Chapter 3882: Absolute Softness

Old Yu had once told Lu Yin that each generation’s Wisdom Domain master would develop a spirit treasure formation to add onto the series, which had reached Codex 16.

Yu Jing replied, “The Script Arrays have only been developed up to Codex 16, but the Wisdom Domain was not part of it. Our Yu family has constantly sent people to the Spirit Nidus to rule over the Wisdom Domain, and those that we sent were all quite talented. Even so, of the sixteen codices, the Wisdom Domain only contributed six, and the other ten were all developed by other members of the Yu family.

“Yu Xing may not have been completely inaccurate, but he was certainly exaggerating. If the Wisdom Domain had developed all sixteen codices, our Yu family would have surpassed the Cheng and Jue families long ago.”

Lu Yin smiled. “What is the strongest Script Array? I’d like to see it.”

Yu Jing hesitated, which caused Lu Yin’s tone to drop. “Are you unwilling?”

Yu Jing quickly replied, “It’s not that I’m unwilling. Since you wish to see it, then of course you may. Our strongest Script Array is Codex 1.”

“I look forward to seeing it.”

Lu Yin spent more than half a day visiting the Yu family. They were all incredibly respectful in how they interacted with him, and he was also allowed to see Codex 1: Clear Moon, Scattered Stars.

How should he describe it? It was certainly worthy of being Codex 1, as it was an absolutely terrifying sourcebox array. When fully prepared, it was strong enough to kill even most peak Dukkhans. At the very least, people who had achieved that cultivation level through Seed Transfusion, like Baisha Tiancheng or Yu Jing, would never be able to break free from it.

Even a peak Dukkhan as powerful as Venerable Lan Ye might be pushed into a truly desperate situation.

Unfortunately, it was not enough to pose a threat to Lu Yin.

While it deserved to be Codex 1, it still left Lu Yin feeling rather disappointed.

The Cheng and Yu families should have possessed roughly equal levels of strength, but it was clear that Codex 1 was far less of a threat than Baisha Tiancheng’s nineteen simultaneously carved sourcebox arrays, let alone the moment when the Cheng family had released hundreds of sourcebox arrays at once.

The Yu family was undoubtedly hiding something.

Lu Yin had heard rumors that the Yu family possessed a supreme sourcebox array that could simultaneously defeat ten peak Dukkhans. He had mentioned the matter to Yu Jing, who had denied the rumor in a bitter and self-deprecating manner. Instead, he told Lu Yin that the Yu family had inherited the Script Arrays of the Skyveil Megaverse and that the megaverse had once possessed a sourcebox array capable of overpowering ten peak Dukkhans. However, his Yu family had not reached that same level of mastery.

Lu Yin had not pressed the matter any further. If the sourcebox array truly did exist, it had to be part of the Yu family’s deepest foundation. Forcing them to reveal that sourcebox array would be no different from forcing them to show him their secret manual. On top of that, he did not believe that the Yu family truly possessed such a powerful Script Array. For a single sourcebox array to kill ten peak Dukkhans, just how powerful would it have to be?

It would be enough to threaten even Lu Yin.

That was not something that the Yu family could achieve.

That sourcebox array was the Skyveil Megaverse’s greatest accomplishment. It was not something that the Yu family could fully master.

Even so, the Yu family most likely had a sourcebox array that approached that level of power.

While Yu Jing appeared to be respectful and there were no flaws in his behavior, he was someone who would bow with the wind while secretly plotting his own schemes, just like Old Yu.

In contrast, the Cheng family had openly acted despicably. Cheng Gong had never ceased his attempts to kill Lu Yin, and Baisha Tiancheng had also been open about his desire to kill Lu Yin, even risking death to take Lu Yin down.

In that case, what kind of people were the Jue family?

Karma: fate was the beginning, experience served as the journey, and a karmic act led to the destination.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus had woven a thread of fate between Lu Yin and Jue Qing, a conditional bond likely meant solely to draw him to Skyveil City so that he could assess the three great clans, rather than to create any true tie with Jue Qing. What Green Lotus had failed to realize was that Lu Yin would have gone to the city even without such a pretext.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm spanned multiple megaverses, but that did not make the man omniscient.

He was able to know everything he wished to know, but it was impossible for him to inherently possess that knowledge.

