Chapter 3454: White Willow

Lu Yin had sent Xu Ren away, far, far away. If the young man stayed in the Vast Qian Domain, he would suffer for it.

At the same time, Lu Yin changed the man’s appearance, disguising him so that no one would be able to see his true appearance unless they were as strong as the Seven Seraphs. Finally, the young man had been provided with enough resources to compensate for his losses.

Karma, karma... Where there is a cause, there will be an effect.

The matter had been resolved with both a good beginning and a good end.

As for Sage Qian, he would remain imprisoned, of course. The entire Spirit Nidus and all of its people were Lu Yin’s enemies. That did not mean that he would kill indiscriminately, but he also would not allow people to roam free and harm his Tianyuan Megaverse.

"Old Tao, where are we off to next?" Lu Yin asked as the Megalith and Pridebeast continued to carry the sedan away.

Before leaving the Vast Qian Domain, Lu Yin made it a point to compliment the scenery, which was shameless enough to make even Old Tao's teeth ache.

Old Tao thought for a moment. "Is there anything specific you need, Third Boss?"

"Treasures, or anything that can stir up trouble."

Old Tao said, "Then we should go see the Nine Horizons. With your strength, even people beyond the nine domains are sure to see you, and absolutely everyone in those domains will see you, even if they won’t be able to hear anything."

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. "That’s really a thing? Alright, let's go to the Nine Horizons."

Lu Yin and his group drew countless stares from the people of the Spirit Nidus; all of these people were not simple individuals either.

Just as they were about to leave the Vast Qian Domain, Lu Yin took out the white willow. "I forgot to ask, but I found this thing growing in the Skyriver. What do you do with this?"

Old Tao was startled by the sight of the White Willow. "That- how did it end up there?"

Old Tao was not alone in his reaction, as even Palace Master Yao’s expression changed drastically.

Lu Yin could tell that something was wrong. He had assumed that the tree was a plant that had naturally grown within the Skyriver, but that assumption might very well be completely wrong.

At this same time, the people observing Lu Yin, both openly and secretly, were shocked. "The Consciousness Domain’s White Willow? How could it be in the hands of the Third Boss?"

"Could the Great Ar Sect have been the ones to orchestrate the theft of the White Willow?"

"That’s impossible. The White Willow was stolen long, long ago. The Great Ar Sect was founded rather recently. I think that this should be related to Sage Qian."

"Skyriver?"

"Don’t you find it strange that Sage Qian has been acting oddly for some time? It was always difficult to bathe in the Skyriver’s mist, but it was at least possible to do so by paying a high enough price. However, some time ago, after Sage Qian emerged from a period of seclusion, he claimed to have attained some sort of enlightenment, and he then started carefully restricting access to the Skyriver’s mist, especially for any Spiritual Ancestor. Things were not nearly so strict before then."

"Looking back, the increased restrictions to the Skyriver’s mist closely coincides with when the White Willow was stolen."

"Hurry up and send a message back. The Consciousness Domain is about to do something massive. This involves the Consciousness Domain, who even forced Qi Shangjun out. This is not a minor incident."

...

Lu Yin heard all the nearby conversations, and he stared at Old Tao, waiting for a more thorough explanation.

"Third Boss, did you find this White Willow in the Skyriver?" Old Tao asked.

Lu Yin nodded. "I obtained it from within the Skyriver. It looks like there’s some story behind this."

With how long the megaverse had been developing for, the karmic entanglements that existed were too complex for anyone to fathom. Even a mortal’s hundred years could include several generations of enmity, let alone the world of cultivators, where people could live for countless years.

Not being able to see something simply meant that one lacked the necessary strength.

The karma connected to the White Willow was clearly something that could not be accessed unless one was an absolute powerhouse.

Lu Yin wanted to stir up as much trouble as possible while on his way to the Ascendant Hall’s Apex Palace while also gathering any valuable treasures that he found. It was inevitable that the journey would involve a tremendous amount of karma, as anything that could catch Lu Yin’s eye would not be simple. Any cultivator that had reached a level that could catch Lu Yin’s attention unquestionably had a tremendous amount of karma behind them.

He was like a shovel, prepped to dig up the land of this cultivation world. And what he dug up was karma.

This White Willow was simply the first thing to be unearthed.

