Greater Sancte Awe Gate shook her head at Lu Yin’s question. “Not everything can be explained. It might have been caused by something internal, or perhaps something external. No one really knows.
“In any case, we need to first deal with these bugs. Even if they don’t have an Immortal with them, their sheer numbers are already overwhelming. You need to protect the Consciousness Megaverse. Currently, the sects and families of the West Domain are defending the megaverse, but you destroyed the Cheng family, which caused Skyveil City to fall into chaos and many clans to relocate. That weakened the overall strength of the West Domain, so their weakness is partially your responsibility.”
Lu Yin did not argue that point. While he wanted nothing more than to return to the Tianyuan Megaverse at this moment, eliminating the bugs took priority.
If the insects spread throughout the Nine Odysseys Megaverse... Just the thought of Nests appearing everywhere in the human megaverses sent chills down Lu Yin’s spine.
He wanted to eliminate the bugs more than anyone else.
The Nest civilization was the first truly terrifying foreign civilization that Lu Yin had encountered. Battles between civilizations in the Aevum Inch were wars of the largest scale, and they were also the most brutal. Such conflicts defied all imagination.
Besides, he also wanted to return to the Consciousness Megaverse. The Origin Progenitor was still there, which made this a good opportunity.
Master Qing Cao let out a long sigh. “We intended to use the Tianyuan as a shield, only to be outmaneuvered by it. Awe Gate, isn’t that ironic?”
Greater Sancte Awe Gate blandly replied, “No shield is absolute. Have you forgotten the crisis that we faced back then? Even if the Tianyuan and your Spirit Nidus had been used as shields, it still wouldn’t have been enough. If we had failed to stay hidden, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse would’ve been destroyed, along with everything else. Even so, we did our best to keep your megaverses away from the frontlines, especially the Tianyuan Megaverse. At the very least, we hoped to preserve a seed of humanity.”
Lu Yin looked at Greater Sancte Awe Gate. Is that really true?
Master Qing Cao did not deny anything, which was as good as a confirmation.
It was imperative that humanity survive in the cosmos. For the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, if abandoning the Tianyuan would avert a catastrophe, then they would do so without hesitation. However, if even that would not help, then they would instead do their best to protect the Tianyuan Megaverse in order to preserve a spark of human civilization.
So this was what the Great Master meant when they said that it’s both a shield and a burden.
“Do you have any issues with supporting the Consciousness Megaverse?” asked Greater Sancte Awe Gate.
Lu Yin replied, “The biggest threat of the Nest civilization isn’t their strongest creatures, the Verdant Sages, but rather the Nests themselves. No one knows how many Nests have been scattered across the cosmos. That’s why the Tianyuan was never able to fully eliminate the crisis.
“I recommend that we deploy more cultivators. They don’t need to fight on the front lines, but instead need to scour every corner of the megaverses for hidden Nests. Also, there’s one more thing.” His tone grew grave as he continued to say, “The Nests represent desire. Some people desire revenge, the strength to achieve what was once beyond them. Such desires can drive them to spawn insects from the Nests. That’s what makes them so incredibly dangerous.”
“I will announce that the Nests are a forbidden power. Anyone caught hiding one will be regarded as a criminal,” Greater Sancte Awe Gate replied.
“That’s not enough,” Lu Yin retorted, “The fact that Deathmound exists means that violators will always appear. That also means that people will hide the Nests they find.”
Master Qing Cao agreed. “We still need some means of completely eliminating the spread of the Nests.”
Lu Yin suddenly looked over at Master Qing Cao. “What’s your relationship with Yong Heng?”
Greater Sancte Awe Gate also turned to face the man, but Master Qing Cao just replied with a calm smile, “There’s no relationship.”
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “If not for the fact that you brokered an agreement that prevented the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s people from entering the Tianyuan, Aeternus would have never been able to grow so strong. Yong Heng is quite well known within this megaverse. At the very least, Deathmound knows of him.”
Master Qing Cao replied, “Barring the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s people from entering the Tianyuan Megaverse was for your own good. I don’t want to see the Tianyuan become another Spirit Nidus. Of course, I didn’t do this out of kindness. Rather, from my view, the Tianyuan had the potential to become a second home for the Spirit Nidus’s cultivators.”
The man held nothing back. “If one day, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse is left with only two Immortals, I will be able to take the people of my Spirit Nidus and leave without worrying about anything. If the Nine Odysseys Megaverse wants the Spirit Nidus, they can have it. It would be just an empty shell, anyways.”
Greater Sancte Awe Gate's tone grew cold. "You won't be able to leave."
Master Qing Cao chuckled. "That's why I said, ‘if one day, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse is left with only two Immortals.’"
Lu Yin wanted to say something, but Master Qing Cao cut him off. “Child, I have no obligation to answer your questions, but I will be kind enough to remind you of one thing: find your target, and find your direction. Clearly observe this megaverse before you proceed any further. Whether it's the human race or some other type of creature, they're all too bloated. In fact, the sole purpose of all existence is nothing more than survival. That's all there is to it. As long as one can survive, everything can be sacrificed. Don't you agree?”
With that, the man left.
Lu Yin stared Master Qing Cao’s back as he moved away. The word “survive” echoed endlessly within his mind. Is it all really just to survive?
It sounded like such a simple reason, but after one truly saw the cosmos, they would understand that it was the most difficult thing of all.
Lu Yin suddenly felt like laughing. In the past, he had cultivated to become stronger. He had seized control of a region, and he had even risen to essentially become its ruler. However, after truly reaching that level, he had realized cultivation was only for freedom. After that, as he continued to cultivate, he had discovered that the ultimate goal was mere survival. Even Immortals, who could theoretically live forever, struggled just to stay alive.
It truly was laughable. To think that, in the end, all that cultivation boiled down to was simple survival.
Mortals enjoyed a lifespan of only 100 years, and they possessed virtually no way to extend their longevity. Even if they wished to live longer, it was not something that they could work towards. Instead, many worked hard simply to live more comfortably and freely.
Cultivators were not even better off than normal humans.
Cultivation was a circle, and so was the cosmos.
All living creatures, from birth to death, could not escape that circle.
The same was true even of Immortals.
What is the true purpose of my cultivation?
What is the meaning of my existence?
Cultivators did not have any intrinsic meaning to their existence. Only the omniverse itself was truly eternal.
As Lu Yin stared ahead, the model of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and its surroundings suddenly shot towards him. He stood without moving as the model shattered, breaking into specks of light.
He turned and looked at Greater Sancte Awe Gate, who was also watching him. “Everyone’s mental state is different. Immortality lies within the individual. Don’t overthink things. Overthinking at this moment serves you no purpose.”
Sweat dripped from Lu Yin’s forehead. He had indeed thought too much a moment earlier, to the point where his mind had descended into chaos and nearly triggered a cultivation deviation.
If he truly went astray, either in his cultivation or in combat, he would start hesitating, even if it was in ways that he could not detect. That hesitation could easily become his greatest obstacle for future breakthroughs or cost him his life on the battlefield.
If not for Greater Sancte Awe Gate, he would have ended up in real danger.
“Thank you, Senior.” Lu Yin bowed low.
Greater Sancte Awe Gate continued to observe Lu Yin. “How was the Allsense Megaverse?”
Lu Yin had nearly forgotten that his duty upon returning was to report how the war in the Allsense Megaverse had gone.
He shared his battle with the transparent moth, and Greater Sancte Awe Gate listened calmly. “That was extremely dangerous. Without you supporting them, the Night Pillars would have been completely wiped out.
“This is what a war between megaverses is like. Sometimes, numbers alone can’t determine the outcome.”