“Alliance Leader Lu, exactly what is it that you want?” Xu Qing asked in a low voice.
Lu Yin replied in a very relaxed manner, “Commander Xu Qing, I just want to see if you are confident of standing up to my Great Eastern Alliance’s fleet. It’s time to see, isn’t it?”
Xu Qing’s eyes flared, and he immediately became angry. Sure enough, he had just been played by Lu Yin. He had been in a rush to call the human, but it was clear that the Great Eastern Alliance did not want the fighting to resume. After all, the astral beasts were the invaders, and the only reason why the invaders would not want to resume fighting was a lack of confidence. “You certainly live up to your reputation as being the one to have united the Outerverse. I’m embarrassed at my own hesitation. We’ll meet again on the battlefield.”
Lu Yin smiled, “There’s no need for you to worry, Commander Xu Qing. Have you already forgotten our deal?”
Xu Qing’s voice grew cold. “You started this war, not me.”
“Truthfully, I don’t want to fight you, and it’s also clear to you that many of the powerhouses fighting for me also don’t want to fight. If that weren’t the case, we wouldn’t have been pushed all the way to the border of the Northcastle and Frostwave Weaves. This is why I intend to push this war off onto the Sixth Mainland and have them take over defending the Outerverse. While that’s happening, you can take advantage of the time to wait for reinforcements to arrive from the Celestial Beast Empire. The timing for both things should be around the same. What do you think?” Lu Yin casually asked.
Xu Qing’s expression instantly changed. “You want to give the eastern weaves to the Sixth Mainland?”
“Of course. The Outerverse belongs to them, so control should be given back to them,” Lu Yin replied.
Xu Qing’s expression grew dark. “I initially accepted Progenitor Wushang’s hide in exchange for two months of peace. Not only did you try to use that deal to lure me out so that I could be attacked and killed by Qing Hua, but also so that you could gain these two months of peace. Do you really want to hand everything over to the Sixth Mainland?”
“Commander, please don’t misunderstand me. I didn’t arrange for you to be assassinated by Master Qing Hua, and I don’t even know why he showed up.”
It was only at this moment that Xu Qing understood just how key Progenitor Wushang’s hide was to the war. Its mere existence had lain multiple traps, and it would be completely impossible for the Astral Beast Domain to resume their invasion if the Sixth Mainland took over the defense of the Outerverse.
The astral beasts had believed that their invasion would succeed only because of the exact timing that they had used. They had taken advantage of the opportunity that had appeared due to the Sixth Mainland being busy dealing with the aftermath of the Progenitor of Secret Arts’ betrayal, and they wanted to take over as much of the Outerverse as possible. However, that invasion had been blocked by Lu Yin. The Sixth Mainland was not the same as the Great Eastern Alliance, and it was possible that a Semi-Progenitor might make a move to stop the invasion.
“It seems that this will be our last conversation, Commander Xu Qing. You’ll be facing the Sixth Mainland’s forces next. Will it be the Ten Venerables? Or the Four Empyreans? Maybe a Semi-Progenitor?” Lu Yin said with a smile.
Xu Qing spoke softly, “I never expected our invasion to be stopped by you, Alliance Leader Lu. You are an outstanding human even when viewed in the context of all of history. During the time that you’ve been fighting against my Astral Beast Domain and after passing your stellular tribulation, you’ve managed to become the top ranked human on the Celestial Vanquisher’s List. Congratulations.”
This did not bother Lu Yin at all. Even though the Celestial Vanquisher’s List was the Celestial Beast Domain’s list of humans who were considered must-kill targets, Lu Yin did not need to be as cautious as he had been in the past. Unless a Semi-Progenitor was sent against him, Lu Yin would not have any problems staying alive.
“Unfortunately for you, you’ve proven to be far too talented, and not even the true universe can accept your existence. This will be the end for you. Alliance Leader Lu, we’ll meet again, though this will be the end for now,” Xu Qing said calmly while admitting that the astral beasts had lost the war.
He had not been able to break through the Great Eastern Alliance, and the Sixth Mainland would be an even more difficult obstacle. Lu Yin had managed to stall the war out, and the astral beasts’ efforts would be pointless once the Sixth Mainland took over.
