After hearing Nightking Zhenwu’s response, Lu Yin simply shrugged. “If you can’t do that much, then just forget it. That’s my only condition.”
Nightking Zhenwu sighed. “I thought that there was still a chance that we could resolve our grudges and that I would be able to agin another friend within the Ten Arbiters. Since you aren’t tactful enough, then just die.”
Lu Yin’s pupils transformed into runes, and he carefully observed Nightking Zhenwu. Just the thought of the Arrow Progenitor’s secret technique made Lu Yin nervous.
“Do you think that I’m going to use the Arrow Progenitor’s secret technique now? You’re wrong—I’ve already used it. From the very first moment we exchanged blows at the beginning, your death was already determined,” Nightking Zhenwu said gloomily.
After his words finished, Lu Yin’s back went cold, and he hurriedly looked down at his body. He instantly saw rune lines around his heart that did not belong to him. What was that?
There was a whooshing sound, and blood blossomed as it burst out of his heart. It erupted from his body and dripped onto the Champions’ Stage.
Lu Yin’s pupils instantly constricted as intense pain wracked his entire body while his strength failed him. His heart had been pierced through.
At this moment, everything went silent, and Lu Yin could only hear the beating of his own heart as well as the sound of his fresh blood falling, drop by drop, onto the Champions’ Stage.
When? Was this the Arrow Progenitor’s secret technique?
“Ever since we first exchanged blows, you were already destined to die. However, I truly wanted to know what heights your strength had reached. I had never imagined that you would actually be able to block my Skybreaker, but unfortunately, you were too foolish, and you did not seize your one chance at survival.” Nightking Zhenwu’s voice reverberated across the Champions’ Stage and within Lu Yin’s ears.
Lu Yin clutched his chest as he quickly took out several medications.
Nightking Zhenwu softly said, “It’s all useless. That was the Arrow Progenitor’s secret technique, Heart Seeker. One arrow can pierce the heart, and no pills can treat the wound.”
Lu Yin crouched down halfway and looked up at Nightking Zhenwu. Everything started to become fuzzy. Lu Yin could no longer clearly see Nightking Zhenwu’s face, but he could still feel the Nightking’s arrogance and disdain.
“Just some Outerverse vagrant cultivator wanted to go against my Daynight clan. The moment you offended Yanqing, today’s outcome was already preordained. Not only am I going to kill you, but I will also make you into the Innerverse’s greatest sinner. It will become public knowledge that, because of Daosource Three Skies Zhi Yi’s temptation, you tried to steal the Champions’ Stage and gift it to the Sixth Mainland. You wanted to show your worth for a chance to meet the Progenitor of Bloodlines and receive the Progenitor’s inheritance. That is why Zhi Yi ordered your capture—everything was a facade constructed to help you succeed. You are just a Cruiser, so why else would the Daosource Three Skies care so much about you? This is also why I will kill you. Is this sufficient?” Nightking Zhenwu enunciated every word.
Each word reverberated within Lu Yin’s heart and mind, causing him even greater pain. There was a soft beating sound, each beat forcing out more blood from his body.
Plop
Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood. His face had become deathly white, and every cell of his body was trembling.
“Seventh Bro, RUN! Hurry up and run!” the Ghost Monkey screamed.
Lu Yin also wanted to escape, and he was even more eager to call Mister Mu. However, the jade talisman that his master had given him had already shattered during the last battle in the Outerverse to protect Lu Yin. He no longer had any means to call Mister Mu, though he still wanted to roll his die. However, Nightking Zhenwu was keeping a close eye on Lu Yin, and he knew that any hint of movement would cause the Nightking to attack and finish him off for good.
“I know that you have various items and even Fatesand, but nothing in your possession can possibly save you from the Heart Seeker. You’ve underestimated me. A person that I, Nightking Zhenwu, want to kill, will neither be able to escape nor survive,” Nightking Zhenwu proclaimed arrogantly as he released star energy from his body in a manner that shook the void. There seemed to be no sound, but Lu Yin felt like he had heard an alarm, as though Nightking Zhenwu was sounding Lu Yin’s death knell.
Step by step, Nightking Zhenwu walked to Lu Yin. The man’s pace was neither fast nor slow, as nobody could possibly escape under such circumstances after being injured so badly.
