Chapter 3970: Can It Be Played Like This?

Lu Yin thought for a moment. "I fought against Unbroken Time, but honestly, I couldn’t see through it. While I maintained the upper hand, I was always rather passive in that fight."

"I am very proactive." The Great Master pointed to the oar strapped to her back. "None who I wish to strike can escape. Ask them."

Lu Yin reflexively turned to look at Qing Xing and Dan Jin.

Qing Xing offered a wry smile. “Trust her. She’s called the one who cannot be struck, yet whose strikes never miss.”

"What does that mean?" Lu Yin grew puzzled. Cannot be struck? He had met several others with that particular trait. Nightking Zhenwu had been able to transfer all the damage that he received, while the Great Sovereign’s disciple Chu Jian and the Autumnspring Slip’s Qian Shu had both claimed to be untouchable. Despite that, Lu Yin had beaten all of them quite badly.

He seemed to be able to counter such people rather naturally.

There was no such thing as a being who could truly not be touched. Not even Immortals could claim such a thing.

Also, what did "strikes never miss" mean?

"It’s exactly what it sounds like. You’ll understand when I attack." The Great Master looked rather fragile, yet she sounded fiercer than anyone else. Her expression was wooden, though her eyes blazed with a desire to do battle.

Lu Yin had not decided which of the Insect Lords to kill, but since the Great Master favored targeting Unbroken Time and seemed quite confident, that would be their target.

Behind them, a sky-high gate opened up, and Greater Sancte Awe Gate stepped through it. Without a word, she waved a hand and released something.

Lu Yin was surprised.

Immortal matter?

Immortal matter was not something that everyone could see. In the past, he had to use the frenzied mental state induced by the creature in the meteorite to perceive it, but ever since his Wielder - God battle force had evolved into Lifeforce, he no longer needed to use the madness.

Is this for me?

Lu Yin was overthinking. The Great Master stepped forward and grabbed some of the Immortal matter. She was also able to see it without aid.

Next, streams of energy swirled around Qing Xing’s body. It was the Chaotic Ancient Qi Art, which had been developed by Greater Sancte Mi Jin.

The energy swirled around the man’s hand as he grasped some of the Immortal matter, seizing a portion.

After that, Dan Jin raised a hand. What looked like two pills collided and then vanished. With that, she also grabbed some of the Immortal matter.

Lu Yin was astonished.

All three of them can use it?

Peak Dukkhans were able to perceive Immortal matter when a megaverse was reset, though only where universes overlapped. They could then use it to experience the cycle of creation and destruction, which was used to seek Lifeforce within their own bodies. However, perceiving Immortal matter did not necessarily mean being able to actually use it.

It was necessary to either possess Lifeforce or have mastered an Immortal battle technique. Without one of those, possessing Immortal matter was useless.

Gu Duanke had told Lu Yin that those who witnessed a megaverse’s reset were not allowed to keep the Immortal matter that they gathered. Upon returning to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, everything was turned over to the Greater Sancti. However, the truth of the matter was that most people were incapable of using Immortal matter, even if they had it.

And yet, the three people before Lu Yin were all able to actually use Immortal matter.

This once again exceeded Lu Yin’s expectations.

Given that Qing Xing had been Greater Sancte Mi Jin’s disciple, it was no surprise that he had learned an Immortal battle technique. The Great Master ruled Deathmound, which was technically under the oversight of Blood Tower. However, she was also the eldest of the Seven Fairies, which meant that she was one of Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s nominal disciples. It was not impossible for her to have learned an Immortal battle technique as well. But what about Dan Jin? Aside from her alchemy, Lu Yin had never heard of the woman using any battle techniques at all.

Could she use Immortal matter in alchemy?

“Do you not want what’s left? Are you giving it to me?” the Great Master asked with a glance at Lu Yin.

He unceremoniously collected the remaining Immortal matter. It was quite a lot, with at least several hundred bits. It was enough for him to use for a while.

