Chapter 2361 - 2359: Return to Stellar Space

"Is this the Star Abyss Gate that Fellow Daoist mentioned?" Yan Yao stood beside Lu Ye, looking with great interest at the red vortex not far away.

Since the Banlan human race was asked to send troops to assist the stellar space, Lu Ye had naturally explained the situation in the stellar space to the Four Great Families, so it was not surprising that Yan Yao knew about the Star Abyss Gate.

"It is indeed." Lu Ye nodded.

"Can us old folks go over? If possible, we could assist Fellow Daoist."

Lu Ye shook his head, "Passage through the Star Abyss Gate is restricted. Currently, only cultivators at the 7th Dao and below can pass through. It may eventually open to Dao Fusion, but that would still take a long time. I appreciate the goodwill of the family heads, as we already have three thousand Enter the Path cultivators at our disposal, which is sufficient. Please focus on advancing to Dao Harmony."

Yan Yao and the others nodded.

"Then I will proceed according to plan. Please feel free to do as you see fit, family heads," Lu Ye said.

Huang Chen said, "The safety of the stellar space is paramount. You go ahead, Fellow Daoist. Don't worry about things on our side; the arrangements have been made within Banlan. If we have the good fortune to advance to Dao Harmony, we shall meet again in the inner world!"

"I wish you all the best of luck!"

"Thank you for your kind words."

The family heads departed. Banlan had stabilized, and they could no longer intervene in matters within the stellar space. All that remained for them was to achieve Dao Harmony.

However, advancing to Dao Harmony is not an easy feat. In the short term, these four will definitely remain nearby, frequently entering and exiting the inner and outer worlds to seek opportunities for advancement. With their assistance, Lu Ye does not need to worry too much about the remaining matters.

Lu Ye turned to look at Uncle Duan's side, his Mental Consciousness surging as he transmitted a few words.

Uncle Duan nodded slightly, indicating that with him and Yin Luo present, there was no need for excessive worry here.

Lu Ye then looked at the three thousand Enter the Path cultivators drawn out, "Follow me."

He led the way toward the Star Abyss Gate, followed by a vast procession.

Previously, the area around the Star Abyss Gate was still surrounded by many Star Abyss cultivators above the 7th Dao, led by those of Dao Fusion. However, as Lu Ye approached with his army, they involuntarily stepped aside.

Soon they arrived in front of the Star Abyss Gate.

"Currently, the Star Abyss Gate only allows passage below the 7th Dao. After entering with me, your task is simple—eliminate all Star Abyss enemies invading the stellar space. Those among you who are above the 7th Dao cannot pass through at this time, so I ask for your patience. Once passage is possible, I will leave people at the exit to guide you on what to do upon entering the stellar space."

The three thousand Enter the Path cultivators answered in unison.

The Star Abyss living creatures originally gathered here all broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this. Although this may not seem like a large number of people, they had clearly witnessed Lu Ye's powerful display when he defeated the Twins Demon Race. With such a formidable guardian on the other side, what good could come from intruding?

Many Star Abyss cultivators quickly reconsidered their positions.

"I'll go first!" With those words, Lu Ye stepped forward to the Star Abyss Gate.

His heart was a bit uneasy, but he took a step forward after all, entering the red vortex.

Lu Ye feared that he wouldn't be able to get through because passage through the Star Abyss Gate is restricted, and he was now in Dao Fusion.

Fortunately, nothing of the sort happened.

Back when he left the stellar space years ago, Lu Ye had vaguely discerned one truth—the restrictions of the Star Abyss Gate targeted the Star Abyss living creatures.

At the initial opening of the Star Abyss Gate, even Enter the Path couldn't pass through, yet he walked out back then with the power of the 15th Dao. The reason was that he was a stellar space cultivator and wasn't subject to those restrictions.

Over the years, Lu Ye's strength had grown tremendously, but under the influence of the Talent Tree, his aura remained pure and immaculate. Therefore, strictly speaking, he was still a stellar space cultivator, not tainted by the Star Abyss ambience.

The restrictions of the stellar space gate had no effect on him.

Entering that familiar passage, Lu Ye immediately looked around.

He remembered that when he emerged years ago, strange things had appeared in this passage to attack him, and he had fought his way out.

But today, upon his return, such things did not occur. He didn't know why.

Without hesitation, he pressed forward.

Soon he reached the end of the passage, where beyond lay the stellar space from which he hailed!

With one step forward, the world spun!

Despite the Star Abyss ambience still lingering around him, Lu Ye knew he had returned!

This ambience was because the Star Abyss Gate had been open, and it had been continuously invading for years.

Expanding his Mental Consciousness, Lu Ye quickly detected considerable vitality nearby. However, the more he explored, the more alarmed he became, for within the range of his consciousness, Star Abyss ambience covered everything up to its limits.

This undoubtedly indicated that the invasion from the Star Abyss had been swift.

What worried him was that none of the life forms he sensed were familiar or belonged to the human race.

The situation seemed dire.

In light of this, the current situation implied a bleak resistance from within the stellar space. Otherwise, across such a vast area, he should have been able to detect traces of his own people.

Even though it was expected, when the facts were laid out in front of him, Lu Ye still felt heartbroken.

