Chapter 3476: Number Four

Lu Yin casually replied, "I like to nip trouble in the bud. I know where the Primal Beastland is, and they’re on the way to the Ascendant Hall. So, I might as well pay them a visit. Since so many people in the Spirit Nidus are trying to uncover my own secrets, I might as well dig into the Primal Beastland’s secrets first."

Old Tao and Palace Master Yao exchanged glances. They knew that they would not be able to persuade Lu Yin, which meant that they could only grit their teeth and follow along.

They had talked about Emperor Wu so much in hopes that Lu Yin would not provoke him. Even if Emperor Wu did cause trouble upon his return, the two had suggested that it might only be a passing thing. Emperor Wu was an ancient monster from the same generation as Yuan Qi. Losing to such an expert was not shameful.

They had not expected Lu Yin to actually take the initiative to offend Emperor Wu. Had they known his intentions, they would not have said anything at all.

Palace Master Yao shuddered at the thought of facing Emperor Wu. He was one of the few individuals who could defy the High Seraph.

The sedan continued to travel through outer space. Suddenly, Lu Yin remembered something. "I just thought of something. Does the Spirit Nidus have an enormous tree? A black one?"

"That sounds familiar... Yes, there is one."

"What happened to it?"

"Supposedly, it interfered with the formation of the 灵 character, so it was moved. Right, it was taken to the Tianyuan Megaverse."

"What sort of importance did that tree hold for the Spirit Nidus?"

"I don't know."

Lu Yin chewed on a piece of fruit while staring off into the distance. The Primal Beastland was another one of the seven sections of karma, and that was another thing he needed to understand better.

...

The Primal Beastland was quite far from the Consciousness Domain, but it was also on the way to the Ascendant Hall, so it was not much of a detour. No one expected Lu Yin to visit the Primal Beastland.

As they traveled, Old Tao kept trying to find something to stop Lu Yin from going to the Primal Beastland, but the old man failed to find a single suitable excuse.

The Spirit Nidus had a unified cultivation system, but it also split in two. That separation occurred when an individual underwent their Spirit Rebirth. There was one system for human-form Spirit Rebirths and another for beast-form Spirit Rebirths.

Human-form Spirit Rebirths were by far the most common choice in the Spirit Nidus, with ninety-percent of cultivators retaining their human form. However, the remaining ten-percent of cultivators chose to experience a beast-form Spirit Rebirth.

Over the course of countless years, while only ten-percent of cultivators underwent a beast-form Spirit Rebirth, many of those cultivators had become powerful experts. In particular, due to the special nature of certain species of beasts, some of them enjoyed a significantly longer lifespan than the human-form cultivators.

No one knew just how many powerful beast-form Spirit Rebirth experts were hidden in the Primal Beastland.

These hidden old monsters were like the powerhouses awaiting death within the Gate of Laws. While they were no longer able to fight, they were still capable of defending their own little territories.

If the Primal Beastland was sent to the Consciousness Megaverse, their strength may not prove to be all that impressive. In fact, many of the ancient monsters might die before even reaching the Consciousness Megaverse. However, if the Consciousness Megaverse were to invade the Primal Beastland, it would be a completely different story. The conscients would face countless terrible surprises.

At this moment, Old Tao felt as though he was part of an expedition that was preparing to invade the Primal Beastland.

This is a surefire way to get ourselves killed.

No matter how powerful the Third Boss might be, two fists can't fight against four hands. Even if he can hold his ground, what about the rest of us? We're absolutely doomed!

Old Tao’s face fully displayed his miserable thoughts throughout the entire journey.

It felt like when they had received the news that Qi Zun was still alive while on their way to the Consciousness Domain.

"Old Tao."

"I'm here, Third Boss." Old Tao might be miserable, but he did not dare to reveal it in front of Lu Yin.

Lu Yin asked, "Do you know of anyone who specializes in throwing knives?"

Old Tao was taken aback by the question, but he concealed his surprise. "Throwing knives? Those are quite common weapons here in the Spirit Nidus. Is there anything special about the ones you are inquiring about?"

Lu Yin thought for a moment and then replied, "Anything special? Well, this throwing knife was able to threaten even me, but the person didn’t use any sort of sequence technique."

