Chapter 1900: Absolute Beast Cage
The Sixth Mainland cultivators were not stopped or even delayed when they arrived at Flaxen Weave.
On a planet in the weave, Lu Yin watched as countless cultivators from the Sixth Mainland flooded through in various s.p.a.cecraft on their way to Ironblood Weave. There was fear in his eyes as he watched.
The Sixth Mainland had too much war potential. If the Sixth Mainland had not been destroyed by the Aeternals and then forced through a series of catastrophes, such as the Progenitor of Secret Arts’ betrayal and the purging of the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory, it would have never fallen to such a state.
When the Sixth Mainland invaded the Fifth Mainland, only half of the Sixth Mainland’s realms had partic.i.p.ated in the invasion, which amply demonstrated how powerful they had been at that time.
In truth, most of the credit for the Sixth Mainland’s decline could be laid at Progenitor Hui’s feet. He had put in place a scheme that had spanned eons to target the Sixth Mainland and reduce them to their current state.
The Cloud Valley Master drifted through s.p.a.ce, but he stopped and landed on the planet when he noticed Lu Yin.
"I offered your Sixth Mainland some a.s.sistance this time, so I wonder, how do you intend to thank me, Senior?" Lu Yin said with a smile.
The Cloud Valley Master was infuriated by Lu Yin, but then he remembered that Lu Yin might soon be accepted as the Progenitor of Bloodlines’ disciple. What’s more, even Lan Xian had made a point to order that Lu Yin’s control of the eastern weaves not be disturbed. It was clear that the intention of those higher up was to leave the eastern weaves to Lu Yin.
When even Semi-Progenitors showed this youth their favor, the Cloud Valley Master felt that he had no place to show his unhappiness, so he forced a smile onto his face. "Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu. If not for your Great Eastern Alliance cutting off the path back to the Astral Beast Domain, we might not have had such an easy time routing the beasts."
Lu Yin laughed. "Senior, you’re being too polite. I just hope that the Sixth Mainland can protect Ironblood Weave and ensure that such a thing won’t happen again. After all, our Great Eastern Alliance sits just behind Ironblood Weave."
The Cloud Valley Master’s face twitched, and he wanted to say that the entire Outerverse belonged to his Sixth Mainland, but his previous thoughts prevented him from voicing such a thing. The fact that even a Semi-Progenitor had to be polite to Lu Yin kept the smile on the older man’s face. "No, they will never have another opportunity. We will take over even the Primal Zone this time."
Lu Yin was impressed. "That’s certainly ambitious enough! In that case, I won’t trouble you any longer, Senior."
The Cloud Valley Master quickly left again.
No one from the Sixth Mainland had ever even considered that a person could resist the temptation to become a Progenitor’s disciple, not even if the person in question was the most arrogant individual from the Fifth Mainland.
Lu Yin’s entire purpose in speaking to the Cloud Valley Master had been to reconfirm the Sixth Mainland’s att.i.tude towards him. He kept feeling like the Cloud Valley Master and other powerhouses were in too much of a hurry to get away from him. Did they really not care about the eastern weaves? Or were they that certain that Lu Yin would become the Progenitor of Bloodlines’ disciple?
Could there be something more to it that Lu Yin was ignorant of?
Still, regardless of how wild Lu Yin’s thoughts ran, the course of the war had completely reversed. Xu Qing had led the Celestial Beast Empire’s invasion force into the Astral Wilderness in order to escape and avoid total annihilation.
Only a month had pa.s.sed, but the Sixth Mainland had gone from being devastated by the invading astral beasts to entering Ironblood Weave and preparing to invade the Primal Zone.
…
A ma.s.s of red appeared above a very average planet in the Outerverse. The red ma.s.s looked like lava, and s.p.a.ce twisted near it and even began burning.
The lava took on a human form, and it looked like a sinister-looking old man. He stared at the planet for a long time and eventually transformed back into lava and fell towards the planet like a meteor.
On the planet’s surface, Kui Luo, Xiao Qing, Bu Kong, and Meng Erye were playing the image of a family in a place with a beautiful view.
That was where they were when the lava fell down like a meteor.
Kui Luo glanced up, and a smile spread across his face. “Take a picture! Hurry up! Don’t miss this, grandson! Hurry and get a picture of Grandpa!"
Bu Kong’s face twitched. He felt completely humiliated.
