Chapter 3991: The One Behind

“If not them, then who could it be?” the maid asked doubtfully.

Bai Xia’s eyes flickered. “To do all this, bypass me, and directly influence the Scion Spire, I can’t think of anyone other than the Greater Sancti.”

“Greater Sancte Awe Gate?”

“Hmph! Greater Sancte Awe Gate doesn’t have time to bother with the Scion Spire right now. Someone is stirring things up, and their identity is obvious.”

“Mr. Lu? But why would he do that?”

Bai Xia opened his mouth to answer, only to suddenly realize something. Instead, he irritably snapped, “Silly girl! Why are you asking so many questions? How should I know? Shut up!”

The maid smiled faintly, clearly unafraid. Still, she asked no further questions.

Even so, she remained extremely curious.

Given Mr. Lu’s level, the Scion Spire should mean nothing to him. Why would he meddle in our affairs?

...

In the Blackmarsh, Lu Yin quietly traveled alongside the carriage. By this time, the Scion Spire’s prodigies and those who wished to challenge them should have all arrived.

The Scion Spire consisted of prodigies from every era of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse that had been frozen in cryostasis. It was only possible for one or two such pinnacle geniuses to appear in each era, so naturally, all of them had rivals vying for supremacy in their era.

Lu Yin had learned from Si Jiushi that some people were obsessed, having become fixated on challenging a particular person from the Scion Spire. That meant that the frozen prodigies would not be arriving alone.

He was truly looking forward to the events that would unfold, and he hoped that the youths would be able to bring chaos to the Blackmarsh. Only then would he be able to see how those hidden underground continued to stay concealed.

Half a month quickly passed. During this time, the carriage had wandered about the swamp, and it had been repeatedly attacked by many insects. Fortunately, there had been no casualties. The most dangerous incident was when three Scrollbane Centipedes had attacked at once. Lu Yin, Ling Guang, and Ling Shu had worked together to kill one of the bugs, while the other two had been handled by the other escorts. The battle had not been too difficult.

Also during this period, Yu Xiang'er did not once leave the carriage. On the other hand, her little maid frequently emerged, driven by curiosity. As the weeks passed, she had become acquainted with Lu Yin.

“So that’s a Scrollbane Centipede? They say that it can travel across planes without being seen and are especially drawn to books,” the maid commented from her seat at the front of the carriage. The driver, a steady old man of few words, simply listened to her chatter.

Ling Guang said, “I’ve heard that the Nest civilization specifically bred Scrollbane Centipedes to destroy other civilizations’ inheritances and traumatize sapient creatures in regards to books and other vessels of knowledge, until the creatures eventually destroyed their heritages themselves. They’re incredibly insidious.”

“It’s a good thing that the Nest civilization has been dealt with. These insects are terrifying!” the maid said. She then turned to Lu Yin. “Hey, Fugui, how’s your wound?”

When the Scrollbane Centipedes attacked, Lu Yin had deliberately allowed an attack to land, taking a cut to his shoulder and letting out a bit of blood. He needed to demonstrate a level of combat strength that matched his perceived cultivation.

“It’s nothing,” Lu Yin said while flexing his arm.

Next to him, Ling Shu remarked, “You’re lucky that it wasn’t deeper. You could have lost that arm.”

A sympathetic expression appeared on the maid’s face. “Is it always like this for you? Living every day in danger?”

Ling Guang laughed. “That’s life for us independent cultivators! This is perfectly normal.”

Lu Yin also smiled. “We’ve faced plenty of dangers and have come close to dying on several occasions. It’s not the kind of life that you’d want to live.”

The maid nodded. “I just want to follow my lady, enjoy food, and idle my life away until I die. That’s enough for me.”

She laughed and then ducked back inside the carriage.

Ling Shu let out an envious sigh. “If only I could serve a lady like Yu Xiang'er. That wouldn’t be bad at all.”

That day, they heard a startled cry from inside the carriage.

Everyone instantly grew alert.

“How could they have come to the Blackmarsh?”

Lu Siyu’s voice also came out from the carriage. “Third Sister told me that they’re heading to the Blackmarsh to compete for the title of First Scion.”

“Seventh Sister, it’s a good thing that you warned me soon enough! I need to leave!” With that, the curtain was pulled back.

