Chapter 1622: The Real Enemy

Starsibyl continued, "Xia Jiuyou saw the same technique with me."

Lu Yin understood and also realized why Xia Jiuyou had exposed Starsibyl after revealing that he had mastered the Nine Clones Secret Technique back in the Mountains and Seas Zone. it was because the two of them had learned the technique together.

"Xia Jiuyou told others that he obtained the secret technique from Progenitor Chen's Mausoleum, but honestly, no one even knows if the technique can be found there or not. The fact that I was able to learn it was purely coincidental," Starsibyl said.

"It shouldn't have been a coincidence."

"Master said that Xia Jiuyou and his bloodline were too close to me, and that allowed me to witness the Nine Clones Secret Technique within the river of time. My view on the matter is no different. While divination is complex and beyond full understanding, there are many things that cannot be seen through divination. Much like Brother Lu’s past, which I can’t see," Starsibyl said.

Lu Yin sighed. "If the legendary Destiny were looking, he should be able to see everything."

Starsibyl laughed. "Brother Lu still believes in that?"

Lu Yin frowned. "You don't?"

Starsibyl shook her head. "There have only ever been vague references to Destiny, and while people have studied divination since ancient times, no evidence has ever appeared to support the existence of Destiny. My Starsibyl Sect does not believe such a person ever existed."

Lu Yin snorted, but had no desire to argue with Starsibyl. “With what you’re saying, is it possible that Xia Ji was able to learn the Nine Clones Technique?"

Starsibyl's eyes lit up. "Brother Lu, are you saying…?"

"Help me determine whether or not Xia Ji has a clone," Lu Yin said seriously.

Starsibyl shrugged. "Xia Ji is one of the seven Semi-Progenitors. He stands at the very peak of humanity and is not someone my abilities can work on. Not even my master could do that. You will be disappointed by the results."

"You just said that because of Xia Jiuyou presence and the fact that you were too close to him and his bloodline was why you were able to see the Nine Clones Secret Technique in the river of time. In that case, what if you were able to have Progenitor Chen’s blood? Would that help you to be able to perform a divination to determine if Xia Ji has a clone?" Lu Yin asked as he pulled out a bottle of Progenitor Chen’s blood.

Lu Yin had managed to Enhance three bottles of Progenitor Chen’s blood from the blood that Ku Wei had provided. Lu Yin had given Ku Wei one bottle, which had enhanced Ku Wei’s blood and allowed him to help the colossal giants break away from the restrictions in their bloodline, but Lu Yin had saved the other two bottles.

Starsibyl was startled. "Progenitor Chen’s blood?"

"Will this help?" Lu Yin asked.

Starsibyl took the bottle. She had witnessed countless major events with her divination, and yet she still felt incredibly excited at this moment. This was a Progenitor’s blood! The power it contained could not be fathomed, and if she held this, she would likely be able to see ancient legends for herself. She heard roars and the sounds of slaughter. She perceived much more than Lu Yin was able to from this blood, and she even vaguely saw a pair of eyes in the bottle. They possessed a peerless majesty, and seeing them left Starsibyl turning pale.

She suddenly dropped the bottle, though Lu Yin quickly caught it. He looked up at at Starsibyl with an odd expression.

Starsibyl gasped for breath. "I'm sorry, Alliance Leader Lu. I’m used to using my divination and looking at the river of time. I just saw Progenitor Chen."

Her words sent a chill down Lu Yin’s spine; how was this any different from seeing a ghost?

He quickly handed Progenitor Chen’s blood back over to Starsibyl. "Can you perform a divination to see if Xia Ji has a clone?"

Starsibyl nodded. "I can certainly try."

She then turned and left.

Shortly thereafter, Lu Yin’s head whipped around as he looked in the direction Starsibyl had gone. He saw an amazing and uncountable number of runes shooting up into space and traveling in an indeterminate direction. This was completely different from the previous divination Starsibyl had done for Lu Yin. This was the power of Progenitor Chen's blood.

Suddenly, all of the runes shot to the south, and Lu Yin's eyes grew more focused.

Starsibyl stepped out of the void, her face pale and she looked exhausted. She also looked to the south. "The Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse."

