Chapter 3698: Heaven And Earth Lock

The chatting voices grew louder, until someone had an idea. “Hey, why don’t we make a bet. We can wager on how long that newcomer will hold out for and on whether he’ll eventually escape, or if he’ll die or surrender to those conscients.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Even the High Seraph, who’s a Lesser Sancte, was driven away. How could this man possibly hold out? We might as well bet on whether he’s allied with those conscients already. He might even be one of them.”

“Sure, let’s bet on that.”

“I bet that he only lasts one move before being killed.”

“I bet two moves. Did you already forget how brutally he crushed that Luminary with the blade before?”

“True, that was him... I bet he lasts five moves.”

“I bet...”

“Regardless, he won’t be able to escape.”

Almost all the people in the group looked down as their eyes lit up. Finally, there was a bit of entertainment.

However, the man and woman leading the two groups maintained indifferent expressions. Aside from the High Seraph alone, there was no human in either megaverse who could survive against so many of the Thirteen Luminaries. Even if this newcomer was powerful enough to defeat some of the weaker Luminaries on his own, he was still doomed.

At the bottom of the cliff, Lu Yin sighed. He had seen so many memories that he had been unable to distinguish the memories from reality. Things had reached the point where his mind had slipped, and he had forgotten that his own Nine Heavens Transformation was founded upon his own consciousness.

Vast amounts of consciousness fell towards him from every direction as Old Chief and the others attacked as one.

“That’s him!” Shuangdao called out.

Lu Yin stood unmoved as the torrent of consciousness crashed against him. Ahead, a silhouette of drifting petals appeared. This was Hua Manyi’s signature use of consciousness.

Lu Yin watched as a woman stepped forward, the flower petals allowing her to shift through space as she used her consciousness to attack with a palm strike.

Behind her, Shuangdao followed up with his Frozen Skyblade.

From the side, Gui Shaoqing released a wave of consciousness. All the while, streams of consciousness incessantly attempted to invade Lu Yin’s body and suppress his own consciousness.

The earlier battle with the High Seraph had helped the gathered Luminaries grow more familiar with each other’s fighting style. Because of that, their coordination was far more impressive as they attacked Lu Yin.

Old Chief maintained the rear position. From his fingers appeared a sharp sword attack that Lu Yin found extremely familiar.

Is that... Heaven’s Blade? So, Wu Wei isn’t the only one who can use it

.

When the High Seraph had been surrounded by the six Luminaries, he had released Everstone to counter their consciousness. Lu Yin felt that it was unrealistic for him to defeat the six Luminaries head on. However, he did have one tremendous advantage over the High Seraph when facing conscients: his own consciousness.

Lu Yin’s consciousness was as powerful as three Universe-realm conscients combined. Even if he did not have the support of a sequence base like Everstone, his own consciousness would not be easily shaken.

Behind him, his consciousness was released, revealing the Nine Heavens, and he underwent the Nine Heavens Transformation.

He pressed a hand down, striking the void and sending shockwaves rippling through the surroundings as his terrifying power instantly shattered the void. This blocked all of the attacks aimed at Lu Yin, creating an absolute and invisible barrier.

Xi Wen’s flower petals, Gui Shaoqing’s wave of consciousness, Lan Huifeng’s control of space, and Shuangdao’s Frozen Skyblade were all forced back. Lu Yin’s solitary move was an attack of absolute strength. He dealt with the surrounding conscients with an entirely different manner than the High Seraph. While the High Seraph also possessed incredible physical strength, it was not something that he relied on. On the other hand, Lu Yin frequently fought while relying on raw physical power.

Brute strength shattered the void, creating an opening in the siege aimed at Lu Yin. Even from the top of the cliff, it was possible to see waves of energy surging around Lu Yin. He had thwarted attacks from six of the Thirteen Luminaries, and he had done so by directly countering their assault.

The man and woman leading the groups were visibly shocked.

How is this possible? Is his consciousness really that powerful? And what is with his physical strength?

A sword slash appeared in front of Lu Yin. The attack sliced at him from the left, as Old Chief had attacked with the Lower Heaven’s Blade.

Lu Yin sensed that this slash targeted the outcome while ignoring the process.

Since that was the case, he would allow the outcome to be realized.

Suddenly, a chill struck Lu Yin's heart. Something was very wrong. He focused on the approaching attack and realized that this was not Wu Wei’s Heaven’s Blade. As the slash approached him, Lu Yin became increasingly aware that the slash was not cutting down an outcome, but instead severing the process. This was the complete opposite of Heaven's Blade.

