Chapter 2391: The True Headquarters
"You underestimate Xia Shenji too much." After hearing Big Sis’s comment, Lu Yin responded out of reflex. As soon as these words left his mouth, he noticed a dangerous glint in Big Sis’s eyes, so Lu Yin quickly amended his comment. "Of course, while not even the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas could normally detect you, Big Sis, these two are just being too careful this time. It’s possible that they might play a trick like this everywhere they go, just to see if anyone’s following them. There’s no way they were able to notice you."
Big Sis snorted disdainfully and then grumbled, "Since we"ve been caught, there"s nothing that we can do about it. These two mice have been quite difficult to find."
Lu Yin looked at the shards of the shattered communication crystals on the ground. This should have been Liu Shaoge"s doing. He was someone whom even Lu Yin was wary of. Liu Shaoge had managed to stay alive even when Lu Yin had been trying to kill him. He had joined the Celestial Frost Sect as an ordinary cultivator, but he had somehow risen through the ranks. Not only had he worked directly under Yu Chen, but Liu Shaoge had also eventually replaced Yu Chen as someone with the qualifications to speak to the sect’s Semi-Progenitor. There was no denying that Liu Shaoge was an extraordinary person.
While it would be easy for Lu Yin to take Liu Shaoge’s life, the man had put forth some conditions, which proved that he was still a valuable resource. Lu Yin simply could not decide what to do with this man.
Lu Yin had taken advantage of his own inherent value to force others into making concessions, but Lu Yin could never gain any advantage when dealing with Liu Shaoge.
"Let’s see how long you can keep hiding for," Lu Yin muttered to himself as he took out a Netherworld River.
Since it was not going to be possible to track down Liu Shaoge and Xia Shenji’s clone, Lu Yin would simply find Realmless’s true headquarters instead. Realmless’s existence was something that had bothered Lu Yin for quite some time, and it was important to deal with them.
Realmless possessed too much information, and they even had a great deal of information regarding Redbacks. If Lu Yin could access all of their information, it would be a huge contribution to all of humanity, and protecting mankind was a universal responsibility for all humans.
Not too far away from where Lu Yin and Big Sis were, Xia Shenji"s clone stared at Liu Shaoge. "Is there someone following us? Who is it?"
Liu Shaoge answered solemnly, "I was just guessing at first, but I just confirmed that Lu Yin’s chasing after us."
"Lu Xiaoxuan? How did he find us?" The clone’s expression changed, and he glanced down at his own body. "It must be that woman. She’s been tracking me after we fought. She must have left something on me that she can follow."
Liu Shaoge replied, "It doesn’t matter. Lu Yin knows that he"s been caught, so he won"t keep chasing after us now."
The clone commented, "Young people are becoming more and more impressive nowadays. I never imagined that I, Xia Shenji, would one day be pursued by a junior. This era has already moved past us, and we’re becoming obsolete with the pa.s.sing of time."
Liu Shaoge laughed. "You"ve had to re-cultivate, haven"t you?"
The clone stared at Liu Shaoge for a long moment. "Let"s go. I need to deal with whatever’s hidden in my body first. Also, why is Lu Xiaoxuan coming after us?"
"That woman recognized me, which means that I caused this trouble for you," Liu Shaoge apologized.
The clone shook his head. "It does not matter. Once I recover my strength, I will be able to raise you up to the stars, and then Lu Xiaoxuan will not be able to do anything to you."
The man then stood up and left.
A hint of mockery flickered in the depths of Liu Shaoge"s eyes, but it almost instantly disappeared as he chased after the clone. These people really did need to be swept away by the pa.s.sage of time.
…
"Realmless? The largest a.s.sa.s.sination network in the Perennial World? They should have a lot of money," Big Sis said excitedly as she licked her lips.
Lu Yin smiled. "Yes, a lot."
As the two looked at each other, they each saw the greed in the other"s eyes.
Big Sis possessed a pirate’s greed, as she had been raised by Highsage Leon since childhood. As for Lu Yin’s greed, it was something that came naturally to him.
The two watched as the Netherworld River moved along, and they followed closely behind it.
