Chapter 1889: Flawed State Of Mind

There was something else that Arch-Elder Zen was ignorant of; the amount of stellular energy that Lu Yin possessed far exceeded everyone’s understanding because Lu Yin had four stellular energy vortices.

This reminder instantly gave Lu Yin a headache. It might not be necessary for him to saturate all four of his vortices to reach his next breakthrough. However, extrapolating from the amount of star energy that he had possessed as an Enlighter suggested that Lu Yin had to absorb as much stellular energy as 200 average Envoys for a single vortex.

This meant that, in the best case scenario, he would have to cultivate for as long as 200 average Envoys combined. This was also cultivating by absorbing stellular energy, not star energy. Just thinking about it was enough to scare Lu Yin senseless.

He had initially been very proud of forming four stellular vortices, as they provided him with stellular energy reserves that far exceeded that of any other Envoy at a comparable power level. But this new revelation left Lu Yin covered with chills from head to toe.

It felt as though his second stellular tribulation was moving further and further away. He was already almost unable to even see it anymore.

"It appears that this thought has not occurred to you yet. Your second stellular tribulation, your third—all the way until the sixth. You will need more stellular energy than you can even imagine to reach those thresholds, and you will also need to find a way to extend your life expectancy so that you can survive long enough to even reach your tribulations. I will send out orders to have the Celestial Frost Sect’s ruins in Daynight Flowzone be sealed off. That way, you can take advantage of the Celestial Frost Pond there, as it will be able to help you," Arch-Elder Zen said.

Lu Yin grew puzzled. "Senior, why are you helping this junior so much?"

Arch-Elder Zen grew a bit emotional. "Not everyone would be willing to fight the war that you picked up. Not everyone is willing to treat ordinary people as human beings. Regardless of whether you are Lu Xiaoxuan or Lu Yin, your choice to fight the Astral Beast Domain for the reasons that you did means that you are part of my Fifth Mainland.

“Take your time training, and do not try to rush along.”

Lu Yin had thought that Arch-Elder Zen's change in attitude had been because of his stellular tribulation, but apparently, the old man’s shift in behavior had come from something else entirely.

Lu Yin’s stellular tribulation had been shocking, and the strength that he had revealed during it was mind-blowing. However, these achievements also meant that he would have a much harder time reaching his next breakthrough, as well as each subsequent one after that. Not even Lu Yin could see a way to continue cultivating, let alone anyone else.

Highly talented people would usually be sought out and protected by countless people, but if one’s talent reached a level that left no hope at all for the future, then the opposite would became true.

It was possible that Xu Qing was currently laughing at Lu Yin and his hopeless future.

Was there really no shortcut that could be taken? Lu Yin lowered his gadget and rubbed his cosmic ring, bringing out the stellular liquid that he had picked up. He had no idea how much stellular liquid the four ruling powers had tucked away back in the Perennial World. He suddenly felt the desire to go and visit that place once again.

Beep beep beep!

His gadget beeped again and again. More people were learning about Lu Yin’s successful tribulation, and they were all sending their congratulations, remarks of surprise, and general flattery.

It was not long before Lu Yin received a call from Highsage Leon, who threatened to fight Lu Yin in order to test out the strength that had managed to defeat Progenitor Chen. Lu Yin had a bitter smile during that call.

Big Sis, the Hall of Honor’s various overseers, Astral-10’s mentors, Judicial Commissioner Mu En, Shamrock Enterprise’s Leaf King. Everyone called Lu Yin to congratulate him.

Lu Yin was quite annoyed at this, but everyone who learned about his tribulation this quickly possessed identities that he could not ignore, either because of his relationship with them or because they were important enough that he needed to be polite.

What was this?

Lu Yin stared at his gadget in surprise, as he was receiving a call request from an unknown contact. Given Lu Yin’s status, most random calls were automatically filtered out so that he would not be disturbed.

"How did you defeat Progenitor Chen?" A deep and terrifying voice growled out a question in a way that sounded like a threat.

Lu Yin instantly recognized Xia Ji’s voice.

"Regardless of what realm his cultivation reached, Progenitor Chen was always invincible to anybody with a comparable cultivation realm. How did you defeat him?" Xia Ji's voice was soft, but it was evident that the man was suppressing either his rage or his disbelief. He sounded like someone whose faith had shattered.

Lu Yin's expression turned cold. "Is it that you can’t believe it, or that you simply don’t want to?"

