When Lu Yin swept out with his domain, he had taken note of the masked auctioneer, particularly the man’s hands, as there was blood and dirt embedded under the nails. It was quite obvious that the man had been involved in something nefarious.
The masked man watched the flames burn for a while before leaving. The secret auction could be easily abandoned by whatever power was behind it.
Lu Yin did not secretly follow the man, instead tracking the man’s whereabouts with his domain while maintaining plenty of distance. Finally, after it became dark, the masked man entered a mansion. Lu Yin slowly lifted his head, as it turned out that the man had entered Yuan Taishi’s mansion. It turned out that Yuan Taishi was the power behind the secret auction.
Lu Yin did not disturb anyone and simply returned to his own residence.
Qing Shaohuang had constantly kept track of Lu Yin’s whereabouts, and he was surprised to see the young man returning to his own quarters after approaching Yuan Taishi’s mansion. Qing Shaohuang was not surprised to see Lu Yin approach Yuan Taishi, but why had he not gone in to actually see Yuan Taishi?
“Your Majesty, I’ve looked into the matter, and Lu Yin was just at a secret auction.” Attendant Yi returned to provide a report.
Qing Shaohuang’s eyes flickered. “Whose?”
“Yuan Taishi’s,” Attendant Yi replied.
Qing Shaohuang was not surprised. No matter if it was Yuan Taishi or Attendant Yi, it was normal for people to have their own businesses. “Did anything valuable appear at the auction?”
He had not received word that he needed to pay another tab for Lu Yin, which meant that Lu Yin had not bought anything, which was quite strange.
Attendant Yi remembered the losses that his Yi’s Emporium had suffered, and his entire body started trembling from rage. “There was supposedly a bit of information regarding what the Neohuman Alliance is searching for in the Outerverse.”
Qing Shaohuang’s head snapped up and his eyes grew sharp. “Related to what happened in the Horned Galaxy?”
“Yes, but there were no bidders due to the excessively high price,” Attendant Yi explained.
Qing Shaohuang instantly understood. It was quite clear that Yuan Taishi had acquired the information and then destroyed the secret auction. However, no one had expected Lu Yin to discover this matter as well and also learn that Yuan Taishi was the hidden hand behind the auction.
After considering his options for a while, Qing Shaohuang finally said, “Don’t get involved in this matter, and don’t even ask about that information again.”
“Then what about Yuan Taishi?”
“That won’t be any problem. Yuan Taishi only wants the Divine Venom Dynasty to be stable, and if this information gets out, tragedy will strike this empire. Yuan Taishi will never share anything with Lu Yin. It will be as if the secret auction never happened, and everyone who attended the secret auction will be tracked down, and their mouths will be sealed.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The only reason why Qing Shaohuang had agreed to help the Sword Sect and the other Innerverse powers deal with Lu Yin was because the emperor was afraid that Lu Yin would go after Venom Flowzone. Both Qing Shaohuang and Yuan Taishi agreed that Lu Yin would never let go of Venom Flowzone, but their disagreement stemmed from the fact that Yuan Taishi did not believe that Lu Yin had the power to force his way into Venom Flowzone.
Still, they both agreed that they wanted peace and stability for Venom Flowzone.
If word of this information leaked out, it would inevitably bring chaos to the entire Divine Venom Dynasty. As soon as the Neohuman Alliance got involved, there would be nothing that Qing Shaohuang or Yuan Taishi could do, as not even Lu Yin was able to stop the Neohuman Alliance.
This was why Qing Shaohuang was absolutely certain that Yuan Taishi would simply destroy the information. Others could not be allowed to know of it, and Qing Shaohuang did not want to know either.
Lu Yin wanted to get the information from Yuan Taishi, but that was impossible.
Shortly after Lu Yin returned to his temporary residence, he received word that the Starsibyl Sect had vanished.
Chills ran down his back when he saw the report, and his first thought was of the Neohuman Alliance. If what they were searching for was so important to the Neohuman Alliance, then it was possible that their only way to find it was to use the Starsibyl Sect.
