Chapter 3682: Psychological Attack

Astral Anura instantly leaped onto Lu Yin’s shoulder, urging the man to go after Emperor Slayer.

The seven battleships needed to rest at Beacon City for a few days and replenish its supplies. Thus, Lu Yin was in no hurry to visit

Genesis

.

On the second day, the High Seraph arrived at the edge of the Severance sequence base. “If I decide to act, even this place cannot guarantee your safety. Guarding against the unknown doesn’t mean that the unknown can’t reach you.”

With only Severance separating him from the High Seraph, Yi Xia was tense. Sweat poured from his forehead. “I’m nobody at all, and I’m far from being worth the High Seraph’s efforts. Anything that I shouldn’t know was forgotten long ago.”

The High Seraph calmly replied, “The Heaven-Devouring Umbrella is on my ship. I can give it to you.”

Yi Xia’s eyes instantly bulged. He could not understand the High Seraph’s intentions. Was this an attempt to bribe him?

“One of the Seven Seraph titles can be reserved for your Yi Family. However, right now, Yi Shang has joined

Boundless

, which represents the Tianyuan Megaverse. You understand perfectly well that I do not wish to see that. The Tianyuan Megaverse is destined to soon disappear.

“As for the Lesser Spirit Megaverse...”

Yi Xia’s expression changed. This was the secret that Lu Yin had exposed to Yi Xia, as a means of ensuring that Beacon City would remain neutral to both the Tianyuan Megaverse and the Spirit Nidus. Yi Xia had never wanted to obtain such leverage, and yet it had been forced into his hands. That was the reason why he feared being struck down by the High Seraph.

“The moment the name was spoken, it lost its value.” With those words, the High Seraph left. Lu Yin had just boarded

Genesis

.

Yi Xia remained quietly sitting where he was. The title of Seraph and the Heaven-Devouring Umbrella... Could he truly become one of the Seven Seraphs?

The High Seraph had made his desires quite clear; he wanted Yi Shang to betray

Boundless

.

Yi Xia’s eyes flickered. As long as the High Seraph was willing to overlook Yi Xia’s knowledge of the Lesser Spirit Megaverse, he was naturally inclined to lean towards the High Seraph.

The people of the Tianyuan Megaverse were basically courting death. How could they possibly hope to stand against the might of the Spirit Nidus? No matter what

Boundless

may have accomplished in the Spirit Nidus or how formidable the people on that ship might be, they could never surpass the High Seraph. Otherwise,

Boundless

would never be following the High Seraph to the Consciousness Megaverse.

As for why Yi Xia’s grandfather was with

Boundless

, Yi Xia had already known that Boundless was incredibly powerful. Even so, he did not believe that their strength was anywhere close to being enough to shake the invincible High Seraph.

It was necessary for Yi Xia to find a way to speak to his grandfather while also avoiding the eyes of

Boundless

.

Yi Xia looked over at

Boundless

with an icy stare.

His current predicament was entirely because of Lu Yin. That man had brought Yi Xia a great deal of trouble, though also an opportunity.

Lu Yin stepped onto

Genesis

, accompanied by Astral Anura.

Genesis

was a massive vessel, larger than even

Boundless

. The battleship’s construction had consumed a tremendous amount of the Spirit Nidus’s resources, and an entire domain had dedicated itself to it. The ship had been built to ferry countless cultivators of varying strength.

When Lu Yin stepped aboard

Genesis

, countless eyes stared at him. No one knew his intentions.

Lu Yin sought out Emperor Slayer.

Emperor Slayer wanted to hide, but how could he possibly evade Lu Yin? “Try running away one more time. Then, you’ll see if even the High Seraph can stop me from dealing with you.”

Lu Yin’s threat only served to strengthen Emperor Slayer’s suspicion that Lu Yin was connected to Emperor Wu’s death. How else could he have the nerve to speak so boldly?

On top of that, after spending a day on

Genesis

, Emperor Slayer had managed to more or less understand the recent events in the Spirit Nidus.

Even if no one knew exactly how Emperor Wu had died, they did know that he had fallen at the hands of Old Salamander.

However, everyone in the Spirit Nidus also knew about the battle at the source of the Fu River.

That clash had shaken the entire Spirit Nidus. Despite using Heaven’s Seal and even revealing that he could use the Nine Heavens Transformation, Emperor Wu had still been defeated, which left Emperor Slayer utterly shocked.

He had long believed that Emperor Wu was keeping some of his power hidden, but he had never imagined the hidden power to be the Nine Heavens Transformation.

