Chapter 2458: A Narrow Path

Lu Yin looked out of the entrance of the Celestial Treasury. He would not even try to ask Arch-Elder Zen to abandon his breakthrough. The old man was not a vassal of the Lu family, nor was he a survivor from the Lu family. He was also not present just to hold back Bai Wangyuan and the others. He truly intended to face his stellular tribulation, and he had simply volunteered to follow Lu Yin to this place and face his tribulation in a more convenient location.

Ever since the Sixth Mainland had covered the Fifth Mainland's sky, no Progenitor had risen from the Fifth Mainland. Even after the Upper Three Gates were opened, the Fifth Mainland’s Semi-Progenitors had not been confident enough to attempt the breakthrough to the Progenitor realm. The first one to attempt it, Lingzhi Mavis, had died to her tribulation. Arch-Elder Zen was the second to make an attempt.

Arch-Elder Zen's first trial was the field of destruction.

A vast expanse of stellular energy in the Higher Realm formed a field of destruction that looked like it had replaced the sky, and it pressed down upon Arch-Elder Zen from every direction, sapping away the stellular energy from within his body. Many Semi-Progenitors could not pass this trial.

Lu Yin had relied on the unique power within his chest to stop his stellular energy from being taken away.

The Progenitor realm was the final step of human cultivation. To become a Progenitor, one had to create their own cultivation system.

The power within Lu Yin's chest was strong enough to let him disregard a Semi-Progenitor's inner world. It was a system of his own creation. At this moment, Arch-Elder Zen needed to do the same thing for himself. He needed to find a way to stop his stellular energy from being taken away, or else he would struggle terribly to complete this particular trial.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Suddenly, Lu Yin realized something. Even after all this time, Lu Yin had never seen Arch-Elder Zen's inner world.

What was Arch-Elder Zen's inner world? Lu Yin focused in on the old man.

Arch-Elder Zen took a deep breath. Behind him, stone pillars shot up, towering overhead. Each one held various buildings, and nature flourished around the pillars. It was possible to see trees, jungles, and stars. This was the Hall of Honor.

Lu Yin blurted out, "The Hall of Honor?"

Arch-Elder Zen stood in place, his hands clasped behind his back. He looked around at what surrounded him. Indeed, his inner world was the Hall of Honor.

Each Semi-Progenitor’s inner world was unique to themselves. Some were focused on killing, such as Xia Ji's long saber or Wu Yao's crescent ring. Some had a wide area of effect, such as Lan Xian's cherry blossoms or Kui Luo's dragon gate. There were also unique inner worlds, such as Qing Ping's, which was able to deliver judgment. However, Lu Yin had never seen an inner world that mirrored the real world.

Lu Yin stared at Arch-Elder Zen with a complicated expression. If this man’s inner world was based on something in the real world, then had the Hall of Honor been based on Arch-Elder Zen's inner world?

Mu Xie praised, "This man possesses extraordinary talent. He used his inner world as a blueprint to manifest a scene identical to one in the real world, which is essentially a form of self-hypnosis. The stronger the true Hall of Honor is, the stronger his inner world becomes. Fascinating!"

Lu Yin had no idea that this was how it worked. "If the real Hall of Honor were destroyed, then what would happen to Arch-Elder Zen's inner world?"

"It would weaken accordingly."

Lu Yin stared at Arch-Elder Zen's back in a daze.

When Aeternus had attacked the Fifth Mainland, a section of the Hall of Honor had been destroyed. Many things had happened afterward, and the Hall of Honor had eventually disappeared entirely. Instead, the Heavens Sect had been established, and that had become the new center of power for the Fifth Mainland. Throughout everything, Arch-Elder Zen had always supported Lu Yin, but not once had the man ever mentioned a desire to rebuild the Hall of Honor.

Arch-Elder Zen had willingly weakened himself in order to support Lu Yin.

"The Hall of Honor was destroyed a long time ago now, and his inner world has been greatly weakened. It's highly unlikely that he can use it to stop his stellular energy from being pulled away." Mu Xie sighed.

Lu Yin felt puzzled.

Senior, why didn't you tell me about your inner world? He did not voice this question aloud, as Arch-Elder Zen was already facing his stellular tribulation and Lu Yin’s voice might be treated as interference.