Netherworld Rivers were drawn to each other, and while this attraction was not something that Lu Yin could take advantage of, Big Sis could. She had taken control of a Netherworld River and was following it through the Perennial World. It was actually aimed for some place in the Lower Realm.
"Up ahead is the fourth region. I came here to check out some things before, but this is too odd. Why haven’t any beasts attacked us along the way?" Big Sis felt quite puzzled by the peace.
Lu Yin took out the soil that he had received from the White Dragon Clan and handed it over to Big Sis. "Some saliva was dripped on this dirt, and it works as a repellent for any kind of beast. It even works on beasts with the strength of Semi-Progenitors."
"You have something that amazing? Wait, dirt? And saliva?"
"It’s the Ancestor Python’s saliva."
Big Sis blinked as she stared at Lu Yin. He half expected her to suddenly react with the same need for cleanliness that Progenitor Smoke had shown. Unexpectedly, Big Sis started cradling the dirt like it was a baby. "This thing is incredibly useful. Why haven’t you brought it out before? Actually, even though most of my old memories are missing, I do have some vague impressions of being Progenitor Yōu Ming, and back then, I had a bit of an obsession with the Ancestor Python."
"What kind of obsession?" Lu Yin grew curious.
Big Sis rolled her eyes. "I don"t know."
As the two chatted, they entered the Lower Realm’s fourth region. With the clump of dirt exposed, they moved without any obstructions. As they traveled, Lu Yin even occasionally noticed some beasts that were frozen in place, terrified by the scent of the soil on them. Any beasts that Lu Yin found, he casually eliminated. It was important to protect the Mother Tree’s roots from suffering too much damage.
Given the speed at which Lu Yin and Big Sis were traveling, they quickly arrived in the fifth region. They were able to travel in a straight line due to the clump of dirt, and moving unimpeded allowed them to travel through the Lower Realm even faster than a Semi-Progenitor. It always took more time to traverse the Lower Realm, as the area was far more hazardous for Enlighters and weaker cultivators. At that level, people might find it impossible to ever cross the Lower Realm.
Eventually, the Netherworld River stopped responding in front of a very ordinary-looking root that belonged to the Mother Tree. While it was indeed just a root, it was large enough to carry entire stars.
Lu Yin looked down. If his guess was right, then directly below them was the broken Netherworld River that he had seen when he had Possessed the enslaved Envoy. Beneath his feet should be Realmless’s true headquarters.
Without being guided by a Netherworld River, how would anyone ever find this place?
"Is this it?" Big Sis felt rather puzzled.
Lu Yin nodded as he released his domain. It spread deep underground, as Lu Yin immediately spread it to his furthest limits.
Almost instantly, he discovered a ma.s.sive underground opening, as well as the enslaved Envoy that he had once Possessed who had no knowledge of the universe outside these tunnels. Lu Yin also saw countless items that had been chewed to pieces, as well as a ma.s.sive mountain of star essence that had been piled up. Added to the mix were various precious raw materials and power vessels. He even saw the corpse of the Envoy that the enslaved Envoy had accidentally stumbled upon one time.
"This is it." Lu Yin stomped down and shattered the root before moving downwards.
The enslaved Envoy with no knowledge of the outside universe stared blankly at Lu Yin"s sudden appearance. The man simply did not know what to do for a moment.
Lu Yin pierced the void, following his memories of the underground tunnels. He quickly saw the fragments of the Netherworld River that he had seen before, exactly the same as when he had Possessed the slave. Suddenly, Lu Yin felt a powerful sense of danger, and a black spot tore through the void with incredible speed to strike ata Lu Yin.
Lu Yin had kept his domain out, but he had not noticed the black spot’s existence at all.
Not only did the black spot move incredibly fast, but it also moved unhindered through Lu Yin’s void G.o.d domain as it smashed straight into him.
There was a burst of pain from his chest as he was sent flying by an overwhelming power. Big Sis quickly grabbed him. "Who is it?"
Lu Yin had not been able to endure the impact at all, which frustrated him. He looked down at his chest, only to see the jiao’s fangs and claws. Even though the black spot had moved too quickly for Lu Yin to react, the shrunken jiao had not suffered the same difficulty. After all, the beast possessed the strength of a Progenitor.
As Lu Yin looked around, the jiao opened its claws to reveal the black spot that it had captured. It was a beetle about as large as a fingernail, and it released a vibrating noise.
As soon as Lu Yin saw it, he exclaimed, "A carrion beetle?"
The beetle disappeared the moment Lu Yin spoke, and the jiao vanished as well.
Not even the natural abilities of a carrion beetle were enough for the creature to escape from the jiao, and the carrion beetle was instantly recaptured.
"Don"t kill it," Lu Yin warned.
The jiao stared at the carrion beetle that it held with a great deal of interest. The jiao released the beetle and then captured it again. Release, recapture. The jiao was playing.
Big Sis was startled. "The second-ranked beast on the Celestial Beast list?"
Lu Yin nodded and grew solemn. "That"s exactly what it is. That bug can rip right through my void G.o.d domain with a speed that I can’t even react to. If not for the jiao, I would have been in a lot of danger just now. Carrion beetles can basically ignore all physical defenses, and I’m not confident in my abilities to actually stop that thing. It’s as strong as a Semi-Progenitor."
Big Sis was amazed, and she stared at the carrion beetle that the jiao was playing with. Every so often, the tip of the beast’s claws would strike the beetle’s carapace with a soft noise, but the noise gradually grew louder and louder. The jiao was using more strength as it played.
"Supposedly, carrion beetles are born from the dead bodies of Progenitors. Their bodies are incredibly hard, and they can even ignore a person’s physical defenses. All of that seems to be true, as that bug’s enduring even the jiao’s attacks."
Lu Yin turned and stared off into the distance at where the corpse was lying on the ground. If carrion beetles really were born from the dead body of Progenitors, then that corpse had to have been a Progenitor.
Thinking of this, he walked over to the corpse. He soon approached it, and he looked down at it.
The corpse had been a man, and it was impossible to determine how long the man had been dead for. While he had a very aged appearance, the corpse also gave the impression of polished jade, and the body even emitted a very faint and soft white light. The body did not look dead at all, and it instead appeared as though the old man could wake up at any moment.
This person was not actually alive, right?
Lu Yin had never heard anyone actually confirm that this body was a corpse, and the old man appeared to be asleep.
Realizing this, Lu Yin was just about to check if the body had any sparks of life when a Semi-Progenitor’s aura suddenly entered his domain. He spun around, and at the same time, Big Sis looked back as well. They saw someone land in the underground tunnels and heard the person comment, "How could it be so rotten?"
As the person spoke, they suddenly appeared directly in front of Lu Yin and Big Sis.
Lu Yin was surprised at the person’s ident.i.ty. "Elder Song?"
The Semi-Progenitor who had suddenly arrived was Liu Song, the elder from the Liu family who had mastered the Graceful Sword Arts. The stooped old man had once voiced his admiration for Lu Yin when he had been posing as Long Qi, and he had even offered him an extra opportunity to visit the Sword Monument. On top of all that, when Liu Ke had been exposed as a traitor to humanity, Liu Song had killed the young man without any hesitation.
Lu Yin’s impression of Liu Song was a decisive old man. After all, if the man could execute his own descendant, then there was not much that could give him pause.
Elder Song was surprised to see Lu Yin as well. "Lu Xiaoxuan? Why are you here?"
Lu Yin grew curious. "This is Realmless’s true headquarters. What are you doing here, Senior Song?"
After meeting back up with Big Sis, Lu Yin had reverted to his normal appearance to make things more comfortable for Big Sis.
Liu Song was shocked by the revelation. "Realmless’s true headquarters? This is actually the place? It’s no wonder why no one was ever able to find it."
Seeing Lu Yin’s open suspicion, the old man said, "I was visiting the fifth region to search for a plant known as sanmulan, as it is very useful in treating sword wounds. I happened to pa.s.s by this place, and I noticed that the Mother Tree’s roots were badly damaged here, so I came down here to check on things.”
The old man then turned to look at Big Sis. "And who is this?"
Big Sis stared at Elder Song. "I’m his sister."
The man frowned and asked, "Xiao Qian?"