Chapter 607: Scouting
Lu Yin stood up and looked towards the Reverent King’s Residence. “Does Ming Zhaoshu have any way to contact the Neohuman Alliance?”
“Probably not, or else he wouldn’t have sent us to that valley,” Arikar replied.
Lu Yin released a pent up breath. Even if there hadn’t been any contact between the two forces, if he had helped the Shenwu Empire to conceal the truth, then he would be violating an iron law of the Human Domain. Whether it was the Human Domain, Astral Beast Domain, or even the Technocracy, the Neohuman Alliance was an organization whose members all had to be killed on sight.
It was likely that Ming Zhaoshu was worried that the appearance of individuals from the Neohuman Alliance would instigate Shenwu Continent into being eliminated by the outside universe instead of being refined.
The five sealing planets could indeed stop one or two Enlighters from gaining access to the continent, but if the Neohuman Alliance was revealed to have a presence here, then it would not draw just the attention of Enlighters, but also of the stronger powerhouses. Ming Zhaoshu was worried that Shenwu Continent would be destroyed. Thus, he had helped the Shenwu Empire to conceal the truth.
However, this also indicated that the Reverent King didn’t understand the Neohuman Alliance. Lu Yin, on the other hand, had the terror of the organization deeply engraved into his memory. The strength that he had witnessed from the transformed Corpse King had made even him afraid, and Corpse Kings were able to swallow energy crystals and obtain innate gifts through that method. He was gathering enough strength to easily unify Shenwu Continent, but Ming Zhaoshu was also playing with fire.
“Take me to the valley,” Lu Yin ordered.
Arikar looked up in shock. “To that valley?”
“Let’s go.”
Lu Yin picked up the crippled man, who quickly told Lu Yin more information. “There’s no use in heading back there. We’ve already been there once, so the Neohuman Alliance won’t just wait around in the same place.”
“Even you know to hide right under someone’s nose, so the Neohuman Alliance may not necessarily have moved away,” Lu Yin said. He then brought Arikar out of Shanhai City.
The Shenwu Empire was apparently cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance, and the region where most of the cooperation must be somewhere on the central Ming Island, possibly even close to Mingdu. Qiong Island lay beside Ming Island, so it was not very far away.
That valley was coincidentally where Ming Island and Qiong Island bordered each other. It was nestled within a large mountain that connected the two islands.
When Lu Yin and Arikar arrived in the valley, they saw nothing but a desolate area. “Look, they’re already left.”
Lu Yin’s eyes filled with star energy, and his lips curled upwards. Gone? Wrong, they’re still here. He could see that there were many rune lines beneath the ground, and more than a few at that. However, the largest group of these rune lines only belonged to someone with the strength of a Martial Sovereign.
For Shenwu Continent, a Martial Sovereign, which was equivalent to a Cruiser, was one of their top-tier powerhouses. However, that was not the case for the outside universe, and Lu Yin would not risk underestimating a Neohuman Alliance Cruiser. He still remembered the transformed Corpse King that he had once encountered. That creature had been able to battle across realms with ease.
Lu Yin found a place to hide Arikar. Then, he reduced his aura as much as possible before moving underground.
He found a facility that was similar to the Neohuman Alliance base that he had seen before, and the place was filled with labs in all directions, and there was even an imprisoned Corpse King here.
n.o.body knew where the Neohuman Alliance obtained all their Corpse Kings from, but it was possible that there were countless zombies being burned in some hidden corner of Shenwu Continent at that very moment.
Ming Zhaotian had been cooperating with the Neohuman Alliance, which was simply courting death. The outcome of his choice would be even worse than if Shenwu Continent was conquered by the Outerverse.
Unfortunately, n.o.body on Shenwu Continent knew how terrifying the Neohuman Alliance truly was.
After wandering about the underground base, Lu Yin discovered that there were a dozen imprisoned Corpse Kings, and one was a Cruiser, but there was not much else here. It was a very ordinary base.
Lu Yin captured one of the Corpse Kings and left the underground base without startling anyone. He then brought Arikar towards Ming Island, as he wanted to see what it was like during the current circ.u.mstances, as well as observe how many hidden experts from the Neohuman Alliance might be there.
Qiong Island had rebelled against the Shenwu Empire, and it was in a state of constant war with Ming Island, so no one was allowed to cross the Ming River.
Lu Yin took a detour and brought Arikar and the Corpse King that had been knocked unconscious with him. He easily bypa.s.sed the blockade of soldiers from the Reverent King’s Residence, and the trio entered Ming Island.
Every city on Ming Island had heavenly globes, so it wouldn’t be as easy for Lu Yin to enter the cities here. However, he did not actually need to enter the cities, as just a look would be enough for his intentions.
The situation was much better than what he had imagined. Over the course of two days, he observed five cities, but he did not see even one Neohuman Alliance expert. They had either all gathered at the capital, or they had not had enough time to develop.
Lu Yin suddenly considered the possibility that the valley was the Neohuman Alliance’s attempt to feel out Ming Zhaoshu. If the Reverent King allowed them to stay, then they would become unrestrained, as there were no outsiders present on Shenwu Continent who were stronger than Ming Zhaotian and Ming Zhaoshu. As long as those two did not make any fuss, it would be very difficult for people from the Neohuman Alliance to be discovered.
Boom!
A loud noise scared Arikar and almost caused him to spit out the food in his mouth.
An intense battle had erupted along a small path that led into a forest, and a group of people had surrounded a single person with the clear intention to capture him.
“Your Demon Hunters Society still hasn’t grasped the present situation. The Reverent King has rebelled. If you guys continue to surround and capture us, then we’ll join forces with the Reverent King and rebel against the Shenwu Empire!” An elderly man shouted. He had two hammers in his hands that he waved about, and he appeared to be rather formidable.
“How bold! You actually dare to spout off nonsense about joining the rebels. Surviving sect members like you should have all been taken care of long ago.” The Demon Hunters Society members surrounding the man grew infuriated.
“You’re asking to die!” the elder bellowed as he struck out with his hammers. A shockwave swept out in all directions, crushing the forest and even causing s.p.a.ce to quiver for an instance. He was a Martial Emperor expert.
The surrounding Demon Hunters could not match up to the elder, and they were all forced back.
“Allow me.” A youth charged forward from the rest of the group, and he swung his folding fan towards the elder’s neck with the intention of cutting the man’s head off.
The elder sneered, “Ignorant youth!”
One of his hammers crashed towards the youth, quickly followed by the second hammer. There were two loud thumps; the youth managed to block one hammer, but he was struck by the second. He spat out a mouthful of blood and crashed over near Lu Yin’s group.
Arikar had become extremely timid, and this event scared him so much that he backed up without showing any sign of stopping.
Lu Yin looked at the youth who had fallen and had spat up some blood. He was Bei Qing, which was interesting. Lu Yin remembered that this young man was the son of an influential minister, and he was even ranked on the List of Tempering. However, it appeared that he had since joined the Demon Hunters Society.
Bei Qing had been smashed by the hammer, causing his blood to churn wildly, and he kept on coughing. When he noticed Lu Yin and the others, he quickly waved a hand to drive them away. “Hurry up and leave! Don’t get involved,”
After warning them, he dashed back into the fray.
Who knew what had happened to him, but he was completely different from the person who Lu Yin had met in the past.
The elder seemed to be invincible, and this group of Demon Hunters was not able to defeat him.
“Activate the Blacksand!” one person barked. After that, a layer of black sand twisted around all of the Demon Hunters’ weapons. After that, they attacked the elder again.
The old man was aghast, and he wanted to flee by leaping up, but a golden flower appeared in the sky.
When the elder saw it, all color drained out of his face. “Hua Ying?”
Lu Yin’s heart twitched and he looked up as well. Hua Ying? He recalled seeing this name before. She was ranked ninth on the List of Tempering and was also one of the twin beauties of the empire. She was a young woman who was as famous as Ming Yan as well as a commander of the Demon Hunters Society.
“Elder Hammer, we could have spared your life, but you just had to spout such nonsense. Just die.” A girl who wore lightweight, white armor with long hair that draped over her shoulders appeared in the sky.
Lu Yin’s breath was taken away when he saw the girl. It was no wonder why she was as famous as Ming Yan. This girl had a valiant demeanor and a ravishing appearance as well. However, her mien seemed similar to Wendy Yushan’s, though there was an even denser aura of death about her. This aura was something that was unrelated to one’s cultivation; instead, it came from having killed too many people.
What Lu Yin cared about even more than that aura was her resolute gaze as she courageously advanced.
