Chapter 3161: The Butterfly

Compared to other species, humans were extremely creative, intelligent, and resilient. If all of the humans across the various parallel universes united as one, there was no doubt that Aeternus would be outmatched. This was why Aeternus had issued a Divine Commandment, as they wished to prevent humanity from uniting and obtaining any sort of advantage.

Unfortunately for the Aeternals, their third Divine Commandment had come too late.

However, True God just turned to look at a distant location and muttered, "She’s here."

The appearance of Supreme and E' Ji had once again strengthened the humans with additional powerful combatants. Hongyan Mavis was confident that she could keep Astral Anura occupied, and Ancestor Lu Yuan would hold Ancient God off. Lu Yin intended to keep the battle going.

At the highest point in the sky, the Ancient Lightning Locust abruptly turned around and left without any warning, startling both Lu Yuan and Ancient God. Why had the beast fled?

Astral Anura was about to try to persuade Lu Yin again, but the toad suddenly felt a chilling presence approaching them, and Astral Anura felt his skin start to crawl.

He slowly turned around.

No way! How could she be here? Isn’t she supposed to stay hidden?

The Great Sovereign suddenly looked over, and her action was quickly mirrored by Ancient God, Lu Yuan, the Lord of Lightning, Hongyan Mavis, and Mu Shen. All of the most powerful individuals present were staring in the same direction. Something was approaching.

After a moment, Lu Yin could also feel it. There was a sense of oppression, as though something was drawing closer and was almost within reach.

What could this be?

A deathly silence fell over the First Scourge. Everyone who could sense the approaching presence turned to look.

Space twisted and warped, the phenomenon rippling like water.

A butterfly emerged, dancing gracefully through the air. It radiated a beautiful light that illuminated the dark Scourge. It scattered a trail of silver light behind it, which resembled the beauty of the Astral River.

Everyone was stunned. A butterfly?

True God closed his eyes.

The Great Sovereign stared intently at the butterfly. "Is that...?"

Lu Yuan furrowed his brow. This butterfly looked familiar, but from where?

The butterfly gently fluttered through the sky before stopping high above the First Scourge, releasing a warm light that fell upon the continent below it.

It was stunningly beautiful, as the most enchanting colors in existence seemed to be concentrated in its wings. The warmth that it released dispelled all hostility in everyone on the battlefield below.

"Everyone, please listen to me. Can you not cease this fighting?" A soothing voice, warm and soft, echoed in everyone's hearts.

Lu Yin stared up at the butterfly, noting the pleasant voice. It was the voice of a woman, and it induced a feeling of sleepiness.

"I remember now! It's you!" Lu Yuan shouted.

"I remember too." Hongyan Mavis stepped forward while staring at the butterfly. "You passed through the Heavens Sect long ago, delivering disaster to the First Mainland. Our master was the one who drove you away. That was you, wasn't it?"

The Great Sovereign stared at the butterfly, as memories of this same butterfly flooded her mind.

The butterfly fluttered gracefully in the air. "I apologize. At that time, I had only just broken through, and my mind was not yet mature. I caused trouble for all of you, and for that, I am truly sorry."

"Why are you here? What does our war have to do with you?" Lu Yuan asked.

The butterfly continued to speak in the same soft, delicate voice that soothed the ears of all who heard her. "Aeternus has helped me in the past, as have humans. I hope that both sides of this war can stop fighting."

Lu Yuan laughed. "Since both of us have helped you, you should just leave. This war has nothing to do with you."

"This is such a massive battle, and there is much at stake. Both sides will pay dearly if the fighting continues. Whether it's for the sake of Aeternus or for humanity, I hope to see an end to the fighting so that I may repay the kindness that both sides have shown me."

Lu Yin felt like the entire situation was utterly ridiculous. He had never heard such distorted logic before. It was clear that this butterfly was not a benevolent creature.

She had clearly come to stop the battle.

At this thought, Lu Yin glanced back at True God, whose eyes were calmly closed, which confirmed Lu Yin’s suspicions.

This was a large problem. Regardless of the butterfly's true intentions, there was no doubt of her power. She had once brought disaster to the First Mainland, and only the Origin Progenitor had possessed the strength to drive her away.

If this creature sided with Aeternus, humanity would not fare well.

"And if we insist on continuing?" Lu Yuan asked bluntly.

The butterfly radiated a burst of light. "Fighting is undesirable. The only way to end this war is for one side or the other to be completely annihilated, or for both sides to be evenly matched. It seems that you humans are keen to continue fighting, which suggests that you hold the advantage. In that case, I will need to stand with Aeternus to return balance to the scales.

"You don't need to worry. If doing this leads to humanity's defeat, I will help you recover and will ensure Aeternus does not destroy you, which will repay my debt to both of you."

The butterfly's excuses struck everyone as laughable. She was essentially offering to stab someone and then heal them as a means of repaying a favor. This was absurd, but no one could laugh. This butterfly was too powerful.

Astral Anura stood off to the side, silent and already back in his golden form. The straw hat had reappeared, as did the lotus leaf. The toad looked quite innocent.

Astral Anura had transformed as soon as the butterfly had appeared. Clearly, he either feared the butterfly or was fully confident that the fighting would not continue.

Lu Yuan's personality meant that he would insist on fighting, especially since the butterfly's twisted logic disgusted the man. However, Lu Yuan was also uncertain of the butterfly's strength.

"Brother Astral Anura, what do you think?" the butterfly suddenly addressed Astral Anura.

A tremor ran through the toad, and his eyes squinted until they resembled crescent moons. He chuckled. "Yes, you're absolutely right."

"Brother Astral Anura, I’m asking for your honest opinion, so please speak truthfully. I'm very serious right now," the butterfly stated.

Astral Anura blinked and then shook his lotus leaf while attempting to look serious. "You're right about everything."

Everyone was speechless.

"Brother Astral Anura is as amusing as ever," the butterfly remarked.

Astral Anura forced out a smile.

Amusing, my ass!

If not for the fact that he absolutely could not afford to antagonize the butterfly, Astral Anura would have already torn her apart and devoured her . Still, the butterfly had a point. "Humans, I strongly advise that you stop fighting. You can't win. Aeternus has just gained two more powerhouses. Unless you have two more who can match them, what's the point in continuing fighting? Isn't that right, Big Boss Lu?"

Astral Anura stared at Lu Yin. The toad understood humans all too well.

Lu Yin stared up at the sky. At this moment, the butterfly turned herself around, and she was clearly looking at Lu Yin as well.

Lu Yin stared at the butterfly. "Alright."

A single word put an end to the battle.

Lu Yuan did not mind the prospect of fighting against two more enemy powerhouses, but that was just his nature. Lu Yin called for an end to the fighting, and Lu Yuan did not object.

Neither did Hongyan Mavis or the Lord of Lightning.

When observing the entire situation, ending the battle at this juncture seemed reasonable. Aeternus had just gained two outsider powerhouses who were extremely powerful, and there was also the unfathomable Progenitor Xi. There was no way for humanity to win.

"Esteemed Butterfly, may I ask your name?" Lu Yin asked while still staring at the butterfly.

The butterfly was similarly gazing at Lu Yin. "You may call me Tian En. Human, you are quite kind. I like you."

Lu Yin smiled. "I like you too, Tian En.[1] Your voice is lovely."

"Thank you."

Lu Yin then turned to look up at True God. "The Sixth Scourge now belongs to humanity. Yong Heng, do you have any objections?"

True God opened his eyes to meet Lu Yin's gaze. "That is your reward.

"A Semi-Progenitor succeeded in seizing one of my Scourges. Lu Yin, you certainly deserve to be someone who possesses a mirebound artifact. The value of yours even surpasses the three mirebound artifacts that Jiang Feng possesses."

Many people were taken aback. A mirebound artifact?

Almost no one had ever heard of mirebound artifacts before, but everyone present was well aware of the three treasures that Jiang Feng possessed.

Those three treasures were what had allowed Jiang Feng to rise to power so quickly, as well as what allowed Whitecloud City to hold such a prestigious status in the megaverse. Even the Aeternals were wary of the city.

