Lu Yin remembered Obscura’s gates. They were covered with images of all kinds of creatures. Was Miao Zun’s civilization among them?
Their civilization had been destroyed by Obscura, and yet they still wanted to join Obscura. This did not surprise Lu Yin. There were always all kinds of motivations. He himself had joined Obscura. It was possible that Miao Zun was like him, or perhaps they had never cared about their own civilization. There were many, many such beings.
"Vestigium will be even livelier from now on, hehe," Old Man Hehe said.
Lu Yin suddenly called out, "Che, are you there?"
"Lu Yin, what is it?" Che asked.
At this moment, most of Obscura should be present, because they had to choose whether to agree to Miao Zun joining.
"Can you tell me about Miao Zun?" Lu Yin asked.
Che helplessly replied, "Sorry, I did not participate in the war against Miao Zun’s civilization."
Furball laughed. "You can ask Hong Xia. He fought there."
Lu Yin’s gaze flickered. Hong Xia fought in that war?
At this time, Ba Se’s voice sounded out. "Lu Yin, Miao Zun has been approved to join Obscura. They will be contacted soon. Once they agree, the trial can be initiated. Before they join Obscura, you must worship the Divine Tree, be chosen by a color of your own, and return two of the colored lines. If not, you will be breaking the rules. I must remind you of this."
Lu Yin felt helpless, but his voice remained upbeat. "This is wonderful! Obscura will have another member and will surely grow stronger. Ba Se, I am very happy."
"Hmph!"
"Hehe."
“...”
"By the way, just asking, but all Obscura members are currently in Vestigium, right? Shouldn’t we greet each other?" Lu Yin called out.
There was no response.
He called out a few more times, but it seemed that no one in Vestigium, aside from Furball and the few others, was willing to pay any attention to Lu Yin.
Lu Yin felt rather helpless. He kept making a commotion whenever he was in Vestigium, and there were times when his words and actions could be considered setting his dignity aside. All of it was for the sake of learning more about Obscura, humanity’s arch-enemy. But despite his best efforts, some members hid themselves too thoroughly and could not be coaxed out no matter what he tried.
Just as he was about to leave, Hong Xia suddenly called out. "Lu Yin, come find me."
Lu Yin paused. "Hong Xia?"
"Come find me."
Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. What did Hong Xia want?
Lu Yin left Vestigium, pushing the lid off of the red coffin. He stared in the direction of Crimson Starshade. Find Hong Xia? It was impossible for him to start a war at this time; he could not even attack the Human Trio. If Hong Xia wanted to see Lu Yin, it had to be related to Miao Zun.
After contemplating for a while, Lu Yin teleported towards Crimson Starshade.
At that same time, Furball’s voice echoed in Vestigium. "It appears that Hong Xia is going to sow discord. He even deliberately spoke up in Vestigium so that you would hear it. Ba Se, you had better protect Miao Zun well. Do not allow them to be dealt with before they can even join."
Ba Se calmly answered, "Obscura does not accept trash."
"Hehe, nor those who cannot be used."
***
By teleporting again and again, Lu Yin arrived at the Crimson Starshade Megaverse to meet Hong Xia.
The man stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes. "Congratulations on leaving the battlefield alive."
Lu Yin sized up Hong Xia. "And congratulations to you as well, for breaking Obscura’s rules and still being safe and sound."
Hong Xia sneered. "I did not break the rules. I have already explained what happened to Ba Se."
Lu Yin smiled. "That I believe. After all, I also helped to justify your actions: it’s because your brain is no good that you were tricked by Ni Ren."
Hong Xia’s expression turned even colder.
"Still, Hong Xia, you really should train your brain more. Ni Ren was dumb enough to deliver himself to me to be slaughtered, and yet it was still able to deceive you. I truly do not know how you have survived for so long," Lu Yin said mockingly.
Hong Xia said, "I do not know how you killed Ni Ren, but luck will not always stand on your side, such as right now."
"Miao Zun?" Lu Yin was puzzled.
Hong Xia clasped his hands behind his back. "Miao Zun’s civilization is vile. They enjoy devouring fresh flesh, and Miao Zun is the strongest from their civilization. The fresh flesh that they enjoy the most is humans."
Lu Yin’s pupils shrank as he stared at Hong Xia.
Hong Xia continued in an indifferent tone, "I do not know when they ate humans, but when they encountered me during the war back then, they said that humans are delicious."
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. He understood why Hong Xia had called him. The man wanted to use Lu Yin, making him break Obscura’s rules and kill Miao Zun so that the creature would not join Obscura.
There were many reasons why Lu Yin would want to eliminate Miao Zun, and yet the one that Hong Xia provided was undoubtedly the biggest.
Lu Yin also understood Furball’s reaction in Vestigium.
Lu Yin did not consider that Hong Xia might be lying. It was very easy to verify his words with a single encounter with Miao Zun. The fact that Hong Xia dared to speak proved that his words were true.
"You can leave now," Hong Xia coldly ordered.
Lu Yin stared at him intently. "You don’t care at all?"
Hong Xia vanished. Care? Why would he care? There were so many humans. Of the bait that had been thrown out so long ago, how many lived and how many died? Who could know?
His only regret was that he had not delayed his betrayal just a bit longer. That had led to the rise of the Human Trio.
Lu Yin teleported over to the Blood Tower to ask Jiu Wen whether he knew about Miao Zun, but the man knew nothing.