Chapter 2435 – s.n.a.t.c.hing The Sword Monument
While the two men engaged in a heated argument, everyone else remained silent. However, their previously tense expressions relaxed a great deal.
The fact that Lu Yin and w.a.n.g Fan were arguing indicated that a fight most likely would not break out. If it were, it would have started before Lu Yin even arrived.
The two parties continued to argue for a good thirty minutes before finally taking a break.
Bai w.a.n.gyuan and Progenitor Long both slowly relaxed. Given how the situation was playing out, they could already see the inevitable outcome.
Mu Xie also relaxed a bit as he observed Lu Yin, and the man soon revealed one of his rare smiles. His junior brother was such an intriguing character. Whenever he appeared, events unfolded in unpredictable ways.
There were some individuals who possessed a natural ability for inciting chaos and who were skilled at utilizing a combination of various miscellaneous details to make it very difficult for their opponents to counter them. Regardless of whether his ident.i.ty had been Long Qi, Yu Hao, or Lu Xiaoxuan, Lu Yin had always exploited everything at his disposal to great effect. His talent was so exceptional that he had single-handedly altered the course of human history.
Master, how did you find and accept this disciple? If he wasn’t my junior brother, I would have wanted to accept him as my own disciple.
Lu Yin had already completely disrupted the four ruling powers’ original plan, and he had even created a situation that minimized the possibility of war breaking out, which would have been the worst possible outcome.
However, that particular detail was hardly a concern for Lu Yin. His primary objective for coming back to the Perennial World had been to check on his senior brother, Mu Xie. As long as his senior brother was unharmed, Lu Yin could tolerate everything else.
The end result was acceptable, though no one sought justice for Liu Yue"s death. The Liu family would have to handle the matter themselves.
Lu Yin could only do his best to save certain members of the Liu family, such as Liu Du, who was his Fifth Brother"s father, which made him important to Lu Yin. Additionally, there was Liu Que, Liu Yishou, and even Zhang Dingtian.
Lu Yin spent two weeks in the Middle Realm, searching for various members of the Liu family.
He managed to find Liu Que, and through him, Zhang Dingtian. Unfortunately, Liu Yishou had died during the battle between the various Progenitors.
"If not for Master, I would have died." Zhang Dingtian stood atop jiao"s back and watched as the ground rapidly dropped away. The jiao"s speed made all the nearby scenery flash by in a blur.
Lu Yin remained silent. Life and death were both normal experiences for cultivators.
"Brother Lu, Master told me that he encountered something inexplicable," Zhang Dingtian suddenly said.
Lu Yin turned to look at the other man. "And?"
"Don"t you want to know what happened?" Zhang Dingtian asked.
Lu Yin looked away. "When someone dies, it"s like a lamp being extinguished. What would be the purpose in asking?"
Zhang Dingtian nodded in agreement. "True, there’s no point in asking. Oh, there"s also no need to look for the family patriarch. He"s dead."
"How did he die?" Lu Yin asked. Almost all his motivation for trying to save members of the Liu family had come from wanting to help Fifth Brother, but Lu Yin had been too late.
Zhang Dingtian replied, "He died in the same manner as my master—from the Progenitors" battle. My master died protecting me, but the patriarch charged directly at Xia Shenji."
Lu Yin"s expression sank. Why had Liu Du charged at Xia Shenji?
Liu Du had only been an Envoy, not even a Semi-Progenitor. And yet, he had bravely charged at Xia Shenji. He must have been prepared to die.
Suddenly, Lu Yin asked himself if he was the cause of the Liu family"s misfortune. If he had not exposed Liu Song’s true ident.i.ty, it was possible that the Liu family would not have been targeted. Then again, the four ruling powers would have simply found some other excuse to justify attacking Liu Yue. The Liu family had been fated to suffer.
Lu Yin soon spotted Liu Lu, who happened to have been sent out on a mission and had started rushing back to his family after learning about what had happened. Lu Yin intercepted the man and took him away.
Liu Lu glared hatefully towards the Higher Realm before finally suppressing his burning desire to tear the sky apart.
In the past, the members of the Liu family had all been obsessed with the sword, but suddenly, hatred had taken root in their hearts. For Liu Lu, Liu Que, and even Zhang Dingtian, resentment had become an inseparable aspect of their very being.
Finally, Lu Yin arrived at the location that Liu Hao shared with him through Liu Tianmu.
