Inner World, the Dao Integration Pearl’s grade had reached the Desolate Tier, which corresponded to the sixth stage of the Lesser World Secret Art. However, he had only just perfected the fifth stage of this secret art and was currently constructing the Pillars of the World, preparing for the sixth stage of cultivation.

If he encountered other Dao Integration Cities, he wouldn't seek trouble as long as their inhabitants didn't provoke him. But when a bug nest of this kind appeared before him, Lu Ye couldn't tolerate it. After a fierce battle, he forcefully breached the city.

This was a Heaven-tier city, and naturally, its Dao Integration Pearl was also Heaven-tier. Lu Ye shattered it with a single punch, collected the numerous fragments, and resumed his journey, refining the Dao Integration Pearl fragments and integrating them into his Lesser World.

In a mere two years, his overall strength had undergone explosive growth. Two years prior, when he departed Yuanxi City, his Lesser World Secret Art was only at the second stage of perfection. Now, however, the secret art had reached its fifth stage of perfection.

Upon perfecting the second stage, his Lesser World contained three hundred Dao marks. At the third stage, there were six hundred Dao marks. The fourth stage had one thousand Dao marks. Now, at the fifth stage, he possessed a remarkable fifteen hundred Dao marks.

These figures represented his intrinsic foundational strength. When he ascended to Dao Integration, even with his Immovable Mountain Blade, his foundational power was only slightly over thirteen hundred Dao. Even then, augmented by various external forces, his strength was already comparable to that of some High-tier Dao Integrators. Now, solely through the Lesser World Secret Art, his foundational Dao power had nearly doubled.

It could be said that throughout his journey, Lu Ye had maintained a continuous cycle of constructing the Pillars of the World and engraving Dao marks. Though monotonous, the process filled him with anticipation and an insatiable desire to continue, for every additional Dao mark represented a growth in his personal strength.

The consumption was also immense. Engraving each Dao mark required over ten thousand units of Dao power. With fifteen hundred Dao marks in his Lesser World, the total Dao power consumption was astronomical. The Dao Fish in his possession had significantly diminished.

If the fifth stage of his Inner World already brought such formidable improvements, what would the sixth, seventh, eighth, and even the ultimate ninth stages entail? It was evident that each stage of this secret art offered greater improvements than the last. Furthermore, Lu Ye had a subtle premonition that the transition from the fifth to the sixth stage would mark a qualitative leap, potentially leading to an incredibly exaggerated increase in power. This was because the Dao Integration Pearl corresponding to the sixth stage was already of Desolate-tier quality.

Lu Ye was immensely grateful that he had reaped ample benefits from the Dragon Pond; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to control such a rapid surge in power within such a short time. No other Dao Integrator had ever experienced such a dramatic transformation in strength within two years. The Lesser World Secret Art, bequeathed by the Dragon and Phoenix Ancestors, had allowed him to break free from the constraints of his predecessors and forge a unique path of his own.

In these two years, his advancements weren't solely limited to a monumental increase in strength. His cultivation of the Warring Heaven Sacred Dragon Guard had also yielded significant progress. The meticulous guidance from numerous senior dragons in the Dragon Scroll, combined with the extraordinary drop of dragon blood Lu Ye himself had acquired, ensured his cultivation of this secret art proceeded smoothly, without any hitches. Outwardly, Lu Ye appeared largely unchanged from two years ago, but in reality, his entire being was now perpetually enveloped in a layer of invisible spiritual armor.

The protection provided by this invisible spiritual armor might not seem substantial relative to his current power—estimated to be equivalent to an additional three to four hundred units of protective Dao power—but this was solely because of Lu Ye's already formidable foundational strength. For any other cultivator, three to four hundred units of protective Dao power would be immensely significant. Furthermore, this secret art had a significant suppressive effect on spell-based attacks, making it quite potent. With continued cultivation, it promised even greater enhancements.

Continuing his journey, half a month later, Lu Ye gazed forward. Although he had deliberately procrastinated and taken his time along the way, his destination was finally reached.

This was an exceedingly desolate place; the vast airspace surrounding him was utterly void of anything. Only a peculiar, monstrous entity entered Lu Ye's sight. The entity was colossal, resembling a mosquito at first glance, yet it possessed eight pairs of wings on its back and six legs beneath its abdomen. It lay poised somewhere in the void, its immense needle-like proboscis having pierced into the unseen. The front section was gone, with only the latter half visible to the naked eye.

Lu Ye's eyes narrowed involuntarily. Though it was his first encounter with this creature, he recognized it immediately.

The Star Abyss Blight Mosquito.

It was neither a living creature nor composed of flesh and blood. Legend had it that it was a construct, a peculiar creation rarely seen by ordinary cultivators, born from the distortion of a certain Will. It possessed no other abilities save for one: to breach the Cosmic Barrier and shatter the division between a Starry Sky and the Star Abyss.

Lu Ye had not anticipated encountering such a creature here. His heart sank, for upon following the subtle, unseen sensation that led him here, he had already grasped his true purpose. Or, more accurately, a mission! It was a mission imposed upon him, the Son of the Star Abyss, by that Will, operating under predetermined rules.

His identity as the Son of the Star Abyss had brought him numerous benefits. Not only did he possess a consistently stronger affinity for the Star Abyss aura, making his arduous cultivation more efficient than that of ordinary cultivators, but the Star Abyss Coins and Star Abyss Treasury had also provided him with a wealth of precious items. But in this world, every gain demanded a price. Before Dao Integration, his strength was insufficient. But after achieving it, he gained the right to participate in certain affairs, which was why he had been drawn to this place.

Lu Ye's gaze shifted to the tip of the Star Abyss Blight Mosquito's massive, needle-like proboscis. There, a subtle, almost imperceptible barrier was visible, as if the creature's proboscis had pierced into something unseen.

The Cosmic Barrier! That unseen entity was precisely the barrier of a particular Starry Sky. If the entire Star Abyss were a vast pond, then each individual Starry Sky would be like a sphere of water congregated within it. The invasion of the Star Abyss aura created weaknesses in the Starry Skies, leading to the emergence of Star Abyss Gates. Eventually, at a critical threshold, these spheres of water would shatter, merging into the Star Abyss and expanding its vastness.

During this process, some Starry Skies were fragile and easily shattered, while others proved incredibly resilient, able to withstand the continuous invasion of the Star Abyss aura. Just like Lu Ye's own Starry Sky, which had once successfully repelled a Star Abyss invasion. Across the entire Star Abyss, such instances were exceedingly rare, as most Starry Skies had virtually no power to resist a Star Abyss invasion.

There were also a very few Starry Skies that could endure for an extremely long time during a Star Abyss invasion. When such a situation arose, Star Abyss Blight Mosquitoes would also come into existence. It would follow the Will's guidance, locate the Cosmic Barrier, and use its unique abilities to dismantle it, opening a Star Abyss Gate from within the Inner Realm and unleashing an irresistible catastrophe upon the invaded Starry Sky.

Typical Star Abyss invasions commenced from the Outer Realm. Cultivators in the Outer Realm were, after all, a tier weaker than those in the Inner Realm, and with sufficient luck, Starry Sky cultivators might just be able to resist. However, if an invasion originated from the Inner Realm, Starry Sky cultivators would be utterly powerless to resist.

The scene before him was undoubtedly an instance of the latter. Presumably, a particular Starry Sky had stubbornly persevered during the Star Abyss invasion, which was why the Star Abyss Blight Mosquito had located its barrier and was attempting to pierce and dismantle it. Once it succeeded, a Star Abyss Gate would open right here!

The reason Lu Ye had been drawn here was to assist this Star Abyss Blight Mosquito—a realization that struck him the moment he laid eyes on the ominous creature. Indeed, this was not a pleasant task he was being compelled to undertake. As soon as he had perceived that sensation, Lu Ye had realized this, which was why he felt such repulsion. Yet, having no alternative, he could only drag his feet on the journey.

Now that he had arrived at the location, further procrastination was impossible. This was the price he had to pay to maintain his identity as the Son of the Star Abyss. He couldn't help but wonder again: which Starry Sky lay beyond this Star Abyss barrier? It surely couldn't be such a coincidence that it was the Starry Sky of his own origin. But regardless of which Starry Sky it was, its presence signified that the cultivators of that Starry Sky were exceptionally resilient; otherwise, such a monster would not have manifested here.

That Will seemed to harbor an intense obsession with shattering Starry Skies. It had once manipulated Yun Shiwang into opening a Star Abyss Gate within the Inner Realm, and now it was enacting a similar scheme. The Star Abyss Blight Mosquito's destruction of the Cosmic Barrier required a continuous expenditure of Dao power. At this very moment, the Star Abyss aura around it was boiling.

What Lu Ye needed to do was, by virtue of his identity as the Son of the Star Abyss and the authority granted by the Triple Star Abyss Blessings, gather Dao power from all directions to be channeled into the Star Abyss Blight Mosquito. His face contorted in repulsion, yet he was helpless. Even in the brief moments he delayed, that irksome sense of 'urging' descended upon him once more, unsettling his mind.

Having no alternative, he could only begin to act. The next instant, the surrounding Star Abyss aura became significantly more active, converging toward his position. Lu Ye did not exert his full strength. Just as he had procrastinated on his journey, he was slowly gauging the Will's tolerance for his actions. He strove to keep his abilities constrained within a specific limit.

Moments later, he determined this limit, cast a brief glance at the Blight Mosquito, and slowly averted his gaze. The Blight Mosquito continued to dismantle the Cosmic Barrier. Lu Ye paid it no mind, instead occupying himself with constructing the Pillars of the World within his Inner World and cultivating the Warring Heaven Sacred Dragon Guard.