“That’s extremely difficult,” the butterfly replied. “The Spirit Nidus is powerful, but launching an expedition to our megaverse is an unbelievable challenge. It takes an incredibly long time to travel between the boundaries that separate the two megaverses.”
“But Tian Ci has already been here for a very long time, hasn’t he?” Lu Yin pressed.
The butterfly hesitated briefly. “Yes...”
“So, it’s not impossible that the Spirit Nidus could invade us?”
“They could...”
“How would they get here?”
“Through the megaverse’s boundary.”
“Take me there,” Lu Yin said. He was certain that Tian En did not know that Tian Ci had been attacked. Tian Ci had not had enough time to send word to anyone before feeling through the gate, and that meant that the butterfly did not know that Lu Yin had already visited the megaverse’s boundary and seen the stone gate.
If she led him to the wrong place, Lu Yin would immediately know.
It was possible that the butterfly really was afraid of death, or that Lu Yin had just been too ruthless with her. Some time later, she really did lead him to the stone gate Tian Ci had fled through. In that parallel universe, Lu Yin could see the massive gate that connected heaven and earth, as well as the Lord of Lightning guarding it.
“Jiang Feng?” The butterfly was startled.
In front of the gate, Jiang Feng saw the butterfly and Lu Yin. “You two?”
The sight of the butterfly’s miserable condition prompted a laugh that Jiang Feng could not hold back. “It looks like you got beaten pretty badly, Boundary Guardian.”
The butterfly said nothing, as she was too terrified. The fact that Jiang Feng was at the boundary meant that Lu Yin and his people had already visited the stone gate. If Tian En had tried to deceive Lu Yin by taking him to a false boundary, she would likely already be dead.
“Uncle Jiang, how is Tian Ci?” Lu Yin asked.
The butterfly glanced over at Jiang Feng, but the man just shook his head. “He hasn’t come back out yet. By the way, how did you run into this butterfly?”
Lu Yin shared what had happened during the battle at the Immemorial Citadel, which completely stunned Jiang Feng.
The Lord of Lightning had long since known that humanity and Aeternus would eventually have a final battle. He had been waiting for it, expecting it to take place after the Boundary Guardians were dealt with. Unexpectedly, the battle had already been fought while he was guarding the gate.
Lu Yin just gave some brief details of what had happened.
Jiang Feng felt a lingering fear. There had been several critical turning points throughout the battle, and while humanity had ultimately won, it had been a narrow victory. If any one of the various turning points had gone wrong, things could have ended completely differently.
“The Great Sovereign’s sacrifice deserves respect. I’ve heard of Progenitor Hui, but I never imagined that he would be hiding in Aeternus all this time, or that he would play such a crucial role in the final battle. Honorable, but so tragic.”
The mention of those who had sacrificed themselves caused Lu Yin to feel his heart weighed down.
Lu Yin moved closer to the gate, though his foot remained on the butterfly’s back. “If you don’t want to die, prove your worth. What’s the deal here?”
The butterfly did not hesitate to answer. “This gate leads to the Spirit Nidus, but that megaverse is extremely far away. Even for Ortusers, it takes a long time to reach the Spirit Nidus. We used this gate to travel to other megaverses, and when we returned, we were able to easily determine whether a being belonged to this megaverse or not.”
“Who made this gate?”
“That- I really don’t know. It was already here when I first visited this universe. Tian Ci and the others don’t know either.”
“There’s something I’m curious about,” Jiang Feng mentioned as he stared at the butterfly. “Do you belong to this megaverse?”
The butterfly hesitated before answering. “I belong to this megaverse.”
“What about the other three Boundary Guardians?”
“Tian Fa is not from this megaverse. I don’t know about Tian Feng.”
Lu Yin laughed as he exchanged glances with Jiang Feng. Both of them were laughing, though it sounded bitter.
The Boundary Guardians were supposed to guard the megaverse and drive out any outsiders, but at least two of the Boundary Guardians were from other megaverses. It was such a joke. Instead of helping the megaverse drive outsiders away, the Boundary Guardians had turned the place into a prison. They were able to freely come and go, but the natives of the megaverse were trapped inside.
When humanity had started to reveal a bit of strength, when the Origin Progenitor had demonstrated that there was even a slight chance of him leaving, he had been ambushed.
They were not Boundary Guardians, but rather wardens. They kept watch over the megaverse like it was a prison.
It was also clear that Tian En understood what would happen when the truth was exposed. Humanity’s hostility towards the Boundary Guardians would only grow, but even so, she did not dare to tell any lies.
She believed that she had a chance to survive because she was valuable.
She was an Ortuser. How could she not be valuable?
She might not know how Tian Fa had died, but given their personality, there was no way that the creature would have ever debased themselves. She, on the other hand, was different. She was willing to humble herself and beg for her life. She had not lived nearly long enough yet.
As long as she could survive, there would always be a chance to get revenge.
They had been too merciful. After they attacked Tai Chu, the Boundary Guardians should have slaughtered all of humanity’s strongest powerhouses. There had been a chance at that time, but they had missed it. It was too late. They were always too late.
“Open the gate,” Lu Yin snapped.
The butterfly begged, “I... I can’t open it. Only Tian Ci can.”
Lu Yin frowned. “Then what use are you?”
The butterfly retorted, “I’m an Ortuser. I can help you with anything, as long as it’s within my power.
“I can tell you about the Spirit Nidus. I know a little about that place. I can also travel freely between parallel universes and sense creatures that are not from this megaverse. I truly have been helping this megaverse drive outsiders away. I swear it, Dao Monarch. Please believe me.
“Aside from our personal agenda against humanity, we really have been carrying out our duties.”
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “Knock on the gate.”
The butterfly hesitated, but she could also sense Lu Yin’s bloodlust. There was no choice for her but to turn to the gate and bang on it.
From a distance, it looked like the butterfly was crashing into the gate. It was more pathetic looking than seeing a moth flying into a flame. At least the moth would burn brightly for a moment before dying. The butterfly was silently striking the gate, producing only the faintest of ripples.
Lu Yin did not know if Tian Ci could hear the banging from the other side of the gate, but they needed to try. The next time the gate opened, it might mark the start of a war between the Spirit Nidus and Lu Yin’s own megaverse.