Lu Yin stared at Bai Laogui. “Old man, isn’t that enough already?”
Bai Laogui glared back at Lu Yin. “You Lu bastard, your life was doomed the moment you were born. You must die for the sake of the Perennial World and for the sake of everyone living there. Do you truly want your Lu family to suffer for hundreds of millions of years of infamy? You can do nothing about my four ruling powers, and everything that you do to resist merely saps away at the united strength of humanity, helping Aeternus. You are a traitor to humanity!”
“You’re just a pack of dogs that once only knew how to bark and later turned on their masters. You don’t have any right to condemn me,” Lu Yin coldly retorted.
Bai Laogui gave a derisive snort as he redirected his attention back to the First Protector. “Did you hear that? Report back to whoever is in charge of this Forsaken Land: eliminate Lu Xiaoxuan, and you will remove mankind’s greatest hidden threat.”
“That crazy broad Wang Si must have scrambled your brain. Get yourself out of here before you start talking shit,” Kui Luo scolded.
Wang Si ground her teeth and shot a vicious glare at Kui Luo. She had been staying silent, and yet, she had still been dragged into the man’s insults.
Bai Laogui continued in a low voice, “Did you hear me? If by some miracle Lu Xiaoxuan manages to escape back to your Forsaken Land, have your masters eliminate him.”
The First Protector suddenly lifted his head to stare at Bai Laogui. “Old man, who the hell are you to speak to me like this?”
Bai Laogui was caught completely off guard by this response. Wang Si was also stunned, and even Lu Yin was left in a daze as he stared at the First Protector in astonishment. Lu Yin had never thought that the old man would have the guts to speak to a Semi-Progenitor in such a manner.
Bai Laogui was a Semi-Progenitor. In theory, no one would want to offend such a person without some sort of pre-existing grudge, especially someone like the First Protector who always acted cautiously and was terrified of death. Lu Yin had had to continuously prod the old man into continuing on with their mission in the Technocracy, and he had never thought that the old man would be bold enough to insult a Semi-Progenitor.
“What did you just say? How dare you speak to me like that?” Bai Laogui shouted in rage. His gaze towards the First Protector became even colder than when he looked at Lu Yin, as the First Protector had stepped on Bai Laogui’s dignity.
Lu Yin was Lu Xiaoxuan, which meant that his status was actually higher than Bai Laogui’s, and the two were also mortal enemies. No matter what insults Lu Yin said, it was only to be expected. Also, there was no need to even mention Kui Luo, as it was expected for that old man to curse anyone nearby.
But why would someone who was not even a Semi-Progenitor dare to scold Bai Laogui? This old man was someone from the Forsaken Land, which meant that some trash of the Forsaken Land had just dared to insult Bai Laogui! The more the man thought about the First Protector’s words, the more angry he became, as he felt completely humiliated.
The First Protector clenched his fists as he stared at Bai Laogui. “Are a bunch of deserters who fear death and abandoned their ancestral home thick-skinned enough to come back here?”
“How bold!” Wang Si shouted angrily. “Who gave you enough courage to speak to us in such a manner?”
The First Protector continued chastising in a stern tone. “Who are you people? You escaped, and yet you want to come back now and show off your strength? Do you really believe yourselves to be strong? If not for the sky that changed, if you hadn’t escaped back then, then how could you have become more powerful than us? How did you even manage to become Semi-Progenitors after running away back then? You would have already died by then, and you don’t have any right to even speak to me.
“Also, this is the Fifth Mainland, not the Forsaken Land. This is your ancestral home! You should call this old man ‘Ancestor’!”
Both Bai Laogui and Wang Si’s pupils shrunk, as their rage had reached a level where it felt like it could practically manifest.
Lu Yin stared at the First Protector in admiration. “Senior, that was impressive! Especially that last line, that was amazing!”
Kui Luo also looked at the First Protector in surprise. He had not initially paid any attention to the old man, and he certainly had not expected the First Protector to be so stubborn and have such a vicious tongue.
