Chapter 2906: The Fruit Team Grows Stronger

In a vast, snowy, unnamed place, sharp laughter echoed relentlessly, filled with boundless malice and the grim satisfaction of revenge.

Lu Ye stood utterly still, his body covered in filth. His rigid expression slowly transformed into a playful smirk, while across from him, Jin Yao's eyes held only pity.

Amidst the strange scene, the laughter abruptly ceased. The spirit stared blankly at Lu Ye, asking, "You... you're unharmed?"

Lu Ye casually put away the Sky Weaving Needle. "Why would I be harmed?" he asked unhurriedly. As he spoke, he gave a slight shake, and all the filth vanished from his body as if it had never been there.

He finally understood why the Sky Weaving Needle's spirit was so hostile towards him. Even after Zhi Fei's death, it showed no willingness to compromise, going so far as to expose itself and launch a violent attack.

The reason was simple: the Sky Weaving Needle's spirit was, surprisingly, also a member of the Feathered Race!

The Sky Weaving Needle's spirit now manifested before them as a decrepit, elderly woman of the Feathered Race. It was clear that this was an ancient Feathered Race elder who, before death, had used a secret technique to transform her soul into the spirit of the Sky Weaving Needle.

It was a method similar to Jin Yao's.

When Lu Ye had previously chatted with Jin Yao, he had asked about such methods. From her, he learned that this technique wasn't guaranteed to succeed; even with immense determination, there was a significant risk of failure. A single failure meant the complete annihilation of one's soul.

Jin Yao, having been trapped here years ago, had seen it as a desperate last hope. She was forced into it, but fortunately, she succeeded.

For the Feathered Race in the Source Realm to attempt this, who knew how many tries it took to succeed.

Since the Sky Weaving Needle's spirit was a Feathered Race elder, it was only natural that after Lu Ye killed Zhi Fei and seized the supreme treasure, she would show him no quarter.

It suddenly made sense why a mere supreme treasure spirit would be so loyal to Zhi Fei; there was indeed a reason.

"This filth isn't deadly to souls..." the Sky Weaving Needle's spirit muttered, then suddenly realized something. It turned to look at Jin Yao, who stood beside it. "You tricked me?"

She had just believed Jin Yao's nonsense, that not even a speck of this substance could be touched. If not for that, why would she have exposed herself so readily?

But now, it seemed, if the substance were truly as terrifying as Jin Yao claimed, she, being a soul entity herself, should have been the first to be affected.

Yet, even after bursting out of that jar, she felt no discomfort whatsoever.

She had even believed she could perish together with her enemy this time.

Jin Yao sighed, a helpless expression on her face. "I told you not to be so unappreciative..."

She had rattled off so many material names earlier, making it sound incredibly real. Had she not secretly transmitted a message to Lu Ye, even he would have believed her.

"There are indeed many ways in this world to obliterate the spirits of supreme treasures," Jin Yao sighed. "But there's no method that can take effect within mere days. You've lived for so long, how could you not even understand such a simple fact?"

That remark was particularly cutting, causing Lu Ye's eye to twitch slightly as he listened from the side.

The Sky Weaving Needle's spirit finally couldn't withstand such a blow. Now at its wit's end, with the Sky Weaving Needle already collected by Lu Ye, even the thought of hiding back inside was a pipe dream.

Gritting its teeth, it shrieked, "I'll fight you to the death!"

It glared at Jin Yao with malevolent eyes, as if she were a festering thorn, yet its soul body flickered and surged directly towards Lu Ye.

Lu Ye couldn't help but sigh. Both Jin Yao and the Sky Weaving Needle's spirit, he realized, were incredibly cunning and treacherous. From the spirit's stance, it had appeared ready to fight Jin Yao to the death, but it was actually fixated on Lu Ye, the true culprit.

Lu Ye wasn't on guard, nor did he need to be.

As his body shuddered, the Sky Weaving Needle's spirit plunged into his Soul Sea. Without a word, Jin Yao merged with him and followed.

Lu Ye remained standing, his mind immersed, observing the struggle between the two entities within his Divine Sea.

There was no need to worry. The Sky Weaving Needle's spirit was now like water without a source or a mountain without a base – a spent force. Even without Jin Yao's assistance, it couldn't harm Lu Ye, much less with Jin Yao wielding the Soul Suppressing Bell.

The Sky Weaving Needle's spirit's desperate last stand was utterly futile, like an ant trying to shake a tree – entirely negligible.

While the two entities struggled, Lu Ye took out the Sky Weaving Needle, held it in his palm, and activated the power of his Talent Tree to refine it.

A few days passed quickly. Lu Ye looked with delight at the new "fruit" that had appeared on his Talent Tree.

While called a fruit, it didn't actually resemble one; it was simply the Sky Weaving Needle itself, now hanging from one of the Talent Tree's branches.

Jin Yao had already dealt with the Sky Weaving Needle's spirit. She stood by the Talent Tree, curiously examining the Sky Weaving Needle "fruit." The Black Coffin's spirit stood beside her; the two, one large and one small, looked remarkably like a mother and daughter.

Although she had always resided here and possessed some understanding of the Talent Tree's divine power, she was still deeply shaken at this moment.

Currently, the Talent Tree bore seven supreme treasure "fruits": the Myriad Poison Pearl, the Starry Sky Chessboard, the Sky Mirror, the Nine Profound Heavenly Thunder Seal, the Formless Army Flag, the Soul Suppressing Bell, and now the newly added Sky Weaving Needle. Each had a unique form, and all possessed profound power.

Additionally, there was the Black Coffin, which had only developed a slight bulge as it continued to gestate.

If the Fruit of Chronos was included, that made a total of eight complete "fruits."

