Chapter 2563 – Return
Naturally, the card that had briefly appeared was the Lost Clan"s Hidden Mountain.
Lu Yin grabbed the silver-haired woman, and both of them were dragged into the Hidden Mountain card. The woman turned to stare at Lu Yin, suppressing the pain of her broken arm. "A member of the Lost Clan? Why would you attack me?"
Lu Yin squeezed a bit with his right hand, crushing the woman"s arm. She let out a piercing scream that mounted and created an intense pressure that descended upon Lu Yin. It felt as though an endless sea of blood was pressing down on him.
"The strength of your blood sea doesn’t compare to even one percent of E Chi"s." As Lu Yin spoke, the woman again tried to stab him with her silver needles again. A hand moved forward, and the moment a needle made contact with the purplish-black substance that covered the hand, the weapon instantly crumbled. Lu Yin pressed a hand onto the woman’s shoulder, slowly but steadily increasing the pressure he exerted.
Suddenly, hundreds of strands of the woman’s silver hair flew from her head. They moved to create a peculiar pattern before shooting at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin raised his left hand to block the attack, and expressed his surprise, "That battle technique is rather similar to a sourcebox array, though it lacks power."
Even as he spoke, another silver needle appeared in the midst of the pattern and shot straight for Lu Yin. He actually felt danger from this weapon, as it was a Progenitor-level power vessel.
Lu Yin casually took out a slipper and smashed the approaching weapon, leaving the elderly woman absolutely stupefied. How was this possible? She had just used an Progenitor level weapon that had been personally crafted by Monarch Mu. It was capable of easily piercing any Demi-Monarch. She had been planning to kill Fenglei Guanqin with the power vessel, but shockingly, it had just been shattered by a slipper.
The silver-haired woman glared at Lu Yin. Both her needles and her monarch essence were useless against this person. In fact, everything she was capable of seemed useless. "Who are you? Why are you attacking me?"
Lu Yin pressed down a bit more firmly with his right hand, forcing the woman down to one knee as her shoulder started to fracture. "What is your relationship with Monarch Mu?"
"What"s it to you?" the silver-haired woman retorted.
Crack
Her shoulder shattered. Lu Yin shifted his hand, this time setting it down upon the silver-haired woman"s head.
Sensing the terrifying threat to her head, the silver-haired woman screamed, "She’s my sister! My blood sister!"
"What sort of agreement did Monarch Mu and Xia Shenji come to?" Lu Yin asked again.
The silver-haired woman"s eyes flickered. Just who was this man? He had trapped her within one of the Lost Clan’s cards, but why would anyone from the Lost Clan target her?
"You won"t tell me?" Lu Yin started to squeeze, causing the silver-haired woman"s head to throb in pain.
"I don"t know! That"s a concern of the three Monarchs! I have no idea1"
"I don"t believe you. If you don"t tell me, you"ll die."
"I truly don"t know what to tell you!" she replied.
"Then make something up," Lu Yin answered bluntly.
The silver-haired woman stared at Lu Yin in a daze. Make something up? Did she dare even try? Could she get away with that?
"As long as you can convince me, I"ll let you go," Lu Yin stated coldly as he looked down upon the woman.
The woman swallowed. She did not want to die. She led the Mu estate, as she was Monarch Mu"s sister. In the Three Monarchs Universe, the number of people who held a higher status could be counted on one hand. She was one of the very rare individuals who was not a servant of three Monarchs. She held unquestionable authority in their universe, and she was not at all tired of living.
Seeing Lu Yin"s icy stare, the silver-haired woman felt true fear. She could not attempt to tell this man a story, as doing so would kill her.
"Monarch Mu and Xia Shenji agreed to open a pa.s.sage to the Origin Universe. After that, he would join forces with the three Monarchs to seize total control of that universe, splitting it in half. One half will belong to Xia Shenji, while the other will be given to the three Monarchs," the silver-haired woman blurted. She truly did not want to die.
Lu Yin arched a brow. "The four ruling powers will allow the three Monarchs to take control of the Origin Universe?"
The silver-haired woman grew puzzled. "What are the four ruling powers?"
