Chapter 3373: Force His Hand

Of the two men and one woman, one of the men stretched his hand out toward Astral Anura, which caused the void to contract as the man manipulated space itself.

All three humans were peak powerhouses, though not sequence powerhouses. Still, they were not at all weak for their cultivation realm.

However, they were completely out of their depth against Astral Anura.

A mere flick of Astral Anura’s lotus leaf shattered all three attacks. An overwhelming power struck the three humans, and they were sent flying while spitting out blood.

Their hearts dropped, as they instantly understood that they had encountered a true powerhouse. Even a sequence powerhouse would not be able to wound them so casually. The fact that Astral Anura could implied that he had surpassed the sequence powerhouse level.

The creature had not been seen at either of the battles at the boundary. Was it a frog?

The three people slammed to the ground. None of them could even move, and all they could do was stare at Astral Anura in fear.

The toad returned to his full size. He held onto his lotus leaf, and the copper coins around his neck jingled as he grinned at the humans. “You’ve got guts, barging into Lord Astral Anura’s territory. Are you seeking death?”

A quarter of an hour later, Astral Anura was left dumbfounded, and he remained frozen in place.

How could this be? Is this real? Lu Yin, that bastard! What a conman!

The three humans were cultivators from the Spirit Nidus. They had fought in the battle at the Tianyuan Megaverse’s boundary, and they had seen Palace Master Yao be captured, as well as the two Seraphs flee. The three cultivators had also succeeded in escaping.

The three had joined forces and avoided notice while slipping away in the chaos. Others had inadvertently covered their escape. They had arrived in Deep Marsh, where they had discovered Astral Anura’s nest. Here, they had felt that such a secluded location would be a good place for them to recuperate.

Unluckily, of all places, they had chosen to hide in Astral Anura’s nest.

The woman had not noticed Astral Anura through sensing his power, but rather from the toad’s unique aura that belonged to the Tianyuan Megaverse. People from the Spirit Nidus were highly sensitive to such auras. Thus, the toad had been noticed as soon as he approached them.

The three people could have tried to escape as soon as they sensed Astral Anura. The toad had been approaching them cautiously, concerned that the trespassers might be from the Heavens Sect, which was why he had been hesitant to simply attack.

However, the woman had attacked first, which had forced Astral Anura’s hand, leading to him subduing the three humans.

They were all terrified, as a frog was in control of their lives.

However, Astral Anura was even more unsettled.

Aeternus was gone. On top of that, the Heavens Sect’s enemy—or rather, the entire Tianyuan Megaverse’s enemy—was some place called the Spirit Nidus, which was an entire megaverse.

From talking with the three humans, Astral Anura had gained some understanding of the Tianyuan Megaverse’s current state.

He also understood why Lu Yin had not allowed him to stay in the Mirari Realm. The Tianyuan Megaverse was facing an unprecedented crisis, and Lu Yin wanted Astral Anura’s help.

If he had known about the situation earlier, he would have never left the Mirari Realm, even if he was forced. Leaving that place was suicide!

Astral Anura was very capable of avoiding disaster. He had managed to work between Aeternus and humanity, offending neither side while simply doing business with various individuals.

In secret, he had always offered help to whichever side had been at a disadvantage.

Neither True God nor the Great Sovereign had ever discovered this secret, as Astral Anura had been far too careful when taking action.

Who would have thought that he would one day be outsmarted by Lu Yin?

The toad regretted not having been even more cautious. Lu Yin’s attitude toward Astral Anura had clearly changed. Without an external threat, Lu Yin would have never let the toad go so easily, let alone forgive what had happened with Mr. Daheng.

“Excuse me, Senior?” the women spoke up.

Astral Anura shot a fierce glare at her. “What?”

She shrank back, terrified of being swallowed whole. “Our Spirit Nidus is far superior to this Tianyuan Megaverse. Our Ascendant Hall has the Fated One and the Seraphs, ten sequence bases, Heavenspire, and the Gate of Laws. All of them are places that are teeming with experts.”

Astral Anura suddenly leaned forward, malice covering his enormous face as iridescent colors shimmered across his body. An angry, bloodthirsty aura surged from the beast. “Are you threatening me?”

