Chapter 2281 - 2279: Plans

Nearly half a month passed before Lu Ye's injuries fully healed, illustrating the brutality of the previous battle. His wounds were not only inflicted during the confrontation with Mad Lion but were also largely due to the immense pressure of maintaining the Black Tortoise Array.

With closed eyes, focusing his mind, he examined himself, confirming that not only had he completely recovered, but his physical strength had improved to a certain degree compared to before.

This was entirely due to the repeated blessings of the Star Abyss.

Within the Edgeless City, before reuniting with Chen Gushan, Lu Ye had slain four Dao Fusion cultivators, including the Mental Tiger. Afterwards, joining Chen Gushan, the veteran went all out to assist Lu Ye in obliterating the seven Dao Fusions besieging him.

Then Lu Ye went to support Yan Zhixing, taking down several more Dao Fusions.

Each Dao Fusion he slew was accompanied by a Star Abyss blessing.

It's peculiar to note that from just this battle, he received over ten Star Abyss blessings!

Strangely, apart from one instance of a one-shot success, all the other blessings enhanced his physical prowess. A single enhancement might not be noticeable, but the cumulative effect of tenfold boosts was substantial.

Throughout history, no cultivator has been so frequently blessed by the Star Abyss, since defeating stronger foes is no easy feat, and cross-realm battles are virtually unimaginable within the Star Abyss.

Lu Ye's uniqueness has created this extraordinary and unrepeatable phenomenon.

The benefits of a powerful physique have melded into his body; currently, within him remains a peculiar warm flow, capable of an almost guaranteed success in refining Dao Bones.

Lu Ye felt somewhat uneasy.

Because his current strength had reached its pinnacle, the remaining five Dao Bones were impossible to refine, rendering this phenomenon ineffective.

Yet if left unused, it would gradually vanish, unable to remain within him indefinitely.

After brief contemplation, Lu Ye decided to use it; even if it had no effect, it was better than letting it go to waste.

With a stir of thought, the warm current permeated the chosen bone as Dao force accelerated the refinement.

Lu Ye held no hopes at all, but to his astonishment, the refinement... succeeded!

Eyes fixated on the newly formed golden Dao Bone, Lu Ye felt incredulous.

How did this succeed?

Indeed, this wondrous phenomenon greatly assists cultivators in raising the success rate of Dao Bone refinement, with nearly no chance of failure.

But in his case, it seemed unfitting, as he had already reached the current pinnacle!

Yet, it undeniably succeeded.

Within him are 202 Dao Bones, which, fully activated, release 211 forces!

Suppressing excitement and doubt, Lu Ye carefully considered the situation.

This success surely was not due to the one-shot wonder, but because of another reason.

The prior inability to refine Dao Bones was because his foundation lacked the support for stronger power; the current success undoubtedly shows a stronger foundation.

Why did his foundation strengthen?

During this period, what changes occurred within him?

After thinking it over, Lu Ye deduced only one possibility—the Star Abyss blessing!

Consistently thus far, benefits from the Star Abyss blessing were believed to be nearly entirely for enhancing physical prowess, at least this was his perspective.

But if such benefits not only strengthen the physical body but also enhance the overall self, then the unnoticed foundation improvement made more sense, contrasting with the evident physical change.

Accumulated over time, even little increments each instance have become considerable.

Especially this time, obtaining ten or more Star Abyss blessings was likely the key for continued Dao Bone refinement!

Recognizing this, Lu Ye felt jubilant.

Since the last sudden power surge, he had no clues about continuing Dao Bone refinement; being merely five Dao Bones short of Perfection, he dared not leave it unfinished.

But unexpectedly, a delightful surprise appeared on this previously hopeless path, revealing light ahead.

Excitedly trying to continue Dao Bone refinement, Lu Ye eventually recognized the reality after expending tens of thousands of Dao force—his foundation was again insufficient to support further power advancements.

A stronger foundation must be built.

Unsure whether his deductions were right, verifying them wouldn't be difficult; with many Dao Fusion cultivators from the Insect and Blood Races within Banlan, slaying more of them would yield additional Star Abyss blessings, allowing verification.

"It's about time to go out." In the Divine Sea, as Lu Ye's voice resonated, the raging flames suddenly subsided.

The Dark Butterfly realized it, but quickly responded obediently: "Alright."

The half-month of refining had bestowed her significant benefits, but her cultivation could advance no further unless rising to Dao Harmony.

But in this half a month, her strength has improved again, and the extent of improvement is not small, almost equivalent to ten or so powers.

It must be known that she had long reached her limit, without any external force, not to mention ten or so powers, even one more power was impossible to add.

This is naturally because the impurities in her soul body were burned away, making the soul body more pure and condensed.

