Progenitor Chen asked himself what he was best at, and he knew that the answer was killing, fighting, and creating battle techniques, not passively accepting attacks.
The man spat out blood as he struggled to raise his head. He stared at Forgotten Ruins God. "Nest."
The woman was impressed. "To fully withstand my Black Rose, Xia Shang, you are truly much stronger than your other eight clones. You should know, one of your clones was killed by my Black Rose."
"Nest," Progenitor Chen repeated in a low voice.
Forgotten Ruins God sighed and glanced over at Yan Gang. The man involuntarily walked towards her.
"Are these Nests really that important to Lu Yin? Or rather, are they such a terrible threat to this megaverse?" Forgotten Ruins God asked, seemingly puzzled.
Progenitor Chen stared at her. "Are you thinking of going back on your word?"
Forgotten Ruins God laughed coquettishly as her bright eyes swept back over to Xia Shang. "I am a woman, after all."
With that, she threw out a palm strike. Sequence particles swirled around the hand as she used Sit and Forget.
Progenitor Chen's eyes suddenly flared, and he took a step forward. When he reappeared, he was countering with a palm strike of his own.
Bang!
The void shattered, and the withering Black Rose shot straight into Forgotten Ruins God's body, pushed there by Progenitor Chen's Linked Palm.
He had used Linked Palm to borrow Forgotten Ruins God's Progenitor’s world.
The woman spat out blood as she flew back, horrified. How could this be? He skipped time? Xia Shang actually skipped time? That was Wu Xing's ultimate ability! How could this man know that same ability?
One blow was all it took for Progenitor Chen to drive Forgotten Ruins God back. "Wang Miaomiao, you deserve to die."
The Skygod coughed up more blood, but then her eyes suddenly flushed red. Lanterns had appeared around her at some unknown point in time. She was in a state where she had abandoned all sense of self or others, a state of harmony with the universe.
She started singing in a melancholic tone. It seemed to be about sending off a monarch in peace. It venerated a god of true disaster while invoking absolute freedom.
“Ethereal autumn waters, a vague beauty, gazing eastward…”
“Family unseen, ascending the heights of heaven, one person remaining…”
~~
It was True God’s Natural Art.
Progenitor Chen passed by the lanterns before he reached out to grab Forgotten Ruins God. Suddenly, a scepter appeared in his hand yet again. Wang Xiaoyu had attacked him.
There was a snap. Progenitor Chen instantly crushed the scepter.
At that moment, a lantern that bore Progenitor Chen's image shattered. He froze in place, his face suddenly pale. He coughed up blood and dropped to his knees again. What was this?
Forgotten Ruins God took advantage of the opportunity and rushed over to Wang Xiaoyu's side while simultaneously grabbing Yan Gang. "Let's go!"
Just as Progenitor Chen was about to attack, more lanterns shattered. Each time one was destroyed, he suffered a powerful, unseen attack. It was impossible for Progenitor Chen to give chase. All he could do was watch as Forgotten Ruins God and the others escaped.
A long time later, when all the lanterns had finally shattered, peace returned to the universe.
Progenitor Chen sat down cross-legged and let out a long breath.
He had never dealt with True God's Natural Art before and had been completely unprepared. However, even if he had been prepared, there was little he could do against any of True God's three ultimate techniques.
Skipping time might allow the man to instantly and completely recover, but the time that was skipped could be detected by skilled opponents. If that moment was found, Progenitor Chen could be seriously injured in future battles. He did not want to risk that.
He would not skip time unless it was absolutely necessary.
He had offered to take Forgotten Ruins God's three attacks head-on because of his ability to skip time, but Forgotten Ruins God was no fool. On top of that, she had gone back on her word.
Fortunately, Progenitor Chen had succeeded in taking the Rivers and Mountains Painting.
Lu Yin arrived at the Immemorial Citadel, where he found Mister Mu. This visit was not for anything particularly important. "That old monster, Yuan Qi, has been captured."
Mister Mu was initially surprised, but then he quickly understood. "He lost his Dao Bell, which means his strength has fallen drastically. Now, he’s only at the level of the Boundary Guardians, so it's no surprise that he was captured. Don't kill him yet. He could prove useful against the Spirit Nidus. He's terribly afraid of dying."
Lu Yin nodded.
After a brief silence, Mister Mu asked, "Is there something you want to ask me?"
Lu Yin thought for a moment. "Master, what was the name of your original megaverse?"
Mister Mu laughed. "It never had a name."
"No name?" Lu Yin was astonished.
Mister Mu stared off into the distance. "Names are only used to differentiate between different things that are sufficiently similar. If the Spirit Nidus didn’t exist, would this place have ever received the name ‘Tianyuan Megaverse?’"
"Are you saying that, when you were in your megaverse, you never encountered creatures from other megaverses?"
"We did, but such creatures arrived in our megaverse unintentionally. How could they have been qualified to name our megaverse?"
Lu Yin considered the question and agreed with his master. "True, normal creatures would never have the right to name a megaverse. In that case, who decided on the name of ‘Tianyuan Megaverse’ for us?"
Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin. "Tai Chu asked that same question, and that’s also why he didn’t dare to recover."
Lu Yin's expression stiffened. Could it have been all decided by an invincible being? The only being qualified to name a megaverse could be someone like Master Qing Cao.
"For you to suddenly ask about my megaverse, are you worried that my ancient enemies will also come to this Tianyuan Megaverse?" Mister Mu asked.
Lu Yin did not try to hide anything. "With the Spirit Nidus almost here and the Nests suddenly appearing, the Tianyuan Megaverse is dealing with even more pressure than ever, despite already feeling the strain. If the Nests are able to develop more, it will be a huge problem. If your megaverse’s ancient enemies also show up, on top of everything else…"
"That shouldn't happen," Mister Mu replied.
After a moment’s thought, he added, "During the great battle all those years ago, if not for that invincible being interfering, someone who could be called a Fated One, we would have never been defeated. Our enemies were not like these Nests, which multiply rapidly. Even if there is a threat, it won't arrive any time quickly."