Chapter 2227 - 2225: A Trace of Spiritual Sense

Briefly probing, Lu Ye frowned slightly.

The injuries on the soul body were indeed healed with the help of the Dark Butterfly, but there was something unusual in his Divine Sea.

He quickly immersed his mind, and in the next instant, the soul body appeared in the Divine Sea.

Looking around, there was indeed something wrong. The Divine Sea had large patches of green remaining, extremely conspicuous, which was undoubtedly the poison left by Jiu Ying.

Lu Ye had experienced the potency of this poison firsthand, and for an ordinary cultivator, even those in Dao Fusion, resolving it would not be a simple matter.

Fortunately, the Talent Tree could incinerate it.

With a thought, the entire soul sea burst into towering flames in an instant.

The sound of sizzling emerged, the green gradually disappeared, and the Divine Sea slowly returned to its original appearance.

At that moment, Lu Ye suddenly turned his head to look in a direction.

At that position, the power of incineration from the Talent Tree burned, and a faint glimmer suddenly darted out.

"Hmm?" Lu Ye raised an eyebrow, and in an instant, the flames enveloped the strange glimmer like a dragon, trapping it within.

"Wait, wait!" a voice came from the glimmer; it was Jiu Ying, though now it no longer had its previous high spirits, instead exuding a sense of weakness.

"You're not dead yet?" Lu Ye was astonished.

In their previous battle, Jiu Ying clearly intended to go down with him as it launched a final strike against him, and Lu Ye assumed it was utterly destroyed.

Who would have thought it was actually hiding in the depths of his Divine Sea!

Moreover, before it revealed itself, he had no clue whatsoever.

Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. If he hadn't been incinerating the poison in his Divine Sea, inadvertently forcing it out, it truly might have remained concealed.

The potential disasters it could have caused afterward, Lu Ye dared not imagine.

"It's just a little Spiritual Sense left," Jiu Ying's voice was bitter, "Fellow Daoist, please show mercy, do not completely annihilate me."

Lu Ye also noticed something off about Jiu Ying's current state. Although it could transmit sound, it had no soul body, indeed only a sliver of Spiritual Sense remained, and because of that, it could remain hidden. However, such a little bit of Spiritual Sense posed no threat to Lu Ye now.

He raised an eyebrow: "Not at all, not at all, what kind of figure are you, Senior? I dare not claim to debate Tao with you!"

Jiu Ying was taken aback, those words were his own, spoken not long ago.

"Forgive me, young friend, I spoke too loudly earlier," Jiu Ying was very pragmatic, thinking it hid well enough, but unexpectedly, it was exposed. In such a situation, it had no power to resist and had to lower its head.

"Oh?" Lu Ye looked at it with interest, then changed his tone: "You should know, I can't let you stay; if you have any last words, you'd better explain them quickly, or it'll be too late."

Jiu Ying shivered, clearly feeling the intense killing intent, knowing Lu Ye truly intended to kill.

In a similar position, it also wouldn't feel safe with a powerful being's Spiritual Sense lingering in its Divine Sea.

However, it didn't panic and spoke lightly: "Doesn't the young friend want to control Banlan? Banlan is my Dao soldier. If the young friend is willing, I can help you refine it!"

Lu Ye squinted slightly.

As expected of an ancient monster, it truly knows how to manipulate people's hearts, with just one sentence making Lu Ye's heart skip a beat.

Refining Banlan is an enticing prospect for anyone. Lu Ye was self-aware that even if he refined Banlan with Jiu Ying's help, he might not fully utilize the power of this Dao soldier.

But what he desired was not Banlan itself but the method to leave Banlan!

He couldn't stay trapped here forever.

"How to refine it?" Lu Ye inquired.

Jiu Ying knew he was interested, chuckled, and said, "The specifics, young friend need not worry about. As long as you do as I say, I will naturally assist you!"

"Then you can die."

The fiercely burning power of incineration closed in.

Jiu Ying was startled, desperately shouting, "Young friend, let's talk this out. Although your current strength is quite good, your realm is still low; only after Dao Fusion can refining take place!"

"Dao Fusion?" Lu Ye snorted coldly: "You should know my strength isn't comparable to ordinary Dao Fusion!"

Jiu Ying sighed: "Young friend, strength is strength, realm is realm. At my peak, my realm was high and far-reaching, Banlan being a Dao soldier I nurtured. Even with my assistance, Dao Fusion is just the basic requirement and may not even succeed!"

Lu Ye frowned slightly. Although ancient monsters like Jiu Ying had many devious thoughts, under such circumstances, its words couldn't be entirely false.

Dao Fusion was just the basic requirement, and success wasn't guaranteed, while for Lu Ye, progressing to Dao Fusion wasn't a matter of short time.

Seeing his contemplation, Jiu Ying said, "Young friend, I am in such a dire state now with no other desires but to preserve my life, so you can trust me."

Lu Ye sneered internally, but outwardly remained expressionless: "Of course, I trust you, and I also ask Senior to trust me. Tell me the method of refining first; I'll see if it's real, and if so, we'll discuss the details."

"Agreed." Jiu Ying responded.

Such straightforwardness left Lu Ye momentarily stunned.

