Chapter 3409: Friends

Lu Yin stared at Wei Nu. "You’re being rather blunt with me. Aren’t you afraid that I’ll resent you for it?"

"We aren’t enemies. You already understand that," Wei Nu replied. At this moment, she was standing just outside the Karma Sanctum. Then, the forbidden region’s boundaries suddenly expanded, pulling both her and Lu Yin within.

Once again, Lu Yin saw rows of towering trees. The first time he entered this forbidden region in the River of Aeons’ branch stream, he had seen fruits with his face on them. They had looked ripe and ready to be picked and eaten. This time, such karmic illusions were no longer able to confuse him.

In his perception, the trees were actually spirals of karma that rose high into the sky.

He found Progenitor Ku, who was sealed by karma, as the man had sacrificed his body to it. Whether or not they would ever meet again remained uncertain.

Lu Yin bowed to Progenitor Ku. "Senior, I swear that I will protect the Tianyuan Megaverse and all of humanity with my life."

With that, Lu Yin turned and walked away.

Next, he found Astral Anura, who was curled up beneath his lotus leaf, muttering incessantly. As Lu Yin approached him, he was able to make out the toad’s words.

"Great-grandmother, don’t follow me! I miss you, great-grandmother, but don’t get too close. It’s fine to miss you, so let’s keep some distance. Great-grandmother, don’t come close..."

Lu Yin raised his hand and smacked Astral Anura on the head.

The toad was startled awake, his eyes flashing fiercely as the color of his body shifted. Instinctively, the creature thrust his steel fork forward. "Take that!"

Lu Yin grabbed the weapon. Despite the tremendous power behind it, it could not move at all once it was in his grip.

Astral Anura spun around and kicked Lu Yin with a webbed foot.

Lu Yin snorted and ripped the fork from Astral Anura’s grip and then swung the weapon back at the toad.

Only then did Astral Anura react. He spun around in midair so that he could glare at the individual who had sneaked up behind him. Only then did the toad clearly see Lu Yin.

"It’s you?" Astral Anura landed on the ground and immediately started to look around. He quickly realized that he was still in the forbidden region.

Lu Yin twirled the steel fork in his hand. "So, you saw your great-grandmother again?"

"How did you get into this forbidden region? Are you alone?" Astral Anura warily looked at Lu Yin while remembering certain recent events. Where had this brat obtained such incredible strength?

Lu Yin stabbed the fork into the ground. He could see the hatred glittering in Astral Anura’s eyes, as well as the fact that the toad’s body was multi-colored and poisonous. Skulls clinked softly from where they hung around his neck.

"It’s just me. I stumbled in here and happened to see you."

Astral Anura stared at Lu Yin, and Lu Yin stared back, their two gazes interlocking.

Moments later, Astral Anura grinned. His colors faded away to a solid gold shade. The lotus leaves appeared above his head, and the skulls that hung around his neck turned back into copper coins. "Congratulations, Dao Monarch Lu! Your strength has improved yet again."

Lu Yin chuckled. "I’m just a bit stronger. After all, it’s been more than ten years. It isn’t surprising that I’ve gained a bit of strength."

"Right, right, you’ve always been quite gifted. By the way, how did you stumble into this forbidden region? It’s only been about ten years, and yet you’re already back in the Mirari Realm? Did something happen outside? Are the Boundary Guardians giving you trouble?" Astral Anura bombarded him with questions.

Lu Yin sighed, looking troubled. "The trouble this time is quite serious, so let me hide here for a while."

Astral Anura shook his lotus leaf. "Those four idiots are completely shameless! Dao Monarch Lu, you’ve done so much for humanity, and yet they stab you in the back. It’s disgraceful!"

Lu Yin replied, "There’s nothing to be done. After all, all of them are Ortusers."

"That’s true. Not even I can afford to provoke those four. It’s wise to hide," Astral Anura agreed.

"By the way, why are you back in the Karma Sanctum?" Lu Yin asked.

Astral Anura let out an awkward chuckle. "I’m not willing to just give up."

"Still searching for the path to Immortality?"

"First Blood was so confident that it’s in here, so it has to be, right?"

"It’s real, but it’s a hard path to follow," Lu Yin said with a nod. There was no denying that karma could lead one to Immortality. If not, then why had the High Seraph reacted so strongly?

Astral Anura’s eyes instantly blazed intensely. "What else did she say?"

"Nothing. I just think that she told the truth," Lu Yin replied.

Astral Anura sighed. "Either way, thanks for waking me, Dao Monarch. This place is very strange. Why don’t we talk outside?"

"You can leave?" Lu Yin asked.

Astral Anura glanced around. "Probably."

"Alright." Lu Yin tossed the steel fork back to Astral Anura. The toad caught it, and the instant he did so, his body turned multi-colored again. A copper coin shot at Lu Yin, followed by the steel fork stabbing at him. A terrifying aura descended. "Brat, prepare to die!"

Lu Yin’s lips curled upwards. The toad had just been testing him, trying to gauge his strength. However, Astral Anura could not possibly imagine just how powerful Lu Yin had become.

After killing Tian Feng, Lu Yin had experienced a breakthrough and become a true Progenitor. His inner universe had greatly improved, and the laws of the universe were now unable to approach him. Lu Yin could break down sequence bases, and he had also comprehended karma. All these things had only taken him thirty-seven years to achieve, but with time rolling back, Astral Anura believed that only about ten years had passed since he had last met Lu Yin.

What could be accomplished in a mere ten years? Even for Lu Yin, such improvement was unbelievable. For other cultivators, ten years—or even ten thousand—was simply not enough to gain the strength needed to pose a threat to Astral Anura.

Lu Yin raised a hand and effortlessly caught the copper coin.

Astral Anura’s copper coins contained unimaginable power. Once, Mr. Daheng had used a coin to force Luo Shan to retreat. That was how powerful the coins were.

However, Lu Yin caught the coin in his hand, rendering it utterly useless.

Astral Anura’s eyes bulged. What was happening? Where were the sequence particles?

Lu Yin squeezed, and his tightened grip crushed the copper coin into powder that slipped out of his hand. "What are you doing?"

Astral Anura was stunned. This had never happened before, not even once.

While Tai Hong and Old Mu were able to ignore Astral Anura’s sequence particles, not even they could crush his copper coins. Was this kid a monster?

Lu Yin moved forward at the speed of time, his hand already raised to strike Astral Anura.

The toad’s steel fork swept sideways. For one as powerful as Astral Anura, moving at the speed of time meant nothing, as he could see through time.

Still, Lu Yin had not even considered using his movement speed to attack the toad; it was only to close the distance. That was all.

The steel fork swept out again, only for Lu Yin to grab it once more. Astral Anura had already anticipated this, and he released his weapon and leapt down its length, kicking at Lu Yin from a strange position.

In that instant, Astral Anura unleashed a level of power that surprised even Lu Yin. Four webbed feet struck him in rapid succession, using a battle technique that pressed through the void to seal off the nearby space. While this technique seemed to lack pure power, all of the force was concentrated into a single point that amply demonstrated the power of a Dukkhan.

Lu Yin’s expression fell as he raised his hand and threw a palm strike. Infinity transformed into an astral phenomena in his inner universe as the hand shot forward. A purplish-black substance shrouded Lu Yin’s arm, and a thunderous boom caused the void to tremble as Astral Anura was sent flying. The toad’s limbs were left numb, and he felt like they had been broken.

His mind went blank. How was this possible? Had he really been defeated that easily? This brat was not merely strong; this was something far beyond that.

A shadow loomed overhead as Lu Yin stomped down, pressing Astral Anura into the ground.

"Ow, ow, ow! Dao Monarch Lu, I was wrong! I was wrong! Please spare me!" Astral Anura shrieked.

Lu Yin pressed the toad even deeper into the ground as he glared at the beast with cold eyes. "I really underestimated you. When we killed Tian Feng, you never gave that fight your full effort, did you?"

Astral Anura wailed, "I gave everything I had, I swear! This technique is something that I only comprehended recently! I just mastered it!"

