Chapter 2934: Enjoy Devouring

Wind Rises Across Kyushu

"What just happened?" Lu Ye asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"What?" Liao replied blankly, seemingly genuinely unaware of what had occurred. Lu Ye gave a brief explanation, and Liao looked astonished. "So that's it," he said. "I did feel a bit disoriented just now, and then I ended up here."

As he spoke, a wisp of spiritual light floated out from the Pan Mountain Blade fruit and began circling Jin Yao. This wisp of spiritual light was undoubtedly Liao's sentience. Previously, it couldn't manifest, but after being refined and absorbed by the Talent Tree, it could now appear just like Jin Yao.

Lu Ye meticulously examined the Pan Mountain Blade fruit, completely reassured only after confirming there were no issues. From this perspective, Liao's brief disorientation was likely a normal reaction after being absorbed by the Talent Tree. Jin Yao had probably gone through the same thing; Lu Ye's excessive concern had simply clouded his judgment.

But the next instant, Lu Ye's face darkened. "Don't turn into me!" The wisp of spiritual light, which had circled Jin Yao a few times, suddenly twisted and transformed, taking on Lu Ye's appearance. It stood before Jin Yao, hands on its hips, chuckling incessantly, a look of smug satisfaction on its face. If that were all, it would have been fine, but the crucial point was that when Liao transformed, it didn't even have clothes on. Its naked body standing there was truly an eyesore. Jin Yao chuckled, covering her mouth. "Fellow Daoist certainly has a sense of humor!" She then raised a hand and enveloped Liao in a hazy light.

"From now on, we're neighbors," Liao said casually. "I hope you'll take good care of me, Senior Sister." It then mimicked Lu Ye's cupped-hand salute, though its unpracticed movements made it look rather awkward.

"Of course, of course," Jin Yao readily agreed. Jin Yao was delighted to have Liao join the Talent Tree. Although the Black Coffin had always been there, its sentience was rudimentary, and its nature timid, making communication impossible. Jin Yao had always regarded it as an oblivious child.

"Teach him well," Lu Ye instructed, then paid it no further mind. Although Liao's sentience had been absorbed into the Talent Tree, the many mysteries within the Pan Mountain Blade had not yet been fully refined; the absorption naturally had to continue.

It wasn't until a certain moment, when the Pan Mountain Blade, which had accompanied him for many years, suddenly turned to dust, that the absorption finally concluded. Compared to absorbing other supreme treasures, this time took considerably longer. The new fruit that had formed on the Talent Tree was also clearly very different from the other treasure fruits. First, its size was different. Among the many treasure fruits on the Talent Tree, the Soul Suppressing Bell fruit had originally been the largest, as it had received the most nourishment, but now it had been surpassed by the Pan Mountain Blade fruit. Another difference was its luster. Different fruits emitted different glows, and while direct comparison was difficult, the brightness of their luster varied. If a stranger were to glance at the tree now, the first thing they would undoubtedly notice would be the Pan Mountain Blade fruit, for it was the most vivid and prominent on the entire tree.

Liao had already grown accustomed to the art of transformation, still appearing as Lu Ye, dressed in clothes, and chatting merrily with Jin Yao, seemingly enjoying its current situation. This was understandable. As Lu Ye's sabre, it had often transmitted messages in the past, but most were ignored. Now, it finally had someone to talk to anytime. Moreover, Jin Yao was particularly good at listening, often responding, which greatly satisfied Liao's desire to speak. For a moment, Liao felt as if this place was heaven, only regretting that Lu Ye hadn't absorbed it sooner.

"Let me tell you, back when Lu Ye was in the Myriad Manifestation Sea..."

When Lu Ye directed his consciousness here, he saw Liao and Jin Yao sitting side-by-side on a branch of the Talent Tree. Liao was whispering something, while Jin Yao, eyes narrowed and a faint, sweet smile on her face, watched him with half her face turned.

"No more idle chatter," Lu Ye interrupted his ceaseless talk. "How do you feel? Are you missing anything?"

Liao asked, "Is the absorption complete?"

"Yes."

Liao immediately focused on sensing. A moment later, he said, "Something is indeed missing, just as you mentioned, retained by the Talent Tree. But it's not much, so the impact is minimal."

"That's good," Lu Ye said, then withdrew his consciousness. To become stronger in a short period, absorbing the Pan Mountain Blade with the Talent Tree was only the first step. The true goal was to absorb other treasures to strengthen the Pan Mountain Blade.

With a shift of his consciousness, he moved to his Inner World. In a certain spot within, a pile of multi-colored lights gathered. Each light was a supreme treasure, all from his previous spoils. Since the day he and Si Shengya, along with Xue Jiu, jointly attacked Thousand Stream City, Lu Ye had not casually absorbed or refined the supreme treasures he captured. This was because among these many treasures, none seemed particularly powerful to him, and the Soul Suppressing Bell, cultivated to its current level, was generally sufficient. As for nourishing other treasure fruits, Lu Ye hadn't made a decision yet. Now, however, he could use all of them to nourish Liao.

