Chapter 3069: Closure

This was another reason why Di Qiong had not suspected Ye Bo. If Fei had not saved him at the last moment, Lu Yuan's palm strike would have ended Ye Bo's life.

If Ye Bo were actually a human spy within Aeternus, why would Lu Yuan be so vicious?

"What orders do you have for me?" Lu Yin asked.

Di Qiong explained, "The Divine Selection is about to begin, but Fei was severely injured by Lu Yuan. Most likely, she will not be able to participate. I want to see if you can replace her for the selection."

Lu Yin was surprised, and he quickly refused. "I’ve sparred with Fei before, and even if she is injured, there’s very little chance of me being able to defeat her. If I'm not mistaken, Fei is a sequence powerhouse, isn’t she?"

Di Qiong, clasped his hands behind his back. "There are times when being a sequence powerhouse doesn't necessarily mean that a person is extremely powerful. You True God Guard Captains have killed more than one sequence powerhouse before, so you should understand this."

"Still, I am clearly not a match for Fei."

"Just give it a try. Cultivate as much divine energy as you possibly can. Fei is unable to cultivate divine energy, which is her greatest flaw."

This comment took Lu Yin completely off guard. "Fei can't cultivate divine energy?"

Thinking back, it was true that, when Lu Yuan had appeared in the Third Scourge, Fei had never once used even a bit of divine energy. On the other hand, both Xin Wu and Di Xia had used divine energy.

Di Qiong lamented, "Not everyone is able to cultivate divine energy. Fei has an incredible talent for the Corpse King Transformation, and despite being a human, she’s reached the Pupilless Transformation, which is incredibly rare. It’s hard to find anyone in any of the other Scourges with her level of talent, but unfortunately, she is unable to cultivate divine energy, which means that she is unable to progress much further."

Lu Yin was reminded of Hui Wu, who had been quite proud of himself for mastering the Pupilless Transformation as a human. It turned out that the Third Scourge had Fei, who was capable of the same thing.

After practicing the Corpse King Transformation himself, Lu Yin understood just how challenging the technique was. Not only had Fei mastered the Pupilless Transformation, but she had done so while retaining her emotions, which was extremely rare. Lu Yin had no idea how she or Hui Wu had accomplished such a thing.

It was indeed an accomplishment to be proud of.

Di Qiong stared at Lu Yin. "Join the Divine Selection. Six people will be chosen for the final battle, and the final victor will be eligible to become one of the Three Pillars and Six Skies when a position opens up. If any of us die, the winner will immediately replace them. Even if the winner does not join the Three Pillars and Six Skies, they will be at the same level as the First Scourge’s Seven Skygods. You should understand their importance.

"The Seven Skygods enjoy a status within Aeternus that is in no way inferior to us Three Pillars and Six Skies.

"On top of that, there is even a chance for the victor to become True God’s disciple, which means inheriting his ultimate techniques. Cultivating any of those techniques will let one’s strength reach a terrifying level." At this point while speaking, Di Qiong seemed to remember something, and both wariness and blatant envy filled his eyes. He also wanted to cultivate those ultimate techniques, but obtaining them was difficult for even the Three Pillars and Six Skies.

True God was the one who decided who was allowed to cultivate his ultimate techniques. The only other option was to find where they had been hidden, but not even Di Qiong would hope to be that lucky.

Wei Shu and Mu Ji were far from the only individuals in Aeternus who were scouring the six Scourges for the ultimate techniques. Even the Three Pillars and Six Skies wanted to find them.

Opportunities like the Divine Selection only came once in a lifetime.

Lu Yin respectfully replied, "I would be honored to represent the Third Scourge during the Divine Selection, but I cannot promise you that I will win. After all, the other participants are likely sequence powerhouses."

