Chapter 2232(2): Star Stomp
"How arrogant!" Bai w.a.n.gyuan yelled. "How can Lu Xiaoxuan compare to Xian"er?"
w.a.n.g Fan snorted contemptuously. "A single person’s power is limited. If one person can protect all of humanity, then the Origin Progenitor would have never died. Not even the Origin Progenitor was able to protect all of humanity, so there’s no need to even mention Lu Xiaoxuan. Mu Xie, get out of the way!"
"Mu Xie, get out of the way!" Progenitor Long also stepped forward.
Xia Shenji shouted, "Mu Xie, get out of the way."
The three men threatened Mu Xi, and Progenitor Smoke simply said, "You’re the ones starting a war between humans now, not Lu Xiaoxuan."
Bai w.a.n.gyuan"s expression turned ugly. "Mu Xie, are you really going to try to block us?"
Mu Xie replied, "I already told you, only one of you can go make trouble for my junior brother. If he can"t stop one of you and dies, then he is simply incompetent. However, if more of you try to go and bully him, I won"t ignore matters, and neither will our master."
"Who is your master? He must have a name." By this point in time, Bai w.a.n.gyuan and the others were not concerned about Mu Xie or even Lu Yin, but rather their mysterious master.
After all, look at the person’s three disciples! First, there was Lu Yin, who had successfully escaped from a Progenitor on several occasions despite only being a three-tribulation Envoy. He had the combat strength to fight against four Semi-Progenitors and even kill one of them! As for Qing Ping, he had entered the Perennial World as a trespa.s.ser, and during that time, he had defeated all of the top youths in his generation, including the members of the Lu family. More recently, Qing Ping had become a Semi-Progenitor, and he had fought off one of Xia Shenji’s Progenitor-level clones.
Finally, there was Mu Xie. He had been completely inconspicuous his entire life, but not only had he managed to block Xia Shenji"s Shenwu World, but he had also broken the power of time wielded by one of Xia Shenji"s Progenitor-level clones.
Every single one of the men was a headache on their own, and they were not geniuses who could be taught by just anyone. Despite that, the three shared the same master, so how could the Progenitors not be curious about such a mysterious master?
But no matter how they pressed, Mu Xie refused to give any answer other than four words: “You don"t know him.”
w.a.n.g Fan was so furious that he wanted to simply attack.
"Xia Shenji, head back on your own. We can’t risk a war between ourselves here in the Dominion Realm. We’ll be seen as nothing but a joke by both Aeternus and our own disciples." Bai w.a.n.gyuan glared at Mu Xie as he addressed Xia Shenji with a cold voice.
Xia Shenji"s eyes flickered. "Don"t worry, I will make sure to kill Lu Xiaoxuan!"
With that, the clone’s body disappeared.
Mu Xie remained as calm as ever. He looked towards the rear battlefield. The Aeternals’ retreat had given humanity the opportunity to launch a war. Not too much time had pa.s.sed between when the Lu family had been exiled and when Lu Xiaoxuan had been found and hunted after by the four ruling powers. But in the time that had pa.s.sed, everything had changed in ways that benefited Aeternus.
It was a very short amount of time, but it was entirely possible that everything was following the Aeternals’ plans.
Mu Xie believed in his master"s vision. His junior brother was definitely not a Redback, and he also would not trigger a war between humans. So, how was he going to resolve the current situation?
"Just because these three are here doesn’t mean that no other Progenitor is going to make a move," Progenitor Smoke calmly commented while standing next to Mu Xie.
Mu Xie replied, "I know, but I was merely tasked with stopping these three."
Bai w.a.n.gyuan, w.a.n.g Fan, and Progenitor Long were not the Perennial World’s only Progenitors, but just how many people could Mu Xie stop? He had already done his best.
Xia Shenji"s clone merged back into the main body, and a person appeared from the New Corridor. It was Bai Sheng.
Xia Shenji had sent a clone to request reinforcements from the Dominion Realm while he stood guard in front of the New Corridor to ensure that Lu Yin did not destroy it again. When the clone returned from the Dominion Realm and merged with Xia Shenji, he learned of everything that had happened in the Dominion Realm.
Even though he feared Lu Xiaoxuan’s mysterious and unknown master, Xia Shenji was still determined to kill Lu Xiaoxuan. He refused to believe that anyone could stop him.
"So is this the Forsaken Land? It"s my first time coming here." Bai Sheng exited the New Corridor and looked around the Fifth Mainland. "Wait, why isn’t there any stellular energy? It looks like those droplets are devouring it all. You didn’t do that, did you Senior Shenji? That’s really too much! Even the Forsaken Land is a place inhabited by humans, and they also need to be able to cultivate. Why would you-”
Xia Shenji interrupted the rambling man, “I had nothing to do with that. You only need to hold the jiao and E Chi back while I handle Lu Xiaoxuan."
Bai Sheng was a lazy person, and he had not wanted to get involved in the current situation at all, but Progenitor Bai had given him orders. Thus, Bai Sheng had been left with no choice but to travel to the Fifth Mainland. Also, Bai Sheng understood that Lu Xiaoxuan’s mere existence would eventually lead to a war between humans.
If Lu Xiaoxuan would eventually cause the pathetic defeat of humanity, then what purpose had Bai Sheng’s countless years spent miserably sitting in the Outer Realm been for?
A single person could never be given greater weight than the good of all of humanity.
"I"m really curious about what happened. Lu Xiaoxuan reappeared? I find it absolutely amazing that he was able to force you back, Senior Shenji," Bai Sheng said in an admiring tone. He did not actually know the details of what had happened in the Higher Realm, as Bai w.a.n.gyuan had not had any opportunity to share the information with Bai Sheng. The man only knew that he needed to go to the Fifth Mainland and help Xia Shenji kill Lu Xiaoxuan.
Xia Shenji moved forward. "Let"s go."
He did not bother explaining anything to Bai Sheng. Bai Sheng was considered lazy, and the fact that he referred to himself as Progenitor Sheng was something many people did not like.
Bai Sheng smiled, completely unconcerned with how he was treated. He followed behind Xia Shenji, instantly arriving in Endless Weave at the location of the previous battle.
Lu Yin had been waiting there the entire time.
The moment Bai Sheng emerged from the New Corridor, Lu Yin had known of the man’s arrival, as Xia Shenji had not stopped the Technocracy from monitoring anything at the New Corridor. Such things were unnecessary.
Lu Yin slowly looked up to see Xia Shenji and Bai Sheng appear. The overbearing power of Progenitors spread out, enveloping the entire Fifth Mainland and altering the universe.
As soon as Xia Shenji arrived, he glanced into the distance and frowned. He noticed the countless cultivators who had gathered there. There were more than a dozen Semi-Progenitors and a hundred Envoys. As for the weaker cultivators and astral beasts, they were literally countless. What was this? Was this the true power of the Fifth Mainland?
His expression only changed slightly. While this amount of power was useless against him as long as no Progenitors personally got involved, the power that the Fifth Mainland possessed was enough that even the four ruling powers would struggle against them. How many Semi-Progenitors did all four ruling powers possess? Even if all of the Semi-Progenitors that had been sent to the rear battlefield were counted, they simply did not have the numbers to compete against what Xia Shenji was seeing.
Where had the Fifth Mainland gathered such an enormous amount of power?
Was this truly the Forsaken Land?
On the other hand, Bai Sheng was simply staring at Lu Yin in a daze. The Progenitor rubbed his eyes and then continued to stare.
Lu Yin looked back at the man who was staring at him.
"It’s you?" Bai Sheng was stunned.
Xia Shenji gave his companion an odd look. "Have you seen him before?"
Bai Sheng was in complete shock. "Isn"t this kid named Yu Hao?"
Xia Shenji answered softly, "Didn’t you watch when it was revealed that this person was pretending to be Yu Hao in order to create a mess in the Higher Realm and stir up conflict within the four ruling powers?"
Bai Sheng was speechless. "I saw him when I took a nap in the sect. This kid pa.s.sed the Sky Beyond the Sky trial. He’s the ninth immortal."
The Sky Beyond the Sky trial? That had happened before Lu Yin arrived in Shenwu"s Sky. Xia Shenji became absolutely furious upon hearing Bai Sheng’s answer. "Then why didn"t you kill him?"
The fact that Lu Yin had escaped from Shenwu"s Sky despite being pursued had humiliated the sect, and that was why Xia Shenji was in the Fifth Mainland instead of Bai w.a.n.gyuan.
If Bai Sheng had simply dealt with Lu Xiaoxuan when they had met, everything would have been wrapped up simply and easily.
Bai Sheng could only answer, "I had no idea what Lu Xiaoxuan looked like, as I never met him. I had no idea who I was meeting."
Xia Shenji suppressed the urge to slap his companion to death. What an idiot!
