The Morrow Behemoth rose up from beneath the earth, its movements causing the Sixth Night Pillar to tremble. All the cultivators sat down cross-legged, calming their minds and focusing their energy.
The Morrow Behemoth climbed out of the ground and released a roar that shook the sky. Its immense power twisted the void as it rose up towards the stars. At the same time, another roar rang out from the South Domain.
The Morrow Behemoth reached for the ground with one hand, grabbing the band of elastic gray-brown skin. The beast wrapped the band around the massive Sixth Night Pillar and pressed the pillar to its back. The roars grew increasingly savage.
Boom, boom, boom!
Each thunderous heartbeat echoed across the stars in the sky, sending ripples through space. This was the Morrow Behemoth’s heartbeat as it exerted its full strength to pull the slingshot back, causing the entire Sixth Night Pillar to tilt.
Qiunan Hongye remained unmoved. She continued to beat the war drum, uninterrupted even by the Morrow Behemoth’s thunderous heartbeat.
There was a deafening explosion, and the Sixth Night Pillar soared upwards, launched by a tremendous force, instantly vanishing from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse as it rose up like a fleeing meteor.
At the same moment, two more streaks appeared in the sky above the South Domain. The Second and Fourth Night Pillars had also left.
Across the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, countless people stared up as the three streaks of light vanished. They had just seen the signal marking the start of the next war. The expedition’s outcome remained uncertain, despite the existence of the three Immortal Greater Sancti.
The Nine Odysseys Megaverse had seen defeats before, and on more than one occasion at that. After all, there had originally been four Greater Sancti.
The purpose of the Nine Odysseys was to wage war against other civilizations. The purpose of the Temporal Heavens was to constantly enrich the Nine Odysseys Megaverse itself, improving their cultivation conditions.
At the edge of the East Domain, where the Sixth Night Pillar had once stood, a vast, bottomless hole had appeared.
The Morrow Behemoth slowly laid down and fell asleep where it had just been standing. The burst of power that it had just used had pushed it past its limits, and its muscles had torn apart.
A short distance away, Lu Yin watched the creature lay down with eyes filled with awe.
That demonstration of power had far exceeded what the Morrow Behemoth in the Spirit Nidus had used to hurl Lu Yin into the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, even if it was still inferior to his own physical strength.
He had no doubt that his strength surpassed that of the Morrow Behemoth.
If he were the one to use the slingshot, who could say where the Sixth Night Pillar might end up.
The Morrow Behemoth’s strength had to be related to the distance it threw the Night Pillar.
Slingshots shot the Night Pillars out while the skyswings sent people around the Mother Tree. The Nine Odysseys Megaverse was completely different from what Lu Yin had first imagined. There was a sense of irreverence toward the rest of the cosmos, and yet the iron-blooded battle lust that had just appeared was not in the least bit fake.
If the day came when the Nine Odysseys Megaverse invaded the Tianyuan, how would Lu Yin feel upon witnessing such a scene?
The next moment, countless voices rose across the East Domain, echoing from every major family and sect as everyone offered their gratitude to the universe.
Even the Four Commands Sword Sect and Everchange Valley offered their thanks. This was not mere gratitude, but also a farewell for those who would not return home.
At this moment, the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse was giving thanks to the universe.
Further away, Jian Hong was also present. Due to the fact that he belonged to the Seventh Night Pillar, it was only natural that he was unable to join the expedition.
When Lu Yin looked over, Jian Hong offered a deep bow, but he did not say a word.
Lu Yin nodded, oriented himself, and then started moving towards the East Domain’s skyswing. It was time for him to visit the West Domain.
A bamboo slip floated high in the sky, crossing the East Domain as it moved closer to the Mother Tree.
That bamboo slip was the Autumnspring Slip. Lu Yin sat cross-legged on the mirebound artifact, lost in thought as he stared out at the star filled sky.
Behind him, Qian Shu struggled to write a single character, Luck, onto the mirebound artifact. It was not easy to write the character. Throughout his sect’s entire history, only a few Luck characters had ever been written on the Autumnspring Slip. They had used those characters to manipulate what had appeared to be fair wagers. However, using the characters had also exposed the sect’s actions. They had done so in order to replace Everchange Valley, but in doing so, they had also provoked Lu Yin. The price paid had ended up being the destruction of the entire sect.
"If the Autumnspring Slip were given another chance, would you still make that bet with Everchange Valley? Would you still bet with me?" Lu Yin’s voice reached Qian Shu’s ears.
Qian Shu’s hand froze. His expression grew complicated, he merely whispered, "Absolutely not."
"Then what do you think this character brought you? It allowed you to take Ming Xiaochou, yet doing that also led me to you," Lu Yin asked.
Qian Shu stared blankly at Lu Yin’s back, momentarily feeling completely lost.
It was true; manipulating luck had allowed the Autumnspring Slip to take Ming Xiaochou, as well as achieve various other goals over the years, but what had the final result proven to be? Manipulating luck had brought them Lu Yin, who had destroyed the Autumnspring Slip. If everything from the moment the "Luck" character had first been written on the mirebound artifact to the moment the sect had been destroyed was seen as a continuous thread, just what had that thread brought them?
They had gained nothing and paid the price of total annihilation.
Why had things turned out in such a way?
Qian Shu felt completely powerless. Indescribable agony overcame him, and he felt as though there were countless voices mocking him, as well as the Autumnspring Slip. He could not help but ask, “Why?”
Lu Yin stared blankly up at the sky. Why? He also did not know.
If the Autumnspring Slip had actually obtained good luck, then why had the sect been destroyed? Luck had helped them many times, but the ultimate price had been their destruction. Was that still good luck? If they had truly obtained good luck, then where had the bad luck that led to their destruction come from?
Wait... Good luck, bad luck... Lu Yin turned around to look at Qian Shu. “Does Luck... always mean good luck?”
Qian Shu met Lu Yin’s gaze, his pupils unfocused. “Of course.”
“Then why did it end like this?”
Lu Yin looked away. If the Autumnspring Slip had started with the Luck (运) character, then was it necessary that it end with the same character? If luck could be manipulated, then before humans had started controlling it, who had? The unseen laws of the universe? If the Autumnspring Slip had gained good luck, had doing so somehow violated something?
If obtaining luck was considered a violation, then what about karma or sequence particles? Could wielding those powers also lead to similar transgressions?
“Continue,” Lu Yin calmly ordered.
Qian Shu took a deep breath, suppressed his confusion, and resumed drawing the Luck (运) character.
However, Lu Yin was no longer looking forward to the completion of the character. The downfall of the Autumnspring Slip gave him chills. Had they obtained good luck, or bad luck? Did seizing good luck in the short term result in bad luck in the future? Did seizing luck somehow violate something? He had no answers.
Despite his questions, every Luck (运) character that Qian Shu drew seemed to lose its light.
Shortly after Lu Yin left the Sixth Night Pillar, a blue orchid leaf appeared in the sky. Unlike the leaf that Ming Xiaolong had used, this one was absolutely enormous. There was no question that the two were in completely different classes.
Jian Hong had not yet left, and he was startled to see the orchid leaf suddenly appear. “What are you doing here?”