Palace Master Yao stared at Lu Yin while remembering their fight at the Bifrost Palace. The person who had been struck down by Lu Yin had used a flying knife when attempting a surprise attack.

Why was he asking about such a matter at this moment? Besides, if the Third Boss had any questions about that incident, they should be directed towards her.

Old Tao thought for a moment before replying, "That does sound familiar. It should be Bu Ya’s Crushing Hand Flying Daggers."

"Bu Ya?"

Old Tao explained in a respectful tone, "Bu Ya is an assassin from the Phantom Reach, and he is highly ranked at that. He only uses throwing knives to attack, and he never cultivated a sequence technique."

"He ambushed me and nearly killed me. Does this mean that the Phantom Reach sent someone to assassinate me?"

"That is possible." Old Tao's expression turned solemn.

Lu Yin nodded and stopped asking questions. "What’s that up ahead?"

Old Tao replied, "Third Boss, that is just an ordinary interstellar city. There are countless such cities across the megaverse, all of them near the spirit threads that connect the universes."

"Let’s go rest for a bit," Lu Yin decided.

Old Tao was overjoyed. "Understood."

The longer they took to reach the Primal Beastland, the better.

Soon, the sedan arrived in the interstellar city.

Lu Yin’s observers followed him and his entourage, also entering the city. Everyone was able to take a break.

Upon arriving in the city, Lu Yin announced that he would go into seclusion for a few days to recover from a few injuries that he had sustained during the battle in the Consciousness Domain.

Immediately, Old Tao rented a large courtyard, and he and the others spread around the courtyard to stand guard for Lu Yin.

Many people started gossiping in secret, and speculations ran rampant concerning just how severe the Third Boss’s injuries might be. No one could definitively say anything.

After all, none of Lu Yin’s observers had dared to enter the Consciousness Domain to observe the battle, which meant that they had all been too far away.

Lu Yin was not injured, and he did not need to rest. Instead, he left the courtyard and focused on one particular person.

After leaving the Consciousness Domain, more than half of Lu Yin’s observers had left. Those who remained were either forced to be there or had ulterior motives.

Lu Yin could see the truth through the lines of karma. When they collided, he noticed that one of the lines of karma was linked to Old Tao.

This person was also connected to another person: Bu Ya.

That was quite odd.

After the battle at Bifrost Palace, Lu Yin had been ambushed by Bu Ya, and that incident had naturally led to a karmic connection between the two. However, what was the tie between the assassin and Old Tao? This was precisely why Lu Yin had asked Old Tao about Bu Ya. There was no other reason for Lu Yin to ask about someone who was already dead.

After all, countless people in the Spirit Nidus wanted him dead.

In particular, after Qi Zun had exposed the truth that Lu Yin was not a conscient, the only other explanation was that he was from Tianyuan Megaverse.

As more and more people in the Spirit Nidus learned that the Third Boss was from the Tianyuan Megaverse, more and more would want to see him dead.

The reason why the truth had not fully disseminated was once again because of the High Seraph.

The High Seraph seemed to have implicitly allowed the Grandverse Manor to enter the Spirit Nidus, which was why so many of the megaverse’s major forces were perplexed by the matter and continued to merely observe.

As soon as the High Seraph made his attitude clear, there was no doubt that the Grandverse Manor would be besieged from all sides.

Lu Yin knew that the High Seraph would not make his position on the matter clear, and naturally, Lu Yin would do the same. The two tacitly accepted each other's existence.

As for how the major powers of the Spirit Nidus reacted, the High Seraph did not care.

Lu Yin had his own goals. He wanted to strengthen his Karmic Dao until it was no longer necessary for him to mend his karma. Then, karmic backlash would no longer be a danger.

However, the High Seraph had not expressed his attitude towards this matter for a while now, and Lu Yin was starting to get a bit uneasy.

While it seemed that, by comprehending the Karmic Dao, Lu Yin had gone from a passive condition to an active one, the more that time dragged on, the more passive he would become. This was because he did not know what the High Seraph’s plans were.

He needed to find a way to probe the High Seraph.

In the interstellar city, Lu Yin found the person whose line of karma was connected to both Old Tao and Bu Ya. He then followed the man to a corner of the city and watched as he contacted someone.

