Chapter 2729 – Crisis
Progenitor Long softly asked, "Mu Xie, do you really want to sacrifice yourself for your junior brother?"
Mu Xie calmly replied, "Do you not fear our master"s revenge?"
Bai w.a.n.gyuan and the others all frowned as a flicker of fear flashed through their eyes. This was indeed something that they had all considered before. What kind of master could guide disciples like Mu Xie, Lu Yin, and Qing Ping? They had searched all their historical records, but had not been able to find a single powerhouse who fit the description.
This had led them to believe that the master of the three monsters was either just an average Progenitor who had an incredible gift for uncovering geniuses or was someone so tremendously powerful that he exceeded their imagination.
However, even if the second option was true, the four ruling powers did not have the option to give it too much weight. Lu Yin had to die. If they allowed him to become a Semi-Progenitor, let alone a full Progenitor, it would be too late to move against him. If they did not remove the problem at the root, they would inevitably suffer Lu Yin’s revenge.
At this moment, no one mentioned the truce that was still supposed to be in effect, as it had lost all relevance; war was about to break out.
Lu Yin completely ignored Bai w.a.n.gyuan and the others and instead focused solely on Luo Shan. "You are Monarch Luo from the Three Monarchs Universe, right? Why are you attacking my Fifth Mainland?"
Luo Shan had a stern expression on his face. "There’s no need to waste time talking. Today, this universe will fall under the Luo name!"
"Wait just a minute. What if we agree to serve under you?" Lu Yin shouted.
His words shocked everyone, including Mu Xie and Arch-Elder Zen.
Bai w.a.n.gyuan and the others from the four ruling powers glanced at each other. What had Lu Xiaoxuan just said?
Even Luo Shan was stunned. "What did you say?"
Lu Yin shrugged. "I said that I’m willing to lead my people into your service, Monarch Luo."
"Lu Xiaoxuan, stop with this farce! The Heavens Sect will be destroyed today, and there’s nothing that you can do to change that!" Xia Shenji shouted angrily as he prepared to attack.
Lu Yin snapped, "I want to take refuge under Monarch Luo, which is none of your business! Stay out of this."
Xia Shenji released his attack, only to see Luo Shan suddenly appear in front of him and stop the attack. "I want to hear what he said."
Bai w.a.n.gyuan stared at Luo Shan. "Monarch Luo, Lu Xiaoxuan is cunning and deceptive, and he excels at using sophistry. You cannot trust his words."
"That’s right. This man once pretended to be both Long Qi and Yu Hao in order to disrupt matters for our four ruling powers. No matter what he says, nothing can be trusted," Progenitor Long agreed.
Monarch Luo observed Lu Yin. "What are your intentions?"
Lu Yin replied, "I simply want to save my own life, nothing more. I can go with Monarch Luo to your Three Monarchs Universe and can even agree to go alone. You can control me or imprison me. I simply ask that Monarch Luo let my Heavens Sect go and allow my friends and family to live. They can be of great help to you, Monarch Luo, so why kill them all?
"I, Lu Yin, am an enemy of the four ruling powers, but I have no enmity with you, Monarch Luo. I can give the entire Fifth Mainland to you. What do you think?"
"Lu Xiaoxuan, shut up!" Grandmaster Gu Yan shouted angrily as he glared at Lu Yin. "My disciple Gu Yue was killed by the Three Monarchs Universe, and yet you actually want to submit yourself to them? How absurd!"
Lu Yin sighed. "Senior, if I don’t do this, how can I hope to save the countless lives of the people of the Heavens Sect? Gu Yue is already dead, but these people are still alive."
"You!" Grandmaster Gu Yan was beyond furious, and he pointed a finger at Lu Yin as the old man’s entire body trembled.
Mu Xie also spoke up. "Junior Brother, only the strongest can survive in this megaverse. If you submit yourself to the Three Monarchs Universe today, your destiny will fall under their control."
Lu Yin gave another shrug. "Senior Brother, I believe that Monarch Luo will treat my people well. After all, he is the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe and has always fought against Aeternus on behalf of humanity. If we join his forces, then he will gain two Progenitors, as well as me, who is also able to fight against Progenitors. This will cause the Three Monarchs Universe’s strength to spike, which is undoubtedly what Monarch Luo wishes to see."
Lu Yin"s words struck a cord within Luo Shan. The Three Monarchs Universe was the weakest of the members of the Sixverse a.s.sociation. Despite being the ruler of an entire universe, he did not stand on the same level as Lord Xu, Mu Shen, and the others. Even Sovereign Shao Yin was able to disregard the ruler of the Three Monarchs Universe. Luo Shan knew that his universe could be replaced at any time, which had always been a weight on his chest.
If he could obtain Lu Yin and the other powerhouses of the Fifth Mainland and place them under his rule, then it was possible that the Three Monarchs Universe would no longer be regarded as the weakest universe in the Sixverse a.s.sociation. Not only would he gain peak powerhouses, but how many individuals were there in the Heavens Sect who were also about to reach that same level? How many resources did it possess? How many geniuses? Just raising up the young talents would be enough to transform the Three Monarchs Universe’s strength.
No, there would no longer be any need for the Three Monarchs Universe; Luo Shan would be the ruler of the Origin Universe.
After all, this was the Origin Universe, the parallel universe that had given birth to humanity’s greatest civilization ever.
Luo Shan was not even a native of the Three Monarchs Universe, and yet he was the ruler of the universe. Since he had already conquered one universe, he could certainly do it again, and this was even a much better option.
The more the Monarch considered the possibility, the more he desired it.
He could practically see himself standing side by side with Lord Xu and other rulers, similarly able to disregard Sovereign Shao Yin.
"Lu Xiaoxuan, if you insist on submitting to the Three Monarchs Universe, then I, Gu Yan, have nothing more to say to you other than goodbye!" Grandmaster Gu Yan left in a huff.
Mu Xie shook his head. "Junior Brother, this is not a decision that you should be making."
With that, he also left.
Nong Yi shook his head, and though he said nothing, he also left.
Not only did Luo Shan not regret that three powerful individuals had left, but he was also increasingly convinced of Lu Yin"s sincerity. There was no need to go so far with any sort of deception, as how could Lu Yin and Arch-Elder Zen possibly hope to resist the Three Monarchs Universe without help?
This was also precisely what Lu Yin wanted Luo Shan to consider.
If Lu Yin was willing to expose his ident.i.ty as Xuan Qi, as well as reveal Master Shan, Cloudflow, and even Chen Le, while also asking the Lost Clan for help and mobilizing every last bit of power available, it would not only be possible to overturn the Three Monarchs Universe, but they could even disrupt the entire Sixverse a.s.sociation. However, that would also eliminate Lu Yin’s Xuan Qi alias, which would be a true pity.
Lu Yin’s goal was to divide Luo Shan and the four ruling powers. As long as that succeeded, the four ruling powers would find it incredibly difficult to make the decision to wage war against Luo Shan. On top of that, it was a certainty that Luo Shan would meet with Lu Yin alone, and then it would be possible for him to find some way to either imprison or control the Monarch.
No matter what Luo Shan decided to do, it was vital that Lu Yin be capable of dealing with it.
Lu Yin wanted to create an opportunity where he could fight Luo Shan alone, such as Aeternus Kingdom. Of course, Lu Yin wanted to face Luo Shan alone, not fight the Monarch without support.
Mu Xie and Grandmaster Gu Yan had left as part of a show that Lu Yin was putting on to try to sway Luo Shan.
Lu Yin did not expect to fully convince Luo Shan to believe his submission, but Luo Shan was a peak powerhouse who had the ambition to rule everything. As long as a chance presented itself, the man would make an attempt.
If he was offered a chance to obtain the entire Fifth Mainland, why would he agree to split it with others?
Lu Yin had managed to understand Luo Shan’s mindset.
Luo Shan fully realized that Lu Yin was trying to divide his enemies, but what of it? The spatial pa.s.sage had been opened, and the only reason why Luo Shan had agreed to cooperate with the four ruling powers was because he had needed them to open the pa.s.sage. That goal had already been achieved, which meant the four ruling powers had lost all value to Monarch Luo.
As for whether or not this decision would make enemies of the four ruling powers, Luo Shan did not care at all. He was supported by the Sixverse a.s.sociation. Could the four ruling powers ever summon the courage to declare war against the entire Sixverse a.s.sociation?
An eerie silence filled the area as Bai w.a.n.gyuan and the others stared at Luo Shan.
Luo Shan lifted his head to look at Lu Yin, revealing eyes that blazed with ambition.
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. Exposing himself as Xuan Qi and revealing all of his cards was his last resort. He did not want to start a war, which was why he had created the current situation. He wanted to create a setting where he could face off against only Monarch Luo.
The jiao roared as it warily stared at Luo Shan. This human was very dangerous.
"By the way, the Great Sovereign seems to like this creature very much, so you can give it to the Great Sovereign as a gift." Lu Yin acted as though he had suddenly remembered something, and he pointed down to the jiao that he stood upon.
Luo Shan"s eyes lit up. "The Great Sovereign likes that beast?"
"Lu Xiaoxuan, that beast belongs to my Shenwu’s Sky!" Xia Shenji roared.
Luo Shan frowned and glanced over at Xia Shenji. "If the Great Sovereign likes it, then it belongs to the Great Sovereign."
Xia Shenji shot a cold glare at Luo Shan, who returned the glare with cold eyes of his own. The Monarch’s att.i.tude towards Xia Shenji had completely changed.
Bai w.a.n.gyuan"s heart sank. Lu Xiaoxuan had offered Luo Shan too great a temptation. He had offered to lead the entire Fifth Mainland to submit to the Three Monarchs Universe, which had given Luo Shan ample cause to kick the four ruling powers aside. On top of that, Lu Yin was offering two subordinate Progenitors as well. This was too much for anyone to resist.
Bai w.a.n.gyuan did not care about who controlled the Fifth Mainland. The Perennial World had never cared about the Fifth Mainland. All that mattered was that Lu Xiaoxuan had to die.
The youth was simply too talented and too good at scheming and planning. If he survived, he would eventually create more chaos, and Bai w.a.n.gyuan would not be able to sleep or eat well as long as Lu Xiaoxuan drew breath.
Luo Shan made his decision, and he turned back to Lu Yin. "Are you truly willing-?"
At that moment, a figure approached from the distance, interrupting Luo Shan"s words. It was Sage Yuan.
Lu Yin’s expression changed completely when he saw who had arrived.
"Monarch Luo, Lu Xiaoxuan"s words cannot be trusted!" Sage Yuan shouted.
Lu Yin clenched his fists, and his eyes grew frigid.
On the other hand, Bai w.a.n.gyuan and the others were thrilled to see Sage Yuan, as they knew that he was determined to eliminate the entire Lu family.
Luo Shan frowned. "Sage Yuan, what do you mean?"
Sage Yuan crossed the final distance and then looked at Luo Shan with a solemn expression. "I bring a message from Sovereign Shao Yin. Are you willing to hear them?"
Luo Shan"s eyes flashed. "Of course I am willing, please tell me."
Even if Sovereign Shao Yin’s status was ignored, the fact was that Luo Shan was only able to be present at the spatial pa.s.sage because Sovereign Shao Yin was protecting the rainbow wall. The man held too much leverage over Luo Shan for him to ignore the Sovereign’s words.
Sage Yuan nodded, glanced at Lu Yin, and sneered at him. "Sovereign Shao Yin says that regardless of who controls the Origin Universe, whether it is Monarch Luo or the four ruling powers, he merely hopes to see the Lu family meet the fate that they deserve. Monarch Luo, this is what Sovereign Shao Yin has told you before."
Luo Shan remembered that, before he had approached the Origin Universe, Sovereign Shao Yin had indeed said something about how the Lu family deserved the fate that they had in store and that no exceptions could be made for anyone from that family.
"What does Sovereign Shao Yin want to be done with the members of the Lu family?" Luo Shan asked.
Bai w.a.n.gyuan stared at Sage Yuan, who gave a careless smile. "Have them fight against Aeternus, never allowed to return from the frontlines alive."
The moment he finished speaking, Bai w.a.n.gyuan and the others all laughed.
Xia Shenji laughed louder than anyone, his laughter sounding incredibly cruel.
Luo Shan"s eyes flickered. Was this really what the Sovereign desired?
Lu Yin remained calm as he stared at Sage Yuan.
The man looked over and saw Lu Yin staring. "I told you before, Lu brat, that you shouldn’t be too arrogant! Before us, you are less than an ant! The fate of the Lu family from before will also be your fate. There is no escape for you!
"No matter if it is you, Lu Buzheng who managed to survive from the Heavens Sect era, or any other surviving members of the Lu family, all of you will be driven into the Aeternals’ territory, never allowed to return alive. This is Sovereign Shao Yin’s decree, and it cannot be violated."
Beside Lu Yin, Arch-Elder Zen let out a breath. The matter regarding the Lu family was still not concluded, though it was no longer a matter of someone wanting to get revenge, but rather of forcing responsibility onto the family. It was completely ridiculous, but the reality was that since Sovereign Shao Yin could not handle the Aeternals, he was seeking a scapegoat.
The jiao grew restless. It sensed that something was happening, if not what, and its eyes grew more and more violent as it started to brandish its claws while staring forward.
Lu Yin calmly observed Sage Yuan. "Are those Sovereign Shao Yin’s words?"
"Those are his orders!" Sage Yuan spat back.