Chapter 2559: Rainbow Wall

Lu Yin's mind started to wander. He was not entirely sure what he should feel. Hatred? Resentment? Something else entirely? What he heard from Bai Qian seemed completely absurd. Why should his Lu family need to pay the price for the Heaven Sect's errors? This was not a matter of justice or fairness, but rather the simple fact that the Sixverse Association wanted an outlet to use to release pent-up frustrations. They had struggled during the Heaven Sect's reign, yet when it collapsed, Aeternus had taken up the position of the oppressor. The Sixverse Association had sought someone to take their revenge, and the Lu family had become a convenient target.

"Who decided that the Lu family should bear this guilt?" Lu Yin asked.

Bai Qian shifted her gaze. "The Great Sovereign."

Lu Yin closed his eyes. As he had suspected, only the Great Sovereign had the power to make such a decision.

"The decision was made by the Great Sovereign, but the proposal to hold the Lu family accountable was not initiated by him. The Sixverse Association has held a long grudge against the Origin Universe, and that resentment needed an outlet. The proposal provided a convenient opportunity," Bai Qian continued.

Lu Yin stared at the woman intently. "Who did suggest that proposal?"

Bai Qian shook her head. "There are still a few things I don't know about. I might be able to find out after I defeat He Ran."

Lu Yin continued staring at the woman for a moment. It would be easy to mistake such a comment for a suggestion to trade, but Lu Yin could tell that she had merely shared her honest thoughts with him.

Whoever had made the proposal had to be from the Sixverse Association, though that did not mean that they had also been the one to come up with that idea. It was possible that the four ruling powers had first conceived the idea.

The four ruling powers were familiar with the Sixverse Association's sentiments, so they might have condemned the Lu family and prodded the Sixverse Association into channeling old grudges for the Origin Universe towards the Lu family. By taking advantage of the strength of the Cyclic Universe, they had succeeded in exiling the Lu family and assumed control of the Perennial World. Such tactics had been an attempt to pacify the Sixverse Association's hostility towards the Origin Universe, but had not been enough to allow the Perennial World to qualify as a member of the Sixverse Association.

This had subsequently led to the current situation.

The Perennial World was aware of the Sixverse Association, but was unable to join.

Lu Yin let out a long breath. Bai Qian's explanation had expanded his understanding of the Sixverse Association and clarified some of his thoughts. He finally knew what needed to be done.

Regardless of whether the Lu family had been rightfully condemned or not, they had already been banished. Past grievances should already have been settled, which meant that he needed to work towards bringing the Lu family back. Both the four ruling powers and the Sixverse Association would undoubtedly oppose it, but Lu Yin’s goals were crystal clear to him.

"If possible, I’ll find a way to help you defeat He Ran," Lu Yin said as he turned back to face Bai Qian again. He reached out a hand. "We’re allies now."

Bai Qian shook the bottle of wine. "We already became allies with drinks."

She chuckled, and then reached out her hand as well. A clear sound echoed across the desolate planet.

...

Two people were lying on a barren planet, sand covering their bodies. There were looming yellow clouds overhead that carried a pungent smell.

A hideous creature that looked somewhat like an oversized scorpion rapidly closed in on the two figures. It extended tentacles, instead of pincers, to grab its prey. Suddenly, one of the two people woke up, only to find themselves face to face with the scorpion's grotesque mouth. The person screamed and instinctively released their strength. Tri-colored Monarch Essence tore through the scorpion, leaving it in pieces. Green blood and shattered organs splattered onto the ground.

Ugh.

The man fought off a wave of nausea and decided to move away. When he turned, he noticed the second person lying on the ground nearby. Upon recognizing the person, the man exclaimed, "Brother-in-law?"

A short while later, Luo Lao’er was sitting on a withered hillside, stuffing his mouth with a voracious appetite. Next to him, Lu Yin slowly regained consciousness.

"Brother-in-law, you're awake!" Luo Lao'er happily exclaimed.

Lu Yin saw Luo Lao'er next to him, and asked, "What happened to us?"

Luo Lao'er replied, "That despicable Tu Shuangshuang captured us! Now we’re in the Three Monarchs Universe."

