Chapter 2305: The Nine Clones Secret Technique
When Lu Yin had first impersonated Xia Yuan, the man himself had been thoughtlessly tossed into Zenith Mountain, and Lu Yin had only just remembered the man’s existence.
Xia Yuan glanced around, a bit dazed by the sudden change, and he almost instantly noticed the huge body of the jiao. The man’s legs grew weak, and he nearly fell. "Jia- jiao?"
Lu Yin looked up and gave a pointed stare at the jiao.
The beast roared while baring its teeth and waving its claws about.
Xia Yuan was paralyzed with fear, and he instantly collapsed onto the ground. While an Envoy should not be so timid, he had grown up in Shenwu’s Sky, and the jiao was quite literally the sky for every member of the Xia family, though it was an imprisoned sky. Seeing the sky regain its freedom was an emotional impact that could only be imagined for members of the Xia family.
Not to mention Xia Yuan, even Xia Ziheng had been terrified when the jiao was freed. After the beast had been released, the Semi-Progenitor had not dared to say a single word, not even when Lu Yin and the others had fled to the Middle Realm. Xia Ziheng had not dared to draw close to the jiao.
The Xia family’s fear of the jiao was simply too powerful.
"Xia Yuan," Lu Yin said in a cold voice.
The man’s head slowly turned around so he could look at Lu Yin. "You- who are you?"
Lu Yin looked quite familiar.
Lu Yin had removed Yu Hao’s appearance and returned to his own face, which was why Xia Yuan did not immediately recognize Lu Yin.
Lu Yin pointed over at Xia Shenji"s clone. "Do you recognize him?"
Xia Yuan looked down on the ground where Xia Shenji was lying, and the Envoy’s pupils shrank sharply as he blurted out, "Old Ancestor?"
Xia Shenji"s expression changed, and he tried to answer, but Lu Yin reacted faster. He grabbed hold of Xia Yuan and moved directly beneath the jiao. Overhead, the beast slowly opened its mouth to reveal all of its sharp teeth. Xia Yuan was so frightened by the sight that he could not even react. All he could think about was the image of Xia Shenji lying on the ground, in terrible condition.
What’s happening? How could my Xia family’s Progenitor be in such a state? It’s impossible! It must be fake! All of it has to be fake!
The jiao let out a roar as it raised its claws and waved them around, making itself look as threatening as possible.
Xia Yuan was badly startled, and he stared up at the jiao in terror, barely able to even move his body.
"I ask the questions, and you answer them. Otherwise, Xia Shenji will serve as a lesson for you," Lu Yin slowly stated.
It was only then that Xia Yuan regained his senses, and he turned to look at Lu Yin. "I remember you! You are Lu Xiaoxuan!"
Lu Yin’s cold eyes stared back at the man. "Where is the Nine Clones Secret Technique?"
Xia Yuan and Lu Yin stared at each other in silence. There was bewilderment and fear in Xia Yuan’s eyes, and he glanced over at Xia Shenji. There, he saw anger and shock in Xia Shenji"s eyes.
"I"ll ask you again: where is the Nine Clones Secret Technique? If you don"t answer, I"ll throw you into the jiao"s mouth. It still quite enjoys eating members of the Xia family," Lu Yin said slowly.
Xia Yuan started to grow desperate. "Why- how can our ancestor have ended up like this?"
Lu Yin frowned and grabbed Xia Yuan. They suddenly appeared in front of the jiao’s face, and two ma.s.sive eyes looked at the tiny people, making the jiao cross-eyed. The beast just stared at Lu Yin and Xia Yuan. It could not understand what the two were doing, but as Xia Yuan looked into the enormous eyes of the jiao and remembered the teeth he had just seen, he quickly grew terribly pale.
"The Nine Clones- the Nine Clones Secret Technique is on the jiao’s head. That’s what I’ve heard before," Xia Yuan quickly shouted.
"I know that much, but exactly where is it?" Lu Yin demanded. Xia Yuan’s mind was just about to break after seeing the jiao and Xia Shenji. He was beyond terrified of Lu Yin at this moment, so he easily gave away everything that he knew.
Xia Yuan shook his head. "I don"t know! I never learned the secret technique! It’s something that only direct descendants can learn! But- but I did hear that it"s etched onto the jiao’s head so that you can see it from very far up above."
Lu Yin"s eyes lit up, and he tossed Xia Yuan back into Zenith Mountain before leaping up into the sky. He moved much higher than before, and then looked down at the jiao’s head. "Lie down for me. Put your head down, but don’t roll over. Just lay on your stomach, like this."
