Chapter 3503: The Umbral Deep

People who knew little about the Wisdom Domain merely considered it as another one of the thirty-six domains. However, those who understand the Wisdom Domain also knew of the high status of the old man who had appeared. It could be said that he was one of the few individuals who did not need to bow to the High Seraph upon meeting him.

This old man could also speak with the Seven Seraphs as equals.

The Wisdom Domain enjoyed a long history that stretched into ancient eras.

The elder slowly walked over to the edge of the abyss and looked down. "Is Seraph Bao Qi down in this abyss? Why didn't I know about it?"

The man’s questions stunned everyone watching. What did he mean? Was the old man going to personally explain the situation?

Down in the abyss, a pair of eyes snapped open. There was a profound depth to these eyes, and the face that held them twisted into a grin. Beside the individual was the Cauldron Bell. Sure enough, Bao Qi was hiding in The Umbral Deep.

"Old man, stop the act."

Everyone nearby was startled to hear the reply. Did that voice really belong to Seraph Bao Qi?

Sure enough, there was a Seraph hiding in The Umbral Deep.

The old man looked surprised. "Hmmm? Isn’t that Seraph Bao Qi’s voice? Could you really be in the depths of The Umbral Deep?"

Bao Qi looked up. "Do you really need to work that hard to force me to reveal myself? That little Third Boss from the Grandverse Manor can't scare me. I'll be right here in The Umbral Deep, waiting for him."

The old man laughed. "Seraph Bao Qi, you've misunderstood me. I have no intention of forcing you out. However, why is there a Seraph spying on my Wisdom Domain?"

Bao Qi’s eyes narrowed, and he stopped responding.

A faint smile touched the old man’s face. "Could it be that The Umbral Deep is where Seraph Bao Qi cultivates? If that’s the case, then you have my deepest apologies for interrupting you. As for the matter of the Grandverse Manor’s Third Boss challenging a Seraph, I would suggest that you be cautious. That man is no weakling."

Bao Qi's eyes flashed sharply. "I'll be right here waiting for him, old man. Don't try to push me."

"Heh, Seraph, you're misunderstanding me. Since that's the case, I’ll take my leave. Be careful, Seraph Bao Qi." With that, the old man turned around and slowly walked back into the Wisdom Domain.

His visit confused the many observing cultivators.

Had Old Yu known that Bao Qi was in The Umbral Deep? Logically, the old man should have been aware of such a thing. But in that case, what was the point of his visit? People with such an exalted status would not stoop so low as to lie.

Was Old Yu really trying to force Bao Qi to stay and fight the Third Boss? If so, what did the Third Boss’s challenge have to do with the Wisdom Domain?

Many people made a connection between the incident and the fact that the High Seraph had forbidden the Wisdom Domain from ever having one of their own become a Seraph. With Bao Qi staying in The Umbral Deep, various speculations started to spread.

Down in The Umbral Deep, Bao Qi looked away and focused on his Cauldron Bell.

Old Yu had indeed forced Bao Qi’s hand. How could that old man not have known that Bao Qi was in The Umbral Deep? It was all part of a tacit understanding.

The High Seraph was intimidated by the Wisdom Domain, which was why Bao Qi had been sent to The Umbral Deep. This was the price for becoming a Seraph, and the Wisdom Domain was well aware of the fact that a Seraph was monitoring them.

At this moment, had Old Yu stopped by just to express his confidence in the Third Boss?

It wasn’t just Old Yu; even the High Seraph himself had expressed caution towards the Third Boss. Telling Bao Qi not to do anything about the man was a show of a lack of confidence in the Seraph.

As Bao Qi considered the victories that the Third Boss had already racked up, the Seraph was aware that this was an opponent of unprecedented power. Still, why was he targeting Bao Qi?

He absently stared at his Cauldron Bell. If things went wrong, he could always enter Dukkha. No one knew what the future might hold.

A Seraph should be overcoming Dukkha.

He was one of the Spirit Nidus’s Seven Seraphs, and he also controlled the Cauldron Bell, which was one of the ten sequence bases. His strength was invincible throughout the megaverse. It was impossible for Bao Qi to be afraid of this so-called Third Boss.

Bao Qi would wait for the man right where he was. He had wanted to meet the Third Boss for a long time. If the High Seraph himself hadn’t held him back, Bao Qi would have taken action long ago. No one could stop him at this juncture.

The conversation at The Umbral Deep soon spread across the entire Spirit Nidus.

