Chapter 3506: The Person Behind The Scenes

Initially, the Consciousness Domain had speculated that all of the conscients had perished during the battle between the Third Boss and Qi Zun.

However, the fact that not a single one had survived made things suspicious.

After a long period of time, after various other suspicions were looked into, researched, and addressed, there still was no definitive conclusion. Only after all of that had Shi Lin finally sought out Lu Yin. Only the Grandverse Manor’s Third Boss could provide an answer as to what had happened to the conscients.

Of course, Shi Lin had his own suspicions, but he did not dare to voice them. In fact, he found them hard to believe, and he was hoping to pick up some clues from Lu Yin.

Lu Yin let go of Qing Yun's hand while leaning forward, staring at Shi Lin the entire time. "Are you blaming me?"

Shi Lin quickly replied, "That’s not what I was suggesting. It’s just that all the conscients have disappeared. The Consciousness Domain is required to explain this matter to the Ascendant Hall. Back then, you were the only one underground in the Consciousness Domain, Third Boss, which is why we wanted to ask you to clarify what happened."

Lu Yin sneered. "What does the fact that you need to explain things to the Ascendant Hall have to do with me?"

Shi Lin felt completely helpless before this man. "The Qi family has been destroyed, and they no longer have a voice in the Consciousness Domain. This was promised to you by the Revolt Alliance, Third Boss. We would like to ask you to assist our Revolt Alliance, and we will be forever grateful."

Lu Yin smiled. "The Revolt Alliance will be grateful? Is that true?"

Shi Lin’s expression changed. He had merely been being polite. Grateful to the Third Boss? Of course that was impossible. If the alliance expressed genuine gratitude to the Third Boss, how could they defend their actions before the High Seraph?

Besides, the Third Boss had never shown the Revolt Alliance any sort of respect.

Many members of the Revolt Alliance were watching the two converse from the distance. Wu Tong was among them, as she had not stepped forward this time. She was quite clear on the fact that her words carried no weight with the Third Boss.

Shi Lin wanted to respond, but before he could open his mouth, he was dismissed with a wave of Lu Yin’s hand. "Don't block my way. If you insist, I won't mind sparring with our consciousnesses."

Helpless, Shi Lin had no choice but to step aside. He simply watched as the sedan moved into the distance.

They had gotten nothing. The Third Boss had not given them even the smallest opportunity.

Were Shi Lin’s suspicions valid or not?

The conscients being transported aboard the battleship from the Consciousness Megaverse had also been taken away by the Third Boss, and no one knew what would happen to them.

...

"Hand."

Qing Yun frowned as she glanced at Lu Yin, but she still did as she was told.

Lu Yin held Qing Yun’s hand, sensing the strange phenomenon within her body, but his mind was occupied by the conscients.

He had been too obvious with his actions. He had also taken the conscients from the battleship. If they never appeared again, someone might figure things out, which would be highly detrimental to Lu Yin.

He still clearly remembered what Blackless God had said right before dying.

The Spirit Nidus could kill conscients, but Lu Yin could actually devour their consciousnesses. In a strictly side-by-side comparison, Lu Yin was a greater enemy to the Consciousness Megaverse.

Their three megaverses were tenuously balanced at the moment, and the Tianyuan Megaverse could not afford to have the two others target it at the same time.

The captured conscients whose consciousnesses had not been devoured by Lu Yin were still on a Zenith Mountain. How should he deal with them?

Ah, right

. Lu Yin’s eyes lit up as he remembered someone: Sage Qian.

"Stop at the interstellar city up ahead."

Old Tao looked back and winked at Lu Yin. "You’ve got it, Third Boss."

Qing Yun’s face grew pale, and she stared at Lu Yin. "What are you going to do?"

Lu Yin smiled at her. "What do you think?"

Qing Yun’s face grew even paler. "You—don’t do anything reckless! Jiu Xian will not let you go!"

"That’s quite interesting. You already said yourself that threats won’t work, and yet you’re still trying to threaten me?" Lu Yin laughed at the girl’s protests.

Qing Yun gritted her teeth. "I- you- my body will burn you along with me!"

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. "Is that actually possible? Then I have to study this further."

Even as he spoke, they arrived at the city.

Qing Yun's face became deathly pale, and she clenched her fists. Finally, she was feeling afraid.

She could not understand why such a powerful expert would behave so despicably.

Old Tao quickly found a courtyard, and Lu Yin immediately entered it. As for Qing Yun, she stayed outside, along with Palace Master Yao and all the others.

Old Tao was confused, as Lu Yin’s actions did not meet the old man’s expectations.

On the other hand, neither Palace Master Yao nor Cai Keqing were surprised at all. While the Third Boss appeared to be arrogant and unruly, it was all just an act. From a third-party perspective, the man was not at all evil.

Qing Yun let out a sigh of relief, though she secretly resented Lu Yin for teasing her. She still felt a bit uneasy about her situation, and she kept glancing at the courtyard, afraid that she would be dragged inside.

Inside the courtyard, Lu Yin released Sage Qian.

The man had been imprisoned within Lu Yin’s Champions' Stage Purgatory this entire time. That place was a true hell. The cultivators imprisoned there were forced to relive their past and were bound by karma. They would see people that they had once cared for, as well as enemies that they had once hated. The stronger a person’s emotions were, the more they would suffer.

It had been some time since Lu Yin had thrown Sage Qian into a Zenith Mountain, but Sage Qian was still dazed. Lu Yin had no actual enmity with Sage Qian, and he had not kept him in the Champions' Stage Purgatory for too long. The man had only been imprisoned to strengthen Lu Yin’s Karmic Dao.

Only Qi Shangjun, Qi Zun, and the Worryless Elder were still imprisoned in the Champions' Stage Purgatory.

Despite releasing Sage Qian from the Champions' Stage Purgatory, Lu Yin had not freed the man. After all, he was related to the Consciousness Domain, and there were a few matters that needed to be resolved before Sage Qian could be released.

As soon as he saw Lu Yin, Sage Qian grew terrified.

The things he had seen in the Champions' Stage Purgatory caused the man to quiver in fear. He could not afford to offend this Third Boss. Absolutely not.

"Greetings, Third Boss," Sage Qian said, displaying an extremely respectful attitude.

Lu Yin observed the man. "Who stole the White Willow?"

Sage Qian was taken aback. He had been imprisoned for a long time and was unaware of the recent developments in the outside world. Thus, he was also unaware that Lu Yin had already razed the Consciousness Domain.

"Third Boss, this is a matter that concerns the Consciousness Domain, and..."

"I’m only asking you once. If you refuse to answer, you already know the consequences," Lu Yin coldly replied.

The man again had flashbacks of his time in the Champions' Stage Purgatory, and he quickly said, "It was Qi Gong, the Qi family’s patriarch!"

The answer would shock anyone in the Spirit Nidus.

The patriarch of the Consciousness Domain’s Qi family had actually been the one to steal the White Willow, and he had also framed his own ancestor, which had led to open enmity between the Qi family and the Revolt Alliance. No matter how one looked at the situation, Sage Qian’s answer seemed impossible, and yet Lu Yin was not surprised at all.

When Lu Yin had attacked the Consciousness Domain’s Qi family, Wu Wei had not done anything until Lu Yin had been about to suppress Qi Gong. Only then had the conscient taken action and used their Heaven’s Blade.

At that time, Lu Yin clearly could have ended things simply by defeating Qi Gong. And yet, Wu Wei had intervened at full power, taking action just to protect Qi Gong.

The answer was obvious at that point: Qi Gong had an unusual relationship with Wu Wei.

Lu Yin had already assumed that Qi Gong had been acting under Wu Wei’s instructions.

However, what was the Qi family’s patriarch’s goal? Lu Yin could not make sense of that. If the man was being controlled by Wu Wei, then it might explain things, but that was absolutely impossible. If Wu Wei could control Qi Gong, then the High Seraph would have never placed the conscient in the Consciousness Domain. To do so would be too dangerous.

Fearing that Lu Yin did not believe him, Sage Qian shared everything. Lu Yin learned how Sage Qian had befriended Qi Gong over the years, and also how Qi Gong had stolen the White Willow and hidden it in the Skyriver. The sage was very serious throughout the entire explanation.

He did not want to be imprisoned in the Champions' Stage Purgatory again.

"You’re quite brave, being willing to help Qi Gong hide the White Willow," Lu Yin remarked, impressed.

Sage Qian sighed with a shrug. "I didn’t have any choice. If I hadn’t, Qi Gong would have killed me. He’s ruthless, and I’m no match for him.

"He’s exceptional at launching surprise attacks with his consciousness."

"Are you saying that Qi Gong was the mastermind behind the theft of the White Willow?" Lu Yin asked.

"Yes, it was Qi Gong."

"No, it was you," Lu Yin retorted.

Sage Qian was stunned. "Third Boss, I had nothing to do with it! All I did was help Qi Gong to hide the White Willow!"

Lu Yin stared at Sage Qian. "If I say it was you, then it was you. You forced Qi Gong into things."

Sage Qian stared at Lu Yin in a daze. He could not help but wonder if this Third Boss had some sort of relationship with the Qi family.

...

In the Consciousness Domain, the Revolt Alliance’s Daoist Fengzhi was desperately searching for Shi Lin.

"Senior, the alliance leader went to find the Grandverse Manor’s Third Boss, and he has not yet returned."

Daoist Fengzhi quickly reached out to Shi Lin.

Shi Lin was in outer space when he received the call. "What's wrong?"

"It was Qi Gong! Qi Gong was the one who stole the White Willow!" Daoist Fengzhi replied.

Shi Lin's eyes narrowed. "What are you saying?"

Wu Tong and several others were nearby, and they overheard the exchange, but they were unable to believe their ears. How was that possible? Why would the Qi family patriarch steal the White Willow? Not only had he framed his own ancestor, but he had also incited a conflict between the Qi family and the Revolt Alliance. How was any of that even possible?

"It was Qi Gong. This information was released by the Phantom Reach. After the White Willow was stolen, we paid the Phantom Reach handsomely to look into the matter. When the Third Boss found the White Willow, the Phantom Reach still had not found anything, but they just informed us now that the White Willow was stolen by Qi Gong and hidden in the Vast Qian Domain’s Skyriver," Daoist Fengzhi continued.

Shi Lin's voice darkened. "How did the Phantom Reach learn about this?"

"They didn't say, but they did affirm that there’s absolutely no doubt it’s true."

The man was quite excited. With this piece of information confirmed, the Qi family would truly be done for. With that, the Revolt Alliance would take total control of the Consciousness Domain.

While both the Revolt Alliance and the Qi family were nothing more than pawns that the High Seraph used to control the Consciousness Domain, not everything was just a show. The truth was that, as long as the Qi family existed, the Revolt Alliance would always be in second place.

It was true that the Qi family had been practically destroyed by Lu Yin’s visit to the Consciousness Domain, but as long as there were still some surviving family members, they would always have a say in the affairs of the Consciousness Domain.

Daoist Fengzhi was the second-in-command of the Revolt Alliance. Once the Qi family was finished, his status would rapidly rise, which was something that he had never dared dream of before.

"Wait for my return," Shi Lin ordered, even as he quickly led everyone back to the Consciousness Domain.

...

Someone arrived in the interstellar city: Qing Xiao.

Qing Yun was surprised to see her brother, and she did her best to force him to leave.

Qing Xiao grew furious. "Sister, this man actually has the balls to make you a maid! I won't let him get away with this!"

"Shut up and leave now!" Qing Yun anxiously ordered.

Qing Xiao tried to barge into the courtyard, but the Pridebeast blocked the young man’s way.

The Pridebeast looked harmless, possibly cute, but as soon as Qing Xiao tried to push past the ape, the Pridebeast casually grabbed him and tossed him away.

"Qing Xiao!" Qing Yun exclaimed in shock.

Old Tao said, "Don't worry, he’s fine. Young ones are just too excitable. Tossing him a little ways away will allow him to cool down."

Qing Yun stared at the Pridebeast. The strength it had just revealed meant that there was no hope of fighting back.

Old Tao warned, "Don't underestimate it. If it is qualified to carry the Third Boss's sedan, its strength can’t be dismissed. This ape once tore Threeheaded Fiend apart."

Qing Yun was startled. She had heard about Threeheaded Fiend. Had that beast really been torn apart by this little ape?

The Pridebeast puffed its chest out and raised a hand to give Qing Yun a thumbs-up while baring its large, white teeth. Qing Yun was stunned.

After a while, Qing Xiao returned. He once again tried to barge into Lu Yin’s courtyard, only to be thrown away again by the Pridebeast. The man returned yet again and was tossed away again. The repeating scene left Old Tao speechless.

This young man really did not fear death. The difference in strength could not have been more clear, but he still returned again and again.

Not even Qing Yun could stop Qing Xiao.

The Pridebeast was having a wonderful time, finding the entire thing hilarious. Every time Qing Xiao returned, the ape gave him a thumbs-up.

The Megalith grew envious and slowly moved closer. Taking advantage of the Pridebeast's inaction, the Megalith bit Qing Xiao threw him away.

Another beast had joined in on the fun.