Lu Yin found the situation rather strange; why had Liu Hao sent a message to Lu Yin, of all people, when he had been at the cusp of death? There was also the Nong family and Humility"s Gate. Had the man really been that confident in Lu Yin?
It was also possible that Liu Hao had realized the direction that the Perennial World was heading in. He might have felt that the only way to disrupt that course of events was through external influence, such as Lu Yin.
If Liu Hao could see that, then others could as well.
The jiao jerked to a stop, disrupting Lu Yin’s contemplations. He looked down and saw Xia Ziheng together with an unknown Semi-Progenitor.
Xia Ziheng and the other Semi-Progenitor both looked up and met Lu Yin’s eyes. "Lu Xiaoxuan?"
Lu Yin dropped down, tearing through the void before appearing before Xia Ziheng and the stranger. "Why are you here?" he asked.
"That’s none of your business, Lu Xiaoxuan. You should go back to the Forsaken Land," Xia Ziheng answered coldly.
Lu Yin immediately struck out with a palm attack. Wielder - Indestructible further amplified Lu Yin’s physical strength as a six-tribulation Envoy, and the resulting palm strike was so powerful that even Semi-Progenitors would find it deadly. Xia Ziheng gasped in shock when his blade shattered when he tried to block Lu Yin’s attack. On top of that, the palm strike sent the man flying backwards. The other Semi-Progenitor instantly retaliated, but Lu Yin just stretched out a hand. "The sky will be overturned by the earth."
With a loud bang, the Semi-Progenitor was smashed into the ground by Flipping the Sky.
Similar to Extremes Must Be Reversed, Flipping the Sky was a battle technique that required the user to comprehend the technique’s meaning. This was why it had been able to crush Undying G.o.d"s Semi-Progenitor avatar, as well as why it was more than enough for Lu Yin to deal with a Semi-Progenitor whose arms were crippled.
Lu Yin easily dealt with both Semi-Progenitors.
Xia Ziheng could taste blood in his mouth. Right when he moved to attack again, he was stopped by a roar from the jiao, which was staring at him. With that, the man panted for breath, no longer daring to make any further moves.
"I"ll ask you again, why are you here?" Lu Yin asked calmly as he clasped his hands behind his back and stared at Xia Ziheng.
While it had not been long since the two had previously fought each other at Shenwu"s Sky, Lu Yin"s strength had already risen to a completely different level. Not only had he broken through and become a six-tribulation Envoy, but he had also acquired Flipping the Sky and Wielder realm battle force. With this much strength, Lu Yin could easily handle four Semi-Progenitors without using any tools or external equipment.
Even with the jiao’s pressure, Xia Ziheng stubbornly refused to answer.
Lu Yin walked over to the unknown Semi-Progenitor and bent down to scrutinize the man, just like he had done with Undying G.o.d. "Who are you?"
The unfamiliar Semi-Progenitor quivered under Lu Yin"s stare and answered, "Xian Su."
"Is that your name?" Lu Yin asked.
"Yes."
"What"s your relationship with the Xia family?"
After clearly thinking about things for a moment, Xian Su refused to answer, just like Xia Ziheng.
The smile slowly disappeared from Lu Yin"s face. "You"d better start talking. If you aren’t connected to the Xia family, then you"ll die here and now. What do you say, Semi-Progenitor Ziheng?"
Xia Ziheng gritted his teeth and replied, "He"s in charge of Shenwu"s Sky prison."
Lu Yin"s eyes flickered, as everything suddenly clicked into place. This man had been tasked with keeping an eye on Xia Shenji"s clone by the Progenitor himself. After the clone had escaped with Liu Shaoge, Xia Shenji must have sent this Semi-Progenitor to search for the clone. Most likely, Xia Shenji had personally crippled the man’s arms as well.
Lu Yin stepped over Xian Su and walked towards Xia Ziheng. "You"re not talking because you a.s.sume that I won"t do anything to you, right?"
Xian Su seethed with rage. Being walked over was a huge insult.
Xia Ziheng’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Lu Yin. "Progenitor Shenji won"t let you get away with this!"
Lu Yin burst out laughing. "Tell Xia Shenji to say that to my face. Can he even do that?"
Xian Su was completely stunned by Lu Xiaoxuan"s arrogance. Who else in the entire universe dared to speak about Progenitor Shenji in such a rude manner? It was no wonder why this young man had been able to break out of Shenwu"s Sky and fight the four ruling powers into a truce. This person truly did stand at the pinnacle of humanity’s strength.