However, Jiu Ying quickly continued, "But I need the young friend to swear, under the name of the Will of the Star Abyss!"

So this is what it was waiting for!

He's good at this! It's not like he hasn't done it before.

On the surface, he furrowed his brows, somewhat hesitant.

Jiu Ying laughed: "Little friend, do you have some other ideas?" He seemed to have seen through Lu Ye's stance.

"No!" Lu Ye's expression remained steady, "Senior misunderstood me. How could I have any other ideas?"

"If that's the case, then I ask you, little friend, to make an oath! If I help you refine Banlan, you must help me find a suitable body. During this process, and even after it's over, anyone related to you, including yourself, must not make things difficult for me!"

"Your request..." Lu Ye frowned again.

"This is my only request. If the little friend is unwilling, then you can do what you wish, whether it's killing or torturing me."

Lu Ye fell into a long silence.

Jiu Ying seemed to have stopped paying attention to him, but Lu Ye knew that this old guy's heart must be in his throat at the moment...

"I agree!" Lu Ye finally gritted his teeth and nodded.

Jiu Ying was delighted: "The little friend has made a wise choice. This Dao soldier of mine... is not something an ordinary person can nurture. Back then, I invested a tremendous amount of energy and effort."

Now he had to prepare the wedding dress for someone else, which inevitably left him a bit unwilling.

But compared to survival, this was the only strategy he could take. If one's life is gone, then nothing remains.

"Little friend, make the oath," Jiu Ying spoke.

Lu Ye said: "I can make an oath, but I ask senior to make one as well!"

"How so?" Jiu Ying put on his negotiating posture. He naturally knew that Lu Ye was not someone easy to deal with; otherwise, he wouldn't have capsized in the gutter.

"Before I refine and subdue Banlan, senior can leave a piece of spiritual sense in my Divine Sea, but it must not perform any actions unfavorable to me."

Lu Ye certainly didn't trust Jiu Ying, and besides, this guy wanted to stay in his Divine Sea, so there had to be some constraints. Swearing by the Will of the Star Abyss was the best and only choice.

Jiu Ying pondered briefly, then said: "Agreed!"

At that moment, they both pledged in the name of the Will of the Star Abyss.

Even within the Divine Sea, as the oath concluded, Lu Ye still felt as if something descended in the unseen world.

He had experienced this feeling once before.

The oath was completed, and Jiu Ying felt much relieved: "Little friend, I apologize for my earlier offenses."

"No need for apologies, one doesn't know each other until one fights," Lu Ye laughed heartily, his attitude towards Jiu Ying becoming more amiable. "Senior, please step back a little, I need to deal with the trouble in the Divine Sea first!"

Jiu Ying's fragment of spiritual sense quickly moved beside Lu Ye's soul body, staring at the flames in the Divine Sea, and asked curiously: "Little friend, what kind of fire is this?"

He had suffered greatly before; despite being dormant for countless years, his foundation was intact, yet he was still hurt by these flames, which was quite absurd.

"Just a little trick when wandering outside," Lu Ye chuckled, naturally unwilling to elaborate further.

Jiu Ying refrained from asking more, and merely said: "Let little friend understand that this spiritual sense of mine cannot exist long relying solely on itself, so it'll need nourishment from some soul power from the little friend. Of course, it won't be much, nor will it affect the little friend."

Lu Ye nodded, generously: "No problem."

It's just drawing a bit of soul power to maintain the existence of the spiritual sense, which indeed wouldn't affect him.

Jiu Ying seemed somewhat moved: "Little friend is remarkable, I regret having been an enemy before!"

"Let's not talk about past matters," Lu Ye consoled, "Senior, how exactly to refine Banlan?"

With the Divine Sea issue resolved and the oath made, it was imperative to clarify this. The previous actions were for this purpose.

"Little friend, truly can't refine it before entering the Dao Realm," Jiu Ying advised earnestly, "Better to cultivate until Dao Fusion before, Banlan can't escape."

Shut up, you chatterbox, wait until I refine Banlan, then you'll weep!

Lu Ye cursed silently, while maintaining courtesy: "Dao Fusion is simple, I can enter whenever I wish. Senior, just tell me how, so I can prepare in advance!"

Seeing Lu Ye's insistence, Jiu Ying was somewhat cornered, plus it was fundamentally the basis of the oath.

He then began reciting elaborately.

Lu Ye listened attentively, nodding continuously.

A moment later, Lu Ye opened his eyes.

Over there, Dark Butterfly was still cultivating, replenishing the previous consumption, as her Dao force was still gradually increasing. However, judging from the current speed, it seemed she was merely cultivating, not refining the Dao Bone.

"Anything?" A mellow voice reached Lu Ye's ears, clearly Dark Butterfly sensed his gaze.

"I need to return to the ruin once more!" Lu Ye spoke.

"What for?"

Lu Ye expressed the prearranged excuse: "The Blood Race's giant ant was left behind inside, don't you want to retrieve it?"

Dark Butterfly casually said: "You should know that I can sense if you're speaking truthfully!"

Lu Ye sighed: "Ignoring what is seen is what a good woman does!"

Dark Butterfly snorted softly, paused for a moment, then said: "I have a condition!"

"Speak!"

"I want you to use that kind of flame to incinerate my soul body!"