Chapter 3524: Another Path

Lu Yin’s calm expression caused Old Yu to sigh. “This is precisely why I approached you—to offer you another path. The Spirit Nidus and the Tianyuan Megaverse do not need to be mortal enemies. Ultimately, the Spirit Nidus’s goal is to reset another megaverse and experience a complete metamorphosis. It does not matter if it is the Tianyuan Megaverse or the Consciousness Megaverse that is reset.

“Personally, I am in favor of resetting the Consciousness Megaverse. This is because, after so many years of war, there is too much hatred between our two megaverses.

“Even if the conscients are not bothered by that hatred, the people of the Spirit Nidus are. Countless families have had loved ones die in the Consciousness Megaverse.”

Lu Yin frowned. “It’s war. Spare me the nonsense.”

“Very well. In short, I prefer to reset the Consciousness Megaverse and form an alliance with your Tianyuan Megaverse,” Old Yu said. “As for the High Seraph...”

The old man paused, which caused Ru Mu to look over at him.

Lu Yin also returned his gaze to Old Yu.

The old man opened five fingers on one hand. “Of the Seven Seraphs, five can support you, Lord Lu.”

Lu Yin was surprised. “So many?”

Old Yu explained, “First, you have already defeated Bao Qi, which makes it clear that you intend to seize his title as Seraph. I can get the other Seraphs to agree to this, which will mean that not even the High Seraph can object. After all, the Day of Offering is soon upon us, and the High Seraph must lead all Seven Seraphs in the day’s rituals.

“That will allow you to become one of the Seven Seraphs, Lord Lu, regardless of your origins.”

A sharp gleam flickered in Lu Yin’s eyes. He still found it quite bizarre that an outsider like him could obtain the title of Seraph in the Spirit Nidus. He simply could not understand why this was allowed.

Even so, Lu Yin was pursuing the position because of the Day of Offering. While the High Seraph could give someone else the title of Seraph, Lu Yin could simply go and defeat that person. The Seven Seraphs were undefeated, and a loss would disqualify them for the title. With the pressure of the approaching Day of Offering, it might be possible for Lu Yin himself to become a Seraph.

However, succeeding would be forcing the Spirit Nidus. If the megaverse was willing to accept someone from the Tianyuan Megaverse as one of the Seven Seraphs, then there would truly be a big problem.

It would make the titles of the Seven Seraphs seem not particularly important, when in reality, they were

extremely

important positions.

The entire thing felt oddly contradictory to Lu Yin.

There was also another strange aspect, and that one involved Yuan Qi.

On the Day of Offering, the High Seraph led the Seven Seraphs in conducting a ritual, but what about Yuan Qi? The man had clearly been in the Tianyuan Megaverse, so how were all Seven Seraphs supposed to be present?

This issue had a very simple solution in the Spirit Nidus, but this solution was precisely the part that bothered Lu Yin.

The ceremony had been scheduled to take place in the Lushan Domain.

The Lushan Domain was ruled over by the Yuan family. It was the domain where Yuan Qi had become a Seraph.

If Yuan Qi was not personally present for the Day of Offering, then the Spirit Nidus would simply choose to hold the ceremony in the Lushan Domain. The High Seraph would lead six Seraphs in performing the ritual, and this was seen as an acceptable resolution to everything.

When Lu Yin had first heard about the Day of Offering, he had asked Yuan Qi about this. Given the significance of the Day of Offering, how could they accept the Lushan Domain as a replacement for Seraph Yuan Qi? Yuan Qi had replied that such a substitution was perfectly acceptable. The Spirit Nidus had always done things this way.

It was impossible to have all Seven Seraphs present for every single Day of Offering. Whenever a Seraph was absent, the ceremony would be conducted in the domain where they had become a Seraph.

It was so important that all Seven Seraphs were appointed for the Day of Offering that even an outsider like Lu Yin could be allowed to become a Seraph. And yet, substituting a Seraph with their domain was considered perfectly acceptable. This was so contradictory that Lu Yin could not find any logical explanation.

For the people of the Spirit Nidus, this was considered perfectly normal, and no one saw any need for more of an explanation.

To them, this entire matter was as natural as the sky being above and the earth being below. There was no need for an explanation.

It appeared to be vital that there be seven Seraphs for the Day of Offering, and yet the Seven Seraphs also seemed to be completely unimportant.