As soon as he left the Yu family’s residence, someone approached Lu Yin. “Jue Rou greets Mr. Lu.”

A young girl had approached him. She was beautiful with delicate features and graceful movements. Despite her youthful looks, she somehow radiated a mature, gentle beauty, and her bright eyes looked like reflective pools of water. They were both brilliant and lovely.

Lu Yin looked at the girl. “Are you from the Jue family?”

Jue Rou smiled and respectfully replied, “Jue Ling is my mother. I’m here to invite you to visit the Jue family and have a conversation, Mr. Lu.”

Lu Yin nodded. “Let’s go.”

“This way, please.” Jue Rou invited Lu Yin into a carriage, which then left for the Jue family’s residence.

The Jue family had only sent one young woman to invite Lu Yin to visit them, but they had not done so in a show of disrespect. In fact, it was the opposite. Jue Rou was Jue Ling’s own daughter, and the young lady rarely stepped foot outside of the family’s holdings. With just her zither music alone, she had succeeded in enchanting countless people in Skyveil City.

Her beautiful face and eyes that were as soft as water had made Jue Rou into the divine maiden that countless admirers dreamed of.

While Jue Rou was not one of Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s disciple, her elder sister, Jue Qing, was one of the Seven Fairies. And yet, there were just as many suitors seeking Jue Rou’s hand in marriage as her sister’s.

Unless she chose to go, no one was able to force Jue Rou to take even one step out of the Jue family’s residence, let alone leave to invite a guest.

Despite that, Jue Rou had gone alone in an enclosed carriage to invite Lu Yin and escort him to her family’s home.

It was as if Jue Rou could belong entirely to Lu Yin. The Jue family was extending an unspoken offer that everyone could understand.

Naturally, Lu Yin was able to see through their intentions, and he could not hold back a chuckle. It seemed that the people of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse were particularly prone to using this method to bind him. The first had been Greater Sancte Green Lotus himself, later followed by the Yu family, and now the Jue family. All of them employed the same tactics.

But between the three, Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s offer had been far more impressive; he had offered Lu Yin all Seven Fairies. An Immortal was still an Immortal, and no one beneath their realm could match their grandeur.

“Is Jue Qing your sister?”

Jue Rou replied respectfully, “Yes, Jue Qing is my second sister.”

“Then why didn’t she come to invite me?”

Jue Rou blinked, her glistening eyes revealing a hint of pain. “Sir, are you not satisfied with me?”

Lu Yin looked at her. “I simply pity you.”

Jue Rou was surprised. “Pity me?”

Lu Yin casually replied, “With something like this, you’ll have a difficult time marrying in the future.”

Jue Rou stared at Lu Yin, her expression shifting from being distant and unfamiliar to showing genuine gratitude. “Sir, you’re nothing like what the rumors claim.”

Lu Yin was curious. “What do the rumors say about me?”

Jue Rou replied, “That you are decisive and merciless when it comes to battle. You are ruthless, lawless, and without any inhibitions.”

Lu Yin chuckled. “You really dare to tell me all of that?”

“Because you’re not how the rumors claim. That’s why I dare to tell you.”

“What if I am?”

“You’re not.”

Lu Yin just gave a small smile, but he did not argue. Did it matter if he was like the rumors claimed? The truth would not change his actions.

Some people acted on impulse, while others acted because they had no choice.

Lu Yin could act willfully at times, like when he had refused to accept Greater Sancte Green Lotus as his master. He had done that to stay true to his principles. The truth was that, most of the time, he could not act as he wished. He had to put on a polite facade even with people he despised, while internally considering their schemes and machinations.

The further he advanced, the less freedom he enjoyed.

There were some ordinary humans who could live freely. They could enjoy simply living in their own little haven. While it might be small, to them, it was the entire universe.

Within that place, they were free.

For Lu Yin, it did not matter how vast a universe might be; it would still be small.

He longed for freedom, yet he could never have it.

For cultivators, their lives were less about pursuing Immortality and more about pursuing freedom: the freedom to live, and the freedom to decide how long they would live.

Cultivation was a circle.

One started as an ordinary person, and then they returned to being an ordinary person.

“I will never marry,” Jue Rou suddenly announced.

Lu Yin looked at her. “What do you mean? Are you fond of me?”

