Chapter 4007: Thread

Long Yin sneered. “What a noble sounding excuse. You put on a show of uniting a number of factions to slander Mr. Lu, but in reality, you were just using that as a pretext to rally support. You were secretly poisoning the heads of other families so you could bring their families under your command one by one.

“How incredibly bold.”

The old man stared blankly at Long Yin.

Impossible! How could she know?

Everything that he had done had been completely secret. Nothing should have leaked.

The only possibility was if someone had been watching and purposely investigating him.

But why would anyone suddenly want to investigate him?

Long Yin’s eyes narrowed. “You underestimate Mr. Lu. You used the public sentiment against him as a facade, but your hostility was real. You truly did try to sow discord between him and the people of our Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Mr. Lu was the one to inform Deathmound to come for you.

“After all, he has comprehended karma.”

The senior was horrified by the revelation. Was karma really omnipotent? He had not even directly struck at Lu Yin, and yet the man had managed to uncover everything that he had done and trace it back to the old man.

It was karma... This all happened because of karma.

Karma is absolute.

“All of your actions would have been of no concern to Deathmound, provided that you did not violate any taboos. However, you slandered Mr. Lu during the war against the Nest civilization, which affected the war effort. That is worse than committing a crime. The Waterside family will vanish.” With that, her blade flashed, and a spirit seed fell.

The Waterside family was not the only one. They had merely taken the lead in the East Domain. Many other families and factions in all four of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s domains had tried to use similar tactics to rise up from the ordinary and step into the realm of the megaverse’s true powers.

Had Lu Yin not managed to indirectly investigate his own karma and find out who had been targeting him, he might never have uncovered these schemes, and they might have actually succeeded.

Unfortunately for the families involved, fate had turned against them; they had chosen to scheme against Lu Yin.

Ironically, Lu Yin was also the only person they could safely target. He was the only person whom many in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse would be willing to oppose.

Many people in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse looked down on those from the Spirit Nidus and the Tianyuan. That sense of superiority was the foundation of these families’ plotting.

But in just one day, all such schemers disappeared.

Long Yin looked down. Through the lake, she saw the procession of the Linlu family quietly moving into the distance, and she also saw Shui Su. That was a surprise, as Long Yin had seen the girl in Ridgeplain before.

None of the people traveling along the ground dared to so much as look up. They had even picked up their pace so that they could leave faster.

Lin Jie let out a breath. The destruction of the Waterside family was related to Mr. Lu. The man really was able to influence the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Even Deathmound had acted to assist him.

“Do you now see Mr. Lu’s influence?”

Shui Su replied, “I truly have nothing to do with him.”

Lin Jie was about to speak when the beast pulling the carriage halted, and a voice spoke from outside. “I am Long Yin of Deathmound’s third peak. Please come out of the carriage and speak with me.”

Lin Jie’s expression changed. He did not dare to hesitate for even a moment and hurried out.

Shui Su briefly hesitated, but she followed right behind the old man.

Long Yin merely glanced at Lin Jie before turning her focus to Shui Su. “Girl, are you in any trouble?”

Lin Jie’s heart sank, and he shot an anxious look towards Shui Su, afraid that she might claim that his Linlu family had made things difficult for her.

Instead, Shui Su just shook her head. “No. Thank you for your concern, Senior.”

Long Yin gave a small grunt. She glanced back at Lin Jie and then looked at Shui Su again. With that, the woman vanished.

Only after Long Yin was gone could Lin Jie finally breathe easier. He turned to face Shui Su and bowed low. “Thank you, Miss.”

Shui Su shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

Lin Jie’s voice grew bitter. “If you wish to leave, you may go whenever you wish. You won’t be implicated by my Linlu family. After all, Deathmound has already appeared here.

“If we have offended you during your time with us, please forgive us.”

Shui Su stared up at the red lake floating above them. Could she leave? She did not even know where she should go.

...

