Chapter 3033: Scouting The Path
Sovereign Dou Sheng shook his head upon hearing Lu Yin’s words. "You can"t say it like that. You really did save me. It would have been ideal if I could have kept Extremes Must Be Reversed hidden. I was planning to wait for True G.o.d to attack before I revealed anything, just like Ku Jie. I was going to fight True G.o.d with my full strength, as it’s difficult for me to die. However, Arrow G.o.d showed up. That woman is an incredibly difficult opponent."
Lu Yin could not suppress his admiration. When Progenitor Xi had used her sword to stop the battle, both sides had ceased fighting. At that time, Lu Yin had noticed that Sovereign Dou Sheng had been pierced by dozens of arrows. Anyone else in that situation would have died, even Lord Xu. However, Sovereign Dou Sheng just bore all of his injuries with Extremes Must Be Reversed. While Arrow G.o.d might have appeared to be completely unharmed, Lu Yin was fully confident that there was no way that she was truly unaffected by Sovereign Dou Sheng’s powerful attacks.
"Senior, what can you tell me about Arrow G.o.d?" Lu Yin felt that he had to ask this question.
Sovereign Dou Sheng’s expression grew serious. "That’s one of the reasons why I asked you to stay back. That woman is very tough to deal with. In addition to her perfect aim with her arrows, she can also undergo a Corpse King Transformation. She might look delicate, but she was able to withstand my attacks. She cannot be underestimated at all."
Lu Yin arched a brow. He had already known that Arrow G.o.d would not be an easy opponent. After all, the woman was one of the Three Pillars and Six Skies. Still, it was a surprise to learn that she could undergo a Corpse King Transformation.
He had never seen such a beautiful woman use the Corpse King Transformation before.
"Also, the law of the universe that she has mastered is troublesome. If I"m not mistaken, it’s something like chaotic disorder, which is why she’s able to disorient her opponent every few shots. If you face her, you must be very cautious. She has certainly cultivated divine energy, though she never revealed that. Honestly, in a one-on-one fight, I might not be able to kill her, though she would struggle even more to actually kill me," Sovereign Dou Sheng was open and honest with his thoughts.
The only peak powerhouses in the First Scourge that Sovereign Dou Sheng would admit to struggle to kill in a one-on-one fight were the Seven SkyG.o.ds. There was no doubt that the Three Pillars and Six Skies were just as powerful as the Seven SkyG.o.ds.
Fortunately, there was a bit of overlap between the two t.i.tles, which reduced the number of terrifying experts that humanity was up against. How could humanity ever hope to face off against the Seven SkyG.o.ds in addition to another Three Pillars and Six Skies? If Aeternus had that many experts, what hope could they have?
"I understand. I won’t underestimate her," Lu Yin replied. "Senior, I should be going now."
Sovereign Dou Sheng then asked, "By the way, would you like to learn Triumphant Brawl?"
Lu Yin was taken aback, though it was a very pleasant surprise. "Can I?"
Sovereign Dou Sheng laughed loudly. "I knew you’d be interested! Triumphant Brawl is a perfect complement to Extremes Must Be Reversed. Ku Jie also said that once. I met him here at the entrance to the Scourge, and we became close friends. We ended up teaching each other our skills. You’ve already learned Extremes Must Be Reversed, haven’t you?"
"You learned Extremes Must Be Reversed from Progenitor Ku himself?"
"That’s right. He charged across the Endless Frontier, and coincidentally, at that time I was being attacked..."
Lu Yin was very interested in the story. While the people of the Fifth Mainland were somewhat familiar with Progenitor Ku, Lu Yin had never heard anyone from the Sixverse a.s.sociation mention the man.
However, Progenitor Ku had invaded Aeternus on his own, which meant that he had to enter the First Scourge. It really should not be a surprise that he had met Sovereign Dou Sheng.
Sovereign Dou Sheng held Progenitor Ku in very high regards, and he had been genuinely amazed by Extremes Must Be Reversed. "I can’t even imagine what a person must have gone through to create a power that breaks the norms in such a manner. Honestly, he was incredibly difficult to kill, though his means of attack were rather lacking. He told me that he was invading Aeternus to kill True G.o.d, and I laughed at him."
Lu Yin was speechless.
Sovereign Dou Sheng let out a long breath. "I also wanted to go into the Scourge to attack True G.o.d. When I said it, the Great Sovereign laughed, just like how I had laughed at Ku Jie. In the end, I didn’t go because I could see the gap between us. But Ku Jie went anyways. Before he left, he told me, "I can’t see any gap, so I need to explore. I’ll pave the way for future generations."
