Chapter 2995: A Thread

"It’s impossible for her to become a Progenitor by replacing Destiny, which means that attempting to do so would simply be seeking death. She’s smart, as she chose to abandon Destiny’s power and use stellular energy to become a Progenitor. After that, she can once again choose to cultivate Destiny’s power, or she can choose not to. She has seized the initiative. This woman’s clever," Big Sis praised.

"There’s no need for her to recultivate that power," Skymender said with an ugly expression. "If she chooses to regain the power of Destiny, all she needs to do is undo the karmic transfer that she just performed. That would retrieve the power she just gave to all of us."

"Is that even possible?" Lu Yin was taken aback. Was it that easy to transfer the power of Destiny?

Skymender bitterly answered, "It is because we are willing to do so."

Starsibyl spoke up, her voice hoarse, "No one wants to bear the power of Destiny. The more a person understands Destiny, the less they want to touch her power. Destina knows this, which is why, when she requests that we return this power to her, she knows that we will agree without hesitation."

"We are essentially being treated as containers to store her power." Skymender glared at Destina, murder bright in his eyes.

Lu Yin looked back at Destina. The vortex and black hole of a stellular tribulation had appeared above the woman. This woman had also found an alternate path to become a Progenitor, and hers was to transfer her power away. This made it so that it was no longer impossible for her to become a Progenitor, and once she succeeded, she would be able to freely retrieve the power that she had given away.

Judging from the expressions on the faces of Skymender and the others, they would not refuse Destina’s attempt to reclaim her power, and it would also be difficult for any of them to refuse a Progenitor.

Was that why Destina told me not to interfere?

Only another person’s intervention could prevent Destina from retrieving Destiny’s power. As long as there was no interference, Destina would hold the initiative.

Big Sis exclaimed, "In the past, a Progenitor’s tribulation was a very serious matter. It was difficult for even one out of a hundred Semi-Progenitors to succeed in their breakthrough. But suddenly, that’s all changed. In particular, the path of your senior brother, Qing Ping, to becoming a peak powerhouse has opened up new doors for many people everywhere. I’m guessing that this woman concocted this plan from your senior brother’s breakthrough."

"That stellular energy wasn’t gathered overnight," Lu Yin commented.

Big Sis realized that Lu Yin was right. Destina must have been secretly cultivating stellular energy for a very long time, though no one knew when she had started. This was a plan that she had devised long ago.

Lu Buzheng's expression was as ugly if he had eaten a dead fly. This woman chased after him for so long because of Destiny, but in the end, she abandoned Destiny’s power in order to become a Progenitor.

What a hypocrite! Bah!

Cai Er's expression was just as ugly. She had always wanted to surpass Destina, even when it came to appearance. However, not only was Destina more beautiful, but Cai Er’s cultivation had also fallen behind.

In the middle of outer space, Destina looked upwards into the vortex’s hole as it slowly formed. She smiled. "Master, the power of Destiny that you taught me is only the power that you created. Regardless of whether you are here today, I can’t replace you. I knew this the day I first became your disciple. I practiced the method of transferring karma all so that I could avoid the fate that you had planned for me.

"I also knew that, as long as you were around, I wouldn’t be able to transfer my karma away. However, this era is different, and you aren’t here. Still, I still can’t avoid wanting to replace you. What sort of fate did you set for yourself? I can’t even imagine.

"For that reason, I’ve determined my own fate, Master. Today, I will become a Progenitor with stellular energy, and whether I ever again touch the power of Destiny will depend on Dao Monarch Lu’s thoughts. Master, your disciple is going to become a Progenitor!"

Destina spoke for herself, but she was also saying goodbye to Destiny.

The moment she had transferred the power of Destiny to Skymender and the others, Destina had ceased to be Destiny’s heir. She had defied Destiny.

Stellular energy surged within Destina’s body, ready to trigger the tribulation.

Few people were happy while facing a stellular tribulation, but Destina was very happy at this moment. She was confident that she could survive her Progenitor’s tribulation and become one. She had cultivated the power of Destiny before, but it did not particularly matter to Destina whether or not she cultivated it again in the future. She knew her path, and she intended to see it to the end. She would eventually become a Sequence Progenitor.

Destina did not want to replace Destiny, but she still wanted to become one of the most powerful people of the era. She did not need the power that she had cultivated for countless years. This was the day when she met the fate that she had chosen for herself.

Stellular energy surged out of Destina’s body, and the Skyfield of Destruction formed and slammed down upon her.

A smile spread across Destina's face as she raised a hand. She had her own means of overcoming this tribulation.

Suddenly, her expression changed drastically. A line had appeared before her eyes. This was a thread of Destiny. One end led to life, and the other to death. This was the power of Destiny that Destina had cultivated for many years, but why had it suddenly appeared? She had already transferred all of her power of Destiny to Skymender and the others. Why had the Power of Destiny still appeared during this tribulation?

The thread only appeared for an instant, but just that caused earth-shattering changes in the Progenitor’s tribulation. This was because the thread was the power of Destiny, the same power that Destina had abandoned by transferring it to others before triggering her tribulation. Even so, a thread of Destiny had appeared beneath the stellular tribulation. This meant that an outside power was interfering with the tribulation, and this would increase the strength of the tribulation immensely.

Destina stared at the thread that was falling from the tribulation’s black hole. This was another thread, but this thread did not belong to Destina, but rather to Destiny herself.

The tribulation’s vortex was drawing out the power of Destiny into the Skyfield of Destruction.

"No, no! How could this happen? Master, master–!" Destina screamed in despair.

Lu Yin and the others stared in shock. The thread slowly descended towards Destina's head and then wrapped around her. As everyone watched on in horror, Destina herself was transformed into a thread, and then she vanished.

Space returned to normal in an instant, but everyone continued to stare on in a silent daze.

What had just happened?

Lu Yin's eye twitched. Somehow, the power of Destiny had interfered with the tribulation and altered it drastically. The Skyfield of Destruction had disappeared, and a thread of Destiny had fallen.

Destina had transferred her power of Destiny away to others, but she had still been taken away by Destiny. She had been defeated, and her fate would not be good.

Destine had thought that she could become a Progenitor by transferring her power of Destiny away, but had Destiny already seen through those plans?

Was it really impossible to resist Destiny?

A figure appeared in the Fifth Mainland. They tore through the void and instantly arrived at the Heavens Sect. It was Lu Yuan, who had abruptly left his seclusion. "I sensed the power of Destiny. Little Seven, what happened?"

Lu Yin did not expect the tribulation to awaken Ancestor Lu Yuan, but he quickly shared what had happened.

Ancestor Lu Yuan sneered. "What an idiot! Did she actually think that she could escape from Destiny? No one can imagine how insidious that woman is. She grew up while plotting and scheming. How could she be deceived by her disciple’s little ploy to become a Progenitor?

"This Destina brought her fate upon herself. We can't control what happened to her, but it’s very troublesome that she was transformed into a thread before disappearing. She has become a weapon of Destiny. I said that Destiny would return, and I was right."

Lu Yin's expression grew solemn. "Destiny’s weapon?"

Lu Yuan snorted contemptuously. "That woman has always been good at using people as weapons. She determines her own fate, as well as the fates of others. You don’t fight her in combat, but by altering the future."

Lu Yin remained silent.

Destiny would eventually come back.

"Is she an enemy or a friend?" Lu Yin asked.

Lu Yuan took a while to consider this question. "Neither. She has her own plans, and it’s impossible to understand what she’s thinking. Still, you don’t need to worry about her. Your ancestor beat her before, so she won’t dare to try anything with you even if she does appear."

Big Sis was taken aback. "Senior, you’ve beaten Destiny?"

Ancestor Lu Yuan proudly stated, "Of course!"

Lu Yin was speechless. How was this anything to be proud of? How was this anything less than inviting disaster?

First, Lu Buzheng had made Old Mo an enemy for Lu Yin, and with that precedent, Lu Yin was terrified that Lu Yuan would end up making Destiny an enemy as well.

If at all possible, Lu Yin did not want to make more enemies, especially one as bizarre as Destiny.

