Chapter 3305: To Be Useful

As Lu Yin stepped inside the chamber, E' Jia, who was sitting in a corner, immediately lifted his head. His eyes were fierce and utterly devoid of any hint of humanity. Years of sucking blood had given him the aura of a beast.

Lu Yin slowly moved closer, carefully observing E' Jia.

E' Jia was breathing heavy, and he clenched a comb tightly in his right hand.

When Lu Yin had first visited the Scourge Occupation, E' Ji had mentioned that their mad ancestor had always been particularly concerned about his appearance and had often repeated the phrase, "Where's my comb?" Lu Yin realized that this was quite accurate; even in his madness, E' Jia never let go of his comb.

Lu Yin held a great deal of respect for this madman. The Scourge Occupation had an ancestral rule: As long as they don't show any hostility towards us, they are not harmed. E' Jia was someone whose respect for life so ingrained into his very being that, even in his madness, he kept himself imprisoned. This was certainly a person worthy of respect.

Suddenly, E' Jia rose to his feet, and a hand reached out for Lu Yin.

Lu Yin calmly raised his own hand and caught E' Jia’s.

Outside the chamber, E' Nan’s heart skipped a beat. If anything happened to Lu Yin, the Scourge Occupation would be doomed.

There was a sudden whoosh, and the entire Scourge Occupation trembled.

Lu Yin firmly clasped E' Jia’s hand. No matter how much force the madman used, he was unable to break free.

Lu Yin possessed the greatest physical strength in the megaverse. While E' Jia was an Ortuser, he was nowhere close to being stronger than Lu Yin.

After all, not even True God was physically stronger than Lu Yin, at least not normally. Yong Heng needed to use either his Natural Art or undergo a Corpse King Transformation to surpass Lu Yin.

E' Jia let out a deep growl. His eyes were wild and bloodshot. Then, he swung his other hand, the one that held his comb, but Lu Yin caught that one as well.

A mad Ortuser stood no chance against Lu Yin.

E' Jia was almost instantly subdued. Lu Yin used a bit of force to shake his hands free and then pressed a hand down on E' Jia’s shoulder. The madman flailed wildly, but he was unable to break free from Lu Yin’s grip.

E' Nan felt conflicted by this sight. It was unsettling to see the once-great E' Jia so easily suppressed by Lu Yin.

E' Jia continued his frantic struggles, and Lu Yin let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, Senior. I mean no disrespect.”

He carefully examined E' Jia’s condition and then let out a hiss of frustration. Just as Mister Mu had said, it would be nearly impossible for someone else to fix what was wrong with E' Jia. While Lu Yin could release the power sealed within E' Jia, doing so would strip the man of all of his cultivation and reduce him to being a normal human. Even then, there was no telling if E' Jia would regain his sanity.

After a moment of silence, Lu Yin released the man and left the chamber.

E' Jia let out howls of rage for some time. He rushed to the door and then clutched his head while screaming. Eventually, he sank back down into the same corner he had been in when Lu Yin had first arrived and proceeded to stare blankly at his comb.

Lu Yin shared the possibilities with E' Nan.

E' Nan had no idea what to choose.

If there was a guarantee that E' Jia would regain his sanity, the Scourge Occupation would instantly agree. Their mad ancestor had suffered for far too long, as had the Scourge Occupation. They would rather start over and recultivate from the beginning than continue down the painful path they currently tread.

As for Lu Yin, he was also willing to free E' Jia from his suffering. The old man deserved a great deal of respect.

However, there was no way to guarantee that E' Jia would be able to return to normal. If Lu Yin freed the man and E' Jia remained insane, what would be the point? The Tianyuan Megaverse was about to face a terrible invasion, and they needed the strength of the Scourge Occupation.

“If our ancestor were sane, he would choose to retain his power for the Scourge Occupation,” E' Nan stated solemnly.

“That’s why E' Jia deserves to be respected. I also believe that he would choose to sacrifice himself in order to protect all of you, as well as our megaverse,” Lu Yin replied. “On my part, the power of your Scourge Occupation isn’t critical. If I was certain that it would restore E' Jia’s sanity and free him, I would do it. The choice is yours.”

E' Nan considered for a moment before looking over at Lu Yin. “Lord Lu, you can’t do it now, but what about in the future?”

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. “Are you asking if I will be able to restore E' Jia’s sanity while allowing him to retain his power?”

E' Nan nodded. “Our people live short lives because of our ancestor, and many have embraced an attitude of living for today, but if we lose our ancestor’s power, will our Scourge Occupation still be able to produce any true experts?

“How many of us are there? How can we ensure that we will be able to continue producing powerhouses? There’s no way to guarantee how many peak powerhouses can rise up from even an entire universe that’s filled with countless geniuses.

“In the past, I didn’t understand, but I do now. Once you’ve seen the peak, you are no longer satisfied with being an ant. Climbing to that peak is too difficult. I admit that it’s selfish, but the Scourge Occupation needs to be selfish. As their chief, I need to make sure that I lead my people down the right path.”

Lu Yin looked at E' Nan for a long moment as he considered the question for a few moments. “It’s hard to say, but it might be possible in the future.”

“Lord Lu, as chief of the Scourge Occupation, I am making a selfish decision. Please don’t do anything to E' Jia. If, in the future, you are able to free him and help my Scourge Occupation, please do so then. If not, allow us to continue as we are until a future chief decides otherwise,” E' Nan spoke earnestly.

Lu Yin nodded. “This matter is the Scourge Occupation’s to decide. I won’t involve myself with your decision. However, with that settled, I need to give you a task. This is a mission to help prepare for the Spirit Nidus’s invasion, which will need our full strength to survive. No one can refuse to participate.”

“Please tell me, Lord Lu.” E' Nan grew solemn.

“How many of your people can wield the strength of a peak powerhouse through E' Jia’s power?”

“Seven.”

“I need fifty.”

E' Nan nearly choked in shock. He stared blankly at Lu Yin. “How many did you say, Lord Lu?”

“Fifty,” Lu Yin repeated.

“Impossible!” E' Nan replied, speechless.

“Why?”

“Wielding that level of power isn’t as simple as being bitten by our ancestor. Our bodies also have to adapt to that level of power. Each member of the Scourge Occupation has to endure being bitten countless times from the moment they’re born before they can hope to handle the strength of a peak powerhouse. Even with talent, many fail to survive the process. Seven is already quite a few. I could increase that number to ten, with a bit of risk, but fifty is simply impossible,” E' Nan explained frankly. “Also, I know that your Heavens Sect sent people to universes where time passes more quickly, but that won’t help us. We’re just ordinary humans, if we can even be considered that. There are people who can live for centuries with the right technology, but we’re only able to live for 200 or 300 years, at most. Our ancestor’s power causes too much damage to us, which is why we can’t take advantage of it like other cultivators.”

Lu Yin looked at E' Nan. “There is a way.”

E' Nan looked confused. “What’s that?”

“Have more children.”

“What?”

“Keep having children—lots of them. You have a population of about 50,000 people right now, and seven of you are able to wield the strength of a peak powerhouse. If there were 500,000 of you, 5 million, or even 50 million, how many peak powerhouses would you be able to produce?”

E' Nan smiled bitterly. “But we only have one ancestor. Even if we increase our population to 50 million and have dozens of peak powerhouses, each of them would only live for about 200 years.”

“I don’t need them to live a long time. I simply need to ensure that we have enough experts when the invasion arrives,” Lu Yin stated. “Don’t be offended by my bluntness. I am mobilizing every possible resource, and we are even taking advantage of Ye Wu’s symbiotic corpses. The fate of the megaverse itself is at stake. Go to the Five Spirits Alliance’s universes and increase your population. Raise up as many peak powerhouses as possible. That is the task that I’m giving the Scourge Occupation.

“You can be selfish for your Scourge Occupation, while I need to be selfish for the megaverse.”

E' Nan sighed. “I understand your position, Lord Lu. Fine, I will do everything I can to produce more peak powerhouses. I will make sure that we have fifty such experts by the time we need to face the Spirit Nidus.”

“I also can’t allow you to join your people in the Five Spirits Alliance’s universes. I need the Scourge Occupation’s chief to be absolutely loyal to the Heavens Sect. I can’t afford any surprises,” Lu Yin said.

E' Nan nodded. “I understand.”

Things started accelerating everywhere in the megaverse. No one could say exactly when it started, but all efforts, resources, and materials were being devoted towards a solitary goal. As for what that goal was, no one could say.

Energy converters, microarray technology, universal armors, mechas, and even tools like the sequence particle detectors and the visualization method of the ancient golden characters became widely spread. The entire megaverse was held by a tense atmosphere.

Aeternus had been defeated, and yet humanity was feeling greater pressure than ever before.

Months later, someone who had not been seen for a very long time arrived at the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. As that person faced Lu Yin, they bowed low. “Greetings, Lord Lu.”

Lu Yin kept his back to his visitor while staring out at the lake. “How long has it been, Silver?”

Silver had arrived. He had been one of Lu Yin’s companions when he had first left Earth. At that time, they had also been accompanied by Xia Luo and Lulu Mavis. Since then, everything had changed. The others’ paths no longer crossed with Lu Yin’s; there was simply too great a chasm between them.

Silver’s eyes almost closed as the same foxy smirk as ever spread across his face. “About fifty years.”

Lu Yin stood and turned to face Silver.

At that moment, an indescribable pressure swept through the air and across the ground to slam down upon Silver. He was forced to the ground, overwhelmed by the incredible pressure.

It was a force beyond anything that Silver could endure. It was enough to flatten even peak powerhouses to the ground. This was the power of one who stood at the peak of the megaverse.

Silver lay sprawled out under the immense pressure. He had never felt so small before. At this moment, the gap between him and Lu Yin felt even greater than the difference between an ordinary human and a cultivator.

Silver tried to lift his head from the ground, but no matter how hard he tried, he failed to move at all. Terrible fear sprouted in his soul as his most primal survival instincts prevented him from moving. All he could do was endure the pressure.

Lu Yin walked closer to Silver. Each step felt as though it was sending Silver deeper into the abyss.

An eternity might have passed, or maybe a mere instant, but finally, the pressure disappeared. All that remained was the gentle touch of leaves falling onto Silver’s head.

Silver struggled to pick his head up. His entire body was drenched with sweat. As he looked at the falling leaves, Lu Yin crouched down and locked eyes with Silver. “Fifty years since we last met? You’ve improved quite quickly. It’s impressive. Is that because you’re a bone grafter?”

Gasping for breath, Silver stared at Lu Yin. It felt like there was a god standing above him. “What do you want from a bone grafter, Lord Lu?”

Lu Yin stared into Silver’s eyes. “That depends on what you, a bone grafter, can do for me.”

Silver had been summoned to the Heavens Sect precisely because he was a bone grafter.

True God had created bone grafters and had also created the Ossis Ark. That vessel possessed incredible power, and Lu Yin was curious to find out just how far Silver could go. If Silver could create an Ossis Ark of his own for Lu Yin, it would be an incredible tool for the upcoming war. Lu Yin had even saved the several of the remains that he had found on the Ossis Ark, all because he had been thinking of Silver at that moment.

Bone grafting was not something unique to True God; it was an ability that any bone grafter could use.