Jiu Xian’s reaction gave Old Yu a headache. "I understand, but you can’t meet with him just yet. Wait until he leaves the Wisdom Domain."
Jiu Xian glared at Old Yu. "You're purposefully trying to make things difficult for me!"
Old Yu helplessly replied, "It’s you who is making trouble for the Wisdom Domain."
Jiu Xian clenched a fist and put away her gourd of wine, preparing to force her way in. In an instant, Old Yu’s demeanor changed entirely. "As long as I’m here, you can’t enter."
Jiu Xian’s eyes flickered. Finally, her wine gourd reappeared. "Fine! Then I’ll wait right here! Let’s see how long you can stop me for."
Old Yu was growing increasingly frustrated. He needed to contact his master and discuss Yong Heng’s demands, but if he left, Jiu Xian would force her way into the Wisdom Domain. If that happened, then regardless of whether she managed to speak with Yong Heng, it would still destroy the domain’s reputation that had been built up over the course of countless years. On top of that, if Yong Heng was pushed too far, he might actually hang around in the Wisdom Domain. Even if the High Seraph was summoned to deal with Yong Heng, the result would be the destruction of the Wisdom Domain.
Besides, who knew how someone like Yong Heng might react?
Old Yu did not want to become Lu Yin’s enemy, but he also did not want to become Yong Heng’s enemy.
The old man was aware of what Aeternus had done in the Tianyuan Megaverse. In some ways, Yong Heng was an even greater danger than Lu Yin.
That said, Yong Heng was still considered an ally of the Spirit Nidus.
The situation had become extremely awkward for Old Yu. He needed to speak to his master to receive a decision on whether or not he should cooperate with Yong Heng. After receiving an answer, Old Yu could finally relax. However, he could not leave the border as long as Jiu Xian was here and refusing to leave. If she forced her way in, Yong Heng would never leave. How did things become such a mess?
Even the smartest person would face a conundrum when dealing with shameless people.
The stalemate continued for half a month. For that entire time, Old Yu blocked Jiu Xian from entering the Wisdom Domain. No matter what was said, Jiu Xian still refused to leave. She simply stared at the reeds in the lake, where Yong Heng was relaxing. He drifted about the lake on a small boat, enjoying the glow of the sunset, looking completely unbothered.
No one reported the situation to the High Seraph, seemingly by mutual agreement.
Meanwhile, in the Southern Wandering Realm, Lu Yin was even more relaxed. Qing Yun’s hand was fair and soft while Qing Xiao’s tea and snacks were perfect. It was a truly enjoyable situation.
One day, someone arrived in the Southern Wandering Realm, looking for Lu Yin.
The person was a young woman with a cute and charming appearance. She looked innocent and naive, yet she was also surprisingly powerful as a Spirit Ancestor.
For someone so young to possess such impressive cultivation, this woman would be considered one of the greatest geniuses in the entire Spirit Nidus. Even so, Qing Yun, Qing Xiao, and Lu Yin did not recognize the visitor.
“I am Ge Yao,” the young woman announced as she bowed to Lu Yin, her eyes shining. “Greetings, Lord Lu.”
Lu Yin observed the young woman. “Ge Yao? A pleasant name. Why have you come to see me?”
Ge Yao’s tone remained very respectful. “I come from Heavenspire, and I am here on their behalf to invite Lord Lu to have a talk.”
Lu Yin was surprised. “Is Heavenspire inviting me?”
“Yes.”
Lu Yin blinked. “Has the High Seraph agreed to this?”
It was clear that this woman was not from Heavenspire. She was merely using that pretext as an excuse to lure Lu Yin to the Morrow Behemoth’s hand.
Before Emperor Wu’s death, Lu Yin might have gone and investigated things, but he would no longer go. He suspected that there was most likely a path to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse in the Morrow Behemoth’s hand.
Because of what had happened to the River Domain, the High Seraph would not personally intervene, but he would definitely use other means to keep Lu Yin from going. On top of that, Lu Yin himself had no desire to go.
No one was aware that Emperor Wu had sent Lu Yin a jade slip or that Xie Jiang had witnessed what had happened to the River Domain and then informed Lu Yin of the matter.
Ge Yao was most likely one of Xing Fan’s representatives.
She smiled. “Of course the High Seraph has agreed to this. Lord Lu is without equal in the megaverse. Heavenspire has had some minor misunderstandings with you in the past, and we hope to resolve them.”
Lu Yin looked puzzled. “I’ve heard that no outsiders have ever entered Heavenspire.”
“You are no ordinary person, Lord Lu.” Ge Yao was well-spoken, and her smile was quite fetching, though it felt unnatural to Qing Yun, and she trusted her instincts. This girl might look innocent, but she gave off a feeling of indifference, or rather, condescension.
While she acted openly respectful towards Lu Yin, her behavior seemed more like a calculated facade.
Lu Yin tapped a finger on the arm of his recliner, rocking slightly. He opened his mouth, causing Qing Yun to purse her lips before feeding him a small snack.
Ge Yao watched, a bright smile on her face, not showing the smallest hint of surprise.
She was well aware of Lu Yin’s determination to visit Heavenspire, and believed that she would not encounter any difficulties during this visit.
“I’m not going,” Lu Yin said while still chewing.
Ge Yao was briefly stunned, and her smiling face quickly fell, though the slip only lasted for an instant. She recovered, her reaction so slight as to almost be unnoticeable. Still, she did not hide her confusion. “Why not? You don’t want to visit Heavenspire? Or have you somehow become upset with Heavenspire?”
Lu Yin shook his head. “Neither. The thing is, I simply can’t go.”
This made no sense to Ge Yao. “Why not?”
Lu Yin gestured at their surroundings, a frustrated expression on his face. “Take a look at where we are.”
Ge Yao looked around. “A valley?”
“Jiu Xian’s valley,” Lu Yin reminded.
Ge Yao was still confused. “What does this have to do with Jiu Xian?”
Lu Yin explained, “Jiu Xian told me not to leave this valley for now. I need to stay here until the day the invasion of the Consciousness Megaverse is launched.”
A cold glint flitted across Ge Yao’s eyes. “Jiu Xian told you that?”
“Go ask her yourself,” Lu Yin replied. “Oh, but don’t tell her that you heard it from me. She forbade me from telling anyone and was quite cryptic about the whole thing. In fact, this is just how I interpreted what she told me. I actually don’t even know if I’m right.”
Ge Yao said, “Lord Lu, why would you need to listen to Jiu Xian? She’s not even close to being your match.”
Lu Yin waved his hand dismissively. “This isn’t a matter of strength, but rather a polite agreement. Jiu Xian is helping me search for Yong Heng. Actually, are you familiar with Yong Heng? He’s my arch-enemy from the Tianyuan Megaverse. I haven’t been able to find him on my own, so Jiu Xian is helping me. In return, I’m staying here. Neither of us will break this agreement, and it doesn’t really matter since the expedition to the Consciousness Megaverse will leave soon. I might as well relax until then. See, these two are Jiu Xian’s juniors, and they’ve been taking care of me while I’m here.”
Qing Xiao was stunned. Something about what Lu Yin had said felt off. The more Qing Xiao heard, the more it sounded like Jiu Xian was being used.