Lu Yin alone was qualified to speak in such a manner.
At that moment, all shame of being walked over evaporated.
"Still, you"re right. I don"t intend to harm you right now." Lu Yin looked away as he released his domain to examine the area. Suddenly, he simply vanished.
Xia Ziheng was initially stunned by Lu Yin"s sudden departure, but then realization dawned, and the man’s eyes went wide in alarm. "Not good!"
He started looking around frantically, trying to find out just where Lu Yin had gone, but it was already too late. When Lu Yin reappeared, he was accompanied by the ma.s.sive form of the Sword Monument.
Xia Ziheng"s jaw fell. "Lu Xiaoxuan, you—"
Lu Yin tossed the Sword Monument onto the jiao"s back. As the jiao slowly rose into the sky, the young man looked down at Xia Ziheng and laughed. "Many thanks, Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng! If not for you, I wouldn"t have bothered stopping here, let alone find the Liu family"s Sword Monument. Hahaha!"
He then rode off atop the jiao.
Xia Ziheng blanched. This was the end. He was completely done for! That b.a.s.t.a.r.d Lu Xiaoxuan had just handed him a death sentence.
Progenitor Shenji had personally tasked the two Semi-Progenitors to search for the Sword Monument. Many others were also searching for it, but Xia Ziheng had gotten very close to finding it after following various clues, but that d.a.m.n Lu Xiaoxuan had grabbed it at the last second.
Why did he have to show up just at that moment? There was no way that Lu Yin had arrived just because of Xia Ziheng. The Middle Realm was incredibly vast, so how could such a coincidence occur? The two Semi-Progenitors had deliberately concealed their auras, which meant that Lu Yin’s chances of randomly running into them was akin to that of finding a needle in a haystack. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d had to have known that the Sword Monument was nearby, but he had still put on an act to ensure that Xia Ziheng would suffer Progenitor Shenji"s punishment. What a despicable b.a.s.t.a.r.d!
After toying with Xia Ziheng, Lu Yin left the Perennial World. He had no intentions of returning anytime soon, as long as nothing serious occurred. Then again, he had held similar intentions in the past, only to be forced to return to the Perennial World for one reason or another.
He shook his head and idly watched as the scenery pa.s.sed by. Lu Yin stared at the Sword Monument and then up at the Dominion Realm. The four ruling powers did not appear to have any intention of stopping him. Perhaps they wanted to avoid further trouble for the time being.
However, the fact that they were not stopping him did not mean that they had given up. Since they had already killed Liu Yue without hesitation, there was no way that they would not have a plan in place. Lu Yin might have disrupted this unknown plan, but it would absolutely start up again in the future. The only question was when.
Bai Sheng had left the New Corridor’s exit in the Perennial World long ago. The Fifth Mainland’s cultivators were being sent to the mountain valley and then forcibly escorted back to the Fifth Mainland.
The jiao flew through the valley, rushed straight towards the New Corridor, and disappeared.
A few months went by. While people from the Fifth Mainland were not allowed to visit the Perennial World, trade and transactions continued unabated. In particular, the Fifth Mainland’s wireless jincans were slowly replacing the Perennial World’s communication crystals that had once been commonly used.
At the same time, the Perennial World continued to study the Fifth Mainland"s battle tactics and unique weapons.
As for the fourth array base, Lu Yin dispatched soldiers to man it, but the Perennial World refused to accept anyone at all.
Until the issue of the Fifth Mainland"s true universe was fixed, no one dared to let any cultivators from the Fifth Mainland into the Perennial World, not even on the rear battlefield.
Also, the situation on the rear battlefield had completely changed, and very few defenders remained on the five array bases. Most of the defenders had entered the New World, and they were close to recapturing the entire place.
Bit by bit, the Perennial World was transforming, entering an ideal state.
On the other hand, the Fifth Mainland searched incessantly to find the cause of the issue plaguing the true universe.
Time flew by, and three years pa.s.sed in a flash.
On one particular day, a crack appeared in the void at the bottom of Shenwu Continent’s Tower of Resonating Light.
A figure shot out from the fissure in the void, only to crash into a wall. After the person appeared, the crack was mended.
The figure turned around, noticing that the crack had already vanished. "d.a.m.n, now I can"t go back! Curse that Gu Yue."
The person then looked around and carefully emerged from the Tower of Resonating Light. Looking out, they could see rows of cultivators, all guarding the tower.