Behind him, a sudden burst of life energy appeared. Lu Ye knew without looking that the three thousand who Enter the Path had started following him into stellar space.

Turning his head, the first to step out was a female cultivator. She paused slightly, evidently not expecting Lu Ye to still be here, and hurriedly cupped her fists, saying, "Huang Cui'er greets Master Uncle Lu."

To be called Master Uncle...

However, given Lu Ye's current Dao Fusion cultivation, it wasn't incorrect for someone who entered the Path to call him this.

"Are you from the Huang family?" Lu Ye asked.

Huang Cui'er quickly replied, "Yes, Huang Chen, the old Family Head, counts as my great-grandfather."

Huang Chen and the others had already stepped down from the position of Family Head. After leaving Banlan this time, they didn't plan to return. For them, either they grow old and die outside, or successfully advance through Dao Harmony into the inner world, with no other choice for the rest of their lives.

Lu Ye nodded, "Stay here and instruct those who come later to eliminate all invading enemies."

"Yes!" Huang Cui'er quickly accepted the order.

Lu Ye dashed to the side, disappearing in an instant.

From this moment, within the coverage of the Star Abyss ambience, the slaughter began.

Lu Ye condensed the Talent Tree Avatar, transforming into two bodies as he traveled, leaving a trail of violence and blood rain. The Star Abyss living creatures below the 7th Dao had no clue who killed them.

For days on end, Lu Ye was engaged in killing.

Killing those who Enter the Path didn't earn him Star Abyss coins, but he could get Dao Bones, and the accumulation was quite considerable.

The Star Abyss invasion was faster than anticipated because almost the entire Destroyed Illusion Star Cluster was covered by the Star Abyss ambience, and within such vast areas, invading Star Abyss living creatures could be found everywhere.

Lu Ye was immensely grateful for having drawn three thousand who Enter the Path from Banlan. Even though only half of them came in this time, they were more than enough to help greatly. Otherwise, if he had to eliminate these invading enemies alone, he wouldn't know how much time and effort it would take.

The Banlan cultivators who came in now, although only at the 7th Dao level, had Dao artifacts. Even the lowest grade Dao artifacts could enhance their Power of the Path, allowing them to gain the upper hand against enemies.

He had not yet found traces of his people until he suddenly sensed the remnants of a battle in the distance.

He quickly went to investigate the situation.

Similar events had occurred before, but each time the result disappointed Lu Ye because both sides of the battle were invading enemies.

Even after the Star Abyss living creatures invaded stellar space, they wouldn't necessarily coexist peacefully. They still hunted each other to obtain Dao Bones and strengthen themselves, making such clashes inevitable.

Only near the already opened Star Abyss Gate were battles not permitted.

Lu Ye didn't hold out much hope this time.

But surprises always came so suddenly.

Arriving at the origin of the disturbance, he found that one of the battling sides was from the human race, and somewhat familiar!

His opponent was undoubtedly a Star Abyss cultivator.

The two appeared evenly matched. It was unclear how long they'd been fighting when suddenly Lu Ye dashed through, and one of them died instantly!

The human race cultivator was astonished, quickly adopting a defensive posture. Upon recognizing Lu Ye's face, he was first stunned, then overjoyed, "Brother Lu!"

"Brother Gu, long time no see!"

The person before him was Gu Sheng, whom he had met in the Asura Field. This guy was the most dazzling rising star of his generation in Yellow Dragon World, competing with Arbuluo from the Ancient Savages Race for the Moon Jade Ranking. In the end, both were beaten by Lu Ye.

The Asura Field had closed afterward, and Gu Sheng and Arbuluo returned to their respective domains to ascend to Sun Blaze. Since then, Lu Ye hadn't seen Gu Sheng.

However, during a casual chat with the World Lord of Yellow Dragon, Gu Yunliu, Lu Ye had inquired about Gu Sheng's situation and learned he had indeed ascended to Sun Blaze.

After all, it wasn't difficult for him, being the most outstanding cultivator of his generation in Yellow Dragon World, to ascend to Sun Blaze.

Unexpectedly, upon meeting again today, Gu Sheng had already entered the Path, and his strength was decent, appearing to be at the 7th Dao.

"Indeed, long time no see. You've finally returned!" Gu Sheng looked at Lu Ye with a complex gaze.

Years ago, they all mingled on the Moon Jade Ranking in the Asura Field. Back then, while Gu Sheng was still at Sun Blaze, he heard Lu Ye had already entered the Path and left stellar space to find a solution to the Star Abyss invasion.

The sudden gap was astonishing to Gu Sheng.

For years, he had worked hard and received special assistance to gain his current strength, yet his opponent, who fought him evenly, was effortlessly defeated by Lu Ye.

"Just returned a few days ago, what's the situation now? Why can't I find anyone else?" Lu Ye asked.

Upon hearing this, Gu Sheng sighed, "Come, I'll take you back to the battle fortress, and we'll talk while we walk."

Lu Ye raised his eyebrows, if the battle fortress still stood, perhaps the situation wasn't so dire?

As they moved forward, through Gu Sheng's account, Lu Ye came to understand the current situation across the Destroyed Illusion Star Cluster.

Indeed dire, but not as dire as imagined. In truth, it could only be described as a silver lining amidst the misfortune.