It appeared that the item the Neohuman Alliance was searching for was even more important that what Lu Yin had initially imagined. Yuan Taishi had gotten his hands on the information, and Lu Yin had already decided to give up on obtaining it, as it was impossible to do so in secret. Also, it was possible that Qing Shaohuang would get involved as well, and Lu Yin would most likely be targeted by the Neohuman Alliance after he obtained the information.
However, the Starsibyl Sect had disappeared. The Neohuman Alliance’s behavior in searching was getting more and more exaggerated, which made Lu Yin’s heart skip a beat.
It looked like he could not just let this matter go. He needed to visit Yuan Taishi.
Lu Yin’s expression grew solemn, and he started rubbing his cosmic ring. No matter what, that bubble with the red liquid could never be exposed.
***
At the same time that Lu Yin was thinking about the Starsibyl Sect’s demise, there were people in an Aeternal Kingdom who were thinking about him.
“When disaster struck the Autumnfrost family’s territory, Lu Yin was also in the Outerverse, and he was even quite close by the Autumnfrost family and the Horned Galaxy,” said a voice within a dark tower.
“Are you suggesting that Lu Yin attacked the Autumnfrost family?”
“That’s not impossible. He certainly had the capability.”
“But he has no motive. Although he did have a conflict with the Autumnfrost family once, there was no need for him to go after the Autumnfrost family at the same time that the Great Eastern Alliance was being forced out of the Outerverse.”
“Remember when Autumnfrost Qing disappeared? The route that he was taking led towards Frostwave Weave.”
The dark tower fell silent for a time.
“I will learn why Autumnfrost Qing left the family’s territory as soon as possible. No matter how small the chance, if there’s any possibility at all, we cannot leave it alone. However, Lu Yin also cannot be abandoned.”
“His mere existence is related to our big plan, so don’t make any moves unless you are absolutely certain.”
“Where is he right now?”
“The Divine Venom Dynasty’s Venom King City.”
“Then have that guy go talk to him.”
…
Lu Yin was informed that the banquet to celebrate Qing Shaohuang’s breakthrough would be held in three days. He had initially wanted to visit Yuan Taishi in two days, but it looked like his plans would have to be pushed forward.
Lu Yin actually had no need to visit anyone at all from the Divine Venom Dynasty, and before attending the secret auction, he had not even considered visiting Yuan Taishi. This was someone who only wanted peace for Venom Flowzone, and they did not view Lu Yin favorably at all. There was no reason for Lu Yin to visit such a person, and his only reason for doing so was to acquire the information.
Lu Yin soon arrived outside Yuan Taishi’s mansion, and his presence was quickly announced. The gate opened, and guards and servants lined up on either side of the gate to respectfully welcome Lu Yin into the estate. Yuan Taishi personally went out to greet Lu Yin, and he brought Yuan Miaomiao along as well.
“I apologize, Alliance Leader Lu. You’ve come to visit my humble abode, and I was not able to greet you in a timely manner.” Yuan Taishi was a spirited old man with eyes that had seen the passage of many years. Although he was not an Envoy, he was an Enlighter with a power level of more than 400,000, which made him a top powerhouse within the Divine Venom Dynasty.
There were not many experts present at the mansion, and it came nowhere close to comparing to the protection that had been present at the secret auction.
Lu Yin smiled. “I’ve wanted to visit Yuan Taishi for quite some time, but I’ve never had the opportunity. Venom King City is a prosperous place, and this junior has not yet seen enough of it, haha.”
Yuan Taishi’s eyes flickered. Junior? This was not the proper way for Lu Yin to refer to himself, as there was no need for Yuan Taishi to personally greet a junior. For Lu Yin to be acting so humble, there had to be something that he wanted…
In an instant, a thought flashed through Yuan Taishi’s mind, and his expression fell.
“This is my granddaughter, Miaomiao. Miaomiao, come greet Alliance Leader Lu,” Yuan Taishi said.
Yuan Miaomiao bowed. “Alliance Leader Lu, we meet again.”
“Have you two met before?” Yuan Taishi seemed genuinely surprised.
Lu Yin smiled. This old man seemed to be quite the actor. “We’ve met once before. Miss Miaomiao’s great beauty left quite the impression.”
