Chapter 580 - 555 Lu Ming’s Secret Path

"Your current cultivation level is the Tao Fifth Layer heaven. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for you to reach the Pinnacle of the Great Tao within a thousand years, even if provided with enough Tao Elixirs. The difficulty of advancing in the Tao Realm is incomparable to the Immortal Realm, and cannot be achieved by resources alone."

"Your ability to break through four barriers in a row is entirely due to the astonishing techniques you’ve created."

"Therefore, if you want to break through to the Tao Seventh Layer Peak within a thousand years, you must also create new techniques."

"During this time, I will pass on to you a powerful technique that I have mastered, which should help you in comprehending and creating new techniques. This technique is called the Myriad Tao Diagrams."

"Of course, before that, I need your consent. Are you willing to represent the boundless starry sky in the battle?"

Lu Ming asked solemnly.

"I am willing."

Lu Yan agreed without much hesitation, nodding in response.

A smile appeared on Lu Ming’s face.

"But I am not completely confident of success, Alliance Hierarch. You must be prepared mentally."

Lu Yan added.

"No, you must win."

The smile vanished from Lu Ming’s face, replaced by a grave seriousness as he said, "Once you represent the starry sky in battle, and your identity is exposed, the various powers of the Origin Continent will recognize you as someone sent by me. If the starry sky fails and the situation on the Origin Continent remains unchanged, then the powers of the Origin Continent will have the strength to unite and turn their weapons against the Dragon Alliance. At that time, the Dragon Alliance will cease to exist."

Lu Yan felt his scalp tingle with enormous pressure.

"In truth, my desire for the boundless starry sky to emerge victorious is based on a deeper consideration."

Lu Ming pondered for a while before deciding to reveal some deeper secrets.

"Once the Origin Continent and the boundless starry sky engage in fierce battle, both sides will undoubtedly suffer heavy losses, and many powerful beings will perish. At that time, the strength of both parties will be greatly weakened. If a more dangerous catastrophe were to erupt then, we would be powerless to resist."

Lu Ming said earnestly.

"A more dangerous catastrophe? More dangerous than the Origin Continent and the boundless starry sky fighting each other?"

Lu Yan was somewhat stupefied.

A hint of worry flashed in Lu Ming’s eyes as he said, "Of course, all this is just my speculation. I hope it doesn’t happen, but we must be vigilant. Your cultivation level is still low, so you don’t need to worry about this for now."

"You just need to be aware of this matter in your heart, and must not divulge it to anyone."

"Yes."

Lu Yan nodded.

At that moment, a pool of fresh blood suddenly appeared in Lu Ming’s hand.

Roar!

As soon as the blood appeared, it transformed into a Nine-headed Qilin and let out a fierce roar at Lu Yan.

Lu Yan felt his soul tremble, his body covered with goosebumps as if he was about to explode.

This was... the Ancestral Immortal Blood.

However, Lu Ming’s hands were gleaming with light, containing the blood within it, causing the chilling aura to disappear. Then, with a bang, the blood exploded into countless tiny droplets.

A reluctant roar echoed as blue smoke rose from the blood and eventually settled into calm.

"This is the Ancestral Immortal Blood. Any will of the Immortal Ancestor lingering inside has been erased by me. I’ve divided it into hundreds of parts, all for you. You can use it to enhance your Saint Soldier’s Formula and strengthen your physical body."

Lu Ming took out a jade bottle, the Ancestral Immortal Blood flying into it, after which the bottle flew towards Lu Yan.

Lu Yan received it, feeling a surge of excitement.

This was the Ancestral Immortal Blood, far more potent than the previous Three-eyed Tiger Emperor’s Blood.

The Three-eyed Tiger Emperor was only at the third step of Creator Realm.

But the Immortal Ancestor was a True One.

Yet, Lu Yan smiled bitterly in his heart.

The Saint Soldier’s Formula he had obtained contained only ten layers, with no subsequent cultivation methods. Even with the Ancestral Immortal Blood, he could not advance.

