Chapter 3757: Consciousness Star

The High Seraph had exposed his invincible power to Lan Huifeng, convincing the conscient that the High Seraph was capable of overpowering Old Chief and all Thirteen Luminaries. In order to survive, Lan Huifeng had surrendered, following all conscients’ instinct to survive at all costs. Conscients lacked both dignity and loyalty, and they merely sought to continue living.

Lan Huifeng stared at Lu Yin. “I can help you find the High Seraph.”

Lu Yin stared . “For the High Seraph’s Everlasting Will to ignore space and time and strike someone with my strength, he needs a target. It seems that you’ve already become his target.”

Lan Huifeng’s expression changed drastically. “No! As long as I don’t cooperate with him, it’s fine.”

Lu Yin slapped Lan Huifeng’s head, knocking him unconscious.

Don’t cooperate with him? Is the High Seraph someone who needs your cooperation? Even the wooden wing, a mirebound artifact, was used as a target for his attack. You think that a mere conscient has a better chance?

Since Lan Huifeng had been captured, it was time to devour his consciousness.

With the recent improvement in his consciousness, Lu Yin felt that he could use that alone to deal with Yue Ya’s manifested thought.

In fact, it might even be possible to suppress the High Seraph with his consciousness alone, leaving the man helpless.

With that thought in mind,

Boundless

cut through the void to enter another parallel universe.

Several months passed in the Willbound Expanse without any attack from Lu Yin, which caused Yue Ya to grow increasingly uneasy. Was it possible that Lu Yin had left the Consciousness Megaverse entirely? That should not have happened. Was he actually willing to give up on the Willbound Spire?

The High Seraph also would not have allowed Lu Yin to leave.

In that case, why had Lu Yin not attacked the Willbound Expanse after so long? Why not strike while Chao Yi was keeping the people from Ruler Garden occupied?

Anyone who had succeeded in achieving Lu Yin’s level of power had to be a decisive and proactive person. No matter what sort of danger awaited, so long as there was even a small chance of victory, such people would take the risk instead of waiting for death.

Yue Ya glanced over at Chao Yi, and the man looked back.

The two quickly averted their gazes, but even their brief eye contact was noticed by Yanbo Haomiao. The old man’s expression fell. He had been right. He had been on edge for months, afraid that Lu Yin might suddenly attack. In the event of an attack, Yanbo Haomiao had been planning to immediately grab Yanbo Hongli and escape. Fortunately, the worst case scenario had not happened yet.

In that case, it was time.

Yanbo Haomiao looked over at Yanbo Hongli, and she abruptly attacked. Her Wildcat's Aid targeted Chao Yi, and sharp claws slashed down at the man.

His Twin Ghosts instantly appeared, blocking the claws.

Chao Yi was taken aback. He had not expected Yanbo Hongli to suddenly attack him.

Yanbo Haomiao surrounded himself with rulers, using the Nine-Rulers: Heaven-Defying Art.

Yue Ya roared in fury, “Yanbo Haomiao, what are you doing?”

Yanbo Haomiao’s face was flushed red. “Lord Yue Ya, we cannot wait any longer! Any longer, and Lu Yin will escape. We have but one chance! We must take Chao Yi down first and then capture Lu Yin. My Ruler Garden swears to assist Lord Yue Ya complete your transformation, and we will fight to the death.”

Yue Ya remained furious. “Stand down! Chao Yi is not someone easily dealt with.”

“Lord Yue Ya, have you still not realized? Chao Yi will never spare us. If we don’t eliminate him, Lu Yin will gain another ally!” Yanbo Haomiao shouted back. Before Lu Yin arrived, Yanbo Haomiao was determined to force Yue Ya to attack Chao Yi. While Yue Ya was a ruthless individual, if he betrayed Ruler Garden after they had sacrificed so much to help him, he would alienate himself from everyone. Not even Old Chief and the surviving Luminaries would be willing to cooperate with him after that.

Yanbo Haomiao and Yanbo Hongli had no way to escape. Chao Yi was watching them both. Yanbo Haomiao did not believe that he could leave under Chao Yi’s watch, which meant that his only option was to force Yue Ya’s hand.

The longer they waited, the more likely it was that they would be abandoned.

Chao Yi remained expressionless. He had not expected Yanbo Haomiao to take action so suddenly. Was he really determined to fight to the death for Yue Ya’s sake? Or had the old man seen the truth of the situation?