Although Lu Yin did not say anything out loud, Arch-Elder Zen seemed to have heard the unspoken question. As he watched stellular energy seep out from his body, he said, "I've only ever had one goal, which is to protect the Fifth Mainland. Whether it's me or you, Lu Yin, as long as the Fifth Mainland is protected, that’s good enough for me."

Suddenly, the Hall of Honor that was his inner world collapsed around him.

The little stellular energy that the man had left was no longer able to sustain his inner world.

"It's worse than I imagined. It seems that the real Hall of Honor holds a powerful influence on him. He undoubtedly possessed terrifying power in the past, and he may have even been capable of fighting against a Progenitor as a mere Semi-Progenitor, just like Junior Brother Qing Ping. The power that he had received from the Hall of Honor back then must have been immense. However, as it weakened, it’s adverse effects on him are just as strong," Mu Xie explained.

Lu Yin understood. It was no wonder why Arch-Elder Zen had never used his inner world. Everything made sense now.

As the field of destruction drew closer, the Hall of Honor collapsed around Arch-Elder Zen. Suddenly, he burst out laughing. "I understand now! Stellular energy flows in reverse, just as prosperity begins to decline. Since my inner world has collapsed, then why cling to it any longer? If stellular energy can flow in reverse, then I will simply reform my inner world with the reversed stellular energy."

As the man spoke, his eyes opened wide. Waves of invisible power rippled out in all directions, abruptly causing the field of destruction to pause. At the same time, the stellular energy inside his body started to flow in reverse, which stopped it from draining away.

Bai Wangyuan and the others were all amazed. When the man’s inner world had collapsed, they had all expected Arch-Elder Zen to end up just like Wan Zhiyi: forced to damage his cultivation to escape the stellular tribulation. They had never expected to see someone reform their inner world. Reforming an inner world was nowhere near as simple as it sounded, especially during their stellular tribulation to become a Progenitor.

Lu Yin was similarly shocked, "Senior Brother, he…"

Mu Xie exclaimed, "The Fifth Mainland’s stellular energy has started flowing in reverse, and his original inner world was created by the normal flow of stellular energy. However, he just stopped suppressing his stellular energy from flowing in reverse and is instead using that power to reshape his inner world. He is truly worthy of being the master of the Hall of Honor, the ruler of the Fifth Mainland."

Lu Yin squinted. Reforming an inner world?

It sounded simple, but who could actually pull such a thing off? This was no different from trying to become a Progenitor. Some people succeeded, but how many people throughout all of history had managed to become a true Progenitor?

Lu Yin simply could not understand how Arch-Elder Zen was reforming his inner world. Even if it was possible, was there even enough time?

Arch-Elder Zen suddenly turned around to stare at Lu Yin. Hope filled the old man’s eyes. "Lu Yin, ever since you appeared, the Fifth Mainland has transformed. Regardless of whether you are a direct descendant of the Lu family or someone else, I firmly believe that you can lead the Fifth Mainland to its former glory. Since this is the case, I will support you wholeheartedly. I will help you as much as I can with my own strength. I just hope that you won't disappoint me."

Suddenly, a path appeared beneath the old man’s feet. It was a simple, rustic path that looked like a dirt road running through the countryside.

Everyone knew that this was Arch-Elder Zen's new inner world. A path? An inner world could actually take such a form?

As soon as the path appeared, it started to extend. Simultaneously, both ends began to stretch out towards the field of destruction. Almost instantly, the path propped up the field of destruction, much like a ruler that measured the sky.

Everyone watched intently. No one had ever seen such a strange inner world before, nor had any of them ever witnessed someone passing this trial in this manner.

The field of destruction stopped moving. It was being held firmly in place by the path.

Lu Yin could not understand what Arch-Elder Zen had meant by saying that he would support him.

The appearance of Arch-Elder Zen's tribulation had caused all the fighting within the Celestial Treasury to pause. Neither Mu Xie nor Lu Yin were confident that they could kill Nutjob Lu. If Nutjob Lu focused solely on evading their attacks, they were helpless. For the moment, Lu Yin could not find any solution to this problem.

