Chapter 2352 - 2350: Breakthrough

Within the ruins, in the medicinal garden originally belonging to Jiu Ying, as Lu Ye just stepped in, he saw a little girl with long green hair standing not far ahead.

She puffed her cheeks, staring at him with wide eyes, her gaze filled with accusations of blood and tears.

Hmm? Why is this timid creature so bold today? Lu Ye felt surprised.

This creature was always found curled up in a corner, afraid to make any move.

Little did he know how anxious the tea tree was at this moment.

She was suffering...

Ever since the medicinal garden underwent some changes, that human race would visit every few days, plucking some of her leaves.

Once, twice, three times, four times...

Every time she felt sad for a long time.

Finally, after the last time, she decided to endure the pain and made up her mind.

This couldn't go on any longer!

If this kept happening, she'd end up bald one day; each of her leaves had grown with great care, and now her hair was much thinner than before.

She had to resist! She had to show that human race that she was not to be trifled with! She needed to give him a good beating, to show him her power!

So she waited here, trying her best to look fierce and menacing.

This wait... lasted almost a year.

She finally awaited the arrival of that human race!

The fear in her heart almost made her want to turn around and flee, but she managed to hold her ground.

That's it, no fear; the more you fear, the more others will bully you, I must be strong!

Suppressing the urge to flee, the tea tree felt as though she had conquered a powerful inner demon, experiencing an indescribable cleansing and sublimation inside and out.

She stood much straighter, her expression more ferocious.

But to Lu Ye, her fierceness only appeared adorable.

Not understanding what was happening, this creature had changed from its usual timid self; was it trying to act cute? Well, that would be fine, so today he would take fewer leaves.

The two figures continued their stare-off, eyes wide open.

The tea tree's eyes revealed a look of pride and joy; indeed, she had to be fierce. Look at that human race on the opposite side, scared by her, not daring to approach.

Seeing him not approaching, she decided to take the initiative and attack, seizing every opportunity; she had to let him know her prowess today, no matter what.

She suddenly took a small step forward, letting out a delicate shout, "Ha!"

Lu Ye tilted his head, puzzled.

The tea tree, noticing this, grew more annoyed; indeed, this despicable human race couldn't be scared away by intimidation alone. She needed to act.

With that thought, she abruptly raised her hand, and beams of green light flew toward Lu Ye.

Lu Ye's eyes lit up because each green beam was a tea leaf. He immediately raised his hand, which almost turned into a blur; when he withdrew it, there were already more than a dozen fresh leaves in his palm.

The tea tree stared blankly at this scene, her fierce and naive demeanor gradually vanishing, her lips quivering uncontrollably as her mouth drooped.

Lu Ye, glancing at the leaves in his hand, felt pleased; today the tea tree performed well, and he didn't even need to lift a finger. It seemed she had grown accustomed to offering tea leaves willingly.

Just as he was about to thank her, he heard a "whimpering" sound.

Raising his head again, the tea tree was already running off, covering her face, leaving a trail of scattered sobbing sounds along the way.

What happened?

Lu Ye pondered for a moment, unable to figure out what the tea tree intended to do, but he had already obtained what he needed, so it was time to go into seclusion.

Leaving the medicinal garden, Lu Ye soon arrived at the grand hall outside.

This was the hall where Jiu Ying's statue once stood, considered the deepest point of the ruins. Now, he had sealed off the entire ruins; besides Zi Ying who had the freedom to come and go, there was no possibility of anyone else disturbing him unless Jiu Ying was resurrected.

He took out a tea leaf and placed it in his mouth, holding it under his tongue, as a cool sensation spread, instantly making his mind much clearer.

Lu Ye closed his eyes and activated his Dao force, focusing on the Talent Tree, using Dao force as fuel to begin deducing the various Dao Runes on the Talent Tree.

All that he had comprehended and observed in the Dao Runes Pavilion of the Four Great Families now became the foundation for his deductions. In an instant, the selected patterns on the leaves of the Talent Tree began to undergo marvelous changes.

Lu Ye's first deduction was the Divine Sharp Edge, as it was the foundation for his advancement in Harmonization, certainly of the highest priority.

As the deductions proceeded, the Divine Edge Dao Patterns gradually evolved towards a more precise, simpler, and more effective direction.

Originally, his plan was to thoroughly deduce the Divine Sharp Edge first and then seriously advance to Dao Fusion. As for other Dao Runes, he planned to find time to deduce them later.

However, during the deduction of the Divine Sharp Edge, he realized that even in the midst of deduction, he could generate some marvelous insights, and these insights would further aid the deduction of Dao Runes.

As such, he was no longer in a hurry to advance to Dao Fusion.

He decided to deduce all the Dao Runes first, then revisit the Divine Sharp Edge, potentially gaining more insights.

This period of seclusion lasted over a year.

