On Eversky Island, Highsage Shenwei’s gadget rang. He sighed as he accepted the call, and a projection of Highsage Leon appeared.
“Senior Brother, what happened to Lu Yin? Why didn’t you protect him?” Highsage Leon roared, his eyes bloodshot.
Highsage Shenwei exasperatedly replied, “I’m sorry, Junior Brother. Everything happened in a flash. Nobody could have predicted that the Seven Skygods would personally take action this time around.”
Highsage Leon shouted, “Then why are all those kids from the Hall of Honor still unscathed? Everyone else was also safe except for Lu Yin!”
Highsage Shenwei shook his head as he answered, “I don’t know. The Neohuman Alliance only captured Lu Yin, and Shaman God himself was the one who did it. Even if Master had been there, he might not have been able to prevent it.”
Highsage Leon huffed and tightly clenched the hilt of his cutlass, his emotions still unstable.
After some time, Highsage Leon regained his composure and said, “I believe that Little Lu will return. He’s always been lucky, so things won’t end just like this.”
Highsage Shenwei wanted to say something in response, but he ultimately held his tongue.
“We can’t possibly let Bu Laoweng take control of Lu Yin’s resources! Senior Brother, Eversky Island cannot remain silent on this issue,” Highsage Leon’s voice boomed.
Highsage Shenwei nodded and said, “Don’t worry. Master will personally see to this matter. No harm will come to the Great Yu Empire, and no one will gain control of it.”
“What of the Great Eastern Alliance?”
“Junior Brother, you should be well aware that a unified Outerverse is not the same Outerverse as before. Someone must take control of the Great Eastern Alliance. If the Great Eastern Alliance were to break apart, then it would never reform ever again.”
“All of this was done by Little Lu.”
“I know, and so too does Master. There’s also Yuan Shi behind Little Lu, and you know how high Yuan Shi’s status within the Hall of Honor is. Nobody will be able to touch Little Lu’s properties. If he comes back alive, then Eversky Island will do our best to return what he deserves to him. However, with how things have turned out, we must accept the truth. What we can do, however, is protect his loved ones. The Hall of Honor is not trying to claim his resources—they are only moving in so that they can stabilize the Outerverse. There are some things that have to be done.”
Highsage Leon was not an unreasonable person. With Lu Yin gone, it was understandable for the Hall of Honor to send someone to oversee the unified Outerverse. Despite that, Highsage Leon was unable to accept the truth of this matter that quickly.
“Please tell Master to wait for Little Lu’s return. If he comes back, then not only will the Hall of Honor have to give him what he deserves, but they will also have to return the Great Eastern Alliance to him.” Highsage Leon said.
“That’s all well within reason. If Little Lu returns, then neither Bu Laoweng nor any of the nine overseers will be able to keep hold of the Great Eastern Alliance. While the Neoverse cannot interfere with matters of the Outerverse, Eversky Island will stand by Little Lu. Master has also promised to teach him all of Eversky Island’s battle techniques, even our secret techniques.”
Eversky Island felt rather guilty over what had happened to Lu Yin. They had always been aware of the plan regarding the Mountain and Seas Zone, as well as the fact that the Cosmic Five were merely bait used to lure the Neohuman Alliance out. However, no one had expected that the Neohuman Alliance would capture Lu Yin alone.
Highsage Shenwei did not know how to account for this matter, and no promise was more valuable than a life. The Neohuman Alliance had sent Shaman God to capture Lu Yin, not kill him. Otherwise, they would have simply taken his life in the Mountain and Seas Zone. It would be better if Lu Yin never returned, as who knew what the Hall of Honor or other powerful factions would do to him if he did eventually reappear.
Highsage Leon ended the call. Forcing Eversky Island’s hand was something that he could do, and as long as Eversky Island’s stance was made clear, the Hall of Honor would proceed with caution. Little Lu, you must come back!
In the Neoverse. Tian Shao looked at his gadget and laughed. “Although the Outerverse is a wasteland, with such a position, I might be able to climb to a higher position in the future.”
He was Bu Laoweng’s grandson, and his grandfather was one of the Hall of Honor’s nine overseers. Tian Shao had an official position that allowed him to accompany Bu Laoweng to oversee the Great Eastern Alliance. While everyone knew that this was merely a stepping stone for the youth, he would later be able to assume the position of overseer as long as he did not mess up this assignment.
Tian Shao grew more excited at the possibility of his name being recorded down in the annals of history.
The Outerverse had never once been unified throughout history, and Lu Yin had been the first to do so. However, he had been captured by the Neohuman Alliance, and everyone knew that he had not been captured to be killed. Tian Shao fervently wished for Lu Yin to return as a zombie. If that happened, his reputation would be destroyed, and Tian Shao’s grandfather, Bu Laoweng, would be granted the greatest accomplishment for governing the Outerverse. Tian Shao would then inherit that honor, and he would thus step into the highest echelons of the Hall of Honor, as well as that of the Human Domain itself.
Deep in his heart, Tian Shao felt extremely grateful to Lu Yin. Without Lu Yin, he would have never had such an excellent opportunity to make such rapid progress.
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect your assets well. Although we have never met, I will definitely remember your contributions,” Tian Shao muttered under his breath as he looked in the direction of the Outerverse. While it seemed like a forsaken territory for now, it marked the beginning of his ascension.
…
The mastermind strategy spanning eons that was devised by Progenitor Hui to protect the Fifth Mainland…
The Hall of Honor interfering in order to reestablish transit between the Innerverse and Outerverse…
The calamity that had befallen the Sixth Mainland…
All of these momentous events had quickly occurred over a very short timespan. Nobody knew what consequences they would have on the Human Domain—not even the Starsibyl Sect was able to predict the future.
In the massive universe, there were also some changes that occurred on Earth.
Earth was the beginning of Lu Yin’s journey, and more than a decade had passed since that time. It had originally been destined to be ruled by the Great Yu Empire and become an ordinary planet. However, because of Lu Yin, Earth’s status had drastically changed. Its reputation throughout the Outerverse had become extremely impressive.
The major cities of the planet changed tremendously, going through more than a thousand years’ worth of development in this short amount of time. Technology and cultivation were the focal point.
Jinlin, one of Earth’s largest cities, was the city where Lu Yin had spent most of his time while on Earth. It had also experienced many changes, but the city’s oldest buildings had been preserved.
From the perspective of the universe, the history of the small city was not even as extensive as a cultivator. However, many of the humans from Earth were grateful to that they could protect some of their heritage.
Jinlin also had a statue of Lu Yin.
Countless people paid homage to this statue every day. When news of Lu Yin’s capture arrived, more people began to frequent this place as they prayed for his safe return.
One young man walked out from a cafe close to the statue. He pressed his bucket hat down on his head as he played with a straw that was in his mouth. He then took a sip of the drink in his hands and looked around. “Is this the Jinlin of this parallel world? Interesting. After so many parallel worlds, the heritage that has been preserved in this Jinlin is pretty good. Father will be happy if he learns of this. Back then, he found great-grandfather in Jinlin.”
The youth was rather shocked once he noticed the many people kneeling on the ground in front of the statue despite the scorching sun. “Why do they show so much respect for that dude? Back then, pops saved Earth, but he never received this much respect! This guy should be pretty good at this shit, huh?”
His words were overheard by several burly men who just happened to be passing by. They flew into rage and surrounded the young man while glaring at him with menacing eyes. “Little runt, what did you just say?”
The young man thought for a moment while staring blankly at the men. “I forgot what I said. Could you give me a hint?”
One of the muscular men stepped forward and glared down at the young man. “You said ‘pretty good at this shit,’ didn’t you? How dare you pay respects to Lord Lu in such a manner?”
The young man blinked several times. “But I’m not paying him my respects.”
The man grew livid. “You scum! You’re from Earth, are you not?”
The young man sheepishly nodded.
“Since you’re an Earthling, then why don’t you know the meaning of gratitude? If not for Lord Lu, we would all be slaves out in the universe. Earth’s cultivators would have been sent to the battlefield to become cannon fodder. Don’t you know that? He’s why you’re able to keep living on Earth and sip that drink in your hands this casually!” the muscular man shouted in fury.
The more Earthlings learned of the outside universe, the more grateful they were towards Lu Yin. Only by experiencing the darkness were they able to understand the light that Lu Yin had brought with him.
The commotion soon drew over more people.
The muscular man glared at the young man and shouted, “Little rascal, what’s your name? How did your parents raise you? Don’t you understand respect? Don’t you understand gratitude?”
People from all around chimed in and began aggravating the situation. “Find his family and tie them up! Make them kneel in front of Lord Lu’s statue!”
“Tie him up!”
“Tie him up!”
“Tie him up!”
The young man saw that the crowd was pressing in on him closer and closer. Each of them was fiercely glaring at him. He forced out a laugh and with one breath, downed the rest of his drink and gestured his departure with his hands. “My apologies, I don’t quite understand the history of your parallel world. I’m just someone chasing after a lightning rabbit. Sorry!”
With those words, he disappeared, leaving behind nothing aside from an empty cup that fell to the ground with a light thud.
The people in the area all looked at each other in confusion. They were not willing to accept this outcome, but none of them could even find a trace of the young man’s shadow.
…
Back beneath Aeternus Nation, Lu Yin had been busy sucking in the large amounts of death energy that emanated from the deep pit. Every now and then, he would pause, but after sensing that the death energy still had not caused any negative effects, he would continue. There was an urge to use this death energy to break through to the Hunter realm.
However, one day, possibly due to the massive amount of death energy that he had absorbed, Lu Yin finally felt like something was off. Images of massacre and slaughter began to fill his mind. There were images of his past. He saw Puyu, Feng Mo, Nightking Zhenwu, and every enemy that he had slain, and his heart filled with pleasure upon seeing these scenes.
Not right.
Lu Yin opened his eyes. The death energy had finally started affecting him. He immediately stopped absorbing the energy, but somehow, he found himself unable to. Even against his will, the death energy continued to move, forming a cycle between him and his surroundings.
Without any concern for potential consequences, Lu Yin tried to move away from the pit, but he found that he was unable to move his body. The death energy was now suppressing him, and his body was just like a puppet. Death energy continued to flow into his body and settle down before part of it left his body. This cycle continued to repeat.
Damn it.
Lu Yin’s heart sank as he felt chills run down his spine.
Silver was extremely prudent. Lu Yin had appeared to have been successfully remodeled, but there had been no signs of his eyes changing to match those of the Specter Clan. Thus, Silver had quickly decided to throw Lu Yin over to the deepest part of the pit.
Even members of the Specter Clan would be unable to withstand such an intense concentration of death energy. Even if Lu Yin had been faking his situation, he would not be able to continue for long after being placed right next to the pit.
