An old woman approached and respectfully said, “There are no signs of poison being placed anywhere, and no outsiders have entered the planet. Either the poison was already there, or the poison was completely absorbed.”
“Absorb?” Long Tian was stunned, and suddenly remembered something, the star essence. “Find Wen Diyi and Nong Lie immediately.”
As soon as his voice fell, his communication crystal vibrated. “Junior Progenitor, Wen Diyi and Nong Lie have both been poisoned.”
Long Tian let out a roar of rage and rushed straight over.
…
Within the dark red magma, Lu Yin was still absorbing star essence.
After half a day, Long Tian emerged from a training room with a solemn expression. He had just seen Wen Diyi, and the youth was suffering from the exact same poison as Long Jue, as was Nong Lie as well. Long Tian’s first suspect was Liu Tianmu. She had been the only one with both the motive and ability to leave poison around.
However, Liu Tianmu had never wandered to the regions where Wen Diyi and the others had grabbed the star essence they had used, so she could not have been the one to do the poisoning. On top of that, there was a trace amount of poison in the star essence in Liu Tianmu’s own training room. While this was not enough to completely clear Liu Tianmu of all suspicion, it also was not enough to prove that she had been the poisoner.
“If it wasn’t Liu Tianmu, then who could have done it?” Long Qi’s image flashed into Long Tian’s mind, but he quickly denied the possibility. That guy was training far away from the rooms where Wen Diyi and the others trained, and there was no way to accurately locate the people who had been poisoned. Also, why would Long Qi have poisoned them to begin with? What motivation? To go to the Dominion Realm? Long Qi might not even want to go.
However, if Liu Tianmu and Long Qi were both excluded, who else was there?
Long Tian thought of the people around him. This Junior Progenitor Planet had ten Enlighters, two Envoys, plus Long Tian’s own protector who was a powerhouse who had passed through six tribulations. All of these people were suspects. After all, who could guarantee that none of these people had been bribed to make trouble for him by the Celestial Frost Sect, the Wang family, or Shenwu’s Sky?
Long Tian’s thoughts grew complicated as he continued to consider various possibilities.
After Long Xi heard of what happened, she also had a very dark expression when she arrived. “Brother, what’s going on?”
Long Tian solemnly explained, “Someone is opposing me. They’ve already poisoned Nong Lie and the others so that they won’t be able to accompany me to the Dominion Realm.”
“Poison? We still have a few days before we go to the Dominion Realm; can the poison be cured by then?” Long Xi asked with a frown.
Long Tian shook his head. “It will take ten days to completely clear the poison and its effects from their systems even with the clan’s best medicines. Even if I’m willing to take them to the Dominion Realm while they’re still poisoned, the powers behind them will never agree.”
Long Xi frowned. “Who hasn’t been poisoned?”
Long Tian looked at Long Xi. “Long Qi and Liu Tianmu.”
“You don’t suspect Long Qi,” Long Xi said.
Long Tian snorted derisively. “Of course it couldn’t be him.”
“What about Liu Tianmu?”
“There’s also some evidence that there was also an attempt to poison her, but it didn’t work since she hasn’t cultivated with any of the star essence from the Junior Progenitor Planet.”
Long Xi’s voice dropped/ “Liu Tianmu is the most suspicious.”
Long Tian replied, “I know, but for the moment, only her and Long Qi can join me in the Dominion Realm.”
“Long Qi can’t go,” Long Xi immediately shot down that possibility.
Long Tian stared at her. “Nong Lie, Wen Diyi, even Long Jue can’t go. Aside from Long Qi, who else can I even take? When it comes to pure strength, Long Qi might not lose out to Long Jue. I know I told you before that I wouldn’t take him there for your sake, but with how things have turned out, he has to go. Little sister, promise you’ll stay alive.”
Long Xi opened her mouth, but could not argue against her brother’s logic. She had promised to bring Long Qi to the Junior Progenitor Planet, but given the current situation, she really wanted to go back in time and take that back.
“Little sister, you know the clan’s rules. If you are adamant about refusing to allow Long Qi to accompany me to the Dominion Realm, how will he eventually be able to gain a foothold inside the clan?” Long Tian demanded. “You really want to be your husband’s protector and provider for the rest of his life?”
Long Xi’s body went stiff, but she still helplessly bowed her head. “I’ll go talk to him.”
“It’s not a discussion. He doesn’t have a choice,” Long Tian said firmly.
“Even if Long Qi goes, what about the last person for the team?” Long Xi asked.
“Wen Diyi.”
“Isn’t he poisoned? Will the Virtue Archives agree to let him go?”
“He represents the academy himself.”
The next day, Lu Yin was still cultivating in the dark red magma when a shadow covered his head. He looked up to see an absolute mountain of star essence falling down towards him.
“Finish your nineteenth cycle as soon as possible. You will accompany the Junior Progenitor to the Dominion Realm.” Lu Yin heard the voice of the middle-aged man, who was feeling very helpless at this moment. Before, he had watched as Long Qi had run around grabbing up star essence, and now the older man was having to do so himself for the youth.
Lu Yin was thrilled. “I understand!”
He had succeeded. Luckily, he still had time to finish his nineteenth cycle. He was about to roll his die, but he suddenly stopped. He lifted his head and looked outside.
Since all of the participants for the team going to the Dominion Realm had been confirmed, it was likely that Lu Yin was currently under observation. Given Long Tian’s personality, even if he had no suspicions of Lu Yin being behind the poisonings, the Junior Progenitor would still send someone to observe Lu Yin just to ensure that everything remained in Long Tian’s control.
Lu Yin could not roll his die. He only had two days left, so there was no possibility of him completing his nineteenth cycle in such a short amount of time, but even if he failed, it would still be better than revealing his innate gift.
Two days later, Lu Yin was still absorbing the star essence, and he had not managed to complete his nineteenth cycle. At this moment, Long Tian’s voice spread across the entire Junior Progenitor Planet, “Come.”
Lu Yin opened his eyes and leaped out of the magma. He then flew to where he had seen the statue before.
Once he arrived, he saw that Long Tian, Long Xi, Liu Tianmu, and Wen Diyi had all already arrived.
Lu Yin was surprised to see Wen Diyi. The man had clearly been poisoned, yet he still dared to go to the Dominion Realm.
Wen Diyi showed no signs of poisoning from a glance. His complexion was clear and rosy, if slightly pale.
“Everyone’s here. Get ready. We’re about to go to the Dominion Realm,” Long Tian told them.
Lu Yin stood next to Long Xi, and he tried to quietly sate his curiosity, “How are we going to get there?”
Long Xi was in a miserable mood at this moment. She was remembering the video she had been shown of Long Qi grabbing a large amount of star essence, so she snapped back, “The Junior Progenitor Planet will fly straight to the Dominion Realm.”
“Are you serious?” Lu Yin was surprised.
Long Xi frowned. She then threw a circle over to Lu Yin. “Keep this on you. If anything goes wrong, immediately hide yourself within its protection.”
Lu Yin’s previous ring-shaped power vessel had been destroyed by Long Xian. He looked at the ring, speechless. “Your family’s trade is ringmaking?”
Long Xi shot him a sharp glare. Her amber eyes were as beautiful as ever, but also fierce.
Lu Yin smiled back.
Long Tian glanced over at Lu Yin and Long Xi. The two left him feeling quite frustrated. Those two were clearly of one mind, while he, the older brother, was an outsider. It was dangerous to be an outsider within a team going to the Dominion Realm. Only one of the reasons that Long Tian had not wanted to take Long Qi to the Dominion Realm had been because he did not want to have to protect Long Qi.
It was impossible for Nong Sanniang and Nong Lie to join the same team, and the same was true for Liu Hao and Liu Tianmu. Having allies together on a team would leave the Junior Progenitor nervous.
However, Long Tian had no choice. Wen Diyi was able to represent the Virtue Archives and give approval for him to join the excursion to the Dominion Realm, but the Nong family had immediately refused to allow Nong Lie to go. As for Long Jue, it was not a big deal to leave him behind. He had been poisoned, and he had already been weaker than Long Qi.
“Where’s Nong Lie?” Lu Yin wondered.
