Chapter 1875: Hidden Means

The Void Wanderer was so large that not even Lu Yin and Liu Huang were able to see the creature’s end. It could easily swallow an entire planet, and it could also instantly phase into the void. Liu Huang had no way of injuring the creature.

Liu Huang struck out dozens times in a row with his sword, but not a single attack even touched the Void Wanderer.

Liu Huang was a true expert with a power level of over a million. Even if he was not quite as powerful as one of the Sixth Mainland’s Empyrean Imprinters, he could absolutely fight against those powerhouses. Despite that, Liu Huang was unable to touch this Void Wanderer.

The Void Wanderer elder shot through the void and disappeared. When it reappeared, it was already behind Lu Yin and Liu Huang. The astral beast’s passage crushed space and shattered planets. It opened its mouth as it faced Lu Yin. Then, lightning flickered as the Void Thunderbeast appeared and let out a roar as his claws fell. "Lu Yin, you can forget about returning alive!"

Liu Huang used his sword to block Xu Qing, but suddenly, the Void Wanderer swept past Xu Qing like a phantom and continued, moving past Liu Huang. The beast swallowed Lu Yin in a single pass and then completely disappeared again.

The creature really could come and go without a trace.

Liu Huang moved his sword to block Xu Qing's claws, but the human’s body was suddenly smacked back by an overpowering strength. Liu Huang glanced over at the Void Wanderer elder who had reappeared with a great deal of surprise, as well as other, conflicting emotions.

Xu Qing stared at Liu Huang, who was standing before him. "Lu Yin is already finished. There’s no way for him to escape, so he’ll be taken back to the Celestial Beast Empire. Once he’s gone, you will no longer have any reason to fight this war against my Astral Beast Domain. After all, an Outerverse war is none of your business."

Liu Huang frowned and glanced over at the Void Wanderer before looking back at Xu Qing. "You intend to just let me leave?"

Xu Qing loudly proclaimed, "The Great Eastern Alliance was formed with Lu Yin as its core. While another person could technically be elected as alliance leader, it’s impossible for anyone else to take that position as long as he is around. It is his organization, not yours. If Lu Yin disappears, the Great Eastern Alliance will be disbanded, but the Innerverse will remain as the Innerverse. Your Sword Sect will likely become the strongest power in the entire Innerverse due to your existence, and it is not impossible for you to lead them into the Neoverse in the future.

"Isn't that what your Sword Sect has always hoped for? How many humans actually wish to fight this war aside from Lu Yin? If others genuinely wanted to fight against my Astral Beast Domain, then how could you humans have been beaten back again and again?"

Liu Huang stayed silent.

"You are one of the Sword Sect’s greatest geniuses. You’ve created the Fourteenth Sword, and it’s not impossible for you to become a Progenitor in the future. Are you really willing to lower yourself to work under Lu Yin? Are you willing to submit to him? Does this follow the teachings of your Sword Sect?" Xu Qing asked.

From Liu Huang’s perspective, everything that Xu Qing had said was quite accurate. Regardless of whether or not Lu Yin was the strongest, the Second Nightking, Liu Qianjue, and Ling Taizu all listened to him. Why else would they have joined this war? This was something that Xu Qing had recognized, so as long as Lu Yin was captured, the war would be over.

Xu Qing had already known that the deal that Lu Yin had offered would be a trap, but so what? Xu Qing had been willing to take this risk precisely because this was the quickest way to end this war.

***

Inside the Void Wanderer's stomach, Lu Yin was unable to hear anything in the outside world. He glanced around the massive space, but he could not find Qing Hua anywhere he looked. Lu Yin was not even able to see the Empyrean Imprinter’s runes.

While there was a fast space in the Void Wanderer’s stomach, there had to be a limit. Lu Yin stuck out with a Hollow Palm, but there was no reaction aside from a few spatial ripples.

Even Qing Hua had not managed to immediately escape, so what chance did Lu Yin have?

Unexpectedly, Xu Qing had kept the Void Wanderer elder hidden this entire time. This showed the astral beast general’s ruthlessness and patience.

Back in the outside world, Liu Huang was almost convinced. He had initially listened to Lu Yin because he had wanted to repay Lu Yin’s kindness for getting him out of Gaia's Swamp, but the Sword Sect had already repaid that debt by joining the Great Eastern Alliance. At the moment, Liu Huang was only participating in this war because he had seen no reason to refuse, and also because he had been confident that he could keep himself safe.

The old swordsman had no confidence that he could rescue Lu Yin. Additionally, this outcome seemed like it would be a better option for the Innerverse. However, Liu Huang had spent a long time with Lu Yin, and after getting to know the youth, Liu Huang questioned whether or not Qing Hua was the only trump care that Lu Yin had kept hidden.

