Chapter 1709: Sedan Chair

The old man smiled again. "That's right. That kid has some potential, and he was able to become an overseer. This isn’t actually the first time that we’ve seen each other. Back when you were with Highsage Wudi and he made that big fuss on Mt. Microcosms, I was watching from the side. That was pretty interesting, ha ha ha ha!"

Lu Yin was left speechless. This powerhouse who was Mt. Microcosms’ first line of defense turned out to be completely unqualified—he had just sat there and watched when outsiders made trouble on Mt. Microcosms!

"Alright, that’s enough chit-chat. Arch-Elder Zen asked me to accompany you to the Technocracy. This is a heavy task. Are you sure about this? I certainly don’t want to die there." The old man’s voice grew noticeably nervously.

Lu Yin found this strange, as it seemed like the old man was genuinely nervous and not simply putting on a show, which confused Lu Yin. How could Mt. Microcosms’ primary defender be so timid? However, after a moment, Lu Yin remembered that Elder Jiu Shen had also been very nervous about entering the Celestial Frost Sect’s ruins. Could it be that cultivators became more afraid of death as they grew older? Was this fear of death what allowed them to live for so long?

Lu Yin said, "Senior, this junior has already been to the Technocracy once before, but I was too weak at that time, and I only managed to escape by sheer luck. All in all, I don’t know much about the place, and the one who will be guiding us this time is Emperor Luo, who used to rule over the Ross Empire. He’s originally from the Technocracy, and he knows of a relatively safe route that leads to a place between First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy."

The old man let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. It’s good to have a bit of an advantage. Honestly, I didn’t want to make this trip, but I didn’t have a choice since Arch-Elder Zen ordered me and the Chief Justice is busy. My choice was to either temporarily take over for him in the Interstellar Supreme Court or come with you."

Lu Yin was also a bit dissatisfied, as he had hoped that the Chief Justice would accompany him to the Technocracy. Lu Yin would never forget what he had seen outside the Celestial Frost Sect’s ruins. At that time, the Chief Justice had casually overpowered both Mr. Feng and the Second Nightking. The Chief Justice’s strength was unfathomable, especially since he was qualified to be one of Mister Mu's disciples. According to his best guess, the Chief Justice most likely had no opponents among his peers, and he would naturally be far more reliable than this old man.

Lu Yin seriously doubted this old man’s ability to cross realms and challenge a Semi-Progenitor.

If Lu Yin had the Chief Justice’s protection, then he would be assured of his safety within the Technocracy. His real chaperone was a disappointment.

Both Lu Yin and the old man were regretting their situation, as they were both afraid of death. The Technocracy was simply too mysterious, and neither knew what would happen after they entered.

In recent days, Lu Yin had made it a point to reach out to Hui Kong to ask more about the Technocracy’s current situation, but he did not tell Hui Kong about his upcoming trip to the Technocracy in order to avoid dragging the older man onto the trip as well. From what Lu Yin had heard of Hui Kong and his time in the Technocracy, he knew that the man was very powerful and familiar with the Technocracy. But given the importance of this mission and their destination, it was uncertain whether or not the Technocracy had some unknown means of tracking or identifying Hui Kong when he was in the Technocracy. If that happened, his mere presence would reveal everything. Too much attention would ruin the entire purpose of the expedition.

Since the expert from the Hall of Honor had already arrived, Lu Yin did not have much time to prepare or consider plans, as they were to head straight for the Technocracy.

Lu Yin only gave a small explanation to the others before he left the Second Nightking and Liu Huang behind to follow the old man. They were accompanied by three expressionless Envoys as they made their way to Gaia’s Swamp to collect Emperor Luo.

None of the three Envoys had names, and the old man simply said that the three worked together. In fact, Lu Yin did not even know the old man’s name, and so Lu Yin was only able to refer to the man as Senior Defender.

While the old man seemed to be scared of death, his strength was no joke. After talking with the man, Lu Yin was surprised to learn that the elder was from the same generation as Elder Jiu Shen, and the old man also showed no respect for Jiu Shen at all. He was as strong as one of the Sixth Mainland’s Empyrean Imprinters.

This was the power of the Hall of Honor.

Even in places like the Seven Courts and the Cosmic Sect, people at this old man’s level were all regarded as ancestor-level existences that formed the foundation of the entire organization. However, unlike other organizations, the Hall of Honor had multiple such powerhouses: the Chief Justice, this First Protector, the unfathomable Array Grandmaster Xiu Ming, as well as Yuan Shi. It was even possible that there were more such powerhouses scattered across the Fifth Mainland.

The Hall of Honor was revealing its secrets to Lu Yin little by little.

…

At the border of the Cosmic Sea and the Innerverse, Mu En left Gaia’s Swamp shortly after Lu Yin. While the investigation into the riot in Gaia’s Swamp was still ongoing, Mu En had not been able to uncover anything at all.

Gaia's Swamp was as dark as ever, and the sourcebox array had already been restored. From the outside, Gaia's Swamp looked no different from before.

One day, a woman arrived just outside of Gaia's Swamp. She was as beautiful as a flower, and there was also a smile on her face. One step at a time, she approached the border of the sourcebox array, and once she arrived, she lifted a hand to touch it.

The next moment, the death energy that filled Gaia's Swamp all started surging, overturning the entire prison.

Inside his castle, the Warden’s eyes snapped open, and he charged out with an unprecedentedly serious expression on his face as he looked around.

Lord Piggy’s eyes also opened, and he looked out at the boiling death energy. The pig instantly panicked. "What’s wrong with the toxic gas? Sir Warden! Please help."

Lǜ Cha also looked up. Someone was controlling the death energy… The Specter Clan! This was bad.

There was a boom, and the 3,000 chains in Gaia’s Swamp all moved, tearing apart the prisoners' bodies. The death energy twisted as though it had come alive, and all of Gaia's Swamp writhed.

The Warden looked out and shouted, "Who’s there?"

He entered the true universe, and his body was shrouded with aurelian force that started burning the void. In an instant, the Warden raised a hand and attacked the woman who was just outside Gaia's Swamp.

She looked up, and her eyes turned golden. Above her head, the death energy formed a cloud.

"Lǜ Yan, suffer and die," the woman said with a smile. Her voice was terrifying to hear.

Deep underground in Gaia's Swamp, Lǜ Yan's expression instantly changed; how were they so fast?

The moment Lǜ Yan had shared the location of the Neohuman Alliance’s headquarters for the Innerverse and Outerverse with Lu Yin, Lǜ Yan had expected this outcome. He had actually been waiting for this moment for a long time. Originally, he had turned himself in to atone for his crimes, but he had been affected by his daughter, and because of her, his time in Gaia’s Swamp had become true torture. He had already decided that he would rather die than allow Xiao Cha to remain in a terrible place like Gaia’s Swamp, but he had not expected to meet his fate so quickly.

Mu En had already investigated the riot in Gaia's Swamp, and Lǜ Yan had made a point of mentioning this particular possibility to the Judicial Commissioner so that the Interstellar Supreme Court could be prepared when it happened. Lǜ Yan had expected his final gift to the Human Domain to pave the way for Xiao Cha; he had not expected the Neohuman Alliance to appear so quickly. All that could be said was that Lu Yin had moved too quickly.

All 3,000 chains within Gaia's Swamp broke apart, and the sourcebox array protecting the prison that even experts with power levels of more than a million could not destroy was shattered. This sourcebox array had been specially designed and was exclusive to Gaia's Swamp.

However, the woman was controlling all of the death energy throughout Gaia's Swamp, which allowed her to attack the sourcebox array from within. The chains shattered into pieces, and Lǜ Cha spat out blood as she fell unconscious in an instant.

The Warden was also unable to endure the assault of the death energy, and he spat out blood and flew back.

Despite his strength that allowed him to stand up to Envoys with power levels of more than 800,000, this woman was someone with a power level of more than a million, and that was in a normal situation when she wasn’t controlling all of the death energy in Gaia’s Swamp.

"Gaia's Swamp? What a joke! This place was where my Specter Clan once trained, but the Hall of Honor stole it from us to use as a prison! Hmph!" the woman commented in a casual tone as she entered Gaia’s Swamp. She did not even glance in the Warden’s direction as she moved straight for Lǜ Yan.

Lǜ Yan looked up at the woman when she appeared. Her golden eyes caused fear to well up from the depths of people’s hearts. At this moment, she controlled all of Gaia's Swamp.

"Darkness. Interstellar Supreme Court. Chief Justice. Tongyu," Lǜ Yan deliberately spoke each word that came from his hoarse voice.

The woman stared at Lǜ Yan. "By the order of the Seven Skygods, I’ve come for your death."

Lǜ Yan showed a miserable smile. "This moment was decided the moment I took Xiao Cha to Aeternus Nation."

The woman’s mouth curled into a smile. "I’m not only here for you—your daughter will also die."

Lǜ Yan's eyes instantly went wide, and he attacked the woman with a palm. He was using the Hall of Honor’s secret technique: Banishment, but death energy swirled around the woman’s body in such a way that Lǜ Yan was unable to touch her even with his secret technique.

"What can you do in such a miserable condition?" the woman mocked.

Lǜ Yan roared as he glared at the woman. "Don't hurt Xiao Cha! None of this has anything to do with her!"

The woman just shook her head. "As a former Judicial Commissioner, you should already understand how the Neohuman Alliance handles things. Your daughter must die."

Lǜ Yan roared in fury, and nine lined battle force covered his entire body. However, due to the terrible injuries that he had recently suffered, the battle force quickly faded away, and Lǜ Yan’s neck was grabbed by the woman. He was wrapped up in death energy that quickly penetrated his body. The woman smiled as she watched Lǜ Yan die in pain and despair.

After Lǜ Yan’s death, the woman looked in the direction of Lǜ Cha, and proceeded to walk towards the unconscious woman.

From the initial attack on Gaia’s Swamp to the moment Lǜ Yan died, it had not even been enough time for half an incense stick to burn. Gaia’s Swamp was completely helpless before this woman.

She walked towards Lǜ Cha and smiled when she saw the unconscious woman. "It's a pity that you look so beautiful."

As the woman spoke, her eyes turned utterly cold, and death energy crept along the ground towards Lǜ Cha before wrapping around her to give her the exact same death as her father.

Suddenly, the void crumpled around the woman to create a red wall. Then, the red wall instantly extended to both sides before taking on the shape of a four-sided box. There were two parallel bars that ran down two sides, and the entire thing looked precisely like a sedan chair. A red one.

The woman was trapped inside the red sedan chair, and she formed a scythe with her death energy.

Every time she moved, she felt an irresistible pressure that encompassed her entire body. She could not stop herself from spitting out blood, and rage filled her eyes. All over her body, she couldn't help spitting out blood, and her eyes were hideous, "The captain of Burial Garden’s Death Regiment? Since when did Burial Garden become the Hall of Honor’s guard dogs?"

As she spoke, the death energy throughout Gaia's Swamp surged once again to form a tsunami of death energy that swept over the red sedan chair.

It instantly shattered, and calm returned to the void.

There was blood at the corner of the woman's mouth when she suddenly appeared outside of Gaia's Swamp. When she looked back, she was unable to see anyone at all. Unperturbed, she gave a derisive snort before instantly vanishing.

Peace returned to Gaia's Swamp, but as for the Warden, the guards, or the prisoners, everyone was unconscious. Thus, not a single sound broke the silence.

As for the strange red sedan chair, it had also disappeared as though it had never even been there in the first place.

A day later, the First Protector led Lu Yin and the three Envoys to Gaia's Swamp. The moment the old man drew close to the prison, his expression completely changed. "This is bad. Something’s happened."

Even from outside the swamp, the five people were able to see the still-roiling death energy, as well as the shattered chains. Both the old man and Lu Yin had ugly expressions on their faces.

The Warden was still unconscious, and when the First Protector pressed a hand against the colossal giant, his massive body trembled for a moment before death energy started to drift out of it. The Warden coughed and opened his eyes, but he looked completely confused.

"What happened?" the First Protector asked in a deep voice.

The Warden looked at the First Protector of Mt. Microcosms and frowned. The giant slowly sat up and put a hand to his chest. "Who are you?"

"I’m the Hall of Honor’s First Protector of Mt. Microcosms."

The Warden was stunned. "The First Protector of Mt. Microcosms?"

"He’s the strongest expert who guards Mt. Microcosms," Lu Yin explained.

It was only then that the Warden noticed Lu Yin was also present, and the giant’s expression softened a bit. "Why are you back here?"

"I came to pick up Emperor Luo. What happened here?" Lu Yin asked.

The Warden coughed yet again and then wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "The Specter Clan came."