Chapter 2254: Another Mountain And Sea

The entire purpose for the students of Virtue Archives’ exchange program with the Wang family was for them to train. After all of the students entered the Tri-Petal, there was nothing for the chaperones to do.

The God of Food told Lu Yin that the faculty were allowed to leave, provided that they return within half a month.

Lu Yin stayed just outside the Tri-Petal for a few days before leaving. He needed to keep rolling his die. Since he could not rely on luck, he needed to compensate with sheer quantity.

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

As soon as Lu Yin returned to the quarters that he had been assigned to, someone approached him. It was the Wang family’s Realm Array Master.

"Professor, my name is Wang Nian. I hope that you aren’t offended that I took the liberty to stop by and visit you, Prof. Hao Yu." The Wang family’s resident Realm Array Master was very polite when he introduced himself to “Yu Hao.”

Lu Yin replied, "Senior, you're being too polite. Is there something wrong?"

Wang Nian said, "I'm curious about something, so I wanted to speak with you face to face, Professor. Is now a convenient time for you.?"

Lu Yin did not drive the man away. "Of course it’s fine. Please come in, Senior."

After receiving an invitation to enter Lu Yin’s guest quarters, Wang Nian did not remain polite, and he cut straight to the point. "Might I ask, are you the one who arranged the sourcebox arrays for the students?"

Lu Yin instantly denied responsibility, and he solemnly stated, "I’m not responsible for that decision, as I simply followed instructions. As an instructor of Virtue Archives, I have a responsibility to teach and help the students. If the Wang family has a problem with what we did, then please see Senior God of Food himself."

Wang Nian laughed. "You don’t need to worry about that at all, Prof. Hao Yu. I’m not here because of the Wang family, but rather purely as a fellow Array Master. I want to get to know a fellow Array Master, nothing more. Lockbreakers in the Perennial World are united, and our relationship is something that surpasses the shackles placed on us by our familial connections, to some degree. I can promise you that anything that you prefer to remain between us definitely will not be mentioned to anyone else without your permission."

Lu Yin's expression slowly relaxed. "Then this junior was the one being rude."

Wang Nian smiled. "Your reaction is perfectly normal, given your perspective, Professor. Are you willing to speak with me?"

"Of course. I won’t hide it from you, Senior. I was indeed the one who set up the sourcebox arrays that the students used," Lu Yin replied.

Wang Nian was genuinely amazed, and he stared at “Yu Hao” for a long moment. "Prof. Hao Yu, it’s very rare for someone so young to have such impressive mastery of lockbreaking. That is truly impressive."

Lu Yin gave a wry smile. "If you were also forced to do nothing but lockbreak every day for decades, you would not find what I did to be so surprising."

Wang Nian instantly understood. "So that's how things are. It’s true that you are Grandmaster Gu Yan’s apprentice."

Wang Nian no longer knew what to say; Had Yu Hao spent every day lockbreaking without rest for years? How could others duplicate such a feat? Even if they had the energy to do so, no one had that many sourceboxes.

Wang Nian could only say that Grandmaster Gu Yan possessed far too many sourceboxes.

"In addition to lockbreaking, this junior’s cultivation was also improved so that I could endure some of the sourceboxes’ danger zones. Even then, some of those sourceboxes were beyond what I could handle, and I would have died long ago if I hadn’t been saved by my master," Lu Yin stated with firm conviction.

Wang Nian nodded. "While you are indeed very young, Professor, you’ve accumulated as much lockbreaking experience as us old men. That is quite impressive. You may very well be the most gifted Lockbreaker in the Perennial World, and you will very likely replace Grandmaster Mu as the youngest Array Grandmaster in the history of the Perennial World."

Lu Yin was quite flattered. "Lockbreaking experience is not enough for one to become an Array Grandmaster, which is why my master was willing to let me out. I’m supposed to experience life, face various challenges, and let go of my obsessions."

Wang Nian's eyes flickered. "In that case, have you settled the matters that you need to address to let go of your obsessions? If not, my Wang family is happy to offer our help."

Lu Yin looked over at Wang Nian. "Are you speaking to this junior as a Lockbreaker or as a member of the Wang family, Senior?"

