The expressions of Elder Jiu Shen and the others from the Fifth Mainland changed when they heard Lu Yin’s comment. If Lu Yin became a disciple of the Progenitor of Bloodlines, would he be considered part of the Sixth or Fifth Mainland?
The Second Nightking was stunned. He understood that Lu Yin was a direct descendant of the main branch of the Lu family, and he had seen a few members of that family in his youth. Back then, the Lu family had been completely invincible. Even if the Xia family had Progenitor Chen, they still had been unable to surpass the Lu family. The brilliance of the Champions’ Stage had once swept through the entire Celestial Frost Sect, and that incident had left a deep impression on the Second Nightking.
Lu Yin’s future would have no limits after he accepted the Progenitor of Bloodlines as his master.
“Commander Xu Qing, don’t forget about our deal. You’ve already taken Progenitor Wushang’s hide,” Lu Yin reminded Xu Qing as he stared at the astral beast commander-in-chief.
Xu Qing’s eyes flickered, but it was impossible to see through his thoughts.
“All of you leave. I wish to have a private conversation with Alliance Leader Lu,” Lan Xian suddenly stated.
Lu Yin’s eye twitched, and he warily stared at Lan Xian. “If you have anything to say, please say it, Senior.”
Lan Xian laughed. “There’s no need to be so nervous towards me. If I wanted to attack you, could these people stop me?”
Lu Yin then said, “The Progenitor of Bloodlines wants to accept this junior as his disciple.”
“I know. I just want to say a few words,” Lan Xian said casually.
Xu Qing and the other astral beasts immediately left. They were terrified of this Semi-Progenitor. They were no longer considering invading the Outerverse, but instead how to interact with Lan Xian. If she wanted to attack, they would be completely helpless.
Elder Jiu Shen and the other human powerhouses glanced at each other, but they similarly had no choice but to step back. Trying to stay would not help Lu Yin.
Even Qing Hua retreated, which left Lan Xian alone with Lu Yin in the middle of space.
“What do you think of the Daosource Sect?” Lan Xian asked as she stared at Lu Yin with her sparkling eyes.
Lu Yin was caught off guard. “The Daosource Sect? You mean the ruins?”
“It is the Daosource Sect. From ancient times until now, the Daosource Sect has always ruled humanity. That’s why I’m asking you this. What do you think of the Daosource Sect?” Lan Xian asked again.
Lu Yin had no idea why Lan Xian was asking him this particular question, but his intuition told him that odd questions would always have a specific motivation behind them. Thus, he tried to answer cautiously. “I don’t have any opinions. It’s all history for me.”
“In that case, would you like to see it for yourself? My Sixth Mainland’s Daosource Sect still stands,” Lan Xian offered in a tempting manner.
Lu Yin’s expression changed. “Senior, what do you mean?”
“There’s nothing hidden in this offer. I’m asking you to visit my Sixth Mainland’s Daosource Sect as a guest. Right now, it’s located in Southside Weave, which you should already be quite familiar with.” Lan Xian smiled, unconsciously causing the nearby cherry blossoms to open into full bloom. It was a truly beautiful sight, but Lu Yin felt his heart drop.
“Senior, what does a Semi-Progenitor want with a mere Enlighter like me?”
“You’re an Envoy now,” Lan Xian corrected. Cherry blossoms moved beneath Lu Yin’s feet and twirled around them. He was then pulled closer to Lan Xian without any control over his movements. Lu Yin had become an Envoy and had four stellular energy vortices, which was beyond most people’s imaginations. Even though all that stellular energy had transformed his body, it was all still useless against a Semi-Progenitor.
This was the strength of an inner world. This was a power that Lu Yin could not resist.
“Senior, this junior will be accepted as the Progenitor of Bloodlines’ disciple!” Lu Yin shouted, trying to intimidate Lan Xian.
Lan Xian just found his behavior amusing. “I am very familiar with Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines. If he was going to take you as his disciple, you wouldn’t be here right now. Alliance Leader Lu, there’s no need to worry. I won’t do anything untowards to you, and you will be treated as a guest.”
Lan Xian was a stunningly beautiful woman, but in Lu Yin’s eyes, she was more like a beautiful snake at this moment. The closer he moved to her, the more panicked he became. There was absolutely nothing that he could do at all with Lan Xian present.
Drip
“Senior, what do you intend to do to me by capturing me?”
“You’re going to be a guest of the Daosource Sect.”
Drip drip
“Senior, aren’t you concerned about Arch-Elder Zen and the others? Some time ago, Xia Ji attacked this junior, and Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster personally went to confront him in the Seven Courts.”
“If they dare to come, we’ll let them.”
“Senior-” Lu Yin did not get a chance to say anything more. Lan Xian had suddenly frozen in place and was gazing upwards. Something in the region had changed at an unknown point in time, as an urn had appeared. On top of that, things had also changed beneath Lu Yin’s feet, as a lake had appeared and started replacing all of the cherry blossoms.
Lu Yin’s expression changed. He had not noticed when any of these changes had taken place. He took the chance to catch his breath. Wait, was this wine? Was that an urn of wine?
Drip
A drop of wine fell down and floated over in front of Lan Xian. It then transformed into a human figure, and even the facial features were perfectly clear. The man took a drink of wine and hiccupped. “Want a drink?”
Lan Xian stared at the man who was standing less than a meter away from her who had appeared from the drop of wine. “Jiu Chi.”1
“Want a drink?” The person formed from wine repeated.
Lan Xian frowned, and her cherry blossoms danced about, causing the urn of wine to quiver. Lu Yin saw that the clear urn of wine had been filled with cherry blossoms, and it looked about ready to burst.
“You’re young, yet so irritable. Be careful, or else you’ll never get married.” The figure of wine hiccupped again and then suddenly appeared right next to Lu Yin. “Child, let’s go.”
With that, the urn of wine exploded, space distorted in all directions, and the disturbance quickly spread out.
The Second Nightking and the other powerhouses were all stunned when they felt the ripples of power, as it forced them all to retreat. They turned pale; had another Semi-Progenitor appeared?
In the epicenter of the spatial disturbance, Lan Xian waved a hand. Her cherry blossoms swirled about, and her three-stringed instrument suddenly appeared in her hand as she stared off into the distance.
Lu Yin reappeared. There was wine swirling next to him, and he also saw an ordinary-looking old man. The man’s nose was bright red, and he kept hiccupping, making him look both drunk and hungover, and he also stank of alcohol.
The fact that this man had managed to get Lu Yin out of Lan Xian’s inner world proved that the old drunk had to be a Semi-Progenitor, but Lu Yin had never heard of such a person before.
Music rang out from Lan Xian’s three-stringed instrument, and it echoed throughout space. The eyes of the old man next to Lu Yin grew a bit wider. “You’re still not giving up? Yinyang Trisage Technique.”
A surge of power swept out, and it even passed through Lan Xian’s inner world to slam into her three-stringed instrument, instantly cutting off her music.
Her expression changed, and she froze. Silence reigned in the region.
“Why push this matter? Aren’t you embarrassed to attack a mere child as a Semi-Progenitor? I’m an old man, and I’d feel embarrassed to attack you.” A belch erupted from the old man. He rubbed at his nose as he addressed Lan Xian.
Lan Xian frowned. “I merely invited him to be our guest. I won’t do anything to harm him.”
The old man shook his head. “That won’t happen unless you can outdrink me, hahahaha!”
The man rubbed at his nose even more vigorously as he spoke, and Lu Yin started to suspect that the redness might be self-induced.
Lan Xian ignored the old man and instead looked at Lu Yin. “Let’s make a deal.”
Her three-stringed instrument disappeared, and she raised three fingers. “Three drops of blood. Give me just three drops of blood, and I can have the Sixth Mainland take over this war. It’s not even impossible for me to personally eliminate those beasts.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. Blood? Did she want Progenitor Chen’s blood? How could she know that he had Progenitor Chen’s blood?
“It’s just three drops of blood. That can’t affect you at all. You lost far more than that while surviving your stellular tribulation.” Lan Xian continued to try to convince Lu Yin after seeing his hesitation.
Lu Yin arched a brow. She did not want Progenitor Chen’s blood, but his? What did she want to do with his blood? Lu Yin did not even need to consider this matter, and he was ready to immediately refuse. How could he casually give away his blood? “Senior, this junior only just broke through to the Envoy realm. I’m still far from becoming a Progenitor. What could you want with my blood?”
“I have my own use for it. It’s just three drops.”