The jiao miserably set its head on the ground, its eyes darting about.
Lu Yin rose higher into the sky, moving further and further away so that he could get a more complete view of the jiao’s head. Eventually, he saw that there was something wrong. There was a discoloration just above a part of the jiao"s mouth. With the distance, the discoloration was very obvious, and as one moved closer, it would be much more difficult to make out.
Lu Yin"s eyes flashed. He had found the location, so he descended and landed right next to where the discoloration started.
The jiao stared at its face and let out a m.u.f.fled grunt. It was clearly upset.
Lu Yin looked up at the beast. "What? You don’t like this position?"
The jiao’s eyes shifted away and it started looking elsewhere.
Lu Yin thought for a moment, and then squatted down and pressed his hand onto the discolored portion of the jiao’s head. For a brief moment, he seemed to see a vision. The slightly discolored scales under his hand suddenly turned blood red, and that brilliant color spread. He raised his head and could almost make out a drop of blood. It fell from the sky, coming from nowhere at all, and fell onto the jiao’s head. After seeing that, various other scenes appeared in Lu Yin’s mind. There was a person, and also a series of people. Sometimes the people were separate, and at other times they merged. When the people were distinct, Lu Yin saw every last one of them, but he could also see that there was some sort of ethereal connection between them. When these people merged, he could see changes in the solitary body.
There was a mental roar that rang out in Lu Yin’s mind, and the power in his chest suddenly surged. Stars fell from the sky, and Lu Yin stumbled back a few steps. At some point in time, his palm had torn open to the point where white bones could be seen. The wound stung badly.
This was due to conflicting bloodlines. Lu Yin stared down at his palm. He had finally found the Nine Clones Secret Technique, but it clashed with his very blood. This did not necessarily mean that the Xia family’s bloodline was required to learn the Nine Clones Secret Technique, but simply that his blood was rejecting the blood that provided the secret technique. If not for the power that Lu Yin cultivated in his chest, his body would have been torn to pieces by the clash in bloodlines.
This sort of conflict had nothing to do with one’s level of cultivation, and even a Semi-Progenitor would be instantly torn apart by such a thing. The only solution was to find a way to resolve the existing conflict.
The power in Lu Yin’s chest was something that accepted and absorbed all different powers. Let alone something like the Xia family’s blood, Lu Yin had already dissolved the unique power of the Sixth Mainland’s Garan family. The Garan family’s unique power was something on the same level as the Lu family"s blood.
Lu Yin stared down at the slightly discolored scales that seemed practically no different from any of the other scales on the jiao’s head. This was indeed the Nine Clones Secret Technique that he had dreamed of for so long, but to get it, he needed something that could counter or suppress the bloodline conflict.
While the power in Lu Yin’s chest could simply suppress the blood that held the secret technique, that would not let Lu Yin learn it. It seemed that the answer was once again Progenitor Chen"s blood.
Lu Yin moved away from the jiao’s head and went over to where Arch-Elder Zen and the others were waiting, and greeted them with a small smile. "It seems that you have all been waiting for me."
Arch-Elder Zen answered with a wry smile, "You came back very quickly. What happened while you were gone?"
Lu Yin briefly shared what had happened during his time in the Perennial World.
Even though Lu Yin spoke casually, the tale that he told was unbelievable to the ears of Arch-Elder Zen and the others. It sounded like some sort of fantasy.
"You captured the patriarchs of all four ruling powers, upset the entire Higher Realm, forced your way into Shenwu"s Sky, subdued their dragon, and even fought against Xia Shenji? None of us could do any one of those things, and yet you’re just a three-tribulation Envoy! The fact that you’ve ascended to such a level is simply incredible." Arch-Elder Zen was badly shocked.
He was someone who had lived since the Daosource Sect era, and what sort of thing had he not seen already? He had watched the Mother Tree itself be moved. Despite all the man’s vast experiences, what Lu Yin had done in the Perennial World had badly stunned the old man.
Aside from the relief that Highsage Grandmaster, Jiu Chi, and the others were feeling at Lu Yin’s success, Elder Gong was simply rejoicing over the fact that Lu Yin had survived, as his death would mean the loss of the pattern on the bottom of his foot.
Grandmaster Xiu Ming paid the most attention to Lu Yin’s mentions of Lockbreakers and lockbreaking. "So this Grandmaster Gu Yan that you mentioned is the Perennial World’s foremost Lockbreaker? How many Array Grandmasters does the Perennial World have?"
