Chapter 3083: A Surprise Attack
In the Arboreal Realm, far from Mu Ke, a figure furrowed his brow as he drifted deep into thought.
"This direction won"t work, and neither will the other. This is a problem. Why did Mu Ke move to the border?"
The man was none other than Mu Ji. After being kicked into a tear in the void in the Third Scourge by Ye Bo, the man had ended up in a parallel universe where his cosmic ring was stolen. Unable to directly return to any of the Scourges, he had been forced to return to the Arboreal Realm.
In order to return to the First Scourge, Mu Ji needed to cross the Arboreal Realm’s border and enter the Endless Frontier. From there, he could arrive at the entrance to the First Scourge, which would finally allow him to access the place.
While returning to the Arboreal Realm was not a problem, as the man had been born there, crossing the border was an issue.
For the time being, Aeternus had turtled up. There was no attack at the borders of the Sixverse a.s.sociation’s universes, nor even anywhere throughout the Endless Frontier. If Mu Ji tried to force his way across the border, he would be caught by Mu Ke.
Mu Ji did not want to face Mu Ke again.
That wretched Ye Bo, he has to be Lu Yin! Why else would he attack me? What was the point of attacking me?
It had all been a flash, but Mu Ji had been attacked and his cosmic ring stolen. It was clear that Ye Bo had wanted to prevent Mu Ji from returning to Aeternus.
The worst-case scenario would be that Mu Ji had been framed as a human spy.
Ye Bo was the actual spy, but if he had managed to shift the blame onto Mu Ji, it would be the worst possible outcome for Mu Ji.
He was desperate to return to the First Scourge to explain everything to Progenitor Xi. Otherwise, Mu Ji would not be accepted in either the Sixverse a.s.sociation or Aeternus. What could he even do? He would not just find a random universe to live out the rest of his days.
He needed to get back quickly. d.a.m.n you, Ye Bo!
...
In the First Scourge, Progenitor Xi was still unaware of w.a.n.g Fan"s death.
For the Divine Selection, the First Scourge had sent Shao Yin and w.a.n.g Fan. Progenitor Xi was not sure what would happen to w.a.n.g Fan, but Shao Yin had at least a thirty percent chance of pa.s.sing, which was quite high. After all, not even the Three Pillars and Six Skies or the Seven SkyG.o.ds could be certain of returning from that battlefield unscathed.
After all, the Divine Selection was held at the Immemorial Citadel’s battlefield.
Eight partic.i.p.ants had been sent to the Immemorial Citadel’s battlefield, and Progenitor Xi simply hoped that at least a few of the partic.i.p.ants would pa.s.s the a.s.sessment so that the First Scourge would be strengthened.
As long as most of the Seven SkyG.o.ds returned, and if a few individuals pa.s.sed the Divine Selection, it would be time for Aeternus’s counterattack.
As for the Ossis Ark being sent to the Sixverse a.s.sociation, it had always been a lie. While the people down below had not known, Progenitor Xi and the Seven SkyG.o.ds had all been aware of this. The Ossis Ark could not leave the Immemorial Citadel. While it was certainly capable of destroying the entire Sixverse a.s.sociation, the Immemorial Citadel’s battlefield could not be abandoned.
Without the Ossis Ark, the powerhouses at the Immemorial Citadel would be freed. Then, the location of the primary battle would merely shift.
Forgotten Ruins G.o.d arrived. "I just received word that only one of the Second Scourge’s representatives returned. The other was captured.
"One of the Fifth Scourge’s representatives returned, but they were seriously injured. The other died.
"Currently, the only ones who remain are our two representatives, the Third Scourge’s Di Xia, and the Sixth Scourge’s Ji Luo."
Progenitor Xi calmly continued to stare at a lake of divine energy. "Only half remain."
"Yes, just half, which is pathetic. Just imagine their expressions when they saw the Immemorial Citadel for the first time." Forgotten Ruins G.o.d chuckled.
Progenitor Xi looked at the other woman. "Have you recovered from your injuries?"
Forgotten Ruins G.o.d grimaced. "Of course not! It"s all Little Lu Yin"s fault, as well as that strange civilization which disturbed my seclusion. If not for them, I would’ve been able to stay in the Sixth Mainland until I had fully recovered."
