Chapter 2919: Ning Would Rather Shatter Like Jade

The Wind Rises in Kyushu

Ever since Lu Ye helped several supreme treasures, led by the Ghost Palanquin, incinerate the corrosive power and avert a potential disaster, news of his feat spread rapidly.

Just as cultivators have their own circles, supreme treasures also have theirs, and many are interconnected.

Lu Ye's methods naturally pleased many supreme treasures.

Consequently, soon after the last event, supreme treasures continuously sent requests through the Primordial Phoenix Tree, seeking Lu Ye's assistance.

The Primordial Phoenix Tree had also mentioned this to him.

However, Lu Ye had no time, so the matter remained shelved.

The Primordial Phoenix Tree slowly began, "Perhaps recently, due to the merging of source realms, the corrosive power of the Star Abyss aura seems to have intensified, especially for supreme treasures like us."

As a supreme treasure itself, the Primordial Phoenix Tree had nearly fallen into a complete slumber due to corrosion before, thus it naturally had a profound understanding of the issue.

In contrast, Lu Ye, protected by his Talent Tree, could resist the corrosive power and did not feel its effects as keenly.

He looked inquiringly at the Primordial Phoenix Tree, wondering why Elder Tree suddenly brought this up.

The Primordial Phoenix Tree looked deeply at him, then continued, "Because of this change, my old friends... are all quite urgent. They have been pressing me about this recently."

Lu Ye blinked as a thought flashed through his mind. "I understand," he replied.

Although, perhaps due to their shared status as supreme treasures and their long-standing friendship, the Primordial Phoenix Tree couldn't be too explicit, Lu Ye was not foolish. With such a clear hint, he instantly grasped the Primordial Phoenix Tree's meaning.

"Then I will summon them now!" The Primordial Phoenix Tree nodded slightly.

With a slight raise of its hand, ripples appeared in the void before it.

Immediately after, a palanquin traversed through the void and arrived.

It was none other than the Ghost Palanquin!

"Fellow Daoist Lu, we meet again," a telepathic message reached him as soon as the Ghost Palanquin appeared.

Lu Ye looked behind it, but it was empty, with no other supreme treasures in sight. He couldn't help but feel a little confused. "Elder, is there a problem again?" he asked.

That made no sense. Although he hadn't helped the Ghost Palanquin incinerate all the corrosive power last time, it should have been fine for at least several millennia, if not tens of thousands of years.

So he couldn't figure out why the Ghost Palanquin had returned.

"Of course not," the Ghost Palanquin replied. "I'm just bringing some friends over."

Lu Ye immediately looked at its large red palanquin compartment. Upon careful perception, he then realized that numerous complex auras were present inside.

His brow instantly raised.

He chuckled inwardly. These supreme treasures were truly cautious. Even with the Ghost Palanquin and other treasures having already set a precedent, they were clearly still wary. Thus, they specifically had the Ghost Palanquin transport them, so that if Lu Ye displayed any abnormality or malicious intent, they could quickly escape using the Ghost Palanquin's void-traversing power.

Unfortunately, these supreme treasures were thinking too simply. If Lu Ye truly had ill intentions, even the Ghost Palanquin would not be able to escape from within the Phoenix Nest.

This was the Primordial Phoenix Tree's territory; sealing the heavens and locking the earth would be incredibly simple for it.

"Then please show yourselves," Lu Ye gestured with a raised hand.

The Ghost Palanquin remained silent, but its blood-red curtain slightly parted. Instantly, the complex auras became even clearer. However, Lu Ye waited for a while, yet no supreme treasure appeared. Instead, a cacophony of chattering suddenly erupted from inside the Ghost Palanquin, making it unclear what dispute had arisen among the many supreme treasures.

"Ouch..." a yelp accompanied a gourd-shaped jade pendant that suddenly flew out of the Ghost Palanquin. Judging by its trajectory, it seemed as if it had been shoved out from inside.

Lu Ye naturally did not recognize this supreme treasure, nor did he know its profound powers; one could only discern its properties after refining it.

After the gourd jade pendant flew out of the Ghost Palanquin, it seemed to want to fly back in, but a flash of light from inside the Ghost Palanquin blocked it from re-entering. The enraged gourd jade pendant cried out, "You're going too far!"

The voice was surprisingly that of a child.

Lu Ye's brows furrowed slightly, and he spoke softly, "Everyone, I don't have much time. I can't afford to waste it here!"

Previously, Lu Ye wouldn't have minded these supreme treasures being so cautious. After all, they had existed for tens of thousands of years and must have been targeted by cultivators throughout their existence, so it was normal for them to be wary. But now, time was indeed short, and he had to quickly deal with the matter at hand.

Seeing his displeased expression, the Ghost Palanquin quickly interjected, "Alright, stop messing around. Since you've come here, it means you have a request. This is not the attitude of someone seeking help!"

As it spoke, the palanquin vibrated, and instantly, a myriad of colorful radiant lights were shaken out.

Lu Ye initially remained calm, but gradually, his brow rose.

This was simply because the number of supreme treasures the Ghost Palanquin had brought this time seemed quite large—around twenty to thirty items of various shapes and forms.

After these supreme treasures were shaken out by the Ghost Palanquin, they lined up in front of Lu Ye. One of them suddenly spoke, "Greetings, Fellow Daoist Lu."

Immediately after, many supreme treasures collectively greeted him.

