Chapter 3868: Do Me A Favor

Everyone in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse knew of Greater Sancte Awe Gate, but how many knew the story of how the Immortal had risen to power? Greater Sancte was not just a title, but a trial, a realm, and an ending.

Who in the cosmos had ever been so ambitious as to establish a list of the strongest in the megaverse?

Many considered Lu Yin to be arrogant, but compared to Greater Sancte Awe Gate, he suddenly appeared to be almost modest. At least, he had not tried to list the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

Who had ended up as the strongest? No one but Greater Sancte Awe Gate herself.

Lu Yin asked himself if he possessed the strength to be invincible in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. While Greater Sancte Green Lotus had praised him as being the fourth strongest in the megaverse, what of it? Lu Yin’s audacity paled in comparison to Greater Sancte Awe Gate’s.

This was not to say that Lu Yin lacked confidence, but rather that he carried too many burdens. He needed to consider how the Nine Odysseys and the Tianyuan megaverses coexisted, and he needed to avoid bringing a calamity upon the Tianyuan. It was necessary to consider the Immortals. Lu Yin’s entire path had been obstructed by various burdens.

He also wished that he could simply let go of everything, be carefree, and do whatever he wanted.

Within the words he had spoken during his Origin realm breakthrough, some people had heard antagonism in them, and they had certainly been provocative. Lu Yin had spoken his true heart: he wanted to subdue the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and force it into submission so that no one would ever dare to move against the Tianyuan Megaverse.

His strength made him invincible, and yet he suppressed himself too much. He still carried the fiery ambition of youth, wanting to shake the universe in his anger, and yet he remained trapped in a cage of his own making.

Lu Yin desperately wished to be like Greater Sancte Awe Gate, challenging all of the greatest experts, one after another. He wanted to force the megaverse into silence, cause the sun and moon to lose their light, demonstrate his greatest power, and leave a legend that would stand in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse forever.

But... could he?

If people truly acted without restraint, what would remain of civilization?

Lu Yin let out a long breath and then suppressed the emotions that had surged within his heart. He stared up at the sky. If the day came when someone else could carry the fate of the Tianyuan for him, if the day came when no one remembered him, then he would be able to break free from the shackles of civilization. He would arrogantly laugh at the cosmos and make all of the megaverses and even the River of Aeons remember him forever.

He wanted to become the most ambitious figure of all of the ages.

...

In the Rift of Suffering, in the location where Lu Yin and Ku Ji had recently sparred, two other people arrived, though their arrival did not draw any attention from the members of the Rift of Suffering.

The location was not some carefully guarded secret, nor was there a gate that strictly limited entry; anyone could enter.

“Martial Uncle, is this the Rift of Suffering?”

“That’s right, it is.”

“What? But this...?”

“It’s not what you imagined, is it? The first time I visited the Rift of Suffering, your master brought me. I also didn’t expect to find that the Rift of Suffering is like this either. The most powerful force of the North Domain, and yet this is all there is to it.” He paused. “I still don’t even know how to describe it.”

“So what do we do? Who do we look for?”

“Just wait a bit.”

A moment later, over beside the Mother Tree, Ku Cheng pulled out his communication device, and after nodding to Lu Yin, the man stepped aside to answer a call. Lu Yin continued to speak with Ku Ji. There was more that he wanted to learn about Greater Sancte Awe Gate, and if possible, the other two Greater Sancti as well. Most of all, Lu Yin wanted to learn about the fourth Greater Sancte who had died.

“The Five-Palm Sect? Oh! You’re Lang Ruyu.” Ku Cheng made no attempt to conceal his conversation, so Lu Yin could hear everything quite clearly.

“Greetings, Senior Ku Cheng. I am indeed Lang Ruyu. I’m here with my martial nephew, Si Jiushi. May we trouble you with our visit?”

Ku Cheng replied, “Why would it be any trouble? I’ll come find you right away.”

He then returned to Lu Yin’s side and said, “Mr. Lu, we have guests, so I’ll take my leave for now.”

Lu Yin said, “Let’s go together. There are people from the Five-Palm Sect Sect visiting, right? I overheard.”

Ku Cheng was curious. “Are you familiar with people from the Five-Palm Sect, Mr. Lu?”

Lu Yin smiled. “I first heard about that sect long ago. They’re quite famous.”

...

In the Rift of Suffering, Lang Ruyu and Si Jiushi were feeling very uncomfortable. They felt like complete outsiders.