Destina had failed to become a Progenitor, and she had suffered an unbelievably tragic fate. Countless people had witnessed her failed tribulation, and it would not take long for the news to spread across the entire Sixverse Association.

While the Heavens Sect had lost a powerful cultivator, that loss actually comforted the Sixverse Association.

Becoming a peak powerhouse was not an easy process, so how could all of the Heavens Sect’s Semi-Progenitors succeed? Already, many had succeeded: Arch-Elder Zen, Leng Qing, and Qing Ping. Such a record was quite impressive, and Lu Yin had never expected the streak to continue.

He simply hoped that Lu Buzheng would be anxious about increasing his own strength.

There was no need for Lu Yin to worry. Lu Buzheng had already abandoned all thoughts of quickly striving to become a Progenitor.

Destina had prepared such extreme measures, going so far as to abandon her primary cultivation method. Even so, she had failed. Lu Buzheng cultivated the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, and one of his three summons was Destiny herself. Eliminating a summon like that was even more difficult than removing the power of Destiny like what Destina had done. Lu Buzheng did not also want to become a thread.

Destina’s failure served as a warning to others who had been preparing to face their Progenitor’s tribulation. Her tribulation also tempered the impact of Qing Ping's success in becoming a Progenitor after failing his first attempt to break through.

A Progenitor’s tribulation was always a serious topic. It was extremely difficult to find a shortcut, and even if one existed, most people would not be able to discover it.

The more extreme the shortcut was, the harder it was to take.

"Ancestor, I want to visit unknown universes," Lu Yin told Ancestor Lu Yuan.

Ancestor Lu Yuan grew confused. "Why do you want to do that?"

Lu Yin expressed his reasons, and Ancestor Lu Yuan listened quietly. "You want to visit parallel universes where time flows differently, while also learning about the situation beyond the known portion of the megaverse. There’s no issue with either of those things, but with your current strength, you will be in great danger if you encounter an outsider powerhouse. Still, while it’s dangerous, you can go.

"However, you need to be fully prepared. No one knows just how many parallel universes exist, and you could randomly run into a powerhouse whom you have no hope of defeating. You might even run into someone more powerful than any of us, which would be quite troublesome."

Lu Yin agreed. "I understand. Also, there’s something more..."

After a pause, he met Ancestor Lu Yuan’s eyes. "I’ve cultivated divine energy."

Ancestor Lu Yuan was stunned, and he stared at Lu Yin blankly. "What did you say?"

Seeing the old man’s reaction, Lu Yin knew that Ancestor Tianyi had not shared this detail with Lu Yuan. It might have been because Ancestor Lu Yuan had been in seclusion, or possibly because Lu Tianyi had not wanted to mention the matter. If it was the latter, then Ancestor Tianyi was too willing to indulge Lu Yin.

"I have cultivated divine energy."

Ancestor Lu Yuan stared at Lu Yin blankly, his eyes showing his conflicted emotions.

Lu Yin grew worried, as he had no idea what Ancestor Lu Yuan would think about this.

When it came to Aeternus, everyone had their own understandings and prejudices. While Ancestor Tianyi was able to trust that Lu Yin would remain in control of himself, that did not mean that Ancestor Lu Yuan would feel the same way.

After a while, Ancestor Lu Yuan raised a hand, slowly reached out, and then set it onto Lu Yin's shoulder, squeezing tightly. "The descendants of my Lu family are strong and won’t be controlled by others. Just cultivate however you see fit."

Lu Yin stared at Ancestor Lu Yuan, but the man did not shy away from Lu Yin’s eyes.

"Ancestor, aren't you afraid that I will be controlled by the divine energy?"

"Of course I’m afraid of that."

"Then?"

"What else can I do? All I can do is believe you, Little Seven. In your first life, you were able to live a carefree life, but in your second life, you took the heaviest burden of humanity upon yourself. There was no time when someone could have taken control of you, so you can act as you see fit. All I can do is support you as much as possible."

Lu Yin felt his heart grow heavy. This was very similar to what Ancestor Lu Tianyi had said. The Lu family was Lu Yin’s strongest support. He had done his best to bring his Lu family back, and they refused to let him down.

"I understand, Ancestor," Lu Yin said.