Master Qing Hua was an Empyrean Imprinter, and he was certainly qualified to be Lu Yin’s trump card, but Liu Huang had suspected that Lu Yin had something more planned.

"Liu Huang, Lu Yin has been captured, which means that the Great Eastern Alliance will be disbanded. This war has become meaningless, so just step back!" Xu Qing shouted in a stern tone.

Liu Huang stared at the Void Thunderbeast. "Why didn’t you have the Void Wanderer elder swallow me as well?"

Xu Qing's pupils flared. "You’re courting death!"

Liu Huang clenched the hilt of his sword a bit tighter. "I want to see if this Void Wanderer elder can swallow me as well. I feel that swallowing Master Qing Hua was already the beast’s limit."

Liu Huang immediately hefted his sword and attacked the Void Wanderer elder.

Xu Qing became furious, as Liu Huang’s guess was quite accurate. The Void Wanderer elder was truly powerful due to how long it had lived for, and it was right at the cusp of becoming a Semi-Progenitor, but it was also a Void Wanderer, which meant that the ancient astral beast had no means of attacking. It was only able to incapacitate super powerhouses, but the Void Wanderer was already at its limit after swallowing an Empyrean Imprinter like Qing Hua. It had also swallowed Lu Yin, but that did not matter as Lu Yin’s strength was negligible to the Void Wanderer. However, if it also tried to swallow Liu Huang, the swordsman would be able to cooperate with Master Qing Hua, and the Void Wanderer elder would not be able to keep both humans suppressed.

This was precisely why the Void Wanderer elder had avoided swallowing Liu Huang.

There was a loud bang as Xu Qing collided with Liu Huang. "If you don’t let this go, you will die on this battlefield!"

Xu Qing then ordered, "Get back to the Celestial Beast Empire!"

The command was for the Void Wanderer elder. The massive astral beast’s body twisted as he prepared to leave.

Liu Huang’s eyebrows rose high. He wanted to save Lu Yin, but he also did not. The swordsman was truly conflicted at this moment, but it also did not matter. He was completely incapable of stopping the Void Wanderer from leaving, so it did not really matter even if Liu Huang had decided to rescue Lu Yin.

The Void Wanderer drifted into the void and slipped through it as though it were swimming.

After swimming for a bit, the Void Wanderer emerged at the border between Flaxen Weave and Northcastle Weave. After entering the void and swimming around for a second time, it appeared in the middle of the battlefield.

Sword King had a massive body that towered high above as he crushed a spacecraft like an ant and caused it to explode. However, Sword King was nothing compared to the massive Void Wanderer elder who suddenly appeared, as its body dwarfed the entire battlefield.

Elder Jiu Shen, the Second Nightking, and all the other powerhouses stared at it in complete shock.

The Void Wanderer elder was about to submerge into the void a third time to swim away, as this would allow it to reach the asteroid field. Then, a fourth trip through the void would bring it through Ironblood Weave and into the Primal Zone, which would mean that it would be back in the Astral Beast Domain.

Suddenly, the Void Wanderer elder froze and let out a pained sound. At the same time, countless Void Wanderers across the battlefield collapsed and were easily crushed to death.

"What just happened?" Elder Jiu Shen was confused. Everyone stared at the Void Wanderer elder and listened to its wails of agony. Suddenly, the astral beast opened its mouth, and a wooden staff was tossed out at Sword King. He swept his sword out, and although he did not manage to smash the staff, he was able to send it flying.

Master Qing Hua charged out of the Void Wanderer's mouth. Right after that, a green light appeared, and Lu Yin was seen being carried out of the Void Wanderer’s mouth by a middle-aged woman.

The eyes of Elder Jiu Shen and the others all went wide. "Lu Yin?"

No one had expected Lu Yin to suddenly emerge from the Void Wanderer elder’s body.

Lu Yin was carried along by the middle-aged woman, and he was breathing heavily. He had been quite shaken up from being swallowed, but luckily, he had had a backup plan in place. Without that, he would not have been able to escape.

This middle-aged woman was wearing a leaf-green dress. It was a style of clothing that was unique to the Mavis family. Her name was Ya Mavis, a powerhouse only second to Yunying Mavis with a power level of over a million.

The Mavis family had unfathomably deep foundations, but even they did not have many people with power levels of more than a million.

Xu Qing knew how to hide his strength and trump cards, but Lu Yin was capable of doing the same.

Ya Mavis was a powerhouse that Lu Yin had kept hidden. She had arrived shortly after Lu Yin returned to the battlefield from Earth, but she had not made a single move until saving Lu Yin just now.

The Mavis family had allied themselves with Lu Yin, and there was no way he would forget such a thing during this war.

Thus far, Lu Yin had managed to mobilize six experts with power levels of at least a million: the Second Nightking, Liu Huang, Yuan Shi, Jiu Shen, Ya Mavis, and finally, Master Qing Hua.

The Astral Beast Domain’s forces were also far from weak. They had the Celestial Demon, Xu Qing, Sword King, the Void Wanderer elder, and more.

There were more than ten individuals participating in this war with power levels in excess of a million. This was a rare occurrence even throughout all of human history.

The fact that there were more than twenty Envoys participating was already enough to draw the attention of the entire Fifth Mainland.

"Alliance Leader Lu, it’s no wonder why you asked my Mavis family for help. This war is certainly not a minor scuffle," Ya Mavis commented. She was truly stunned by what she saw as she glanced around at the Second Nightking, Jiu Shen, Sword King, and the Void Wanderer elder. She was secretly amazed at Lu Yin's influence.

Lightning suddenly flickered. Xu Qing had returned. He solemnly stared at Ya Mavis, and his fingers trembled slightly. How had Lu Yin managed to keep such a powerhouse hidden for so long? Xu Qing had felt that he had been truly cunning and thorough in this war, but he had failed time and time again as his opponent outperformed him.

In the future, Lu Yin would become a true catastrophe for the Astral Beast Domain if he were not eliminated.

Liu Huang also arrived, and he immediately stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. He had been right in his judgment of Lu Yin; the youth indeed had more tricks that he had kept hidden.

Master Qing Hua suddenly attacked, and his wooden staff swung at Xu Qing. He needed to get Progenitor Wushang's hide.

Sword King raised his sword and attacked Qing Hua. Elder Jiu Shen also took action, and stars appeared and began to revolve around his body. He used the Celestial Sword Technique to attack, and at the same time, the Second Nightking and the Celestial Demon went after each other.

In a split second, nearly all of the experts with power levels of a million or more took action, and all of Northcastle Weave trembled. Countless planets shattered, and the damage even spread to some of the nearby weaves.

Lu Yin asked Ya Mavis and the others to hold the astral beasts back as he quickly ordered the fleet to flee. A battle at this level was something that none of the weaker humans could hope to survive if they stuck around.

"Xu Qing, do you intend to go back on your word? The fighting should have already stopped!" Lu Yin yelled.

Xu Qing sneered. "I should be the one saying that to you! Qing Hua isn’t part of your Great Eastern Alliance, and yet you’re helping him, which is deliberately pushing this war to continue. Our deal is invalid!"

Lu Yin shouted back, "Fine, we’ll stop! This matter is between you and Master Qing Hua."

Lu Yin then immediately ordered everyone from the Great Eastern Alliance to retreat from the battlefield.

The Second Nightking and everyone else was similarly startled. Were they really supposed to just retreat?

Ya Mavis was also surprised. She had assumed that Lu Yin had invited Qing Hua to help the Great Eastern Alliance fight this war. Was that not the case?

No one could understand Lu Yin’s intentions, not even people like Liu Qianjue, who did not want to keep fighting. Everyone was dumbfounded.

Xu Qing was also stunned. Was Lu Yin really going to retreat?

On the other hand, Qing Hua showed no surprise. "Xu Qing, hand over your possessions!"

Even as the man spoke, his staff swung down.

Sword King was instantly enraged. "You old busybody! You dare to attack us on your own? You’re stepping into your own grave!"

Xu Qing and the Celestial Demon worked together to attack Qing Hua.

As for the Great Eastern Alliance, countless people turned to look at Lu Yin. Was he really not going to do anything at all?

Lu Yin quietly stared at the north as Qing Hua confronted the Astral Beast Domain’s various powerhouses on his own. How was he supposed to make a move, and why? Lu Yin’s agreement with Qing Hua had been for the Sixth Mainland to acquire Progenitor Wushang’s hide in exchange for them taking over the war with the Astral Beast Domain. As for how they acquired the hide, that was none of Lu Yin’s business.

Besides, Qing Hua was no fool. He was notoriously lazy, and despite the fact that he was not particularly interested in Progenitor Wushang's hide, he had taken the initiative to try to take it. Clearly, someone had ordered him to do so.

Lu Yin was not the only one who had realized this, as many of the informed people thought the same, including Xu Qing.

Sword King and the Astral Beast Domain’s other powerhouses all ganged up on Qing Hua. Only the Void Wanderer elder stayed out of the fray, lurking in the void, as it kept a wary eye out.