Chapter 1735: Fairness: Right And Wrong

"It is the nature of cultivation for the strong to devour the weak. This has nothing to do with right or wrong, but I believe that this world still needs right, wrong, and fairness. Even if I can never achieve it, this remains my goal. Humans are not the walking dead.”

"It is right for Lu Yin to attack the four ruling powers on behalf of the Lu family. He is entitled to his revenge. If humans are destroyed by Aeternus because of this, then he will be liable to the judgment of the entire human race. If I live to see that day, then I will judge him fairly. But how can he be convicted now by a future that has yet to occur? Who can decide when the scales have not yet settled?”

Arch-Elder Zen stared at the scales with a complicated expression. "Is this what your master intends as well?"

"I don't know, but this is my own decision."

Arch-Elder Zen nodded. "I understand now. I’ll head out."

The old man then left the Arbitration World, but before leaving, he spoke one last sentence. “This place is not the Forsaken Land, but the ancestral land. Deserters will always be deserters."

Lu Yin had no idea of what occurred in the Neoverse after his call, and he also was ignorant of the change in Arch-Elder Zen’s mindset. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, regardless of Arch-Elder Zen’s attitude, Lu Yin already knew what he needed to do. It was impossible for him to abandon his goal of leading his forces against the Perennial World just because of a few words from the old man. It would entirely be the Fifth Mainland’s decision whether they attacked the Perennial World or not, and while Lu Yin would respect the decisions of those who followed him, he would not stop pursuing his goal. The words that he had spoken to the First Protector had been partly to voice his own opinion, but also because he felt pressured and helpless.

Humanity could not allow themselves to have any major internal conflicts. This was something that Arch-Elder Zen was adamant about, and Shaman God was just as eager to see it come about.

In the end, everything depended on how things were accomplished. It was clear that Shaman God’s plan would play out, but the result might not be as the Skygod desired. It was possible that Aeternus would also be dragged into the mess as well.

How could Lu Yin possibly allow Aeternus to watch the fun from the sidelines?

Shortly after Kui Luo left, Lu Yin sent a message to Qing Tan.

Far away, on Mt. Microcosms, Qing Tan saw the message from Lu Yin, and her face went blank; what the hell was Origin Matter?

She had no idea, but she still did as Lu Yin requested.

In Endless Weave, Bluedome Elder had his eyes closed. All Four Empyreans were currently standing guard. Even if one of the Fifth Mainland’s Semi-Progenitors appeared, they still might not be able to save Lu Yin from such a lineup. However, the four were very hesitant to kill the youth, as he was much more valuable as a captive than dead. He possessed Progenitor Wushang’s hide, Origin Matter, the Nine Cauldrons’ battle technique, and more. The child had too many secrets and too many treasures.

Suddenly, Bluedome Elder’s eyes snapped open, as he had remembered the most important thing: Lu Yin had the legendary God of Death’s inheritance!

The God of Death was just a legend that few people believed in, but Lu Yin's performance during ZENITH had roused a great deal of attention from many people, including Bluedome Elder.

After Lu Yin was caught, he had to be questioned about the God of Death’s inheritance.

Right when the man was thinking about this, he received a message from Qing Tan. After Bluedome Elder glanced at it, his expression drastically changed.

Lu Yin has returned from the Technocracy and reported his trip to the overseers’ council. He mentioned discovering Origin Matter in the Sophic Rift.

Bluedome Elder and the other Empyrean Imprinters had never actually believed the matter of Origin Matter appearing on the Technocracy’s battlefield, but this message from Qing Tan left Bluedome Elder shaken.

They knew that Lu Yin had traveled to the Technocracy, but they had not been able to determine why. It was not impossible for him to have made such a trip for Origin Matter.

Had there actually been Origin Matter?

Bluedome Elder’s eyes darted about. Origin Matter or Progenitor Wushang’s hide—which was more important? They were both vital to the man.

Empyrean Imprinters were not necessarily Semi-Progenitors. Some had reached that level while others had not. Bluedome Elder had not, but he was still ambitious. This was because he was one of the few Empyrean Imprinters who had not become a Semi-Progenitor yet as he had only opened his lower and middle meridian points. He was truly desperate to become a Progenitor in the future.