Jue Rou was taken aback by the question, but she quickly smiled. “Sir, you really know how to joke around. I merely mean that I will one day inherit the Jue family, so I won’t marry. My mother, Jue Ling, gave birth to us, but she also never married.”

“You’re going to inherit the Jue family? What about Jue Qing? Oh right, don’t you also have an older brother or sister?”

“An elder brother. However, because he is a man, he cannot inherit the Jue family. My second sister is cold and detached, and she focuses on pursuing things that none of us understand. Additionally, because she is one of the Seven Fairies and is part of the Sea of Karma, my mother cannot force her to do anything. That’s why I will eventually inherit the Jue family.”

“You really are quite pitiful.”

Jue Rou blinked again. “Sir, you have such a strange way of thinking.”

Lu Yin just smiled and stopped talking.

On the other hand, it seemed that Jue Rou’s floodgate had opened. She continued to talk incessantly. First, she spoke of recent events, with a particular focus on the impact that the Cheng family’s destruction would have on Skyveil City. She then moved onto the Jue family, before finally sharing a few random details about her own childhood.

Only then did Lu Yin understand that the girl’s personality was completely at odds with her appearance; she was a complete chatterbox.

She must have been suppressing herself terribly.

She grew more and more excited as the carriage ride continued, to the point where she even speaking of trivialities, while Lu Yin was left speechless.

When he saw how happy she was to speak at length and also that she had no intention of giving Lu Yin an opening to respond, he decided to simply ignore her chatter and allow her to continue.

To reach the Jue family’s residence from the Yu family’s, it was necessary to cross all of Skyveil City. Even with the carriage’s beasts high speed, the journey would take at least an hour, and even that was thanks to Skyveil City’s unique transportation system. Without that, if Si Jiushi’s carriage were to make the journey for example, it would take ten days to half a month to travel between the two families’ residences.

There was a jolt as the carriage came to a stop, and then someone respectfully announced, “Senior, we have arrived.”

Inside the carriage, Jue Rou seemed reluctant for their journey to have ended. Seeing how Lu Yin was looking at her oddly, the girl’s face grew flushed, and she stuck out her tongue in embarrassment before stepping out.

Lu Yin chuckled and followed behind.

At the gates of the Jue family’s residence, Jue Ling stepped out to personally greet Lu Yin with the entire Jue family at her back. Directly behind her stood a young man, who was most likely Jue Rou’s elder brother.

Lu Yin’s visit caused everyone in the Jue family to turn tense. It had not been long since the Cheng family had been wiped out, and people feared that Lu Yin might make trouble for the Jue family as well. Their only source of confidence was not the Jue family itself, but rather their second young mistress, Jue Qing, who was associated with the Sea of Karma. Even Lu Yin would probably show the Sea of Karma a bit of face.

“Jue Ling, matriarch of the Jue family, welcomes you, Senior. It is our honor to have you pay us a visit,” Jue Ling said warmly.

Behind her, all of the members of the Jue family bowed. “Greetings, Senior.”

“Greetings, Senior.”

“Greetings...”

Lu Yin smiled. “Senior Jue Ling, you are too kind. There’s no need for all of this.”

Jue Ling smiled. “This is only proper. Please, Senior.”

Lu Yin nodded and followed the woman into the estate.

The Jue family’s home was different from the Cheng and Yu families’. There were small bridges and flowing streams everywhere, and an overall misty, rainy atmosphere gave the place a soft grace.

After all, it was a clan led by women.

Lu Yin had asked Yu Jing about the Jue family during their conversation.

Yu Jing had said that it was easier for women to master comprehension techniques, and so the Jue family had always been led by women. Their matriarchs could never marry, nor even live with their beloved.

That was also why Lu Yin had said that Jue Rou was pitiful.

As they moved through the estate, Jue Ling introduced various members of the Jue family to Lu Yin, much as Yu Jing had done before. Most of the family members dispersed, and soon, only Jue Rou was accompanying her mother and Lu Yin.

“By the way, on your way here, my daughter didn’t cause you any trouble, did she, Mr. Lu?” Jue Ling asked with a smile.

Jue Rou shot a cautious glance at Lu Yin, clearly nervous as to how he might respond.

Lu Yin glanced back at the girl. “Your girl is quite cute.”

Jue Ling was caught off guard.

Cute? Shouldn’t it be gentle?