Lu Yin was still looking at Bai Sheng. "Senior Progenitor Sheng, many thanks for your kindness at our last meeting and for not killing this junior at that time. This junior shows his thanks now by showing the same mercy to your subordinates."
Bai Sheng gritted his teeth. "Boy, are you trying to provoke me?"
"I wouldn’t dare," Lu Yin replied. He then pulled out the broken scythe and raised a hand. “In my name, I summon a champion."
Xia Shenji instantly attacked. The jiao had been crouched behind Lu Yin, but it suddenly shot forward, barrelling into Xia Shenji and Bai Sheng.
Bai Sheng was still dumbstruck. He felt that he could only blame himself. If he had known that the youth he had met atop the Celestial Frost Sect had been a member of the Lu family, he absolutely would have killed him. No matter what, the youth had to die.
This thought caused Bai Sheng’s demeanor to completely change, and an endless killing intent surged forth, as if it were an ocean sweeping out. A hand rose, and a radiant, golden rod appeared in its grip. "Senior Shenji, allow me to deal with this!"
The rod fell, and the jiao opened its mouth to let out a roar.
There was a bang, and the jiao’s roar was cut off. That rod had fallen onto the jiao with such force that even Lu Yin felt a twinge of sympathy for the beast’s pain.
At this moment, E Chi appeared. His serrated blade swept out, slashing at Bai Sheng. The living Progenitor retaliated with his golden rod, and the two weapons clashed. A terrible shockwave swept out in all directions, and it caused the stars of the Fifth Mainland to sway.
Bai Sheng clearly lacked Xia Shenji’s monstrous power, which had allowed the older Progenitor to crush both the jiao and E Chi. Despite that, Bai Sheng’s killing intent was actually even stronger than Xia Shenji"s.
With Bai Sheng blocking the jiao and E Chi, Xia Shenji was free to act. His Shenwu World spread out, replacing the starry sky of the natural universe. An endless rain of blades fell onto Lu Yin.
Lu Yin"s pupils transformed into runes, as G.o.d of Flames appeared on his shoulder. The runes from the Champions’ Stage allowed Lu Yin to continuously erase the blades that fell towards him while also holding back the Shenwu World.
Xia Shenji coldly declared, "This is the end."
He waved a hand, and a radiant blade appeared. It shot forward to stab at Lu Yin, seemingly carrying the full power of the entire Shenwu World. It was too powerful for the runes of Lu Jian"s Champions" Stage to erase, and even if Lu Jian had become a Progenitor himself, he might not have been able to stop this attack from Xia Shenji, let alone after transforming into a Champions’ Stage. After all, Lu Jian had never truly become a Progenitor.
This was Xia Shenji’s power. The glowing blade was so powerful that even Bai Sheng"s scalp began to tingle, and the jiao instinctively glanced over, worried that the blade would strike at it instead.
Lu Yin let out a long breath. The moment he saw this blade, he realized that he could no longer hide his strength. In that case, it was time to go all out!
Lu Yin lifted a foot and stomped down hard. At that moment, countless people throughout the entire Fifth Mainland felt the stars tremble. Far away from Lu Yin, the many Semi-Progenitors sensed a familiar surge of power. This was Progenitor Chen’s power, the power of the stars within the universe itself.
Lu Yin took a single step. At that moment, he stepped on top of the universe itself. He was wearing a nebula, and stars hung around him. One hand pointed at the approaching blade, while the other hand pointed at Bai Sheng. All the while, Lu Yin stared at Xia Shenji.
Stars exploded, and the radiant blade was overpowered. Bai Sheng was in the middle of beating the jiao with his golden rod, when a terrifying explosion of stars suddenly detonated right in front of him. What is this?
Before he could even react, he was sent flying by the power of the explosion.
As for Xia Shenji, his mind had gone blank when saw the eruption of stars in the nearby universe. "Xia Shang?"
When the explosion occurred, it was not just one star that exploded, but an entire chain reaction, and the resulting shockwave forced Xia Shenji to retreat.
Xia Shenji was completely surrounded by the blades that formed his Shenwu World. The blades swept across the stars, trying to destroy them. But the only result was the Shenwu World being shattered.
"Xia Shang! Xia Shang–!" Xia Shenji roared, his eyes turning completely bloodshot. His Shenwu World started to warp and fluctuate wildly. Even ordinary people could tell that the universe itself seemed to have come alive. It was possible to see countless blades fill everything in sight, as well as creatures that seemed to be formed from blades. There were countless people living in the world of blades, and they were all praying. The Shenwu World caused the Fifth Mainland itself to shake.