"Number Four is currently following the Third Boss. Yes, it's definitely Number Four.

"We can't make contact. Number Four is very close to the Third Boss.

"Understood."

Soon, after the person finished his call and prepared to leave, he ran into Lu Yin.

Before the man could even get a clear look at Lu Yin, he was knocked unconscious.

Lu Yin did not anticipate gaining anything from the man through interrogation, so he simply examined the lines of karma.

All cultivators had vast karmas, and Lu Yin needed to examine the lines of karma that had a connection to him. He traced those lines back, searching for additional clues.

After some time, he let out a breath. The man was tossed into the Champions' Stage Purgatory, and Lu Yin disguised himself as the man before returning to the courtyard.

The Phantom Reach had their own means of communication, which was a tightly held secret.

Through the karmic lines, Lu Yin had learned this method, and he used it to contact Old Tao.

Old Tao was standing outside of Lu Yin’s courtyard, standing watch. When he was contacted by someone from the Phantom Reach, the old man acted as though he saw nothing at all and simply ignored it.

Lu Yin tried several more times, but Old Tao never responded. Finally, Lu Yin left.

As he stared at the communication crystal-like device that he held, Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. He wanted to contact the Phantom Reach, but it would be too easy for them to determine that it was him.

Again, he looked over at the distant form of Old Tao.

From inside the courtyard, Lu Yin summoned Old Tao.

The man faced Lu Yin and gave a respectful bow. "You called for me, Third Boss?"

Lu Yin smiled at Old Tao. "I’m injured."

Old Tao grimaced. "I didn’t think that you were hurt in the Consciousness Domain, Third Boss. This is all because of that Qi Zun and Wu Wei! How dare mere conscients attack you!

"Don’t worry, Third Boss. When my strength transforms, I’ll go trouble that Wu Wei! I’ll make that thing kneel before you and apologize!"

Lu Yin laughed. "What I mean is, I’m injured, so you can attack now."

This confused Old Tao. "What are you talking about, Third Boss? What attack? I don’t understand."

Lu Yin leaned forward, his eyes boring into Old Tao. "Number Four."

A tremor ran through Old Tao’s body, and he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief."Thi- Third Boss, how do you know that?"

“How do I know?” Lu Yin looked impressed as he stared at Old Tao. “To be honest, I’m amazed that you’ve managed to keep it hidden for this long.”

Lu Yin had already used multiple spirals of karma on Old Tao, and yet the old man had succeeded in keeping his hidden identity as Number Four of the Phantom Reach completely hidden. Not a single detail had been leaked, or rather, not a single detail had even entered the old man’s mind.

Karma was not like Lu Yin’s die, where Possession exposed all of a person’s secrets at once. Karma could only scrape bits and pieces of the whole.

For example, take the person from the Phantom Reach who had been observing Lu Yin; Lu Yin was the karmic cause, while that person's actions were the karmic effect. However, why did the karmic cause even exist? Beyond the two of them, there was more karma involved. Specifically, there was Bu Ya’s assassination attempt. That man had also come from the Phantom Reach, and that incident had led the Phantom Reach to inform their observer that Old Tao was Number Four.

This was the series of karmic causes and effects that had been exposed through the karmic lines, revealed when they collided and overlapped. This was how Lu Yin had seen the truth.

Without the karmic connections, even with the spirals of karma, Lu Yin would not necessarily be able to see such details.

This was how Old Tao functioned. He had completely forgotten that he was the Phantom Reach’s Number Four, and because of that, even when Lu Yin had examined the old man’s karmic lines, there had been no trace of that information.

The old man was too good at keeping things hidden.

This made Lu Yin remember the young man who was always wrapped up in a blanket. Why was it impossible for spirals of karma to touch that man? Was it possible that there was no karma to his existence?

“Third Boss, I swear that I have never had any ill intentions towards you! You must see this clearly!

“I did not even intentionally approach you! You forcibly took me away from Beacon City, and you even gave me the title of Second Boss. I’ve been wronged! I’ve been so wronged!” Old Tao wailed, fearing that Lu Yin would slap him dead.

Lu Yin rubbed his ears. “Calm down and explain things to me clearly, or else your life will end in this- What’s the name of this city again? Never mind, that’s not important.”