Chapter 2356 - 2354: Dao Fusion Stage 2

The breakthrough process of Harmonization Practitioners, simply put, involves inscribing Dao Runes onto one's Dao Bone. Each successful inscription leads to a breakthrough in a small realm.

Relatively speaking, the inscription for the first layer of Harmonization is the simplest, because at that stage, the cultivator's Dao Bone bears no inscription marks and is free to be carved.

However, starting from the second layer of Harmonization, such inscription carries certain risks. If one is not careful enough or fails to perfectly control the Dao force, not only might the inscription fail, but it could even damage or impact previously successful Dao Runes.

Once the already successful Dao Runes are damaged, the foundation of a cultivator's Harmonization is destroyed, resulting in a drop in cultivation.

This is just the risk faced at the second layer, and there are still the third, fourth, fifth, sixth layers...

The further one progresses, the greater the risks become.

Examples of Harmonization Practitioners failing during a breakthrough and instead experiencing a drop in cultivation are numerous throughout Star Abyss. This phenomenon is quite common.

If cultivators entering the Dao with sufficient aptitude can cultivate to a 9th Dao cultivation and have chances to ascend to Harmonization after multiple attempts, then once they reach Harmonization, wanting to ascend becomes not solely a matter of aptitude but involves the subtle control of Dao force.

That's why, when Lu Ye inscribed his first layer of Harmonization Dao Runes, he made sure to inscribe the Dao Runes deeper into the Dao Bone, reserving enough space to inscribe more Harmonization Dao Runes.

The choice of Dao Runes is the issue Harmonizations face every time they break through a small realm.

At the ninth layer of Harmonization, one Dao Rune per layer; although there might not be much concern for the earlier layers, the later ones require careful consideration.

Lu Ye naturally had no other thoughts; he chose the Divine Sharp Edge for his first layer Dao Rune, hence his second layer is also Divine Sharp Edge!

He wants to fully enhance his offensive capabilities.

With calm mind, driven by Dao force, that unbearable pain comes again, making him involuntarily tremble with sweat dripping down.

Having experienced the first time, this time it actually feels much better, but Lu Ye dares not be careless, because the inscription of his second layer Harmonization Dao Rune is quite close to the first layer. A slight mistake could damage the first layer Dao Rune, which would drop his cultivation back to the level of entering the Dao.

Cautiously yet meticulously, he meticulously controlled his own Dao force, leaving traces of complex basic elements within the Dao Bone.

His own Dao force rapidly diminished.

Lu Ye felt that the consumption of Dao force this time seemed more severe than the last.

This is actually a normal phenomenon, as the Dao force consumption for each breakthrough ascension increases slightly. However, his large consumption makes the additional loss particularly noticeable.

A few days later, with the successful construction of the second layer Harmonization Dao Rune, Lu Ye finally exhaled heavily.

Silently, he achieved the second layer of Harmonization!

Although the process was smooth, it was not easy, and he succeeded once thanks to the Talent Tree's power.

If other Harmonizations find it very difficult to succeed on the first try during each ascension. Failure means restarting the Bone Growing and accumulating Dao force.

It can be said that other Harmonization's breakthrough ascensions are entirely built on repeated failures.

With slight adjustments, recovering some energy and heart power, Lu Ye began to explore the changes in his own strength.

Gently clenching his fist, he carefully sensed and after a moment, his brow raised.

Just as he thought, after his cultivation broke through to the second layer of Harmonization, he could control a basic Dao force of 280!

But with the emergence of the second layer Dao Rune, this Dao force became notably more cohesive compared to before, meaning it can unleash greater damage on enemies.

Lu Ye calculated slightly. The strength of 280 Dao forces and the boost from two layers of Dao Runes implies he now possesses roughly 336 Dao forces!

This number already far exceeds the power normally expected of Harmonization, even those like Solar Flames with affiliated treasures as Dao soldiers, who trained to their fullest could not possess such strength.

Invincible in the Harmonization Realm!

And Lu Ye had only just grasped the second layer of Harmonization!

Compared to before ascending, his strength increased by 50 Dao forces, which is a significant enhancement.

If Solar Flames were now standing before him, he is confident he could break through his defenses with one strike and then kill him!

Relative to the gain, the consumption of Dao force was also considerable, even more so than during the ascension.

Lu Ye was a bit troubled, thinking that after accumulating so much Dao force, he could use it for a long time, even all through the Harmonization Realm without worrying about Dao force.

But now it seems he was too naive.

He will need increasingly more Dao force in the future. The Insect and Blood Races in Banlan are a good choice, but mass slaughter is not wise.

He still wants to make Banlan a training ground for home planet cultivators. Without the Insect and Blood Races, what would they practice?

At present, although there is still a considerable reserve of Dao force, it should be insufficient for further breakthroughs, and besides, Lu Ye himself also needs to recuperate for a while.

He did not rush to leave the ruins but started on another task.

