Chapter 2280: A New Minion

Lu Yin and Xia Xing stared at each other for a bit, and then “Yu Hao” smiled. "I understand. Well, twelve is still twelve, but you can’t hold back on the resources you provide me. Also-”

Lu Yin hesitated for a moment while raising a hand as he stared at Xia Xing. "Please look at this."

Xia Xing looked at a mirror that had suddenly appeared in Lu Yin's hand. "What is it?"

The moment he finished his question, fog dragged the sect master into the mirror.

Xia Xing was not slow to react. The moment he fell into the mirror, he used his Divine Martial Armor and a secret technique: Confinement. However, the secret technique did not target an opponent; instead, Xia Xing targeted himself.

With Confinement used on himself, the secret technique became a defense ability.

Lu Yin entered the pocket dimension within the mirror, and then looked at Xia Xing with amazement. "This is the first time I’ve seen a secret technique be used like this. You deserve your position as the Xia family’s patriarch."

Xia Xing glared at “Yu Hao,” confused. "Yu Hao, you actually dare to attack me within Shenwu's Sky?"

A smile spread across Lu Yin's face as he shook his head. "Wrong. You’re no longer inside Shenwu's Sky."

"You're seeking death!" Xia Xing yelled as he released an attack. Confinement disappeared, and the man’s body dispersed before taking form once again.

Lu Yin would never underestimate Xia Xing. The man was the sect master of Shenwu’s Sky, as well as a six-tribulation powerhouse. However, the man was unwittingly facing Lu Yin; without making adequate preparations, the sect master could only be doomed.

Lu Yin moved past the sect master, and Xia Xing spat out a mouthful of blood after being injured by the chaotic region of space and time. His Divine Martial Armor was shattered, which the man simply could not accept or believe. "Impossible! How could you possess such strength?"

Lu Yin restored his true appearance and stared at Xia Xing. "I hope you’ve been well, Sect Master Xia."

Xia Xing’s pupils constricted tightly the moment he registered that he was looking at Lu Yin. "Long Qi! No, Lu Xiaoxuan!"

It was as though a storm was raging within Xia Xing's brain at this moment, as many things suddenly connected. Yu Hao was a three-tribulation Envoy with an incredible gift for lockbreaking, and he also knew the Lu family’s Lifeseizer Palm. Lu Xiaoxuan had also been close by when Xia Xing’s clone had been captured, and given the fact that Semi-Progenitor Kui Luo was helping the young man, it would have been easy to traverse what they had considered an impossible distance. It was also far too easy to mix up the Lu family’s Lifeseizer Palm and the Celestial Frost Sect’s Celestial Suppression.

On the Island of Hope, Bai Teng had vanished just a short while after Lu Xiaoxuan left. While Yu Hao was naturally completely incapable of capturing Bai Teng, it was clearly within Lu Xiaoxuan’s means.

In that case, if Lu Xiaoxuan was responsible for the disappearance of Xia Xing’s clone and Bai Teng, then what about Wang Zheng and Long Ke? Could this youth have also controlled Long Ke and Xia Yuan? Furthermore, Xia Xing had sensed his clone in the direction of the Celestial Frost Sect, and at that moment, Lu Xiaoxuan had been visiting the sect.

In that instance, countless thoughts and realizations swirled through Xia Xing’s mind, and he understood the truth of all that had happened. Unfortunately for him, it was already too late.

Lu Yin had revealed himself, which had stunned Xia Xing for a moment. The mental shock combined with the damage that he had just suffered from Lu Yin’s Inverse Step created the exact moment that Lu Yin had been looking for.

While Xia Xing continued blankly staring at Lu Yin, the missing clone stepped out from behind Lu Yin and immediately attacked Xia Xing.

…

At this moment, anyone outside the mirror would only see Yu Hao speaking with Xia Xing in a normal and expected fashion. However, inside the pocket dimension within the mirror, there was only one Xia Xing left, and it was the clone. No, he was no longer a clone, but rather truly Xia Xing.

Lu Yin applauded. "Congratulations, you now answer to me."

Xia Xing was breathing heavily. He had just merged and conquered the main body, which caused his body to be a bit unstable for the moment, and he occasionally appeared a bit illusory.

He forced himself to look up at Lu Yin."You’ve managed to force even the patriarch of the Xia family to become your puppet."

Lu Yin responded with a slight smile. "Why say it like that? We just agreed to a win-win agreement. You didn’t want to die, while I needed a bit of help. Where’s the problem?"