"That's why I'm telling you to focus on cultivating divine energy," Di Qiong replied in a cold voice. "Divine energy can suppress sequence particles, which is your only chance. The strongest power in Aeternus is always divine energy. It might be the most common energy available, but it’s also powerful enough to turn defeat into victory and propel you to greater heights. I want you to participate in the Divine Selection, but even if you can’t win, I don’t want you to be eliminated too quickly. If you fail to do this, there will no longer be a Ye Bo in the Third Scourge. We don’t have many frenzied corpses here, which is why we constantly need to add more."

With that, Di Qiong left.

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. He genuinely had no confidence in competing against sequence powerhouses, especially if he had to maintain the identity of Ye Bo. He would basically be rushing to his death.

Since this was not possible, it looked like Lu Yin needed to meet with Wu Tian soon, or possibly just leave.

That would be a pity, as he had just made Mu Ji be his scapegoat, and leaving felt a waste. After thinking for a moment, he clenched a fist and decided to roll his die again. He hoped to roll Possession and Possess Di Xia. After that, he would simply commit suicide. One way or another, Lu Yin intended to eliminate a powerful enemy.

If at all possible, he would use his die in this manner much more frequently. Regardless of how many peak powerhouses belonged to Aeternus, the Aeternals could not afford to let Lu Yin eliminate their experts in such a manner.

There were only a few days remaining before Lu Yin could roll his die again. He needed to roll six pips, kill Di Xia, and leave.

Aeternus’s Scourges were cold and emotionless places. This was true of both the First and Third Scourges, and it also applied to all the others. The Scourges rarely interacted with each other. It was only during the Divine Selection that the Scourges were allowed any sort of major interactions.

One day, dark clouds appeared above the Third Scourge, and they fell from the sky as they moved towards the black Mother Tree.

The moment the clouds appeared, Lu Yin suddenly felt his heart palpitate. He felt an inexplicable discomfort, almost as if he had been tossed underwater and was unable to breathe.

He looked out from his tower at the sky. What was that dark cloud?

Across the entire Third Scourge, most of the corpse kings, humans, and other creatures looked up at the sky and watched the cloud move.

Close to the black Mother Tree, Di Qiong stood silently as he watched the clouds approach. They started to shrink and condense, until the cloud was only a few dozen meters across. A single eyeball appeared inside the cloud, and it stared at Di Qiong while a strange laugh rang out.

Di Qiong frowned. "Xu Jin, what are you doing in my Third Scourge?"

"Did I hear right? Were you guys played by the Sixverse Association again? So? Did you find the traitor?"

Di Qiong's voice turned cold. "That’s none of your business."

"Heh, we’re both part of the Three Pillars and Six Skies, so how is this not my concern? I mean, how could there be a traitor? Especially here in your Third Scourge, where all of your people cultivate the Corpse King Transformation and have no emotions. How could you have a traitor?"

Di Qiong clasped his hands behind his back. "The traitor was from the First Scourge. He was never one of mine."

"And yet the incident happened while he was in your Third Scourge."

"Just what are you trying to say?"

"I heard that the Sixverse Association tried to take Wu Tian away, but he refused to leave. Is that true?"

Di Qiong stared at the eyeball, which rotated about in an eerie manner. "What if it is?"

The eyeball spun around again before the pupil focused on the Martial Viewing Platform. "Interesting… Very interesting. It looks like Wu Tian's decision to stay here in the Third Scourge wasn't because he was forced by you—he simply doesn’t want to leave. Di Qiong, you've always been extremely proud of yourself for capturing Wu Tian. You’ve spent years bragging about it. Tell me, do you feel like you were just slapped in the face? Heh!"

A dangerous light glinted in Di Qiong's eyes. "What exactly do you want to say? You aren’t welcome in the Third Scourge."

The eyeball turned back to stare at Di Qiong again. "I want Wu Tian."

"Impossible," Di Qiong bluntly refused.

A red beam emerged from the eyeball’s pupil. "You've kept Wu Tian here for long enough, so why not give him to me? You've gained everything you could from him, and you’ve even transformed your own Progenitor’s World. Di Qiong, you've already become another Wu Tian, and we all call you Dark Wu Tian. He is no longer of any real use to you."