She looked back over at Lu Yin. "You guessed right; Xia Ji does have clones, and more than one. He has one in both the Cosmic Sea and the Neoverse."

Things suddenly grew clear in Lu Yin’s mind. It looked like Xia Ji’s clone was plotting against Eversky Island and using the Ignition Crew and Chaosgod Mountain, but why Chaosgod Mountain? Also, how did the Longevity Brigade get dragged in as well? There were still details that Lu Yin did not understand, but there was one thing that he was absolutely confident about: Xia Ji was the one behind everything.

"Were you able to determine how many clones he has?" Lu Yin asked eagerly.

"Three in total."

Lu Yin's expression grew darker. The Xia family's Nine Clones Secret Technique was truly revolting, especially how it could be used. Wait, there was another detail that Lu Yin suddenly remembered; Xia Luo used the technique, so could he have left any of his clones in the Fifth Mainland? That was certainly not impossible.

Lu Yin immediately called Highsage Leon and the results of the divination and his various conjectures. This matter involved a Semi-Progenitor, which made it extremely serious.

***

In the Neoverse, Xia Ji’s eyes suddenly opened and he looked to the north. He had just had the feeling that someone had been spying on him, but who could it have been? Who was even capable of spying on him? The Sixth Mainland’s three Progenitors? That should not be the case, but was there anyone else who was capable of spying on him?

He was a Semi-Progenitor, and he had survived too many storms and seen too many things, such as how Xia Luo had taken over Xia Jiuyou. Rather, Xia Ji had done nothing to interfere with Xia Yi's cruel methods for training the family’s children. Even though Xia Ji had known about those matters, he had still done nothing, not even when several of the family’s direct descendants had been killed. After all, Xia Jiuyou's fate was bound to Xia Ji’s.

Any accident that occurred would result in irreversible consequences, and Xia Ji was well aware of this fact.

Nothing good would come from being spied on, regardless of the intentions of the person who had been peeping on Xia Ji. After a moment’s thought, he lifted his hand and accessed his gadget.

***

In the Innerverse, in Chaos Flowzone, Chaosgod Mountain had finally settled down after the battle between the various Envoys. The many low-ranked disciples were clueless as to what happened at the sect’s upper levels, as they almost never had any contact or interactions with people at that level.

Elder Hu’s eyes flitted about as he walked through Chaosgod Mountain. Even though several disciples greeted him, Elder Hu merely nodded in reply.

Those several disciples all wondered at the elder’s reaction. "What’s with Elder Hu today? He’s ignoring people."

"Elder Hu is usually very quiet, so maybe he’s just frightened from that recent battle."

"Forget Elder Hu; who on the mountain wasn't terrified? That must have been a battle that involved Envoys, though I have no idea just what happened. If not for Elder Cang Song stepping forward, we all would have thought that Chaosgod Mountain had been taken over by someone."

"Elder Cang Song looked really rough. He must have been badly injured."

"That whole thing’s got nothing to do with us. However, our top disciples and the elders haven’t been around since then, and I’m thinking that something big is about to happen."

…

Some distance away from the gossiping disciples, Elder Hu returned to his quarters. Within, someone looked up and asked in a hoarse voice, "How is it?"

Elder Hu replied in a respectful tone, "Of course Elder Cang Song was seriously injured, but the Sect Master hasn’t noticed any problems."

"Hmph, how could he be okay? That old man had to have been seriously injured. How could Lu Yin have let him get away without a problem?" Cang Yi was the second figure. After Lu Yin had lost control of Chaosgod Mountain, Cang Yi had fled as quickly as possible. Cang Zhou had not initially had the time to waste chasing Cang Yi down, and had not been able to track him down later on.

Who would have expected that Cang Yi had not left Chaosgod Mountain but had instead remained hidden right under Cang Zhou's eyes?

Because of the next stage in his plans, Cang Zhou had not revealed to anyone that Cang Yi was a traitor.

"Why did you return so quickly this time?" Cang Yi asked while shooting Elder Hu an odd look.

Elder Hu hesitated. "Elder Cang Song said that for the time being, the amount of resources don’t need to be reported to him."

