Chapter 2333: This Moment
Lu Yin snorted, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. He could use the power that Progenitor Chen had left behind, but that did not make Lu Yin Progenitor Chen himself. On top of that, even Progenitor Chen would not be able to easily defeat Xia Shenji, given the man’s current strength.
Over the many, many years, Xia Shenji"s strength had continued to grow. Even Progenitor Smoke had been impressed by the man’s current abilities. On the other hand, the remnant power of Progenitor Chen that Lu Yin had access to was from the Daosource Sect era.
A Progenitor’s world fought against another Progenitor’s world. The Shenwu World was constantly being torn apart, its endless blades shattered, and at the same time, the starry sky of the Fifth Mainland was being repeatedly broken.
The countless humans and astral beasts who had been gathered nearby were all shocked. What sort of power were they witnessing? Even the shockwaves were powerful enough to destroy them all.
Destina, Lu Buzheng, and the other ancient powerhouses were badly shaken. They were seeing a level of power that belonged to the greatest Progenitors of the Heavens Sect era. Were Lu Yin’s current enemies really this powerful?
Elder Gong was incredibly nervous. He watched as all the stars shattered across the sky. Would the kid completely consume Progenitor Chen"s power?
Lu Yin was also worried. He kept using Star Stomp on various stars, but every one that he tried to use was sliced apart. Xia Shenji fought like he had gone mad. Lu Yin had been injured, but so had Xia Shenji.
Xia Shenji refused to give up.
"Xia Shang, get out here! Show yourself!" he roared angrily as his Shenwu World spread further and further. He was trying to find Xia Shang.
Lu Yin gritted his teeth. What he was doing was not going to work. Even if he did end up taking down Xia Shenji, Lu Yin would also be destroyed. On top of that, Lu Yin had realized that it was impossible to kill Xia Shenji with just Progenitor Chen’s remnant power.
Also, Bai Sheng was still nearby.
His mind racing, Lu Yin quickly pulled out the G.o.d of Death’s left arm, intending to use it as well. Lu Yin held the broken scythe in one hand and the G.o.d of Death’s arm in the other. For a moment, it felt as though he saw the universe itself come to a stop, the pa.s.sage of years halting. At the same time, he saw a familiar silhouette emerge from across time. The man stepped forward as his figure overlapped with Lu Yin’s and then grabbed hold of the scythe. The G.o.d of Death had appeared.
Lu Yin lost control of his own body after the G.o.d of Death’s body was superimposed on top of Lu Yin’s. The G.o.d of Death was Lu Yin, and he was the G.o.d of Death.
The scythe slowly rose upwards, guided not only by the death energy in the G.o.d of Death’s left arm, but also by the death energy from the distant Gaia"s Swamp.
At this moment, the Shenwu World and all the stars in the Fifth Mainland were trembling.
At this moment, countless people were overcome by fear and despair when they felt the power that could transform the universe.
At this moment, Bai Sheng started retreating.
At this moment, the jiao covered its head and pulled back.
At this moment, Lu Yin had no control over himself, but his body continued to move and wield the scythe.
At this moment, the death energy in Gaia"s Swamp was boiling and churning. It formed what seemed like a black rainbow that spanned the Cosmic Sea and the Innerverse to connect to the Endless Weave. The bridge of death energy crossing the Human Domain was pulled to the scythe as it slashed down at Xia Shenji.
Xia Shenji"s expression changed drastically when he felt the power of the G.o.d of Death descend. The scythe dropped down, and a streak of black light pa.s.sed by. All of the death energy disappeared, as though nothing had ever happened.
The only change that occurred was that his Shenwu World had been sliced apart. Xia Shenji spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes completely bloodshot. "The G.o.d of Death?"
Lu Yin just stared in shock. That one blow had consumed all of the death energy in Gaia"s Swamp. He had no idea just how the G.o.d of Death had accomplished such a thing, but he had just released an attack that traversed uncountable years.
The Shenwu World disappeared, and as it vanished, Bai Sheng suddenly appeared right behind Xia Shenji"s body. Bai Sheng grabbed the other Progenitor and left. That last attack was deadly.
Only someone with the power of one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas could hope to survive such an attack.
Xia Shenji and Bai Sheng fled. All of the death energy that had been in Gaia"s Swamp for so many eons had been exhausted. Lu Yin regained control of his body and was able to move once again. He quickly put the G.o.d of Death’s left arm away and then stared at the broken scythe in utter shock. He had actually been possessed by the G.o.d of Death, who had released a single attack that had badly injured Xia Shenji.
