"This rule has something to do with Master Qing Cao," Jiang Feng explained as he looked over at the man, "Back then, you took everything from me. I fell into a darkness where there was nothing, and I was lost there for a long, long time. Eventually, with Little Ruyu's help, I walked out of that darkness, but it will forever remain in my memory.
"Now, that has led to me to resonate with the cosmic law of Everything Begins From Nothing.
"Teleportation requires contact with the cosmos. Luo Chan’s capture was based on this very principle. Now, I will use my cosmic law to instantly sever that strange bird from the cosmos. Although it will only be for a mere moment and it can easily shatter my efforts, will that brief moment be enough?"
Lu Yin’s eyes blazed fiercely. "We can try."
It was difficult to prevent an Immortal from interacting with the cosmos. Even Greater Sancte Green Lotus would find that a difficult task. But Jiang Feng, by utilizing the cosmic law that he resonated with, could do just that.
While it would only be for a single moment, much could be accomplished in that instant. After all, teleportation was instantaneous, and Lu Yin could also teleport.
No matter what, it was worth trying.
***
Seven years had passed since Lu Yin had placed the gate in the technological civilization’s territory. During these seven years, the technological civilization had not passed through the gate, and the strange bird did not launch any surprise attacks on humanity.
If things continued in this manner, they would be fine.
But one day, the strange bird reappeared. It was not within humanity’s territory, but rather on the other side of the Gate of Laws.
The bird instantly appeared in front of Greater Sancte Blood Tower, its feathers sharp. The man wielded his saber and slashed at this opponent.
The blade struck the bird’s feathers, which received the attack softly and without resistance. They were merely grazed by the blade’s passing. Meanwhile, a feather pierced the Greater Sancte’s body, impaling Blood Tower’s shoulder.
The man was stunned. Were his efforts completely ineffective? His Blood Blade had been just as ineffective as Ku Deng and Kang Tian had said that their defenses had been.
Without hesitation, Blood Tower turned and passed through the Gate of Laws.
Although he had been wounded, the strange bird had been forced back a step by the blade’s energy, which left it unable to do much more. It let out a frustrated screech as it also passed through the Gate of Laws.
Neither noticed that the commotion of the battle, especially the screeches of the strange bird that rang across the cosmos, had drawn the attention of a spherical object. It appeared to be metallic, and it had flickering red lights.
Blood Tower awkwardly returned to the human megaverses through the Gate of Laws. A moment later, the strange bird rushed through the gate as well, only to instantly disappear.
This scene shocked the Arcanum Domain and left Lu Yin and the others even more on edge.
The strange bird was clearly in the human civilization’s territory, but it had not passed through the Gate of Laws. Even so, it had managed to ambush Blood Tower. What did that mean?
It meant that the bird had moved from their human civilization’s territory to the area of the Aevum Inch that the Gate of Laws was connected to.
It meant that, although the region was very, very far away, it was still reachable through normal means.
Additionally, no matter how far away a place might be, as long as the strange bird had been there before, it could return to it again.
Finally, it meant that the other side of the Gate of Laws, where one Immortal was always stationed to stand guard, also faced the constant threat of the strange bird’s ambushes.
As for whether the bird might encounter the technological civilization, fight against them, or negotiate with them, that still remained uncertain.
The strange bird’s goal was to kill Immortals. Although the technological civilization possessed weapons capable of unleashing the destructive power of an Immortal, they were not themselves Immortals. If the strange bird saw no value in such beings and it was not ignorant, then it could very well lure the technological civilization to humanity’s megaverses.
Just as how Obscura knew about the strange birds, the bird undoubtedly knew about Obscura as well. Thus, it might very well employ the method of using one civilization to attack another.
Every fact that they analyzed left them uneasy.
Lu Yin stared out at the stars, wishing that he could make a birdcage large enough to encompass an entire megaverse in order to capture all of the strange birds.
Even after stationing more people on the other side of the Gate of Laws, Blood Tower still had to stand guard, but he was now joined by Ku Deng. The two Immortals stood guard together. Even if the strange bird attacked again, it would be ineffective.
Their human civilization did not lack for Immortals.
They continued to wait. Since the strange bird had come through the Gate of Laws, it would next ambush someone within the human megaverses. There was no other reason for it to have followed Blood Tower.
No matter how far the Gate of Laws’ connected region was from their human civilization, the strange bird would have no reason to waste its time.
Humanity’s powerhouses had originally planned to pair up their Immortals to deal with the bird’s ambushes, but with Jiang Feng’s proposal, their strategy had shifted into luring the strange bird into attacking. Thus, they had to spread out. Of course, such unusual behavior would undoubtedly raise the bird’s suspicion, so the Immortals still stayed relatively close to each other, preparing for their counter against the bird’s ambush.
They expected at least several more years to pass before the strange bird launched another ambush. But to their surprise, just half a year later, Master Qing Cao saw the bird.
Yue Lu’s eyes were entrancing, yet they were filled with mocking, contempt, and killing intent as it attacked Qing Cao for the second time. He stared in a daze as Yue Lu’s Godplume Spear approached him, helpless before the feather. No matter what he did, it was impossible to block the attack. Even Greater Sancte Blood Tower had been rendered helpless before this attack.
The Godplume Spear easily stabbed into Master Qing Cao’s body. He staggered back, his blood staining the ground. He did not even bother trying to defend, instead focusing only on trying to see through the attack.
He stared fixedly at the Godplume Spear, sensing the changes in the starry sky, breathing at a rhythm no ordinary person could comprehend.
Even the universe breathed. This was the cosmic law that Qing Cao resonated with.
After the Godplume Spear fully pierced his body, he finally saw through it.
“Fusion and transference.”
Yue Lu’s killing intent spiked. This Immortal had actually succeeded in unraveling the secrets of Godplume Spear, though at the cost of being heavily wounded. But what of it? Could these humans stop it?
Master Qing Cao coughed up blood. He was terribly weakened due to his wounds. He flickered like a candle in the wind, at risk of being blown out at any instant.
Even so, Yue Lu showed no signs of lingering, nor any intention to follow up with a second attack. Already, the bird was prepared to teleport and vanish.
At that moment, its world suddenly went dark. Everything ceased to exist: Everything Begins From Nothing.
Yue Lu’s teleportation failed, startling it. The bird let out a shriek and tore the universe apart. Endless karma fell upon the bird, just as another hand appeared on its talons. It was Lu Yin’s hand.
Yue Lu was large enough that Lu Yin could only grab its talons, but that was still enough. He looked up at the bird, a smile appearing on his lips. "Got you."
Karma filled the universe. Before the bird, Master Qing Cao shook off his frailty and threw a Bamboo Fence forward. As that happened, Tri-Azure Sword Intent appeared behind Lu Yin.
Yue Lu’s eyes grew turned cold, and the void warped. In an instant, its body split into two, then three, five, seventeen...
In the blink of an eye, the sky was filled with thousands of Yue Lus, all of which then vanished as one, only leaving the one that Lu Yin had touched behind.