Chapter 2884: Success
Bai Qian stared at the odd machine. It was a cultivation technology that had been specially developed to study sequence particles. It incorporated both the energy converter and Bestowal Art technologies, and it was the pinnacle of cultivation technology since the inception of the Transcendent Universe. Lord Wei had shared this with Bai Qian while delivering her to this parallel universe.
This was the first time she was seeing the members of the Energy Research Group.
All of the people here had one characteristic in common; they were focused. Very, very focused. Bai Qian was standing right there, but no one said h.e.l.lo or even glanced at her.
Everyone was entirely focused on the weird piece of cultivation technology.
On this day, Bai Qian had learned that the parallel universe with the different flow of time where the Energy Research Group had been conducting research had been destroyed. Thus, all of the researchers had returned to the Transcendent Universe. This was also the day that Bai Qian learned that the sequence particle research had reached a breakthrough point.
"It"s beautiful! So beautiful! Zi Jing, look! This is all because of you! This will transform all of the known human universes!" The crazy old man danced about, ecstatic at the breakthrough.
Zi Jing was staring at the machine. She could see specks there. Those specks were sequence particles.
By relying on the foundation of the research that she had completed before escaping from the Transcendent Universe, as well as the a.s.sistance of the parallel universe with the altered time flow, they had finally succeeded in manifesting sequence particles. This manifestation was fundamentally different from what they had accomplished before. In the past, they had only been able to observe sequence particles, but at this moment, they were not just observing sequence particles. Rather, they had actually brought them out.
Lord Wei had told them that this particular power existed, so the Energy Research Group had worked tirelessly to realize it. Zi Jing’s insight had allowed them to initially observe the mysterious power, but at this moment, they had truly brought the power out. This was not even close to mere observation.
The crazy old man suddenly looked over to stare at Cong Si with great excitement. "You, come over here."
Cong Si could use a black energy converter, which granted him a very high status in the Transcendent Universe. Despite that, he did not dare to refuse the old man"s order. Only those who knew the man well understood that he had an exceptional status in the Transcendent Universe. Even if He Ran had once enjoyed a status that even Bai Qian could not compare to, this mad old researcher had still been the true number two in the Transcendent Universe.
Cong Si stepped forward. "Head Researcher, what are your orders?"
The old man pointed towards the machine. "Touch it."
Cong Si was startled, and he turned to look at the sequence particles that had appeared within the odd machine. Truthfully, he had no idea what he was looking at. He had simply been tasked with protecting the Energy Research Group. As for what they were studying, he had never bothered to ask. This was the reason why the ruler of the Transcendent Universe trusted Cong Si so much. After all, the Energy Research Group’s research was the greatest secret in the entire universe, and it was imperative that it not leak.
While Cong Si did not know what the researchers had been studying, he was very clear about its importance. Lord Wei had personally destroyed the parallel universe where the research had been conducted, just to keep the research a secret. The specks that Cong Si was looking at were the results of that research.
Touch them? The idea terrified the man.
The crazy old man grew irritated. "Hurry up! I"m letting you touch it!"
Cong Si’s eyes narrowed, and he still hesitated. "Head Researcher, may I ask what this is?"
The old man lost his temper. "How presumptuous! Do you think that you can ask questions about this? Are you seeking death? Do you believe that I can take everything away from you and use you as a test subject?"
Cong Si turned pale, and he hurriedly offered a bow. "This subordinate behaved recklessly. Please forgive me, Head Researcher. I will touch them now."
The old man snorted contemptuously, and a frenzied light returned to his eyes as Cong Si’s hand rose and stretched out to touch a particle.
As the man’s fingers drew closer and closer to the particles, the old man"s eyes blazed brighter and brighter, and they nearly bulged from his head. Zi Jing was also staring intently, as were all the other researchers.
Slowly, as if resigned to his fate, Cong Si’s fingers touched a particle.
At first, he felt nothing.
His eye twitched as he stared at his fingers. He bent them, unable to feel anything different. The only thing that had changed was the color of his fingers.
