Chapter 643: The Changes of the Healing Fruit Core

Wind Rises in Kyushu

After examining the talent tree, Lu Ye woke Yiyi and took out the numerous spirit talismans he had just acquired. As time passed, one talisman after another was crushed, releasing rich, pure spiritual energy that both he and the spirit eagerly absorbed for cultivation.

A day later, all the spirit talismans were consumed. Lu Ye quietly sensed his own cultivation, noting that his improvement wasn't substantial. After all, the combined effect of those talismans couldn't compare to a single golden spirit talisman.

At his current level of cultivation, breaking through with just one or two golden spirit talismans was no longer possible. However, cultivation is a process of gradual accumulation, where quantitative changes eventually lead to qualitative transformations.

With no more spirit talismans, Lu Ye began taking spirit pills to continue his cultivation.

His appearance at the Heavenly Secret Alliance caused quite a stir. Although he wore a mask the entire time and didn't reveal his true face, some cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, convinced he was hiding there, could still draw conclusions from subtle clues. Currently, many powerful cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge were undoubtedly still waiting outside the Heavenly Secret Alliance. Lu Ye had no immediate plans to leave.

In a flash, several more days passed.

Long periods of cultivation eventually became somewhat monotonous, especially because Lu Ye's cultivation method differed from others. When other cultivators absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, they needed to immerse themselves completely and concentrate, making it difficult to perceive the passage of time. A single cultivation session could easily span several days. This explains why cultivators with higher cultivation often enter seclusion for six months, a year, or even longer; they simply don't perceive time passing.

Lu Ye was different. His cultivation primarily relied on consuming spirit pills, which didn't prevent him from doing other things, so he easily grew bored after a prolonged period. Typically, when this happened, Lu Ye would pause his cultivation and take a walk.

However, his current circumstances made it unwise to wander around. After some thought, Lu Ye decided to enter the Mirage to hone his blade techniques. Cultivating blade techniques was undoubtedly far more difficult than advancing cultivation. While improvements in cultivation could be tangibly felt, blade techniques were different. Before breaking through a bottleneck, progress was incredibly slow, perhaps showing no significant change for a long time. However, once a bottleneck was overcome, one would enter an entirely new realm.

Immersing his mind in the storage space on the back of his hand, Lu Ye prepared to retrieve the Breath Fruit core. A moment later, when the Breath Fruit core appeared in his palm, he was startled. The Breath Fruit core looked somewhat different from how it used to.

Although the Breath Fruit core was indeed the kernel of the Breath Fruit, it actually resembled a sapphire at first glance. When Lu Ye first encountered it, he was curious how a fruit core could look like this, simply concluding that the vast world held endless wonders. However, he later gradually understood that it wasn't a fruit core in the strict sense. This object was a vessel imbued with a special ability by the Heavenly Secret, serving as a key to open the Mirage, so its external appearance wasn't the main point.

The Breath Fruit core was clearly different now. The sapphire-like core's surface was now covered with numerous complex, incredibly intricate patterns. Even with his considerable mastery in spirit patterns, Lu Ye couldn't discern the meaning of these markings. Moreover, as he observed, he suddenly experienced an illusion, as if his entire mind was being absorbed into the Breath Fruit core.

The Breath Fruit core had changed... What puzzled Lu Ye even more was the whereabouts of the other Breath Fruit core. He originally possessed one, and a few days prior, he had acquired another from his spoils of war, making a total of two. They looked almost identical, and he had placed both in the storage space on the back of his hand. But now, only one remained...

There was no possibility of an oversight in his search. The storage space on the back of his hand was formed by Void Puncture Runes, and while it was quite large and contained many items, Lu Ye could easily find what he wanted by immersing his mind within it. Now, only one Breath Fruit core remained, the other having vanished, and the one in his hand was covered in many intricate patterns.

This led Lu Ye to form some conjectures. Could this thing... fuse with another? He had placed the two Breath Fruit cores together, and without his knowledge, they had merged into one. Although it sounded outlandish, it was the only plausible explanation. Not giving up, he searched again, but still couldn't find the second Breath Fruit core. It seemed the two Breath Fruit cores had truly merged into one.

The original Breath Fruit core allowed one to enter the Mirage to hone their blade techniques. What new purpose did this fused Breath Fruit core serve? Whatever its use, he would find out by trying it.

Lu Ye held the Breath Fruit core in his palm, channeled his spiritual energy into it, and immersed his mind. His vision blurred, and he found himself in a small, enclosed space. In front of him stood an ancient-looking door, with large characters inscribed on it: "To enter the Mirage, 100 merit points are required."

It looked exactly as he remembered, seemingly unchanged. Just as Lu Ye was thinking this, his peripheral vision caught something. He turned his head, a look of surprise on his face. Because in that direction, another door had appeared, also bearing a line of large characters: "To enter the Mirage, 10,000 merit points are required."

