Tian Ci clutched at his neck, but he was unable to staunch the blood leaking out from all his other wounds. Numbness crept over his body. His vision blurred, and all sensation vanished in a few moments. Only his mind remained clear, and he glared at Lu Yin with open hatred. "You… you will not… die well. Your Tianyuan Megaverse… will not… end well…"

As his last word fell, Tian Ci crumpled to the floor, his face upwards.

The megaverse fell silent.

An Ortuser had just been casually executed in front of everyone.

Ortusers were beings who were above even peak powerhouses. There was even the sequence powerhouse realm between the two.

In the past, people had looked up to peak powerhouses, considering that level to be unattainable. However, they had just witnessed the casual execution of an Ortuser.

A wave of cheers erupted. It was like a roar from the mountains or the seas. Fervent worship filled countless eyes as people all screamed, "Lord Lu."

Lu Yin raised a hand. This single motion suppressed everyone's excitement and calmed the megaverse back into silence.

"All you can see now are the dark depths of our megaverse, with no end in sight.

"We don't know when our enemies will arrive, or when war might suddenly break out.

"I can't promise to protect each of you, but I, Lu Yin, swear that I will stand in front of you all! As long as I live, humanity will not perish.

"I, Lu Yin, swear that I will lead the entire Tianyuan Megaverse and fight against all our strong enemies. We will not retreat! We will not surrender! Unless I die, you will always see me standing at the front."

Countless people’s eyes flushed red as they clenched their fists.

"Many of you have bled for me, and I will also bleed for you." Those were the last words Lu Yin spoke before the displays went dead. This phrase deeply imprinted itself upon the minds of countless people.

Far beneath the Heavens Sect, Yuan Qi stared blankly at the display that had gone dark. A sense of shock pervaded his mind that he had forgotten long ago.

This shock was not brought about by someone’s strength, but rather by a civilization’s unity. This was a united megaverse, a united species.

Lu Yin did not just represent himself, but rather the countless others who stood behind him. He represented the entire human race in the Tianyuan Megaverse.

Lu Yin’s influence greatly surpassed his personal strength in terms of threat. The two could not even be compared.

Zhan Yan was similarly shaken. Her lips had gone dry, and she continued to stare into outer space, where the display had just been. It took her a long time to find any words at all.

The Tianyuan Megaverse was not as powerful as the Spirit Nidus. They knew this to be true, and there was no denying it.

In that case, at this moment, why did Zhan Yan have a feeling that this megaverse would surely overcome all of their powerful enemies?

Would it really be reset?

Should

it be reset?

Lu Yin had stood in front of everyone, but what was his goal? Did he not want to reset the megaverse and achieve Immortality? Humans were nothing more than creatures that repeatedly appeared in the various megaverses. Why did Lu Yin seek to protect such people?

He had sworn an oath, and it rang truer than any promise.

Just what was this man after?

Suddenly, Zhan Yan felt an overwhelming amount of curiosity regarding Lu Yin.

As the displays shut off, Lu Yin moved to the bottom of the Stairway to Heaven so that he could examine Tian Ci's corpse. Where was the man’s mirebound artifact?

At this exact same time, a phantom figure appeared next to Meng Sang as he traveled to the Spirit Nidus. This figure was none other than True God.

He looked back towards the Tianyuan Megaverse and commented, "The chaos of karma… who is it? Who is bold enough to seize Tian Ci's spirit seed mirebound artifact?"

The reason why True God had abandoned his body and left for the Spirit Nidus was precisely because of that spirit seed mirebound artifact.

Time had rolled back, and yet Tian Ci had died again. Lu Yin was also searching for the man’s spirit seed mirebound artifact.

There could only be one spirit seed mirebound artifact. It was impossible for both men to possess it.

True God’s expression grew cold. If he abandoned the mirebound artifact, he would sever his karma with Tian Ci and avoid the karmic backlash. With Tian Ci now dead, there would be no way for True God to resolve his incomplete karma.

But could he abandon the mirebound artifact? No, that was absolutely impossible. If he did that, then what was the point of traveling to the Spirit Nidus?