The First Protector shot a cold glare at Lu Yin. “You should also shut up! Your goals are selfish, and you want to use my Fifth Mainland to deal with those deserters and help your family. Do you understand what this will do to my Fifth Mainland? You will bring the disaster of war upon us all! All of you are deserters! If you already escaped, then don’t come back here. Why did you come back and drag my Fifth Mainland into your mess?”
Kui Luo pursed his lips, as the First Protector was directing his words towards all of them. Even though the words were vicious, Kui Luo could not retort, as the First Protector had spoken well and true.
Lu Yin’s fingers trembled, as the First Protector words had struck Lu Yin straight in the heart. Since he had escaped, then why had he returned? After abandoning the Fifth Mainland, why had they all returned? They had dragged the Fifth Mainland into an outside conflict.
Lu Yin could not deny anything that the First Protector had said, as the old man had spoken truly on behalf of the entire Fifth Mainland.
“The Forsaken Land is the Forsaken Land. We did not escape from this place, but rather abandoned it. This place no longer has any value, you vermin,” Wang Si spat.
The First Protector said nothing in argument. They both held different perspectives, and neither would be able to convince the other. The Fifth Mainland powerhouse had merely been provoked into saying what lay in his heart by Bai Laogui’s earlier words.
“Senior, you’re right,” Lu Yin spoke softly as he looked at the First Protector. “My goal all along was to unite the Fifth Mainland in order to retaliate against the Perennial World, but I never considered the position and feelings of the Fifth Mainland. I am Lu Yin, it’s true, and yet I am also Lu Xiaoxuan. These are both facts that cannot be changed.”
The First Protector frowned.
“If I manage to return, this junior will explain the situation to Arch-Elder Zen and Highsage Grandmaster and receive their judgment. This junior will always be Lu Yin, the person who moved to unite the entire Outerverse and rose to my current position one step at a time. I will accept whatever decision is made, and I will not object if I am forced to leave the Fifth Mainland and return to the Perennial World, regardless of if that means that I am returning to get my revenge or simply to be hunted down. My future will have nothing to do with the Fifth Mainland, and I will never get the Fifth Mainland involved.”
Only the fittest survived in the universe, and strength reigned supreme. Lu Yin had united the Outerverse, and he was well on his way to conquering the Innerverse as well. His intention had been to lead the Great Eastern Alliance against the Perennial World, regardless of victory or defeat. This had been his goal, but he had forgotten about the Great Eastern Alliance. Each alliance member had their own goals and desires, as did the entire Fifth Mainland; would they be willing to follow Lu Yin in his quest for revenge?
Such thoughts were normally pointless, as there was no need for Lu Yin to consider such matters given his position, but the First Protector’s words had struck Lu Yin deeply. Regardless of his status or strength, he had his own goals and plans. As far as the Fifth Mainland was concerned, Lu Yin would always be an outsider.
Lu Yin’s words caused the First Protector’s expression to soften.
Kui Luo just rolled his eyes, as Lu Yin’s words were a load of crap in his mind. After being exposed, what else could Lu Yin have done aside from confess? Words were cheap, and there was no reason for Lu Yin to say anything at all. The brat was becoming more and more hypocritical.
Bai Laogui and Wang Si glanced at each other, and they both saw disdain in the other’s eyes.
“Retaliate against the Perennial World? What a joke! Lu Xiaoxuan, do you even understand what you’re talking about? Retaliate?” Wang Si mocked.
The First Protector turned towards Wang Si. “Shut up you old slut! You’re such an eyesore!”
Wang Si became enraged. “You’re courting death!”
She then struggled to break free from the Master Brain’s manifested thoughts in order to attack the First Protector.
The First Protector just gave a disdainful snort. “Trash like you can’t even make waves in my Fifth Mainland.”
“Bastard!” Bai Laogui shouted angrily.
Kui Luo rolled his eyes. “You two are such idiots! How did the four ruling powers end up sending you two?”
“Because there’s no one else left. Anyone else would be even dumber than these two,” Lu Yin suggested.
“You Lu bastard, you’ll surely die without even being buried!”
“My four ruling powers will never let you go! The Forsaken Land will die with you!”
“Our Hall of Honor would be able to slay as many trash like you no matter how many are coming.”