At this moment, Xi Wen also attacked with a sword slash, and it felt familiar. She was attacking with the Middle Heaven’s Blade.

Lu Yin fell back again and again as his focus shifted to Xi Wen’s attack. Again, something felt wrong. This slash did not cut at the outcome or the process. What was it?

It was clear that both attacks were the same, and yet their target was entirely different.

It was clear that neither attack was Heaven's Blade, though it was just as obvious that all three attacks originated from the same source.

Suddenly, Lu Yin’s mind went blank, and his pupils dilated for a moment. He had been affected by Lan Huifeng. Earlier, when the Luminaries had fought against the High Seraph, Lan Huifeng had also been able to affect the High Seraph, causing his mind to falter for a moment. Lu Yin had failed to avoid that outcome as well.

At that exact moment, two sword slashes fell.

Everyone was watching, including the youths atop the cliff who were unable to understand the battle unfolding down below. Even so, they felt an inexplicable tension. They were not worried about Lu Yin. Instead, they wanted to see the fight continue so they could be entertained for longer. They were also driven by the insatiable greed of cultivators and longed to see ever more impressive battles, in hopes of gleaning something from the efforts of others. This much was true even of the man and woman leading the two groups.

They were the only ones atop the cliff who were able to perceive just how terrifying the battle taking place down below was. They both knew that they would have died long ago in Lu Yin’s place.

Who is he?

From behind Lu Yin, a sword emerged from the uppermost layer of the Nine Heavens. It was Heaven’s Blade.

The Lower Heaven’s Blade severed the process, ignoring the outcome.

Heaven's Blade cut at the outcome, ignoring the process.

As the two attacks collided, the Middle Heaven’s Blade that Xi Wen had unleashed appeared to be magnetically drawn towards the other two attacks.

The moment that all three slashes made contact with each other, an indescribable sensation formed rippling waves that spread outward with enough force to cause Old Chief, the other Luminaries, and even Lu Yin to step back.

Lu Yin stared at the place where the three sword slashes had met, his eyes brighter than ever. He then looked over at both Old Chief and Xi Wen, whose eyes were also ablaze. They all understood that the true technique had just been revealed by the convergence of the three slashes, and Lu Yin became determined.

At that moment, the Frozen Skyblade fell, freezing everything in its path as Gui Shaoqing’s consciousness surged.

Yu Ye watched carefully, ready to strike at any moment.

Even the High Seraph was injured by us, let alone you.

Old Chief stared at Lu Yin. The old conscient’s eyes were also burning fiercely. Old Chief also needed the other two techniques, but how had this man acquired one?

Right, didn’t he enter this place before and defeat Shuangdao? Could he have received Heaven’s Blade at that time?

Old Chief had thought that Wu Wei’s surrender meant that it was impossible for him to ever have an opportunity to obtain the true Heaven’s Blade, which was why the ancient conscient had allowed Xi Wen to keep her Middle Heaven’s Blade hidden.

At this moment, Old Chief was determined to claim all three.

In his eyes, Lu Yin had just become at least as valuable as the High Seraph.

“We have to capture this man. He is equal to the High Seraph. Should the two join forces, our Consciousness Megaverse is guaranteed to fall,” Old Chief shouted harshly as his terrifying consciousness blotted out the sky before slamming down with crushing force.

Lu Yin’s expression changed. This old man’s consciousness was actually even more powerful than his own. It was impossible for him to defend against this attack with nothing but pure consciousness.

Fortunately, that was not Lu Yin’s only option.

As Old Chief’s consciousness fell, Lu Yin used the Nine Heavens Transformation to endure the pressure while raising a hand. Suddenly, Old Chief’s consciousness was drawn down to Lu Yin’s palm: Linked Palm.

The conscient was startled. What kind of battle technique was this? Could even consciousness be stolen and used by Lu Yin?

Old Chief’s eyes grew cold and menacing, and his consciousness condensed. A Skyshearer Millstone dropped from the sky.

This was the most terrifying Skyshearer Millstone that Lu Yin had ever seen. It was far more powerful than anything Wu Wei was capable of creating, and it was also stronger than the Skyshearer Millstone that Lu Yin could manifest.