“A deal can be reached with Seraph Yi, which means that he will agree to allow you to become a Seraph, Lord Lu. There is no way that he will refuse, especially considering what happened at the boundary,” Old Yu shared suggestively.

He then took a sip of his wine. “Then there’s the Gate of Laws. In regards to the Zhan family, you have nothing to worry about, Lord Lu. Given your relationship with them, only one word is needed.”

Lu Yin was not surprised that Old Yu had seen through his connection with the Zhan family. The Wisdom Domain might seem to lack just about everything. But since the domain was responsible for distributing the Spirit Nidus’s resources, there was no way the domain was as lacking as it appeared.

Besides that, when the Grandverse Manor destroyed the rulers of five different domains, the entire matter had clearly exposed that there was an information source. There was no other way for the information to have been gathered so quickly and effortlessly.

It only made sense that Old Yu knew about the source of the Grandverse Manor’s information.

On the other hand, Ru Mu had been completely ignorant of this fact, and learning of it astonished her. When had the Gate of Laws contacted the Grandverse Manor?

“Yuan Qi has not yet lost his title as Seraph, which means that there are already three Seraphs in support of you. That leaves Seraph Meng Sang, Emperor Wu, and Jiu Xian.”

Old Yu smiled at Ru Mu. “As long as Lord Lu is willing to release Qing Yun, Jiu Xian won’t be an issue. I will take care of the matter myself.

“Meng Sang is an unknown factor, but Emperor Wu...”

Lu Yin chuckled. “He’ll definitely oppose me, but that doesn’t matter. If his opposition proves effective, I’ll just go and kill him.”

Ru Mu pursed her lips.

So arrogant!

Old Yu chuckled. “Do not underestimate Emperor Wu, though given your strength, I believe that that may indeed be possible.

”Now, I have a question of my own that I hope you can clear up for me, Lord Lu.”

Lu Yin looked up. “The High Seraph?”

Old Yu nodded. “When

Boundless

entered the Spirit Nidus, you openly challenged the Ascendant Hall. You have since pursued the title of Seraph, and yet nothing you have done has prompted any sort of action from the High Seraph. It’s impossible for him to be unaware of what has happened, and yet he still refuses to show himself. Can you explain this to me, Lord Lu?”

Lu Yin met the old man’s eyes, but there was no hint of Old Yu looking away.

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. It appeared that the old man genuinely did not know about the Lesser Spirit Megaverse.

The High Seraph was prevented from taking action against the Grandverse Manor because he feared that Lu Yin would expose the existence of the Lesser Spirit Megaverse. If that matter became public, the High Seraph would become the entire Spirit Nidus’s enemy.

This was Lu Yin’s only leverage on the High Seraph.

Lu Yin shook his head. “I can’t say.”

Old Yu looked disappointed. “You must have found some weakness in the High Seraph, which is keeping him from stepping forward. Well done, Lord Lu.

“After all that has been said, have you made a choice, Lord Lu?”

Lu Yin shrugged. “It’s too soon to decide. Becoming a Seraph doesn’t necessitate killing the High Seraph, so if you can help me deal with him, I will definitely work with you.”

Old Yu sighed. “The High Seraph is invincible. Dealing with him is a slow progression, rather than a quick fight to the death. Lord Lu, you came here with your Grandverse Manor, with all of you fully prepared to die, if necessary. That might not be required.”

Lu Yin was curious. “You don’t seem opposed to me killing the High Seraph. Why?”

Old Yu replied, “If there were no other megaverses involved, the High Seraph’s existence would benefit the Spirit Nidus. However, there are three megaverses involved, and the man acts for his own benefits. Given his personality, if he resets a megaverse some day, he might not do so for the benefit of the entire Spirit Nidus. Because of this, his existence is not necessarily a good thing for us.”

“It’s mainly because he refuses to allow your Wisdom Domain to give rise to any Seraphs, isn’t it?” Lu Yin asked.

Old Yu laughed. “Does my Wisdom Domain really need to have a Seraph?”

Lu Yin thought for a moment and realized that the man had a point. The Wisdom Domain controlled the Spirit Nidus’s resources. In terms of status, the domain might even be considered more important than the Seven Seraphs.

The boat had been drifting through the reeds for quite some time, ferrying the two men and their wine as they chatted. Despite the amount of time that had passed, Lu Yin was still unable to see through Old Yu. It was rather odd, but there was a part of Lu Yin that wanted to attack the old man.

The fact that Lu Yin could not see through the old man did not mean that Old Yu was more powerful, but rather that he had pursued a different path of cultivation.

“Help me eliminate Heavenspire,” Lu Yin suddenly said.

Ru Mu froze in surprise, and she turned to look at Lu Yin.

Old Yu sighed. “Heavenspire is not easy to deal with. Why do you insist on making an enemy of the High Seraph at this juncture, Lord Lu? As long as you have a grasp on his weakness, you have no need to fear him.”

Lu Yin frowned. “In that case, what about the Primal Beastland? That should be acceptable, no?”

Old Yu shrugged. “Emperor Wu rules the Primal Beastland, and he is about to return. On top of that, the Primal Beastland is where the beast-form Spirit Rebirths gather, which has given the domain a special status in the Spirit Nidus. The moment the Primal Beastland is attacked, there will be a false impression that we intend to eliminate all of the beast-form Spirit Rebirths. Our Wisdom Domain in particular is unable to get involved in the matter, as doing so would upset the entire cultivation system.”

“This won’t work, that won’t work—why should I bother cooperating with you at all? Even without your Wisdom Domain’s help, I can still become a Seraph,” Lu Yin challenged in a cold voice.

Old Yu shook his head. “I truly wish to cooperate with your Tianyuan Megaverse, Lord Lu. You have brought a powerful group of experts here from your megaverse, though not all of them. If the Tianyuan Megaverse and Spirit Nidus work together, it will not take long for the Consciousness Megaverse to be reset. Why not do this? There’s no need to jeopardize the greater plan because of a momentary dispute.

“The Primal Beastland and Heavenspire... no one knows their future potential. At the very least, you must consider the situation for

Boundless

right now, Lord Lu.”

Lu Yin stared at Old Yu. “Are you threatening me?”

Old Yu chuckled. “Of course not, but there are certain things that must be made clear.

“The key to the Gate of Laws might not be enough to force the Zhan family’s hand. While they have gained many benefits from the Ascendant Hall thanks to that key, the family might not actually wish to open the Gate of Laws.

“The Gate of Laws also has a number of ancient powerhouses who are on the verge of death. Some of them are every bit Old Salamander’s equal. The truth is that those people do not want to die in the Gate of Laws, but they have no other choice. If they could die on the battlefield, they would immediately choose to do so.

“Lord Lu, you don’t want

Boundless

to serve as those old freaks’ graveyard, do you?”

Lu Yin scoffed. “How much do you think dying old men can accomplish?”

“At the very least, they can bring

Boundless

to total ruin,” Old Yu answered solemnly.

Lu Yin appeared unconcerned. “Hearing that from you just makes me want to go pay a visit to the Gate of Laws. I’ve already decided to challenge all of this megaverse’s masters, and a bunch of old monsters on death’s door certainly qualify.”

“Why must you go against the entire Spirit Nidus, Lord Lu?” Old Yu asked in a helpless tone. “Even after all I’ve said, has nothing swayed you at all?”

Lu Yin lifted his head and stared at Old Yu for a long while before finally raising his cup and swirled the wine in it. “I believe what you’ve told me. I also believe that you are sincere in your wish to work with us. I even believe what you’ve said about the High Seraph.

“There’s just one thing that I don’t believe.”

Old Yu looked at Lu Yin questioningly.

Lu Yin calmly stated, “You claim that everything is for the sake of the Spirit Nidus and that time means nothing to your megaverse. This is something you’ve tried to impress upon me, but in truth, you are running out of time. If you weren’t, you wouldn’t be in such a hurry. You’re so short on time that you’re willing to cooperate with us and have spent a great deal of time here talking to me.”

Still staring at Old Yu, Lu Yin asked, “What altered your original position?”

Ru Mu silently glanced at Old Yu as she poured more wine.

Old Yu chuckled. “Lord Lu, you are exceptionally sharp. I am quite impressed.

“However, you’re overthinking things. Every ruler of my Wisdom Domain has worked to maintain the stability of the Spirit Nidus. We strive to remain ahead of the current era while being responsible for distributing the cultivation resources across the megaverse.

“Through you, I’ve managed to catch a glimpse of the Tianyuan Megaverse’s future, and it’s a bright and colorful era full of vitality.

“It’s an era which could surpass the Spirit Nidus.”