When Lu Yin heard Xu Qing’s explanation, he inwardly acknowledged that this was exactly what Wei Rong had said he would do. However, Lu Yin put on a show of being shocked, and his pupils constricted to pinpricks as he gritted his teeth. “General Xu Qing, I respect you as a senior, and you have behaved in a respectable manner on the battlefield. What do you mean by using such despicable methods?”
Xu Qing shook his head and smiled. “There are no rules or morals in war. Doing what it takes to win is the most important rule, no?”
Lu Yin clenched his hands into fists and quickly grew pale as he stared at Xu Qing. “Despicable!”
Xu Qing laughed. “I’ve heard that Shui Chuanxiao has joined your Great Eastern Alliance. Did he not tell you about me?”
Lu Yin answered in a low voice, “He spoke of you, and Shui Chuanxiao said that you have employed various methods and strategies both on and off the battlefield. Still, I never expected you to be willing to stoop so low. I actually believed you and Shui Chuanxiao to be the same kind of people.”
Xu Qing sneered. “He and I are the same type! Don’t tell me that you don’t know how and why your Human Domain was able to create a comprehensive network! Shui Chuanxiao is even more ruthless than I could ever be! He sacrificed half of Endless Weave to give your Human Domain a universal network. If not for his efforts, we would have already taken over half of your Outerverse when it was first cut off from the Innerverse.
“No matter how you look at it, Shui Chuanxiao is far more ruthless person than me. I could never manage to do such a thing.”
“But you are crueler than him,” Lu Yin retorted.
Xu Qing clasped his hands behind his back. “Young man, let me teach you a lesson: war is war. There is nothing cruel or immoral about it. If you achieve victory, a general can be famous throughout time immemorial. If you lose, you will be cursed for thousands of years. I carry no less of a burden than you. Now that you understand these details, tell me, how much are those Envoys worth in my hands?”
Lu Yin struggled, as he did not know what to do.
Xu Qing spoke in a relaxed manner, “It looks like you now understand and are quite clear on the consequences of what I just told you. So, tell me, what are you willing to pay to exchange for the three captives.”
“Are you truly willing to allow me to pay for their freedom?” Lu Yin stared at Xu Qing as he asked this question. He no longer showed the calmness he had originally displayed, but rather anxiousness.
Xu Qing nodded. He was as calm as ever. “Why else would I have asked you to come discuss this?”
“What is it that you want?” Lu Yin asked nervously.
Xu Qing felt he held the upper hand, so he said bluntly, “First, give the Ghost Monkey to Feng Lin.”
Lu Yin did not refuse.
“Second, turn over the inheritance that you received that provided you with the invincible skills you showed during the end of ZENITH.”
Lu Yin still did not refuse.
Xu Qing continued, “Third, leave the Outerverse. I can allow you to retreat in peace. These are the only three conditions.”
Lu Yin stared at Xu Qing, unwillingness filling his eyes. “Do you believe that you can force me to submit just because you captured three Envoys?”
Xu Qing sneered. “You don’t have to agree. Go back and talk to Shui Chuanxiao. Go find out if you can bear the consequences of what I will do. As soon as it is done, your Great Eastern Alliance will collapse, and you will surely lose this war.”
Lu Yin had been aware of the consequences of not agreeing to Xu Qing’s terms from the moment that Wei Rong had explained this scenario. However, Lu Yin also was not convinced that things were as serious as they were being made out to be. As long as the Hall of Honor did not turn against him and he went to speak with Xu Qing alone, the situation in the Innerverse would not reach rock bottom. There would still be chaos, but he had already explained himself.
“I don’t understand. You should already know that I used death energy at the end of ZENITH, so why would you want that? Does your Astral Beast Domain even have death energy?” Lu Yin suddenly asked.
Xu Qing’s eyes flickered. “So it’s death energy? That’s not very valuable.”
Lu Yin’s eyes remained fixed on Xu Qing’s eyes.
“Still, that doesn’t matter. Our main purpose is to force you out of the Outerverse. That inheritance is merely a gift,” Xu Qing casually explained.