…
The war in the Sophic Rift continued on beneath the pocket space that had been created by the manifested thoughts.
Little R1O contacted the vice city master, asking for Lu Yin to be rescued, but it was useless.
After hearing the report from Little R1O, the vice city master remained silent for a long time. The materialized thoughts controlled the entire Technocracy, as that was the Master Brain’s power. The Master Brain had not made a single move in countless years, but the simultaneous appearance of three Semi-Progenitors had been enough to alert the Master Brain into taking action.
Of Lu Yin’s group, Emperor Luo had been left on the battlefield along with the two Envoy-level androids from the Hall of Honor. None of the three had been trapped by the manifested thoughts, as they were a cyborg and two androids.
However, this had also exposed them all.
Even if Emperor Luo was ignored, the presence of two Envoy-level androids had surprised First Edition City, and the Third Fleet had quickly captured the androids.
The fighting continued on for half a month, and during this time, Kui Luo cooperated with the First Protector to verbally abuse Bai Laogui and Wang Si without any restraint. Wang Yun silently watched on without making any attempt to interrupt, but Lu Yin would occasionally interject, and his words were even more barbed than the two old men’s.
Some distance away were the cultivators from the Sixth Mainland, none of whom qualified to even be noticed by any of the people speaking. Also, the distance between the Sixth Mainlanders and the others was large enough that they could not even hear Lu Yin and the others, which prevented a great deal of trouble.
Eventually, after more than a month passed, Lu Yin’s heart sank. He no longer had any desire to mock Bai Laogui and Wang Si as he was instead wondering if he would ever be able to escape.
Lu Yin asked Kui Luo about this, but the old man’s answer left Lu Yin disappointed.
Wang Si and Bai Laogui finally lost all interest in speaking as well. They had tried to escape multiple times but failed.
Everyone eventually fell silent for more than ten days.
Finally, on one day, Kui Luo sent a voice transmission to Lu Yin, “Do you still remember the full text that that person gave you?”
Lu Yin was startled. “I remember. I constantly recite it.”
“Recite the whole thing again,” Kui Luo ordered.
Lu Yin did not know what was going on. The Stonewall Scriptures were invaluable, and reciting them had saved Lu Yin too many times for him to remember. Thus, he was a bit reluctant to share the Stonewall Scriptures with Kui Luo.
“Forget it, don’t bother reciting it if you don’t want to. Anyway, it’s already a certainty that you are Lu Xiaoxuan. Hey, did that old man tell you the name of that passage?” Kui Luo asked.
Lu Yin’s heart skipped a beat. “No. Do you know it?”
Kui Luo fell silent for a bit before saying, “The Origin Progenitor’s Sutra.”
Lu Yin’s eyes lit up; were the Stonewall Scriptures actually known as the Origin Progenitor’s Sutra? This was the first time that Lu Yin had heard this name.
“You’ve been reciting the text out of order, but I’ll correct that. You’ll need to recite it and relearn it,” Kui Luo said.
Lu Yin was startled. “You know the correct order? How do you even know that the old man mixed up the order?”
Kui Luo rolled his eyes. “Of course I would know, as we had a long-standing agreement that when we needed to share the sutra, we would rearrange it in a specific order. As long as he’s the one who taught you, I know how to fix what you learned. However, if you learned it from someone else, you’ll suffer.”
As Kui Luo gave his warning, he stared at Lu Yin with eyes that were filled with deep meaning.
“Who the hell are you? What’s your connection to the Lu family?” Lu Yin asked.
Kui Luo casually replied, “You’ll find out when you find out, but I can’t tell you right now. You’ll need to wait until you become an Envoy at the least.”
“I can already defeat two-tribulation Envoys, and I can summon Envoys from my Champions’ Stage with death energy, which means that I can face off against several two-tribulation Envoys at the same time,” Lu Yin replied.
Kui Luo shook his head. “You can’t compare yourself to regular cultivators. The lowest that you should compare yourself to are Progenitors when they possessed your level of cultivation. Do you think you’re a genius? I can’t speak for certain about other things, but the one thing that is absolutely guaranteed is that you are nowhere near Lu Xiaoxuan’s level right now.”
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