“Not only did he not die, but he’s even stronger than in the past. If he were as strong as before, he would not be close to being our opponent,” Xu Qing said.
The Celestial Demon frowned. “He will be buried on this battlefield.”
The lightning finally dissipated in the distance, though the Void Thunderbeast was still unable to slow Lu Yin’s progress or impede him in any way. Lu Yin’s strength stunned the creature, and it moved out of Lu Yin’s way. The young man stared off into the distance. and his eyes locked onto Xu Qing.
“Do you two intend to remain to chat with the young man?” Xu Qing asked.
The Celestial Demon disdainfully spat, “Since he’s here, he can forget about living to leave his battlefield. There’s nothing to say.”
With that, he left.
On the other hand, the Celestial Ice Phoenix did not leave.
Xu Qing made no attempt to chase either of them away, and he simply stood atop the mountain on the asteroid and waited for Lu Yin to arrive.
After passing by the two Void Thunderbeasts, no other astral beast tried to block Lu Yin’s path. He moved quickly and crossed the distance in an instant to appear at the top of the mountain. He looked up, and Xu Qing looked down.
At this moment, the mountain on the asteroid cracked and shattered. Xu Qing and the Celestial Ice Phoenix both descended and landed on the resulting gravel to face Lu Yin.
“General Xu Qing, we finally meet.” Lu Yin smiled. He did not look at all like he was behind enemy lines or even had an agenda.
Xu Qing observed Lu Yin and commented, “You really are a youth who deserves admiration. The times change too quickly, and we elders are being overtaken by you before we can even react.”
“General, you’re being too humble. No matter how fast things change, the truly strong will never be eliminated, let alone a powerhouse like you.” Lu Yin showed a rare display of humility.
The Celestial Ice Phoenix kept staring at Lu Yin with bright eyes. She could not understand what was going through this youth’s mind.
Lu Yin turned to look at the woman. “Who is this?”
Xu Qing introduced her, “She is Feng Lin, of the Celestial Ice Phoenixes.”
“Alliance Leader Lu, I’ve heard about you for a long time,” Feng Lin calmly said as she continued to observe Lu Yin.
Lu Yin and Feng Lin faced each other. He remembered that this Celestial Ice Phoenix was the one who had fought against Ling Qiu during their earlier battle. The fact that she was able to stand up to Ling Qiu meant that she was truly powerful. “So you’re a senior from the Celestial Ice Phoenixes? You’re being too polite.”
Feng Lin’s eyes lit up. “This isn’t the first time that you’ve faced one of our Celestial Ice Phoenixes, is it?”
Lu Yin nodded and smiled. “I fought against Feng Jiu during the Tournament of the Strongest. I saw your battle earlier as well, and I must admit that the Celestial Ice Phoenixes are all geniuses. There doesn’t seem to be any weaklings.”
Feng Lin lifted her head higher. “I can agree with that.”
Lu Yin’s smile remained unchanged. The Celestial Ice Phoenixes were notoriously arrogant, so her answer did not surprise him.
“However, our youths are still unable to compare to you, Alliance Leader Lu,” Feng Lin suddenly said.
Lu Yin wanted to remain polite, but the woman’s next words caught him off guard. “Could you release the Ghost Monkey? I wish to speak to him.”
Xu Qing frowned. They were currently on a battlefield, and they were even in their own territory where Xu Qing intended to intimidate and suppress Lu Yin. The general did not want to let Lu Yin chat with Feng Lin. He wanted to interrupt, but upon seeing Feng Lin’s expression, Xu Qing remained silent. It seemed this matter might be incredibly important to the Celestial Ice Phoenixes.
Xu Qing was correct, as the Ghost Monkey was truly important to the Celestial Ice Phoenixes. They had not originally held any interest in the monkey that had been one of the Spiritual Academy’s five Academy Masters. Of the Celestial Ice Phoenixes, only Feng Jiu had interacted with the Ghost Monkey, though that had ended when the monkey had been captured.
However, after that, Skymender himself had sought out the Celestial Ice Phoenixes and revealed some secrets. They had then learned that the Ghost Monkey had some unexplainable relationship with them. While they did not know any of the details, they did know that the matter somehow involved Progenitor Wushang, and that alone meant that they could not ignore the matter.