"The Three Monarchs Universe?" Lu Yin was astonished. "Isn't that where you’re from? Why did she send us here? Did she let us go?"

The bombardment of multiple questions left Luo Lao'er with a headache. "I don't know, either. Honestly, she should have just captured us. Those Bubble Fantasys she used is Cheng Kong’s best technique. That woman's a spy for Aeternus, so she shouldn't have let us go. Even so, here we are, which is very strange. I have no idea what might have happened to everyone else."

Lu Yin's expression changed, and he quickly checked his own condition.

"I've already checked. I can’t sense any foreign power that might have been planted in my body, so I doubt we're being controlled by anyone. On top of that." Luo Lao'er held out the dark green lens in a hand. "There's no issue regarding how much time might have passed. It’s only been a day since we were attacked in Cliff Town."

No one wore such lenses in the Sixverse Academy, as the students preferred to store such things in their cosmic rings, but Luo Lao’er had retrieved his.

Lu Yin frowned. "So you're saying that we're really free?"

Luo Lao'er rubbed his head. "It really doesn’t make any sense. Something had to have happened, but I can’t think of what.

"Why are we in the Three Monarchs Universe? Why are we still together? Where is everyone else? Everything about this is very strange."

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. "Can you contact the Sixverse Academy?"

Luo Lao'er grimaced. "No, I can't. I don't have any ability to contact that place, but even if I did, I couldn’t do so. Brother-in-law, neither of us have any explanation for what happened to us."

Lu Yin nodded. Luo Lao'er was currently facing the same situation as Lu Yin had after he had been captured by Aternus and taken to Aeternus Nation during the Astral Tower competition. Both young men had been captured by Aeternus, so how had they managed to escape? Why were they not being controlled?

Luo Lao'er stared off into the distance with a melancholic expression, though there were various other emotions that could be seen as well.

"No matter what, we still will need to contact the Sixverse Academy. All we can do for now is try to find the others. It’d be best if they’re here too. Even if we've been put under some form of control, the Sixverse Academy will find a way to save us. After all, Jiang Xiaodao and Shao Qingfeng were also captured," Lu Yin said. "Also, where are we right now?"

Luo Lao'er checked their location with his green lens. "The Three Monarchs Universe is not a very large universe, and is much smaller than the other universes that make up the Sixverse Association. That's because our cultivation civilization was once destroyed.

“Right now, we’re at the border between the Lower King Domain and Aeternus's territory."

Lu Yin nodded. "Well, lead the way. This is your stomping grounds."

Luo Lao'er smiled bitterly. "You already know my situation very well, Brother-in-law. I’m actually in worse danger here than in the Transcendent Universe or the Sixverse Academy. No matter if we can find the others or not, we need to leave this Three Monarchs Universe."

"How do we do that?" Lu Yin asked.

Neither of them had been born in the Transcendent Universe, which meant that they had no means to locate the Transcendent Universe from among the various parallel universes.

Luo Lao'er's eyes flickered. "I do know someone who can help us, but for that to happen, we first need to get back to the Lower King Domain. That means we need to cross the boundary."

Lu Yin frowned, suddenly realizing that he had made a mistake; he should have crossed the boundary before he had woken Luo Lao'er up, as it would have saved a good deal of time and effort. Given the strength of Luo Lao’er and Xuan Qi, how were the two young men supposed to they break through Aeternus's defenses?

Surprisingly, Lu Yin discovered that he had underestimated Luo Lao'er. While Lu Yin had no idea who had been contacted, Luo Lao’er led L uYin across the battlefield with unwavering confidence, crossing out of Aeternus’s territory and back into the region that belonged to the Three Monarchs Universe. The battle being fought was a typical war, which meant that few experts were involved. As a result, the two young men crossed the boundary without nearly as much difficulty as Lu Yin had anticipated, and they soon arrived at the edge of the battlefield.

Lu Yin squinted at the rainbow wall up ahead of them. This wall was a physical manifestation of monarch essence.

The towering rainbow wall separated the human region of the Three Monarchs Universe from Aeternus’s territory, and the sight of it amazed Lu Yin. While the Three Monarchs Universe was essentially a placeholder for the Sixverse Association, its strength still could not be underestimated. Even if other factors were ignored, just the power of this rainbow wall was comparable to the power needed to alter a universe.

