Chapter 2798: You Can't Take It

Winds Stir the Nine Provinces

Lu Ye said nothing, focusing solely on his descent.

Suddenly, at a certain moment, Xue Jiu exclaimed in surprise, "Do you feel anything?"

Lu Ye had certainly felt it. For some reason, he had even sensed it earlier than Xue Jiu, knowing that Si Shengya's guidance was indeed correct—what he sought was right here.

Xue Jiu seemed even more agitated than Lu Ye. He transformed into a streak of blood-red light, shot past Lu Ye, and sped downwards, quickly disappearing from sight.

A moment later, when Lu Ye saw Xue Jiu again, he was standing still in one spot, gazing ahead with a look of astonishment.

In the space before him, streaks of white light, like meteors, darted and vanished along a fixed trajectory.

These white streaks of light varied in number—sometimes there were none, at other times they were incredibly dense, like concentrated beams of white light.

Xue Jiu unleashed his full power, seemingly attempting to intercept the white streaks of light. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't touch even one.

The white streaks of light were clearly right before his eyes, yet they seemed to exist in a different time-space.

Xue Jiu was beside himself with urgency!

The reason was simple: every single one of these white streaks of light darting past him was a fragment of a Dao Convergence Pearl!

If he were in the Inner Realm, Xue Jiu wouldn't have cared at all. As one of the ten great City Lords of the Inner Realm, with his Blood-Drinking City's Dao Convergence Pearl already at the cosmic level and numerous Dao Convergence Cities under his command, why would he bother with these?

However, this was not the Inner Realm; this was the Origin Realm. These Dao Convergence Pearl fragments could bring him immense benefits here.

Xue Jiu toiled for a long time, but it was like trying to scoop up the moon from the water. He turned to see Lu Ye standing calmly by, and snapped irritably, "Boy, aren't you going to help?"

Lu Ye carefully surveyed the area ahead, ignoring him completely.

Seeing his demeanor, Xue Jiu couldn't help but ponder. He slowed his movements, tilted his head, and asked, "Did that Human Race Half-Saint tell you about this place?"

Like Xue Jiu, Lu Ye hadn't been in the Origin Realm for long, so there was no logical reason for him to know about such a hidden place. Besides, Xue Jiu had seen the map Lu Ye used before, and this location was marked on it. Therefore, Lu Ye's presence here could only be due to Si Shengya's guidance.

"That's right!" Lu Ye nodded.

Xue Jiu said, "I've always wondered why there are no Dao Convergence Cities in the Origin Realm. I asked Xue Tianxing about it before, and he told me that there are no Dao Convergence Pearls in the Origin Realm, hence no Dao Convergence Cities. But there are clearly Dao Convergence Pearl fragments here. Why don't they come and take them?"

"Can you obtain them, Blood Lord?" Lu Ye asked.

Xue Jiu shook his head. "Just because I can't obtain them doesn't mean those Half-Saints can't."

"If no Dao Convergence Cities have appeared in the Origin Realm for so many years, that means those Half-Saints can't obtain them either!"

If these Dao Convergence Pearl fragments were truly so easy to take, this place wouldn't be unclaimed territory. Every race in the entire Origin Realm would surely be fighting over it.

"Then why did you come here?" Xue Jiu suddenly felt a little deflated. "You didn't come all this way just for amusement."

"Of course not!" As Lu Ye spoke, he stepped forward, power surging around him, and reached out to grab something.

A streak of white light was caught in his hand. When he pulled his hand back, there was clearly a Dao Convergence Pearl fragment resting in his palm!

Xue Jiu's eyes nearly popped out of his head!

Before Lu Ye arrived, he had tried to do the same, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't even touch the Dao Convergence Pearl fragments.

Yet, right before Xue Jiu's eyes, Lu Ye effortlessly plucked a fragment from the air, as if taking something from his own pocket.

How was this possible?

Xue Jiu was burning with impatience, eager to ask for an explanation, but he knew that even if he did, Lu Ye probably wouldn't tell him.

"Aren't you curious, Blood Lord?" Lu Ye gazed at the Dao Convergence Pearl fragment in his hand, activating the power of the Talent Tree to refine it, and slowly began, "In the Inner Realm, when a Dao Convergence City is breached and its Dao Convergence Pearl destroyed, a large number of fragments always vanish into obscurity, impossible to find or trace. That's why even when attacking another's Dao Convergence City, one can't obtain a complete Dao Convergence Pearl. So, where do those fragments that vanish into obscurity actually go?"

Xue Jiu raised an eyebrow. "They come here?"

How could he not be curious? Any Inner Realm cultivator would likely be curious about this, but from ancient times until now, no one had ever provided a reasonable answer.

Until now!

The answer was right before his eyes.

Lu Ye said, "They likely come here. However, this isn't the fragments' final destination. I estimate that after entering the Origin Realm, these fragments will return to the Inner Realm, scattered in various locations. That's why Inner Realm cultivators often encounter unowned Dao Convergence Pearl fragments."

However, one or two isolated fragments are useless to cultivators and difficult to carry around. So, unless the opportunity is right, cultivators often don't bother with Dao Convergence Pearl fragments even when they encounter them outside.

"Are you saying..." Xue Jiu's eyes lit up. "If we can figure out where these Dao Convergence Pearl fragments go, we'll have a chance to return to the Inner Realm?"

Lu Ye couldn't help but be taken aback.

