Chapter 2264: Life Experience

Xiao Qing's heart completely fell. She had come up with a believable lie, only to have it exposed by Elder Qing Xing himself, as the old man was somehow being carried around by Lu Xiaoxuan! How could Xiao Qing have ever imagined such an impossibility? In fact, she still had not reacted to the sudden turn of events.

Lu Yin's overwhelming bloodlust pressed down upon Xiao Qing. His was far, far stronger than Long Xi's.

Xiao Qing closed her eyes, realizing that it was impossible to keep this matter hidden no matter what else she tried. She barely forced out a name, her voice cracking and revealing her utter hopelessness. “Bai Zhen.”

Hearing the name, Lu Yin's pupils shrank, and he subconsciously released the woman. Xiao Qing collapsed to the ground, her face pale.

Next to him, Long Xi stared at Lu Yin. "Do you know this Bai Zhen?"

"Are you Bai Zhen's daughter?" Even Elder Qing Xing was surprised.

Lu Yin took a moment to suck in a deep breath. He calmed himself, and the terrifying pressure erupted again. "Bai Zhen used to be called… Lu Zhen."

As Lu Yin spoke, he turned to look at Long Xi. Her expression instantly changed, and a powerful bloodlust erupted from her as well. Lu Yin’s fingers twitched, and he suppressed the roiling bloodlust.

"Lu Zhen? Your old page boy?" Long Xi growled between her gritted teeth. Her eyes were bloodshot. This was no longer mere anger, but powerful killing intent.

Lu Yin stared at Xiao Qing. It was no wonder why she had lied about being Elder Qing Xing’s daughter; she was actually Lu Zhen's daughter! Lu Zhen had been Lu Xiaoxuan’s personal page, but he had betrayed the Lu family, joined the Celestial Frost Sect, and then changed his name to Bai Zhen. He was an outcast and a traitor to the entire Lu family, and he had been one of the people Lu Yin had wanted to kill most of all.

Lu Yin did not believe that Xiao Qing was telling another lie, as there was no point in further lies, and revealing the fact that she was Lu Zhen’s daughter had already condemned her. Was there any possibility that she was lying to hide something even more important? It was completely impossible.

Long Xi instantly understood why Xiao Qing had been planted with her. "Lu Zhen was the one to suggest that you come with me, wasn’t he?"

Xiao Qing nodded. She had already exposed her greatest secret, so there was nothing left to keep hidden.

Long Xi clenched her fists. This was no longer because of her anger towards Xiao Qing, but because of her hatred of Lu Zhen. Not only had that traitor betrayed the Lu family, but he had even used his own daughter to spy on Long Xi. There was no need for Long Xi to even consider any other possibilities, as she knew that Lu Zhen had wanted to take advantage of her connection to Lu Xiaoxuan.

"What did Lu Zhen tell you to do?" Lu Yin asked.

Xiao Qing's voice grew hoarse, and it was almost impossible to even hear her. "Father said that Princess Long Xi and Lu Xiaoxuan had a unique relationship, and that even though Lu Xiaoxuan was always with the rest of the Seven Heroes. It was possible that Princess Long Xi might know some things that not even the Lu family ever learned about."

Lu Yin's eyes glinted with a dangerous light. He felt like he had made a terrible mistake; Lu Zhen had died too easily. Lu Yin should have never granted the man such an easy death.

"To my knowledge, Bai Zhen was sent to the rear battlefield as soon as he joined my Celestial Frost Sect. Where did his daughter come from?" Elder Qing Xing asked.

Xiao Qing murmured, "Father found Mother shortly after joining the Celestial Frost Sect, and I was born soon after. He was afraid that he wouldn’t survive on the rear battlefield, so he had the Celestial Frost Sect constantly pass me messages. He was also the one to make the request and arrangements for me to come here, as he knew that the Celestial Frost Sect would not refuse anything that has a connection to Lu Xiaoxuan or the Seven Heroes.

"Only two people are even aware of my existence: my father, and Bai Su, the current acting sect master of the Celestial Frost Sect. He was the one who acted as a relay between me and Father."

