Lu Yin froze at Elder Lohar’s words. This was a feeling that Lu Yin simply could not comprehend. To him, Ironblood Weave was nothing more than a line of defense, which was why it had been so easy for him to order Elder Lohar and the others to withdraw. In fact, Lu Yin’s reason for contacting Xu Qing had been due to his worry over Frostwave Weave, not Ironblood Weave.
It seemed possible that Elder Lohar and the others viewed Ironblood Weave as both their hometown and their final destination.
Elder Lohar could not speak these words to outsiders, as they could not understand them. A place that had been given over to the Sixth Mainland should have nothing to do with the Human Domain any longer. They had already left that blackhole of death, so why should they care about it? Not even the Sixth Mainland could understand such worries.
This feeling was exclusive to the defenders who had spent so much time in Ironblood Weave, devoting their lives and deaths to the defense of the place. It was a feeling that had been imprinted upon their very souls.
As Elder Lohar had just said, Ironblood Weave was alive, and it was crying.
“What do you want from me?” Lu Yin said quietly.
Elder Lohar looked at Lu Yin. “You are an overseer.”
Lu Yin shook his head. “It’s no use. Something massive happened in the Fifth Mainland, and the Hall of Honor and the Sixth Mainland’s Daosource Sect have both focused all their attention on it. In comparison, Ironblood Weave is utterly insignificant.”
Elder Lohar was startled by Lu Yin’s remark, and he gave a wry smile. True, it was insignificant, and Elder Lohar understood that Lu Yin was not only referring to Ironblood Weave, but also to people like Elder Lohar and the other defenders from Ironblood Weave.
Even the most powerful among them were only Enlighters. What did such people amount to in the grand scheme of things? There were nothing more than ants.
Suddenly, Elder Lohar looked as if he had aged ten years. No one could understand them. Absolutely no one. “Excuse me, Overseer Lu.”
Elder Lohar’s voice was calm, but his heart was bleeding.
Lu Yin’s eyes grew firm. “While it’s insignificant to them, it’s different for me. Both Ironblood Weave and the entire Outerverse once belonged to me, and I will take it back one day. Because of this, I won’t allow anyone to destroy it.”
Elder Lohar had been about to end the call, but excitement blossomed in his eyes when he heard Lu Yin’s words. “What did you just say, Overseer Lu?”
Lu Yin’s voice dropped low. “Bring all of your men to Frostwave Weave. Even if the Hall of Honor and the Sixth Mainland’s Daosource Sect don’t care, I, and the Great Eastern Alliance, will take care of this. I will take charge.”
Elder Lohar instantly cheered up, and excitement was written all over his face. “Yes, Overseer!”
Lu Yin quickly ended the call and reached out to Shui Chuanxiao. “Here are your orders: immediately mobilize the Giants’ Army, the Lu Elite Troops, and the Redemption Army and send them to Frostwave Weave in the Outerverse. Also, do the same for the Allied Forces’ Second, Third, and Fourth Divisions. We’re preparing to go to war with the Astral Beast Domain.”
Shui Chuanxiao’s eyes lit up. “Yes, Alliance Leader!”
There was a respect in the man’s voice that Lu Yin had never heard before.
Few people had the courage to become the Astral Beast Domain’s enemy. The Hall of Honor no longer had any authority over the Outerverse, as it had been given to the Sixth Mainland, even if the handover was a slow and ongoing process. Still, it was unrealistic to expect the Great Eastern Alliance to do anything about the Astral Beast Domain’s invasion. Despite that, Lu Yin did just that.
Shui Chuanxiao had initially joined the Great Eastern Alliance in order to repay Lu Yin’s kindness, but at this moment, the former Grand Marshal felt that he had made the correct choice.
So what if the Outerverse had already been given to the Sixth Mainland? Could people just ignore what was happening? If the residents of the Outerverse were given a choice, none of them would be willing to be ruled over by the Sixth Mainland. However, the Fifth Mainland was unable to protect them, so they had been handed over to the Sixth Mainland. However, those people were in danger again, but at this moment, the Sixth Mainland could not protect them. Lu Yin was willing to protect them, as the people of the Outerverse would always be his people.
