Chapter 3323: Yan Ruyu

After taking another look at Cang Xiaohai’s picture, Lu Yin had to acknowledge that he’d indeed become a figure who invited resentment, lacking the standing to lead others toward goodness. However, aside from having a bottom line, people also possessed a sense of self. Lu Yin’s bottom line was something that had been imparted to him by the universe's civilizations. In essence, it was a crystallization of culture and tradition and was unaffected by his personal feelings. As for the sense of self, that was rooted in Lu Yin’s selfishness that existed as an aspect of being a sapient creature.

Lu Yin lived for himself, the people he cared about, and those he needed to protect. Anything that threatened those things would violate Lu Yin’s sense of self, and thus need to be eradicated. He had no regrets for the hatred that his actions had caused in fulfilling his purpose.

He might not be qualified to guide others towards goodness, but he was certainly qualified to protect humanity as a whole and to protect his species from extinction.

He was Lu Yin, the ruler of humanity, someone who was admired and followed by countless people. He was willing to protect those who followed him. No matter if the path ahead led into an abyss or hell itself, they would face the future together. As for Cang Xiaoxue, Lu Yin had not acted only out of a moment of softness, but also out of compassion.

Lu Yin's orders caused multiple peak powerhouses to enter the Origin Universe. They released their Progenitor’s worlds and enveloped the entire Origin Universe so that they could monitor it, while also focusing on regions where the Scrollbane Centipedes had already appeared.

Progenitor’s worlds could encompass vast regions. In the past, just the Rune Progenitor’s remnant will had been enough to alter the universe and prevent the Sixth Mainland’s invasion from using any power at or above the Envoy level. At the moment, the Heavens Sect had multiple powerhouses, including several of the Three Realms and Six Daos. Which of them was not capable of observing a massive region?

In addition to the Origin Universe, Lu Yin was confident that the Heavens Sect could also monitor the neighboring parallel universes.

It was a time-consuming and exhausting approach, but it would certainly deal with the Scrollbane Centipedes, as long as the insects showed themselves.

In the past, Great Elder Shan Gu’s megaverse had failed to deal with the Scrollbane Centipedes because they had already spread across the megaverse, and they had not had enough experts to monitor the entire megaverse.

Fortunately, as soon as Lu Yin learned that a Scrollbane Centipede had been seen, he had ordered all of the parallel universes to be sealed off, which trapped the Scrollbane Centipedes within the Origin Universe. If not for that, the bugs could have spread out, becoming a far more difficult challenge to overcome.

It was not long before Ce Wangtian found a Scrollbane Centipede.

The moment the Scrollbane Centipede was discovered, it was swatted dead by a slipper. While the insects traveled between dimensions and were difficult to find or eliminate, they still only possessed the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, which meant that it was impossible for any of them to endure Ce Wangtian’s attacks.

Soon, more and more Scrollbane Centipede were found, and with that, the number of victims continued to rise.

It was like a game. The Scrollbane Centipedes were nothing more than insects, and they lacked intelligence. They were incapable of predicting or anticipating humanity’s plans. The insects sought nothing more than to travel between dimensions while occasionally killing a person or two. However, every time one appeared, it would be found and killed.

Of course, there were instances of failure as well. For instance, when Shao Chen spotted a Scrollbane Centipede, he failed to kill it, and it even managed to escape. Shao Chen’s specialization was in using the mortal world to fight against sapient creatures, which the Scrollbane Centipedes were not. Not every peak powerhouse had the means to deal with the interdimensional creatures.

Outside the Heavens Sect, the jiao grinned as it used its claws to scratch the Pridebeast’s back. The ape had been feeling itchy.

Not far away, the Megalith lazily swished its tail.

Across from them was Ancestor Tortoise, its head had completely retracted into its shell.

Countless people watched in astonishment. The behemoths had become part of the scenery at the Heavens Sect, and they attracted a steady stream of observers.

Inside the Heavens Sect, Tuo Lin's courtyard was still overflowing with books, and he remained intent on his studies.

Hui Can wailed, “Senior Brother, aren’t you going to leave yet? How much longer will you read for?”

Tuo Lin looked up and said in a rather pointed tone, "Junior Brother, it’s important to remain steady throughout life and to be precise when taking action. Since Master hasn't seen fit to send us out yet, it means that it's not time yet. There’s no rush. Take things slow. I've prepared some books for you, so focus on those."

Hui Can was rendered speechless.

Senior Brother, you're overthinking things! Master just forgot about us.

Becoming Lu Yin’s disciple meant that Hui Can had instantly risen to the peak of the megaverse. His desire to show off had been slowly worn away as he spent time in the courtyard. He had read countless books during his time there. It was clear that their master had been deceiving Hui Can’s senior brother. However, since Tuo Lin had become capable of cultivating, why had he not left yet? If Tuo Lin did not want to leave, that was fine, but their master had ordered Hui Can to stay with his senior brother, and that was torture.

Why does the fact that he stays here have to trap me? I want to go out! Show off! I want to bask in the admiration of countless people!

Is it possible that Master forgot that Senior Brother can cultivate now? I should go remind him.

That thought saw Hui Can quietly slipping out of the courtyard.

Once the man was gone, Tuo Lin shook his head. "My junior brother is too impatient. There must be a reason why Master hasn’t let us out yet.

Sigh

...

"What? You think that my junior brother isn’t capable? No, Master wouldn’t choose the wrong person. We just haven't seen Junior Brother’s strengths yet.

"Thank you for the compliment, but I'm not that great.

"Our forefathers said, 'There is beauty like jade in books,' and they were right. I’ve always believed that books have souls, which is why I often talk to them. Junior Brother even said that I’ve lost my mind from all of my reading, but look! You’re here now. Books really do have souls.

"Our forefathers? I think that this phrase comes from the planet called Earth. They're people from the past? They’re probably long dead.

"'Beauty like jade?' That's you. What does it mean? Let me think... It means a face that’s as beautiful as jade. That’s easy enough to understand, right?

"You’ve seen a lot of jade? Oh, then that suits you even more! I’ll call you Yan Ruyu. Do you like the name?

"I like it, too. I’m sure Master will also like it. I respect Master a great deal. He’s the one who got me to start reading and understanding the world. It’s why I was able to meet you.

"Great! Then it’s settled. One day, I’ll introduce you to Master. I’m sure he’ll like you too.

"You’ll also like Master. Hmm? You already like him? You like everything I like? Thank you! You're so kind, Yan Ruyu."

In the blink of an eye, six months passed.

During this time, Lu Yin and his people had stayed in the Origin Universe to monitor things. They had managed to discover and kill twenty-three Scrollbane Centipedes, the most recent of which had died half a month prior. After that, no more Scrollbane Centipedes appeared.

Lu Yin was not entirely reassured yet, so he had others continue the surveillance while he returned to the Heavens Sect to check on how things were proceeding with gathering various resources.

As soon as he returned to the Heavens Sect, he saw Hui Can.

The man bowed. "Master."

Lu Yin acknowledged Hui Can with a grunt. "Why aren’t you with Tuo Lin? What do you want from me?"

Hui Can hesitated briefly. "Master, Senior Brother is already able to cultivate."

"I know," Lu Yin calmly replied. Sage Yajna had given the ability to cultivate back to Tuo Lin, which had revived in his bloodline the hopes of cultivation again being possible.

Hui Can coughed awkwardly. "So, uh, can I go out now?"

Lu Yin stared at his disciple. "That’s up to you."

Lu Yin's attitude left Hui Can uncertain. "Senior Brother doesn’t have any plans of going out. He says that he’s waiting to hear from you, Master."

Lu Yin glanced at the distant courtyard, where Tuo Lin was buried in his books.

Hmm? Who’s he talking to?

Lu Yin checked the area with his domain, but he found no one.

"Has your senior brother been talking to himself a lot recently?"

Hui Can still felt rather awkward. "Some, but he’s not exactly talking to himself. It seems that... he's talking to his books."

"Talking to his books?" Lu Yin felt rather puzzled, and he could not quite make sense of this answer.

Suddenly, he thought of the Scrollbane Centipedes. Could one have entered the Heavens Sect? He quickly dismissed the idea as impossible. If a Scrollbane Centipede were in the Heavens Sect, he would have sensed it. Besides, Scrollbane Centipedes did not talk.

"How long has he been like this?"

"Senior Brother has been talking to his books for a long time. It’s looked like he’s read himself stupid, but lately, things have gotten much worse."

"A long time ago?" Lu Yin nodded. "Take your senior brother out for a bit. It isn’t good to stay in the Heavens Sect all the time."

Hui Can was thrilled. "Thank you, Master."

"Take these for protection." Lu Yin passed several items over to Hui Can. Some were for himself and others were for Tuo Lin. Among them were the Void Rip sourcebox array, a bird skeleton, a Divine Yin Awl, and the bone spike. Lu Yin no longer needed those defensive items for himself.

Not much in the megaverse could pose much of a danger to Lu Yin’s disciples. Sage Yajna's life-extending power had been used on Tuo Lin, making him formidable enough that even ordinary Progenitors would struggle to harm the man. Hui Can was exceptionally clever and had cultivated Verdant Eternity. While he was nowhere close to fully mastering the technique, what he had mastered was more than enough for him to deal with ordinary cultivators.

Only a peak powerhouse could harm the two men, and Lu Yin could not keep them confined to the Heavens Sect forever.

Hui Can was ecstatic. The fact that Lu Yin had personally prepared protective items for them meant that they had to be extraordinary treasures. He ran off excitedly.

Soon, Hui Can was back with Tuo Lin, and he shared Lu Yin’s words with his senior brother. Tuo Lin's eyes lit up. "We can go out? I need to go say goodbye to Master."

Hui Can quickly interjected, "There’s no need for that. Master is always watching us, so there’s no need to go say goodbye in person."

Tuo Lin responded with a simple “Oh.”

He glanced around and quickly picked out Lu Yin’s direction. He offered several deep bows while mumbling something under his breath and then carefully selected a few books that he placed in his cosmic ring. With that, Tuo Lin and Hui Can left the Heavens Sect.

After watching them depart, Lu Yin finally left the Heavens Sect himself. He made his way to the Five Spirits Alliance’s universes.

In a certain parallel universe, Yan Gang stared intently at his Nest, beneath a starry sky. He nervously swallowed.

A short distance away stood True God, Forgotten Ruins God, and the others. Skydog was sitting at True God’s feet, watching with evident curiosity.

"The Origin Universe has already dealt with a number of Scrollbane Centipedes that were apparently bred in the Five Spirits Alliance’s universes," Blackless God reported.

Forgotten Ruins God chuckled. "The only people in those universes, other than the native population, are Lu Yin’s technical experts that he sent there to speed up production. Was one of his researchers hiding a Nest?"

"Everyone has their own selfish goals. This time, someone was motivated by revenge, but it was nothing more than a minor issue. They were already caught."

"They must have been quite cautious. Time passes a hundred times faster in the Five Spirits Alliance’s universes. They took all that time to produce a Scrollbane Centipede while not allowing any of the other insects to appear. It’s no wonder they were able to hide for so long," True God calmly observed.

Forgotten Ruins God added, "It's a pity that they were caught. Why would someone so careful send their Scrollbane Centipedes into the Origin Universe?"

Blackless God frowned. Aeternus had suffered a major defeat, and most of their human spies had been caught. Even the remaining ones were wavering. They did their best to avoid exposure and no longer wholeheartedly worked for the Aeternals. Blackless God had only been able to gather some scraps of information.

Sky Orchids and Ghost Orchids appeared around the distant form of Yan Gang, along with other insects like Lithic Drakes and Septastar Blades. Everyone present remained quiet.

Yan Gang was waiting for a Scrollbane Centipede to emerge.

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Aside from Cang Xiaoxue, who had been in the Five Spirits Alliance’s universes, Yan Gang was progressing the fastest with his Nest. Six months ago, when he had first met True God, Yan Gang had already succeeded in producing a Ghost Orchid. After just six months, he was already confident that he could bring out a Scrollbane Centipede.