Chapter 3244: The Stone Gate

Lu Yin remembered that Tian Fa’s sequence particles affected acceleration, which had allowed it to increase its own speed, or even accelerate an enemy’s attack. When an attack was accelerated, the power of the attack would dissipate before it could reach its target.

Did Tian Ci’s sequence particles have a similar effect?

"When an attack is stacked, it can't be unleashed at that moment, or else it wouldn't be stacked. Since the stacking is under Tian Ci's control, he can release the accumulated power whenever he wants. In other words, any attack against him can potentially be rendered completely useless, and when it is finally released, Tian Ci will be long gone," Jiang Feng explained in a grave tone.

Lu Yin exhaled. These sequence particles sounded even more troublesome than Tian Fa's. It was no wonder why Tian Ci was known as the strongest Boundary Guardian.

"What about his mirebound artifact?" Lu Yin asked. This was another crucial detail. This was the first thing that Garan Zhiluo had warned the Lord of Lightning about.

Jiang Feng's expression relaxed. "His mirebound artifact isn't a big problem. If you know its ability, it’s manageable. If not, you're almost guaranteed to die while fighting him. Luckily, your universe’s Garan Zhiluo gave us fair warning. Without that, I might not be sitting here, talking to you right now.

"Tian Ci’s mirebound artifact only has one ability: within three feet of the clear blade, there is no distance."

Lu Yin's eyes gleamed as he stared at Jiang Feng. The man proceeded to explain, "His mirebound artifact is a sword, and within three feet of the blade, distance doesn’t matter. Do you understand?"

Lu Yin gasped. Was that the sword’s ability? That was incredibly sinister. Without Garan Zhiluo’s warning, the Lord of Lightning would have most likely died on the battlefield.

If distance did not count within three feet of the blade, then whenever Tian Ci swung his sword, his opponent would be struck as long as they were within three feet of the sword. Even if they dodged, as long as they did not escape three feet away from the sword, they would be hit no matter what they did.

For a powerhouse like the Lord of Lightning, Surviving a single attack from the sword might expose its ability, but that attack would not be at all simple. Tian Ci would never waste a free attack for a flesh wound.

A sword slash that could not be avoided—when someone as powerful as Tian Ci wielded such an ability, not even the Lord of Lightning could guarantee surviving.

Lu Yin felt relieved. Thankfully, Garan Zhiluo had been present. Without her, the battle in the Second Scourge would have ended quite differently.

If humanity had lost the Lord of Lightning and Tian Ci had been free to move about the battlefield, how would humanity have been able to continue the battle?

That was likely why Tian Ci had been so eager to start an all-out war. At the time, he had been completely confident that he could defeat the entire Heavens Sect by himself. If he had waited longer, he would have lost his advantage as more human powerhouses rose up or joined the sect.

"Since we know what his mirebound artifact can do, it’s not nearly as much of a threat. It’s just a distance of three feet," Jiang Feng stated.

Lu Yin nodded, and then asked, "Are you sure that it only has one ability?"

Jiang Feng shook his head. "I can’t be entirely sure, but throughout the entire battle, even when Tian Feng died, no other abilities were ever shown. I don’t think I’m wrong.

"That battle was when things favored Tian Ci the most, and yet he still didn’t win. Now, he’s facing the threat of elimination from the Heavens Sect. It’s not very likely that he’s kept anything hidden."

Lu Yin stood up. "If that's how things are, then let’s go find him."

Jiang Feng’s expression turned solemn. "Even when facing Yong Heng, I was always able to at least put up a fight, but Tian Ci made me feel helpless. It’s not a pleasant feeling. I hope that we find him."

...

In order to ambush and kill Tian Ci, it would be best if more experts participated. However, Lu Yin had already drawn Aeternus’s attention while searching the Second Scourge for grains of Ethersand. At the moment, those powerhouses were right at the edge of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, ready to escape at a moment’s notice.

This meant that Lu Yin could not take more experts with him to kill Tian Ci, as no one knew when the Aeternals might make a sudden move.

While hunting Tian Ci was a priority, dealing with the Aeternals was just as important.