"The Heavens Sect will eventually reclaim the Sixth Mainland. It"s no longer safe for you there," Progenitor Xi stated. "Or were you waiting there for Lu Yin?"
Forgotten Ruins G.o.d smiled. "Maybe. I"m quite fond of our Little Lu Yin. I can just imagine it when he becomes a Progenitor. In the current megaverse, aside from Dukkhans and Ortusers, no one will be able to overpower him. He"s going to be so arrogant! I laugh just thinking about it.
"Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot that you were one of those old freaks."
Progenitor Xi remained unmoved. "I failed long ago and no longer have my previous strength.
"However, it is impossible for Lu Yin to succeed with his next breakthrough and become a Progenitor. Each of his four inner worlds is more exaggerated than the last. Any one of them would make for a very difficult breakthrough, and yet he has four such inner worlds."
Forgotten Ruins G.o.d nodded. "That"s exactly why I’m looking forward to it so much. He always manages to pull off a surprise, and he might do so again."
The moment she finished speaking, both Progenitor Xi and Forgotten Ruins G.o.d turned to look at a distant point before they exchanged glances. Could things really be so coincidental?
Far away, Mu She, Lord Xu, and Sovereign Lotus had all appeared. Even further away, a golden light blazed as Sovereign Dou Sheng charged into the First Scourge. "This is how we humans handle things!"
Progenitor Xi frowned, and her sword flashed out as she used her Qingluo Intent.
The green sword qi flashed. The attack was unstoppable.
Only a few human powerhouses had appeared in the First Scourge this time, and all of them were sequence powerhouses, with the exception of Lu Yin. Still, he was quite capable of defending himself from spiritual force attacks, so he was not cut down by Progenitor Xi’s first attack.
Lord Xu struggled to fight off a wave of dizziness. As he did so, he once again realized what a monster Qingluo Jiantian was. This was the woman who had forced the Lu family to start cultivating their spiritual force. How was anyone supposed to fight against such a person?
Lu Yin was present but disguised as Mu Ji.
Sovereign Dou Sheng leaped forward, his golden cudgel slamming down upon the First Scourge. "Let’s go!"
Forgotten Ruins G.o.d winced. "I can"t stop him."
The ground shattered again.
Marquis Wu, Marquis w.a.n.g, and Dual Bladeform all appeared.
Skydog howled before charging at Sovereign Dou Sheng.
The Sovereign pulled out a rancid smelling object from his cosmic ring. The stench nearly knocked him out, but he forced himself to endure it in order to defeat the indestructible Skydog.
“Woof!”
Skydog yelped before tucking his tail and fleeing.
Sovereign Dou Sheng cackled and charged towards the black Mother Tree. He wanted to see if Ku Jie had left anything behind.
Divine energy surged as Dual Bladeform, Chong Gui, Marquis w.a.n.g, and Marquis Wu moved forward.
Marquis Wu was startled. Why were humans attacking the Scourge at this particular moment? Was it because of the Divine Selection? Did Lu Yin believe that Aeternus had been weakened? That seemed possible.
In the sky above, Ancient G.o.d appeared, and purplish-black substance formed his Purgatory Seal to crush everyone down below. The man searched for Lu Yin, but he did not see him anywhere.
Mu Shen and Lord Xu worked together to counter Ancient G.o.d. The SkyG.o.d’s strength was readily acknowledged, as the two men had seen when Ancient G.o.d had fought against Lu Tianyi and his Invest.i.ture of the G.o.ds.
Forgotten Ruins G.o.d was searching for Lu Yin, and she felt puzzled that she could not find him.
Progenitor Xi was similarly looking for Lu Yin, but instead, she found Mu Ji.
Lu Yin had disguised himself as Mu Ji, but at the moment, Chong Gui was attacking Mu Ji with a spiked club that grew larger every time it was swung downwards. "Traitor! Die from love’s heavy blow!"
Sovereign Lotus intervened, and a lotus bloomed, easily deflecting the club.
Suddenly, pillars of light shot into the sky across the Scourge. Aeternus was summoning reinforcements.
