Chapter 2422: Hidden Divine Energy

“Lu Xiaxuan, just what is happening?” Xia Shenji angrily demanded. The four men stared at Lu Yin, waiting for an explanation.

Lu Yin dropped to the ground and calmly examined the fragments of the scarlet eye. “Aeternus’s Murkiness involves using the droplets of unknown liquid to drain all the stellular energy from the true universe and then release the absorbed energy. The released energies have been tampered with.”

“You knew about this?” Bai Wangyuan frowned.

Lu Yin answered expressionlessly, “Aeternus just told me that they would stop Murkiness if I stopped their cosmic door from being destroyed, but-” He stared at the four men. “How could I ever agree to that?”

Conflicted expressions appeared on four faces. How could Lu Yin have agreed? Even if he had agreed, they would have never agreed.

The destruction of the giant eye meant that Aeternus could no longer flood the known universe with an endless supply of corpse kings. Their obvious concern for the eyes showed just how important these “cosmic doors” were to the Aeternals. Constructing one could not possibly be easy. Even if they were able to return to the known universe and bring another scarlet eye, the destruction of the eye in the New World was still a terrible loss for Aeternus.

How could they ever abandon such an opportunity just to save the Forsaken Land?

Only a short bit of time had passed since Murkiness had been activated, and no one could say just how far this would go on for. It was possible that the current situation would only last for a short while, but it was also possible that the era of cultivation had already come to an end for the Fifth Mainland.

Lu Yin did not expect any answers from the four Progenitors. He knew that they only had one answer for him: no compromises.

He continued studying the shards of the shattered eye.

Bai Wangyuan and the other three also descended to the ground.

Without any warning, the fragments instantly dissolved, transforming into a beam of light that shot into Lu Yin’s heart while horror filled his eyes.

No one had anticipated such a change.

They only saw a stream of red light send Lu Yin’s body flying far away, where he eventually crashed into the ground.

The jiao sent a quizzical look towards where Lu Yin had landed.

Bai Wangyuan and the others exchanged wary gazes before moving over to where Lu Yin lay.

Lu Yin was on his back, his expression contorting in pain. The beam of red light had struck his chest dead center, and it had nearly pierced his body. There were deep cracks that had been cut into the ground as well.

Cough, cough!

Lu Yin started coughing up blood. He looked down to check his wounds and saw that his clothes were now bloodstained. He had not expected the shattered remains of the cosmic door to suddenly attack him. How unlucky.

Mu Xie arrived at that moment, and he squatted down next to Lu Yin and helped him up. “What happened?”

Lu Yin held his wounded chest. “Senior Brother, what brings you down here? I’m fine. It’s just a small injury.”

Mu Xie examined Lu Yin’s chest. The wound was clearly deep, and it had practically perforated his chest. However, it also was not a fatal injury, and would leave no lasting damage. The Progenitor sighed in relief and looked upwards.

Lu Yin followed his senior brother’s gaze, and his eyes grew wide. Planet Ominion was overhead. The star possessed a deep red color.

It was no wonder why Mu Xie had arrived. He had been constantly keeping an eye on Planet Ominion. Since it had appeared in the New World, Mu Xie had also arrived to ensure Lu Yin’s safety.

“He won’t attack me right now, will he?” Lu Yin asked. He looked directly at Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers. Nutjob Lu had not yet been exposed as a Redback, and they would never believe such accusations without irrefutable evidence.

Mu Xie answered somberly, “With me here, no one can harm you.”

Lu Yin coughed another two times. “Senior Brother, please help me get back to the fourth array base. Disaster has struck the Fifth Mainland.”

Mu Xie helped Lu Yin up, and the two of them left. Bai Wangyuan and the others remained behind.

A short while later, Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors separated, moving in different directions. They were preparing to exterminate all of Aeternus’s forces for good, fully reclaiming the New World for humanity. This was the first time that the Perennial World had ever obtained such an opportunity.

As Mu Xie led Lu Yin back to the fourth array base, Lu Yin examined the state of things within his chest.

The beam of red light had been extremely powerful. He had activated his Wielder - Indestructible at the very last moment, but the light had still easily pierced his body. The toughness of Lu Yin’s body had already surpassed a normal Progenitor’s, let alone when Lu Yin also used his battle force. Despite that, the beam of light had still easily injured Lu Yin.

