Free Web NovelChapter 2116: Chapter 2114: Deadlock
Lu Ye’s understanding of the division of Dao Realm cultivators’ strength all comes from Cover Armor stellar space, and the intelligence from Cover Armor stellar space is gathered from years of exploration and contact with Star Abyss cultivators, along with some speculation.
According to the intelligence collected by Cover Armor stellar space, 9th Dao is considered the ultimate because nine is the extreme number, so there’s unlikely to be 10th Dao or 11th Dao experts...
But now it seems that things might not be like this.
Moreover, the classification of Star Abyss cultivators’ levels is not well understood by Cover Armor stellar space, because for hundreds of years, the enemies they’ve encountered were at best around the 7th or 8th Dao.
However, this may explain why the 8th Dao expert from Cover Armor stellar space lost contact after attacking Star Abyss.
It’s evidently because there are beings stronger than the 9th Dao in Star Abyss. An 8th Dao wouldn’t be enough.
"According to my thoughts, the Star Abyss Gate actually has limitations. At the initial opening, since the Star Abyss Gate was not stable enough, the strength that could pass through wasn’t strong. But as time passed, the gate became increasingly stable, allowing stronger powers to pass through, and with the expansion of the Star Abyss Gate, even stronger beings could traverse it."
Chen Wulei’s words made Lu Ye recall the opening of the Star Abyss Gate at All Phenomena Ocean; at that time, three Star Abyss cultivators came through, all of whom hadn’t forged a Dao Realm.
In Star Abyss, such strength, even if not the lowest, is similar.
This undoubtedly corroborates Chen Wulei’s conjecture from another perspective.
"From this perspective, our immediate task is to understand the division of realms after Dao Realm. Otherwise, when encountering powerful enemies, it’s hard to assess their true strength." Zi Ji pondered.
Lu Ye shook his head and said, "That’s not easy. Actually, I have been trying to explore it for a long time, but I didn’t gain much. The Star Abyss cultivators give me the impression that they themselves do not fully understand this."
Previously, the team’s members were in seclusion, while he was outside hunting alone, probing multiple Star Abyss cultivators about this matter. Unfortunately, there was not much success.
Of course, this might be related to the fact that none of the enemies he encountered were particularly formidable. If he met powerful beings, perhaps he could learn more.
After some adjustments, the team set off again.
It must be said that acting as lost ones in Star Abyss was quite bothersome because Lu Ye and the others’ aura was completely different from Star Abyss living creatures.
If those Star Abyss living creatures encountered each other, they might coexist peacefully.
But when they came across Lu Ye’s group, they would rush forward aggressively without any provocation.
This was normal because newcomers like Lu Ye in Star Abyss usually wouldn’t be too strong and would easily become prey.
But the current team’s strength of eleven was distinctly different from typical lost ones, with two of the 7th Dao overseeing, five of the 6th Dao cooperating, and the weakest possessing 5th Dao strength. With such mighty force, even encountering 8th Dao would be against them.
However, caution was paramount in Star Abyss, especially during prolonged journeys. Some unnecessary battles should be avoided to prevent mishaps.
Lu Ye’s greatest wish now is to lead the team safely to the endpoint sensed by the Reincarnation Tree’s imprint, after years of traveling, they mustn’t fail at the final juncture.
With this philosophy, they undoubtedly encountered fewer troubles.
As time passed, the sensing of the Reincarnation Tree’s imprint became clearer and more evident.
Approximately ten months after joining Chen Wulei and others, they finally approached their destination.
Even with Lu Ye’s calm disposition, he couldn’t help but feel anxious and nervous. Returning to the home stellar space using the Reincarnation Tree’s imprint was his plan, but whether it would succeed, he couldn’t be sure.
If it works, everything is well, but if not, they would possibly have to wait for the Star Abyss Gate to open to return.
No matter what, he sensed that the location was probably a stellar weakness, certainly the starting point of Star Abyss invasion, and at that time a Star Abyss Gate would surely open there.
At this moment, the team of eleven was hidden on a meteorite, trying their best to conceal their aura, using the meteorite’s movement to gradually approach their final destination.
Such cautiousness was due to the odd atmosphere here.
As Lu Ye had already noticed days ago, this area gathered a vast number of Star Abyss creatures, more than any prior location!
This resulted in frequent battles in the area.
Just at this moment, Lu Ye clearly sensed three battlegrounds erupting with conflicts within a hundred thousand miles around.
It’s inevitable, in such a dense cluster of Star Abyss creatures, it’s quite ordinary to fight upon disagreements.
A moment later, the battle ceased at one site, indicating a victor emerged, while the other two became more intense, likely attracting more Star Abyss creatures due to the commotion.
Some Star Abyss cultivators even passed near the hiding meteorite, hastening towards the battlefield, clearly individuals who loved to watch the chaos unfold.
