Second Gu was staring intently at Lu Yin, and he took a step forward to place himself between Lu Yin and Second Meng. "Lord Lu, if we've offended you, we beg your forgiveness."
Second Shan felt a chill run through his body. There was no doubt that Lu Yin was the dominant power in the Mirari Realm at this moment. That terrifying blood-red liquid and the freakish Astral Anura had both been subdued by Lu Yin. The man was unquestionably worthy of being the Heavens Sect’s Dao Monarch. This was someone that no multiversal power dared to provoke.
Lu Yin's eyes swept over the group. "I've heard of your actions in the past. You all deserve death."
Second Gu responded cautiously, "Lord Lu, to cultivate is to struggle against fate and to fight against everything in reality. We are nothing more than cultivators."
Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back. "I don't want to discuss such matters with you.
"You were unlucky enough to get dragged into this battle. I didn’t let you escape from the auction because your past behavior led me to believe that you would be easy to eliminate."
Second Gu and the others grew even more wary. The pressure that Lu Yin put on them was intimidating.
Lu Yin showed open interest in the group. "However, I've since changed my mind. Everyone has the right to live, and you’re not wrong about struggling against everything in existence. I have no obligation to avenge those who you killed—that was simply a matter of survival of the fittest. However, since I'm stronger and you're weaker, your lives belong to me. No surprises there, right?"
Second Shan spoke up, "We will submit to whatever judgment Lord Lu deems appropriate."
Lu Yin nodded in approval. "Smart man. I heard that you have a strong sense of danger. You were paying close attention to me during the auction, weren't you? If you already knew the danger, why didn't you escape as soon as you entered the Mirari Realm? You should have known that following us to this place would make it almost impossible for you to survive."
Lu Yin then looked at Second Zi. "I hadn't even noticed you, but you actually followed us all in, too."
Second Zi answered in a weak voice. She looked as though she was on the brink of death. "The five of us are siblings, and we will live or die together."
Second Shan gritted his teeth. "No matter how dangerous this place may be, you captured our third brother, which left us with no choice but to follow you."
Second Gu interjected, "Lord Lu, please release our third brother."
"What if I told you that your brother is already dead?" Lu Yin asked in an indifferent tone.
The expressions of every member of Second Life changed drastically. Hatred and venom filled their eyes as they glared at Lu Yin, clearly ready to attack him.
Second Shan clenched his fists. "Then please, Lord Lu, kill us as well. If you don’t, we will absolutely try to avenge our brother."
Second Meng and Second Zi were both glaring at Lu Yin with the same undisguised hatred.
Lu Yin chuckled. "Killing you would be easy, but there's no need to rush things. He might not be dead."
The members of Second Life continued to glare at Lu Yin. They knew that this man held their lives in his hand, and while the feeling was unbearable, it was something that they had already expected.
They had already known that, eventually, all five of them would die, one by one.
Lu Yin looked at Second Zi. "Your innate gift is quite special."
Second Gu interjected, "Our fifth sister's innate gift is called Destiny's Cohort. With it, as long as she uses a specific person as an anchor and a base template, anyone she connects to won't die, as long as the anchor lives. Thus, if that person isn’t injured, we will heal from any and all injuries."
Lu Yin was taken aback. "That’s your innate gift? Can you use it on anyone?"
Second Zi answered weakly, "Of course not. The biggest limitation of my innate gift is that I can only use it on a fixed number of people. The first person I used it on was our oldest brother, followed by our second sister, third brother, fourth brother, and finally on myself. It would be very difficult to add anyone else."
Lu Yin understood. "No wonder they protected you at all costs and even risked their lives to do so. I also see why you followed them into the Mirari Realm at the very last moment. As long as you stay alive, they’ll be able to live. No wonder you all managed to survive, despite Second Life’s infamy."
The members of Second Life exchanged glances, only to see utter helplessness in each other’s eyes. What was the point of surviving if they ended up as someone’s puppets? That was no different from death, and yet they had no choice.
They had overheard the conversation that had taken place between Astral Anura and Lu Yin. Even a Dukkhan had been forced to swear to not reveal what had happened in the Mirari Realm. The moment they saw that exchange, Second Life had known that they would never be free from Lu Yin. There were only two choices: fully submit to Lu Yin, or die. They were not qualified to try to negotiate with the man.
As for Second Life, Lu Yin had plans to make use of them.
These people had committed too many atrocities, to the point where not even their deaths would be enough to atone for their sins. Besides, Lu Yin had no obligation to avenge Second Life’s victims; all of them had been strangers to him.
Given the situation, Lu Yin intended to force Second Life to work for him. They would accomplish tasks that Lu Yin could not handle personally, things that not even someone like Arch-Elder Zen could take on. This would be a way for them to aid humanity.
The Heavens Sect could not return to how it had been in the past, with its strength fully exposed for all to see.
During ancient times, the Heavens Sect had been dazzlingly bright, and it had intimidated all other universes and civilizations. However, it shone too brightly, and it had ultimately been destroyed by Aeternus.
In contrast, the new Heavens Sect needed to have both visible brilliance and a hidden blade.
Second Life was only the beginning. Lu Yin already had plans for another group of hidden operatives.
These hidden operatives would be referred to as the Sect's Dark Hand.
Since they had entered the Mirari Realm, they would not be leaving anytime soon.
In the past, Lu Yin had regretted the fact that he had not made Xu Jin's consciousness fully his own while in the Mirari Realm. The consciousness had not been fully refined yet. At present, Lu Yin simply hoped that time would be enough to allow his star of consciousness to recover completely.
The Purple Emperor’s consciousness had helped restore the star a great deal, but it had not fully recovered. Lu Yin needed more time for that.
Some time later, Great Elder Shan Gu woke up. While the man had survived, he had suffered grave injuries. They were far too severe. The Royal Regent’s attack had left Tian Fa in horrible condition, much to the amazement of Lu Yin and the others, but that attack had also far exceeded the level of strength that Shan Gu could control.
"From now on, Heavenly King is as good as destroyed. I won’t be able to use the power of any of its statues again, or else things will end up even worse than they did today," Shan Gu explained in a bitter tone.
Lu Yin consoled the old man, "That’s fine. When we leave this place, you can replace it with an Immemorial card that I’ll help you upgrade to the Primeval level."
Shan Gu’s mouth hung open in shock. Was it really so easy? He found that he could not come up with even a single argument.
Since when had Primeval cards become as common as cabbages?
"However, I want to make this clear in advance; the resources needed to improve another card to the level of Heavenly King will amount to half of my entire wealth," Lu Yin reminded.
Shan Gu nodded with a smile. "In that case, Dao Monarch, is it possible to upgrade a card even further?"
Lu Yin glanced at the Great Elder. "It is."
Shan Gu's eyes lit up.
"To begin with, you will need to provide the resources for the upgrade, which will cost at least tens of trillion star essence," Lu Yin stated.
Shan Gu was rendered speechless. The starting cost that Lu Yin mentioned was enough to make the old man’s heart tremble.