Just as Lu Ye had previously thought, after deducing all the Dao Runes, he revisited the Divine Sharp Edge, discovering some space for further deduction.

After several more days, the Divine Sharp Edge finally took shape.

Compared to before, there's not much change, but as the foundation for advancing to Dao Fusion, any tiny modification can potentially impact Lu Ye's life.

When compared to the Divine Sharp Edge from a year ago, the entire Dao Rune's basic element had been simplified by twenty percent. This means the construction would require considerably less Dao force and effort, and even without employing the Talent Tree, the difficulty of construction would be significantly reduced.

Yet, it has achieved a ten percent increase in potency in combat.

One could say that this deduction was the epitome of perfection.

In this world, there might be various Divine Edge Dao Patterns, but Lu Ye was confident that his could rank among the top three, as it was the culmination of numerous strengths, deduced via the Talent Tree, choosing the best while discarding the rest.

After the deduction of Dao Runes was completed, Lu Ye took a few days of rest. During these days, he did nothing except simply rest.

It was time to advance to Dao Fusion!

At this moment, Lu Ye's expression turned serious.

All along, he had known that during his advancement to Dao Fusion, he would face a significant challenge.

He had already thoroughly researched how to advance to Dao Fusion.

For the average cultivator, as long as they could successfully imprint their chosen Dao Rune into their own Dao Bone, it would suffice to meet the advancement requirement.

Thus, once the cultivator makes a move, it would be as though they continuously receive the Dao Rune's blessing and augmentation. This kind of blessing and augmentation would make the cultivator's Dao force more condensed, unleashing greater lethality.

Therefore, the strength of a Harmonization Practitioner is not equivalent to the quantity of Dao force they can wield, as the primary factor lies in the augmentation from Dao Runes.

Unlike being a cultivator, where wielding a few strands of Dao force simply makes one a cultivator.

Herein lies the problem.

Ordinary cultivators have five Dao Bones within their body, so imprinting a Dao Rune onto a Dao Bone isn't too difficult. As long as one possesses some talent and skills, by expending some Dao force attempting several times, success will eventually come.

But Lu Ye has more than five Dao Bones; all 206 bones in his body are Dao Bones!

As such, the difficulty of imprinting Dao Runes onto the Dao Bones is exceedingly high.

His special cultivation method had already allowed him to contend against, and even slay, Harmonization Practitioners while at a beginner level. He reaped abundant rewards from countless battles, even winning top honors in the competition against the Star Abyss Heir.

Currently, his strength is just slightly inferior to Peak Dao Fusion.

Yet, in this world, nothing is ever perfect. The advantage he held back then has now become a challenge he must face at the threshold of advancing to Dao Fusion!

Without the Talent Tree, Lu Ye would never have refined all his bones into Dao Bones, as that would seal off his future path of cultivation, forever confining him to a beginner level.

Fortunately, with the Talent Tree, despite the difficulty in advancing to Dao Fusion being considerable, it shouldn't pose a major issue.

With a focused mind, Lu Ye activated the power of the Talent Tree and imprinted the first basic element of the Divine Sharp Edge into his Dao Bone.

The Dao Rune for advancing to Dao Fusion must be imprinted inside the Dao Bone rather than on its surface, as sufficient space must be reserved for future cultivation.

The 9th Order Dao Fusion implies that a Harmonization Practitioner must imprint nine Dao Runes. If adequate space isn't reserved, such as merely imprinting on the Dao Bone's surface, how could the second-layer Dao Rune be imprinted? That would lead to closing off one's future cultivation path.

When his own Dao force seeped into the Dao Bone and imprinted the first basic element, Lu Ye felt an excruciating pain radiating from the imprinting site.

He was mentally prepared for this.

Because during the imprinting of Dao Runes, slight changes are induced on the internal structure of the Dao Bone. Visually, it's akin to ants gnawing on one's Dao Bone, a pain no one can dismiss.

Often, when cultivators fail to advance to Dao Fusion, it's due to unbearable pain, as it's not momentary but persists throughout the imprinting process. During this process, cultivators must maintain ample focus.

Constructing a Dao Rune itself isn't easy, coupled with enduring intense pain while imprinting the Dao Rune inside the Dao Bone; any slight mistake could result in a fruitless effort.

If imprinting fails, the Dao Bone would inevitably be damaged, and cultivators often need a long recovery time before they can attempt again.

For Lu Ye, he could temporarily endure this pain, but as time progressed, even though he could endure it, whether he could maintain focus is uncertain. However, with the Talent Tree's power activated, he could ensure his Dao Rune would be accurately imprinted.

One basic element after another gradually took shape, while the pain of a million ants gnawing at his bones constantly tormented Lu Ye's spirit. Gradually, his clothes were soaked with sweat, and he appeared as though he had fallen into water, seated on the ground, a small stream of sweat flowing.

Dao force frantically dissipated.