Ultimately, they had no choice. Aside from Jiang Feng, Lu Yin only took Garan Zhiluo with him. Taking anyone else more would not make much of a difference.

In fact, Lu Yin by himself was already the same as sending both Hongyan Mavis and Wu Tian.

On top of that, there were the two enormous creatures: the Megalith and the Pridebeast.

Five of the most powerful individuals in the megaverse were heading out to kill Tian Ci.

That is, if they managed to even find Tian Ci.

Holding onto Bi Rong’s compass, Lu Yin slowly tore the void open.

Jiang Feng felt a bit emotional as he looked at the compass in Lu Yin’s hand. It was Bi Rong's tool. The Lord of Lightning had been searching for Bi Rong for a long time, and he had never managed to find his friend.

"Let’s go," Lu Yin ordered, and everyone climbed onto the Megalith, which then charged into the spatial tear.

Previously, Lu Yin had ridden the jiao and roamed the megaverse with the compass, but the Megalith had taken over that duty. As far as Lu Yin was concerned, the change was an upgrade. The Megalith was much, much more powerful than the jiao, even if the jiao did look more intimidating despite being a complete idiot.

After emerging from the spatial tear, they arrived in the dark starry sky of an unknown universe that looked no different from most others.

"That way."

Lu Yin directed the Megalith to follow a sequence string in a specific direction.

The routine was all too familiar to L Yin. He had once roamed about the megaverse. In what felt like the blink of an eye, so many years had passed.

The Megalith's body swelled up, much to Garan Zhiluo’s amazement. Seeing the beast’s reaction gave the woman the odd odd urge to poke it with a needle.

The Megalith quickly charged into a universe that had no stars at all. It was a completely dark universe. At the exact moment that they arrived, everyone’s eyes were drawn to the distant location.

Far away stood a colossal stone gate. It stretched from the heavens down to the earth, such that neither the top nor the bottom could be seen. It looked like something that had existed in the universe since before recorded history.

The Megalith was a truly massive creature, but when compared to this stone gate, it seemed completely insignificant.

Lu Yin and the others stared in awe.

"I've been here before. Or rather, Tian Feng’s come here before," Garan Zhiluo commented excitedly. They had indeed found the right place.

She had spent countless years sealed within Tian Feng, and even the stone had believed that the woman was dead. This had allowed her to learn many secrets, even if she had never known exactly where Tian Feng had been.

Tian Feng and the others had never discussed any of the matters that had taken place in this particular universe. Even over the course of countless years, they had never spoken about this place to any outsiders.

Garan Zhiluo might not have been able to find the universe, but she was able to recognize it.

"That stone gate... Tian Ci should be sitting in front of it. It felt like he was always guarding this gate," Garan Zhiluo said.

Lu Yin and the others exchanged glances. The Boundary Guardian had been found.

At this moment, at the base of the massive stone gate, Tian Ci’s eyes snapped open, and he looked up, his expression changing drastically. How was this possible? How had they managed to find him?

In the next instant, lightning flickered in the distance, and it shot straight at Tian Ci.

The man drew his sword and sliced through the lightning. "You’re seeking death."

Lu Yin sneered and, despite still being a great distance away, punched at Tian Ci. This punch contained the same amount of force as before Infinity’s breakthrough. Lu Yin intended to reveal his new strength as a surprise.

Tian Ci was still wearing the same clothes that he had worn during the battle in the Second Scourge battle, and there were even some faint blood stains. The man did not care about such things, let alone something like a bit of sand.

This was the man who had slaughtered the people of the Lost Clan, seeing them as nothing more than ants. He had never imagined that such ants would one day track him down.

Garan Zhiluo spun her spear around before thrusting it at her distant target.

An impact echoed across the entire universe as Tian Ci thrust his sword at Lu Yin. The young man was the Boundary Guardian’s primary target as, without Lu Yin, humanity would lose their flag.

The Investiture of the Gods appeared above Lu Yin’s head, and Wu Tian and Hongyan Mavis stepped out from the scroll. "Tian Ci, Tian Fa is waiting to reunite with you."

Tian Ci was surrounded by Jiang Feng, Garan Zhiluo, the Megalith, the Pridebeast, Wu Tian, and Hongyan Mavis. All of them attacked.

