Chapter 3032: Lu Yin"s Backup Plan
Lu Yin"s face grew somber.
Ever since he had first met her, Progenitor Xi had been one of the individuals in Aeternus whom he was most wary of. Someone whom Astral Anura greeted directly and who could address the Great Sovereign as Tai Hong was not someone to be underestimated.
During the battle when Sovereign Dou Sheng had been ambushed and surrounded, a single slash of Progenitor Xi’s sword had pushed Lord Xu back. That single exchange had shown Lu Yin how powerful the woman was, but he was now realizing that he had still underestimated her.
A single person with a single sword had forced the Lu family to start reciting the Origin Sutra as a means of compensating for their lacking spiritual force. One only could imagine how much Ancestor Lu Yuan must have dreaded Progenitor Xi. She had to be someone on the same level as Lu Yuan, or possibly even someone in the process of overcoming Dukkha. That would explain why even Astral Anura treated Progenitor Xi as an equal.
Mu Shen was the foundation that Lu Yin had prepared for the invasion of the First Scourge, while Sovereign Dou Sheng had been an unexpected addition. Unfortunately, not even the support of the two powerhouses had been enough for the human forces to suppress Aeternus’s known strength. On top of that, the Aeternals had been reinforced by Astral Anura, Arrow G.o.d, and Ancient G.o.d. After all that, Progenitor Xi had revealed herself as Qingluo Jiantian. Unless another ruler of one of the Sixverse a.s.sociation’s member universes suddenly appeared, there was absolutely no point in continuing the battle.
What infuriated Lu Yin the most was that both Mu Ji and w.a.n.g Fan were still alive. w.a.n.g Fan had revealed himself as a traitor, which meant that he would eventually be dealt with, but Mu Ji was a different kind of threat. He had seen through Ye Bo’s ident.i.ty and connected that person to Lu Yin. As long as Mu Ji was not dealt with, he would lose Ye Bo as an ident.i.ty.
It was also possible that Progenitor Xi had decided to reveal her ident.i.ty because of Mu Ji. She had already saved him with a slash of her sword earlier in the battle, and then she had done so a second time when Lu Yin had been about to attack. Could Mu Ji be that important to Progenitor Xi?
Lu Yin looked over at Mu Ji.
The man was still moving away and on guard against Lu Yin, even after Progenitor Xi had cowed the entire battlefield.
Mu Ji had moved very far away from Lu Yin.
Given the current circ.u.mstances, it was no longer possible for Lu Yin to kill Mu Ji.
"If we had not managed to gain an advantage just now, the battle still would have ended. Dao Monarch Lu, can we stop here?" Progenitor Xi asked for the third time.
Aside from the odd cry from Astral Anura, there was no other sound on the battlefield.
Ancient G.o.d and Arrow G.o.d no longer released any attacks at all.
The fact that Progenitor Xi had forced humanity’s forces to cease fighting suggested that the humans still held an advantage on the First Scourge. But even if that were true, continuing the battle would result in incalculable losses for both sides.
On top of that, Progenitor Xi had never used her full strength before. She clearly had her own reservations, and that was the crux of the current matter.
Lu Yin could clearly recognize the situation. He did not want to lead humanity’s forces to die in the First Scourge, though it was also true that Lu Yin knew that they could force their way back if he decided to retreat. Aeternus could not stop them from leaving. How could Lu Yin have started an invasion without the confidence to retreat when necessary?
As for the peak powerhouses who had died, the invasion was a single part of the ongoing war. Was there ever war without any deaths? The Aeternals’ casualties far exceeded those of humanity’s, regardless of how deep Aeternus"s foundations might be. It was also clear to see that pushing things any further would result in many more deaths, possibly even Lu Yin’s own. Still, that was the path that needed to be taken, as it was impossible to even hope to achieve victory without clearly understanding Aeternus fully.
"This battle is over."
Those four words spread across the Scourge, allowing both sides to breathe a sigh of relief. While this battle had not lasted very long, both humanity and Aeternus had lost a number of peak powerhouses, which had not happened in any of the previous battles. Continuing this fight would only lead to more deaths.
"No way! Yayayaya! I’m going to slaughter that human! He tried to cook me! I"ll kill him!" Astral Anura screamed as he hopped about the sky and moved through the void.
Mu Shen stayed alert.
Progenitor Xi looked upwards. "Your compensation will be raised by ten percent."
