Just as Lu Yin was about to leave, his eye twitched, and he froze in place. He slowly turned his head to look at a particular corner of the plaza. There was a man there who was practicing some sort of battle technique.
In the massive plaza, there was only Lu Yin and this man.
While it was perfectly normal for a cultivator to practice in such a manner, this man had glanced over at Lu Yin several times already. As a cultivator, Lu Yin had keen senses, and he instantly was put on guard when he looked at this man. He certainly was not weak.
More importantly, Lu Yin had not changed his appearance, which meant that this man might have recognized him. This thought prompted Lu Yin to walk over towards the man.
The man continued with what he had been doing, and only after Lu Yin reached the man’s side did the man finally look over. “Is there something wrong?”
“Nothing much. I’m just going to kill you.” Lu Yin then suddenly released an attack. The man’s eyes flashed, and an imprint appeared behind him as a terrifying aura swept out.
Lu Yin was shocked. He had only been probing the man with his attack, and he had not expected to encounter a powerhouse. “Imprinter.”
“You really did show up, Lu Yin. Since you’re here, you can forget about leaving!” The man shouted. He had actually been ordered to stay in the plaza just in case Lu Yin appeared.
Lu Yin had obtained the inheritance from the Nine Cauldrons Region, and even after this was discovered, he had returned several times. Four of the cauldrons had already been broken, and the Sixth Mainland could not endure this. Not only had powerhouses been sent to protect the Nine Cauldrons, but people had also been sent to keep an eye on the plazas where people came in. Quite a bit of time had passed, and everyone was aware that Lu Yin might change his appearance before visiting the Daosource Sect’s ruins. As such, the Imprinter stationed in the entrance plaza had been ordered to report anyone arriving with an altered appearance.
The Imprinter had already reported many people who had entered the ruins with altered appearances, and he had actually never expected Lu Yin to arrive using his own face. Still, he had been waiting for Lu Yin for a long time. His only task was to immediately report Lu Yin’s arrival.
This was not a dangerous task. If Lu Yin arrived with an altered appearance, the Imprinter would not be able to attack someone just because they had altered their appearance, but Lu Yin had not changed anything about his face. The Imprinter had been observing Lu Yin, and Lu Yin had felt it likely that he had been recognized, so he felt forced to take action.
Boom!
There was a bang, and the Imprinter was forced to retreat more than ten steps, his hand numb. He looked up at Lu Yin in horror. “What?”
Lu Yin threw out another Hollow Palm, but the Imprinter could not even see the attack. He had only just become an Envoy, and his power level barely surpassed 500,000. Forget Lu Yin’s Hollow Palm—this man would not even be able to block a Vacuum Palm.
Puff!
He spat out a mouthful of blood and immediately tried to escape by fleeing into the true universe, but Lu Yin was already blocking the man’s path.
Lu Yin released all of his anger and frustrations from dealing with Xia Ji, venting on the Imprinter.
The man was quickly defeated, and one arm was badly broken. It was the location of his stellular energy vortex.
Lu Yin walked up to the Imprinter. “I placed some hidden energy at your stellular vortex. If you don’t want to be crippled, then when you leave, contact this person. Tell him that I’m in the Daosource Sect’s ruins and give him this name: Xia Ji.”
The Imprinter stared at Lu Yin in horror. Blood painted his entire body. “I understand! I get it! I’ll definitely call him, so please, just remove the hidden energy!”
How could Lu Yin hide any energy in the Imprinter’s body? This was nothing more than an empty threat. Still, cultivators cared more about their cultivation than their lives. This was why Lu Yin was not afraid of letting the man go. Even if the Sixth Mainland learned that Lu Yin was in the Daosource Sect, what did it matter? How many powerhouses could they send in after him? Their own Daosource Sect had recently been attacked by the Neohuman Alliance, and with the experts who had been sent into Burial Garden, the Sixth Mainland was too busy to deal with Lu Yin or pay any attention to what he was doing.
As for the contact information that the Imprinter had been given, it had been Yuan Qiong’s.
