Chapter 2368: One Palm

At the entrance to the rear battlefield, Lu Yin stored his sourceboxes and looked over at Mu Shang. "Satisfied?"

Mu Shang stared at Lu Yin, only able to stand with the help of others. "You know the Hidden Corner."

Lu Yin showed a cold and arrogant attitude. "Not convinced of your loss? If I beat you once, I can beat you a second time, as well as a third. I’ll give you some time to recover, and then I’ll go find you after I officially become an Array Grandmaster."

Grandmaster Gu Yan and everyone else passed by as they prepared to leave.

Mu Shang's expression was hideous. Lu Yin's attitude of superiority was as if he were a wealthy man giving alms to a beggar. There was no explanation, but the same scene had played out. In the past, a young man who looked exactly like Lu Yin had stood above Mu Shang, smiling down at him in this exact same manner.

Puff!

The man spat out another mouthful of blood. Mu Shang was so weak that he nearly lost consciousness.

Lu Yin was taken aback by the blood. After all, he had only spoken some words to the wounded man. Could Mu Shang’s injuries be that serious?

"Hey, why can I see that planet from here?" A surprised voice called out, and one by one, everyone turned to look up. They soon saw something inexplicable.

A red planet had appeared in what was originally a dark sky. This planet was bright and dazzling red.

Lu Yin looked up as well, and he frowned at the site. Was that Planet Ominion?

Lu Yin had once Possessed a man named Thyssen. Thyssen had been a powerhouse on Planet Ominion and was a protector of Ominion Temple. The red planet that Lu Yin was looking at was clearly Planet Ominion.

Planet Ominion was one of the seven planets in the Outer Realm, and it should not be visible from the rear battlefield. On top of that, even if it could be seen, everyone should have been able to see the planet long before now. Did this mean that the planet had suddenly appeared?

As he was considering the situation, the jiao suddenly straightened up and stared at Planet Ominion with an unprecedented solemn reaction.

Lu Yin stared at the red planet. There was also a black dot approaching, moving closer and closer. It was traveling through outer space with a speed that sent ripples through the void before tearing it open. What was that? A Champions’ Stage?

Lu Yin's pupils constricted to pinpricks as he stared at the approaching object. That really was a Champions’ Stage!

Grandmaster Gu Yan, Kui Luo, the God of Food, and everyone else looked up and saw the approaching black dot, and they also recognized the Champions’ Stage.

The Champions’ Stage was a symbol of the Lu family, so no one had expected to see such a thing suddenly appear.

Lu Yin was stunned and confused by the appearance of the Champions’ Stage. Who did it belong to? Was there someone else from the Lu family who was still around?

Suddenly, Lu Yin felt a powerful sense of danger. It was so strong that it was almost painful, and a fierce chill climbed up his back. He instinctively wanted to escape as the killing intent directed towards him was powerful beyond any he had ever sensed.

Before Lu Yin had any time to think, he tried to erase a portion of the Champions’ Stage’s power with the runes from Lu Jian’s Champions’ Stage, only to be instantly suppressed. A champion appeared from the approaching Champions’ Stage, and at that moment, the entire rear battlefield seemed to freeze. The violent, oppressive surge of a Progenitor’s power swept through the area; humans, corpse kings, and astral beasts all froze in place as the power that felt like a bloodthirsty hell pressed down on them. People felt like they were being both driven insane and suffocated at the same time.

There was a violence inherent in the aura that had appeared, and its arrival seemed to trigger the darkest shadows within each individual’s heart. Countless people’s eyes turned a deep red.

Lu Yin stared at the approaching Champions' Stage as the sudden pressure crashed down on him. He was completely unable to move. While Lu Yin had previously dealt with the pressure of other Progenitors, he had always made preparations to face Xia Shenji and the other Progenitors that he had confronted. Meanwhile, this Progenitor had released a surprise attack.

A soft roar was heard from the side as the jiao reacted, but the sound of Lu Yin’s own heartbeat filled his mind. He felt like he was looking at a pair of insane eyes that were peering at him through the approaching Champions' Stage.

These were familiar eyes. Lu Yin had seen them while traveling through time and space. These were Nutjob Lu’s eyes.

From the moment that Planet Ominion appeared, to the sudden pressure released by the Champions’ Stage, only a single moment had passed. Not even Mu Xie in the Dominion Realm had had a chance to react. The Champions’ Stage was falling onto Lu Yin, but Lu Yin was completely unable to react due to the unbearable pressure that restricted him.