"He made it sound like he was just going on a trip, but after that, I never saw him again."
At this time, Sovereign Dou Sheng"s voice dropped lower. "I really admire him. Over the countless years, I"ve never admired the Great Sovereign in the same way. Only Ku Jie has ever earned my respect. I truly wish that I had went with him back then, if possible."
"Senior, you have stood guard at the entrance to the Scourge for many years, and no one can deny your contributions to humanity. Everyone has their own responsibilities that they need to bear," Lu Yin replied. He could imagine just how determined Progenitor Ku must have been to invade the Scourge on his own with no intention of ever returning. The man’s only goal had been to pave the way for future generations of humans.
Wait... If the man had intended to explore and pave the way for future generations, then he must have intended to send information back. Lu Yin immediately asked Sovereign Dou Sheng about this, but the man just shook his head. "I don"t know anything about that. He never gave me any information.
"I waited for many, many years, hoping that he might send something back. When the Lord of Lightning entered the Scourge, I followed without any hesitation, just so that I could search for any clues that Ku Jie might have left behind. When the Great Sovereign entered the Scourge with you, I did the same. I’ve searched it several times over the years, but I’ve never found anything at all."
Lu Yin frowned as he looked towards the Scourge. This did not make any sense. Given Progenitor Ku’s personality, if he had discovered anything at all, he definitely would have left a clue behind. He had gone from an ugly man who had been discarded by the Ku family, to a low-profile Progenitor. Later, he had inherited one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas and eventually created Extremes Must Be Reversed, reaching a level of strength comparable to Progenitor Chen himself. There was no way the man would have gone to his death without leaving something behind.
Could it still be in the First Scourge?
In the dim light, Sovereign Dou Sheng sat beside his golden cudgel as he shared his friendship with Progenitor Ku. The man’s reminiscent mood caused a surge of casualness and heroism to well up within Lu Yin, and he was reminded of the time he had drunk with Cai Jianqiang and Zi Rong. The way men became friends was quite simple: if they could see eye to eye, they would fight and drink together. It was easy to form a bond that would last for the rest of their lives, especially at a place like the entrance to the Scourge where one constantly faced the risk of death.
In the past, Sovereign Dou Sheng had truly wanted to invade the Scourge with Progenitor Ku, even if it meant dying there. For many years, the Sovereign had regretted not going.
Like Lu Yin had mentioned, everyone had their own responsibilities. Some people could abandon everything and seek death, but that was only because others would carry the burden of living on. There were times when living was not easier than death.
"Progenitor Ku has returned," Lu Yin stated.
The comment startled and confused Sovereign Dou Sheng. "What did you say?"
Lu Yin smiled at the older man. "Progenitor Ku has returned. My Lu family brought him back."
Sovereign Dou Sheng"s eyes flared and filled with excitement. "Truly?"
Lu Yin nodded. "Unfortunately, he’s basically a living corpse right now. No one can wake him up. Would you like to see him, Senior?"
Sovereign Dou Sheng let out a bellowing laugh. "There’s no need for that! Just knowing that he"s still alive is enough. A man like him can’t sleep forever. He"ll wake up eventually, and I’ll wait for that day and meet him again here at the entrance to the Scourge. When that day comes, I"ll definitely join him, and we’ll invade the Scourge together, haha!”
Lu Yin admired the pure camaraderie born from battle. He and Jiang Chen enjoyed something rather similar, though Lu Yin’s responsibilities were much heavier.
"Awesome!" Sovereign Dou Sheng shouted as he hefted his cudgel up high. "Listen carefully, what is known as Triumphant Brawl is all about embracing death. There can be no self, no desires, no fear, no want, no greed from the past, and no fear of the future..."
As the cudgel slammed into the ground with a loud bang, Lu Yin was jolted awake.
Sovereign Dou Sheng’s words echoed in Lu Yin"s mind. Was this really Triumphant Brawl? It was clearly a path that nudged a person towards death, while dragging their enemies along.
Sovereign Dou Sheng was an absolute madman! How could anyone yearn for death so much that they created Triumphant Brawl?
And yet, someone who pursued death with such dedication had also managed to learn Extremes Must Be Reversed, which made it incredibly difficult for him to die. No wonder Extremes Must Be Reversed and Triumphant Brawl were such a perfect match. It was like two people standing at the edge of a cliff, one with wings, and the other without. The one with wings was insanely seeking death and insisted on dragging the wingless off the cliff. The wingless one would surely die, while paradoxically, the one seeking death would not. This was an infuriating combination of battle techniques.
