“Uncle Sect Leader, His Highness selected these arrows by himself, and there was no cheating involved. Besides, you were the one who offered this. You wouldn’t go back on your word, right?” Peach looked up at Gong Ling and spoke gently.
Master Bei barked, “Divine arrows have souls, and they are not some sort of bright pearls that are covered in dust. It would be fine if you were adept at battle techniques involving bows and arrows, but not a single one of you is. Thus, it’d be a waste to give these divine arrows to you.”
Gong Ling had been placed in a difficult position.
Meng Tianlong looked at Lu Yin in envy. Five divine arrows—that was really too valuable. Any one of these arrows, if used well, could present a threat to an Enlighter. These arrows were Neo-Vestige Sect’s hidden strength. The Vastdearth Sect leader believed that Neo-Vestige Sect would not place its best divine arrows on Arrow Mountain and that they also maintained a hidden collection, as this sect was too powerful.
Peach ran over to Gong Ling’s side and tugged at his sleeve. “Uncle, you promised.”
At this moment, a few Neo-Vestige Sect elders appeared. They had heard about the current situation, and so, they all surrounded Lu Yin, clearly not intending on allowing him to leave with the divine arrows.
Aden and the blind monk moved to stand beside Lu Yin, and they softly asked, “Your Highness, what should we do?”
Lu Yin smiled and exchanged looks with Gong Ling. “Senior Sect Leader, Master Bei is right. Junior doesn’t know any battle techniques for bows and arrows, so it’s a waste even if I take these.”
Gong Ling’s eyes lit up, and the elders surrounding the small group relaxed a bit, as this child seemed to be rather tactful.
“However, Senior did indeed promise me five arrows, and once that promise is broken, it won’t be too great for Neo-Vestige Sect’s reputation,” Lu Yin continued.
Gong Ling’s eyes flashed, and he did not speak. Instead, an elder beside him growled, “What do you want? State your terms.”
Lu Yin played with the Arrow of Valiance. “Simple. Of the five arrows, Junior will keep two and return the other three to Neo-Vestige Sect. Of course, I do hope that Neo-Vestige Sect will be able to reimburse me for this loss.”
That elder retorted, “Leave all five arrows here.”
Lu Yin’s gaze flickered with a cold light. “Elder, are you joking with me?”
That elder’s brows rose up. He was an elder of Neo-Vestige Sect, but this person actually dared to talk to him in such a manner. He was about to raise his voice, but he was stopped by Gong Ling. “Alright. The Arrow of Valiance, Toughness, , and Battle will remain here while you can take the Caving and Lightless Arrows away. For each arrow, my Neo-Vestige Sect will compensate you with 10,000 star essence. How does that sound?”
After the Sect Leader spoke, the surrounding elders did not dare to butt in, though they all stared at Lu Yin in a menacing manner.
Lu Yin shook his head. “Junior would like to take the Arrow of Valiance and Battle Arrow away. As for the other three, well, Junior really is in need of money.”
Gong Ling frowned.
Master Bei leaned over and spoke in a sinister voice, saying, “Junior, you had best think this through. From the moment our Neo-Vestige Sect was first established, no one has ever dared to tell us ‘no.’”
“No,” Lu Yin straightforwardly replied, which caused Master Bei’s face to flush red.
Gong Ling shook his head and laughed. “Alright, leave behind the Caving, Lightless. and Boulder Arrows. Neo-Vestige Sect will compensate you with 60,000 star essence.”
Lu Yin was delighted, as he had not planned on taking those three arrows away anyways, as the Arrow of Valiance and the Battle Arrow were the best of the five. “Thank you, Senior.”
He was rich again, and although this was not a great deal of wealth, it demonstrated Neo-Vestige Sect’s hidden background. They were just an Outerverse sect, but they didn’t even bat an eyelid at paying Lu Yin 60,000 star essence. Not even that Master Bei seemed to mind, which made Lu Yin certain that this Neo-Vestige Sect was rich, very rich. He simply could not view them as an Outerverse sect.
The arrow selection was now over, and Shao Ziyu was feeling very down on his luck. He couldn’t even imagine what his punishment would be, and he felt as though his own father had just died.