“Commander Xu Qing, what do you think? With your invasion failing, will the Sixth Mainland be content to simply resume passively defending the Outerverse, or will they push to counter and invade the Astral Beast Domain?” Lu Yin suddenly posed a question.
Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed. If he were given such a choice, he would definitely try to counter and invade. The Celestial Beast Empire had fought too hard against the Great Eastern Alliance while the Sixth Mainland had been focused on scouring the Progenitor of Secret Arts’ Territory. Xu Qing had received reports that many of the people who had been investigated had been drafted into the Sixth Mainland’s military. Since they could not be trusted, their only use was as cannon fodder.
The astral beasts were about to face a crazed counterattack from the Sixth Mainland.
“The Sixth Mainland’s been focused on cleaning out the Progenitor of Secret Arts’ Territory due to their panic from the Progenitor’s betrayal, but as soon as the situation calms down, they will definitely push the warfront into the Primal Zone. If I were in your place, I wouldn’t give them that chance. Fight now! You should push the warfront and extend it to at least to the western region of the Outerverse instead of passively waiting for the Sixth Mainland’s counterattack. What do you think, Commander?” Lu Yin pressed.
Xu Qing froze. “So this is what you wanted to say. What exactly is it that you want?”
Lu Yin suddenly grew serious. “Let’s make another deal. I won’t give the eastern weaves over to the Sixth Mainland, and I will even open a path to allow you access rom Northcastle Weave to Armament Weave that you can use without fear of retaliation while you face the Sixth Mainland.”
Xu Qing was taken aback. This was too insane! Lu Yin was suggesting that he would completely break things off with the Sixth Mainland.
The Great Eastern Alliance had taken over the defense of the eastern Outerverse, which had caused both them and the Astral Beast Domain to jointly suffer harsh losses. The Sixth Mainland had never been concerned because they believed that they could take back control of the eastern weaves whenever they wished to. At this moment, Lu Yin was revealing that he had no intention of ever returning control of the eastern weaves to the Sixth Mainland, which was no different from turning his back on the Sixth Mainland. This could start a war! This meant that the Great Eastern Alliance would have to face both the Astral Beast Domain and the Sixth Mainland at the same time.
“Aren’t you afraid that your Great Eastern Alliance will be destroyed first? You and the Sixth Mainland are already enemies,” Xu Qing said.
A smile returned to Lu Yin’s face. “If we are wiped out, then the Sixth Mainland will regain control of these eastern weaves, and then you’ll stand no chance at all. By staying, we will also promise to never take the initiative to start a fight with the Astral Beast Domain, and we will not be the ones to trigger a war. You will only face the Sixth Mainland as your enemy, and we will provide a buffer here in these eastern weaves. Otherwise, you’ll have to deal with a counterattack from the entire Outerverse.”
“I’m offering you a hand.”
Xu Qing sneered. “You’re simply trying to use us to hold back the Sixth Mainland so that you can accomplish your goal of taking over the eastern Outerverse. Your motivations are too obvious, Lu Yin.”
“So, do you agree?” Lu Yin retorted.
Xu Qing fell silent. Did he agree? He did not have any choice, not unless he was capable of defeating the Great Eastern Alliance. However, that was impossible. If Xu Qing did not accept this deal, then the Celestial Beast Empire would have to face the full might of the Sixth Mainland’s furious counterattack, and they might not even be able to retain control of the Primal Zone.
Such an outcome was completely unacceptable for Xu Qing. He was already responsible for the deaths of too many powerhouses, and he was going to face a severe backlash after returning to the Celestial Beast Empire. In particular, Sword King’s death had caused opinions to turn against Xu Qing far more than ever before. If the astral beasts also lost control of the Primal Zone, Xu Qing would be completely discredited, and he would be treated as a joke.
Agreeing to Lu Yin’s deal meant that Xu Qing would be able to lead countless astral beasts to attack the Sixth Mainland. He had no hope of gaining any territory in the Outerverse for the Astral Beast Domain through these efforts as he was no idiot. However, he did hope to become the sole general in the history of the Astral Beast Domain to invade the Outerverse’s central weaves. Such an accomplishment would offset the damage that his reputation had suffered so far during this invasion, and it would also give the Celestial Demon Emperor a justifiable reason to leave Xu Qing in command.
This was also why Lu Yin was so confident in proposing this deal. The Astral Beast Domain had a good understanding of the Human Domain. Xu Qing had at one point thought to use Ling Taizu and the other two Envoys to foment a rebellion against Lu Yin in the Innerverse, showing his understanding of matters in the Human Domain. By the same token, the Human Domain understood the Astral Beast Domain. Lu Yin was perfectly clear on just how precarious Xu Qing’s position was at this moment, which was why Lu Yin was confident in extending this offer.
Xu Qing could not afford to refuse unless he believed that he could defeat the Great Eastern Alliance’s fleet. His only other option was to accomplish something impressive in a very short period of time to offset his recent losses.
Still, despite Lu Yin’s confidence that Xu Qing would agree to this proposal, Lu Yin’s primary goal was to instigate more chaos by pitting the Astral Beast Domain against the Sixth Mainland.
“Before long, the Sixth Mainland will be plunged into even greater chaos, and that will be your chance. You might not just enter the central weaves, but even the western region.” Lu Yin tried to further tempt Xu Qing.
Xu Qing’s eyes instantly grew hard. “Invade the western region? Alliance Leader Lu, do you take me for a fool?”
Lu Yin gave a small smile. “All I can tell you is that things will soon become completely chaotic within the Sixth Mainland. How you take advantage of that is entirely up to you, but regardless of whether or not you can push into the Outerverse’s western weaves, you will still go down in history as the astral beast commander to push the furthest into the Human Domain’s Outerverse in all of history.”
It did not matter if a creature was a human or an astral beast—no sapient being could resist the desire of having their name be recorded down in history, and Xu Qing was no exception. While he had no choice but to accept this offer, Xu Qing was no idiot, and he also had his own misgivings. “Alliance Leader Lu, if we try to push that deep into the Outerverse, we’ll be attacked on two sides by you and the Sixth Mainland. This is not an opportunity, but rather stupidity.”
Lu Yin laughed. “You already said it yourself! I’m also enemies with the Sixth Mainland! The Sixth Mainland already took advantage of me by allowing my Great Eastern Alliance to face off against you. Do you really think that I’ll offer them any help at all? Why do you think I told you when I was abandoning Ironblood Weave? You shouldn’t have already forgotten about that, Commander.”
Xu Qing’s eyes flashed. Theoretically, it was impossible for Lu Yin to cooperate with the Sixth Mainland, but Xu Qing remained hesitant. A single mistake at this point would cost him everything. This was not a game, but war.
“If you’re still hesitating, then I can also swear to never move against the Celestial Beast Domain’s astral beasts when they come to invade the Outerverse. How about that?” Lu Yin said.
Xu Qing finally accepted Lu Yin’s offer. Swearing an oath was something that was held in high importance by cultivators, especially by those with exceptional talent like Lu Yin who had a chance of eventually becoming a Progenitor. This was enough for Xu Qing to believe that Lu Yin would not cooperate with the Sixth Mainland.
Besides, there was no foundation for any such cooperation to begin with. The Sixth Mainland had already destroyed the Fifth Mainland’s Daosource Sect, and they had even occupied the remaining ruins. The Sixth Mainland’s invasion of the Fifth Mainland had also created countless blood debts. Given the enmity between the two Mainlands, would they ever be able to cooperate?
Furthermore, Xu Qing was convinced that Lu Yin wanted to retain control of the Outerverse’s eastern weaves. Given that, it made perfect sense for Lu Yin to want to pit the astral beasts against the Sixth Mainland to mutually restrict his two enemies. Xu Qing did not believe that the Sixth Mainland would willingly hand over the eastern weaves to Lu Yin in order to force Lu Yin to defend against the Astral Beast Domain.
Not long after that, Lu Yin lowered his gadget and let out a long breath. His strategy had been completed.
He had been tense from the moment that he had first learned that the Astral Beast Domain was invading the Outerverse. From that time on, he had gathered the strength of the entire Great Eastern Alliance to defend the Outerverse, and he had coerced numerous powerhouses to join the war efforts through threats and bribes. He had also consulted both Shui Chuanxiao and Wei Rong on what direction to lead the war in, and his overarching goal had just been accomplished.
Wei Rong had been busy transferring the residents of both Armament and Flaxen Weaves, which was why he had not been present at the battlefront. The path that Lu Yin had offered Xu Qing to the center of the Outerverse was also something that Wei Rong had prepared to specifically be used in war.