Anyone who fought against Sovereign Dou Sheng would be in the position of the wingless person being dragged off the cliff. Regardless of the battle’s results, Sovereign Dou Sheng simply could not die.
This was a disgusting combination of battle techniques.
Lu Yin left, still amazed at Triumphant Brawl and shocked by Sovereign Dou Sheng"s desire to pursue death. It was undeniable that this man was the one best suited to standing guard at the entrance to the Scourge.
At this time, the Sixverse a.s.sociation erupted into celebration at Aeternus’s full retreat. They had learned that the entrance to the Scourge had been sealed, which marked a temporary end to the endless war that constantly raged between humanity and Aeternus. Mankind had earned a human victory.
There would be no threat from the Aeternals for a long period of time.
Aeternus had always presented a terrifying threat to the Sixverse a.s.sociation. There had always been the Seven SkyG.o.ds, Cheng Kong, and the True G.o.d Guard. At the moment, the Seven SkyG.o.ds were in seclusion and remained there, while a number of them had died. Cheng Kong, the Aeternals’ most terrifying a.s.sa.s.sin, was also gone, while nearly half of the True G.o.d Guard and their captains had been eliminated. All of this was solely thanks to Lu Yin.
Lu Yin"s reputation in the Sixverse a.s.sociation spiked even higher.
As for those who had died during the invasion—Bureau Director Gan, Chen Le, and Shan Pu—their sacrifices were also celebrated. Was there ever a war with no casualties?
When Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect, he heard his praises being sung everywhere. Invading the First Scourge had successfully forced the Aeternals to completely turtle up in their sh.e.l.ls.
However, Lu Yin was not able to relax. They had only managed to suppress the First Scourge and force the Aeternals to go into isolation. This made it harder than ever before for the Sixverse a.s.sociation to force their way into the First Scourge. Aeternus was undoubtedly waiting for a chance to counterattack.
In the Heavens Sect, Chen Le’s death went virtually unnoticed. The man had not had a good reputation within the Heavens Sect; he had been a gloomy person, and he had also betrayed the Three Monarchs Universe. His past accomplishments had also failed to impress people like Arch-Elder Zen. Even Monarch Xing merely muttered an "Oh" and gave the Monarch’s death no further thought.
Qing Ping approached Lu Yin and delivered unexpected news; there was a problem with Marquis Wu.
Lu Yin found this odd. "Senior Brother, did you also judge Marquis Wu on whether or not he has betrayed humanity?"
"No," Qing Ping replied. "During this invasion, I was supposed to deal with Marquis w.a.n.g, but Marquis Wu intercepted me, and he gave me a cosmic ring that contains a cosmic door."
Lu Yin took the ring. First Marquis w.a.n.g, and then Marquis Wu. Why had both of them sought out Lu Yin’s senior brother?
The incident with Marquis w.a.n.g had been a pure accident, but Marquis Wu... Could the man know Qing Ping?
"Where does this cosmic door lead to?" Lu Yin mumbled as he toyed with the cosmic ring.
"I"ve already checked, and it’s just a planet in an ordinary parallel universe," Qing Ping replied.
"You"ve already been there?" Lu Yin was surprised.
Qing Ping nodded. "That should be where Marquis Wu wishes to meet us."
"Senior Brother, that was quite the risk!"
"The responsibility was given to me, so of course I needed to handle it."
Lu Yin was not too worried. For the time being, the First Scourge lacked the power to ambush him, and he was quite curious about why Marquis Wu wanted to arrange a meeting.
Could the Marquis be the human spy who was hidden among the Aeternals?
There was also a problem with w.a.n.g Xiaoyu. If Marquis Wu was also a human spy, then in addition to the fact that Ye Bo was actually Lu Yin, then the True G.o.d Guard Captains were rather busy.
"Senior Brother, you didn"t meet Marquis Wu?"
"No, but I found two characters on that planet: Hui Wu."
"Hui Wu?" Lu Yin grew puzzled. It sounded like a name that belonged to someone from the Hui family.
"I"ve already checked," Qing Ping continued. "Hui Wu is indeed a name recorded in the Hui family’s records. He’s the son of Progenitor Hui, an elder of the Hui family."
Lu Yin was astonished. "He’s Progenitor Hui’s son?"