Yi Shang quickly gathered his thoughts. "Seraph Lu, now that the key is lost and the box is destroyed, this half of the secondary key is not enough to trade with Zhan Ming. On top of that, if Zhan Ming discovers that the key to the Gate of Laws has been lost, he might become your enemy."
Lu Yin gave a small smile as he looked down at his hand. Was the key really lost? Of course not. He was merely using this incident to put more pressure onto Yi Shang.
It was impossible to control someone solely through their life or death. They needed to be repeatedly subjected to pressure and constantly beaten down until they broke.
No matter what, Yi Shang was a Dukkhan, as well as the ruler of the Daquan Domain and the president of the Chamber of Commerce. It would be a waste to simply kill such a person.
"You don’t need to worry about that. There’s a place that I think you might like," Lu Yin commented. Then, with a flick of his hand, he imprisoned Yi Shang inside his Champions' Stage Purgatory.
During the thirty-seven years that had passed in the branch stream of the River of Aeons, Yi Shang had led cultivators from the Spirit Nidus to wage war on the Tianyuan Megaverse. Intense battles had been fought in the Tianyuan Megaverse, and both sides had suffered severe casualties.
While right or wrong were undetermined, due to the fact that the two had been on opposing sides, hatred had still developed.
In a sense, imprisoning Yi Shang could be seen as a conclusion to the war that had been fought during those thirty-seven lost years.
Yi Shang was the first Seraph that Lu Yin had personally subdued.
Over time, Lu Yin had ended up imprisoning a number of powerful cultivators in his Champions' Stage Purgatory, including multiple Dukkhans.
Not only did imprisoning such individuals strengthen his Karmic Dao and allow Lu Yin to ignore karmic backlash, but his prisoners would also serve an even greater purpose in the future.
His Karmic Dao had his Champions' Stage serve as purgatory below and his Investiture of the Gods serve as heaven above.
The day would come when Lu Yin’s Karmic Dao would bring an unprecedented surprise to everyone. It would develop into something that far exceeded even the Nine Heavens Transformation.
Lu Yin took out the compass and waved a hand, tearing the void open. He then stepped forward and started searching for the key.
During his last attempt to retrieve the key, Lu Yin had succeeded in coating the key with Ethersand. Now, all he needed to do was find it, which would not take long.
After more than ten days, Lu Yin returned to the Hundred Grasses Domain, the third key to the Gate of Laws in his hand.
This key was the foundation of his current confidence. With this, he would be able to compete strategically with Yong Heng.
Yong Heng had avoided being rolled back when time had reverted thirty-seven years, and he had even kept Meng Sang with him. On top of that, the man had endured the karmic backlash created from keeping Tian Ci’s mirebound artifact spirit seed. There was no doubt that the man had paid for those actions.
Most recently, Lu Yin had learned that Yong Heng had also managed to retain Zhan Yan’s key to the Gate of Laws, though after the temporal reversion, Zhan Yan herself had ended up in Lu Yin’s hands.
This karmic debt would be settled.
Lu Yin wanted to see if Yong Heng truly had the ability to retain the key.
How much effort had True God expended to withstand the previous karmic backlash? It should have been impossible without at least comprehending karma; even the High Seraph found it inconceivable. After all, the man still did not know that it was possible to resist karmic backlash.
Just how had Yong Heng achieved such a thing?
Even if it was possible, Yong Heng must have paid a steep price. If he was forced to endure karmic backlash again, each incident would reduce the chance of Yong Heng being able to resist again.
Lu Yin wanted to bet on this opportunity and use it to probe the depths of Yong Heng’s capabilities.
Lu Yin had not forgotten that Yong Heng intended for the Spirit Nidus to be their third battleground. Since that was the case, it was time to let the contest begin.
Yi Shang’s key granted Lu Yin a bit of insurance. If Yong Heng was able to endure another bout of karmic backlash and wanted to retaliate against Lu Yin by announcing Lu Yin’s Possession ability, then turning over the third key should be enough to appease that fury. Even then, it would be worth the price.
If Yong Heng failed to endure the karmic backlash and Lu Yin ended up with Zhan Yan’s key, then he could simply give the key to Yong Heng, similarly quelling the man’s anger. After all, Lu Yin possessed an extra key to work with.
This was precisely why Lu Yin had made sure to get his hands on Yi Shang’s key. This key was the foundation that gave Lu Yin the confidence to incite Yong Heng’s wrath.
Even if both keys were given to Yong Heng, one key was still with the High Seraph. Lu Yin was happy to let those two fight over it. His strategy was clear, and at the very least, he would not suffer any losses.
At that moment, his spirit cloudstone trembled. Meng Sang was reaching out to give Lu Yin the time and place for trading Zhan Yan.
The Seraph had successfully shaken off Jiu Xian’s tail.
The timing was perfect.
Lu Yin called for Zhan Yan. “Give me your key.”
Zhan Yan could not make sense of Lu Yin. She had clearly been under his control for a long time, which meant that he could have taken the key from her at any point in time. Despite that, he had never even mentioned it.
Given the importance of the key, it was impossible for Lu Yin to be ignorant of its existence.
There was no hesitation as Zhan Yan pulled out the key and handed it to Lu Yin.
It was identical to the one that Yi Shang had hidden in the box.
As Lu Yin watched the key approaching him, his eyes narrowed. “Let’s go, Yong Heng.”
Far away, on a distant planet, streets were lit by neon lights as the city’s sounds of nightlife filled the air. Towering buildings soared into the clouds high above the streets, isolated from all of the noise. From above, those down below looked like insignificant ants.
Feng Bo stood respectfully at the side, his expression grim.
Yong Heng slowly said, “Jiu Xian hasn’t stopped looking for you. For now, don’t reveal yourself. As for Lu Yin and his people, they clearly know that you’ve already died, and yet they refuse to tell Jiu Xian that you’re dead. I’ll make sure to inform her of this.”
A cold light flickered in Feng Bo’s eyes when Jiu Xian’s name was mentioned.
Suddenly, Yong Heng’s expression changed drastically. The lights across the entire planet started to flicker, and his face paled as his expression grew unprecedentedly somber.
Feng Bo stared at Yong Heng in bewilderment. “What’s happening?”
His back still to Feng Bo, Yong Heng opened his hands. A petal in his palm withered away. “Are you inciting karmic backlash with Zhan Yan’s key? Do you not fear that I will reveal your secrets? Let’s see if you can withstand the wrath of the Spirit Nidus.”
He turned around to face Feng Bo. “Release the information.”
At that exact moment, Yong Heng’s spirit cloudstone trembled, as Meng Sang was trying to call him.
Yong Heng connected, and he heard Meng Sang’s voice. “I have it.”
Yong Heng was taken aback. “You have it?”