After hearing what Old Man Hehe said, Lu Yin’s eyes flickered, and he said in a low voice, “I still don’t want to do it.”
“Hehe, but you will do it.”
As the ancient being spoke, a small gate appeared beside Lu Yin, and Ba Se’s voice emerged from it. “Lu Yin, use the primal talisman to block Gao Tian’s perception. This is your mission.”
Just as Lu Yin was about to refute, Ba Se continued, “A mission issued by Obscura on a battlefield is an absolute order to any Obscura member. You are on a battlefield. I’ll repeat that again: you are on a battlefield.”
Lu Yin’s face darkened. On the battlefield, everyone must obey orders. Lu Yin had risen from an ordinary human to a cultivator, but at this moment, he felt as though he had stepped back into the ranks of ordinary people once again.
Cultivators could not rise above everything. No matter how high one’s cultivation might rise, they were still the same individuals in essence. They had to climb up from the ordinary, step by step, overcoming conflicts with other people, or rather, conflicts with others of their own species. Cultivation merely elevated the level of one’s struggles, but it could not change the essence.
Orders? Lu Yin was hearing that word again. It was just that, for so long, he had been the one to say that word to others.
“Hehe, child, you haven’t forgotten why Obscura invited you to join, have you? Look back. Do you think that, if you had not joined Obscura, your human civilization would have had any chance of survival?” Old Man Hehe slowly asked.
Those words sent a chill down Lu Yin’s back. Only by truly understanding Obscura was it possible to get a true picture of the Aevum Inch itself.
The clearer the picture became, the more naive one’s past understanding appeared. Every step of the journey had been filled with coincidences and opportunities. A single wrong step would have been the end.
Lu Yin suddenly recalled that, when Lan Meng had accepted a mission to destroy the Human Trio, Green Lotus had clearly been capable of killing Lan Meng, yet he had chosen not to. That had not only been to conceal his strength for future dealings with Hong Xia, but also to use Lan Meng to screen off Obscura.
If Lan Meng died, who would be the next creature sent to destroy their human civilization? Furball? Second Furball? Or Old Man Hehe? No one could know for sure.
There were many times when an enemy could not simply be killed. Though stifling, that was the simple truth of things.
Humans dealt with this kind of suffocation, and Obscura encountered it as well. It was just that they could not see it.
Who living in the cosmos did not have to bow their head? No one could gaze down upon everything in existence forever.
Lu Yin stared at the cubic box in front of him. “Ba Se, I can accept this mission, but not alone. You’re sending me to Gao Tian, and you know what kind of existence that bird is. Even if it’s still within its Thousand-Autumn Dream, it’s not something that I can face. I need someone to go with me. This isn’t an excessive request.”
Ba Se replied, “Fine. Who?”
“You Che.” Lu Yin did not hesitate.
Old Man Hehe was surprised. They had expected Lu Yin to ask Hong Xia to go along with him. After all, Hong Xia was a mortal enemy that Lu Yin wanted to eliminate. His choice of You Che instead was completely unexpected.
Of course Lu Yin would not choose Hong Xia. They were known to be enemies. If possible, Lu Yin certainly wanted to use Gao Tian to kill Hong Xia, but Hong Xia would similarly want to use Gao Tian to eliminate Lu Yin. Besides, what kind of existence was Gao Tian? Was that Plume Immortal someone that could be used?
It was necessary for a creature to know their own limits. To go up against Gao Tian, Lu Yin needed to have a helper whom he could trust, someone who would face the dangers together with him and who would escape with him as well.
Che was the best choice because he had given Manifest City to Lu Yin. While still an enemy, Lu Yin clearly understood that Che’s goal was to use Lu Yin to seize control of Manifest City. While Lu Yin had no idea what means Che had prepared, the goal was never in question, and Che seemed very confident in his methods.
Mutual interests were more reliable than anything else. If Che wanted Manifest City, he needed to use Lu Yin. That meant that he could not allow Gao Tian to kill Lu Yin.