Xia Ji screamed, "Progenitor Chen created the Cosmic Art on his own! He received the inheritance of the Triple Blade Will and various other secret techniques! He had a clone that was a colossal giant who mastered aurelian force, another that could make time and space chaotic, as well as one that could heal every wound! How could you defeat him!?

"Despite being a member of the Xia family, he even managed to acquire the Wang family’s Forgotten Ruins technique and their secret technique! How could you ever win? His innate gift, the Heaven’s Furnace, was able to destroy even a Progenitor, so how could you have survived? Boy, you could not have faced Progenitor Chen, as his strength as a peak Enlighter is not something that you could have ever defeated! It’s impossible!"

Lu Yin answered in a cold and arrogant manner, "I have also learned the Cosmic Art and have simulated 10,000 stars. I’ve mastered several different sourcebox arrays, as well as secret techniques. I have the Hollow Palm, which no one can face head on, as well as the visualization method of the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant. I have my Champions’ Stage, as well as the Rune Progenitor’s Truesight. I have also mastered a peerless healing method, as well as received the God of Death’s inheritance. I’ve even managed to injure a mighty Semi-Progenitor like you."

"You used foreign objects!" Xia Ji shouted back in fury.

Lu Yin laughed. "It would seem that you hold Progenitor Chen in exceptionally high regard, and the fact that I managed to defeat him has shattered your very beliefs. Xia Ji, I believed you to be a bold cultivator, but I could have never known that your heart was this fragile. I merely passed my first stellular tribulation and became an Envoy, and yet doing so has created a barrier that will forever prevent you from becoming a Progenitor."

"Boy, don’t say something that you’ll regret!" Xia Ji's voice became incredibly cold.

Lu Yin was not merely mouthing off, but genuinely stating what he believed. A Progenitor was a powerhouse capable of changing the very sky, and they had to have an unshakeable heart. Progenitor Chen’s defeat, even as a manifestation for a stellular tribulation, had shaken Xia Ji. He had clearly placed Progenitor Chen on a pedestal within his heart, and he had truly believed the Progenitor to be completely invincible throughout all of time. Xia Ji had believed that if his ancestor, Progenitor Chen, had been invincible, then Xia Ji himself could reach the same level and become the second Progenitor Chen. He had come to see himself as Progenitor Chen's replacement, and Progenitor Chen’s defeat had shattered Xia Ji’s entire worldview.

It was much the same as how violating an oath would create a flaw in one’s mindset. How could someone with a flawed mind become a Progenitor?

There were both strong and weak Progenitors, but regardless of their power, each Progenitor had to have a set of core beliefs that were inviolable. Whether those beliefs were true or not did not actually matter.

For Xia Ji, with his beliefs broken, he no longer had the boldness to become a Progenitor, which meant that he was forever cut off from reaching the peak.

Naturally, all of this was merely Lu Yin’s interpretation of the situation, and he did not know Progenitor Chen. However, there was nothing preventing Lu Yin from setting a psychological trap for Xia Ji.

"Old man, I can hear it in your voice. You called me just to verify that the legendary Progenitor Chen is still invincible and undefeated throughout time. You want me to tell you that I did not face Progenitor Chen with an equal level of cultivation. Well then, let me tell you that I faced Progenitor Chen when he was a Limiteer. He is still completely invincible and peerless. Happy?" Lu Yin spoke in a casual manner.

Xia Ji became even more enraged than before. While Progenitor Chen had always been invincible throughout the universe, no matter how powerful he may have been while a Limiteer, there was no way his strength could have measured up to Lu Yin’s when he was facing his first stellular tribulation. This bastard was messing with his head!

"You will pay for what you’ve said," Xia Ji said through gritted teeth. Resentment dripped from his voice.

Lu Yin just shrugged. "I just said whatever it is that you wanted to hear. If you’re still not happy with it, why don’t we make a deal: I’ll say whatever it is that you want to hear, and you’ll give me the Nine Clones Secret Technique. Deal?"

Xia Ji instantly disconnected. He did not want to keep speaking with Lu Yin, and he even regretted making the call. It had been an impulsive mistake to contact Lu Yin. The child showed absolutely no respect for the fact that Xia Ji was a Semi-Progenitor, and he also had absolutely no fear.

As Lu Yin lowered his gadget, he realized just how massive the ripples from this event were. Lu Yin had defeated Progenitor Chen, and once word of this spread out and reached the weaker cultivators, the effects would become even more pronounced, though mostly to his benefit. However, there would also be violent reactions from a few people who blindly worshiped Progenitor Chen. Xia Ji was the most obvious example.

