Sage of Humanity

Chapter 2112: Chapter 2110: Feeding the Stellar Tree

The Flame Race came with more than twenty people this time, and almost ended up in complete annihilation. Apart from that 4th Dao, everyone else died.

Cultivators below the 6th Dao each have only one Dao Bone, the 6th Dao has two, and as for the 7th Dao, it’s three Dao Bones.

Except for the three Dao Bones of the star beast, the other Dao Bones retained some Dao force to varying degrees.

Originally, those three Dao Bones from the star beast had been discarded by Jiu Yan, but after hearing what that 4th Dao cultivator said, she picked them up again.

Lu Ye then realized that Dao Bones with exhausted Dao force are still useful. He had previously acquired so many Dao Bones and discarded them after absorbing the Dao force within...

Not only did he do this, but so did everyone else.

It seems that Dao Bones shouldn’t be casually thrown away; one might encounter a Stellar Tree again someday.

"What about their storage rings?" Lu Ye suddenly remembered something. Since the Flame Race chose to act at this time, they must have been prepared. They definitely would have stocked Dao Bones with no remaining Dao force.

The storage rings were also held by Jiu Yan, along with those Dao Bones, and handed over to Lu Ye.

Lu Ye unlocked the restriction locks on each storage ring, and sure enough, in one of the rings, he found a large number of Dao Bones without Dao force, and the assets in this ring were quite substantial.

It must belong to that 7th Dao Flame Race member.

"Let’s go, take a look." Lu Ye beckoned, leading the group towards the Stellar Tree.

From afar, this Stellar Tree didn’t look too large, but getting closer, it was apparent that this thing was indeed not small.

The whole tree wasn’t a living entity but was a mysterious fusion of countless twinkling starlights, its roots resembling glowing whips, exposed in the Void.

Looking up, there were only three fruits on the enormous Stellar Tree.

Those fruits were not actual fruits, but rather things formed from some kind of mystical energy, merely resembling fruits in appearance.

Standing beneath the tree, Lu Ye tossed a Dao Bone without Dao force onto one of the roots, which immediately came to life, enveloped in bright light, and the Dao Bone quickly dissolved.

It is known that Dao Bones, even without residual Dao force, are the most solid things on a cultivator’s body. Even if Lu Ye took the Boulder Mountain Saber to slash, it might not break in one strike. But now, it was swiftly consumed by the root of the Stellar Tree, truly a wonder.

With one Dao Bone vanished, Lu Ye looked up at the three fruits, which seemed unchanged.

He let go and placed all the Dao Bones without Dao force onto the roots of the tree.

After a moment, all Dao Bones disappeared, and at last, the three fruits showed some changes, appearing somewhat brighter.

"How do you know when they’re ripe?" Lu Ye turned and asked the 4th Dao cultivator.

The other replied, "When the Stellar Fruit is ripe, the Stellar Tree will naturally dissolve. A Stellar Tree only bears fruit once in its lifetime."

Lu Ye understood. The other should not be lying at this moment; accordingly, he threw each Dao Bone with residual Dao force onto the roots of the tree.

Dao Bones with residual Dao force, when absorbed by the roots, indeed had a different effect. The three fruits visibly changed.

Moments later, twenty-nine Dao Bones were completely consumed...

This Stellar Tree seemed insatiable. It’s important to know that these twenty-nine Dao Bones, if refined by everyone, could have provided a significant amount of Dao force, creating a substantial accumulation even if it didn’t lead to a breakthrough.

Yet now, all had been devoured, and the Stellar Fruit was still not ripe.

Lu Ye turned to look at the 4th Dao cultivator, who immediately understood and said, "Ripening the Stellar Fruit isn’t a simple task. Our aim in acting at this time was merely to seize this Stellar Tree. If not for you, we would be scouring the area for Dao Bones to feed the Stellar Tree."

Lu Ye asked darkly, "Did your leader calculate how long it would take for the Stellar Fruit to mature with this method?"

"Three or five months?" The 4th Dao cultivator responded uncertainly.

Lu Ye almost wanted to kill him.

But now, having invested so much, quitting halfway was not an option. To give up now would mean all prior investments were wasted.

But on second thought, the urgency to leave this area was mainly due to feeling the presence of a force nearby.

Now that the force led by that 7th Dao Flame Race was wiped out by them, remaining a while longer wouldn’t be too dangerous.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Ye placed his hand on a glowing root in front of him.

Since Dao Bones were insufficient, he decided to use his Dao force to feed the Stellar Tree. Among their eight-member team, he had the most accumulated Dao force; even someone like Zi Ji couldn’t support such feeding.

Under the urging of Dao force, Lu Ye immediately felt the ravenous aura coming from the roots of the Stellar Tree.

Feeling helpless, he had always been the one to activate the Talent Tree to devour others, yet unexpectedly today he was devoured by the Stellar Tree.

His Dao force rapidly depleted...

When his Dao force dropped to four hundred thirty, Lu Ye finally stopped.

He couldn’t afford to be devoured any further; if his Dao force suffered more loss, he wouldn’t be able to maintain his 7th Dao strength.

Standing up and looking around, Lu Ye said, "We still need to go out and hunt for Dao bones."

"Let’s go together," Zi Ji spoke. During this time, Lu Ye had been out there working hard alone, supporting everyone, and now it was naturally time for collective effort.

Lu Ye had no objections, after a brief contemplation he said, "Jiu Yan and Su Wan, you two senior sisters stay behind to look after this place. I will leave a doppelganger here, and the rest will be divided into two teams, I’ll act alone."

The arrangement was naturally no problem, Jiu Yan opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but eventually remained silent.

For a team to operate, there needs to be a single voice, she understood this clearly.

Once agreed upon, when everyone was just about to set off, the 4th Dao cultivator slowly remarked, "A reminder, once the Stellar Fruit matures, unless preserved with special means, it won’t last long. If any of you plan to polish your second Dao bone, you need to prepare early."

Lu Ye was taken aback, "How should Stellar Fruit be preserved?"

The 4th Dao cultivator shrugged: "I don’t know about that, it probably requires some special artifact, anyhow I don’t have one."

Lu Ye quickly took out the Flame Race’s storage ring, searched through it but found no such artifact. It seemed he was planning to consume it immediately.

This made things difficult.

He originally planned to take the three Stellar Fruits first, and then discuss how to allocate them. But now it seemed that the allocation needed to be prepared in advance.

For himself, he temporarily didn’t require this item. According to his previous thoughts, it would be best to allocate these three Stellar Fruits to three 5th Dao cultivators to polish their second Dao bone. This way, there would be an opportunity to create three 6th Dao cultivators.

By then, the team of eight would consist of one 7th Dao and three 6th Dao. The strength of the entire team would surely see a significant boost and be better capable of self-preservation in the Star Abyss.

At present, the team includes Zi Ji, Jiu Yan, Su Wan, and Chong Yue, all 5th Dao. Four people have this qualification, yet only three fruits are available, making it somewhat tricky.

Jiu Yan clearly noticed Lu Ye’s dilemma and immediately said, "Let’s fully support Zi Ji, Su Wan, and Chong Yue, Fellow Daoists, in achieving the 6th Dao, how about that?" She extracted herself from the situation, leaving Lu Ye free from the hardship.

Chong Yue shook his head at this: "That’s unsuitable. In this matter, Lu has contributed the most. Regardless of anything, he must get one Stellar Fruit. If he doesn’t take one, then we are even less qualified."

Everyone nodded in agreement, as the matter of the Stellar Tree was discovered based on Lu Ye’s intelligence, and everyone was led by him. He exerted the most effort in the battle against the Flame Race’s Star Abyss cultivators.

He had, after all, expended an immeasurable amount of Dao force to nourish the Stellar Tree just earlier.

There’s no reason for such a significant contributor to end up with nothing; thus, regardless of whether the Stellar Fruit is useful to Lu Ye or not, he qualifies to receive one.

As for whom he gives the Stellar Fruit to after obtaining it, that’s up to his discretion, and no one will interfere.

Chong Yue continued, "Fellow Daoist Zi Ji was the first to forge the Dao foundation, and for the past year, he has consistently maintained our safety, both publicly and personally. He deserves a piece." Speaking, he cracked a smile, "I can do without it; give the last one to Fellow Daoist Su Wan. I’ll hone my second Dao bone solo to ascend to the 6th Dao sooner or later."

Su Wan smiled radiantly, "Brother Chong Yue, your kindness is appreciated. According to my judgment, we are currently a team, so we must prioritize the collective interests. Brother Chong Yue entered the Dao Realm before me and has accumulated more Dao force than me, thus naturally closer to honing the second Dao bone, making him more suitable to consume the third Stellar Fruit than I am."

As she spoke, she glanced at Lu Ye, "Throughout this year, Fellow Daoist Lu’s efforts have been evident to us all; hearts are flesh. With Daoist’s selflessness, how could we remain ignorant? Daoist sets an example for us, and while the Stellar Fruit is valuable, surviving in this Star Abyss as a team, our interests are paramount."

Lu Ye nodded, feeling comforted.

Such a team of eight in the All Phenomena Ocean stellar space might each harbor eight hundred Mental Eyes, but here in the Star Abyss, they coexist peacefully and all-out support each other.

This is undoubtedly linked to his year-long selfless dedication, setting a good start, fostering a harmonious team atmosphere. Had he been more selfish, the group would have fallen apart long ago.

"Alright, this is the allocation for the Stellar Fruit. Zi Ji, Chong Yue, and I will each take one," Lu Ye concluded.

Everyone had no objections.

Given this, Zi Ji, Chong Yue, and Jiu Yan must prepare to hone their second Dao bones.

Fortunately for Jiu Yan, over the past year, she received the most Dao bones from Lu Ye, consistently nearing two hundred Dao force.

Next was Chong Yue, but Zi Ji... having failed in honing his Dao bone, had the least accumulation of Dao force. Yet, on the contrary, having experience, using the Stellar Fruit to polish the Dao bone, his success rate would actually be the highest.