Those were people’s lives. They were invaluable. Life was life. What was the purpose of cultivating? Was it only to gain longevity? The idea of giving up on all those humans was no different than abandoning one’s humanity. If that happened, what was the point in living a longer life? One might as well just go and join the Aeternals.
As soon as Xu Qing refused Lu Yin’s deal, Lu Yin had already decided that war was the only option.
Lu Yin could not agree to abandon the lives of countless people. The Hall of Honor and the Sixth Mainland might not care about them, but Lu Yin did.
After his call with Shui Chuanxiao, Lu Yin reached out to the Sea King, Liu Qianjue, and others in quick succession.
Naturally, Liu Qianjue and the others were unwilling to take action on behalf of the Outerverse. As long as the Astral Beast Domain did not touch the Innerverse, they were unwilling to move against them. However, Lu Yin coerced, bribed, and threatened them until they all agreed to go the Outerverse and fight against the Astral Beast Domain’s invasion.
Despite being the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, it was impossible for Lu Yin to force Liu Qianjue into obedience. He had to pay a steep price to convince the Innerverse powers to go to the Outerverse.
His gadget beeped incessantly with calls from members of the Great Eastern Alliance, as well as other people and many unknown contacts. There was no way for Lu Yin to answer all these call requests, but there were some that he could not ignore.
“Alliance Leader Lu, what do you intend to do with the Great Eastern Alliance?” Xin Jiao asked. She was another overseer, so Lu Yin needed to answer her call.
He answered, “We are preparing to face the Astral Beast Domain.”
He did not hide his actions. The Great Eastern Alliance had always been closely watched, and everyone would know as soon as their military forces mobilized. On top of that, it was also impossible to hide the movements of Liu Qianjue and the other Innerverse forces from the Hall of Honor.
Xin Jiao’s voice dropped low, “Does the Great Eastern Alliance intends to fight against the Astral Beast Domain? Alliance Leader Lu, don’t make any unnecessary sacrifices. The Outerverse already belongs to the Sixth Mainland, and the Sixth Mainland will take care of itself. If you interfere, you will end up bearing the brunt of this war, and your losses will be steep.”
Lu Yin was already aware of this, but he did not believe that the Sixth Mainland would take any sort of action. How much time would pass before they moved? At the moment, the Sixth Mainland was preoccupied with purging itself after the Progenitor of Secret Arts had betrayed humanity. What would remain of the eastern weaves by the time the Sixth Mainland was finally ready to react? Cemetery Keeper was a perfect example, as he had not hesitated to abandon Ironblood Weave. Lu Yin did not even dare to think about the humans in the various weaves that were being slaughtered by the astral beasts. “The Sixth Mainland doesn’t care about those weaves. They need to be protected.”
Xin Jiao shrugged. “This is just how war is. Do you believe that your Great Eastern Alliance can actually win against the Astral Beast Domain? You are just sending your people to die. The Celestial Beast Empire has been fighting against our entire Human Domain for countless years. Your Great Eastern Alliance can’t stand up to them.”
“So are you saying that we should abandon all these people?” Lu Yin retorted.
Xin Jiao could not deny the accusation, but there were certain things that could only be considered and never spoken, as speaking them aloud would violate an individual’s bottom line.
Xin Jiao did not care about the life and death of the people in the Outerverse at all. There were actually many people in both the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse who did not even know about the Outerverse’s existence. Rather, they viewed the region as part of the Astral Wilderness.
She had wanted to persuade Lu Yin to change his mind in order to ensure the stability of the current universe. After all, she did not want the Great Eastern Alliance to be defeated in this war, and she did not want Lu Yin to die from it either. This was not because of anything like personal feelings, but rather either event would introduce a new round of changes in the overseers’ council, and it was even possible that some people might blame the council if Lu Yin died. Such a thing was completely unacceptable to Xin Jiao.
Even more importantly, an entire group of the Innerverse’s Envoys were being sent out to fight in the Outerverse because of Lu Yin’s actions. If those people died, the Innerverse would suffer a terrible blow, as would the Fifth Mainland on the whole. Such a loss would make it far more difficult for them to face the threat of the Sixth Mainland in the future.
None of the overseers were ordinary people. All of them could clearly see that the hatred between the Fifth and Sixth Mainlands had not faded or disappeared, and a war was looming on the horizon. This was also why the overseers’ council had agreed to pull Elder Lohar and the rest of Ironblood Weave’s defenders out, as they wanted to incite a war between the Celestial Beast Empire and the Sixth Mainland.
They would be happy to watch as the Astral Beast Domain and the Sixth Mainland fought each other to the death, but the overseers were absolutely unwilling to see the Fifth Mainland fall.
Lu Yin ended the call. He was completely unconcerned about Xin Jiao’s opinion. Instead, Lu Yin was worried about Arch-Elder Zen. If the old man forbade the Great Eastern Alliance from protecting the Outerverse, what could Lu Yin do?
As soon as he thought about Arch-Elder Zen, the Semi-Progenitor called Lu Yin.
“Do you really want to lead the Great Eastern Alliance to fight to their deaths against the Astral Beast Domain?” Arch-Elder Zen asked. Lu Yin could not read anything from the man’s tone of voice.
Still, he answered without the slightest hesitation, “Yes.”
“Why?” Arch-Elder Zen’s voice dropped a bit lower.
Lu Yin spent a moment considering his response. “We have already abandoned them once. We can’t do so a second time.”
“They’re not your people.” Arch-Elder Zen let out a sigh.
“They cheered for me, bowed to me, and called me their lord. That is a connection that the astral beasts cannot destroy,” Lu Yin rebutted.
“Trading the lives of countless powerhouses from the Great Eastern Alliance might not be worth what you gain from this. Will it be worth this sacrifice?” Arch-Elder Zen continued his questions.
Lu Yin took a deep breath. “It’s not worth the sacrifice, but it should be.”
“Why?” The old man’s voice fell much lower than before.
“Because I am human!” Just four simple words. There was no greater reason, but these words exposed the truest thoughts in Lu Yin’s heart.
Not a single sound came through from the other end for a bit.
Some time later, Arch-Elder Zen said, “The Progenitor of Secret Arts has betrayed humanity, and his actions have shaken the entire Sixth Mainland. Right now, we should focus on retaliating against the Neohuman Alliance and destroying as many of their strongholds as possible. The Hall of Honor will not be able to spare anything at all to support your endeavors, but I can also promise you that no Semi-Progenitors from the Astral Beast Domain will make a move. If you want to save those people in the Outerverse, you will have to do so on your own.”
“Lu Xiaoxuan, you have chosen this path, so don’t regret your choices if they lead to your death.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. “I will never regret this!”
Arch-Elder Zen ended the call, and a smile suddenly appeared on the old man’s face. At this moment, all the resentment that he had felt towards Lu Yin disappeared entirely.
Who claimed that Lu Yin was not of the Fifth Mainland? He cared more about the Fifth Mainland than anyone else! He might be Lu Xiaoxuan, but before that, he was Lu Yin. He was a child who had restarted his cultivation from nothing in the Fifth Mainland, and he was willing to die for the Fifth Mainland.
Since you are willing to die for the Fifth Mainland, then the Fifth Mainland will never abandon you!
Lu Yin stared blankly at his gadget after the call ended. Unless he had heard wrong, Arch-Elder Zen’s last words had sounded concerned. Could the old man be worried about Lu Yin?
Lu Yin shook his head. This was not the time to consider such things.
He turned his attention back to his gadget and looked at Yuan Qiong’s name in his contact list. Lu Yin felt rather embarrassed; should he inform the Cosmic Sect? He decided to go ahead anyway, since he had the sect’s skill on his sole.
A short time later, Yuan Qiong’s roar could be heard from the Cosmic Sect.
Lu Yin’s movements did not only cause the Cosmic Sect to erupt, but also the entire Fifth Mainland.
…
In the Astral Beast Domain’s Celestial Beast Empire, Xu Qing stood in outer space. He waved a hand towards a horde of countless astral beasts that were headed towards the Primal Zone. Morale was soaring. “Starting from the moment we set foot in the Human Domain’s Outerverse, it will belong to us forever!”
Countless astral beasts roared. None of them doubted their commander’s words.
Xu Qing had never expected Lu Yin to agree to hand over the God of Death Transformation, nor had he ever considered abandoning his plans for the Outerverse. The Celestial Beast Empire had dreamed of defeating the humans for eons.
