Chapter 3505: Unique Physique

All of the captive and surrendered conscients were immediately released. The plan was for all of them to unite their consciousness to attack the Third Boss.

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. He had almost forgotten that the returning battleships carried conscients.

After all, the entire reason why he had stopped was because of these conscients.

It would not be good if he simply attacked and robbed the ship, as that would make his actions too obvious and noticeable. That was why he had gone after Qing Yun; she was nothing more than an excuse. That, and he was genuinely curious about the disguise that had been concealing the woman.

He had not expected to unveil one of the Ascendant Hall’s Absolute Duo.

Her identity made things much easier, and Lu Yin could even take the woman away to serve as another maid.

Dark clouds started to appear beneath the battleship. Each cluster was another conscient. In Lu Yin’s perspective, there were nothing but dark clouds, but others saw different sights.

There were some conscients who actively took on a specific form, but all of these conscients had either been captured or surrendered to the Spirit Nidus, agreeing to serve them.

As the conscients attacked, they joined forces with various teams aboard the battleship, unleashing a far more potent consciousness assault upon Lu Yin.

A tsunami of consciousness fell upon him from all sides in a seemingly chaotic manner.

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered as he released his own consciousness. It howled out in a surge, like a sea crashing against a river, instantly overwhelming everything. Such terrifying consciousness stunned the people aboard the battleship.

"Thir- Thirteen Luminaries!" someone screamed in terror.

A moment later, everyone on the battleship collapsed, unconscious. That included even Elder Yi Zi, Si Kong, and the others who had tried to stop the confrontation.

The battleship slowed to a halt.

Lu Yin’s consciousness swept the entire area. He cut off all sight of the nearby region, and then he seized all the conscients from the battleship, both captives and traitors.

An unknown amount of time passed before anyone on the battleship woke up. They awoke with a splitting headache, having forgotten everything that had recently happened.

Other people boarded the battleship and had to explain what had occurred. As more people woke up and started to piece their fractured memories back together, people finally realized what had transpired.

Anger and curses were not enough to alter a predetermined outcome.

The battleship continued on towards the Ascendant Hall, the passengers seeking to report the incident to the High Seraph in hopes that the Ascendant Hall would uphold justice.

Meanwhile, the sedan continued on towards the Wisdom Domain.

Another woman had joined the group: Qing Yun.

She wore quite plain clothing. Unlike Palace Master Yao, whose clothing was elegant and luxurious, or Cai Keqing, who had a cold and aloof appearance, Qing Yun had an understated appearance. She had wanted to avoid drawing too much attention while fighting in the Consciousness Megaverse in disguise.

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

However, if one looked closer, they would notice an elusive sense of distance about the woman that gave her a mysterious, ethereal aura.

Lu Yin had never encountered such an aura before. Qing Yun seemed to give off a lofty impression, though that was not quite accurate. It was also not quite a heroic or even an elegant aura, despite there being a hint of both of those things present. She had an unusual and unique aura.

Lu Yin frequently glanced over at Qing Yun, and Old Tao soon noticed it. The old man tried to please Lu Yin, saying, "Third Boss, there's an interstellar city not much further ahead. Should we rest there for a few days before continuing?"

"Are you tired?" Lu Yin casually asked.

Old Tao smiled and winked. "It’s possible that young lady Qing Yun is tired."

Qing Yun frowned and shot a sharp glance at Old Tao.

After being captured by Lu Yin, the woman had remained calm. She had neither resisted nor asked why he had captured her. Much like Palace Master Yao and Cai Keqing, Qing Yun simply traveled along with the sedan.

It was clear to Qing Yun that even Palace Master Yao had no choice but to serve as a maid. Unless a Seraph intervened, there was absolutely no hope of escaping.

While the Third Boss occasionally glanced at her over the course of several days, he never did anything to her, which allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief.

However, Old Tao’s comment caused her nervousness to return. She had absolutely no idea why the Third Boss wanted her as one of his maids.

Was she really supposed to serve him as just a maid? What was the point of that? What was he actually thinking?

Palace Master Yao and Cai Keqing both shot glares at Old Tao.

Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Lead the way."

Old Tao chuckled awkwardly. "Yes, of course."

"Don't you have anything you want to say?" Lu Yin looked at Qing Yun. Like Cai Keqing, she had not said a word when being taken by Lu Yin, but she also had not revealed any fear or despair.

Cai Keqing’s coldness was readily apparent to Lu Yin, but Qing Yun did not have that same indifferent personality. Her demeanor might be unusual, but she clearly was not cold or indifferent. She was a normal person with normal emotions, but the only thing she revealed was calmness.

She met Lu Yin’s eyes. "What was your purpose in taking me?"

Lu Yin looked up and took a moment to think. "I’m not sure myself. I just thought that I would collect the Ascendant Hall’s Absolute Duo."

Collect?

Qing Yun's eyes flickered. That did not sound nice at all.

"I have Jiu Xian behind me."

Lu Yin arched a brow. "Jiu Xian the Seraph?"

"Yes."

"Coincidentally, I’m about to challenge one of the Seven Seraphs, Bao Qi."

Qing Yun calmly replied, "You are certainly strong enough to do so."

"You can tell?" Lu Yin shot back.

Qing Yun gave a slight smile. "Jiu Xian was the one who prepared my disguise. I was told that only an Ortuser powerful enough to fight against Dukkhans would be strong enough to see through my disguise. Here in the Spirit Nidus, that level of strength means approaching the level of the Seven Seraphs.

"Since you were able to see through my disguise, you must be about as strong as a Seraph. With what Elder Zi Yi and the others said added in, your power is clear."

Lu Yin smiled. "So, you're calm because you know that you can't escape?"

Qing Yun looked at Lu Yin, a solemn expression on her face. "I know that threatening you won’t work, but I still must say, Jiu Xian is not to be trifled with."

Lu Yin nodded. "None of the Seven Seraphs are to be trifled with."

"Jiu Xian is not comparable to Bao Qi."

"You don’t seem to have any respect for the Seven Seraphs, seeing as how you’re ignoring their titles," Lu Yin remarked. He became intrigued, and he stared at Qing Yun. "What’s your relationship with Jiu Xian?"

Qing Yun replied, "Everyone in the Spirit Nidus refers to her as just Jiu Xian. Palace Master Yao knows this as well. There’s nothing strange about how I refer to her."

Lu Yin turned to look at Palace Master Yao, who nodded in agreement.

"There’s a problem with your body," Lu Yin suddenly stated.

Qing Yun’s eyes shifted, but she said nothing.

Lu Yin gave Qing Yun a strange look. This woman’s body was unusual—almost as if she possessed a special physique. A fire seemed to burn within her.

In the cultivation world, unique physiques were known to exist. In fact, innate gifts were merely one type of special physique. However, Qing Yun’s constitution was something else entirely—it was not an innate gift.

"Come over here," Lu Yin ordered.

Qing Yun trembled slightly as she looked over.

Lu Yin extended his hand. "Hand."

Palace Master Yao stepped aside without a word.

Old Tao made a point of staring straight ahead. He muttered to himself that the Third Boss was too eager. After all, there was an interstellar city just up ahead.

Qing Yun stared at Lu Yin, and he met her eyes. "I’ll say it one more time: hand."

Qing Yun hesitated briefly before stretching out her hand and placing it on Lu Yin's palm.

Her skin was as soft and smooth as silk. Lu Yin held Qing Yun's hand for only a moment before releasing it again. "You're not far from death."

Old Tao blinked in confusion and turned around to look, wondering if the Third Boss was trying to flirt.

Qing Yun said nothing.

A smile touched Lu Yin's lips as he stared at her. "I suddenly find myself very interested in you."

Qing Yun did not understand what that meant. "Is it interesting to watch someone die?"

Lu Yin did not reply. His eyes were staring intently as he became lost in thought.

This really is incredibly strange

.

Her body actually does contain some sort of flame, and it’s constantly burning her from within. However, the flame is different from a true fire. If I had to described it, I would say that it’s like seeing the cause before the effect

.

Fire burnt in a process—it was a natural phenomenon. However, the flame within Qing Yun was somehow a reverse of that process.

Her body revealed signs of being burned from within, but it was very slow, and there was no actual flame.

If Lu Yin were to think of the process in terms of karma, then he was seeing the effect before the cause. However, once both were in place, the woman would be consumed by the flames and would instantly disappear.

This was precisely what puzzled Lu Yin: why was the process reversed?

Karma... how can it be reversed?

Progenitor Ku had helped Lu Yin by inverting karmic cause and effect, undoing the karmic seal that Master Qing Cao had bound Lu Yin with. Such an inversion violated karma itself, and that had caused all the nearby karma to resist it. This had then broken Lu Yin’s seal, but at the cost of trapping Progenitor Ku in the karma.

Qing Yun’s physique was clearly reversing karma, but how was she doing that?

How had her physique come into being?

It was strange, too strange.

First, Lu Yin had encountered the young man who wrapped himself in a blanket, Qiang Qi. Lu Yin’s spirals of karma could not touch that man. Now, Lu Yin was seeing Qing Yun’s special physique. He was finding himself less and less able to understand the Spirit Nidus.

"Have you thought about how to resolve the problem with your body?" Lu Yin asked.

Qing Yun’s expression fell. "Not even Jiu Xian can help."

"I see." Lu Yin finally understood Qing Yun’s calmness; she knew that she could die at any moment.

Interacting with another person depended on that person’s state and condition, whether they were mourning or celebrating. Everything sprouted from there. Qing Yun gave the impression of someone on the brink of death, and she acted as though she could simply ignore everything in existence.

It was not that she had a cold personality, but that she was constantly seeking a solution to her problem.

"Hand."

Qing Yun frowned. "You've already seen my condition clearly. What more do you want?"

Lu Yin repeated, "Hand."

Helpless, Qing Yun placed her hand in Lu Yin's.

Inverted karma

... There was a unique phenomenon occurring right before his eyes. Lu Yin would not let go of this opportunity.

However, to others, their positions could be wildly misinterpreted, and that served to further solidify Lu Yin’s suspected motives in capturing another maid.

When Palace Master Yao and Cai Keqing had first been captured and treated as maids, many people had grown angry, but the Third Boss’s actions had not crossed a certain line. On the other hand, he was holding Qing Yun's hand in public, which completely shattered many people’s restraint. One after another, people barely held back from challenging Lu Yin to a duel.

Up ahead, there was someone blocking their path.

Lu Yin looked up.

"Third Boss, that’s someone from the Consciousness Domain’s Revolt Alliance. It’s actually their leader, Shi Lin," Old Tao reported.

Lu Yin recognized Shi Lin. While Lu Yin had been fighting in the Consciousness Domain, the man had stood by and done nothing. If he had, there was no way he would have been able to stand in front of Lu Yin at present.

Shi Lin did not want to block Lu Yin, but it was necessary to give a demonstration to the Ascendant Hall.

Shi Lin stepped forward and politely called out to Lu Yin. "Greetings, Third Boss."

Lu Yin was still lounging on the sedan, holding Qing Yun's hand as he replied, "What’s wrong?"

Shi Lin glanced at Qing Yun, and he was slightly stunned at the sight.

This Third Boss really knows how to pick his maids! All three of these women are absolutely stunning. They might not have any peers in the Spirit Nidus.

"I have a question for you, Third Boss."

"I don’t know," Lu Yin instantly replied.

Shi Lin sighed. "May I ask, Third Boss, where the conscients who were imprisoned beneath the Consciousness Domain have gone?"

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. They had finally caught up to him.

During the battle in the Consciousness Domain, in order to stand against Qi Zun's consciousness, Lu Yin had devoured the consciousnesses of all the conscients who had been confined to the Consciousness Domain. Doing so had allowed his consciousness to reach a high enough level to fight against both Qi Zun and Wu Wei.

However, when a conscient’s consciousness was devoured, their core of vitality would also dissipate. In this manner, all of the conscients had effectively vanished from the Consciousness Domain.

With the conscients all gone, the Consciousness Domain needed to give the Ascendant Hall an explanation for the matter. However, no one in the Consciousness Domain had any idea what had happened to the conscients.