Dark Butterfly feels that she still has room for improvement, but it's already minimal, so she no longer forces it. With her current state, when entering Dao Harmony, the success rate can be increased by at least ten percent compared to before!

This is undoubtedly an unexpected huge surprise.

"I need to make a trip to Edgeless City, you stay here and take care of Veteran Chen and the others." Lu Ye instructed, then stood up.

The issue with Edgeless City must eventually be resolved. There are too many humans there, and right now Edgeless City has no more resistance. Lu Ye has no idea how to handle these humans.

Seeing this, Zi Ying quickly sent an audio transmission, asking if Lu Ye was going to Edgeless City. Upon learning that he was, she also stood up, wanting to go along.

Zi Ying's injuries were much lighter than Lu Ye's, and her cultivation was higher, so she recovered even faster than Lu Ye.

Since she wanted to go with him, Lu Ye naturally didn't refuse. The two of them flew out of the insect hive together, heading towards Edgeless City.

Moments later, above Edgeless City, Lu Ye's Mental Consciousness surged, probing the surroundings.

He saw that the former prosperity was gone, replaced by a pervasive atmosphere of unease and panic.

The last battle affected many places and made a great noise, causing many accidental injuries. This let the beings of Edgeless City know that there was an invasion by an external enemy.

After that battle, all those in Dao Fusion, including Mad Lion, the City Lord, disappeared.

Many Dao Fusion corpses still remained in the city.

As such, anyone could guess that the Dao Fusion people of Edgeless City likely met with a grim fate!

With panic in people's hearts, those who could escape had already fled. Those left behind were unable to leave, mostly cultivators who hadn't Entered the Path.

There were also many who had Entered the Path, but they were all bone chalices from the human race!

Having been enslaved and oppressed all their lives, these bone chalices had clearly resigned themselves to their fate, and even today, their silhouettes still sat in each bone pool.

This filled Lu Ye and Zi Ying with immense sorrow.

"Brother Ye, any plans?" Zi Ying asked.

The beings left in the city were numerous, and most were from the so-called Beast Race. Although their cultivation and strength weren't high, some had oppressed humans.

But because there were so many, it was difficult to deal with them. If they were enemies with the ability to fight, then there would be no need to say anything further; everyone would simply fight to the death in combat. But these who couldn't escape Edgeless City clearly weren't opponents.

They couldn't just kill them all.

Lu Ye pondered for a moment and said, "Actually, I have some concerns."

"About that Moon Howl?" Zi Ying looked at him.

Lu Ye nodded, "It seems Sister Zi Ying has thought of it too. With the information we currently have, we are in the outer world of Star Abyss, and Moon Howl is in the inner world, but we can't rule out him being able to return from the inner world. When he left that day, he also said the grudge with Edgeless City would not just end there. The power he projected onto Mad Lion was already so powerful; if he returns himself, we won't be able to resist. But where the inner world is, how to get there, how long it takes to return from the inner world, we know nothing at all."

Zi Ying said, "About the inner world... I might have some discoveries."

Lu Ye looked at her unexpectedly, "What do you mean?"

Zi Ying shook her head, "I can't explain for now. I only have some leads for now. I'll let you know after I confirm them in a while, but no matter what, Moon Howl is indeed a hidden risk."

Lu Ye said, "So staying here is definitely not good. If by any chance Moon Howl returns, we'll all suffer. Since Edgeless City is a Dao soldier, it can be refined. I want Sister Zi Ying to refine this Dao soldier and then send it into Banlan!"

"Send it into Banlan?" Zi Ying was startled.

Lu Ye nodded, "There are many humans in Edgeless City; it wouldn't be right to leave them alone. If that's the case, sending them into Banlan is the only choice. Then I'll let Banlan continue to drift, far away from here. This way, even if Moon Howl returns, he won't find us."

"That is indeed a way, but are you certain Edgeless City can be refined?" She indeed hadn't refined someone else's Dao soldier before.

Lu Ye smiled, "Edgeless City has stood here for countless millennia. It certainly isn't Mad Lion's Dao soldier; it is likely a Dao soldier left behind by some Beast Race expert years ago. Mad Lion had to refine it to control it, so can Sister Zi Ying."

Zi Ying's eyes brightened, "That's indeed the case!"

"Then let's find the core first, so Sister Zi Ying can refine it quickly."

The two of them discussed and decided upon this, immediately splitting up to take action.

Edgeless City, as a Dao soldier, is somewhat similar to Banlan, but whether in size or level, Banlan is far superior.

No matter what, Edgeless City must have something akin to Banlan's core, and as long as it can be found, Zi Ying can refine it.

There should be no difficulty in that.

As for why he doesn't refine it himself... Lu Ye already has Banlan, and frankly looks down on Edgeless City. Besides, his Cultivation Realm is ultimately a shortcoming, and the refining efficiency is surely not as good as Zi Ying's.