No one was surprised to see that Lu Yin was able to use Immortal matter. They had a fairly good understanding of each other. As for Lu Yin, it was nearly a universal consensus that Lu Yin was the most powerful person below the Immortal realm. Not even the Great Master had ever disputed this claim.

Still, no one could understand how Lu Yin cultivated.

“I will leave everything regarding this next battle to all of you,” Greater Sancte Awe Gate solemnly declared. “If it proves impossible to achieve your goal, simply retreat.”

The Great Master replied, “If we four are unable to kill a single Insect Lord even when working together, things are much worse than we feared.”

Qing Xing tossed his wine bottle aside. “Should that prove to be the case, we can consider fleeing. After all, even my master once considered such an option.”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate looked at the man. “It’s not time for that yet. This Nest civilization hasn’t driven us to flee.”

Lu Yin exhaled. “Let’s go.”

...

A green lotus leaf disappeared into the distance.

“Divide the tasks. Qing Xing and Dan Jin will create a battlefield that no one can interfere with. We cannot give Unbroken Time any chance of escaping. Lu Yin and I will lead the attack itself,” the Great Master announced.

Neither Qing Xing nor Dan Jin refused their assignments.

The Great Master then looked at Lu Yin. “Tell us what Unbroken Time used against you.”

Lu Yin slowly explained his battle, though his words caused Qing Xing and Dan Jin’s expressions to grow grim.

Time. Each individual who comprehended the power might utilize it differently. Accelerating time or freezing time were the most ordinary usages, but Unbroken Time’s abilities opened their eyes to a new realm.

Especially the ninth mark, which could throw a person into a River of Aeons, never to be seen again. Just hearing about such a banishment was chilling.

“I haven’t figured out exactly what the ability of the fifth mark is yet. At that time, I injured it with karma,” Lu Yin said.

“Returning Time,” the Great Master gravely stated.

Lu Yin was surprised. “Returning Time?”

The Great Master explained, “Everything that you have experienced is time, and once time has flowed by, it can never return. That thing returned the time that you’ve already lived through back to you. In other words, the you of the present was forced to bear the time of your past, which compressed your body due to the temporal paradox.

“If your body had been any weaker, you would have been crushed to nothing.”

Lu Yin understood. This explained everything.

Qing Xing was astonished. “Time can be played with like that?”

The Great Master replied, “There are countless ways to use time. The cosmos is home to countless beings. Even among us humans, how many have comprehended the power of time? In the entire omniverse, there are far too many. Every creature controls time differently. Everything boils down to who controls it better.”

“What about you?” Qing Xing asked.

Lu Yin also looked at the Great Master. She had managed to instantly analyze the ability of Unbroken Time’s fifth mark. Clearly, her mastery of time surpassed Lu Yin’s.

She calmly said, “I have my own ways of controlling time.”

She then looked at Lu Yin. “Unbroken Time must have additional ways of using the power of time. I will lead the attack, and you will assist me.”

“Fine.” It was best to have someone take the lead. There had been many times when Lu Yin had served as the vanguard, but that was not because he enjoyed that role. It was simply because there had been no one else to step forward and take that position for him. This time, things were different.

It would be best for the Great Master to volunteer to step forward.

“One more thing. The Seven Fairies’ tasks, you haven’t forgotten about them, have you?” the Great Master suddenly said.

Lu Yin nodded. “Have you decided on yours?”

The Great Master met Lu Yin’s eyes. “I want you to eliminate the Netherfiends.”

Lu Yin was astonished. He had assumed that the Great Master would give him a task related to the war against the Nest civilization. Instead, why was she bringing up the Netherfiends?

“The Netherfiends have hidden themselves too deeply, and they pose too great a threat.”

“I understand. I’ve been searching for them as well, but if they were so easy to deal with, they would have disappeared long ago. Your task is too difficult.”

“It wasn’t easy in the past, but now there’s another person.”

“Yong Heng?”

“No one knows that man’s true goal. He has betrayed humanity, the Netherfiends, and even Silent Death. We do not understand him, but you should understand him quite well.” The Great Master stared at Lu Yin. “That is why I am choosing this as my task for you. Whether Yong Heng’s existence proves to be a curse or a blessing will depend on you.”

Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. “You think too highly of me. Yong Heng is extremely difficult to deal with.”

“He likely thinks the same of you,” the Great Master replied before falling silent.

...

The endless sea of insects was truly spectacular to gaze upon. Their numbers far, far exceeded the levels when they had first appeared. It was understandable why so many in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse were uneasy.

Dan Jin charged straight ahead while throwing out pills, each one created by condensing an entire universe.

Each megaverse consisted of countless parallel universes, some large and others small. Dan Jin’s alchemy actually created pills from those universes. While they were referred to as pills, they were actually condensed universes.

Dan Jin was so highly respected in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse not only because of her strength, but also because her alchemy method constantly eliminated excess parallel universes, which prevented the Nine Odysseys Megaverse from needing to be reset.

Boom!

The void collapsed as the pills destroyed vast swathes of the insect horde.

The sudden violence allowed Unbroken Time and the other Insect Lords to breathe a sigh of relief. As expected, the humans were the ones who had blinked first.

Dark-green vines spread out from a single point to instantly cover a vast region of space. They shot out, sweeping toward the pills. An unknown Verdant Sage was taking action.

When the pills struck the vines, the green growth was constantly shattered and broken, only to regrow at a shocking speed. They actually managed to hold back the pills’ destruction for a time.

Behind the insect sea were Unbroken Time and Ni, both of whom were surrounded by rings of vines that protected them.

Suddenly, the shield of vines around Unbroken Time and the others were torn apart by a single finger. A surge of energy shot upwards, stirring up the void: Chaotic Ancient Qi Art. Qing Xing strode forth, forcibly ripping the vines apart as he confronted Ni, who barreled towards the man. Unbroken Time’s needle jumped to the first mark, which was the line of frozen time.

Lightstream flickered, and Lu Yin pushed Qing Xing aside. One hand stopped Ni’s massive form, while the other pointed at the more distant Unbroken Time.

Bang!

Ni’s body was violently blasted away, its incomparably hard shell cracking. The creature was aghast, as it had not expected Lu Yin to suddenly appear.

Lu Yin’s other hand flicked a finger, directing a burst of power at Unbroken Time. The attack was spread out endlessly by drawn out time, the power dispersing.

Suddenly, Unbroken Time dodged to the side, and a Wheel of Karma swept past it.

Lu Yin arched a brow at seeing the thing evade.

Just as Lu Yin was prepared to strike again, he froze. An oar had appeared above Unbroken Time, and it dropped down in a vicious manner. “Behave!”

Clang!

The sound of ringing metal echoed in his ears as Lu Yin stared into the distance in a daze. The oar had struck Unbroken Time. An invisible barrier surrounded the area where the alternating sun and moon lay, enveloping them and the needle. But when the oar slammed down, black cracks had appeared on that barrier.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Unbroken Time’s needle instantly jumped to the fifth mark. Lu Yin, Qing Xing, and the Great Master, all of whom had just released powerful attacks, were compressed by an invisible power. Unbroken Time did not need to target just one opponent, as it could target them all at once.

If not for how far away Dan Jin was, she would have also been caught by the fifth mark’s returned time.

“Returned time? This Great Master doesn’t want it, and no one can force it upon me!” The Great Master’s oar swept sideways, moving as though she was rowing a boat. There was no boat, nor any water, and yet the oar moved as if it was dragging something, and she violently flung it at Unbroken Time.

At that moment, all of the pressure on Lu Yin and Qing Xing vanished.

Lu Yin was astonished. Had the Great Master actually dragged away the time that had been returned to them?

Unbroken Time retreated farther and farther. It was clear that it had not expected this outcome. Its needle twitched again, this time pointing to the ninth mark. It was no longer attacking Lu Yin and Qing Xing, but rather the Great Master alone. The River of Aeons appeared. Unbroken Time was trying to drag the Great Master into the river.

Even if it felt a bit of pressure from Lu Yin, it could at least see that threat.