Bao Qi really was in The Umbral Deep, and he had boldly stated that he was waiting for the Third Boss.

His words caused the entire Spirit Nidus to erupt. Countless cultivators raced towards the Wisdom Domain, eager to watch the upcoming battle.

This battle would be different from all of the other ones that the Third Boss had fought so far. Not only was his next opponent an actual Seraph, but should Bao Qi lose, he would also lose his position as Seraph. Seraphs were undefeated. This was a rule affirmed by the Ascendant Hall, and the entire Spirit Nidus was aware of it.

If Bao Qi was defeated and lost his title as Seraph, his fall would immediately be followed by an intense competition for that open seat.

The Day of Offering was fast approaching, which meant that any competition for the title of Seraph would be crucial. All seats had to be filled for the Day of Offering, and that day also presented an unprecedented opportunity.

Never before had such a thing happened.

All of the major powers were greedily eying the position of Seraph, especially the seven major powers that did not have a Seraph to represent them. Those forces included the Phantom Reach and Heavenspire. At the moment, many were hoping to see Bao Qi’s defeat, as his downfall was their only means of obtaining an opportunity.

As for the Third Boss’s loss, that would not lead to any benefit for anyone.

Precisely because of the special nature of the Seraph title, there were two extremes regarding what people hoped for the impending battle’s outcome: some hoped to see Bao Qi defeated, while others hoped for the Third Boss’s defeat.

At the moment, Lu Yin had already received endless support from hidden benefactors. Due to his unique circumstances, no one in the Spirit Nidus could publicly show their support for him.

Consequently, even if some people tried to prevent Lu Yin from reaching the Wisdom Domain, others would secretly prevent such interference. This allowed Lu Yin to safely travel to The Umbral Deep, where he would fight Bao Qi.

In the Ascendant Hall, there was a dark expression on the High Seraph's face.

The fact that Lord Lu had publicly challenged Bao Qi had disrupted the High Seraph’s plans.

The fool! I already warned him not to directly go against the Grandverse Manor.

Others might not know if Bao Qi could defeat Lu Yin or not, and speculations were running rampant. However, how could the High Seraph be that ignorant?

Even if Bao Qi entered Dukkha, he would be no match for Lord Lu. Lu Yin was the ruler of the Tianyuan Megaverse, someone who had comprehended karma who was strong enough to fight against even the High Seraph himself. To date, Lord Lu had never revealed his full strength in the Spirit Nidus. The day that he exposed his true power, he would shake the entire Spirit Nidus.

The damn fool, Bao Qi!

However, the current situation had also been influenced by the Wisdom Domain’s Old Yu. If he hadn’t exposed Bao Qi’s presence in The Umbral Deep, the Seraph might not have been forced to fight.

The High Seraph stared in the Wisdom Domain’s direction, his eyes deep and his expression inscrutable as he became lost in his own thoughts.

...

Lu Yin stayed in the interstellar city for more than a month before finally leaving.

No one knew what Lu Yin had done during that time, though many believed that he had either been in seclusion or recovering.

More people believed that Lu Yin had been recovering, as Su Shidao was known to be an incredibly powerful individual. He could not have been easy to deal with.

Finally, the sedan continued on its way towards the Wisdom Domain.

"Things have gotten a lot noisier," Lu Yin commented as he glanced around.

Old Tao respectfully replied, "Third Boss, Bao Qi has given an official response. He is waiting in The Umbral Deep to fight you."

Lu Yin smiled. "So he didn’t run? That’s perfect."

"Because you're about to fight Seraph Bao Qi, many people are currently supporting you," Old Tao continued.

Lu Yin immediately understood. "They want a Seraph’s seat to become available, right? Has there been any news from the Ascendant Hall?"

"Not yet."

"What about Zhan Qianguhou? Tell him to come see me."

Old Tao was left speechless. "Zhan Qianguhou is still in the Revelation Domain."

Lu Yin was stunned. "Is he still in the Revelation Domain? Is he still arguing with a Debater?"

Old Tao marveled, "Such a person is rarely seen. He’s quite the character."

"He’s just argumentative," Palace Master Yao interjected.

Lu Yin rolled his eyes. What did it matter to Zhan Qianguhou whether the universe was a living organism or not? If he had never entered the Revelation Domain, he would have never considered such a possibility for his entire life. Despite that, he was somehow still arguing with the Revelation Domain’s Debaters. How long had it been? And yet, the young man was still in the Revelation Domain.

