Chapter 1712: Control

"Controlling these people from the Sixth Mainland and getting into the Technocracy while posing as them will be very easy if you’re able to find the route that they use. Even if you can’t get into the Technocracy, it won’t be a problem to get out again. We won’t be in any danger, and the worst that’ll happen is us being discovered. This junior was able to survive my time in the Technocracy, and forcing your way into that place is even Eversky Island’s graduation exam. As long as Senior doesn’t attack First Edition City or the Master Brain, nothing bad will happen to us," Lu Yin continued to try to convince the First Protector.

Seeing that the old man was still hesitating, Lu Yin continued, "Even if we are found out, as long as the Sixth Mainland doesn't want to start a war with the Fifth Mainland, we’ll be able to live as neither of us have a normal status."

The First Protector stared at the Sixth Mainland cultivators off in the distance before looking back at Lu Yin. "I’m quite curious—why are you so determined to get to Sky Creation Academy regardless of the cost?"

Lu Yin's eyes grew cold. "Because this junior has met Aeternus."

The First Protector's eyes suddenly went wide. Given his status, he naturally knew of Aeternus. That name was forbidden in the Fifth Mainland, though the Sixth Mainland had suffered the worst, not the Fifth Mainland.

"I’ve seen Aeternus and the endless battlefield, as well as humanity’s miserable situation. This junior does not want the Fifth Mainland to repeat humanity’s previous mistakes. If the Neohuman Alliance really has colluded with Sky Creation Academy, then the threat they pose is too big," Lu Yin explained.

The First Protector was not very familiar with Lu Yin. If the Chief Justice, Arch-Elder Zen, or Highsage Grandmaster were present, not a single one of them would believe Lu Yin's words. However, the First Protector was different. He rarely left Mt. Microcosms, and he did not know much about Lu Yin. In fact, most of what the First Protector knew about him was what Arch-Elder Zen had shared.

Arch-Elder Zen had a good impression of Lu Yin, so the First Protector had also received a good impression of the youth.

The First Protector saw Lu Yin as one of humanity’s most talented youths who was willing to take grave risks by entering enemy territory for the sake of mankind. While the old man did not want to take this risk, he also could not find any reason to refuse Lu Yin's idea. So, the First Protector ultimately agreed.

The most difficult part of the plan was how they would control the Sixth Mainland cultivators. If their control was not strong enough, then they would be instantly turned over to First Edition City once they arrived and everything would be over.

"Senior, do you have a way to control them?" Lu Yin asked.

The First Protector turned around, approached the Cloud Valley Master’s disciple, and then looked down at the man.

The Envoy’s eyes twitched. "What do you want?"

The First Protector casually said. "This old man has an innate gift known as cocooning and self-binding. Simply put, it allows me to put my stellular energy into an opponent's body in the form of a silkworm. Everything, no matter if it’s a person’s stellular energy vortex, flesh, blood, or even their clothes, will be devoured."

As the First Protector spoke, he slapped a hand down onto another cultivator’s shoulder.

The man was initially confused, but then he suddenly screamed as white threads of silk appeared over his body. He was wrapped up, and Lu Yin and the others watched on in shock as the silk threads turned red before they started to shrink more and more. Finally, the unlucky man had become enwrapped in what looked like a large bug cocoon.

Lu Yin's expression changed. This was an extremely vicious innate gift. The cocoon devoured everything it enveloped, and it seemed like a very painful and cruel manner of death. He had not expected the First Protector’s innate gift to be so brutal. Outer appearances were often deceiving.

This was the true face of the cultivation world: ruthless, decisive, brutal. Someone who believed in strength and respect for life was someone who saw life as a necessity.

At this moment, Lu Yin's impression of the First Protector changed. He could no longer be as comfortable with the old man, as a heart-felt fear had appeared in Lu Yin. This old man was not nearly as friendly as he appeared.

Lu Yin was not the only one frightened by the old man’s actions; Emperor Luo and everyone else from the Sixth Mainland was similarly terrified.

The disciple of the Cloud Valley Master grew pale, and he stared at the red cocoon on the ground in horror. It once held a living person that had now met a tragic end. The Envoy had killed many people throughout his life, but this was his first time facing such a desperate situation, and he was frozen by fear and despair.

"You- what do you want?" The Envoy was still in a daze.

The First Protector smiled and slapped a hand onto the Envoy’s shoulder, startling the man. "Stop! What are you doing?"

"Don't worry, I haven’t done anything to you besides plant a cocoon inside your body. Behave yourself, and nothing will happen. But if you act out of line even once, I only need a thought to deal with you." The First Protector pointed at the red cocoon that was still on the ground.

The Envoy’s pupils fluctuated as sweat poured from his forehead. He was an Envoy standing on a barren planet, but he still felt breathlessness at this moment.

"I might as well tell you that a Semi-Progenitor once tried to test out my innate gift and forcibly unravel it, but he failed." The First Protector sneered. "The person he tested it out on ended up in the exact same situation as the person on the ground, and not one bit of that person was saved. If you don’t believe me, you can ask any of your Sixth Mainland’s Four Empyreans to try to save you, but it would be best if a Progenitor made the attempt. If a Progenitor tried to undo my innate gift, they probably would not have any trouble.”

"What do you want?" the Envoy shouted. He stared at the First Protector in absolute terror.

Lu Yin then stepped forward. "We're going to First Edition City."

The Envoy was stunned. "First Edition City? What are you doing there?"

"Don't worry about that. We won’t make things difficult for you—we just want you to take us to the path that leads from First Edition City to Sky Creation Academy. We’ll find our own way after we get to First Edition City. Still, no matter how far apart we may be, you will still die if you act up. This man is the First Protector of the Hall of Honor’s Mt. Microcosms with a power level of-"

At this point, Lu Yin turned to look at the First Protector, as Lu Yin actually had no idea how powerful the old man actually was.

The corners of the old man’s mouth curled up into a smile. "From your Sixth Mainland, only your Four Empyreans can fight against this old man."

The Envoy’s hands trembled. "What guarantee do I have that you won’t just kill me after leaving?"

"You can write down what happened here as an explanation to others. If some accident occurs, then you can tell everyone what we’ve done. We have no desire to end up surrounded and attacked by both First Edition City and Sky Creation Academy while in the middle of the Technocracy. Let me know when you get back to the Sixth Mainland’s territory, and I promise, on my name as Lu Yin, that nothing about this agreement will change, no matter if we get back safely or not. We will not take action against you," Lu Yin promised.

The Envoys hesitated.

"You also aren’t in any position to refuse," Lu Yin continued in a colder voice.

The Envoy closed his eyes. "What about them?"

He was referring to the other people from the Sixth Mainland who had followed him.

"Of course we'll all go together, but whether or not they say anything will be up to you. Basically, if we’re caught because of anyone in your little group, you're the one who’ll die," Lu Yin threatened.

"Deal with them yourself first." The First Protector suddenly said, and he raised a hand and pointed at the other people from Sixth Mainland. "Take care of them."

The people who had followed the Envoy were all frightened. “No! We won't say anything! We won't say anything!"

The Envoy clenched his fists. He finally turned around and swung a hand. The head of that person from the Sixth Mainland was separated from their body, and they instantly died.

The other cultivators from the Sixth Mainland trembled and collapsed in fear. None of them even dared to look up again.

The First Protector smiled with satisfaction. "That's how it should be."

Lu Yin took a long look at the First Protector. It seemed that the longer people cultivated, the more ruthless they became. If Lu Yin assumed that these old monsters were dumb, he would be the true idiot. When Lu Yin had been chased out of the Celestial Frost Sect’s ruins by the Second Nightking, he had been rescued by Jiu Shen, but the elder from the Cosmic Sect had already planned out his own escape route before even entering the ruins. Each one of these old people had hidden means, and Lu Yin had to be careful. He absolutely could not afford to underestimate any of these old people.