Long Tian coldly replied, “Something came up and he can’t come.”
“What about Long Jue?” Lu Yin asked again.
Long Tian frowned. “That has nothing to do with you.”
Long Xi looked up. “How can that be when we’re all from the same clan?”
Long Tian simply stopped talking.
Lu Yin was in a good mood. Long Xi was good to him. While she herself would ridicule and mock Lu Yin, she would never allow anyone else to do so.
As these thoughts were going through Lu Yin’s head, the Junior Progenitor Planet trembled beneath their feet. Lu Yin and others on the planet were not able to see it from where they stood, but if one was far above the planet, they would be able to see that the four bridges connecting the Junior Progenitor Planets to Island of Hope had moved to form a square. Suddenly, the entire square started moving through space, rapidly rising upwards. Countless people on Island of Hope stared blankly, and as they watched, the Junior Progenitor Planets disappeared.
The Perennial World had been born from the Mother Tree, and the crown of the tree formed the Dominion Realm. Typically, a tree’s crown would be larger than its root system, and this was also true of the Mother Tree. The top-most Realm, the Dominion Realm, was larger than the Lower Realm at the roots, and also larger than the Middle and Higher Realms along the Mother Tree’s trunk.
According to Lu Yin’s understanding of the Dominion Realm, only Progenitors could survive there. From ancient days to the present, all of the Perennial World’s Progenitors, both the living and those already dead, had always resided in the Dominion Realm. This was why the Dominion Realm held the greatest legacies and resources of the entire Perennial World, and the most valuable resource was Origin Matter.
Each powerhouse needed Origin Matter in order to become a Progenitor, and Origin Matter could only be found in the Dominion Realm.
The Junior Progenitor Planets were connected to each other as they moved towards the Mother Tree’s canopy at a shocking speed. Lu Yin and others were not able to see anything that they passed by, just the blur of space speeding by.
“When we get to the Dominion Realm, stick close to me and keep that ring in your hand. Don’t put it back in your cosmic ring! That way you’ll be able to activate with a thought, which will help keep you alive. Got it?” Long Xi quietly gave Lu Yin some words of warning. Her eyes were stern at this moment.
Lu Yin nodded. “Don’t worry, your words will be my actions.”
Long Xi did not know why, but every time she heard reassurances from Long Qi, she became far more uncomfortable than before. It seemed she had suffered some sort of trauma.
She glared fiercely at Lu Yin. “Just stay with me!”
Lu Yin pursed his lips. This woman had a fierce temper; he had not even said anything wrong! He had made certain to show a proper attitude, and yet still she was put in a rotten mood.
The square formed by the Junior Progenitor Planets shot through the void, rising up from near the bottom of the Mother Tree. Finally, the square stopped on one of the Mother Tree’s massive Branches. Just a branch was large enough to support all four Junior Progenitor Planets.
Lu Yin and the others’ eyes flickered. Gradually, their surroundings became clear to them. Lu Yin was able to see clearly. Behind, he could see an endless starry sky, while in front of him and past the statue, he could see a dense tangle of huge branches. Each one looked to be connecting the earth and sky, and they extended far out of sight in both directions.
The Junior Progenitor Planet suddenly trembled more violently than before. A leaf had fallen, and the enormous shadow of it shrouded half of the Junior Progenitor Planet.
Lu Yin had never seen such a gigantic tree. Just a leaf was large enough to cover a planet? What sort of scale was this? Also, as he looked at the leaf, he saw that it did not seem to be fully formed, and was likely relatively small.
“Everyone, this is the Dominion Realm!” Long Tian quietly informed his team as he glanced at all of them with a determined expression. “Let’s go!”
With that, he leaped forward and started traveling away from the Junior Progenitor Planet in front of Long Xi, Lu Yin, Liu Tianmu, and Wen Diyi. The youths quickly followed the Junior Progenitor. They were like a line of ants invading a kingdom of giants as they stepped onto a branch.
A single branch was able to hold the four Junior Progenitor Planets, which showed the size and strength of the tree. Lu Yin was not even able to see the end of the branch. Even when he looked across the branch instead of down its length, he still could not see how far it extended. It was just too large.