Lu Yin replied, "Four, and Grandmaster Gu Yan is acknowledged as the best of them all. He has a rather difficult personality and doesn’t get along with the four ruling powers, but they can’t do anything to him."
Grandmaster Xiu Ming smiled. "For him to be acknowledged as the Perennial World’s greatest Array Grandmaster, his skills must be astonishing. Regardless of how stupid the four ruling powers might be, they would still never dare to offend such a person. It makes sense that you were able to string all four of them along by pretending to be his apprentice.
“Also," The man hesitated for a moment as he gave Lu Yin an odd look. "Have you truly reached the level of Realm Array Master?"
Lu Yin nodded.
Grandmaster Xiu Ming grew emotional. "I already knew that you had incredibly lockbreaking talent, but I thought that you would struggle to improve any further. I didn’t expect my estimation to be so wrong. Come visit me when you have the time, and we will play a game of Stable Zone."
This was something that Lu Yin could not have asked for. The further he progressed with his lockbreaking mastery, the more useful it became. Progenitor Hui himself had not been a very capable fighter, but he had created Ceaseless Impetus, which was a sourcebox array that had protected all of humanity for countless years. This was an incomparable accomplishment. No matter how strong a person might become, their individual ability to protect humanity would be limited, but a sourcebox array could have miraculous effects, and it could accomplish things that not even Progenitors were capable of.
Lu Yin had his die’s Possession ability, and it almost felt like cheating when it came to lockbreaking. If he could Possess Grandmaster Xiu Ming, Mu Shang, or even Grandmaster Gu Yan, Lu Yin might quickly become the greatest Array Grandmaster of the current era. He was quite excited by the prospect of creating a sourcebox array that could provide blessings for future generations, just the same as Progenitor Hui.
However, the die’s Possession simply granted Lu Yin memories and knowledge, and it was still important for him to familiarize himself with them. Playing Stable Zone against an opponent like Grandmaster Xiu Ming was one of the best methods to achieve the familiarity that Lu Yin needed.
Qing Ping soon left. He had successfully broken through and become a Semi-Progenitor, adding another Semi-Progenitor to the Fifth Mainland’s numbers. On top of that, Qing Ping could be considered an invincible Semi-Progenitor.
Kui Luo also left, as the old man wanted to go somewhere. Lu Yin guessed that Kui Luo wanted to go back to fishing, and that thought reminded Lu Yin of the Astral River. While in the Perennial World, Lu Yin had learned that the Astral River had once flowed around the Mother Tree and that pyrolyte was actually the decayed roots of the Mother Tree and should be actually called Mother Soil. There was almost none of the Mother Soil in the Perennial World, but there was a tremendous amount of it in the Astral River, which meant that Lu Yin needed to find an opportunity to dig it up.
He glanced back at the sourcebox array that connected to the Perennial World. Lu Yin had managed to accomplish less than half of his goals during his visit, but he had upset the balance of the four ruling powers. Next, there would be a direct confrontation with them.
He was curious to see how the four ruling powers intended to deal with him.
Liu Shaoge had been left in Shenwu"s Sky. The man’s fate would be determined by his own luck and abilities, but Lu Yin did not expect the man to suffer too badly. Lu Yin had never even considered rescuing Liu Shaoge, and he had clearly abandoned him. Shenwu"s Sky would realize this even if the place was run by idiots. Someone who had been abandoned could be made use of.
However, Liu Shaoge would never be able to break free from Lu Yin easily, not unless he managed to remove the Death Seal.
Also, Tong Yu had remained in the Perennial World. She had not been left there because she had been abandoned by Lu Yin, but because he had not had the chance to collect her before leaving.
At this moment, Lu Yin still had Bai Teng and w.a.n.g Zheng imprisoned on Zenith Mountain, in addition to everyone else that Lu Yin had captured in the past. All of these could be used as leverage to negotiate with the four ruling powers.
What Lu Yin regretted most was losing the mirror. He had lost Progenitor Smoke"s mirror, and there was likely no way to recover it. The mirror had been lost during the confrontation with Xia Shenjji, and his memories of what had happened were rather jumbled. Would the four ruling powers keep the mirror locked away?
With those thoughts in his mind, Lu Yin grabbed Xia Shenji and rode the jiao towards the Outerverse.
Lu Yin himself found it rather unbelievable, but he had actually captured and was riding atop a beast with the power of a Progenitor! A Progenitor represented the pinnacle of human strength.