Chapter 3945: Hidden Away

Jie Zun had clearly appeared by accident. From what Lu Yin knew about Aeternus and how the Netherfiends had remained hidden for countless years in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, it was impossible for Jie Zun to have carelessly suddenly appeared on Cragpeak. His appearance could only mean one thing: he had been deliberately exposed.

By who?

Lu Yin immediately thought of Yong Heng.

The Netherfiends would gain nothing from exposing Jie Zun. Only Yong Heng would do such a thing. After all, he was familiar with the Netherfiends, given that he had betrayed them.

In front of Lu Yin, Cheng Hongyuan continued to flee. Lu Yin automatically slowed down and stopped focusing solely on the skeleton. He was thinking of why Yong Heng would deliberately expose Jie Zun. What was the point? To prevent Cheng Hongyuan from capturing Li Guo? To have Jie Zun kill Cheng Hongyuan? Or had it been to wait for Lu Yin to take action?

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. Yong Heng understood Lu Yin well, just as Lu Yin had an excellent understanding of Yong Heng.

Yong Heng had planned everything out eons ago. Jie Zun’s appearance was an extremely significant event, but not even Jie Zun himself had known how he had been exposed. Even so, Lu Yin was ninety percent certain that Yong Heng was the cause.

If Jie Zun could not provide an answer, then could Cheng Hongyuan?

Exactly what was Yong Heng trying to do?

Lu Yin unleashed karma again, still trying to see through Cheng Hongyuan. At the same time, he released his consciousness in all directions. If Yong Heng really had been the one to expose Jie Zun, he had to be watching the events unfold from somewhere.

However, no matter how far Lu Yin spread his consciousness, he could find no trace of Yong Heng.

He focused on Cheng Hongyuan’s skeleton again and then hid himself. This forced Cheng Hongyuan to continue fleeing, as he could not find his enemy even after sending others’ skeletons out to attack.

Still, Cheng Hongyuan was certain that Lu Yin was still focused on him. It was impossible for Cheng Hongyuan to escape so easily.

He was being pursued by the most powerful individual beneath the Immortal realm.

Cheng Hongyuan had fought against Jie Zun, but Jie Zun had been completely unable to fight back against Lu Yin. The moment that Jie Zun had ripped off his own arm in order to escape, Cheng Hongyuan had also fled. That exchange had made it clear that Jie Zun was doomed, and staying any longer would have similarly doomed Cheng Hongyuan.

The man was not certain that Lu Yin had seen the Cheng family’s secret manual, which meant that his only option was to demonstrate his value as clearly as possible. Even if Cheng Hongyuan died, it could not be for nothing. Everything he did was based on the assumption that Lu Yin had seen the secret manual and was after the white skeleton recorded on the last page. From Lu Yin’s reactions, Cheng Hongyuan felt that his guess must be right.

If he was wrong, he would have already died.

Not being able to sense Lu Yin did not mean that Cheng Hongyuan had shaken the man off.

Cheng Hongyuan guessed that what Lu Yin wanted was to find the original white skeleton.

In that case...

Far ahead, a mortal city was shrouded in darkness. There were only a few flickering lights, due to it being nighttime. The city had imposed a curfew on its residents, so only patrolling guards were moving about, which granted the people a sense of safety.

Knock, knock, knock.

Rigid knocking struck a wooden door. It creaked open, revealing five or six young men in official uniforms. They were waiting expectantly.

The door led to a small shop, and fragrant steamed dumplings were being cooked.

“Hurry up, Old Yu! This smells way too good.”

“Don’t rush, officers. Even if you’re starving, they still need to finish cooking. Hehe.”

“Old Yu, we told you that we’d be here to eat around this time. Why didn’t you start them earlier?”

“Alright, alright, here it comes. Enjoy, gentlemen.”

“This is delicious! I haven’t been able to eat something like this in ages. After patrolling on a cold night, my hands are frozen stiff! Old Yu, does Squad Three come by often, too?”

“This old man’s lips are sealed.”

“The higher-ups have no compassion at all! They don’t arrange any food, even for the patrols. I say that we should have Old Yu cook for us regularly. What do you think, Old Yu?”

“This old man doesn’t have so much energy. I’ll be going to bed soon. Thank you for your hard work, officers.”

“Alright, here’s your money. Rest early. We’ll be back again tomorrow morning for another bowl. After that, we’ll sleep all day.”

“Haha, sure. I’ll prepare some extra for you tomorrow.” As the old man spoke, he moved to close his wooden door. At that moment, all of the young men’s backs were facing Old Yu. As the door was closing, he noticed their sudden silence and curiously asked, “Gentlemen? Officers?”

No one answered.

Old Yu frowned. “Officers? Officers?”

Right then, the men’s bodies ripped open, and their skeletons erupted along with a terrifying amount of blood that poured across the ground.

Old Yu was horrified, and he let out a scream of pure terror.

Lights turned on all across the city as shrill cries echoed into the sky.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Cheng Hongyuan’s skeleton charged in from outside the city, coldly sneering. He had forced half of the city’s population’s skeletons to emerge. They would serve as cover.

Let’s see how Lu Yin finds me now!

From far away, Lu Yin saw what had happened in the city. His pupils shrank, and bloodlust filled his mind.

Damn it! Cheng Hongyuan actually dared to do such a thing?

From even farther away, Yong Heng was also watching. He had evaded Lu Yin’s consciousness and was only barely able to make out what was happening. He was watching from the very limit of a peak Dukkhan’s range of vision.

“Damn it! That idiot Cheng Hongyuan actually did that?”

Cheng Xue grew puzzled. “Sir, what’s wrong?”

Yong Heng's expression was grim. “Let’s go. We can’t follow anymore.”

Cheng Xue looked at Yong Heng with a confused expression.

Yong Heng explained in a low voice, “Lu Yin is ruthless when taking revenge, and he will show absolutely no mercy. However, he also has a strong sense of compassion. Cheng Hongyuan just killed half of a city’s population, which Lu Yin will never tolerate. Even if it means giving up on finding me or the skeleton that he’s seeking, he won't let this go. Putting up with this would only lead to more death.

“Cheng Hongyuan is done for.”

Cheng Xue replied, “They’re just ordinary humans, and they’re from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, no less. What do they have to do with him? Compared to them, aren’t you and that skeleton more important, sir? He should be able to see the bigger picture.”

Yong Heng smiled. “Why should he look at the bigger picture?”

Cheng Xue was even more confused.

“What’s referred to as seeing the bigger picture is nothing more than being forced to make a choice when one lacks control. At this moment, unless one of the Immortal Greater Sancti is somehow involved, nothing is outside of Lu Yin’s control. As long as he’s around, we must hide. That’s just a simple truth. Instead of abandoning those ordinary humans and his own compassion so that he can find us, it’s better for him to follow his heart.” Yong Heng looked at Cheng Xue. “When you reach that same level, you’ll understand.”

Cheng Xue frowned. “Isn’t he afraid that you’ll break through and become an Immortal?”

“That is something that we must fear about him even more,” Yong Heng retorted as he turned to leave.

Cheng Xue peered into the distance again, but then she turned and followed Yong Heng.

Far away, Lu Yin stood in the sky high above the mortal city. He stared down at the skeletons fleeing and killing other people. He closed his eyes, let out a long breath, and then slammed his consciousness down.

All of the skeletons were crushed to powder.

Only a single one remained. That skeleton had been hiding among all of the others, only to see that everything had been instantly destroyed. It tried to use Bone Script to force more skeletons to tear out of the city residents’ bodies, only to find itself captured by chains that had emerged from the void: Heaven and Earth Lock. All of its external senses and abilities were sealed, including the skeleton’s voice and even its emotions.

Lu Yin descended, stopping in front of the skeleton.

Cheng Hongyuan’s skeleton stared at Lu Yin. Sure enough, Lu Yin had followed the skeleton, but what was the point in this sudden attack? Why had Lu Yin taken action? Did he no longer want to achieve his goal by following Cheng Hongyuan?

The skeleton could never imagine that his actions just now had crossed Lu Yin’s bottom line. If he hadn’t slaughtered the city’s population, Cheng Hongyuan could have continued fleeing for a very long time.

Unfortunately, he did not understand Lu Yin.

Even as he attacked Cheng Hongyuan, Lu Yin knew that Yong Heng had already left. That man understood Lu Yin all too well, and he knew that Lu Yin would take action.

