Chapter 1898: Chaos
This second video instantly caused the Cloud Valley to erupt. Even though the Cloud Valley Master was currently fighting in the war in Armament Weave, he was infuriated by the revelation, and he promptly contacted the Daosource Sect and demanded that Fan Chen be brought to trial.
Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao was already dealing with the headache created by the Green and White Sages incident when this new incident suddenly popped up. Fan Chen had actually secretly captured the previous Cloud Valley Master. The Cloud Valley would never let this matter go, and the Fan family would also never be willing to give up Fan Chen. Regardless of the decision that Jiu Yao made, the Sixth Mainland would lose a Cosmic Imprinter and a powerful force, and it was even possible that the Higher Temple would take action.
Who was behind all this?
Jiu Yao"s eyes grew hard, and he quickly ordered an investigation into who had released the messages.
Wherever people gathered, so too would conflict. The Sixth Mainland’s various forces had fought against each other for countless years, and too many grudges and enmities had been created to even count. The Fifth Mainland was no different in this regard.
However, such hidden matters had been brought to light. Both of the videos that had been released were undoctored.
It had not been a big deal when the video of the Green and White Sages had been released, as the two were merely World Imprinters, but Fan Chen was a Cosmic Imprinter. Despite his strength, he had not even realized that he was being observed and recorded, which indicated that the person who had recorded the videos was at least as strong as an Empyrean Imprinter, and they might even be as strong as a Semi-Progenitor.
This thought caused Jiu Yao"s eyes to flicker. This person was most likely a Semi-Progenitor, as not even an Empyrean Imprinter would have been able to completely evade Fan Chen’s notice while observing and recording the man.
However, which Semi-Progenitor would be so bored as to waste their time with such a trivial matter?
Most powerhouses who became Semi-Progenitors spent their time preparing to break through to the Progenitor realm, and thus most Semi-Progenitors had no concern for these mundane matters. Let alone small-scale conflicts like what were being exposed, most Semi-Progenitors could not even be bothered to move out for large-scale wars.
None of the Semi-Progenitors could even be bothered to get involved in the war between the Sixth Mainland and the Astral Beast Domain.
However, if there really was such a petty Semi-Progenitor who was sticking their nose into such frivolous matters, it would spell disaster for the Sixth Mainland.
Suddenly, Jiu Yao thought of a certain person.
Around the same time that the Neohuman Alliance"s Seven SkyG.o.ds had attacked the Daosource Sect and killed Jiu San, another Semi-Progenitor had forced their way into the Daosource Sect. Could this be that same person?
Where had that Semi-Progenitor come from? They were clearly hostile to the Sixth Mainland, so could they be from the Fifth Mainland?
This possibility prompted Jiu Yao to immediately contact Arch-Elder Zen. That old man had to know who this Semi-Progenitor was.
The strength that a Semi-Progenitor possessed meant that if one deliberately acted against the Sixth Mainland, the entire place would be thrown into chaos.
Of course, Arch-Elder Zen was already aware of what had happened within the Sixth Mainland. He had even seen the videos that had been released, and his first thought had been of Kui Luo. Who else would waste their time using their power on such mundane affairs?
Arch-Elder Zen had learned of Kui Luo"s reputation in the Perennial World from Liu Ye and Fei Hua, so the old man was already aware that Kui Luo had been hated and reviled in the Perennial World. There, he had even targeted the four ruling powers and worked to damage their fame and influence.
Even after Liu Ye and Fei Hua arrived in the Fifth Mainland, they had still asked Lu Yin about what had happened in the past with Kui Luo, which showed just how infuriating Kui Luo could be.
Arch-Elder Zen had let out a sigh of relief after seeing the videos that had been released. They were truly lucky that Kui Luo had not gone after the Fifth Mainland as that would have forced the various Semi-Progenitors to work together to hunt Kui Luo down, which might even be completely impossible.
Even Arch-Elder Zen, who was incredibly patient and old, could understand the fury that Kui Luo could induce in people.
Beep beep beep!
His gadget beeped, and he was amused to see it was a call from Jiu Yao. He went ahead and answered the call.
"Old Zen, I want to know who’s doing these things," Jiu Yao stated in a low voice. "Even the Progenitor of Combat is taking notice of this matter."
Arch-Elder Zen just shrugged. "I don"t know, but I know that it’s not anyone from here."
Jiu Yao’s eyes narrowed. "This isn’t someone from your Fifth Mainland?"
