Chapter 2658: The Hidden Enemy

For a long time after the call ended, Chen Le just stared silently at the communication crystal in his hand.

Everyone had been underestimating the Origin Universe this whole time. The Three Monarchs Universe had thought that they were colluding with Xia Shenji against the Origin Universe, but they had not known that the Origin Universe had already sent someone into the Sixverse Association long ago.

Xuan Qi... just what is that man’s status in the Origin Universe? He’s already been a part of the Sixverse Association for some time, and he even attended the Sixverse Academy before joining the Voidforce Universe, where he arrested many spies. Just what is that man planning? Hang on, wasn't he here in the Three Monarchs Universe when Monarch Mu disappeared?

Chen Le’s knowledge of Xuan Qi caused the man to suddenly start suspecting the young man’s connection to the missing Monarch Mu. That meant that Monarch Mu's disappearance might be related to the Origin Universe. In that case, was there really any connection to the You family at all? Chen Le had absolutely no idea.

Lu Yin stood in his courtyard, calmly staring off into the distance.

Given a choice, he would not have dropped such a big hint about his connection to the Origin Universe so early to Chen Le. However, something was happening to the passage that connected the two universes. There had to be some specific reason why Monarch Luo was confident that the passage was about to open, and that had pushed this matter to become Lu Yin’s top priority.

The passage could not be allowed to open. If it did, the Fifth Mainland would instantly be forced into a war on two fronts, as they would be forced to deal with both the Three Monarchs Universe and the Perennial World, which would quickly overwhelm the Fifth Mainland. Furthermore, given Aeternus’s presence in the Three Monarchs Universe, the Fifth Mainland would face even more trouble if the Three Monarchs Universe became unable to hold the Aeternals off.

Lu Yin did not want to see the Fifth Mainland be crippled by the Three Monarchs Universe.

For that reason, he found the risk of exposing his true identity to Chen Le to be worth the stakes involved. Unless the man wanted to die or was confident that he could remove both the Death Seal and Mu Xie’s energy from his body, Chen Le would not betray Lu Yin.

After spending half a day considering the situation, Lu Yin decided that he would not let his future be decided by fate. He needed to be prepared for Chen Le's possible betrayal.

There was no question that the Sixverse Association had various individuals who were capable of removing the energies that had been left within Chen Le. The Great Sovereign was only one of those people.

Everything depended on whether Chen Le would choose mutual destruction.

There was no perfect plan. Lu Yin had only started to leverage Chen Le, and yet he had already been forced to partially expose his real identity. In the megaverse, countless beings complemented and restricted each other. Nothing could ever run smoothly forever. It was essentially a universal law.

Having just become a peak powerhouse, Chen Le had obtained a status equal to the three Monarchs themselves. He had become a target of admiration for countless people in the Three Monarchs Universe, and even other peak powerhouses from other universes in the Sixverse Association had sent the man their congratulations for his breakthrough. He was unwilling to jeopardize everything that he worked so hard to obtain.

At the very least, not for the time being.

Chen Le was not loyal to the Three Monarchs Universe. If he were, he would have never joined the Liberation Palace. With Monarch Mu missing, the Three Monarchs Universe would be taking a rather large gamble in challenging the Origin Universe, but that did not really matter to Chen Le. The only thing that mattered to him was regaining his freedom.

Both Lu Yin and Chen Le considered many things.

The following day, Chen Le appeared at the location of the passageway, where he ran into Xia Shenji.

The Progenitor had not expected Chen Le to come, and he asked, "What brings you here?"

Chen Le looked confused. "Senior, shouldn’t you be at the rainbow wall fighting against Aeternus? Why are you here at this passage?"

Xia Shenji replied, "That’s none of your business. Monarch Luo knows where I am. What brings you here?"

Chen Le casually mentioned, "I was just passing by."

Xia Shenji frowned as he stared intently at Chen Le, and the Monarch quickly left.

Xia Shenji immediately informed Monarch Luo of what had happened, only to be told not to worry about it. Monarch Luo would ask Chen Le about what had happened.

Chen Le soon received a call from Monarch Luo. "I heard a bit from Old Bo about how the passage will soon be opening, so I went over to confirm things for myself. This matter is of the utmost importance, and we cannot afford to allow foreigners like Xuan Qi to learn of it."

Monarch Luo complimented the man. "Well done. It’s always best to err on the side of caution. Does Xuan Qi know about this passageway?"

