Chapter 2133: The Culprit

"Senior, what was the Lu family like during your time?" Lu Yin asked.

Progenitor Smoke appeared behind Lu Yin. "What do you mean? They kept themselves apart from everyone and were worshiped by the entire Fifth Mainland, while also bearing the responsibility of protecting the Fifth Mainland."

"Apart from everyone?" Lu Yin felt puzzled.

Progenitor Smoke gave a small smile. "As far as most people were concerned, the Lu family stood above them. Despite all that the Lu family has done for this Mainland, most people can’t comprehend their actions, and so, they dreamed of replacing the Lu family.”

"On the other hand, the Lu family’s perspective was that everything they did was perfectly normal. They would usually accept some people's loyalty, but expected most people’s envy. At the same time, they gathered most of the resources from the entire Mainland. All of these things were considered completely normal to them."

Lu Yin asked, "So, did the Lu family ever do anything that angered a bunch of people?"

"I don't know." Progenitor Smoke looked at Lu Yin. "You’re overthinking things. Would you believe that a family that dominated an entire Mainland did so by being fair and honest?"

Lu Yin looked away.

"Given how far you’ve come, can you really say that it was the right decision to kill innocent people in certain situations? Can you say that you’ve never acted against people who’ve tried to cross or stop you? Everything depends on a person’s perspective. At the very least, the Lu family protected the Fifth Mainland. That is an undeniable fact. While the Celestial Frost Sect rebelled against the Lu family, my opinion is that they did so just because they wanted to have a chance to sit at the peak,” Progenitor Smoke said.

Lu Yin smiled. Was he really overthinking things? No. He had just wanted to hear Progenitor Smoke's opinion.

Lu Yin did not care what crimes the Lu family might have committed or taken part of, and it also did not matter that they had controlled the Fifth Mainland. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, his Lu family had not done enough to justify what had been done to them.

Patriarch Lu Tianyi had favored Progenitor Chen, which had triggered the Xia family’s resentment, but why had he not favored the Lu family instead? If the Lu family had controlled more than one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, who would have had the courage to say anything about it? If Lu Yin had been the one in charge, the Wang family would have been wiped out, and the Celestial Frost Sect would have ceased to exist.

Lu Yin would not repeat the Lu family’s previous mistakes.

Thinking of this, Lu Yin looked up at the Heavens Sect. From the moment he had first received Progenitor Chen's power to control the stars of the universe, Lu Yin had been given the final say in the Fifth Mainland. There was no one who could challenge him.

Still, it was not enough. Not even close. He needed to make a demonstration during the Heavenly Gates conference, and the best way to do so was by making an example of a Semi-Progenitor.

Lu Yin took another step, and this time, he appeared just outside the Heavens Sect’s most secure prison. He walked right in.

This time, he was going to meet with Wang Si.

Wang Si was in a much worse condition than Xia De, Bai Laogui, or any of the other prisoners. Her inner world had once been shared by Lu Yin’s needle-like weapon, which was a terrible injury. During her imprisonment, Lu Buzheng had paid particular attention to Wang Si, due to how hard she had pushed for the Lu family and any survivors to be eliminated. By this point, Wang Si was half dead.

Despite her condition, she continued to curse the Lu family.

At Lu Yin’s appearance, Wang Si did nothing to hide the hatred that blazed in her eyes. Her attitude was the same as Bai Laogui’s. "You Lu bastard, you won’t be able to stay arrogant for long! You’re going to die a miserable death! You’re going to suffer a thousand times worse than me! Ten thousand times worse!"

Progenitor Smoke frowned as she looked at Wang Si. This person's hatred ran so deep that if she were Lu Yin, she would immediately kill this woman.

Progenitor Smoke had certainly killed many people throughout her life, but very few had carried the same frenetic hatred that she saw in Wang Si’s eyes.

Lu Yin remained calm as he looked at Wang Si. "Do you want to die?"

Wang Si sneered. "You little bastard, your future’s already going to be miserable! You’ll eventually face all the pain that I’ve suffered, and more! All of your friends and family, everyone you’ve ever known or cared about will die miserably. There’s no escape."

Lu Yin just nodded. "You truly hate my Lu family, so I’ll give you this chance to tell me why that is."

Wang Si roared, hatred filling her voice, "I hate them! I just hate your Lu family! I can't wait for all of you to be killed! Do you want to know why the Lu family was even exiled? I’ll tell you: it’s because I suggested it! I was the first one to bring up the idea of banishing your Lu family, hahahaha!"

