Lu Yin did not know who the child had been, but that pearl had been passed from Zhao Ran to Xiao Shi.
Logically, the child should have been Zhao Ran.
However, Zhao Ran was an aspect of Wei Nu’s Dukkha. Could she have appeared as a child during the Heavens Sect era? Lu Yin could not answer that question or confirm anything, especially since Zhao Ran herself had forgotten.
The other pearl, which had been given to the Lu family, had ended up in Bai Xian'er’s possession.
Lu Yin had once asked Destina and the others who were able to cultivate Destiny’s power to search for the pearl. At first, Lu Yin’s goal had been to locate the Lu family, but after they returned, he had instead wanted to use the pearl to find Bai Xian'er, but she had remained elusive.
It was completely unexpected for the pearl to suddenly appear after so many years.
Wei Nu, this had to be related to her.
Lu Yin’s eyes flickered.
He did not want to confront Wei Nu. She was the River of Aeons’ ferryman, and thus represented the aeons themselves. Destiny wanted to ambush Wei Nu, and for that reason, she had created a branch in the River of Aeons. Lu Yin was not ready to deal with Wei Nu because of how similar her methods were to Destiny’s; Lu Yin was afraid that he might warn Wei Nu.
Even so, he was unwilling to let the matter of the pearl simply go. Wei Nu was still one of the greatest hidden threats in the Tianyuan Megaverse.
Unless the threat was dealt with, Lu Yin would not feel confident making the trip to the Spirit Nidus.
In the past, Wei Nu had orchestrated matters in an attempt to send True God, the Spirit Nidus’s Seraphs, and members of the Heavens Sect into the Mirari Realm at the same time. There had to be some hidden agenda that was somehow related to her Dukkha.
While Lu Yin had fought against the two Seraphs in the Mirari Realm, the River of Aeons had fallen upon all of them, and a small boat had appeared. There had to be something important about that little boat.
Lu Yin wanted answers.
The more deeply he delved into certain matters, the more information he obtained. If he could connect all the details, he believed that he could expose the truth.
This was a matter that had weighed on Lu Yin’s mind for a long time. He hoped to find new leads regarding Wei Nu, but she was the only one who could offer such clues.
Destina led Lu Yin back to the Origin Universe, which surprised him. "Is the final pearl really here?"
Destina nodded. "I also don’t know why, but it’s here in the Origin Universe."
The two headed into the Astral Wilderness.
Lu Yin frowned. What could Wei Nu be planning? Why had she returned to the Origin Universe? The Origin Progenitor’s sword suppressed the time in this universe, which also suppressed her paper-cutting technique. Why would she have returned?
Far away, on an asteroid in the Astral Wilderness, Wei Nu’s eyes suddenly snapped open. As expected, they were on their way for her. This was a problem.
She stood up and tore the void open so that she could leave, but then she paused mid-action. She seemed hesitant, as if something was holding her back.
Lu Yin arrived behind Wei Nu and saw her.
The woman he saw no longer had her former brilliance. She appeared to have been severely injured. Her face was pale, and her eyes were bloodshot. Everything about her revealed her weakened state.
Wei Nu looked back at Lu Yin. "You used this to find me, didn’t you?"
She pulled out a pearl and tossed it over to him.
Before arriving, Lu Yin had told Destina to hide in a Zenith Mountain so that she could avoid being seen by Wei Nu. Seeing Destina might allow Wei Nu to notice Destiny’s ambush.
Lu Yin caught the pearl. "Why did you come back to the Origin Universe? Are you injured?"
Wei Nu’s expression fell. She had not wanted to enter the Origin Universe; she was only here because of that sword.
Two years earlier, she had suddenly been struck by a sword. She had not been able to see where it had come from, but she understood exactly what it was: a Karmic Sword.
She had schemed against others, and in return, someone had struck her with that Karmic Sword.
The blade had left a terrible injury on her, and in order to avoid any further such attacks, Wei Nu had been left with no choice but to hide in the Origin Universe. It was the only universe that the Karmic Sword could not reach.
However, the Origin Universe had its own dangers. Primarily, Lu Yin.
She had been too close to Lu Yin. Trying to heal in the Origin Universe risked Wei Nu being discovered, and that was exactly what had happened.
Scheming against others always led to being schemed against.
Wei Nu panted heavily. Two years had passed, and yet she still had not yet recovered. She knew that she was no match for Lu Yin in her current state.
"Your grudges with Bai Xian'er have already been settled. Why won’t you leave me alone?"
Lu Yin studied Wei Nu. "You’re seriously wounded. Who was able to do this to you?"
"I’m asking why you won’t leave me alone! We’re not enemies," Wei Nu demanded.
Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back. "Bai Xian'er was nothing more than a part of you. The Lu family’s exile was instigated by you, not her. Back then, she lacked the strength to exile the Lu family."
Wei Nu laughed bitterly. "So you’re targeting me because of your Lu family?
"Lu Yin, the Tianyuan Megaverse is already being threatened by the powerful Spirit Nidus and the Nests. Do you really want to take on another enemy? Even when injured, I’m not easy for you to deal with.
"I’ve told you this before: we are not enemies."
Lu Yin asked, "Why did you lure me and those people from the Spirit Nidus into the Mirari Realm?"
Wei Nu replied, "Weren’t you constantly looking for a chance to enter the Mirari Realm? Only by going there could you prevent the people from the Spirit Nidus from escaping and successfully ambush them. I am also part of this Tianyuan Megaverse. I also don’t want to see anything happen to it."
"You’re a Dukkhan, aren’t you?"
"That’s right."
"Resetting the Tianyuan Megaverse would only benefit you, not harm you. That excuse won’t work. I rule over the Tianyuan Megaverse, and if you refuse to give me a satisfactory answer, your fate won’t be much better than Yong Heng’s."
Wei Nu shook her head. "It’s lonely at the top. In the past, even Tai Chu had Tai Hong, Mister Mu, and others as his companions. What about you? Who do you have? One by one, you’ve surpassed all of your companions, and you’ve even moved beyond legends like the Three Realms and Six Daos. Who else can stand by your shoulder?
"Lu Yin, don’t treat everyone as an enemy, or else you will suffer the same fate as Yong Heng."