Chapter 3073: Lu Yin"s Method
The Immemorial Citadel and the Origin Universe. If Lu Yin was not mistaken, Qiu was an expert from the Origin Universe who had gone to the Immemorial Citadel, just like Ce w.a.n.gtian.
Now that he was trapped within Qiu"s Progenitor"s world and surrounded by endless chains of stellular energy, Lu Yin unleashed his divine energy in an attempt to break free. Qiu raised his arms, used his sequence particle chains to tear through the divine energy, and tightly grabbed hold of Lu Yin"s shoulders. With a big toothy grin, Qiu said, "Let"s die together!"
The moment the man finished speaking, the entire universe suddenly seemed to contract. It was not the actual universe, but rather Qiu"s Progenitor"s world that contracted. The endless nebula of stellular energy chains shrank down as much as possible. It felt as though the universe itself had just detonated, and Lu Yin was instantly put under an incredible amount of pressure.
He was horrified, and his whole body turned cold. Even if he managed to withstand this attack, he would be close to death. Qiu was literally trying to die together with Lu Yin.
Grabbing hold of Qiu"s arm, Lu Yin pulled with all his strength. There was a crack, and Qiu"s arm broke off. However, he reconnected it with the chains of sequence particles. Lu Yin‘s foot snapped out, and the nearby void collapsed. Everything was contracted to the limit, and Lu Yin felt like he was being compressed down into a single point. Unable to bear the pressure, blood started to leak from the corner of his mouth.
"Do you really want to die?" Lu Yin shouted.
Qiu laughed maniacally. "This is one of my 108 suicide techniques! What do you think? Is it intense enough?"
What a madman! Lu Yin’s eyes glinted. He waved his right hand, unleashing Setting Sun again.
Qiu had no way to block a comprehension technique, and he coughed up more blood as his arms fell limp. Lu Yin seized the opening to retreat and fall back, only to discover that an actual chain had wrapped around his waist at some point. When had this chain appeared?
Qiu raised his head. Blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth, giving him a sinister and terrifying appearance. "A comprehension technique? I will never let you go. Here’s another one of my 108 suicide techniques! Try this one."
The man grabbed the end of the chain as he charged at Lu Yin. Lu Yin also saw the long saber approaching from right behind Qiu, and it was aimed at both men.
Qiu was completely honest about wanting to perish together.
Helpless, Lu Yin used his Setting Sun for the third time, and it managed to cause the saber to fall. Lu Yin raced off towards the cosmic door, but he struggled to shake off the chain around his waist, which Qiu held onto tightly. "Heh heh, I already told you I won’t let you escape.
"Here’s another one of my 108 suicide techniques!"
The man’s Progenitor"s world reappeared, and it frantically squeezed down upon Lu Yin. "Let"s die together!"
Lu Yin took a deep breath and looked around. "Even if this is just a test, he’s already severely injured. Aren"t you going to intervene? I’ve clearly failed."
No one responded.
A crazed light filled Qiu"s eyes, but they were very clear in their depths. "A test? So that"s it—the Divine Selection. It’s too bad that you don’t know who I am, though those old monsters behind you certainly do. Do you think that I will die so easily?"
Lu Yin arched a brow. So this was the situation; the man had been bluffing all along. Apparently, he had a way to survive even if they did die together.
"Hehe. Kid, you were just unlucky to have run into me. Everyone else who has faced me for a Divine Selection has died. Even if you don"t die here, you"ll die at the Immemorial Citadel." As Qiu spoke, his Progenitor"s world continued to squeeze Lu Yin, making him cough up even more blood.
"I’m one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas from the Heavens Sect! Remember that!" Qiu shouted.
Lu Yin"s eyes turned cold. If this man could not be killed, then it would be much easier for Lu Yin to deal with him. He raised his hand and used Setting Sun once more.
Qiu"s eyes went wide. He did not want to face this move again, though he also believed that he could endure it.
Right after that, a tremor ran through Qiu’s body, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before staring ahead in shock. This time, the comprehension technique was far more powerful than the previous two times. The kid had been holding back.
Lu Yin gave Qiu a long look before he turned to leave.
For the final use, Lu Yin had not held back at all with his Setting Sun. He had simply hoped that Qiu would not die. After all, Qiu himself had said that he could not be killed.
