Lu Yin’s heart sank further and further. He was hearing truly grim news from Master Qing Cao. Had the Tianyuan Megaverse encountered an unprecedented crisis?
Master Qing Cao continued to observe Lu Yin. “The Tianyuan, Spirit Nidus, and even the Nine Odysseys megaverses are all ruled by humans. The loss of the Tianyuan means relatively little. Preserving the other two will better serve humanity’s future. Sadly, you cannot see that.”
Lu Yin could offer no argument. Emotionally, he naturally wanted to protect his home megaverse, but from the perspective of the entire human race, he could not say that Master Qing Cao was wrong.
He still remembered the scene of the meteorite’s megaverse being reset and its species wiped out. Since that moment, the meteorite had lived on without any family, existing as the sole survivor of its species in the omniverse. Lu Yin could not even imagine the emotional torture the creature was suffering from.
“Then why didn’t you reset it?” Lu Yin asked.
Master Qing Cao stared at Lu Yin with growing intensity. “The Tianyuan is not as fragile as I believed. Each time it faces critical danger, someone rises up to turn the tide. Last time, it was you. This time, it is Jiang Feng.”
“Uncle Jiang?” Lu Yin was surprised. “Wasn’t he... Didn’t you...?”
“He carved another path for himself.”
“That’s why you mentioned ‘another one.’” Lu Yin understood why Master Qing Cao had referred to Lu Yin as “another one” earlier. Uncle Jiang had been the first to stand up to the Immortal. That was wonderful news. Finally, Lu Yin was hearing some good news.
Master Qing Cao shook his head. “Without becoming an Immortal yourself, there will always be a gap. That civilization certainly has Immortals, and the moment they arrive, your megaverse is doomed.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Lu Yin asked.
Master Qing Cao casually replied, “I’m treating the Tianyuan as a shield to protect the Spirit Nidus, just the same as how the Nine Odysseys Megaverse uses my Spirit Nidus as a shield to protect them.
“I want you to be able to hold out.” With those words, the man vanished.
Lu Yin stared at the empty ground in front of him. A shield? It was a blunt description, but also quite honest. Still, that could not be everything, could it? If the Nest civilization truly arrived and the Tianyuan was unable to endure, then what would the Nine Odysseys Megaverse do? They prided themselves on existing above the other three megaverses. There was no way that they would allow the Tianyuan Megaverse to be destroyed by the Nests. At the very least, resetting the megaverse was always an option held in reserve.
When seen from this perspective, the Tianyuan not only served as the Spirit Nidus’s shield, but also as Master Qing Cao’s bait to drag the Nine Odysseys Megaverse down.
The Immortal wanted the Tianyuan to be a battlefield that would drag in both the Nest civilization and the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.
Even if the Nine Odysseys Megaverse emerged victorious, a price would have to be paid. The Tianyuan Megaverse was already serving as a torch. Unless the Nine Odysseys Megaverse immediately reset the Tianyuan Megaverse, that torch would attract endless war. The final beneficiary might very well end up being the Spirit Nidus.
Lu Yin exhaled. He really wanted to return home and take a Nest to the Spirit Nidus. His own megaverse would not easily accept being used as a torch. The Spirit Nidus was a much more suitable candidate for that role.
He would wait until his journey in the Consciousness Megaverse was complete, and only then would he go back.
He looked up at the steep cliff, intending to continue waiting down below, standing watch for the Origin Progenitor.
Eventually, Everlasting Will reached the top of the cliff. The High Seraph quickly created a bit of space between himself and the Origin Progenitor, and the two men faced each other.
The High Seraph clutched his shoulder, his hand becoming stained with blood. The Origin Progenitor observed him from in front. “Your wound is quite serious. What perfect timing. Pillar, shall we finish him off?”
Lu Yin’s lips curved. “Of course. My Tri-Azure Sword Intent contains Immortal matter. It is far from simple. His wound is essentially incurable. The more he fights, the more that Immortal matter will erode his body, breaking it down even further. There is no power that he possesses that can suppress it. Forcing him to fight is no different from forcing him to die.”
The High Seraph’s gaze grew sharp. Immortal matter? No wonder he was able to fight back against Master Qing Cao. How did he manage to master that?
The High Seraph was aware of Immortal matter, but even after so many years, he had never managed to master it. In fact, he was unable to even see it. Lu Yin had only been in the Consciousness Megaverse for a short while, so how had he undergone such a swift transformation?
A sword attack that contained Immortal matter would undoubtedly leave behind wounds that were difficult to recover from, but that did not necessarily mean that things were as grave as what Lu Yin claimed.
After all, the High Seraph had never been wounded by an Immortal-level attack. Would continued activity really weaken him further and further?
The Origin Progenitor glanced down the cliff. Is that true? Is it really so serious?
Even the Origin Progenitor found it hard to believe Lu Yin.
However, that brat Pillar is best at lying through his teeth. Since he’s unable to climb the cliff on his own, he could very well be bluffing to intimidate the High Seraph... That certainly isn’t impossible. If I attack, it could reveal the lie.
The Origin Progenitor found himself in a dilemma.
Lu Yin urged, “Senior, finish him! Quickly!”
The Origin Progenitor glanced back down at Lu Yin, the old man’s heart dropping. So he really is just bluffing.
He knew Lu Yin all too well; the more serious the young man behaved, the more likely it was that he was lying.
Naturally, Lu Yin had been lying. Master Qing Cao had shattered the Tri-Azure Sword Intent, so how could it be as powerful as Lu Yin had claimed? The High Seraph had been struck by the last bit of power in the slash, and while he had indeed been badly wounded, it was nowhere near as disastrous as Lu Yin had claimed.
He had simply been trying to scare the High Seraph. Mentioning an Immortal’s attack and that his sword technique contained Immortal matter had been to target the High Seraph’s blind spot. The man had no way to determine whether Lu Yin was being honest or deceptive.
“Pillar, if I push him to his death, I won’t be able to get back down,” the Origin Progenitor said, playing along.
Lu Yin frowned. “Senior, are you confident that you can reach the palace? If you just touch it, you can obtain an Immortal’s memories, and you might even be able to break through. If you can’t, just wait. Other people from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse will doubtlessly come back here, and you can leave with them. Given your strength, not even a Lesser Sancte can stop you.”
The Origin Progenitor sighed. “I can’t reach the palace. As for waiting... no. That would waste too much time. What about Boundless? There are many matters that you are unable to handle on your own. I spent so many years suppressing the sequence strings. I don’t want to end up trapped in one place again.”
“Senior, the High Seraph is very powerful. Before time was rolled back thirty-seven years, he shattered the Immemorial Citadel and massacred the Heavens Sect. He’s one of the Tianyuan Megaverse’s greatest enemies. Senior...”
“Pillar, you are strong enough to finish him off easily enough. There’s no reason for me to die to take him down.”
“What do you mean, die taking him down? He’s already dead! Just attack him.”
“Becoming trapped atop this cliff is no different from dying with him.”
“Don’t underestimate the High Seraph, Senior. He might be able to reach the palace. If we don’t kill him, he will always remain a threat.”
“Then I’ll simply make it impossible for him to reach the palace.”
“Senior...”
“Pillar...”
One atop the cliff, the other below it, two men continued to bicker. Lu Yin’s expression grew uglier and uglier, and the Origin Progenitor was not looking much better.
“Are you willing to accept me being trapped atop this cliff forever?” the Origin Progenitor shouted.
Cough, cough.