"It's good that you understand, but that’s still not enough. I hope the day will come when you have an epiphany and break free of the constraints of books and history to look to the future." Lu Yin patted Tuo Lin's shoulder while speaking earnestly. "Everyone has to walk their own path. Headmaster Shao Chen of Astral-10 walks the path of the mortal world, and he went mad for a long time. It was only after he achieved incredible enlightenment that he was able to break through to the Progenitor realm, becoming someone whom even Aeternus fears.
"The Chief Justice of the Interstellar Supreme Court, and my own senior brother, Qing Ping, fought countless life-and-death battles on the Endless Frontier before he broke free from ideological constraints, which allowed him to challenge the laws of the universe with other laws, carving his own path. He is also feared by the Aeternals.
"As for me, your master, I walk a path that is completely unprecedented. As my disciple, I hope to see you also forge a brand-new path, one that no one has ever walked before, not even in the most glorious era of the ancient Heavens Sect."
Tuo Lin's breathing quickened, his face grew flushed with excitement. "Don’t worry, Master, I understand! I won't disappoint you. I'll carve my own path and take up the responsibility of saving humanity."
Lu Yin nodded, looking quite satisfied.
His eyes swept over the courtyard. "So, tell me what you've learned from all these books."
Tuo Lin excitedly began to share the insights that he had gained over the years.
He had spent twenty-three years reading books. To the current Lu Yin, twenty-three years was not a very long amount of time, as he could easily spend more time in a single visit to a universe where time passed more quickly. However, Tuo Lin was an ordinary human, and twenty-three years was a long time for such a person.
Fortunately, Lu Yin had ordered the Second Nightking to take care of Tuo Lin. Despite never cultivating, the man looked exactly like he had when he had first met Lu Yin. In the Cyclic Universe, Sage Yajna had similarly helped Tuo Lin’s physical condition.
Before Lu Yin realized it, several hours had passed. Seeing Tuo Lin's excitement, Lu Yin could not bear to interrupt the man.
No matter what, Tuo Lin was Lu Yin’s disciple, but he was also a disciple who was incapable of cultivating. Lu Yin had deceived Tuo Lin, and he pitied the man.
"Master, do you know which is my favorite book? It's this one! ‘The Family Teachings of the Guye Clan.’" Tuo Lin handed Lu Yin a tattered book that had clearly weathered many storms.
Lu Yin accepted the book. The Guye clan? He had never heard of them.
While casually flipping through the book, Lu Yin learned that the Guye clan was just some family from a weave in the Outerverse. They were not worthy of Lu Yin’s attention, and they were far from qualified to join the Heavens Sect.
"The Guye clan lives up to their name—they're very stubborn. Did you know, Master? Despite almost being completely wiped out five different times, they’re still around," Tuo Lin said.[1]
Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Almost wiped out five times?"
Tuo Lin nodded, and admiration filled his voice. "There were five different times when they were almost wiped out, and each time, only one or two members of their clan managed to survive. They found ways to escape, and they did whatever it took to stay alive. One time, a clan member hid in a city's cesspool in order to escape, while another severed his own limbs. There are many more stories like that.
"In short, the Guye clan’s unimaginable perseverance let them survive through five crises that should have wiped them out, and they still are around today. The most amazing part is that they never hid any of the crises. Instead, they documented everything in this book to warn their future generations.
"This is all of their family teachings, and there’s one sentence in particular that I love the most."
Tuo Lin paused, and his expression grew solemn. "To live, just to live."
Lu Yin's eyes flashed. To live, just to live?
While the sentence sounded simple, or even like nonsense, it gave Lu Yin a profound feeling.
To live, just to live. Indeed, only by living could a person continue to live.
The more a person experienced, the more they would understand this particular sentence.
"The Guye clan survived each crisis thanks to their ancestral teachings—they never gave up. Master, I will also learn from them and live with determination. I will pass your tests and become the disciple you are most proud of!" Tuo Lin declared with determination.
Lu Yin stared at Tuo Lin for a long moment. He had actually wanted to alter the test, as he had been afraid that Tuo Lin would go mad from all of the reading. However, seeing the man’s attitude, Lu Yin decided to allow things to continue.
"Your master believes that you can do it. There are countless parallel universes in the megaverse and innumerable people. Master believes that you will be their savior. Forge your own path. In the future, your master will have to rely on you."
"Don't worry, Master." Tuo Lin grew more determined than ever.
Lu Yin left the courtyard. The Second Nightking was already waiting for him, ready for new instructions.
"Look after the Guye clan."
"Yes, Dao Monarch." The Second Nightking bowed and left.
Lu Yin returned to the last cosmic door. "Let's go."
Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing had no idea what had just happened, but after seeing how composed Lu Yin had become, they knew that he had come to terms with something.
Leng Qing moved through the cosmic door first, quickly followed by Arch-Elder Zen. Lu Yin was the last one through.
After passing through the eighth cosmic door, they arrived in the darkness of outer space. The universe looked quite typical, as there were stars, planets, meteors, and other normal stellar bodies. The place did not look very different from the Fifth Mainland’s outer space.
However, Lu Yin also felt a sense of familiarity that he was unable to place.
"Search carefully, but watch out for ambushes," Lu Yin instructed. The cosmic doors that Mister Mu had given him had all led to powerful civilizations or people who could fight against Aeternus. Any civilization that was valued by Mister Mu was also strong enough to be targeted by Aeternus.
If the civilization that ruled this universe had already been destroyed, then there was a very good chance that Lu Yin and the two Progenitors would run into Aeternals.
The three men were initially very cautious. They moved about while hiding their presence and searched the universe. As time passed, they eventually found an Aeternus Kingdom, but there was not even a single peak powerhouse protecting it.
When Lu Yin saw a meteor, he finally remembered. It was no wonder why this universe felt so familiar.
This was the universe he had passed through before he entered the Fourth Scourge, where he had killed Da Hui and Kong Ji. This was the universe where Lu Yin had encountered a civilization that had been defeated by Aeternus.
In order to survive, that civilization had abandoned their physical bodies and transferred their consciousnesses into an illusory world that was anchored to a meteorite. With the help of their final peak powerhouse, the people had been able to escape destruction. Lu Yin had spoken with the civilization’s protector, and there had not been any sort of hostility.
He was once again laying eyes on the same meteorite.
However, while the illusory world still existed within the meteorite, the elder and all of its inhabitants had vanished. All that remained were the details of the illusory world itself.
Lu Yin stared at the meteorite, wondering what could have happened. The consciousnesses were all gone, evidently destroyed. Could it have been Aeternus?
Another civilization had vanished, and this was one that Lu Yin had met and interacted with before.
His emotions were complicated. If only he had guided the civilization to the Origin Universe when he had met them, even if they had been reluctant, which was quite likely.
Civilizations that had fought against Aeternus were ultimately given two choices: flee and never encounter the Aeternals again, or fight an unending war.
The Sixverse Association and the Origin Universe had both chosen the latter, while God's Domain and the civilization of consciousnesses Lu Yin had met had both chosen the first option.
However, both God's Domain and the civilization of consciousnesses had met the same fate and been thoroughly destroyed.