Chapter 663: Hidden Danger

Sure enough, as Lu Ye pushed open the second gate and entered Immortal City, Yi Yi immediately detected an anomaly. Lu Ye seemed to be nothing more than an empty shell.

She initially feared that Lu Ye had met with misfortune and wept uncontrollably, but soon realized the situation wasn't as dire as she'd imagined. The fact that she and Amber were still alive meant Lu Ye couldn't be dead.

However, the situation was far from optimistic. Lu Ye's life force was incredibly faint, almost imperceptible unless one focused intently. For several days, Yi Yi had tried every conceivable method to awaken Lu Ye, but to little avail.

Until this very moment, she experienced a clear sensation: Lu Ye had returned! That faint aura, which had been on the verge of dissipating, was visibly gaining strength, and a soul had returned to his hollow body.

She continuously called out Lu Ye's name, her pleading voice piercing an invisible barrier and reaching deep into his heart. Ripples formed in Lu Ye's sea of consciousness, and as these ripples expanded, Lu Ye's awareness swiftly revived, allowing him to gradually comprehend his situation.

After what felt like an eternity, he finally regained a trace of control over his body and managed to pry open his eyes. The first thing he saw was Yi Yi's anxious and worried face, kneeling before him. Her eyes were bloodshot; had she not been a spirit body, her eyes would surely have been streaming with tears.

"Lu Ye!" Their eyes met, and Yi Yi exclaimed with relief and surprise, "How are you? What happened?"

Lu Ye's lips moved, and after a long struggle, he managed a hoarse whisper: "Don't worry..."

He had wanted to offer more words of comfort to Yi Yi, but his control over his physical body was weaker than ever before, leaving him unable to utter another word. It was fortunate that he was in a guest room at the Heavenly Secret Alliance, where there was no immediate danger. If this situation had occurred in the wilderness, it would have been a death sentence.

He closed his eyes, continuing to recuperate.

Time passed, and gradually, the sense of disconnection between his body and soul significantly lessened. At this moment, Lu Ye felt as if he were a patient recovering from a long illness, gradually regaining command of his own limbs.

Remembering Ji Yuan's earlier instructions, he quickly retrieved the jade bottle filled with Soul Water from his storage space and consumed a single drop. Although Lu Ye had initially felt a lingering fatigue after his soul's return, this mental weariness swiftly dissolved once the Soul Water took effect.

He let out a long breath; the most challenging period was finally over.

Yi Yi had been watching over him, and Amber too, gazed at him, their eyes filled with concern. Lu Ye raised a hand to rub Amber's head, then looked at Yi Yi and said, "Everything's alright now."

"What exactly happened?" Yi Yi asked, a whimsical idea forming. "Did your cultivation go awry... did you suffer qi deviation?"

Qi deviation was an uncommon occurrence among Kyushu cultivators, as cultivation was inherently a methodical process. As long as one didn't risk trying special cultivation methods, few ever suffered from qi deviation.

"It's a long story," Lu Ye sighed. Who would have thought that he would just spontaneously decide to temper himself in the Mirage Realm, only to find himself in Immortal City embroiled in a war against an insectoid invasion?

There was no need to hide anything from Yi Yi. Lu Ye briefly recounted his recent experiences. Upon hearing that he had entered Immortal City again, and that its state was vastly different from their previous visit, and that the entire city held immense secrets, Yi Yi was utterly astonished. Especially when she heard that Liu Datong, Yu Qing, and others had valiantly turned back to their deaths to ensure his safe return to the stronghold, the young girl's eyes reddened once more. It was only upon hearing that the spirit bodies of Immortal City were truly immortal, and that the annihilated Butcher Squad had been brought back to life, that a smile finally bloomed on the young girl's face.

"In short," Lu Ye explained, "the Immortal City Lord said that my cultivation hadn't reached the Divine Ocean realm, so prolonged soul detachment could lead to an incompatibility between my spirit and my physical form. He instructed me to use Soul Water for a period to stabilize my soul, so there's no major issue."

Yi Yi nodded. "Then you really must rest for a while."

"Mm." Lu Ye nodded, then rubbed his stomach. "I'm feeling a bit hungry."

Yi Yi quickly stood up. "I'll have someone bring up some food." Saying this, she left the guest room.

The Heavenly Secret Alliance's service was truly exceptional; cultivators staying there could avail themselves of almost any amenity imaginable. Moments later, delicious meals were delivered, along with fresh demon beast meat for Amber. The man and the tiger ate their fill, devouring the food with gusto.

Lu Ye took out several more jade bottles, filled them with Soul Water, and gave them to Yi Yi. Yi Yi herself was a spirit body; although she could grow stronger by relying on Amber's strengthening, with the help of Soul Water, her soul could continuously grow stronger. It could be said that Soul Water had a greater effect on her than on Lu Ye.