In such situations, they didn’t dare to transmit audio with Mental Consciousness, fearing exposure, wishing only to pass quickly.
However, despite their wariness, an unexpected occurrence happened suddenly— a figure landed on the meteorite, activating Mana, causing the floating meteorite to stop instantly.
This individual hadn’t sensed anything unusual but had merely used the meteorite as a landing point.
After stabilizing himself, he gazed at the nearest battleground, trying to observe the situation there.
At this moment, he suddenly sensed something amiss and turned his head. In that direction, he saw several lurking figures watching him with indifferent eyes.
This Star Abyss cultivator was shocked, never expecting there to be others hiding on this meteorite. He was about to escape immediately.
A fluid-like figure had already risen behind him, and in the blink of an eye, it pounced on him. The Star Abyss cultivator didn’t even have time to utter a sound before collapsing limply.
Even though Bewitchment Shadow only had the 5th Dao cultivation, his unexpected attack was unblockable, despite the opponent’s superior strength.
The crisis was resolved! Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
However, suddenly a bright light struck from the side. Clearly, a passing Star Abyss cultivator nearby had noticed and launched an attack this way.
The meteorite shattered, and eleven figures were fully revealed.
That attacking Star Abyss cultivator was stunned, then immediately turned and fled. He had casually thrown a strike, not realizing he had stirred up a hornet’s nest.
However, after only a few steps, he quickly realized, turned to look at Lu Ye and the others, and his eyes shone with brilliance: "Lost Souls!"
No wonder they were hiding so carefully; they were lost souls newly arriving in the Star Abyss. And there were eleven of them!
He had encountered lost souls before, and they were not very capable, so he immediately had an idea and turned back to kill.
Suddenly, his vision blurred, and a figure had flashed in front of him, with a dazzling blade slashing at him.
"Mere lost souls!" he roared angrily, his expression fierce as he launched a punch.
This punch hit straight on Lu Ye’s chest but didn’t budge him an inch. Instead, when the Boulder Mountain Saber fell, the protective magic shattered immediately, and his body was split in two.
Lu Ye reached out a hand, extracted a piece of Dao Bone from the opponent’s body, and shouted, "Go!"
They were already exposed, no longer needing to hide. The final destination was not far, and if they hurried with all their might, they could reach it within one hour.
As he spoke, he was the first to fly out, and everyone followed closely. Before leaving, Bewitchment Shadow did not forget to extract the Dao Bone from the cultivator he attacked and killed.
The commotion here immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding Star Abyss cultivators. When they sensed the presence of Lu Ye and the others, they chased after them as if they were cats smelling fish.
The most worrisome thing happened. The reason for hiding like that earlier was that Lu Ye knew that once they were exposed, it would trigger such a result.
But fate is like that; sometimes the more you worry, the more likely you are to trigger it.
In such a situation, there was only one choice.
To carve a bloody path!
Chen Wulei was already clad in cover armor, quickly rushing ahead of the team and moving side by side with Lu Ye. In the team, only the two of them were at the 7th Dao, so naturally, it was up to them to clear the way.
Zi Ji and Chong Yue held the rear, while the others dispersed in the middle, each being alert to enemies coming from all directions.
The entire team of eleven instantly twisted into one unit, like an arrow, racing madly forward.
Wherever they passed, any obstructors were swiftly slain by Lu Ye and Chen Wulei working together, cutting a swift and unstoppable path.
As time passed, the team got closer and closer to the final destination, and the sensation of the Reincarnation Tree mark on the back of their hands became more and more pronounced.
"How much farther?" Chen Wulei shouted to ask.
"Right ahead!" Lu Ye replied while looking ahead.
The sight before him stunned him, leaving him in shock. In the distant void, there was an area that was distinctly different from its surroundings, appearing somewhat murky.
And around this area, there were about ten figures sitting solemnly, each one imposing as a mountain and deep as the sea.
Radiating outward from these ten figures, a large number of Star Abyss living creatures had gathered in this place.
This was the most Star Abyss living creatures that Lu Ye had ever seen gathered, all of them apparently waiting for something.
What was even more unbelievable to him was not far from this gathering of Star Abyss living creatures, there stood a magnificent palace. The palace was shrouded in a layer of hazy light, making it hard to see clearly, but anyone who saw the palace would instantly think there must be an immensely powerful being inside.
All the blood in Lu Ye’s body ran cold, and he immediately halted.
He had thought of all sorts of situations they might encounter upon arriving here, but never imagined it would be such a scene.
At least tens of thousands of Star Abyss living creatures were gathered by that murky area, clearly waiting for something.
Aside from waiting for the Star Abyss Gate to open, what else could they be waiting for?
Clearly, the Star Abyss’s encroachment on the All Phenomena Ocean stellar space has shown signs, which is why so many Star Abyss living creatures were attracted to gather here.
Even with his current 7th Dao power, forcing through such a situation would undoubtedly lead to death!