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. He could not discern if this woman truly did not know, or if it was just an act. He had also succeeded in deceiving many people with various lies. This old woman had lived a long life, and could likely do the same. "Do you want to live?"
"Yes," the silver-haired woman answered without hesitation.
"Then buy your own life," said Lu Yin.
The old woman raised a hand, showing Lu Yin a cosmic ring. He casually waved a hand, tearing the woman’s arm off and causing blood to splatter everywhere.
"That was already mine from the very start. I"ll give you one chance. If you can’t offer me something valuable enough, you die," Lu Yin slowly spoke each word with a voice so cold that shivers ran down the old woman’s spine.
She quickly considered anything that she could use to buy her life. A few matters occurred to her, though she was not confident that any of them would actually be enough to save her. She had no idea who this person was or what his motives might be. If she died because of some whim, it would cost her everything.
What could possibly save her?
Suddenly, she thought of something. Her eyes flickered. No, she absolutely could not give him that.
Lu Yin’s hand pressed firmly down upon the woman’s head. "Time"s up. It’s over."
"Wait, I have something!" the silver-haired woman shrieked in panic.
Lu Yin frowned. "I just told you, it"s over."
"Spatial coordinates!" the woman screamed in terror.
Lu Yin eyebrows rose. "What?"
The silver-haired woman gasped for breath. For a split second, she had fully understood the despair of facing death. She had felt that her entire world had gone gray at that moment. It was a feeling she never wanted to experience again.
The more cruel the person, the more they feared death. This was especially true of those who indulged in a life of extreme luxury.
"Monarch Mu left a seal with spatial coordinates here in our Mu estate. It shows the location of the Three Monarchs Universe. I... I can get it for you," the silver-haired woman said fearfully.
Lu Yin felt rather puzzled. "Isn"t Monarch Mu from this Three Monarch Dimension?"
The old woman gulped as she shook her head. "The Three Monarch Universe’s previous cultivation civilization was destroyed when it became impossible to cultivate here. All of us are from foreign universes. The Mu family comes from a small parallel universe, while no one knows where Monarch Luo came from. He was the one who cooperated with Monarch Mu and Monarch Xing to create monarch essence, which they used to transform this entire universe. That then gave rise to the current civilization that lives here."
Lu Yin created a Death Seal that he pressed into the woman"s body. "This seal allows me to kill you instantly. If you don"t believe me, go ahead and ask Monarch Mu to remove it. Of course, you’ll only get a single chance."
The woman was indeed tempted to ask Monarch Mu to remove the seal. Given her relationship with the Monarch, even if the entire incident was revealed, it would not be a big deal. However, it was true that there would only be a single chance, and if the seal was not removed, she would die. Such a risk was unacceptable.
The woman’s mysterious attacker had easily suppressed her. While it was possible he was also a Demi-Monarch, he could also be a Monarch. If that were the case, it was highly unlikely that the seal could be removed by anyone other than him.
"I dare not! I absolutely dare not!" the silver-haired woman stated, a bitter taste in her mouth.
The woman then led Lu Yin through the estate, and he soon came upon the seal that was the spatial coordinates. It was one of the large seals that originated from Aeternus.
Lu Yin had often wondered why humanity did not possess the ability to create such coordinate seals. There was a chance that it was the result of a specific cultivation method, or even an innate gift.
As long as he left a mark on the seal, he would be able to find the Three Monarchs Universe from among the countless parallel universes, which would allow him to return whenever.
While the coordinate seal was kept within the Mu estate, it acted only as a locator for the universe, and was not the same as a portal. The chances of Lu Yin appearing in the Mu estate when using the coordinate seal were not high, which made facing an ambush upon using the coordinates quite unlikely.
"Will Monarch Mu inspect the seal?" Lu Yin asked.
The woman replied, "It was last inspected a hundred years ago. The next inspection might be in ten years. That is how it usually goes."
Lu Yin nodded. He needed another plan, as Monarch Mu would erase his mark from the seal as soon as she inspected it, and that would leave him without the means to return to the universe. On top of that, even if the Monarch did not erase Lu Yin’s mark, there was no guarantee that the silver-haired woman would not do so.
While the woman clearly feared the Death Seal, there was no way to truly predict human nature. If something unexpected came up at the Mu estate, an accident could certainly occur. Lu Yin would never be willing to leave his fate in the hands of others.
