Chapter 3401: Speculation

Lu Yin still had three more years before the massacre at the Sixverse Academy was supposed to occur. During his time in the other branch of the River of Aeons, Lu Yin had recorded down the locations where each Nest had been discovered, specifically for the restart. For that reason, he also personally paid a visit to the Sixverse Academy to see Yu Leng.

Yu Leng was the only known owner of a Nest who had successfully avoided being captured by the Heavens Sect in the alternate timeline. Despite not being particularly powerful, he had managed to evade the Heavens Sect, which suggested that he had to possess some extraordinary abilities.

After arriving in the Sixverse Academy, Lu Yin scanned the region with his domain, seeing a number of familiar faces, including Xu Xiangyin.

The sight of Xu Xiangyin once again being alive caused Lu Yin to sigh. He muttered, "It's good that you're alive. It's good that you're alive."

Where was Yu Leng? Lu Yin was not able to find the young man anywhere.

He appeared directly in front of Xu Xiangyin, who had been in the middle of instructing two youths. Lu Yin's sudden arrival startled the older man.

Still, seeing Lu Yin thrilled Xu Xiangyin, and he quickly bowed. "Xu Xiangyin is at your service, Lord Lu."

The two youths were both stunned, and they just stared at Lu Yin, similar to how ordinary humans might react upon seeing a deity.

Lu Yin smiled and helped Xu Xiangyin back up. "Please, Senior, there's no need for such formalities."

Xu Xiangyin was delighted at the response. While it was true that Lu Yin had concealed his identity while attending the Sixverse Academy, Xu Xiangyin had become quite attached to the young man. He had been exceptionally talented, and the two had gotten along extremely well during Lu Yin’s time in the academy.

Despite rising up, step by step, Lu Yin had not taken on an arrogant bearing when seeing Xu Xiangyin again, which made the old man very happy. He almost felt as if he was seeing his own child grow up.

He patted the heads of the two youths, and told them, "What are you staring at? Can't you see that this is Lord Lu? Hurry up and bow."

The two youths finally reacted, and they both quickly bowed. "Greetings, Lord Lu."

Lu Yin nodded and then dismissed the students.

They were incredibly excited by the encounter. They had never imagined that they would be able to see Lord Lu from such a close distance. He was Lord Lu, the leader of the Heavens Sect.

In the past, the two students’ families had only had a superficial knowledge of the Sixverse Association, but Lord Lu’s arrival and rise to power had continuously opened up access to other parallel universes. Everyone currently knew that the Heavens Sect was the most powerful entity in the entire megaverse. Lord Lu had led his Heavens Sect to defeat Aeternus, which correspondingly made him the strongest being as well.

The students were shocked to learn that Xu Xiangyin actually knew Lord Lu, as they had believed the old man to be simply boasting.

They both resolved themselves to interact with the old man more in the future, and they would also strive to join the Heavens Sect. Even being a doorman there would be an honor.

"Please forgive them, Lord Lu. Those two children were extremely excited to see you." Xu Xiangyin chuckled.

Lu Yin was not bothered and asked, "Is everything going well for you here at the Sixverse Academy, Senior?"

"Yes, everything is quite good, haha!" Xu Xiangyin replied happily. "What brings you here this time, Lord Lu?"

It was clear that there had to be a reason for Lu Yin’s sudden arrival at the Sixverse Academy.

Lu Yin's expression grew serious. "I'm looking for someone named Yu Leng."

Xu Xiangyin appeared puzzled. "Yu Leng? I've heard of that name. Right, it’s that young man, isn’t it?"

"Where is he?" Lu Yin asked.

Xu Xiangyin replied, "He should be cultivating in the Lost Clan School."

"No, he's not here in the Sixverse Academy at all."

Xu Xiangyin was caught off guard. "How could he not be here?"

Soon, all the academy instructors were summoned. When they saw Lu Yin, all of the faculty members grew cautious and behaved respectfully.

When they were asked about Yu Leng, only one middle-aged man could give an answer. "Yu Leng is missing. I've been looking for him these past few days."

"How did he disappear?" Lu Yin looked at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man was respectful as he answered, "The young man is rather antisocial, and he has many rivals in this academy. Three years ago, he fought with Xu Kang, and ever since then, I've tried to take care of him and prevent him from suffering from their retaliation. I saw him half a month ago, but shortly after that, he simply vanished. I don't know where he went, and I can find no trace of him."

Lu Yin's expression fell. He asked everyone to leave, including Xu Xiangyin. It was clear that Lu Yin was thinking about something.

He frowned, as one possibility occurred to him.

Lu Yin pulled a Zenith Mountain out from his cosmic ring and released the furball Verdant Sage. Sure enough, the creature was there.

Due to how busy he had been trying to complete his broken karma, Lu Yin had completely forgotten about the Verdant Sage. Still, its existence did not indicate anything significant. Just like Lu Yin himself, the Verdant Sage had avoided the temporal reversion by staying within the Mirari Realm. For the time being, Lu Yin simply needed to await news from the Heavens Sect.

Soon enough, a report was delivered from the Heavens Sect. There were no Nests in any of the locations that Lu Yin had provided. Not one could be found.

Lu Yin's expression turned grim. Just as he had suspected, there was going to be trouble.

There were two ways to avoid the temporal reversion. The first was to hide from the River of Aeons, which meant staying in the Mirari Realm.

The second was to possess the power of an Immortal.

True God and those with him had likely avoided the temporal reversion by using an Immortal’s power, and the same was likely true of the Nests. After all, they had been developed by the Immortal Lord.

From Great Elder Shan Gu, Lu Yin had learned that the Immortal Lord was unquestionably an Immortal. Everyone in the Third Rampart had been instantly defeated by that individual. Also, just like Master Qing Cao, the Immortal Lord had a chain of karma on their wrist.

Since Nests had been developed, or even possibly produced, by an Immortal, it was not impossible for them to be unaffected by the temporal reversion.

Those Nests had already been destroyed on the branch of the River of Aeons, so even after the temporal reversion, they would not reappear.

Similarly, Yu Leng, who had controlled a Nest, had not returned to the Sixverse Academy when time rolled back, due to his reliance on his Nest. He was still hiding somewhere in the megaverse, and he had definitely witnessed the temporal reversion.

The Nests were not bound by the constraints of karma and had not reappeared in the River of Aeons’ main stream. This was because of the power of the Immortal Lord, who was an Immortal.

In that case, what about the Verdant Sage?

Lu Yin looked at the green furball.

The Verdant Sage stared back at Lu Yin and nervously asked, "Master, is there anything I can do for you?"

Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. Did Cang Xiaoxue's Verdant Sage still exist? If Nests were free from the constraints of karma, then did that mean that Verdant Sages, which had spawned from Nests, were also free of the constraints of karma?

During the previous timeline, Lu Yin had unleashed insects so that the Heavens Sect’s forces could track to any hidden Nests. Those insects were now gone, which clearly meant that they were not free from the constraints of karma.

Lu Yin hoped that the Verdant Sages were similarly not free from the constraints of karma, as that would eliminate a potential threat.

If he had known what would happen, he would have left the green furball Verdant Sage in the Heavens Sect. After the temporal reversion, he would have immediately known if the Verdant Sage was affected by karma or not.

Right, the green furball Verdant Sage was still alive, but the Nest from the West Mountain Dynasty had already been destroyed. What about the corresponding karma? Did that no longer exist, just like the other Nests, or would the karmic backlash affect the Verdant Sage?

Lu Yin continued to stare at the captive creature. This karma had no connection to Lu Yin, as it belonged to the Verdant Sage alone.

However, it was possible to use that karma to determine whether Cang Xiaoxue's Verdant Sage was still around.

If the karmic backlash affected Lu Yin’s captive Verdant Sage, it would mean that the insects were not free from karma, and that would also suggest that Cang Xiaoxue's Verdant Sage no longer existed.

But if the karmic backlash never affected the green furball Verdant Sage, it would indicate that the insects were able to break free from karma. In that case, Cang Xiaoxue's Verdant Sage was still alive.

"Stay alert for a while, and tell me immediately if you are injured," Lu Yin warned as he stared at the furry Verdant Sage with cold eyes.

The Verdant Sage started to panic. "Master, will I be injured? Why would that happen? Master, you need me! I can help you deal with your enemies. I can do many things! I can help you find the other Verdant Sages!"

Lu Yin immediately put the green furball Verdant Sage back, though he planned to check on the creature periodically. Lu Yin was hoping for the insect to suffer from karmic backlash, as that would be the best-case scenario.

At the same time, at the bottom of the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, in the same courtyard as ever, Tuo Lin was buried in a pile of books, reading intently, while occasionally muttering to himself.

Hui Can found the droning annoying, and he had moved further away.

"You came here to find me? What do you mean, you came to find me?

"You want me to call you Little Ruyu? Your name is Yan Ruyu? That’s a good name! I came up with it? No, I didn't!

"Alright, since you came from a book, you really should be called Yan Ruyu."

...

"Go travel? But Master hasn't allowed me to travel yet.

"That's true. Following in Master’s footsteps and seeing all that he saw will definitely help us understand him even better. Little Ruyu, do you admire Master that much, just like me?

"I definitely admire Master more than you do! You can't admire Master more than me! Alright, let's not argue. We're the same. So, when do you think we should leave?"

...

"You're so clever. Traveling with Master's statue will allow us to feel where Master has been even more clearly.

"That wasn't my idea, it was yours, Little Ruyu. You're quite clever. Hui Can? No, you just haven’t seen his strengths yet. Master must have seen some talent in him that we can't see. That's how high Master's level is. We need to work hard.

"You’re right, reading books is the most comfortable thing."

...

In one of the universes on the Endless Frontier, Yu Leng glanced around at an unfamiliar crowd and the spacecraft flying by in the distance. He felt terribly confused. How had this happened? He had clearly been on a tour, but suddenly, everything around him had changed. Where had the tourists gone? What had happened to the tour guide? Why was this place not empty? It had been completely empty when Yu Leng had visited it last time. What was going on with so many people?

Some time later, Yu Leng managed to finally piece together a few details. Apparently, time had rolled back?

He was stunned. Was that even possible?

He had gone back in time, which meant that, from Yu Leng’s perspective, the people who had moved away from the universe thirty-seven years ago, were now in the middle of migrating. On top of that, none of them knew anything about the Nests. If time had not reverted, then how could something as important as the Nests not be known to anybody at all?

Who could tell him what had happened?

Right, since he had gone back in time, what about the Sixverse Academy? What about the trash there that he should have killed?

Just thinking about them produced an urge to pay a visit to the Sixverse Academy.

However, he quickly suppressed that urge. If he had been affected by the time reversal, then there also had to be others who had similarly retained their memories of those thirty-seven years. If those others were a part of the Heavens Sect, Yu Leng would be captured the moment he exposed himself.

The slaughter at the Sixverse Academy would have taken place in three more years, so it was possible that someone was already watching the academy, just waiting for him to make a move.

He could not go back. He had to absolutely avoid that place.

Continue with the tour? No, that was no longer necessary. He just needed to find a place where he could hide now.

While the temporal reversion confused Yu Leng for a bit, once he regained his cool, he knew that this was finally his opportunity. He remembered everything that would happen in the next thirty-seven years, and he was already close to spawning a Verdant Sage. He was so close! It was almost time.

Right, if everything that he had experienced for thirty-seven years had been undone, then what about all that Yu Leng had obtained during that time?

While he did not understand karma, he instinctively sensed that there was a problem, though he also had no idea how to resolve it. Such understanding was far beyond his level. He could only take things one step at a time and see what would happen next, while hoping that nothing would go wrong.

Lu Yin was not the only one. Everyone who had avoided the temporal reversion had built up a bit of unresolved karma that they now needed to resolve. However, too few of them understood anything about such concepts.