The giant praying mantis’s ferocious expression changed as it stared at the corpse in disbelief. Had this corpse actually managed to block its attack? That was absurd!
Lu Yin seized this opportunity to pull out Progenitor Wushang’s hide and hold it up to the mantis’s eyes.
The astral beast was dazed for the moment and was unable to move.
“Sea King, attack! Three inches below its abdomen!” Lu Yin yelled. His pupils transformed into runes, and he stared at a point three inches down the mantis’s abdomen while using Truesight to weaken the beast.
The Sea King instantly reacted, and he thrust his trident forward to attack. He struck exactly three inches down the beast’s abdomen, and the powerful force behind it drove the trident deep into the mantis’s body and pushed it back. Blood spurted out as the creature was flung away.
Lu Yin coughed and quickly put Progenitor Wushang’s hide away again. He gasped for breath. He had almost been done for just then.
Fortunately, he still had that corpse on him. That body had been completely impervious to even the giant praying mantis’s blades. It was clearly just a corpse, but Lu Yin could not even begin to imagine how powerful the man must have been when still alive.
The mantis had been severely injured by the Sea King’s attack, and it did not return to attack Lu Yin again.
Xu Qing saw that not even the mantis had been able to kill Lu Yin, so he immediately called for the battle to stop.
Lu Yin had been badly injured and desperately needed to treat his injuries. On top of that, he was afraid that the mantis would launch a sneak attack to assassinate the human Envoys, so he did not try to chase after the retreating astral beasts. The two sides tacitly agreed to put a stop to the battle for the moment.
The moment Lu Yin returned to his spacecraft, Elder Jiu Shen arrived and angrily started scolding Lu Yin, “Boy, leave this war now!”
Lu Yin acted as though he had been scared by Elder Jiu Shen, and he clutched at his chest and started coughing without letting up.
Elder Jiu Shen’s eyes grew more and more heated. “Kid, listen to me! This war is none of your concern! You need to leave now.”
Lu Yin weakly replied, “Elder, this junior- this junior needs to rest.”
Elder Jiu Shen became enraged all over again. “Don’t give me that act!”
The Second Nightking and Liu Huang suddenly appeared, and when they saw Elder Jiu Shen’s expression, they both quickly moved to stand in front of Lu Yin.
Elder Jiu Shen glared at the Second Nightking. “Move!”
The Second Nightking only listened to Lu Yin because the young man controlled the Second Nightking’s fate, so he would not easily back down even against Elder Jiu Shen. “That’s a rather presumptuous way to speak to me.”
“I’ve put up with you for a long time, Second Nightking! In the past, there were some people who feared your Daynight clan and didn’t want you to enter the Neoverse, but I don’t fear you,” Elder Jiu Shen said sharply.
The Second Nightking’s eyes narrowed. “Why don’t you try it?”
Long ago, the Daynight clan had been persecuted by Neoverse powers, which had earned the Neoverse the hatred of the entire Daynight clan. Elder Jiu Shen’s words were no different from igniting a fuse.
Liu Huang frowned. “You two, we are currently facing a powerful enemy. We should not be fighting amongst ourselves.”
Elder Jiu Shen glanced over at Liu Huang, but then he immediately returned to glaring at the Second Nightking before looking at Lu Yin. “Boy, I’m not joking with you. This war has nothing to do with you, and the Celestial Demon Empire is far more complex than what you know. If they were as simple as they appeared to be, we would have wiped them out long ago. Remember that the Human Domain has seven Semi-Progenitors while the Celestial Demon Empire only has one. Despite that, they’ve always managed to fight against us evenly. Do you really think that they only relied on superior strategies to fight against the Sixth Mainland?”
Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. When the Mountain and Sea Zone had exploded and the Aeternals’ attention had been redirected to the Sixth Mainland, the truth of the matter had eventually been revealed, and people had learned that everything had been part of Progenitor Hui’s plan.
Progenitor Hui had foreseen the future and used the Mountains and Seas Zone as bait, and the war between the Astral Beast Domain and the Human Domain had also been concocted to convince both the Sixth Mainland and the Aeternals that the Fifth Mainland was ignorant of the truth. The constant infighting in the Human Domain had been left alone to lure the Neohuman Alliance into attacking key locations, which had triggered Progenitor Hui’s final plan.
The war between the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain had originally just been part of Progenitor Hui’s scheme, but at this moment, Lu Yin was hearing Elder Jiu Shen suggest that there was another reason why the Astral Beast Domain and the Celestial Demon Empire had not been destroyed.
The Second Nightking frowned. His Daynight clan had been used as a pawn in war against the Astral Beast Domain, but they actually did not know much about the Celestial Demon Empire. He carefully listened to everything that Jiu Shen said, as he wanted to learn if there was any connection to the First Nightking’s death or how they could rescue the Third Nightking.
“Since the ancient era, humanity has moved from the original six Mainlands, to the Daosource Sect’s peak, and then to the shattering of the five Mainlands. We have experienced too much throughout the eons, but the oldest records suggest that while humans and astral beasts coexisted on the six Mainlands, the Fourth Mainland only held astral beasts and no humans, as they were all forced out of that Mainland. This is one of the oldest legends in existence, and it also claims that the Astral Beast Domain is mostly made up of species that survived the shattering of the Fourth Mainland.
“No one knows what the Astral Beast Domain might be hiding or what the Celestial Beast Empire may have inherited from the Fourth Mainland, but during the war between our Daosource Sect and the Sixth Mainland, the Astral Beast Domain produced Progenitor Wushang, who was hailed as invincible. When the Fifth Mainland shattered and the Mother Tree was taken away, the Astral Beast Domain suffered from the same catastrophe as our Human Domain. We managed to survive since then, but so have they.
“The war between the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain was fought not only to deceive the Aeternals and the Sixth Mainland, but also because the Astral Beast Domain wanted to deceive those two as well. Do you think that they would have cooperated with us otherwise? Do not underestimate the Astral Beast Domain, and do not underestimate the Celestial Demon Empire,” Elder Jiu Shen said in one long breath.
His audience could hear that the elder had shared everything he knew, whether it was the ancient legends or his own deductions. While he had accompanied his explanation with threats and intimidation, it was clear that Jiu Shen’s only desire was for Lu Yin to retreat from the war.
Elder Jiu Shen’s explanation caused the Second Nightking, Liu Huang, and even the newly arrived Yuan Shi to all fall deep into thought. Lu Yin remembered what he had seen when he had Possessed the creeper. Untold numbers of the Celestial Demon Empire’s top powerhouses had been worshiping a statue, and Lu Yin had also seen countless humanoid sourceboxes.
The Astral Beast Domain was definitely hiding something.
Elder Jiu Shen was not exaggerating. He was truly afraid.
“Besides all that, the only other thing that I want to say is that we humans have our own way of doing things, and the astral beasts have their own way as well. Don’t think that you can succeed after you’ve stopped the Astral Beast Domain for this little bit of time. If you continue with this, even I can’t be certain that I’ll be able to protect you. Just now, if you hadn’t managed to block that mantis, you would have died.” Elder Jiu Shen let out a sigh of relief as he solemnly finished talking.
Lu Yin bowed to Elder Jiu Shen and matched the old man’s somber attitude. “Thank you for your advice, Senior. This junior is not trying to be brave, nor am I trying to fight against the Astral Beast Domain. However, this junior is unable to abandon the lives of the countless people living in the Outerverse’s eastern weaves. My name is Lu Xiaoxuan, but it is also Lu Yin. I traveled from the Cosmic Sea to the Innerverse and then settled down in the Outerverse. I started cultivating on Earth and proceeded one step at a time to reach where I am now. I consider Earth to be one of my home planets. Tell me, if the Cosmic Sect was going to be slaughtered by the Astral Beast Domain, would you be able to act as you are telling me to now, Senior?”
Elder Jiu Shen held his forehead, thinking that all he had said had just gone down the drain.
Ever since Lu Yin had first decided to fight in this war, many people had tried to persuade him to give up on the Outerverse. And yet, all of them had been left speechless by Lu Yin’s explanation. Were cultivators truly heartless? Could they really view human lives as worthless? That was not necessarily the case. After all, if cultivators were truly heartless, then why would they fight in wars? Wars were not only fought in order to gain various benefits, but also to protect people.
If Progenitor Chen had not cared about the Fifth Mainland and the countless lives that it held, why would he have ever fought to the death?
Why would the Perennial World fight against Aeternus? In truth, the essence of the Perennial World’s war was protection.
“If Lu Yin faces death, then I’m willing to die for him,” Yuan Shi said as he gave Lu Yin an admiring look. There was a smile on the old man’s face as he spoke.
Elder Jiu Shen directed a vicious glare at Yuan Shi. “Stop getting involved! This is none of your business.”
Yuan Shi smiled back at the elder. “You’re still the same as ever. No matter what happens, you prefer to keep yourself safe.”
Elder Jiu Shen retorted, “That’s better than you, who hasn’t improved even after so many years! I can now send you away with a single slap!”
“But I have protected many people.” Yuan Shi’s smile never faded, instead growing prouder.
Elder Jiu Shen sucked in a sharp breath. “Don’t bring that stuff up. You still haven’t changed after all these years, and it’s revolting to even look at you.”
He then turned back to Lu Yin. “I’ve done what I can to persuade you, and I’ve already given you a proper warning, so don’t bother trying to say anything pointless now. If you die, I’ll take that back with me.”
The man’s eyes grew sharp as he continued speaking, and when he finished, his body disappeared.
Yuan Shi shook his head. “Still the same as before.”
Lu Yin asked the Second Nightking and Liu Huang to leave. He then turned to Yuan Shi and apologized. “Senior, the war situation might not be as optimistic as I had imagined. This junior is at fault for getting you involved.”
Yuan Shi waved a hand dismissively, and he instead looked at Lu Yin with open admiration. “The fact that I am here has nothing to do with you. I am here because of the countless lives at risk. Even if you had not reached out to me, I would have come here. However, I did not expect you to be willing to take the risk to come here and fight. I had actually assumed that I would be on my own when I arrived.”
Lu Yin shrugged. “No matter what, all of these weaves used to belong to the Great Eastern Alliance. It’s still my home, and countless people from here referred to me as the alliance leader. I can’t abandon them.”
Yuan Shi sighed. “I understand. I can’t abandon them either, which means that fighting is the only option. Even if I die, I will do so with no regrets.”
Lu Yin walked to the center console and looked at the fleet display and all the flashing red dots. “We’ve already lost more than half of our forces. After this, the Great Eastern Alliance’s strength will be greatly reduced. Still, that’s not the important part. I’m more afraid that I won’t be able to hold the Astral Beast Domain back. Are they really as terrifying as Elder Jiu Shen made them out to be?”
Yuan Shi grew solemn. “You need to remember that humans are the most pervasive creatures in the universe. If the Astral Beast Domain were in any way incompetent, regardless of how, humanity would have enslaved them all long ago.”
Even though Yuan Shi did not share as many details as Elder Jiu Shen, Lu Yin still understood that Yuan Shi was saying the same thing: the Astral Beast Domain was not easy to deal with.
“Honestly, if you hadn’t brought the Great Eastern Alliance, I had every intention of fighting the Astral Beast Domain alone. Even if I die, you’ve already saved my life.” Yuan Shi laughed. He seemed very cheerful.
Lu Yin also laughed. “We’re clearly winning this war, and yet it feels like we’re losing. Elder Jiu Shen is amazing at discouraging his own people. He’s really not someone you want at your side in a fight.”
“Hahahaha, you just figured that out? Back when I first met him, he was exactly the same. He has always been better at keeping himself safe than working hard, and there are times when he infuriates his own allies. If not for his innate gift, he would have been hung up and beaten long ago.” Yuan Shi laughed.
Lu Yin grew curious. “Senior, can you tell me what it is?”
Yuan Shi was caught off guard. “Let’s treat your injuries first. You look seriously injured.”
Lu Yin replied in an indifferent tone, “I’ll be fine very soon.”
The sprout in his third meridian point was constantly releasing vitality into his body. That, when combined with an Enhanced pill that he had taken, meant that he really was able to heal quite quickly. Lu Yin never feared comparing his endurance to others’, but unfortunately, he always fought against opponents whom he could either crush or who could crush him. He never fought against someone in a battle of endurance.
One day later, the Frost Emperor was forced to withdraw from the battlefield due to his injuries.
Over the course of the recent battles, his opponent had always been Feng Lin, and the Envoy’s injuries were also from Feng Lin.
Lu Yin had no doubt that it had been done deliberately.
The Frost Emperor had always been at a bit of a disadvantage against Feng Lin. While both of them used ice, Feng Lin also had the Celestial Ice Phoenixes’ tricolored ray that could melt anything.
The Frost Emperor’s withdrawal motivated Mountain God to do the same. He had nearly died during the last battle. There were simply too many powerhouses participating in this war, and Mountain God was not confident in being able to survive despite being an Envoy.
