Zhan Yan was shocked. "Wait! Just give me a chance! I want to compete with him for my life.

"You can't go back on your word. Since we’re playing a game, there should be rules that need to be followed."

Lu Yin nodded. "I don’t care about wasting a little bit of time. Fine."

As he spoke, a lit stick of incense appeared in front of Zhan Yan.

Seeing the thin stream of smoke slowly waft up, Zhan Yan suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of safety. Before, the sight of this smoke had felt like her life burning away, but this time, it was saving her.

"That old monster Yuan Qi must have guessed all that he told you, as I never mentioned anything about it since coming to this megaverse. He must have inferred that I have the key by analyzing the political situation in the Spirit Nidus and guessing at my Zhan family’s plans. That wasn’t too hard, but this is my secret, not his."

Lu Yin found it odd that he had just given Yuan Qi the exact same argument.

He considered himself rather shameless, but Zhan Yan was even worse than him. Despite that, her argument somehow made a bit of sense.

"The key is with me, and I was even planning to tell you about it. You broke the rules of the game. You should have asked me first, not him. If I had revealed his secret before he said anything, wouldn’t that have doomed him instead?" Zhan Yan accused Lu Yin angrily.

Lu Yin shrugged. "Go ahead and try."

Zhan Yan opened her mouth to say something, and she ended up blurting out, "That old man was cuckolded!"

Lu Yin was left speechless. "Not interested."

Zhan Yan was furious. "The key is with me! That secret shouldn’t count as his!"

"Whoever talks first gets the credit," Lu Yin replied.

If Yuan Qi heard Lu Yin’s argument, the old man would have been angry enough to cough up blood.

Zhan Yan continued cursing while Lu Yin just closed his eyes. It was clear that he had lost interest.

As the incense steadily burned away, Zhan Yan seemed to have no chance. Her eyes flickered as she struggled internally. It was clear that she wanted to say something but was hesitating.

The incense was burning down, leaving her with less and less time.

Lu Yin could not help but open his eyes and look at Zhan Yan.

She looked up to meet Lu Yin’s eyes, and at that moment, her hesitation disappeared. It was replaced by despondency and despair. She stopped trying to speak.

Lu Yin frowned. The woman had another secret, but even when faced with death, she still refused to share it. Just what could it be?

What kind of secret could be more important than the key that she carried? While it was impossible for the secret to surpass the existence of the Lesser Spirit Megaverse, Lu Yin’s curiosity was still piqued.

Unfortunately, curiosity was useless. If Zhan Yan refused to speak, there was nothing that Lu Yin could do about it

There was no way to force someone who did not fear even death.

The incense finally burned out.

Zhan Yan awaited her death.

She was swallowed by the death energy, but before he left, Lu Yin’s voice echoed in the woman’s ears, "You hold the key. It’s your secret. You win."

Zhan Yan stared out in a daze as the dark death energy enveloped her. Would she… not die? She won? Did that mean that Yuan Qi would be killed?

She suddenly felt a surge of gratitude toward Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was her enemy, and he was someone who could take Zhan Yan’s life at any moment. He had ripped her secrets away from her, and yet she could not help but feel grateful to him.

Surprisingly, the man was quite upright.

After leaving the prison, Lu Yin sat by a stone table on the mountain behind the Heavens Sect. "Zhao Ran, bring me some tea."

There was no response.

Lu Yin chuckled. Zhao Ran was no longer with him. She was in the Mirari Realm, overseeing the River of Aeons. She had become the ferryman.

After regaining her memories, Zhao Ran was no longer the simple girl who only knew how to prepare tea.

Lu Yin suddenly missed the girl.

Still, they would meet again soon enough. He needed to return to the Mirari Realm and resolve his karma with Wei Nu.

Before that, he would awaken Wilderness God.

In the branch of the River of Aeons, reviving Wilderness God had exposed matters regarding Stillstorm, which had led Lu Yin to Skydog. Wilderness God was also part of Lu Yin’s unresolved karma.

Awakening Wilderness God was simple enough, and it went exactly as it had before.

Everything happened under the watchful eyes of Chu Yi, Lu Yuan, and the rest.

After reviving, Wilderness God saw Yao Di kneeling before Lu Yin, and he immediately attacked Lu Yin.

Lu Yin knew that battle was inevitable, but there was also no reason to avoid it. Wilderness God was an astral beast. If Lu Yin did not force Wilderness God to submit, it would be impossible for them to coexist in the future.

After speaking with the others for a bit, Wilderness God finally mentioned Stillstorm.

However, where had Skydog gone off to?

Before, they had successfully found Skydog because Progenitor Chen had been following Forgotten Ruins God. In the new timeline, there was no way for them to determine where Skydog had gone.

Progenitor Chen was not able to even track Forgotten Ruins God.

True God had erased the flower from Forgotten Ruins God’s face, which meant that Progenitor Chen was no longer able to sense her location.

For the time being, Lu Yin decided to ignore both of them.

Instead, he went to Earth, and then Jupiter. Earth’s cycles of disasters were resolved once the stone sphere was delivered to the altar on Jupiter.

As that happened, the people on Earth saw the image of a dragon.

In a parallel universe, in Whitecloud City, Jiang Feng also saw the image of a dragon moving through outer space, and he muttered, "Is that… a dragon? I’m seeing it again."

Lu Yin continued to resolve his karma throughout the Tianyuan Megaverse. He was almost done, which meant that Wei Nu was next.

He stood in the middle of outer space, the small boat that was Lightstream flickering beneath his feet. A casual wave of a hand tore the void apart, and the River of Aeons cascaded down.

Unlike before, this time, the River of Aeons was completely beyond Lu Yin’s control. There was no sense of the freedom that he usually enjoyed.

A small boat drifted atop the River of Aeons, and it slowly approached Lu Yin. There was someone on the boat, and they were somehow both familiar and completely unknown.

"Zhao Ran," Lu Yin called out.

From the small boat that floated on the River of Aeons, Zhao Ran looked across space and met Lu Yin’s gaze. There was no longer any confusion in her eyes, but instead coldness. "Do not arbitrarily try to manipulate the River of Aeons. Violators will be punished."

Lu Yin studied the new Zhao Ran. While she looked the same, there was no hint of who she had once been.

"But this is the power that I’ve mastered."

"That has nothing to do with me. The River of Aeons cannot be disturbed."

"Weren’t you the one who wanted to leave the River of Aeons and left it unguarded? That’s why I was able to comprehend the power that allows me to traverse it."

Zhao Ran’s tone remained cold, "If you arbitrarily try to manipulate the River of Aeons, you will be punished."

Lu Yin gave a faint smile. "I liked the old Zhao Ran better. I’m so used to drinking your tea. When will you come back and make me some again?"

Zhao Ran met Lu Yin’s eyes with a cold stare, but Lu Yin did not back down.

After a moment, a voice called out, "Lord Lu, were you looking for me?"

Wei Nu was speaking.

Zhao Ran was an aspect of Wei Nu’s Dukkha, and she had become the ferryman of the River of Aeons. At the moment, Wei Nu was in the Mirari Realm.

Lu Yin calmly replied, "Yes, I did want to see you, but I also wanted to see how my little maid is doing. If possible, I really don’t want her to be stuck on the River of Aeons, alone and without any support."

Zhao Ran looked away and started rowing her little boat away.

"Lord Lu, do you want to resolve your karma?"

"Exactly," Lu Yin admitted without hesitation.

"There are two matters of karma between us: Destiny’s pearl, and the fact that I lured you into the Mirari Realm's forbidden region. However, neither of those matters need to be resolved, as I also avoided the temporal reversion," Wei Nu stated.

Lu Yin stared at the River of Aeons that was slowly fading away. "The karma regarding the pearl can be explained that way, as you no longer have it—it’s with me now. However, the karma regarding the forbidden region has not been resolved."

"Why not?"

"I don’t know, but things just feel wrong." Lu Yin was basing this purely on his instincts. He could sense that something was off, though he was unable to fully articulate what.

It was possible that this subtle intuition had come from comprehending karma.

The fact that Wei Nu was refusing to allow Lu Yin to resolve the karma related to the Karma Sanctum suggested that she still had her own hidden plans. Lu Yin would never allow the woman to retain such leverage over him.