Lu Yin’s entire body was cold, and he was truly chilled to the bone—even his blood seemed to have congealed. His mind had already gone fuzzy. The only thing that he could still hear was the Ghost Monkey’s incessant screaming, but even that voice was growing softer and softer. Finally, Lu Yin fell to the ground, and fresh blood flowed out of his chest, staining the area around him.
Nightking Zhenwu walked over to Lu Yin and looked down. He then reached down to grab a hold of Lu Yin’s head.
At this moment, Lu Yin had no means of resisting, as he could not even stay conscious.
Just as Nightking Zhenwu was about to touch Lu Yin, the scenery changed before his eyes—he had suddenly returned to the Daynight clan’s ancestral planet. When he looked up, he saw the towering stone pillar, he felt the ancient aura that was filled with experience, and he listened to the chanting of an ancient sacrificial ritual. Above everything, even the stone pillar, was a towering figure who stood at the peak of the entire universe.
When Nightking Zhenwu saw this person, his expression changed, and an incomparable adoration and passion could be seen within the Nightking’s eyes. This was the original Nightking, the ancestor of the Nightking bloodline. This man was like a deity. From the first moment Nightking Zhenwu had started cultivating, this person’s name had always rung within his ears. Zhenwu had even placed the first Nightking as his target when he had first stepped onto the path of cultivation.
The Nightking looked down and exchanged glances with Nightking Zhenwu. “You aren’t bad.”
Nightking Zhenwu had a fervent light in his eyes as he half-knelt. “Descendant-disciple Nightking Zhenwu pays his respects to Ancestor Nightking.”
Ancestor Nightking nodded in satisfaction. “Are you willing to inherit my legacy?”
Nightking Zhenwu became ecstatic. “Thank you, Ancestor Nightking! Junior will definitely offer my life for the Daynight clan.”
He nodded. “My-”
With that word, Nightking Zhenwu suddenly attacked, and Skybreaker swept across the ancestral grounds. Ancestor Nightking was enraged where he stood above the ancestral pillar. “How dare you unleash your anger in the ancestral grounds!”
Nightking Zhenwu had a malevolent expression, and there was an unprecedented cruelty in his eyes. This was completely different from how he had acted earlier. He was aware that he had fallen into an illusion, but there was clearly no one around him, so why had he mysteriously fallen into a trap? And what’s more, he was actually unable to tell that this was an illusion. If it were not for the fact that he cultivated Skybreaker and possessed a powerful spiritual force, then he would not have been able to maintain a clear head and might have been trapped within the illusion for a long time.
Immersion, immersed, illusion. Nightking Zhenwu seemed to have thought of something, and he unleashed a punch. The ancestral grounds shattered, and although Ancestor Nightking was still yelling from above the stone pillar, everything was useless.
The scenery before his eyes changed once again, and Nightking Zhenwu’s body trembled. He reflexively scanned his surroundings in a defensive manner, but he did not see anyone attacking him. Lu Yin had disappeared from where he had been lying in front of the Nightking, and when Zhenwu turned around, he saw that Zhuo Daynight had similarly disappeared.
Nightking Zhenwu’s eyes swept across the surrounding space. “You two won’t be able to escape!”
He then leaped up, pushing the Champions’ Stage along with him as he chased after some traces of star energy.
Off in the distance, Zhuo Daynight was carrying Lu Yin on her back despite her pale face. She had just used Night’s End, Daybreak on Nightking Zhenwu, which was something that she had never exposed before. She was hoping to trap Nightking Zhenwu in a fantasy for some time even though she knew that she would not be able to stop Nightking Zhenwu for long as the disparity between them was too overwhelming. If her strength was comparable to Nightking Zhenwu’s, then she would have no problem trapping him for decades, centuries, or even longer.
Fresh blood continued to flow from Lu Yin’s chest, and it quickly stained half of Zhuo Daynight’s body.
Zhuo Daynight tightly gritted her teeth. She had been severely injured during the battle within the sourcebox array. If not for Lu Yin’s help, she would have already died. This was also why she had decided to rescue Lu Yin. Even if she was forced to expose Night’s End, Daybreak, she did not feel that it would be a pity even if the two of them ended up dying together.
She owed Lu Yin far too much, no matter if it was from saving her at the pirate port, the incident on Planet Pyrolyte, or even during the most recent battle. She would never be able to repay him for all the times he had saved her life. All she could do was try to save him at this moment.
Drops of blood left a trail behind them as the two fled into empty space. There was no need for Nightking Zhenwu to track down their star energy, as he only needed to follow the blood to find the two.
Lu Yin had already fallen unconscious due to his injuries, and not even his subconscious was active. Zhuo Daynight was not in any better of a state, and she was merely forcibly enduring her injuries.
The Ghost Monkey had become unbearably anxious.
Nightking Zhenwu approached the two from the distance, and his eyes looked excited when they landed upon the pathetic figures in front of him. “Night’s End, Daybreak! Night’s End, Daybreak! It’s definitely Night’s End, Daybreak. That slut actually comprehended Night’s End, Daybreak! Even the heavens are helping me!”
When Zhuo Daynight turned around and saw Nightking Zhenwu’s sinister face, she sighed in despair. She looked down at Lu Yin. “If there is still any part of your consciousness left, then flee by yourself. I can buy you a bit of time, but whether or not you can escape will all depend on you.”
After saying these words, she threw Lu Yin to the west and stood still. She calmly watched as Nightking Zhenwu approached her. Her red sword hung at her waist, and her entire appearance was rather pitiful.
Lu Yin was not even the slightest bit conscious, but his body instinctively listened to Zhuo Daynight’s words. He waved a hand and used the Yu Secret Art in an attempt to pull Zhuo Daynight over. If he were conscious, he would have known that she could not be brought over, but this was an instinctive reaction—he did not even know what he was doing.
An object appeared in his hand, as he had grabbed something with the Yu Secret Art. However, Zhuo Daynight remained standing in the same place in a distant region of outer space.
The Ghost Monkey appeared, and he turned into a black shadow. He supported Lu Yin as they began to flee to the west. “Fortunately, this monkey wasn’t exposed, or else we would have been completely doomed. Seventh Bro, you owe that woman too much. Even if she doesn’t die, she’s finished for the rest of her life. She’s revealed that she knows Night’s End, Daybreak, and it was even in front of someone from the Nightking clan. She’s finished, ah-”
Nightking Zhenwu appeared in front of Zhuo Daynight, and he looked past her to see Lu Yin drifting to the west, looking like a corpse. He was about to give chase, but then she spoke up in a cold voice. “You don’t want Night’s End, Daybreak anymore?”
Nightking Zhenwu was stunned, and he looked at Zhuo Daynight in confusion before greed and ecstasy blossomed in the depths of his eyes. “So that really was Night’s End, Daybreak. You actually comprehended the Dayking’s ultimate technique.”
Zhuo Daynight calmly answered, “Yes, Night’s End, Daybreak. Do you want it?”
Nightking Zhenwu stared at Zhuo Daynight, but he did not speak.
Her lips curled up. “There’s no use trying. The Sealed Cage Technique is gone.”
Nightking Zhenwu was not surprised. Night’s End, Daybreak was an ultimate battle technique, so how could this girl possibly be controlled by the Sealed Cage Technique? “You want me to let him go? What’s your relationship with him? Is this worth it?”
Zhuo Daynight calmly answered, “Either I die, or you release him and I’ll follow you. Choose.”
Nightking Zhenwu’s eyes narrowed. “Is it really worth it? You should know that the Daynight clan does not allow for marriages with outsiders. It’s an ancient rule.”
Zhuo Daynight remained calm. “This has nothing to do with my emotions. I owe him far too much.”
Nightking Zhenwu frowned, as he truly did not want to let go of Lu Yin. Although Lu Yin had been struck by his Heart Seeker and the probability of his death was as high as 99%, if there was even the slightest possibility of survival, then the Nightking did not want to let him off. Things like destiny could not be clearly explained, and he did not want to give Lu Yin the slightest opportunity to recover. A person who could disregard Skybreaker was the nemesis of the Nightking bloodline itself.
There was also another key point: the secret technique, Heart Seeker, was the Nightking’s greatest secret. Currently, nobody aside from him knew that he possessed such a thing. If Lu Yin survived, then Nightking Zhenwu’s greatest secret might be leaked.
However, if he did not let Lu Yin go, then this woman would become very difficult to deal with. Nightking Zhenwu understood Zhuo Daynight, and he was aware that she was not joking when she had said that she would commit suicide.
“If you die, then I’ll make it so that your parents and relatives live through a torment a thousand times worse.” Nightking Zhenwu coldly threatened.
Zhuo Daynight’s face grew even paler, and her eyes betrayed her agony. “Let him go, release my relatives, and I’ll allow you to use the Sealed Cage Technique on me.”