Lu Yin's expression changed, and a chill entered his eyes. "What are you saying?"

Wang Si let out a maniacal laugh, overflowing with vile. She already knew that she would not survive. "I went and found Progenitor Wang Fan! I was the first to suggest that we should exile the Lu family. I found out that the White Dragon clan could affect the Ancestor Python and trigger a White Dragon Rolls Over, so I approached them and then went to see Bai Wangyuan. I’m the one who caused your Lu family to disappear, hahahaha!"

Lu Yin grabbed Wang Si's neck, a never-before-seen expression on his face. He squeezed with such force that even Wang Si, a Semi-Progenitor, was unable to breathe.

Semi-Progenitors had to reach their level by taking one step at a time, and they had to pass through nine stellular tribulations in total. In particular, the tribulation to become a Semi-Progenitor was extremely dangerous, and most cultivators would barely survive even if they passed. However, every successful tribulation would grant a cultivator the benefit of essentially reconstructing their entire body.

As a Semi-Progenitor, even if Wang Si had never focused on strengthening her body, just the tempering that she had received from her stellular tribulations meant that her body was so powerful that a three-tribulation Envoy could not even move her.

However, Lu Yin's strength was too overbearing. He had even been riled up so badly by Wang Si’s words that the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant had silently appeared behind him, and it let out a roar.

Wang Si continued to cackle, though with Lu Yin’s hand around her throat, she could not even cough. Her face flushed red from the pressure, yet her eyes remained full of hatred. It was terrifying to see.

"Don't test my patience. If you want to die, I can arrange that." Lu Yin gritted his teeth as he glared back at Wang Si.

While Wang Si was unable to breathe, her eyes gradually grew more peaceful.

Lu Yin eventually relaxed his grip and let go. "You just want to piss me off. It couldn’t have been as simple as what you’re saying. Do you really think that I’ll believe that a mere Semi-Progenitor could plot and overthrow my Lu family?"

Wang Si let out two coughs. A bit of blood leaked from her mouth. "You managed to conquer this Forsaken Land’s Outerverse as just an Explorer, so why couldn’t I overthrow your Lu family?”

"There are certain things that people are usually too terrified to even contemplate. Given the Lu family’s oppressive power, who would dare to go against them? Even at the four ruling powers’ greatest heights, they still didn’t dare to leave the Middle Realm and risk facing the Lu family’s wrath. Bai Xian'er, the most talented disciple the Celestial Frost Sect has ever seen, was sent to be your maid, so what would happen to anyone else?

"Do you really think that there was no one throughout the years who wanted to take down the Lu family? They all thought about it, but no one knew how to pull it off, and so no one dared to take the risk. I was daring enough, and I’m able to meet with Progenitor Wang Fan whenever I wish. I can speak to the White Dragon clan, the Xia family, and even the Celestial Frost Sect. I connect the four ruling powers!”

"The Lu family stood high above everyone and looked down on the rest of the Perennial World. How could I, a mere Semi-Progenitor, possibly dare to attack them? But I did! I wanted the Lu family to die, and I want to see your entire family eliminated."

Progenitor Smoke suddenly slapped her head. "That’s it! No wonder you look familiar to me. What's your connection to Wang Yi?"1

Wang Si’s eyes instantly snapped open, and she stared at Progenitor Smoke in disbelief. "Who are you?"

Lu Yin looked over at Progenitor Smoke. "Wang Yi?"

Progenitor Smoke’s voice dropped low. "She was a Semi-Progenitor who disobeyed an order from the Daosource Sect and attacked Xia Shang without permission. When she was discovered, she was condemned and executed by Progenitor Lu Tianyi."

Wang Si stared at Progenitor Smoke in disbelief. "Who are you? How do you know about that?"

Lu Yin was also curious, "Senior, what are you talking about?"

He already made some vague guesses as to why Wang Si hated the Lu family.

Progenitor Smoke continued to stare at Wang Si. "Judging by your reaction, you really are related to Wang Yi. You look too much like her."

"Who the hell are you? How do you know about her?" Wang Si screamed.

Progenitor Smoke spoke slowly, "Back when Xia Shang first started cultivating the Nine Clones Secret Technique, he used one of his clones to assimilate the colossal giants’ bloodline, which caused him to be hunted by Daosource Sect. However, senior Lu Tianyi took pity on Xia Shang due to his exceptional talent. Thus, the order came down that only Xia Shang’s peers could move against him. None of the elders or people with greater levels of cultivation were allowed to attack him. The order was that if Xia Shang could survive, it would be proof that his path was correct, while if he died, it was simply what he deserved.”

