Chapter 3400: The Ladder

"Master, I want to learn Origin Tracer," Lu Yin stated as he stood beside Mister Mu atop the walls of the Immemorial Citadel.

Mister Mu asked, "Did you learn Origin Tracer in the previous branch of the River of Aeons?"

Lu Yin nodded, and Mister Mu asked no further questions. He simply taught Lu Yin the technique, resolving another karmic cycle.

"Right, I also have to deal with the Yellow Springs," Lu Yin said. He then went to find the Origin Progenitor and asked him to explain the Yellow Springs to him.

The Origin Progenitor shared the information, which resolved yet another karmic cycle.

"Verdant Eternity has transformed into the Yellow Springs, which is why I've lost that technique," the Origin Progenitor lamented.

Lu Yin was speechless. "You haven't lost it. I know that."

The Origin Progenitor was at a loss for words. "You even know about that? Fine, I guess you really did see the future."

Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect and met with Blackless God.

Blackless God had been imprisoned beneath the Heavens Sect. The only bit of value he could still offer was his consciousness. Since Lu Yin's star of consciousness had already devoured Blackless God's consciousness, it was yet another karmic effect that needed its karmic cause to be resolved.

After that, Lu Yin would deal with the Sixverse Academy and Yu Leng.

Far below the Heavens Sect, surrounded by death energy, Lu Yin stared at Blackless God with cold eyes.

Blackless God looked pathetic at this moment. When he saw Lu Yin, the man bitterly asked, "Lord Lu, I don’t know what happened back there. Can you enlighten me? At least grant me a bit of understanding before I die."

In the Dominion Realm, Blackless God had clearly been with True God, as well as Forgotten Ruins God and Wang Xiaoyu. However, in less than an instant, Blackless God had been left with only Skydog and Master Qing Cao. The Immortal clearly knew something, as evident from his conversation with Lu Yin.

Still, Blackless God was unable to understand what had happened to True God and the others.

Even if True God had instantly vanished, it was impossible for Blackless God to be completely unaware of it happening.

However, his memories simply told him that True God had not been in the Dominion Realm, and neither had Forgotten Ruins God nor Wang Xiaoyu. It was as if the timeline of events had been disrupted.

Blackless God knew that there was no avoiding death, but even so, he wanted to die with understanding.

Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back. "Why did you give me 100,000 years?"

Of course, Lu Yin already knew the reason, but this was another karmic cycle that needed completion.

Blackless God barked a bitter smile before letting out a heavy sigh. "100,000 years... it really was a joke. Completely ridiculous, but who could have imagined it? In just a mere century, you, Lord Lu, rose from being an ordinary human without any memories to your current level. Who could have imagined it? Not even Lord Yong Heng could have foreseen this, and neither could Master Qing Cao, who is an Immortal.

"If anyone had known your future, offering you 100,000 years would have been completely laughable, wouldn’t it?"

Lu Yin said nothing to interrupt, and he calmly watched Blackless God.

In the previous branch of the River of Aeons, Blackless God had tried to escape with his Endless Path, and he had not hesitated in front of Lu Yin. This time, the man seemed to want to give a final monologue before death. He knew that there was no chance of escape.

Lu Yin could see bitterness, self-mockery, and regret on Blackless God’s face. If the Skygod had known that such a day would one day come, why would he have given Lu Yin a chance at 100,000 years of peace? He would have killed Lu Yin the first time they met, completely avoiding the current situation.

After a long pause, Blackless God sighed. "Lord Lu, I gave you a chance at 100,000 years, which was essentially a chance to survive. Could you give me a similar chance in return?"

Lu Yin’s eys flickered as he met Blackless God’s gaze. "Alright, I’ll give you a chance."

Blackless God’s eyes bulged. "Really? You mean it?"

When offered the opportunity to live, no one would choose to die, especially not someone like Blackless God. He had betrayed his Consciousness Megaverse and joined the Spirit Nidus purely because he had wanted to survive. Unlike how Yuan Qi had been unwilling to submit to Lu Yin, Blackless God’s sole motivation was survival. He simply wanted to continue living.

