Lu Yin soon left Aeternus Nation and returned to the Fifth Mainland. Upon arriving, he immediately made his way to Gods' Origin.
The appointed time for the trade was quickly approaching. It had been close to half a year since the agreement had been made.
It took Lu Yin a few days to travel to Gods' Origin. Ke Jian also arrived, and with him was Zi Jing. Her presence had been agreed to during the negotiations, as Gods’ Origin had stated that they would only conduct the exchange with Zi Jing. This was a rather obvious bid by Lu Yin to increase Zi Jing's influence in the Transcendent Universe. People had seen through his intentions, but they also had not refused.
Zi Jing was He Ran's underling, and since He Ran held Zi Jing in high regard, the condition did not matter much to He Ran. After all, the materials from the trade were for Zi Jing’s use and experimentation.
Within Gods' Origin, an inter-universal trade was conducted, unbeknownst to anyone else in the Fifth Mainland.
Only five people were present: Lu Yin, God Taiyi, God of Mirrors, Ke Jian, and Zi Jing. All of them understood the full magnitude of the situation. If word of what they were doing ever leaked, there would be massive repercussions, as even the Sixverse Association as a whole would take interest.
"Excellent!" Zi Jing confirmed that all of the agreed-upon materials during the initial negotiations were in order, and Ke Jian generously gave God of Mirrors the gift of a blue energy converter.
God of Mirrors appeared confused by the gift, and he turned to look at Lu Yin for some clarification.
Lu Yin explained, "Senior, this is one of the Transcendent Universe’s energy converters. Once you equip it, you will be able to unleash an attack with a power level of almost a million."
"A power level of nearly one million?" God of Mirrors exclaimed. He was only the equivalent of a three-tribulation Envoy, which put his power level at just barely over 700,000. God of Magenta had possessed a similar level of strength, and even Gods’ Origin’s strongest individual, God of Flames, had only ever reached the peak Envoy level.
God of Mirrors stared at the blue energy converter, excited. Could such a tiny device really increase his strength so dramatically?
Ke Jian was pleased with God of Mirrors' response. This was a reaction that indicated both ignorance and reverence, which were appropriate.
"Xuan Qi, have you not told them about energy converters?" he asked.
"Not yet."
"Then allow me," Ke Jian said. He adjusted his tone as he proceeded to explain the usage of energy converters to God of Mirrors and God Taiyi, leaving both men completely dumbstruck. With the existence of such a thing, what was the point of cultivating?
"I’ve already told you that my Transcendent Universe is far stronger than you people here. As long as we decide that you will be safe, Lu Yin will not dare to lay a single finger on you," Ke Jian solemnly declared with a stern expression.
Lu Yin chuckled as he glanced from Ke Jian to God of Mirrors.
God of Mirrors stared blankly at Ke Jian. While he was indeed amazed by the power of the energy converter, the man giving the explanation was overly arrogant. The Dao Monarch was already working against the Transcendent Universe right in front of the man and even at that very moment!
"Senior, we made an agreement. We will gather materials for the Transcendent Universe, and in return, you will move us. If we offered you sufficient resources, you told me that my Gods' Origin might even earn a seat on the Ruling Council. This energy converter…" God of Mirrors sounded troubled.
"Treat it as a simple means of protection," Ke Jian replied.
God of Mirrors instinctively turned to look at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin quickly spoke up, "Senior, there are many energy converters of this strength in the Transcendent Universe. Senior Ke Jian really doesn't mind giving you one. If you manage to collect more resources for next time, it’s even possible that you'll receive a better energy converter, which could allow you to obtain the strength of a peak Envoy."
Ke Jian remained indifferent, and he merely dismissed the matter with a wave of his hand. "These are minor matters."
God of Mirrors and God Taiyi quickly expressed their thanks.
The transaction was completed with both sides satisfied. Lu Yin was also able to take the opportunity and have a private conversation with Zi Jing, though he did so while putting on a show for Ke Jian's benefit. After all, Xuan Qi and Zi Jing had a certain relationship to maintain in the eyes of the Transcendent Universe.
"How is Bai Qian doing?" Lu Yin asked.
Zi Jing leaned close and whispered, "Not so well. She's not from the Transcendent Universe, and so she doesn't have too many supporters. Only a handful of the Ruling Council support her. When she disappeared, He Ran took advantage of the opportunity and struck back. Now, there is no one on the council who supports Bai Qian."
Lu Yin started thinking, and he immediately realized that the Ruling Council, which was supposed to be the most powerful group in the Transcendent Universe, was actually nothing more than a collection of puppets for the true ruler of the Transcendent Universe to use to select contenders. The council’s true purpose was not to oversee and manage the universe, but rather to select a winner between He Ran and Bai Qian.
Bai Qian had done quite well by gaining some supporters in just a few decades, but her brief disappearance had cost her everything.
On the surface, it appeared that He Ran held the upper hand.
"What exactly happened?" Zi Jing inquired.
Lu Yin replied, "You don't need to worry about that. Just focus on researching your cultivation technology. That’s your ticket out. I’ll deal with Bai Qian's matter myself."
Zi Jing nodded and then casually rested her head onto Lu Yin's shoulder. Ke Jian was watching them from a distance.
It was not long before Ke Jian approached. "Xuan Qi, I need to speak with you."
Zi Jing nodded at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin walked away with Ke Jian. The older man offered Zi Jing an apologetic smile. "We only have a limited amount of time here, but next time, I'll make sure to let you two have a longer conversation."
Zi Jing laughed the matter off. "It's no trouble."
Ke Jian gave a small laugh of his own before leading Lu Yin a short ways away from the others. His need to speak with Xuan Qi was simple: Ke Jian needed to ask about the recent events of the Voidforce Universe. He Ran was very concerned about Xuan Qi.
Lu Yin provided a brief explanation of the events.
"You crossed the Void Pass?" Ke Jian asked, shocked.
Lu Yin nodded. "Yes. It was difficult, but I was lucky enough to make it through."
Ke Jian stared at Lu Yin. He had only been planning to casually catch up on a few minor details, which made such a startling bit of news completely unexpected.
"Did you not know, Senior?" Lu Yin asked, surprised by this. It had already been more than half a year since he had crossed the Void Pass, so how could someone with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor from the Transcendent Universe like Ke Jian have not heard about such an important event?
Ke Jian responded with a bitter laugh. "I've been so engrossed in my work with the Energy Research Group that I’ve paid no attention to anything else. We are entirely focused on our cultivation technology, and we almost never hear any news from the outside world."
"I see," Lu Yin said with a nod. "Madam He Ran should already know about it."
"Of course," Ke Jian replied, though he gave Lu Yin an odd look. The youth’s achievements were becoming more and more exaggerated. He had crossed the Void Pass and then chosen Xu Xuwei as his cultivation guide. That, combined with his already close relationship with Xu Xiangyin, meant that Xuan Qi’s influence in the Voidforce Universe would undoubtedly continue to grow. It seemed that Madam He Ran's plans might actually come to fruition.
"Xuan Qi," Ke Jian began, "We can get some of the resources that we need from the Origin Universe, but we can't rely solely on this place. The Transcendent Universe isn't concerned about Lu Yin, but there’s no denying the influence that he wields here. So, do you have any way to gather more materials for us from the Voidforce Universe?"
This was the man’s true purpose, as well as He Ran’s orders.
Lu Yin sank deep into thought.
"Xu Xiangyin's clan holds a considerable level of influence in the Voidforce Universe. You could start there," Ke Jian suggested.