The Rock Realm was an out of the way place that mostly consisted of independent cultivators. There were very few large and powerful organizations that ever appeared there, and those that did rise up were usually dismantled by the independent cultivators. It was a very odd situation.
It was also not as simple as powerful groups from the Sixth Mainland’s other realms ignoring the Rock Realm, as not even the Progenitor of Secret Arts had ever been able to do much to the Rock Realm. This was in large part due the large number of powerhouses present, as the Rock Realm was actually home to two Empyrean Imprinters: Master San Cun and Herb Immortal. Of those two, Herb Immortal had been the first of the Sixth Mainland’s Four Empyreans. The man’s true level of strength had always been a mystery.
Even the powerhouses in the Rock Realm were independent cultivators.
Not many people from the Rock Realm were fighting in the war against the Astral Beast Domain. Given the lack of large organizations there, it was far more difficult for traitors or rebels to appear.
The Envoy from the Rock Realm who had been anointed by Lu Yin had only possessed a power level of just over 500,000, and they had been killed by an astral beast.
Beep beep beep!
Lu Yin’s eyebrows rose when he glanced down at this gadget and saw a call request from Xu Qing, but he quickly answered. “How do you have the time to be calling me while fighting a war, Commander Xu Qing?”
Xu Qing answered in a low voice, “Alliance Leader Lu, didn’t you tell me that some major incident will soon disrupt the Sixth Mainland? Where’s the chaos that you promised me? All I’ve seen so far are countless cultivators reinforcing the Sixth Mainland on the battlefield. If this keeps up, I won’t be able to continue this invasion.”
Lu Yin laughed. “Why are you so insistent on not taking a break from the fighting, Commander?”
Xu Qing’s voice grew hard, “Even if I wanted to pause things, the Sixth Mainland has no intention of obliging. The people they’re sending onto the battlefield are all from the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory, and they’re being used as nothing more than cannon fodder against us. The Sixth Mainland is using us to remove any hidden danger that may exist.”
Lu Yin rubbed his head. This was exactly what he had believed to be happening as well. “Don’t worry, Commander. Something big is about to happen.”
“I hope so, Alliance Leader Lu. If I can’t hold back and am forced to retreat, it will mean that we will be unable to continue to invade the Outerverse, but we can still defend Ironblood Weave that we’ve taken over. At worst, we’ll simply pull back into the Primal Zone. However, you don’t have that luxury. The Sixth Mainland’s next goal will be you, and they have endless numbers that they can throw at you by pulling from the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory. They’ll be happy to use you the same way that they’re using us to clean up their mess.” As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Qing hung up.
Lu Yin shrugged. It seemed that the Astral Beast Domain and the Sixth Mainland would not continue to destroy each other for much longer. It was even possible that Xu Qing had just lied to Lu Yin, but even if the astral beasts insisted on continuing for as long as possible, the current pace could not be sustained for much longer.
“A powerhouse has arrived,” the Second Nightking warned Lu Yin.
Lu Yin glanced around. Anyone qualified to be addressed in such a manner by the Second Nightking had to possess a power level of over a million.
A figure appeared in space, and they looked at the desolate planet and Lu Yin and the Second Nightking who were standing on it.
This person was a calm, middle-aged man. Nothing about him seemed special or out of the ordinary, but the number of runes that he possessed were terrifying. This man was as powerful as Liu Huang.
The Second Nightking stepped forward as he stared at the new arrival with a tight frown. Logically, the Second Nightking should not be afraid of a weaker cultivator, but he felt a sense of danger from this man for some inexplicable reason.
Lu Yin looked at the middle-aged man, and he noticed the man’s eyes in particular. Lu Yin’s expression changed slightly. “Ancestor Lingtong.”
The man who had just arrived was indeed Ancestor Lingtong. He had the innate gift of dual pupils, and his innate gift had allowed him to see through the Arrow God of the Wilderness’s appearance and notice that the man had been a corpse king in disguise. At that time, Ancestor Lingtong had merely been a Cosmic Imprinter, and yet he had been bold enough to cooperate with Ancestor Sightless to try to take down one of the Seven Skygods. This was an utterly ruthless man.
Lu Yin had been in contact with Xu San, and he had thus learned about how Ancestor Lingtong had survived his last stellular tribulation. The old man must have started planning for his tribulation the moment he had first laid eyes on Xu San. The tribulation had nearly killed Ancestor Lingtong’s disciple. The old man was clearly not as peaceful and harmless as he first appeared to be.
“The Great Eastern Alliance’s leader, Lu Yin,” Ancestor Lingtong said as he landed on the desolate planet. He looked at Lu Yin with open interest.
Lu Yin smiled at the man. “I heard of Ancestor Lingtong’s fame a long time ago, and I’ve since come to admire the man who recently became an Empyrean Imprinter and who even managed to uncover one of the Seven Skygods in hiding.”
Ancestor Lingtong responded with a small smile and then turned to look at the Second Nightking, exclaiming, “Someone from the ancient era: Senior Second Nightking.”
The Second Nightking said nothing. This man was clearly very dangerous.
“The Arrow Sect’s lesser giants keep moving this way, even when doing so requires them to go through a more dangerous region of the battlefield. I found it strange when I saw it, but I now see that Alliance Leader Lu has been waiting for them here. Do you intend to help the Astral Beast Domain work against my Sixth Mainland?” Ancestor Lingtong asked as he stared at Lu Yin. It was impossible to tell the older man’s feelings about the situation.
Lu Yin shrugged. “Of course not. I wouldn’t do anything to help those beasts fight against other humans. I’m simply taking away the members of the Arrow Sect.”
Ancestor Lingtong arched a brow. “The Arrow Sect carries a heavy burden on this battlefield. Taking them away makes things much more difficult for us.”
Lu Yin showed no concern for this matter. “You already have too much cannon fodder present, so it’s impossible for these few people from the Arrow Sect to make much of a difference. Why don’t I eliminate an astral beast Envoy and alleviate a bit of the pressure you’re facing?”
Ancestor Lingtong stared at Lu Yin. “Why are you taking the Arrow Sect away, Alliance Leader Lu?”
Killing intent flickered across Lu Yin’s eyes for a moment. “Some time ago, the Arrow Sect took a Neo-Vestige Sect disciple by the name of Shao Zisong away from the Great Eastern Alliance by force. Man Li was the one who carried that out, and the Arrow Sect’s lesser giants need to be taken away so that the Neo-Vestige Sect’s inheritance can be returned.”
Ancestor Lingtong had not expected to learn of such an incident. “Really?”
“You can look into this yourself, Senior,” Lu Yin replied. It was completely true that Man Li had taken Shao Zisong away from the Neo-Vestige Sect, and while Shao Zisong had died during the cleansing of the Progenitor of Secret Arts Territory, so no cross examination could be done. All that could be confirmed was exactly what Lu Yin had said: the Arrow Sect had taken Shao Zisong away from the Great Eastern Alliance.
Ancestor Lingtong’s eyes flickered. He did not want to become entangled with this matter. “Even if Alliance Leader Lu desires an accounting for that matter, such things should not be addressed at this time. My Sixth Mainland is at war with the Astral Beast Domain, and if you take away the Arrow Sect, how will anyone be willing to step onto the battlefield?”
Lu Yin’s voice grew cold. “That has nothing to do with me. If the Sixth Mainland wasn’t at war with the Astral Beast Domain, how would I be able to take away the members of the Arrow Sect? How would I grab Man Li?”
There was no straightforward answer to this issue. Lu Yin was absolutely correct; how could the Sixth Mainland agree to let Lu Yin take the Arrow Sect away if they were not occupied with a war?
Ancestor Lingtong’s double pupils flickered. If Lu Yin were alone, the Empyrean Imprinter would have already attacked, but he was cautious due to the Second Nightking’s presence.
At this time, Man Li appeared from space, and he landed on the surface of the planet with a bang. Just as he opened his mouth to speak to Lu Yin, he suddenly noticed Ancestor Lingtong, and the giant’s expression changed drastically.
Ancestor Lingtong also saw Man Li, and a frown appeared on the man’s face. “Man Li, did you ever take away one of the Neo-Vestige Sect’s disciples?”
Man Li was taken aback by the question, and he reflexively glanced over at Lu Yin, but he could discern nothing from the lack of expression on Lu Yin’s face.
“Man Li, I asked you a question.” Ancestor Lingtong’s voice dropped, and his dual pupils exerted a mysterious pressure that terrified Man Li.
“Yes, I took one.”
“Their name?” Ancestor Lingtong continued.
Man Li glanced back at Lu Yin, but he still replied, “Shao Zisong.”
Ancestor Lingtong frowned. It was true. After all, it was impossible for Lu Yin to have known of Ancestor Lingtong’s arrival and prepare an alibi with Man Li in advance. In other words, Lu Yin’s story was likely true. While taking the Arrow Sect away from the battlefield was offending the Sixth Mainland, Lu Yin also had a valid reason to do so. Additionally, without this war, there would have been no chance for Lu Yin to ever move against the Arrow Sect. Truly, everything made sense.
The only discrepancy was that something as minor as recovering the Neo-Vestige Sect’s inheritance was not worth Lu Yin stepping onto this battlefield.
Man Li saw Ancestor Lingtong’s frown, and the giant let out a sigh of relief, as this meant that he had given the correct response. He took a few steps back to move to Lu Yin’s side.
“Alliance Leader Lu, if your worries are something as simple as a concern that the disciple taken from the Neo-Vestige Sect will leak your Great Eastern Alliance’s secrets or the Neo-Vestige Sect’s inheritance, I can promise you that not a single person from the Arrow Sect will live to leave this battlefield. What do you say?” Ancestor Lingtong calmly offered.
While his tone of voice was perfectly casual, his words were nothing but cruel and heartless.
Man Li’s eyes flared open. “Ancestor Lingtong, what did you just say?”
Ancestor Lingtong completely ignored Man Li. This man was not even a World Imprinter, and he had already lost his own imprint. He posed no threat at all.
Lu Yin stared back at Ancestor Lingtong. “I must take these people away.”
Ancestor Lingtong indifferently replied, “Wouldn’t it be better to use their last bit of strength here and have them die with the astral beasts?”
Man Li was absolutely infuriated by these words, and he glared at Ancestor Lingtong.
Lu Yin’s voice dropped, “I already said that I must take them away.”
Ancestor Lingtong’s dual pupils moved, and the atmosphere grew tense for a bit. A bit of wind was stirred up beneath the Second Nightking’s feet as his spiritual force spread out. Lu Yin stared straight at Ancestor Lingtong, and his pupils transformed into runes.
Ancestor Lingtong stared back at Lu Yin, and then he finally let out a laugh. “Since you need to take the lesser giants away, I’ll give you some face, Alliance Leader Lu.”
“Thank you.”
Ancestor Lingtong gave a small smile. “You’re welcome. However, since I was able to notice their movements, others will be able to do so as well. It’s possible that old man Sightless has already noticed, so be careful, Alliance Leader Lu.”
Lu Yin nodded. “I understand.”
Ancestor Lingtong turned around and prepared to leave, but then he quickly mentioned, “I’m quite happy with my disciple Xu San.”
The Empyrean Imprinter turned back to face Lu Yin and smiled at him. “Alliance Leader Lu, the two of us share a bit of fate.”
The man then vanished.
A small frown appeared on Lu Yin’s face. Apparently, Ancestor Lingtong was aware of Xu San’s situation. Xu San had thought that he had been smart and cautious, but how could his actions have escaped Ancestor Lingtong?
However, what did that last comment mean?
Resentment and helplessness filled Man Li’s eyes. Ancestor Lingtong’s attitude towards the lesser giants perfectly represented the Sixth Mainland’s attitude. There was no one that cared about the Arrow Sect or the lesser giants. They were all destined to die on this battlefield.
“Man Li, let’s go. We can’t wait here any longer,” Lu Yin said.
Man Li again dropped down to one knee. “Thank you, Alliance Leader Lu! Thank you for taking us in!”
Lu Yin looked at the giant. “How many of your lesser giants are left?”
Man Li quivered. Only about four million of the lesser giants had made it to the planet. Another million had died on the battlefield, which meant that four to five million were still alive. “Not many, Alliance Leader. Let’s go.”
His words were abandoning all of the lesser giants still on the battlefield, and Man Li’s voice was full of his resentment for that fact.
Lu Yin sighed. He knew that many of the lesser giants were still fighting on the battlefield, but they really could not afford to wait any longer. If Ancestor Lingtong had noticed the movements, then others would as well. Even if Lu Yin and the Second Nightking were not attacked, it was still possible for the Sixth Mainland’s powerhouses to simply stop the lesser giants from gathering at the meeting point. There was no point in waiting any longer.
“Let’s go,” Lu Yin said. He pulled Man Li onto Zenith Mountain and started moving to the east as the Second Nightking kept them both hidden.
Shortly after Lu Yin left, a spacecraft with dozens of lesser giants shook and crashed onto the desolate planet. The lesser giants all excitedly piled out of the ship, expecting to be greeted with a path towards survival, but all they found was a desolate planet inhabited by large lizards. Man Li was nowhere in sight, and neither was any other human.
This was simply a matter of fate. A single step taken earlier or later could lead to completely different outcomes.
Ancestor Sightless appeared in space above the planet. Strange… all those lesser giants were gathering towards this point, but just where are they?
