Even after watching for a while, Lu Yin still did not move.
The surrounded people had noticed him long ago and seen how he had remained motionless, which caused them all to be rather relieved. They had been afraid that he would make a move like the fatty and also prompt Xiaojing to rescue him, which would just cause more problems for them.
There was a thump as a First Divine Gate Guardian was split apart and instantly ruined, but another guardian simply replaced it. The group found it difficult to maintain their strength, and if they did not quickly break out of the encirclement, then they would end up dead sooner or later.
“Brother Lian, rest and let me take over.” Yan Xiaojing stepped forward as a phantom image appeared behind her, similar to what Lu Yin had seen when some of the others had attacked. However, while the phantom images that appeared behind each person were the same, some images tended to be rather vague and indistinct whereas others were clearer and more defined. The phantom image behind Yan Xiaojing was the clearest that Lu Yin had seen so far, and he could even make out the phantom’s features. Only now did he see that the phantom was a person, or to be more precise, an elder.
What did this mean? Why was there a phantom image of a person behind these people, and how was it reinforcing their strength? Were these the imprints that the fatty had mentioned?
With the added strength of the phantom image, Yan Xiaojing defeated another guardian with a single strike, displaying a strength that was on a completely different level compared to when she had rescued the fatty. However, summoning a phantom image was clearly very strenuous for these cultivators, and the phantom image behind Yan Xiaojing became fuzzy after she defeated just three of the guardians before gradually vanishing.
Lu Yin saw the fatty’s pleading expression from among the crowd, and his own gaze trembled. There was no need for him to wait any longer as he had already seen everything that he wanted to see. He considered things for a moment before leaping forward to stand behind one of the guardians. He swatted out with a Hundredfold Shockwave Palm. With a bang, the guardian’s head flew off. Lu Yin continued to unleash more Hundredfold Shockwave Palms, as this technique no longer placed any burdens on his body. If he diverted the three grains of Fatesand, then he would be able to display an even more extreme version of the Shockwave Palm. However, against these guardians, Hundredfold Shockwave Palms were more than enough.
Lu Yin instantly eliminated seven or eight of the First Divine Gate Guardians when he took action, and when he was dumb, everyone else’s expressions had become dumbfounded, even Yan Xiaojing. Her all-out strength when she used her imprint and battle techniques had only been enough to take out three of the automatons, but this person could do far more with just his physical strength. He was definitely not someone under the Blood Progenitor, as only those under the Martial Progenitor were capable of such feats.
There was another thump as Lu Yin destroyed another guardian. Then, he then pulled the fatty up before leaving. That group was shocked, but they quickly followed behind.
“Xiaojing! Xiaojing, come quickly! Follow Fat Bro,” the fatty shouted.
Half of the dozen First Divine Gate Guardians had been wiped out, but there was still the other half left, as Lu Yin did not plan to completely take care of them all.
After running for quite a while, the group managed to shake off the pursuit of the First Divine Gate Guardians. They all collapsed along the side of the narrow road, panting heavily with miserable expressions.
Huang San thanked Lu Yin and then quickly ran over to fawn over Yan Xiaojing, which put the others in a rotten mood. However, due to Lu Yin’s presence, they no longer dared to ridicule the fatty any further. They had all been rather shocked by Lu Yin’s strength, and in their minds, Lu Yin was someone under the Martial Progenitor, as only those freaks would train their bodies to such a monstrous degree.
Yan Xiaojing pushed the fatty aside and walked towards Lu Yin with a smile. “I’m Yan Xiaojing of the Bloodburn Realm’s Yan family.”
Lu Yin looked at her, but he did not respond.
Fatty immediately stepped forward with a beaming face. “Xiaojing, I’ve already told you—this brother here is both deaf and mute. He can neither hear nor speak.”
Yan Xiaojing stared into Lu Yin’s eyes for a bit, but then she nodded and made a gesture showing her gratitude before moving away.
Lu Yin looked at Yan Xiaojing’s retreating figure. Her personality was decent, and her figure was good. It was no wonder why the fatty wanted to wrap himself around her.
“Bro, don’t bully your friend’s partner!” The fatty suddenly placed himself in front of Lu Yin and sternly scolded him.
Lu Yin was speechless, but he then turned his attention towards another direction.