Wang Nian laughed. "Which do you prefer, Professor?"

Lu Yin considered the question for a moment before replying, "It actually doesn't matter which identity you are speaking with. There are some things that are difficult to resolve no matter if you are a Lockbreaker or a member of the Wang family."

Wang Nian was rather quiet, and he simply offered “Yu Hao” a communication crystal as he got up to leave. "Speak with the person whose information is in that crystal. He might be able to help you take care of things."

Wang Nian’s primary goal in visiting Yu Hao had been to deliver the communication crystal to him. The conversation had truly been prompted by nothing more his curiosity as a Lockbreaker. How could such a young Lockbreaker be capable of feats that someone as experienced as Wang Nian found impossible? Truthfully, if Grandmaster Mu or Grandmaster Qiu Ling were in Wang Nian’s place, they would have also been very curious about this matter.

Lu Yin let out a sigh. Thanks to Possessing Grandmaster Qiu Ling in the past, even if he had not seen much of her memories of Lockbreaking, the combination of those few experiences and what he had gained from Possessing Master Hao Yue long ago meant that Lu Yin had much more lockbreaking experience than what most Lockbreakers could imagine. What’s more, much of that experience came from a Realm Array Master and an Array Grandmaster. Not to mention, Lu Yin had also accumulated quite a bit of personal lockbreaking experience, which allowed him to do many things that other Lockbreakers found impossible.

However, Lu Yin had still underestimated his own abilities. He had not thought that his sourcebox arrays would draw so much attention from the Wang family. Lu Yin had still underestimated the value of a Lockbreaker.

He stared at the communication crystal that he had been given, but he did not make the call quite yet. Actively reaching out was completely different from passively speaking with those who reached out to him.

Lu Yin was still in the Wang family’s headquarters, so just to be careful, he asked Progenitor Smoke for help to see if anyone was observing him.

The moment Progenitor Smoke emerged from the pocket dimension in the mirror, she looked upwards to the orb of light in the sky, clearly surprised by its presence. "A Mountain and Sea?"

Lu Yin was startled. "A Mountain and Sea? Where?"

Progenitor Smoke pointed upwards. "Is that not a Mountain and Sea?"

Lu Yin was caught off guard. "That’s a Mountain and Sea?"

Progenitor Smoke nodded. "Yes. It’s Wang Fan's."

Lu Yin was stunned. He had not expected Wang Fan's Mountain and Sea to be floating just above his own head.

"If that’s his Mountain and Sea, then does that mean that Wang Fan can control the Wang family’s entire homeland?" Lu Yin asked.

Progenitor Smoke considered the possibility. "Theoretically, it’s possible that this entire landmass is part of his Mountain and Sea."

Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Are you saying that we’ve been watched this whole time? Senior, why didn’t you say so the last time we were here?"

Progenitor Smoke replied, "I was in too much of a hurry last time, and I didn’t pay close attention. Wait, are you blaming me?"

Lu Yin quickly explained himself. "No, absolutely not! I’m just curious. I mean, since you came out and checked the situation before, I thought that it would be impossible for Wang Fan's Mountain and Sea to hide from you, Senior."

"Hmph! I'm not actually sure if this place is part of Wang Fan's Mountain and Sea, as each is different. No, this floating continent is definitely not part of the Mountain and Sea—I didn’t even sense the Mountain and Sea when I checked last time," Progenitor Smoke said.

Lu Yin grew nervous. "If it’s here now, does Wang Fan know that you’re here?"

Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes. "The Nine Mountains and Eight Seas aren’t nearly as mystical as you believe. He might be capable of many things because of his Mountain and Sea, but he doesn’t know everything that happens near it. If that were the case, how would anyone have any secrets? The Wang family’s mistresses and pretty little wives would absolutely die of shame."

Lu Yin was rendered speechless. That’s where her mind went first? There was something wrong with Progenitor Smoke's mind!

"Don't worry. With me here, Wang Fan won't be able to see anything that you’re doing." Progenitor Smoke raised her head high as she answered with absolute confidence. Lu Yin had no choice but to trust the woman.

While he still had no idea just how much of her strength she had freed from the fog, it was very likely that it was enough to avoid Wang Fan’s notice. After all, the Progenitor was actually in the Dominion Realm, which was very far away.

Lu Yin set the mirror aside and looked up as he brought out his die and tapped it.

He needed to continue rolling his die, regardless of if he was being watched by Wang Fan. The students and teachers from Virtue Archives would be visiting the White Dragon Clan, the Celestial Frost Sect, and Shenwu's Sky in that order, so it would be very difficult for Lu Yin to find more chances to be alone. On top of that, upon arriving in Shenwu’s Sky, he would be required to give the Xia family an answer. On the day of their ceremony, many things would come to a head.

As his die slowly came to a stop, Lu Yin saw four pips. Timestop meant that it was time to resume training.

The second roll was five pips, and Lu Yin reflexively looked upwards. He was very curious about Wang Fan’s innate gift. It had to be a very powerful one.

His third roll was Pilfer, which gave him nothing useful.

The fourth roll was Timestop again, which meant more training for Lu Yin.

As the scenery changed before Lu Yin’s eyes, he stretched. He needed to wait ten days before he could roll the die again. He had been quite unlucky this time, as he had not rolled Possession even once.

While Lu Yin had spent nearly two years training, only the blink of an eye had passed for the outside world.

He looked back at the communication crystal sitting on his table, but he rested instead of touching it. Even if he was putting on an act, Lu Yin still remained in his quarters for two days before leaving.

After a few days passed, Lu Yin returned to check the Tri-Petal, but since none of the students had emerged, he returned to his quarters to continue waiting.

Ten days soon passed, but there was still no call from the communication crystal. Lu Yin did not know which member of the Wang family was waiting for his call, but he decided that it would be best to be patient and see who caved and called the other first.

Lu Yin raised his hand and brought out his die to tap it. Anticipation filled his eyes, as he hoped for better luck during this round of rolls.

Despite wishing for good luck, it was even better than expected. The very first roll was Possession, and Lu Yin’s consciousness was sent into the strange dark space. Instantly, a rather close bright orb of light appeared before him. There were no other options, as he could not see any other nearby lights at all.

There were times when he would find many orbs representing powerhouses, but there were other times when there would be none. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the lights that appeared in the mysterious dark space.

The Possession took place instantly, as the ball of light had not been nearly as bright as when Lu Yin had Possessed Grandmaster Qiu Ling, or even the corpse king. He estimated that this person was a five or six-tribulation powerhouse.

Darkness filled his eyes when Lu Yin opened them. Was he underground?

At the same time that memories started to pour in, a strange voice echoed in his ears.

"Come." It was an extremely unpleasant voice that sounded like grinding metal, and it passed through the walls of the chamber. Lu Yin's expression did not change at all, and he simply walked in a familiar direction. He walked further and further through the dark, damp underground environment.

He was definitely underground, and he had Possessed a five-tribulation Envoy. This man had no name, only a codename: Servant One. That was all, Servant One. The man was indeed a servant, and he served the unknown creatures that lived inside.

No one would believe that a powerful five-tribulation Envoy was nothing but a servant raised from childhood, but Servant One had never left the underground place, and he had no knowledge of the outside world at all. In fact, he knew of nothing at all aside from cultivation. He did not even know the creature that raised him. There was no knowledge at all, and his memories were extremely simple. Lu Yin could find little more than memories of picking at crumbs.

The reason why Lu Yin believed that the man had been raised by creatures rather than humans was because there were messes left by the creatures in the underground area that Servant One had to clean up. These messes consisted of crushed power vessels, natural treasures, and chewed up precious minerals. They were not the result of human activities.

Lu Yin followed a path that was practically engraved in Servant One’s memories. He examined Servant One’s memories starting from his childhood and saw endless piles of star crystals and various cultivation arts. There were also memories of the man passing his stellular tribulations.

Servant One had been raised with many other servants, but he was the only one who had survived and passed his stellular tribulations five times.

Unfortunately, Servant One had absolutely no combat experience despite being a five-tribulation Envoy.