Mu Xie and Bai Wangyuan’s group had witnessed the entire thing unfold.

However, the beam of light was far more complex than what its appearance belied. The moment it struck Lu Yin, the power within the beam had tried to spread throughout his body, which had been even more horrifying than having his stellular energy flow in reverse. The beam of light had been formed from divine energy, which was the power of True God Yi Wei. If it could not control Lu Yin, then it would simply destroy him.

How many people in the entire universe were capable of resisting True God’s power?

If not for the fact that an equally domineering power already existed in Lu Yin's chest, he would have been done for then and there.

Lu Yin was not even certain that the power in his chest was what had managed to counter the divine energy that had tried to rampage through his body. Even if that was what had happened, it did not prove that the power in his chest was somehow superior to divine energy. Far more likely, there had simply been too little divine energy present. After all, even Bai Xian’er had proven herself capable of completely suppressing Lu Yin’s unique power when they had clashed in Crimson Garden.

However, suppressing the divine energy was just half of the story. In Lu Yin’s chest, a red dot had appeared a short distance away from the black and white mist. That red dot was divine energy.

Lu Yin had only discovered the existence of the red dot after returning to the fourth array base. He had immediately tried to use his black-and-white mist to dissolve the red dot, only to discover that it was impossible. The dot did not move, but it also did not resist him. It simply stayed exactly how he had found it. Lu Yin felt incredibly frustrated by its presence.

“The people from the fourth array base are over there,” Mu Xie said.

Lu Yin looked down and saw Yao Di and a few other Semi-Progenitors transporting the Fifth Mainland’s cultivators within their inner worlds. Only a few Semi-Progenitors were still able to use their inner worlds. Given the severity of the repercussions from having their stellular energy reverse its flow, people with Lan Xian’s strength had been essentially crippled.

Lu Yin quickly found Arch-Elder Zen. The old man’s face was a bit pale, but other than that, he appeared fine.

“The stellular energy in my inner world almost started circulating in reverse. If that ever happens, my cultivation will be crippled,” Arch-Elder Zen said.

Out of all the Semi-Progenitors who had been stationed at the fourth array base, Hen Xin was faring the best. While his stellular energy had also started flowing in reverse, he mostly cultivated with battle force and domain. Since his Wielder realm battle force was still intact, his overall strength had not been greatly impacted.

At this moment, Wan Zhiyi alone was responsible for the fourth array base’s protection. However, this was not a problem.

Lu Yin instructed Arch-Elder Zen and the rest of the Semi-Progenitors to return the fourth array base’s defenders. While they did that, Lu Yin himself rode the jiao back to the Fifth Mainland.

Due to the activation of Murkiness, all the Fifth Mainland’s cultivators had been essentially crippled. This even included people from the Perennial World who had visited the Fifth Mainland, though the vast majority of the Perennial World’s cultivators remained unaffected.

The moment Lu Yin arrived atop the jiao, a wave of cheers and applause erupted.

The people were cheering for Lu Yin's decision to lead the fourth array base into the New World. After decades of hopelessness, their hope of defeating Aeternus had been restored, and they were celebrating humanity's resilience.

Word that Lu Yin had destroyed the giant scarlet eye had not yet spread to the public, but it would happen very soon. When it did, Lu Yin’s fame would soar to new heights, in both the Fifth Mainland and the Perennial World.

However, Lu Yin’s thoughts were not on any of that at the moment.

Almost as soon as the jiao arrived in the Fifth Mainland, Lu Yin’s expression turned dark.

As soon as he exited the New Corridor, he saw the crippled state of the Fifth Mainland’s cultivators, as well as the visitors from the Perennial World. Regardless of their cultivation realm, as long as anyone had absorbed any bit of star or stellular energy, their energy reserves had started to flow in reverse. Forget fighting—even movement had become difficult for these people. Only those who possessed strength comparable to Arch-Elder Zen or Hen Xin were able to even remain standing.

Lu Yin moved through the Technocracy, the Innerverse, and finally arrived at the entrance to the Starfall Sea. The troops who had taken part in the assault on the Starfall Sea had not yet been dismissed, but they were also no longer the same as before. They were able to demonstrate a bit of strength due to their various tools and power vessels, but this was not enough to compensate for the fact that their cultivation had been crippled. Just a light touch would force them to collapse.

Lu Yin found Lu Buzheng, Cai Er, the Fifth Mainland’s other Semi-Progenitors, as well as the Progenitor of Bloodlines, but they were all in the same condition. Even Grandmaster Gu Yan, who had only spent a very short time in the Fifth Mainland, had been affected.

No one had been able to escape this disaster.

This was the true face of “Murkiness.”

It was only at this moment that Lu Yin understood why the true universe had been restored, why there had been a massive surge of stellular energy that had greatly aided the cultivation of Lu Buzheng, the other Semi-Progenitors, and everyone else’s. Absorbing that surge of stellular energy after their cultivation had stagnated for decades was far more beneficial than normally cultivating for dozens of years.

At the time, Lu Yin had not been able to understand the rationale behind Aeternus’s actions, and that confusion had continued until now. There was no way that the Aeternals would ever do anything that would benefit Lu Buzheng or any of the other human Semi-Progenitors.

Lu Yin had believed it to be a mistake or oversight on Aeternus’s part.

Unfortunately, it had become clear that there had been no oversight or mistakes. Regardless of how far Lu Buzheng and the other Semi-Progenitors might have been able to improve their cultivation, no one could escape after Murkiness was set in motion. So what if they became Progenitors? They would still be affected by this phenomena.

One could never underestimate Aeternus’s plots.

Lu Yin also finally understood why Mister Mu was so wary of Aeternus, and why he had been so eager to learn more about Murkiness.

If the current issue was not properly dealt with, Murkiness could very well end cultivation in the entire Fifth Mainland.

Lu Yin ordered the jiao to travel around the Fifth Mainland. He was hoping to find at least one person who was unaffected by the reversed energy circulation within all the cultivators’ bodies.

Unfortunately, not a single person could be found who was unaffected.

At this moment, the war on the rear battlefield had resumed its original ferocity. Aside from the people of the fourth array base, all the other people stationed on the rear battlefield were moving through the New World. They destroyed and reclaimed one city after another, while massacring corpse kings and rescuing the surviving humans who had not yet been transformed. Waves of good news continued to spread. It was almost as if the New World had already become human territory.

Half a month later, Lu Yin’s wireless jincan trembled. He was receiving a message from Bai Wangyuan.

“Are you still able to defend the fourth array base?” Bai Wangyuan asked. He understood the situation in the Fifth Mainland, but so what? Aeternus had been forced to retreat from the Perennial World, and the overall situation had changed repeatedly in recent years. At this particular moment, having the Fifth Mainland be crippled would greatly benefit the four ruling powers.

Lu Yin could hear the insinuations from Bai Wangyuan’s message, but Lu Yin was not very surprised by it. “What are you trying to say?”

Bai Wangyuan replied, entirely serious, “If you are unable to defend the fourth array base, you are violating the terms of our truce, and you should be fully aware of those consequences.”

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

“Relax, we have the strength. The fourth array base will remain protected,” Lu Yin sent back. With that, he ended the conversation.

However, Lu Yin’s expression fell. He had never expected Aeternus’s Murkiness to take place at this moment, of all times. Was this the Aeternals’ way of getting revenge on Lu Yin?

The moment that Murkiness was activated, the Fifth Mainland had been crippled. The timing coincided with Aeternus being ousted from the Fifth Mainland and the Perennial World, which meant that the four ruling powers were able to establish complete dominance. This was not good at all for Lu Yin.

West Mountain Tea King had warned Lu Yin about these exact consequences, and he had even given lu Yin time to consider his options. However, was there ever a need to even consider a deal offered by Aeternus?

There were times for a person to act selfishly, but even more importantly, a person always had to remain true to their own moral compass. If Lu Yin had allowed Aeternus to remain in the known universe to continue making trouble for humanity just because of his hatred of the four ruling powers, the resulting guilt would stay with him forever.

Lu Yin did not see himself as some selfless person, but there were still certain things that he simply could not force himself to do. Everyone had their own bottom line.