Chapter 3759: Reality And Candor

Lu Yin had no intention of intervening. Ruler Garden had always been his enemy, and he was not about to start saving his enemies.

As for the idea of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” that was entirely dependent on whether or not Lu Yin held the advantage. The two survivors from Ruler Garden simply wanted to escape, the same as Old Chief and the other two Luminaries. He would accomplish nothing from saving the two people.

Lu Yin also did not intend to learn about the Nine Odysseys Megaverse from them.

It was not long before Yanbo Haomiao’s Nine-Rulers: Heaven-Defying Art gave way, shattered by Chao Yi’s Twin Ghosts.

Yanbo Hongli’s Wildcat’s Aid was being suppressed by the Voidheart Mirror. How could the woman fight against Yue Ya with her level of strength?

Yanbo Haomiao was bathed in blood, and he gave a hoarse roar, “I hate you, Yue Ya! I hate that we ever tried to help you! My Ruler Garden gave you everything! I hate it all!”

Chao Yi raised a hand, and the Deathmound spread out once again before his indifferent gaze. “All actions are determined by one’s self-interest. Your Ruler Garden destroyed me back then because you feared this exact day, and this day was always fated.”

Boom!

A loud explosion rang out, and Yanbo Haomiao’s body was obliterated. Even as he died, his eyes remained locked upon Yue Ya.

The old man did not hate Chao Yi. Their enmity had run too deep for far too long. Chao Yi’s animosity and actions were to be expected. Yao Haomiao had hated Yue Ya far more, as that man had betrayed Ruler Garden.

Yanbo Hongli grieved, and tears of blood ran across her cheeks.

Her crimson hair caught on fire, and her breathing grew increasingly weak.

“Only one remains of Ruler Garden: you,” Chao Yi coldly stated.

Yanbo Hongli stared at Chao Yi. “Does it feel good to get revenge?”

Chao Yi’s eyes remained as calm as still water. “You will never know.”

Yanbo Hongli barked a bitter laugh, her anguish clear. “True. Some people can get revenge... while the rest of us are destined to never get the opportunity.”

Boom

!

There was another loud explosion, and Yanbo Hongli fell. A streak of red trailed across the stars. When it was gone, so was the woman.

Chao Yi looked down. “You and I were never more than mere dust in the cultivation world. Death could very well be a form of rebirth. Who can truly understand such things?”

Yue Ya was unconcerned by the deaths of Yanbo Haomiao and everyone else. All he cared about was Chao Yi. “Because of you, the Thirteen Luminaries have fled, and Ruler Garden has been destroyed. It’s time for you to fulfill your promise.”

Chao Yi looked over at Yue Ya. “I don’t understand. Does me taking the place of Ruler Garden and the Thirteen Luminaries really offer you a better chance against Lu Yin?”

Yue Ya frowned. “The Thirteen Luminaries’ escape was unexpected. I only intended to have you replace Ruler Garden. Lu Yin already understands their abilities, which made them useless.”

“By the looks of things, you’ve suffered a loss,” Chao Yi continued calmly.

Yue Ya’s eyes narrowed. “As long as our preparations are correct, there will always be a chance of success. You’re not planning to break our deal, are you?”

“I’m not that despicable,” Chao Yi replied.

Yue Ya let out a breath of relief. “I know where

Boundless

is. Let’s go.”

With that, the two men left.

In the place that they had just left, the stars continued to spin. Neither knew that Lu Yin had been watching them all along. His consciousness blanketed the entire Consciousness Megaverse, and because of that, it was ignored.

The annihilation of Ruler Garden showed Lu Yin the cruelest aspects of the world of cultivators. Such cruelty played out every single day.

Yanbo Hongli had been right; some people could get revenge, while others were doomed to never have the chance.

Who truly controlled all of it?

Yanbo Hongli had been a pitiful woman. She had not even been willing to attack Lu Yin, yet such was the nature of the world of cultivators.

Had Yan’er offended anyone? And yet she had also been drawn into things.

Only after confirming that the Tianyuan Megaverse was safe would Lu Yin awaken Ming Yan. He did not want her to suffer a fate like Yanbo Hongli’s.

Lu Yin returned to

Boundless

. Yue Ya and Chao Yi were already nearly there, so Lu Yin immediately warned everyone on the ship.

He no longer feared Yue Ya.

Soon, Yue Ya and Chao Yi arrived. The sight of

Boundless

’s massive form in front of the other four battleships intrigued Chao Yi. Just what kind of person was this Lu Yin?

Even with the full power of Ruler Garden, Yue Ya had failed to take Lu Yin down. Such a feat was practically legendary.

Chao Yi had no doubt that he would have died before such an ambush.

Yue Ya unleashed his manifested thought, and his Voidheart Mirror spread out to envelop the stars. He had no desire to face Lu Yin directly. It would be too difficult to succeed like that. Instead, his goal was to use the lives of those aboard

Boundless

as leverage, thus creating an opportunity to eliminate Lu Yin.

Threatening the Tianyuan Megaverse would likely break Lu Yin, which was why Yue Ya was optimistic about his chances.

There was no other choice. There were no other experts remaining in the Consciousness Megaverse who were capable of helping Yue Ya. This was his last chance.

Just as Yue Ya was about to attack, a voice rang out from

Boundless.

“Are you Chao Yi, master of Deathmound’s Sixth Peak?”

Luo Ning appeared on

Boundless

’s deck. At his side were Lian Shuang and the other captives from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse that were under Lu Yin’s control.

As they appeared, overwhelming waves of consciousness crashed across the sky, creating a curtain that blocked the Voidheart Mirror.

Yue Ya’s expression changed. Lu Yin’s consciousness had grown even stronger, but how had he improved so quickly? Was there no limit to how much consciousness the man could devour?

Chao Yi stared at

Boundless

’s deck and immediately saw Luo Ning and the other prisoners. “I remember you. You’re Luo Ning, the genius from the Skyward Gate’s Luo family. You were frozen in the Scion Spire.”

Luo Ning met the man’s gaze. “What is someone from Deathmound doing in the Consciousness Megaverse? And why are you attacking cultivators from the three megaverses?”

“I don’t need to explain my actions to you,” Chao Yi coldly replied.

Lian Shuang’s voice grew solemn, “According to my understanding, Deathmound only deals with those who violate the laws of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, and they have no dealings at all with the lower three megaverses. If Peak Lord Chao Yi is acting against these people of your own accord, then you are also committing a crime.”

Chao Yi said nothing.

Yue Ya spoke up in a grim voice, “You are Lu Yin’s captives, but we will rescue you. Such is also the duty of Deathmound. Save your nonsense. I know that you’re being coerced by Lu Yin. I’m a powerful Lesser Sancte. Are you claiming that I am unable to save you?”

Luo Ning, Lian Shuang, and the others felt helpless. While they trusted the strength of a Lesser Sancte, they were already on

Boundless

, which placed them in grave danger. They all feared that Yue Ya’s rescue would actually lead to their deaths.

Luo Ning had accepted being captured for the sake of his future. It had taken a great deal of courage to take such a gamble, and he did not want those efforts to go to waste. He would much rather take the safe route.

Unfortunately, Yue Ya did not give Luo Ning a chance to speak. “Chao Yi, ignore them. They’re all being manipulated by Lu Yin.”

Chao Yi did not care about what Luo Ning or any of the others had to say. Rescuing them was nothing more than a pretext that Yue Ya had given him. With Ruler Garden already destroyed, Chao Yi’s task had been completed. Whether Yue Ya’s attempt succeeded or failed did not matter to Chao Yi.

Lu Yin suddenly appeared and stepped forward while looking into the starry sky. “There’s also a man from Deathmound here. Do you not care about even his life?”

As Lu Yin spoke, he pulled a man out.

Chao Yi stared at Lu Yin. “Are you Lu Yin? The ruler of the Tianyuan Megaverse?”

Lu Yin met Chao Yi’s gaze. “Why is someone from Deathmound helping Yue Ya? He’s already had his title of Lesser Sancte revoked.”

“No one in Deathmound fears death, and he poses no threat to me. Release Luo Ning and the others,” Chao Yi replied.

Lu Yin smiled. “I’m curious. If all of these people from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse die and I claim that you forced me to do it, will you be punished?”

Yue Ya’s expression fell, and his killing intent rose. His Voidheart Mirror was unable to overpower Lu Yin’s consciousness. Yue Ya had underestimated the man.

A longer-term approach would be necessary.

Chao Yi calmly replied, “Not at all.”