Sovereign Dou Sheng was unstoppable, and not even Progenitor Xi"s sword could hold the man back. Without any reinforcements, the First Scourge could not stop the human attack.
A familiar scene played out as Astral Anura"s sharp, childlike voice echoed across the Scourge, "Haha, there’s more money to earn! Thanks, Boss."
Progenitor Xi glared at Astral Anura. "Drive them out!"
Delight filled the ma.s.sive toad’s eyes. He turned around and swung his lotus leaf, but it was actually aimed at Progenitor Xi.
The Progenitor dodged. "Astral Anura, you!"
Astral Anura beamed at the woman. "This time, my boss is the Sixverse a.s.sociation. Sorry, old friend."
Progenitor Xi frowned. Had this attack been planned? Things were getting troublesome.
Meanwhile, Lu Yin approached Hui Wen in his disguise as Mu Ji. Lu Yin pretended to fight the man. "Come with me! You"ve been exposed."
"You aren’t Mu Ji?" Hui Wu was caught off guard.
Lu Yin spoke very quietly. "Mu Ji hasn’t betrayed Aeternus. I simply tossed him into some parallel universe, but he’ll eventually make it back. When he does, you"ll be finished. He saw you leave the Scourge right before Corpse G.o.d was attacked."
Hui Wu"s expression fell. "You came here to take me away?"
"Yes."
Hui Wu stared at Lu Yin for a moment. "Thank you, but I can"t leave."
Lu Yin arched a brow. "You have to leave. As soon as Mu Ji returns, he"ll expose you so that he can regain Aeternus"s trust. You won"t be able to survive."
"I"m sorry that you’ve gone through so much trouble, but I really can"t leave." Hui Wu remained firm.
Lu Yin became upset. "What are you thinking? Isn"t it better to stay alive? Both you and Wu Tian! Do you understand how much we’ve risked to save you? This isn’t a game! Every step we’ve taken could have killed us! First Wu Tian refused to leave, and now you are too. Why?"
Hui Wu pushed shoved Lu Yin away with a palm strike. "There are things I can"t explain. I"m sorry, I really can"t leave."
A golden meteor appeared in the sky above them, blazing with divine energy as it crashed down.
"Have you seen the Immemorial Citadel?" Lu Yin asked as he stared at Hui Wu.
The man trembled for a moment.
"Countless powerhouses have sacrificed themselves at the Immemorial Citadel as they endured wave after wave of attacks. No one knows how long they will be able to endure for, or how many more will come to reinforce them. One day, the Immemorial Citadel will fall. If you want to die, why not go die there? Why stay here in Aeternus? What can you accomplish here?
"In this place, your strength means nothing," Lu Yin argued.
Hui Wu sighed and even nodded. "That’s right, but it’s precisely because I can do nothing that there’s a reason to stay here."
Lu Yin could not understand the man’s reasoning.
"Go back. Thank you, Brother Lu."
The golden meteors of divine energy continued to rain down on the ground of the Scourge, and they forced Lu Yin to retreat.
Lu Yin had intended to cooperate with Hui Wu while posing as Mu Ji, as doing so would not only strengthen the impression that Mu Ji was a human spy, but it would also give humanity a chance to rescue Hui Wu.
However, Hui Wu had blatantly refused to leave Aeternus.
The battle started quickly, and it also ended just as swiftly.
Sovereign Dou Sheng protected Lu Yin as he raced towards Mu Ji’s tower, still disguised as the man. Lu Yin pretended to grab something from the tower, and then everyone withdrew from the First Scourge.
There was no reason to remain and continue the fight. This was not the time for a decisive battle.
As soon as Lu Yin and his allies retreated, Astral Anura also left.
The ground of the First Scourge was shattered, but they had not suffered any significant losses. In fact, nothing worthwhile had been lost.
All of the human traitors who had defected to the First Scourge had already perished, including w.a.n.g Fan, who had died on the battlefield at the Immemorial Citadel. Shao Yin was the only one who was still alive.
The Scourge’s frenzied corpses had been depleted, and the Progenitor-level corpse kings had also been used up.