The flood of worms quickly appeared, and the crowd of cultivators restarted their messy battle against the parasites.
The area around the pike had been unlocked before, so doing it for the second time was not nearly as complicated. After less than half a day had passed, Lu Yin opened up a path to the exit, though he found it a pity as he charged out. He had originally intended to collect exit fees, but that was no longer suitable in the present situation as he would incite the wrath of everyone present by doing so. If someone really died because of him, it would create an unnecessary feud, so it was just not worth it to try.
However, since he had found a new method of earning money, there were even more possibilities in the future. He was rather looking forward to it.
Northgate Lie actually didn’t take any further actions against Lu Yin, though many were already growing curious as to what Lu Yin had obtained. However, no one believed that he would be able to escape with what he had found, and they all thought that it was only a matter of time before he was forced to give up whatever he had gained.
Some more time passed, and Lu Yin was the first to arrive at the broken leg’s opening. He immediately boarded his personal spacecraft even as various Explorers charged straight out of the leg. Many Limiteers similarly boarded their spacecraft before exiting the centipede.
Neither Northgate Lie nor Qin Chen were that much slower than Lu Yin, and the two rushed out of the broken leg at around the same time. Northgate Lie was about to exchange some pleasantries with Qin Chen, but he was stunned to see that Qin Chen had transformed himself to look like Lu Yin.
Northgate Lie blinked, rather dumbfounded. “What are you doing?”
Qin Chen simply replied, “Goodbye.” He then charged away from the foot at an even greater speed as he flew into the distance.
Northgate Lie was so stunned that he was rooted to the ground. It took him a while before he could react.
Lily Anne appeared from behind and asked, “Brother Lie, what happened?”
Northgate Lie’s expression changed, and he suddenly charged at a nearby personal spacecraft that was flying into the distance. He forcefully stopped the vessel and looked within the cockpit. There, he saw Lu Yin, or to be more precise, another person who looked like Lu Yin.
Lily Anne was stunned. “What’s going on?”
Northgate Lie grew furious as he stared at the person within the spacecraft. “Why did you make yourself look like Lu Yin?”
That person trembled as he answered, “Lu Yin’s condition for helping us unlock the pike was for us to all vow to change ourselves into his appearance and immediately leave the Northline Flowzone.”
Northgate Lie was shocked as he gazed outwards. Explorers were still flying out of the leg, and some of them had Lu Yin’s appearance.
The most hilarious scenes were within a couple small-sized spacecraft, where there were multiple and sometimes a dozen people who all looked like Lu Yin.
Most cultivators had a conscience. Since these people had made a promise, they would follow through as long as it was reasonably feasible, which was the cause for the scene before Northgate Lie’s eyes. It was a shocking scene that had never occurred before. For a few moments, Northgate Lie had no idea how to react.
Aside from Northgate Lie, the Cruisers who had been helping Northgate Taisui hold the centipede’s body up were also stunned. Why were there so many “Lu Yins” flying around?
There were many people who had entered the centipede’s body, and as they all charged out now, some joined up with others while others immediately left by themselves, like Qin Chen. The various cultivators sped towards the distance like runaway horses, all of them looking exactly like Lu Yin as they fled.
At this moment, the real Lu Yin had already flown quite a distance away. He turned around to look back while hoping that he would be able to escape. His escape attempt relied entirely on perfect timing.
However, his excitement did not last for long as his spacecraft suddenly stopped. No, it would be more precise to say that the entire heavens froze and that the void was being dragged back by an indescribably terrifying force. All the spacecraft within a zone of unknown size was being pulled backwards.
Lu Yin sighed when he realized that he would not be able to escape after all. That old monster with a power level in the hundreds of thousands wielded an unimaginable strength.
“Seventh Bro, just submit to your fate. Actually, those pikes aren’t even that important. That corpse was pinned to death by those five pikes, but the pikes were never reclaimed, so you should already know that they aren’t that important. Those words are the true treasure!” the monkey spoke helplessly.
