Yu Shan said, “The threat of an unknown death has tormented me like a blade hanging above my head. I’ve suffered this torture for far too many years, and it grows worse with every passing year. I don’t dare to return to the Ascendant Hall, despite having reached a bottleneck with the Nine Heavens Transformation. I don’t dare to ask for any guidance. If not for that, I would have already broken through to the Spirit Origin realm.
“Can you understand the agony I suffer?”
Lu Yin commented, "It’s possible that your senior brother wasn’t killed by the High Seraph."
Yu Shan’s voice turned harsh as he snapped back, “My senior brother would have never lied to me!”
Lu Yin frowned. "Are you sure about that?"
Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered something, and then he blurted out, "Who told you that the High Seraph hated the Hundred Grasses Domain? Did you come up with the idea of destroying the domain on your own? How strong were you back then?"
How strong had Yu Shan been when the Hundred Grasses Domain had been destroyed? At best, he had been a Spirit Warrior, and yet he had dared to plot against the Hundred Grasses Domain that had had a Seraph overseeing it. This would have been the same as Lu Yin plotting against True God right after breaking through and becoming an Envoy. When the gap in power was too vast, victory would be impossible through the use of ordinary wisdom or strategy. Yu Shan did not seem to be someone like Progenitor Hui, who had managed to plan his schemes across eons.
Yu Shan stared at Lu Yin in awe. “Impressive, Third Boss. I can’t believe that you thought of that.
"My senior brother, Yu Chong, was both my senior brother and my ancestor."
Lu Yin understood. “You’re a descendant of Yu Chong?”
Yu Shan nodded. "My ancestor had already had descendants even before he became the High Seraph’s disciple. However, those descendants were not talented cultivators, so generation after generation passed until I was born. I have no idea how many generations are between us. Originally, my ancestor wanted to teach me, but because the Hundred Grasses Domain and the High Seraph were at odds with each other, he devised a plan for me to immediately become the High Seraph's disciple, which would grant me the cultivation resources that the entire Spirit Nidus envies.
"Not even the High Seraph knows about this."
Lu Yin understood. "It’s no wonder why Yu Chong taught you so much and even warned you that he would be killed by the High Seraph. Without a familial connection, he wouldn't have said so much."
Yu Shan nodded. "Yes. Without that connection, why would he have warned me?"
Lu Yin stared at Yu Shan. To the High Seraph, both Yu Chong and Yu Shan had never been anything more than ants. They were mere mortals, while he was essentially a god. Could mortals scheme against a god?
Yes.
Yu Chong had schemed against the High Seraph and succeeded in helping Yu Shan become a disciple of the High Seraph. Regardless of the outcome, the man had been willing to attempt to plot against the High Seraph.
While the High Seraph's combat strength was without equal, he was neither omniscient nor omnipotent. He had not comprehended karma or investigated the matter. There was no way for him to have known about the relationship between Yu Chong and Yu Shan.
That relationship was also why Yu Shan had been cautious of his master. While his caution might seem like a joke, it had allowed him to survive. He had been walking on thin ice, only to have finally encountered someone with the courage to challenge the High Seraph.
Yu Chong and Yu Shan were like ants, completely unable to resist the High Seraph, but Lu Yin was different.
He was very curious about how Yu Chong had managed to predict that he would be eliminated by the High Seraph. There had to have been a reason for it.
Could it also be related to the Lesser Spirit Megaverse?
Had Yu Chong learned of the existence of the Lesser Spirit Megaverse? No, if that were the case, Yu Shan would have never survived for so long. For the High Seraph, the existence of the Lesser Spirit Megaverse was something that absolutely could not be revealed. Not even the most remote possibility of that happening could be allowed.
In that case, what was the reason?
Cultivating karma had given Lu Yin a growing confidence in his own instincts. He felt that the reason the High Seraph had killed Yu Chong might prove to be a link to a point where Lu Yin could counter the High Seraph.
"Since you're sure the High Seraph will kill you, are you saying that you no longer have any mental burdens to acting against him?" Lu Yin asked.
Yu Shan’s head snapped up. "No, that's just asking to die."
Lu Yin smiled. "I’ll deal with that."
Yu Shan stared at Lu Yin. "I know that you're strong, but my master’s strength has no equal. Aside from the legendary invincible being, no one can compare to him. On top of that, the invincible being is merely fabricated by him, which means that he is truly invincible."
Lu Yin frowned. "He fabricated the existence of the invincible being?"
Yu Shan replied, "That’s what my senior brother said. He was certain that the invincible being was fabricated by the High Seraph."
"The term ‘invincible being’ has been around for a very long time, and it far predates your master."
"I’m saying that it was fabricated by another High Seraph and then passed down through the generations of High Seraphs. Essentially, the first High Seraph fabricated the existence of an invincible being as a means of having an easier time ruling over the Spirit Nidus. By the time my master became the High Seraph, the fabricated invincible being was no longer needed, as he is more than capable of ruling the Spirit Nidus on his own. My senior brother said that my master is more powerful than any High Seraph before him and that he is the greatest person in the history of the Spirit Nidus."
While there were many things that Yu Chong and Yu Shan might have been privy to, there were certain matters that they were not qualified to know about.
For example, Master Qing Cao’s existence was something that only a select few in the Tianyuan Megaverse knew about. Even the Origin Progenitor had not known about the Immortal for a very long time. Similarly, very few in the Spirit Nidus were aware of his existence.
"You can just stay aboard Boundless. Why hang from the tree again?"
Yu Shan glanced up at the tall tree and nodded. "I’ll keep hanging there. It makes me feel at ease."
"You’re basically asking Boundless to protect you. You should pay for such protection," Lu Yin commented indifferently.
"I have nothing."
"You have the Nine Heavens Transformation."
Yu Shan was startled. "You want to learn the Nine Heavens Transformation?"
"Is that not possible?" Lu Yin countered, giving Yu Shan a cold glare. The High Seraph's Nine Heavens Transformation had left a deep impression on Lu Yin. When the High Seraph used it, the resulting power was overwhelming and untouchable, allowing him to suppress everyone in the Tianyuan Megaverse. The Nine Heavens Transformation had similarly caused Yu Shan’s power to spike. It was a truly formidable technique.
Yu Shan solemnly stated, "You can't learn it. To do so, you first need the Nine Heavens split apart. My senior brother and I both received our master’s help in doing that, and not even my senior brother was able to help me split apart the Nine Heavens. There’s no way you can do that.
"Third Boss, I swear that this is the truth. Split apart the Nine Heavens, one power per level, nine powers combine into one. That is the Nine Heavens Transformation. You cannot split apart the Nine Heavens yourself. If I lost the Nine Heavens Transformation now, I would not be able to retrain it. I would need to ask my master to split apart the Nine Heavens for me again."
Lu Yin replied, "I believe you, but you don’t need to worry about that. Just show me the Nine Heavens Transformation that you know. Whether or not I can learn it is my business."
Yu Shan did not hesitate, and immediately performed the Nine Heavens Transformation, hiding nothing at all. After all, if he tried to hide anything, Lu Yin would notice.
Yu Shan genuinely demonstrated the Nine Heavens Transformation, teaching Lu Yin everything he knew. Unfortunately for Lu Yin, learning the technique was an entirely different matter.
He could see right through Yu Shan. While cultivators from the Spirit Nidus were different from Tianyuan cultivators due to their spirit seeds, they still developed inner worlds, Progenitor’s worlds, and other such things.
The Nine Heavens were the result of a complete transformation of Yu Shan's Progenitor’s world. It had been separated into nine sections, each step reaching higher. This was what the High Seraph had done to open the Nine Heavens.
It was not as simple as merely splitting a Progenitor’s world apart, as the divisions of the Nine Heavens were interconnected. For each level, Yu Shan cultivated a different power, and when that Heaven was split apart, the power of that division would merge with the others. This merging completed the transformation.