Progenitor Smoke then revealed herself. She stood there for a moment, gazing at Xia Xing in an odd manner and then exclaimed, "Is this the fusion of a clone and a main body? Fascinating! I didn’t think I’d see this after so many years. This gives me some ideas…”

She immediately left again, as she wanted to study some things regarding Blood Alchemy and her wei.

Xia Xing stared blankly at Progenitor Smoke's back as she moved away, and then asked in a daze, "She- who is that?"

Lu Yin shushed the man with a hand. "Senior doesn’t enjoy being disturbed by people. We should head on out now, Sect Master Xia."

Xia Xing had clearly recognized Progenitor Smoke. The Perennial World had not lost as much of the human race’s history as the Fifth Mainland. There were still various records in the Perennial World regarding the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, the Daosource Sect, and even the Heavens Sect era.

Progenitor Smoke's appearance was not something that had ever been considered a secret. The Yōu family in the Fifth Mainland had a painting of Progenitor Smoke, which had given the family the opportunity to receive Progenitor Smoke’s kindness by receiving various portions of her inheritance. Lu Yin was not at all surprised to see Xia Xing recognize the Progenitor.

After leaving the pocket dimension within the mirror, the figures of Yu Hao and Xia Xing that had remained in the outside world transformed into fog that rejoined the mirror.

Xia Xing had still not recovered, and he stared at Lu Yin in shock. "Who was that just now?"

Lu Yin smiled in a rather condescending manner. "Now you understand the benefits of working with me."

Xia Xing's eyes darted about. "Progenitor Smoke?"

Lu Yin looked out from his quarters. "Shenwu's Sky doesn't seem to have any masters of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, which I find rather odd. Given your Nine Clones Secret Technique, your Divine Martial Armor, as well as your various other secret techniques, you still haven’t mastered any of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas since before the Daosource Sect era. It’s no wonder why you can’t compare to the Celestial Frost Sect or the Wang family."

Naturally, Lu Yin was excluding Progenitor Chen in his assessment.

Xia Xing said, "Our Progenitor Shenji is in no way inferior to Wang Fan or Bai Wangyuan, but none of the Mountains and Seas were suitable for him to inherit. Success is not only determined by a person’s strength, but also their comprehension and sheer luck.

"During the Daosource Sect era, it was incredible that all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas found masters, and the Fifth Mainland really did reach its peak. Before that, aside from the Heavens Sect era, there was no point in human history when all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had masters."

Lu Yin sighed and glanced over at Xia Xing. Lu Yin knew that the patriarch had purposefully not mentioned how Progenitor Chen had stolen a Mountain and Sea from the Xia family, and Lu Yin stayed silent about it out of respect for the Xia family.

Xia Xing let out a sigh. "It’s true. Before the end of the Daosource Sect era when all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were inherited, there were never any more than four Mountains and three Seas that had masters at any given moment, and throughout that whole time, one of those masters was your Lu family’s Patriarch Tianyi."

The man then stared at the mirror for a moment. "I never dreamed that I would be lucky enough to actually meet Progenitor Smoke."

Lu Yin turned back to look at the older man. "Alright, enough wasting time. The people waiting outside are going to start trying to push their way in here soon. According to our agreement, I helped you become the main body, and now that you are my contact within the Xia family, I want the Nine Clones Secret Technique."

Xia Xing's eye twitched. "I can't give it to you."

"Why not?" Lu Yin demanded as his expression grew stormy. He had helped one of Xia Xing's clones replace the main body, and besides gaining a mole within the Xia family, Lu Yin’s greater goal had always been the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

He had coveted the secret technique from the moment he had first heard of it, and he had always been determined to learn it if the opportunity ever arose.

Xia Xing shrugged. "After merging with my main body, I was able to learn that the Nine Clones Secret Technique is something that literally can’t be shared. What my main body learned came from the family, and any member of the direct line who wishes to learn the secret technique has to go through the family, unless they manage to awaken the technique with the traditional method, which is through our bloodline. That’s how Progenitor Chen managed to comprehend the technique."

"Progenitor Chen learned the Nine Clones Secret Technique by awakening the Xia family’s ancestral blood?" Lu Yin felt slightly confused.

Xia Xing nodded.

Lu Yin looked away. Was this accurate? Lu Yin was not certain as to how Progenitor Chen had learned the Nine Clones Secret Technique, but Lu Yin had always suspected that it had not been from Shenwu's Sky.