Cang Yi frowned. "For how long?"

"Until further notice."

Cang Yi suddenly shot to his feet. He ruminated over this information for a bit. “Go take a walk and see if the Explorer realm disciples have returned."

"No, none of them have."

Cang Yi's eyes flickered. Something was not right. It had already been more than half a month since Lu Yin had been driven away, so those elite disciples should all have been released, so why had they not been seen? Could Cang Zhou have already made other plans for those elites?

After thinking things over for a long time, Cang Yi finally decided to contact Lu Yin.

He could no longer stay on Chaosgod Mountain, and Cang Yi was also absolutely certain that Lu Yin would never let him free. As long as Cang Yi stayed with Lu Yin, there would remain the possibility of again taking control of Chaosgod Mountain, just as he had half a month before. That had been an unforgettable experience.

"A group of the elites have disappeared?" Lu Yin's voice was heard from a gadget that belonged to Elder Hu.

Cang Yi solemnly replied, "Yes, and I’ve already looked into this. A lot of supplies have already been sent out, such as medicine, star essence, offensive power vessels, and more. There’s only one reason for all of this to be sent out: Chaosgod Mountain is preparing for war."

"The Cosmic Sea," Lu Yin subconsciously replied. "Keep an eye on things. It would be best if you can let me know when Cang Zhou leaves."

"Yes, Alliance Leader," Cang Yi spoke with respect.

Lu Yin's voice was heard once more, "I’ll take note of your merits, and I will always need someone to run things for me in the future."

Cang Yi was overjoyed at this response. "Thank you, Alliance Leader."

After ending his call with Lu Yin, Cang Yi thought for a moment before making another call. He called someone who should not have access to a gadget, but who had started using one after entering the Fifth Mainland: the Sixth Mainland’s Madam Hong.

Most cultivators from the Sixth Mainland had not originally been comfortable using gadgets, but most of them had started using them, as the things were just too convenient.

Cang Yi passed the same information to Madam Hong. He did not want to fully rely on Lu Yin. Even though Lu Yin seemed to be powerful and someone who was trying to control everything, Lu Yin’s bottom line was too clear. Cang Yi was still a traitor from the Fifth Mainland, and it was not very likely that Lu Yin would have multiple uses for such a person. Cang Yi knew that he would be lucky just to not die, and so he continued to work for the Sixth Mainland as well.

It was impossible for the Sixth Mainland to sit still and do nothing at all in the Outerverse, or at least that was what Cang Yi fully believed to be true.

Madam Hong was quite happy with Cang Yi's information. After the Sixth Mainland had ended its invasion into the Fifth Mainland, she had no longer had any use for the traitors she had previously used. There was no possibility of war breaking out again between the two Mainlands, but that did not stop Madam Hong from making her own plans. The Fifth Mainland would soon undergo a few new changes.

***

The Cosmic Sea is a very strange place within the Fifth Mainland. Normal people could not even imagine the sea’s weather, as the phenomena there defied nature.

There were places in the sea where it rained thunder, places where volcanoes erupted without ceasing, and others where the seawater itself was dangerous, such as the Whitecliff Region. Still, even these were just a few specific locations within the Cosmic Sea. The weather in this region had truly made things difficult for the Sixth Mainland when they had tried to invade.

At the moment, there was a portion of the Cosmic Sea where there was a rain of stones. There were not the commonly seen, naturally occurring stones, but instead unusually heavy objects that seemed similar to stone while not actually being stone. In the Cosmic Sea, these rocks were still referred to as stones, but each and every piece weighed as much as a mountain.

The stones rained down and fell into the sea, creating massive waves as each stone forced the seawater back.

A pair of eyes snapped open at the bottom of the sea. The eyes possessed a bone-piercing coldness that seemed to linger, and the owner of the eyes suddenly shot out of the sea while wielding a trident. There was a bang, and the figure blocked an attack from the void. “, a pair of eyes suddenly opened, their eyes were cold, with a bone-piercing lingering cold, they rushed out with a three-pronged weapon, a loud noise of pong, and an attack from the void was blocked, "You want to attack Leon’s Armada? Die!"