An explosion rang out within Lu Yin’s mind. Mu- Mu- Mu Xie?
He looked up, incredulous. “Mu?”
Qing Chen was not paying attention to Lu Yin, so he did not notice Lu Yin’s abnormal reaction. Instead, he was simply looking up above. His eyes seemed to pierce through space to observe the Higher Realm as well as the even further away Dominion Realm and the individuals up there. “Yes, the commander’s surname is Mu, and his full name is Mu Xie. You must remember that, after completing your apprenticeship ceremony, you will be referring to him as Master Mu.”
Lu Yin’s head dropped low as he processed an absurd possibility; could the commander actually be Mister Mu?
Was that even possible?
Lu Yin was utterly stunned. When observing the entire history of the Perennial World, the Fifth Mainland, and the Sixth Mainland, how many Progenitors could there be? On top of that, Mu was a unique surname, and at the very least, Lu Yin had never heard of a Progenitor with that particular surname before. If Mister Mu was indeed a Progenitor as Lu Yin suspected, then it was highly likely that he was this Mu Xie.
Mister Mu and Mu Xie; could they be the same person? Lu Yin was completely confused.
Even as Qing Chen led Lu Yin up to the Higher Realm, the youth still did not react to anything. His mind was completely occupied by the name “Mu Xie.”
***
At the Celestial Frost Sect, in Jade Valley, Yu Chen slowly clenched her fists. She had miscalculated. She had made a mistake. Long Qi actually had ascended through the Cloud Shuttle, and he had not taken a detour.
Word of the battle beneath the Cloud Shuttle that had broken out between Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo and Qing Chen had already spread to the Celestial Frost Sect, so Yu Chen was aware that she had made a mistake.
She had overestimated Long Qi. No, she had studied all sorts of information regarding Long Qi. She had not overestimated him, definitely not; rather, she had underestimated him. Long Qi had actually taken all of Yu Chen’s own scheming and thoughts into consideration before coming up with the best method possible to counter her plans. He had already factored her into his plans, and that was why he had taken the Cloud Shuttle.
Was he that certain that the Celestial Frost Sect would send someone to capture him?
Liu Shaoge stood behind Yu Chen, a subtle smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. There were certain times when people were too smart for their own good.
Yu Chen’s mistake had not only allowed Lu Yin to safely arrive at Dragon Mountain, but it would also lead to a disaster for herself.
In the past, when Bai Shaohong had still been around, Yu Chen had relied upon the Junior Progenitor to stand at the top of the Celestial Frost Sect. Back then, even Envoys like Elder Qing Xing had needed to show their respect to Yu Chen. However, now that Bai Shaohong was dead, Yu Chen’s status within the Celestial Frost Sect would plummet.
The Higher Realm did not host many events. The Yuanlun Festival was the only major event to occur within recent decades, though the ceremony at Dragon Mountain was quickly becoming the next major event in the Higher Realm.
After all, the ceremony not only involved the White Dragon Clan, but also those who had been invited to attend. Already, more than two Semi-Progenitors had gotten involved, and because of the information regarding Long Qi that the White Dragon Clan had released, it was possible that Array Masters or even Array Grandmasters might take some precious time away from the rear battlefield to attend the ceremony.
The Perennial World only had a few Lockbreakers, and that was in large part because the Lockbreaker Headquarters had been established on the battlefield behind the Mother Tree. In order for someone to become a Lockbreaker, they had to step onto the battlefield, and there were few people who were bold enough to do so in the entire Perennial World.
However, despite the low number of Lockbreakers, there were actually quite a few powerful Lockbreakers.
With the exception of the White Dragon Clan, the other members of the four ruling powers all had their own powerful Lockbreakers, which had long since been a point of frustration for the White Dragon Clan.
Lu Yin’s talent for lockbreaking was something that could compensate for a weakness that the clan sorely lacked.
While the clan did have some Lockbreakers and even a few Array Masters, the White Dragon Clan had a terrible lack of truly talented Lockbreakers.
Up in the Higher Realm, the dark sky felt slightly suffocating, and light could only be found within the four ruling powers territories.
The closer Lu Yin and Qing Chen drew to Dragon Mountain, the more people who were traveling in the same direction. They filled the sky, and they even covered the ground.