The old man next to Lu Yin burped yet again as he rolled his eyes. “My goodness, are you an idiot cultivator? You clearly want it so badly that only an idiot would give you what you’re asking for. Couldn’t you have been a bit more subtle?”
Lan Xian appeared calm. “From the moment I first started cultivating, I have always asked for everything I want openly and honestly. I have never hidden any of my intentions. Alliance Leader Lu, you will not suffer from this transaction.”
“What if I say no?” Lu Yin countered.
Lan Xian casually replied, “Then the Sixth Mainland won’t get involved in this war with the Astral Beast Domain, and the people in this entire region will all be slaughtered.”
Lu Yin’s expression hardened. Hearing the word “slaughter” had removed all of his fear of this Semi-Progenitor. “Do the lives of ordinary humans mean nothing to you?”
“Of course not,” Lan Xian replied.
“Then I refuse,” Lu Yin instantly answered.
Lan Xian stayed quiet for a moment as she stared at the youth. “Are you certain? If my Sixth Mainland does not take over this war, your Great Eastern Alliance will eventually have its strength exhausted, and the Astral Beast Domain will eventually gain control of the eastern Outerverse and begin slaughtering all the humans living here. All of your efforts and sacrifices will be for vain. Is it really worth refusing me these three drops of blood?”
Lu Yin was completely somber as he replied, “It’s because of your attitude. Your Sixth Mainland doesn’t care about the people living here, and even a Semi-Progenitor like you can casually let countless people die. I can’t trust you with the eastern weaves, not now nor in the future. This place no longer belongs to your Sixth Mainland.”
The old man glanced over at Lu Yin. This was a bold claim! The entire Outerverse had been given to the Sixth Mainland by the Hall of Honor itself. How could one person possibly revoke this decision? It was impossible for the Hall of Honor to support Lu Yin’s decision. Did he want to start a war with the Sixth Mainland after just fighting one with the Astral Beast Domain? And all to regain a few weaves in the eastern Outerverse?
Lan Xian found Lu Yin’s response humorous. “While the Progenitor of Bloodlines didn’t accept you as his disciple, he did acknowledge you. Did you become conceited because of that? Deal with the Astral Beast Domain first. You aren’t qualified to deal with my Sixth Mainland.”
She then immediately turned around and left.
A sigh of relief escaped Lu Yin as he saw Lan Xian leave. He turned to face the old man at his side and offered a respectful bow. “Thank you, Senior, for saving me. You have Lu Yin’s gratitude.”
The old man rubbed his nose. “By the way, child, you spoke rather boldly just now. Do you really not intend to give these eastern weaves to the Sixth Mainland?”
Lu Yin somberly answered, “Not anymore.”
The old man found this strange. “Why? You’ve been repeatedly forced to retreat in front of the Astral Beast Domain’s invasion, and even if you are lucky enough to force them back, how do you intend to deal with the Sixth Mainland? The Hall of Honor gave the entire Outerverse to the Sixth Mainland, and they have every right to fight you for it if you try to stop them. The Sixth Mainland cannot compare to the Astral Beast Domain.”
Lu Yin thought for a while. “That’s actually why I didn’t want to fight a war with the Astral Beast Domain.”
This answer surprised the old man, but he also did not give it much thought. He took another drink from the jug of wine in his hands and then happily wiped his mouth clean. “You kids who like to compete with your brains are exhausting to deal with. You’re the same as my disciple. She is clearly talented with regards to cultivation, but she doesn’t like to train and acts irresponsibly.
“Even if my disciple is extremely talented, she just can’t seem to grasp the Yinyang Trisage Technique, which makes me worry about her.” The old man then took another drink of his wine.
The Yinyang Trisage Technique? Lu Yin kept thinking that this name sounded very familiar.
After wracking his brain for a bit, his eyes went wide. He finally remembered that this was the name of Qiong Xi’er’s battle technique.
When Millions City had joined the Great Eastern Alliance, Qiong Xi’er had been placed in charge of the alliance’s economy. Lu Yin had occasionally spoken to the young woman, and she had mentioned her Yinyang Trisage Technique. It had stood out to Lu Yin because the name was so overbearing, and he had actually asked her to show him the technique one time. However, Qiong Xi’er had bluntly refused because, in her words, she was afraid of Lu Yin trying to steal it from her.
[1] Jiu Chi means “alcohol crazy,” so we’ve got a drunk Semi-Progenitor. ☜