Lu Yin sneered down at Astral Anura. "You just mastered? What’s it called?"

Astral Anura’s eyes nervously darted about. "Four Strikes Combo. It’s called the Four Strikes Combo."

"I think ‘Toady Combo’ is more fitting."

"Absolutely! Whatever you say! I’ll call it the Toady Combo then. Dao Monarch Lu, spare me! It was this forbidden zone! This place messes with my head! I didn’t know what I was doing! Great-grandmother, save me!"

Lu Yin lifted his foot. Astral Anura was flattened on the ground, his body already a golden color. He looked pathetic.

He trembled as he stood back up. In the face of Lu Yin’s overwhelming strength, the toad had no way to resist.

As Lu Yin scrutinized Astral Anura, a thought suddenly popped up. He was certain that he would eventually pay a visit to the Spirit Nidus. However, deciding who to take on that voyage was an issue, but Astral Anura seemed like a perfect candidate. Leaving the toad behind in the Tianyuan Megaverse would be a risk, but having him cause trouble in the Spirit Nidus sounded ideal.

Growing uneasy from Lu Yin’s incessant staring, Astral Anura forced out a smile. "Congratulations, Dao Monarch Lu! Your might is unparalleled in the megaverse, and you will be remembered by all of humanity for all of eternity!"

Lu Yin smiled. "Well said. Thank you."

Astral Anura licked his lips. When Lu Yin did not smile, the toad was afraid, but when the young man

did

smile, the toad was utterly terrified.

He had the ominous feeling that something bad was about to happen.

Lu Yin continued to stare at Astral Anura. "Hey, Astral Anura."

"Just call me Toady."

"Alright, Toady. Any interest in a spur-of-the-moment trip?"

Astral Anura smiled ingratiatingly. "Whatever Dao Monarch Lu says is what we’ll do. Not to boast, but wherever the Dao Monarch wants to go, I’ll scout ahead to ensure that the way is perfectly clear."

"Really? Thanks, but that’s a bit much. We’ll just go together."

"It’s not too much! Not at all! It’s just visiting a few parallel universes. We just need to find the connecting paths. Dao Monarch Lu, don’t worry. This toad will scout everything for you thoroughly. Just tell me whatever the Heavens Sect needs."

Lu Yin raised his hand and clapped it back down, prompting Astral Anura to instinctively take a step back.

"Good, good! With that attitude, I can believe that what happened earlier was just a misunderstanding caused by being here in this forbidden region. You’ll always be a friend of the Heavens Sect."

Astral Anura grinned. "Yes, friends. We’re friends."

"Alright then, it’s settled. We’ll go to the Spirit Nidus together."

"Right, togeth- Wait, what’s the Spirit Nidus?"

"It’s another megaverse that’s pretty far away. Right, it’s the megaverse that was supporting Tian Ci that sent reinforcements to the battle at the Immemorial Citadel. It’s where both Yuan Qi and Zhan Yan are originally from. It’s called the Spirit Nidus."

Astral Anura’s mouth hung open. "That- that- that-"

Lu Yin’s eyes grew cold as he stared at Astral Anura.

Astral Anura gulped. "That far?"

Lu Yin nodded. "Yes, it’s very far. But we’ll travel together and use springboards, so it will only take a few decades to get there. It’s really not too far, not at all."

Astral Anura wanted to kick Lu Yin to death. Another megaverse? Distance was not the problem—the trip itself was simply suicide!

The toad was not ignorant. He understood that he and Lu Yin were both creatures from the Tianyuan Megaverse, which meant that they would be detected the moment they entered the Spirit Nidus. They would be targeted by an entire megaverse.

Astral Anura might not know exactly how strong the Spirit Nidus was, but he did know that they were confident enough to scheme against the entire Tianyuan Megaverse.

Tian Ci and Yuan Qi were both terrifyingly strong. The toad did not dare to provoke either of them.

Learning that such monsters had been sent to help Aeternus by this Spirit Nidus suggested that the megaverse possessed unfathomable strength.

And Lu Yin wanted to travel to the Spirit Nidus to cause trouble? That was not looking to make trouble, but rather looking to die.