Chapter 3290: A Gift For You

In the Cosmic Sea, outside the Tower of the Fifth, Lu Yin had just taken the Wordless Heavenly Book back when he suddenly heard someone reciting the Origin Sutra. At the same time, he also saw a face. While the image only appeared for an instant before quickly disappearing, Lu Yin recognized it. It was the face of Master Qing Cao.

His expression changed dramatically, and he used Inverse Step, vanishing as he rushed back to the Heavens Sect.

Upon arriving, he immediately went to find Destina, who had remained there. She looked at him in confusion, and he shouted, "Start now! Hurry!"

Destina did not bother to ask any questions. She tore through the void and instantly appeared beside a flower garden on the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. There, Zhao Ran was happily humming a song while stretching out her hand to pick a flower.

Destina moved faster, and she snatched the flower before Zhao Ran could.

Lu Yin watched from the distance.

Destina breathed a sigh of relief as Zhao Ran looked at her in confusion. She blinked in bewilderment, unsure of what had just happened.

"Here, a gift for you," Destina said with a smile as she handed the flower over.

Zhao Ran smiled brightly. “Thank you!”

She gave Destina a curious look. “Sister, you look familiar. I’m sorry, but Zhao Ran is rotten goods, so I can’t recognize you.”

Destina quickly replied, “We’ve never met, so it’s normal for you to not recognize me.”

“Really?”

By this time, Lu Yin had already left, and he was heading to Windrift Hall.

At the same time, Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, and several others left the Immemorial Citadel, all moving out to search for Ancient God.

The Origin Progenitor closed his eyes as he reminisced about Musclehead.

He’s gone... Just a memory now.

***

In the Perennial World, in the Domain of the Wild Sword up in the Mother Tree’s canopy, Ancient God lay on the ground. His body barely resembled that of a human any longer. Both his flesh and bones were shattered. His condition was pitiful.

Master Qing Cao no longer had his usual calm, and his expression was quite upset.

True God stepped forward, looking down at Ancient God. “You abandoned an opportunity to become an Immortal so easily? All because of Tai Chu?”

Ancient God’s skeletal mouth moved, and he let out a hoarse sound. Not even True God could understand what the man tried to say.

It was not that Ancient God’s voice was too soft, but rather that there was no sound at all.

Ancient God had already accepted his fate before he threw his final punch. He had become lost in his own memories, and he was smiling at something only he could see.

Master Qing Cao glanced down at his wrist, and his expression grew even worse. “Yong Heng, you should have never taken him in.”

With that, the man turned and vanished.

True God calmly stared down at Ancient God for a while, and then up and off into the distance where Nong Yi was still smiling while observing the Middle Realm, taking pleasure in watching his family.

"Humans’ greatest weakness is their emotions, but that is also their strength. You're truly difficult to completely eradicate," True God softly commented. Then, with a single step, he crushed Ancient God’s body, shattering it beyond repair and ensuring the man had no chance of surviving.

In the distance, Blackless God let out a breath. Yet another one had died.

One after another, they kept falling. Would he really live to see the megaverse reset?

Woof!

Skydog ran up to True God, who looked over at Blackless God. "Let's go."

A short time later, the Domain of the Wild Sword was silent once again. A breeze swept through and picked up Ancient God’s shattered remains, blowing them towards Nong Yi.

***

In the Fifth Mainland’s Innerverse, Lu Yin arrived at Windrift Hall for the second time.

His first visit had also been to look for Master Qing Cao. He remembered hearing Qing Cao say that the universe breathed, and he had come here to seek further answers. He had suspected Master Qing Cao of being a hidden expert, but Lu Yin had found nothing.

At Lu Yin’s second visit, he arrived blazing with killing intent.

Windrift Hall trembled as everyone within it dropped to their knees in terror. No one could even meet Lu Yin’s eyes.

Coco and Zora were both missing, and Zeng Die was the one overseeing things.

"Where is Master Qing Cao?" Lu Yin demanded.

Zeng Die did not understand why Lu Yin was so furious, even if he was not blatantly showing it. Even the restrained bloodlust that Lu Yin gave off was enough to shake the stars. "Master hasn’t returned since you last requested his help with the poisoning, Dao Monarch."

Lu Yin’s eyes swept through the place, and a single step took him to Master Qing Cao’s residence.

The man’s home was humble, much like the homes of many older cultivators that Lu Yin had met. The house was simple, and the courtyard was plain. There was just a modest selection of medicinal herbs. Nothing in the place hinted at Qing Cao being the individual referred to as the Fated One whom Ancient God had been desperately trying to discover.

Lu Yin did not know what had become of Ancient God. Lu Yuan and his peers were certainly searching frantically, but the chances of finding anything were slim.

Lu Yin quickly realized that he had acted impulsively. Even if he had found Master Qing Cao, what could have changed?

Ancient God was far from weak. If Master Qing Cao had managed to force Ancient God to use the Origin Progenitor’s Sutra just to send a message, then it indicated that there was a vast gap between them. Finding Qing Cao would likely be a death sentence for Lu Yin.

Even so, Lu Yin was unwilling to give up. How could Lu Yuan, Garan Zhiluo, or the others be satisfied with giving up? Even if they knew that success meant certain death, they would still want to find Ancient God.

Unfortunately, there was no trace of him to be found.

The only thing that Ancient God had shared through the Origin Progenitor’s Sutra was Master Qing Cao’s face. There had been nothing else at all. There was no way to determine a location.

Lu Yin started thinking back to every word Master Qing Cao had ever said to him.

“The Venom Flowzone is sick, so I am treating it.”

"The poisonous gasses are moving about abnormally. It’s just like when a human’s breathing is wrong."

"When the day comes that you are able to see this grass observing you, you should also be able to see the Venom Flowzone’s breath. In this universe, every natural order has its own breath and its own life."

These words had returned to Lu Yin’s mind many times over the years. He regretted not realizing Master Qing Cao’s power. Could such profound words have come from an ordinary cultivator?

He quietly stood within Master Qing Cao’s courtyard, unsure where to start searching.

Lu Yuan, Hongyan Mavis, and Chu Yi were all desperately searching for Ancient God and Master Qing Cao, but none of them found anything.

It was practically impossible to find a single person in the vast megaverse with its countless parallel universes.

The Origin Progenitor’s Sutra was unable to help them determine where Ancient God was, unless Ancient God himself mentioned it.

As time dragged on, hearts grew heavier. Finally, they received word from the Perennial World. There was a possibility that Ancient God had been found.

Lu Yin raced to the Perennial World, and he soon arrived in the unfamiliar Domain of the Wild Sword.

He was greeted by the sight of Ancient God's shattered remains. They could barely be recognized as a human’s. Lu Yin’s experience was enough for him to immediately understand that this damage had come from surpassing one’s physical limits, rather than from an enemy. This was self-inflicted damage.

How desperate of a situation had Ancient God been in to willingly suffer such horrendous backlash? There were not even any signs of battle anywhere in the nearby area.

Nong Yi stood a short distance away, shock still painting his features. He had yet to recover from what he had found.

Just moments passed, and Lu Yuan and the others arrived, one after the other. All of them fell silent when they saw Ancient God’s remains.

"How did you find him?" Lu Yin asked.

Nong Yi finally came to his senses, and he forced himself to reply, “There was nothing obvious to be seen at all. At first, there was nothing that caught my attention, but I am too familiar with the Dominion Realm. I’ve been in this place for too long, and I was friends with Wild Sword. I'm very familiar with his territory, so when I noticed a slight change in the region. I automatically came to investigate it, and that’s when I found this.

"Aside from this here, there’s nothing at all. I can’t even be sure that this is Ancient God."

There was little more than some bones. There was almost no flesh remaining. Most people would have failed to recognize who the body belonged to, but Nong Yi had fought Ancient God several times over the years. That had been enough for him to suspect whose corpse he might have found. That was all it had taken for him to send a message to the Heavens Sect.

Lu Yuan and the others stood beside Ancient God's remains. Visibly, there was no reaction, yet their silence spoke volumes. This was the most intense response that they could give.

Deep bonds existed between the Three Realms and Six Daos. Lu Yin admired them; none of them had betrayed each other. Not Garan Zhiluo, who had been sealed within Tian Fa’s body and tortured with flayings and deboning. Not Wu Tian, who had been strung up in the Third Scourge. Not Hongyan Mavis, who had remained trapped in the Mirari Realm for countless years. Not even Ancient God, who had been controlled by True God himself.

Not one of the Origin Progenitor’s disciples had been a traitor.

As True God had said, Tai Chu’s disciples were all impressive.

Lu Yin had no personal feelings for Ancient God, and he could not fully comprehend how deep of a hatred others had to hold for the man. Regardless, Ancient God had died for humanity, and such determination was worthy of respect.

Lu Yin bowed to Ancient God’s remains.

Nong Yi quickly followed suit, and he also bowed.

There were only a few who had practiced the Origin Progenitor’s Sutra. In fact, aside from the Three Realms and Six Daos, only Lu Tianyi and Kui Luo had been taught it. Kui Luo had also seen Master Qing Cao’s face, but as a Semi-Progenitor, he had not understood what the vision meant, and he had not gone to visit the Dominion Realm.

Silently, Ancient God’s remains were gathered, and people prepared to take them away.

Not many powerful cultivators’ remains would be preserved after they were dead. After the battles at the Immemorial Citadel, most of the casualties had been cremated.

Only when Ancient God’s remains were taken back did Arch-Elder Zen and the other Progenitors realize what had transpired.

Master Qing Cao’s true identity started circulating among peak powerhouses, though there was no need for anyone below that level to know anything. Master Qing Cao would not bother with such people anyway.

Lu Yin stared out at the lake, his heart heavy as he realized that his suspicions had been confirmed.

No, his speculations in the past remained nothing more than that, speculations. As long as the Fated One did not show themselves, there would be no proof. Lu Yin had even hoped that the Fated One would never appear, and that they would remain more of a figment or a dream.

However, the Fated One had indeed appeared.

According to Nong Yi, Ancient God had died just a short distance away from where Nong Yi had been in the Dominion Realm. The Progenitor should have seen what had happened, but despite the clearly incredible power that Ancient God had unleashed, Nong Yi had not sensed anything. Lu Yin understood just what a terrifying level of power this indicated.

At the time of his death, Ancient God must have unleashed what was quite possibly the greatest force in the megaverse, at the moment. Not even Lu Yin was confident that he could have withstood such power. Ancient God had released something on the same level as when True God had moved the black Mother Tree. Despite that, Ancient God had failed to make the slightest disturbance. The power needed to suppress such force defied Lu Yin’s understanding of what was possible in the megaverse, and this knowledge pressed down on him with the force of a mountain.

Lu Yuan and the others did not remain silent just because they mourned Ancient God’s death, they were also shaken by the terrifying strength that had killed him.

"Dao Monarch, Progenitor Ku is requesting an audience," the Second Nightking announced to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin turned around. "Please, bring him here."

The mountain behind the Heavens Sect was not exactly a restricted area. Many people entered and left without notice, but Progenitor Ku was an exception. That was just his personality. He kept a low profile and did things his own way.

"Senior, what brings you here?" Lu Yin asked right away, skipping past the formalities.

Progenitor Ku's expression was solemn. "Was Ancient God killed by that Master Qing Cao?"

Lu Yin nodded.

"I think I’ve met Master Qing Cao before."

This was a surprise. Master Qing Cao had always kept quiet, and he had never gotten involved in any part of the war with Aeternus. Before killing Ancient God, the man had never shown his hand, or rather, if he had, no one knew about it. "You’ve met him, Senior?"

"I can’t remember, but I’m sure that I’ve seen him before," Progenitor Ku replied.

Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. "Your lost memory."

Progenitor Ku nodded. "As soon as I saw his image, I became certain that I’ve met him, and yet I can’t remember anything. It might not be that I lost my memory, but rather that that bit of time was taken from me. If not, given my strength, there’s no reason for me to still have not recovered my memories."