It was common among men to assume that others were similarly drawn to the girl that they themselves fancied. Lu Yin was also jealous and paranoid that everyone would be attracted to Ming Yan, so he found it understandable.
“Seventh Bro, this stupid fatty is not the least bit self-aware. That woman is clearly not someone who’s easy to deal with, but he actually thinks that she’ll like him! What a joke!” the Ghost Monkey ridiculed.
Lu Yin also reckoned that that was the case.
“Xiaojing, why didn’t you wait around for Fat Bro? I almost didn’t catch up with you.” the fatty twisted himself about Yan Xiaojing and spoke of his recent troubles.
Yan Xiaojing grudgingly responded, “You should head back. The Daosource Sect is fraught with danger, and it’s easy to die here.”
“Fat Bro’s not afraid! Wherever Xiaojing goes, Fat Bro will follow,” the fatty spoke sincerely.
Yan Xiaojing did not know what to say anymore, as she was rather helpless when it came to this fatty. If he was just some average suitor, then things would be fine if she just sent him away. But this fatty’s Huang family and her Yan family had an engagement contract that was scheduled to come into effect during their generation, so she was truly the fatty’s fiancée.
“Come on, Fatty, just give up. Sister Jing likes Brother Autumnfrost, and he also likes her. There are feelings between the two of them, so you can’t just force yourself onto her,” one woman ridiculed towards Huang San. She was known as Sister Kui.
The fatty retorted, “You think that Fat Bro doesn’t know? You also like Autumnfrost Qing, so if Fat Bro marries Xiaojing, then won’t you have a shot? Despite that you don’t want to help Fat Bro and still try to undermine me. How stupid!”
Sister Kui was about to retort, but she forcibly endured the urge as she felt that the fatty was actually right.
On the other side of the group, another man grew flustered as he liked Sister Kui. “Don’t speak nonsense, stupid Fatty. Sister Jing and Brother Autumnfrost are a match made in the heavens. When their two families join forces, they’ll become the strongest family in the entire Bloodburn Realm.”
“What are you worried about? Relax, Autumnfrost Qing won’t like someone like Sister Kui. You’ll get your chance. There’s no need to get all worked up.” The fatty waved his hands.
The man released a pent up breath and relaxed, but then he glared angrily at the fatty and responded, “Stupid Fatty, what did you just say? You dare humiliate Sister Kui.”
Sister Kui was also furious. “Stupid Fatty! Say that again!”
The fatty merely rolled his eyes.
Lu Yin found the entire situation amusing, as this fatty’s way of speaking was rather entertaining.
Yan Xiaojing grew impatient. “Alright, less nonsense. Don’t bring those First Divine Gate Guardians to us again.” She then stared at the fatty with the intention of making him move further away, but she had evidently underestimated the fatty’s thick skin. He doggedly followed her wherever she went, which was rather tiring.
Lu Yin suddenly recalled something that the fatty had said as they had been walking along earlier. ‘I’ll annoy her until she abandons all resistance.’
It had to be said that the fatty’s willpower was quite firm, and he was also uniquely gifted in this aspect.
After resting for a bit, the crowd gradually restored their exhausted star energy. Yan Xiaojing glanced at Lu Yin and then told the group, “Let’s move along. We’re about halfway to First Divine Gate, and as long as we make it through there, we’ll be right above the Budding Terrace. I believe that everyone here has heard the legends that say that battle techniques, cultivation arts, power vessels, bloodlines, and even secret techniques might be found there.”
Yan Xiaojing’s words made the group grow excited, and some of them even started to hyperventilate at the thought of striking it rich.
To these cultivators, the most important treasures they could find were bloodlines and secret techniques, particularly the latter. Even a cosmic Imprinter’s clan might not necessarily have one, and every secret technique had a unique effect on the universe that could transform something rotten into something magical. As long as they got their hands on a secret technique, they would be able to surpass everyone else, and their status would be elevated to where everyone admired them.
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed, as there were many aspects in this place that were similar to his universe, such as the differentiation of realms, the energy that they absorbed being called star energy, and battle techniques and cultivation arts were also referred to with the same lexicon. In that case, secret techniques should also be the same, which meant that this sect had actually placed secret techniques at this so-called Budding Terrace. Could this sect really have had this many secret techniques?
The Ghost Monkey found it hard to believe as well. “Those techniques are probably fake and were only used to swindle the entering disciples. How could somebody have placed secret techniques in a place that so many can reach, not to mention a place with no danger! What a joke! Do they think that secret techniques are that easy to obtain?”
Lu Yin agreed. Although he had not cultivated for too long, he had already come into contact with many things that normal cultivators could not even imagine. For example, he had already seen both the Yu Secret Art and the Yōu Secret Art. Even Liu Shaoqiu, Mu Rong, Ling Que, and Cursewind, who were innately gifted geniuses, had never received a secret technique, and it was evidently not something that was easily obtained.
Yan Xiaojing was trying to encourage them, and she escorted the group along the small path.
The fatty eagerly followed behind her, practically drooling as he did so, which made many of the others unhappy.
Lu Yin walked at the rear, and no one interacted with him, as in their mind, he was a deaf mute.
Darkness soon covered the sky. By a rough estimation, it would take them two days and two nights to traverse the entire path, and they had finally covered half of the distance.
Everyone rested for a while before continuing onwards.
The fatty fell back to walk at Lu Yin’s side to chat with him from time to time before running back to the front and pestering Yan Xiaojing again. He did not seem to grow tired from walking back and forth either.
“Stupid Fatty, stop annoying us by running to and fro! Don’t attract a First Divine Gate Guardian,” Sister Kui chided.
The fatty rolled his eyes. “You should learn from Fat Bro! Run more so that you can make your legs more slender. Maybe Autumnfrost Qing might accept you then. Of course, you still won’t be able to keep up with our family’s Xiaojing.”
Sister Kui became furious.
Suddenly, Lu Yin’s expression changed and he looked to the back. Someone was approaching them.
It didn’t take long for Yan Xiaojing to notice the same thing through her domain, and she turned around to look at the back with a grave expression. Someone was approaching them at great speed.
Soon after, even those without domains were able to sense the fluctuations of star energy from behind them. When the group looked back, they saw a man in grey clothing with a pair of shoes that shined with a metallic lustre charging towards them very quickly. It didn’t take long for him to pass by the group, and he continued up the mountain without even sparing the group so much as a glance.
“It’s someone from the Progenitor of Combat Territory,” someone said somberly before sneaking a glance at Lu Yin.
Yan Xiaojing also looked back at Lu Yin. “Let’s keep going.”
Lu Yin stared at the back of the man in grey clothing, and shock flashed through his eyes. When the man had streaked past them, a strong gale had blown past them in his wake, which gave Lu Yin a sense of the man’s extreme strength. It had been pure physical strength, and it was no weaker than Lu Yin’s normal state.
Who knew how some random person that had suddenly appeared could have such power, and that man was not that old either. Where exactly was he? Could this place be in the Neoverse? Lu Yin’s mind kept racing.
No one in the group said anything more as they continued to make their way up the mountain, and they soon found shattered First Divine Gate Guardians along the path in front of them.
“It should be that person’s work. Those lunatics from the Progenitor of Combat Territory are just freaks,” someone mumbled. However, they were immediately shoved by the person walking beside them. Their heart skipped a beat as they turned to look back at Lu Yin, but then they relaxed when they saw that Lu Yin had not reacted in any way. The people in the group had all assumed that Lu Yin was someone from the Progenitor of Combat Territory.
“Not necessarily. Many from our Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory have also integrated with bloodlines that can increase their physical strength, and some are in no way inferior to those martial freaks. For example, Fatty’s black ox is very durable,” Sister Kui teased.
“That’s right, Fatty is indeed durable,” someone else echoed.
The fatty rolled his eyes. Durability was indeed an advantage, or else he would have died long ago.
Lu Yin really wanted to know what was different about the areas that they had mentioned so far, such as the Progenitor of Bloodlines Territory and Progenitor of Combat Territory. This was completely different from the universe’s weaves and Flowzones.
The sky started to brighten, which indicated that they were not too far away from their goal.
Suddenly, Lu Yin’s expression changed as he had sensed quite a few First Divine Gate Guardians charging towards them with his domain. In front of the automatons was a very fast man who was moving even faster than the man in the grey clothes who had run past them earlier. More importantly, this person was running with four limbs on the ground, just like a mouse.