Lu Yin nodded. “That means that you’re here to fight me because Yue Ya promised you the people from Ruler Garden, right?”

“You are correct, though that is not an acceptable justification for my actions. I’ll come up with something more respectable when I report back.”

The people aboard

Boundless

all stared at Chao Yi oddly. Had he really admitted things so bluntly?

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Lu Yin had also not expected such a candid answer. “Then let me sweeten the deal; for example, how about all of the Spirit Nidus’s elite cultivators from an entire era?”

He gestured at the four battleships behind

Boundless

. “The High Seraph led the Spirit Nidus’s greatest experts here to destroy the Consciousness Megaverse. These people represent that megaverse’s future. Do they matter to you?

“If you attack me, I’ll eliminate them.”

Yue Ya’s expression instantly changed.

Lu Yin had once used those same people to threaten the High Seraph, forcing him to attack Yong Heng. After that,

Boundless

had escaped, dragging the Spirit Nidus’s four battleships away.

Lu Yin had not tried to use the cultivators to threaten Yue Ya. Yue Ya was already risking everything. If he could successfully transform his manifested thought, he would readily sacrifice anything and everything. Why would he care about the people of the Spirit Nidus? Even if he was later punished by the Greater Sancti for his decision, Yue Ya remained confident that he could handle it.

However, Chao Yi was different. He needed a publicly justifiable reason to move against Lu Yin. That reason had originally been to save the captives from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, but if an entire era of the Spirit Nidus’s cultivators ended up dead, it would not be a matter of various factions in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse suffering a loss, but rather the entire megaverse.

That was not something that Chao Yi could justify to Deathmound, let alone to the Greater Sancti.

With that in mind, Chao Yi turned to Yue Ya. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you any longer.”

Yue Ya’s eyes bulged. “You’re going back on your word!”

Chao Yi replied, “Compared to the potential losses that the Nine Odysseys Megaverse would suffer, my promise means nothing.”

“You!” Yue Ya was furious. At this moment, he experienced the same rage that Yanbo Haomiao had felt when he was betrayed by Yue Ya. Chao Yi had very cleanly separated himself from Yue Ya.

Promises carried great weight to powerful cultivators, but Yue Ya had forgotten something: Chao Yi’s cultivation was frozen forever. The man would never be able to advance his strength. This also meant that there was no need for him to be overly concerned about his promises or oaths.

All that Chao Yi cared about was Deathmound and the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

Just as Chao Yi’s earlier bluntness had been unexpected, so was his instant betrayal of Yue Ya. The man was extremely decisive.

Clearly, he no longer had any justifiable excuses to act against Lu Yin.

This man... is quite interesting.

Yue Ya could do nothing about Chao Yi. Seeing the man’s calm, nearly matter-of-fact expression caused Yue Ya’s fury to spike.

So, this is how trust between people can instantly vanish

.

As a former Lesser Sancte and one of the most powerful individuals alive, Yue Ya had always been the one to betray others. He had never been betrayed.

Experiencing it for the first time was insufferably humiliating.

Still, there was no option but to suppress his anger and soften his tone. “Chao Yi, compared to my transformation, the lives of these people mean nothing. If sacrificing a generation can bring about another Greater Sancte, do you believe that the sacrifice is worthwhile?”

Chao Yi answered somberly, “A Greater Sancte is more valuable.”

Yue Ya nodded. “Exactly. So you-”

“You are not a Greater Sancte,” Chao Yi cut in.

“If I defeat Lu Yin, I will surely be able to transform my power.”

“If that’s true, then you should simply return to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and request one of the existing Greater Sancti for help. That would give you a much better chance.”

“You!” Yue Ya was no longer able to suppress his mounting fury. This bastard was determined to break their agreement.

The people aboard Boundless glanced between Yue Ya and Chao Yi. They had expected to face two fearsome enemies. How had things reached such a conclusion? Were

Boundless

’s bargaining chips too valuable, or was Chao Yi just... too blunt?

A small smile touched Lu Yin’s lips. “Then this matter no longer concerns you, Chao Yi. From now on, this is solely between us and Yue Ya.”

As Lu Yin spoke, Chu Yi, Sovereign Dou Sheng and the other powerful cultivators all charged out. “Yue Ya, die!”

“Yue Ya, die!”

“Yue Ya, die!”

...