Even if Wei Nu was correct, Lu Yin still intended to return to the forbidden region so that he could resolve that piece of karma.

Wei Nu remained silent for a moment before replying, "Lord Lu, since you don’t trust me, go ahead and enter the Karma Sanctum. I’ll help you resolve this karma."

As soon as she spoke, the Mirari Realm was opened.

Lu Yin stepped into the Mirari Realm. He walked through the aeonic mist and peered into the distance.

Wei Nu was calmly standing beside the River of Aeons. Beyond her, the faint outline of a small boat appeared. In the misty distance, Zhao Ran’s graceful figure could be seen holding an oar. She seemed to be staring back at Lu Yin.

He glanced around, but Astral Anura was nowhere to be seen. Could he have rolled back with the time reversal?

Astral Anura had spent much time in the Mirari Realm, so even if his time in the Tianyuan Megaverse had been reverted, that should have stopped when the toad returned to the Mirari Realm.

"Are you looking for Astral Anura? He’s in the forbidden region. He was sent back with time," Wei Nu said.

"Why?" Lu Yin asked.

Wei Nu looked over at the Karma Sanctum. "In order to avoid the temporal reversion, it’s necessary to take refuge in the Mirari Realm from the start. Without that, there’s no avoiding it."

Lu Yin understood. When time had flowed back from the branch in the River of Aeons, Astral Anura had not been in the Mirari Realm. There had been no way for the toad to avoid time flowing back.

Astral Anura had mentioned that he had spent about ten years in the forbidden region. Based on how much time had gone by in the new timeline, the toad should have already entered the Karma Sanctum, though he also seemed to have done so about a year early. Still, that did not matter. It was hard to pin down time in the forbidden region. Within the constant cycles of karma, who could distinguish truth from illusion?

"Let’s go," Wei Nu said as she started walking towards the forbidden region.

Lu Yin followed. "Are you willing to help me resolve my karma?"

The woman did not even turn her head back as she replied, "Why wouldn’t I? Since you don’t trust me, we’ll go about things according to what you believe.

"I’ve told you before, but we’re not enemies."

Lu Yin did not argue. Wei Nu had always concealed her goals, but he had vaguely sensed them while comprehending karma in the branch stream of the River of Aeons. It seemed that they really were not enemies, but rather silent collaborators.

He glanced back, but the small boat had vanished.

"If Zhao Ran stays in the River of Aeons, you will never achieve Immortality," Lu Yin calmly stated.

Wei Nu hesitated before taking another step. "That might also be my Dukkha."

She finally turned to look at Lu Yin. "The River of Aeons flows through countless megaverses. I’ve seen countless beings, Lord Lu, yet you remain one of the most talented individuals I’ve ever laid eyes on. My greatest failure in my entire life was underestimating Lassy."

Lu Yin smiled. "None of the Origin Progenitor’s disciples are simple."

"When compared to them, the only one of your master’s disciples who proved remarkable is you," Wei Nu commented before she resumed walking towards the forbidden region.

Lu Yin shook his head. "That’s just because their time hasn’t come. Senior Sister Mu Zhu is from the same generation as the Three Realms and Six Daos, and she is just as strong as them. Senior Brothers Mu Ke, Mu Xie, and Qing Ping are all much younger, but given the same amount of time, their achievements won’t be lacking at all.

"As for me, I’m an exception."

Wei Nu replied, "A certain Old Mu and Tai Chu anchored the Mirari Realm, damming the River of Aeons and disrupting the omniverse. They raised extraordinary disciples, but while they might be humanity’s heroes, they are also the source of the omniverse’s chaos.

"There has never been peace in the omniverse. Whatever is taken from it will ultimately have to be returned.

"Lord Lu, you and I share the same goal and can even be regarded as allies. Here’s a friendly word of warning: don’t take too much from the omniverse, or else you won’t be able to bear the consequences."

Lu Yin watched Wei Nu’s back. "For example, karma in the forbidden region?"

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Wei Nu stopped walking and slowly turned around to face Lu Yin. Her eyes brightened. "You really are quite sharp."

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA