Chapter 3294: The Bonds Of Emotion

"What is going on?" Lu Yin's expression darkened. The fact that Whiteless God had targeted Yan'er was intolerable.

The Ice Lord shared what he knew with Lu Yin, whose frown only deepened. The truth was that the Ice Lord knew very little about what had actually happened, as Whiteless God had trapped the entire Ice Spirit tribe the entire time.

Lu Yin suddenly turned to look into the distance. Bai Qing was approaching.

Lu Yin was no longer wary of the woman. The fact that Jiang Feng had put her in the Iceheart indicated that she was someone from Whitecloud City. At the very least, she was not an enemy.

"Lord Lu?" Bai Qing’s face appeared serene as she calmly observed Lu Yin.

Lu Yin looked back at the woman. "Who are you?"

"You can consider me as someone from Whitecloud City."

Lu Yin nodded. "Thank you."

If not for Bai Qing, there was no doubt that Ming Yan would have been taken by Whiteless God, and Lu Yin could not even imagine the consequences of that.

Lu Yin had not considered the possibility that Whiteless God could still be alive.

"I heard some of what Whiteless God said," Bai Qing said, as she locked eyes with Lu Yin. "But only the last two sentences.

"‘If not for your consciousness, I would have never saved him. Now, that has led to a catastrophe.

"‘However, there’s no longer any other choice. I need you again.’"

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. Had Whiteless God taken control of Yan'er's consciousness? When? He could not even guess.

Also, did the comment about “saved him" refer to him? During the battle at the Immemorial Citadel, Whiteless God, or rather, Luo Shen, had mentioned to Lu Yin that he owed her his life; could that be true? When had that happened?

"Thank you for telling me," Lu Yin said gratefully.

Bai Qing asked, "Who did that to Jiang Feng?"

At Whitecloud City, Lu Yin had explained everything to Liu Pianran and the others, but Bai Qing had not been present. If she had been, Lu Yin would have noticed her presence.

She had made a specific effort to find Lu Yin.

Lu Yin shared some details about the incident with Master Qing Cao. When he was done, Bai Qing quietly thanked him and then left.

When the woman was gone, Lu Yin approached the Iceheart. Lightstream appeared as a boat. He intended to traverse the River of Aeons to find Whiteless God.

She had completely crossed Lu Yin’s bottom line.

No one could hurt Yan'er. No one.

Besides that, it was also necessary to find out when Whiteless God had taken control of Yan'er's consciousness.

The River of Aeons surged as Lu Yin took a deep breath. He boarded Lightstream, and the boat entered the river.

Every time Lu Yin traveled on the River of Aeons, it was extremely dangerous. The first time, he had done so to pursue the surviving Aeternals, as he had needed to eliminate them. The second time, he had done so to find the Books of Destiny. This was the third time, and it was for Yan'er.

She was Lu Yin's most sensitive weakness. She was simply untouchable.

Far away, the Ice Lord was stunned. Was someone really going to cross the River of Aeons? He had never imagined that anyone could accomplish such a thing. This was truly astonishing. At this moment, the Ice Lord felt that Lord Lu’s power must surpass all others’ in the megaverse.

Arch-Elder Zen and several Progenitors arrived, having received a report from the Ice Spirit Tribe. They arrived just in time to witness Lu Yin crossing the River of Aeons, and the sight left them all silent.

Lu Yin was truly furious.

As he moved along the River of Aeons, scenes flashed by him. Soon, Lu Yin saw the exchange between Whiteless God and Bai Qing. Fortunately, it was a recent incident, which meant that he found it quite quickly.

After traversing the River of Aeons, Lu Yin appeared beside the Iceheart.

Scenes continued to flicker by him. Lu Yin was able to move along the River of Aeons and change his location, but he could not change the past. It was like creating a tiny ripple that did not affect a large area.

He watched as Bai Qing received the three mirebound artifacts, repelled Whiteless God, and left. He also saw the Ice Lord arrive at the Iceheart and quickly send a message to Whitecloud City.

Lu Yin focused on the moment when Whiteless God left, marking her location.

Time returned to normal, and Lu Yin moved back into the River of Aeons once again. This time, he found the right moment and then changed his position in the past to be at the exact location where Whiteless God had torn through the void to leave the universe.

He stayed there as images flashed around him. When Bai Qing struck and forced the ripple back, it tore through the void. As it did so, Lu Yin was right beside it.

The spatial tear pulled both the ripple and Lu Yin away.

Lu Yin’s surroundings returned to normal, and he found himself in an unknown universe. He traversed the River of Aeons once again. He was determined to catch up to Whiteless God.

By going to the past with the River of Aeons, as long as Lu Yin had a clue, he could find anyone at all, as long as he did not need to go too far into the past.

Of course, unexpected events could still happen, but Lu Yin was not bothered by that. Whiteless God had gone too far, and she had to be dealt with.

This time, after traversing the River of Aeons, Lu Yin saw that the ripple was moving in a specific direction. He followed it, and every time that he lost the trail, he would revisit the past with the River of Aeons. He used the flickering images to track Whiteless God and determine her location.

Once. Twice. Three times. Five times. Nine times. As Lu Yin traveled along the River of Aeons more and more, his eyes grew bloodshot. He relentlessly chased after Whiteless God.

Finally, he found her.

Whiteless God was on a desolate planet. There were no humans present, only strange, bizarre creatures that crawled up from underground, before burrowing back down.

Lu Yin landed on the planet, and he looked into the distance where the ripple had appeared.

"You are so determined to catch me. It’s dangerous to cross the River of Aeons. One wrong move, and you'll be swept away. Even True God doesn’t dare to attempt that," Whiteless God commented.

Lu Yin stared at the ripple. "Why did you target Yan'er?"

"Because she’s important to you."

"Then you know why I needed to find you."

The ripple shifted, and Luo Shen appeared. She stared at Lu Yin. "Brother Lu, you’ve already killed me once. Do you want to kill me again?"

Lu Yin stared back at Luo Shen as memories of the woman ran through his mind. He had once felt guilty towards the woman and pitied her greatly. At the moment, all he felt was wariness and a desire to kill her. "You didn't die, so you won’t be killed a second time."

Luo Shen smiled, and it was truly a beautiful sight. "More than one person gets a second chance. Hasn’t Progenitor Xi been granted that?"

Lu Yin’s expression changed. "How do you know about that?"

"I am just like her. I’m also from the Consciousness Megaverse," Luo Shen stated.

Lu Yin understood. It was no wonder why the woman had not died during the battle at the Immemorial Citadel. Progenitor Xi had managed to survive Progenitor Chen’s attack, which proved that it was not impossible for Whiteless God to have survived as well.

"Brother Lu, did you ever care for me?" Luo Shen suddenly asked.

Lu Yin frowned. "Everything about you was fake. You pretended to like me, and you deliberately got close to me. You even followed me to the Perennial World. Everything was just a part of your act. Why bring this up now? Since you decided to go after Yan'er, I won't spare you."

Progenitor Xi had already explained that creatures from the Consciousness Megaverse were not human. If they were a different species, how could there be love?

Whiteless God, or rather Luo Shen, had done nothing but put on various acts.

On the desolate planet, a rough wind blew. Luo Shen continued to just stand there. She was as beautiful as a painting, the only thing beautiful on this barren world. "What if it was all real?"

Lu Yin’s inner universe was released, and it completely enveloped his surroundings. "Stop the act. You can't escape. Tell me now. For what do I owe you a life? What did you mean by that?"

Luo Shen smiled faintly. "I won't tell you that, but you really do owe me your life. I hope that this mystery will leave a deep impression on you."

Lu Yin stared at the woman. "Was it on that planet at the edge of the Outerverse when you took an attack for me?"

Luo Shen shook her head. "That was just an attempt to get closer to you. Even if I had done nothing, you wouldn't have been in danger."

So, that was not the incident that she had mentioned.

"I really envy Ming Yan," Luo Shen announced as she turned to stare up at the dark sky. The dim yellow atmosphere looked like the eye of a demon that was staring down at the ground.

"Honestly, the primary reason why Aeternus was defeated is because of Ming Yan. Without her, the Aeternals would never have lost."

Lu Yin was puzzled. "What does that have to do with Yan'er?"

Luo Shen smiled as she looked back at Lu Yin. "If it weren’t for Ming Yan, why would I have saved your life?

"I once took control of her consciousness, intending to use her against you and to force you into becoming a Redback. Unfortunately, every aspect of her existence revolves around you. I can alter a Progenitor’s thoughts and make them kill each other. I can even influence the consciousness of a sequence powerhouse, and yet I couldn’t change that girl. At most, I could leave a hint of an influence. But in return, I was the one most deeply affected by that attempt, as I was infected by her feelings for you, the feelings known as love.

"It’s a joke, really. My consciousness was altered by such a weak, insignificant ant.

"This might be the greatest tragedy of sapient creatures. The power of consciousness is infinite and unpredictable. Brother Lu, I truly envy that woman. She holds all of your love and is your greatest concern, while I, despite falling for you just like her, ended up like this."

Lu Yin's eyes widened as memories flooded back, "Nightking Changfeng?"

Luo Shen sighed heavily. "That’s right, Nightking Changfeng. He was a very handsome young man, wasn't he?"

Lu Yin had not expected this to be the answer at all.

Long ago, after Lu Yin and Ming Yan had pledged their lives to each other, Lu Yin left Shenwu Continent for two years. The next time he saw Ming Yan, her feelings for him had grown distant. Instead, he had found her laughing and chatting with someone named Nightking Changfeng. At that moment, Lu Yin’s heart had ached with a deep agony. The two years apart had caused their feelings to fade, but Lu Yin had never blamed Ming Yan for that. On the other hand, she had felt incredibly guilty about it.

Lu Yin would have never considered that the distance that had grown between them during their time apart would be because of Whiteless God’s influence.

"You were looking at me even back then?" Lu Yin asked, incredulous.

Luo Shen smiled. "Aeterna is a list that isn’t concerned about cultivation level. Rather, it’s based purely off of people’s importance. Even back then, you were very important."

Lu Yin found it hard to imagine, but then he realized that this was how Whiteless God worked.

Whiteless God controlled Aeterna, the Aeternals’ list of traitors and Redbacks. She was the Skygod who had forced countless people to serve Aeternus. Lu Yin had personally seen how the Aeternals would seduce humans into betraying humanity and become Redbacks, but he had never imagined that he had nearly been a victim of such a scheme himself.

If Yan'er had really betrayed him back then, what would have become of him?

Lu Yin refused to even think about it.

He could only imagine how strong Yan'er must have been. She had only been an ordinary human, and yet she had stayed true to herself even when one of the Seven Skygods had tried to manipulate the young woman’s consciousness.

"I never considered the possibility that she would maintain her true self. Even though I was keeping my influence subtle, she was still just an ordinary person. Her love for you is entirely selfless and pure—you are the only person in her entire world. Brother Lu, someone like her is happy just to be alive, and even if she died, she would die happy," Luo Shen said with open envy.

"Consciousness is intertwined with human emotions, and the deeper those emotions are, the harder it is to alter a human’s consciousness. I could have easily erased her memories, but you would have instantly noticed something like that. A Ming Yan whose feelings for you had grown distant would hurt you far more than one whose memories had been erased.

"And yet, in the end, you two stayed together, while I became burdened by her emotions. I appeared as Luo Shen, and I gradually fell in love with you. Brother Lu, I truly do love you.

"Whether you believe me or not, human emotions are the most difficult thing to comprehend. Even I was ensnared by that power, despite being a different species."