Chapter 3893: Self-Awareness

Gu Duanke personally moved out to welcome Lu Yin, which was a sign of great respect.

Lu Yin smiled. “Senior, I’m sorry to trouble you.”

Gu Duanke returned the smile. “It is the Seventh Night Pillar’s honor to welcome a visit from you, Mr. Lu. Please, come in.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way, there’s something that I need to remind you of, Mr. Lu. There are people present from many of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s different factions, so unless you’re looking to make enemies, it’s best not to observe others. After all, many don’t wish outsiders to know that they are on this journey.”

“I understand. Even if you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t carelessly peek on others.”

“Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Lu. Please.”

Lu Yin did not think much of the matter, but that was because he had no idea just how many familiar faces were on the Seventh Night Pillar.

After stepping onto the Seventh Night Pillar, Lu Yin casually sat down on a mountain peak. He did not look at anyone, and he was also not disturbed by anyone.

After half a month of waiting, the ground beneath the Night Pillar trembled. The Morrow Behemoth roared at the sky as it grabbed the band of brown skin as its heart started to beat with increasing power.

Suddenly, drums could be heard ringing out. The sound was so powerful that not even the Morrow Behemoth could cover it up.

Lu Yin stared into the distance at where people from the Qiunan family were beating the war drums.

Even if they aren’t headed into battle, they still need to beat the drums?

Boom!

The Seventh Night Pillar slowly rose as the Morrow Behemoth picked it up. The ground beneath Lu Yin shook even more violently, and a terrifying power surged from below.

Lu Yin watched calmly as he felt the might of the Morrow Behemoth. Even if it was not as strong as Lu Yin himself, there was a raw violence to the beast’s power that gave it a sense of primal force.

He had not expected to leave the megaverse through a Night Pillar so soon. He had watched the Sixth Night Pillar’s launch, but this time, he was leaving with one.

There were no Greater Sancti to see them off, as they were not headed to war.

The sound of the war drums continued as the Seventh Night Pillar was suddenly thrown. It looked like a meteor as it streaked across the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s sky, soon vanishing into the endless darkness. Lu Yin looked back, his eyes growing wide.

Where is the Mother Tree?

He was not looking back and seeing the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse, as he had expected. Instead, he saw a sky full of stars that was constantly twisting and distorting, surrounded by the enormous Night Pillars. Even that disappeared as the Seventh Night Pillar entered the Aevum Inch. They continued on, moving farther away from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, but all that Lu Yin could see was a distorted view of stars.

He could not find words to describe the sight. It was like looking into a pool of boiling water, given the chaos and destruction he was seeing.

How was this possible?

Gu Duanke arrived. “Mr. Lu, this is your first time seeing this, isn’t it?”

Lu Yin’s expression grew solemn. Behind them, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse was growing less and less visible. The Morrow Behemoth, using the band of brown skin, could launch the Night Pillars with even greater force than the man-made springboards. “Is it... hidden?”

Gu Duanke nodded. “Exactly, our megaverse is hidden. It’s not just the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, as the three lower megaverses are also hidden, keeping all traces of humanity concealed.

“The Aevum Inch is endless, to the point where not even Immortals can see its end. No one can guess at what sort of civilizations might exist in it. Mr. Lu, you should already know about the springboard where the Spirit Nidus built Beacon City. That springboard was not naturally formed. The Greater Sancti have said that it was made by an unknown civilization in the Aevum Inch, and their purpose in building that springboard is certainly not simple.

“The Spirit Nidus understands the need to hide, and thus they do not use that springboard. However, my Nine Odysseys Megaverse is even more aware of the terrors lurking in the Aevum Inch. After all, what we have seen far surpasses what the lower three megaverses have encountered.

“All civilizations that enter the Aevum Inch need to hide themselves. Whoever exposes themselves... will die.”

Lu Yin looked at him. “Like the Orchid Megaverse.”

Gu Duanke looked at Lu Yin. “Precisely. The Orchid Megaverse revealed itself, so it was doomed to be destroyed. Not doing so would simply attract other civilizations. Greater Sancte Mi Jin once said that ‘The most powerful weapon in the cosmos is self-awareness.’”