During ZENITH, Skymender had ordered Yao Xuan and the other contestants from the Astral Beast Domain to take the Ghost Monkey back, but they had failed. Feng Lin had traveled to the Outerverse to fight in the war solely to try to take the Ghost Monkey back.
No one in the Astral Beast Domain was aware that the Ghost Monkey had been stolen from Lu Yin by Shaman God, and Lu Yin had never said a thing.
“The Ghost Monkey? What do you want to talk to him about?” Lu Yin felt quite curious.
Feng Lin’s expression did not shift at all, “Feng Jiu and the Ghost Monkey were classmates, and I have something that I need to ask the Ghost Monkey.”
Lu Yin was amused by this response. This woman was pretending that Feng Jiu had been quite close to the Ghost Monkey in order to provide a reasonable excuse. “The Ghost Monkey is quite treacherous, so if you have any questions, Senior, just tell me, and I’ll pass them on to the Ghost Monkey.”
Feng Lin frowned. “Alliance Leader Lu, I hope that you can show me some face and allow me to speak with the Ghost Monkey. Please don’t worry. Although our armies are at war, as long as you don’t attack me, I cannot do anything to you.”
Lu Yin shrugged. “I’m sorry, Senior, but the Ghost Monkey isn’t with me.”
Feng Lin was surprised. “He isn’t with you?”
Lu Yin somberly replied, “I have locked up somewhere that no one else knows about. That guy’s like an ancient treasure, and he seems to know about everything. I keep feeling like he’s hiding some great secret, so I haven’t mentioned him to anyone, though I do go and visit him every so often to beat, torture, and ask him some questions.”
Only an idiot would believe such an answer. Xu Qing looked over at Feng Lin, and the woman’s eyes betrayed her wrath. Clearly, she did not believe Lu Yin. The only reason why the Celestial Ice Phoenixes cared about the Ghost Monkey was because Skymender had mentioned a connection to Progenitor Wushang, but how could Lu Yin value the monkey at all? The Ghost Monkey was no fool, and it was impossible for him to have mentioned Progenitor Wushang to Lu Yin.
Aside from Progenitor Wushang, what else could the Ghost Monkey, who had not even obtained the strength of an Explorer, have done to arouse Lu Yin’s interest? Lu Yin was blatantly trying to lie to them.
“It appears that Alliance Leader Lu doesn’t wish to show my Celestial Ice Phoenixes any face at all.” A terrible chill entered Feng Lin’s voice.
Lu Yin blinked. “Senior, do you want to do something to me?”
He looked over at Xu Qing. “General, we still haven’t even spoken to each other.”
Xu Qing quietly said, “Alliance Leader Lu, you can treat Feng Lin’s request as one of our conditions. As long as you allow her to speak with the Ghost Monkey, I will not torture the captive Envoys for now. How about it?”
Feng Lin suddenly interjected, “As long as you give me the Ghost Monkey, you can select one of the Envoys to be freed.”
Xu Qing instantly became furious, and he turned to glare at Feng Lin. “What nonsense is this?”
Feng Lin calmly looked back at Xu Qing. “We Celestial Ice Phoenixes will give you an explanation for this. You have my word.”
Xu Qing’s frown deepened. “This is a matter regarding this war. This is not a minor issue.”
“I understand that. I promise you that I will give you an explanation that will fully satisfy you.” Feng Lin was dead serious.
Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed, but he still would not agree.
Lu Yin did not believe that Xu Qing would easily agree to such terms. If this astral beast really did have the same sort of mind as Wei Rong, then the three captive Envoys could not only allow Xu Qing to win this war, but he could also incite tremendous chaos in the Innerverse. This war was far too important to the Astral Beast Domain, so how could Xu Qing possibly be willing to give up such an advantage just because of the Ghost Monkey?
However, Lu Yin had underestimated the Celestial Ice Phoenixes’ status within the Astral Beast Domain. It was also possible that Feng Lin said something to Xu Qing in secret, but the general’s expression changed. He eventually gritted his teeth and turned to look at Lu Yin. “Give Feng Lin the Ghost Monkey, and I can offer you one of the Envoys aside from Ling Taizu.”