The members of the Rift of Suffering were all quite unkempt. Could they at least try to look a bit cleaner?

The two men felt strange as they observed the people around them, while the members of the Rift of Suffering did not look at the two men much better.

The Five-Palm Sect was not any less famous than the Rift of Suffering. The former had the goal of challenging the Lesser Sancti and stirred up trouble all across the megaverse. Things had only somewhat settled down after the current sect master, Lord Ting Chao, had taken over, but only somewhat. There were rumors that the sect had caused trouble in the East Domain in recent years to the point where they were unable to remain in that region any longer, forcing them to migrate to the North Domain.

As for Si Jiushi’s appearance, he was quite eye-catching.

“Oh, here they come,” Lang Ruyu commented as he watched someone approach from the distance.

Si Jiushi looked over with a bit of hope.

They’re finally here

.

They were visiting the Rift of Suffering because they wanted to learn the Heartrift. While cultivating with the Rift of Suffering was arduous and only one in 10,000 could truly master the technique, the two men still wanted to try. This was primarily because they were no longer able to stay in the East Domain. The West Domain was where the Spirit Coalition was based, and they also did not want to go to the South Domain. After a great deal of thought, the North Domain with the Rift of Suffering had seemed to be their best choice.

The Rift of Suffering had a good reputation, and it was known to never bully others. To be fair, the sect really did not have the numbers to do any bullying even if they wanted to.

If Si Jiushi and Lang Ruyu could learn the Heartrift, as Lord Ting Chao had recommended, they would be able to walk everywhere sideways in the future.

This thought caused Si Jiushi’s expectations to rise, just as he obtained a clear look at the people approaching.

That sight caused his face to grow pale, and his mouth dropped open. He looked like he had just seen a ghost.

Lang Ruyu showed the same reaction as he stared blankly at Lu Yin, who was next to Ku Cheng.

Why is that man here?

The battle in Ridgeplain had stained the entire sky red with all the blood that had been spilled. Lang Ruyu had never seen such a brutal fight before. The Autumnspring Slip had been completely annihilated. He had seen the attacker and later learned from Si Jiushi that the man was the same mysterious individual who had repeatedly pinned the blame for his actions onto the Five-Palm Sect.

Lang Ruyu had immediately grabbed Si Jiushi and fled the region, not daring to so much as glance back, out of fear of being noticed.

The biggest reason why the two men had left the East Domain was Lu Yin, who seemed to greatly enjoy using the Five-Palms Sect as his scapegoat.

Lu Yin’s actions had caused Lang Ruyu to suffer greatly, and the man had been quite miserable.

Neither Lang Ruyu nor Si Jiushi had ever dreamed that they would encounter Lu Yin even when they ran away to hide in the Rift of Suffering. They seemed to be haunted.

When Ku Cheng saw Lang Ruyu and Si Jiushi, he greeted them warmly.

Lang Ruyu licked his lips as he offered a deep bow. “Greetings, Senior Ku Cheng.”

There was a brief moment of hesitation, but the man finally bowed even lower to Lu Yin. “Greetings, Mr. Lu.”

There was frustration, helplessness, and regret readily displayed on Si Jiushi’s face. “Greetings, Senior Ku Cheng. Greetings, Mr. Lu.”

Ku Cheng was completely caught off guard. “You both know Mr. Lu? Ah, right, Mr. Lu is known as the strongest under the Immortal realm, so it’s not strange for you to recognize him.”

That one comment caused Lang Ruyu’s and Si Jiushi’s faces to turn even paler.

The fact that Lu Yin was known as the strongest under the Immortal realm was absolutely terrifying.

Even before becoming an Ortuser, the man had already been invincible. Only the heavens might know how powerful he had become after his breakthrough.

Si Jiushi and Lang Ruyu were desperate to get away from Lu Yin, and the farther, the better.

How terrible was their luck for them to have run into him in the Rift of Suffering, of all places?

Lu Yin smiled, his eyes narrowing as he sized up Si Jiushi. “It’s been a few years. You’ve grown even fatter, and stronger too. Not bad, not bad.”

Ku Cheng then understood that the men genuinely knew each other. No wonder Mr. Lu had wanted to tag along.

Only Ku Cheng and Lu Yin had returned to greet the visitors. Ku Ji had returned to his secluded training, while Ku Nan had resumed climbing the Mother Tree.

Si Jiushi’s calves trembled. The more that he was praised by Lu Yin, the more terrified the fat man became. He felt as though he could see an even larger incident looming where he would once again be pinned as the scapegoat. “Thank you for your praise, Senior... Um, why are you here?”

