Old Chief and the other Luminaries could not understand how such a creature could exist.
If their suspicions were correct, then Lu Yin posed a far greater threat to their megaverse than even the High Seraph.
Lu Yin no longer needed to bother hiding anything. Since Yong Heng had threatened to expose Lu Yin’s ability to Possess other creatures, then there was no point in staying secretive.
There was no need for him to conceal that he could devour consciousness. There were no longer any threats to him in the Consciousness Megaverse, and the conscients had already all gone into hiding. It seemed that they were instinctively avoiding Lu Yin.
It was better to use his consciousness to push away Yue Ya’s manifested thought and interrupt his monitoring.
...
Dark-red ridges undulated across the plain. In total, there were seven of them, arranged in a perfect circle. From a distance they resembled low hills more than true mountains. Any cultivator could scale each one in a single breath, and even an ordinary person could climb them in a few days’ time.
These seven ridges were in fact the seven summits of Deathmound, formally comprised of three mountain-mass clusters which combined to yield exactly seven peaks. Although none of the individual ridges was especially tall, every cultivator knew to avoid Deathmound entirely. No one dared to cross those seven peaks. To all who understood its reputation, Deathmound was simply a land of death.
One day, a young man stepped away from one of the peaks. His eyes were as peaceful as still water, his expression revealing nothing. With each step he took, his foot seemed to land upon a peak, yet he also somehow seemed to move beyond them.
“Zhao Yi.”
The young man slowly bowed. “Great Master.”
“You have not been given any tasks since being promoted to the Lord of the Sixth Peak. I will now entrust you with one.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Go to the Consciousness Megaverse and eradicate Ruler Garden.”
Zhao Yi lifted his head to stare at the empty sky. “Ruler Garden... has gone to the Consciousness Megaverse?”
“They have committed a grave crime. Yue Ya has manipulated Ruler Garden into risking everything and interfering in the affairs of the three lower megaverses without permission. Such actions cannot be tolerated. Execute all of them without mercy.”
Zhao Yi calmly replied, “Since they’ve risked everything, it means that Yue Ya is confident in completing his transformation. If he does succeed and protects Ruler Garden, what should I do then?”
“Do whatever is necessary: execute them all without mercy.”
“Understood.” Zhao Yi bowed, turned, and left. The peace that had once existed in his eyes was gone, and they now rippled with emotion.
Right after Zhao Yi left Deathmound, a veiled woman approached him. Her beauty could leave mortals breathless, and her limpid eyes met Zhao Yi’s as she greeted him with a small smile. “Congratulations, Lord of the Sixth Peak. You finally have a chance for revenge.”
Zhao Yi swept past the woman without replying. She stared at his back as he moved away. “You truly are lucky.”
Zhao Yi stopped when he heard her words, but he did not turn around. In a cool tone, he stated, “So long as you continue living, you will also have your chance.”
With that, he disappeared.
The woman stared at the place where the young man had just been standing. “My own chance? You and I are not the same.”
...
In the Consciousness Megaverse, Lu Yin dispersed Yue Ya’s manifested thought from aboard Boundless and then sensed his strengthened consciousness. He still needed to improve it even further, but that would have to wait for a while. If he devoured too much consciousness at once, the power could spiral out of his control.
He rolled his die and was lucky to see four pips as the first roll. He spent a year resting in his Timestop Space, and when he emerged, he released Xi Wen from the Champions’ Stage Purgatory.
The conscient had not suffered much during her imprisonment. Unlike most other creatures, conscients did not mind the Champions’ Stage Purgatory.
Xi Wen looked around when she was released and saw that she was on Boundless. Instantly, her heart sank.
“No one can save you,” Lu Yin stated bluntly.
Xi Wen looked at him. “Just what exactly are you trying to do? Shouldn’t your Tianyuan Megaverse be allying with our Consciousness Megaverse?”
Lu Yin was unmoved. “You simply aren’t worth that much.”
Xi Wen frowned, though her voice remained quite pleasant. “You captured me for the Middle Heaven’s Blade.”
Lu Yin nodded. “Give me that technique, and I’ll let you go.”
“Why should I believe you?” Xi Wen did not refuse. After all, even the Middle Heaven’s Blade was less important than her own survival.
Lu Yin slowly smiled while keeping his eyes locked with the Luminary’s. “What makes you think that you can afford to not believe me?”
Xi Wen fell silent.
She had always kept her strength hidden from the other Luminaries; not even Old Chief had known that she had mastered the Middle Heaven’s Blade.
However, such secrets seemed absurd in front of Lu Yin. Forget the Middle Heaven’s Blade; even if she matched Old Chief’s strength and had kept her power a secret, it would still mean nothing more to Lu Yin than another gift.
“Many humans are honest. I hope that you are one of them,” Xi Wen replied in a low voice that revealed both her hope and her apprehension.
It was not easy to learn the Middle Heaven’s Blade. Xi Wen initially believe that she would quickly teach it to Lu Yin, and Lu Yin shared that same assumption.
Unfortunately, they soon learned different.
Sword techniques contained both intent and skill. Lu Yin had dabbled in many sword techniques over the years, and he took pride in being able to quickly master them. In particular, since he had already learned Heaven’s Blade, he expected to learn the Middle Heaven’s Blade quickly, yet he struggled terribly.
The intent contained in the Middle Heaven’s Blade was not something that could be taught, but rather something that could only be grasped intuitively.
Lu Yin needed Xi Wen to repeatedly use the Middle Heaven’s Blade so that he could slowly sense its intent.
It would be a very lengthy process.
The quickest way to succeed would be to roll six pips with Lu Yin’s die and Possess Xi Wen, but that was not guaranteed success. There was already a path before him, so he would try that first.
It took more than two months of watching Xi Wen demonstrate the sword technique before Lu Yin finally grasped the Middle Heaven’s Blade’s intent.
The conscient also had not expected it to be so difficult to teach Lu Yin the technique.
“Can you release me now?” Xi Wen asked while staring at Lu Yin. This was the moment her fate would be decided.