At the location of Lu Yin’s great battle with Zhi, Lu Yin released his inner universe, focusing on the red halo that drifted around the star of divine energy. The red energy closely resembled divine energy, but it was not quite the same. Divine energy must have been derived from the red power, and in comparison, was much gentler.

Previously, when the Netherfiends were melted by the red power, it had not even occurred to Lu Yin to extract the energy. That was partly due to a lack of time and partly because any such attempt would have been useless.

However, things had changed. It was possible to use the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm to search for every creature that cultivated this same power, as all of those people belonged to the Netherfiends.

After a full half month of peace, Lu Yin released his Karmic Dao and merged it with the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. He looked up. It was time.

He could not discern the precise differences between the red energy and divine energy. All he could conclude was that Yong Heng, who had created divine energy at his peak, must have possessed absolute strength. Otherwise, how could he have betrayed not only the Netherfiends, but even Silent Death?

Spirals of karma descended from the sky, reaching for Lu Yin and piercing into his inner universe to pass straight through the star of divine energy, as well as the red halo that ringed it.

The Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm started to roil and churn once again as thunder roared across the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

Countless people looked up at the commotion, though they had become a bit numb. These rumblings had recently become so frequent in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse that not even the cultivators knew where the sound originated.

Some guessed that the commotion was related to the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, but they were unable to perceive the power of karma for themselves.

In the Frightened Sparrow Terrace, Greater Sancte Awe Gate stood with her hands clasped behind her back. Lu Yin was making yet another move. She just hoped that he would be able to truly purge the shadows that hid within human civilization.

The Great Master also stared up at the sky. The Netherfiends had to be annihilated.

Elsewhere, Yong Heng looked up, a rare hint of nervousness present in his eyes.

Lu Yin’s mastery of karma had risen by yet another level. In the past, Yong Heng had been confident that Lu Yin could not find him, but the recent rumbling that rang across the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and Lu Yin’s battle against Zhi told Yong Heng that the Netherfiends’ gate had been exposed. Whatever stood behind the Netherfiends was beyond his own reach. The fact that Lu Yin had managed to find the gate was beyond terrifying.

The Netherfiends were hidden too deeply. It should have been impossible for Lu Yin to find them.

The fact that he had become capable of doing just that could only mean that he had developed a method of using karma that was entirely different from what Greater Sancte Green Lotus employed. Lu Yin had some way to search for things with karma.

The Netherfiends would not remain hidden for much longer, and Yong Heng would also find it increasingly difficult to remain concealed.

Had I known this would happen, I wouldn’t have rushed back to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Lu Yin improves too quickly, to the point where no one can keep up with him

.

It’s possible that not even Silent Death can escape from his pursuit.

Being hunted was a suffocating feeling. Yong Heng was reminded of when he had betrayed the Netherfiends and Silent Death and fled to the Tianyuan.

Much like back then, he did not even dare to show his face at the moment.

Regardless of others’ thoughts, the rumbling that filled the Nine Odysseys Megaverse continued, audible to everyone.

Still in the place where he had fought Zhi, Lu Yin frowned. How could he fail to find anything? Of course, if he could think of trying to use karma on the Netherfiends’ red power to find them, Greater Sancte Green Lotus had to have had the same thought. Lu Yin was not examining himself with karma, but rather searching for the energy itself. There was no reason to use a greater power of karma.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus must have tried the same thing before. If not even he could find anything regarding the red energy, Lu Yin would not succeed either.

He let out a breath. Something was concealing that energy.

Luckily, he had one more thing that he could try. If even that failed, then it would be far too difficult for him to find the Netherfiends. Things would only change if they developed hate towards him or were already plotting against him. Those two conditions would allow him to find them by examining his own karma, but waiting for those developments would take far too much time.

Just as he was about to pull back his Karmic Dao, Lu Yin suddenly saw a red line flicker across the sky.

When he looked back, it was gone.

An illusion?

No, it was real.

There was a red line in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s, and it felt identical to the Netherfiends’ red energy. Could that line be what had prevented him from finding them through the red energy?