“Everyone, please take us back to Blackmarsh City as quickly as possible.”

No one dared to cause the slightest delay, and the carriage hurried back.

Lu Yin quietly chuckled to himself.

So, upon learning that Little Lotus King and the others are coming to the Blackmarsh, she wants to leave. Still, to leave, she needs to go through Blackmarsh City.

They had spent many days on the road, but having previously circled around, they were now a great distance from Blackmarsh City. It was far enough that it would take an ordinary human an entire lifetime to travel such a distance. For cultivators, even Semi-Progenitors, it would take them some time to return.

Worse yet, they were surrounded by swarms of insects.

From inside the carriage, Yu Xiang'er stared at a dense swarm of insects in the distance, her face growing pale. “How could there be a swarm here?”

Her maid also panicked. “Didn’t they say that there aren’t many bugs in the Black Swamp?”

The cultivators hired to escort the carriage scattered, each person launching attacks against the approaching insects.

Lu Yin and the Ling siblings stayed close to the carriage. From time to time, they received wounds from Septastar Blades, and the carriage itself withstood multiple attacks.

As long as Lu Yin was pretending to be an Envoy, he could not keep up with the speed of the Septastar Blades. All he could do was endure their attacks head-on.

Even Ling Guang, who was the equivalent of a Semi-Progenitor, could not see through those bugs’ movements.

Fortunately, everyone had made preparations to fight against the insects.

Even though the carriage was being protected by a group of independent cultivators, most people had only sent out their cultivated spirit seed.

Wails rang out as soon as the Thousand Shards appeared, and all the cultivators shuddered. The mighty Lithic Drakes were not frightening, and neither were the lightning-fast Septastar Blades. It was the Thousand Shards that people dreaded the most, as those weak little bugs could cause a suffering worse than death itself. The agony was unbearable.

Whenever Thousand Shards appeared, wide-spread attacks would immediately be unleashed, as everyone was determined to exterminate every last one of those particular bugs.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Lu Yin kept a tight hold on the carriage as the shockwave slammed into it. The force was nearly enough to fling him away.

Ling Guang grabbed onto Ling Shu. His brow was furrowed and sweating profusely, and his pupils were flickering. He was suppressing the worst kind of pain, as he had been struck by a Thousand Shard.

The pain from those bugs was enough to drive even those with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor to suicide.

“Brother, hold on!” Ling Shu cried hoarsely.

Lu Yin reached out and shoved both Ling Guang and Ling Shu aside. As they moved, a Scrollbane Centipede emerged. Just one step later, and the siblings would have been torn apart.

While Lu Yin was determined to keep his strength and identity hidden, after spending time with the Ling siblings, he had grown attached to them. He could not bear to sit back and watch them die.

The hidden experts protecting Yu Xiang'er should be making a move soon.

As soon as that thought occurred to him, the void in front of the carriage trembled and warped. It looked as though it was being pierced by countless miniscule arrows. In just an instant, the swarm of insects that had surrounded the carriage collapsed. All of the Thousand Shards, Scrollbane Centipedes, even the Ghost Orchids that had been hidden in the Hollow dropped down, and their corpses rained down in piles.

Not one insect managed to escape from the arrows that had pierced the void.

Lu Yin turned to look at where the arrows had come from, just as everyone else instinctively looked.

In the distance, they saw a young man walking towards them. He seemed to emerge from ripples in the void. His arrival seemed unreal, almost as if he was nothing more than a mirage.

As he drew closer, the ripples in the void grew increasingly gentle. Almost imperceptibly, the ripples seemed to bloom into lotus petals.

He had arrived from a lotus!

With every step he took, insects perished.

Everyone stared blankly, frozen as they watched the young man approach.

Ling Guang’s pain eased as he stared at the young man in a daze.

The young man walked straight to the carriage, his expression calm and unruffled. “Xianger.”

Everyone swallowed hard. Xianger? For him to use such an intimate form of address, just who was this man?

Could he be Yu Xiang'er’s...?

Yu Xiang'er immediately stepped out of her carriage, closely followed by her little maid.

The woman offered a small, graceful bow to the young man. “Xianger offers her greetings, Senior Brother.”

Senior Brother?

