Chapter 2171: Relaxing
Every family in the Perennial World that raised isolated civilizations treated them with great importance, as they were a vital source of slaves and fodder for the battlefield.
The Bei family’s ancestor and the girl accompanying him both eagerly watched the fishing line. Just how many people would they catch this time?
The fishing line grew more and more taut as the pull on it grew stronger. Finally, the old man smiled and shook his head. "Xiaoyu, you’ve won our bet. With this much tension, there’s no way there’s any less than five people this time."
The girl was thrilled, and she grabbed hold of the old man"s arm. "Ancestor, do you mean it? Am I really going to Virtue Archives!?"
"Hahahaha, work hard, and we’ll see. We’ll see." The old man laughed, but he was actually feeling quite heartbroken at this moment, as he doted on the girl a great deal.
Suddenly, the tension on the fishing line spiked, and the old man was instantly yanked into the pond before he could even react. Because she had been holding onto the man, the young girl was also pulled in, and the two people fell down and crashed onto a planet.
There was a bang as the two smashed into a desolate wasteland. Everything happened so quickly that they both took a moment to process the sudden change.
In front of them, there was a young man observing them with a great deal of interest. He was Lu Yin.
He had also appeared in the middle of this wasteland after being sent to the Perennial World by the sourcebox array. Immediately, he had noticed a developing technological civilization off in the distance, but the wasteland where Lu Yin had appeared showed scars of war, which suggested that it was an old battlefield.
Before he had the chance to even look around and observe his surroundings, a fishing line with a hook had suddenly and strangely appeared in front of him.
Lu Yin had grabbed and pulled the line out of reflex, but he had used too much force, which had pulled the old man and the girl into the pond. After seeing that he had pulled both people into the ground, Lu Yin felt a bit embarra.s.sed.
Still, the old man was an Envoy, and he reacted very quickly after slamming into the ground. He shot to his feet and quickly glanced around. He was still a bit dazed and confused. What"s going on? Where did so much power come from?
Finally, the old man noticed Lu Yin, and the old man was briefly startled. What a beautiful young man.
Right after that, the girl got to her feet, rubbing her head. "Ow, ow ow."
She lifted her head as she whined. As soon as her eyes landed on Lu Yin, the girl’s mouth dropped open, her face flushed bright red, and she quietly muttered, "What a handsome man."
Lu Yin smiled. He had used the Mask of Death to alter his appearance before using the sourcebox array to travel to the Perennial World. Thus, the old man and the girl were seeing Young Master Yu’s face on Lu Yin.
Young Master Yu really did deserve his name, as his appearance was as flawless as jade, and he did not have a single blemish to be seen. Lu Yin had seen many beautiful women and handsome men, but practically none of them were on the same level as Young Master Yu, though that was only when a person’s bearing and temperament were also taken into account. When it came to just physical appearance, Young Master Yu was truly without any equal, and even Yao Xuan could not compare to the man. Young Master Yu did not have a soft, almost feminine look like Yao Xuan, but a more masculine appearance.
Such a face was practically a poison to some women, in the same way that many men would fall for beautiful women.
Given the striking face, slender figure, and regal bearing from his training and natural demeanor, even Lu Yin had to admit that he could not feel any trace of disgust for Young Master Yu. The man had truly had an appearance that would instantly tempt almost anyone.
In fact, the moment that Jiu Chi saw Lu Yin’s disguise, the Semi-Progenitor had reflexively asked, “Are you hoping to build a harem?”
It was a face that held a fatal attraction to certain women, and the moment that Lu Yin smiled, Xiaoyu felt herself melt, and she gulped as she became completely star-struck.
The old man frowned as he looked at Lu Yin. "Did you just pull this old man down here?"
He stared at Lu Yin, trying to determine the young man’s cultivation, but he could not see anything at all. Still, it seemed that this young man had the power to overwhelm the old man, which was rather scary.
Lu Yin gave a small smile. "A two-tribulation Envoy. Pretty good."
This comment caused the old man"s expression to undergo a drastic shift. He was indeed a two-tribulation Envoy, and yet this young man had seen that instantly. This meant that the young man’s strength substantially surpa.s.sed the old man’s, and the Bei family’s ancestor immediately grew extremely respectful. "Might I ask why Senior has deigned to visit my Bei family’s small pond?"