At this moment, a jade talisman appeared in Lu Ming’s hand, flying towards Lu Yan.

"This is the complete cultivation method for the Saint Soldier’s Formula. Take it and study it."

Lu Ming said.

"The complete cultivation method for the Saint Soldier’s Formula."

Lu Yan was ecstatic.

Lu Ming had arranged everything perfectly for him.

This deepened the puzzle in his heart.

The Dao Book was clearly placed inside him by Lu Ming as well.

He even speculated that Lu Ming had done so because he knew Lu Yan was the Tao Soul Fetus, which, with the rise of cultivation level, would cause his soul to expand significantly, necessitating continuous strengthening of his physical body.

And the special function of the Dao Book was to continuously enhance body-refining techniques, hence it was placed inside him.

But with the Dao Book being so precious, what exactly was the relationship between him and Lu Ming?

"Alliance Hierarch, Lu Yan has some doubts and hopes for an answer from the Alliance Hierarch."

Lu Yan said with a bow.

"Speak."

Lu Ming nodded.

"Is the Dao Book placed inside me by the Alliance Hierarch? And, did the Alliance Hierarch have a hand in my crossing over from Earth?"

Lu Yan asked two questions in succession.

Lu Ming pondered for a moment, then said, "You’re correct, I placed the Dao Book inside you, and your coming from Earth was also my doing."

Lu Yan’s excitement surged as he asked, "Alliance Hierarch, where is Earth?"

"In the boundless starry sky, it has long been in The End of the Dharma Era, where cultivation has ceased to exist. Once your cultivation is strong enough, you can go back to see."

Lu Ming said.

"Indeed, in the vast starry sky."

Lu Yan took several deep breaths to calm himself down, then asked the question that weighed heaviest on his heart, "Senior, what exactly is the relationship between you and me, and why do you go to such lengths to help me?"

Lu Ming fell silent, a more complex intensity filling his gaze. After a moment of contemplation, he slightly shook his head and said, "I cannot answer that question for you right now."

"Once I do, it will cause you more trouble and might even make you doubt yourself, thereby influencing your Tao heart, affecting your mindset, and leading you to become lost on your path forward."

"For a cultivator, once lost, it’s an extremely dangerous matter."

"If you want to know the answers, then continue to advance your cultivation level. When your cultivation level has risen, perhaps you will naturally come to know some answers. But remember, no matter what you learn, you are you. You are Lu Yan, the one and only Lu Yan. Only by holding on to this can you move forward without hindrance."

Lu Yan had nothing to say.

What Lu Ming had told him was almost identical to what Tang Feng had initially said.

They both liked to speak in riddles.

Forget it, if he won’t say, then he won’t. Anyway,

one thing was for certain: Lu Ming, Tang Feng, and the others harbored no ill will towards him; rather, they were full of concern.

With that, the Dragon Alliance was his own people.

Confirming this was enough.

"Go and cultivate. Once you’ve raised the Saint Soldier’s Foemula to an unsurpassable level, I will transmit the Myriad Dao Diagram to you. As for when to head to the starry sky, I’ll inform you after both sides reach a full agreement. Go."

After finishing, Lu Ming waved his hand.

"I take my leave."

Lu Yan bowed and withdrew, returning to the Disciple’s Residence.

Upon returning to the Disciple’s Residence, Lu Yan took out the Cultivation Technique of the Saint Soldier’s Foemula and began to study it.

Indeed, the Jade Talisman contained the methods for cultivating layers eleven to eighteen of the Saint Soldier’s Foemula.

Before long, Lu Yan had memorized all the subsequent content of the Saint Soldier’s Foemula.

And the Dao Book, naturally, also mastered all the later content.

"Let’s start advancing."

Lu Yan took out a jade bottle, the power of the Great Dao operated, and from the bottle, he extracted a tiny drop of blood.

The blood droplet was crystal clear, and within it seemed to run a miniature nine-headed Qilin.