Elder Qing Xing interjected, "Bai Su? He’s practically invisible within the sect. His cultivation has always lagged behind Bai Teng's, but he was always firmly ranked among the top of the various branch patriarchs. I always thought that he did basically nothing within the sect and assumed that he’d eventually be sent to die on the rear battlefield. It’s quite surprising to learn that he was your liaison with Lu Zhen."

"The more inconspicuous a person is, the more useful they can be," Lu Yin stated coldly before refocusing on Xiao Qing. Knowing that she was Lu Zhen's daughter, should he kill her or not?

The decision was Lu Yin's to make.

When considering the fact that the woman was an enemy, she should be killed. Even if Xiao Qing's actions regarded Lu Yin as an enemy, Long Xi still wanted the woman dead. However, from another point of view, Lu Zhen’s daughter held far greater value alive.

In the end, Lu Yin decided to not kill her.

Once they were outside the courtyard once again, Long Xi gave Lu Yin a long, pointed look. "Aren't you afraid that she’ll just inform the Celestial Frost Sect? She knows about the enmity between Lu Zhen and the Lu family. She knows that she’s living on borrowed time."

Lu Yin softly replied, "Even if she knows that she’s as good as dead, all she wants is to live just a bit longer. She wants to survive, and as long as there’s even the slightest chance of doing so, someone like her is going to latch onto it. Lu Zhen was the exact same. She’ll betray the Celestial Frost Sect and anyone else if she has to in order to simply keep on living."

Long Xi continued to stare. "I sure hope that you’re right."

Lu Yin’s decision to leave Xiao Qing alive certainly carried a good bit of risk, but he was absolutely confident that she would never reveal Lu Yin’s existence to anyone unless she was completely certain that she would survive the ordeal. It was clear that the woman did not want to die, but who could guarantee her life? At the very least, she needed the assistance of a Semi-Progenitor, and given her strength and status, that was impossible without returning to the Celestial Frost Sect.

By the time that happened, Lu Yin would already be exposed and quickly approaching his final showdown with the four ruling powers.

After returning to his guest quarters, Lu Yin stared at his cosmic ring. Long Xi had to be in a terrible mood at this moment.

There were infinite possibilities when it came to plotting and scheming, and it had always been that way. However, Lu Yin felt quite certain that when his Lu family had ruled the Perennial World, there had not been nearly as much scheming, if only because the Lu family had completely and utterly suppressed all others. There were more important things than ambition, and unless driven by pure hatred, there would have been no reason to plot against the Lu family.

While the four ruling powers appeared to be equal and in equilibrium, in truth, all of them had wanted to replace the Lu family as the sole ruler of the Perennial World the moment the Lu family had disappeared. The only variable was how long it would take for those initial seeds of greed to blossom and bear fruit.

Humans were constantly forcing themselves to fight against each other, as well as fend off the ever-present threat of Aeternus. This combination created an irresistible pressure that wore away at humanity. Humans could not bear the thought of extinction or having their entire civilization destroyed.

Lu Yin looked towards the Mother Tree. The rear battlefield was the most important place in the Perennial World, and it had to remain strong and stable. It was what allowed the Perennial World to exist and enjoy peace. The Aeternals were determined to shatter this peace, and it was why Shaman God had deliberately helped Lu Yin become more powerful and influential, ensuring that he became famous throughout the entire universe, while also guaranteeing that the four ruling powers would never be willing to let Lu Yin live.

It was fair to say that the real purpose of Redbacks and traitors was not to steal information about humans and act as spies, but rather to spread chaos. Even their deaths accomplished that goal, and the Middle Realm and Higher Realm still had not settled down after the information taken from Realmless had exposed numerous Redbacks.

Aeternus ate away at humanity like a trickling stream ate away at stone. Progress was not impressive or even noticeable, but the day would come when all of mankind’s strength would be eroded away.

The four ruling powers' true power and foundation was definitely not what they had shown at present. The reason why they had been pushed so far was because they had needed to send many of their powerhouses to the Fifth Mainland. That army had never been intended to fight against Aeternus, but rather to handle the four ruling powers’ selfish goals. If the four ruling powers started attacking each other, their strength would only drop quicker, and it was highly possible that in doing so, they would no longer be able to support the rear battlefield.