At this moment, no one could help him. While he still had the seemingly invincible corpse and the slipper, they were both in Lu Yin’s cosmic ring, and he was unable to move.

This moment was a pre-planned surprise attack that had been prepared long ago by someone who did not intend to give Lu Yin any chance to defend himself.

The man looked down. His madness drove his bloodlust. All members of the Lu family had to die!

Everyone watching was certain that Lu Yin was about to die. Even Lu Yin himself felt as though he was already dead. Once the Champions’ Stage fell, there would not even be any bones left, which meant that even his Arcane Art—Fatal Revival would be useless.

Suddenly, the void opened up in front of Lu Yin, and a hand stretched out from empty space. It slapped the Champions’ Stage back and erased the pressure that had covered the entire area. The Champions’ Stage was forced back.

Everything happened in less than a second, and the hand vanished the moment the Champions’ Stage was pushed back. In that instance, Lu Yin could only make out the scars and wounds that completely covered the back of the hand. “Is it worth it?”

However, Lu Yin had no idea if he had misheard.

He wanted to see who the hand belonged to, but the fractured space had already recovered, and everything in sight appeared normal. The only anomaly was a hint of a streak of gray, which was the power of time.

Lu Yin noticed the gray and recognized the power of time. Had Senior Brother Mu Xie saved him?

At this time, a glowing ?arīra appeared above the rear battlefield before Mu Xie himself appeared. He looked up at the red planet. "I won’t stand aside if you attack again."

There was no answer from Planet Ominion. Then, the red planet disappeared as though it had been summoned away.

Only after Planet Ominion left did people let out sighs of relief. The tyrannical power that had suddenly appeared and started driving people insane had made everyone feel as though they could not control themselves. Even the Semi-Progenitors had been strongly affected.

Grandmaster Gu Yan stared out at the Outer Realm for a long moment. The power of that Progenitor had been utterly terrifying. If not for the fact that it had clearly come from that planet in the Outer Realm, Gu Yan would have assumed that one of Aeternus’s Progenitors had launched an attack.

Kui Luo hurried over to Lu Yin's side. "Kid, are you all right?"

Lu Yin nodded, but he continued staring upwards into the Outer Realm until Mu Xie descended and landed on the ground next to him.

Everyone bowed as one. "We greet Commander Mu Xie."

"We greet Commander Mu Xie."

Mu Xie looked at Lu Yin, the older man’s expression extremely solemn. "Are you all right?"

Lu Yin nodded again. "If you hadn’t stepped in then, I really would have died this time, Senior Brother."

Mu Xie softly replied, "I never did anything."

Lu Yin felt quite confused. "You weren’t the one who pushed the Champions’ Stage away, Senior Brother?"

Everyone listening was terrified by the conversation that they were hearing. Senior brother? Was Commander Mu Xie Lu Xiaoxuan’s senior brother?

Only a few people were privy to this information, as it was impossible for the four ruling powers to spread information that showed Lu Yin in a positive light. They were hoping to convince everyone that Lu Yin was just being used as bait to lure out the last few surviving vassals of the exiled Lu family, just as Qiao Er had assumed.

Mu Xie shook his head. "That wasn’t me."

Learning that Mu Xie was not the owner of the hand that had appeared was quite shocking to Lu Yin. Who had saved him? The gray wisp that Lu Yin had seen had clearly been the power of time, and when considering all the Progenitors that Lu Yin was familiar with, only Xia Shenji and Mu Xie possessed the power of time. However, even if another Progenitor had kept the fact that they could control the power of time a secret, none of them would have-

Wait, if the power of time was involved, then could the hand have come from another moment in time? If that was possible, then could that hand have come from someone in the past, or even possibly, the future?

"Do you know who attacked you just now?" Mu Xie asked.

Lu Yin nodded.

"Return to the Fifth Mainland. Nutjob Lu won't stop pursuing you. He’s truly insane," Mu Xie stated solemnly.

Mu Xie was confident in putting pressure on the four ruling powers into behaving and following the truce, but that was because the four ruling powers had various things that they cared about. The more things that were considered important, the easier it was for people to use them as leverage. However, Nutjob Lu was different. The man was insane, and it was impossible to reason with a madman.

Lu Yin glanced over at Xia Ziheng and the other people from the four ruling powers. Why had Nutjob Lu known where he was going to be? He had to have been told by the four ruling powers, and the most likely culprit was Xia Shenji.