Lu Yin looked up and saw a starry sky. It looked perfectly normal, but the truth was that the sky was fake. However, it was impossible for the residents of the isolated s.p.a.ce to see through the shroud that hid reality from them.
"I fell in by accident. Were you just fishing?"
The old man quickly replied, "I am so, so sorry if my activities bothered you, Senior. I did not know that you were present, but my Bei family will do our best to host you properly as a guest."
Lu Yin said, "There’s no need for that. I just need you to find me a guide."
Half a day later, Lu Yin was leaning against a railing in Cowry City, staring out at the sea and facing a breeze that was coming in off the Middle Ocean. "So you want to go to Virtue Archives to find that man?"
Bei Xiaoyu stood next to Lu Yin, and she softly stammered, "Well, that- Big Brother, I-"
She quickly recovered and glanced over at Lu Yin. "I- he’s just like an older brother to me, Senior. Please don’t misunderstand things."
Lu Yin found the girl’s reactions hilarious. Just seeing her facial expressions showed Lu Yin what a powerful effect his face could have on people. This was an advantage that most people would never be able to enjoy.
He reached up to touch his face. While Lu Yin’s original face was not ugly, it could not be considered handsome either. He had a quite average mien, though his face tended to grow on people the longer they looked at him. Clearly, his own face could not compare to Young Master Yu’s.
"What did I misunderstand?" Lu Yin asked casually.
Seeing that Lu Yin really did not care about the matter left Bei Xiaoyu a bit disappointed, but she quickly cheered back up. "Senior, could you tell me what your cultivation is? You must be much stronger than my ancestor for him to refer to you as ‘senior.’"
Lu Yin smiled. "I’m about his level."
Bei Xiaoyu pouted. "That’s impossible. If you were as strong as him, he’d never be so polite to you."
Lu Yin smiled, but gave no real response. After leaving the pocket dimension in the pond, he had brought out Zenith Mountain and asked Kui Luo and his senior brother Qing Ping to come out. Qing Ping actually needed to do so, as he needed to adjust to the presence of stellular energy in the Perennial World and prepare for his breakthrough.
Their current location was actually rather ideal for the attempt.
Cowry City was located along the Middle Ocean’s coast, and going any further north would land one in the ocean. The Middle Ocean was ma.s.sive, and given its size, it was unlikely that any ripples from Qing Ping’s breakthrough attempt would attract any notice.
Qing Ping would likely only need a few days to prepare himself before making his attempt.
Lu Yin looked at the distant Mother Tree. If Sapling were released, would it recognize its ancestor and return to the Mother Tree? He felt rather curious to find out.
Lu Yin spent several days roaming about Cowry City, and that actually created quite a commotion. Young Master Yu’s exceptional looks drew a lot of attention, while Bei Xiaoyu scurried about like a mother hen protecting her chick. She ended up in constant fights with other women because of her meddling.
As for the Bei family’s ancestor, he maintained the exact same att.i.tude towards Lu Yin the whole time and was extremely respectful. The longer a person lived, the more perceptive they would become. The ancestor was quite clear that there was a distinct gap between himself and Lu Yin, and the young man would not stay in Cowry City for long.
The old man had wracked his brain over the last few days, constantly trying to think of the most outstanding geniuses of the current era and trying to find one who matched the characteristics Lu Yin displayed. However, despite the fact that there were extremely few individuals who had reached such a level of strength at such a young age, the old man could not find a single good match.
The most likely candidates were the four Junior Progenitors, and the old man wondered if it was possible that one of the Junior Progenitors was visiting him. Another possibility was that Lu Yin was not actually as young as he appeared, but was rather an old monster who simply had a youthful appearance.
After two more days pa.s.sed, Lu Yin was sitting by the pond and holding a fishing rod. He had suddenly grown interested in the pastime and had wanted to try fishing himself. The critical moment came when he had a truly odd thought: what if the time and s.p.a.ce that he and everyone else knew about was an isolated s.p.a.ce that someone else was grooming in the same manner as the Perennial World’s families?
As soon as the thought popped up, Lu Yin simply could not shake it off. He mulled it over for several days and then simply sat down next to the pond and enjoyed the pleasure of being a fisherman.