Lu Ye concealed the surprise in his eyes and nodded slightly. "To make a long story short," he said, "since you are Elder Tree's friends, you are naturally all my seniors. And since Elder Ghost Palanquin brought you, I presume you've all heard about the last incident."

One of the supreme treasures, shaped like a jade ruyi, said, "Fellow Daoist Lu speaks correctly."

Hearing its voice, Lu Ye realized that this was indeed the one who had spoken first earlier.

"Since you know about the last transaction between me and Elder Ghost Palanquin and the others," Lu Ye continued, "then I presume you are all prepared. However, the current situation is different. I have a new proposal; please listen. Whether you are willing to accept it is entirely up to your own will!"

At his words, the supreme treasures stirred with some commotion.

Last time, when Lu Ye incinerated the corrosive power for the Ghost Palanquin and other supreme treasures, he extracted a portion of their profound essence from each of them. This had been the content of their transaction.

Such extraction did not harm the fundamental essence of the Ghost Palanquin and other supreme treasures, yet it eliminated the risk of them being completely corroded, making it an acceptable exchange.

What new proposal Lu Ye had now naturally made the supreme treasures feel uneasy. However, since it was about voluntary acceptance, there was no harm in listening.

"What the situation in the Star Abyss is now, even as supreme treasures, you should have heard," Lu Ye began. "The source realms are about to merge, and the Abyss's consciousness has become very clear. Once the source realms merge into the Star Abyss, that will be the moment the Abyss fully awakens. When it was muddled, it permeated the Star Abyss aura, corroding all things in the universe. If it fully awakens, it will undoubtedly redouble its efforts. To be frank with you all, the Abyss's intention is simply to completely corrode this universe and seize control of it."

Even if Lu Ye didn't say this, the supreme treasures would have guessed as much, because for countless years, from ancient times to the present, the situation had been developing in precisely this manner.

However, the supreme treasures—indeed, all living beings in the entire Star Abyss—were unaware that the Abyss's intention to corrode and control the universe was merely to allow the Chaos to devour it.

This was because the Abyss's birth was itself a seed left behind by Chaos when the universe was still an embryo.

This was the usual trick employed by the Chaos Beast to devour universes, but the Dragon and Phoenix ancestors happened to stumble upon it, thus leaving behind a hidden countermeasure for resistance.

"And now," Lu Ye continued, his gaze sweeping around, "the Abyss is using many Half-Saints as its pawns and puppets, sweeping away all resistance in this world. Once the Abyss's methods succeed, even if you overcome the current crisis, there will be no safety for you in the future. You are supreme treasures, born either at the dawn of the universe or in various star domains. Not being flesh and blood, you have no concerns about lifespan. Therefore, if the current crisis is not resolved, you will never find peace in the future... You surely don't want to end up in the same situation as your completely corrupted companions, do you? I believe that in all your years of existence, you've seen what ultimately happened to those companions."

A moment of silence ensued.

The jade ruyi slowly said, "Fellow Daoist Lu, what should we do then?"

Lu Ye gave it an approving look and declared with a raised arm, "Naturally, we must resist to the end, preferring to be broken jade rather than intact pottery!"

"Please enlighten us, Fellow Daoist!"

Lu Ye said, "Currently, the enemy is strong and powerful. However, we are not without opportunity. The Dragon clan possesses the Ancestral Abyss Seal, where Dragon clan powerhouses throughout history would seal themselves when their bodies were on the verge of being fully corrupted, to survive the catastrophe. Just recently, I brought these past powerhouses out from that seal. Among them are Dragon Sovereigns from successive generations, whom you may have heard of, and also Dragon clan elders from various eras. Given the current grand trend, they will eventually achieve Half-Saint cultivation. Many Dragon Sovereigns, for now, let's not mention them, as they all had supreme treasures by their side during their reigns. However, most of those elders do not. Therefore, I earnestly request that you all fight alongside them in the coming days and lend them your strength!"

At this point, the supreme treasures finally understood Lu Ye's intention.

This was also why Lu Ye had rushed over.

Since those captured supreme treasures might pose hidden dangers, he would simply not use them. In this world, there were not only those treasures but also a batch like the ones before him.

And these before him were definitely not all; there must be more hidden in the shadows.

It was indeed not easy for cultivators to subdue and refine supreme treasures. But if the supreme treasures themselves were willing to cooperate, it would be different. At that time, each of those Dragon clan Half-Saints would possess a supreme treasure that still retained its sentience, and their strength would undoubtedly be greatly enhanced.

"Is this considered a condition of the transaction?" the jade ruyi asked.

Lu Ye waved his hand and said, "As I said before, how you choose is entirely up to your own will. If you are unwilling to assist the Dragon clan, then we will proceed with the previous transaction."

Either way, he wouldn't be at a disadvantage.

"However, I have one more thing I wish you all to hear. The current situation is one of grave interdependence. Within the entire Star Abyss, the Dragon and Phoenix clans are considered the greatest force resisting the Abyss. If one day the Dragon and Phoenix clans are annihilated, then there will be no one left in this world to resist the Abyss's control over the entire universe. At that time, whether cultivators or supreme treasures like yourselves, you will merely be puppets and playthings of the Abyss. I have spoken my piece. You may decide for yourselves."

After speaking, Lu Ye waited quietly.

He believed that as long as these supreme treasures weren't foolish, they would make the correct choice. Not to mention, Elder Tree had hinted earlier that with the merging of the source realms, the intensity of the corrosion was increasing. The supreme treasures, deeply feeling this, naturally understood the danger.