Chapter 1587: Harvest Begins

"I'll personally show Alliance Leader Lu around if you have time to visit my Smoke-Eater Peaks," Gu Laogui said. Even though he was wary of Lu Yin, the older man was also aware that Lu Yin had a good relationship with Gu Xiao'er. While Lu Yin might be ruthless in his actions, he was also intelligent and loyal.

Lu Yin smiled. "While that’s not possible for the time being, I would like to make a deal with Senior Gu."

"Oh? What deal?" Gu Laogui grew curious.

Gu Xiao'er interjected from where he was standing to the side, "Um… Dad, Brother Lu went to some strange place, and he captured a woman there. She actually has an even greater mastery of smoke than us, and she also mentioned Progenitor Yan’s inheritance."

Gu Laogui was shocked. "What did you just say?"

Lu Yin smiled.

Gu Xiao'er could not resist replying, "I told you that everything we know might be wrong."

Gu Laogui turned to stare at Lu Yin. "Was there a massive big tree where Alliance Leader Lu has been?"

Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Senior knows about that? By any chance, did you visit that place as well?"

Gu Laogui did not answer the question, instead saying, "It looks like Alliance Leader Lu is going to help increase the strength of my Smoke-Eater Peaks."

Lu Yin smiled. "Of course. I, Lu Yin, appreciate doing things that are mutually beneficial."

"In that case, what can I and my Smoke-Eater Peaks do for Alliance Leader Lu?" Gu Laogui asked in a deep voice.

Lu Yin glanced over at Gu Xiao'er. "What did you trade to the Cosmic Sect for the Cosmic Art?"

Gu Xiao'er blinked. He then turned towards his gadget’s display. "Dad, what do you think?"

Gu Laogui smiled. "This is an easy enough request. How much white smoke would Alliance Leader Lu like in exchange for that woman?"

Lu Yin showed a small smile. "That woman is also one of my friends, so I can’t just give her over to you. However, I can persuade her to help you improve the quality of your smoke and to share as much of Progenitor Yan’s inheritance with you as possible. In exchange, I would like to ask your Smoke-Eater Peaks to provide my Great Eastern Alliance with enough white smoke for 100,000 people to use. That white smoke can be used as a defensive treasure, and it can also protect a person’s entire body, which is naturally what the Cosmic Sect uses it for."

Gu Laogui instantly refused, "That’s impossible. 100,000 people? Does Alliance Leader Lu understand just how huge of a number you are requesting?"

Lu Yin ran some numbers in his head. "Compared to the Great Eastern Alliance’s entire military, it’s quite small."

Gu Laogui gritted his teeth; there really was no way to refute Lu Yin’s comment. It was true, the Great Eastern Alliance had a military force that numbered in the millions, not the thousands. "Alliance Leader Lu, you should know that we only provided enough smoke to the Cosmic Sect to protect just over a hundred of their disciples. Our smoke is treated as a rather high reward within their sect. I can offer you enough smoke for a thousand people."

Lu Yin waved a hand. "A thousand’s no good. It needs to be enough smoke to protect 100,000 people."

Gu Laogui's eyes went wide. "Are you trying to get my Smoke-Eater Peaks to work for your Great Eastern Alliance?"

"This should not be too steep a price compared to the opportunity to improve the quality of your white smoke and to learn more about Progenitor Yan’s inheritance." Lu Yin was absolutely confident, and he did not actually care whether or not Smoke-Eater Peaks could pay what he was demanding. Lu Yin was not negotiating a business deal, and he had no intention of haggling with Gu Laogui. If Lu Yin’s conditions were not possible, then that simply meant that Gu Laogui was not capable of uncovering any more of Progenitor Yan’s inheritance.

This was precisely the reason why Lu Yin had taken Gu Xiao'er to Zenith Mountain to meet Yun Tingting.

In the future, no matter if Lu Yin was forced to go up against the Sixth Mainland, the Perennial World, or even Aeternus, he would need a powerful army. His goal was to raise an invincible army, and 100,000 members was just a tentative goal at the moment.

Gu Laogui felt like gnashing his teeth. He wanted to refuse the demand to provide smoke for 100,000 people as the most he was willing to provide was enough smoke for 1,000 people.

The difference in the two sides’ demands was too large, and it was a bit embarrassing.

