Chapter 2429: Father's Power

All eyes were fixed on the Investiture of the Gods that illuminated the sky above the entire Yishan District.

Lu Yin’s pupils shrank as a figure emerged from the scroll. A Progenitor had truly been within conferred to this scroll. Who was it?

The summoned figure had one hand behind his back, while the other held several scroll-like objects close to his chest as he calmly stood in midair.

Despite only being a summon called by a manifestation, the figure radiated a scholarly demeanor that was readily apparent to all who saw him.

Wait a moment, a scholar?

Lu Yin was struck with a strange feeling.

Wang Fan’s mouth hung open in astonishment. “That’s Progenitor Wen! That’s Lu Qi!”

Bai Wangyuan and all the other Progenitors watching did not know how to feel about this revelation. Was Lu Xiaoxuan really facing a manifestation of his own father?

In the Outer Realm, on Broken Star, Liu Yue stared in stupefaction at the manifestation of Progenitor Wen. Progenitor Liu had actually been present when Lu Qi had first worked up the courage to confer Progenitor Wen. Naturally, Liu Yue could recognize the figure summoned by the tribulation’s Investiture of the Gods. He would recognize the aura anywhere. What the heck? Are we really watching a father thrash his son? Or is this more like a son thrashing his father?

Mu Xie also recognized the summoned figure, and a conflicted look covered his face as he looked at Lu Yin. Should he tell him?

While Lu Yin had never met, or felt Progenitor Wen’s aura before, the silhouette bore a strong resemblance to the images of Progenitor Wen that Lu Yin had seen before. In fact, this figure looked exactly like the portrait of the Progenitor that Lu Yin had once seen in Virtue Archives.

The identity of the humanoid tribulation had been confirmed to be none other than Lu Yin's own father, Lu Qi.

Lu Qi was the only member of the Lu family to ever have conferred Progenitor Wen, but it was known to have only happened after Lu Qi became a Semi-Progenitor. However, the humanoid tribulation that Lu Yin was facing was only a peak Envoy.

Lu Yin felt a lump in his throat upon realizing that he had been unwittingly attacking his own father.

“Junior Brother, be careful!” Mu Xie cautioned Lu Yin. It was clear to the man that Lu Yin had realized who he was facing by the changes in the young man’s expression.

Lu Yin let out a long breath as a bitter smile appeared on his face. The identity of his humanoid tribulation did not matter; he could not afford to lose.

His greatest challenge at this moment was not the humanoid tribulation, but rather the summoned copy of Progenitor Wen.

Despite his confidence in his own strength, Lu Yin knew that facing a Progenitor solely with his own strength was absolutely impossible. This was not nearly as simply as crossing realms to challenge a stronger opponent. There was a fundamental, qualitative difference between Lu Yin and a Progenitor.

“Even if you can’t defeat the Progenitor, you can still deal with the humanoid tribulation,” Progenitor Smoke transmitted to his ear.

Lu Yin nodded. He had also realized that this was his only possible chance to pass this tribulation.

In the Outer Realm, Xia Shenji burst into hysterical laughter. “How ironic for a father to kill his own son. Hahahaha!”

Bai Wangyuan’s previously tense expression relaxed. “It no longer matters what sort of ridiculous abilities Lu Xiaoxuan might possess. With Progenitor Wen as his opponent, this tribulation is already guaranteed to end in failure.”

Wang Fan, Progenitor Long, and all the other Progenitors in the Outer Realm were thinking the same thing. Some felt despair, while others mocked Lu Yin. Still, more than anything else, everyone felt a chill strike their hearts as they understood just what the true universe was capable of doing.

If a truly impossible trial could appear during Lu Xiaoxuan's stellular tribulation, then what did that signify for everyone else? Was it possible that they would also be forced to face a comparable trial during their own tribulations?

Who could possibly manage to defeat a Progenitor as a six-tribulation Envoy?

Perhaps the real question was, just what was Lu Xiaoxuan cultivating that had triggered such an excessive reaction from the true universe?

Lu Yin carefully observed Progenitor Wen and then threw a palm strike at the manifestation of his father. Lu Yin used his full power in this attack, hoping to eliminate the humanoid tribulation with a single hit.

Unfortunately, no matter how fast his Hollow Palm might be, it was no match for the transformation that took place across both the sky and the ground.

Before the attack could land, writing of ancient characters swirled through the sky and across ground, blocking the Hollow Palm. This was Progenitor Wen’s Progenitor’s world: World Changer. Speed meant nothing when both the sky and the ground were both sealed off.

Progenitor Wen casually pointed at Lu Yin, and a stream of the characters shot at him.

As the characters crashed into him, Lu Yin quickly released Wielder - Indestructible to protect himself. Unfortunately, the pinnacle of battle force was effortlessly shattered, which left Lu Yin gasping for breath. It was clear that he was still far from being capable of enduring a Progenitor's attack.

He quickly brought out the unique power that lay within his chest in an attempt to push back at least a portion of the Progenitor’s world that surrounded him, but unfortunately, all of his efforts were futile. Lu Yin’s unique power was capable of dispersing a Semi-Progenitor’s inner world, but it was completely helpless against a Progenitor’s world.

Wave after wave of ancient characters bombarded Lu Yin, and countless more swirled through the air, falling upon him like raindrops. It was utterly impossible to evade the assault.

Desperation took root as he realized that even a few of these ancient characters were enough to cause severe injury. If all of the characters filling the sky and ground struck him at the same time, then not only would he die, but there would also be nothing left of him at all.

Regret overcame Lu Yin, as he had never attempted to confer a Progenitor himself. After all, he was supported by both the Progenitor of Bloodlines and Senior Brother Mu Xie. If Lu Yin had conferred either of those Progenitors, then there would be no reason for him to fear Progenitor Wen.

Lu Yin felt that he had been overly cautious in this matter. He had been too conservative by intending to confer a Progenitor to his Investiture of the Gods only after passing his sixth stellular tribulation.

Lu Yin had been bold enough to try to anoint a Semi-Progenitor as a champion when he had only been a one-tribulation Envoy. He had taken the risk despite the severe backlash that he had faced from the attempt, so why was he so afraid to attempt to confer a Progenitor?

Blood spilled from the corners of Lu Yin’s mouth as he stared at the distant forms of Progenitor Wen and the humanoid tribulation. They were simply toying with him, as he was caught in the palm of their hand. Was there truly no chance for him to win?

There was no such thing as a battle that was impossible to survive, and this stellular tribulation was no exception. There had to be a path out.

Since Lu Yin had been the one to trigger such a terrible situation, then there had to be a corresponding way for him to overcome this tribulation.

But what was the solution?

The first thing that came to Lu Yin’s mind was Extremes Must Be Reversed, but Progenitor Wen did not exist in an extreme state. Undying God’s innate gift that allowed him to drift in and out of existence could be regarded as an extreme state. Time was also an extreme state, in and of itself. In that case, what if Lu Yin forced Progenitor Wen into an extreme state?

Lu Yin reopened his eyes and stared at his humanoid tribulation.

The power of Progenitor Wen was more than enough to defeat Lu Yin in mere seconds. The fact that Lu Yin had not been defeated yet meant that the attacks that he had taken so far were the limit of what the humanoid tribulation could bring forth from the summoned Progenitor. The master of the Investiture of the Gods was currently unable to display the full strength of the summoned Progenitor’s power.

It should have been completely impossible for anyone to confer a Progenitor into an Investiture of the Gods before becoming a Progenitor themselves, as doing so was essentially crossing realms to challenge a Progenitor. Thus, it made sense for there to be limits to this ability even if someone could somehow pull it off.

This meant that Lu Yin was only facing an incomplete version of a summoned Progenitor. With that, it meant that he had a chance.

It was impossible for him to defeat an actual Progenitor, but Lu Yin could at least create an opportunity for himself.

Another ancient character smashed Lu Yin to the ground, where he vomited a mouthful of blood.

Everyone watched as Lu Yin struggled against his stellular tribulation. This was most likely the most difficult sixth stellular tribulation in all of history.

Progenitor Smoke peered up at the stellular tribulation vortex. How brutal.

Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers became visibly more relaxed as they watched the ancient characters knock Lu Yin around. Each time he was struck, he coughed up more blood. Each attempt to dodge proved completely futile.

Without his tool, weapons, or other aides, it was impossible for Lu Yin to defeat a Progenitor, but did he dare to use such things against a stellular tribulation?

Mu Xie’s expression became increasingly grave, and he slowly said, “Junior Brother, if you truly can’t do it, then abandon your breakthrough.”

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. Abandoning his breakthrough would mean failing to pass his tribulation, and that meant that his next attempt would be even more difficult than his current tribulation. However, it would at least allow him to survive.

If Lu Yin truly wanted to guarantee passing his sixth stellular tribulation, he could abandon his breakthrough and then dissolve three of his four stellular energy vortices. After that, he would be regarded as just another ordinary cultivator, and he would thus face a much easier stellular tribulation.

But why should he do that?

Lu Yin lifted his head and braced himself as he was once again struck by the ancient characters. Blood completely soaked his clothes. Why should a stellular tribulation mark the end of his current path?

His mind raced as he tried to find a possible solution to his predicament.

His Wielder-realm battle force was instantly shattered the moment he used it, and his physical body was in rough shape. Even the power he cultivated within his chest was incapable of standing up to Progenitor Wen’s Progenitor’s world.

Lu Yin glared at the humanoid tribulation. Screw it, it’s all or nothing.

An Astral Chessboard appeared beneath his feat, and it stretched out far into the distance. Lu Yin tried to swap positions with the humanoid tribulation, but he was blocked by a series of ancient characters.

Xia Shenji chuckled coldly. “What a joke! Using a secret technique against a Progenitor?”

The Astral Chessboard exploded, and Lu Yin’s eyes filled with determination. His attempt to change positions had been thwarted. “Astral Chessboard: board manipulation.”

You might be able to block my path, but I can still manipulate the board!

Lu Yin had influenced space with his attempt to change positions, while Progenitor Wen had also influenced space by blocking the attempt. Lu Yin had then used board manipulation to undo Progenitor Wen’s spatial influence, which allowed Lu Yin to successfully move to the position of the humanoid tribulation, as he had originally intended.

This was the entire reason why he had used the Ce Secret Art’s board manipulation.

Lu Yin had tried to swap positions, been thwarted, and then after that, space had stabilized once again. Throughout the entire series of events, his body had experienced a blur of changes, and it began to break down from the spatial pressure.

Board manipulation allowed Lu Yin to successfully get close to the humanoid tribulation.

Mu Xie, Progenitor Smoke, and everyone else just stared, wide-eyed at what Lu Yin had accomplished.

Just as Lu Yin was about to appear right next to the humanoid tribulation, he looked away from this target. Ancient characters had appeared yet again, and they blocked his path once more.

It was impossible for Lu Yin to successfully use any of his battle techniques or other abilities against a Progenitor. Not even the mysteriousness of the Ce Secret Art was or its ability to revert space to a previous state was enough. The reason for this was simple: Progenitors stood at the pinnacle of cultivation.

Bai Wangyuan and the four ruling powers’ other Progenitors had never felt the slightest bit of worry, as they were well aware of Progenitor Wen’s strength.

Lu Yin would never be able to break free from Progenitor Wen’s Progenitor’s world, no matter what methods he employed.

Cracks appeared all over Lu Yin’s entire body, and the distance between him and the humanoid tribulation started to grow. No, he refused to let things end at this point.

He raised a hand and aimed an attack at the ancient characters, rather than the humanoid tribulation. He used Extremes Must Be Reversed.

Extremes Must Be Reversed was able to affect any extreme state or phenomena, such as time or the Undying God’s drifting state.

At the precise moment that Progenitor Wen stopped Lu Yin from using board manipulation, space was no longer being suppressed, and it returned to its normal state. In other words, space was no longer being controlled by either individual, which could be considered an extreme state and was precisely what Lu Yin had been waiting for. The state of the space suppressed by Progenitor Wen’s Progenitor’s world was extreme in the exact same manner as how the Withered Bark that Lu Yin had Enhanced had been in an extreme state of time.

As soon as Extremes Must Be Reversed was used, the suppression that was preventing space from recovering, which was an extreme state, was stopped.

Extremes Must Be Reversed was not a secret technique, but rather a Progenitor’s battle technique that Progenitor Ku had created. Even Undying God had been unable to prevent himself from being forced out of his drifting state, and Progenitor Wen could have never hoped to compare to Undying God.

When Extremes Must Be Reversed collided with the ancient characters, the space that had been suppressed returned back to normal. ?Lu Yin instantly appeared next to the humanoid tribulation. There was no time for anyone at all to react, aside from Lu Yin himself.

He mustered all of his strength and slammed a palm into the humanoid tribulation’s back.

From when Lu Yin had first used the Ce Secret Art to the moment his attack landed upon the humanoid tribulation, less than a single second had passed. Everything played out in a blur, and Lu Yin’s body was almost torn apart from the myriad spatial forces pulling at him. Only when Lu Yin’s hand landed on the back of the humanoid tribulation was Bai Wangyuan and the rest able to see what Lu Yin had been trying to pull off.