Yuan Qi gritted his teeth. "I swear that this secret pertains to Immortality. Should that prove false, may the heavens condemn me and the earth destroy me. May my cultivation never advance again."

It was a truly vicious vow. For someone like Yuan Qi, it was the most severe oath that he could make.

Despite that, Lu Yin’s eyes remained closed, and he did not move at all.

The incense continued to burn as Yuan Qi struggled internally. When he saw that two-thirds of the incense was already gone, the old man gritted his teeth. "I know Zhan Yan’s secret, and it’s not what she told you. She lied to you. Even if I don’t know what lie she told you, I know that there’s no chance she’d ever reveal her real secret to you.

"I can tell you. I learned about this secret during the years I spent fighting beside her at the Immemorial Citadel. She doesn’t even realize that I know her secret. She’s simply too inexperienced.

"It’s true that she can represent the Gate of Laws. She must have told you that much. It’s true that the Gate of Laws belongs to the Zhan family, and she does indeed hold value in that regard. However, there’s another secret that she won’t share with you: she holds the key to unlocking the Gate of Laws."

Lu Yin kept his eyes closed, but internally, he was badly startled. The key to unlocking the Gate of Laws?

He suddenly thought back to the previous timeline and how Forgotten Ruins God had killed Zhan Yan, and a connection appeared in his mind.

Seeing that Lu Yin was still completely unresponsive, Yuan Qi let out a long breath and then glanced over in Zhan Yan’s direction. "The Gate of Laws is both a place that specializes in constructing sequence bases, but it is also an actual gate. No one knows what lies beyond that gate. There are many speculations, including one that it contains the strongest sequence base ever created in the entire history of the Spirit Nidus. Others believe it is the Fated One’s retreat. There are even some who think that the gate is hiding an entire megaverse.

"Despite all the speculation, no one has opened the Gate of Laws in all these years.

"It’s not that the gate can’t be opened, but rather that no one wants to open it. To open the Gate of Laws, keys are required. One of the keys is in the hands of the High Seraph. Without that one, no one can open the gate. In all this time, the High Seraph has never mentioned the matter. The entire Spirit Nidus knows that the High Seraph stands at the pinnacle. The Fated One is too elusive and is almost impossible to even see, which means that the High Seraph is essentially the ruler of the Spirit Nidus. Why risk the unknown by opening the gate?

"Because of this, as long as the High Seraph remains in power, the Gate of Laws cannot be opened.

"The other key to the Gate of Laws is in Zhan Yan’s possession. That key has always been protected by the Zhan family, and in the current generation, it is held by Zhan Yan. She was sent here to the Tianyuan Megaverse because the Zhan family is afraid that the High Seraph will take her key.

"You could even say that, out of the entire Spirit Nidus, the High Seraph fears the Gate of Laws most of all. Whatever lies behind it must be something that can threaten the High Seraph's control over the Spirit Nidus.

"Zhan Yan will never tell you this secret. That key is the Zhan family’s lifeblood. They chose to send her here to the Tianyuan Megaverse to protect it.

"However, that girl has always wanted to return to the Spirit Nidus and compete to become a Seraph. If she succeeds, she will be able to protect their key. That is also the condition that the Zhan family gave for her to be able to return. She needs to gain enough strength here to be able to compete for the position of a Seraph. Otherwise, she won’t be able to return."

This explanation allowed Lu Yin to understand the situation. In the River of Aeons’s branch stream, Lu Yin had fought against Yuan Qi, and he had clearly defeated the Seraph. During that moment, Zhan Yan had revealed absolutely no intention of saving the man, as the death of a Seraph would finally give her an opportunity to compete for the vacant position. Previously, Lu Yin had found Zhan Yan’s behavior odd. While she was very strong, she was also clearly much weaker than Yuan Qi. Why had Yuan Qi fought to the death to stop Lu Yin from going after Zhan Yan, and why had he even claimed that Zhan Yan was guaranteed to become a Seraph?

At the time, Lu Yin had believed Yuan Qi’s actions to be due to the Rivers and Mountains Painting, but he finally understood that it had all been for Zhan Yan herself.