If Emperor Slayer had fought against a Emperor Wu who was using the full might of the Nine Heavens Transformation, he would not even have an opportunity to escape. Everything would have ended in an instant. Even so, Emperor Wu had lost to the Third Boss.

The Third Boss could also use the Nine Heavens Transformation, and his combat strength was even equal to the High Seraph’s.

Learning these details had forced Emperor Slayer to completely abandon any and all thoughts of escape. Running was impossible.

He grinned broadly, revealing what he believed to be a radiant smile. “Well, well well. If it isn’t the Third Boss and Brother Toad! What brings you two here? Come, come! Welcome, welcome! Please, step right on in!”

Lu Yin remained expressionless as he looked at Emperor Slayer’s smile that stretched from ear to ear. The younger man calmly asked, “Did you write that challenge letter?”

Emperor Slayer blinked in confusion. “Challenge letter? What challenge letter?”

A hint of a smile touched Lu Yin’s lips as he slowly took a step closer to Emperor Slayer. His eyes held a cold glint, and when his fingers moved, they sent ripples through the void. It warped and twisted in a manner that seemed harmless, but in Emperor Slayer’s eyes, it appeared deadly.

He’s going to attack! He’s really going to attack me!

Emperor Slayer instinctively took a step back, forcing the smile to stay on his face. “Uh, Third Boss, was there maybe a misunderstanding? We can talk things out and smooth things over, right?”

Where is the High Seraph? Why hasn’t that bastard shown up yet?

Lu Yin said nothing as he continued to move closer. The ripples grew larger. His hand rose up, and he pointed a finger straight at Emperor Slayer. “One sword.”

Emperor Slayer tensed.

“Emperor Wu lost to me because of just one sword attack. That sword is called Heaven’s Blade. Would you like to see it?”

Like hell I would!

Emperor Slayer raged internally, though his face did not belie any hint of his inner turmoil. The smile remained on his face. “Third Boss, you are truly without equal. That fool Emperor Wu never stood a chance. What did you say your attack is called? Heaven’s Blade? What a great name! Truly impressive.”

“Did you write that challenge letter?”

“No.”

“You dare to lie to me?”

“No, no!” Emperor Slayer quickly explained. “It was that bastard, Old Salamander! He wrote it and put my name on it!

“The whole thing was his idea! If you don’t believe me, Third Boss, go ask him yourself!”

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. On his shoulder, Astral Anura started to grow anxious. The entire matter had already been thoroughly investigated. What else could be asked? He was just about to speak up when the High Seraph suddenly appeared between Lu Yin and Emperor Slayer, blocking Emperor Slayer from Astral Anura’s sight.

When the High Seraph appeared, Emperor Slayer let out a sigh of relief. He had been terrified that Lu Yin would strike him down with that sword from the Nine Heavens Transformation. If even Emperor Wu had fallen to that attack, then there was no question that it would also kill Emperor Slayer.

Lu Yin looked at the High Seraph, who was standing in the way. “We can’t just allow the matter regarding the Primal Beastland to slide.”

The High Seraph solemnly replied, “You can continue with this after the Consciousness Megaverse is dealt with. I promise you that he will not escape.”

Lu Yin gave the High Seraph a long, penetrating look, but he said nothing further.

Emperor Slayer’s eyes darted about. He absolutely had to escape. The Spirit Nidus was no longer an option, and the Consciousness Megaverse would not be any safer.

That’s it, then. The Tianyuan Megaverse.

“Hey, big lizard! You! Remember me, Astral Anura?” Astral Anura was finally unable to restrain himself, and he called out.

At this moment, Emperor Slayer did not dare to take the risk of offending absolutely anyone, so he showed a bright smile. “Of course I remember you, Brother Toad! What can I do for you?”

“I’m not ‘Brother Toad!’ I’m Astral Anura!”

“Of course, Brother Astral Anura. What can I do for you?”

Astral Anura glared at Emperor Slayer. “You’ve seen another Astral Anura like me, haven’t you?”

Emperor Slayer shook his head. “No, only you. You’re the only one.”

Astral Anura’s skin changed color as he grew irritated.

This bastard, how rude! What does he mean by “you’re the only one”?

“Don’t lie to me! You haven’t even given me an explanation for that challenge letter. If you lie about this too, you really won’t have a good ending!” Astral Anura threatened.

Emperor Slayer adopted as innocent an expression as he could. “Of course I would never lie to you! Only a little toad would do such a thing.”

Lu Yin turned around and left. Astral Anura wanted to continue asking more questions, but with Lu Yin gone...

The High Seraph remained where he was, simply staring at Emperor Slayer.

Emperor Slayer gave a small laugh before turning and walking away as well.