The only way to end the current situation was for the Lu family to return.

The Lu family had held the reigns of the Fifth Mainland for far too long. If they returned, provided that they retained sufficient strength, they could seize back control of the Fifth Mainland without having to deal with too much resistance. Things would completely change as, among other things, Seed Garden, the Liu family, Virtue Archives, and many more were not going to give up easily to the four ruling powers.

Lu Yin continued to stare at the Mother Tree, his mind wandering. His thoughts were jumbled and chaotic, but he felt like he needed another good reason for what he was doing. Something that would work to justify things to himself.

He focused his mind, reigning in his idle thoughts. He just needed to continue as he had been. It was time to roll his die again.

He tapped the die, and watched as it slowly came to a stop: six pips.

Lu Yin’s eyes went wide. Was he really that lucky?

His consciousness quickly entered the mysterious dark space. He looked around and immediately chose the brightest orb he could see. Based on the brightness, the person should only be a two-tribulation Envoy.

Unfortunately, there was no brighter ball of light to be seen, and Lu Yin did not want to waste time.

As soon as the Possession took hold, a familiar scent struck Lu Yin’s nose. He opened his eyes, but why was the world spinning? The sky twirled, and then Lu Yin’s ear smashed into the ground. He saw a headless corpse slowly fall to the ground. Was he on the rear battlefield again?

At that instance, his consciousness returned to his own body after passing through the dark space.

Lu Yin gasped for breath. He had just died again. The person that he had Possessed had been killed literally the moment that Lu Yin had Possessed him. The man had been decapitated.

Such terrible luck was outside of Lu Yin’s expectations, as the man had died before Lu Yin had even had a chance to access the man’s memories.

Also, it could only be said that the man had been unlucky as well. His death had not been caused by Lu Yin or his Possession. The man had been beheaded without ever catching so much as a glimpse of his attacker, which suggested that there was too great a gap in strength. If Lu Yin had managed to Possess the man a few seconds sooner, it was possible that the man could have survived. What a pity.

He tapped the die again, and watched it slowly spin.

This round of rolls seemed to be exceptionally lucky, as Lu Yin’s second roll was Possession yet again. Twice in a row was incredibly rare.

His consciousness returned to the dark space, and he glanced around. There were no bright orbs yet again, but Lu Yin was not trying to acquire sensitive information this time. Also, most of the members of Star Alliance were only one or two-tribulation Envoys, which meant that the lights before Lu Yin were perfect for his purposes.

The thought barely flickered through his mind before he selected a target and merged with it.

Normally, when Lu Yin Possessed someone, they would not be moving. They were usually standing, sitting, or something similar. This time, things were different, as Lu Yin Possessed someone as they were moving along.

Naturally, he tripped.

"What's wrong? Did that woman yesterday leave your legs weak?" A rather handsome man teased. He looked quite young, but there was a depth of years to his eyes.

Lu Yin felt quite embarrassed. He had Possessed someone as they had been running, and he had tripped. It was incredibly embarrassing for a cultivator to trip.

"It's nothing. Let's go," Lu Yin replied. As he spoke, the memories started to appear.

It was a group of three people: Lu Yin’s Possession target, the handsome man, and an old woman. All three were Envoys, and Lu Yin had Possessed a one-tribulation Envoy.

Finding three Envoys traveling together was quite surprising, but Lu Yin understood as he started to review the memories.

He had Possessed a man by the name of Cheng Li. He was a part of Root, and he was a rather high-ranking member at that.

The Root Organization was a group in the Perennial World that focused on eliminating the pests and creatures that fed off of the Mother Tree’s roots. There were many people in Root, and all of them spent almost their entire time in the Lower Realm, but they faced dangers that were not much less than those faced by the people fighting on the rear battlefield. Members of Root were also held in high regard. After all, the Mother Tree was the foundation of the entire Perennial World, and the Root Organization protected the Mother Tree’s roots, which protected the Perennial World itself.