Chapter 3525: Locking In The Future

After a pause, Old Yu continued, “The Tianyuan’s future potential inherently surpasses that of my Spirit Nidus. If your Tianyuan had been allowed to develop properly, the Spirit Nidus would have suffered for it. However, for us to now completely destroy

Boundless

would require a price the Spirit Nidus is unwilling to pay. This means that the only option is to lock in the future.”

Lu Yin was left puzzled, and Ru Mu was equally confused.

Old Yu spoke solemnly, “Achieving Immortality is the ultimate goal of cultivation. However, reaching that realm is nearly impossible. It can only be done by resetting a megaverse. There are three known megaverses. Out of those three, resetting the Consciousness Megaverse as soon as possible would allow both the Spirit Nidus and the Tianyuan Megaverse’s powerhouses to possibly achieve Immortality. At the moment, the Spirit Nidus will inevitably produce more Immortals than your Tianyuan Megaverse. Regardless of your megaverse’s future potential, once a megaverse is reset, the final outcome will become locked in—the number of Immortals will already be determined.

“The Spirit Nidus will forever surpass the Tianyuan Megaverse in the number of Immortals present. This fact is unchangeable, even if the Tianyuan Megaverse has produced a peerless genius like you, whose talent is unmatched throughout all of history.”

Lu Yin stared at Old Yu for a moment, and then he started laughing. “What a ridiculous conclusion!”

Old Yu took a sip of wine. He said nothing and simply allowed Lu Yin to mock him.

The old man was well aware of the fact that Lu Yin was not mocking him, because everything that had been said was true.

There was a vast difference in the future potential of the Spirit Nidus and the Tianyuan Megaverses. However, the Spirit Nidus had seized the advantage by suppressing their megaverse’s development. This had resulted in a chaotic cultivation system. There was no structured method to cultivate sequence particles or comprehend the laws of the universe, which meant that each person had to rely on self-discovery. Reaching the Origin realm or entering Dukkha were even more elusive feats. This meant that it had been easy for the Spirit Nidus to maintain control over the Tianyuan Megaverse, holding the megaverse in a condition where they could reset it at will. The Spirit Nidus had merely been waiting for the right opportunity.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

During that time, everyone in the Spirit Nidus had genuinely acted for the benefit of the entire megaverse. No care was given to individual lives, or even to individual generations. The focus had remained solely on the overall strength of the Spirit Nidus.

However, Lu Yin’s rise had made it so that the Spirit Nidus could no longer afford to wait. This had led to the invasion of the Tianyuan Megaverse, but when Lu Yin rolled back time, the High Seraph had learned that, even if more experts were sent, it would be futile. He had then changed his strategy to lure Lu Yin to the Spirit Nidus, knowing that Lu Yin would need to mend his broken karma. Despite that, the High Seraph had not anticipated that Lu Yin would learn the secret of the Lesser Spirit Megaverse and use that information to threaten him.

Lu Yin was not certain whether the High Seraph had known that Lu Yin was aware of the Lesser Spirit Megaverse before the man had decided to lure Lu Yin to Spirit Nidus. It was possible that the High Seraph had prepared other plans.

Still, those were the High Seraph’s schemes.

Old Yu believed that the Spirit Nidus could completely wipe out the Grandverse Manor, but that doing so would be too costly. When

Boundless

had first entered the Spirit Nidus, the old man might have been willing to pay the price, but over time, not only had Lu Yin suppressed many of the Spirit Nidus’s top experts, but he had also allied with people like Hu Wu and Tian Ya. The balance had shifted, and the cost to eliminate the people from the Tianyuan Megaverse had risen beyond what Old Yu was willing to accept.

Even if the Grandverse Manor was completely destroyed, doing so would greatly weaken the Spirit Nidus. That would lead to complications in the war against the Consciousness Megaverse, because Old Yu believed that Lu Yin had already led the Tianyuan Megaverse to ally with the Consciousness Megaverse. If the Spirit Nidus were weakened too much, the Consciousness Megaverse would certainly launch a counterattack.

That would ultimately lead to a stalemate between the three megaverses.

This was the reason for Old Yu’s actions. He wanted to offer the Tianyuan Megaverse a chance at survival, free Lu Yin from the fear of his megaverse being reset, and also tempting him with the chance to achieve Immortality. However, there was no doubt that the Spirit Nidus would have more people who were capable of reaching Immortality and that would the Tianyuan Megaverse being permanently suppressed.

