Lu Yin felt a weight on his heart. Even if he eradicated the Netherfiends, Obscura still had their sights set on humanity. Also, while Silent Death’s spirit treasure formation had been stopped before it was completed, the Death Megaverse was another looming threat.
Finally, there was the Nest civilization, which could return at any moment, which was a truly terrifying possibility.
“People have been waiting outside for me long enough. I should go meet them,” Lu Yin commented as he turned to look at a distant point.
Greater Sancte Awe Gate turned to leave, and she took Qing Yun and Granny Yin with her.
Lu Yin released his consciousness and walked away.
The Great Master was the first to rush over to him, and her eyes locked onto Lu Yin. “Fusing multiple spirit seeds?”
Lu Yin motioned for silence, and the Great Master smiled. “I understand.”
With that, she vanished.
From the other side, Qing Xing, Dan Jin, and the others nodded to Lu Yin before also leaving. While they were curious about the Nirvana Tree Path, they had already reached a certain level of power and thus were not in a rush.
Only the cultivators who were in the area beyond where Lu Yin’s consciousness had previously covered stayed behind. Many had been drawn to the area by the recent battles, while others had been lured over by the Nirvana Tree Path. All of them were waiting for Lu Yin to provide answers.
When he appeared before the crowd, Little Lotus King and the other young elites stepped forward to block his path.
Lu Yin looked at them and stopped, though he said nothing. With his hands clasped behind his back, Lu Yin silently waited.
Little Lotus King walked closer while staring at Lu Yin. “Mr. Lu, you’re Fugui, aren’t you?”
Many of the people watching from a distance overheard the question, and exchanged strange looks. Fugui? Is that a name?
Lu Yin smiled. “That was me.”
Little Lotus King met Lu Yin’s gaze. “Were you toying with us, Mr. Lu?”
Lu Yin chuckled. “I don’t have time for something like that.”
Jian Heng stepped forward. “What exactly did you mean by your words to us?”
Lu Yin looked at him. “Such as?”
“Tired,” Xue Zhan replied.
Lu Yin nodded. “That’s right, I’m tired. Dealing with you all is even more exhausting than searching for the Netherfiends.”
“What about what you said about ordinary and extraordinary cultivators?” Gui Ji asked.
Ji butted in, “In your eyes, are we really all the same?”
Lu Yin replied, “Yes, all are the same. Is there really a difference?
“As for the ordinary and extraordinary, you came to that conclusion on your own. I never said anything.”
He then added admiringly, “All of you are true geniuses, for you to be able to force an epiphany like that. It was impressive.”
Hearing their actions being referred to as forcing an epiphany caused several of the young men to blush with embarrassment.
At the time, they had not considered any of their enlightenments to be forced. They had truly believed that they had been enlightened. In hindsight, it seemed evident that Lu Yin’s evaluation was quite accurate.
It was humiliating.
Jian Heng wanted nothing more than to lash out at Lu Yin, but he did not dare. When he considered how he had openly offended the man in Blackmarsh City, Jian Heng understood just how lucky it was that Lu Yin did not hold it against him.
Otherwise... He shuddered to imagine what could have happened.
It did not matter that they were considered geniuses, as even someone with as high a status as Little Lotus King could be disciplined by Lu Yin without issue. Who would dare to stop him?
Bai Xia? The guardian of the Scion Spire had already run off without a trace.
Little Lotus King stared at Lu Yin with a serious expression. “Mr. Lu, there’s only one question that I wish to ask.”
Lu Yin said, “I’m in a good mood, so go ahead and ask more than one.”
“Exactly what is cultivation?”
It was a question that Little Lotus King had never considered before. In Blackmarsh City, he had obtained enlightenment through Lu Yin, but after realizing that Lu Yin was not an ordinary cultivator, doubt and contradictions had arisen in Little Lotus King’s mind, obscuring his path of cultivation. He was now seeking an answer.
It was possible that not even his master could provide him with an answer, as his master saw things from too high a perspective.
Lu Yin was the most suitable person to ask. He had comprehended karma, and he was also the cause of Little Lotus King’s confusion.
Lu Yin glanced over at the young men before him and then calmly stated, “None of your insights are wrong. Everyone has their own path. Ordinary or extraordinary, you’ve each gained your own insights, just as I’ve received my own.”
Little Lotus King and the others looked at one another in surprise.
In their eyes, Lu Yin was untouchable, and his power was unmatched. He was practically an Immortal. Could he truly have learned something from people like them?
Lu Yin smiled. “Don’t be surprised. To be born human is, in truth, fair. Mortals cannot reach the heights of the Immortal realm, but likewise, an Immortal cannot reach the heights of a mortal. Heaven and earth always move in dualities: yin and yang, black and white, gain and loss. There are always two sides. You pursue Immortality—that pursuit is no different from a mortal striving for their own life. In the end, it’s all the same.”
Little Lotus King and the other young elites were not the only ones to hear Lu Yin’s words, as all of the nearby cultivators were also able to listen.
One by one, people stared at Lu Yin in stunned silence. They had never before heard Immortals and ordinary humans being equated, and yet Lu Yin had just placed them both on the same level. What kind of profound insights did he have?
The Immortal realm was one extreme, while ordinary mortals were another. In pursuing one extreme, the other could not be neglected.
It was true that they had all ignored mortals throughout their cultivation journey, but without those ordinary humans, how could cultivators have ever existed?
Originally, all humans had been mortals. Cultivation was nothing more than a journey from one extreme to another.
At that moment, countless people seemed to understand something, and they bowed low to Lu Yin.
Little Lotus King and the other elites no longer felt lost. Their insights belonged to them alone, and their paths were theirs to walk. Why should they care about how others saw them?