“Oh, there was just a little accident. The skyswings broke, and I happened to fall into the North Domain,” Lu Yin said.

Lang Ruyu and Si Jiushi simultaneously internally cursed their bad luck.

Ku Cheng had no idea what had happened between Lu Yin and the two men from the Five-Palms Sect, but upon seeing how pale they had become, he grew concerned. “You two don’t look to be well. Are you injured? I have some pills here. As long as you’re not suffering from anything too serious, they should be enough to heal you.”

“There’s no need for that, Senior. We were just passing by, and we stopped to offer greetings to you and Senior Ku Ji on our master’s behalf. Since we’ve done that, we’ll be on our way,” Lang Ruyu stated decisively.

Si Jiushi quickly added, “This junior is out to broaden his horizons. I’ve heard that your Rift of Suffering is the strongest in the North Domain, and I can now see that it’s true. I’ve seen enough, so I’ll take my leave.”

Ku Cheng opened his mouth to speak, but Lu Yin spoke up first. “You see me and immediately want to leave? Are you two really so unwilling to be near me?”

Both men instantly denied the accusation. “No, no! Mr. Lu is peerless and bold. How could we be that disrespectful to you? It’s just a coincidence that we have some urgent business to attend to. Please don’t take offense.”

Lu Yin asked, “What business? Tell me, and maybe I can help.”

Lang Ruyu pursed his lips.

What business? How am I supposed to know that?

The man had been wandering for years, and nothing much had happened during that time.

Si Jiushi’s eyes darted back and forth. He wanted to say something, but then he remembered how the Autumnspring Slip had been destroyed. His words were stuck in his throat. He did not dare speak them aloud, for fear of saying the wrong thing.

Lu Yin smiled. “Apparently you don’t really have any urgent business. However, I do have a favor to ask of you two.”

Both men’s hearts dropped as they nervously looked at Lu Yin. “W- what favor?”

“I’m headed to the West Domain. I’ve heard that your Five-Palm Sect Sect is also based there, so I would imagine that you two are quite familiar with that region. Would you serve as my guides?” Lu Yin asked gently.

Lang Ruyu quickly replied, “Of course! That would be no problem! My Five-Palm Sect would be honored to help you. Nephew, I’ll leave this task to you. You grew up in the West Domain, so you know it inside out. There won’t be any problem at all with you guiding this senior around, right?”

Si Jiushi froze, and stared at Lang Ruyu in a daze.

Was I just sold off?

Lu Yin turned to Si Jiushi. “Is there a problem?”

Si Jiushi’s eye twitched, and he noticed Lang Ruyu frantically winking at him, which only caused the fat man’s heart to sink even further. “I... I...”

“Since there’s no problem, this settles things.” Lu Yin did not give the man any chance to refuse. He turned to smile at Ku Cheng. “Senior, my time visiting your Rift of Suffering has been very rewarding. If fate permits, I will visit you again one day, and I will be sure to trouble you again at that time.”

Ku Cheng could not understand why Lang Ruyu and Si Jiushi were so afraid of Lu Yin, but he was not particularly bothered by it. After all, Lu Yin seemed like a decent man to Ku Cheng, so it seemed possible that there was just some sort of misunderstanding. “You flatter me, Mr. Lu. As long as you come, my Rift of Suffering will always welcome you.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way, you mentioned before that you would like to learn Heartrift, which means going to the Mindscape Megaverse. Do you still wish to do so?”

Lang Ruyu and Si Jiushi’s hearts sank even further.

This guy also wants to learn Heartrift? This is a problem.

How could they still go?

Forget it, we’ll just wait another hundred years.

Lu Yin nodded solemnly. “Your Rift of Suffering’s Heartrift technique is profound and mysterious. If there’s a chance to learn it, I will put forth my full efforts.”

Ku Cheng replied, “Good. There are another forty years before the next transport to the Mindscape Megaverse leaves. If you still wish to go at that time, my Rift of Suffering will contact you.”

Lu Yin bowed to Ku Cheng. “Thank you, Senior Ku Cheng.”

Ku Cheng returned the bow. “You are too kind, Mr. Lu. Safe travels.”

“Take care.” With that, Lu Yin simply grabbed Si Jiushi and vanished, already heading for the skyswings. There was another one in the North Domain.

Lang Ruyu watched as Si Jiushi vanished, and sighed.

I’m sorry, Nephew, but you can’t blame your uncle. You ran into him first.

...