These words triggered a complete and total change in Astral Anura’s demeanor. He transformed back into a formal businessman holding a lotus leaf, and he became both formal and respectful. "Thank you, Boss."
The people on both sides moved back. The humans moved towards the entrance to the Scourge, while the Aeternals moved towards the black Mother Tree. The entire time, the two sides glared at each other, and their killing intent raged.
If at all possible, they wanted to completely eliminate the other side.
Lu Yin looked at the Aeternals, and his gaze swept over Mu Ji, w.a.n.g Fan, w.a.n.g Xiaoyu, Shao Yin, Ancient G.o.d, and Arrow G.o.d before finally resting on Progenitor Xi.
The woman was staring straight back at Lu Yin. There were profound meanings in that glance.
...
After humanity’s forces retreated from the Scourge, Mu Ji and the others were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Ancient G.o.d spoke in a grave tone. "The biggest mistake we ever made was allowing Lu Xiaoxuan to grow unchecked. He is the catalyst behind this entire battle."
w.a.n.g Fan agreed, "Lu Xiaoxuan has become a symbol for humanity. This is something that the Lu family is adept at manipulating and using. We need to find a way to deal with him."
Shao Yin"s eyes were glacial. "That little beast must die."
Progenitor Xi calmly commented, "That day is not far, but this is not the time for a desperate struggle. As soon as the Ossis Ark arrives, the Sixverse a.s.sociation will become a footnote in history. Everyone, we must be patient for now."
The mention of the Ossis Ark caused Shao Yin"s expression to change drastically. That was the Aeternals’ most terrifying weapon of destruction.
Arrow G.o.d spoke in a clear, cold voice, "Your First Scourge is always so busy."
Progenitor Xi looked over at the other woman. "Do you find it interesting? We still need to find one last SkyG.o.d. You could take that position."
Arrow G.o.d turned around and started walking away. "Not interested."
While the Three Pillars and Six Skies and the Seven SkyG.o.ds possessed similar levels of strength, their responsibilities were different.
If Arrow G.o.d joined the Seven SkyG.o.ds, she would have to abandon the wars she fought in the Fifth Scourge and stay in the First Scourge, just like Blackless G.o.d. The First Scourge’s primary purpose was to fight against the Sixverse a.s.sociation, and no one could change that.
"The Divine Selection is approaching. In the past, your First Scourge rarely partic.i.p.ated, but I hope to see you join this time. While my Fifth Scourge doesn"t face a situation nearly as intense as you do here, our elites are in no way inferior to yours." Arrow G.o.d’s voice rang out and entered the ears of Progenitor Xi, Ancient G.o.d, and the others.
Ancient G.o.d shook his head. "The situation we face here in the First Scourge means that we are always short of peak powerhouses, and we never have enough to send them to partic.i.p.ate in the Divine Selection. Besides, we in the First Scourge are able to speak directly to True G.o.d, so there is no need for us to partic.i.p.ate in the Divine Selection. The Seven SkyG.o.ds are also positions that do not need to be determined through that challenge. There is no meaning in having our people partic.i.p.ate."
Progenitor Xi casually replied, "This privilege is precisely why the other five Scourges hold a grudge against us. The Seven SkyG.o.ds are equal to the Three Pillars and Six Skies, but the latter nine positions can only be obtained through the Divine Selection. In contrast, only the people of our First Scourge can become a SkyG.o.d, and the other Scourges feel that that is unfair.
"Most of those who have pa.s.sed the Divine Selection come to our First Scourge, and with the constant wars that we face, most of them die and very few survive, which has led to even greater dissatisfaction among the other Scourges. There’s no other reason for Arrow G.o.d to have specifically mentioned it. If even she mentions it, then the other five Scourges are certainly even more concerned."
Ancient G.o.d looked over at Progenitor Xi. "What do you suggest?"
"That we partic.i.p.ate."
Ancient G.o.d did not object. "Who will represent us? Our First Scourge is missing nearly half of our True G.o.d Guard Captains. Cheng Kong would have been a good choice, but he"s also dead."
He then glanced over at Shao Yin. "Shao Yin is qualified to become one of the Seven SkyG.o.ds. There’s no need for him to partic.i.p.ate."
Progenitor Xi"s eyes flickered. "We"ll discuss things when the time is closer. I already have a candidate in mind. For now, seal off the First Scourge. Lu Yin is extremely shrewd, and he will likely plan another invasion for when Tai Hong and Lu Yuan emerge from seclusion. Tai Hong is no longer the one making the decisions.
"Lu Yin has already forced Tai Hong out of seclusion, and yet she did not kill him. It’s clear that she regards him very highly. We need to constantly stay on guard against him.
"I have a premonition that if we are negligent, he may very well destroy this Scourge."
...
Far away, beyond where the First Scourge connected to the Endless Frontier, Lu Yin and the others carried three corpses back to the Sixverse a.s.sociation: Bureau Director Gan, Chen Le, and Shan Pu.
The Lightning Lord had been seriously injured, and Chu Jian had managed to survive. Lu Yin had not expected that.
Chu Jian had been struck by Ancient G.o.d and then also attacked by Arrow G.o.d. The Lightning Lord had been seriously injured by Arrow G.o.d’s attack, but Chu Jian had managed to avoid the injuries with his innate gift, which was the unexpected part.
As long as someone did not know what Chu Jian"s innate gift was, they would struggle to kill him.
Still, Chu Jian was not in good shape, and he had been gravely wounded in the battle.
Ancestor Tianyi, Big Sister, and many others had been seriously injured as well. There were many people who would need to take a long time to recuperate.
There was a bang as Sovereign Dou Sheng slammed his golden cudgel on the ground. "You all head on back. I"ll stay here."
No one knew what to say. Sovereign Dou Sheng"s invincibility had already left many people speechless.
Lu Yin spoke a few words to everyone before dismissing them. They all needed to head home and recuperate. While the invasion had not achieved the desired goal, it had still been a historic moment for the Sixverse a.s.sociation to take such action. There was no doubt that people would be inspired.
The Endless Frontier was entirely under the control of the Sixverse a.s.sociation now. The Aeternals’ forces had been driven back and forced to hide in the Scourge. This was already more than enough to cause countless people throughout the Sixverse a.s.sociation to cheer.
Lu Yin made it a point to specially thank the Five Spirits Alliance. If it were not for them, they would not nearly had enough sequence powerhouses to carry out the invasion.
"Take this cosmic door with you," Lu Yin told them.
He had taken a cosmic door from the Scourge that directly led to the First Scourge. His reason for doing so was readily evident; as long as True G.o.d attacked, Lu Yin would go and provoke the Great Sovereign. If the Sixverse a.s.sociation fell to a disadvantage against Aeternus, Lu Yin would go and provoke the Great Sovereign. He had already done it once, so what did it matter if he did it once or twice more?
Lu Yin"s back-up plan left Sovereign Dou Sheng speechless. While he and the Great Sovereign were at odds with each other and often argued, the man had never tried to do such a thing.
Aside from bothering the Great Sovereign, no one knew whether Lu Yin had any other back-up plans in place.
One by one, everyone left. In the end, Lu Yin alone remained behind to speak with Sovereign Dou Sheng. The man had asked Lu Yin to stay back.
"Senior, is something wrong?" Lu Yin asked as he observed Sovereign Dou Sheng. The man looked completely miserable, but after learning that the Sovereign had learned Extremes Must Be Reversed, Lu Yin understood just how tough the man was. The Sovereign could not be killed.
Sovereign Dou Sheng admired Lu Yin. "Rather than the Great Sovereign, it would be better for the Sixverse a.s.sociation to be controlled by you. In the future, if another battle is being planned, come find me. I’ll fight whenever you need. Just point where I should go."
Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you for your support, Senior."
Sovereign Dou Sheng was curious about something. "How did you know I was surrounded and under attack?"
While the Sovereign had been confident that he could deal with the Purple Emperor and the others who had attacked him, he would have been forced to expose Extremes Must Be Reversed. Otherwise, he would have died without Lu Yin"s rescue. Before the invasion, no one had known that Sovereign Dou Shen cultivated Extremes Must Be Reversed, which meant he had genuinely tried to save the Sovereign, and he would remember this life debt.
Lu Yin replied, "It was a coincidence that I found out when I found the nine-headed bird’s nest."
Sovereign Dou Sheng did not press the matter further. "I will never forget how you saved me."
Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "Senior, please don"t be condescending. If I hadn"t shown up, you might have killed all three outsider powerhouses that attacked you. Not even the Purple Emperor would have escaped. We struggled to kill the being of pure energy, and I very nearly failed."