Lu Yin tightened his grip on his scythe. It rose up and then slashed down once more.
There was a loud clang as the shield was struck. At the same time, it slammed into the gate in a thunderous crash. As that happened, the gate expanded violently and swallowed the shield whole.
The Aevum Inch fell silent again.
Lu Yin teleported away, warily staring at the gate. It slowly dissipated.
He took out the floating coffin and laid down in it to enter Vestigium. The moment he arrived, he saw the shield beneath the Divine Tree, entangled and bound by various divine energies.
Ba Se's voice echoed throughout Vestigium, "All of Obscura, enter."
"Huh? That's... Yellow? Ba Se, what's going on? Why is Yellow there?" Furball asked in confusion.
"Hehe, looks like the rules were broken."
"What rule did it break?"
"Ba Se, could there have been a mistake? Everyone knows Yellow's temperament. After all these years, things shouldn't have escalated to something this serious." This was Che's voice.
Ba Se announced, "Yellow broke the rules by attacking Orange and then attempted to flee and betray Obscura. It must be severely punished."
Furball was shocked, "Second Furball attacked Hong Xia?"
Lu Yin arched a brow, "Furball, you knew?"
Furball sneered. "Brat, this has something to do with you, doesn't it?"
"Don't be ridiculous. This has nothing to do with me. I tried to help Obscura capture Second Furball, but I couldn't. Its defenses are too strong," Lu Yin replied.
Old Man Hehe chuckled, "After enduring for so many years, it finally made its move. What a pity, what a pity."
"Old Man Hehe, you knew too? No way. Could it be that only Hong Xia himself didn't know?" Lu Yin found this strange. If this was all true, then Hong Xia was too foolish.
Old Man Hehe said, "No one knew, but every member of Obscura will always act against Obscura. Is that surprising?"
Lu Yin was astonished. "What do you mean?"
Furball sneered, "Don't you want to make a move against me?"
"Hehe, don't you want to make a move against me?"
Che spoke, "As fellow members of Obscura, we should all be helping each other. Lu Yin will not attack any of you. Right, Lu Yin?"
Lu Yin really wanted to say that Che was the one whom he wanted to attack the most, but he instead said, "I am more loyal to Obscura than you."
"That's good." Che smiled.
Lu Yin felt uncomfortable.
"All of Obscura, gather. First, Yellow’s punishment will be announced." Ba Se's voice was calm. "Immediate execution."
Those two words caused Lu Yin's pupils to contract. Immediate execution? So decisive?
"Immediate execution? Ba Se, isn't that too much?" Che could not bear it.
Furball also spoke up, "You’re directly executing it? Ba Se, have you forgotten how many members Obscura has already lost? Three have died recently. If Yellow is killed, that will make four."
"Hehe, aside from the war against the Nine Ramparts, Obscura has never suffered such losses."
Ba Se said, "For Obscura, the rules stand above all."
Lu Yin stared at the Divine Tree. He had not expected Second Furball’s punishment to be immediate execution. This was good news for Hong Xia, but not necessarily for Lu Yin. At the very least, as long as Second Furball lived, it would be able to pose a threat to Hong Xia, but once it died, Hong Xia would have no further concerns.
However, Second Furball also hated humanity as a whole. They had long since been wary of this hidden mastermind, and now that it was being fully eliminated, they could also feel a bit of relief. Lu Yin’s only regret was the so-called path to invincibility that it had mentioned.
All along, the ideal outcome had been to uncover the mastermind who had been scheming against Hong Xia from behind the scenes and determine whether they sought to only deal with Hong Xia or were targeting all of human civilization. Since Hong Xia was the ruler of Crimson Starshade, scheming against him might very well indicate that the mastermind’s goal was destruction of the entire human civilization.
The idea had been good, but the results were far from ideal. The mastermind had been exposed, yet its fate was not theirs to decide.
"What a pity. Qiu Huang's shield... Seeing it vaguely reminds me of Qiu Huang's former glory," Che commented.
Old Man Hehe added, "Qiu Huang? They were indeed very powerful. They single-handedly held off Hong Shuang, the Warden of the Second Rampart. But they overestimated themself. It is said that the Plume Immortals used them against the Nine Ramparts, but the truth is that they also intended to use those birds. In the end, they were abandoned.
"Hehe, the Plume Immortals and even the Nine Ramparts all lost their respect for the Aevum Inch. That is never a good thing. Hehe."
Lu Yin's eyes flashed sharply as he was suddenly reminded of the words "know one's limits." At some point, he had actually forgotten those words, or rather, had started to ignore them.
Indeed, they should have known their limits and maintained a level of reverence for the Aevum Inch. But the stronger that individuals became, the more likely they were to ignore it. Just moments earlier, Lu Yin himself had felt regret at not being able to use Second Furball, but how could Second Furball possibly be someone whom Lu Yin could use as he pleased? He himself was only an Aberrant.
In the Human Trio, aside from Lu Yin, no one else was capable of fighting against Second Furball, and it was unknown if Lu Yin could even defeat Second Furball after using everything in his arsenal.
He may have killed Ni Ren, Ming Yu, and Chang Dou, but Lu Yin also understood how difficult each of those victories had been. Second Furball may not be skilled in offense, but its defenses were terrifying. Just because Hong Xia could break the shield’s defenses did not mean that Lu Yin could.
Why should a being who resonated with two cosmic laws and who hated human civilization be used by Lu Yin?
Thinking of this, he broke out in a cold sweat. He had been careless yet again. No, this was not merely carelessness, but rather human nature. Despite Lu Yin’s wariness and confusion in regards to the sharp sword that had severed the Meteor Realm and the Trio, he still could not firmly grasp the idea of knowing his limits.
That was human nature. That was how Lu Yin was, and it also matched the behavior of the former Heavens Sect, as well as the ancient Nine Ramparts.
Human civilization had countless powerful enemies. Lu Yin took a deep breath, his gaze sharpening. Borrowing strength in order to fight was useful, but borrowing too much would only end in backlash. If they were faced with many enemies, then they would destroy those enemies one by one.
Second Furball was also an enemy. It had been Qiu Huang's shield. Without Qiu Huang, Hong Shuang would not have been held back, and the outcome of the war against the Nine Ramparts might have been different. There was no need to regret its death. Such enemies should be destroyed whenever they appeared without hesitation.
Old Man Hehe's reminder had come in time. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have eventually suffered from trying to use others. Those who tried to use others would ultimately suffer themselves.
"Orange, do you have any objections to this decision?" Ba Se's voice rang out.
Hong Xia replied, "No."