The White Dragon Clan had sent out invitations to only the most powerful forces of the Middle Realm, but these invitations had been sent to every organization in the Higher Realm, especially to those that lay close to Dragon Mountain. Every force that was subordinate to the White Dragon Clan had to offer their congratulations.
There were many places in the Higher Realm that relied upon the four ruling powers, but there were no independent forces, as the four ruling powers did not allow independent organizations to exist in the Higher Realm. Everyone had to be underneath the four ruling powers.
A massive figure appeared in front of Lu Yin, which attracted attention from countless people below.
The cultivators from the various regions of the Higher Realm all looked up and watched as Lu Yin and Qing Chen stepped onto the back of a massive creature that then disappeared towards Dragon Mountain.
“That young man’s Long Qi.”
“He has to be. For Elder Long Kui to personally come out to meet someone, he could only be Long Qi.”
“I know that one of those people was Senior Qing Chen, the Supervisor of the Nine Gates, which means that the young man must be Long Qi.”
“What a level he’s reached at such a young age! As soon as he is accepted as the commander’s disciple, he’ll be equal to the four Junior Progenitors! I’m so jealous!”
“What are you jealous of? The Celestial Frost Sect is completely focused on him, and I even heard that Junior Progenitor Bai Shaohong’s death is somehow connected to Long Qi.”
“Don’t spout such nonsense! Those are nothing more than mere suspicions, and everyone who returned from the Dominion Realm is a suspect. How could Long Qi have had anything to do with the Junior Progenitor’s death when he was nothing more than a Hunter at the time?”
“But he’s already an Array Master!”
The person who had been defending Long Qi suddenly fell silent. It was true that a sourcebox array was enough to turn trash into treasure, and no one was surprised that these methods were able to protect humanity from their enemies. Thus, as far as most people were concerned, Lu Yin being an Array Master was the primary reason why the Celestial Frost Sect was so suspicious of him.
Before long, a group appeared in the sky. Each person in the group stood atop a broken blade as they made their way towards Dragon Mountain. Each individual radiated a powerful killing intent.
“Someone from Shenwu’s Sky has arrived early! It looks like they are treating this ceremony as something very important.”
In the crowd below, there was a grandfather grandson pair who watched on in envy.
“Grandpa, when I grow up, I’ll also become famous in the Higher Realm, just like Long Qi!” the little boy said. He looked to be no more than eleven or twelve years old, and his face blazed with excitement even as his eyes radiated his desires.
The old man looked down at the boy and said, “Yes, you will.”
He looked back up and let out a sigh of relief.
“Grandpa, will the bad guys catch us?” the boy asked.
The old man answered, “No, don’t worry. We’re at Dragon Mountain, and they wouldn’t dare to do so here.”
“Oh.”
…
For the second time in his life, Lu Yin visited Dragon Mountain. His first time at the mountain had been quite a low-key affair, and very few people had been aware of it. However, this time, Lu Yin’s arrival was very high-profile.
When Long Kui met Lu Yin this time, the clan elder’s attitude was completely different from before.
With each new meeting, Long Kui had a different impression of the youth, and once again, Long Kui felt like something had changed between his last meeting with Long Qi.
As he considered Long Qi’s various accomplishments, Long Kui could not help himself from glancing back at the youth; just how had this kid changed so much? Less than two years ago, Long Kui had heard of Long Qi for the first time, but now, the youth had accomplished feats that others would brag about for their entire lives. Even now, Long Qi had gained the favor of a Progenitor.
Was this youth really the same son-in-law of the clan’s main family who had not even been courageous enough to dodge Elder Qing Xing’s attack in the past?
Lu Yin stood tall, but he did not say a single word to Long Kui. After arriving at Dragon Mountain, Lu Yin did not immediately meet with Long Ke, but rather continued on towards the depths of the mountain.
“Senior Qing Chen, the clan has already prepared a place for you to rest. The patriarch has instructed that you are allowed to enter and leave any place on Dragon Mountain however you wish,” Long Kui respectfully informed Qing Chen.
Qing Chen smiled. “Please extend my thanks to Patriarch Long Ke. All I need is a bit of your White Dragon Brew, haha!”
Long Kui returned the smile with one of his own. “That’s only natural.”