Lu Yin returned to

Boundless

while Astral Anura was fuming on his shoulder. “That big, damned lizard was cursing me the whole time! Bastard! Shameless! Completely without honor!”

Lu Yin casually flicked Astral Anura off his shoulder and looked back at

Genesis

. He glanced at the furious Astral Anura hopping about, swearing incessantly.

Such an intense reaction from Astral Anura proved that he had kin somewhere. However, when Lu Yin had asked him about it, the toad’s memories of his species had been vague. Only when he was in the Mirari Realm’s forbidden region had Astral Anura remembered his grandmother.

Lu Yin did not dwell on the matter. There were countless species in existence, and Astral Anura’s situation was not particularly unusual.

The visit to Emperor Slayer had served as a warning. Lu Yin would not soon forget that Emperor Slayer had sent the challenge letter, using Lu Yin and inciting conflict for him.

...

The moment that Emperor Slayer had boarded

Genesis

and his virtue flags were destroyed, the people of Beacon City finally felt relief. Many continued to curse him, hoping that he would die in the Consciousness Megaverse and never return, especially those who had publicly complained about him.

Yi Xia never emerged from Severance.

The two deputy city lords had begged the man to step out. After all, even the High Seraph was in the city, yet their pleas fell on deaf ears.

Old Tao took his time strolling about Beacon City. This place carried the weight of his youth.

It took half a month for the battleships to finish resupplying. Then, they shifted over to Beacon City's northern side and used the springboards there to set off toward the Consciousness Megaverse.

Beacon City instantly disappeared behind the vessels, and they were again surrounded by endless darkness.

Boundless

was again moving through the Aevum Inch. Their next stop would be the Consciousness Megaverse.

After the final battle at the Immemorial Citadel, Lu Yin had started learning about the three main megaverses from Progenitor Xi. After so much time, he was finally heading to the Consciousness Megaverse.

Progenitor Xi approached Lu Yin. “Lord Lu, I beg you. Please save the Consciousness Megaverse.”

Lu Yin looked over at the woman. “I thought that you would come speak with me after the Day of Offering, but you never did. The Wisdom Domain, the Seven Seraphs, and even the High Seraph have all made it clear that their goal is to reset the Consciousness Megaverse and that they were going to drag

Boundless

along as well. Why do you object to this only now?”

Progenitor Xi represented the Consciousness Megaverse. Long ago, she had ventured to the Tianyuan Megaverse specifically to help the Consciousness Megaverse fight back against the Spirit Nidus.

Lu Yin’s question went straight to the heart of Progenitor Xi’s concerns. The Spirit Nidus had already promised to reset the Consciousness Megaverse, rather than the Tianyuan Megaverse. Given the circumstances, what could she possibly use to convince Lu Yin to join the Consciousness Megaverse’s side and fight against the Spirit Nidus?

The more that they learned about the Spirit Nidus, the clearer the megaverse’s immense strength became.

Boundless

had managed to thrive in the Spirit Nidus, and Lu Yin had even become a Seraph, but all of that success was only possible because the megaverse had never turned to attack

Boundless

.

If the Spirit Nidus had ever chosen to surround

Boundless

and eliminate it, they would have had no chance of survival.

“Given that you’re choosing to come to me now, should I assume that you’ve finally come up with a reason that might persuade me?” Lu Yin continued.

Progenitor Xi bowed her head. When she spoke, her voice was heavy. “Lord Lu, do you truly trust the Spirit Nidus?”

Lu Yin smiled. “You want to go after my emotions? That won’t work on me. I’m always the one manipulating others.”

Progenitor Xi’s head rose back up, and she met Lu Yin’s gaze. “Conscients desire only survival. It is their greatest and only driving force. In order to survive, they will do absolutely anything: submit, betray, whatever. There is no limit to their desire to survive. For this reason, many consider conscients to be untrustworthy. But Lord Lu, have you ever thought about this: aside from survival, conscients desire nothing.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

“Compared to humans, conscients are much simpler.

“If you’re joining the Spirit Nidus’s side just because you are both the same species, I can’t argue with you. However, if it’s a matter of trust, then given the weight of all their myriad desires, what reason would the Spirit Nidus have to actually spare the Tianyuan Megaverse?”

Lu Yin waved a hand. “That’s enough. You can leave.”

He did not need to hear anything more.

Progenitor Xi’s understanding of the situation did not include the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Much of what was happening had already far surpassed the scope of the three known megaverses.

Ultimately, no one could say for certain which of the megaverses would be reset. It was even possible that the Spirit Nidus itself would suffer that fate.