Chapter 3574: The Power Of Darkness

Lu Yin was capable of defeating countless opponents given his various abilities, but there was one thing that he could not overcome: a gap in strength that existed solely because someone had focused on a single aspect and taken it to the extreme.

During the battle at the Tianyuan Megaverse’s boundary, the Origin Progenitor had easily overpowered several Seraphs at once by using simple and effective attacks. That was due to a gap in strength that could not be overcome.

The High Seraph was the same. There was a gap between him and Lu Yin that could not be overcome.

Such a gap could not be compensated for by trying to counter it with a different power. But when the gap could be surpassed, the reversal would become impossible to undo. This was much like how Lu Yin had defeated Nian Xian, Hu Wu, and Tian Ya.

The difference was quite simple; one path focused on mastering a single aspect and taking it to the extreme, while the other pursued a broad path to compensate for its weaknesses.

The Origin Progenitor and Lu Yin had combined their strengths to resist the High Seraph. At this moment, it would not be easy for the High Seraph to defeat the two men.

However, they had forgotten that Everstone was the High Seraph’s sequence base.

While fighting across Everstone, the two had lost before they even started.

As Everstone trembled, an infinite, overwhelming number of sequence particles surged out from the High Seraph’s heart, like the Everstone itself. They easily pushed back against the Origin Progenitor and Lu Yin. Lu Yin quickly used his second hand to attack, hoping to borrow Everstone’s sequence particles to counter the attack, but he simply did not have enough time.

The Origin Progenitor shouted, "Pillar, retreat!"

At that moment, Old Yu shot forward and attacked once more. His strike passed through Everstone, freezing the Origin Progenitor’s power for just an instant. In that moment, the High Seraph fully unleashed his Nine Heavens Transformation and forced the Origin Progenitor back. The Origin Progenitor staggered a few steps, shouting, "Pillar, hurry and retreat!"

Lu Yin was staring straight at the High Seraph. Retreat? It was not yet time for that. From the corner of his eye, he saw a red light slicing through space, crossing the universe and directly entering Lu Yin’s body.

The Origin Progenitor was stunned.

Divine energy?

Both the High Seraph and Old Yu stared at the divine energy that had suddenly and completely unexpectedly appeared.

The High Seraph was particularly surprised, and his expression fell.

Yong Heng!

For the first time, True God’s divine energy had made an appearance in the Spirit Nidus. The moment it manifested, everyone who sensed the energy felt a chill enter their very bones. It was as if they were witnessing a disaster that would sever the Spirit Nidus in two.

This was a power that had brought calamity to the Tianyuan Megaverse, and seeing it in the Spirit Nidus caused countless people’s scalps to tingle.

In particular, Ortusers and above felt a terrible premonition rise up from within.

Lu Yin’s eyes bulged as the divine energy entered his body. The crimson power surged and spread, and the nearby space looked like it was boiling.

The Origin Progenitor moved closer, but Lu Yin quickly said, "Stay back! I might not be able to control this!"

"I’ll help you eliminate the divine energy," the Origin Progenitor said as he prepared to act.

Lu Yin turned and met the Origin Progenitor's stare. "I will never retreat from this battle."

The Origin Progenitor stared at Lu Yin. For the first time, the older man saw an unfamiliar stubbornness in Lu Yin’s gaze.

He was seeing the eyes of the Tianyuan Megaverse’s ruler. These eyes held responsibility and unwavering determination.

The Origin Progenitor had also once stood at the peak of their megaverse, but times had changed. During his era, there had been no enemies, just the occasional astral beast. While his battles back then had been fierce, he had never faced the threat of the annihilation of the entire megaverse. With unrivaled power and the Three Realms and Six Daos at his command, the Origin Progenitor had felt invincible. Because of that certain apprehension that something might happen, he encouraged the Three Realms and Six Daos to avoid breaking through and reaching the Origin realm, so there had been no pressure on him.

This was why he had been surpassed by True God. It was the reason for the long period of darkness that had befallen the Tianyuan Megaverse.

Lu Yin was different. He had climbed up from being one of the weakest. He had started in the Fifth Mainland’s Outerverse and slowly climbed his way to power. He had defeated the Outerverse, the Innerverse, the Starfall Sea, the Neoverse, the Perennial World, the Sixverse Association, and more. He had led

Boundless

to the Spirit Nidus. Every step that Lu Yin had taken had been difficult, but with every step, he had known the direction he needed to go. He had learned how to fall and how to stand back up.