The collection of supreme treasure "fruits" on the Talent Tree was growing steadily.

Jin Yao couldn't help but fantasize: would this place one day become a breathtaking display of a hundred treasures, each vying for splendor? If so, with the combined might of so many supreme treasures unleashed, who in the universe could stand against them?

She had always wanted to ask Lu Ye one question: what exactly was the Talent Tree?

Even with all her vast knowledge, she had never heard of such a treasure as the Talent Tree. Supreme treasures were already considered the pinnacle of power; how could the Talent Tree consume their might and bear them as "fruits"?

Despite her curiosity, she knew that some things in this world could be asked, while others were best left unsaid.

Regardless of what the Talent Tree truly was, it was Lu Ye's greatest asset, and it undoubtedly held deep secrets.

She was currently quite satisfied with her situation. Although confined to the Talent Tree and unable to leave, it was far better than her previous state of nearing extinction, with her energy completely depleted.

At this moment, Lu Ye wasn't idle; instead, he took out the gauntlet left behind after Hong Tu's death.

He had just briefly examined the Sky Weaving Needle's power and was quite satisfied. After all, he had personally experienced the supreme treasure's might; its destructive power was indeed formidable.

Given that, he decided to make it even stronger, so it would be more threatening when facing powerful enemies in the future.

He had kept Hong Tu's gauntlet, a supreme treasure itself, precisely to enhance the Sky Weaving Needle's power.

Several more days passed. The gauntlet supreme treasure turned to dust and vanished. While the Sky Weaving Needle "fruit" didn't appear to change much, its power had, in fact, increased.

With this, the trip concluded successfully, and it was time to depart.

Guided by a subtle, inherent sense, Lu Ye pressed onward.

Less than half a day later, he returned to the courtyard in the He He Realm.

Another half day passed, and Lu Ye appeared outside Hundred Battles City.

When he had arrived previously, this area was filled with numerous Dao Integration Cities. Yet, in just a few short days, the place was utterly deserted, a stark contrast to its former grandeur.

Even the massive and magnificent Hundred Battles City looked somewhat dilapidated, its protective grand formation long since broken.

On that day, after Hong Tu and Mo Duo had left, the cultivators within the city became agitated. With Xue Jiu and Si Sheng Ya launching a relentless assault from the outside, the city was beset by both internal turmoil and external threats. It didn't take long for the protective grand formation to be utterly destroyed.

Xue Jiu stormed into the city and went on a rampage, prompting the survivors to flee. The numerous Dao Integration Orbs that had gathered in the area, seeing Hundred Battles City fall, naturally didn't linger either and scattered in all directions.

When Lu Ye entered Hundred Battles City, he found the colossal city utterly empty. Only in the central grand hall did two powerful auras still linger.

A moment later, Lu Ye stepped into the central grand hall.

Xue Jiu and Si Sheng Ya, who had remained there, simultaneously looked up.

"Brother Lu, you've finally returned," Xue Jiu said.

Lu Ye glanced at him. "You seem quite disappointed?"

"How could that be?" Xue Jiu hastily replied. "Brother Lu, your heroic feat of pursuing Hong Tu to the He He Realm and slaying him has already spread throughout the Star Abyss. I merely hoped for your swift return so we could continue our assault on Thousand Streams City."

Of the Ten Great Dao Integration Cities, since Xue Jiu's descent into the Source Realm, Blood Drink City had been left leaderless and was subsequently eradicated by the combined forces of the Dragon and Phoenix races. This event seemed to trigger a chain reaction.

A few years later, Ba Qiu perished, and One Man City was shattered.

Following that were Senluo City, Ten Steps City, and Myriad Ancient City, and now, today, Hundred Battles City.

Looking back across countless years of the universe's history, such a phenomenon had never occurred. Throughout the ages, even when the Ten Great Dao Integration Cities changed hands, new ones would swiftly emerge to take their place.

In fact, the number of Ten Great Dao Integration Cities had never dropped below eight.

But now, only Dragon City, Phoenix Nest, Scarlet Refining City, and Thousand Streams City remained – just four in total.

Six of the Ten Great Cities had been destroyed, yielding six core fragments. Xue Jiu and Si Sheng Ya each controlled one, Lu Ye still held one, two had merged into his Inner World, and one more lay right before him!

Lu Ye nodded slightly and stepped towards the high platform ahead.

Xue Jiu and Si Sheng Ya were guarding the Cosmic-grade Dao Integration Orb before them, which, aside from slaying Hong Tu, was the greatest spoil of this war.

Xue Jiu's gaze followed Lu Ye. He watched as Lu Ye shattered the Dao Integration Orb with a single punch, then, with a raised hand and a grasp, collected all the fragments. Xue Jiu couldn't help but be filled with emotion.

He recalled how, when he had first risen to power, he had expended immense effort and thought just to upgrade his own Dao Integration Orb. If only he had possessed Lu Ye's abilities back then, he could have swiftly improved his orb's quality with minimal fuss.

But such an extraordinary method was entirely beyond his capabilities; he could only watch in envy.

"Brother Lu, I've always been very curious," Xue Jiu said. "How exactly do you manage to retain all these fragments?" The first time he had witnessed such a miraculous technique was in the abyss of the Source Realm.

The Dao Integration Orb fragments had merely passed through the Source Realm, yet Lu Ye had forcibly retained them, thus allowing him to condense the Dao Integration Orb.

But he still couldn't fathom how Lu Ye accomplished it.

Even though he suspected Lu Ye wouldn't tell him, he couldn't resist asking.

Sure enough, after he posed the question, Lu Ye simply acted as if he hadn't heard, causing Xue Jiu to curl his lips in resignation.