Lu Yin sat in his spacecraft, quite relaxed. He knew that the monkey wasn’t wrong, as the pikes were just weapons. He did not actually care about them, but there was one thing that was important—he did not want to be threatened. Surrender to his fate? Not necessarily.
The centipede’s body was settled in the sky, not far from the Northgate family’s home. The many powerhouses had used a planet as the foundation and built up a continent from nothing, all to hold the centipede’s body. At this time, there were over a hundred powerhouses standing high above, though they all remained silent.
No one knew which direction Northgate Taisui was looking at in this region that he controlled.
With Northgate Taisui at the center, the entire region of this part of the universe was like a giant whirlpool. As long as an object was within the heavens, it was pulled towards him – be it human, spacecraft, or even an astral beast or an astronomical phenomenon. Nothing could escape the strength of Northgate Taisui’s pulling.
Even Enlighters such as Elder Northgate, Granny Chan, and Tie Sa were frightened, as they were simply not on the same level.
There was an explosion as a spacecraft exploded and the man inside returned to his original appearance due to panic. Northgate Kong simply waved his hand, and the man was flung back down. Then, another spacecraft exploded.
One after another, everyone in a spacecraft was captured, regardless of if they had altered their appearances or not.
Even the Explorers weren’t able to escape. Every single individual who had entered the centipede’s body could forget about fleeing.
Even the people and spacecraft who were traveling around the region’s edge were pulled in along with the region’s soldiers. No one was left out.
Everyone was forcibly set down on a nearby planet, and even Qin Chen had no choice but to comply. When he touched down, he looked at the heavens with an empty expression.
Jared sneered; Lu Yin had been overcome by greed. How could he expect to escape from such an old freak? He had been too naive.
During this excursion within the centipede’s body, the Blaze Realm had suffered heavy losses as both of the elders escorting the group had perished. One had been directly killed by Lu Yin, and although the other would have survived, Jared had sent him on his way. Still, Lu Yin would be labeled as the murderer for both. From this point onwards, the hatred that the Blaze Realm held for Lu Yin would only increase. This was Jared’s greatest harvest from this trip.
Northgate Lie stood next to Northgate Kong and focused on attentively looking at the people who had changed their appearances to match Lu Yin’s.
One small-scale spacecraft’s hatch opened, and a dozen people who looked like Lu Yin walked out. All of them had an extremely nervous expression, which made Northgate Kong’s face turn darker by the minute. He then impatiently waved for those people to be taken away.
Everyone here was a captive, and Northgate Kong carefully examined them one by one. Normally, this sort of inspection did not require a family elder like him, but since Northgate Taisui had spoken, Northgate Kong had to personally handle the matter. Thus, his current bad mood.
There was another bang as another spacecraft split open, revealing nothing inside at all.
Northgate Kong frowned. No one? Where’s the person?
On the planet filled with captives, a simple-looking man silently stared at the heavens. Beside him was a middle-aged captain, who was blowing out a smoke ring, and another dozen mercenaries.
“Brother, you’re very calm. Not bad. Only with this sort of attitude will you be able to survive in the universe. This uncle here hasn’t seen a youth as cool as you for a very long time.” The middle-aged captain sighed as he looked at the silent man.
Nearby, Qin Chen glanced around.
“Actually, the universe is rather dangerous, but as long as your heart is as steady as a boulder, have the courage to face difficulties, and hold onto a sacrificial spirit, you’ll be able to obtain your own territory some day.” The middle-aged man spoke up again, this time more emotionally. As he spoke, the surrounding atmosphere suddenly became a bit heavier.
The silent man’s expression never changed, and he just continued to stare at the heavens.
The captain blew out a smoke ring. “This uncle here has made many sacrifices for his comrades. Too many.”