Chen Le replied, "He knows that there is a transuniversal passage, but he does not know that it leads to the Origin Universe. Old Bo is extremely careful."

"Make sure that he never finds out. You can also eliminate that Old Bo for me. I have no use for someone who surrenders everything he knows so readily," Monarch Luo commanded.

Chen Le quickly agreed.

After ending his conversation with Monarch Luo, Chen Le went to Lu Yin's courtyard and requested a meeting.

...

"Xia Shenji?" Lu Yin arched a brow. Monarch Luo was confident that the passage would soon open, and Xia Shenji was actually waiting at the opening in the Three Monarchs Universe. There really was trouble coming to the Fifth Mainland.

Chen Le continued, "Apart from Xia Shenji, there are also many cultivators from my universe gathered there. There was someone I’m not familiar with, though he appeared to be engaging in a lively conversation with Xia Shenji. Despite his youthful appearance, he seemed to hold a status about equal to Xia Shenji’s."

"What does he look like?" Lu Yin asked in alarm.

Chen Le’s eyes locked with Lu Yin’s. "You are from the Origin Universe. So young, so accomplished, and you’re even backed by a peak powerhouse. If I'm not wrong, you might just be the Heavens Sect’s Dao Monarch, Lu Yin."

Lu Yin's eyes grew hard, but he said nothing.

Chen Le stared intently into Lu Yin's eyes. "You might be, but you might not be as well. I don't actually care. All I want is my freedom. The controls that you and that peak powerhouse planted in me must be removed. I refuse to be manipulated for the rest of my life."

"Are you trying to bargain with me?" Lu Yin’s voice turned cold.

Chen Le replied, "There’s no need for any threats. I've already made my preparations. Should anything happen to me, your recent actions and all of my own suspicions will immediately be delivered to Monarch Luo, the Voidforce Universe, and the Transcendent Universe. This includes my guesses regarding Monarch Mu's disappearance. Everyone will learn that Xuan Qi is nothing more than a fabricated identity."

Lu Yin remained silent.

Chen Le frowned. "You helped me break the door that was holding me back, and that allowed me to break through and become a Monarch. For that, I am genuinely grateful. We both know about each other's circumstances—I pledged my loyalty to the Liberation Palace, and if Monarch Luo were to ever learn of that, things will not end well for me. No one accepts betrayal. Thus, even if you remove your control over me, I won’t betray you, and we can continue to work together.

"I will help you investigate what is happening with the passage, and there will be plenty of opportunities for us to collaborate in the future as well. However, you must first remove the controls that you have put in me, or else we will both go down together."

Lu Yin scoffed. He did not believe that Chen Le was truly willing to follow through with mutual destruction, but he also did not want to force the man into desperation. Lu Yin’s identity as Xuan Qi was becoming increasingly important, and it was connected to Xu Wuji, Xu Heng, Xu Leng, You Fang, and other peak powerhouses of the Sixverse Association. If Lu Yin was exposed, how would those people view him? If he was going to be exposed, he would rather do it on his own terms.

After all, the Sixverse Association had always been less than friendly towards the Origin Universe.

Chen Le had decided to seize this opportunity to threaten Lu Yin, but it was a threat that was cushioned with both parties’ interests. The man was seeking cooperation rather than unilateral control.

Lu Yin let out a sigh before smiling at the man. "I was short-sighted in trying to control a peak powerhouse. I have failed to show Senior Chen Le proper respect, and for that, I apologize."

Lu Yin's attitude allowed Chen Le to relax slightly. He had been extremely worried that Lu Yin would choose mutual destruction over risking losing his identity as Xuan Qi, but that was an outcome that would benefit no one. "When will you remove the controls?"

Lu Yin replied, "When this matter is over."

Chen Le wanted to retort, but he was cut off by Lu Yin, "What are you worried about, Senior? You're able to force me to remove my control of you because you were able to guess my real identity. You already know that Monarch Mu's disappearance is related to me, while this passage has nothing to do with any of that."

"No, you need to deal with this now," Chen Le stated bluntly.

"Nobody knows what’s going to happen with that passage, and I need a peak powerhouse to protect the Origin Universe from a possible invasion. Are you willing to go to the Origin Universe to have the energies inside of you removed?" Lu Yin asked.

