Just a glance had immobilized him. What would happen if he moved closer?
Lu Yin hesitated repeatedly, but he ultimately decided to retreat. He would return first and gather some information before making a decision.
He teleported away, moving further away until he had returned to the Human Trio. There, he found Green Lotus and asked if the man had ever heard anything about the crow.
Hong Xia had provided the crow’s location to him. Since there was a connection to that man, it was possible that human civilization might have records of that gray crow, though it was far more likely that Hong Xia had encountered it while wandering the cosmos on his own. If the latter were true, then there would be no connection to human civilization.
Green Lotus shook his head; he knew nothing about any crow.
Even so, he was completely shocked by its ability to pin Lu Yin in place. “Since Hong Xia gave you those coordinates, he definitely has ill intentions. He may want to use that crow against you, but that also does not make much sense. If the crow truly intended to deal with you, you should not have been able to come back.”
Lu Yin had the same thought. The crow’s power was unfathomable. Just a glance had been terrifying. Who knew how strong it truly was?
But if it was that strong, then why had it not attacked?
Hong Xia had definitely seen the crow before. If it had been able to immobilize Lu Yin, then had Hong Xia also been frozen by it?
“If you can’t overcome being frozen, do not go looking for that crow again,” Green Lotus suggested in a grim tone. “There are far too many strange civilizations and creatures in the Aevum Inch, and it is impossible to see through everything.”
Lu Yin’s gaze flickered. “If it’s alive, I absolutely won’t provoke it, but I can’t shake the feeling that it’s just a dead object.”
“You want its eye?” Green Lotus was surprised.
Lu Yin did not deny it.
The Greater Sancte frowned. “That may not be impossible. It should have ten eyes, but only three still remain. If it truly is just an object, then the other seven eyes have most likely already been gouged out.”
Lu Yin said, “Only one of the eyes can freeze me. If I obtain that eye, can I gain that ability?”
This was what tempted him the most. He might not have the strength to compare to someone who resonated with two cosmic laws, but he could still fight them. Even so, he had been completely unable to move. If he could gain that ability and use it at a critical moment, he would have something that could turn the tables even against a two-law Immortal.
The question at the moment was whether the crow was truly dead. If it was alive, it absolutely could not be provoked.
“I’ll go with you to take a look,” Green Lotus offered.
Lu Yin was tempted, but he refused in the end. Green Lotus’s presence was enough to restrain Hong Xia. If anything went wrong, the Trio might not be able to hold out. Besides, this could very well be a trap for Green Lotus, Old First, or Lu Yin.
He would not get an answer from Hong Xia, so he would ask Jiu Wen instead.
Lu Yin teleported back to Crimson Starshade and arrived at the Blood Tower to talk to Jiu Wen.
“The Ten-Eyed Divine Crow?” Jiu Wen was horrified. He stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. The old man had not appeared this rattled even when facing Hong Xia.
Lu Yin let out a breath. So Jiu Wen did know something. “Senior, you know about that crow?”
Jiu Wen stared at Lu Yin. “Tell me again, slowly and in detail. Don’t leave out even the slightest thing.”
Lu Yin recounted when he had first seen the crow, including what he had felt at the time. Jiu Wen listened intensely, his eyes flickering with lingering fear. When he addressed Lu Yin again, his voice was indescribably heavy. “You actually managed to break free of the Ten-Eyed Divine Crow’s gaze... Lucky. Incredibly lucky.
“This is also my fault. I actually forgot about something this important. I should have warned you long ago: this is Hong Xia’s true trump card.”
Lu Yin was confused. “Hong Xia wants to use this Divine Crow to eliminate me?”
Jiu Wen nodded. “The Divine Crow is a creature from legends. Not legends as ordinary people understand things, but a legend to people like us. One could even say... that it was a legend of the Nine Ramparts.”
Lu Yin’s gaze sharpened. A legend of the Nine Ramparts?
“Legend says that the Ten-Eyed Divine Crow was born by seizing the luck of the cosmos itself, that it is undying and eternal, existing forever. It was impossible to trace back its origin through time. It was capricious and might destroy a civilization simply because it disliked what it saw. Or, if it was in a good mood, it would not mind even if someone rode atop its head. In short, it was a bizarre and powerful creature.
“Legends say that each of the Ten-Eyed Divine Crow’s eyes contains an indescribable power that can be considered the pinnacle of innate gifts. No one can defeat the Divine Crow at full strength on their own. In theory, it was the most invincible individual creature in the entire Aevum Inch.
“Fortunately, it is already dead. It was killed by the Nine Ramparts.”
Lu Yin was shocked. “The Nine Ramparts killed it?”
Jiu Wen said, “I only heard my master mention it. For unknown reasons, the Ten-Eyed Divine Crow attacked our human civilization, and several Rampart Wardens joined hands to kill it. I heard that the final blow was even struck by our Crimson Starshade’s Rampart Warden Hong Shuang. Apparently, she burned the Divine Crow with her Path of Dispassion, turning it into a statue.”
At this point, the old man looked back at Lu Yin. “This means that the legend is true. If not, Hong Xia could not possibly know the location of the Divine Crow. He lured you there to use the crow’s eyes against you. The fact that you escaped... is incredible luck.”
Lu Yin felt the same. Without those motes of green light from the Mother Trees, he would have never escaped.
Fortunately, the Ten-Eyed Divine Crow was already dead.
“Mr. Lu, legend says that each of the Ten-Eyed Divine Crow’s eyes possesses a pinnacle innate gift and that they can be controlled by people. My master once expressed regret at not being able to even try to seize an eye. Only three eyes now remain. Since you managed to break free of one eye’s ability, perhaps you can try... to pluck it.”
Lu Yin had been thinking the same thing, but Jiu Wen’s words still made his heart lurch. “Is that really possible?”
“It should be.”
“And you’re sure that the Divine Crow is dead?”
Jiu Wen nodded solemnly. “In my era, legends already claimed that the Ten-Eyed Divine Crow was dead. Later, I asked my master, and he confirmed its death. I heard that many elite prodigies attempted to pluck its eyes during the Nine Ramparts era. My master also joined that competition, but he failed. If it were not dead, the Nine Ramparts would have never allowed anyone to make such an attempt.
“I was born in the latter stages of the Nine Ramparts era, when there were already enemies in all directions, so those attempts had long since stopped with no one mentioning them anymore. I never expected Hong Xia to use the Ten-Eyed Divine Crow against you.”
Lu Yin stared off into the distance. In the Nine Ramparts era, geniuses must have made their attempts under the protection of supreme powerhouses who could pull them out of the Ten-Eyed Divine Crow’s sight. There was no longer any such protection, so Hong Xia must have been certain that Lu Yin would be frozen in place.
Since Lu Yin had returned, what would Hong Xia think? Of course, the man could not be certain that Lu Yin had visited the Divine Crow.
Also, since Hong Xia knew the location of the Divine Crow, did Obscura also know about it? Did the Plume Immortals know? Had they never tried to pluck any of those eyes, or had they tried and failed?
“Senior, last you heard, how many eyes did the Ten-Eyed Divine Crow have?”
“I don’t know, as my master didn’t say. He only said that he never heard of anyone succeeding.”
“Maybe even if someone did succeed, they wouldn’t say.”
“That is possible. In fact, the ones most likely to succeed would have been the Fourth Rampart: the people of Heaven’s Sight. Unfortunately, they’re gone now.”