After nearly half an hour, the sky-like field of destruction dissipated. Arch-Elder Zen had managed to overcome his first trial with his new inner world.

Everyone looked up at the vortex of the Progenitor stellular tribulation that lingered above Arch-Elder Zen. There were still more trials to come.

How could the tribulation to become a Progenitor be passed so easily?

Arch-Elder Zen stared upwards. The path remained beneath his feet, though it had shrunk down until it was only wide enough to support his feet.

Suddenly, the black hole of the stellular tribulation sent out a dazzling light that was quickly followed by a saber dropping down.

"Xia Shenji's blade?" exclaimed Wang Fan.

The true universe could potentially manifest any power that had appeared in the past, and Xia Shenji’s attacks were no exception.

It was just that no one had expected to see Xia Shenji's powerful attack appear.

Arch-Elder Zen looked up. "Back when you chased after Lu Yin, I was powerless and unable to offer any help. Today, I will destroy your blade! From this moment forward, I will be able to handle your attacks!"

As the man spoke, his path extended out from beneath his feet in the same manner as before, and it quickly arrived just beneath the saber. However, the saber did not slam into the path, but instead slashed towards Arch-Elder Zen who stood atop the path.

As the blade descended from one end of his path, Arch-Elder Zen stood at the other end.

As the saber approached, Arch-Elder Zen lifted a hand and actually caught the blade. It shattered.

Although this saber had not been launched by Xia Shenji himself, and although it also did not have the power of a Progenitor-level Xia Shenji, Arch-Elder Zen also was not yet a Progenitor. This meant that, within a similar cultivation realm, Arch-Elder Zen was capable of stopping Xia Shenji's blade. The old man was strong enough to stand against Xia Shenji.

Bai Wangyuan carefully observed the path that had appeared. He had no idea what it actually did. Was it unbreakable? Something else? He simply could not understand it at all.

The black vortex of the stellular tribulation still did not dissipate. A deep, thunderous boom echoed from above, shaking the heavens and the earth. It seemed as though the tribulation was trying to shake the life out of the person challenging it. While no one could tell where the sound originated from, everyone knew that the sound was far from ordinary due to the expression of agony on Arch-Elder Zen's face.

As the sound grew louder, it became obvious that it was the sound of drums. As the sound grew louder, it became more familiar to Lu Yin. Were these the battle drums of the Heavens Sect? Was this the rhythm of Thundering Hammer?

Battle drums existed to raise morale, and each drum beat could make a person’s blood boil, or even cause them to lose their fear of death while on the battlefield.

During the Heavens Sect era, the battle drums had been beaten by the Thundering Hammer battle technique. That battle technique had allowed Big Sis to fight toe to toe against a Dao Chosen.

The sound of drums during this trial were far more intense than what the Thundering Hammer could produce on its own. This sounded like numerous people banging on drums all at the same time.

No one could help Arch-Elder Zen. Even though Lu Yin knew the Thundering Hammer battle technique, he could not offer any assistance.

Fortunately, Arch-Elder Zen ultimately managed to withstand the drumming of the Thundering Hammer for an hour, though he bled from all seven orifices.

"The breakthrough to the Progenitor realm is not easy. The stronger a person is, the more terrifying their stellular tribulation will be. Oftentimes, it’s easier for mediocre cultivators to proceed along their path of cultivation," Mu Xie commented while looking towards Nutjob Lu. Mu Xie intended to find a way to deal with Nutjob Lu while Arch-Elder Zen was dealing with his tribulation, as they might not have another chance in the future.

Lu Yin also kept a wary eye on Nutjob Lu, fully intending to cooperate with Mu Xie with Extremes Must Be Reversed. Lu Yin rubbed his cosmic ring, itching to pull out the God of Death's left arm and scythe. However, Bai Wangyuan and the others had already warned Nutjob Lu about that particular attack, which meant that it would be nearly impossible for that attack to land.

Every idea that the two men could come up with seemed powerless against this madman.

One trial after another appeared from the stellular tribulation, but Arch-Elder Zen passed them all. Each one was incredibly difficult, and blood streamed from the old man’s body without stopping. The scent of blood filled the air.

Lu Yin did not dare to look over, as he feared that the next sight would be that of Arch-Elder Zen's death.