The woman trembled, terrified. “I wouldn’t dare to threaten you, Senior! Our Spirit Nidus is very open to welcoming experts like you! Even our enemies, the conscients from the Consciousness Megaverse, have joined us. If you are willing to join us, then given your strength, you could easily compete to become a Seraph, which would place you second only to the High Seraph.”

Astral Anura stared at the woman without speaking.

One of the men next to the woman swallowed nervously. “In our Spirit Nidus megaverse, the Seven Seraphs possess an unimaginable status, and countless people are competing for those positions. As long as the Fated One doesn’t interfere, the High Seraph is the undisputed ruler of our megaverse, and the Seraphs are second only to him, standing above all others.”

“Just Heavenspire alone has many powerful Dukkhans who are looking to win the position of Seraph. Given your power, Senior, you could easily join that competition. As for this Tianyuan Megaverse, it will be reset, regardless of whether or not you help them. The gap between this megaverse and ours is far too great,” the woman explained.

Astral Anura rolled his eyes and then studied the three humans.

They quivered in fear, a chill falling upon them.

After a long pause, Astral Anura let out a breath that was so foul the three nearly gagged. He grinned at them. “You three are idiots! If the Spirit Nidus is really so powerful, then how could people like you possibly recruit me? On top of that, are you really trying to tell me that I could compete to become a Seraph? If the three of you are qualified to see who’s strong enough to become a Seraph, then your Spirit Nidus isn’t worth joining. And if you’re just trying to save your own skins, then you also don’t qualify.”

The toad’s lotus leaf swept out, and darkness enveloped the three people. That was the last thing that they remembered.

When they next opened their eyes, they had no idea how much time had passed. The only thing they could see were streams of black energy all around them. They were in the Heavens Sect, having been dropped off by Astral Anura.

This did not mean that Astral Anura was unwilling to join the Spirit Nidus, but whether or not he did so depended on how he evaluated their strength. For the time being, the Heavens Sect seemed to be the stronger of the two. Besides, even if the toad did consider joining the Spirit Nidus, three peak powerhouses were hardly qualified to extend such an offer to him. At the very least, an Ortuser would need to conduct the negotiations.

Delivering the three Spirit Nidus cultivators to the Heavens Sect demonstrated Astral Anura’s position, which would indicate to Lu Yin to not make trouble for the toad.

Astral Anura had analyzed the situation. Was he going to look for True God? That was absolutely impossible. Regardless of whether or not the toad could even find Yong Heng, he simply would not do so. Astral Anura understood True God better than anyone else, and he knew that Yong Heng was as unfathomable as the ocean. The farther away Astral Anura stayed from him, the better. He did not want to be caught up in True God’s schemes.

In Astral Anura’s mind, True God was still a far greater threat than Lu Yin.

Lu Yin relied on the support of many, whereas True God possessed unmatched personal strength.

***

Lu Yin arrived at the Tianyuan Megaverse’s boundary, and he looked through the stone gate.

Mister Mu was also present.

He had been observing Meng Sang for some time. In part, this was so that Mister Mu could learn how to build a springboard, but he was also present to ensure that Meng Sang did not use the springboard to escape. If the Seraph destroyed the springboard while escaping, it would be a disastrous outcome for the Heavens Sect. Not only would it be impossible to avenge the deaths at Astral-10, but Meng Sang would have also gained valuable information for free.

“How are things going, Master?” Lu Yin asked.

Mister Mu continued to observe Meng Sang, who was beyond the stone gate. “I haven’t been able to learn anything. He’s added too many complications while building the springboard. No matter what he may be now, he was once a Dukkhan, and not even I can see through everything that he’s done.”

Lu Yin frowned. If not even Mister Mu could learn how to build a springboard, then it was impossible for anyone else, and that included Lu Yin himself.

While Mister Mu’s strength had fallen precipitously from his peak, his insight remained as sharp as ever. When it came to knowledge and understanding, not even Tai Chu, the Origin Progenitor, could surpass Mister Mu.