He truly hadn't thought of that. It had to be said that Xue Jiu's perspective was quite unique. On second thought, it wasn't surprising that Xue Jiu could think of it; this Blood Lord was probably desperate to return to the Inner Realm ever since he was stranded in the Origin Realm.

Because in the Inner Realm, he was one of the ten most powerful figures, but in the Origin Realm, he was nothing remarkable. The immense disparity in status made him eager to return to the Inner Realm.

"Probably not. Dao Convergence Pearl fragments can vanish from the Inner Realm into this place, and then traverse back to the Inner Realm. There must be some special reason for this, which we likely cannot replicate."

"How do we know unless we try?" Xue Jiu said, sounding somewhat unconvinced.

Lu Ye didn't bother to say more. He simply raised his hand and grabbed, and over a dozen more streaks of light landed in his palm. He continued refining them.

This sight made Xue Jiu incredibly envious. After a moment's hesitation, he put aside his reservations and flashed a smile at Lu Ye. "Lu boy, how... how do you collect these fragments?"

He had just observed carefully and noticed that before Lu Ye acted, there were clear traces of spatial power surging around him. Besides that, there seemed to be other mysterious forces at play, but he couldn't comprehend them at the moment.

"You can't collect them!" Lu Ye didn't even glance at him.

"If you teach me, I can collect them." Xue Jiu's expression became fawning.

Lu Ye said, "I can't teach you. These fragments exist in the time-space of the previous instant. If you can't touch them, how can you collect them?"

When he arrived here, he understood the mystery of this place.

It was almost exactly like the situation he encountered when collecting that drop of dragon's blood in the Dragon Pool: these visible traces were not left in the present moment, but in the previous instant.

Therefore, to collect these Dao Convergence Pearl fragments, one must activate the power of time and space.

Xue Jiu had considerable attainments in the Dao of Space, but he was completely clueless about the Dao of Time. Furthermore, even if he were proficient, as a member of the Blood Race, it would be difficult for him to harmonize Yin and Yang.

Additionally, simply activating the power of time and space wasn't enough. These fragments moved extremely fast, so even with the power of time and space, one still needed appropriate methods to collect them.

Lu Ye didn't need many methods. The spirit of the Dao Convergence Pearl resided in his inner world, and with the innate affinity it provided, a single thought from him was enough to make these fragments fall into his palm.

So, for Lu Ye, this task was incredibly easy, but for Xue Jiu, it was as difficult as reaching the heavens.

Otherwise, for so many years, the Half-Saints in the Origin Realm wouldn't have ignored this place. Countless Half-Saints throughout history had tried to come here, but none had gained anything, eventually having to give up.

"The time-space of the previous instant..." Xue Jiu was dumbfounded. He truly couldn't understand how Lu Ye could collect these fragments if they were indeed in the time-space of the previous instant.

What concerned him even more was where the fragments Lu Ye collected went.

Normally, when cultivators acquire Dao Convergence Pearl fragments and accumulate a sufficient amount, they can condense a Dao Convergence Pearl. Yet, Lu Ye's fragments vanished upon collection, with no trace of their aura emanating from him, leaving Xue Jiu wondering where they were hidden.

The white streaks of light before them continued as before, varying in number—sometimes scattered, sometimes dense.

Lu Ye was like a bandit blocking the road; as Dao Convergence Pearl fragments flashed past him, they were collected.

This sight made Xue Jiu, standing by, incredibly restless with envy.

"Blood Lord."

Just as Xue Jiu was wondering what to do, Lu Ye suddenly called out.

"Yes?" Xue Jiu quickly responded.

"It seems a major battle has erupted in the Inner Realm!" Lu Ye said calmly.

"How can you tell?" Xue Jiu asked, looking bewildered. At that moment, his mind was completely preoccupied with learning Lu Ye's method of collecting Dao Convergence Pearl fragments, unable to think of anything else.

"So many Dao Convergence Pearl fragments are darting through, and they're all densely packed in clusters. This clearly indicates that Dao Convergence Cities are being breached. While such events are common in the Inner Realm, they don't happen this frequently. So, a shocking major battle must have erupted. I estimate the intensity of this war won't be inferior to the Snowfield Conflict!"

Xue Jiu stroked his chin in thought, then nodded slightly. "You make a good point. It seems something major has happened in the Inner Realm since we left."

Lu Ye couldn't help but glance at him, then said nothing more.

Xue Jiu's expression suddenly changed dramatically. "Are you saying... my Blood Race is under attack?"

After the Snowfield Conflict, the intensity of conflicts throughout the Inner Realm had significantly decreased. There was no reason for a battle of this magnitude to suddenly erupt, unless some unforeseen change had occurred.

However, looking at recent events in the Inner Realm, the biggest upheaval was Lu Ye's disturbance in the Blood Race territory and Xue Jiu's disappearance.

If this news could be kept under wraps and unknown to outsiders, that would be fine. But once this news leaked, the Blood Race would inevitably become a target.

Among other things, the Phoenix Race would certainly take action. Once the Phoenix Race acted, the Dragon Race would respond in kind, and then a shocking major battle would be inevitable.

How could a conflict between such ten great Dao Convergence Cities be inferior in intensity to the Snowfield Conflict?

Xue Jiu hadn't thought of this at all until he noticed Lu Ye's strange expression and suddenly realized.

"Who knows?" Lu Ye shrugged. "It could also be that Ba Qiu is preparing to take that final step, which triggered an encirclement by certain individuals."