Chapter 3413: Take Them All Along

After some time, Lu Yin finalized the list of who would be accompanying him to the Spirit Nidus.

Included on the list were the Origin Progenitor, Chu Yi, Lu Tianyi, Sovereign Dou Sheng, Ce Wangtian, Mu Zhu, Ye Wu, and Second Life.

Initially, Ancestor Lu Yuan had also intended to go, but the Tianyuan Megaverse could not be emptied of all its most powerful cultivators. Lu Yuan, Wu Tian, and Hongyan Mavis all needed to stay behind and protect the megaverse. Lu Yin could not simply take as many people with him as possible.

Conveniently, Lu Tianyi would take Lu Yuan’s place and look after Lu Yin.

Sovereign Dou Sheng was going so that he could pursue True God.

Ce Wangtian wanted to avoid Big Sis no matter what it took, and regardless, the two needed to be kept apart.

Mu Zhu was going to represent Mister Mu and to support Lu Yin.

Ye Wu’s willingness to go surprised Lu Yin. He had hoped that Ye Wu would go to leverage his symbiotic corpses, which would increase the number of powerful experts joining the expedition to the Spirit Nidus.

In addition to the powerful cultivators, the Tianyuan Army was also going. The army’s purpose was to demonstrate the power of the Tianyuan Megaverse, make the Spirit Nidus wary, and add weight to any potential negotiations. Leaving the Tianyuan Army behind would serve little purpose.

They would only have an impact by accompanying the expedition.

Also included in the expedition were the mechas and the people using the black energy converter.

The Spirit Nidus had no idea that such combatants were the result of gathering a great deal of the Tianyuan Megaverse’s resources and making use of the Mirari Realm’s time-dilation. Their sheer number of powerful combatants would create a massive shock when they arrived in the Spirit Nidus.

Lu Yin alone went to visit the Three Monarchs Universe, but he failed to find Luo Shan anywhere. He then went to the Starfall Sea to speak with Monarch Xing. “Where is Luo Shan?”

Monarch Xing shook her head. “I don’t know.”

She was not lying. She genuinely did not know where Luo Shan had gone to.

Lu Yin needed to find Luo Shan and take the Monarch to the Spirit Nidus.

Lu Yin had not forgotten that, when the High Seraph had been slaughtering people in the Heavens Sect, Luo Shan had also taken action. The Monarch had not done so to save the Heavens Sect. Rather, it was because he understood that they were engaged in a war between two megaverses. If the Heavens Sect fell, so too would the entire Tianyuan Megaverse.

Luo Shan had never acted out of altruism, but only to benefit himself.

Still, that action had reminded Lu Yin about the Monarch.

Luo Shan was a selfish person. While he did not pose a significant threat to anything that Lu Yin had left behind in the Tianyuan Megaverse due to the presence of Hongyan Mavis and several others, Luo Shan was still a potential risk. Taking the man to the Spirit Nidus was a good solution.

Monarch Xing did not know where to find Luo Shan, so how should Lu Yin search for the man?

After pondering for a moment, Lu Yin released Astral Anura. “Where is Luo Shan?”

Astral Anura was confused. “Luo Shan? What happened with him?”

“I need to find him so that I can take him to the Spirit Nidus.”

Astral Anura laughed mischievously. “Is he going too? Fine, but I don’t actually know where he is. He and Da Heng are disciple brothers. All I can do is take you to where their master once lived.”

“Let’s go.”

All universes looked the same; they were vast and seemed endless, no matter which one a person visited.

The distant clusters of interconnected planets were the only proof to Lu Yin that he was no longer in the Origin Universe.

He and Astral Anura had arrived in an unfamiliar parallel universe.

“This is where their master used to live,” Astral Anura stated.

Lu Yin had no interest in such history. Luo Shan and Da Heng’s master had been dead for a very long time, and Lu Yin would not get involved in the affairs of a dead person. The rights and wrongs of the past had nothing to do with him.

Hmm? Got him

.

Lu Yin grabbed the toad and tossed him back into the Zenith Mountain. He then moved forward, instantly appearing at the center of a beautiful lake.

At the center of the lake was a pavilion, which was where Luo Shan was standing.

Lu Yin’s arrival caused the Monarch’s expression to change, and he instinctively tried to leave, only to find that doing so had become impossible.

Even if Luo Shan hid in the Hollow, Lu Yin would drag the man back out.

“Dao Monarch Lu, what did you come here to find me for? Our past grudges were settled ago,” Luo Shan said warily.

Lu Yin took another step, entering the pavilion and stopping just a few meters from Luo Shan.

This was far too close for Luo Shan’s comfort. Despite not seeing Lu Yin for a long time, the Monarch was well informed of Lu Yin’s accomplishments. Luo Shan had been keeping an eye on things from the shadows.

Lu Yin had crushed Aeternus, and he had even chased after True God after the final battle at the Immemorial Citadel. Through the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin ruled over the entire megaverse. The young man’s power had reached an indescribable level, and Luo Shan knew that he was no match.

“Come with me somewhere,” Lu Yin ordered.

Luo Shan’s eyes narrowed. “I have no reason to join you.”

Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back and turned to stare out at the lake. “The scenery here is quite nice.

“I have no interest in the fact that you betrayed your master, but the fact that you did so, along with everything else I know about you, tells me that as soon as the Heavens Sect shows any signs of weakness, you’ll take advantage of it to rise up. Since I’m leaving this megaverse, I can’t allow you to remain behind.”

Luo Shan was shocked. “Leaving this megaverse?”

“A place called the Spirit Nidus is going to war with our megaverse, and the loser will be reset. No one can remain on the sidelines,” Lu Yin calmly stated.

Luo Shan’s eyes betrayed his disbelief. This answer far exceeded anything he had expected.

Suddenly, Lu Yin raised a hand and set it on Luo Shan’s shoulder.

The young man did not move quickly, but Luo Shan also made no attempt to avoid the hand. He was well aware that, if Lu Yin wanted to kill him, there was no way for Luo Shan to leave the lake alive.

His hand on Luo Shan’s shoulder, Lu Yin stared into the man’s eyes. “You don’t have a choice. You’re coming with me to the Spirit Nidus.”

Luo Shan felt helpless. Lu Yin understood the Monarch, but Luo Shan also understood Lu Yin. Both were equally domineering, and they would not allow anyone else to make choices for them.

The fact that Lu Yin had arrived for Luo Shan meant that there was no other path available for the Monarch.

Soon, Luo Shan entered the Zenith Mountain, where he found himself locking eyes with Astral Anura.

The toad grinned. “Long time no see, Luo Shan.”

Luo Shan was startled. Astral Anura was much, much stronger than the Monarch, so it was highly surprising to see he was also a captive. “You?”

Lu Yin put away the Zenith Mountain. Next on his list was Progenitor Xi.

After returning to the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin waited for Progenitor Xi to arrive.

He was able to simply summon Progenitor Xi. In order to pit the Tianyuan Megaverse against the Spirit Nidus, Progenitor Xi had shared both truths and lies with Lu Yin. Still, there was no question that she was an enemy of the Spirit Nidus.

Despite that, her continued presence in the Tianyuan Megaverse also posed a potential threat. No one could anticipate the woman’s actions, so it would be better to drag her to the Spirit Nidus with him.

A few days later, Progenitor Xi arrived in the Heavens Sect.

She had not managed to avoid the temporal reversion, so Progenitor Xi knew nothing about the alternate timeline or that the Spirit Nidus had invaded in that timeline. She did not know that Lu Yin needed to travel to the Spirit Nidus in order to resolve his incomplete karma.

She was still trying to increase Lu Yin’s hostility toward the Spirit Nidus.

“Tell me about the Spirit Nidus again,” Lu Yin said. He was sitting by the lake, fishing with his back towards Progenitor Xi. They were in the same position as they had been in during their meeting after the last battle at the Immemorial Citadel.

Progenitor Xi was puzzled. “What do you wish to hear about, Lord Lu?”

“Repeat everything you’ve told me before.”

Progenitor Xi did not understand what Lu Yin was trying to do. She had mixed truth and lies when speaking to him before, and that meant that she needed to be very careful when repeating herself.

She proceeded to repeat everything that she had told Lu Yin before, word for word.

It was impossible for Progenitor Xi to know that Lu Yin had learned far more about the Spirit Nidus in the branch stream of the River of Aeons. In some ways, Lu Yin knew more about that megaverse than even Progenitor Xi.

Lu Yin listened in silence. He never interrupted Progenitor Xi, and he never exposed her lies.

She finished speaking and then waited for Lu Yin to respond.

Lu Yin stared out at the lake. “You really want us to go to war with the Spirit Nidus.”