With the Gate of Laws behind her, Zhan Yan was no less important than Palace Master Yao. As long as Zhan Yan gained sufficient strength, the Zhan family would undoubtedly go to great lengths to ensure that she became a Seraph. Her chances of succeeding were no less than Palace Master Yao’s.

Yuan Qi had clearly seen this, and Lu Yin had also been shown the truth.

The Spirit Nidus was a unified megaverse, but that led to power struggles and internal conflicts that were possibly even worse than what occurred in his megaverse. However, everything was kept hidden beneath the cover of their Limits and Sanctis, Ascendant Hall, sequence techniques, and ten sequence bases.

So, why had Forgotten Ruins God tried to kill Zhan Yan?

At the time, Lu Yin had been puzzled by the Skygod’s actions. Had she taken action in an attempt to seize the Rivers and Mountains Painting? However, Forgotten Ruins God was incapable of using the sequence base. Once Progenitor Chen caught up to the woman, she had willingly given the sequence base up, demonstrating how little she cared for it. In that case, what had been her motivation for killing Zhan Yan?

Yuan Qi's explanation had allowed Lu Yin to hazard a guess; perhaps Forgotten Ruins God had been scheming about something related to that key.

In that case, the question became how Forgotten Ruins God had learned of the key’s existence. Even if she succeeded in seizing one key, the other remained with the High Seraph. What use would one key be, unless…

Lu Yin suddenly thought of True God, who had abandoned his original body in the Tianyuan Megaverse in order to travel to the Spirit Nidus. He had done so because he had been sealed within the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm. Without that, would he have still gone to the Spirit Nidus? Was his goal the High Seraph’s key?

In that case, since Zhan Yan had died in the previous branch of the River of Aeons, where was her key in the present timeline?

If that key was already with True God, then it would prove Lu Yin’s guess correct. If not, then the key had to be with Forgotten Ruins God. But why would the woman not have given the key to True God? What use could she have for keeping the key for herself? Did she think that she could take the other key from the High Seraph?

Lu Yin’s thoughts continued to run, and he gradually pieced together many different threads. While he still had many questions, he was able to get a clearer look at the entire picture.

The Gate of Laws?

He felt fortunate that he had kept Zhan Yan alive. This woman was undoubtedly someone else’s karma, and whoever held the key bore the karma.

"Lord Lu, the Spirit Nidus is very powerful, but on the surface, the strongest is still the High Seraph. Remaining passive and waiting for the Spirit Nidus to attack is not wise. You need to go to the Spirit Nidus where you can disrupt the High Seraph’s rule. That is the only way to save the Tianyuan Megaverse," Yuan Qi declared. At this moment, all he wanted was to survive, so he considered matters from Lu Yin’s perspective.

Lu Yin’s eyes finally opened. "Who else have you told about the key?"

Yuan Qi heaved a sigh of relief. The fact that Lu Yin had opened his eyes meant that the secret Yuan Qi had shared was sufficiently valuable. He had feared that Lu Yin would not react at all and have no interest in the key or the Gate of Laws. Then, Yuan Qi would have to use his own secrets to pay for his life.

The Seraph was about to answer Lu Yin’s question when Lu Yin suddenly continued, "One warning: you have only this one chance. If you lie, you’ll die right now."

Yuan Qi bitterly replied, "I won’t lie to you. You control my life, and I have no interest in the Gate of Laws.

"Other than you, I’ve also told Yong Heng."

Lu Yin’s gaze sharpened. "Only him?"

Yuan Qi took a moment to think. "Because I don’t care about the Gate of Laws at all and had no intention of keeping this matter a secret, there were two others who heard me in addition to Yong Heng. One was a corpse king from the Ossis Ark, who was killed at the Immemorial Citadel, and the other was Forgotten Ruins God."

"Forgotten Ruins God knows about this?" Lu Yin asked as his eyebrow rose.

Yuan Qi nodded. "She was also present."

Lu Yin then realized that his suspicions were correct. Forgotten Ruins God had not wanted to kill Zhan Yan for the Rivers and Mountains Painting, but rather for the key to the Gate of Laws.

The only remaining question was whether she had kept the key for herself or given it to True God.

Logically, she should have given the key to True God, as there was no point in keeping it for herself. Even if the woman went to the Spirit Nidus, it would be impossible for her to take the other key from the High Seraph. Only True God might have a chance to succeed at that.

Also, Forgotten Ruins God had not even gone to the Spirit Nidus.

In the River of Aeons’ branch stream, the key had been taken once Zhan Yan died. Obtaining the key was the result, but Lu Yin was in control of the cause.

He glanced over towards Zhan Yan. The key was still with her for the moment.

This was interesting. He had obtained another bit of karmic cause. In that case, where did the effect belong?

With Tian Ci serving as an example, Lu Yin had no intention of casually interfering with another bit of karma. The fact that True God had stolen karma once suggested that he might be able to do so again. It would be best to save the unresolved karma for the time being, so that it would surprise whoever had ended up with Zhan Yan’s key.

There was no longer a Blackless God to surprise Yong Heng, so Lu Yin hoped that True God had the key so that Lu Yin would be able to give him another surprise.

True God might have already guessed that Lu Yin would capture Zhan Yan as well, and he might even think that Lu Yin had learned about the existence of the key to the Gate of Laws. But just like with the spirit seed mirebound artifact, there was no choice but to endure the karmic backlash.

All of True God’s karmic causes were still in the Tianyuan Megaverse, but this megaverse was Lu Yin’s.

The incense was almost completely gone.

Lu Yin looked at Yuan Qi. "You really aren’t afraid of death. The incense is almost gone, and yet you’ve said nothing at all. Impressive."

Yuan Qi froze. "Didn’t I already tell you something?"

Lu Yin calmly replied, "You shared Zhan Yan’s secret. What does that have to do with you?"

Yuan Qi was stunned. Was that even an argument? That was too shameless! Why?

The old man’s face flushed red, and he wanted to curse, but the sight of Lu Yin’s calm expression and the fact that Yuan Qi was genuinely speechless prevented him from saying anything at all.

The incense was truly almost gone.

Lu Yin's expression grew cold as he stared at Yuan Qi. Bloodlust and mockery filled his eyes.

Yuan Qi gritted his teeth. "I was exiled."

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed, and he remained silent as he stared at Yuan Qi.

Yuan Qi felt completely helpless, and he was forced to reveal his greatest secret: the existence of the Lesser Spirit Megaverse.

This moment completed another thread of Lu Yin’s unresolved karma.

Yuan Qi had believed that the secret he knew about Zhan Yan would buy his life. He had not realized that Lu Yin already knew about the Lesser Spirit Megaverse. If not for Lu Yin’s prior knowledge, the Seraph might have succeeded.

This was the terror of foresight. Lu Yin controlled everything.

The incense was long gone by the time Yuan Qi finished revealing everything. However, he was also confident that he would not be killed. The value of his own secret far surpassed Zhan Yan’s. The two were not even comparable. This was also why Yuan Qi had not hesitated to divulge Zhan Yan's secret.

That woman’s status and secrets paled in importance when placed alongside the Lesser Spirit Megaverse.

Death energy swallowed Yuan Qi, and Lu Yin next appeared in front of Zhan Yan.

She stared at Lu Yin. "I should still have a chance. You said that I would compete with Tian Ci for my life. You never mentioned that Yuan Qi was part of this."

Lu Yin scoffed in response. "You’ve already lost."

Zhan Yan’s pupils shrank. "Why?"

"I already know your secrets. For example, I know about the key," Lu Yin said while showing a slight smile. "Who do you think Yuan Qi is? Throughout all these years, he’s seen right through you."

Yuan Qi knew the High Seraph’s greatest secret and had still survived, managing to be exiled to the Tianyuan Megaverse. He had survived in the previous branch stream of the River of Aeons, and he had even succeeded in convincing Meng Sang that the Lesser Spirit Megaverse existed.

Lu Yin was fully aware of just how shrewd the old man was.

Compared to him, Zhan Yan was simply naive.

Her face turned ashen. "How is that possible? That old man actually knew?"

Lu Yin nodded. "It’s possible that he was only guessing and wanted to use me to test if it was true or not, but your reaction betrays you. I don’t care if Yuan Qi used me or not, as I’ve still learned a secret, a rather valuable one at that.

"Well then, see you in the next life."

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA