Chapter 3173: Symbolic Sacrifice

In the past, no matter how much Lu Yin's inner universe had expanded, when he released it, it had only been able to extend a very limited distance. At best, it would surround him.

Suddenly, Lu Yin realized that he was able to spread his universe out much, much further. He could even encompass the entire Heavens Sect with his inner universe.

His universe was undergoing an explosive transformation.

Lu Yin did not know what this transformation meant, but somehow, his power seemed to have evolved.

This evolution had been brought about by the support of countless people.

Lu Yin stared off into the distance. In this moment, he was not only recognized by the Origin Universe, but also by the Arboreal Realm, the Voidforce Universe, the Lost Clan’s universe, and many other parallel universes.

"Guardian Beasts of the Heavens Sect! Jiao, Ancestor Tortoise, Divine Eagle, and Ancestor Python," Lu Yin called out. Outside of the Heavens Sect, the jiao bared its fangs and claws, and Ancestor Tortoise reluctantly raised its head as images of the Divine Eagle and Ancestor Python both appeared.

Despite the two ancient creature’s animosity towards Lu Yin, he was not unable to take advantage of their existence.

After all, both of the beasts were Progenitor-level creatures.

The sight of four Progenitor-level beasts left everyone feeling awed.

Far away, the rude fish that rode atop of Xi Qi's head was thrashing about in a rage. "Unfair, unfair! It's those two

again

! Why is it always them? I want to beat them up! Beat them up!"

Xi Qi felt exhausted. "What are you talking about?"

The fish slapped the woman with its tail. "Girl, you are such a disappointment! You need to train harder and reach that kid's level, or else you will never be worthy of being my mount!"

Xi Qi looked back at Lu Yin, and bitterly asked, "Me? How could I possibly do that?"

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"You're so useless! Time! It's just a matter of time. Given enough time, Lord Fish can ensure that you will catch up to that kid."

In the Origin Universe, excitement had peaked, as everyone cheered in amazement and excitement. They felt as though they were seeing humanity's sword being drawn to threaten the rest of the megaverse.

Lu Yin’s eyes opened back up. "Today is a declaration of our martial power, and because of that, such a declaration needs a demonstration, which I shall provide."

He then took a step forward and disappeared. This was his gift for the Heavens Sect’s military declaration.

People grew puzzled. What did the Dao Monarch mean? Where had Lord Lu gone? Was he going to provide a demonstration? With whom? Not just anyone qualified for such a thing.

In one of the Endless Frontier’s parallel universes, on a certain planet, countless people were listening to what was happening at the Heavens Sect. They were not able to watch, as their entire universe only had a single display, and the inhabitants of this planet were not qualified to see it. They could only enjoy the broadcast from those who could watch the proceedings, but this planet’s people were still excited at the Heavens Sect's declaration of military might, as well as for Lu Yin.

In the crowd, an old man was leisurely sipping his tea. His gaze could pierce through the endless stretches of space to watch the display, but his eyes were cold.

This man was Mo Shang. The higher Lu Yin had risen, the less willing Mo Shang had been to show his face. The Aeternals had once invited him to join them, but while he had once been tempted and wanted to join, Aeternus was increasingly unable to stand up to the Heavens Sect. They had already been driven from the Endless Frontier and into the First Scourge. Given their weakened state, how could Mo Shang ever join Aeternus?

However, the old man also believed that human power was limited. Once an era grew and became too brilliant, all that awaited was destruction.

This had been the fate of the ancient Heavens Sect, and he did not believe that the current Heavens Sect would last for very long.

Mo Shang could wait for the destruction of the latest iteration of the Heavens Sect, and for the day that Lu Yin died. Mo Shang would never abandon Heaven's Sight. He would make sure that he eventually obtained it.

"Glory to Lord Lu!" A shout rang out, causing Mo Shang to frown.

Everyone nearby had started shouting and were growing increasingly excited.

Only the people who lived in the Endless Frontier truly understood what Lu Yin had given them. In the past, the Endless Frontier had been a meat grinder, and the people who lived there had had no hope at all. Lu Yin had granted them a measure of peace and the means to enjoy normal lives. They no longer had to fear being randomly killed as they walked on the street, suddenly encountering someone from Aeternus, or having to avoid entire regions of multiple universes that were engulfed in war. All of these changes were thanks to Lord Lu.