Lu Yin shrugged. "Since we can't come to an agreement, then we can forget about it. Senior Gu, please don’t take any offense about us not being able to come to an agreement. When I have time, this junior will visit your Smoke-Eater Peaks."

Lu Yin then made to leave.

Gu Xiao'er quickly stopped Lu Yin, his tone of voice bitter. "Brother, your appetite is really too big! You should know that even if everything in Smoke-Eater Peaks is exhausted, it would still be impossible to provide enough smoke for 100,000 people. We only have 10,000 disciples on our mountains, and even if none of them sleep, we still can’t create that much smoke. We might not be able to get Progenitor Yan’s inheritance, but even if we agreed, none of our people would even have time to practice the new methods.”

Lu Yin did not believe a word of it.

Gu Laogui loudly stated, "Alliance Leader Lu, I know that you have a relationship with Eversky Island and the Hall of Honor. You can ask them how much white smoke my Smoke-Eater Peaks produces every year. They all are aware of our capabilities, and I would not lie to you about such a thing."

Lu Yin stopped. Apparently, it was true that Smoke-Eater Peaks could not provide enough smoke to protect 100,000 people. "10,000 people will be fine. If even that’s not possible, then there’s no need to continue talking about this."

Gu Xiao'er looked over at Gu Laogui.

The older man's expression changed as he stared at Gu Xiao'er. The man’s son was clearly anxious, and his eyes were locked onto Lu Yin’s cosmic ring.

Finally, Gu Laogui agreed to Lu Yin’s terms, but with the caveat that Lu Yin had to give them Progenitor Yan’s inheritance as well as improve the quality of their smoke.

Lu Yin agreed. The moment he delivered the inheritance to Smoke-Eater Peaks, 10,000 members of the Great Eastern Alliance’s army would gain the white smoke’s protection.

Next was the most important step in this plan: gaining Yun Tingting’s cooperation.

This would not be easy, and Lu Yin had to think about what the best way to handle this matter was.

Lu Yin returned to Zenith Mountain, and he appeared rather close to Yun Tingting.

She looked up at him. "When will you let us go?"

Lu Yin gave her a small smile and then immediately took Yun Tingting away from Zenith Mountain. The two of them immediately appeared inside the Cosmic Sect.

Yun Tingting was startled.

Lu Yin lifted his gadget. "Take a good look at this place, for this is where you will remain for the rest of your life."

He then allowed her to access the gadget’s display, and she stared at the Fifth Mainland’s star chart.

Yun Tingting stared at the display and the bit of text above the star chart. Unwittingly, she was drawn to the display.

After a while, she averted her gaze and looked around. "Where are we?"

"The Cosmic Sect, one of the sects in the Neoverse. Their position here is comparable to the Perennial World’s Liu and Nong families. The only difference here is that there is a Hall of Honor instead of four ruling powers," Lu Yin said.

Yun Tingting hoped that Lu Yin was lying to her and that they were still in the Perennial World, but there was no Mother Tree.

In the Perennial World, the only places that were unable to see the Mother Tree were the isolated civilizations located within lakes, on isolated planets, or deep in the mountains. However, none of those places radiated strength like this Cosmic Sect.

She was easily able to sense multiple Envoys, which left her feeling nervous.

She really was in the Forsaken Land.

"Alright, that’s enough for you to get an idea of things. Time to go back to Zenith Mountain to stay," Lu Yin said.

Yun Tingting turned to stare at him. "Do you still want to keep us imprisoned?"

Lu Yin remained indifferent. "We’re in the Fifth Mainland, which you call the Forsaken Land. The people here are even ignorant of the Perennial World’s mere existence, so you can’t be allowed to roam about in order to prevent information regarding the Perennial World from leaking."

"You must have brought me here for a reason, right?" Even though Yun Tingting had a graceful demeanor, she was furious at this moment. It felt like Lu Yin was just toying with her.

Lu Yin said, "I just wanted to let you know where you are."

He suddenly smacked his forehead. "Right, I forgot to tell you! Yun Mubai, your Smokecloud Sect’s master, was found guilty of being a Redback by the overseer of Humility’s Gate in the Middle Realm. Qing Chen arrested your sect master, and Yun Wang is currently in charge of the Smokecloud Sect."

