Chapter 2124: Smoke

Progenitor Smoke stared at Lu Yin in amazement. "You can control them? How did you accomplish that? It’s not easy to control his power, and Xia Shang himself said that a person would have to reach at least the sixth level of his Cosmic Art to do so. That’s something that only Semi-Progenitors can normally accomplish. Even if the sixth level of the Cosmic Art isn’t particularly powerful, it’s still very difficult to achieve. More than anything, it takes an incredible amount of time."

Lu Yin responded with a wry smile. Time was a resource that he never feared. "You just mentioned that all of you left something behind; does that mean that my Lu family’s ancestor left something behind as well?"

"He left a Champions’ Stage behind," Progenitor Smoke replied.

Lu Yin was stunned. "A Champions’ Stage?"

Progenitor Smoke nodded. "Yep, a Champions’ Stage that was supposed to be able to summon Progenitor-realm champions. I have no idea how he pulled it off. It’s clearly an innate gift, but it’s somehow also a physical object."

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. Champions’ Stage, Champions’ Stage… Right, a Champions’ Stage!

Lu Yin had long since owned a Champions’ Stage, or rather, the Hall of Honor had long owned a Champions’ Stage.

When the Sixth Mainland had invaded, the Hall of Honor had used a Champions’ Stage to give the Fifth Mainland’s youths titles of Generals, Dukes, and Kings. Was that platform the Champions’ Stage that Lu Yin’s ancestor Lu Tianyi had left behind in the Fifth Mainland? Why had Arch-Elder Zen not simply used it?

"No wonder why Old Zen asked where the Champions’ Stage is so many times. It’s a treasure that was left behind by Ancestor Lu Tianyi," Kui Luo recalled.

Lu Buzheng looked over at Lu Yin, and he solemnly explained, "During the twenty years that you were missing, Arch-Elder Zen searched hide and wide for the Champions' Stage. I had no idea until now that it was the physical form of our Lu family’s innate gift. I don’t know what he had planned to do with the Champions’ Stage, but he seemed rather adamant about searching for it."

Lu Yin started thinking. Arch-Elder Zen had always known about the Champions’ Stage. After all, the man had received the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique from the Lu family, so how could he not recognize a Champions’ Stage? There was even a time when the Champions’ Stage was stolen and nearly taken back to the Sixth Mainland.

On top of that, when Lu Yin had asked to borrow the Champions’ Stage for a while, the Hall of Honor had given it to him without any hesitation.

That was truly strange, looking back. What had Arch-Elder Zen been thinking?

"Senior, do you know how to use the Champions’ Stage that Ancestor Lu Tianyi left behind?" Lu Yin asked.

Progenitor Smoke calmly replied, "If even you, a member of the Lu family, doesn’t know, how would I?"

This was a dead end, so Lu Yin decided to forget it for the moment and simply ask Arch-Elder Zen about it later.

"You can use Xia Shang's power, and it’s powerful enough to save me, but I’m stuck inside this mirror, which was made with my power. It is not connected to the stars that were left behind, and without that connection, it should be impossible to use Xia Shang's power to save me. This is going to be a problem," Progenitor Smoke muttered to herself.

Lu Yin asked, "Senior, you mentioned fourteen Progenitors from the Fifth Mainland. Were there really that many?"

"Senior, how many Progenitors did the Sixth Mainland have back then?"

"Senior, why did Progenitor Chen obliterate Progenitor Nan?"

"Senior…"

It was difficult to encounter a living fossil, let alone one which was a Progenitor. Lu Yin had countless questions.

Progenitor Smoke finally started to get annoyed by the rain of questions. "Go ask someone else! I don't have time to deal with you! I finally managed to get out, and I want to take a breather! You’re so annoying!"

Suddenly, the woman’s body vanished.

Lu Yin quickly led everyone out of the pocket dimension, and they all saw Progenitor Smoke standing in outer space. She was stretching her waist, and a look of pleasure could be seen on her face. "This feels so much better."

The small group of people stood a short ways away from Progenitor Smoke and watched her. Lu Yin looked back at the mirror. Could Progenitor Smoke really leave the mirror?

Progenitor Smoke suddenly glanced over to look at Lu Yin. "You talk too much for someone so young. You chatter away like an old man."

Lu Yin felt embarrassed. "Senior, the Daosource Sect fell long ago, and the Lu family and other primeval surnames all went to the Perennial World. The Fifth Mainland simply doesn’t have any records of what happened in the past, and there are too many mysteries. It’s not easy to get answers from a senior like you."

"I don't have the patience to tell you all of that. History’s history, and it's pointless to learn that stuff. What you need to focus on is training. Cultivate until you become a Progenitor and then release me. Given your talent, you’ll definitely be able to become a Progenitor, and after that breakthrough, you also won’t be a weak Progenitor," Progenitor Smoke said.

Lu Yin answered modestly. "This junior can't compare to you, Senior. You control one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas."

Progenitor Smoke's eyes lit up. "Even if you’re just trying to be polite, you still couldn’t compare to me. Even if you are invincible in your realm, the strength that you will obtain upon becoming a Progenitor is entirely dependent on your own comprehension. Progenitors who can’t even create their own energy and cultivation method don’t deserve to be called Progenitors, and they can only be thought of as stepping onto the threshold of the Progenitor realm. I was able to sense your attacks when you were attacking the fog, and your body’s impressively strong, and you also have the Lu family’s innate gift. Not bad at all, but you’re still lacking if you want to compare yourself to me."

Strange expressions could be seen on both Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo’s faces. What was wrong with this woman’s perception of Lu Yin? Lacking? A powerful body? That was just a single aspect of Lu Yin’s power.

Lu Yin had similar questions. "Senior, how much of your strength can you access right now?"

Progenitor Smoke glanced over. "At best, I have the power of a one-tribulation cultivator."

It was then that Lu Yin understood. It was no wonder why Progenitor Smoke was unable to see through Lu Yin’s abilities. If she could access her full power as a Progenitor, then her evaluation of Lu Yin would be very different. Lu Yin was training in so many different abilities that he struggled to keep up with all of them.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"What's with that look? Don't think that you’re impressive just because you’re able to use the power that Xia Shang left behind. The Cosmic Art is just one of his abilities. I waited to become a Progenitor before creating my own cultivation method, as the method that one develops shouldn’t be too simple. It takes time to study such things, and only the power that you create for yourself will perfectly suit you. Take me, for example. I can use just a bit of my power to create Envoys. Can Progenitors who haven’t created their own energy do that? Not a chance,” Progenitor Smoke said proudly.

Lu Yin was astonished, and he even felt that he must have heard wrong. "Senior, did you just say that you can create Envoys? What do you mean by that?"

Lu Buzheng, Kui Luo, and the others were similarly stunned. Create an Envoy? This did not make any sense.

Progenitor Smoke said, "Exactly that. I can replace the meridians within a human body and even replace their stellular energy vortex. It’s even possible to eventually replace a person’s inner world and create a Semi-Progenitor. It was common for Old Fu to create a bunch of powerhouses out of nothing but his runes and Truesight, while Xia Shang would replace stars and planets with his Cosmic Art."

Lu Buzheng quietly added, "This is true. Extremely powerful Progenitors are able to alter the universe and create new things. During our era, the Three Realms Six Dao and the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were able to do this."

Extremely powerful Progenitors? Lu Yin suddenly remembered something, and he quickly took out the frozen Ming Yan from his cosmic ring. He looked at Progenitor Smoke. "Senior, can you save her?"

Progenitor Smoke looked at the frozen Ming Yan and was surprised by what she saw. "What impressive ice."

She then looked at Ming Yan and shook her head. "I can only access the power of a one-tribulation cultivator. I can’t even see the extent of her injuries, and I definitely can’t heal her wounds."

Lu Yin was disappointed. Only an incredibly powerful expert would be able to save Ming Yan. "If you were able to fully recover, would you be able to save her, Senior?"

"Of course! I control one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas." Progenitor Smoke was absolutely confident.

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. Still, his strength was nowhere close to the power that was needed to break through the fog. Regardless of the fact that there were currently no Progenitors in the Fifth Mainland, even if there were, they might not be stronger than Progenitor Smoke. The only option that Lu Yin could think of was the needle-like weapon.

When Lu Yin had received that weapon from Tian Dou, the man had mentioned that it had once killed a Semi-Progenitor, and Lu Yin had later used it to severely injure Wang Si and even threaten Forgotten Ruins God. That was why Lu Yin had wanted to get the weapon back from Leng Qing. It had not even been fully Enhanced yet, so if Lu Yin pushed it to its limits, it might be strong enough to free Progenitor Smoke.

Suddenly, Lu Yin thought of something else that he had forgotten, and he slapped a hand to his forehead. How could he have forgotten about that.

He pressed a hand to the mirror and entered the pocket dimension. He then pulled out a slipper from his cosmic ring.

Sure enough, it was the slipper that Lu Yin had Pilfered with his die. He had initially believed it to be a piece of trash, but he had quickly discovered that not only was it impossible for him to destroy the slipper, but it had also caused Ancestor Tortoise to wail and thrash in agony when smacked, which was close to impossible to accomplish.

Lu Yin held the slipper in one hand and walked towards the edge of the fog. As he was moving, Progenitor Smoke returned to the pocket dimension as well. When she saw Lu Yin approaching the fog with a slipper, the woman felt a bit confused. "What are you doing?"

"Smashing it."

Progenitor Smoke's expression instantly changed, and she became angry. "You rude little brat! Who are you trying to slap with your slipper?"

Lu Yin explained, "This isn’t a normal slipper. It’s actually very powerful."

"Don’t you dare!" Progenitor Smoke shot forward and stood between Lu Yin and the fog. Once there, she glared at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was speechless. He smiled wryly. "Senior, even though this looks like a slipper, it’s actually a power vessel."

Progenitor Smoke gritted her teeth as she continued to stare at Lu Yin. "That’s nothing but a slipper! Look! You can even see a footprint inside it! That thing’s disgusting, and it’s not touching my wei!"

"Senior, this really is a power vessel, and it has the strength of a Progenitor! This junior once used it to overwhelm a Progenitor," Lu Yin promised.

Progenitor Smoke was amazed. "Overwhelmed a Progenitor? Which one?"

"The Progenitor of Secret Arts," Lu Yin immediately answered.

This just confused Progenitor Smoke. "Who’s the Progenitor of Secret Arts?"

"His name is Yi Ren, and he might not have been a Progenitor during your time, but he was definitely alive back then. You might not have known of him, but he definitely would have known about you, Senior. He was one of the only surviving Progenitors from the Sixth Mainland, but he betrayed humanity, and this junior smacked his head with this slipper.” Lu Yin clenched his fists as he confidently gave his report.

Progenitor Smoke blinked. Given Lu Yin’s story, this slipper really must be a power vessel with the strength of a Progenitor. Still, she could not look past the ugly black footprint in the slipper. It was so clear, and she could even make out the five toes. "Fine, you can use it, but clean it first."

Lu Yin pursed his lips. An astral chessboard appeared beneath his feet, and he instantly moved past Progenitor Smoke to arrive at the fog, instantly attacking with the slipper.

Progenitor Smoke went pale. This was not because she was afraid of the slipper, but because she was too revolted by it.

The slipper slammed into the fog, and a massive hole tore through it as if a sharp sword had swept through. Even if the slipper still failed to completely break through the fog, the attack was at least powerful enough to allow Progenitor Smoke to access her strength at Semi-Progenitor level, which was a massive increase from a one-tribulation Envoy.

The fog represented Progenitor Smoke’s strength, and it was a visual manifestation of how much of Progenitor Smoke’s strength had been broken through with an attack. When Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo had cooperated with Lu Yin’s needle-like weapon, they had only been able to let Progenitor Smoke access the strength of a one-tribulation Envoy, which was practically nothing for a powerhouse at her level.

In contrast, a single slap of the slipper had increased Progenitor Smoke's available strength to the level of a Semi-Progenitor. This was too drastic a difference in attack power.

Lu Yin swung the slipper again, but the second attack was useless. He could not tear any further through the fog, as he had already released the full power of the slipper.

Lu Yin put the slipper away and turned around to look at Progenitor Smoke.

The woman was glaring at him. Her expression was filled with an impressive authority, as well as a powerful disgust. It looked as though she wanted to erase Lu Yin.

"You! How dare you touch my wei with such a filthy thing! Your actions are too rude to a senior!" Progenitor Smoke was so angry that she was almost unable to resist attacking Lu Yin.

He quickly apologized, "Senior, this junior had no choice! It really isn’t a slipper, but a rare Progenitor-level power vessel! Why don’t you see for yourself?"

"No need." More and more disgust filled Progenitor Smoke's eyes.