At that moment, Lu Yin had sensed an odd feeling. He had not merely felt the presence of death energy, but also the power of time! He had felt the long river of time. Did this mean that, once a person’s power reached a certain threshold, they could traverse the river of time even without special training?
Lu Yin could not process what he had felt, but he clearly remembered every second of it.
A wave of dizziness swept over Lu Yin, and he quickly unsummoned Lu Jian’s champion. His body was almost completely depleted of death energy, and he could no longer maintain E Chi’s existence.
The jiao warily stared at Lu Yin from afar. Lu Yin"s use of Star Stomp and the G.o.d of Death’s scythe had terrified the jiao, and its instincts screamed at it to stay away from the human.
Lu Yin put the scythe away and let out a long breath. The current crisis had been resolved, but he had used up too many of the stars that Progenitor Chen had left behind. Fortunately, he had managed to give Xia Shenji a vicious wound with the G.o.d of Death’s attack. Without that last attack, it would have been impossible for Lu Yin to deal with Xia Shenji’s crazed a.s.sault.
If instead of Xia Shenji, Lu Yin had faced Bai w.a.n.gyuan or w.a.n.g Fan, he believed that the battle would not have become quite so desperate. The reason why Lu Yin had been pushed so far was because Xia Shenji held too great a grudge against Xia Shang.
Xia Shang had even stolen away Xia Shenji"s Mountain and Sea. While the Xia family spun a pretty story about how none of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had been suitable for Xia Shenji and that he simply had not had the opportunity to inherit one, how could the man truly be at peace with having his destiny s.n.a.t.c.hed away?
No matter how powerful Xia Shenji had become, there was still a difference between him and a master of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.
Lu Yin wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth. He waved the jiao over, and the beast cautiously approached.
Lu Yin moved atop the jiao’s head and then directed it to fly to where everyone was waiting.
It did not take long for him to arrive.
Countless humans and astral beasts stared at the ma.s.sive jiao as it arrived, admiration and fanaticism filling many eyes.
Even though they had not been able to see the battle that had just occurred, the power that they had sensed could destroy the universe itself, and it was more than enough for them to imagine the horror of a Progenitor’s power. Thus, their perception of Lu Yin had been transformed yet again.
Nothing could be more impressive than defeating a Progenitor.
At this moment, there was no resentment or jealousy in the eyes of everyone staring at Lu Yin, only worship and admiration.
"I know what you all are thinking," Lu Yin said as he faced the endless crowd. All of the Semi-Progenitors stood at the front, followed by the Envoys, then the Enlighters, Hunters, Cruisers, and Explorers. There were both countless humans and endless astral beasts.
Most of the humans present were from the Fifth Mainland, though many also hailed from the Sixth Mainland.
Seeing the countless faces looking at him with fanatic and reverent expressions, a smile stretched across Lu Yin"s face. "And you’re absolutely right—the enemy from just now was a Progenitor."
Countless individuals in front of Lu Yin stopped breathing. A Progenitor! It was a word that represented an unreachable level. It was the pinnacle of cultivation, and the goal of every human cultivator and astral beast. However, everyone knew that they would never reach that level.
"I drove back enemies who are Progenitors. The truth is just as you believe. Progenitors are considered to be invincible, but they are not truly undefeatable." Lu Yin looked out at everyone. "Do you know my cultivation level?
"Three-tribulation Envoy. I’ve only pa.s.sed three stellular tribulations, yet I drove back a Progenitor with my current level of strength."
The crowd was stunned worse than ever before. A three-tribulation Envoy had forced a Progenitor to retreat? No one would have ever dared to even make up such a story.
"I will tell you now that our enemies in the future will only consist of more Progenitors. Must we be afraid? Are they worth fearing? Because I, Lu Yin, can force a Progenitor to retreat while only a three-tribulation Envoy. Once I become a Semi-Progenitor, I will be able to kill Progenitors! With me leading you, will you be afraid?"
"No!" someone called out.
Lu Yin"s eyes flared, and the jiao roared. The aura of a Progenitor swept through the region, making it hard for everyone to breath. However, they all knew that this power would protect them. "Are you afraid?"
"No!" more people shouted.
"Are you afraid?"
"No!" Everyone shouted this time. Even Jiu Yao, Cai Er, Lu Buzheng, and the other Semi-Progenitors shouted. Something was happening, as a group of cultivators and astral beasts was gaining the courage to stand up to even Progenitors. This courage was growing into an unstoppable momentum.
Bai Sheng arrived at the New Corridor in the Technocracy, still carrying Xia Shenji, who had been badly wounded. In addition to the pure shock suffered from the battle that had taken place in the Forsaken Land, there was a terrible cut on Xia Shenji’s abdomen. This wound had nearly cut him in half, and it was full of death energy, which made it impossible to heal. Not even Xia Shenji"s strength as a Progenitor was enough to cleanse the wound of the foreign energy.
Xia Shenji was panting for breath. Every breath he took caused blood to spray from his mouth, as well as death energy.
Bai Sheng smiled wryly as he turned back to look at the Endless Weave. He heard the shouts of the endless crowd of cultivators, and felt the unstoppable momentum building. "The descendants of the Lu family are certainly ruthless enough."
Xia Shenji"s expression was incredibly dark. He was unwilling to even glance back at the Endless Weave. He had been completely confident that he could kill Lu Xiaoxuan this time. Even if Xia Shenji had to take some injuries to accomplish his goal, he had been determined to kill Lu Xiaoxuan. Who could have imagined that the child would be capable of using Xia Shang"s power?
Xia Shang, Xia Shang!?The name repeatedly rang in Xia Shenji’s head, increasing his anger more and more.
Xia Shang had always remained the greatest shame of the Xia family. Xia Shenji and Xia Shang had been from the same generation, and they had even been nearly the same age.
Xia Shenji was a direct descendant of the Xia family while Xia Shang had been a n.o.body from a branch family. In their younger days, Xia Shang had occasionally qualified to be selected as Xia Shenji’s sparring partner. However, after nearly dying one time, Xia Shang had achieved an impossible breakthrough and obtained the Nine Clones Secret Technique. He had then resisted the entire universe with his clone that became a colossal giant, and he had defeated all of his peers. Xia Shenji had also been defeated by Xia Shang.
After that defeat, Xia Shenji had no longer been qualified to stand on the same level as Xia Shang. That was the start of his monstrous grudge and unending jealousy towards Xia Shang.
This was also why, when Progenitor Smoke had appeared in the Perennial World, Xia Shenji had deliberately used his Shenwu World, as he had wanted Progenitor Smoke to compare his strength to Xia Shang’s. Xia Shenji had always wanted to surpa.s.s Xia Shang. That was why the Progenitor had lost control when Xia Shang’s stars had appeared during the battle against Lu Yin. Nothing from Xia Shang could be allowed to exist! Everything from that man had to be utterly destroyed, no matter the cost!
Unfortunately, while Xia Shenji had been able to fight back against Xia Shang"s exploding stars, he had been severely injured by the G.o.d of Death’s power.
"Senior Shenji, go back. I"ll protect this place," Bai Sheng suggested. Xia Shenji"s condition made it impossible for the two of them to launch another attack.
Also, Bai Sheng was feeling a bit panicked himself. What he had seen so far had been too freakish. A mere Envoy had not only succeeded in summoning a Progenitor level champion, but he had also personally wielded the power of a Progenitor and had even tamed a beast with the strength of a Progenitor. Finally, he had released an attack that seemed to have come from the ancient Progenitor, the G.o.d of Death. The power of that last attack had absolutely terrified Bai Sheng, and he did not want to see Lu Xiaoxuan use that attack again.
To others, Progenitors appeared invincible and immortal, but those who actually became Progenitors would understand that Progenitors were still humans. They could still die and naturally feared death.
Despite Xia Shenji’s reluctance, he finally retreated to the Perennial World. "Hold this place. If Lu Xiaoxuan tries to destroy the New Corridor, tell him that we will slaughter every last surviving va.s.sal of the Lu family!"
With that, Xia Shenji finally left.
A bitter expression appeared on Bai Sheng"s face. Could he actually deliver such a message? How would that be any different from antagonizing Lu Xiaoxuan into killing him? Bai Sheng did not fear any other Envoy, but Lu Xiaoxuan was too much of a freak. He had just driven back two Progenitors! There seemed to be nothing impossible for the youth. Bai Sheng did not want to offend such a monster.
He simply hoped that Lu Xiaoxuan would not come to the New Corridor.
Xia Shenji returned to the Dominion Realm, and soon, the Dominion Realm itself shook. Bai w.a.n.gyuan and the others stared at Xia Shenji’s wound in disbelief.
They could accept Lu Xiaoxuan using various methods and borrowing different abilities to force Xia Shenji to retreat, but they simply could not accept Xia Shenji being injured by an Envoy, let alone such a grave one. Xia Shenji was basically as strong as any one of them.
Progenitor Smoke and Mu Xie arrived as well. This outcome had far surpa.s.sed their expectations.