Arch-Elder Zen replied, "Tombkeeper is unable to leave Burial Garden, Lingzhi attempted to break through to the Progenitor realm but failed. As for Elder Gong, Highsage Grandmaster, Xia Ji, or Jiu Chi, would any of them do such a thing?"
Jiu Yao thought for a bit. "Would that idiot Jiu Chi do this?"
"He likes to drink, but he doesn’t act like a drunk. There’s no way it’s him. I can promise you that."
Jiu Yao’s voice dropped low, “Arch-Elder Zen, I’m not trying to intimidate you, but both the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines are paying attention to this matter. As soon as the culprit is found, they will be killed and shown no mercy. I do not wish to see this matter lead to a war between us."
Arch-Elder Zen solemnly said, "There’s no need for such concerns. Do as you see fit in this matter. I won’t get involved."
"Very well." Jiu Yao hung up and frowned. Who could be behind these messages and videos? It did not seem to be someone from the Fifth Mainland, so could it be a Semi-Progenitor from the Astral Beast Domain? That was even more impossible. Their only Semi-Progenitor was the Celestial Demon Emperor, and how could the emperor sneak deep into the Outerverse in order to do rile up chaos?
Jiu Yao’s headache was only growing worse.
Elsewhere in the Outerverse, in the eastern weaves, Lu Yin was watching the video and laughing in one of the Great Eastern Alliance’s fleet’s ships. Shui Chuanxiao and Wei Rong were present as well, as were the Second Nightking and several others. Each of them had an odd expression on their faces.
Who would do such a thing? Was this any different than voyeurism? Despite many of the gathered powerhouses’ countless years of cultivation, they had never witnessed such a thing before.
Lu Yin already understood the frustrations felt by countless people in the Perennial World, and he was certain that the Sixth Mainland’s three Semi-Progenitors were feeling the most frustrated out of anyone at this moment. A dignified Semi-Progenitor was sneaking around spying on people, so what secrets could stay safe? The Sixth Mainland was facing a true crisis.
The Meng clan had demanded that the Green and White Sages be called to account for their actions, and Justice Manor and other powers had joined the search for the two World Imprinters. The Cloud Valley would never be willing to see Fan Chen go free, and there were definitely more exciting scandals to be unveiled. There was no way that Kui Luo would leave things at just this.
Sure enough, it was not long before Lu Yin received another message. This one was actually just a list, but it named various moles hiding in different Sixth Mainland organizations.
The Sixth Mainland was not some monolithic ent.i.ty. It had internal wars and conflicts just like the Fifth Mainland.
It was perfectly normal for the various families and powers to have moles hidden within their members, as everyone employed such spies. However, it was unusual for those spies to be exposed en ma.s.se.
This time, it was not the various powerhouses who received the message, but the moles themselves. Each of them looked at the list that they had been sent, and they could even note their mission listed beside their names. They all felt a chill, and they fled from their posts without another thought.
Each of them wanted to escape and return home, but to do so, they also had to provide some information or treasure of sufficient value. Whatever was taken away would naturally be of immense importance to the place where the spies had been hidden.
When the Sixth Mainland’s major powers received this batch of information, they each moved as quickly as possible to capture the spies only to discover they were already too late. Their only option was to try to hunt the escaped spies down.
It took only half a day for the Sixth Mainland to descend into utter chaos.
Only a short bit of time pa.s.sed before many of the Sixth Mainland cultivators received an additional message. It was another list, but this one was a list of dead people.
More specifically, this list detailed the dead and who had killed them, and the details were quite explicit.
The impact of this list was even more powerful, and many people moved out to get revenge after learning who had wronged them.
Out of everyone who took action, the most noticeable was Semi-Progenitor Xue Laogui.
There were only three Semi-Progenitors left in the Sixth Mainland’s Daosource Sect: Jiu Yao, Lan Xian, and Xue Laogui.
Xue Laogui had no familial connection to the Progenitor of Bloodlines, as he was someone who had risen to power by treading a path of endless slaughter and enmity, and his reputation had earned him the name Xue Laogui.
Shockingly, the list that Kui Luo had compiled and spread out listed several different powers who had acted against Xue Laogui in the past, and among them was the Toolcasting family.
The Toolcasting family boasted a history that extended far before Xue Laogui had been born, and they also bore the lion’s share of the Semi-Progenitor’s old blood debts.
Xue Laogui had thought that he had already gotten revenge for his old grudges, but the information revealed in Kui Luo’s list sent the Semi-Progenitor out of the Daosource Sect and straight for the Toolcasting family. Disaster descended upon the clan.
