Chapter 1996: Long-lost Friend

Despite hearing both Ni Huang and Wang Si repeatedly refer to him as a slave, the Second Nightking did not dare get upset at their words. Both of these people were Semi-Progenitors, so the Second Nightking answered them in a respectful tone, "That person just now was the Aeternals’ Whiteless God. She was the one who attacked this junior."

"Whiteless God?" Ni Huang and Wang Si were both shocked.

"Of the Seven Skygods, Whiteless God is the most mysterious. I didn't expect to run into her just now," Ni Huang commented.

Wang Si grew curious. "Why did Whiteless God attack you? Why are you even here?"

The Second Nightking did not try to hide anything, as he knew it would be impossible. "It's all because of Lu Yin, that hateful wretch."

Wang Si’s eyebrows rose high.

"Lu Yin happened to learn the Sealed Cage Technique the Bai family used to use to control my Daynight clan in the Celestial Frost Sect. He used that to control this junior and turn me into his slave. Whiteless God was actually trying to capture Lu Yin and force him to give something to her, but her inner world was shattered by you two seniors. This junior would like to thank the two of you for saving me."

"Where is Lu Yin?" Wang Si asked in an icy voice.

The Second Nightking replied, "This junior doesn't know. It’s possible that he was taken by Whiteless God."

Ni Huang was the one to answer quietly, "That’s impossible. She did not have a chance to take Lu Yin anywhere. I shattered her inner world, and there was no living person within it."

This information caught the Second Nightking completely off guard. "He wasn’t taken? Then this junior has no idea where he could have gone. I was being tortured by Whiteless God, and if not for you two seniors attacking her, I would have died. I would again like to thank you for your help."

Ni Huang’s gaze swept past the Second Nightking and he scanned the area.

Wang Si coldly demanded, "Since you’ve been following Lu Yin, you should know all about him, correct?"

They Second Nightking remained as courteous as ever. “Yes, this junior knows him quite well. If there is anything you would like to know, Senior, this junior will tell you everything."

Wang Si said nothing, for while the Second Nightking was being very respectful, he was still someone who was controlled by Lu Yin with the Sealed Cage Technique, and so the man’s words could not be trusted. She decided it would be best to take the Second Nightking back to the Celestial Frost Sect so that the Bai family could take control of the man once again so that there would be no chance of him speaking any lies.

"If Lu Yin wasn’t taken by Whiteless God, then he has to be hiding nearby." As Ni Huang looked around, he saw many planets in the area, including two with human civilization.

Wang Si coldly demanded, "Destroy them now. No matter where that bastard Lu Xiaoxuan might be hiding, he’ll die!"

Ni Huang frowned. Destroying the planets was too cruel, as it would kill countless people. "Given our strength, it’s impossible for Lu Xiaoxuan to hide from us, so let's just search the planets one by one. There’s no need for pointless deaths."

Wang Si was not happy with this decision, but after seeing Ni Huang's strength, she felt compelled to agree. "Very well."

Just as the two were about to search the nearby planets, Ni Huang's expression changed. "Someone’s coming. It’s a Semi-Progenitor, and he just took everyone from one of those planets into his inner world."

As Ni Huang spoke, he waved a hand. As he did, everyone on the planet in front of the old man vanished.

Wang Si did the same thing.

After all of the nearby humans were taken away, a person stepped out of the void. There was a gourd of wine in one hand. This person was Jiu Chi.

It was easy to detect a Semi-Progenitors' battle, especially since Whiteless God had launched an attack on the Cosmic Sea before she had disappeared. Her entire purpose in doing that had been to alert other Semi-Progenitors and lure them to Chroma Flowzone.

Lu Yin was a vital piece in the Aeternals’ strategy against the humans. Given the strength that Whiteless God possessed in the Fifth Mainland, she would struggle to fight against Ni Huang, and it was impossible for her to get Lu Yin away. The only option at the time had been to lure over the Fifth Mainland’s Semi-Progenitors.

Jiu Chi had been on his way to the Tower of the Fifth, so he had been the closest to Chroma Flowzone, and so he had naturally arrived first.

The man became incredibly solemn as soon as he saw Ni Huang and Wang Si. "Where did you two come from?"

Wang Si answered arrogantly, "My surname is Wang."

Jiu Chi was taken aback. "So you’re from that place. What brought you two back here?"

Wang Si glared at Jiu Chi. "That’s none of your business. Leave."

Jiu Chi looked past Wang Si and saw the Second Nightking, which caused the Semi-Progenitor’s expression to instantly change. "Where is Lu Yin?"

Wang Si sneered. "His name is Lu Xiaoxuan; didn’t you know?"

"What about the others?" Jiu Chi's voice dropped low. He was already aware of the hatred between Lu Yin and the Perennial World’s four ruling powers. If the Second Nightking had been reduced to such a pathetic state, there was no way that Lu Yin was fine.

"I told you to leave! This has nothing to do with you," Wang Si ordered.

Ni Huang stepped forward to face Jiu Chi. "We are also looking for Lu Xiaoxuan. Since you’ve come here and met us, let's talk."

Jiu Chi put away his wine and stared at Ni Huang in an unprecedentedly serious manner. He felt a tremendous pressure from this man, which had never happened before in the Fifth Mainland. "Who might you be, sir?"

"I’m the White Dragon Clan’s Great Elder Ni Huang."

Jiu Chi nodded. "So you are from the White Dragon Clan. You two don’t know where Lu Yin is?"

"No, we don’t, so please help us find him. As a show of our gratitude, the four ruling powers are willing to accept some cultivators from your Fifth Mainland to train in our Perennial World. You won’t need to sneak them in," Ni Huang offered. These were conditions that the four ruling powers had already agreed to offer the Fifth Mainland.

They had already paid an unbelievable price to Sky Creation Academy in order to enter the Fifth Mainland, and they had also known that they would need to offer more in order to negotiate with the Fifth Mainland.

The Fifth Mainland had sent people into the Perennial World after each Yuanlun Festival with the goal of getting Origin Matter. Thus, the four ruling powers believed that by offering the Fifth Mainland the chance to openly enter the Perennial World and compete for Origin Matter, it would be worth far more than Lu Xiaoxuan.

From the four ruling powers' perspective, it was impossible for the Fifth Mainland to go against the Perennial World just for Lu Xiaoxuan. So what if the Fifth Mainland hated the primeval surnames?

Wang Si was absolutely confident. While Lu Xiaoxuan had done many things to help the Fifth Mainland, how could he compare to the benefits the four ruling powers were offering?

Jiu Chi said nothing, and merely waited quietly.

Ni Huang and Wang Si looked at each other. It was clear that the man was waiting for the rest of the Fifth Mainland’s Semi-Progenitors. It was already known that the Forsaken Land had more than just one Semi-Progenitor, and it was time to start negotiations with the movers and shakers of the Fifth Mainland. They needed these people to help find Lu Xiaoxuan.

A while later, Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong arrived together. They both first looked at Ni Huang and observed the man.

Every realm of cultivation had people who were powerful and weak. As for Ni Huang, he stood at the peak of Semi-Progenitors, and was truly at the cusp of becoming a Progenitor. It was a transformation compared to those weaker than him.

Ni Huang had been able to easily shatter Whiteless God's inner world, which was impossible for any normal Semi-Progenitor.

While the bodies of the Seven Skygods in the Fifth Mainland were merely vessels, each one of them still possessed the strength of a Semi-Progenitor. Without such a level of strength, it would have been impossible for them to break into the Daosource Sect and kill Semi-Progenitor Jiu San.

Wang Si grew a little more subdued after seeing two more Semi-Progenitors appear on behalf of the Fifth Mainland. Still, the numbers did not matter. The difference in strength was clear, and Ni Huang alone was able to defeat all three of the Fifth Mainland’s Semi-Progenitors.

"This is a bit of an issue," Highsage Grandmaster muttered as he shot an intimidated glance towards Ni Huang.

Jiu Chi just shrugged. "He’s the White Dragon Clan’s Grand Elder Ni Huang. The old man’s been around for a long time, and he was even around during the Daosource Sect era."

"The White Dragon clan can boast a long history that far exceeds anything normal people can compete with. Grand Elder Ni Huang witnessed the start of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, as well as how times have changed since then. Even you and I won’t be able to stand up to him," Elder Gong replied.

"Why come back here after leaving this place? Is it just because of Lu Yin?" Highsage Grandmaster shook his head emotionally.

Elder Gong’s expression grew far more somber. The Lu family had ruled the Fifth Mainland. During ancient times, the family had been second only to the Daosource Sect. After the sect had fallen, the Lu family had moved away with the Mother Tree. That showed the strength of the Lu family. Lu Yin alone was not enough for anyone to see the power of his family, but once Lu Yin became a Semi-Progenitor, let alone a full Progenitor, who would be able to stand up to him?

The four ruling powers had not only rebelled against the Lu family as an entity, but also against every single person in the Lu family, especially the direct descendants.

The Champions’ Stage. One person is as strong as a nation; one person can lord over all. Any direct descendant of the Lu family who possessed a Champions’ Stage innate gift would be universally feared. Furthermore, that terrifying innate gift was not all that Lu Yin possessed, as he had also received the God of Death’s inheritance. He could be considered truly without peers within his cultivation realm.

A long knife slashed through space and rapidly approached from a great distance before suddenly stopping where the various Semi-Progenitors all waited. It was Xia Ji.

Xia Ji radiated an aggressive aura as he stood a short distance apart from the others in space. He stared at Ni Huang and Wang Si from a short ways away.

Wang Si sneered. "Arrogant."

Grand Elder Ni Huang simply observed Xia Ji for a moment before calmly stating, "It’s quite unwise for a Semi-Progenitor to release their restraints in such a manner, though that blade energy clearly belongs to the Xia family."

Wang Si’s eyebrows climbed high. "The Xia family left people behind here? And one of them even became a Semi-Progenitor?"

While the four ruling powers had joined forces to overthrow the Lu family, the four were far from united. They actually had various struggles and conflicts between them.

The Wang family, the White Dragon Clan, and the Bai family had not left any of their family members behind in the Fifth Mainland. That was something that only the Xia family had done, and yet the family left behind had given birth to a Semi-Progenitor. This was not good news for Wang Si or Ni Huang.

Xia Ji put his knife away while warily staring at Ni Huang with a frown on his face. Xia Ji could sense that this man was terrifyingly strong. While the man’s aura seemed perfectly ordinary, Xia Ji had not been able to cause the slightest impact with his knife.

However, a more exquisite aura slowly permeated the entire area.

In the end, it was Arch-Elder Zen who stood at the true peak.

Arch-Elder Zen had never revealed his true strength to the outside world. It was universally accepted that the Hall of Honor ruled the Fifth Mainland, but why? Was it simply because of the number of powerhouses affiliated with the Hall of Honor? Even if there were countless experts, how had so many been gathered under a single banner? Also, regardless of the number of experts, how could their numbers ever be able to compensate for the strength of a single Semi-Progenitor?

Lu Yin had wondered why the Hall of Honor was regarded as the master of the Fifth Mainland from the time he had first started cultivating. As time had passed, the question had been forgotten, as Lu Yin had simply started accepting the status-quo.

However, at this moment, Ni Huang learned the true answer: it was all because of Arch-Elder Zen.

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The moment Arch-Elder Zen appeared, the seemingly ordinary aura that Ni Huang had filled the area with started to quickly dissipate. Grand Elder Ni Huang was startled, and he stared in shock as Arch-Elder Zen emerged from the void.

How was this possible?

Wang Si was able to feel what had happened as well, and she stared at the newcomer in stupefaction. This man made Wang Si feel the same way that Wan Dao had long ago. This man was someone who stood at the same level as Wan Dao and Grand Elder Ni Huang.

Xia Ji and the other Semi-Progenitors from the Fifth Mainland remained unflustered, as they had already known the power of the master of the Hall of Honor.

It was because of the different levels of strength that existed among Semi-Progenitors that Arch-Elder Zen had been able to suppress all of the Fifth Mainland’s other Semi-Progenitors on his own. This was how the man had been able to create the Hall of Honor and rule the Fifth Mainland: Arch-Elder Zen was a powerhouse who was right at the absolute cusp of becoming a Progenitor. If the Fifth Mainland’s sky had not been replaced by the Sixth Mainland, Arch-Elder Zen might have already become a Progenitor.

At the moment, it was instead the Fifth Mainland holding Arch-Elder Zen back from attempting to reach the next level. He feared his failure could have catastrophic consequences for the Human Domain.

A person with such responsibilities could not move forward on his own recklessly, and Arch-Elder Zen could not put things down, and this was the flaw that would not allow a successful breakthrough if he tried to ignore things and push for it.

"The White Dragon Clan’s Great Elder Ni Huang?" Arch-Elder Zen commented, though he appeared perfectly calm.

Grand Elder Ni Huang stared at his counterpart in surprise. "And you are…?"

Arch-Elder Zen gave a small smile. "The two of us once met, but while I clearly remember you, it’s quite likely that you have no memory of me."

"I would like to hear about it," Grand Elder Ni Huang stated solemnly.

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