While the Skyshearer Millstone had a plain appearance, it was the result of one of the most fundamental applications of consciousness: the more powerful one’s consciousness, the more powerful the Skyshearer Millstone.

Old Chief’s Skyshearer Millstone towered high in the sky. Even the young people atop the cliff, despite looking down on conscients, could not suppress a sudden chill. For all their arrogance, they still respected overwhelming power.

Lu Yin finally released his inner universe, and his star of consciousness spun. He did not meet Old Chief’s Skyshearer Millstone directly. Instead, he glided past it, rose into the sky, and moved until he was directly above Old Chief’s Skyshearer Millstone.

“Consciousness is the ground below, and outer space is the sky above; earth below and sky above. Now, the earth is above, so the sky must flip: Flipping the Sky.”

The ground beneath the cliff trembled, and everyone was stunned as they watched Old Chief’s terrifying Skyshearer Millstone slowly begin moving in reverse. No matter how the old conscient tried to resist, this movement was unstoppable. This was a comprehension technique, and Lu Yin was using his consciousness as the earth. With the earth moving above the Skyshearer Millstone, when the earth moved above the sky, the sky would flip.

This was a fundamental truth of the universe, a principle crystalized in a comprehension technique.

The Skyshearer Millstone was forced to turn over. Lu Yin seized the opportunity and threw six consecutive palm strikes at the six Luminaries down below.

Shuangdao tried to block with his blade, only for it to shatter.

Gui Shaoqing, Xi Wen, and Lan Huifeng were all badly wounded in an instant, and they coughed up blood. They stared at Lu Yin in fear. This man was unquestionably as powerful as the High Seraph.

Throughout all of history, how many had been able to face six of the Thirteen Luminaries at once? This was a battle that would stand out across the ages.

However, Yu Ye remained unharmed. They had succeeded in redirecting Lu Yin’s palm strike with their unique consciousness method. Lu Yin turned to glance at the formless conscient.

So this is the technique that they’ve been keeping hidden

.

Even Old Chief had been forced to take Lu Yin’s palm strike head-on. While conscients did not typically train their physical strength, Old Chief had lived for so long that he had tempered his body with consciousness to such an extent that his physical strength could nearly rival Emperor Wu’s.

Not even Lu Yin’s palm strike could overpower Old Chief.

After seeing that Lu Yin had actually managed to overturn his Skyshearer Millstone, Old Chief exhaled deeply. This man really was the High Seraph’s equal. With a grim expression, Old Chief raised both hands towards Lu Yin. “Heaven and Earth Lock.”

It was as if an invisible lock had descended, sealing off both heaven and earth. Lu Yin quickly tried to retreat, sensing terrible danger.

Unfortunately, he was already too late. The area below the cliff had long been filled with consciousness. Even the High Seraph had only managed to retreat by shattering the veil that had shrouded the cliff.

The void was sealed, as was time. All external senses of living creatures had been locked.

Lu Yin punched upwards, his attack strengthened with battle force and further augmented by the Nine Heavens Transformation. This was the strongest punch that he was capable of unleashing at this moment.

But even this punch ended up being sealed.

His consciousness, thoughts, mind, senses—everything was sealed beneath the Heaven and Earth Lock. It was as though Lu Yin had been completely stripped of everything and all of his power was sealed away. At this moment, his senses were no different from those of an ordinary human.

Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of Jiang Feng.

Is this what it’s like for him now? Will I end up blind, unable to perceive the world around me and incapable of seeing the light?

This was an Immortal realm technique. It was Old Chief’s greatest ability and one that he had long kept hidden.

Despite seeing Hua Manyi’s memories, Lu Yin did not have a clear understanding of the trap that had been laid for the High Seraph in the Willbound Expanse. Lu Yin had been certain that no one within the same realm of cultivation could actually kill the High Seraph, and yet Old Chief had been overwhelmingly confident that the prepared trap would succeed. This technique was the reason behind that confidence.

This was a technique that practically touched upon the Immortal realm.

Long ago, both Jiang Feng and Ancient Gods had experienced the power of an Immortal, as had Lu Yin. In the Mirari Realm, he had been sealed by karma. What Lu Yin felt from Old Chief’s technique was just a bit short of what he had felt from an Immortal.

Suddenly, he looked up and threw a palm strike. However, this one did not rely on physical strength, only karma. This was his Karmic Dao.

You can seal away my perception, my consciousness, and all of my other abilities, but can you seal karma?

Karma was a power that only an Immortal could truly master.