Chapter 2859: The Heavens Sect’s Tyranny
Lu Yin took a sip of tea. This particular tea had been grown on the other side of the mountains, and it was quite ordinary. "Senior, are you discussing philosophy with me?"
Mr. Daheng laughed. "I"m merely overthinking things. Dao Monarch Lu is still so young, so why would you muse about such things?"
Bureau Director Gan looked at Lu Yin enviously. The director and Mr. Daheng were both old, while Lu Yin was so young yet so powerful. No one knew how high the young man might reach in the future.
Lu Yin put down his tea cup. "Senior, do you feel like you are growing old, or do you feel that the person you are now is no longer the person you once were?"
Mr. Daheng smiled. "What do you think, Dao Monarch Lu?"
Lu Yin replied. "The former."
Bureau Director Gan shook his head, but Mr. Daheng laughed. "At Liberation Palace, we focus on being free and unfettered. That is because we all feel that we are being forced to change by everything around us and that we cannot escape the constraints that bind us.
"Because there is the Endless Frontier, we must enter it.
"Because the Arborean realm exists, so we had to be diligent with our cultivation.
"Because there is day and night, we must distinguish between the two.
"Because there is good and evil, we must consider the morality of our actions before acting.
"These are all influences that constrain us, but we never consider such things. Are we really doing what we want to? I want to sit here and drink tea, but because night is falling, I must return. I want to enjoy the scenery in a location, but because it became a battlefield, I was unable to go there anymore. I want to eat a specific type of delicacy every day, but because the chef died of old age, I can no longer enjoy it.
"From birth to death, every person is swayed by too many influences, and it is impossible to achieve true freedom. Isn’t this the ultimate regret of life?
"The purpose of our Liberation Palace is to allow people to feel at ease and to have thoughts that inspire eternity.
"Dao Monarch Lu, have you ever considered staying in one place forever? Never parting ways from one person? Have you ever imagined what kind of life you could live? Why have you not lived that life?"
Bureau Director Gan"s eyes blazed with emotion. This was the exact reason why he had joined the Liberation Palace. He wanted to do what he wanted to do.
There was a bang, and a teacup cracked.
The sound startled Bureau Director Gan out of his thoughts, and it caused Mr. Daheng to abruptly stop speaking.
Lu Yin relaxed his hand. "I"m sorry. Your words reminded me of the past."
Mr. Daheng stared at Lu Yin with fervent eyes. "It appears that Dao Monarch Lu is also a man of emotion."
Lu Yin smiled. "There is something that I really want to do right now. I wonder, could you help me, Senior?"
"Dao Monarch Lu, please tell me," Mr. Daheng replied with a smile of his own.
Lu Yin stared at the man. "I want to get the jiao back."
The comment surprised Bureau Director Gan, and he turned to look at Mr. Daheng in confusion. "The jiao?"
Mr. Daheng was not surprised. He calmly observed Lu Yin. "I also have something that I really want to do, and I would like to ask Dao Monarch Lu to help me."
"Please tell me, Senior."
"I want Chen Le to join the Liberation Palace."
Lu Yin and Mr. Daheng stared at each other, and neither looked away. They had both stated their conditions.
Lu Yin understood. Mr. Daheng was a truly ruthless person. The entire reason why he had taken the jiao away had been to force Chen Le to return to the Liberation Palace. For this one reason, he had not hesitated to target the jiao, even on a battlefield as dangerous as the one at the Tea Ceremony. The man had risked death, and he knew that he could die if he were discovered. Despite that, he was willing to potentially become an enemy of the Origin Universe.
There was no way that Chen Le was what Mr. Daheng truly wanted. What the man actually wanted was the same thing that he had desired all along. Even if the Peaks and Rivers Rock had fallen into Luo Shan"s hands, Mr. Daheng still needed to learn why Chen Le had given the stone to Luo Shan. Where had Chen Le gotten the confidence to defy Mr. Daheng, and who had helped the Monarch? These details were very important, and Mr. Daheng wanted to know the answers.
This was the Liberation Palace.
According to Mr. Daheng’s own words, he wanted to be free and do whatever he wanted, and he was working hard towards that goal. Chen Le was one of the things that Mr. Daheng wanted.
In order to regain Chen Le, Mr. Daheng had taken a terrible risk at the Tea Ceremony, and he was even willing to use the jiao as a bargaining chip. He did not care about the methods he used, and he eschewed ideas such as good or evil.