“It should be almost finished. While I haven’t learned how to build one, I roughly understand the principles of the astral phenomenon. It uses the nearby megaverse as a springboard to launch everything atop it outward. The stronger an individual is, the greater the tension between them and the megaverse, which leads to a more powerful propulsion.”

Lu Yin was amazed. “So the scope of the astral phenomenon surpasses the megaverse itself. For those of us who live within it, how could we ever consider using the megaverse itself as a spring without first seeing this astral phenomenon for ourselves?

“Fortunately, it’s just an astral phenomenon. If this were a person’s invention, their mind would have to surpass the megaverse itself.”

Mister Mu’s tone grew heavy. “That might not be the case.”

Lu Yin was startled. “Are you saying...?”

Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin. “The Spirit Nidus is so wary of using these springboards that it can’t be mere speculation. They must have discovered something. If not, their reservations would not be so pronounced.”

Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. “An Immortal?”

Mister Mu shook his head. “I can’t be sure. It’s likely that Master Qing Cao discovered something. Someone at his level can transcend the restrictions of the megaverse, and they could see such a thing as a springboard. Using a megaverse as a spring is not impossible for someone like him. However, since the Spirit Nidus merely discovered the springboard, it’s quite possible that the one they found was built by some other powerful entity.

“The Spirit Nidus itself is working under a sense of danger.”

Lu Yin looked back out at Meng Sang. “Let’s hope that that’s all it is.”

He thought of the Immortal Lord who had created the Nests, as well as the being who had destroyed Mister Mu’s megaverse. Was the Spirit Nidus really just operating under a feeling of danger? There were more than a few fishermen in existence; the Immortal Lord had already cast their bait into the Tianyuan Megaverse, as had Master Qing Cao, by spreading his influence. Who else might be out there?

After becoming an Immortal, everything that an individual had previously regarded as common sense no longer held any meaning.

When Lu Yin had first started cultivating on Earth, how could he have ever imagined the emergence of something as extraordinary as a Nest? They produced creatures that defied all convention. They could produce beings of immense power, endless numbers, and even produce a Verdant Sage. This was the power of an Immortal.

Master Qing Cao had unified the Spirit Nidus’s cultivation methods and developed sequence bases. This also demonstrated a level of power that exceeded comprehension.

No one from the Tianyuan Megaverse could have ever considered the possibility of stabilizing sequence particles and condensing them into objects.

Immortals were beyond the restrictions of a megaverse, which was why they could consider using such a thing as a springboard. This difference in perspective and scope meant that, before breaking free from the limits of a megaverse, it was impossible for others to catch up to an Immortal.

“Given how much of the megaverse Meng Sang’s springboard is using, I can estimate the propulsion force and roughly gauge the distance it’ll launch something,” Mister Mu continued. “Based on how long it took the Spirit Nidus’s vanguard to reach our Tianyuan Megaverse, this platform might launch someone as much as one-tenth of that distance.”

Lu Yin nodded. “One-tenth. So, if the springboard is used at full power, it’ll take him about a year to arrive at his destination. Then, if we add on the time it takes to build a springboard, which seems to be about three years, it should take roughly forty years to travel to the Spirit Nidus. Wait... Bao Qi and the others took ten years to arrive here from the central springboard, so it should take forty years to reach that central point, not the Spirit Nidus.”

“Forty years to reach the central springboard, correct. Also, you should consider it as just two years for construction, as he could easily be misleading us,” Mister Mu added.

Lu Yin nodded. “In that case, thirty years. Thirty years to reach the springboard. If he then uses that to return to the Spirit Nidus, he’ll need a total of forty years to make the journey. If he doesn’t use the central springboard and continues to make his own, then the time will double to around sixty years.

“Meng Sang is cunning. Even if we know that he’s starting from here, he might not travel the maximum distance with each jump. He might stop early to avoid being found, which would cause the journey taking longer. We still need to learn how to build springboards ourselves, for peace of mind.”

Mister Mu chuckled. “Just to move beyond the stone gate, he tested things repeatedly with other people. Someone so cautious won’t easily share his knowledge.”

“Then we’ll force his hand.” Lu Yin looked through the stone gate and shouted, “Meng Sang!”