He had granted Lu Yin a chance of 100,000 years in exchange for a favor that he had received from Whiteless God when she had once saved his life.

Lu Yin coldly stated, "I can give you a chance, but whether or not you can take it will be up to you.

"You are a conscient from the Consciousness Megaverse, so we’ll compete in terms of consciousness. If you lose, you die. If you win, you live."

Blackless God clenched a fist. "Are you serious?"

Lu Yin nodded. "Of course."

Blackless God grew excited. "Alright! Thank you, Lord Lu, for giving me this chance to live!"

Lu Yin was unbelievably powerful, but Blackless God was extremely confident in his own consciousness. Aside from that one monster, there should not be anyone in either the Spirit Nidus or the Tianyuan Megaverse who was capable of overpowering him with their consciousness. As long as he was willing to burn through his consciousness, Lu Yin would not be able to defeat the Skygod.

"I still have the same question as before: why did you give me 100,000 years?" Lu Yin asked.

Blackless God hesitated. He was afraid that if he shared the truth, Lu Yin might go back on his word, as Blackless God had not willingly offered the 100,000 year opportunity.

Lu Yin’s expression turned cold. "If you lie to me, you will lose this one chance to survive."

Lu Yin wanted to simply resolve the karmic cycle without any surprises. Giving Blackless God this opportunity was just to ensure that the man would not stay silent out of being convinced that he was bound to die. That would force Lu Yin to suffer a backlash from enjoying a karmic effect without its corresponding karmic cause.

Blackless God could feel Lu Yin’s bloodlust. After a moment of thought, he decided that the risk was not worthwhile, and he helplessly replied, "Because of Whiteless God."

Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. Blackless God had not lied, and this karmic cycle could finally be resolved.

At the same time, Lu Yin felt profoundly helpless.

Who could have thought that avoiding the temporal reversion would instead bind him with karma? He was bound by restrictions that existed not only in the Tianyuan Megaverse, but also in the Spirit Nidus. If others became aware of Lu Yin’s bonds, would he still be able to resolve the karmic cycles when he no longer held the initiative?

He might be able to endure the backlash of one unresolved bit of karma, but what about two? Three? More? How could he endure so much?

As soon as others learned about what bound Lu Yin, there would be no need for them to fight him directly. Someone like Blackless God could have simply hid themselves, and eventually, Lu Yin would be forced to suffer the karmic backlash. This was not something that could be mitigated by a difference in strength. Lu Yin would have to suffer the full power of the karmic backlash.

For Lu Yin, completing every karmic cycle was a challenge.

He was once again reminded of the look that Wei Nu had given him when he had hidden in the Mirari Realm. There had been no doubt in her eyes, which meant that trouble was coming for Lu Yin.

However, even if he was given the choice again, Lu Yin would still choose to hide in the Mirari Realm.

While everything else could be abandoned, his Inner Clarity Technique was something he absolutely could not lose.

The High Seraph had traveled to the Tianyuan Megaverse to kill Lu Yin solely because he had comprehended karma and his Inner Clarity Technique. The power of that technique had to be unimaginable.

Lu Yin could not guarantee that he would successfully comprehend the technique a second time if he returned to the Karma Sanctum, and he also did not want to endure the endless cycles of karma again. He had no confidence that he could escape a second time.

The temporal reversion was the restart that Destiny had offered to Lu Yin. The choice he had been offered was not whether he would revert time for the Tianyuan Megaverse, but whether he would hide in the Mirari Realm. It was only at this moment that Lu Yin truly understood what Destiny had meant.

"I gave you 100,000 years for two reasons. At first, I genuinely admired you. True God tasked us with finding talented cultivators to recruit into Aeternus, and there was no doubt that you were the most talented. At that time, True God wanted to recruit you and have you join us.

"Spare me the nonsense," Lu Yin interrupted. Blackless God was clearly trying to flatter him.

Blackless God sighed helplessly. "The second reason was because of Whiteless God. When we betrayed our Consciousness Megaverse, she saved my life. She used that favor to buy you 100,000 years of life, convincing me to give you a chance.

"To be honest, even without Whiteless God calling in that favor, I wouldn’t have killed you. I still would have given you that 100,000 year opportunity, Lord Lu."

"Let’s begin. Whether you live or not will be entirely dependent on you." Lu Yin did not need to hear anything more. Their karma had already been resolved, and he released his inner universe as well as a surge of consciousness from his star, and the power rushed towards Blackless God.

The Skygod had not expected Lu Yin to be capable of genuinely competing with him in the power of consciousness. He had assumed that Lu Yin was deliberately offering a way out.

Still, it did not really matter. As a conscient from the Consciousness Megaverse, Blackless God was a creature of consciousness. His consciousness had reached the Celestial level, which was equal to an Ortuser in the Tianyuan Megaverse.

Even if Lu Yin's consciousness was extraordinarily powerful after devouring Xu Jin's consciousness, the young man could not compare to Blackless God.

However, the moment the two consciousnesses collided, Blackless God was momentarily stunned. Almost immediately, shock and terror covered his face as he stared at Lu Yin. "Your consciousness?"

Lu Yin's expression was icy and completely devoid of all emotions.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Would he spare Blackless God? Of course not. This was the final bit of karma related to the Skygod.

Despite his initial shock by the pure power of Lu Yin's consciousness, Blackless God quickly realized what was wrong. "Whiteless God... This is her consciousness! What have you done?"

Lu Yin’s consciousness had merged with Whiteless God's, and the combination easily overwhelmed Blackless God.

Blackless God's consciousness was undoubtedly strong, but even burning through what was essentially his life force only allowed him to draw with Lu Yin.

"Lord Lu, you said that you'd give me a chance! Are you really going to kill me?

"Lord Lu, I can help you! I can definitely help you fight against the Spirit Nidus and the Consciousness Megaverse!"

Even if not to resolve a cycle of karma, Lu Yin would never allow Blackless God to live. The Skygod’s false loyalty years ago had already sealed his fate. On top of that, Blackless God was bound by True God's seal, which meant that betrayal was impossible. He held no value at all.

"You lied to me! You never intended to spare my life! You devoured Whiteless God's consciousness! I'll fight you to the end!" Blackless God roared as he burned through his consciousness that was his vitality. The terrifying power of his consciousness was enough to shake the void, and the death energy started boiling as the consciousness power spread across the Heavens Sect.

In the Heavens Sect, cultivators turned to look towards the prison down below. They could sense the clash of consciousness, and it shook them deep in their souls.

This was a battle at the level of Ortusers.

Ultimately, Blackless God was unable to defeat Lu Yin. Just like during the branch of the River of Aeons, his consciousness was devoured by Lu Yin. Nothing had changed in the second timeline.

"Lu Yin, you will die a terrible death! The day will come when you are killed by the Spirit Nidus or the Consciousness Megaverse! Your death will be miserable! Miserable...

"The Consciousness Megaverse’s conscients can’t be devoured! You’re the only one, Lu Yin. You are my Consciousness Megaverse’s greatest enemy! You’re an even greater threat than the Spirit Nidus! Lu Yin, one day, you will be destroyed by us! You will die... and your death will be terrible..."

The same words as before rang in Lu Yin’s ears. He listened to them a second time, but this time, he understood that Blackless God was not cursing him.

It was supposed to be impossible to devour the Consciousness Megaverse’s conscients, and yet Lu Yin could do just that. If this was discovered, the Consciousness Megaverse would immediately view him as their greatest enemy, as he would pose an even greater threat than the Spirit Nidus.

Lu Yin let out a long breath. The Spirit Nidus offered him a path forward to become a Sequence Progenitor, while the Consciousness Megaverse offered a path to progress his consciousness. In a way, the two megaverses had offered Lu Yin a ladder to reach even greater heights.

While the climb would be arduous, once he reached the peak, his power would completely transform, and he would no longer be confined to the Tianyuan Megaverse, or any one megaverse.

Strangely, Lu Yin thought of the springboards.

If there were civilizations that truly monitored the springboards, would he eventually lead one of those who did so?

After dealing with Blackless God, Lu Yin ordered the entire Heavens Sect to start searching for Nests.