“Captain, we pledge our lives to serve you!” the dozen mercenaries around the captain shouted, which drew a great deal of attention.
Qin Chen frowned and glanced over at the group with an odd expression.
The nearby Jared growled, “Shut up!”
The middle-aged captain pursed his lips.
The simple looking male looked at Jared. “You shut up. He speaks well, and his words have moved my heart.”
Jared was furious as he clenched his fists. “Kid, do you know who you’re talking to? I’m from the Blaze Realm!”
“I’m from the Ice Domain.” The man’s lips curled up as Jared trembled in anger.
The middle-aged captain looked appreciatively at the simple looking man. “Little brother, do you want to join this uncle’s mercenary group? I like you.”
“Brother, there’s a bright future for you if you follow the captain!” the surrounding mercenaries shouted together.
Qin Chen glanced over again. This time, he was speechless.
…
At that moment, Northgate Taisui turned around while in the space above the planet, and his gaze swept past all the powerhouses and looked towards the planet that was being used to detain the captives. The void around his body distorted, and although no one could see his appearance, his pair of eyes seemed to appear in everyone’s thoughts. They felt as if a boundless ocean of stars was oppressing them, which made their hearts pound wildly.
Finally, Northgate Taisui’s gaze lingered on the simple looking man. “Reveal yourself, little brat.” The man was captured even as Northgate Taisui was speaking, and the man’s appearance changed. That man was actually Lu Yin.
Lu Yin was powerless. He had deliberately put on the universal armor when his spacecraft was captured and then sneaked onto a small spacecraft to blend in with the ten people who had his appearance to reach the planet. Despite all his efforts, he had still been discovered.
The moment he was captured, the middle-aged captain as well as all the surrounding people were stunned. Wasn’t he Lu Yin? How did he sneak his way into their group?
Qin Chen’s eyes narrowed; this person was interesting.
Jared was mad. So it was this bastard.
The middle-aged captain choked on his own spit; had he said too much just now?
In outer space, under the attentive gazes of countless others, a layer of star energy wrapped around Lu Yin’s body, taking control of him just like a marionette.
The layer of star energy was there to ensure that he would not die in space, but it was also because Northgate Taisui was not aware of Lu Yin’s abilities. Even without this protection of star energy, Lu Yin would not die, because his physical strength even as a Limiteer was sufficient for him to survive in space.
Northgate Lie sneered when he saw Lu Yin being captured. He had already warned Lu Yin that he would not be able to escape.
Lu Yin frowned. He had indeed been too rash.
Poison Flame’s expression turned cold, as he had hoped that Lu Yin would actually escape, which would make it easier for their Blaze Realm to act. In the face of such huge gains, Lu Yin’s titles and status was not enough to protect him.
“Alright, little fellow. As a representative of the Ten Arbiters Council, you witnessed my Northline Flowzone’s Northgate Platform Contest, and our Northline Flowzone has treated you extremely courteously. But now, you’ve tried to leave without bidding farewell. That’s going a tad bit too far,” Northgate Kong said firmly and without any rush. Everything was now under control.
Lu Yin apologetically replied, “My apologies, Northgate Elder. This student has some urgent matters that I must attend to.”
Northgate Kong nodded. “You may leave, but shouldn’t you share with us what you managed to discover within the centipede’s body? Little fellow, you’re a sharp one, so there’s no need for me to state the obvious. Relax, I won’t let you leave empty-handed.”
If not for Northgate Taisui, Astral-10 would be enough to ensure Lu Yin’s safety. But now, Lu Yin didn’t even feel tempted to contact Astral-10. His objective was clear from the start, and he knew that, at best, he would only be able to keep one of the pikes. Even so, he would not allow himself to be threatened into handing them over. It had to be voluntary; this was his baseline.
“Elder Northgate, are you talking about the three pikes that were obtained from the centipede’s body?” Lu Yin asked loudly.
Many were shocked, as it was indeed about the pikes.