It was only natural that Chen Le was reluctant to agree to such a thing. He was no fool, and he understood that was a high chance of him being silenced if he went to the Origin Universe.

"Once that passage opens, the Origin Universe will face an all-out invasion. At that point in time, my identity as Xuan Qi will no longer mean anything at all. If that’s the case, I might as well go down with you, Senior. Regardless, even if I do need to remove the seal in you, it will have to be done after the passage is dealt with." Lu Yin was similarly stubborn.

Of course, Chen Le wanted the energies within him to be removed as quickly as possible, but what Lu Yin had said was not wrong. Once the passage opened, he would need to return to the Origin Universe to protect it from invaders. At that point in time, his identity as Xuan Qi would become useless. Whether he tried to maintain it or not would become irrelevant. The Sixverse Association had never been friendly towards the Origin Universe, and on top of that, if Chen Le’s suspicions were correct, the young man was directly involved in Monarch Mu's disappearance. Who knew if the Monarch was even still alive? This youth was definitely able to threaten the Sixverse Association.

As soon as the passage opened, Lu Yin would be able to threaten the Sixverse Association, or at the very least, he would be able to threaten the Three Monarchs Universe. It would be better to wait until after the matter of the passage was settled.

As long as the passage remained closed, the identity of Xuan Qi would remain useful. Lu Yin wanted to keep using his facade of Xuan Qi, so he would remove the energies in Chen Le.

"Of course, removing those energies is one thing, but I will also need you to swear to not expose my real identity under any circumstances, Senior. Violating this vow," Lu Yin paused as his eyes grew ice cold, "Will result in you being completely annihilated."

Chen Le stared at Lu Yin for a moment. "Fine, we will each make a vow: I won't compromise your ‘Xuan Qi’ identity or share my speculations about you, and you, Xuan Qi, will not reveal my relationship with the Liberation Palace. From now on, we will be cooperating with each other."

Lu Yin nodded.

Chen Le left after sharing what he had learned about the situation at the entrance to the passage.

Lu Yin immediately understood why Monarch Luo was so certain that the passage would be opened. The person who had been chatting with Xia Shenji was none other than one of the Perennial World’s four Array Grandmasters: the youngest Grandmaster, Mu Shang.

Lu Yin had his own grudges and history with Mu Shang, but he had never considered the possibility that Mu Shang would actually travel to the Three Monarchs Universe to help them open the passage to the Fifth Mainland.

The Shenwu Continent was being protected by Senior Brother Mu Xie, and for that reason, the Perennial World had given up any hope of opening the passage from the Fifth Mainland. They had instead redirected their attention to the other end.

Could Mu Shang undo the Sealing Path sourcebox array from the Three Monarchs Universe? Lu Yin could not say for sure, but he did not dare to take the risk. While Mu Shang was no match for Grandmaster Gu Yan, the endless years of preparation that the Three Monarchs had set up to force their way through the passage had not been for naught. It was also possible that the Sixverse Association could have sent another Array Grandmaster to assist their efforts. The safest course of action was to prevent anyone from trying to unseal the passage.

...

At the rainbow wall, Arch-Elder Zen was unaware that the Three Monarchs Universe intended to open the passage to his home.

He had dedicated himself entirely to fighting against Aeternus’s invasion. Even without the conflict between the Origin Universe and the Sixverse Association, he would have still spent his days protecting humanity from the Aeternals.

Suddenly, his wireless jincan trembled.

Wireless jincans were able to communicate across any distance, provided that there were two in the same universe. This meant that Lu Yin was able to directly communicate with Arch-Elder Zen without having to worry about being monitored.

Using the wireless jincans, Lu Yin informed Arch-Elder Zen of the current situation and told the Progenitor to leave the frontlines.

Days later, Aeternus launched another attack on the Three Monarchs Universe. The fighting was intense, but without giving any warning at all, Arch-Elder Zen suddenly left his post.

The moment Monarch Luo received the news, he started accusing Arch-Elder Zen of being a traitor who cared nothing for the safety of humanity as a whole.

After all, Arch-Elder Zen's absence created a large hole in the Three Monarchs Universe’s defenses.

Unsurprisingly, a Progenitor-level corpse king appeared, instantly targeting Arch-Elder Zen's empty position at the rainbow wall. Seizing the opportunity, Forgotten Ruins God started attacking Monarch Luo and Monarch Xing, preventing them from moving.

The rainbow wall teetered on the edge of being overtaken.