Chapter 3899: Can’t Stand It

Yu Jing clenched his fists in anger. There was no doubt that Yu Xing had tried to contact the Yu family before this. But because the Skyward Gate had blocked all communications, the Yu family had never received any messages. From Yu Xing’s perspective, the Luo family should have delivered his message to the Yu family, but Luo Nanshan had forgotten all about them, which had led Yu Jing to only learn about the situation at this late stage.

“Enough. This isn’t the time to assign blame, Brother Yu. This is an urgent matter that needs to be resolved quickly,” Luo Nanshan said.

Yu Jing roared, “Resolved quickly? How? You think that just you and I can suppress the entire Spirit Nidus? Clearly, there’s someone else behind this pulling the strings. It has to be that Immortal Qing Cao.”

Luo Nanshan sighed. That was his guess as well, but just what was Immortal Qing Cao’s goal? The Spirit Nidus had always been harvested by the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, and yet things had always proceeded without issue. Why stir up so much trouble? What benefit could there be? Things had been stable for so many years.

“Let me reach out to Yu Xing. I need to know exactly what’s been happening in the Spirit Nidus,” Yu Jing ordered.

...

Three years passed in the blink of an eye. Already, Lu Yin had been in the Orchid Megaverse for nearly six years. If he also included the time that he spent traveling, it had been nine years since Lu Yin had left the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, which was not really that long.

It would take another ten years to reach Beacon City from the Spirit Nidus.

Over the course of six years, Lu Yin had gathered more than 10,000 bits of Immortal matter, and yet he still felt no hint of any backlash.

He did not know where people like Venerable Lan Ye stored the Immortal matter that they gathered, as everyone had their own way of cultivating.

The biggest difference between Lu Yin and the peak Dukkhans like Venerable Lan Ye and the others was that they did not need to use liquified spirit seed to grab the Immortal matter, while Lu Yin did. Still, he certainly had Immortal matter in his body, and he kept it in his inner universe. That much was undeniable.

Did it have to make direct contact with his body?

Lu Yin had tried, but he was unable to touch the Immortal matter.

It was possible that that was the only reason why he could not trigger a backlash. While there was a significant difference in strength between him and Venerable Lan Ye and the other peak Dukkhans, it was not this exaggerated.

Perhaps when he became a peak Dukkhan, he would be able to make direct contact with Immortal matter.

Lei Gong made a second attempt after seizing enough Immortal matter to trigger a backlash, but that attempt led to his death.

Lu Yin, Gu Duanke, and Venerable Lan Ye watched from a distance as Lei Gong screamed while his body underwent destruction and rebirth. While it should have been a continuous cycle, his body did not revive after decaying. Bit by bit, his body disintegrated, ultimately leaving nothing but ash. The man did not even leave his spirit seed behind.

Three men silently watched it play out.

This was the price of attempting to touch Immortality.

There was a price for attempting such a breakthrough. One’s body needed to rely on Immortal matter to resonate with the destruction and rebirth of a megaverse, but if anything went wrong, the only outcome was death and obliteration.

“There was a time when I nearly died,” Gu Duanke said emotionally, “If I hadn’t obtained a hint of insight right at the brink of death, Gu Duanke would no longer exist.”

Lan Ye looked over at the man and saw a complicated expression on his face. “Shortcuts don’t truly exist. Taking what you believe to be a shortcut often costs more than taking the correct path. If not for how many have died trying to break through to the Immortal realm, our Nine Odysseys Megaverse would have far more peak Dukkhans.

“Only a handful of us peak Dukkhans are present each time a megaverse is reset. One reason is indeed that there simply isn’t enough Immortal matter to satisfy everyone, but the other is fear, fear that too many of us will die.”

Lu Yin’s expression also grew heavy. If he attempted to rely on a megaverse’s reset to step into the Immortal realm, would the megaverse take him with it?

Immortal matter’s backlash... Yes, that’s really just another way of saying death.

Attempting to become an Immortal.

Either one’s state of mind would rise up and harmonize with the megaverse, and they would enter Immortality. Or, they would fail, causing their Immortal matter to vanish. At worst, the Immortal matter that one possessed would become uncontrollable, and the person would die.

“So, have there been many who have died attempting to break through to the Immortal realm?”

Gu Duanke nodded. “Very many. Every reset claims lives, and usually more than one.”

He glanced over to the side, where Venerable Lan Ye was silently standing in the place where Lei Gong had just died. Sensing Gu Duanke and Lu Yin looking at him, Lan Ye glanced over at them. However, he simply left without reacting at all.

“I won’t make another attempt,” Gu Duanke announced. “I’ve watched two megaverse resets, and I’ve attempted to break through to the Immortal realm at least three times. The fact that I’m still alive is already lucky. Mr. Lu, I’ll return to the Seventh Night Pillar now. Good luck.”

Lu Yin watched Gu Duanke leave, and then he looked back at the place where Lei Gong had died. There was nothing at all left: no spirit seed, not even a cosmic ring. Everything had been reduced to ash.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The Autumnspring Slip had written the Luck (运) character, which had allowed them to gain something through luck, but that had ultimately led to the destruction of the entire sect.

When he had wandered the mortal world and told the fortunes of regular humans, Lu Yin had learned one truth: to gain something, one must lose something. The cosmos balanced out all things.

That held true even of attempts to enter the Immortal realm. To take a shortcut, one inevitably had to pay a price.

The megaverse was right there, and it could even be reset, but the omniverse with its endless stars far surpassed human comprehension. What lay at the edge of the omniverse? Karma, luck, and destiny: who controlled them? Lu Yin let out a breath. He pondered for half a day before leaving.

After another two years passed, Venerable Lan Ye made his third attempt, only to fail yet again. Gu Duanke never tried again.

While Lu Yin was gathering Immortal matter, he ran into Venerable Lan Ye and asked a question. If the man was unable to break through to the Immortal realm, had he ever considered using Immortal matter as a weapon instead?

Venerable Lan Ye gave a very simple answer. “I can’t handle that.”

It was a short answer, but it perfectly summed up the suffering and desire of peak Dukkhans.

How could they endure abandoning a chance to step into the Immortal realm and accept being forever stuck and unable to improve their cultivation?

Who could resist a chance to transcend in one step? Success meant becoming an Immortal, someone who could look down on the entire megaverse. It meant becoming a Greater Sancte.

Naturally, anyone who was able to cultivate to the peak Dukkhan level had to possess incredible determination, but that did not mean that they no longer had any desires. Oftentimes, their desires were even stronger than ordinary people’s, while also being more difficult to satisfy and even harder to let go of.

However, Gu Duanke was willing to endure. Was it because he feared death? Perhaps. Only obsession could overcome obsession.

Gu Duanke even stopped gathering Immortal matter. It was possible that he knew that he would not be able to resist the temptation.

If he gathered enough Immortal matter to trigger a backlash, how would he be able to hold back from making another attempt?

Gambling could magnify the most terrifying desires of the human heart, unless one had nothing at all to wager.

Lu Yin ran into Qing Yun, but he only managed to greet her before Granny Yin appeared, standing in front of Qing Yun and blocking the way to her while warily glaring at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin smiled. “Senior, have you not tried to break through to the Immortal realm?”

Granny Yin’s eyebrows shot up. “Brat, mind your manners!”

Lu Yin’s attention slipped past Granny Yin to Qing Yun. “In my hometown, we shake hands whenever we run into an acquaintance.”

Granny Yin shifted her position so that she completely blocked his view of Qing Yun. “Brat, if you want a handshake, I’ll take it.”

“Senior, stay out of young people’s affairs.”

Granny Yin continued to glare at Lu Yin as he offered Qing Yun another wave. With that, he left.

Seeing Lu Yin walk away, Granny Yin started fuming. “That brat is so rude and shameless!”

Qing Yun smirked. “Granny, he was just teasing you.”

Granny Yin sighed. “Girl, you’re too soft-hearted. It would be best if you could stay away from that brat in the future. I won’t live much longer and won’t always be able to protect you.”

Qing Yun shook her head. “You worry too much, Granny.”

She then looked off into the distance. “Let’s keep going. This reset has already provided me with many insights.”

Elsewhere, Lu Yin returned to the Seventh Night Pillar, where he asked Gu Duanke to help him gather Immortal matter.

Gu Duanke was speechless. “Mr. Lu, do you know why I refuse to collect Immortal matter after deciding to not attempt another breakthrough?”

Lu Yin asked, “Why?”

Gu Duanke said, “To begin with, it’s unnecessary. If I start gathering Immortal matter, I won’t be able to resist gathering more until I am able to make another attempt. Aside from that, I really have almost no use for Immortal matter. I don’t have any Immortal battle techniques to use with it, and I wouldn’t need Immortal matter to fight against anyone in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. And on top of all that, there’s another, even more important point.”

He stared at Lu Yin. “Any excess Immortal matter is confiscated by the Greater Sancti upon our return to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.”

Lu Yin had already guessed the man’s first two reasons, and he had asked simply to confirm them. The third reason was a complete surprise. “The Greater Sancti confiscate Immortal matter?”

Gu Duanke nodded. Peak Dukkhans stand at the peak in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, only beneath the Immortals. If all of us had Immortal matter, things would fall into chaos. If any of us could unleash an Immortal battle technique that’s empowered by Immortal matter, even the Immortal Greater Sancti would have to pay attention. Do you think that the Greater Sancti would ever allow that to happen? Even if there are very, very few who have learned Immortal battle techniques.”

Lu Yin understood. That made a great deal of sense, so why had he not considered the possibility?

The Greater Sancti ruled over the Nine Odysseys Megaverse with absolute authority. Aside from each other, they would not tolerate any threats.

An Immortal battle technique that had been empowered with Immortal matter could undoubtedly threaten a Greater Sancte, even if such a technique could only be used a few times. The Greater Sancti would never allow such a thing to exist.

They wanted to retain absolute authority.

No wonder Gu Duanke had simply refused to collect more Immortal matter.

Despite all of that, Lu Yin had killed Cheng Gong across two domains with a sword strike that used Immortal matter. The Greater Sancti must have known, but they had not made any trouble for Lu Yin. Were they being too lenient with him?

Lu Yin felt that he could vaguely grasp a bit of what the Greater Sancti were thinking, but their perspective was completely different from that of ordinary cultivators.

Even a sect like the Rift of Suffering, which had never looked down on the three megaverses, could not equal the Greater Sancti’s vision. The Rift of Suffering was merely following their hearts, whereas the Greater Sancti were looking at the entire cosmos.

Another two years passed, and Venerable Lan Ye made his fourth attempt to step into the Immortal realm. He felt that he was too compatible with the Orchid Megaverse for failure to be an option. If he was unable to succeed there, then no one would be able to.

However, his fourth attempt killed him.

Lu Yin and Gu Duanke watched from afar. Venerable Lan Ye let out unwilling roars of rage, but he was unable to stop death from claiming him. His body was reduced to ash, just the same as Lei Gong. The man died in the ruins of the Orchid Megaverse’s Mother Tree.

Gu Duanke said nothing, and he simply returned to the Seventh Night Pillar.

Lu Yin continued to quietly stare at the location. Another peak Dukkhan had just died. The gap between Immortals and all others beneath them was truly vast.

No one could calculate their chances of breaking through to the Immortal realm. Venerable Lan Ye had had a better chance than anyone else, so long as he attempted his breakthrough in the Orchid Megaverse, but exactly what did a better chance mean?

The man himself had believed that he had a ten percent chance, but it was possible that his chances had actually been one in a hundred, one in a thousand, or even one in ten thousand.

Not even the Immortal Greater Sancti could give an answer.

If Lan Ye had known that he would die, would he have still tried?

The answer was yes. He would not have given up even a single chance at possibly becoming an Immortal. Immortality was every cultivator’s ultimate goal.