Green Lotus nodded. “Jiu Wen does not know what the other Ramparts were like, but during his youth, he heard far too many legends in Crimson Starshade. Someone would be born, and a red light would blaze for billions of kilometers. Or, countless red umbrellas would open on their own, as if the Path of Dispassion itself had descended into their megaverse.
“Someone brimming with youthful spirit would advance one realm with every step, invincible throughout their journey.
“Someone with a meager cultivation would directly comprehend the Sevenfold Crimson level, shaking the universe.
“There were also those who debated the Dao among their peers and drew forth roaring astral phenomena.
“And all of that occurred in just the former Second Rampart. Those people were legends of their era, and everyone at that time was waiting for them to mature. Among the older generation alone, Jiu Wen was aware of three Tenfold Crimsons, not to mention the multiple Ninefold, Eightfold, and Sevenfold Crimsons.
“In that era, there were so many Sixfold Crimsons that it was not even considered a mark of distinction.
“All the legends of our current era occurred during that era. In fact, it is precisely because they appeared in that era that they became our current legends.”
Lu Yin was shaken. If Chu Songyun had been born in that era, his existence would not have caused much of a stir. The entire Path of Dispassion would not have chased him down and demanded that he follow it.
Was that the former Second Rampart?
Green Lotus shook his head. “Prosperity peaks and then declines. This has been an unchanging truth since ancient times.
“When the Nine Ramparts became too brilliant, other civilizations were suppressed to the point where they could barely breathe. If the Second Rampart was already like that, then the other Ramparts could not have been much weaker. Moreover, Jiu Wen said that the Second Rampart was never the strongest of the nine.
“One can imagine how much importance the other civilizations must have placed on forming an alliance at that time. The Nine Ramparts were crushed by a joint assault precisely because of those circumstances.”
Lu Yin exchanged a glance with Mister Mu and thought of the Heavens Sect.
In the Tianyuan, the Heavens Sect had similarly risen to the peak and then declined. Those at the top had failed to see the growing darkness within, and Yong Heng had seized a chance to strike it down. If people had been on guard, then even with the Spirit Nidus’s interference, the Heavens Sect would not have been crushed so thoroughly.
How the past glory made one yearn for the Nine Ramparts Civilization.
“No matter how brilliant it was, it’s still in the past. Right now, we need to think about how to deal with Hong Xia,” Blood Tower stated.
Green Lotus said, “Jiu Wen entering the Blood Tower is the worst possible outcome for our plan. We calculated it beforehand, and in this scenario, unless we can eliminate all of Hong Xia’s human anchors, we stand no chance in a direct fight because Jiu Wen can no longer act.
“Of the twelve anchors of Hong Xia’s Path of Dispassion, the ones that are people are Ji He, Xi Shangfeng, He Xiao, Bing Xu, Meiran Dan, and myself. I can discard my anchor at any time, and we can also strip away the anchors from Bing Xu, He Xiao, and Meiran Dan.”
Awe Gate frowned. “That leaves only Ji He and Xi Shangfeng.”
Green Lotus continued to explain, “To weaken Hong Xia’s power, we must break at least seven of his twelve anchors.”
“We don’t have enough. We only have three here, and even if we capture Ji He, it still won’t be enough,” Lu Yin said.
Green Lotus said, “As long as we can capture Ji He, it will be enough.”
Everyone eyes turned his way. “Jiu Wen will take the Blood Tower and Xi Shangfeng to the grave with him, perishing together.”
Lu Yin’s pupils shrank. Was a powerhouse who resonated with two cosmic laws truly going to kill himself?
Everyone’s mood turned heavy.
Green Lotus spoke calmly. “Do not overthink this. This was always within our plan. Jiu Wen has long since been prepared to die, given the premise that we can deal with Ji He. Otherwise, even if he dies to destroy the Blood Tower and Xi Shangfeng with him, only six anchors would be destroyed, which is not enough to severely wound Hong Xia.”
Jiang Feng said, “If Jiu Wen dies and heavily wounds Hong Xia, isn’t that the same result as if Jiu Wen does not sacrifice himself and instead joins forces with us?”
“His death doesn’t seem to play a decisive role.”
Greater Sancte Green Lotus shook his head. “In this matter, he has no choice.”
Jiang Feng trembled. That was true—Jiu Wen truly had no choice.
If Hong Xia had not tried to destroy the Crimson Starshade Megaverse, Jiu Wen could have joined forces with everyone to fight him. However, Hong Xia had tried to destroy the civilization, and Jiu Wen would have to bear all of the increased karmic chain. The man had no choice at all.
“Furthermore, Twelvefold Crimson and Fivefold Crimson are two entirely different things. Once you fight them, you will understand. Hong Xia is even stronger than you can imagine,” Green Lotus warned.
Lu Yin rubbed his head. “If we can think of it, then so can Hong Xia. He won’t just let us eliminate Ji He.”
Green Lotus nodded. “Which is why whatever comes next is no longer within the scope of our plan. Reaching this point is already our limit. Lu Yin, Hong Xia is now in your hands. We will all follow your arrangements.”
Lu Yin was speechless. “Senior, if you’re going to make a plan, then you should follow through from start to finish. What is with making half a plan and leaving the rest blank?”
Green Lotus offered a bitter smile. “This is not what we wanted either. Reaching this point is already the most that we could do. Besides, you have done very well over these years. No one could have done better.”
“But I cannot defeat Hong Xia.”
“You will have a way.”
Lu Yin stared at Green Lotus. “The last time you talked with Jiu Wen, was this also what you agreed upon?”
The man smiled. “You can say so. I have seen everything that you have done over these years. You are the one who led humanity out of despair. You are the one who is leading humanity to climb toward the peak. You have broken through time and again. I believe that this time will be no exception.”
“Will Jiu Wen trust me?”
“His trust is irrelevant. He must either leave this to me or leave it to you. Those are his only two choices after he sacrificed himself. Compared to me, you are naturally more suitable.” He paused, then added, “In fact, there have been many times when I thought about how, if you had been the one cooperating with Jiu Wen and plotting against Hong Xia from the beginning, we might not have needed to wait until now to deal with him.”
“I agree,” Blood Tower immediately assented.
Awe Gate nodded, also strongly agreeing.
Even Mister Mu glanced at Lu Yin, feeling that the comment was reasonable.
Lu Yin was left speechless. He did not know what kind of mental image they had of him.
“To deal with Hong Xia, we should at least understand his strength,” Lu Yin said. Then his eyes flashed. “Where do you think Hong Xia is right now?”
“Vestigium,” Jiang Feng said. He had just thought of it.
Lu Yin nodded. “When I first joined Obscura, Ba Se clearly stated that Obscura cannot act against our human civilization. Now that we have captured Bing Xu and the others, what we have done is tantamount to declaring war on Hong Xia. He will absolutely go to Vestigium to demand an explanation. Only if he ensures that Obscura will not interfere will he be able to actually move against us.”
“If he goes to Vestigium, it means he is still extremely fearful of the civilizations that once destroyed the Nine Ramparts. That fear runs deep, but this also means that he is very confident in his own strength, believing himself capable of facing all of us on his own,” Jiang Feng observed.