Hearing the countless people celebrating irritated Mo Shang, and he raised a hand. Things had grown too noisy, and he desired silence.

Suddenly, the old man’s expression changed, and he spun around. He had only just realized that someone was staring at him.

His pupils shrank, "Lu Yin?"

Lu Yin smiled at Mo Shang. "Old Mo, it’s been a long time. You really know how to hide."

Mo Shang immediately lashed out, but he did not attack Lu Yin. Instead, the old man targeted the nearby people. He did not want to fight Lu Yin, and Mo Shang’s only thought was of escape. Lu Yin had clearly just been in the Heavens Sect moments ago, and he had mentioned a demonstration of power before appearing behind Mo Shang. Was the kid planning to use him for the demonstration?

Ridiculous! Mo Shang did not believe that he could lose to Lu Yin, but he also did not want to expose himself to the Heavens Sect's blade at such a time.

After all, both Lu Yuan and Hongyan Mavis were watching.

As Mo Shang attacked, an Investiture of the Gods appeared above Lu Yin's head, and golden light spread across the entire universe, instantly dispelling the darkness. As that happened, Lu Yin moved with Inverse Step, traveling at the speed of time to arrive in front of Mo Shang. The old man had already released his sequence particles, which made it difficult for Lu Yin to use Inverse Step, but that did not matter.

In the end, Lu Yin only needed a single second, and moving at the speed of time with Inverse Step gave him that one second.

In that moment, Lu Yin grabbed Mo Shang, tore through the void, and dragged the old man back to the Heavens Sect.

Everything had happened too quickly for Mo Shang to even react. He had not expected the child who had once struggled so badly to survive against him, even after pulling out everything available, to have stolen the initiative from him and dragged him straight back to the Heavens Sect.

When they arrived in the Heavens Sect, golden light blazed brightly.

Mo Shang stared at Lu Yin before him while quickly retreating. Down below, the eyes of the many people standing on the Stairway to Heaven focused upon Mo Shang. Beyond the Heavens Sect, countless eyes across numerous parallel universes. Even the Aeternals and beyond, were all focused on the old man.

Mo Shang's entire body tensed with fear. Feeling Lu Yuan and Hongyan Mavis’s gazes placed incredible pressure on the man.

A smile touched Lu Yuan's eyes, while Hongyan Mavis seemed to be puzzled. She had recognized Mo Shang as a former gatemaster of the ancient Heavens Sect.

Sovereign Dou Sheng's grin grew wider with amusement.

Big Sis slid her thumb across her throat as she stared at Mo Shang.

Mu Ke’s saber was unsheathed and in his hand. It gleamed with a cold light.

Ye Wu and The Abandoned both watched with cold eyes.

Beneath the Stairway to Heaven, among the Semi-Progenitors, Lu Buzheng let out a bitter sigh. "Old Mo, you’re really out of luck."

Kui Luo chuckled grimly. "This guy’s done for!"

Sympathy filled Arch-Elder Zen's eyes. Mo Shang was incredibly unlucky. Not only had he been found, but he had also been instantly dragged back to the Heavens Sect. Just how miserable could a person be?

Only one other person had ever experienced what Mo Shang was feeling at this moment: Wang Si.

In the past, Lu Yin had executed Wang Si atop the Stairway to Heaven as a deterrent. Mo Shang was to be the second person to be executed in that manner, but he was a Sequence Progenitor, rather than a Semi-Progenitor.

Everyone was aware of the tragic fate that awaited Mo Shang.

Mo Shang gazed blankly at the Heavens Sect as cold sweat dripped from his forehead. "Lord Lu, I will join the Heavens Sect. I am willing to submit to the Heavens Sect and follow your every command."

In front of the old man, Lu Yin just smiled. "Mo Shang, during the Heavens Sect era, you rose up to become the gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates, but during the war against Aeternus, you betrayed one of the Three Realms and Six Daos, Wu Tian. In your cowardice, you hid on the Endless Frontier. When Aeternus attacked the reestablished Heavens Sect, not only did you not help, but you also attacked the Heavens Sect. While it is true that you have never explicitly joined Aeternus, your actions are still a betrayal of humanity. You are a Sequence Progenitor, having risen above Progenitors.

"This man was personally acknowledged by Aeternus, and if he had joined them, he would have instantly been raised up to become one of the Seven Skygods.

"He is among the most powerful experts in human history.

"Today, as Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, this man will serve as a demonstration of power for this martial declaration."

Lu Yin then released his inner universe. In the past, when he had done so, the rejection from whatever universe Lu Yin had been in had produced a shell of the Hollow between the two universes.

While that phenomenon still existed, the scope had expanded greatly.

He did not envelop the entire Heavens Sect with his inner universe, as he knew he could, but rather simply released it into his immediate surroundings as in the past.

The continent of fatesand appeared, and Lu Yin visualized it as well. The two overlapped and merged, and the Heavens Sect was overshadowed as the landmass blocked off the sight of most of the auspicious clouds up above.

Mo Shang started pleading desperately, "Lord Lu, I never betrayed humanity! What happened back then was just a misunderstanding. You misunderstood the situation—I never intended to attack the Heavens Sect."

As he spoke, a terrible darkness spread from his body as he attempted to engulf the Heavens Sect. This was his Darkest Sky, which was the most powerful attack that he could unleash with his sequence particles.

Mo Shang knew that he would only have one chance to strike.

He did not believe that a Semi-Progenitor like Lu Yin could kill him. Instead, Mo Shang assumed that one of the powerhouses down below would do the deed and that Lu Yin was simply setting the stage. The ones to be wary of were those down below.

However, not one of the people standing on the Stairway to Heaven moved.

Mo Shang's Darkest Sky enveloped the Heavens Sect and blocked off the Stairway to Heaven. This made him confident that, even if the people down below tried to attack, they would first need to overwhelm the Darkest Sky, which would give Mo Shang a chance to escape.

Throughout all of this, the old man failed to notice that, up above, the landmass had fully formed and was crashing down upon him.

As the land fell, Mo Shang finally sensed that something was wrong. His darkness shot up towards the plummeting landmass, and Old Mo’s hand rose up as he used his finger to execute sword techniques.

However, everything was simply crushed by the landmass.

This attack had even rendered Feng Bo's sequence particles ineffective, let alone Mo Shang's.

While the old man was a Sequence Progenitor, he was nowhere near the level of the Seven Skygods.

The land dropped, and Mo Shang was pressed down more and more. It was only at this moment that he realized that no one was going to help Lu Yin; the youth was going to handle Mo Shang on his own. Lu Yin intended to kill Mo Shang, a Sequence Progenitor, despite only being a Semi-Progenitor.

Impossible. How could a Semi-Progenitor kill

him

?

Mo Shang had heard that Lu Yin had driven Di Qiong from the Heavens Sect unassisted after returning from the dead. But he had believed those rumors to be nothing more than propaganda spread to raise the youth’s reputation. At this moment, Mo Shang realized that the rumors were all true. This child was a monster! How had he managed to achieve such a level of strength while only a Semi-Progenitor? How?

Puff!

Mo Shang spat out blood as his face turned pale. He stared at Lu Yin. "Sensory Deprivation."

This was the man’s Progenitor’s world. He wanted to strip Lu Yin of all perception of the outside world. He had once used this method to render Shan Pu unable to even move, as the man had not been able to understand if he had been dead or alive. Even the Chiliagonist would have fallen to this technique without using divine energy.

However, it had absolutely no effect on Lu Yin.

The Investiture of the Gods blazed into being with a burst of light, and vitality filled the landmass above Mo Shang.

The pressure on the old man instantly spiked, and an even more terrifying pressure descended. He screamed as his arms were crushed, his sequence particles were completely suppressed, and he himself was pinned down. He finally remembered; this was the same attack that the Origin Progenitor had once used. Mo Shang had read about this method in ancient texts. Was Lu Yin actually walking the same path as the Origin Progenitor?

This landmass could suppress everything.

"Lord Lu, spare me! Please, spare me! I am willing to serve the Heavens Sect! I will serve humanity! My power can be used to fight against Aeternus. Please, Lord Lu, my strength can help humanity-" Mo Shang wailed in despair.