At this time, the only people truly willing to help Lu Yin were the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Island. The Cosmic Sect wanted to protect him because he alone possessed the inheritance of their Cosmic Art while Eversky Island cared about Lu Yin because of Highsage Leon. At this time, Lu Yin could only count on Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster.
“That person will help you remove the hidden energy, so make sure you speak to him,” Lu Yin ordered in an indifferent tone. He then altered his appearance, took a step forward, and vanished.
The Imprinter had no idea whether Lu Yin had actually left any energy hidden within his body, but the man did not dare to take the risk. If he lost such a gamble, he would lose all of his cultivation.
Cultivators fought the universe and other people for their lives. This Imprinter had left behind countless corpses and enemies in his wake, and if his cultivation was destroyed, his family and he would both suffer tragic endings. There was no way the man would risk such an outcome.
However, timing was key for Lu Yin to save himself. If the Imprinter had only been in the ruins for half a month or less, then even if he did get in touch with Yuan Qiong after leaving, Elder Gong would not have much time to try to find Lu Yin.
Lu Yin could not leave his fate to only one or two people.
He rushed through the First Divine Gate and Budding Terrace and then began to frantically search for people who were about to leave the Daosource Sect’s ruins. He threatened and bribed people, trying everything possible to get numerous people to call Yuan Qiong and Highsage Leon.
The more people Lu Yin sent out to deliver a message, the more likely he was to be revealed to the Sixth Mainland, but there was no other option. This was the only means for Lu Yin to save himself.
Half a month passed, and Lu Yin had lost count of how many people he had sent to deliver messages. All that he knew was that there had to be an Imprinter hunting for him in the Daosource Sect’s ruins. The Sixth Mainland cultivators all seemed to be a bit nervous, so Lu Yin decided to go visit the Mountains and Seas to check the inheritances in there.
Lu Yin was ignorant of just how much influence he wielded in the outside world. After a Sixth Mainland cultivator left the Daosource Sect’s ruins, he weakly made a call to Yuan Qiong.
“Who is this?” Yuan Qiong demanded. It was a call request from an unknown contact. He was the sect master of the Cosmic Sect, so it was highly unlikely for anyone unknown to obtain his contact information.
“Xia Ji- Xia Ji took him!” a weak voice said.
Yuan Qiong felt terribly confused. “What did you say?”
“I don’t know! That person just told me to contact you and tell you that Xia Ji took him!” the weak voice answered in a helpless manner. The man had only been told this much, and he knew nothing more.
Yuan Qiong suddenly became highly focused. “Who are you? What person are you talking about? Where did they tell you this?”
“I was in the Daosource Sect’s ruins. I have no idea who that person is, but he told me to tell you that message and that if I did, you’d give me the antidote. He said that you’re the only one with the antidote that can save me,” the weak voice explained.
At this time, another call request came through, and it was another unknown contact.
“It’s Xia Ji! Xia Ji took him!” This voice sounded terribly frightened. “Give me the antidote! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to be devoured by poisonous bugs!”
“Who told you to give me this message?” Yuan Qiong already had his suspicions.
“I don’t know, but I don’t want to die! Give me the antidote!” A rising panic could be heard in the desperate voice.
…
Far away, in the Cosmic Sea, Highsage Leon was getting similar calls from all different unknown contacts. “It’s that old fart Xia Ji again! I’ll kill him one day!”
Neither man was stupid, and they both quickly understood that Lu Yin had escaped to the Daosource Sect’s ruins and was sending requests for help. Leon immediately reached out to Eversky Island and asked Highsage Grandmaster to step out to confront Xia Ji.
Yuan Qiong similarly made a request of Elder Gong, and many people quickly became active.
Elder Gong’s expression was solemn. “Xia Ji must have figured out that there’s some connection between Lu Yin and the Cosmic Art’s inheritance.”
“Elder, Lu Yin won’t be able to stay in the Daosource Sect’s ruins for very long.” Yuan Qiong was very anxious. The Cosmic Art’s inheritance could not be lost while he was the sect master. The Cosmic Sect had already been forced to share the Cosmic Art with the Xia family after the Skystar Jade Wall had been stolen. If the Cosmic Art’s inheritance was also lost, then Yuan Qiong would be cursed for eternity by the Cosmic Art. He could not allow his Cosmic Sect to suffer such a tragedy.
Elder Gong immediately left the Cosmic Sect, and Highsage Grandmaster similarly left Eversky Island.
…
In the Daosource Sect’s ruins, Lu Yin let out a sigh at the edge of the sea. He had failed again.
He had entered a mountain and seen the flames again, only to fail. He had then moved onto another mountain and sea, and seen the spring of water, but he had failed again.
He really could not understand what was going wrong and why he was failing the trials.
A figure appeared in the distance. They moved towards the sea and traveled alone.
Lu Yin was surprised to see this person. “Xin Nü?”
Xin Nü had arrived, and she looked over when Lu Yin called out and was surprised to see him. “Lu Yin?”
“You can still recognize me?” Lu Yin was surprised.
“It’s your eyes.”
Lu Yin blinked. “Really?”
He walked over closer to Xin Nü.
“Sure enough, it’s you. Recently, people have been talking about a lunatic wandering the Daosource Sect’s ruins, forcing them to send crazy messages after they left. It looks like you’re in some kind of trouble.” Xin Nü stared at Lu Yin as she spoke.
Lu Yin responded with a bitter smile. “That old bastard Xia Ji came after me, so I’ve been doing what I can to survive.”
“Xia Ji?” Xin Nu had no idea who that was. Xia Ji was one of the Human Domain’s Semi-Progenitors, and not many people from the Human Domain had ever heard of him, let alone someone like Xin Nü who was from the Sixth Mainland.
Lu Yin shared some information about who Xia Ji was.
Xin Nü’s expression turned solemn. “How shameful for such a person to go after you.”
Lu Yin shrugged. “I never said it wasn’t, but sooner or later, I’m going to force that old bastard to repay this debt a hundredfold.”
“Are you sure you’ll be ok?”
Xin Nü was a bit worried about Lu Yin, and he was also not entire confident himself. “I should be. I’m 80-90% certain.”
Xin Nü nodded and said nothing in response. The two of them sat there in silence for a while.
Lu Yin and Xin Nü had enjoyed a very good relationship for quite some time. They both felt an inexplicable connection towards each other, even if they came from enemy mainlands. Xin Nü would rather betray her own homeland than risk Lu Yin being put in danger, and Lu Yin had actually rescued Xin Nü during ZENITH. There was no explaining it, but the two were absolutely friends.
Also, they both had something in common: amnesia.
“Lu Yin,” Xin Nü said.
Lu Yin looked over.
“Why is your surname Lu?” Xin Nü asked as she turned to look at Lu Yin. The wind picked up and blew through her hair, carrying a faint scent.
Lu Yin automatically replied, “Do I have a choice?”
Xin Nü turned back to stare at some distant mountains. “Lu’s an unusual surname.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. “Why unusual? Just because it’s a primeval surname?”
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Xin Nü mumbled, “It’s a very powerful surname. Actually, it’s also my surname.”
Lu Yin was stunned by this. “Is your surname also Lu?”
Xin Nü nodded. “My memories have returned, and I’ve remembered that I’m Lu Xin. I’m from an ancient family.”
Lu Yin stared blankly at his companion. “Is the ancient family you’re talking about the Lu family?”
Xin Nü replied, “You can’t possibly understand what the Lu surname actually means. It represents time, control, ancient legends, and more.”
After a short pause, she whispered, “Invincible.”
Lu Yin’s eye twitched. “Invincible? Why invincible? How can a surname represent invincibility?”
Xin Nu took a deep breath and stared off into the distance again before standing up. “I’ve already said a lot. I don’t even know why I’m telling you about this. We’re from different eras.”
She moved to leave, as she felt she had said too much. Even if she had a good relationship with Lu Yin, there were certain things that could not be spoken.
“Champions’ Stage,” Lu Yin suddenly spoke up and uttered two words.