Lu Yin soon reached out to the Zhan family, asking them to look into who was supporting him the most at the moment.

At this time, the more people who were supporting Lu Yin, the more trouble there would be after Bao Qi was defeated. After all, his defeat would mark the start of the next competition for the position of Seraph.

For example, the Phantom Reach would certainly make trouble for him. They were extremely eager to compete for the position.

Lu Yin was confident that, if he suddenly became injured, the Phantom Reach would most likely protect him until he was able to fight Bao Qi.

Things quieted down as the sedan continued towards the Wisdom Domain. The journey was quite smooth.

Bored, Lu Yin took out the carrion bug, and Old Tao looked at it in surprise. "Is that a carrion bug?"

"Hmm? You know what this is?"

"Third Boss, it’s a bug that appears from the corpses of powerhouses. I've happened to see one before."

Lu Yin put away the carrion bug and turned to look at Old Tao’s back. The old man was incredibly well informed.

Throughout Lu Yin’s travels across the Spirit Nidus, there had been almost nothing that Old Tao did not know about.

Time passed, and the sedan drew closer and closer to the Wisdom Domain.

Far away, a massive battleship was flying through outer space, on a trajectory that intersected with Lu Yin’s path.

Coincidentally, the battleship and the sedan were lined up to crash into each other, unless one of them slowed down.

Lu Yin would never alter his speed for another, so Old Tao did not even bother asking.

As for the battleship, it did not slow down either.

Soon, both vehicles were able to clearly see the others’ passengers.

Many eyes on the battleship looked over at the sedan. "Look at how arrogant that guy is! He’s not slowing down at all. Does he want to crash into us?"

"Hmph! Just an ignorant fool. If he crashes into us, he deserves to die, unless he's backed by the High Seraph."

"Heh, this is going to be interesting. Don’t they recognize this ship? We’ve just returned from an expedition to the Consciousness Megaverse."

"Let’s just crash into him. I want to see if he really refuses to slow down. He’s quite arrogant," a man shrouded by light said in evident irritation.

"He's incredibly arrogant. Is he traveling on a sedan? How cocky. Still, why does it feel like I recognize one of his two maids? Wait, is that Palace Master Yao?"

"Shut up! Palace Master Yao serving as a maid? Are you insane?"

"See for yourself. There’s only one face like that."

"No way! Is that really Palace Master Yao?"

"What? Palace Master Yao?"

"And that’s Cai Keqing! I’ve seen her before."

"Is that Old Tao leading the way? He’s one of the vice city lords of Beacon City. We saw him while we were on our way to the Consciousness Megaverse."

Everyone on the battleship was stunned by the faces they saw traveling with the approaching sedan.

A middle-aged man arrived on the deck and looked around. "What’s all this noise about? We’re back in the Spirit Nidus. Show some battlefield discipline."

"But, Senior, that’s Palace Master Yao! And she’s serving as a maid!"

"Utter nonsense." The middle-aged man looked over, only to be stunned. "Palace Master Yao?"

Many people within the battleship who were in seclusion were startled awake by what was happening on the deck, and they emerged. Everyone stared at the approaching sedan in shock.

At that moment, someone arrived aboard the ship. It was the Misery Gate’s Si Kong, from the Augury Domain. He immediately warned the battleship, "Hurry! Move aside! Don’t crash into it."

A grim-faced old man stepped onto the deck. "The Misery Gate’s Si Kong? You want us to move aside? Who is that person? Is he supported by the High Seraph?"

Another person stepped onto the ship. This time, it was the Cloudcrane Domain’s Crankeeper, and he bowed to the old man. "Senior, please move aside. This matter is more complicated than it appears."

Elder Zi Yi from the White Orchid Domain also appeared. "Old man, what are you doing? Hurry up and shift course! Haven’t you heard about the Grandverse Manor and its Third Boss since you’ve been back?"

More and more famous powerhouses from the Spirit Nidus stepped aboard the battleship. Among them were even people from the seven major powers.

The ship’s passengers were completely dumbfounded. After all, they genuinely had not heard anything about the Grandverse Manor.

Battleships returning from the Consciousness Megaverse were very special in the Spirit Nidus. Upon their return, they were not allowed to communicate while still traveling. This was especially true once the battleship entered the Spirit Nidus. Their first stop had to be the Ascendant Hall. This rule was enforced to prevent any information regarding the battles in the Consciousness Megaverse from leaking.

This period of isolation also prevented any captive or surrendered conscients from being smuggled in undocumented.

This isolation was the law.