He then turned to look at Lu Yin, “Long Qi, the patriarch has ordered that you are to worship the ancestors in ten days. At that time, the four ruling powers, the Nong family, the Liu family, and the other powers of the Middle Realm will observe the ceremony. Prepare yourself. You should have already learned everything necessary for this ceremony, so make sure that you do not embarrass my White Dragon Clan. Until that time, you will reside at Hidden Dragon Lake.”
“Yes, Elder.” Lu Yin maintained the same attitude as before, and he showed no trace of arrogance.
Long Kui nodded. He first led Lu Yin to Hidden Dragon Lake and then led Qing Chen to his quarters.
There was no need for Qing Chen to worry about Lu Yin’s safety after arriving at Dragon Mountain. If an incident occurred at this place, Qing Chen’s presence would make no difference whatsoever.
Hidden Dragon Lake was located within Dragon Mountain, which contained thousands of lakes. While Hidden Dragon Lake was not the largest, it was certainly quite famous. This was because all of the clan’s direct descendants would live at the lake for a time, which meant that residing at Hidden Dragon Lake indicated that one was ascending to heaven. Long Tian had also once lived at this lake, as had Long Xi.
Since Lu Yin was staying at Hidden Dragon Lake, it showed that his status would be in no way inferior to those two in the future.
Even though the lake was, in comparison to the entire Dragon Mountain, small and was only one of thousands of lakes, the lake itself was by no means cramped. There were planets revolving above the lake as though it was a complete universe, and there was even an independent civilization.
Lu Yin stood on an island in the lake as he stared at its bottom. There, he saw planets shining, as well as the developing civilization on those planets. This sort of scene was simply too common in the Perennial World, and it could be seen everywhere.
In the Fifth Mainland, it was not normal for powers to cultivate independent civilizations, and the closest comparison were hidden worlds, but those worlds’ inhabitants lived there voluntarily.
Lu Yin quietly stayed at the island in Hidden Dragon Lake for several days, and once he confirmed that no one was watching him, he quickly isolated himself and started rolling his die.
Long Kui had said before that Lu Yin should already be fully informed of everything that he needed to know about worshiping the ancestors, but in order to actually prepare himself, Lu Yin would have to ask Long Xi about the ceremonies and any particular forms of etiquette.
The die spun before slowly stopping on six pips.
Lu Yin was not surprised. So much time had passed since he had last rolled his die that it was perfectly normal to roll a six on his first try. Fortunately, he had set aside his cosmic ring after taking out a bit of star essence. This had long since become a habit so as to avoid consuming too much money with an unanticipated roll.
After appearing in the strange space, Lu Yin randomly merged with an orb of light that was not too bright, and the scenery around him changed. He quickly saw a grandfather with his grandchild.
The person that Lu Yin had Possessed actually intended to kill the two people.
“My Lei family has decided to leave Dragon Seek City, so we will no longer fight with you. Why do you wish to kill all of us? Do you really believe that the White Dragon Clan will allow a single force to emerge and dominate Dragon Seek City? Just assume control of a small town,” the old man screamed and clutched his grandchild as he waited to be killed.
The little boy shivered in terror.
Lu Yin blinked and was about to end the Possession. He had no interest in such a small-scale skirmish between two families.
“You may have destroyed my Lei family, but it won’t be long before someone else destroys you! I can tell you that there is an organization behind me known as the Hidden Earth Society. Even though it is not well-known, it wields great influence and even has members within the four ruling powers,” the old man warned. Blood leaked from his mouth, and madness could be seen rising in his eyes.
Lu Yin had intended to simply end his Possession, but he froze and stared at the old man in shock—the Hidden Earth Society? This was the first time that Lu Yin had heard this name since entering the Perennial World.
Lu Yin had already searched for the Hidden Earth Society or the Primeval Surname Alliance many times, but he had never found a single trace of either organization, either in books, records, or by speaking to people.
“Hidden Earth Society? Never heard of it,” Lu Yin answered deliberately.
The old man gritted his teeth and threatened, “You couldn’t have possibly heard of our Hidden Earth Society! We don’t allow outsiders to join, nor do we expose ourselves, but our unique relationship makes us a tight-knit group. We have many experts, and we are everywhere. Let alone within the Dragon Seek City, we can even get revenge on you if you hide in Dragon Mountain! Do not make a mistake.”