…
There were not too many astral beasts in Ironblood Weave, but the Primal Zone was completely different. It was the gate to the Astral Beast Domain.
Countless cultivators from the Sixth Mainland attacked the Primal Zone, and a great battle erupted.
The Cloud Valley Master and the other powerhouses had a.s.sumed that, with Xu Qing"s group of masters absent, it would be easy to take control of the Primal Zone, and possibly even counter-invade the Astral Beast Domain.
They had not even considered encountering obstacles.
Humanity would always have rules and laws in place, and the Astral Beast Domain had their own equivalent rules.
The Fifth Mainland’s Gaia"s Swamp was their strictest prison, and each one of the inmates there was a powerful individual. Any random prisoner being released could potentially create chaos in an entire region of the universe. Liu Huang had once been a prisoner there, and he had a power level of over a million.
As for the Astral Beast Domain, they had a place called the Absolute Beast Cage, and as the name suggested, 10,000 beasts were imprisoned there.
Each of the 10,000 caged astral beasts were very powerful, just like Gaia"s Swamp’s prisoners.
At the moment, the Sixth Mainland was being blocked from entering the Primal Zone from Ironblood Weave by the Absolute Beast Cage.
Unlike Gaia’s Swamp, the Absolute Beast Cage was mobile. It was shaped like a birdcage, but it was so ma.s.sive that it could be used as a fence or barricade.
The border between Ironblood Weave and the Primal Zone was not particularly large, and the Absolute Beast Cage was able to cover most of it. It effectively prevented the Sixth Mainland from attacking the Primal Zone.
The beasts imprisoned within the cage viewed the Celestial Beast Empire as their enemy, and they would happily allow the Sixth Mainland cultivators to pa.s.s, but the Celestial Beast Empire stimulated the astral beasts’ primal nature until the prisoners saw every living creature as an enemy. All they knew anymore was how to kill.
There were even many beasts who possessed power levels of over a million, and due to their animalistic natures being instigated, they no longer feared death or pain. Their presence was like a mountain that blocked the Sixth Mainland’s pa.s.sage.
If that were all, then some Empyrean Imprinters like Qing Hua and Master San Cun could eliminate the savage astral beasts, but the Absolute Beast Cage itself was a major complication.
The Human Domain’s Gaia"s Swamp corroded its prisoners with death energy, while the Absolute Beast Cage had been made from an odd metal that was unique to the Astral Beast Domain. This metal could absorb flesh and blood to become more robust, making it a magical and almost living metal. The more flesh and blood that it consumed, the harder the metal would become, and it would even increase its ma.s.s. The metal itself behaved like a greedy beast.
This was the greatest obstacle facing the Sixth Mainland, as even if the Empyrean Imprinters wanted to destroy the Absolute Beast Cage, it would be very difficult for them to do so.
Lu Yin studied some images taken of the border between Ironblood Weave and the Primal Zone, and he arched a brow. "What"s the deal with this Absolute Beast Cage? It seems that even the Empyrean Imprinters are struggling to deal with it."
Ya Mavis looked very somber. "There are ancient records that cite the Fourth Mainland once facing a disaster that resulted in the deaths of countless astral beasts, including even beasts with the strength of Semi-Progenitors. Eventually, a Progenitor was forced to take action, and only then was the catastrophe averted. That catastrophe was caused by a strange metal, and you’d be right if you guessed that that metal is the same that was used to form the Absolute Beast Cage."
This information left Lu Yin stunned. "The metal killed all those astral beasts?"
"More precisely, it devoured them," Ya Mavis answered with clear fear in her voice. "Do you know why humans first established the Daosource Sect? The a.s.sumption is that humanity faced endless disasters in those ancient days and people were forced to unite in order to survive, much like ordinary humans having to band together to survive a disaster like a tsunami. There are times when cultivators also face incomprehensible disasters."
Lu Yin understood, and he looked back at the images. "Your Mavis family has records about that metal, so how can the Celestial Beast Empire not? If they know what it is, why would they dare to use something so dangerous?"
Ya Mavis replied, "This beast cage is very small. The metal that caused that ancient disaster was recorded to have been large enough to encompa.s.s half of the Outerverse. It’s possible that it was discovered too late.
"The cage is currently small enough for an Empyrean Imprinter to handle, but the imprisoned beasts pose a new problem. Each one that dies will cause the cage to grow larger and stronger, and it’s impossible to break through without killing the beasts. The Astral Beast Domain has been forced to pay an absurdly high price for their invasion of the Outerverse.”