Lu Yin shook his head. It did not matter how agitated people became from this, as they were not worth paying any attention to. He saw them as worthless and greatly inferior to Elder Lohar and those who had followed him to protect Ironblood Weave. Those people had actually been integrated into the Great Eastern Alliance’s fleet, and their conviction had firmed and inspired others in the Allied Forces.

While the war had been quite short, the Great Eastern Alliance’s fleet had already drastically changed. They had not initially acknowledged the war that they were fighting, but they had gradually come to accept and adjust to it. Many people had fallen, and many others had accomplished great deeds.

Well, it was time to end things.

Lu Yin returned his attention to his gadget and called Xu Qing.

At this moment, Xu Qing was situated to the north of Lu Yin, and he was facing quite the dilemma. He simply had no idea how to deal with the Great Eastern Alliance.

The Celestial Beast Empire’s position regarding Lu Yin was very clear: the youth needed to die. It was of such importance that Skymender had conducted a divination to determine a way to kill Lu Yin that was almost guaranteed, though it had failed.

In the current situation, Lu Yin had become an Envoy and was also about to become the Progenitor of Bloodlines’ disciple. Thus, he could no longer be killed, as the Astral Beast Domain could not afford to suffer the wrath of a Progenitor.

In that case, what could they do to the Great Eastern Alliance?

There was no denying the fact that the Great Eastern Alliance Fleet had to be eliminated, as there was no way to invade the Outerverse with the alliance present. Conquering the Outerverse was one of the Celestial Beast Alliance’s longest held dreams. Since they were at the edge of success, they could not give up when they were so close.

However, the Great Eastern Alliance was a thorny obstacle.

The sheer number of powerhouses at their disposal made Lu Yin a difficult opponent from the very beginning, but with the youth’s recent breakthrough, Xu Qing had no idea just how powerful Lu Yin might have become. It was also possible that he could gain support from the Sixth Mainland given his new identity as the Progenitor of Bloodlines’ disciple. Troubles just kept piling on for Xu Qing.

If the Great Eastern Alliance teamed up with the Sixth Mainland, even additional reinforcements from the Celestial Beast Empire would not be enough to achieve victory.

Xu Qing’s greatest concern at this point in time was no longer how to conquer the Outerverse, but rather how to protect his remaining forces.

Sword King was dead, and the Void Wanderer elder had already returned to the Celestial Demon Empire. What could Xu Qing use to stand up to the Great Eastern Alliance’s forces?

As Xu Qing was wrestling with such thoughts, he received a call request from Lu Yin. He hesitated for a moment after seeing it, but then he answered

"Commander Xu Qing, the war is about to kick off again, so take care of yourself." Lu Yin’s opening words left Xu Qing feeling terribly confused. Just what did Lu Yin mean? Was he cautioning Xu Qing? Why would anyone ever do that? In what war would a general ever caution their opponent? Xu Qing had fought countless wars, but this was his first time ever encountering such a situation, so he really did not know how to respond.

"What do you mean, Alliance Leader Lu?" Xu Qing asked in a low voice. He was truly confused by Lu Yin’s words.

Lu Yin smiled. "I just wanted to offer you a friendly reminder. I really don’t know if you still have the ability to stop my Great Eastern Alliance’s experts."

Xu Qing’s voice dropped to a growl. "Are you threatening me?"

"Of course not. Like I said, I just wanted to offer a friendly reminder," Lu Yin said.

Xu Qing did not understand Lu Yin’s intentions at all. "Alliance Leader Lu, is there something that you wish to say?"

Lu Yin sighed. "Sometimes people just can’t understand a person’s kindness. Commander Xu Qing, Sword King’s dead, and the Void Wanderer elder’s already gone. There’s no way you’ll be able to stop the Great Eastern Alliance when the fighting resumes. That's right, isn’t it?"

"Why don’t you try it," Xu Qing coldly retorted.

Lu Yin laughed. "Alright, let’s do that then!"

He then simply hung up.

Xu Qing stared blankly at his gadget, not knowing how to react. What was Lu Yin doing with this call? Was it a trick? A show of force? A threat? Just what was the youth trying to do? Xu Qing had no clue and was unable to understand what had just happened.

The one thing he was certain of was that Lu Yin absolutely did not want the fighting to resume, as why else would he have offered a word of caution?

At this thought, Xu Qing brought his gadget back out and called Lu Yin back.

To the south, a small smile appeared on Lu Yin’s face inside a spaceship as he answered the call request. "What's wrong, Commander Xu Qing? You should be preparing for battle."