Chapter 3466: Qi Zun

Qi Gong's eyes swept over the faces of those before him as he slowly said, "A mere Grandverse Manor cannot destroy my Qi family. Don’t forget that the High Seraph stands behind us."

The mention of the High Seraph caused the tension to slightly ease from everyone’s faces.

"There’s something else that you should know," Qi Gong continued in a low voice as he lifted his head to look in the direction of the Nine Horizons. "Ancestor Qi Zun is still alive."

Everyone was stunned, and several exclaimed, "Ancestor Qi Zun?"

"The Qi Zun who once overpowered the Consciousness Megaverse?"

"How is that possible? Didn’t he supposedly die long ago? He was from Seraph Yuan Qi’s generation."

Everyone grew reinvigorated.

Qi Gong sneered. "If not for the fact that he oversees the Consciousness Domain, Ancestor Qi Zun would have become a Seraph long ago. Even Yuan Qi, the Dao Bell Seraph, might not be our ancestor’s equal. Alright, you’re all dismissed. Let the Third Boss come. He can bring Ancestor Qi Guan and Ancestor Qi Shangjun back to us as well."

"Understood."

"One more thing—don’t spread this around. It’s time that the outside world learns of our Qi family’s power," Qi Gong added.

The first thing everyone thought of was the Revolt Alliance.

The Revolt Alliance was led by the prodigy Shi Lin, and it stood toe-to-toe with the Qi family. No one in the Qi family could compare to Shi Lin’s mastery of the power of consciousness. Not even Ancestor Qi Shangjun, who was an Ortuser, had managed to achieve the Celestial-level consciousness.

In the entire Consciousness Domain, only Shi Lin had reached the Celestial realm.

However, the revelation that Ancestor Qi Zun was still alive changed absolutely everything. No matter how strong Shi Lin might be, he could not possibly compare to Qi Zun.

The Third Boss was not the only one who was doomed, as the Revolt Alliance would also be done for.

As he watched everyone leave, Qi Gong’s eyes gleamed.

At the same time, the Revolt Alliance was rejoicing. The Qi family had been a mountain pressing down upon them. Now that someone else intended to remove that mountain, the Consciousness Domain would finally fall under the Revolt Alliance’s control.

The Revolt Alliance consisted of independent cultivators, and they desperately hoped to see the Qi family’s eradication.

Many members of the alliance had been oppressed by the Qi family.

However, news that Qi Zun was still alive soon spread. The Qi family was too large for news of such magnitude to not leak.

Hearing of Qi Zun caused the Revolt Alliance to fall silent.

If the High Seraph had established the Consciousness Domain, then Qi Zun was the one who had built it up from the ground.

Qi Zun was a founder of the Consciousness Domain, and he was also the strongest consciousness cultivator in the entire Spirit Nidus. None could match his power.

The High Seraph was incredibly powerful, but even his mastery of the power of consciousness paled in comparison to Qi Zun’s.

It was because of Qi Zun’s formidable consciousness that he had been able to build up the Consciousness Domain. He had charged back and forth across the Consciousness Megaverse, as even the conscients were powerless against him.

The man had supposedly died long ago, but if he was still alive, then who could possibly stand against the Qi family?

The news soon spread out from the Consciousness Domain, traveling across multiple parallel universes until it eventually reached Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was surprised. "Qi Zun?"

Old Tao was completely stunned. "Is Qi Zun still alive? How is that possible?"

"Is this Qi Zun that powerful?" Lu Yin asked, curious.

Hearing the name had caused both Old Tao and Palace Master Yao’s expressions to change rather drastically.

Even Lu Yin’s shadows started talking about the name.

Old Tao bowed to Lu Yin. "Third Boss, are you really going to attack the Qi family? If Qi Zun really is still alive, then this journey will be incredibly dangerous.

"Qi Zun is the greatest consciousness cultivator in the Spirit Nidus, in both the past and the present. No one has ever been able to compare to him, and that even includes Shi Lin, the founder of the Revolt Alliance.

"The Revolt Alliance relies on Shi Lin’s extraordinary talent to stand toe to toe with the Qi family, but not even Shi Lin is a match for Qi Zun.

"Qi Zun’s greatest accomplishment is fighting against the Consciousness Megaverse’s Thirteen Luminaries, successfully capturing one, and bringing them back to the Spirit Nidus."

Lu Yin was astonished. "He managed to capture one of the Consciousness Megaverse’s Thirteen Luminaries?"

Old Tao nodded. "This went down in history long ago, and it has become a legend. Not even the High Seraph ever accomplished such a feat."

The Consciousness Megaverse’s Thirteen Luminaries were thirteen Universe-realm conscients. A Universe-level consciousness corresponded to a cultivator that was overcoming Dukkha.

In other words, Qi Zun had successfully captured a Dukkha-level conscient from the Consciousness Megaverse. This achievement amazed even Lu Yin, though he remained somewhat skeptical.

"Really? Couldn’t that just be propaganda spread by the Qi family?" Lu Yin genuinely doubted this accomplishment. Even with the strength of his own consciousness, he could not hope to capture a Universe-realm conscient. The High Seraph might be strong enough to destroy the Thirteen Luminaries, but he most likely could not capture one of them.

Old Tao replied, "I don’t know, but that’s what’s recorded in history."

"It is true," Palace Master Yao said.

When Lu Yin looked over at her, she calmly added, "The High Seraph once mentioned the matter. Qi Zun did indeed capture a Universe-realm conscient, though the High Seraph didn’t elaborate on the details."

Lu Yin looked away and started tapping on the sedan with a finger. This was a problem.

If this story was true, then it meant that Qi Zun absolutely possessed a Universe-level consciousness. Even Lu Yin might not be able to withstand that level.

Old Tao quickly continued to say, "Qi Zun is from the same generation as Seraph Yuan Qi. However, due to his focus on building up the Consciousness Domain, he never became a Seraph. Otherwise, there is no doubt that Qi Zun would have become one of the Seven Seraphs."

Lu Yin frowned. "Why did people say that he was dead before?"

"It was just rumors. He hasn’t appeared in a long time. After Seraph Yuan Qi left for the Tianyuan Megaverse, Qi Zun disappeared shortly after establishing the Consciousness Domain. For countless years, the Qi family has run into many struggles and obstacles, and eventually, people concluded that their ancestor must have died," Old Tao explained.

Lu Yin stared off into the distance. "Could the news that Qi Zun is still alive just be a scare tactic of the Qi family?"

Old Tao could not speak to the possibility of that being the case. Also, he simply did not want to go to the Consciousness Domain.

Even if Qi Zun was dead, destroying the Qi family would still be extremely risky. The Consciousness Domain’s Qi family had many other powerful experts, as well as their spiritual treasure formations. If they made even a single mistake, while the Third Boss might survive, those with him might not.

Throughout the eons, whenever a Seraph’s position became vacant, someone from the Consciousness Domain had always appeared to compete for the position, as had people from the Primal Beastland, the Gate of Laws, and more.

The Spirit Nidus had been consolidated under a unified cultivation system for an incredibly long time. While such a rigid system did not foster creativity, it could efficiently produce powerful cultivators.

No one truly knew just how much hidden strength the major forces had accumulated over the years.

Before the vanguard forces had left to invade the Tianyuan Megaverse, the High Seraph had sent out orders, summoning experts from all across the megaverse, but the major powers had only sent out a small fraction of their reserves. As for the three Seraphs, they had participated of their own volition, as they had sought to reset the Tianyuan Megaverse and obtain a chance to achieve Immortality.

At the peak of the Spirit Nidus sat the Ascendant Hall, which possessed the ten sequence bases. However, aside from them, the seven major powers were equally formidable.

All of them had descended from ancient organizations.

"By the way, you just told me that Qi Zun captured a Universe-realm conscient. Where is it?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

He was targeting the Consciousness Domain not only because he had been ambushed by Qi Shangjun, but also because he was aware that the domain had a number of conscient prisoners who had surrendered to the Spirit Nidus. Lu Yin intended to absorb their consciousnesses.

The Consciousness Domain was a perfect target for him.

Old Tao hesitated. "It should be in the Consciousness Domain."

Lu Yin’s eyes flashed sharply. "Are you certain?"

Old Tao responded with an awkward smile, "I can’t say for sure, but generally, any conscients that surrender are either taken away or kept in the Consciousness Domain. They are there specifically to help people cultivate consciousness."

"It is in the Consciousness Domain," Palace Master Yao affirmed.

Lu Yin felt a headache coming on. Qi Zun and a Universe-realm conscient? That meant two Dukkhan-level opponents. How was he supposed to fight that?