If this were not so, he would never have captured Madam Hong.

After all, if his actions were discovered, a war with the Progenitor of Combat’s Territory could easily erupt.

With further confirmation of the presence of Origin Matter, Bluedome Elder could no longer sit still. Regardless of whether the news regarding the Origin Matter was real, he had to send someone to First Edition City.

There was already a cultivator from the Sixth Mainland at the city, but that person was from the Progenitor of Combat’s Territory. Bluedome Elder had to send his own people.

There was no longer any need to stand guard against Lu Yin, as he had already returned. Also, there was no need to pay any attention to the Great Eastern Alliance at this moment. If the Origin Matter was real, it was very possible that the Technocracy’s war would tip in favor of Sky Creation Academy. In the end, nothing was more important than becoming a Progenitor.

…

The Astral River was magnificent. Strange fish occasionally appeared, and very rarely, a massive and unfathomable creature would swim through the Astral River with enough power to cause even the Astral River Arks to sway.

An older person had once mentioned that there were some creatures in the Astral River that were large enough to capsize even the massive arks.

After the Sixth Mainland moved into the Outerverse, they had gradually taken control of most of the Outerverse, forcing out or absorbing all the local powers. However, the two Astral River Arks to the east and west of the Outerverse had always remained under the Fifth Mainland’s control, and the Sixth Mainland had never tried to seize either of the massive ships.

Even the Astral River Ark that was stationed to the west that provided direct access to the Outerverse’s western weaves had been left alone.

Anyone who boarded the western Astral River Ark would directly enter the Sixth Mainland’s controlled weaves in the western Outerverse. This demonstrated the Sixth Mainland’s confidence and sense of superiority towards the Fifth Mainland. However, no one from the Sixth Mainland was allowed to enter the Innerverse.

Whether or not the Fifth Mainland was willing to admit it, it was a fact that the average Sixth Mainland cultivator was stronger than their peers from the Fifth.

When Lu Yin had gone to Flying Horse Manor to rescue the colossal giants, he had crossed the Astral River on the western ark. After that, he had used it once again when the First Protector had led Lu Yin towards the Technocracy. At this moment, Lu Yin was about to use the Astral River Ark yet again to cross the Astral River.

As he looked at the massive ship in the distance, Lu Yin grew curious about something. "Is the Sixth Mainland not allowed to use the arks?"

The First Protector replied, "I don't know. I don’t ask about matters outside of Mt. Microcosms."

Lu Yin pursed his lips. Ever since he had been exposed as Lu Xiaoxuan, the First Protector’s attitude had changed. He was no longer as close or friendly with Lu Yin, and he had become noticeably more vigilant and distant.

There was no avoiding this, as their differing origins was not something that could be ignored. This was true even for Arch-Elder Zen.

It was not long before a few people entered the Astral River Ark. Even though the First Protector’s strength meant that their small group did not actually need to use the enormous ship, there was no need to do so. Cultivators did not need to always reveal their power, and accidents could occur at any moment.

As he stared at the roiling Astral River, Lu Yin remembered the incomparably terrifying number of runes that he had seen in it in the past. There were truly powerful creatures that hid within the river.

The Astral River Ark soon started moving and shuttling its passengers towards the Innerverse.

There were many spacecraft that lined up to enter the eastern ark, but the one to the west had very few passengers, as very few people were bold enough to enter the Sixth Mainland’s territory. The Sixth Mainland had previously invaded the Innerverse, sowing a terrible hatred between the two groups. Few people from the Fifth Mainland were willing to visit the Sixth Mainland’s territory.

At the moment, most of the people on the ark were from corporations or were independent cultivators. They were people without any other option but to try their luck. There were also some people who were native to the Fifth Mainland’s Outerverse who were hoping to escape from the Sixth Mainland’s rule by moving to the Innerverse.

"Another vessel’s almost here, but unfortunately, they were too late," someone commented with deep empathy when they saw a spacecraft off in the distance.

"It doesn't really matter. The ark goes back and forth very quickly."

"Wait, look! Those people should be part of some force from the Sixth Mainland!"

This discussion entered Lu Yin's ears, and he turned to look. Sure enough, a vessel had stopped a bit behind the Astral River Ark, and there were cultivators surrounding the ship. The people’s clothes looked familiar; were they from the Autumnfrost family?

Lu Yin was surprised; why would people from the Autumnfrost family be here? This was a considerable distance from their territory.

There was a bang, and the ship exploded. Two people shot out from the wreckage, dashing in different directions in an attempt to escape. One of the cultivators from the Autumnfrost family attacked. The man was an Imprinter Lu Yin was familiar with: Uncle Hua. He was trying to kill the fleeing people.

Many people aboard the Astral River Ark were watching. Although they were curious about who was trying to escape, no one felt any real surprise, as they had all seen similar scenes too many times before.

One of the escaping individuals was a young man, and his left arm had been unnaturally twisted around. His entire body was covered with cracked, dry blood.

Black patterns that looked like flames spread out from his hand and formed a massive flaming black palm print was further reinforced by three-lined battle force before shooting towards the approaching attack.

A knife flashed, and the palm print was torn apart. The slash continued traveling forward, and it seemed guaranteed to slice through the young man’s neck.

The man was helpless, and his face turned pale. There was no way to escape. Was he about to die?

Suddenly, the slashing attack froze. Some unfathomable power fell down from above. Neither the young man nor the attacker from the Autumnfrost family were able to move at all.

The space tore, and Lu Yin emerged slowly to stare at the wounded young man with great excitement. “Senior Little Pao?"

The young man looked at Lu Yin, and his eyes suddenly flared and excitement filled them. They quickly reddened. "Ju- Junior Lu."

The young man who had nearly died after counterattacking with the Blackgold Palm was Lu Yin’s senior from Astral-10, Little Pao. Naturally, the person he had been escaping with was Big Pao.

Long ago, Lu Yin and his companions from Astral-10 had escaped into the Starfall Sea in order to avoid Feng Mo. When they had left the sea later, Big Pao and Little Pao had stayed behind. They had still been there when the Sixth Mainland invaded the Innerverse and when the Outerverse had been separated. Lu Yin had not seen these two since they had parted ways all those years ago.

He had actually thought that his two seniors had died, and he had not expected to run into them in this place.

"Junior Lu, it's really you!" Big Pao shouted in excitement.

Lu Yin was thrilled. "Seniors, I didn't think that you were still alive! This is wonderful!"

"We also didn't think we’d see you again," Little Pao excitedly replied.

With Lu Yin’s appearance, there was no longer any problem with Big Pao and Little Pao’s safety. The Autumnfrost family cultivators were easily dealt with, which left the two older youths rather stunned.

Seeing their shocked expressions, Lu Yin had to ask, "Have you not heard about me?"

"What do you mean?" The two brothers were equally confused, but Big Pao quickly said, "Junior, this isn’t the time to talk! Let’s go, quickly! The people from the Autumnfrost family who came here are dead, so we need to quickly get back to the Innerverse."

Lu Yin tried to quickly calm the two down. It was clear that they had suffered badly, and Lu Yin had no idea what the two had been up to for so many years that they had not heard anything about his activities.

It was clear that neither of the two would be comfortable talking where they were, so Lu Yin turned around and asked, "Senior, could you please take us to the other side of the Astral River?"

Big Pao and Little Pao were both taken aback. Senior? Was there another person here?

The First Protector revealed himself and then easily carried Lu Yin and the other two across the Astral River into the Innerverse.

This absolutely destroyed everything that the brothers understood. In their minds, how could it be so easy to cross the Astral River? There were rumors that it was possible to travel through the Astral River unaided after reaching a certain level of power, but that was an unimaginable level of strength.

"Junior Lu, are we really back?" Little Pao was still stunned as he turned back to look at the Astral River that already looked so distant.

Lu Yin said, "Don't worry, Senior. We’re no longer in the Sixth Mainland’s territory."