At this moment, Cong Si’s fingers were yellow. They had changed color the moment he touched the sequence particle. At times his fingers were white, other times black, occasionally red, and then even blue. It was as if some invisible power was changing the color of Cong Si’s fingers. The color did not spread or gradually shift, it simply... changed.
Cong Si was certain that no one and nothing had touched him, aside from the strange speck he was touching.
Were those specks some sort of pigment?
Everyone else watched, their eyes growing as questions appeared in them. It was impossible to know what the researchers were thinking about.
Bai Qian was unable to understand what she was seeing, but that was also unnecessary. She simply needed to focus on Zi Jing and the crazy old man. Their enthusiasm had not diminished in the slightest, and Bai Qian saw an indescribable ecstasy that neither researcher could suppress. It was clear to Bai Qian that the research had succeeded.
"Pull your hand back," Zi Jing ordered.
Cong Si glanced over at the old man for confirmation, but the head researcher just nodded.
Cong Si let slip a sigh of relief as he quickly pulled his fingers back. He stared at it, but it had returned to its normal color. What had just happened? Cong Si was certain that nothing had spilled on his finger, and it seemed as though his finger had changed color from the inside, as if his entire finger had become the color. What were those particles?
The Energy Research Group had burned through ma.s.sive amounts of materials and resources from multiple universes, and this had even caused a parallel universe with an accelerated time flow to be destroyed. Were these specks really what they had been researching this whole time?
Cong Si did not dare say a word as he slowly stepped back.
Zi Jing exhaled. "Those colors are Laws! We just witnessed the particles of the Law of Colors."
Excitement filled the old man"s eyes. "We still can"t control what appears just yet, but since we are already able to materialize the laws of the universe, it means that we will eventually succeed."
He looked at Zi Jing. "Once we finish our research, I promise you that the person in the Transcendent Universe second to only Lord Wei will no longer be He Ran, Bai Qian, or even me, as we will all have to step down. Zi Jing, you will be able to look down upon the entire Sixverse a.s.sociation!"
Zi Jing demurely refused the praise. "Teacher, please be serious. Our research relied on you, and I was nothing more than an a.s.sistant."
The old man shook his head. "I"m too old. You need to take responsibility for guiding the Transcendent Universe’s research after this. I will report this matter to Lord Wei."
The man then glanced around. "My Transcendent Universe is guaranteed to upset the current balance of the Sixverse a.s.sociation very soon.
"As for Sovereign Shao Yin, the Three Monarchs Universe, or any others who dare to scheme against us, they will all be forced to bow down!"
The old man’s words caused Cong Si and Bai Qian both to give him odd looks from the distance.
Sovereign Shao Yin? The Three Monarchs Universe? Both had already been ruined by the same person. The Energy Research Group had been cut off from the outside world while conducting their research, and they had not heard of any of the recent events. The Sixverse a.s.sociation had already completely changed, and a monster even more terrifying than the Cyclic Universe had risen.
A short while later, the crazy old man, Zi Jing, and the rest of the researchers were taken elsewhere by Lord Wei, and their location was once again kept secret from Bai Qian.
...
On the same sunny beach on Earth as before, Lu Yin arrived before Bai Qian.
He had received a message to meet her.
When Bai Qian arrived, Lu Yin already had a drink in hand.
The beach was covered with people, even though it had been completely empty in the past. It was now difficult to find any place on Earth with no people. However, regardless of how crowded the beach might be, none of the people present were able to recognize Lu Yin, as anyone who laid eyes on him immediately forgot what he looked like.
"Aren"t you concerned that Lord Wei has you under surveillance?" Lu Yin watched as Bai Qian laid down, and then handed the drink to her with a smile.
Bai Qian gave a small, indifferent smile of her own. She was unquestionably beautiful, but she also kept her distance from other people, much like He Ran. "With someone as powerful as Dao Monarch Lu behind me, there’s no reason for me to be scared."
Lu Yin laughed. "Still, Lord Wei is the ruler of the Transcendent Universe, and the Heavens Sect cannot interfere in the affairs of other parallel universes for any reason."
"Really?" Bai Qian looked over and smiled at Lu Yin. "Has the Dao Monarch’s goal already been achieved?"