Tian Ci might possess an innate gift that allowed him to observe an entire battlefield at once, which had made it impossible for Jiang Feng to injure the Boundary Guardian during their last clash. However, when surrounded by so many experts, Tian Ci could not defend himself from all of the attacks. His sword, Three-Foot Edge - Zero, sliced through both Garan Zhiluo’s spear and Jiang Feng’s lightning. The Pridebeast and the Megalith were also cut open, but Tian Ci was still forced to retreat from the combination of Hongyan Mavis and Wu Tian’s attacks.

Lu Yin was right behind those attacks, and he punched at Tian Ci while maintaining a distance of more than three feet from the man’s sword.

This punch stopped just short of its target, as Tian Ci raised a finger and used his stacking ability to halt Lu Yin’s fist.

With a wave of Lu Yin’s hand, dirt spears appeared in all directions, and they all stabbed at Tian Ci.

The Ortuser could not be touched by the laws of the universe, but this did not affect an attack that was based on pure, overwhelming force, like Lu Yin’s attacks. Dust World was a threat to Ortusers, especially since it did not use any sequence particles or laws of the universe. This was incredibly frustrating for someone like Tian Ci.

As Tian Ci’s sword swept through the air, the earthen spears were cut in half, only for more to continue forming around him.

Tian Ci was astonished. “Have you already undone the Four Locks Formation?”

“I’ve got more surprises for you!” Lu Yin shouted as he charged at Tian Ci even as more dirt spears shot at the man.

Tian Ci pointed his finger forward again, frantically stacking the power of the earth spears so that they impeded each other.

Behind the man, Jiang Feng’s sword rose and then dropped back down.

Tian Ci turned to meet the slash with his own sword.

Jiang Feng immediately retreated, barely avoiding entering the range of Tian Ci’s mirebound artifact.

Garan Zhiluo was using her Eight-Star Garan, and new earth spears appeared wherever she stood. They created a formation around Tian Ci that pressured on him.

Tian Ci repositioned himself while releasing his stacking ability.

Earth spears pierced through the void in the location where the Boundary Guardian had just been standing, perfectly intercepting the spear formation that Garan Zhiluo had created with her innate gift.

Lu Yin used Inverse Step to appear behind Tian Ci. The summoned Hongyan Mavis and Wu Tian attacked in unison from two different directions.

It was a three-pronged assault that left Tian Ci with no way out.

His sword twirled, and it swept across the battlefield. The tips of Tian Ci’s fingers entered the void, and the afterimages of his sword solidified. He then unleashed a devastating attack in all directions, stacking his own sword’s power with his sequence particles. In an instant, the summoned forms of Hongyan Mavis and Wu Tian were shredded apart.

In front of Lu Yin, dirt converged into a shield that blocked the sword’s violent impact.

High above, the Pridebeast threw a punch at Tian Ci. As one of the strongest creatures in the megaverse, this was not an easy punch to endure.

Tian Ci barely managed to dodge the attack, but the Megalith slammed into him from behind, sending Tian Ci flying.

At this moment, the Boundary Guardian was experiencing the same feeling that Lu Yin had once endured.

For the first time, Tian Ci was injured. He spat out blood and threw a savage, murderous glare at them all.

Jiang Feng’s entire body was covered with a purplish-black substance as terrifying lightning wrapped around his sword. He slashed down from high above, not allowing Tian Ci to have even a moment to breathe.

The man looked up, holding his sword out with one hand. He released the weapon, only to then control it in some strange manner.

The two swords struck, producing a crisp, cracking sound. Shockwaves rippled through the void, tearing space apart to expose the Hollow. Lightning illuminated the dark universe.

Wisps of sword qi struck the stone gate, leaving behind deep gouges and causing the structure to tremble.

Lu Yin charged at Tian Ci while thrusting an earthen spear forward. Tian Ci looked down and then stepped through the void. Every step he took caused the void to collapse. While the man’s strength was not what Lu Yin would consider impressive, the resulting collapsing void would have crushed an ordinary Progenitor.

Lu Yin’s attack was disrupted, as he was momentarily unable to thrust his spear forward.