At this stage, he could not retreat.

The Origin Progenitor was willing to retreat, and he had reminded Lu Yin several times to retreat if things became too dire and if they were unable to hold on.

But could they really retreat?

If Lu Yin retreated at this moment, then the image of himself being invincible that he had built up in the Spirit Nidus would be completely shattered. At the very least, it would become known that the Third Boss had been overpowered by the High Seraph and that the Tianyuan Megaverse was the weaker party. All of Lu Yin’s previous actions would be seen as nothing but the struggles of the defeated.

The Tianyuan Megaverse’s reputation, which Lu Yin had taken so long to build up, would be instantly destroyed by the High Seraph.

Where would Lu Yin gather the confidence to face Old Yu again?

It was not a question that Lu Yin might not be the High Seraph’s opponent, but there was a difference between not being able to compete and being completely outmatched.

Lu Yin understood his situation all too well. In this confrontation, every step he made, every move that he took, and every decision that was made had to be perfect. True God also understood this.

The Origin Progenitor was too kind. He was kind to the Tianyuan Megaverse, and he would sacrifice himself for it. It was completely pure. However, when going up against the Spirit Nidus, his kindness had blinded him.

At this moment, the Origin Progenitor was suddenly reminded of what he had once said to Lu Yin. "Pillar, only you are fit to lead the Tianyuan Megaverse."

It was something that the Origin Progenitor had already understood for a long time.

At this moment, the Origin Progenitor froze.

He won’t retreat? Fine, I won’t either! Even if it means death, this is just the first step.

Lu Yin's eyes turned crimson as the divine energy erupted from within him. His hair swirled upwards, like a sea of red energy. A crimson pillar of light shot upwards, leaving Old Yu and the others stunned and silent.

When had they ever felt a power like this before? It made them nervous, extremely nervous. They could sense bloodlust, darkness, as well as an indescribable fury and terror. Just what was this power?

While the Spirit Nidus had cooperated with Aeternus before, they had never really faced True God, let alone confronted his divine energy. Old Yu was terribly shocked when he saw divine energy for the first time.

The High Seraph’s expression changed as he stared at Lu Yin. "You’ve actually cultivated Yong Heng’s power?"

Lu Yin’s lips curled up into a smile. A black line extended downwards from his left eye, and his outer robes scattered. Sinister red patterns covered his arms while dark-red clouds materialized from his chest. He looked like he was rising above a sea of dark-red energy, emerging from it. He was the center of everything, and a red pillar of light shot upwards, radiating ripples through space as a blood-red lake manifested.

This was Lu Yin’s transformation when using divine energy.

At this moment, he looked like some sort of ghost or a demon.

The first time he had undergone a divine energy transformation was when he had been fighting against Old Mo. At that time, the divine energy had entered Lu Yin’s body from outside, and its appearance had triggered the transformation. However, at that time, Lu Yin had lost consciousness, and he had been controlled by divine energy rather than controlling it himself.

This time, his mind was clear. While endless bloodlust filled his thoughts, he did not become lost in the mental chaos.

Lu Yin had not even known that he could experience a transformation with divine energy. He had intended to use the divine energy from his inner universe, and he had not expected to receive some from True God in the distance. Lu Yin had absorbed the divine energy, and the transformation was a natural result of that. This was a reaction that not even True God had anticipated.

True God had merely provided Lu Yin with divine energy. He had never considered that Lu Yin would undergo such a transformation.

This was Lu Yin’s first time openly using divine energy and revealing that he had cultivated it to the world.

The divine energy surged about his hands, and Lu Yin pressed them against Everstone again. This time, the High Seraph’s eyes narrowed. He could feel the pressure. This pressure from not only from Lu Yin’s own power, but also from divine energy. This was a power formed from the union of Lu Yin and Yong Heng, and that fusion had led to some sort of strange transformation.

Has this person reached that level of power?

Bloodlust flickered in the High Seraph’s eyes as his other hand fell.

Boom!

There was a tremendous impact, and the sea of sequence particles from Everstone were split apart. At this point, the sequence base was no longer able to serve as the battleground of the forces being employed in this clash.

Lu Yin gritted his teeth as his inner universe swirled about. The star of divine energy spun as he drew upon more and more of the energy in order to press forward. He was boosted by Infinity, Extremes Must Be Reversed, and everything else that he had learned in order to fight back against the High Seraph.

Old Yu and the Origin Progenitor both stepped back, simply watching as events unfolded.

For a moment, the High Seraph was unable to drive Lu Yin back.

Lu Yin saw the killing intent in the High Seraph’s eyes. Lu Yin’s eyes flickered, and he unleashed even more of the violent divine energy, the star in his inner universe spinning wildly.

The High Seraph's face fell. "Do you really think that you can oppose me? Even if Yong Heng himself were present, he could not stop me!

"Formless and shapeless, without me, none may cross—Veilparter!"

Boom!

There was a deafening explosion, and blood started to flow from all seven of Lu Yin’s orifices. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and the Origin Progenitor quickly moved forward from behind Lu Yin, striking Everstone. Right when Old Yu was about to intervene, the High Seraph fiercely shouted, "Back! Watch as I show the three megaverses that no one can stop me!

"Dominion's Mantle!"

His white robe ignited and spread out across space to press down upon Lu Yin and the Origin Progenitor.

The Origin Progenitor gritted his teeth as his swords shot into the sky, slashing into Dominion's Mantle.

Lu Yin pulled back his left arm, and a spiral of karma swirled around a fingertip before shooting at the High Seraph.

The man’s eyes narrowed. The power that he feared the most was karma. Dukkhans were able to sense karma, and someone like the High Seraph could sense it even more clearly.

As the spiral of karma approached, Dominion's Mantle fell before the High Seraph, consuming the spiral of karma.

Karma was not able to immediately pierce the High Seraph’s defenses.

"Do you believe the power of karma to be truly invincible? You are far from even touching that level." The High Seraph then pushed Dominion's Mantle forward so that it pressed against Everstone, sending the sequence base spinning. The rotation pressed against Lu Yin and the Origin Progenitor, and they struggled to resist.

At this moment, another burst of dark-red divine energy shot across the universe and pierced Lu Yin’s body. Right after that, more streams of divine energy crossed the distance.

Old Yu moved forward to try to block the divine energy.

However, the moment the old man made contact with the divine energy, he was pushed back, much to his shock. This power was absolutely at the same level as the High Seraph, and Old Yu finally understood who it belonged to: the true greatest expert of the Tianyuan Megaverse, the master of Aeternus. Could that man really rival the High Seraph?

With an abrupt sound, the High Seraph gathered Dominion's Mantle and pulled back. At the same time, the Origin Progenitor and Lu Yin both retreated, even as they glanced at each other.

The High Seraph glared at the two men before suddenly turning around and racing off in the direction from which the divine energy had originated. Yong Heng was the greatest threat, and the High Seraph needed to find him.

The High Seraph’s departure put an instant end to the battle.

Lu Yin struggled to avoid coughing up more blood. He glanced over at Old Yu before turning around and leaving with the Origin Progenitor. As Lu Yin left, his body returned to its normal form.

The Everstone Discourse were nearly over. The Origin Progenitor had intervened with his own Origin Sutra, which had brought the recitation of the Everstone Discourse to an early close. Even if there might be more enlightenment to be gained, those aboard

Boundless

would no longer be affected by it. All they would receive were the insights of the three Dukkhans.

Old Yu did not try to stop them from leaving, and he just watched them with an uncertain expression.

A long while later, he let out a breath. He then moved back to Everstone and resumed the Everstone Discourse.

By this point, the three Dukkhans were almost entirely gone.

Elsewhere, the moment that Lu Yin returned to

Boundless

, he spat out a mouthful of blood. He had been crushed by the High Seraph’s overwhelming power, and it felt like his organs had been shattered.

The Origin Progenitor was also not in a great condition. There was a bit of blood at the corner of his mouth, and his expression was grim.

"The High Seraph is even stronger than I expected. This is a difference in power that time alone cannot compensate for. With enough time, insights can form techniques, and one’s understanding of life will undergo a qualitative improvement."

Lu Yin cleaned his mouth. He stared at the blood on his hand, his face pale. "But together, we were just barely able to hold on."