Progenitor Xi emphasized, “War is already unavoidable. This isn’t just about my Consciousness Megaverse. The Spirit Nidus intends to reset both my Consciousness Megaverse and your Tianyuan Megaverse. Neither will be left alone.”

"Alright," Lu Yin stated as he set down his fishing rod and turned around to look at Progenitor Xi. "Since that's the case, let's go to war with the Spirit Nidus."

Progenitor Xi was stunned. She could not understand why Lu Yin had suddenly become so agitated.

He stared at the woman. "Let's go to the Spirit Nidus."

Progenitor Xi was terribly confused. While she had been hoping to see Lu Yin lead the Tianyuan Megaverse in a war against the Spirit Nidus, why was it happening so easily? She struggled to believe this development.

"When?"

"Get ready. We’ll leave within the year."

"So soon?"

"If we don't hurry, the Spirit Nidus will reset both our Tianyuan Megaverse and your Consciousness Megaverse."

"But-"

"Why are you hesitating? Don't you want to fight against the Spirit Nidus?"

"It's not that. It’s just-"

"Are you scared?"

"No."

"Then let's go. We’ll go wreak havoc in the Spirit Nidus. Rather than let them reset our two megaverses, we should reset theirs instead. Who knows? Maybe resetting the Spirit Nidus will let us achieve Immortality."

Something felt very off to Progenitor Xi. She knew that something was wrong, but she could not identify what.

She carefully considered all that she had said. What had she said to provoke such a strong reaction from Lu Yin? Had she incited too much hatred?

Wait

. "I'm going too?"

Lu Yin smirked. "Of course. If you don't go, who will serve as our guide?"

Progenitor Xi's expression shifted. She had no idea how to refuse this request. She had achieved the outcome that she had hoped for, but somehow, this success felt deeply unsettling.

"Get into the Zenith Mountain," Lu Yin ordered as he brought it out.

Progenitor Xi stared at the Zenith Mountain. She finally understood what felt wrong. "How are we getting to the Spirit Nidus?"

Lu Yin smiled. "Yuan Qi will help us."

"Yuan Qi? That old monster?" Progenitor Xi was shocked.

Lu Yin pointed at the Zenith Mountain, his eyes never leaving Progenitor Xi.

Her expression shifted. She understood that something had gone terribly wrong. If Yuan Qi was helping Lu Yin, then the Seraph must have already revealed the truth about the three megaverses, which meant that Progenitor Xi’s lies had been revealed. It was no wonder why Lu Yin had asked her to repeat herself.

She felt a terrible chill as she looked back at Lu Yin. This time, she could see cold bloodlust in his eyes.

Helpless, she had no choice but to enter the Zenith Mountain.

Such an unexpected turn of events left her feeling overwhelmed and confused. It felt like she was missing several key pieces, but she could not even identify what was missing.

After putting the Zenith Mountain away again, Lu Yin pointed at the void. Lightstream appeared, and it drew out the River of Aeons.

A small boat appeared on the river, and Zhao Ran stared out from it.

"I’m going to the Spirit Nidus. Take care."

Zhao Ran said nothing, and she simply sailed her boat away.

"Wei Nu, are you there?"

"What is it?" Wei Nu's voice rang out. The sound indicated that she had returned to the Mirari Realm.

Still staring at the River of Aeons, Lu Yin asked, "Will you come with me to the Spirit Nidus?"

Wei Nu replied indifferently, "Lord Lu, it’s clear that you want to remove all hidden danger from the Tianyuan Megaverse before you leave, but I am not one of those. Zhao Ran is the river’s ferryman, which means that I cannot leave the River of Aeons unless the Mirari Realm is freed."

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Lu Yin could not tell if the woman was being honest or not, but he did know that it was impossible for him to force Wei Nu to accompany him to the Spirit Nidus.

The River of Aeons vanished, and Lu Yin sat back down.

An unknown amount of time passed, after which he picked up the aroma of tea.

Still lost in his thoughts, Lu Yin continued to stare out at the lake. Behind him stood a graceful figure. Long Xi had arrived.

"I want to go with you to the Spirit Nidus."

"No," Lu Yin answered instantly.

"Why not?"

"You aren’t strong enough."

Long Xi said, "Let me replace Zhao Ran. It’s enough for me if I can make tea for you."

"I don’t like tea," Lu Yin replied without even turning around. He did not dare to look at the woman. Her visit was a surprise, and he could not bear to face her.

Scenes from his past cycles of karma kept repeating in his mind. Specifically, memories of an adorable child. Each one filled his heart with pain.