With the new timeline in play, True God would prefer to betray the Spirit Nidus than abandon Tian Ci's mirebound artifact. Not only could the treasure free him from the Great Sovereign’s Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, but it would also enable him to rise to new heights in the Spirit Nidus. This was his chance to be reborn, and he could not afford to make any mistakes.

He would endure the karmic backlash, regardless of what it cost.

At the bottom of the Stairway to Heaven, Lu Yin found Tian Ci’s spirit seed mirebound artifact.

As he looked at the spirit seed, Lu Yin's expression grew cold.

True God, how do you plan to fulfill this karma?

He thought as he reached out to grab it.

Abruptly, the spirit seed simply disappeared.

Lu Yin’s pupils shrank. How was that possible?

In the Aevum Inch, True God closed his eyes beside Meng Sang. The indistinct figure’s eyes were closed, and an odd, broken object appeared in his hand. It was another a mirebound artifact, one that had belonged to True God.

Given how long he had lived for, how could he not have acquired his own mirebound artifact?

In order to keep Tian Ci’s spirit seed, True God had sacrificed his own mirebound artifact to steal this bit of karma.

He had kept the spirit seed. But as a price, not only did True God lose his own mirebound artifact, but he was also forced to endure the karmic backlash. This was an unimaginable price to pay.

However, there was no other choice. He had to pay it.

As he glanced back towards the Tianyuan Megaverse, True God muttered, "That must have been you, Lu Yin. Time may have flowed backward, but it wasn’t that much. I’ll be watching to see how you deal with the Spirit Nidus after this… Or, perhaps, we might again in the Spirit Nidus."

In the Tianyuan Megaverse, at the bottom of the Heavens Sect’s Stairway to Heaven, Lu Yin stared at where the spirit seed had vanished. Slowly, his head rose up, and he stared off into the distance. He did not know what True God had done, but there was no doubt that the man had paid a steep price. It was not easy to forcefully resolve karma.

Beyond that, True God had even stolen this bit of karma.

True God was on his way to the Spirit Nidus, but Lu Yin would inevitably follow in turn. They would eventually meet there.

While the Spirit Nidus’s invasion had not yet arrived, executing Tian Ci could be considered a declaration of war.

The speech that Lu Yin had given during the execution had been different from the one he had given in the previous timeline. However, regardless of who was humanity’s enemy, regardless of whether they invaded or not, Lu Yin would always keep his promise. The Tianyuan Megaverse would not have to fear any other megaverse.

The only thing that worried Lu Yin was the karma that had been stolen.

While True God had obtained the spirit seed, the karmic cause was still with Tian Ci. If True God did not complete the karmic cause, then the karmic effect should disappear.

Lu Yin had obtained the cause, but he had failed to obtain the effect.

Was karmic cause more important, or karmic effect? Could there be another way to judge things?

No one could give Lu Yin an answer to this question, not even the Origin Progenitor or Mister Mu.

When it came to combat strength, it was technically possible for the Origin Progenitor to match up to the High Seraph. However, he had spent uncountable years restraining the sequence strings, and the Origin Progenitor had essentially lost those years of cultivation. While he might possess sufficient strength, his cultivation and his understanding of karma had fallen behind.

Mister Mu was in a similar situation, and his experience actually resembled Lu Yin’s; Mister Mu had led his megaverse to defeat their nemesis, but he had eventually fallen to an invincible being.

Only the High Seraph had continued to progress in his cultivation, step by step. Throughout the long years, he had become the master of the Lesser Spirit Megaverse, which he could reset in order to attempt to reach Immortality. He had spent countless years overcoming Dukkha and comprehending things like time and karma. This was why the High Seraph had been able to overwhelm the Tianyuan Megaverse on his own.

True God and the High Seraph were very similar to each other. In fact, in the Tianyuan Megaverse, humanity had been an enemy of little significance to True God. He could have suppressed all of humanity with just the First Scourge. For all those years, he had been cultivating and overcoming Dukkha in the same way as the High Seraph.