Di Qiong replied, "Regardless, I’m not giving him to you."

"What if I insist?" The dark clouds suddenly surged, enveloping the entire Third Scourge.

Di Qiong's eyes flared, and a long spear appeared in his hand, the tip pointed straight at the dark clouds. "Take him by force, if you can. Go ahead, destroy the Third Scourge while you’re at it. Are you able to do that, Xu Jin?"

The dark clouds churned. It looked like the apocalypse had arrived, and countless people across the Third Scourge grew scared and started to panic.

Di Xia, Fei, and Xin Wu all stepped out and looked up at the dark clouds.

All of the peak powerhouses in their tall towers felt their hearts quiver. The dark clouds above them brought about an indescribable sense of danger. This was a powerhouse equal to Di Qiong.

Lu Yin stared intently at the dark clouds. This was another one of the Three Pillars and Six Skies. Slowly but surely, Lu Yin was uncovering the true strength of the Aeternals.

The dark clouds threatened the entire Third Scourge, but Di Qiong remained unfazed.

After a while, the dark clouds receded. "Forget it, I'm really not entirely sure I can take you on. However, Di Qiong, you might have stopped me, but what about the next one? All of them want Wu Tian as well. Show us why Wu Tian won’t leave. You’re not the only one who wants to be equal to the Three Realms and Six Daos. All of us want to know how our understanding differs from that of the Three Realms and Six Daos.

"You don’t want your Third Scourge to be targeted by the other Scourges, do you?"

Di Qiong lowered his spear. "I will find out why Wu Tian won’t leave, and I will then tell you."

"Heh, waiting isn't our style. Why don’t we make a bet? Let's gamble on the Divine Selection. If your representatives win, I'll agree to anything you want, but if you lose, you’ll have to send Wu Tian to my Second Scourge."

"Why should I bother making any wagers with you?"

"If you don't, it’s possible that your Corpse King Monument just might collapse."

Di Qiong shot a vicious glare at the eyeball, which stared back at him.

"Fine. What’s the bet?"

"I choose what we’re wagering, so you can suggest the win conditions you want."

Di Qiong's expression fell. Xu Jin's confidence meant that the Second Scourge's representatives were very strong. "If both of the Second Scourge’s representatives succeed and both of the Third Scourge’s fail, you win."

These were truly unreasonable conditions. Even if Xu Jiean was completely confident in his Second Scourge, requiring both of his representatives to win while having both of the Third Scourge's people fail was too unlikely. The Divine Selection was not some tournament, but it did have specific rules, and winning depended a bit on luck.

Di Qiong intended to use that detail to push back at Xu Jin.

However, Xu Jin surprisingly agreed, "Fine. If that makes you happy, heh."

Di Qiong's expression soured even further. "You agree? Are your Second Scourge’s representatives really that powerful? No matter how confident I am in Di Xia, I can’t say for sure that he will succeed. Aeternus has held many Divine Selections, and each time, only our strongest participate. I myself rose to power from one of them, so I am well aware of just how brutal they are, especially the portion at the Immemorial Citadel. Even I can’t ensure my own survival if I go back to that place now."

"Our wager has been agreed upon. Di Qiong, a word of advice: don't bring anyone else in, or else you won't only be betting against me." As soon as those words were spoken, the dark clouds instantly dissipated. The eyeball itself transformed into dust and vanished.

Di Qiong immediately activated the Third Scourge's sourcebox array, sealing off both its entry and exit.

Xu Jin was not the only one interested in the matter with Wu Tian, and Di Qiong was nervous about the bet he had just made. Fei was badly injured, and Di Qiong had not made a final decision on the second participant for the Divine Selection. If he was forced to bet against the other Scourges, he would essentially be placing the Third Scourge against all the other Scourges. Under those conditions, he would not have any way to win.

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA