Chapter 2969: Mu Ji
"Give me a chance, Progenitor Xi! Please, help me beg for mercy! I just need another chance, and I can make amends!" Shao Yin’s screams were pitiful.
At the edge of the lake, Progenitor Xi calmly replied, "Shao Yin, if it were not for all that you’ve accomplished, your punishment would not be nearly this kind. You should understand what a death penalty within Aeternus means."
Shao Yin was terrified. "I do understand! I know! Progenitor Xi, please give me another chance! As long as I can master my ability, I will not be any weaker than any of the Seven SkyG.o.ds. I don"t even need to be given that position. I only want to serve Aeternus! Progenitor Xi, please, give me another chance."
Progenitor Xi indifferently ordered, "Drop him."
Shao Yin gritted his teeth and looked down. While being submerged in a lake of divine energy was not a death penalty within Aeternus, that did not mean that it was a light punishment.
The entire reason why Yu Huo and the others had been able to become True G.o.d Guard Captains was because they were all capable of cultivating divine energy. However, even if that was true, just how much were they capable of absorbing? If Yu Huo had been able to absorb more, he would not have died during the invasion of the Scourge.
Shao Yin was also capable of cultivating divine energy, but if he came into contact with too much at once, he would experience pain that was a hundred, a thousand, or tens of thousands of times worse than death.
Not only that, once he was dropped into the lake of divine energy, if he was not careful, he might be completely corrupted by the divine energy and transformed into a monster that was neither human nor corpse king. Such a creature would be even more revolting than a corpse king. Shao Yin had seen such monsters with his own eyes, and they were nothing more than killing machines. They did not even listen to the Aeternals’ orders, as there was nothing left of the monsters’ minds.
Shao Yin did want to become that kind of monster.
However, no matter how much he begged, his efforts were useless, and he was soon submerged beneath the lake.
Everything surrounding the lake was silent. This was normal in the Scourge, as no one typically spoke much.
Lu Yin looked around. Previously, there had been a few Progenitor-level experts who had betrayed humanity and joined Aeternus, but a number of them had died during the invasion. Aeternus had lost at least twenty peak powerhouses during the invasion of the Scourge.
The Lord of Lightning was ruthless. He had personally been the vanguard in an attack on the Scourge, the Aeternals’ home territory.
"The normal practice is to pull one out when one is dropped in," Progenitor Xi calmly remarked. The surface of the lake rippled back, as if something was rising to the surface.
Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. Was there something else that had been in the lake before?
Soon, a person was pulled out. They were curled into a ball and trembling.
As soon as they emerged from the lake, the figure let out a crazed roar. Not only were their irises scarlet, but their entire eyes were dyed that color, as was their skin and hair. A faint energy surrounded their body, and it produced a shockwave when the roar was released.
Lu Yin was knocked back, startled. What was this creature?
Progenitor Xi frowned. "Drop it back in and pull another one out."
The roaring figure started to calm down as soon as it made contact with the lake again, and it no longer acted so crazed. Another figure was then pulled up, but just like the first one, this one also let out mad roars, as though it was unwilling to leave the divine lake.
Lu Yin stared, dumbfounded. What were these things? They released such terrifying pressure, and there seemed to be a number of them. Were they corpse kings? No. Were they people? That also was not quite right. These monsters were what remained after a being was completely corrupted by divine energy. These were neither corpse kings nor humans, but rather mindless beasts devoid of all reason.
He looked down at the ground, seeing his own footprints there. Just a roar had forced him back. While these monsters were utterly mindless, their strength was terrifying.
Four monsters in a row were pulled up, each one capable of pushing Lu Yin back with their roars alone. Each one possessed the strength of a peak powerhouse, and each one seemed like an incarnation of divine energy.
No way, are the Aeternals actually keeping things like these hidden? Why didn’t they use them during the invasion?
A fifth figure was pulled up, and Lu Yin stared closely.
This figure emerged from the lake, but it did not roar. It was not curled up, but rather hanging limply like a corpse. The limbs dangled, and long, light red hair covered the face. The figure looked like a ghost.
Progenitor Xi"s eyes lit up. "Your name?"
The figure remained limp, as though dead.
Progenitor Xi did not rush and patiently stood where she was.
Everyone around the lake watched curiously. A few astral beasts appeared, and they also glanced over.
Most experts recruited into Aeternus were human, but not all. There were a few astral beasts as well.
Lu Yin stared at the limp figure. This person was not dead, but Lu Yin did not understand what sort of state they were in.
"Your name?" Progenitor Xi asked again.
The figure still did not respond.
Finally, a maid across the lake timidly spoke up. "Hi- his name is Mu Ji."
When Progenitor Xi looked over at the maid, many other eyes fell on her as well.
The maid panicked. Her master had died during the invasion, and she was waiting for Progenitor Xi to a.s.sign her to a new master. She had not expected to see her first master reappear.
"Mu Ji?" Progenitor Xi was surprised. "The same Mu Ji who tried to control Zhong Pan?"
Lu Yin arched a brow. Tried to control Zhong Pan?
He looked towards the other True G.o.d Guard Captain, as did many other people.
Zhong Pan rarely said a word. He was staring at the limp figure above the lake. "That’s him."
The pink-haired woman of Dual Bladeform exclaimed, "I remember that Aeternus recruited someone hundreds of years ago who was capable of controlling others with evil. So, is this him?"
The blue-haired man nodded. "He wanted to control a True G.o.d Guard Captain with evil? How absurd! That must be why he was punished by being placed in the lake of divine energy. I thought that he would have turned into a frenzied corpse by now, but he still hasn’t."
Lu Yin looked back at the limp figure. Had this person actually tried to control one of the True G.o.d Guard Captains?
