Chapter 3890: Survival And Demise

Lu Yin had been trying to find a way to return to the Tianyuan Megaverse. Fortunately, there was no rush, as the Nine Odysseys Megaverse was also concerned about the Tianyuan Megaverse’s fate. Since Green Lotus’s Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm encompassed the Tianyuan, it meant that Lu Yin’s home megaverse was also under the protection of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

“I want to know about the Netherfiends.”

The Great Master remained silent for a moment. “The Netherfiends represents a group, a group that caused the death of Greater Sancte Mi Jin. We once believed that, after his death, the group vanished. However, it was not long after that they reappeared. I can’t explain this to you clearly, because even I don’t know the truth behind that group. Only the three Greater Sancti do.

“What I can tell you is: if you encounter Netherfiends, kill them without mercy.”

Lu Yin asked again, “What about Yong Heng?”

“Yong Heng?”

“This man.” Lu Yin drew a picture of Yong Heng. “He uses the same power as Netherfiends.”

“That’s the traitor.”

“The traitor? He betrayed humanity?”

“He’s betrayed all.”

“What does that mean?”

The Great Master explained, “He has betrayed both humanity and the Netherfiends. If he is mentioned, a certain gate also needs to be mentioned.”

“Greater Sancte Awe Gate?” Lu Yin asked automatically.

“No. There’s no connection to Greater Sancte Awe Gate. I’ve heard from the Greater Sancti that even they are searching for that gate. While it must exist somewhere in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, no one has managed to find it yet. That gate involves Immortals. This traitor has a world-shaking secret behind him—he can represent humanity, the Netherfiends, and possibly even an unknown Immortal.

“Did he go to your Tianyuan Megaverse?”

Lu Yin nodded. “That’s where he’s been all along.”

“No wonder Master Qing Cao negotiated an agreement with our megaverse for no one to be allowed into the Tianyuan Megaverse. It was all to protect him,” the Great Master muttered.

Lu Yin pressed on. “Master Qing Cao was the one who made it so that no one from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse could enter the Tianyuan?”

The Great Master replied, “In a way, yes. Master Qing Cao is an Immortal, but his Spirit Nidus is constantly being harvested by our Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Even if we don’t wish to, we need to pay a price for this. Besides, with him around, our shield is more stable.”

“What’s the connection between Master Qing Cao and Yong Heng?”

“How should I know? Still, it’s understandable that he would help that traitor. He also views our Nine Odysseys Megaverse as an enemy, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend. He might even know the secret behind the traitor.”

After pausing for a moment, the Great Master continued to say, “That traitor is truly ruthless. He’s managed to betray both humanity and the Netherfiends, and yet he still managed to escape. That’s quite impressive.”

Lu Yin suddenly recalled something. “Senior, you mentioned that Yong Heng is connected to a gate. Could that gate be the Gate of Laws in the Spirit Nidus?”

The Great Master replied, “Everyone is aware of the Gate of Laws. Would there still be a need to search for the gate?”

Lu Yin was momentarily rendered speechless, as he realized the truth to that question. How could the Nine Odysseys Megaverse not be aware of the Gate of Laws?

“However, since you’ve brought up the Gate of Laws, I’ll warn you: do not touch it. It has a very important function,” the Great Master added.

Lu Yin remembered that Stillstorm had once emerged from the Gate of Laws. Could it be connected to some other place?

“Exactly what is the Gate of Laws?”

“That’s hard to answer. There are some things that you are better off asking Greater Sancte Green Lotus. You can meet with the Greater Sancte at any time, so why ask me?”

“I have one last question for you, Senior.”

“Tell me.”

“What is the meaning of the scene on the last page of the Cheng family’s secret scroll?”

There was no answer, though the communication device’s display remained pitch black.

Lu Yin frowned. Not even when he had asked about the Netherfiends had the Great Master fallen silent for so long.

After a long stretch of silence, the Great Master finally spoke. “Um... What did you just say? I stepped away for a moment, so I didn’t hear you.”

Lu Yin was completely lost for words. He had assumed that there was something serious about his question, not that a random thing had prompted the Great Master’s silence.

“I asked about the last page of the Cheng family’s secret scroll.”

“You’ve seen the Cheng family’s secret scroll?” the Great Master returned.

“I have.”

“How did you feel upon seeing the last page?”

“Chilled,” Lu Yin blurted. There was no better description.

The Great Master hummed in agreement. “Precisely. That was my exact same reaction. That is a grave, grave situation.”

Lu Yin arched a brow. Were things really so serious?

“You must have seen the Spirit Nidus’s Mother Tree.”

“The black Mother Tree?”

“Yes. Don’t you find it strange? How could a Mother Tree turn black?”

“It is strange, but I couldn’t find an answer in the Spirit Nidus.”

“Less than ten people can answer that question,” the Great Master explained. “It’s because that Mother Tree once shielded us from a catastrophe.”

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “A catastrophe?”

“Yes, catastrophic destruction.” The Great Master’s tone grew heavy enough that Lu Yin could sense it even through the call. “Our Nine Odysseys Megaverse has destroyed a number of foreign megaverses. The Aevum Inch is vast beyond measure. Not even Immortals can reach its end. No one can guess at how many megaverses may exist in the Aevum Inch. While we can destroy those we encounter, others can also destroy us. That is why we have made tremendous preparations. That black Mother Tree was used to prevent one such catastrophe, and fortunately, it succeeded. If not, there would not have been just the one black Mother Tree, as the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse and the three lower megaverses would have all been wiped out. Not a single one would have remained.”