One of the Heavens Sect’s Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? That meant that Qiu was from the Origin Universe’s most brilliant era.
Pa.s.sing through the cosmic door, Lu Yin arrived back in the Third Scourge. As he appeared, the cosmic door behind him shattered.
His face was pale, and he coughed up blood as he crumpled to one knee while breathing heavily. He looked to have been severely injured.
Di Qiong appeared in front of Lu Yin, and he looked decidedly unhappy. "Failed?"
Lu Yin struggled to his feet. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth as he bowed. "I"m sorry, I failed."
Di Qiong’s eyes tightened, and he glanced at the other cosmic door before looking back at Ye Bo. "Who was your opponent?"
Lu Yin was surprised to learn that Di Qiong did not know. "Qiu. He claimed to be from the Immemorial Citadel."
Di Qiong was taken aback. "You actually encountered that madman? It’s no wonder you failed."
Lu Yin looked at Di Qiong. "You know him?"
Di Qiong stared at Ye Bo. "Did you use Setting Sun?"
"Three times."
"You had no chance to kill him?"
"He kept trying to die with me. The last time he tried to commit suicide with me, I used my Setting Sun to the limit, managing to severely injure him, but I had a premonition that I would not be able to kill him, so I returned."
Di Qiong frowned. "It’s true that you can"t kill him. The Immemorial Citadel is full of madmen, and that Qiu is one of the hardest ones to kill. Not even Di Xia can kill him.
"Forget it. Just wait."
"Understood." Lu Yin did not dare to leave, so he stood beside Di Qiong, and they both waited for Di Xia.
Some time later, Di Qiong muttered to himself, "Five succeeded. Two died."
Lu Yin glanced over at Di Qiong"s back. Five succeeded and two died? This meant that eight people had already finished their initial a.s.sessments, including Lu Yin.
He did not know whom the five successful individuals had killed. Had they all been powerhouses from the Immemorial Citadel? Or could they have been experts from the Sixverse a.s.sociation?
Regardless, everyone had undoubtedly faced Aeternus’s enemies.
Another half an hour pa.s.sed before Di Xia emerged from the cosmic door, and his also shattered behind him.
Di Qiong stared at Di Xia, who offered a respectful bow. "I did, not disgrace you, on this mission. Success."
Di Qiong heaved a sigh of relief. "Well done."
He was concerned about his bet with Xu Jin. Ye Bo had already failed, so if Di Xia also failed, Di Qiong could only hope that one of the representatives from Xu Jin"s Second Scourge would also fail. At least that way, Di Qiong would not lose their wager.
Very few partic.i.p.ants would pa.s.s the first test for each Divine Selection. The chances of two representatives from the same Scourge pa.s.sing were quite low. No matter how powerful Xu Jin might be, he could not raise two experts who were nearly as strong as the Three Pillars and Six Skies. Still, it was more reliable for Di Qiong’s representatives to succeed rather than hope that Xu Jin’s failed.
Besides, the wager with Xu Jin was only one thing that Di Qiong was concerned about. He genuinely hoped that Di Xia would be able to pa.s.s the Divine Selection and become a reserve member of the Three Pillars and Six Skies.
Di Qiong had his own plans.
As for Ye Bo, Di Qiong did not blame him for his failure. Even if Fei was the one who faced Qiu, she would not have simply failed; she would have faced certain death. Di Qiong had no doubt of that.
While Ye Bo had indeed failed, it was quite impressive that he had been able to return alive.
The final results were soon released. Of the six Scourges’ twelve partic.i.p.ants, eight had succeeded, and three had died. Ye Bo alone had returned alive after failing.
When Lu Yin heard that eight contestants had succeeded, his heart sank. This meant that the Aeternals had killed eight enemy sequence powerhouses.
Aeternus"s foundations were incredibly deep.
Eight sequence powerhouses... Even if just one or two succeeded during the a.s.sessment at the Immemorial Citadel, if they then joined the First Scourge, they would pose a significant threat to the Sixverse a.s.sociation.
Lu Yin thought for a moment. Maybe it would be a good idea for him to partic.i.p.ate in the a.s.sessment at the Immemorial Citadel so that he could eliminate one or two of the other contenders.
However, how could he do that after already failing?
Lu Yin glanced over at Di Qiong and Di Xia and had a sudden thought. "Senior Di Qiong, when will the next Divine Selection occur? I would like to represent the Third Scourge again."
As he spoke, he moved a few steps forward so that he was just three meters away from Di Xia.
Di Qiong replied, "It will be a very long time before the next one. By then, you will be more than eligible to partic.i.p.ate, so you don"t need to worry."
"Thank you, Senior." Lu Yin replied. As he spoke, he Possessed Di Xia. If Possession used the power of consciousness in the same manner as the Chiliagonist’s ability, Lu Yin would have never dared to perform a Possession in front of Di Qiong. However, while Lu Yin’s Possession used the power of consciousness, it was fundamentally different from the Chiliagonist’s ability. This was because of the special nature of Lu Yin’s die and Possession. The die"s Gift Copy had even been able to absorb the flames that had destroyed the Books of Destiny and the Lord of Lightning’s lightning. These were the reasons why Lu Yin was completely confident that Di Qiong would not notice anything.
After Possessing Di Xia, Lu Yin immediately caused the corpse king’s body to self-destruct. Lu Yin had already Possessed Di Xia once before, so he was somewhat familiar with the corpse king’s power.
Puff!
Di Xia suddenly spat out blood and collapsed to the ground.
Di Qiong was startled. "Di Xia, what just happened?"
Lu Yin feigned surprise. "Di Xia?"
He had failed. Di Xia had not completely self-destructed. It was not because Lu Yin had failed to sufficiently understand Di Xia"s power, but rather that he had simply failed to pull it off.
As Lu Yin had already guessed, it was impossible for certain powerhouses to commit suicide. Even if they wanted to die, it was not that simple. Lu Yin could make Di Xia kill himself, but not instantly. This was the same as when Lu Yin had Possessed Mu Ji. It did not matter if Lu Yin used the power of the Arboreal Realm or divine energy; it was impossible to instantly commit suicide when Possessing certain people.
Di Xia lay on the ground, breathing heavily. What had just happened? He himself did not know. For just a moment, his internal energy had gone out of control and been about to explode. It had felt like he was about to self-destruct. But why would he do such a thing? It was clear to him that he had not been the one in control of his power.
Cough, cough!
Blood continued to pour out as Di Xia coughed.
Di Qiong set a hand on Di Xia"s shoulder. His eyes flashed, and his expression turned extremely grim. "How were you injured?"
Di Xia answered in his hoa.r.s.e voice, "I, don"t know."
Di Qiong demanded, "Who did you face?"
"A, Cicadian."
Di Qiong"s face fell. "Your power was controlled by another. Does the Cicada Clan have that sort of ability?"
"I already, exterminated the Cicadian."
Di Qiong did not care about the Cicadian. All he was thinking about was how to handle the rest of the Divine Selection.
Di Xia"s inexplicable injury was likely related to the Cicadian, but the cause of the injury could be ignored for the moment. The problem was the next portion of the Divine Selection.
Partic.i.p.ating in the Divine Selection with this kind of injury would not simply make it difficult to pa.s.s the a.s.sessment; it would be almost impossible for Di Xia to even survive.
Even without considering his wager, Di Qiong did not want to lose Di Xia. The corpse king played an extremely significant role in the Third Scourge, and he was far more important than Fei could ever hope to be.
Should the Third Scourge abandon the Divine Selection?
Di Qiong watched as Di Xia continued to cough up more blood. The corpse king’s internal energy was completely chaotic. It would be impressive if he could even exert fifty percent of his full strength. In Di Xia’s current state, even Ye Bo could defeat him.
Wait, Ye Bo.
Di Qiong looked over at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin noticed the man’s gaze and met Di Qiong’s eyes. "My lord, if Di Xia continues in the Divine Selection with these injuries, he might..."
"I know," Di Qiong interrupted. "Ye Bo, how are your injuries?"
Lu Yin replied, "My injuries are not very serious. I only need a few days of rest to recover."
Di Qiong glanced at Ye Bo and then at Di Xia. "Ye Bo, you will replace Di Xia for the rest of the Divine Selection."
Lu Yin feigned shock. "Me?"
Di Qiong turned to stare at Ye Bo. "Di Xia"s injuries make him incapable of continuing on in the Divine Selection, so you will replace him."