Also, those three treasures were why Whitecloud City had become a target of Aeternus; True God wanted to take those treasures.

At this moment, everyone was learning that Lu Yin possessed something that was even more valuable than the Lord of Lightning’s three treasures.

This revelation allowed many people to understand Lu Yin’s rapid rise to power. He was a Semi-Progenitor who could fight against peak powerhouses and even influence battles between Ortusers. Were all of the dangers that Lu Yin had overcome, as well as his survival, due to his mirebound artifact?

By nature, humans were inherently greedy, and news of Lu Yin’s possession of such a treasure would inevitably spread, drawing the entire megaverse’s attention.

However, Lu Yin no longer cared about such things. He was backed by Ancestor Lu Yuan, who had become an Ortuser, as well as the Heavens Sect’s numerous peak powerhouses.

Who would dare to covet Lu Yin’s possessions?

Still, that was not enough protection. Lu Yin needed to demonstrate his full and true power. It was important to initiate military declaration as soon as possible.

...

In the Sixth Scourge, the lakes and rivers of divine energy were drawn back to the black Mother Tree. The withdrawal of all divine energy marked the Scourge as human territory.

Lu Yin had no intention of destroying the Scourge. It would serve as humanity’s forward base in the war against Aeternus.

This would not only be the location from which they could keep an eye on True God. They could also use it as a springboard for powerhouses like Hongyan Mavis to reach the other Scourges.

After the battle in the First Scourge ended, the butterfly and Astral Anura both left.

Lu Yin asked Hongyan Mavis to help the Lord of Lightning deal with the Ancient Lightning Locust. The woman had only just regained her strength, and she needed to refamiliarize herself with it.

Supreme was sent to join the two.

Humanity had achieved both of their primary objectives in the battle; True God was trapped, and Corpse God had been slain, which allowed Hongyan Mavis to reclaim her power. The only variable had been Ancient God's breakthrough to the Origin realm. Fortunately, Ancestor Lu Yuan had also broken through, which maintained the balance of power between the two sides once more.

Still, the sudden appearance of the butterfly puzzled Lu Yin.

He went to speak with Ancestor Lu Yuan specifically to get some answers, but the answer that he received was very vague.

All that anyone knew was that the butterfly had once sowed chaos on the First Mainland before being driven away by the Origin Progenitor. As for the creature’s current position, Ancestor Lu Yuan and everyone else was uncertain.

Even the Great Sovereign was unsure.

A short time later, the Heavens Sect announced the date for the military declaration. Before it started, Lu Yin needed to meet with some people.

Once Lu Yin had settled back down in the Heavens Sect, Hongyan Mavis arrived to see him, and she brought Jiang Qingyue with her.

The Ancient Lightning Locust had fled, which had made Hongyan Mavis's trip futile, but Whitecloud City was still enjoying a temporary peace.

"Brother Lu, my father, the ruler of Whitecloud City, officially invites you to visit," Jiang Qingyue informed Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was taken aback. "Now?"

Jiang Qingyue nodded. "My father sent me to tell you that he knows something about Tian En."

Lu Yin's expression instantly grew serious. "Lead the way."

The void was torn open, and Lu Yin followed Jiang Qingyue. When they emerged in normal space again, Lu Yin saw familiar stars filling the sky.

This place was familiar because he was looking at Earth’s solar system. Lu Yin could see Jupiter, the moon, and Earth. He was very familiar with this place.

Whitecloud City was a civilization from Earth.

Lu Yin had always been curious about something; did the Sixverse Association really consist of parallel universes?

If they were parallel universes, then why had he never met multiple versions of the same people?

Some people had offered answers, suggesting that different parallel universes might have diverged at different points in history, resulting in alternate paths of development, which was why the same individuals did not exist in multiple universes. However, this explanation contained a paradox; if the same person could not exist in multiple universes, or if there was no evidence of someone having been born in different universes, then how could anyone be certain that there were actually parallel universes?

1. Tian = heaven plus en = grace. ☜