Chapter 2836: Return

Winds Stir Kyushu

Outside the Brocade Expanse, the deathly silent Universe-grade city floated. Hun Que stared blankly at the toxic corpses around him, each exuding a greenish-black aura.

In this city, all the Dao Harmonizers personally slain by Lu Ye in the previous battle had now transformed into these toxic corpses. Standing silently here, they were a terrifying sight.

Nearby, the Talent Tree's clone was idly toying with a grand formation jade slip, his expression relaxed.

Suddenly, he looked up towards the depths of the Brocade Expanse, and as if sensing something, he said, "They're here."

Hun Que looked up and saw a palace floating out from within the Brocade Expanse, flying directly towards them.

It was Yin Luo's Azure Palace.

The Universe-grade city was vast, and when the Azure Palace landed within it, it wasn't conspicuous.

Hun Que moved, sweeping into the Azure Palace. At a glance, he saw another army of toxic corpses—the ones previously slain by Lu Ye within the Brocade Expanse—now standing silently before the hall.

He paid them no mind and walked directly into the hall. He immediately saw Hua Ci and the others sitting cross-legged on the ground, each holding a dimly glowing orb in their hands.

Dao Harmonizer Orbs!

Hun Que had just used Zong Shenliang's body to shatter a Dao Harmonizer Orb, so he naturally recognized the item at a glance. However, compared to the one he had shattered, the Dao Harmonizer Orbs held by the others were inferior in both size and color, completely incomparable.

He knew, of course, that Dao Harmonizer Orbs varied in quality. The level of a Universe-grade city's Dao Harmonizer Orb was simply not comparable to those held by the others.

"Patriarch, you should also condense a Dao Harmonizer Orb," Lu Ye called out, handing some fragments to Hun Que.

"I can too?" Hun Que asked, astonished.

Lu Ye smiled, "As a Dao Harmonizer, of course you can, Patriarch."

This time, he had breached over a dozen Dao Harmonizer cities within the Brocade Expanse, and Defiled Wilderness City was even a Universe-grade city. He had confiscated a large number of Dao Harmonizer Orb fragments, and he still had many remaining; the portion he distributed to everyone was just a fraction.

After all, given the current foundation of the cultivators in the Starry Sky, there was no need to condense Dao Harmonizer Orbs of overly high quality. A Profound-grade quality would suffice, as they wouldn't be able to bear anything higher.

Hua Ci and the others had only recently advanced to Dao Harmonizer, so their cultivation was ultimately limited. A Profound-grade Dao Harmonizer Orb would still significantly enhance their strength.

There was no need to specially build any Dao Harmonizer cities for them; the Azure Palace was the best. This city, with the blessings left by Yang Qing, was incredibly sturdy. Hua Ci and the others only needed to leave their Dao Harmonizer Orbs here; as long as the Azure Palace remained intact, the Dao Harmonizer Orbs would be safe.

Leaving everyone busy, Lu Ye flashed out of the Azure Palace. He raised his hand and tossed another pre-condensed Yellow-grade Dao Harmonizer Orb to his clone.

The next moment, his figure suddenly vanished.

When he reappeared, he was already in the vast hall of the Hehe Realm.

A few more breaths later, he returned to Yuan Xi City.

You Die, who was stationed there, immediately opened her eyes, a mixture of surprise and delight, calling out, "Brother Ye."

Lu Ye nodded slightly. His divine sense stirred, and he waited quietly. A moment later, a figure rushed into the hall: it was Fu Wei.

"Senior Brother," Fu Wei called out.

Compared to his previous liveliness, Fu Wei was clearly much more composed now. It was likely that the death of the old patriarch of the Bu clan had hit him hard. However, the deceased were gone, and as the Bu clan's sole remaining member, he still had to carry the old patriarch's expectations and continue on.

"Come with me; I need your help with something," Lu Ye said.

"Alright!" Fu Wei agreed. He himself had been idle in the city, and his strength would gradually increase with Lu Ye's advancements. Since Lu Ye had a request, he naturally wouldn't refuse.

You Die asked from the side, "Brother Ye, what about us?"

Since the previous battle, Yuan Xi City had lost its direction. With Lu Ye absent, everyone was unsure what to do or where they should go. Returning to Dragon City was an option, but their city couldn't remain there indefinitely.

"Stand by for now!" After Lu Ye finished speaking, he quickly departed with Fu Wei.

If possible, he would naturally want to bring Yuan Xi City to the Brocade Expanse. Their city was, after all, a Universe-grade city, and You Die's group was much stronger than Hua Ci's.

Currently, the situation in the Starry Sky, while not terrible, was not particularly good either. Having Yuan Xi City provide support would be a great help.

However, this place was too far from the Brocade Expanse. He could travel with Fu Wei via the Hehe Realm, but a Dao Harmonizer City could not.

So, it had to be put aside for now.

You Die pouted, clearly displeased.

A moment later, Lu Ye and Fu Wei reappeared in Defiled Wilderness City.

"This is..." Fu Wei looked around, a puzzled expression on his face. Judging by the scale of this Dao Harmonizer city, it should be a Universe-grade city.

But there wasn't much life within the city, and it appeared to have just experienced a bloody battle.

Secretly horrified, he wondered which Universe-grade city Senior Brother had breached this time.

"What do you need me to do, Senior Brother?" Fu Wei composed himself and asked.

Lu Ye replied, "Station yourself here. If enemies invade, kill them!"

Fu Wei understood. "No problem!" Even though he was here and couldn't receive the blessing of Yuan Xi City's Dao Harmonizer Orb, his strength was still not comparable to ordinary Dao Harmonizers.

The intelligence Lu Ye had just received from Hua Ci indicated that among the six Star Abyss Gates in the Starry Sky, this side presented the most dangerous situation.

Because this was the territory of Sen Luo City, unless Sen Luo City had no ambitions towards the Starry Sky, intense conflict would inevitably break out sooner or later.

Moreover, it was impossible for Sen Luo City to have no ambitions towards the Starry Sky, because any one-yuan Starry Sky contained many supreme treasures. Powerful figures like Zong Shenliang naturally yearned to enter the Starry Sky to acquire these treasures for their own use.

Furthermore, Zong Shenliang and Lu Ye were already at odds. If he learned Lu Ye was here, he would undoubtedly make a move.

And with Defiled Wilderness City breached... Sen Luo City was destined to be an enemy, and a formidable one at that!

Lu Ye naturally had to prepare.

Allowing Hua Ci and the others to condense Dao Harmonizer Orbs was to enable them to enhance their strength. Even if they couldn't slay enemies in battle, at the very least, they would have a certain degree of self-preservation.

Furthermore, there were numerous toxic corpses. Nearly one hundred and fifty toxic corpses were gathered in the city, representing a force not to be underestimated.

Moreover, the Talent Tree's clone was personally stationed there.

Yet, even so, it was still not enough.

The strength that could be unleashed by both the army of toxic corpses and Hua Ci's group was ultimately limited.

That was why Lu Ye had specifically brought Fu Wei to assist the clone.

With such a lineup, even if Zong Shenliang personally made a move, the clone could counter and contend with him. At that time, Fu Wei could lead the toxic corpse army to fight and slay enemies.

Once the Star Abyss Gate here was dealt with, Lu Ye finally plunged into the Brocade Expanse.

The Starry Sky already had invading enemies, and he needed to resolve them quickly.

Behind the Star Abyss Gate, in the Illusory Demise Galaxy, Star Abyss aura permeated and enveloped the area. Compared to when Lu Ye had left that year, the range covered by the Star Abyss aura had expanded by countless times.

This was a precursor to the Star Abyss invasion, and also a fertile ground for Starry Sky cultivators to grow stronger.

Under normal circumstances, after the Starry Sky was invaded, local cultivators could only enter the Dao by utilizing the Star Abyss aura, slowly improving themselves and subsequently gaining the capital to resist Star Abyss cultivators.

However, when Lu Ye was still in the Starry Sky back then, he had single-handedly brought the Starry Sky onto the right path, and the Brocade Expanse he left behind had become the Starry Sky's strongest backing.

Therefore, before the inner and outer realms merged, this Starry Sky had not encountered many crises.

Instead, Starry Sky cultivators, after entering the Dao, could then enter the Brocade Expanse to hone themselves.

With the Azure Palace guarding the Star Abyss Gate, the Illusory Demise Galaxy was peaceful, with only a fortress casting numerous probing gazes.

As Lu Ye's figure burst in, those probing gazes all trembled.

They had some understanding of the situation outside the Star Abyss Gate, knowing that powerful enemies were attacking the Azure Palace, but they had no way of knowing the specifics of the battle.

Now that someone had burst in, and it wasn't any of Hua Ci's group, it naturally caused unease.

But soon, the leading cultivator let out a surprised gasp, "This is..."

No sooner had he spoken than Lu Ye had already entered the fortress. His gaze swept across, and he saw several familiar figures.

"Realm Lord Gu!" Lu Ye cupped his fists slightly. "Long time no see."

"Lu Ye!" Gu Yunliu's face was filled with shock. He had never imagined that at such a crucial moment, he would see Lu Ye return.

Beside him, Gu Sheng and the others were equally astonished beyond measure.

In Lu Ye's arrangements back then, the Illusory Demise Galaxy was led by Chen Wulei and Chang Yu, with Huanglong Realm, the Starry Sky's largest realm, providing assistance.

Gu Yunliu was the Realm Lord of Huanglong Realm, and Gu Sheng was its most talented rising star.

Under Lu Ye's divine sense perception, these two in front of him were already Fusion Dao cultivators. The reason they hadn't appeared near the Star Abyss Gate was likely also due to this, as Fusion Dao cultivators could no longer exert much influence in battles of that magnitude.

And besides these two, among the many cultivators present, many were Fusion Dao and Entry Dao cultivators.

"You're back, does that mean the Star Abyss Gate side..." Gu Yunliu asked with a hopeful expression.

"The trouble is temporarily resolved," Lu Ye nodded, confirming his guess.

Hearing this, everyone felt a wave of relief.

They didn't know the situation on the battlefield across from them. The only thing they knew was that if foreign enemies came through the Star Abyss Gate, it would mean all the Azure Palace Dao Harmonizers had fallen in battle.

They had also prepared themselves mentally to fight to the death to protect the Starry Sky.

It now appeared that wouldn't be necessary.

Gu Yunliu gazed at Lu Ye with a sigh. He suddenly had a feeling that a similar situation had occurred once before. That time, it was the early stage of a Starry Sky invasion; the entire Starry Sky was in disarray, and cultivators were at a loss against the powerful enemies. It was Lu Ye's powerful return that stabilized the Starry Sky's situation with lightning speed.

Years later, a similar event had occurred again.

This time, did the young man before him still possess the ability to turn the tide?

Gu Yunliu didn't know. After all, the enemies the Starry Sky faced this time were different from the last; each of those Dao Harmonizers possessed formidable strength.

But for some reason, after seeing Lu Ye, the anxiety in Gu Yunliu's heart vanished without a trace.

"Where is Elder Tree?" Lu Ye asked. "I need to see Elder Tree."

Gu Yunliu then came back to his senses. "Follow me!"

Behind every Star Abyss Gate, there was a Starry Sky fortress, and in every fortress, a clone of Elder Tree was stationed, primarily to facilitate the transmission of information.

The Illusory Demise Galaxy naturally had one as well.