Let him go then

. As long as Lu Yin lived, unless Yong Heng broke through and became an Immortal, he would never be able to leave hiding.

Hide like a rat. Don’t let yourself get caught.

“Of all the things that you could have done, you should have never harmed those mortals. What did they do wrong? They merely wanted to live in peace. 100 years is already a long life for them. They just want to live life without disruptions, finding joy in having children and grandchildren. It’s something that you can’t understand, even if it’s what we all strive for.”

Cheng Hongyuan was stunned.

Just because of them? Because of these ant-like mortals? He gave up tracking me for this? Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous!

Who among those at their stage of cultivation was not a god-like existence? Why would such beings care about mere mortals?

Lu Yin released his inner universe, enveloping Cheng Hongyuan’s skeleton. In only Lu Yin’s vision, karma shot into the sky as he used his Inner Clarity Technique.

He would examine Cheng Hongyuan’s past and use the power of karma to see all who had crossed his path and even examine his future.

Karma could be severed, used to conceal oneself, or to seek another. Before karma, heaven and earth hid nothing.

However, performing such actions would consume an enormous amount of karma.

When Lu Yin had first comprehended his Inner Clarity Technique, he had sensed someone trying to spy on him through karma, only for that connection to be severed with a single sword strike.

Later on, in the Consciousness Megaverse, he had also predicted the possibility of obtaining the power of Word Manifestation. He had since obtained it.

Unfortunately, Word Manifestation was useless against the skeleton, because it was under the control of another power.

Since that was the case, Lu Yin could only directly examine the skeleton’s karma.

Cheng Hongyuan’s skeleton opened its mouth. “What do you want to know? The Cheng family isn’t wiped out. I can tell you that much.”

Lu Yin’s gaze remained ice cold. The Cheng family? He did not care about them at all. He only cared about Yong Heng and the skeleton that had been released from the sourcebox. These were things that Cheng Hongyuan could not tell Lu Yin about.

Karma dropped down, piercing Cheng Hongyuan’s skeleton and forming an inverted tornado that rose high into the sky. Sadly, such a magnificent scene could only be seen by Lu Yin.

When I alone am absent, what remains is benefit.

When I alone change, what remains is nothingness.

With clarity of heart, unafraid of desire,

as firm as Everstone, unafraid even of myself

the true self shines to the heavens.

Wheel of karma, I face the sky,

gazing upon endless lives afar, protecting this megaverse and all within it.

...

Cheng Hongyuan heard the chant of the Inner Clarity Technique, and his body seemed to grow transparent. Everything about his entire existence was being laid bare. An inexplicable fear overwhelmed his mind.

How can this be? What kind of power is this?

Karma was being constantly consumed like fuel to reveal all that Lu Yin wanted to know.

He observed Cheng Hongyuan’s past, and karma allowed Lu Yin to learn why the man had faked his own death; it was because he had been controlled by the skeleton. Cheng Hongyuan truly had found that skeleton, but the very moment he had, he had been taken over.

As for that skeleton, Lu Yin was also able to see it, though he did not see a skeleton, but rather another person. It was a completely different person from the Lockbreaker that he had seen on the final page of the Cheng family’s secret manual. The skeleton had found new clothing since then.

Cheng Hongyuan had always been hiding beneath the yellow sands in the West Domain.

Cheng Xue had been the one to find all of the Cheng family’s descendants and expose their locations to Cheng Gong. It was also under his guidance that Cheng Gong had concocted his plan to exterminate his family’s descendants and force them into a final battle with Lu Yin.

However, Lu Yin did not care about any of that. What he wanted was to learn about Jie Zun, Yong Heng, and even more importantly, the current whereabouts of the white skeleton that had been released from the sourcebox.

He did manage to see Jie Zun, and as karma continued to reveal more information, Lu Yin finally sensed a far off karmic connection. After finding it, Lu Yin focused on that connection. His head abruptly turned, and his consciousness shot out, streaking across the starry sky to fall onto that distant location. It was at the very edge of his senses, but Yong Heng had already left.

As expected.

The moment that Cheng Hongyuan had slaughtered half of the city’s people, Yong Heng had left.

However, Yong Heng had been accompanied by another person.

It’s that woman, Cheng Hongyuan’s daughter.