The instant the final stroke was completed, heaven and earth ceased to exist. Darkness swallowed Lu Yin’s vision, leaving him able to see nothing at all. It lasted only for a moment. Before he could think, color flooded the blackened firmament.
A colossal tree stood before him, its crown rising beyond sight. Multicolored radiance flowed upward from its base like countless rivers, converging at the canopy and cascading down as drooping branches.
Those branches shimmered with countless hues, breaking apart into drifting motes of light that fell slowly through the void, like fireflies in the night.
Lu Yin could not tell how far the branches extended. All he could see was color, replacing everything.
Lu Yin had seen this scene before. He was looking at exactly what he had witnessed when the red line had entered his star of divine energy. This was Obscura’s base.
His head abruptly turned to look to the side. His back was to the side of a cliff, whose wall was steep and dark. Branches hung down from the tree and blocked his line of sight. In the hazy distance, he could make out floating coffins, though he could not distinguish their colors.
He then looked downward. There were other coffins hanging there while beneath his feet lay a bottomless abyss. As the multicolored motes of light fell, he could vaguely make out some familiar shapes: gates. There were endless gates. The space beneath him was filled with nothing but gates.
Had he traveled to Obscura’s headquarters in person?
No. His body had not made the journey. What had appeared was the red floating coffin and his own consciousness.
It’s my consciousness, right? He clenched a fist. Yes, it was only his consciousness.
“The red coffin. It’s been a long time. I really miss seeing Qi Xu.” A voice echoed from somewhere. It drew Lu Yin’s attention, though he had no idea which direction the voice came from.
“Heheh, Qi Xu is already dead. It’s the child who’s just appeared here.”
“What kind of child?”
“A tender little fellow, with soft skin and everything.”
“Hahahaha!”
“Haha...”
Lu Yin remained silent. All of these voices belonged to Obscura’s powerhouses. He tried to tell them apart, as he wanted to learn just how many experts Obscura really had.
Qi Xu, Lan Meng, Hui, and Che had all been incredibly powerful Immortals. There was no such thing as a single simple character within Obscura.
The fact that Master Qing Cao did not have his own coffin meant that he was not a true member of Obscura. Was that because he was unqualified?
It was likely that the average Immortal did not even qualify to join.
“He’s just an Aberrant. It’s not like we’ve never killed one before.”
“Do not underestimate this little fellow. He is even able to teleport, and he took control of Qi Xu’s line and coffin. He is not simple.”
“Child... did you kill Hui?”
Everyone fell silent and quietly waited to hear Lu Yin’s answer.
He did a quick count. Five creatures had spoken so far. He had been able to distinguish five distinct voices, none of which belonged to Lan Meng. That meant there were at least seven beings hanging from the cliff, himself included.
Even if he did not consider himself, that meant six powerhouses. Right, Che hasn’t spoken yet, which means that there are at least seven powerful Immortals. It’s also possible that these are not all of Obscura’s Immortals.
“Child, we asked you a question. What’s wrong? Do you not want to answer, or do you not lack the courage?”
Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. “I killed him.”
The cliffside fell silent.
“Interesting. You were able to kill Hui?”
Lu Yin replied, “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Hui is not someone a mere Aberrant such as you could cross cultivation realms to kill. Who helped you? The one who shattered the silver coffin was absolutely not you.”
“That was also me.”
“Child, do you take us for fools?”
Lu Yin could not hold back a chuckle. “You aren’t exactly brilliant.”
“Hahahaha! Old man, he got you. This kid’s got quite a personality.”
“Hahahaha!”
“Hmph! Child, do you realize that I have more than 10,000 ways to kill you?”
Lu Yin was unconcerned. “Are you ignoring the fact that I was invited to Obscura?”
“An invitation is merely an invitation. You have not joined Obscura yet.”
“The cosmos can attest to my sincerity regarding Obscura.”
Everyone was struck speechless.
“...Child, you-”
“Change how you address me. Call me Seventh Bro,” Lu Yin said in a casual tone. Master Qing Cao had told Lu Yin that his real body would not be sent to Obscura’s base, which made things far easier to handle. After all, nothing would actually happen to him.
The member of Obscura who had extended the invitation to Lu Yin had not said a word so far. It was clear that they wanted to see how Lu Yin would handle the group of old monsters.
Did Lu Yin care about the old monsters? Of course he did. No one in Obscura could be easy to deal with. Still, if he could coerce them into revealing their identities, that would be perfect.
There should be others who did not dare to visit Obscura’s base with their true bodies. If Lu Yin wanted to gain a better understanding of Obscura, he would need to use strong ploys. Taking things slowly might never get him anywhere.
There were a few matters that made joining Obscura a genuine problem. First, there was the fear that the invitation was just a trap. Second, the hatred that humanity held for Obscura mattered to him. Third, there were the missions that Obscura had assigned to their members.
Obscura’s goal was to annihilate other civilizations. Lu Yin had no personal interest in destroying foreign civilizations, but joining Obscura meant that he would have to accept those missions.
The sooner he learned about Obscura, the sooner he would be able to bring such days to an end.