Yun Tingting was startled, and her complexion completely changed. Her eyes flared. "That’s impossible! My father’s no Redback!"

Lu Yin shrugged. "Humility’s Gate is the one that’ll determine the truth of that matter, not you or me."

"Let me go! I want to go back!" Yun Tingting anxiously demanded. She was very concerned about her father.

Redbacks hid themselves so well that Yun Mubai had been forced to give Yun Tingting the same education as others, which meant that she would always and resolutely eradicate any Redback. She saw her father as a ruthless person, but someone who was ruthless in resisting those monsters. How could he possibly be a Redback? Someone had to have framed him.

"Of course not. You can't even leave Zenith Mountain," Lu Yin stated.

Yun Tingting's eyes blazed and white smoke emerged from her body. One Yun Tingting appeared after another. Each one was a clone created by her white smoke, and they rushed out in every direction.

Lu Yin became intrigued. He had seen Yun Tingting fight in the Forgotten Ruins before, and she had used a clone at that time. However, her clone was different from the clones of the Xia family’s Nine Clones Secret Technique. The nine clones were all true and permanent humans, and each had their own lives, fate, and thoughts. Yun Tingting’s clones were simply the manifestation of a battle technique.

If it was a normal battle technique that allowed the user to create a clone, then Lu Yin would not care. However, Yun Tingting was able to create clones that were each as powerful as her true body, which made it very difficult to tell them apart. Due to being formed from the white smoke, each clone could survive multiple attacks, and they could even face secret techniques. It was a very strange technique.

Yun Tingting wanted to use her clones to escape, so she created ten clones.

Unfortunately, Lu Yin had already prepared himself before he let her out of Zenith Mountain.

All ten of the clones were instantly suppressed by Lu Yin’s domain. His domain had reached a level that surpassed all of his peers, including even Unseen Light. Even if Lu Yin’s mastery over his domain was not as refined as Unseen Light’s, that had no bearing on the brute strength of his domain.

Despite Yun Tingting being an Enlighter, she might as well have been a child when faced with Lu Yin.

All ten clones were instantly trapped within Lu Yin’s domain, unable to escape. He then raised a hand and released a Vacuum Palm, He attacked faster than the eye could see, and a Vacuum Palm landed on all ten figures at once, shattering the ten clones. Yun Tingting’s true body paled, and she nearly collapsed onto the ground as blood spilled from her mouth. She glared at Lu Yin with eyes that contained both despair and defiance.

Lu Yin slowly walked towards her. “You are too far behind me. Forget you, as not even the four Junior Progenitors can stand up to me and hope to escape."

"What do you want?" Yun Tingting was no fool. Lu Yin had purposely introduced Gu Xiao'er to her and watched as they had fought. Through that fight, Yun Tingting had also confirmed that the Forsaken Land truly did have a portion of Progenitor Yan’s inheritance. Lu Yin had then taken Yun Tingting out of her prison to show her the Forsaken Land, and he had even told her about Yun Mubai. It was impossible for him to do all this without a reason.

A smile appeared on Lu Yin's face. "That person that you just met is my friend. He wants to learn the Smokecloud Sect’s battle techniques as well as ways to improve his white smoke."

"Impossible." Yun Tingting immediately refused.

Lu Yin nodded. "I understand. In that case, you can stay on Zenith Mountain forever. By the way, I’ve already opened all three of my meridian points and even absorbed Origin Matter. At this moment, this Forsaken Land has surpassed your Perennial World’s Junior Progenitors. There are already multiple Envoys protecting me, which means that it’s basically impossible for me to suffer that accident you’re wishing upon me. This means that you will remain on Zenith Mountain for as long as I stay alive. Consider this matter carefully." Lu Yin then tossed Yun Tingting back onto Zenith Mountain.

There was no way it would be easy to take another person’s battle technique, and everything depended on Yun Tingting’s choice.

Back on Zenith Mountain, Yun Tingting wiped the blood away from the corner of her mouth. She could not calm herself down.

She would never believe that her father was a Redback. Someone must have framed him, but who?

Ancestor Yun Wang had always remained in isolation within the sect, but did he have no intention of saving her father? Or did her ancestor have some sort of plan of supporting someone else to become the sect master?