Chapter 2950: Ultimate Techniques
A few days later, the maid asked to see Ye Bo, and she delivered the fruit fish that had been requested.
Lu Yin accepted the food and found that it was indeed fruit fish. This creature could only be found in the Astral River in the Origin Universe’s Outerverse. The people who were most likely to catch this type of fish were members of the Anglers’ Club. Even so, fruit fish were rare enough that even the Daynight clan could not easily acquire them.
Lu Yin had once enjoyed a fruit fish when attending the Daynight Banquet, and it had left an impression on him.
At present, Aeternus should have very little power within the Origin Universe, and yet they were still able to acquire fruit fish. This indicated that their influence there was considerable.
"How did you get this?" Lu Yin could not stop himself from asking.
The maid was unable to give an answer, as she herself had no idea.
Lu Yin did not press the matter. He had received five fruit fish, so he casually gave one to his maid. "You can have it."
The maid was startled, and she fell to her knees. "Master, please ignore your servant! Your servant doesn"t dare! I don’t dare!"
"It"s just a fish. What’s the problem?" Lu Yin wondered.
The maid continued to kowtow to him, and Lu Yin realized that the woman’s head was about to start bleeding. "Alright, get up. I"ll just eat it myself."
The maid let a sigh of relief escape as she slowly rose to her feet. An intense fear filled her eyes.
"What are you so afraid of?" Lu Yin asked.
The maid bowed low. "It"s a blessing for me to be able to serve you. I would never dare to even dream about receiving a gift from you."
Lu Yin stared at the woman. "Where is your family?"
The maid trembled, and again fell to her knees. "Please forgive me! Please forgive me! Please forgive me..."
"Alright, I won"t ask anything else." Lu Yin grew impatient.
The maid was terrified, but she slowly stood back up and left the tower.
Even without asking the question, Lu Yin understood that the maid’s family had either been transformed into corpse kings or killed. She was not a corpse king herself, which could be considered incredibly lucky. It was understandable that she would suffer from such intense fear at almost all times.
Lu Yin looked at the five fruit fish and considered things. He was really quite greedy. Even so, he casually threw the fruit fish away. At this moment, he was Ye Bo, not Lu Yin. The fruit fish had been nothing more than a test. It was impossible for Ye Bo to actually eat it.
...
Aeternus was nothing like what Lu Yin had imagined. He had managed to quickly learn many things that had previously been regarded as secrets. While the Scourge was a mysterious place, Lu Yin felt like he was able to see through the Aeternals now.
In the sky up above, there were the cosmic doors. On the ground below, there were rivers of divine energy and the black Mother Tree, as well as the various tall towers scattered about. If Lu Yin wanted to, he could roam about the land, counting just how many towers there were.
But such a thing would be meaningless. While the Progenitor-level corpse kings that were part of the True G.o.d Guard were nothing more than tools, they still possessed the destructive power of a peak powerhouse. The Progenitor-level corpse kings were not given towers, and there were also far more of them than any other type of expert within Aeternus.
Before Lu Yin could even blink, he had spent an entire month in the Scourge.
He had done nothing during this time other than the one mission to destroy the parallel universe.
Progenitor Xi never showed herself again.
Lu Yin did not interact with his maid at all.
He strolled along a river of divine energy for some time, never encountering any other people or even any corpse kings. The deathly silence of the Scourge could be terrifying.
Yu Huo had mentioned that the towers of the True G.o.d Guard Captains were close to the innermost regions of the Scourge and that there were many Aeternal Kingdoms in the outer regions. Lu Yin wanted to see those.
Just as he was about to make the trip, Lu Yin suddenly stopped and turned to look behind him. Far away, he saw a man walking towards him. When the man noticed Lu Yin looking at him, he smiled. While it was a hideous smile, the man seemed to be doing his best to appear friendly.
Lu Yin stayed where he stood and stared at the man.
The man was quite ugly, though he possessed a cultivation equal to a Progenitor’s. The closer the man approached, the more clearly Lu Yin felt that the man was not any sort of threat at all. While he was a peak powerhouse, at best, the man could compare to the Sixth Mainland’s Progenitor of Combat.
"Friend, my name is Qi You. Might I ask your name, Brother?" The ugly man spoke politely as he drew closer. He glanced at the river of divine energy without any reaction, but looked at Lu Yin with open respect.
Qi You had seen Lu Yin leaving the depths of the Scourge, which meant that Lu Yin had a higher status than Qi You. However, Lu Yin looked so young that the ugly man had no idea how to refer to him.
Lu Yin replied in a flat voice, "Ye Bo."
Qi You smiled. "So you are Brother Ye Bo. I"m sorry to bother you."
Lu Yin continued to stare at the man. "You approached me with a purpose."
Qi You was taken aback, and he grimaced. "Since Brother Ye Bo is such a straightforward person, I"ll be frank. Might I ask if you are searching for True G.o.d’s ultimate techniques, Brother Ye Bo?"
Lu Yin stared at Qi You. True G.o.d’s ultimate techniques?
Qi You was also staring at Lu Yin. He was unable to see through the young man, and Qi You saw no reactions in the other man’s eyes. "Brother Ye Bo, you don’t need to say anything at all. I get it. However, this isn’t the way to search, Brother. The Scourge is too big, and it is much larger than most parallel universes. It’s impossible to blindly search along a divine energy river. Have you ever considered cooperating with another person, Brother?"
Lu Yin looked away, instead turning to stare at the nearby river. He seemed to be deep in thought.
Qi You grew somber. "There are rumors that the True G.o.d’s three ultimate techniques have been hidden within the divine energy that flows across the Scourge. Anyone who finds one of these techniques will instantly be made the Eighth SkyG.o.d, and they might even be accepted as the True G.o.d’s disciple. Many people have searched these rivers for countless years but never found anything. You may want to find those techniques for yourself, Brother Ye Bo, but it is impossible."
"Since no one has found any of the ultimate techniques, how can anyone be sure that they even exist?" Lu Yin challenged in a cold voice.
Qi You laughed. "Because there are also rumors that one of the Seven SkyG.o.ds obtained one of the ultimate techniques, and Progenitor Xi has confirmed it as true.
"That is the source behind the rumors and also why so many powerful people are searching for the three ultimate techniques. However, it is impossible to cultivate in a river of divine energy, let alone search through it.
"All of us have failed in our attempts to cultivate divine energy. The only ones who can do that are either the True G.o.d Guard Captains or people like Cheng Kong and other powerful individuals."
At this point, Qi You turned to stare at Lu Yin. "If my guess is right, you should be one of the True G.o.d Guard Captains, Brother Ye Bo."
Lu Yin glanced back at Qi You. "Why do you say that?"
Qi You said, "This particular stream of divine energy does not pa.s.s by any other towers. But the closest area to it is reserved for the True G.o.d Guard Captains. Brother Ye Bo, you walked along this stream, which means that you are most likely a True G.o.d Guard Captain. If you weren’t someone at that level and capable of cultivating divine energy, how could you possibly have the courage to search for the ultimate techniques on your own?"
"Have you ever seen one of the True G.o.d Guard Captains?"
"I have. I’ve seen all of them. However, the recent fighting has been very fierce, and several of the True G.o.d Guard Captains have died. It isn’t impossible for you to have taken that position, Brother Ye Bo."
"What battles are so fierce that even the True G.o.d Guard Captains are killed?" Lu Yin asked, sounding confused and curious.
Qi You glanced around before whispering, "The Sixverse a.s.sociation, of course.
"Out of all the wars that we Aeternals have launched, the only ones who are capable of putting up such a fight are the Sixverse a.s.sociation. I even heard that the Seven SkyG.o.ds were wounded and forced to go into seclusion to recover."
Lu Yin"s eyes flickered. "Is this Sixverse a.s.sociation our Aeternus’s greatest enemy?"
Qi You"s expression changed. "Brother Ye Bo, it"s better not to speak of such things. After all, this involves the Seven SkyG.o.ds."
Lu Yin stopped talking.
"Brother Ye Bo should be one of the True G.o.d Guard Captains, right?" Qi You asked again.
Lu Yin calmly replied, "You’ve guessed wrong. No."
Qi You was caught off guard. "That shouldn"t be the case, not along this river."
"I’ve been wandering around."
"You’re wandering around the Scourge? Brother Ye Bo, you really are relaxed and at ease." Qi You rolled his eyes. Only an idiot would believe such an excuse. The Scourge was not a pleasant place. Who would wander around it? What if one stumbled upon some unreasonable old monster and was obliterated?
It was perfectly common to run into corpse kings, but the only humans here were all traitors. None of them had very good characters.
On top of that, the inner regions of the Scourge were even more frightening.
High in the sky, far away, a corpse king emerged from a cosmic door, and it was followed by an endless line of people, all of whom were human cultivators.
Lu Yin stared at them in a daze. Were these defeated cultivators? It was perfectly clear what their fate would be.
Qi You also looked up into the sky and sighed. "Another parallel universe has been defeated. Judging by this, at least a few billion cultivators will be transformed into corpse kings."
"Where are they transformed?" Lu Yin asked.
Qi You subconsciously replied, "That’s what the planets near the cosmic doors are for. There’s one near every cosmic door. It’s a convenient way of gathering and transforming corpse kings,
Wait, you didn"t know that?"
"I just joined," Lu Yin replied.
Qi You"s face twitched. "Then you don"t know about the ultimate techniques either?"
Lu Yin looked down at Qi You. "Not a thing."
Qi You was left speechless. This guy really had just been wandering about. He had not been searching for the True G.o.d’s ultimate techniques. Qi You had been wasting his time speaking to this person.
Qi You really wanted to beat Ye Bo, except that the man felt that it was impossible to do so. He had no idea where Ye Bo had come from. Had he wandered in from the outer reaches of the Scourge, or was he from the inner portions? Qi You did not dare to take such a risk.
High above in the sky, an old woman emerged from a cosmic door. She was covered in blood, and she glanced around in confusion. Her obvious befuddlement only grew worse when she noticed the distant form of the black Mother Tree, as well as the waterfall of divine energy plummeting from it. Shock covered her face.
Qi You gave an odd smile. "Another person who betrayed humanity to join Aeternus. This must be her first time in the Scourge. It"s always interesting to see the shocked expressions."
Even through the blood covering the woman, Lu Yin could tell that she was stunned by all that she saw. It was evident that she had just survived a difficult fight and had submitted to the Aeternals before being killed. There was no other explanation for her appearance. If she were a spy, she would show nothing but pride.
"Brother Ye Bo, did you also betray humanity?" Qi You suddenly asked.
Lu Yin turned to give Qi You a dirty look.
Qi You quickly explained himself, "Brother, don"t get me wrong. I don"t mean anything by that. All of us are the same, as I also betrayed mankind. Fortunately, the Aeternals accept traitors like us, whereas creatures like astral beasts will find it very difficult to be accepted."
Seeing that Ye Bo still said nothing, a dangerous glint appeared in Qi You"s eyes. "There’s really nothing shameful about betraying humanity. Everyone has the right to live. My survival is essentially shifting the continuation of my universe’s humans. How is it anything else? At least I’m not a corpse king.”
Lu Yin did not look at the man, and he instead silently stared up at the sky. The cultivators who had lined up were starting to move towards the nearby planet. The old woman had submitted to Aeternus to live on behalf of others. What a good reason indeed.
"In fact, the Aeternals aren’t nearly as scary as we originally thought. The Aeternus Kingdoms on the outskirts are pretty good, and they look just like any other human city. Brother Ye Bo, have you ever visited them?" Qi You asked.
Lu Yin finally looked at the man. "I did not betray humanity."
Qi You was startled by this response, but also quite confused.
"I just hate them," Lu Yin stated in an emotionless voice. He then started to walk forward again.
Qi You took a while to even react. Hate them? Was that somehow different? How was that different from betrayal? What was there to be proud of?
The old man continued to stare at Lu Yin"s back. It seemed possible that this person really did believe that he could relax and enjoy his life by joining Aeternus. However, the Aeternals fought on countless battlefields, and on some of them, there would be no one to help and no reinforcements sent, and their entire force would perish. It was simply a question of how long one could survive.
"Just wait and see." Qi You sighed before turning around and leaving.
Suddenly, his pupils shrank. At some point in time, a person had arrived, and they had been standing behind Qi You.
The man had not even noticed when this person had arrived.
Lu Yin was far away, still walking, but he noticed what had happened, stopped, and turned around. The person who had just arrived was Shao Yin.