A rough count showed over twenty supreme treasures here. This was different from the situation in the Phoenix Nest that day, where many intelligent supreme treasures had gathered after receiving news, coming to the Phoenix Nest to seek Lu Ye's help. These, however, were all spoils of war. Most of them came from the puppet Half-Saints. When attacking Thousand Stream City, Lu Ye killed the first puppet Half-Saint and seized a supreme treasure. During the first Dragon City battle, Lu Ye also killed Modo and seven other puppets, while Ming Feng led the rest to flee. Then, during the second Dragon City battle, which occurred recently, the enemy lost even more puppets, and each of those puppets possessed a supreme treasure. Of course, the Dragon race also lost a considerable number of Half-Saints, and supreme treasures were lost on their side as well. However, Lu Ye had consecutively slain several Origin World Half-Saints, including Ming Feng, so all the supreme treasures captured by their side were now in his possession.

He dared not remove these supreme treasures from his Inner World, because no one could guarantee that Yuan wouldn't use them for targeting, suddenly causing a True Saint to descend. In any case, within his Inner World, Lu Ye could still activate the Talent Tree's power to refine them. He could even resolve the situation of the Dragon Half-Saints who were still in his Inner World. It would simply consume more of his Dao power.

Without hesitation, he immediately activated the Talent Tree's power and took out a large quantity of Dao Fish, scattering them around for replenishment. Time flowed on.

The Phoenix Nest was abuzz with activity. Although the Phoenix Nest had always possessed a protective grand array, it had never been activated throughout history. Firstly, outsiders rarely came to the Phoenix Nest; secondly, the Phoenix clan's members were few, insufficient to fully activate the grand array. However, the arrival of numerous elite cultivators from Dragon City had filled this void. For a period, the Phoenix Nest was extremely lively, with many cultivators patching up deficiencies everywhere. And with the successive appearances of the Dragon Half-Saints, the entire Phoenix Nest's protective grand array gradually became complete. Lu Ye remained out of sight.

"Has Lu Ye not emerged from seclusion yet?" Long Zun asked from a section of the Primordial Parasol Tree's trunk. The Phoenix Lord stood beside him and shook her head upon hearing this. "No."

"Is his previous injury bothering him?" Long Zun couldn't help but feel a little anxious. One should know that almost two months had passed since the city was abandoned that day. If it were merely for healing, this period was too long for Lu Ye, unless the injury was extremely severe.

"It's not for healing," the Phoenix Lord reassured him. "I heard from Tree Elder that Lu Ye seems to be cultivating." No one dared to disturb Lu Ye. The only one who could observe him was the Primordial Parasol Tree itself, as the entire Phoenix Nest was its body, and it had a clear view of everything within.

"Cultivating at a time like this?" Long Zun raised an eyebrow slightly. "Truly diligent, unwilling to miss even the slightest opportunity to grow stronger. Meanwhile, I, an old fellow who has lived for countless years, become disheartened at the first sign of a setback."

"There's no need for self-pity," the Phoenix Lord sighed. "From the universe's birth until now, generations of cultivators have advanced one after another, but has any generation faced circumstances as arduous as ours?" In the past, the highest realm for cultivators was the Peak of Dao Integration, and the Ten City Lords were the strongest in the Inner Realm. But now? Half-Saints are everywhere, and True Saints occasionally appear.

"That may be so... but never mind, let's not dwell on that. More bad news has come from the Origin World."

"What is it?" the Phoenix Lord asked gravely.

"The signs of the Origin World's integration are becoming increasingly clear," Long Zun explained. "Yang Zhao sent word that recently, many more Origin World Half-Saints have descended into the Star Abyss. And it's different from before. The previous two batches of Half-Saints came in groups, with some slight signs before their descent into the Star Abyss. But now, it seems the Origin World and Inner Realm have merged more deeply, so there are no signs before their arrival, and even cultivators below the Half-Saint realm have come over."

Upon hearing this, the Phoenix Lord's brows furrowed. This was definitely not good news. Such a situation indeed indicated a deeper integration between the Origin World and the Star Abyss. Only in this way could cultivators below the Half-Saint realm have a chance to pass through the realm barrier. If this situation continued to develop, it wouldn't be long before the Origin World completely merged into the Star Abyss, at which point True Saints would face no more restrictions. And compared to this future existential threat, the current crisis was also troubling.

Two months ago, numerous Half-Saints led by Xue Wei destroyed Dragon City and had since been searching for the Phoenix Nest's whereabouts. Although the Phoenix Nest's location was hidden, having existed for so many years, there were certainly many clues to be found. Moreover, the area outside the Phoenix Nest was riddled with spatial rifts, a distinct characteristic. Two months were enough for Xue Wei and others to pinpoint the general location of the Phoenix Nest. In fact, a few days ago, the Primordial Parasol Tree had already informed the Phoenix Lord that outsiders had trespassed into the spatial rift area, and all of them possessed powerful auras, suspected to be Half-Saints. Such a large group of Half-Saints, it went without saying, must be Xue Wei and her companions.

However, even for Half-Saints, the spatial rift area was not easy to navigate. One wrong step could lead to becoming trapped, losing direction, and being unable to find a way out. Therefore, after successively losing two or three puppet Half-Saints, Xue Wei and her companions temporarily halted their forward exploration. Instead, they dispatched a large group of Star Abyss cultivators to forge a path ahead, thereby mitigating some risks.