Chapter 271: Dao Devouring Beast

The light and shadows shifted wildly.

Lu Ye's black hair danced wildly as his aura surged explosively.

Around his body, four identical versions of Lu Ye sat cross-legged in the four cardinal directions—east, south, west, and north.

The *Nine Lives Undying Heavenly Scripture* continued to operate.

Three streams of light intertwined above his head, gradually forming a new figure emerging atop Lu Ye.

The Ghost Valley Wood transformed into essence, the Fire Breathing Soil into qi, and the Wind Soul Sand into spirit.

Trinity.

The sixth life—complete!

Breakthrough—success!

The five Lu Yes simultaneously dissolved into streams of light, merging back into his body.

Though this wasn’t Lu Ye’s first time breaking through to the Divine Connection Realm, he still quietly savored the mysteries of this realm.

Divine Connection—it was the divine soul!

This realm marked the third metamorphosis of the soul. While it didn’t drastically enhance true qi, it brought about a tremendous leap in the soul’s power.

Generally, once a cultivator completed their Divine Connection cultivation, their soul strength would advance by leaps and bounds. If left undisturbed and without relying on external aids, the soul could persist in the natural world for an extremely long time.

Lu Ye also felt his soul power grow more robust, his divine sense expanding its range, and his perception sharpening further.

Countless benefits.

It even felt as though his soul could detach from his body.

"Congratulations!"

Lin Chuyue wiped her tears and offered her felicitations to Lu Ye.

A breakthrough—for cultivators, no matter the realm, it was always a joyous occasion.

"Thank you."

Lu Ye stretched out his hand, and the basin trembled as a massive bowl flew out, shrinking to palm size before landing in his grasp.

"Oh? A treasure? Is this the culprit behind the lingering sorrowful qi?" Lin Chuyue asked curiously.

"Indeed, it is."

"It has acknowledged you as its master. What abilities does it possess?"

"The artifact spirit inside has already perished. If I had to name a function… it could be used to drink water."

Lin Chuyue couldn’t help but roll her eyes. They were both cultivators—no fools here. Who would believe such a claim?

"With the matter of the Sorrowful Cave resolved, shall we head to the Sinking Dao Star next?" Lu Ye asked.

The rewards from Providence had truly given him a taste of sweetness—each reward significantly boosting his strength without any side effects. Who could resist such temptation?

For tasks like these, Lu Ye could do a thousand!

"Don't rush, don't rush. First, stabilize your realm. Let me ask the sect leader if he can still hold on."

Lin Chuyue flew towards Drunken Sword Daoist.

Lu Ye also glanced at Drunken Sword Daoist.

Hmm, at the absolute peak of the Heaven and Earth Realm, already reaching the same level as the Human Emperor Banner—that is, barely holding on.

Almost unable to suppress the breakthrough.

If Drunken Sword Daoist ascends again, would the Fourth Heaven's Celestial Gate be left with only him and Lin Chuyue?

No matter, even if only two remain, it's fine.

"Let's go to the Sinking Dao Star. The sect leader can still hold on."

Lu Ye naturally had no objections. After resolving the issue of the Sinking Dao Star, he could settle scores in the Fourth Heaven. If there were no enemies, he would focus on cultivation; if enemies appeared, he would continue killing!

Lu Ye didn’t enjoy killing.

He had no interest in slaughter whatsoever, but many sought him out, forcing his hand—if he didn’t kill them, they would kill him.

Against this, Lu Ye had no better solution.

The three of them flew into the void.

In the first three heavens, beyond the void lay nothing but emptiness, at most scattered fragments of shattered planets floating in the abyss.

But the Fourth Heaven was different.

In the Fourth Heaven’s void, stars had begun to appear, and the expanse of the void was far greater.

The Fifth Heaven was even more astonishing, teeming with countless stars, entire galaxies—just imagining it evoked a sense of breathtaking beauty.

Most of these stars were uninhabitable.

Those suitable for life were almost always claimed by a faction.

In his past life, Lu Ye had once searched among the myriad stars for traces of Earth.

He didn’t even know why he sought it—perhaps just to see it one more time.

Alas, he never found it.

The void remained crisscrossed with the Great Dao.

After flying for three full days through the boundless void, they finally caught sight of the Sinking Dao Star.

Lu Ye couldn’t help but wonder—how had the Celestial Gate discovered this thing?

After all, among so many stars, finding this particular one was no easy feat.

His curiosity got the better of him, and he voiced the question.

Lin Chuyue answered, "About fourteen hundred years ago, someone discovered a supreme treasure in the void and began pursuing it."

"After a long chase, the treasure eventually flew into the Sinking Dao Star."

"The star’s peculiar conditions made the discoverer hesitate to enter alone, so they gathered a group of experts to venture in together. Once inside, none of them ever returned."

"This celestial body not only devours the Great Dao but also consumes energy. Look!"

Lin Chuyue struck a palm toward the Sinking Dao Star. The palm imprint swelled with the wind, large enough to shatter a star. Yet, upon contact with the Sinking Dao Star, it rapidly dissolved, and all the power of that strike was devoured by the star.

Lu Ye observed this scene, deep in thought.

He gazed at the gray, misty star, watching as strands of the Great Dao entered it and vanished without a trace.

Why did it feel so familiar?

Lu Ye pondered, his memory naturally sharp, quickly sifting through possibilities.

He seemed to realize what this was.

"This isn’t a star," Lu Ye spoke up.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

"If I’m not mistaken, this is a living being—a Devouring Dao Beast."

"A living being???"

Both of them were incredulous. What kind of living being was this massive? It was even larger than a star.

"How can you tell?"

How could he tell? Of course, because he had fought it in his past life.

This Devouring Dao Beast was ferocious, belonging to the QuasiEmperor level.

In his past life, it had nearly achieved the status of an Emperor.

During the Dark Chaos, the Great Dao of the Nine Heavens Sage was entangled, and terrifying entities emerged to harvest the lives of the Nine Heavens. The Devouring Dao Beast had also appeared abruptly at that time.

Even the entities of the Dark Chaos found it rare and sought to devour it. The Devouring Dao Beast fought back fiercely, standing alongside Lu Ye in battle.

After the Dark Chaos finally ended, the beast attempted to devour the Great Dao and living beings once more.

Naturally, Lu Ye disagreed, and so they fought.

The Devouring Dao Beast was utterly crushed in that battle.

"The Devouring Dao Beast is one of the primordial behemoths born from chaos. Its innate ability is to devour the Great Dao—the more it consumes, the stronger it grows."

"It doesn’t just devour the Great Dao—it consumes other things too, like living beings and such."

"Right now, it’s hiding here, likely because it’s been miserably suppressed by the Nine Heavens Sage, unable to move, forced to passively absorb the Great Dao."

"Perhaps it tried to devour some living beings from the Fourth Heaven, only to realize that those it attracted were merely a drop in the bucket. So, it gave up."