Just as the crowd was about to leave Arrow Mountain, all of the arrows on it started to shudder. Gong Ling and the few others were pleasantly surprised, and they all looked in a certain direction in unison. Their ancestor had awakened.
Neo-Vestige Sect’s Arrow Mountain Elder was a legend, and he was a powerhouse who had once taken out an Innerverse expert whose power level was 300,000. That event had shocked the universe.
There were very few Enlighters In the Outerverse, so the appearance of such a powerhouse was incredibly sensational, to the point where the Arrow Mountain Elder was even known within the Innerverse.
Many powers preserved their powerhouses through cryostasis, only awakening them at crucial moments. The Arrow Mountain Elder was no different, and it was rumored that he had already lived for hundreds of thousands of years, being cryopreserved this whole time. Many Neo-Vestige Sect disciples would not have the opportunity to see him in their entire lives, but he had awakened at this moment.
All of the Neo-Vestige Sect members bowed, even Gong Ling and Master Bei.
Lu Yin stared at the rune lines that pervaded the sky in shock. This amount of rune lines even surpassed what he had seen on Elder Lohar, and the amount was so unimaginable as to be terrifying. It was possible that these rune lines surpassed even those of Northgate Taisui.
As Lu Yin was thinking about what he was seeing, the void in front of him was torn open, and a withered hand shot out to grab Lu Yin and Peach, snatching them away in an instant.
The next moment, everything had already returned to normal.
Meng Tianlong felt his scalp go numb. It was terrifying beyond belief that there was actually such a monster hidden away in Neo-Vestige Sect. The moment that palm had stretched out, he had not been able to move an inch.
Aden and the blind monk were the same, and their expressions changed drastically as they looked over at Gong Ling.
Gong Ling said, “Elder has summoned them. There’s no need to worry.”
Aden’s gaze grew solemn as he pondered the fact that the Outerverse could actually give rise to such a powerhouse. The universe was boundless, and there were some places that were naturally more mysterious than others.
Master Bei’s face betrayed how stunned he was. The Arrow Mountain Elder had not bothered with Master Bei or even Gong Ling, and he had only taken away those two members of the younger generation. What did that mean?
***
Lu Yin saw a dark area in front of him, and he wasn’t able to move at all. When he had been seized by that withered hand, he had not even been able to think about retaliating or grabbing anything from his cosmic ring. At that moment, he had felt no different from an ant, and it was just like when he had encountered Northgate Taisui in the past.
That sensation of powerlessness lasted for two seconds before his vision was restored. The dazzling sunlight immediately caused him to instinctively lift his hands to block the unbearable light. At that moment, he was greeted by an enchanting view of chirping birds and fragrant flowers. Peach was standing beside him and holding onto him tightly, clearly a bit scared.
Lu Yin surveyed his surroundings and saw that they were in a very ordinary-looking valley with a decent view, and he even saw a bit of flowing water in the distance. An old, hunchbacked man was standing nearby with his hands clasped behind his back as he stared at Lu Yin with curious eyes.
Lu Yin dared not slight this man, and he hurriedly pulled Peach forward. “Junior Lu Yin greets Senior.”
Peach quickly bowed. “Peach greets Ancestor.”
The elder beamed at the two youths as he nodded. He then glanced past Lu Yin and focused on Peach, his eyes lighting up. “Little girl, you are this generation’s custodian?”
Peach pursed her lips and murmured in answer. “Yes, I am Peach. Elder can call me Little Peach.”
The elder laughed. “You’re a cute girl. I have seen many custodians, and there’s been all sorts of characters, but I’ve never seen a little girl like you. How’s your master?”
Peach was aggrieved. “Master died ten years ago.”
The elder sighed. “Everything is predestined. Little girl, don’t be sad.”
Peach murmured an acknowledgement, all the while acting very obediently.
At that moment, the elder looked at Lu Yin. He had been watching the old man the entire time, unsure of why this elder had dragged him in along with Peach. She was originally from Neo-Vestige Sect, and she was even the custodian of one of the three arrows, so it wasn’t unusual for her to meet with the sect’s elder.
On the other hand, Lu Yin was merely an outsider.
“Kid, I can sense a powerful aura from an arrow on your body, and it feels rather familiar.” The elder’s murky eyes suddenly became incomparably deep as he spoke.