Lu Yin could not tell whether Xu Qing was lying about this point. Could there be death energy in the Astral Beast Domain? Lu Yin did not know. In the end, Xu Qing was still the Astral Beast Domain’s General, and he was not someone who would let his expressions be easily read.
“I want to see the three captives.” Lu Yin weakly tried to put up a bit of resistance.
“So you agree?”
Lu Yin’s hands clenched. “It’s difficult to pass my skills onto others.”
“No matter how difficult it may be, that is one of the conditions. After all, that inheritance allowed you to be invincible and gave you the strength to defeat even the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique. You could also try asking the Hall of Honor to give the Tri-Yang Technique to me, and I will accept that as well.” Xu Qing spoke with great confidence, but also with great anticipation.
Lu Yin answered in a bitter voice, “You think too highly of me. I agree to all your terms, but allow me to see the three Envoys first. How do I know if they’re dead or not? After all, they were captured by you astral beasts.”
Xu Qing’s voice turned cold. “You humans are also beasts. You have rules, and we do as well.”
“You have rules and yet you’ll use such despicable methods,” Lu Yin retorted.
Xu Qing snorted disdainfully. “Naïve.”
After he spoke, space nearby fluctuated, but there was nothing to be seen.
“Take Alliance Leader Lu to see the captives,” Xu Qing ordered.
Lu Yin looked over in surprise. “You’re letting a creeper take me?”
Xu Qing indifferently replied, “If I remember correctly, you also use the Rune Progenitor’s technique, Alliance Leader Lu, so you can see the creeper.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. “Alright.”
Xu Qing had ordered a creeper to escort Lu Yin to the captives, but the creeper’s task was actually to keep an eye on Lu Yin. There was no better observer than a creeper.
Before leaving, Lu Yin suddenly asked, “Did the astral beast that attacked me die?”
“No.”
Lu Yin felt a bit of disappointment as he left with the creeper.
Feng Lin quickly approached Xu Qing when she saw Lu Yin leave. “What do he say?”
Xu Qing confidently replied, “Just wait for the Ghost Monkey.”
Feng Lin was overjoyed. “He agreed?”
Xu Qing nodded, but then he gave Feng Lin a harsh look and scolded her, “You are too worked up about this! Why didn’t you speak to me about this in advance? You not only lost the initiative to him, but you also showed him just how important the Ghost Monkey is to you. If not for the current situation, you would never be able to get the Ghost Monkey from him!”
Feng Lin had also realized that she had been overly anxious this time. “I’m sorry, Senior. I was too nervous.”
Xu Qing had to ask, “Is that mere Ghost Monkey really so important?”
Feng Lin grew very serious. “We were told this by Skymender, so you must forgive me for not speaking more clearly. All that I can tell you right now is that the Celestial Ice Phoenixes will give you an acceptable explanation about this in the future, Senior.”
This was what Xu Qing had wanted to hear. Two Envoys had been killed during an earlier battle, so he was under tremendous pressure at this time. If the Celestial Ice Phoenixes stood by him, then he would not need to fear the Celestial Beast Empire when he returned.
Without them, he might be subjected to harsh questioning, and while that would not cause him any real harm, it would be humiliating and a loss of respect.
Elsewhere, Lu Yin had just laid eyes on Ling Taizu, Abel Phoenix, and Elder He.
Even though the three were still alive, they were all seriously injured. Two Void Thunderbeast stood in front of the Envoys, and they were the same beasts that had tried to block Lu Yin’s path before.
Lu Yin became furious at what he saw, and he glared at the Void Thunderbeasts. “You even attack people who are defenseless?”
One of the Void Thunderbeasts sneered. “No matter what, they’re still Envoys. It will be very difficult to catch them if they try to escape, and it’s fine as long as we don’t kill them.”
“We can quickly just find their stellular energy vortexes, and then we can talk again after they’re crippled,” the other Void Thunderbeast indifferently suggested.
Lu Yin was so angry that he shot forward and suddenly appeared in between the two Void Thunderbeasts. He raised his hands, intending to push the two away, only to suddenly feel a threat of danger. The Envoy-level creeper had moved in front of Lu Yin.
“Human, do you really dare to try something?” One of the Void Thunderbeasts sneered as it grabbed hold of Ling Taizu with a paw.
The Envoy was already seriously injured, and if he was smashed by the beast’s paw, even if he managed to survive, his stellular energy vortex would possibly be destroyed.
Lu Yin fiercely shouted, “Stop!”
His spiritual force burst forth and enveloped the area, only for an even more terrifying spiritual force to overpower him. It was like a tsunami sweeping over a river, and it utterly suppressed Lu Yin’s spiritual force. He was shocked, and forced back dozens of steps. He spat out blood and was left in a bit of a daze.
The Celestial Demon with the appearance of a handsome young man appeared and coldly stared down at Lu Yin. “Kid, who gave you the courage to act so boldly?”
Lu Yin looked up. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the Void Thunderbeast that was about to attack. He hoarsely threatened, “If any one of them is injured one bit more, I promise that the deal with Xu Qing will be forfeit!”
The Celestial Demon just sneered. He was completely unconcerned by Lu Yin’s threat.
However, the Void Thunderbeast who had intended to attack Ling Taizu stopped. Although it made a few more taunts, it did not move to actually attack. Xu Qing was the Void Thunderbeasts’ patriarch, so these two did not dare to do something that might affect their patriarch’s agreement.
Ling Taizu and the other two Envoys saw Lu Yin, and Elder He hoarsely called out, “A- Alliance Leader Lu, don’t make a deal. This is war, so our deaths don’t matter.”
Lu Yin sighed. “But this is my war, not yours. You shouldn’t have to die for this.”
Elder He replied, “This is a war for the entire human race! Alliance Leader Lu, don’t agree to any deal.”
Lu Yin looked at Ling Taizu, and then at Abel Phoenix. These two clearly did not want to die.
“It was my mistake that led to your capture, not yours.” Lu Yin turned his head and stared at the Celestial Demon. “Your Astral Beast Domain will never win.”
The Celestial Demon spat back, “Child, you think too highly of yourself! Our opponents are the Sixth Mainland and your Human Domain’s Hall of Honor. You don’t qualify.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed, “So the majestic Celestial Demons resort to sneak attacks? I’ve heard that the Celestial Demons rule the Astral Beast Domain, but is this how they control their empire? Starting things off with sneak attacks?”
The Celestial Demon frowned as he stared at Lu Yin. “Are you trying to provoke me?”
Lu Yin stared back at the man without showing any hint of weakness.
After staring back for a while, the Celestial Demon let out a disdainful snort. “You saved Yao Xuan’s life, so I won’t bother with you. Otherwise, you would not be able to leave today.”
The man then turned and left.
Lu Yin watched as the Celestial Demon entered the void and disappeared. He then quickly took out Zenith Mountain from his cosmic ring and threw it down. At that instance, the creeper that had been watching Lu Yin attacked. There was no hesitation as the astral beast lashed out at Lu Yin, but the human’s expression did not even twitch as his pupils transformed into runes, and he utilized the power of the Knowing realm of Truesight.
The creeper’s attack was powerful yet utterly useless.
And at this moment, the Second Nightking and Liu Huang appeared before the stunned gazes of the creeper and many other nearby astral beasts. Liu Huang released a sword attack in all directions. It was the Fourteenth Sword.
Off in the distance, Xu Qing was still watching Lu Yin, and his pupils instantly constricted. “Not good!”
He leaped forward and returned to his form as a Void Thunderbeast. Lightning flickered as he disappeared.
Liu Huang slashed at the creeper and the two Void Thunderbeasts at the Envoy level. The creeper received greater attention, and it instantly lost its head to the sword.
Lu Yin waved a hand and released Ling Taizu and the other two. “Get into Zenith Mountain!”
The three Envoys did not hesitate as they shot into Zenith Mountain.
At this moment, Xu Qing, the Celestial Demon, and Feng Lin all showed themselves as they attacked Lu Yin.