"Still, this should not stop the Sixth Mainland for too long."
Beep beep beep!
An alert sounded from Lu Yin"s gadget, and a glance revealed that the call was from First Edition City’s deputy city master, Little Bear.
Lu Yin had not heard from First Edition City for quite some time. When they had last reached out to Lu Yin, it had been to send someone to deliver some ancient relics for Lu Yin to Decompose back to their base components.
"Alliance Leader Lu, a rare metal has appeared in the Primal Zone, and we would like to ask for your help in acquiring some of it." The vice city master sounded quite anxious.
Lu Yin was caught off guard. "That beast cage?"
"Correct. It’s made of a very rare metal. We hope that you can find a way to bring our First Edition City some of it. You can present any conditions that you desire for this favor," Little Bear said in a very serious voice.
Lu Yin glanced over at Ya Mavis. Without the information she had provided, he would have never known about the origins of this Absolute Beast Cage. "Deputy City Master Bear, might I ask, why are you so eager to obtain this metal?"
Little Bear replied, "It’s a metal from ancient times, and it has the property of being able to devour flesh and blood to increase its hardness and ma.s.s. It’s something that can reinforce our androids, and it has long since believed to have disappeared. It’s unexpected to learn that the Celestial Beast Empire’s Absolute Beast Cage was made from this lost material. Alliance Leader Lu, I must beg you for this."
"I can only do my best. You’re able to see the value of the metal, and the Sixth Mainland won’t fail to see the same. I might not be able to get any for you," Lu Yin said.
Little Bear remained grateful. "I must ask Alliance Leader Lu to help us if at all possible. You can ask whatever you wish as compensation, as long as it is something within our power to fulfill."
Lu Yin lowered his gadget. He was not surprised by the fact that the Technocracy was watching what was happening all the way across the Outerverse in the Primal Zone, but this call had been made too quickly. It was clear that the Technocracy placed a great deal of importance on this metal that formed this Absolute Beast Cage.
"Do many people know this metal’s origin?" Lu Yin asked.
Ya Mavis replied, "That shouldn’t be the case. After all, it happened too long ago, and the Fifth Mainland has since survived many wars and even being shattered. It’s possible that not even the Hall of Honor knows this story."
If the Hall of Honor did not know, then it seemed equally likely that First Edition City was similarly ignorant. However, if that was the case, then why were they so eager to obtain the metal?
Lu Yin stared northwards. He was quite intrigued by the Absolute Beast Cage.
It was made from a metal that had brought disaster to the ancient Fourth Mainland and had even forced a Progenitor to step out to resolve it. This was evidence that this metal was incredibly strong and resilient. If it was Enhanced, just how far would Lu Yin be able to take this metal?
On the border between Ironblood Weave and the Primal Zone, Master San Cun and other Empyrean Imprinters started to attack and slaughter all the astral beasts imprisoned within the cage. Blood mixed with flesh and was devoured by the Absolute Beast Cage. The cage started to grow, and it soon spread across almost the entire length of the border while also creeping into both Ironblood Weave and the Primal Zone.
Flesh and blood seemed to stimulate the metal that formed the cage, and both astral beasts and humans were instantly devoured the moment they came into contact with the metal.
The durability of the metal proved challenging to even the Empyrean Imprinters, but luckily, the metal was not completely indestructible.
The Absolute Beast Cage thwarted the Sixth Mainland’s advancement for five days. After those five days later, the cage shattered, and the Sixth Mainland cultivators charged into the Primal Zone to launch their counterattack upon the Astral Beast Domain.
They faced countless astral beasts that had poured into the Primal Zone, reinforcing the place while the Sixth Mainland had been stalled by the obstacle in their path.
However, these reinforcements were not enough to hold the Sixth Mainland back. Before too long, the Sixth Mainland arrived at the border between the Primal Zone and the Astral Beast Domain. Any further, and they would officially enter the Astral Beast Domain.
Behind them, Lu Yin entered Ironblood Weave while being kept hidden by the Second Nightking. He intended to gather the shattered shards of the Absolute Beast Cage.
The Absolute Beast Cage had been stupendously large, as it had lined the entire border between the Primal Zone and Ironblood Weave. After it was destroyed, fragments had been scattered everywhere. Lu Yin was not the only one picking up the pieces, as many others were doing the same.