The humanoid Verdant Sage regretfully said, “I was born in the Third Rampart, and I can be considered half human. I understand human emotions quite well. If we were willing to abandon our war against your civilization, we might gain your goodwill, but we would never be able to gain your friendship. There will never be a day when there is absolute trust between different civilizations.”
They paused, and the creature’s gaze grew heavy as it stared ahead. “Lu Yin, you are strong enough to fight against Immortals without being one yourself, which I greatly admire. However, allow me to remind you that while you humans may be able to achieve Immortality, the limitations of your species mean that your civilization can never become a fishing civilization. So long as you remain human, you will always live in fear. The day that you are able to see this clearly, you will regret not joining us.
“The future of our Nest civilization far surpasses that of humanity.”
The humanoid bug then took a step forward, attacking Lu Yin. A hand pressed down, and the power of the Third Rampart crashed across the Aevum Inch to crush Lu Yin.
He responded by flicking his wrist and raising a hand. An attack blasted out.
Bang.
There was a deafening impact, and both individuals simultaneously fell back.
The Verdant Sage was stunned. Did this human actually possessed greater physical strength than they, an Immortal?
Lu Yin’s palm tingled. How has this humanoid Verdant Sage’s strength risen so much?
While he had never traded blows with the creature, Lu Yin had watched the Immortal fight against Awe Gate, and the bug had failed to endure her Heartrift power. Physical strength was not what the humanoid Verdant Sage primarily cultivated.
It could not compare to the Immortal monster’s physical might at all.
Despite that, Lu Yin had just been driven back by a single palm strike.
This was not just being suppressed by an Immortal. The bug must have experienced something; this Verdant Sage was different from before.
“Lu Yin, if you join my Nest civilization, I can ensure that you will become an Immortal.” The Verdant Sage stepped forward once again, this time with Lifeforce flowing about their body. Immortal matter shimmered like scattered stars: Lawless Barrier.
They attacked Lu Yin again, this time with a hand that grabbed at the cosmos, peeled space away, and shrank it down. The Immortal was playing with the cosmos with a hand.
Lu Yin’s flesh withered as Lifeforce surged from within him. Infinity circulated through his body as he forcibly ripped himself free from the captured space. He pointed a finger into the void, and the chains of the Heaven and Earth Lock fell.
The Immortal simply grabbed the chains. “You underestimate Immortals.”
Squeezing hard, they shattered the Heaven and Earth Lock, flinging the broken shards in all directions.
At just that moment, Tri-Azure Sword Intent shot straight for the Verdant Sage’s brow.
The Immortal flicked the sword intent aside with a finger and immediately followed up by throwing a hand behind him, at where Lu Yin had just appeared. As the hand approached him, Lightstream flickered and reversed time by one second. The bug shuddered, and time and space fractured around them. It was impossible to reverse an Immortal’s time.
Time did not reverse, but the Verdant Sage was still delayed for a single heartbeat. During that moment, Lu Yin grabbed the Immortal’s arm in a vice-like grip and then heaved, trying to tear the creature apart.
There was a sound like a thunderclap, and Lu Yin spat out blood as he was sent flying backwards. The Verdant Sage flashed in front of him, attacking his head.
He gritted his teeth and crossed his arms to block the attack.
There was another boom as he was viciously smashed into the karmic wall. Cracks spiderwebbed across it.
He spat out more blood while staring at the humanoid Verdant Sage in shock. How was this possible?
Lifeforce swirled around the Immortal, giving it a divine appearance. It stared at Lu Yin through fathomless eyes. “I told you, you underestimate Immortals. Your shallow understanding of such beings will be your death.”
Lu Yin stared at the Verdant Sage as Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s voice entered his ears. “It is manipulating its Lifeforce. Every Immortal has their own methods of employing Lifeforce. I intended to teach you about this later. I did not expect events to advance so quickly.
“Be very careful. This insect can use its Lifeforce to simulate itself, creating invisible Lifeforce attacks.”
Lu Yin was startled. “Invisible attacks?”
The Verdant Sage sneered. “Did that karmic Immortal tell you? In that case, I’ll be open. This is called the Three Revolutions of Qianyuan.”
As it spoke, their Lifeforce once again surged across their body. A blurry figure appeared before the Verdant Sage, followed by another.
They stepped forward, merging with the two blurry figures. When the Immortal raised their hand again, afterimages were overlapping with the hand. This was not due to the speed of the movement, but rather from their use of Lifeforce.
The creature’s Lifeforce would deliver a second and third strike.
Lu Yin stared. This was how Lifeforce should be used.
“In principle, this insect should not have been able to learn to wield Lifeforce so deftly within a mere decade or so. Many Immortals’ use of Lifeforce is crude, such as that Immortal monster or Blood Tower. Such beings are more concerned with aligning with cosmic laws, but the usage of Lifeforce can play a massive role in combat.
“This Nest civilization must have access to some place similar to the Mirari Realm.”
Lu Yin frowned. “That’s going to be a problem.”
“It’s to be expected. At the level of Immortals, the opponents that you face will exceed your imagination. There are Immortals who control unimaginable methods, some of which not even I can foresee. What you’re seeing before you is only the beginning.
“Still, I believe that you can handle this. You have some abilities that even Immortals would consider inconceivable.”
Lu Yin wiped the blood from his lips. He did have those kinds of abilities, but this was not the time to use them. He refused to believe that the Verdant Sage’s attacks were truly invisible.
Lifeforce coalesced in his hand into a long sword, into which he infused Immortal matter.
“Three Revolutions of Qianyuan... sounds nice. Is it yours?”
“You could say that.”
“Good. Let’s see how many times you can use it.” Lu Yin swept the blade horizontally. Sword intent flared as he poured more power into the attack. The slice cleaved the Aevum Inch in two as far as the eye could see.
The humanoid Verdant Sage used a hand to press down on the blade while leaping forward. Lu Yin felt the pressure suddenly vanish, and he reflexively stepped to the side. Even so, a heavy blow struck his right forearm, nearly ripping the sword free. Behind him, the Immortal bug clapped their hands before spreading their palms wide apart. The void shuddered as layers of space shattered, the destruction spreading farther and farther. For a moment, the entire Tianyuan quaked.
Countless people inside Tianyuan looked up at the stars. They were not able to see the battle, but they could certainly feel it.
Their megaverse was trembling.
The River of Aeons appeared beneath Lu Yin’s feet, and he vanished. He instantly reappeared elsewhere, having sailed up the stream.
The Verdant Sage was taken aback. “You have quite the rapport with your megaverse’s ferryman. There are no restrictions on you using the power of time. Still, how many times can you use that to save you?”
As they spoke, the creature pressed their palms together. After turning their palms so that the heels of the palms were facing outwards, the bug then spread their palms apart.