Furthermore, Lu Yin had been the last person to speak with You Wu before that creature’s death, and Che was absolutely interested in whatever You Wu had said. There was a good chance that his master’s last words touched upon the secret to controlling Manifest City. Che absolutely would not allow Lu Yin to be killed.
“Che is on another battlefield and cannot be reassigned,” Ba Se refused.
Lu Yin frowned. “Find someone else from Obscura and have them swap places with him on the battlefield.”
Ba Se’s tone sank. “This is the battlefield. The reason why you joined Obscura is to deal with the Plume Immortals. Lu Yin, this is my first warning, as well as my last. Hurry. If Gao Tian awakens, then whatever price Obscura pays in this war, your human civilization will pay the same.”
Lu Yin took a deep breath. That threat gave him chills. “Fine. Send anyone with me.”
As he spoke, he grabbed the cube-shaped box. “Is this called a primal talisman?”
“You’ve already been told how to use it, child. Do not allow Gao Tian to awaken. Even without Ba Se’s threat, aren’t you afraid that Gao Tian will join up with Yue Lu to wipe out your human civilization?” Old Man Hehe asked.
Lu Yin’s expression shifted, his emotions tangled. Of course he was afraid of that. The Plume Immortals had to lose this war. Not only that, but they also had to lose so thoroughly that they could not cause trouble for humanity and also because Lu Yin did not know why the Plume Immortals had gone to war with Obscura.
The gate that he had left behind years ago still had not been destroyed. He had no idea if it was the trigger for this war, but his greatest fear was that, after the war was over, Yue Lu would tell the other Plume Immortals about him. Given that he could also teleport, the Plume Immortals would not let Lu Yin go.
Their human civilization had to prepare for war, and during this battle, Lu Yin intended to cripple the Plume Immortals as much as possible.
From all directions, the cosmos shrank down. This was Ming Yu’s technique. Lu Yin looked up at the Plume Immortals’ great tree in the distance, and with a single teleport, crossed a distance equal to thirty years’ travel.
Ming Yu was startled. His teleportation range increased? This human has been hiding things... Despicable!
It chased after him.
Lu Yin teleported again, arriving near the enormous tree. As he appeared, a small gate appeared and Ba Se’s voice came through, “Yellow is waiting for you up ahead. They have their own opponent, so you only have one instant, just one moment to take Yellow to the canopy of the Plume Immortals’ tree and activate the primal talisman. Should you fail, the Plume Immortals will pursue you, and you will have no further chances.”
“Gao Tian’s position?”
“At the very center of the tree’s canopy.”
Lu Yin opened Heaven’s Sight. In an instant, he felt many gazes focused on him. He could feel them all. Directly in front of him, a blinding golden radiance appeared: Obscura’s Yellow, the same creature that Lu Yin had once called Second Furball.
He had not expected Second Furball to accompany him. This creature was not friendly towards him at all, and their words contained utter disgust for humans.
And yet there was no other choice.
A Godplume Spear appeared behind Lu Yin. Ming Yu struck in an instant. Teleporting, Lu Yin instantly appeared within the golden radiance, and what met his eyes was... a shield?
In his moment of shock, more Plume Immortals arrived to kill him.
Lu Yin grabbed the shield and teleported again.
Plume Immortals appeared both before and behind him. One was Second Furball’s opponent, the other Ming Yu.
Ming Yu watched Lu Yin vanish with the shield, and then it saw the Plume Immortal before it. Not good!
Ming Yu let out a shriek. Atop the Plume Immortals’ great tree, another Plume Immortal spread its wings. One bird after another flew out, feathered beasts of every form, and they circled the tree’s canopy.
Carrying the shield, Lu Yin teleported into the canopy and then teleported again to the very center, where he met the gaze of a Plume Immortal.
“This is the one who’s been guarding this place. Get past it,” a voice came from the shield. It was Second Furball’s voice.