Lu Yin was no longer in a hurry to withdraw his Karmic Dao. Instead, he continued searching with karma. Failing to find any Netherfiends was one thing; he wanted to understand why he had failed.

A month soon passed. Lu Yin’s Karmic Dao was continually being expended, though not very quickly. He had not managed to pinpoint what he wanted to examine, and he was also relying heavily on the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

The sound of thunder had rumbled across the Nine Odysseys Megaverse for the entire month, causing many to feel helpless.

Quite a few had been forced out of seclusion. The sound of thunder was impossible to ignore, and no power could block the sound, which defied all explanation.

During that month, Lu Yin had seen the red line on three different occasions. Like a snake, it moved around the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, dodging him. Sometimes it appeared, but it remained hidden most of the time, avoiding even the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm’s detection.

Lu Yin was now certain that he had failed to find the Netherfiends because of this red line. Was the line also connected to Obscura?

Was it possible that there had never been an Obscura Immortal hidden within human civilization? That was the thing keeping the Netherfiends hidden and what had helped Yong Heng to travel between the Tianyuan and the Spirit Nidus actually the red line? The line felt sapient, so that possibility was not without merit.

This red line could be considered the hidden individual from Obscura.

Lu Yin opened his eyes and withdrew his Karmic Dao, putting a stop to the rumbling.

Countless people let out sighs of relief.

Lu Yin looked at the blue sky. The Mother Tree’s leaves swayed as a breeze passed through. It was quite pleasant to look at.

Who would have thought that this very universe had a hidden red line?

It left Lu Yin feeling very unsettled. Not even karma could detect the red line.

Every Immortal possessed a world of their own. Greater Sancte Green Lotus had his Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. Greater Sancte Awe Gate had her gates. Greater Sancte Blood Tower surely had one as well, as did Master Qing Cao. These worlds were unique to each Immortal, as though fusing a Progenitor’s world with the cosmos itself. They did not repel others, yet they also could not be perceived by others.

That was the power of an Immortal.

Is it possible that the red line is a kind of power? Or is it an unseen world?

There was no point in asking Greater Sancte Awe Gate. She likely did not know, but even if she did, she would not tell Lu Yin. He could only wait for Greater Sancte Green Lotus to return.

After a brief moment of rest, Lu Yin raised his hand and brought out his die. It was time to roll.

He would use the red power when rolling Possession. Since he had succeeded in incorporating the red energy into his own inner universe, Lu Yin had effectively cultivated it. He could use that to target others who had cultivated the same power with his die’s Possession. So long as there was someone in the same megaverse who had cultivated that power, Lu Yin could Possess them.

Yong Heng was impossible to Possess because his mirebound artifact could send Lu Yin’s mind back to his own body the moment he attempted a Possession.

However, not every Netherfiend had such means of protection. Mirebound artifacts were much too rare for that.

His die was also a mirebound artifact. He had not rolled it in a very long time, so he was optimistic that he could succeed.

With that thought, Lu Yin drew on the red energy. It coiled around his hand as he pointed a finger and tapped the die. After slowly spinning, it stopped on six pips: Possession.

Lu Yin was struck speechless for a moment.

What luck!

It had to be because he had not rolled the die in so long.

His mind instantly entered the strange dark space. It was all too familiar to him. Even after so long, he still did not understand what this space truly was.

Reasonably, he was already strong enough that he should be able to sense any dimension or layer of reality that contained his consciousness, but this space could only be accessed or entered with his die, or when Yong Heng wanted to expel Lu Yin’s mind. It was a place that could only be accessed through a mirebound artifact.

There were still far too many secrets in the cosmos.

As his consciousness moved through the dark space, clusters of light appeared in the distance. Some were very dim, while others were unexpectedly bright. None were genuinely bright, as they all appeared to be dimmer than Lu Yin’s own light, but their mere presence meant that there were targets that could be Possessed.