Lu Yin was confused. “Senior, Junior has not learned any battle techniques for a bow and arrow.”
The elder was surprised, and he circled Lu Yin several times before remarking, “That’s it—it’s definitely a powerful aura from an arrow, and it’s very similar to our Neo-Vestige Sect’s three arrows.”
Lu Yin was astonished at these words. Was this elder crazy? How could Lu Yin have any residual aura from an arrow on him? Was it because he had spent too much time with Peach?
Peach was also confused. “Elder, His Highness hasn’t even learned how to fire arrows, so where is this residual arrow aura coming from?”
The elder replied, “He doesn’t necessarily have to have learned it. If he confronted an expert who cultivated such an arrow aura, then he may have been affected by it. This fellow’s arrow aura is rather thin, and it’s also constantly dissipating. Thus, he should have been unintentionally infected by this intent.”
Lu Yin was lost; he’d been infected?
“Seventh Bro, at the Daosource Sect’s ruins! Nightking Zhenwu!” the Ghost Monkey cried out.
Lu Yin’s gaze trembled, and he suddenly recalled that, back in the furnace in the Daosource Sect’s ruins, during Nightking Zhenwu and Wu Taibai’s battle, the Nightking had fired an arrow at the last moment and been absolutely certain that it would kill Wu Taibai. Lu Yin had also been inside the furnace, and that arrow’s strength had enveloped the entire furnace. Thus, he must have been infected by it at that time.
Apart from that incident, he had never really interacted with any powerful bow experts.
According to this elder, Nightking Zhenwu’s arrow aura was very similar to Neo-Vestige Sect’s three arrows, which meant that the arrow technique that Nightking Zhenwu had cultivated was very similar to the arrows that Neo-Vestige Sect had been founded upon. Right, that Arbiter had also said that he would let Wu Taibai die under the Sixth Mainland’s battle techniques. Did that arrow technique originate from the Sixth Mainland?
The elder was observing Lu Yin and noticed his change in expression. “You remember now?”
Lu Yin respectfully answered, “I have remembered. Junior indeed met an expert with arrow techniques, but we only exchanged blows once, and not for very long.”
The elder nodded. “Yes, otherwise the residual arrow aura in your body would have caused Arrow Mountain to tremble.”
“Junior will go back, find the person who fought with me before, and request their arrow aura on behalf of Neo-Vestige Sect.”
The elder shook his head. “Everything is predestined, and there is no need to force matters. This aura from an arrow may be similar, but it cannot be identical. After all, too much time has passed. There’s no need to force things. Elder just wants to observe this residual arrow aura from a closer position.”
He then smiled at Peach and waved a hand. The scenery before Lu Yin’s eyes changed, and he was sent back into the darkness. When he could see again, he had already returned to Arrow Mountain, and he was even in the same position that he had been in before he was snatched away.
Everyone stared at him with shock and envy.
He coughed. “The elder likes Peach, and he has kept her behind to speak with her a bit longer. He might be lonely, as he mentioned that he wants to give her some things or teach her some techniques, which is very kind of him.”
ALl the Neo-Vestige Sect disciples erupted in an uproar, and they seemed to be enviously discussing something.
Master Bei’s face became extremely ugly; that stupid brat wouldn’t tell on him, right?
Two days later, as they looked behind at the gradually shrinking Neo-Vestige Sect, Peach cheered, “We can finally return home. How wonderful!”
Lu Yin laughed, as Gong Ling had not wanted to let Peach leave. She was burdened with the mission of protecting the ancient arrow, and things would be incredibly troublesome if she lost it. However, under the pretense of obeying the Arrow Mountain Elder, she had managed to successfully persuade Gong Ling. In the end, he had just watched on with a blank face as she left. Still, he had sent a Hunter and several Limiteers along to protect her.
Peach was very vexed by this, as these people followed her wherever she went.
Lu Yin was happy, as more experts had joined him. As long as Peach stayed in the Great Yu Empire, Neo-Vestige Sect would act as his backup, and there were no disadvantages to this situation for Lu Yin.
“Your Highness, this is for you.” Peach looked around before sneakily handing a cosmic ring over to Lu Yin with a very solemn expression.
Lu Yin took it. “What’s this?”