"That led to everyone from his generation throughout the entire Fifth Mainland going after Xia Shang, attacking him both openly and through deception and ambushes. The Xia family did everything that they could to get rid of him. It was at this time that Wang Yi, a Semi-Progenitor, secretly attacked Xia Shang. If not for a matter of pure chance, Xia Shang would have died at that time. When everything came to light, Progenitor Lu Tianyi was so furious that he went to the Wang family, personally arrested Wang Yi, and executed her in front of the Daosource Sect’s gate. Her blood stained the steps scarlet.”

"Not one person from the Wang family dared to interfere, and after that, the Xia family became more reserved in their actions against Xia Shang."

Lu Yin looked back at Wang Si. "Is that why you hate the Lu family?"

Wang Si remained resentful. "My mother placed me in cryostasis before she was arrested! She told me to remember what happened and hate both the Lu family and Lu Tianyi for what they did!"

"Wang Yi disobeyed a direct order from the Daosource Sect and attacked Xia Shang without authorization. She deserved her death. She attacked him because of the Xia family, which she married into. Unless I’m wrong, your other parent should be from the Xia family. Your mother’s execution was completely warranted, which was why no one from her family stepped up for her. Why don’t you hate your Wang family?" Progenitor Smoke asked.

Wang Si screamed back, "It was all because the Lu family doesn’t see anyone as their equals! My mother once loved Lu Feng, and if he hadn’t abandoned her, my mother would have never married someone from the Xia family. Lu Tianyi was the one who broke them apart, destroying my mother’s future. It was all because Lu Tianyi wanted to protect Xia Shang that we wanted him dead!"

"Your mother, Wang Yi, was a nasty woman. How could Uncle Lu Feng have felt anything for her? Their failed relationship never had anything to do with Progenitor Lu Tianyi," Progenitor Smoke retorted.

Wang Si continued her enraged yelling, "Bullshit! Lu Tianyi was the one who deceived Lu Feng and broke the two of them apart!"

Lu Yin started mocking the old woman. "Your mother, without any justifiable motivations, acted on behalf of the Xia family and attacked Progenitor Chen, only to fail, get arrested, and then be executed in front of the Daosource Sect’s gate. No matter how you try to spin it, your mother was vindictive, and you’re even worse than she ever was. I might feel bad for how you suffered back then, but it wasn’t the Lu family’s fault. The fact that you plotted their destruction just shows that you’re even more vicious than your mother."

Lu Yin finally understood why Humility’s Gate’s Semi-Progenitor Qing Chen had once mentioned that Wang Si’s background was not simple and that few people dared to move against her. It was because the woman was not only a member of the Wang family, but also a member of the Xia family. On top of that, she had connections to the White Dragon Clan and the Celestial Frost Sect. Her identity was far too complicated, and because she had been responsible for starting the plot against the Lu family, no one could touch her.

It also made sense why the woman carried so much hatred towards the Lu family. When Wang Si had first learned that Lu Yin was Lu Xiaoxuan, she had been the first one to chase after him and put forth the greatest efforts towards killing him. Also, when Lu Yin had commented on Wang Su’s beauty, Wang Si’s reaction must have been because of what had happened with her mother.

Wang Si had been the trigger, the initial spark, that had led to the Lu family’s exile.

Lu Yin could only imagine how deep Wang Si's hatred ran. She had once been a little girl who had been indoctrinated with hatred towards the Lu family for as long as she could remember, and then she had watched as her mother was taken away and killed. Wang Si’s hatred was too great, and once it broke free, it was enough to drown countless people.

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"If your mother and Uncle Lu Feng had actually gotten together, you would have never existed. You should feel thankful towards Progenitor Lu Tianyi," Progenitor Smoke suddenly commented.

Wang Si did not even hear the comment. She was glaring at Lu Yin as though she wanted to rip him to shreds with her teeth.

Lu Yin organized his thoughts before looking back at Wang Si. "In that case, how did the four ruling powers get rid of my Lu family?"

Wang Si sneered at him. "I know, but I won't tell you."

[1] This Wang Yi (王怡) is not the same as the previous Wang Yi (王易). The first time the name appeared, it was the young man from the Wang family who represented the Technocracy. Clearly, this woman is not the same person, but the name sounds the same in English. ☜