Soul Water fortified his spiritual power, while dragon scales bolstered his physique. These two were crucial foundations and intrinsic strength for every cultivator. The strength of these foundations and intrinsic power was precisely what allowed Lu Ye to consistently defeat opponents of higher cultivation levels. Moreover, robust foundations and intrinsic strength simplified cultivation, creating a virtuous cycle.

After eating his fill, Lu Ye sat peacefully, closing his eyes to calm his mind and recuperate. He neither cultivated nor read.

After an indeterminate period, Yi Yi's voice suddenly broke the silence: "Lu Ye!"

Startled, Lu Ye's eyes snapped open, revealing a peculiar perspective: he found himself inexplicably floating several feet above the ground. Below, Yi Yi was gazing up at him with concern, and Amber's eyes were wide, darting between Lu Ye and something next to him. Lu Ye followed Amber's gaze and was startled to see an extremely familiar figure. A closer look sent a jolt through Lu Ye: the familiar figure was unequivocally himself!

What was going on?

Before Lu Ye could process his bewilderment, his vision suddenly warped. An irresistible gravitational pull seized him, and he plunged downwards, sinking into his own physical form.

Slowly opening his eyes, Lu Ye gradually pieced things together. His soul had departed his body once more, without him even realizing it. Ji Yuan was right; his cultivation hadn't reached the Divine Ocean realm, and prolonged soul detachment had indeed resulted in an incompatibility between his spirit and his physical form. Had Yi Yi not called out, he wouldn't have noticed a thing.

However, this was ultimately not a major issue. Over the next few days, Lu Ye's soul inexplicably left his body several more times. Sometimes it occurred during meditation; other times, while walking, he'd hear a sudden thud behind him, turn around, and find his own body collapsed on the ground. More frequently, he would abruptly lose control over his body, leading to uncoordinated movements.

His experiences over the past few days were certainly peculiar. Such incidents were unheard of, not just for Cloud River realm cultivators, but even for those in the True Lake or Divine Ocean realms. Such a bizarre development significantly impacted cultivators. Cultivators often engaged in combat; if something like this occurred mid-combat, no number of lives would suffice.

Lu Ye took one drop of Soul Water daily to stabilize his soul. After several days of this, the frequency of these occurrences dwindled until they ceased entirely. Still feeling unsettled, Lu Ye remained at the Heavenly Secret Alliance for several more days, only then confirming that his soul would no longer spontaneously detach from his body.

He could feel his soul and body had re-integrated, and he also sensed that his soul had grown considerably stronger after his experiences in Immortal City. After all, he had once again immersed himself in the Soul Pond within Immortal City.

For most cultivators, a stronger soul was undoubtedly a blessing. Lu Ye was initially delighted as well. Throughout his cultivation journey, his powerful soul had granted him advantages that other cultivators lacked, such as heightened perception and quicker reactions during sudden attacks. Moreover, secret arts like the "Mind's Eye" taught by Xia Liang would have been impossible for him to master so swiftly without such formidable soul power.

However, Lu Ye gradually began to sense that something was amiss! His soul power was excessively strong, nearing the level of an entire major realm above his current cultivation. This might not necessarily be a good thing.

If one were to consider the physical body as a container and the soul as the water within it, then for ordinary cultivators, both the container's capacity and the water it held grew in tandem. Regardless of a cultivator's progress, their physical body, the container, would always be able to hold their soul. But Lu Ye was different; his soul power advanced at a far faster rate than his physical body. In essence, his physical body, the container, was holding a volume it wasn't meant to, enduring pressure it shouldn't.

The most severe consequence could be the container shattering—manifested as his body breaking down—or the "water" (soul) overflowing. The primary reason this hadn't occurred was Lu Ye's exceptionally strong physique. The prolonged use of vital energy from dragon scales had fortified his body, making it comparable to that of body cultivators at the same level. He also frequently consumed demon beast flesh and blood, using the Gluttonous Feast to replenish his vital energy.

In the entire cultivation world of Kyushu, a situation like Lu Ye's had never been seen. While some might possess souls slightly stronger than their physical bodies, none had ever reached the exaggerated extent of exceeding an entire major realm! Therefore, after his body and soul had fully re-integrated, Lu Ye faintly perceived a latent danger within himself.

Resolving this hidden danger was actually quite straightforward: he needed to elevate his cultivation to expand the container's capacity. He originally had the chance to do so. With over 300,000 battle merits, he could have exchanged them for more than twenty Golden Spirit Charms, which would have instantly elevated his cultivation to the eighth or even ninth layer of the Cloud River realm. However, all the battle merits he acquired in Immortal City had been exchanged for Soul Water.

In the long term, Soul Water's value far surpassed that of Golden Spirit Charms, but ultimately, distant water couldn't quench a nearby thirst...

Fortunately, Lu Ye knew of a place where he could rapidly advance his cultivation.