If everything goes according to plan, it won't be long before he can relocate Banlan near the Star Abyss Gate beside Qing Palace, and then he can return to the stellar space. As for the future of Harmonization Practitioners in Banlan, the Four Great Family Patriarchs will naturally be concerned.

However, if that is the case, there will be a problem, except for him, no one can freely enter and exit Banlan.

Therefore, he now needs to solve this matter.

It's rather simple.

Lu Ye only spent a few days to refine a jade cluster, and with this jade cluster, it can freely enter and exit the ruins, thereby achieving the purpose of entering and exiting Banlan.

At that time, just handing over this jade cluster to the Four Great Family Patriarchs for safekeeping, the remaining matters no longer require his attention.

As for the cultivators returning to Banlan from Star Abyss, how to choose the correct entry point to directly return to the human race territory, Lu Ye can guide them slightly.

Ensuring that when they enter Banlan from outside, they don't abruptly run into the territories of the Insect and Blood Races and meet their demise, this matter is not difficult to solve.

Afterward, Lu Ye checked the situation within Banlan, to see if transferring a batch of Harmonization Practitioners would have any impact on the overall situation.

The result showed there was no significant impact, and immediately he left with peace of mind, returning to Star Abyss.

Beside Banlan, there was a new meteorite which Lu Ye captured as a place to settle.

Waiting is ultimately an agony, especially when Lu Ye is uncertain whether this operation will yield results.

If possible, he would rather venture out to search, but someone ultimately needs to stay, and he is the most suitable choice, so he can only remain on standby.

Because the planned exploration has a limit distance, which is the cultivators' six-month journey, this round trip will take a year. Of course, because the Harmonization Practitioners have different cultivation and speeds, the exploration limits also differ.

However, even for the slowest Harmonization Practitioner, half a year's travel can cover a great distance, sufficient to meet searching needs.

Lu Ye will certainly not foolishly wait here for a year.

With idle time, while waiting for arduous cultivation, he suddenly remembered something and instantly felt invigorated.

He can now nurture his Dao soldier!

In the past, when entering the Path, he attempted to do so, but because the Dao force wasn't sufficiently condensed, there was no nurturing effect, and Lu Ye had no choice but to give it up.

Now that he has attained Dao Fusion, it should be possible, right?

For most Harmonization Practitioners, the enhancement brought by Dao soldiers is quite considerable; the nurturing limit for ordinary Dao soldiers is 49 Dao power, even for people like Yan Yao, their power limit is only 200 Dao force, 49 Dao power is a great support to them.

For Lu Ye, the help is there, but not significantly, because as his cultivation increases, his power grows stronger and stronger, by then, the mere 49 Dao may just be a tiny fraction of his overall strength.

But his Dao soldier is ultimately out of the ordinary, and since the barghest is a member of the Combat Race, Lu Ye wants to know whether nurturing this Dao soldier will bring unexpected surprises.

Thinking about it, he proceeded to draw out the Boulder Mountain Saber, resting it on his knees, gradually channeling Dao force into it.

Nurturing a Dao soldier is quite simple, only having one's Dao soldier immersed in self Dao force for a prolonged period. With the nourishment of Dao force, the interior of the Dao soldier undergoes some miraculous changes, thereby forming the foundation to bear Dao force.

From a certain perspective, a Dao soldier is another form of Dao Bone for cultivators. It doesn't possess the ability to store Dao force, but it allows cultivators to harness more Dao force for attacking enemies or creating defenses.

Such nurturing does not severely consume Dao force, so Harmonization Practitioners can endure it, but extended nurturing also cannot ignore the expenditure of Dao logic.

This is why Harmonization Practitioners typically consider nurturing Dao soldiers after reaching 5th Order because, at this stage, enhancing the cultivator's strength is not so easy. Instead, leveraging nurturing Dao soldiers is a more feasible manner of gaining strength, prior to which, expending Dao force to nurture Dao soldiers, is less effective than using it for self enhancement.

So in the coming period, he engaged in arduous cultivation while expending Dao force nurturing his Dao soldier.

Progress was slow!

Spent almost half a month, yet the Boulder Mountain Saber showed no discernible changes.

Though Lu Ye knew it would be the case, he was still a bit frustrated and immediately increased his investment of Dao force.

This time, finally, there was an effect, approximately after increasing the Dao force contribution for several days, he clearly felt some changes within the Boulder Mountain Saber.

Upon careful inspection, he discovered that with the Boulder Mountain Saber's presence, he could harness a tad more Dao force!

This step forward signifies the Boulder Mountain Saber truly becoming a Dao soldier, previously, it was merely a Dao soldier embryo at best.

The enhancement of one Dao force is a negligible assistance for Lu Ye, but it's ultimately a good beginning.

After tasting this benefit, Lu Ye no longer begrudged the consumption of Dao force, after all, breaking through consumes massive amounts of Dao force, so nurturing his Dao soldier now doesn't require such frugality.