Lu Yin did not try to hide what he had done. “I once practiced a form of puppet manipulation, which allowed me to control this corpse.”
He then turned to Wu Taibai. “Are you saying that, as long as that corpse is destroyed, the Forgotten Ruins will disappear?”
Wu Taibai sighed. “That’s what’s happened in the past, but you have to remember that this is a trap and that all of us followed a map to get here. That map came from Long Xian, so Long Xian must be a Redback, which means that those monsters must also be here. If a trap is that easily destroyed, then can it still be considered a trap?
“Besides, destroying the corpse is a part of the trap, and it appears that the trap activated after the four Junior Progenitors all used their visualization method. Or maybe it was triggered after the power level in the battle crossed a certain limit.”
Everyone quietly listened on.
“I suspect that, even if I smash that corpse apart now, not only will it not save them, but it might even kill them,” Wu Taibai said in a serious manner. “This is what those monsters like to do the most: force us into killing our own youths. Still, all of this is just my speculation.”
Everyone had to admit that Wu Taibai’s guesses seemed highly probable.
It was absolutely not easy for humanity’s enemies, those monsters, to set a trap in the Dominion Realm. If their trap that had taken such a great amount of effort was easily destroyed, then it would be pointless.
Given that a trap had been set up, the monsters clearly had complete confidence in trapping the four Junior Progenitors, even if a true Progenitor moved to save the youths.
The Perennial World had placed their hopes entirely on the Junior Progenitors, hence their title. As for the monsters, they would be willing to do nearly anything if it allowed them to eliminate a future Progenitor. It was also possible that this trap had not even been set with the youths in mind.
Humanity had been at a disadvantage in the war against the monsters for countless years, and even the Dominion Realm had been invaded many times. No one knew just how many traps had been left behind. Alternatively, could the monsters be hoping that someone would make a trip to save the youths? Had the trap not been fully activated yet? It was impossible to know.
“Should we go?” Unseen Light asked.
Everyone looked over at Lu Yin. He had rescued them all, and he was also the most powerful. Thus, he had the most say in this situation.
Lu Yin looked over at Long Xi who was still within range of the Forgotten Ruins. He could not just abandon this woman.
Even after Lu Yin had been completely exposed as a trespasser, Long Xi had still given him critical information during a battle, which was beyond anything that she owed Lu Yin.
The moment she warned Lu Yin, she had claimed a place in his heart. While he could certainly just leave her here in the trap, Lu Yin was not willing to do so. However, if he rescued her, then what guarantee was there that she would not expose them all as trespassers? What should he do? It was one thing to have certain feelings for a person, but could that overcome the brutal truth of the situation? As a part of the Perennial World, could Long Xi actually let them go as trespassers from the Forsaken Land? Even if she could overlook that status for Lu Yin, what about everyone else? She definitely would not allow the others to continue roaming around freely.
Lu Yin was not confident that Long Xi could be trusted with their status, and releasing her would be gambling with everyone’s lives.
Yao Xuan was cautious. “Lu Yin, you can’t possibly be thinking of saving that woman! We can’t all die here with you.”
Unseen Light spoke up. “Our situation is not stable. It might be possible for you to save her in the future.”
Lu Yin frowned as he silently stared at Long Xi.
Shang Qing glanced over at Lu Yin. “If you want to save her, then you have the option to do so. Don’t you have a hidden world? Just put her there.”
Lu Yin was taken aback. “A hidden world? How could I have something like that?”
Shang Qing casually replied, “Zenith Mountain.”
“That’s a hidden world?” Lu Yin was stumped.
Everyone else was similarly surprised, as they were all very familiar with Zenith Mountain, but was that mountain really a hidden world?
Shang Qing explained, “Zenith Mountain was one of the Hall of Honor’s greatest treasures, and it was always a hidden world. It can grow large or small, and it can also be used to attack or defend. At first, the Hall of Honor wanted to give it to me, but that would not have looked right. That was why they made it the prize for ZENITH’s champion, which is why it was given over to you.”
Lu Yin felt awkward. “So are you saying that it’s something that I stole from you?”
Shang Qing looked back at Lu Yin and replied, “No. You earned it through your own strength, though there have been many arguments within the Hall of Honor. Still, Arch-Elder Zen is the hall’s master, and he awarded you with Zenith Mountain. It’s a hidden world that can hold life that can still be stored in a cosmic ring.”
After speaking, the three streams of ancestral qi swirled back around Shang Qing, giving him an ethereal appearance. Anyone who saw him would want to beat him up.
Lu Yin impatiently took out Zenith Mountain and placed it on the ground. It looked like a simple rock.
Everyone stared at it, and they could all see where they had been fighting on the mountain, though they all felt irritated by the statue of Lu Yin.
Lu Yin sat down cross-legged on the ground. “I’m going to control the withered corpse, so please step back.”
Everyone gave him odd looks before stepping back.
Lu Yin’s consciousness returned to the withered corpse, and it stood up.
Everyone was amazed. Was this real life? It was not that they had not encountered puppetry techniques before, but rather that they had never expected such a thing to be so useful at this moment.
However, even with a puppetry technique, how had Lu Yin himself been immune to the Forgotten Ruins? The people who were present were not stupid, and they all knew that Lu Yin had some secrets, but who among them did not? Unseen Light had not revealed his innate gift even during ZENITH. Thus, no one questioned Lu Yin on the matter.
The corpse approached Lu Yin’s body, placed it on the corpse’s back, and then reentered the Forgotten Ruins. After all, Lu Yin’s body could never be more than five meters away from the corpse.
The corpse picked up Long Xi, set her on the edge of the trap’s range, silently returned to a corner, and then Lu Yin’s consciousness returned to his own body.
Lu Yin opened his eyes and pulled Long Xi out of the Forgotten Ruins.
She opened her eyes and warily looked around. When she saw all the people who were still trapped within the Forgotten Ruins, she turned to look at Lu Yin with a torn expression. “Did you save me?”
Lu Yin nodded.
Everyone else stayed silent and kept their distance.
Long Xi stared at Lu Yin. Suddenly, a spear appeared in her hand, and she raised it high. “You and I are enemies!”
“Then why did you warn me?” Lu Yin countered.
Long Xi clenched the spear shaft. “I warned you as a final show of affection. From now on, there is nothing more between the two of us.”
Lu Yin sighed in a helpless manner. “Do you really believe that they’ll just let you go?”
He looked over at Unseen Light and the others.
Long Xi’s expression froze. “Then just try to stop me!”
She instantly used the Roving White Dragon and disappeared with a single step. Lu Yin also disappeared, blocking Long Xi’s path. She reflexively used White Dragon Surveying the Sky, and she was a bit stronger than Wang Yi when he had participated in ZENITH. After all, she had already opened her lower meridian point. Still, that meant nothing against Lu Yin.
This was the first time that the two had faced each other in a serious manner, and it was also Long Xi’s first time truly experiencing Lu Yin’s terror.