Starsibyl and Xia Jiuyou had both comprehended the secret technique from the river of time, and Lu Yin felt that it was rather likely that Progenitor Chen had obtained it in the same manner. After all, Progenitor Chen had probably mastered the power of time. And yet, Xia Xing was claiming that the secret technique could be comprehended through the family’s bloodline, which was the method that Mister Mu had employed to give Lu Yin the chance to learn the Ce Secret Art by allowing him to observe the Immovable Chessboard. The Ce family’s blood had given him an opportunity to peer through time and space.

"Where do members of your family go to learn the secret technique?" Lu Yin asked.

Xia Xing pointed upwards, and Lu Yin looked up as well. "Where?"

"Above the imprisoned jiao," Xia Xing said.

Lu Yin was stunned. "It’s on top of the jiao? Wait, is it on the jiao's back?"

"It’s actually on top of the jiao’s head. Oh, also, that imprisoned jiao is still alive."

Lu Yin gasped. "That jiao’s alive?"

"That's right. I only found out myself after merging with my main body. Not only is the jiao still alive, but it’s also unimaginably powerful. Everyone believes the story that Progenitor Shenji defeated the jiao, but it was merely suppressed and trapped. That jiao actually has the power of a Progenitor, and on top of being my family’s enemy in the past, it is Shenwu’s Sky’s final defense," Xia Xing explained.

Lu Yin was shocked, if not even Xia Shenji had been able to defeat the jiao, then just how powerful did it have to be?

"So, is the broken saber that’s stabbed into the ground something from one of your Xia family’s Progenitors?" Lu Yin asked.

Xia Xing nodded. "Progenitor Xia Chan left behind that broken saber that’s used to suppress the imprisoned jiao so that it could protect our Xia family. Even your Lu family spoke of my family’s Progenitor Xia Chan with high levels of respect. It’s only because of that saber that there can be any safety when approaching the jiao. Without those protections, a person won’t be left with even their bones."

Lu Yin had to admit that what Xia Xing said sounded quite accurate. If the jiao was even close to as powerful as the sect master claimed, it was impossible for anyone to obtain the Nine Clones Secret Technique. Even Progenitor Bai Wangyuan might not be able to succeed. It was truly the safest place imaginable to leave the technique.

Xia Xing soon left “Yu Hao’s” guest quarters, but before leaving, he turned around with a smile and shouted, "Yu Hao, make sure you don’t forget about me when you get back from the Dominion Realm, hahahaha!"

With that, the sect master left.

The surrounding Semi-Progenitors—Wu Yao, Semi-Progenitor Chai, and Mr. Yu—all glanced at each other before shaking their heads and sneering. This was too obvious a staged act. It was clear that Xia Xing had deliberately said those words in an attempt to force the Semi-Progenitors to leave by trying to convince them that Yu Hao had already joined Shenwu's Sky and that he would soon go to the Dominion Realm. How could any of the three men not see through the sect master’s intentions?

If Xia Xing had left without speaking a word to Yu Hao, the Semi-Progenitors would have been far more worried. As things stood, none of them were even the slightest bit concerned.

Inside the valley, Lu Yin was calmly sitting and waiting. He did not know who would approach him next, but he felt there should be no one for a while. As long as Xia Xing managed to stop Xia Ziheng, Lu Yin would be able to rest in peace for more than ten days. After that, he would have one final chance to roll his die.

He could not help but think that it was simply too difficult to manage the luck that he needed to succeed.

He already knew where everyone from Star Alliance was being held. The four ruling powers had set up a sourcebox array there as part of their trap for the Seven Skygods. The defenses were too tight for him to be able to get in, and on top of that, Yu Chuan was being held separately within Shenwu's Sky. For the time being, there was no plausible reason for Lu Yin to try to see the members of Star Alliance.

There was still a possibility that his last round of rolls would give him the opportunity that he needed.

Elsewhere in Shenwu’s Sky, Xia Xing went to meet with Xia Ziheng after parting ways with Lu Yin.

While Xia Xing was a clone, since he had already merged with his main body, there was no difference that could be seen between him and the previous main body. Xia Ziheng could not detect any issues.

"How is it? How’s his reaction?" Xia Ziheng demanded.

Xia Xing replied, "He agreed to my conditions, and he even contacted Grandmaster Gu Yan while I was there. Unfortunately, Grandmaster Gu Yan refused to come."