Lu Yin’s expression grew frigid. He raised a hand, and countless strands of Tri-Azure Sword Intent fell from the Investiture of the Gods. They hung in outer space, resonating with a soft hum.
The droplet-shaped Verdant Sage stared in disbelief. Why are there so many?
Lu Yin looked up and just waved his hand. Go.
One after another, the strands of Tri-Azure Sword Intent slashed at the Verdant Sage.
The bug’s eyes turned cold. Hastily releasing a burst of sword intent was useless. The human’s previous attack had to have been a coincidence.
But in the very next moment, as each strand of Tri-Azure Sword Intent struck the river of droplets, not only was the river halted once again, but it was also torn apart. While the strands of sword intent also shattered, they had succeeded in ripping apart the river and all of its Lifeforce, with some even slicing on towards the Verdant Sage.
The bug froze. Impossible! How can this be?
Has this human been keeping his true strength hidden this whole time?
Lu Yin had not concealed his power. Every strand of Tri-Azure Sword Intent that he was unleashing was a full-powered attack; they were forged through countless cycles of withering and restoring with Extremes Must Be Reversed and empowered with Immortal matter and Lifeforce. None of this had been done in front of the Verdant Sage, but rather inside of his Investiture of the Gods.
The Immortal had attempted to use its Endless Water Domain to render itself immune to Lu Yin’s attacks so that it could threaten the human. However, Lu Yin had spent his time inside his Investiture of the Gods, forging strand after strand of Tri-Azure Sword Intent.
This technique was possible due to the creation of the Mind Manor. He considered it the Tri-Azure Sword Intent: Hidden Blade.
Each strand of Tri-Azure Sword Intent was an ultimate attack, and by releasing so many at once, he had managed to completely tear apart the river of droplets. The Verdant Sage tried to scatter into its Endless Water Domain, but the fact that it had infused its Lifeforce into the river of droplets caused a delay. On top of that, the bug was pierced by a spiral of karma that wove its karma, restraining its movement before it was struck by the first strand of sword intent.
That first attack was accompanied by a second.
One after another, the strands of Tri-Azure Sword Intent sliced into the insect, tearing through its body and ripping space apart while causing blue flames to blossom across the Aevum Inch.
The Immortal was gravely injured. Lu Yin appeared in front of the droplet creature, releasing a palm strike. It looked like water was beneath his hand as the Immortal matter covering the bug shattered, along with half of its body. The river of droplets completely collapsed, spilling out Lifeforce in its destruction.
The Verdant Sage’s expression twisted ferociously right before its body dispersed into its Endless Water Domain again.
However, the Endless Water Domain looked nothing like before. It was drastically smaller, to the point where it posed practically no threat to Lu Yin.
He released his consciousness, and it swept through all the scattered droplets. Strands of Tri-Azure Sword Intent slashed out in a criss-cross pattern, shattering the Endless Water Domain and forcing the Verdant Sage to abandon it. As its body reformed, it was only half of its previous size. It turned to flee, only to be pierced by a spiral of karma once more. Its path twisted, and it ended up traveling straight towards Lu Yin.
It locked eyes with the human, and although bloodlust filled the creature’s eyes, there was no hatred present. Hatred did not exist in wars between civilizations; there was only the desire for survival and annihilation.
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the wavering river that was still behind the Verdant Sage. He pointed a finger, and from the depths of his Investiture of the Gods, the last strands of his empowered Tri-Azure Sword Intent shot out. The attack vanished almost instantly as it struck the river.
The river froze... and then exploded. Lifeforce spilled out from the destruction, looking like white clouds of mist that floated through the Aevum Inch.
The Verdant Sage stared at Lu Yin in a daze. It had actually been defeated by a creature who was not themselves an Immortal.
Even though the droplet creature was among the weakest of Immortals, an Immortal was still an Immortal. How could it have lost?
How could it die in this place?
Human civilization, human civilization, human civilization...
Lu Yin slowly approached the Verdant Sage. His Champions’ Stage Purgatory appeared beside him. Just as he was about to throw the Verdant Sage inside, its body exploded with a thunderous roar. Blue light shot upwards with enough force to pierce through even the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm above them.
Lu Yin stared in astonishment.
The Aevum Inch was filled with the Verdant Sage’s Immortal matter, while its Lifeforce had scattered far into the distance.
These were all signs that an Immortal had just fallen.
“Every Immortal aligns with certain cosmic laws,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus explained, “Even though that bug was but the weakest of Immortals, its existence still aligned with a law. Its death will inevitably produce widespread ripples. Such phenomena are only natural. It is an indication that the cosmos itself is watching.”
Lu Yin looked up as the blue radiance slowly faded away.
So that’s it... even the cosmos watches such beings.
“But when I was fighting against it, I couldn’t sense any such law.”
“Perhaps it was a law that served more for becoming an Immortal than for combat.”
Lu Yin understood. That droplet-shaped bug had had a relatively easy time becoming an Immortal, which was an advantage of its species. However, the law it had aligned with could not narrow the gap between them any further.
He was not sure if such an advantage was a blessing or a curse.
Compared to those who could never break through to the Immortal realm, it was certainly a blessing.
It was a pity that he had failed to harvest any karma from the bug. What a waste.
“By the way, Senior, now that it’s dead, what will happen to the karmic chain that bound it?”
“Naturally, it vanishes.”
Throughout their various battles, Lu Yin had never once seen where the Verdant Sage’s karmic chain was.
Perhaps that was for the best. If the insect’s karmic chain had been too long, it would have been an indication of greater experience, which would have corresponded to more karma that Lu Yin could have potentially absorbed from the creature. That would have only made his regret stronger.
While thinking about that, he started gathering the Immortal matter.
There was an abundance of it, far too much to ignore.
Far away, Ku Deng had sensed the very moment that the droplet-shaped Verdant Sage perished. He stared in the direction of the bug’s death, his eyes filled with complex emotions. “When a creature dies, it is like a lamp going out. The flame of your heartlamp has just been extinguished.”
It was extraordinarily difficult to kill an Immortal. What was most unfortunate, aside from the fact that Lu Yin had not gained any karma from the creature, was the fact that it had only left behind a small bit of Immortal matter.
He gathered all of the Immortal matter he could, but it was still not enough to replenish what he had consumed during the battle.
“If you wish to acquire more Immortal matter, I can provide you with some,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus said when he met with Lu Yin atop the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.
Lu Yin felt embarrassed. “I’ve already consumed so much of your karma, Senior. If you give me Immortal matter as well, I’ll never be able to repay you.”
Greater Sancte Green Lotus chuckled softly. “Just like how the debt that the Nine Odysseys Megaverse owes you can never be repaid.”