Lu Yin fell into deep thought as he stared at Gu Duanke.

Self-awareness... Yes, self-awareness is the most powerful weapon.

Gu Duanke peered out into space and sighed. “No one can guarantee that their civilization is invincible in the cosmos. Even if my Nine Odysseys Megaverse produces a few more Greater Sancti, we still would not dare to have such confidence. The cosmos is vast to the point of being endless. The best that we can ensure is our survival. To have the strength to survive and to destroy any enemies that come after us is enough.

“Hiding is not a sign of weakness. Only those who understand the need to stay hidden can hope to actually survive.”

Lu Yin admiringly said, “Greater Sancte Mi Jin managed to see through the cosmos.”

Gu Duanke grew melancholic. “It’s a pity that he died. Greater Sancte Mi Jin did so much for my Nine Odysseys Megaverse. The Night Pillars, the strategies that we use for our foreign expedition, and even the skyswings were all created by Mi Jin. If he were still alive, my Nine Odysseys Megaverse would certainly be in a different state.”

Lu Yin was surprised. “The Night Pillars and the skyswings were created by Greater Sancte Mi Jin?”

Gu Duanke nodded. “Of my Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s four Greater Sancti, Greater Sancte Green Lotus is the oldest, Greater Sancte Blood Tower is the best at combat and has assisted the most expeditions, and Greater Sancte Awe Gate protects the Nine Odysseys Megaverse itself. On the other hand, Greater Sancte Mi Jin was like the brain of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. We would have never reached our current state without him.

“Without Greater Sancte Mi Jin, there would be no Nine Odysseys Megaverse. We wouldn’t have cultivators casually roaming between the four domains. The skyswing saves so much time getting around, and there were so many other things that also came from Greater Sancte Mi Jin. If you spend enough time in my Nine Odysseys Megaverse, Mr. Lu, you’ll discover that many details of our megaverse are closely connected to Mi Jin.”

“How did Greater Sancte Mi Jin die?” Lu Yin asked.

Gu Duanke shook his head. “I don’t know.”

It was clear that Gu Duanke held Greater Sancte Mi Jin in extremely high regard.

Lu Yin did not know much about Mi Jin, but just from what he had heard, the man deserved Lu Yin’s respect.

The skyswings had made things easier for countless cultivators, and the Nine Odysseys Megaverse had obtained the ability to hide itself. As for the way in which the megaverse conducted their expeditions? Those methods had also been devised by Greater Sancte Mi Jin. Those slingshots were truly a brilliant idea.

When he had first seen the skyswings, Lu Yin had immediately believed the Nine Odysseys Megaverse to have an imaginative manner of thinking that regarded the entire cosmos as a playground.

It appeared that Greater Sancte Mi Jin had been the one with that perspective.

“How long will it take to reach the Orchid Megaverse?”

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Gu Duanke said, “Three years.”

“That quickly?” Lu Yin was surprised.

“That’s not fast. There’s a reason why the megaverse needs to be destroyed. It’s simply too close to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, so we can’t allow it to continue existing. If it is not destroyed, it will bring attention to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.”

Using the Night Pillar’s current speed that surpassed what was possible with a manufactured springboard, it seemed that three years would bring them roughly the same distance as what lay between the Spirit Nidus and Beacon City.

That was not very far, given the scope of the Aevum Inch. “Is the Orchid Megaverse moving?”

Gu Duanke glanced over at Lu Yin. “Yes.”

Lu Yin let out a breath. Was it really moving? If that were not true, then given its proximity to the Nine Odysseys in the Aevum inch, the Orchid Megaverse should have been destroyed long ago, and yet Lu Yin understood that the expedition had not taken place very long ago. At the very least, it had happened after the three megaverses appeared, but not even the most distant Consciousness Megaverse had been destroyed. Instead, it served as a shield. Destroying the Orchid Megaverse had not only been ordered because of the reasons that Lu Yin had already heard, but also because it was moving.

The distance between the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and the Orchid Megaverse had been continuously shrinking. That movement meant that the Nine Odysseys Megaverse would eventually be exposed, which was why the Nine Odysseys Megaverse had to take action.

But how could an entire megaverse move?