"What goal?"
"It"s my turn to ask the questions. What is Lord Lu"s goal?"
"It’s too exaggerated, but I want to eliminate the Aeternals."
"And what about before that?"
Lu Yin took a sip of his drink. "What are you getting at?"
Bai Qian gestured with her gla.s.s. "A hundred undisciplined people will never be able to defeat a trained army of just fifty. The members of the Sixverse a.s.sociation all fight on their own, which is the biggest reason why it is so difficult for us humans to overpower the Aeternals. There are times when, even though Dao Monarch Lu knows that someone is a spy, you are still forced to take extra precautions with them in order to avoid offending certain people. Don’t you find such things too tiring, Lord Lu?”
Lu Yin set his drink down. "If there’s anything you need from me, just say it."
He already knew what Bai Qian was hinting at, but the truth was that Bai Qian was not qualified to have that conversation with Lu Yin. While it appeared as if Bai Qian had the final say in the Transcendent Universe, how much power did she really wield?
As soon as Lord Wei appeared, Bai Qian"s duty was relegated to providing him with information, nothing more. Lord Wei could destroy the woman with a single word, just like how Lu Yin could destroy He Ran. Some people were nothing more than p.a.w.ns. Of course, if things changed, Lu Yin was not adverse to pursuing the discussion further.
Everyone tried to climb further up. If one did not want to end up as another’s p.a.w.n, it was necessary to climb higher faster.
Bai Qian did not pursue the conversation. "I saw Zi Jing."
"How is she?"
"Very good. The sequence particle cultivation technology proved successful."
Lu Yin’s head whipped around, and he stared at Bai Qian.
The two people stared at each other. "It was only a partial success, and I don’t really understand what they accomplished, but judging by Zi Jing"s reaction, I know that there is hope to succeed in their research. They are not even in the parallel universe anymore, as they have been moved back to the Transcendent Universe. If you want to find Zi Jing, the only way is through Lord Wei. No one else can find her.”
Lu Yin stared out at the ocean. Lord Wei? Lu Yin had sought the man out on several occasions, but the man had deliberately avoided meeting with Lu Yin.
The ruler of the Transcendent Universe was a mystery to Lu Yin.
It was impossible for Lord Wei to still be ignorant to the fact that Lu Yin had plotted against him. Both Cloudflow and He Ran were in the Heavens Sect, and Lu Yin did not believe that the information had not made it to Lord Wei. Even so, the man had not said anything, and he had even saved Lu Yin during the Tea Ceremony. Just what was the man thinking?
"I can’t understand what Lord Wei is thinking. You should talk to him," Bai Qian suggested.
"He’s been avoiding me, and there’s nothing that I can do about it. I can’t force him. Even if we are both rulers of parallel universes, it’s necessary for us to show respect to each other."
Bai Qian slowly smiled. "Respect? From the time the Heavens Sect started to rise up, Lord Lu has not shown anyone respect. You even insulted the Great Sovereign."
Lu Yin did not answer. The fact that Bai Qian had asked for a meeting meant that she had to have already found a solution. If not, it would have been foolish for her to meet with Lu Yin.
"The parallel universe with the altered rate of time has already been destroyed. I can’t say how long they spent on this research, but the one thing I’m certain of is that they still don’t have enough materials," Bai Qian casually mentioned.
Lu Yin"s eyes lit up. "The materials they need for researching the sequence particle cultivation technology were mostly obtained from the Origin Universe and the Voidforce Universe. I’m the only person who can get everything that they need."
Bai Qian sipped her drink and then left.
Lu Yin stared out at the ocean as though in trance. He was completely lost in his own thoughts.
In the Perennial World, Lu Yin returned to the Lu Sanctum. He had decided to start looking for Ye Bo.
According to Senior Brother Mu Xie, Ye Bo might be some sort of consciousness, and the only way that Lu Yin could think of was to find Ye Bo with his die’s Possession.
All he could do was try. If it worked, Lu Yin would be able to grab Ye Bo. If not, he would simply let Mu Xie track him down with Origin Tracer.