As for Che, Lu Yin naturally did not trust him. That was why, like when he had left to join Obscura’s war, he first went to the Human Trio to find Master Qing Cao.
The man stared at Lu Yin blankly. "What now?"
"Accompany this junior somewhere."
"You should find someone else."
"You are the most suitable, Senior." Master Qing Cao had once framed Mi Jin, but he had done so to protect the Spirit Nidus. At present, keeping Lu Yin safe was the best protection that he could do to protect that megaverse.
There were times when one’s life did not need to be entrusted to someone trustworthy. Mutual interests could also work, as they were often even more reliable than promises.
Master Qing Cao helplessly asked, "Can I not go? I also need to cultivate. There are many juniors here in the Spirit Nidus waiting for me to teach them."
"Senior, please." Lu Yin took out a Zenith Mountain.
Master Qing Cao shook his head bitterly and entered. Since becoming an Immortal, he had never encountered anyone like Lu Yin, who would purposely force others into difficult situations.
Which Immortal did not possess the bearing of a true expert? This boy had cultivated for an extremely short time, yet he displayed no grace whatsoever.
Next was Kang Tian. There was no need for a conversation with the snail, which immediately entered the Zenith Mountain. It knew that it had no room to refuse.
Lu Yin thought that was still not enough. Right, Ba Yue. Since the woman’s now here in the Trio, she can’t do nothing, right?
He then went to find Ba Yue and told her to follow him somewhere, but she refused. "I am not going."
Lu Yin took out a Zenith Mountain. "Just get in on your own. Don’t force me to do it."
Ba Yue was furious. "You have no right to restrict my freedom!"
"Wrong. I’m taking you into the Aevum Inch, which is giving you freedom."
"I said I am not going."
Lu Yin reached out to grab the woman. Ba Yue had never actually fought Lu Yin, but during his time in Crimson Starshade, she had watched him overpower Bing Xu and even escape from right beneath Hong Xia’s nose. She knew that she was not his match, but even so, she needed to defend her dignity.
Before long, Ba Yue was fuming within a Zenith Mountain. She looked upward, wanting to curse aloud but was overcome with a sense of helplessness. She had been far too powerless. How could an Aberrant be so strong? Lu Yin’s power was beyond frightening.
With three Immortals, he finally felt safe. Even if Che risked breaking Obscura’s rules to attack Lu Yin, attacking three Immortals would cause his karmic chain to increase drastically. The price would be enough to make him hesitate.
Lu Yin teleported repeatedly. Che’s coordinates were for a rather distant location, and it took Lu Yin dozens of teleports to reach it.
He stared at the enormous city spread across the cosmos before him. Was this Void Mountain? Furball had said that Che was the master of Void Mountain, but it was clearly just a city in front of Lu Yin.
At this moment, the void twisted, and someone stepped out.
As Lu Yin looked at the newcomer, memories were roused. He had met Che for the first time in the Consciousness Megaverse, where the Immortal had offered a bit of guidance. Che was the second Immortal that Lu Yin had ever encountered, and at the time, Lu Yin had had no idea that the gap between Immortals could be so vast.
If Master Qing Cao fought Che, he would probably be erased with a wave of Che’s hand.
Che looked at Lu Yin and smiled. His black and white robe gave off an aura that felt both righteous and wicked. He looked at Lu Yin and nodded. "You are here. It’s been a long time, Lu Yin."
Lu Yin observed the Immortal. "It really has been. The last time we met was in the Consciousness Megaverse, which was more than a thousand years ago."
"Yes. More than a thousand years. For you, that is long, but for me, it is merely a blink."
"I wanted to thank you for giving Emperor Slayer the power to protect himself. He used that power to protect my megaverse."
"Emperor Slayer?"
Lu Yin drew a picture of the beast in space. Seeing it, Che smiled. "So you mean that one. A very polite child, humble and honest. I quite like him."
Emperor Slayer? Humble? Honest? Lu Yin found the description strange, but after thinking about it, it sounded quite reasonable. Who would dare to be anything but humble and honest in front of you?
Lu Yin asked, "What are you giving me?"
Che pointed at the enormous city ahead. "This is it: Manifest City."
Lu Yin’s pupils contracted as he stared ahead in shock. "Manifest City?"
"It seems that you know that name," Che observed with a smile.
Lu Yin stared at Che in a daze. Manifest City? From Lan Meng, Lu Yin had learned a bit about the Nine Ramparts and their nine guardian artifacts. Of those, the Fifth Rampart’s defining mirebound artifact had been known as Manifest City.
He would have never imagined that the city before him was Manifest City, nor that Che intended to give him the entire Manifest City.
He stared at Che in disbelief. The man met Lu Yin’s gaze with a calm expression. "This was the Fifth Rampart’s mirebound artifact. It now belongs to you."
Lu Yin just stared at Che. "What do you mean?"
Che clasped his hands behind his back, a smile still on his lips, though it betrayed a hint of bitterness. "There are certain things that should receive recompense. You do not need to ask anything more. Besides, Manifest City never belonged to me, but rather to your human civilization.
"For all living creatures, there is a fixed allotment. From birth to death, what they should obtain will always be obtained, and what they cannot obtain will never be acquired.
"To be frank, no one can ignore a mirebound artifact like this. Since you know about Manifest City, you should understand how powerful these mirebound artifacts are. I also hoped to control it, but unfortunately, I have failed to do so despite so many years of trying. I have no choice but to give up."
At this point, he looked at Lu Yin. "I hope that it can shine in your hands and recreate the former splendor of the Fifth Rampart."
Lu Yin stared at Che, a suspicion suddenly sprouting in his mind. "You aren’t human, are you?"
All along, he had believed that Che was not human. In the past, when Che had entered the Trio and greeted Green Lotus, the Greater Sancte had mentioned to Lu Yin that Che was not human, but rather a creature who had altered his appearance.
Having come to understand that Green Lotus had concealed matters related to Crimson Starshade, Lu Yin could not help but wonder if Che might also be a part of the past that Green Lotus had hidden.‘
Che smiled. "You are overthinking things. I am not human, and neither did I betray your civilization like Hong Xia did. All along, I never had much interaction with your human civilization. As for the Fifth Rampart, I once fought on that battlefield."
"Then what is it that you want to make up for?"
"Making amends is not to say that I was wrong. Right and wrong can only exist between members of the same species. I am not a part of your human civilization and am simply following my heart in choosing to make amends."