When Lu Yin asked that question, Gu Duanke was unable to offer an answer. Lu Yin would need to ask one of the Immortal Greater Sancti in order to obtain an explanation.

While it might appear as if peak Dukkhans were only one cultivation realm below Immortals, the gap between the two was immense.

It was not simply a difference in strength, but a difference in perspective and comprehension.

A peak Dukkhan’s knowledge would be confined to their own megaverse. They would need help just to travel to another megaverse. If they attempted to make the journey on their own, even just traveling between the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and the Orchid Megaverse would take an incredibly long time.

Immortals were different, and their perspective extended across the Aevum Inch.

What others considered an unfathomable distance was not that far to an Immortal.

The difference was like a person from an ancient era traveling on a warhorse, while another was using a spacecraft. The two travel methods were entirely different concepts.

Wait.

Lu Yin suddenly thought of a possibility.

Could the Nine Odysseys Megaverse be moving as well?

His eyes flickered as his mind raced. Gu Duanke bade him farewell, but Lu Yin said, “Wait, how do the Night Pillars get back?”

Gu Duanke said, “Greater Sancte Mi Jin placed a certain spirit treasure formation on each Night Pillar. They store and reuse the power generated when the Night Pillars are thrown by the Morrow Behemoths. Once we reach the Orchid Megaverse, the power will achieve equilibrium, and after that, the Night Pillar will gain the ability to return to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.”

Lu Yin understood. “Greater Sancte Mi Jin was the greatest lockbreaker in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.”

“Of course. It’s a great pity that Greater Sancte Mi Jin died before the Skyveil Megavese appeared. If he had still been around, our expedition against that megaverse would not have been nearly so troublesome. Mi Jin would have been able to easily break the Immovable Skyveil Formation, which would have caused the Skyveil Megaverse to fall without being able to put up a fight.” With a final weary sigh, Gu Duanke left.

Lu Yin stared back at the indistinct Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Upon stepping into the Aevum Inch, his perspective had expanded yet again. This was different from when he first entered the Aevum Inch and traveled between the three megaverses.

At that time, his knowledge of the Aevum Inch had been limited to just those three megaverses.

At present, the Aevum Inch felt endless.

He was truly stepping into the endless darkness that concealed infinite danger. What he encountered and what he saw might be something that no previous generation could even imagine.

He merely hoped that he would not encounter the civilization that once posed an existential threat to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse too soon.

Several months after the Night Pillar had left the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, a handsome man approached Lu Yin.

“Junior Brother, it’s better to meet you than just hear about you. My name is Jing Lian. I’m one of your senior brothers.” The man greeted Lu Yin with a bright smile.

Lu Yin looked at the man. “I haven’t yet joined the Sea of Karma, so I’m not your junior brother.”

Jing Lian smiled. “That’s just a matter of time. By the way, we’re the only two from the Sea of Karma participating in this trip to the Orchid Megaverse, so we won’t be lonely...”

Jing Lian was quite friendly, and he spent at least half a day chatting with Lu Yin. Between his enthusiasm and the fact that he was from the Sea of Karma, Lu Yin found it hard to chase the man away.

“By the way, I’ve already spoken to Venerable Lan Ye. I must say, Junior Brother, you’re too reckless. You actually challenged the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse? There are so many powerful experts in our megaverse. Even if you’re invincible right now, who can say who might break through and become the next Immortal? I’ll tell you right now that Venerable Lan Ye has a very good chance of becoming an Immortal. More than ten years ago, when the Seventh Night Pillar returned, one of the Greater Sancti personally granted him the right to witness the Orchid Megaverse’s reset. That’s no small matter! It means that even the Greater Sancti are betting on his chances.

“You said that you offended him, and while right now, he may be no match for you, what if he becomes an Immortal? Will you still be able to defeat him? Still, you don’t have to worry. With your senior brothers and the Sea of Karma supporting you, that man won’t dare to go after you. Even if he does become an Immortal, just be polite and respectful when you see him next, and Master will protect you...”

Lu Yin grew confused. “Venerable Lan Ye was already a member of the Seventh Night Pillar. Did he really need a Greater Sancte to personally give him a place?”