“Hua Ying, do you really think that just breaking through to the Martial Emperor realm makes you my opponent?” the elder shouted as he smashed two hammers at her.
Hua Ying’s expression did not change, and the golden flower blossomed in the sky above them as a phantom image gradually appeared—a Sago Palm Flower. The elder’s hammer pounded against the golden flower, and a tremendous bang was heard.
The ground split open, and both Hua Ying and the elder retreated several steps back.
The Demon Hunters surrounding the two did not move to intervene and only positioned themselves to prevent the elder from running.
The elder panted heavily and glared at Hua Ying with an unresigned expression. “Today’s battle will end here. I will head out first.”
He smashed the two hammers together to release a ma.s.sive, hurricane-like shockwave that swept out in all directions. But then, his face suddenly changed, and he collapsed into a half-kneeling position on the ground, his face pale.
Hua Ying looked at the elder with cold eyes. “You’re pretty good. You haven’t fallen even after being struck by my poison pollen.”
The elder snarled, “Despicable!”
The surrounding Demon Hunters stepped forward at this time to take the old man down.
Bei Qing’s folding fan streaked forward and severed the energy channels in the elder’s limbs, causing the old man to howl ferociously before pa.s.sing out.
“Commander, Elder Hammer will be put to death,” Bei Qing spoke respectfully to Hua Ying.
Hua Ying acknowledged his words, and then her focus shot past Bei Qing towards Lu Yin.
Lu Yin looked very strange. He was accompanied by Arikar, who looked like a beggar, and he was also carrying a Corpse King on his back. Although the creature was disguised as a parcel, such a large object was very eye-catching.
The Demon Hunters followed Hua Ying’s gaze and also looked towards Lu Yin and Arikar.
Arikar felt nervous but not too afraid. He was aware of Lu Yin’s strength, and the youth was a freak. The Demon Hunters Society would run out of luck if they provoked him at this time.
Hua Ying stepped in front of Lu Yin and placed a golden flower on her hand. She stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes. “Who are you? What are you doing here? Where are you headed?”
Lu Yin rubbed his nose. “That’s none of your business. I’m not a surviving member of any sect.”
“How dare you!” one Demon Hunter bellowed.
Hua Ying kept staring at Lu Yin. “You were too calm in the previous battle, and that isn’t how a commoner would react. Also, the aftershocks from the battle ended where you stand. You are not just some normal person.”
Lu Yin had used his domain to conceal his cultivation, so he appeared to just be an ordinary person, but how could a regular human withstand the aftershocks of a cultivators’ battle?
As a commander of the Demon Hunters Society, Hua Ying worked all year long to capture the surviving sect members, and she was routinely on the frontlines of battle, so she instantly picked up on such details.
“As long as I’m not a surviving sect member, you Demon Hunters Society can’t touch me,” Lu Yin said quietly.
Hua Ying’s eyes narrowed. “I suspect that you’re an outsider. Capture him!”
Bei Qing was the first to act. He had previously warned the two men to leave, so he tried to take advantage of his kindness to catch Lu Yin off guard.
Lu Yin sighed, as it seemed that he would end up in trouble purely because of what he had just witnessed. He raised his hand and gently flicked out, causing a trace of wind to shoot through the folding fan and strike Bei Qing, sending him tumbling. Lu Yin waved his hand, causing the void in the area to warp. This terrifying strength caused Hua Ying’s expression to drastically change. “Stay away from him!”
But it was already too late. As soon as Lu Yin acted, not a single one of the Demon Hunters was able to avoid his attack, and they were all sent flying out.
Even though Lu Yin was an Explorer like the elder, they were not on the same level, and the difference between the two of them was too vast.
Hua Ying had felt that it was possible that Lu Yin was very powerful since not even she could determine his strength, but she never would have guessed that he was this strong.
“Sago Palm Flower!” A golden flower blossomed and enveloped Lu Yin.
Lu Yin looked at the flower and saw that there were rune lines pervading his surroundings. Was this the poisonous pollen? This was what had rendered that elder unable to retaliate. It seemed to be this girl’s innate gift, but it was completely ineffective against Lu Yin.
He waved a hand once again, and a gale scattered all of the poisonous pollen, as well as the sago palm flower.
Hua Ying took several steps back, truly astonished this time. Facing Lu Yin made her feel as if she was facing Ming Zhaotian himself.
“Who the h.e.l.l are you?” Hua Ying asked sternly.
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