Lu Yin’s expression grew serious as he suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of pressure. He had never imagined that the Nine Odysseys Megaverse would have encountered something that risked the megaverse’s utter annihilation.

“While I am unwilling to admit it, this is the truth. Mr. Lu, have you ever resented the Spirit Nidus or our Nine Odysseys Megaverse because your Tianyuan Megaverse could be reset at any moment?

“The Spirit Nidus has always resented our Nine Odysseys Megaverse because of how we plunder their resources.

“As for the Consciousness Megaverse, they have things even worse. They have been at war with the Spirit Nidus for countless years. Those conscients dream of exterminating the Spirit Nidus and resetting it.

“Ultimately, everything can be reduced to a few simple words: survival and destruction.

“On their own, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, the Spirit Nidus, and your Tianyuan Megaverse would have been erased from the Aevum Inch long ago. Our Nine Odysseys Megaverse serves as the vanguard and the lookout, and we have survived a number of life-and-death crises. That is the reason for the current structure to exist: we harvest resources from the Spirit Nidus so that we can raise powerful cultivators. We send out millions on our expeditions, while using the three other megaverses as a shield. All of this is simply to avoid the risk of complete destruction.

“This arrangement leads those who do not stand at the top to resent each other. The people of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse look down on the other three megaverses, while those three megaverses hate the Nine Odysseys Megaverse for how they are plundered. Only a few understand the reasons behind everything.

“Even the expeditions to destroy foreign megaverses are only conducted in order to eliminate hidden dangers and further strengthen ourselves.

“I’m not telling you this in an attempt to make the Nine Odysseys Megaverse appear grand. Everything that we do is for survival. If the day comes when we need to sacrifice the three megaverses in order to protect ourselves, we won’t hesitate to do so. I tell you all of this so that you can also feel the crisis, because you are now qualified to know.

“Given your current level, your vision should no longer be limited to just one megaverse. It is difficult for humanity to survive. Every megaverse that we have destroyed was inhabited by other lifeforms. The Tianyuan and Spirit Nidus are both megaverses that serve as the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s shield, but that is because they are also occupied by humans. Without that, how could they serve such a function? The Skyveil and Mindscape Megaverses would have been more suitable.

“You still might not be able to understand what I’m saying, but one day, after you’ve experienced a war between megaverses and the destruction of an entire civilization, you’ll look back at this conversation and understand: the three megaverses are both our shield and our burden.

“By the way, the skeleton that you saw in the scene from the last page of the Cheng family’s secret scroll is directly related to the calamity that our megaverse barely escaped from. Even now, we haven’t been able to find that skeleton. While it may be a human skeleton, it’s completely different from us humans. Even the Greater Sancti are unable to find it. If we encounter that same catastrophe again, we won’t be able to survive by sacrificing just a single Mother Tree.”

The Great Master had suddenly revealed a great deal of information, including secrets that people at Li Guo’s level should not be privy to.

Despite all that Lu Yin had learned during the conversation, his confusion had not been reduced almost at all.

“How could a Mother Tree turning black prevent a catastrophe?”

The Great Master said, “You’ll learn soon enough. What I am telling you today is not just to answer your question, but is also related to what comes next.”

Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. “Another catastrophe?”

“A list. It’s the list of those who will go to the Orchid Megaverse.”

Lu Yin was stunned, but then he quickly remembered some conversations that he had overheard when the Seventh Night Pillar had returned more than a decade earlier. “The list of those who can witness the Orchid Megaverse being reset?”

“That’s right.”

Lu Yin was surprised. The Seventh Night Pillar had returned from the Orchid Megaverse after pushing things to the point where the megaverse could be reset at any time. Even so, it should have taken about a hundred years for that to happen. Why was it being pushed forward so fast?

Lu Yin asked just that.

“That is a question for the Seventh Night Pillar. I am not part of the Nine Odysseys, and I have no influence in such matters.”

“How many will be going to the Orchid Megavese?”

“Normally, more than 10,000 would be sent, but due to the rush this time, less than 1,000 will go.”

“Are all of them peak Dukkhans?” Lu Yin asked in shock.

“Of course not. If we had that many peak Dukkhans, why would the Nine Odysseys Megaverse be afraid of the Aevum Inch?

“There are only a few peak Dukkhans, and not even all of them are qualified to watch a megaverse be reset. To begin with, any who gained their cultivation through a Seed Transfusion are disqualified. After that, cultivators have their own standards. Some are aware that witnessing the reset of a megaverse would be entirely useless to them, while others have already witnessed a reset. Additionally, it’s necessary that some stay behind. This means that there will be less than a tenth of the normal number of peak Dukkhans that typically go to witness a megaverse be reset.

“More importantly, it’s an experience that can help those who will eventually become peak Dukkhans, as it allows them to avoid taking a wrong path. Witnessing the reset of a megaverse can trigger enlightenment for many people. After all, we are born from the megaverse and will eventually return to it. A reset is a rare experience.”

It was rare for Lu Yin to get such a clear and respectful explanation from someone at the Great Master’s level. “So why will I be allowed to go?”

“I am giving you a place as a return gift.”

Lu Yin did not know what the Great Master meant by a return gift, but he assumed that it had something to do with the matter involving the Autumnspring Slip.

“That’s enough for now. Mr. Lu, your reason for entering the Nine Odysseys Megaverse is clear: you wish to protect the Tianyuan Megaverse. Similarly, our Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s goal is also quite clear: survive. Whether we will become enemies in the future depends on what happens in the Aevum Inch. Also, I hope you will be able to break through to the Immortal realm soon so that you can also protect humanity.”

With that, the black display vanished.