Yuan Taishi just laughed. “Alliance Leader Lu’s ambition is not something that can compare to that of ordinary people. Please come in, Alliance Leader Lu.”
“Senior, please.”
The group quickly entered the mansion.
Yuan Taishi’s son and daughter-in-law did not live at the mansion, but their daughter, Yuan Miaomiao, lived with her grandfather. There were rumors that Yuan Taishi’s son had already died, but this had never been confirmed.
The mansion was quite large, and the group was also in no hurry. They slowly walked through the building as they chatted about random topics. The Great Eastern Alliance was not brought up, and neither was the secret auction. Lu Yin also did not mention anything at all regarding the purpose for his visit until he was seated with his host. “Two days ago, this junior stumbled upon a strange place that I entered through a dark alley. After passing through, I found a secret auction. I wonder, do you know about this place?”
Yuan Taishi’s eyes grew sharp, and Yuan Miaomiao quickly left. The old man stared at Lu Yin. “What is it that you wish to know, Alliance Leader Lu?”
Lu Yin would have only brought this subject up if he already knew that Yuan Taishi was the one behind the secret auction, so there was no need to try to hide anything.
Lu Yin grew serious. “There was a piece of information that was sold related to what happened in the Horned Galaxy incident. This junior is very curious about that information.”
Yuan Taishi remained perfectly calm. He took a sip of tea and remained silent.
Lu Yin was in no hurry, so he waited quietly.
“Alliance Leader Lu, are you not afraid of getting burned by this?” Yuan Taishi asked.
Lu Yin looked at the old man. “Everyone who participated in the secret auction is aware of this information’s existence, but no one else knows that you were the one who acquired it in the end. Right now, this is something that only you and I know, and possibly Emperor Qing Shaohuang. I also know that as long as the Divine Venom Dynasty wants to avoid the Neohuman Alliance’s attention, this information will never be leaked. I will not spread anything, and I am merely curious about the contents of this information.”
Yuan Taishi set his teacup back down and stared at Lu Yin. “I’m afraid that Alliance Leader Lu will only be disappointed.”
“Oh?” Lu Yin arched his brow. He actually did not want to get involved in what had happened in the Horned Galaxy, but since it might be connected to the “Murkiness” plan that Mister Mu had asked him to look into, Lu Yin could not ignore it.
“The information being sold was false,” Yuan Taishi stated.
Lu Yin laughed. “Those are not very convincing words.”
Yuan Taishi sighed. “I completely understand that Alliance Leader Lu won’t believe me, but false is false. That man was completely evil, and he was being hunted down by his enemies. He came up with this scheme in an attempt to survive a truly desperate situation, and I have to admit that it was a good plan. The outside world is still buzzing over what happened in the Horned Galaxy, though no one wants to get involved in it.
“If he had not set such a high starting price for his information, someone might have bought it, but he was too greedy. After I learned that the information he was trying to sell was false, I shut everything down. I hope that Alliance Leader Lu can understand why I would go to such extreme measures. Although people claim that we are terrible, my Divine Venom Dynasty cannot afford to be targeted by the Neohuman Alliance.”
The explanation was quite reasonable, and Lu Yin originally did not believe that there would be any information in Venom Flowzone that was related to the Horned Galaxy incident, so he did not argue with Yuan Taishi. “In that case, what was the information about? Old Master, can you tell me?”
Yuan Taishi tapped a finger on the table. He was reviewing what he knew about Lu Yin’s history, and he realized that if he did not say anything, Lu Yin would never let him go. Yuan Taishi was trapped. “He claimed that the emperor of my Divine Venom Dynasty, His Majesty Qing Shaohuang, obtained one of the symmetrical black crystal fragments and used it to achieve his recent breakthrough.”
Lu Yin frowned. He was the person who had drawn all of the attention towards the black crystal fragments, so he naturally knew that this information was a lie. However, others would not know this, and such information might be able to deceive some people.
After another half an hour, Lu Yin left. He could only choose to believe Yuan Taishi, as it was impossible to prove that he was lying.