Progenitor Xi looked back at the figure as well. "Mu Ji."
The figure twitched. After a moment, he slowly lifted his head. A hand rose up and brushed a bit of his red hair back, revealing the man’s face as he looked around.
His irises were a light shade of red. They were not the same scarlet as the monsters that had appeared earlier. Still, these dark eyes made Lu Yin very uncomfortable.
"Am I being released?" It sounded as though the man had not spoken in a very long time. His voice was dry and hoa.r.s.e.
After looking around, the man’s eyes fell onto Progenitor Xi. He straightened up and rubbed his eyes. "Progenitor Xi? Am I being released?"
Progenitor Xi calmly observed the man. "Some people are dropped in, while others are pulled out. Mu Ji, you are free."
Mu Ji blinked, grinned, and then brushed his hair out of his face. "I"m free? That"s great! Hahahaha, I"m free, and I still haven"t become a mindless monster, hahahaha!"
A smile crept across Progenitor Xi"s face. Anyone who could avoid becoming a frenzied corpse after being submerged in a lake of divine energy was a genius.
"From now on, you will be a True G.o.d Guard Captain. I hope that you won’t make the same mistakes again as you serve Aeternus once more."
Mu Ji started to move his limbs. "Thank you, Progenitor Xi."
The crowd started to break up. Lu Yin carefully observed Mu Ji before also leaving.
The Aeternals truly had an unfathomably deep foundation. There could be countless mindless monsters beneath the divine lake.
Aeternus had not released these frenzied corpses when the Scourge was invaded. It was possible that they were not quite as useful as they appeared.
There were monsters hidden within a lake of divine energy, and there were also True G.o.d’s three unique battle techniques. Lu Yin planned to take some time to search around.
Lu Yin hesitated and turned back to take a second look at the lake of divine energy.
At the moment, there were only five True G.o.d Guard Captains, and even the addition of Mu Ji did not complete their numbers.
Lu Yin believed that the Aeternals would definitely replace all the missing captains as soon as possible.
After thinking about it, Lu Yin realized that this would make Ye Bo one of the veteran captains.
A few days later, Mu Ji suddenly arrived outside of Ye Bo’s tower, asking to meet with him.
Lu Yin did not understand what the other man was doing, but he still stepped out of the tower.
Mu Ji stepped forward with a smile on his face and a very polite tone. "Captain Ye Bo, this is our second time meeting."
Lu Yin casually asked, "What do you need?"
Mu Ji continued to smile. "Nothing, I simply wish to get to know you, Captain Ye Bo. We are both True G.o.d Guard Captains, and there are currently only five of us. There are sure to be many opportunities for us to work together on future missions, so I hope to get to know each of the other captains first."
Lu Yin stared at Mu Ji. He appeared to be a perfectly normal person. He had been submerged in the lake of divine energy for hundreds of years, but it seemed as if nothing had happened to him. If not for the pale red hair and eyes, Lu Yin would question whether the man had even even been in the lake.
"There"s nothing to know," Lu Yin calmly replied.
Mu Ji’s smile remained. "Don"t be so cold. I just went to see Dual Bladeform, and we had a lovely conversation. In fact, sometimes people who appear cold become much more enthusiastic once they start to open up. Captain Ye Bo, are you someone like that as well?"
Lu Yin calmly stared at Mu Ji, not saying anything.
Mu Ji showed no hint of embarra.s.sment, and he continued to smile. "Alright, well, no matter. We still need to get to know each other, and we have a long time to do so in the future."
"Not necessarily," Lu Yin retorted.
Mu Ji let out a laugh. "Captain Ye Bo, you’re quite interesting. Do you lack confidence in yourself, or in me? If it"s me, there"s no need for you to worry. I"m very powerful."
Lu Yin arched a brow. The red-haired man’s expression finally changed, and he grew serious. "I"m very powerful."
Lu Yin turned around and walked away, returning to his tower.
"Captain Ye Bo, do you want to compare notes? I think that we will become good friends," Mu Ji called out.
Lu Yin entered his tower without a backwards glance, and the door closed. Only Ye Bo’s maid remained outside the door to face Mu Ji.
Mu Ji sighed. "Sure enough, everyone’s so cold. It’s so boring."
He then also left.
Lu Yin stood in his tower and stared at Mu Ji"s retreating figure. Lu Yin was actually quite curious about what Mu Ji had experienced underneath the lake of divine energy. Why had he not become a monster like the others, what were referred to as frenzied corpses?
Those frenzied corpses were all peak powerhouses who had made mistakes. Just like Shao Yin, they had been punished by being dropped into the lake.
Anyone weaker was not qualified to receive such a punishment.
Since so many other peak powerhouses had been reduced to frenzied corpses, how had Mu Ji managed to retain his sanity without being corrupted?
After Mu Ji was gone, Dual Bladeform arrived, and they also asked to see Ye Bo.
"Ye Bo, did Mu Ji come here to see you?" the pink-haired woman asked, her big eyes darting about with curiosity.
Lu Yin nodded.
"Don"t believe anything he says!" The woman clenched her fists in anger.
Lu Yin caught off guard. "What"s wrong?"
The blue-haired man explained, "That guy is absolutely disgusting. After he joined Aeternus, he worked with us on a few missions. Several times, he tried to take control of us. Luckily, we were always wary, so he never succeeded. We weren’t the only ones, as he must have done the same thing to others as well. Aside from corpse kings, he wants to control everyone.
"If his means for controlling people wasn’t exposed, I don’t even know how things would have turned out."
Lu Yin felt a bit puzzled. "How does he control people?"
"Evil." The pink-haired woman said one word in disgust.
Lu Yin felt even more confused.