Old Tao stared at the White Willow while letting out a sigh. "There’s quite a story behind this. It’s no wonder why Sage Qian created a rule that forbade anyone stronger than a Spirit Ancestor from bathing in the Skyriver’s mist. This is the entire reason for that.

"The Spirit Nidus has a domain called the Consciousness Domain. As the name suggests, it is a place that focuses on cultivating the power of consciousness. Most of the cultivators from that domain go on to serve as the captains of the various squads that fight in the Consciousness Megaverse."

Lu Yin arched a brow. This was something that he had never heard about before.

"In order to fight in the Consciousness Megaverse, one’s consciousness needs to be strong. While it’s impossible for our Spirit Nidus to match the Consciousness Megaverse in terms of pure consciousness strength, we found a solution—spirit treasure formations that use consciousness as their danger zones. These formations are given to the various squads fighting in the Consciousness Megaverse so that they can quickly form the correct consciousness spirit treasure formation. This power of consciousness is able to fight against the Consciousness Megaverse’s conscients."

Spirit treasure formations? This sounded very similar to the Tianyuan Megaverse’s sourcebox arrays.

Old Tao stared at the White Willow. "The Consciousness Domain has been specifically set up to help people cultivate their consciousness, while also allowing them to form teams that will help them create spirit treasure formations that can resist consciousness attacks. It can be said that the appearance of the Consciousness Domain has greatly sped up how long it will take us to defeat the Consciousness Megaverse."

Lu Yin finally understood. This made sense. Wars between different megaverses were never completely one-sided affairs. The Consciousness Megaverse’s conscients were too strong. If the Spirit Nidus only used their typical cultivation methods against the conscients, it would be too inefficient. Thus, the Spirit Nidus also needed to develop new strategies.

"The High Seraph established the Consciousness Domain. The Qi family then took over the helm of the Consciousness Domain, but over the years, people became unhappy with the Qi family's monopoly over the Consciousness Domain. Thus, a group that calls themselves the Revolt Alliance quietly emerged, and they are even supported by several Seraphs. They’ve grown quickly and have already grown strong enough to equal the Qi family. Now, the two groups jointly control the Consciousness Domain.

"This White Willow is one of the the Consciousness Domain’s most precious treasures for improving one’s consciousness cultivation. The person who guarded the White Willow was Qi Shangjun, the leader of the Qi family. However, for some unknown reason, the White Willow was stolen. The Revolt Alliance accused the Qi family of stealing it so that they could monopolize the White Willow for themselves. The Qi family could not give any explanation, because it should have been impossible for anyone to steal the White Willow from the Consciousness Domain without being noticed. And yet, it still vanished. How?"

Old Tao looked at Lu Yin. "There are strong beings in the Consciousness Domain, and while they might not be Seraphs, they are not any weaker than a Seraph. Stealing the White Willow away from under those individuals’ noses, especially when Qi Shangjun was guarding it, should have been absolutely impossible. The only reasonable explanation is that the Qi family themselves stole it."

Lu Yin stared at the White Willow as he gradually built an impression of the Consciousness Domain.

"The Qi family could not explain the theft, which left them with no choice but to interrogate Qi Shangjun. Due to the pressure from the Revolt Alliance, Qi Shangjun risked almost certain death when attempting to break through to the Origin realm. To everyone’s surprise, he succeeded. The Qi family could not afford to lose Qi Shangjun, so they faced off against the Revolt Alliance in order to allow their ancestor to escape from the Consciousness Domain. All of this happened because this White Willow was stolen.

"No one could have imagined that the White Willow was hidden within the Skyriver in the Vast Qian Domain. Given Sage Qian’s strength, it is impossible for him to have stolen the White Willow. This matter is very serious."

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Lu Yin smiled and started staring at the White Willow with greater interest. Things were becoming very interesting.

He had already been looking to sow chaos, as well as add some decorations to his inner universe. He had not expected to uncover such an old scandal.

The Consciousness Domain, huh?

"So, is the Qi family supported by the High Seraph?"

"Yes."

"Even if the Revolt Alliance has the support of the Seven Seraphs, the High Seraph cannot directly intervene. In that case, how is the Revolt Alliance able to fight against the Qi family?"

Palace Master Yao then interjected, "That’s because the Revolt Alliance has produced an exceptional genius when it comes to cultivating consciousness. They are one of the only people in the entire Spirit Nidus who has managed to reach the Origin realm with their consciousness."

Old Tao continued, "In the Consciousness Domain, consciousness reigns supreme. That person has contributed greatly to the creation of consciousness-based spirit treasure formations by continuously collaborating with the Consciousness Domain to improve spirit treasure formations, while also developing new ones. His importance to that domain surpasses that of even the Qi family’s, who established the Consciousness Domain. He is what allows the Revolt Alliance to stand against the Qi family."

Lu Yin was curious. "Has the High Seraph sought that person out?"

Old Tao shook his head. "No. The Seven Seraphs do not hold those titles just for show. Although the High Seraph rules the Spirit Nidus, the Seven Seraphs are still strong enough for him to remain cautious."

Lu Yin continued to stare at the White Willow as it swayed in the wind. "News has already spread that this White Willow is now in my hands. I expect that the people from the Consciousness Domain will soon come looking for me."

Old Tao asked, "Young Master, how do you plan to handle this?"

Lu Yin put the White Willow away. "We’ll just leave it be. Let’s go."

The appearance of the White Willow created an even greater stir in the Spirit Nidus than the fact that Lu Yin had stolen the Skyriver itself.

No one had expected that this attack on the Vast Qian Domain would reveal the White Willow.

Why was the White Willow in the Third Boss’s hands? What role had the Grandverse Manor played in stealing the White Willow? Everyone’s curiosity in the matter was piqued.

Lu Yin remained relaxed and carefree, a beautiful maid at either side. Despite the fact that he was hated by the majority of the Spirit Nidus, he also received a great deal of admiration.

Who did not want to live a life of indulgence? Lu Yin was living many people’s dreams right now.

A voice called out from afar, "Might I ask, Third Boss, is there anyone you fear?"

Lu Yin laughed. "No."

"Might I ask, Third Boss, for the purpose of your journey?"

"I’m going to carve a name onto the Apex Palace."

"Why do you challenge the megaverse’s greatest experts?"

"Because there are no true experts in the Spirit Nidus."

"Third Boss, you are too arrogant."

"Then show me an expert."

"Might I ask, Third Boss, where your master hails from?"

"Come ask me yourself," Lu Yin shouted back.

No one dared to approach the sedan.

"Might I ask, Third Boss, is life the most enjoyable with Cai Keqing and Palace Master Yao serving you?"

Palace Master Yao and Cai Keqing both looked to the right, and they nearly attacked, only to be held back by Lu Yin. "Hahahaha, life’s greatest pleasure is nothing like this! Hahahaha."

Countless people ground their teeth in anger, yet envy filled their eyes that were flushed red with desire.

Palace Master Yao and Cai Keqing were unable to act, so they could only silently gnash their teeth in anger.

"Third Boss’s heroic spirit is without equal. You see the megaverse’s greatest experts as nothing, take the most beautiful women as your own, and do the most outrageous things. We admire you."

"We admire you."

"All of us do."

"Hahahaha!"

...

Half a month after Lu Yin and his group left the Vast Qian Domain, someone from the Consciousness Domain arrived.

"I am Qi Guan from the Consciousness Domain’s Qi family. Greetings, Third Boss." The person blocking Lu Yin’s path was a middle-aged man. He had an elegant appearance, but there was a faint hint of hostility in his eyes.

The hostility was not obvious at all. In fact, not even an Ortuser like Palace Master Yao could sense it. Lu Yin could only detect it because Qi Guan had cultivated the power of consciousness, though Lu Yin's consciousness was much greater.

As they had both cultivated consciousness, Lu Yin was able to sense the man’s hostility.

Even without that ability, it would have been easy for Lu Yin to guess that it was there. The High Seraph was the one supporting the Qi family, and the Grandverse Manor endorsed breaking the rules of the megaverse, which was deliberately provoking the High Seraph. How could the Qi family not be hostile towards the Grandverse Manor?

Even more importantly, Lu Yin's destination was the Apex Palace. His goal was to deface it with words, which was essentially writing directly on the High Seraph’s own face. That was something that the Qi family could never accept.

However, the Qi family also did not dare to make any moves against Lu Yin. They understood that they were no match for the Grandverse Manor.

Lu Yin sat on the sedan with his legs crossed. He looked quite relaxed, as Palace Master Yao was next to him, holding fruits and other snacks for him.

"What’s the matter?" Lu Yin asked.