This was not even considering the fact that the Consciousness Domain was also home to a great number of surrendered conscients, Shi Lin, and experts from the Qi family.

It was clear that this was too much for even Lu Yin to handle alone.

However, not going was also not an option.

Was this how deep the foundations of the Spirit Nidus’s seven major powers ran?

Old Tao stole a glance at Lu Yin, thinking that the younger man should understand when to quit. None of the Spirit Nidus’s seven major powers would be easy to deal with.

The Grandverse Manor would need to mobilize their full power, which would lead to something like the battle at the boundary.

The Daquan Domain was another one of the megaverse’s seven major powers, but even when Seraph Yi had gathered all those experts and cooperated with the defenders of the boundary, the Grandverse Manor had still achieved an overwhelming victory. The Consciousness Domain would fare no better.

However, if the Third Boss went alone, the Consciousness Domain would be able to handle him.

"Continue." Lu Yin refused to back down. No matter what, he knew that he could at least ensure his own safety, even if it was impossible to destroy the Qi family.

If he failed the first time, he would simply try again. If that did not work, he would return a third time. Each attempt would teach him something, and he would be able to devour a bit of consciousness with each try, which would exponentially increase his strength.

No matter how powerful Qi Zun might be, he would not be able to completely suppress Lu Yin. He was fully confident of that.

Out of everyone in the Spirit Nidus, the only ones who Lu Yin was certain could overwhelm him were the High Seraph and Master Qing Cao. He did not fear anyone else.

Oh, and there’s also True God, who’s hiding

. He had heard nothing at all about that man.

As they traveled, Lu Yin had inquired into Meng Sang’s whereabouts, only to find that no one knew anything.

The sedan continued on towards the Consciousness Domain. Lu Yin was determined to make trouble for the Qi family.

In the Consciousness Domain, Patriarch Qi Gong received the news with a grim expression.

Was Qi Zun alive? That had been a lie. Qi Gong actually had no idea if Qi Zun was alive or not. He had simply spread those rumors to scare off the Third Boss and prevent him from coming to the Consciousness Domain.

Unexpectedly, the man did not even care about Qi Zun, and he was continuing on towards the Consciousness Domain.

The members of the Qi family who believed that Qi Zun was still alive were fearless. As far as they were concerned, as long as Qi Zun took action, the Third Boss would be soundly defeated. Entering the Consciousness Domain at this time was no different from seeking death.

Outsiders were even more eager to see Lu Yin arrive in the Consciousness Domain. His arrival would expose the strengths of both the Grandverse Manor and the Qi family.

If Qi Zun really was still alive, then everyone would need to reevaluate the various ancient powers and determine if other ancient monsters were still alive.

Lu Yin lounged on the sedan. "Hey, Toady."

Astral Anura rolled his eyes before looking at Lu Yin.

"If that Qi Zun is still alive, I’ll leave him to you," Lu Yin stated.

Old Tao, Palace Master Yao, and Cai Qing were all startled. He was leaving Qi Zun to a toad?

There were many powerful experts hidden in the Grandverse Manor, and the toad had already proven his strength by defeating one of the Primal Beastland’s top experts who was capable of using Divine Projection. Still, could a toad really handle Qi Zun?

Astral Anura refused. "An ancient Dukkhan who’s cultivated consciousness? I can’t beat him."

Lu Yin smiled. "We’re friends, aren’t we? If your friend’s in trouble, shouldn’t you help them out?"

Astral Anura was not afraid of Lu Yin getting angry with him, but he was terrified of the human’s smile. The more that Lu Yin smiled, the more the toad felt like he was being set up. A wretched smile stretched across the toad’s face. "Dao Monarch L-"

"Call me Third Boss."

"Right, Third Boss. I really can’t handle Qi Zun. If you aren’t confident in facing him, why not call Yuan Qi or someone else?"

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. Call someone else? Who?

While

Boundless

appeared to be unfathomable, the reality was that only the Origin Progenitor and Astral Anura were true Dukkhans. Yuan Qi had been practically crippled after he lost his Dao Bell. As for people like Chu Yi or Mu Zhu, they had only recently become Ortusers. While they might be able to handle a slightly weaker Dukkhan, such as Astral Anura, they would not stand a chance against someone like Qi Zun.

There was a distinct shortage of top-tier experts.

Hmm? Why is she back?