Yanbo Haomiao’s suspicions were indeed correct; Yue Ya had already betrayed Ruler Garden and allied with Chao Yi. Chao Yi had agreed for two reasons. The first was so that he could completely eliminate Ruler Garden, while the second was that Yue Ya had told him that Lu Yin had captured Luo Ning and other young cultivators from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

Even if Chao Yi’s responsibilities to Deathmound prevented him from rescuing those captives, Yue Ya’s offer gave Chao Yi a pretext to act anyways.

If not for both reasons, Chao Yi most likely would have never agreed to join forces with Yue Ya.

Everything he did was for the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, and that remained true.

One of the Twin Ghosts attacked Yanbo Hongli, while the other blocked her Wildcat's Aid. All five of Chao Yi’s fingers on one hand turned pitch black as he reached for Yanbo Haomiao.

The old man used his Nine-Rulers: Heaven-Defying Art to retaliate. He refused to believe that he would lose to a mere child who had accepted a Seed Transfusion.

“What are you waiting for? Kill him!” Yanbo Haomiao shouted at Old Chief and the other conscients, who turned to look at Yue Ya.

Yue Ya’s expression had twisted hideously. He had also realized that Yanbo Haomiao had likely guessed that he had been betrayed. If that was true, then there was no need to hesitate any longer.

Manifested thought erupted, and it targeted Yanbo Haomiao. Yue Ya would exterminate Ruler Garden and then team up with Chao Yi to deal with Lu Yin.

Yanbo Haomiao had been on guard against Yue Ya all along, and he was already defending himself as the manifested thought erupted.

The Nine-Rulers: Heaven-Defying Art trembled. As Yanbo Haomiao had expected, he was Yue Ya’s target.

Ruler Garden was not nearly as valuable as Chao Yi. This was not only because Chao Yi alone was the same as three Dukkhans, but also because of his affiliation with Deathmound, which Yue Ya needed.

Yanbo Hongli looked over at Yue Ya, her eyes blazing with rage and frustration. “Lord Yue Ya, you-”

“Lord Yue Ya, you’ve betrayed us!” Yanbo Haomiao growled, his eyes burning with fury. He had not expected Yue Ya to be so decisive in attacking. There was not a shred of hesitation or reluctance to be seen. Ruler Garden had sacrificed everything for the man, and they had even gone so far as to violate the laws of their megaverse.

There was a grim expression on Yue Ya’s face. “Didn’t you guess that already? So why did you force my hand? Yanbo Haomiao, since your Ruler Garden has already sacrificed everything for me, then why not finish the job and help me succeed?”

“Yue Ya, you’re despicable and shameless!” Yanbo Haomiao had been prepared, and he managed to pull Yanbo Hongli over to him before unleashing a double-layered Nine-Rulers: Heaven-Defying Art and flying away. As he fled, he shouted, “Luminaries! You’ve learned Yue Ya’s secret! He won’t allow you to live either!”

Yue Ya whirled around to look at Old Chief and the other conscients.

They all fled without any hesitation. Each one simultaneously released waves of consciousness that radiated out in all directions.

Just as Yanbo Haomiao had said, the conscients had learned Yue Ya’s secret. If he was willing to betray Ruler Garden, the conscients would fare no better.

The waves of consciousness not only helped the Luminaries to escape, but they also gave Yanbo Haomiao and Yanbo Hongli a push. Old Chief understood the situation clearly: Yue Ya wanted the people of Ruler Garden dead far more than he wanted the conscients dead. Since that was the case, Old Chief would leave some bait behind while he fled.

Further back, Emperor Slayer had already disappeared.

He had used his Horizon’s Mirror to escape the moment that Yue Ya had attacked Yanbo Haomiao. Given an opportunity, Emperor Slayer was capable of fleeing faster than anyone else.

Everyone in the Willbound Expanse was cunning and ruthless, willing to betray others without even batting an eye. It was terrifying. At least Emperor Slayer had maintained his morals.

Compared to what he had just seen, Lu Yin appeared downright lovable.

The experts in the Willbound Expanse scattered in every direction, and Chao Yi shot straight after Yanbo Haomiao.

The fact that Old Chief and Emperor Slayer had escaped deprived Yue Ya of any shred of control over the situation. At this moment, the one he hated most was not the High Seraph or even Lu Yin, but rather Yanbo Haomiao.

Why couldn’t that guy just die properly? With him dead, I would have already succeeded! Damn bastard...

As for Lu Yin, he would become a part of a Greater Sancte, should Yue Ya triumph.

Every last one of them deserved to die.

Choosing his direction, Yue Ya pursued Yanbo Haomiao and the others. He was not merely trying to kill Yanbo Haomiao, but also targeting Chao Yi.

He had already betrayed Ruler Garden. If Yue Ya also failed to keep Chao Yi in check and allowed him to break their agreement and leave, Yue Ya would be left with nothing. It would become absolutely impossible to ever take Lu Yin down.

Old Chief and the other conscients breathed sighs of relief. Sure enough, Yue Ya had gone after Ruler Garden.

At this moment, the Luminaries only wished to leave the Consciousness Megaverse and never return.

Their megaverse had become completely unfamiliar to them. Before, they had stood at the peak as the most powerful experts. Any time they encountered the High Seraph, they had worked to surround and attack him, not to run away.

At the moment, it felt like they were constantly on the run, and they had had enough of being chased. They should have left long ago.

“Where should we go?”

“To the Tianyuan Megaverse.”

“Are we really going there?”

“We don’t have any other choice. We can only hope that Lu Yin doesn’t make it back alive.”

“If we’re headed to the Tianyuan, I’d rather see the Consciousness Megaverse be reset.”

“We can only hope...”

...

Beneath the endless darkness of the Consciousness Megaverse’s star-filled sky, a figure emerged to stand in the middle of outer space, looking like an eternal star. Despite having only just arrived, the figure blended seamlessly into the surrounding universe, as if they had been there for tens of thousands of years.

This figure was Lu Yin. He had devoured Lan Huifeng and all of the other conscients that

Boundless

had captured in parallel universes. His consciousness had swollen to an unprecedented level that went far beyond merely surpassing Old Chief and the other Luminaries. Its vastness reminded Lu Yin of his Karmic Dao.

His Karmic Dao had been strengthened by the elites of two megaverses, while his consciousness came from devouring countless of the Consciousness Megaverse’s conscients, including several of the Thirteen Luminaries.

Forget the three megaverses, even if the Nine Odysseys Megaverse were included, Lu Yin was certain that no one other than the Immortals could surpass the strength of his consciousness.

With his recently improved consciousness, techniques that he had previously employed were now perfected or surpassed, and Lu Yin had suddenly considered a new method that he could employ, though he was uncertain if it would work.

After a moment, the Nine Heavens appeared behind him. His immense consciousness made them functionally solid, and they looked like nine layers of heaven. The star of consciousness in his inner universe had long since surpassed the star of divine energy, and it had become the largest star in his universe, dwarfing its neighbors.

His eyes abruptly snapped open, and his consciousness exploded, spreading endlessly across the universe as he used the Cosmic Art.

He wanted to try using the Cosmic Art with his consciousness, circulating his consciousness through the stars. Every universe contained stars, but other than the Origin Universe, the stars were not manifestations of the Cosmic Art and were thus unable to empower Lu Yin. However, in the Consciousness Megaverse, each and every star contained consciousness. By using the Cosmic Art as a bridge, he was able to connect to countless stars, which would allow Lu Yin to instantly perceive every part of the Consciousness Megaverse.

His eyes gained new depth. His attempt had succeeded.

The unique environment of the Consciousness Megaverse granted him unprecedented control due to his mastery of consciousness. Every star was at his disposal. It was like the very first time he had properly used the Cosmic Art to observe the Origin Universe, the first time he had stepped on the stars.

Lu Yin observed Yanbo Haomiao and Yanbo Hongli, Chao Yi chasing after them, and Yue Ya further behind. He caught a glimpse of Emperor Slayer fleeing in another direction, as well as Old Chief and the other Luminaries.

Both Emperor Slayer and the conscients were heading for the megaverse’s boundary. They were trying to escape.

Moving through the Consciousness Megaverse’s starry sky, Old Chief, Shuangdao, and Xi Wen silently raced for the boundary at their top speed. They intended to run as far away as possible to escape.

There was nothing that could keep them here any longer.

Even if Yue Ya received new reinforcements, none of the fleeing individuals cared. They simply wanted to be free of the schemes of the more powerful.

The Consciousness Megaverse was indeed vast, but for experts like those traveling with Old Chief, it would not take long to reach the boundary.

They were drawing nearer, ever closer.

Old Chief stared ahead as a sense of unease abruptly welled up within him. He instinctively looked around, but there was nothing. All he saw were the ancient, unchanging stars.