Chapter 3091: The Cave
At that moment, Mimina was struck by an indescribable heavenly might that induced an overwhelming fear. She felt as though she was seeing the Origin Progenitor himself. In her eyes, the statue grew larger and larger, towering into the sky, and forcing her to her knees against her will.
Lu Yin reached out and held the woman back up, and only then was Mimina able to regain her senses.
"Mr. Lu, who is that?"
Lu Yin looked at the statue with respect. "He is our Origin Universe"s Origin Progenitor. He is the creator of our cultivation method, and his deeds have aided the countless generations that have come after him."
Mimina looked back at the statue again, this time with reverence filling her eyes. From the moment she left her Nine-Star Civilization, she had felt as though she was seeing the world through new eyes. While the Nine-Star Civilization had encountered many parallel universes, none had been as powerful as their civilization, which made them proud. At this moment, Mimina knew what those weaker civilizations had felt when they first saw the Nine-Star Civilization.
Was this the Origin Universe? It was no wonder why Mentor Kakawen had spoken of it with such open admiration.
The Origin Universe was much, much stronger than the Nine-Star Civilization.
After being shown around the Heavens Sect, Mimina felt like she had finally gained some understanding of the place.
Lu Yin was curious about the Nine-Star Civilization’s battle techniques, and he requested a demonstration to facilitate their future alliance.
Mimina corrected him, again emphasizing that their universes were cooperating, with no sort of alliance in place.
"I"ll handle this, Dao Monarch." Leng Qing stepped forward.
Lu Yin nodded. "It’s just a friendly spar, nothing more."
Mimina glanced at Leng Qing. The man had disapproved of the Nine-Star Civilization from the beginning, believing its people to be too timid. Instead of the Nine-Star Civilization, the Progenitor had a much greater appreciation for the blunt and straightforward Scourge Occupation. Despite their initial rudeness, the Scourge Occupation had quickly agreed to ally with the Origin Universe, unlike the Nine-Star Civilization, which remained wary and hesitant.
Even using Mister Mu’s name had produced only a little change.
The duel did not take place in the Heavens Sect, but rather within an asteroid field.
Lu Yin did not want the Aeternals to know about them contacting the Nine-Star Civilization, as their cooperation was intended to be a surprise.
Leng Qing and Mimina faced each other from opposite sides of the asteroid field.
While Leng Qing had helped Mimina deal with a Progenitor-level corpse king in the Nine-Star Civilization’s universe, the two people had never fought each other.
At Lu Yin"s signal, Leng Qing charged at Mimina.
The woman instantly erected one of her Supreme Shields, and the barrier flew out.
Leng Qing leaped over the wall, his blade slashing at Mimina. The Supreme Shield suddenly expanded, crazily stretching out in every direction as it connected to the stars. Leng Qing swung his blade, and with a tremendous crash, the wall cracked.
Mimina was astonished. Had he almost broken through her full-strength Supreme Shield in just one strike?
She had fought against other universes’ cultivation methods before, and very few peers were able to break through her barriers so easily.
Her perception of Leng Qing"s strength was forced to change.
A short ways away, Lu Yin observed the battle, accompanied by Arch-Elder Zen and Lu Buzheng.
Lu Buzheng had been in seclusion to break through and become a Progenitor, but he had abandoned that goal after witnessing Destina"s fate. The Semi-Progenitor felt like he had been deceived by Ancestor Lu Yuan. While it had appeared that having Destiny as one of his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique’s summons was a boon, the truth was that Destiny had been the one using Lu Buzheng.
The man felt that trying to become a Progenitor was far out of his reach, so he had temporarily abandoned his breakthrough.
"So, is this the Nine-Star Civilization? Their techniques are very rigid," Lu Buzheng commented.
As they watched, Light-Piercing Arrows and Senluo’s Light of Annihilation intertwined, and the combined attacks forced Leng Qing back. His Celestial Blade World appeared, only for it to be suppressed by the Senluo’s Light of Annihilation. The two consumed each other.
"Leng Qing was one of the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates. If this woman underestimates him, she"ll regret it," Arch-Elder Zen remarked.
Lu Yin added, "The Nine-Star Civilization is quite unique. Their six-star techniques certainly can"t defeat Leng Qing, but if she uses a seven-star one, she can reach the Sequence Progenitor level, though she can only do so out of desperation."
Lu Buzheng was astonished. “That powerful? Can those techniques really allow her to use sequence particles?”
Arch-Elder Zen sighed. “There are countless civilizations throughout the megaverse, and who can truly claim that theirs is invincible? Not even the Aeternals might be bold enough to make such a claim. The Nine-Star Civilization has its own advantages and disadvantages, or else they would have never been able to hold off Aeternus.”
After a fierce battle, Leng Qing gained an understanding of the techniques that Mimina could use. While there were some minor variations, everything clung to the same fundamental principles.
When Leng Qing’s Blade Mist appeared, a single slash of his blade shattered the Senluo’s Light of Annihilation, and then he pointed his weapon straight at Mimina.
The woman frowned. This was the first comparison between her Nine-Star Civilization and the Origin Universe, and she could not afford to eat a loss.
She considered using a seven-star technique. “Be careful. The Ancient Key might drag you into the abyss.”
With that, the wooden stick in her hand lightly tapped at the s.p.a.ce in front of her, causing stars to appear and start forming a constellation.
“That"s enough.” Lu Yin suddenly intervened.
Mimina stopped preparing her attack and turned to look at Lu Yin.
Leng Qing also lowered his blade.
Lu Yin was watching Mimina. “It isn’t easy for you to use a seven-star technique, is it? If it were, you would have used it the first time we met.”
Mimina did not deny it.
Lu Yin smiled. “Let’s call this a draw.”
Mimina refused to accept that. “While I will admit that I was suppressed at the beginning and that, without the Ancient Key, I am no match for him, as soon as I use it, he’s bound to lose.
“I would just need a few days of rest afterwards.”
Arch-Elder Zen stepped forward. “But he also never used his full strength. You are unaware of this, but all of our Progenitors are able to utilize sequence particles.”
“Impossible.” Mimina refused to believe such a claim. While she had been astonished by the Heavens Sect’s strength and size, what Arch-Elder Zen was saying defied all that Mimina understood.
Sequence particles were not something that just any peak powerhouse could comprehend or use. If they could, they would not simply be a peak powerhouse, but rather a sequence powerhouse.
“Don’t act like I don’t understand the basics. That man is a Progenitor, not a Sequence Progenitor.”
Lu Yin led Mimina to where she could see the sequence particle technology, and then he allowed her to witness Arch-Elder Zen using sequence particles for herself.
Mimina was stupefied, as this flew in the face of all she understood about how reality functioned.
“Dozens of your Progenitors can borrow these sequence particles, and yet you still haven’t been able to defeat Aeternus?” Mimina was incredulous.
Lu Yin’s expression turned serious. “That’s exactly why I’ve been taking the risk to travel beyond our known universes to seek out powerful civilizations to ally with us.
“If Aeternus were so easy to deal with, why would your Nine-Star Civilization be so wary of us?
“Remember, Aeternus is always stronger than you believe. Never underestimate them.”
Mimina took a deep breath, and then she offered Lu Yin a deep bow. “Thank you, Mr. Lu, for helping us to better understand Aeternus. If not for this, our Nine-Star Civilization wouldn’t have even known how we were exterminated.”
Lu Yin raised Mimina back up. “We’re allies. There’s no need for such formalities.”
This time, Mimina did not correct Lu Yin’s comment.
Given the current situation, it was indeed lucky for the Nine-Star Civilization to ally with the Origin Universe. In fact, in a normal situation, the Nine-Star Civilization should have been the one seeking an alliance with the Origin Universe.
The fact that Lu Yin, the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, is putting in so much effort to establish an alliance with our Nine-Star Civilization is an opportunity for survival, Mimina thought.
Only by fully understanding the situation was it possible to make a proper choice.
Mimina looked over at Leng Qing. “It was my loss in our earlier battle. I may not have used my seven-star technique, but you didn’t use sequence particles.”
Leng Qing’s expression softened. “I may not have used sequence particles, but victory isn’t something that can be decided with mere words. Someday, I’d like to see your seven-star technique so that we can make a fair comparison.”
Mimina nodded. “There will certainly be an opportunity.”
After bidding farewell to Mimina, Lu Yin felt exhausted, but satisfied. With both the Scourge Occupation and the Nine-Star Civilization cooperating with the Origin Universe, Aeternus was in for a ma.s.sive surprise.
The question was how to best present that surprise to the Aeternals.
Well, it was best to leave such matters to w.a.n.g Wen and Wei Rong. That was their forte.
Lu Yin pulled out the fourth cosmic door.
Mister Mu had made preparations in each of the civilizations behind the cosmic doors, which meant that, as long as the civilizations had not already been destroyed, they were almost guaranteed to be natural allies to face Aeternus with. It was absolutely worth the risk to seek such powerful allies.
In the same manner as before, once the cosmic door was activated, Leng Qing pa.s.sed through first, and he was immediately followed by Arch-Elder Zen and Lu Yin.
As soon as they pa.s.sed through the cosmic door, they found themselves not in outer s.p.a.ce or on a landma.s.s, but rather inside what appeared to be a cave, and a rather small one at that. Nearby, there was a milky white liquid dripping into a pit that was about a meter across. The entire cavern could be scanned in a glance, though there was no exit in sight.
Lu Yin used Heaven"s Sight. Hmm? I can’t see outside?
Heaven"s Sight allowed Lu Yin to see sequence particles, and in the future, it might even allow him to peer through parallel universes. Despite that, it was unable to see out of this cave. Clearly, there was something unique about this place.
Bang!
Leng Qing pressed a hand against the wall of the cave and used some force. There was a slight bit of sound, but absolutely no sign of any damage to the wall.
“This cave is a problem.”
Lu Yin crouched down to study the pit that was filled with milky white liquid. What was it?
Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing both looked over as well. The megaverse was filled with all kinds of strange things, though humans had only witnessed a small fraction of them.
Could it be that Mister Mu had led Lu Yin to the cave for the milky white liquid? Aside from the liquid, there was nothing else in the cave. There was no starry expanse, nor any sort of civilization to be found.
“Dao Monarch, there are bloodstains.” Leng Qing pointed to a corner of the cave and stretched out a hand. “They’re dry and hard to notice without carefully looking. The blood dried up a long time ago, causing the stains to blend in with the soil.”
Lu Yin nodded. “While this place looks ordinary, there are signs that this cave was previously inhabited. Besides.” He glanced at the pit filled with the milky white liquid. “If nothing ever came here, this pit would have overflowed by now, but it hasn’t. Let’s wait. We might end up seeing something.”
“I’ll move outside to look around. There must be some way out,” Arch-Elder Zen suggested.
Lu Yin nodded. “Thank you, Arch-Elder Zen. Be careful, as I can’t see out of this place.”
It took Arch-Elder Zen some time to find the exit, which was a teleportation device hidden beneath a pile of dust to make it blend into the rest of the ground. At first, the device had been completely unnoticeable, especially because it had a concealment mechanism.
Lu Yin had previously seen similar teleportation devices in the Astral Combat Academies and in the Technocracy. Such technology blended science and cultivation, which meant that they were sometimes absent even in extremely advanced technological civilizations and sometimes present in other various cultivation civilizations. It all depended on whether or not someone had conducted the right sort of research.
Still, it was not particularly surprising to find such a device in the cave.
Arch-Elder Zen left, and several days pa.s.sed.
Lu Yin was not in any hurry. He waited in the cave, meditating on visualizing the Fifth Mainland, which caused it to appear behind him. There were many things that he needed to practice.
All four of his inner worlds needed to evolve into Progenitor"s worlds, but aside from Infinity and Lightstream, he had no direction forward for his other two inner worlds.