Chapter 2115: Shadow Of The Past

Lu Yin appeared within one of the four cauldrons in a flash, and he immediately started to absorb cauldron energy. This was the sixth cauldron.

He found it a pity that it was impossible to store the cauldrons in a cosmic ring, as that meant that he could not take them with him into his Timestop Space. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have been able to save a great deal of time.

As Lu Yin proceeded to absorb cauldron energy, more and more rumors about his ability to steal stellular energy from the mysterious droplets spread across the Fifth Mainland.

The news startled Hen Xin. "Can he recover stellular energy?"

A man who was missing his right arm stood in front of Hen Xin. His name was Hen Si, and he was a member of Team Resolution. In a low voice, he answered, "There are no doubts."

Hen Xin looked northwards. This Lu Yin kept revealing more and more surprises. He had proven himself to be truly peerless during the Dao Chosen selection, and then he had seized control of the entire Human Domain by revealing that he had somehow managed to inherit the power of a Progenitor. He had successfully eliminated the threat of the Aeternals, and at this moment, he had revealed that he was the only person capable of accessing the stolen stellular energy. Would it really stop there? This development suggested that it was possible for Lu Yin to eventually provide stellular energy to others as well.

Despite his annoyance that Lu Yin had ruined his plans and even captured Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors, Hen Xin could not help but admire the young man. He had accomplished feats that were beyond even the Dao Chosen of the Heavens Sect era.

Even if Lu Yin were tossed back into the Heavens Sect Era, he would still be the only true Dao Chosen. Even with Chu Yuan’s power of time, he was unable to compare to Lu Yin. Which of the two would have met with the Origin Progenitor was unclear.

Hen Xin’s wireless jincan suddenly twitched. It was a message from Lu Buzheng.

Hen Xin observed the message, and as he did so, his expression grew sharp. He had known that this day would eventually come, but he had not expected it to come so soon.

After all, the rebuilt Heavens Sect was designed with the same structure as the ancient Heavens Sect. During their original era, the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates had held a high status, but they had not wielded any true authority. Their sole duty had been to guard the Twelve Heavenly Gates.

The Heavens Sect had established a Daosource Sect on each end of every one of the Six Mainlands. The Twelve Heavenly Gates had represented the entire human race, and the gatemasters’ duty had been to simply guard the Heavenly Gates. The running and management of the Heavens Sect itself had had nothing at all to do with the gatemasters.

In the current era, the reestablished Heavens Sect had already become the most powerful force in the Human Domain, so it was only natural that Hen Xin wanted to control it. However, the appearance of Lu Yin had changed everything. He had the power of a Progenitor and the authority to represent the heavens. With this abrupt development, the Twelve Heavenly Gates’ gatemasters would eventually be relegated to the same responsibilities that they had shouldered during the original Heavens Sect era.

The message from Lu Buzheng had been an announcement that all of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate’s resources needed to be handed over to the Heavens Sect, where they would oversee it all, including Aurora Enterprises, the pyrolyte mining efforts, and more.

"Master, are we just going to give up?" Hen Si asked softly.

Hen Xin looked up. "Our goal all along was to rebuild the Heavens Sect and then control it. We’ve lost, and thus, we’ve lost our right to make decisions. This is only fair. Lu Yin’s proven that he has the strength and ability to rise to his current heights, and it’s important to learn how to accept defeat."

Hen Si lowered his head, as he was not willing to accept this outcome. No one from Team Resolution had any familial ties, and all of them had been born to common families and risen to their current status. Once anyone received such authority, they would become addicted to it, and the members of Team Resolution were no exception. The only thing that had remained consistent was their unwavering loyalty towards Hen Xin was so strong that it overshadowed their desire for power. "This subordinate understands. I will pass on the word and send them out."

Hen Xin resumed staring northwards. It was an easy decision to let go of the holdings that he had acquired and submit in defeat. This was a gamble. Lu Yin, this is just the beginning, not the end! Once I become a Progenitor, all who belong to the Heavens Sect will have no choice!

There was no stellular energy in the current era, which meant that Hen Xin was one of the few powerhouses still capable of attempting to break through and become a Progenitor.

He would allow Lu Yin and his people to establish and strengthen the Heavens Sect. Then, after Hen Xin became a Progenitor, he would assume the position of authority.

The gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates were not Progenitors, and Hen Xin was confident that he would be able to control one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas after his breakthrough. Only Progenitors had the right to decide matters of the Heavens Sect, as they were the ones with true authority.

This matter was just a little way into the future, and Lu Yin and Lu Buzheng’s efforts would only make things easier for Hen Xin in that future.

Far away, Jue Yi had also learned that Lu Yin was able to replenish stellular energy, and Jue Yi’s reaction was just as strong as Hen Xin’s.

"Can he really recover his stellular energy?" Jue Yi seldom lost his composure. Most people who cultivated with death energy were rather expressionless, but Lu Yin had caused Jue Yi to lose control of his emotions too frequently.

The current Undying Heavenly Gate was based in Gaia's Swamp, as it was the only location in the entire Fifth Mainland that was publicly known to have death energy.

Tian Dou, the current patriarch of the Specter Clan, stood in front of Jue Yi. "Yes. Word of this has already spread, though no one knows what method he used to steal the stellular energy from those droplets. However, this means that he has become the sole person in this era who can use stellular energy normally."

Jue Yi's expression fell. Stellular energy was too common a cultivation method in the current era, as practically all cultivators relied on it as the standard method, though it had been no different during the Heavens Sect era. However, while everyone else was focused on the startling information that Lu Yin could access stellular energy, Jue Yi was thinking about something else.

Everyone believed that stellular energy was the most common and ordinary of the energies that could be cultivated, but was that really accurate? Stellular energy was the power that the Origin Progenitor himself had created, and all of humanity had been blessed by its existence. Did this development mean that Lu Yin was the sole heir of the Origin Progenitor’s power?

As time passed and the stellular energy and star energy that remained within people’s bodies was gradually used or drained, Lu Yin would eventually become the sole inheritor of stellular energy.

Lu Yin was able to create death energy, which meant that he was the God of Death’s heir, but he was also the only person to still have access to stellular energy. This meant that Lu Yin could be regarded as the Origin Progenitor’s heir. He had mastered the powers of multiple Progenitors, which forced even Jue Yi to admit that Lu Yin possessed an exceptional fate.

Tian Dou calmly stared at the ground. Lu Yin. That was a name that he had sorely missed.

For the last forty years, all major events within the Fifth Mainland had been related to Lu Yin. Regardless of his own cultivation level, Lu Yin had proven himself capable of participating in battles at every level of power, and eventually, the entire Specter Clan had decided to entrust their future to the young man. Tian Dou had made a show of expressing his gratitude and loyalty to Lu Yin, but unfortunately, the young man had disappeared for the last twenty years, which had coincided with when the self-proclaimed disciple of the God of Death had appeared.

The Specter Clan had since become Jue Yi’s subordinate.

"How much do you know about Lu Yin?" Jue Yi suddenly asked.

Tian Dou replied, "A great deal. His rise to fame started while attending Astral-10 and participating in the Astral Combat Tournament. My clan has been paying attention to him ever since, and I believe that Gatemaster Jue should also have a good deal of knowledge of the youth."

Jue Yi looked over at Tian Dou. "He showed himself capable of using death energy, and yet you haven’t been in contact with him directly?"

Tian Dou remained calm as he explained, "We have reached out to him, but he never trusted us."

This was nothing at all surprising. "Find a way to get rid of Silver for me."

"Understood."

An ugly expression covered Jue Yi's face. He had personally trained Silver, only for the young man to betray Jue Yi during the Dao Chosen selection. After that, Silver had hidden himself away in Earth’s solar system. Such a person had to be eliminated. As for Lu Yin, only after he became a Progenitor, would he possess the powers of the God of Death and become the true heir.

…

When the strange droplets first appeared in the Fifth Mainland and started devouring all the stellular energy in the true universe, the Astral Beast Domain had not been affected. Then, after the passage to the Starfall Sea was sealed off, which was right before Lu Yin disappeared for twenty years, more of those droplets of mysterious liquid had been spread across the entire Fifth Mainland. Now, the effect had spread beyond the Human Domain and entered both the Technocracy and the Astral Beast Domain.

Most astral beasts could grow stronger without cultivation resources, but as the years had passed, many of them had become accustomed to cultivating with stellular energy. Once that energy disappeared, the astral beasts were affected, just not as severely as the Human Domain.

In the Celestial Beast Empire, Yao Di was sitting across from Skymender. There was a game of chess set up between them, though it was not the version of the game that humans played. This version of chess was unique to the Astral Beast Domain.

A short distance away from the two stood Xu Qing, who maintained a respectful attitude.

Xu Qing was the patriarch of the Void Thunderbeasts, as well as the General of the Celestial Beast Empire’s forces. But before Yao Di and Skymender, Xu Qing was simply a junior.

There was a bang, and the chessboard cracked. Yao Di smiled. "I lost again. That’s nine games that I’ve lost in a row now. My imperial advisor is certainly strict and won't give any ground."

Skymender was shrouded with black shadow, so it was impossible to see his true appearance. "Your Majesty is rushed."

Yao Di let out a long breath. "Wait too long, and you might end up waiting for someone who never even appears. Move too quickly, and you still lose. What is the imperial advisor trying to say?"

"Are you blaming me, Your Majesty?" Skymender replied with his own rejoinder, but Yao Di said nothing.

"If you had followed your initial plan several years ago, the situation would be different, Your Majesty, and humanity might have been completely destroyed. Why did we not take this option twenty years ago? That’s because, without the humans, the Aeternals will come after us. Your Majesty, you should understand this very well. Also, this is not even considering the fact that no matter what happens, someone will step up to lead the humans to fight against us astral beast," Skymender explained.

Yao Di rose to his feet. "As soon as Lu Yin appeared, he became their Dao Chosen, and he somehow even managed to erase the Aeternals and take control of the Human Domain. He’s somehow able to wield the power of a Progenitor, which is something no one even imagined in the past. What do you plan to do about him, Skymender? If he decides to come after our Astral Beast Domain, we will most likely not fare any better than the Aeternals."

"The humans’ weakness is their own infighting. Without the threat of the Aeternals, their internal conflicts will only be magnified and exacerbated. Lu Yin has taken control of their Heavens Sect, and the first thing that he did was capture five Semi-Progenitors, which perfectly proves this point. Even if you feel rushed, Your Majesty, the Aeternals are under even more pressure. Don't forget, the most mysterious of the Aeternals’ Seven Skygods has yet to take action."

"Whiteless God?" Yao Di felt surprised.

Skymender quietly stared at the chess board and no longer spoke.

Yao Di turned to look at Xu Qing, and simply asked, "If you were to face off against Lu Yin again, are you confident in being able to win?"

Xu Qing's eyes remained firm. "Yes. I will wash away my previous shame."

…

Two months later, outside of Progenitor Chen’s Mausoleum in the Neoverse, the ruins of what had once been the Seven Courts lay in chaos. At this time, the enormous Aurora Fortress started making its way north.

Inside Aurora Fortress, Director Zhi was staring out into outer space. It was impossible to tell if the man was happy or sad at this moment.

He was leaving the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, only to be delivered back into Lu Yin's hands. Aurora Enterprises, which had once been one of the greatest corporations in the universe, was nothing more than a pie that everyone wanted a piece of.

"Father, can you ask Elder Gong for help?" Zhi Shao asked. Over the last twenty years, the young man who had once been infatuated with racing cars had greatly matured. Director Zhi had given his son time to play around, and the man was finished with such distractions. He had since come to slowly start taking over the management of Aurora Fortress.

Unfortunately, Zhi Shao was destined for a tragic fate. Twenty years ago, Lu Yin had essentially taken control of Aurora Enterprises. For the last twenty years, they had been controlled by the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate. At this moment, they were being returned to Lu Yin.

As he thought about this series of events, Director Zhi gave Zhi Shao an apologetic look. "I'm sorry that father has failed to give Aurora Enterprises to you."

Zhi Shao answered in a bitter tone, "I don't blame you, Father. It’s just the times we live in. Is Elder Gong able to help us?"

Director Zhi shook his head. "If that were possible, we would have never ended up in the hands of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate for so long."

After a pause, he continued. "Don't worry. We are already quite familiar with Lu Yin, and as long as we stay with him, we will be fine. He is indeed powerful, but he does not have a bad reputation. There’s a reason why Arch-Elder Zen and the others refused to turn him over to the Perennial World.

"Still, all of this has been very difficult on you."

Zhi Shao shrugged. What could his father even do? Being born in this era meant having to deal with a monster like Lu Yin.