He watched as hundreds of cultivators struggled to reach the fishhook, hoping to grab hold of it and escape the universe that they knew about. He watched as a planet created a powerful technological weapon and attacked the fishhook. There were people who believed that a civilization on a higher level must have bad intentions towards them, while others would drop to their knees and pray for the fishhook to descend from the heavens so that they might receive the opportunity to ascend.
For the people who lived in the pocket dimension within the pond, they believed their universe to be ma.s.sive, as they could not travel through outer s.p.a.ce. Their weaker cultivation meant that they needed incredible amounts of time to travel from one planet to another, let alone leave the pocket dimension all together.
Lu Yin stared at the pond, silent, but his mind racing.
Bei Xiaoyu silently approached and stood behind Lu Yin. She enjoyed being near him, even if it was just silently staring at his back.
"Xiaoyu, don"t disturb Senior while he’s fishing," the ancestor of the Bei family quietly scolded the girl, though he gave her a wink afterwards.
Bei Xiaoyu did not want to leave. "Ancestor, Senior hasn’t said anything."
"Hurry up and get over here! Don"t disturb Senior." The old man finally got upset.
Bei Xiaoyu did not dare to disobey her ancestor, and she slowly started walking away.
"It"s fine. Just say what you came to say," Lu Yin gently called out, still calmly staring at the pond.
Bei Xiaoyu hurried over as soon as she heard Lu Yin"s words, and then gave her ancestor a playful smile and a wink of her own.
The old man shrugged, and then he walked over and stood behind Lu Yin before starting in a respectful manner, "Senior, this girl wishes to go to Virtue Archives, and so I asked a few of my old friends to make some inquiries so that I could give her some current information. I was not trying to disturb you, Senior."
Lu Yin replied, "It"s fine. I’m actually quite interested in Virtue Archives myself, so let"s hear what you’ve learned."
"Tell us, Ancestor!" Bei Xiaoyu said happily.
The old man glared at the girl, but after thinking for a moment, he started to slowly give a short report. "Our family has not paid much attention to Virtue Archives in the past, though we have naturally known of it. The place is relatively closed off, and it’s not easy to be accepted, so they only have a few students. Almost everyone who studies there is a descendant of one of the Middle Realm’s major families, or even a family from the Higher Realm, but things have changed recently. I don’t know why, but Virtue Archives has not only opened its doors to allow for a greater number of students and teachers, but they have also started to actively reach out to the four ruling powers, the rear battlefield, and even the Root Organization, all in efforts to draw in a greater number of students.”
"The overall style of Virtue Archives"s teaching methods has changed greatly, though I can’t say if that’s for good or ill. My old friends are not powerhouses, so I was not able to learn anything more."
Bei Xiaoyu stared at the old man with wide eyes. "Are you saying that I would be able to train anywhere at all? Even the Higher Realm?"
The old man replied, "That’s the theory, yes. However, there are also rumors that the four ruling powers have taken control of Virtue Archives and that they are the ones inducing all of this change. We weren’t able to learn any details, and I can’t say if letting you go there would help or harm you."
"Ancestor, you aren’t breaking your promise, are you?" Bei Xiaoyu looked at the old man in a pitiful manner, her innocent eyes glimmering.
The old man felt conflicted, and he had no idea what the right choice was. Was Virtue Archives still independent and changing on its own, or had the changes been forced upon them? If the four ruling powers had truly stepped in, then all of Virtue Archives’ students would end up in the four ruling powers’ control as soon as they became a part of Virtue Archives. Those students would be condemned to become servants, followers, or even playthings.
In the same manner that the old man acted like a G.o.d to the civilizations that he groomed and controlled within his pond, the four ruling powers controlled those under them. In some ways, the Middle Realm was to the Higher Realm what the pocket dimension in the pond was to the Bei family.
The old man had been hoping for Bei Xiaoyu to gain the opportunity to study in a Virtue Archives that was rather fair and independent. There, she might be able to form a close relationship with people from the four ruling powers, but that was completely different from being controlled by them. If Bei Xiaoyu suffered such a fate, then it would be better for her to remain in Cowry City and be spoiled by her ancestor.