One hundred versus ten thousand—a hundredfold difference!

What was certain was that this enclosed small space previously only contained one door—the one requiring 100 merit points. Pushing it open would lead into an environment enveloped in thick fog, from which figures of cultivators or various insectoids would constantly emerge, allowing one to hone their skills and combat techniques.

Where did this door, requiring 10,000 merit points, lead? Why would two Breath Fruit cores with identical functions, upon merging, produce such a change? Lu Ye suddenly realized the Breath Fruit core was more complex than he'd imagined. The Heavenly Secret had endowed both cores with the ability to lead to the Mirage. When two such cores merged, they not only retained their original function but also acquired another, completely new ability that Lu Ye had never encountered.

Judging solely by the merit points required, the place this second door led to must be fraught with peril. Of course, that might not be the case; everything needed to be explored. Under normal circumstances, Lu Ye might not have entered the second door. After all, he was merely a fifth-level Cloud River Realm cultivator, not yet qualified to intervene in overly dangerous places. But this was the Mirage; even if he died, he wouldn't truly perish, only experience some pain. As for 10,000 merit points, while other cultivators might struggle to afford it, for Lu Ye, it was truly insignificant.

So, after a moment's consideration of the second door, Lu Ye made his decision. He would go in and see. Regardless of where the second door led or what dangers lay within, he had to see it for himself to truly know. At worst, he would lose 10,000 merit points and be forced out.

Having made his decision, Lu Ye immediately walked up to the newly appeared second door and pushed it open. The back of his hand felt a slight warmth as 10,000 merit points were deducted. The heavy door slowly swung open, and Lu Ye stepped inside.

The moment he crossed the threshold, Lu Ye suddenly felt a sense of unreality, as if his entire being had abruptly shed some restraint and become significantly more powerful. However, he had no time to ponder this deeply, as the first rule upon entering any unfamiliar environment was to conceal oneself and remain vigilant against surprise attacks. Thus, as he passed through the door, Lu Ye immediately constructed concealment and breath-concealing spirit patterns to apply to himself. Simultaneously, he placed his hand on the hilt of his Mountain-Steady Blade at his waist, his full power poised for action!

Almost at the exact moment Lu Ye passed through the newly appeared door and entered the unknown space, Amber, who was sleeping soundly, and Yiyi, who was cultivating in the guest room, simultaneously sensed an anomaly and opened their eyes to look at Lu Ye. In that instant, both the spirit and the tiger felt an extremely peculiar sensation, as if Lu Ye had suddenly vanished. Yet, he was clearly right in front of them.

Yiyi felt a pang of panic. Although she knew it wasn't advisable to disturb Lu Ye at that moment, she couldn't help but softly call out, "Lu Ye?" She received no response. Yiyi got up and went to Lu Ye's side. She observed him carefully for a moment, then, with trembling hands, placed her hand under his nose to check. Suddenly, she burst into loud sobs, crying, "Lu Ye!" She couldn't feel Lu Ye breathing! Moreover, she perceived that Lu Ye seemed to have lost something incredibly important.

As a spirit entity, though her cultivation wasn't high—only on par with Lu Ye's—her perception of the soul was exceptionally keen. At this moment, there were clearly no traces of a soul within Lu Ye. In other words, only Lu Ye's physical body remained here, and it wasn't breathing.

Amber was also startled and quickly ran to Lu Ye, tapping him with a paw. "Lu Ye is dead!" Yiyi collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, overwhelmed by deep sorrow. Amber was terrified, whimpering and growling softly at Lu Ye, but received no response. How could he suddenly die out of nowhere? He was just cultivating a moment ago. But then a thought struck Amber: if Lu Ye died, how could her own life as a tiger endure? She turned and let out another growl at Yiyi.

Yiyi, capable of understanding Amber's thoughts, immediately grasped the implication. Not only had Lu Ye and Amber established a pet contract, but they had also formed a Life Essence technique. As Lu Ye's destined beast, Amber's death would cause him harm, but if Lu Ye died, Amber could not possibly survive on her own. And Yiyi, as Amber's companion spirit, would also perish if Amber died. Therefore, Lu Ye's life or death affected not only himself but also the survival of both the spirit and the tiger.

Since both Amber and Yiyi were safe and sound, it could only mean one thing: Lu Ye was still alive!

Realizing this, Yiyi quickly suppressed her sorrow, reached out with a sob, and checked Lu Ye's breath once more. It was very faint, but he was indeed breathing. The drastic swings in her emotions left Yiyi almost collapsing to the ground. Yet she couldn't comprehend what Lu Ye had done to suddenly become like this. In her perception, Lu Ye was clearly just an empty shell left here, his soul nowhere to be found.