Right, there was also Attendant Wu, who was still in the Heavens Sect.
The first time Lu Yin had met Attendant Wu, the man had claimed that he was unable to return to the Three Monarchs Universe, but Lu Yin had long since known that people were able to find the universe of their birth from among the countless parallel universes that made up reality. The only exception he knew of was the people born in the Perennial World. For this reason, Lu Yin had long known that Attendant Wu had been lying. The man clearly did not want Lu Yin to know that he was able to return to the Three Monarchs Universe.
However, after that particular conversation, Attendant Wu had absorbed a bit of stellular energy, which had afflicted him with Time Poison. From that moment on, the man had been truly left unable to return to his home universe. Even if he had tried to return, he had been left as nothing more than a cripple. For that reason, he had remained in the Heavens Sect.
Lu Yin had not exposed the man’s lies until after he had used the Origin Progenitor"s sword to remove Time Poison from the Fifth Mainland. Only then had Lu Yin placed a Death Seal within Attendant Wu, while also extracting more information concerning the Three Monarchs Universe. Lu Yin had made sure that the man would not return.
This was why Attendant Wu continued to remain in the Heavens Sect.
With Attendant Wu, Lu Yin was able to freely travel to and from the Three Monarchs Universe, which meant that he did not actually need a coordinate seal.
This was nothing more than a bit of insurance.
Also, it seemed that the Wu surname indicated a connection to the Wu family that had attacked the Fenglei clan. Lu Yin wondered what sort of connection the family had with Attendant Wu.
A short while later, Lu Yin left the Mu estate. He sensed Aeternus Nation from among the myriad parallel universes, and then tore through the void and left the Three Monarchs Universe.
After six months, he had finally returned home. He had obtained a decent understanding of the Sixverse a.s.sociation, though it was still far from enough.
The coordinate seal in Aeternus Nation was what had allowed Lu Yin to return to the small parallel universe.
Upon arriving, Lu Yin first noticed Qing Ping’s presence.
The man also noticed Lu Yin, and said, "You"re back."
"Senior Brother, have you been waiting here for me the whole time?" Lu Yin asked.
"It’s not even been a year, which is not very long." He then led Lu Yin back to the Fifth Mainland.
Staring out at the Fifth Mainland, Lu Yin felt his entire body relax.
While the universes that made up the Sixverse a.s.sociation had seemed quite similar to the Fifth Mainland, Lu Yin had never been able to completely relax. It had only been a subtle difference, yet as more time had pa.s.sed, the feeling had only grown stronger. It was similar to how the busy outside world could never compare to a person’s hometown.
After bidding farewell to Qing Ping, Lu Yin made his way back to the Heavens Sect.
He quickly spotted the ma.s.sive forms of Ancestor Tortoise and the jiao. The jiao had already sensed Lu Yin"s return, and its claws shifted. Still, the beast refrained from baring its fangs, as it felt that doing so would be inappropriate.
At this moment, there was more than one Progenitor within the Heavens Sect. In addition to Arch-Elder Zen, Progenitor Long was present.
Lu Yin wondered at Progenitor Long’s presence.
...
In the Heavens Sect’s main hall, there was an unhappy expression on Progenitor Long’s face as he looked at Arch-Elder Zen.
"This is the fourth time. How many times do you intend to stop me?" Progenitor Long asked in a deep voice.
Arch-Elder Zen replied, "The Dao Monarch is in seclusion. No one is allowed to disturb him. We must wait for him to emerge before discussing any matters."
"There are varying degrees of importance to things, and some matters are urgent. Should he remain in seclusion for thousands of years, are we supposed to wait those thousands of years?" Progenitor Long expressed his irritation.
Arch-Elder Zen calmly took a sip of his tea, ignoring Progenitor Long.
The old man’s brow furrowed as he stared at Arch-Elder Zen. "The pressure we are facing from Sage Yuan is increasing. He’s already visited us a second time, urging us to prepare to fight in the war against Aeternus as soon as possible. As soon as the fighting breaks out, it will involve the entire Fifth Mainland. There is no one who can escape this, especially not Lu Yin."