Semi-Progenitor Jiu Yao quickly issued an order to the entire Sixth Mainland that banned gadgets as well as access to the Human Domain’s network. This was an attempt to avoid the distribution of any further messages.
Chaos reigned in the Outerverse.
The Meng clan, Justice Manor, and many other powers were searching for the Green and White Sages. The Cloud Valley was trying to get their revenge on the Fan family. Many clans and sects were trying to chase down and capture escaped spies that had been uncovered and recover their losses. Many, many people had also set out to get revenge.
Not even a Semi-Progenitor like Jiu Yao could stop these things from playing out. All he could hope to do was find the person who had incited all of this chaos, capture him, and skin him alive.
The chaotic situation led to the Astral Beast Domain intensifying their a.s.sault on Armament Weave.
Xu Qing had also seen the various messages, and he was both shocked and excited by it. The greater the chaos within the Sixth Mainland, the greater the chances that the astral beasts’ invasion would succeed. As expected, Lu Yin had not lied, and the Sixth Mainland was indeed experiencing great changes.
At the same time, Xu Qing felt himself becoming even more frightened of Lu Yin. Just what sort of power stood behind the youth? Clearly, there was a Semi-Progenitor, and that idea alone was enough to give one the chills.
Xu Qing was facing off against the Cloud Valley Master on the battlefield, but at this moment, the human was too preoccupied to focus on the fight. All he wanted to do was save Jian Zhibei and destroy the Fan family.
The chaos that had erupted throughout the Sixth Mainland had caused the battlefield to become unstable, and reinforcements and supplies were no longer delivered on time, which quickly led to the Sixth Mainland’s defeat. The Astral Beast Domain managed to push the Sixth Mainland out of Armament Weave and press on to the west.
At this moment, Lu Yin was still within the Great Eastern Alliance’s fleet and was speaking to Kui Luo.
"I might be old, but I still haven’t shown all I’m capable of, and yet the Sixth Mainland has already started to panic, hahahaha! What do you think? You owe me a huge favor now!" Kui Luo was proud of what he had accomplished. Madam Hong and several others were standing in front of the Semi-Progenitor, and his comments left them speechless. This man was an absolute psychopath!
Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Your actions were certainly ruthless enough, but they were not quite thorough."
"Boy, are you still unsatisfied?"
"It was very close, but just missed."
"Hehe, that old boy Jiu Yao reacted quite quickly, I have to hand it to him. Still, I’ve got my hand in a few different things. If needed, I can share the Sightless clan’s cultivation art with the Swifteyes clan. I can also publicly release the Dream Sutra to the entire universe so that anyone can use it. How’s that sound?" Kui Luo asked in a tempting manner.
Lu Yin’s expression instantly grew sharper. "That sounds interesting."
"Hahahaha, you can stop dreaming now! I won"t do any of that! That’s too much even for me!" Kui Luo loudly declared.
Lu Yin was stunned speechless. "It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve done something like that."
"What do you know? I’ve always known that I’ll eventually get caught, and those secrets are some of my trump cards to make sure that I can stay alive," Kui Luo proudly explained.
The old man had been hunted across the entire Perennial World for so many years, and he had built up countless experiences and had developed all kinds of different methods to stay alive and safe. Lu Yin did not find his statement to be surprising.
"Just curious, but when do you plan to attempt your breakthrough to become a Progenitor?" Lu Yin asked.
Kui Luo fell silent for some time. "Why’d you have to bring that up? You just killed the mood."
The call suddenly cut off.
Lu Yin found this reaction odd. Did Kui Luo not intend to attempt his final breakthrough? If not, then why did he take Lu Yin’s Origin Matter back in the Technocracy? Lu Yin could not understand the old man at all.
He lowered his gadget and stared to the west. Things were going to become quite interesting in the Sixth Mainland for some time.
…
Kui Luo’s actions not only stirred up internal conflicts and chaos within the Sixth Mainland, but it also caused their defeat in the war against the astral beasts. Countless people abandoned the battlefield to seek their newly learned enemies. Many people had also learned that those fighting with them on the battlefield were actually enemies, and after attacking the astral beasts, people quickly turned on their fellow humans.
After reaching a certain level, hatred could transcend race, region, or even life and death.
Many people became blinded by their hatred, and that led to tremendous changes on the battlefield.
The Astral Beast Domain continued to push westward, and the Sixth Mainland was unable to do anything to stop them.
The people from the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory also did not want to die on the battlefield.
This led to the Astral Beast Domain reaching as far as Tyrannical Weave and Justice Manor itself.