Luckily, the Ancestral Immortal’s will had already been completely erased by Lu Ming; otherwise, even this tiny drop of blood would be too much for him to handle.

Legends said that in the vast starry sky, an existence at the True One’s State could pierce through a star with just a small droplet of blood.

"Little Phoenix, your feast is here, swallow it," Lu Yan said.

With a thought, the Dao Book flew out.

"Ancestral Immortal Blood."

The figure of the Little Phoenix emerged, looking at the Ancestral Immortal Blood with resentment deep in its eyes, then opened its mouth and swallowed the blood droplet in one gulp.

Soon, the Dao Book began to emit a hazy glow, and waves of powerful energy spread out.

The stagnant Saint Soldier’s Foemula began to advance rapidly.

Although the Ancestral Immortal Blood was just a small droplet, the energy it contained was incredibly astonishing.

It boosted the Saint Soldier’s Foemula to the eleventh layer in one go and there was still excess energy to keep advancing...

Finally, it advanced the Saint Soldier’s Foemula up to the thirteenth layer before it stopped.

"Impressive, just a tiny drop of blood broke through several layers. In this jade bottle of mine, there must be at least a thousand drops..."

Lu Yan’s heart was ablaze with excitement as he took out another drop for the Dao Book to consume.

While the Dao Book was advancing the Saint Soldier’s Foemula, Lu Yan entered the internal space of the Dao Book, allowing the Dao Book to activate time acceleration. His pupils revealed endless patterns, constantly evolving, a vision of the laws’ original source reemerging.

He had to race against time to create and understand the laws, striving for a fourth creation or merging eight types of laws...

Several days later, Lu Yan stopped his contemplation with a slight sigh.

"The effect has diminished."

Lu Yan murmured.

At the source of the laws, the Tao Soul Pupil displayed its mysterious function, replicating the process of the laws’ birth and evolution.

After leaving, Lu Yan used this to contemplate, with remarkable results.

It was also why Lu Yan could, in just a few short years, create the ’Dominance’ move that caused his cultivation level to surge.

But now, he found that the Tao Soul Pupil’s replication of the laws’ birth and evolution was diminishing.

His contemplation was not as effective as before.

"Traversing the river of time to observe the birth and evolution of laws is extremely against the heavens. Expecting to completely replicate it is indeed unrealistic. As time goes by, it will continue to fade, so I must make the most of the time to contemplate," Lu Yan thought to himself, then closed his eyes to continue his contemplation.

In the following months, the Saint Soldier’s Foemula broke through continually, eventually stopping at the summit of the sixteenth layer.

At the summit of the sixteenth layer of the Saint Soldier’s Foemula, his physical strength alone was comparable to the Tao Seventh Layer Peak, placing him at the pinnacle of the Great Tao Realm.

At this step, even refining more energy, progressing the Saint Soldier’s Foemula was difficult.

"According to the previous patterns, the seventeen layer of the Saint Soldier’s Foemula would make the flesh nearly at par with the Creator Realm, but oddly, according to the main text of the Saint Soldier’s Foemula, at the eighteenth layer, flesh as hard as a Supreme Treasure can go toe to toe with the third step of the Creator Realm."

"But with the sixteenth layer only comparable to the peak of the Great Tao Realm, there remain the seventeenth and eighteenth layers, yet there are three steps in the Creator Realm. How do they correspond? Is there a huge leap between the sixteenth and seventeenth layers, the seventeenth layer of the Saint Soldier’s Foemula being equivalent to the second step of the Creator Realm?"

Lu Yan speculated within his mind.

When Lu Yan advanced the Saint Soldier’s Foemula to the sixteenth layer, Lu Ming reappeared.

"Now, I will transmit the Myriad Dao Diagram to you."

After Lu Ming finished speaking, he waved his hand and a wave of energy enveloped Lu Yan.

Lu Yan felt the world spinning around him, and in the next moment, he found himself in a pitch-black void.