No matter how great their megaverse’s future potential might be, Immortality was the final level for all cultivators. The moment the Consciousness Megaverse was reset, the Spirit Nidus would gain a greater number of Immortals than the Tianyuan Megaverse. That would determine the final victor in the competition between the two megaverses. It was a predetermined conclusion.

This would achieve the desired goals, which was precisely Old Yu’s plan.

He had devised this plan while considering the entire Spirit Nidus’s perspective. Whether or not his personal interests were included had nothing to do with Lu Yin.

Lu Yin had no choice but to walk the path laid out before him by Old Yu, as anything else would lead to mutual destruction.

Lu Yin was relieved that he had thought to suggest that someone had been behind Sage Qian’s actions, as that had led the Consciousness Domain to mistakenly believe that the mysterious powerhouse had orchestrated everything. This had also misled Old Yu into believing that Lu Yin’s megaverse had already allied with the Consciousness Megaverse. Without that mistake, Old Yu most likely would not have proposed such a plan.

It was also possible that the battle at the Umbral Deep had forced Old Yu to acknowledge Lu Yin’s strength.

As Lu Yin continued to challenge the Spirit Nidus’s top experts, he had shaken the megaverse to its very core, and he had forced it to a compromise.

A small boat. Fine wine. A beautiful maid accompanying them.

Fish leapt amidst the reeds, and the sunset glow painted brilliant streaks across the sky.

Lu Yin stood at the boat’s bow, his back to Old Yu. “This view is quite ordinary, but it’s also quite soothing. It gives one the feeling of returning to life as an ordinary human.”

Old Yu stared at the young man’s back. “If you so desire, you can remain here in the Wisdom Domain, Lord Lu. We would be willing to welcome you.”

Lu Yin gave a small smile. “Old man, is your domain truly ahead of the current era?”

Old Yu shook his head. “Such praise is misplaced. Being ahead of the current era means nothing more than making plans early and gaining control over the corresponding organizations.”

Lu Yin said, “And yet what you’re doing right now is truly beyond most people’s thinking; you are trying to permanently fix the number of Immortals in the various megaverses. This would achieve your goal of preventing the Spirit Nidus from needing to fight the Tianyuan Megaverse to the death, while also suppressing us forever.”

Old Yu’s voice was earnest. “Both the Spirit Nidus and the Tianyuan Megaverse are ruled by humans, which is why such a thing can be pursued. If we were dealing with the Consciousness Megaverse, we would have no choice but to fight to the death.”

Lu Yin turned around to look back at Old Yu. “What if the High Seraph disagrees with this proposal? What if he doesn’t care about the leverage that I have against him? What will you do then?”

Old Yu met Lu Yin’s eyes. “That would be a matter for your Tianyuan Megaverse to settle.”

The two men stared at each other while Ru Mu quietly poured wine. This same exchange had played out multiple times throughout the conversation. Silence was the two men’s way of arguing.

After a long silence, Lu Yin sat back down and drained his cup. Ru Mu filled it again. Suddenly, Lu Yin grabbed her hand, startling her. She looked up at him. “Master?”

Lu Yin ignored the woman and focused solely on Old Yu. “Kill her?”

Ru Mu turned pale and instantly looked at Old Yu.

Old Yu shook his head. “Unnecessary.”

“She’s heard our entire conversation and is also from Heavenspire,” Lu Yin retorted coldly.

Ru Mu pursed her lips. “Master, I-”

“Let him speak,” Lu Yin cut her off.

Old Yu explained, “This girl is Ru Guo’s daughter. She can be trusted.”

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “The fact that you trust her doesn’t mean that I do.”

He then looked at Ru Mu with frigid eyes. “Why did you volunteer to serve as my maid? Give me one reason not to kill you.”

Ru Mu met his gaze. “I volunteered so that I could monitor you for Heavenspire. I can also lead you to Heavenspire.”

Lu Yin stared at the woman for a long moment before slowly releasing her hand.

Ru Mu glanced at the marks on her wrist, but she said nothing. She simply resumed serving the wine.

“I have one condition,” Lu Yin announced as he looked back at Old Yu. “Give me that Mr. Li.”

Old Yu frowned. “I am not asking you for anything, but rather showing you the only path forward for the Grandverse Manor. Lord Lu, I hope that you can understand this.”

Lu Yin nodded. “I do. You also don’t need to do a thing. I’ll deal with this myself.”

Old Yu sighed. “Why are you so stubborn about Mr. Li, Lord Lu? He is the guardian of the Wisdom Domain’s heirs. I’ve even promised to give him a chance to achieve Immortality in the future.”

Lu Yin sneered. “He no longer has any chance. When I, Old Salamander, and the others surrounded me, Hu Wu and Tian Ya tried to help me, but they were stopped by Mr. Li.”

Old Yu sighed. “The man is a powerful Dukkhan. Even sending him to die in the Consciousness Megaverse would be better than simply wasting his potential.”

“Giving him to me won’t be a waste.” Lu Yin would not be swayed. He was determined to have Mr. Li.

At that moment, his spirit cloudstone vibrated; Old Tao was trying to contact Lu Yin.

He answered the call.

“Third Boss, big news! Seraph Yi Shang has just been defeated by the master of the Phantom Reach! This has cast his title as Seraph into jeopardy, and the master of the Phantom Reach may very well become the new Seraph.”

Lu Yin’s head snapped up. “Where was this?”

“The Daquan Domain.”

Lu Yin took a step forward and vanished.

Old Yu shot to his feet in alarm. This was not good.

...

Lu Yin’s expression was grim as he traveled through outer space, racing towards the Daquan Domain on his own.

The master of the Phantom Reach had played his move well.

Lu Yin had been used to eliminate experts like Qian, the Worryless Elder, Hu Wu and Tian Ya, and even Su Shidao. Only after Lu Yin had fought at the Umbral Deep and defeated Old Salamander, Golden Roc, and multiple other powerhouses had the master of the Phantom Reach made his move.

He had defeated Seraph Yi Shang after most of the experts who were qualified to fight for the title of Seraph had already been defeated by Lu Yin. In essence, there was no competition for the master of the Phantom Reach.

He was ninety-nine percent sure to become the next Seraph.

Still, to truly succeed, he would need to get past Lu Yin.

Suddenly, the void warped, and Lu Yin turned around to see Old Yu in pursuit.

“Lord Lu, what do you plan to do?”

Lu Yin’s eyes were ice cold. “Kill the master of the Phantom Reach.”

This answer confused the old man. “The master of the Phantom Reach becoming a Seraph has absolutely nothing to do with you. Why make him your enemy? I can ensure that he will agree to allow you to also become a Seraph.”

Lu Yin stared at Old Yu for a long moment before sneering. “I was curious about how he managed to time things so perfectly. The answer is that you are the reason for it.

“Old man, who do you think I am? Do you really think that you can manipulate things however you wish?”

Old Yu’s tone grew serious. “This is the Spirit Nidus. While you may be the ruler of the Tianyuan Megaverse, you should still have some reservations. Blindly making enemies will do you no good.”

Lu Yin casually threw a palm strike at the old man, who quickly dodged it. The attack had been terrifyingly powerful.

"I, Lu Yin, have no need to rely on compromises to claim the title of Seraph.

Boundless

came here fully prepared to face death—we all did, myself included.

"The master of the Phantom Reach used me to eliminate his rivals, and he even tried to have Su Shidao kill me. When that old man failed, he conveniently leaked Bao Qi’s whereabouts, luring me to the Umbral Deep for that grand battle. During that fight, Mr. Li prevented Hu Wu and Tian Ya from interfering—wasn’t that by your order? As for Emperor Wu Slayer, he was nothing more than a hired blade for the Phantom Reach. Did you really think that I was blind to all this?

"From the very beginning, you had seen through the Grandverse Manor’s origins. The so-called five-domain blockade was nothing but an excuse for the Spirit Nidus to observe how the Grandverse Manor would respond. That was how you discovered our connection to the Gate of Laws. After that, the master of the Phantom Reach used me to clear away one contender after another for the Seraph’s position, and I have no doubt that you played a part in that as well. You were also the one who gave him Bao Qi’s location, weren’t you? Otherwise, how could he have found the Seraph’s whereabouts?

"One scheme after another, yet none of them succeeded in eliminating me. So, now you’ve changed your approach and decided to ‘cooperate’ with me instead. Old man, who do you take me for? Some pawn that you can move at will?

"If you want to play games with me, you’re far from qualified. Once I deal with the master of the Phantom Reach, my next target will be your Wisdom Domain."

With that, Lu Yin vanished with Inverse Step.