Bureau Director Gan was unable to understand what the two were talking about, but he understood that the atmosphere had suddenly grown very heavy.
"Chen Le voluntarily joined the Heavens Sect. If he wants to join the Liberation Palace, I won"t stop him. If he doesn"t want to, I also can"t force him," Lu Yin calmly stated.
Mr. Daheng argued, "Dao Monarch Lu certainly has the means to do so. Chen Le is nothing more than a minor figure. I want him to join the Liberation Palace."
Lu Yin looked away and stared out at the distant farmland. "It seems that Mr. Daheng is determined."
"A thought to eternity," Mr. Daheng stated bluntly.
Lu Yin rose to his feet. "Very well, I"ll bring Chen Le. However, it will be up to you, Mr. Daheng, to convince him to join you. Of course, I also want to see the jiao."
Mr. Daheng smiled. "I"m sorry to have troubled you, Dao Monarch Lu."
Lu Yin left the Liberation Palace, and Mr. Daheng’s smile faded.
Bureau Director Gan could not resist speaking up. "Senior, this-"
The man knew that the conversation between Lu Yin and Mr. Daheng had not been good.
Mr. Daheng waved the question off. "Call Wu Heng. Lord Lu might not be willing to compromise so easily."
"Doing this will offend the Origin Universe and the Lu family. We will be in trouble if one of the Lu family’s seniors come, especially their ancestor, Lu Yuan."
"There’s no need to worry. We are only requesting Chen Le. For this child of the Lu family to become the Heavens Sect’s Dao Monarch and the ruler of the Origin Universe, he can’t be helpless. Besides, I have already prepared enough of a reward to satisfy the Lu family," Mr. Daheng replied. He genuinely did not want to offend the Origin Universe. He would never forget the scene that the Lu family had put on at the Tea Ceremony. First, Lu Yin had called the Great Sovereign a crazy b.i.t.c.h, and then Ancestor Lu Yuan had repeated the insult. These were not people who could be crossed.
The man rubbed his cosmic ring. As long as he was able to meet Chen Le, he would pay a price sufficient to convince the Lu family to leave the Liberation Palace alone. The jiao was nothing more than a lure to draw Lu Yin over. Mr. Daheng was certain that he would be able to satisfy Lu Yin.
Mr. Daheng had founded the Liberation Palace, and regardless of his behavior’s morality, he was no fool. He clearly understood which people could be offended and which people could not.
Bureau Director Gan breathed a sigh of relief. This was good. If Dao Monarch Lu became upset, the Bureau Director feared the retaliation of the Heavens Sect and the Lu family. Those powers were capable of destroying the entire Liberation Palace.
Mr. Daheng had come up with a good idea, and he had used the jiao to lure Lu Yin to the Liberation Palace. As long as Lu Yin brought Chen Le to Mr. Daheng, the man was willing to pay a steep price to convince Lu Yin to give Chen Le up.
The thought of truly using the jiao as leverage had never occurred to Mr. Daheng. The two parties involved in this matter did not have anything remotely resembling equal strength, and trying to force negotiations would be bad for the Liberation Palace.
However, the man could never have imagined Lu Yin’s thoughts.
Throughout his life, Lu Yin had experienced a number of grievances and faced life and death countless times. With the return of the Lu family, as well as the Heavens Sect’s gradually increasing prosperity, how could Lu Yin act like he had before? Especially at the current moment. The Origin Universe needed to establish its reputation within the Sixverse a.s.sociation and intimidate the Cyclic Universe. Was the Liberation Palace really qualified to negotiate terms with the ruler of the Origin Universe?
Was there any need for Lu Yin to even listen to the Liberation Palace’s terms? What a joke.
Upon returning to the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin summoned Chen Le, Leng Qing, Arch-Elder Zen, and even Big Sis. "Someone is creating trouble for me, so please come with me to settle this matter."
Big Sis looked up. "Sounds interesting."
Arch-Elder Zen stroked his beard and smiled.
Leng Qing remained stoic.
Chen Le sneered. Who would be stupid enough to provoke someone as ruthless as Lu Yin at this point in time?
Lu Yin tore through the void and led the small group to the Arboreal Realm, and then towards the Liberation Palace.
The Heavens Sect needed to establish its dignity.
Wu Heng had already arrived at the Liberation Palace. As one of the Arboreal Realms’ rare Arboreans, Wu Heng was even more powerful than Bureau Director Gan.
"What"s wrong?" Wu Heng asked as he gave Mr. Daheng an indifferent stare.
The man calmly replied, "Some friends are on their way to visit, so let"s welcome them together."
Ridicule appeared in Wu Heng"s eyes. "Are they joining the Liberation Palace?"
Mr. Daheng did not answer, but Bureau Director Gan said, "It"s the Origin Universe’s Dao Monarch Lu."
Wu Heng was surprised. "Lu Yin?"
The Bureau Director nodded.
Wu Heng looked back at Mr. Daheng. "You’re willing to antagonize him?"
Mr. Daheng frowned. "Just watch."
In the same manner as Chen Le, Wu Heng had been forced to join the Liberation Palace. He both feared and hated Mr. Daheng. On the other hand, Bureau Director Gan had joined voluntarily. The two men’s att.i.tudes towards Mr. Daheng were polar opposites.
Additionally, the Bureau Director knew nothing about Wu Heng and Chen Le’s situations.
Wu Heng stared at Mr. Daheng for a long moment, saying nothing.
Lu Yin soon led a group of people through the Arboreal Realm.
Their arrival was not quiet at all. Leng Qing’s killing intent was blazing at full force. While Arch-Elder Zen was calmer, the intensity of his Progenitor-level aura was fully released and had spread across the Arboreal Realm. However, the most domineering member of the party was Big Sis. Just her appearance exerted a suppressive feeling. A dark purple energy seemed to shatter the stars of the universe. It was as though a ma.s.sive boulder had been dropped in the peaceful pond of the Arboreal Realm, and the disturbance shocked all of the universe’s peak powerhouses.
Mu Shen’s eyes snapped open. "Progenitor Yōu Ming?"
Mu Ke looked up, clenching the hilt of his saber. This person was quite strong.
In the Liberation Palace, Mr. Daheng"s expression instantly changed. Who did this power belong to? He had never felt it before.
Big Sis looked at the Liberation Palace from a distance. "I found it. Little Seven, let"s go."
A smile touched Lu Yin’s lips. "Let"s go."
The Arboreal Realm was huge, but for Progenitors, especially Progenitors like Big Sis who had touched upon the laws of the universe, the universe could be traversed in a blink of an eye.
As he looked at Big Sis and the four people accompanying her, Mr. Daheng’s expression changed suddenly. The pressure on him made it difficult to breathe, and he felt incredibly uneasy.
Behind him, Wu Heng was completely stunned.
Bureau Director Gan had turned pale. Where had Lu Yin gathered so many peak powerhouses?
Lu Yin looked down at Mr. Daheng and the other two. "Here, I’ve brought Chen Le. Where is the jiao?"
Chen Le was both shocked and confused. He did not know about Lu Yin’s intentions for this visit to see Mr. Daheng. Did the Dao Monarch want to turn Chen Le over to Mr. Daheng? No. No matter how Chen Le looked at the situation, the Dao Monarch was looking to make trouble.
While Chen Le still had a deep-set fear of Mr. Daheng, after seeing the power of the Heavens Sect and after fighting back the Aeternals’ a.s.sault on the Heavens Sect, Chen Le had grown much more confident. If even the current Heavens Sect was unable to protect him, then what human power could?
Even if Lu Yin was only a Semi-Progenitor, he could be regarded as humanity’s greatest protector.
As Mr. Daheng looked up at Lu Yin and the others, his expression fell. "Dao Monarch Lu, what is the meaning of this?"
Lu Yin sneered. "Didn’t you want to make a deal with me? Chen Le is right here, so bring out the jiao."
Mr. Daheng gritted his teeth. "It seems that Dao Monarch Lu has not come to negotiate, but rather with aggression."
Lu Yin laughed. "You steal my mount and threaten me, and then have the gall to claim that I’m the one being aggressive? You must be out of your mind."
Big Sis took a step forward. "Cut the c.r.a.p! I haven"t done a thing yet after regaining my old strength. Just looking at this guy is enough to tell that he’s a complete hypocrite. Just die."
With that, Big Sis pointed forward, and her dark purple abyssal power took on the form of a terrifying hammer that crashed down.
Mr. Daheng was beyond furious. "Dao Monarch Lu, do you really want to start a war with my Arboreal Realm?"
"You can’t represent the Arboreal Realm!" Lu Yin shouted fiercely as he waved his hand.