Lu Yin’s answer caused all strength to drain from Qian Shu’s body. He suddenly coughed violently, spitting out blood as he fell to one knee.
He could not accept it.
The mighty Autumnspring Slip, which had once floated across the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, sweeping its way across the cosmos, was gone? How was that possible? Sect Master Ying Mei, all the other Dukkhans, and even their mirebound artifact—was it all gone?
Qian Shu could not believe it. It was not an answer he could accept.
Boom.
A soft sound was heard as a stone box appeared before Qian Shu. When he saw it, all color drained from his face.
At that moment, all of his hopes were completely shattered.
Lu Yin looked down at Qian Shu. “Is there anything else you’d like to say?”
Qian Shu closed his eyes, a tremor wracking his body as he was consumed by despair. His vision grew dark, and he nearly fainted.
“I regret it. I regret allowing Granny Ya to take action at the Skyward Gate. If I could turn back time, I’d choose to never even leave the Scion Spire.”
Lu Yin nodded. “A simple, honest wish. It appears that you don’t want to die.”
Qian Shu quivered, but he said nothing.
At this juncture, most people would curse. Not out of fear, but rather because they would be unable to accept reality. Such a reaction would not necessarily even be directed at Lu Yin, but rather at the events themselves.
However, Qian Shu merely expressed his regrets, which indicated that he still wanted to live. Because of that desire, he did not dare to utter even a single curse or show the slightest hint of resentment.
Lu Yin was quite pleased with his attitude.
“You defeated the Everchange Valley while betting on pure luck. How did you alter luck?” Lu Yin asked.
There was no hesitation as Qian Shu answered, “We used the Autumnspring Slip and wrote the Luck (运) character.”
Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. “In that case, I need that Luck (运) character. Can you help me with that?”
Qian Shu looked up at Lu Yin. “Yes. Every disciple of the Autumnspring Slip learned to write it, though only extremely powerful cultivators can make their characters effective. I now possess the cultivation of a peak Dukkhan, so if I inscribe the Luck (运) character onto the Autumnspring Slip, I can definitely do that for you.
“However, the Luck (运) character is hard to draw—it can’t be completed with a single stroke. Only eight were ever drawn onto the sect’s mirebound artifact, and with time, nearly half of those were used. As for the others, they all lost effect after Sect Master Ying Mei’s death. If you want new ones, I’m the only one who can make them for you.”
Lu Yin slowly smiled. “Are you trying to prove your worth or simply threaten me?”
Qian Shu quickly replied, “It’s no threat. I merely fear that you might not believe me, or think that I’m being perfunctory, which is why I explained.”
Qian Shu had implied that Sect Master Ying Mei was dead, and Lu Yin had not denied it. This indicated that Qian Shu’s suspicions were correct, as well as that his sect was completely gone.
Lu Yin nodded. “You still have a bit of value, and since you’ve accepted a Seed Transfusion, you’ll never see any further progress, which means you’re not much of a threat to me. I can leave you with a sliver of hope and a chance to walk away.”
Qian Shu grew excited. “You want me to draw the Luck (运) character?”
Lu Yin held up a hand. “Five. Write five Luck (运) characters, and I’ll release you. I even promise that I will never make more trouble for you, provided that you don’t make trouble for me.”
Qian Shu agreed without hesitation.
After all, he was unable to refuse. No matter how long it took him to draw five Luck (运)characters, he had to at least try. It was his only hope of escaping from Lu Yin.
Qian Shu had not lived long enough yet. Becoming a peak Dukkhan meant reaching the absolute peak beneath the Immortal realm. Even if it was impossible for him to have another breakthrough, he could still improve his combat strength with battle techniques and other abilities. So long as he could survive, anything was possible.
As for Lu Yin, Qian Shu did not know what the future might hold, but for the time being, he absolutely did not dare to even think about seeking revenge.
Lu Yin hoped that Qian Shu would be able to quickly draw the Luck (运)characters so that he could see if they worked. He needed luck, as did everyone.
As for the stone box... When Lu Yin had used the power of karma to overcome Qian Shu’s ability, he had also investigated the stone box. Qian Shu had known nothing about the stone box’s contents.
That made sense. No matter how important Qian Shu might have been to his sect, he had been very young when he had gone into cryostasis in the Scion Spire. The stone box had undoubtedly been the Autumnspring Slip’s greatest secret, so how could they have shared it with Qian Shu? That was especially so given how mysterious the Scion Spire itself was.
Additionally, sending the young man to the Scion Spire indicated that the sect had planned for Qian Shu to eventually become a Lesser Sancte. In doing so, he would have had to formally sever all ties with the sect, yet he still would have been able to represent them. With that goal in mind, Ying Mei would have never revealed the secret of the stone box to him. She may well have been afraid that Qian Shu might eventually betray the sect for the sake of his future.
If Qian Shu could exchange the Autumnspring Slip’s support for the chance to become a Greater Sancte’s disciple, he would never refuse. Someone like Ying Mei would have never allowed herself to become trapped in a situation where her death was guaranteed.
“There’s one more thing,” Lu Yin said as he looked at Qian Shu. “Can you use Ying Mei’s Words Become a World?”
Qian Shu shook his head. “The sequence particles that Master Scribe Ying Mei comprehended was that every word creates a realm, each character a world. Her Words Become a World was the manifestation of her comprehension pushed to the absolute limit. You can consider it a Transcended Sequence from the Spirit Nidus. That power didn’t belong to our sect.”
Lu Yin was disappointed.
With Words Become a World, Ying Mei had tricked Lu Yin and even managed to banish him once. That experience had revealed something strange and unique to him.
Every character that was written, from the moment it was first created, carried a specific meaning.
Eat (吃) represented the act of eating.
Sleep (睡) represented the act of sleeping.
If that was the case, then before the character for “eat” had existed, how did people express the concept of eating?
Also, who created that character, and under what circumstances? Why did they call it “eat”?
That was also karma.
How many characters existed? What sort of karma did they represent? Lu Yin had always sought to understand karma, and the various aspects of life were karma, which included words.
In the Words Become a World, he had seen characters come to life, and they had conveyed concepts without limit. While others might have gone mad, Lu Yin had instead seen another world.
Greater Sancte Green Lotus had once mentioned that karma itself formed a world, one that no one in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse could see other than the Greater Sancte himself and Lu Yin.
The Everchange Valley believed that Heaven and Earth Aura formed a world, so why could the same not be true for written words?
It was simply that the Autumnspring Slip had never discovered that hidden world. They had only ever used their mirebound artifact as a crude cultivation tool.