If there was anyone in the Tianyuan Megaverse who could truly rival the High Seraph, it was most likely only True God.

The Origin Progenitor might not be lacking in combat power, but his cultivation and comprehension were subpar.

True God’s combat power was certainly equal to the Origin Progenitor’s, and he could likely rival the High Seraph. However, it was possible that True God’s cultivation and comprehension had actually exceeded that of the High Seraph.

Compared to those people, Lu Yin was the weakest.

However, given how short he had cultivated for, that was an unavoidable flaw. There was no way around it.

Lu Yin quickly returned to the prison, revealing himself to both Yuan Qi and Zhan Yan.

This time, they looked at Lu Yin in a completely different manner.

He was someone who would actually kill them.

Lu Yin had just casually executed a powerful Ortuser. Tian Ci had been exceptional even within his realm.

The two prisoners had heard Tian Ci’s last words. Someone who had been willing to pledge his allegiance and serve Lu Yin had been discarded so easily. What would happen to them?

"It’s not that I don’t value powerful cultivators, such as Ortusers," Lu Yin said as his eyes fell upon Yuan Qi. "However, the Heavens Sect cannot imprison too many powerhouses. If the day comes when one of you manages to escape, the Heavens Sect might not be able to capture you again. I can’t let you have the possibility of pursuing revenge. So, you have my apologies, but one of you has to die."

Zhan Yan’s face grew pale. This man was really going to kill her. She could feel it.

Yuan Qi shrank back. "Lord Lu, we can't escape unless the Heavens Sect is defeated by the Spirit Nidus. Unless that happens, we are both trapped here. Keeping us alive will only benefit you."

Lu Yin was unconcerned. "Tian Ci told me the same thing. Can’t you at least phrase it differently?"

As he spoke, he casually waved his hand, and the stick of incense in front of Yuan Qi was lit. Death energy engulfed Zhan Yan, leaving Lu Yin and Yuan Qi alone.

Zhan Yan was startled. "Wait! If we’re competing for our lives, I need incense to burn too! If not, it won’t be fair to me."

Lu Yin heard her shouts, as did Yuan Qi. For a moment, the two prisoners’ expressions darkened.

This had become a true battle for survival. There was no doubt in the prisoners’ minds that Lu Yin would kill one of them.

Yuan Qi did not want to die, not because he was scared, but rather because he was not willing to die.

He had endured endless years in the Tianyuan Megaverse, suffering the humiliation of being a servant despite being a Seraph. Why should he end up dying? He wanted to reset the Tianyuan Megaverse and reach Immortality. He should not have to die.

The stream of smoke slowly rose up, eventually blurring Lu Yin’s face.

Lu Yin closed his eyes. He calmly stood before Yuan Qi, just like he had in the River of Aeons’ old branch stream. However, if the two instances were compared, Lu Yin’s aura was much more intimidating at this moment.

His game was becoming increasingly brutal.

"Lord Lu, I know a secret, a tremendous secret! It’s a secret that concerns the survival of your Tianyuan Megaverse, as well as you yourself. I propose a deal, even if it is an unfair one," Yuan Qi began. His words were different from what he had said in the River of Aeons’ branch stream.

Yuan Qi had no confidence at this moment. He was willing to agree to an unfair deal, provided that Lu Yin simply guaranteed that the Seraph would live. Survival was all that mattered to the old man.

Lu Yin said nothing. His eyes remained closed, and he remained completely silent.

Yuan Qi waited. He glanced at the incense, steadily burning away. It was as though his life was being burned away with the incense.

"Lord Lu, this secret pertains to the survival of all three megaverses, as well as to achieving Immortality. All I ask in return is that you spare my life and promise that, even if this megaverse collapses, you won’t kill me out of spite. That’s all I ask. On top of that, should I survive, I swear that I will take everyone you care about with me and ensure their survival, no matter how many you wish to send. Even if you include yourself, I will do my best to keep you alive."

Lu Yin’s eyes remained closed as he continued to ignore the Seraph.

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA