Chapter 2893: Ninefold Perfection

Take Lu Ye, for example; his identity as a "rebellious son" had already cost him dearly. Although other cultivators were not in Lu Ye's predicament, once Yuan's consciousness fully awakened, its every thought and action would profoundly impact the entire cultivation world. At that point, all cultivators would be manipulated by it to varying degrees.

Such a cultivation method, which made practitioners easily controlled by others, was inherently unstable. The Dragon and Phoenix ancestors had long foreseen this outcome, which was why they left the Minor World Secret Art within the Ancestral Abyss restriction, awaiting the day a Dao Tree inheritor would arrive to claim it.

While nurturing the Crag Blade required little effort, cultivating the Minor World Secret Art was now a different matter entirely. Carving each Dao mark was now considerably more difficult than before, requiring many times more time and energy. This trend became increasingly pronounced as the secret art approached completion. This seemed to be an inherent characteristic of the secret art, not an issue with Lu Ye's cultivation, and thus he had no ready solution. This was precisely why he had specifically traveled to this place to cultivate; only here could he enhance his strength in the shortest possible time.

Calming his mind, he meticulously carved and refined each Dao mark. Within the Ancestral Abyss restriction, darkness and tranquility reigned, undisturbed by anything. Each carved Dao mark represented a tangible increase in his strength.

This state continued for an unknown period until, at a certain moment, Lu Ye slowly opened his eyes from his meditative repose. The Minor World Secret Art, Ninth Layer, was complete! Within his inner world, no more Dao marks could be inscribed.

His mood was not as excited as he had anticipated, for this was merely a natural progression. Even without this particular experience, he knew that by simply continuing his previous cultivation, he would have eventually reached this level years later.

With a quick inspection, Lu Ye's eyebrows rose in surprise. Previously, when the Minor World Secret Art had reached its eighth layer of completion, his inner world had provided a power boost of a full seven thousand Dao. Given the pattern that each successive layer of this secret art yielded a greater improvement than the last, Lu Ye had actually anticipated this outcome. The current result aligned closely with his expectations.

Within his inner world, there were now exactly ten thousand Dao marks. This signified that the Minor World Secret Art could now grant him a power increase of ten thousand Dao! This was an astonishing figure; such power was entirely unadulterated and unaffected by external influences. As long as Lu Ye's own Dao power reserves were sufficient, he could unleash it anytime, anywhere.

Even before he had fully cultivated the Minor World Secret Art, the nurturing of his Tusk Blade had already reached its limit. Now, the Tusk alone could provide Lu Ye with a power boost of two thousand and forty-eight Dao! Under normal circumstances, a most basic supreme treasure typically provided a cultivator with an enhancement of five hundred and twelve Dao. However, this was merely a baseline. Supreme treasures varied in power, and cultivators' nurturing levels differed. Therefore, the extent to which a supreme treasure could enhance its master's strength depended entirely on the treasure's inherent grade and the degree to which it had been nurtured.

The Tusk's current boost of over two thousand Dao power was essentially four times that basic level. According to Ba Qiu's classification system for supreme treasures, the Tusk was a Fourth-Grade supreme treasure!

When Lu Ye first ascended to the Dao Integration realm, his foundational Dao power was five hundred, which, with a 120% increase from Dao patterns, resulted in a total of one thousand one hundred Dao power. Subsequently, he also inscribed fifty Dao marks into his Dao body. With all these various accumulations, his current strength had now surpassed thirteen thousand Dao! Compared to his strength before entering the Tower of Time, while it hadn't undergone earth-shattering changes, it had certainly achieved a remarkably significant improvement!

If he were to encounter Xue Yuan again with his current power, Lu Ye was confident he could defeat him single-handedly, without the trouble he had faced last time.

While the results of his cultivation were gratifying, Lu Ye subtly discerned an emerging problem. With his current strength, he should be more than capable of handling Half-Saints; indeed, it was likely no Half-Saint level cultivator could match him. However, against a True Saint, he feared he would still fall short.

Ever since he acquired the Minor World Secret Art from the Ancestral Abyss, his strength had grown at an unimaginable pace. Every progression in the secret art brought a significant leap in his power. Yet, the Minor World Secret Art had now reached its limit. What path should his future cultivation take? The Dragon and Phoenix ancestors had created this Minor World Secret Art, but there was no mention of subsequent layers like a tenth or eleventh... If there were no further progressions, would his strength simply stagnate?

While he could, of course, continue cultivating like other practitioners, inscribing Dao marks within his Dao bones—something he had done previously in the Tower of Time—such cultivation was extremely inefficient, requiring years of slow accumulation. It wasn't that he, having tasted delicacies, could no longer stomach coarse food; different cultivation methods indeed brought increases in strength. However, time was pressing, and he simply did not have the luxury of slow cultivation. If he were to rely on conventional cultivation methods to accumulate strength, by the time he became powerful enough to contend with True Saints, he feared there would long be no place for him in the Star Abyss. Once Yuan's consciousness fully awakened, Lu Ye, the "rebellious son," would likely be its first target for extermination.

As he pondered, a fragment of a Dao Integration Orb appeared in Lu Ye's hand. This was no ordinary fragment, but a core fragment. When Ba Qiu's Dao Integration Orb from Yifu City shattered, it enabled Lu Ye to upgrade his own Dao Integration Orb to the Universe-grade, thereby providing him with the means to advance the Minor World Secret Art to the Ninth Layer. When Senluo City and Shibubu City were breached, two core fragments were seized. However, both these core fragments and other ordinary fragments had been distributed to Xue Jiu and Si Shengya for them to form their own Dao Integration Orbs. However, before Dragon Sovereign entered seclusion, he had given Lu Ye the core fragment from Blood Drink City, so Lu Ye still had one remaining.

He had previously sensed that his Universe-grade Dao Integration Orb could fuse with this fragment. However, he had refrained from doing so because core fragments were finite, and once fused, they could not be extracted. Should he need it in the future, Lu Ye could not possibly shatter his own Dao Integration Orb, as that would undo years of his cultivation. But now he wished to try. The Minor World Secret Art's cultivation had reached its pinnacle, and he wanted to see what changes might occur within his inner world if he fused this core fragment. He hoped it might create further room for cultivation for a secret art that had seemingly reached its limit. If it proved feasible, he would no longer have to worry about his future cultivation path.

Without hesitation, Lu Ye moved his hand, and the core fragment was absorbed into his inner world. Normally, a Dao Integration Orb could only fuse with a single core fragment, a fact recorded in ancient texts. However, the Dao Integration Orb within Lu Ye's inner world was clearly an exception. He wasn't sure if this was due to the secret art itself or the spirit residing within the Dao Integration Orb. Lu Ye surmised that both factors were likely at play. Consequently, the fusion of this core fragment proceeded with utmost smoothness, integrating into his Dao Integration Orb in mere moments.

Lu Ye's expression shifted subtly, for with the fusion of this core fragment, his inner world seemed to have undergone some changes. Previously, whenever the Dao Integration Orb's grade improved, his inner world would transform. The most significant change was an increase in its volume, and the resulting qualitative shift was that the inner world increasingly resembled a true world. Particularly after his Dao Integration Orb was upgraded to the Universe-grade, Lu Ye had a subtle feeling that even if his inner world were to be separated, it could form its own realm, and given enough time, it could fully evolve into a true world.

At this very moment, his inner world also exhibited some changes. Subtly, it felt as though something had increased within it. However, upon Lu Ye's perception, he found no indication that the inner world's volume had expanded; its territory remained the same size as before. But what exactly had increased? Even after careful examination, he remained unaware of the reason.

Furthermore, there were no signs that the Minor World Secret Art could continue to be cultivated, which was to be expected. The Universe-grade was already considered the highest tier for a Dao Integration Orb, and even if the Minor World Secret Art could progress further, a prerequisite would be an upgrade to the Dao Integration Orb's grade. A grade beyond Universe-grade would imply a complete Dao Integration Orb, which could only be achieved by re-collecting all Dao Integration Orbs scattered throughout the entire Star Abyss. Lu Ye still possessed a number of ordinary fragments, which he had previously set aside for future contingencies. Currently, they served no purpose. He decided to simply fuse all these ordinary fragments into his Dao Integration Orb.

Having completed these tasks, Lu Ye slowly rose to his feet. At present, his cultivation had reached a bottleneck. Until he found a suitable method, it seemed unlikely his strength would improve further. Therefore, further deliberation was fruitless. His cultivation complete, it was time to address another matter. This was also his second objective for entering the Ancestral Abyss.

Flashing forward, he quickly arrived before the massive Ancestral Abyss restriction. During his previous visit, Lu Ye had meticulously examined this prison, from which he had obtained both the Fruit of Time and the Minor World Secret Art. Thus, he was undoubtedly very familiar with the Ancestral Abyss restriction. What he needed to do now was to enter this prison. He intended to release all the past Dragon Sovereigns who had sealed themselves within this prison!

Currently, the Source Realm was on the verge of merging and returning, and several Half-Saints had already descended upon the Star Abyss. More Half-Saints were likely to appear in the future, and the entire Star Abyss would also see an influx of new Half-Saints. Individuals like Hongtu and Gu Mingyue were probably already undergoing their advancements and breakthroughs. In the future, he might also have to confront True Saint-level adversaries.

The enemy was formidable and vast, yet apart from Si Shengya, a Half-Saint, he could only rely on the Dragon Sovereign and the Phoenix Lord. Ni Chilien could probably be swayed, and while Xiao Qianchen always kept to himself, Qin Feng was reliable. Mu Yungui and Huan Caiyi, whom he had previously assisted, might also lend a hand. However, their numbers were ultimately too few! Thus, he required more assistance. The past Dragon Sovereigns, who had sealed themselves within the Ancestral Abyss restriction, were the ideal candidates. This was also a significant legacy passed down by generations of the Dragon race.

During his last visit, Lu Ye lacked the ability to do this, but things were different now. He possessed sufficient strength, and the power of the Talent Tree was capable of incinerating the corrosive forces accumulated within the Dragon race's formidable cultivators, thereby helping them recover. If such a formidable force were entirely unleashed, it would undoubtedly play a crucial role in confronting future challenges. Lu Ye even had a subtle feeling that the Dragon and Phoenix ancestors had left this Ancestral Abyss restriction specifically for this very moment!