Bai Wangyuan, Xia Shenji, and other Progenitors from the Perennial World were able to fill an entire region of a universe with their Progenitor's worlds, though they might not be able to maintain it for a long time. While the rainbow wall before Lu Yin was not a Progenitor's world, its power was able to last indefinitely. It was essentially the same as a colossal wall of stellular energy that stretched across a vast expanse of space.

"What do you think, Brother-in-law? This boundary’s impressive, isn’t it?" Luo Lao'er quietly bragged. The two young men were in a spacecraft that was shrouded with monarch essence. The area around them was filled with wounded soldiers and corpses.

Lu Yin openly praised the sight before him, "It’s spectacular."

"In this Three Monarchs Universe, this rainbow wall is almost as impressive as confronting one of the Seven Skygods. This place has actually become a bit of a tourist attraction. Anyone who visits this Three Monarchs Universe will definitely visit the rainbow wall," Luo Lao'er explained.

Lu Yin felt a bit puzzled. "If even the other members of the Sixverse Association are impressed by this wall, then your father must possess a truly impressive level of strength."

Luo Lao'er shook his head. "It’s not real. The power of this wall is built entirely upon the Three Monarchs Formation. Without that formation, this wall would never exist."

Lu Yin's heart stirred. He had heard the Three Monarchs Formation mentioned many times before, but still did not understand what it was. "Is the Three Monarchs Formation some sort of sourcebox array?"

Luo Lao'er shrugged. "I don't know about that. After Lao Zang is dead, I’ll be able to return here openly and I can then help you find out."

There was a gate at the bottom of the rainbow wall where a beam of light fell. The vessel slowly approached the gate and prepared to pass through it.

Lu Yin watched as the beam of light approached them. "Will there be any problems getting in?"

He was genuinely worried. From what he had learned from Luo Lao'er, the Three Monarchs Universe was not very big. This meant that if an issue arose at the border, the three Monarchs might suddenly show up, which would be a huge problem for Lu Yin.

He was fully aware that it was impossible for him to contend with any one of the Seven Skygods. If he was forced to face the Three Monarchs Formation, no, even just Monarch Luo alone, there would not be any chance at all.

Additionally, where was Xia Shenji?

"There won't be any problems. Don’t worry about it, Brother-in-law," Luo Lao'er confidently declared.

Both nervousness and anticipation filled Lu Yin as the beam of light swept over the spacecraft. There was a gentle tinkle from the lens in Luo Lao’er’s hand, and then the two smoothly passed through.

Luo Lao'er had tampered with his lens during the inspection. It seemed that he had done something with a communication token and the lens, which had allowed the two through the rainbow wall.

The rainbow wall was not merely expansive, but also exceptionally thick. It took a good bit of time for the spacecraft to fly through it.

The moment Lu Yin passed through the rainbow wall, he was again able to sense powerful fluctuations of monarch essence. If so much power were to erupt, it would easily be enough to utterly destroy him. No wonder the wall was able to hold back the Aeternals.

"Brother-in-law, let's go." As soon as the ship had docked, Luo Lao'er led Lu Yin away. They encountered no obstacles at all, despite stealing a small vessel that was also shrouded with monarch essence.

The two proceeded to simply fly away through outer space.

Luo Lao'er stretched. "We’re finally out!"

"Who helped you?" Lu Yin casually asked.

Luo Lao'er replied, "Even if I’m not welcome or safe here in the Three Monarchs Universe, I still lived a rather comfortable life before Luo Zang was born. I still have a few friends."

"Aren't you afraid you’ll be betrayed?" Lu Yin felt rather curious.

Luo Lao'er slapped his chest. "My friends are loyal and true men! There's no way any of them would betray me."

Lu Yin looked out into space. Given how cautious Luo Lao’er always was, there was no way that he had reached out to mere friends for help. As he had said, while Luo Zang’s existence meant that Luo Lao’er was not safe in the Three Monarchs Universe, he still had access to some resources. Also, he clearly had a hidden helper.

This was a bit reassuring. If Luo Lao’er did not have at least that much ability, there would be no point in Lu Yin helping the young man.