Was this kindness?

Suddenly, the First Protector waved a hand, and one of the Sixth Mainland cultivators was smacked back. There was a yellow prayer mat in his hand.

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. A prayer mat? He waved his hand and used the Yu Secret Art. The prayer mat disappeared from the man’s hand and reappeared in Lu Yin’s possession.

"Isn't that the Seven Courts’ Yu family’s secret technique?" The First Protector was taken aback.

Lu Yin smiled. "The Yu family fled and hid in the Outerverse, and this junior was taught their secret technique by the survivors of the Yu family," Lu Yin answered as he held the prayer mat. When he looked up, he locked his eyes onto the person who had held the prayer mat.

The man’s face had gone ashen, and he was unwilling to even look at the prayer mat in Lu Yin’s hands.

"Why would you think that you could escape? Did you think that we wouldn’t understand what you were doing?" Lu Yin smiled at the man.

The Envoy’s eyes flickered and grew sharp as he glared at the man. Suddenly, the Envoy attacked and instantly killed the man.

"He only recently joined my Cloud Valley. He was an independent cultivator before that, and he still lacks determination. It would have been impossible to ensure that he would never say anything," the Envoy explained, actually sharing some information regarding the Sixth Mainland. Still, he had handled the matter himself, as it was his own life on the line.

Lu Yin looked down at the mat in his hand. The man had actually had a decent plan. If he had managed to sit down on the prayer mat, he would have left and been sent to the Fifth Mainland’s Daosource Sect’s ruins. If Lu Yin and the First Protector had not known what the prayer mat was, they might have reacted too slowly, and the man could have escaped.

Independent cultivators fought against the heavens and earth, and they were more experienced at competing with other cultivators. Disciples from large sects or powerful organizations held the advantage when it came to resources and battle techniques while independent cultivators generally had sharper wills and craftier wits.

After picking up the prayer mat, Lu Yin glanced over at Emperor Luo before looking at the First Protector. Lu Yin could ask someone to accompany him to the Daosource Sect’s ruins, as the Sixth Mainland would naturally have powerhouses present to prevent Lu Yin from accessing the Nine Cauldrons Region again. Lu Yin did not want to be captured in the Daosource Sect’s ruins, but as long as the First Protector accompanied him, he would be safe unless the Four Empyreans moved out themselves. Maybe then he could safely absorb the rest of the cauldron energy, as it was becoming more and more difficult to get access to them.

Lu Yin and the others followed behind the Envoy from the Sixth Mainland while pretending to be the First Protector’s disciples. No one was worried that the Technocracy would detect the old man’s true strength, as they believed that the Technocracy was on guard against powerhouses on Arch-Elder Zen’s level, not anyone weaker than a Semi-Progenitor. The machines that were capable of monitoring the entire Technocracy might not be able to detect the First Protector’s power level, but Lu Yin was still worried about the Envoys in their group.

"You really haven't thought this through the whole way. One wrong step, and we’ll be in grave danger. I’m telling you right now that if we get in trouble in the Technocracy, I’m saving myself first," the First Protector said.

Lu Yin sneered. "Since Senior’s here, I’ll leave everything to you to decide. How can this junior’s mind compare to your experience?"

The First Protector rolled his eyes. "I want to go back to the Honor Zone.”

After speaking, he continued in a more casual tone. “Even if we do get discovered, they’ll be fine."

Lu Yin was both surprised and confused by this. "Why?"

"Ask them yourself.” The First Protector gestured to the three Envoys who were accompanying him.

Lu Yin looked at the three people. From the very moment they had met, not a single one of them had uttered a single word. Lu Yin had tried to speak to them several times, but he had never received a response.

"They’re androids," Emperor Luo commented.

Lu Yin was stunned. "Androids?"