Those words allowed everyone to instantly understand. Everything suddenly made sense; this man was one of Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s disciples. Still, the Immortal had many disciples, so people did not know which one had arrived.

The young man stared at Yu Xiang'er. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

The woman shook her head. “Nope.”

“We are fellow disciples, so why keep away from me? Senior Yu Mi hopes that you will marry me, and I have no objection. However, if you are unwilling, I won’t force you,” the young man said.

At that moment, everyone knew who had arrived: Little Lotus King. This was the occupant of the Scion Spire’s eastern pod, the genius whom countless people believed to be the person most likely to become humanity’s next Immortal.

King from the waist down, striding the world, that was his appellation.

None had expected to see the renowned Little Lotus King in such a place.

He represented an entire era.

During the era when Little Lotus King had been born, none had been able to surpass him. He had been accepted as Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s disciple, though he and the Seven Fairies had been accepted at different times; some had been accepted before him, while others had been accepted later. Still, Little Lotus King was one of Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s true disciples, while the Seven Fairies, along with Ming Zhuo and Jing Lian, were only nominal disciples.

Little Lotus King could truly represent the Sea of Karma.

“Greetings, Little Lotus King.”

“Greetings, Little Lotus King.”

“Greetings, Little Lotus King...”

Everyone hurried to bow and demonstrate their respect for the Sea of Karma.

Even Lu Yin made a show of bowing.

Ling Guang suppressed his pain to force a bow out.

Little Lotus King’s eyes swept over the crowd. His focus suddenly sharpened, and without any sort of wind, there was some sort of shift in the air, and all who were suffering from the Thousand Shards felt instant relief.

Ling Guang felt such relief that he nearly collapsed.

All of the pain had instantly disappeared.

Overjoyed, he quickly bowed again. “Thank you, Little Lotus King, for showing grace and saving my life.”

Ling Shu’s eyes flushed red. “Thank you, Little Lotus King.”

Many others who had been suffering from the Thousand Shards felt similar gratitude to Little Lotus King.

He stepped forward and eventually entered the carriage. “Let’s go. Give me a ride.”

Yu Xiang'er blinked. She glanced at the carriage, appearing ready to say something, but ultimately held it back. With her maid’s support, she reentered the carriage as well.

When the curtains fell, everyone finally looked away, suppressing their internal shock.

They had actually seen Little Lotus King, the person who might, in some years, become the next Immortal, one of humanity’s greatest powerhouses.

Laying eyes on him was something that they could boast about for the rest of their lives.

If Little Lotus King showed favor to anyone and took them as a disciple, or even just a retainer, they would essentially ascend to the heavens in a single step. How would that not be infinitely better than treasure hunting?

Someone like Little Lotus King would never stoop to treasure hunting.

From that point on, whenever insects were encountered, the escorts fought as though their lives were on the line, deliberately demonstrating their full power. All of them hoped to catch Little Lotus King’s eye.

Lu Yin also put in a bit more effort. With everyone else working so hard, if he did nothing, it would only cause him to stand out.

Ling Guang also fought desperately. According to him, he was not trying to gain Little Lotus King’s attention, but rather repaying the man’s kindness. For that, Ling Guang wanted to ensure that no further insects troubled Little Lotus King.

Inside the carriage, Yu Xiang'er occasionally glanced outside and then back at Little Lotus King. “Senior Brother, you’re even more popular than me, who is one of the Seven Fairies. Look at them; they’re practically about to bite the insects.”

Little Lotus King closed his eyes to rest, choosing to ignore everything.

Yu Xiang'er rolled her eyes and then lazily slouched against the seat in the carriage. She stared outside in a daze.

The maid occasionally stole glances of Little Lotus King, but she did not dare say a word.

Only when the carriage entered Blackmarsh City did everyone finally relax. However, they also felt a bit of regret. If they had been attacked by another swarm of insects, they might have been able to better display the efforts of their training, which might have gained Little Lotus King’s notice, even if the chances were incredibly remote.

“Sister, if only you could marry someone like Little Lotus King,” Ling Guang commented enviously.

Ling Shu rolled her eyes. “Brother, stop dreaming. Do you think that people like him are for the likes of us? Why don’t you just say that I should marry Mr. Lu instead?”

Lu Yin pursed his lips.

Does that count as a confession?