Chapter 2788: Fat and Oily

Lu Ye now knows for sure that after his Talent Tree devours a supreme treasure, two changes can occur according to his will. One is that a corresponding supreme treasure fruit will form on the tree, inheriting the treasure's power. The other is that the treasure will transform into nutrients, nourishing other supreme treasure fruits. Lesser treasures are born from supreme treasures, so lesser treasures should also be able to become this kind of nutrient. This is his conjecture, but it should be correct. As for how much nutrient a lesser treasure can provide, he doesn't know yet, which is why he wants to try.

Holding the massive copper hammer-shaped lesser treasure, Lu Ye activated the power of his Talent Tree. Invisible roots spread out, piercing into the lesser treasure and devouring its mysterious essence. In just a brief moment, the lesser treasure in his hand crumbled into dust and vanished. Correspondingly, a mysterious power appeared within the Talent Tree. Just as Lu Ye had hypothesized, this mystery could serve as nourishment for the growth of supreme treasure fruits. He unhesitatingly channeled it towards the Myriad Poison Pearl fruit for it to absorb.

Silently, he sensed the change, and his eyebrows rose in surprise. The result was unexpected: although the lesser treasure didn't provide a massive boost to the Myriad Poison Pearl fruit, it seemed better than he had anticipated. As the master of the Talent Tree, he could clearly perceive this. This meant that the poison mist he would concoct with the Myriad Poison Pearl fruit in the future would be even more potent.

Having tasted the benefits, Lu Ye immediately took out three more lesser treasures. These were all spoils of war he had obtained from the Poison Zombie army, all offensive lesser treasures that were useless to him. It must be said that there were indeed many lesser treasures in the Origin Realm; he had found several just among the Poison Zombie army. One must remember that the enemies who managed to escape were all powerful High-level Harmonizers, so they must have carried even more lesser treasures with them. This might be because foreign races often used humans as sacrificial materials, thereby earning the favor and rewards of that will.

Half an hour later, as these three lesser treasures were successively devoured, the power of the Myriad Poison Pearl fruit increased further. However, in Lu Ye's perception, this fruit was still some distance from being a true Myriad Poison Pearl supreme treasure, so it required continued cultivation. He didn't know how many lesser treasures it would take for the fruit to recover its original power, but one thing was certain: this fruit could continue to grow, meaning its potential upper limit was higher than that of the original supreme treasure. This was undoubtedly something to look forward to.

With this discovery, Lu Ye even felt tempted to buy back the three lesser treasures he had previously sold. However, nearly half of the six million Dao Fish he had obtained earlier were already spent. While the spoils from the Poison Zombie army could fill the void and even provide a surplus, buying back the lesser treasures would leave him with very few Dao Fish. He still possessed two other lesser treasures: a valuable armor and a Sky-Weaving Needle. However, these two items were quite rare, so he decided to keep them for future use.

Afterward, there was nothing else pressing to do. Lu Ye refined Dao Fish to replenish his Talent Tree's reserves while simultaneously researching the Myriad Poison Pearl fruit and concocting various potent poisons. Whether he was stranded in the Blood Clan territory earlier or during the battle on Changyun Island, the Myriad Poison Pearl fruit had played a crucial role. Having experienced such benefits, Lu Ye naturally dedicated effort to this area. Currently, stranded in the Origin Realm with no clear way out and an unknown duration of confinement, Lu Ye, being human, had no inherent advantages among the numerous Half-Saints in this realm. Therefore, he certainly needed some life-saving trump cards.

Suddenly, Lu Ye opened his eyes. Before him, a red light circled as if sentient, silently breaking through the restrictions he had set up. Sensing the familiar aura on the red light, he quickly rose. The next moment, he followed the red light, soaring straight into the sky, traveling at high speed.

Several hours later, the red light suddenly descended onto a deserted island, with Lu Ye following closely. The moment he landed, he saw a familiar figure standing there: dressed in black with black hair, save for his snow-white eyebrows. It was none other than the Human Half-Saint Si Shengya. The reason he had unhesitatingly followed the red light all the way here was because it carried Si Shengya's aura, clearly indicating that the Human Half-Saint was summoning him. However, besides himself, there was another person present: short and stout, with a round face and big ears, completely devoid of his previous high spirits. Instead, his face was filled with terror and unease, as he knelt before Si Shengya, looking utterly disheveled.

"Saint!" Lu Ye bowed to Si Shengya, then slowly turned his gaze to the figure kneeling on the ground. He truly hadn't expected Si Shengya to find Chang Yun, who had fled the battlefield. And judging by Chang Yun's appearance, he had clearly suffered significantly at Si Shengya's hands, his aura somewhat unstable. Lu Ye had been annoyed earlier that Chang Yun had escaped so quickly; otherwise, he would have settled the score no matter what. But since the other had already fled, and Lu Ye was new to the realm, he had no way to pursue the matter even if he wanted to. Lu Ye wasn't surprised that Si Shengya could find Chang Yun. Although the Human Half-Saint typically remained aloof from worldly affairs, he had been paying close attention during the Cage Sea Hunt. Especially after the battle on Changyun Island caught his eye, he likely knew the moment Chang Yun fled.

"He's yours to deal with," Si Shengya said indifferently, hands clasped behind his back. Chang Yun looked utterly incredulous upon seeing Lu Ye, never imagining that the person he had betrayed could still be alive. Hearing Si Shengya's words, he became terrified and pleaded desperately, "Saint, spare my life!" Si Shengya, however, ignored him, merely shaking his head from afar. "Those who create their own misfortunes cannot live." In the situation that day, if Chang Yun had fought to the death, sharing the fate of the spiritual island and advancing alongside his clan members, Si Shengya might have interceded to spare his life. But Chang Yun had betrayed his clan first and fled the battle later. What use was there in keeping such a despicable character alive? With a flicker of his figure, Si Shengya vanished.

Only Chang Yun's desperate pleas for mercy remained. Lu Ye's eyes narrowed as he watched Chang Yun kneeling on the ground. He took two steps forward, his long saber already unsheathed. In a fit of rage, he swung the saber heavily towards Chang Yun's neck.

It was unknown what kind of restriction Si Shengya had placed on Chang Yun, but at this moment, the former island master was utterly incapable of resisting or defending himself against such a lethal blow. He could only cry out in alarm, offering his neck to the blade. However, the next moment, he felt only a slight chill on his neck, but the expected pain did not arrive. Having narrowly escaped death, his face was filled with excitement. "Fellow Daoist Lu, betraying you earlier was not my wish; I was truly forced. It was that villain Fei Heng, who threatened me with the lives of millions of my clan members on Changyun Island. If you can spare me this time, Chang Yun will surely correct his mistakes... Oh, and your mind-controlling pill, I can help you remove it."

"No need!" Lu Ye scoffed, activating the power of his Talent Tree, which directly incinerated the tiny parasitic worm lodged in his heart. For him, this was as simple as eating and drinking. He hadn't dealt with it earlier because he didn't want Chang Yun to notice anything amiss. Now that Chang Yun's life was at his mercy, there was naturally no need to hold back. The instant the parasitic worm was destroyed, Chang Yun's eyes widened in disbelief, utterly bewildered by what Lu Ye had done.

"For a despicable wretch like you, simply dying like this would be letting you off too easy." As Lu Ye spoke, he lifted the Mountain-Shattering Saber, which had been poised at Chang Yun's neck, and plunged it straight into his heart. In intense pain, Chang Yun's body convulsed and trembled, yet he was completely unable to move. Blood foam oozed from the corners of his mouth as he stared fixedly at Lu Ye, utterly bewildered by what Lu Ye intended. For a powerful cultivator like him, such an injury was not fatal, and as a form of torment, it seemed rather insignificant. However, Chang Yun soon realized something was wrong. Abnormalities seemed to be appearing within his body; his vision grew increasingly blurry, and his thoughts gradually faded.

Dozens of breaths later, Lu Ye withdrew the Mountain-Shattering Saber, pulling out a spray of black blood from Chang Yun's body. The former island master of Changyun Island was now enveloped in an eerie black-green aura, having clearly transformed into a poison zombie. The most significant advantages of the potent poison concocted by Lu Ye using the Myriad Poison Pearl fruit were its extreme concealment and high latency. However, it also had a drawback: it required a certain amount of time to accumulate. Only when a sufficient amount of poison had built up in the victim's body could Lu Ye transform them into a poison zombie. This drawback might improve as the Myriad Poison Pearl fruit continued to strengthen in the future, but it wasn't currently possible. This was why, during the previous battle on Changyun Island, Lu Ye couldn't act quickly, as he had introduced those toxins into the sea of blood. But directly injecting the toxins into Chang Yun's body, like this, was different. Zhao Ming had also been turned into a poison zombie in a similar manner before; during their battle, every wound Lu Ye inflicted on her was permeated with toxins.

Chang Yun was, after all, an island master and powerful. After transforming into a poison zombie, he would undoubtedly become a formidable general under Lu Ye. It could be said that among all the poison zombies currently under Lu Ye's command, Chang Yun was the strongest.

"It was indeed you!" Si Shengya, who had left earlier, had reappeared beside them at some unknown moment. He gazed fixedly at Chang Yun, now a poison zombie, his brows furrowed in surprise. "This method of yours... is unheard of, quite extraordinary!" As Lu Ye collected the storage rings from Chang Yun's body, he casually replied, "Before the Saint, I wouldn't dare conceal anything. Besides, the Saint must have had suspicions long ago." Since Si Shengya was able to prevent him from killing Fei Heng and seizing the Primordial Star Disk at a crucial moment, it indicated that he had been observing near Changyun Island all along. While others might not have noticed his method of detonating potent poisons to create a poison zombie army, Si Shengya must have seen it clearly. Therefore, there was no point in trying to hide such a thing from him.

Si Shengya nodded. "Such a bizarre incident has never occurred in the Origin Realm before, and I have never seen such poison zombies." "Just a trivial trick," Lu Ye said. By this point, he had thoroughly emptied all the storage rings from Chang Yun's body. Although he didn't know what good items they contained, Chang Yun had taken everything valuable from the treasury when he fled. Now, all those treasures should be here. Si Shengya had no interest in such external possessions and had not taken any, so now they all benefited Lu Ye. Without even needing to check, Lu Ye knew he was now incredibly wealthy. Perhaps he could genuinely have Chu Li step forward and buy back the three lesser treasures he had sold earlier!