Using a borrowed knife to kill someone. Lu Yin realized that he had been careless. He had believed himself to be safe with both Lu Jian’s Champions’ Stage and the jiao protecting him. However, there were other powerful Progenitors in the universe who were not part of the four ruling powers, and there was nothing stopping those powerhouses from attacking Lu Yin.

Of course, Lu Yin’s means of protection were by no means negligible, even to Progenitors. Aside from Nutjob Lu, it would be difficult for other Progenitors to force Lu Yin into such dire straits. The biggest reason why Lu Yin had been in such grave danger was because he had been confused by the appearance of a Champions’ Stage. If not for that, he would have had enough time to react to the attack, but his shock had slowed his reactions.

Who would have thought that the thing that had nearly killed Lu Yin would be something that he was incredibly familiar with.

"Don't worry, Senior Brother. He won't get another chance," Lu Yin stated sharply.

Mu Xie looked at Lu Yin. "I don't know what Nutjob Lu is capable of doing. He was willing to betray the Lu family, which proves that there is nothing he won’t do. It would be best for you to return."

The man then left, returning to the Dominion Realm. Ultimately, he had not inquired into who had saved Lu Yin. Lu Yin had assumed that Mu Xie had saved him, which was proof that Lu Yin himself had no idea who might have saved him. On top of that, Mu Xie himself had not been able to notice anything, which was quite intriguing.

Lu Yin knew that Mu Xie was right. The safest option would be for him to return to the Fifth Mainland, but he still had to do some things in the Perennial World. Furthermore, it seemed that the four ruling powers were unaware that Nutjob Lu had clearly colluded with Aeternus. How else could they ever allow a traitor to control Planet Ominion? Nutjob Lu, Planet Ominion… He should be Progenitor Ominion.

The burst of bloodlust had ruined everyone’s moods.

Lu Yin’s death was something that many people would celebrate, but people also considered their own safety. If even Lu Yin, who was someone who could fight against Progenitors, had nearly been killed by that sudden attack, then who among them could have survived?

It had become clear that others controlled their lives.

While people had always known that Progenitors could decide the lives and deaths of everyone beneath them, it was a distant sort of knowledge. After all, none of them had ever been targeted by a Progenitor before. But just now, they had felt the unmatched power of a Progenitor be directed towards them.

Even Semi-Progenitors like Xia Ziheng and Wu Yao were completely terrified by what they had just experienced.

Mu Xie returned to the Dominion Realm, but he did not seek out Bai Wangyuan or anyone else from the four ruling powers. Mu Xie also suspected that one of the four Progenitors had given Nutjob Lu a message. After all, since Nutjob Lu was known for always being in seclusion, there was no way for him to have known anything at all about Lu Yin’s existence.

As far as Bai Wangyuan and the others were concerned, they had done nothing wrong. Nutjob Lu had been the one to attack, not the four ruling powers’ Progenitors. However, everyone knew that the four ruling powers wanted Lu Yin dead.

Elsewhere in the Dominion Realm, Bai Wangyuan finally looked away. He appeared rather uncertain. "Someone saved Lu Xiaoxuan by forcing back Nutjob Lu’s Champions’ Stage. Who was that?"

"Mu Xie? No, he never reacted," Wang Fan commented softly.

Xia Shenji asked, "If even Mu Xie, who is constantly paying attention to the rear battlefield, was unable to react in time, then who could have saved Lu Xiaoxuan?"

Progenitor Long interjected, "Don't forget that those three men also have a master."

Bai Wangyuan’s eyebrows rose high. "They were just trying to intimidate us. If they really did all share the same master, then we would have to know the person, even if they were someone from the Heavens Sect era."

Wang Fan shook his head. "That’s not necessarily true. Given the talent that those three possess, we have assumed that their master would be a similar genius, but what if their master is just an ordinary Progenitor? For example, that E Chi who Lu Xiaoxuan can summon. He was a Progenitor before any of us rose to fame, and back then, it would not have been impossible for someone like E Chi to have accepted us as disciples. After all, a Progenitor is still a Progenitor to those weaker than them, even if E Chi is nothing but trash compared to us now."

"Are you saying that their master might be an ordinary Progenitor who never became famous, and who is also not from our generation? Even if he’s much older than us, is it possible for us to have never met such a person?" Bai Wangyuan asked.