Chapter 4019: The Past

Lu Yin shook his head as he released Wu Er. He then continued to sift through her memories.

He wanted to see every last experiment that Wu Er had run on fusing with multiple spirit seeds, in hopes of finding something that might be useful to him.

Wu Er had experimented on the Netherfiends, while Lu Yin wanted to develop a method that ordinary human cultivators could use to fuse with multiple spirit seeds.

He refused to believe that the red energy was irreplaceable.

Nearby, though beyond the veil of consciousness that Lu Yin had erected, Little Lotus King, Blood Battle, Ning Xiao, and others had arrived and were quietly waiting for their chance to see Lu Yin.

None of them dared to try to force their way in, and any of their attempts would have failed even if they had been willing to try.

Still, they absolutely had to see Lu Yin.

Their experiences in Blackmarsh City had left them feeling confused about their cultivation. They had thought that they had seen the path of common cultivators in Lu Yin, but who was Lu Yin? He was genuinely peerless beneath the Immortal realm. Did he represent the average cultivator, or the most extraordinary?

Had he unintentionally spoken words while pretending to be an average cultivator, or had he intended them to serve as guidance?

If he had spoken as an average cultivator, then was it even possible for him to have provided enlightenment for Little Lotus King and the others?

But if Lu Yin had not spoken as an ordinary cultivator, were their insights regarding the ordinary and the extraordinary real or false?

Their battle above the Blackmarsh had been witnessed by both gods and mortals.

Looking back, they felt that their actions had been rather absurd, and even Little Lotus King could not stop himself from blushing.

Still, feeling embarrassed was one thing. It was far more important to determine whether their insights were right or wrong and whether the paths taken by ordinary and extraordinary cultivators were truly different.

They could no longer receive guidance from anyone other than Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was the one who had pointed out their current path. Whether there was an end to the path or not was something that only he could tell them.

In addition to Little Lotus King and the other elites, many other cultivators had also gathered in this area. The battles that had taken place in this region had shaken the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse, causing many to become uneasy. They felt that something momentous would soon occur that they could bear witness to.

More and more people started to believe that, and people from all four regions of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse arrived.

Beyond Lu Yin’s consciousness, powerful auras occasionally swept by, but no one dared to strike Lu Yin’s consciousness. All anyone could do was wait.

...

One day, Lu Yin’s mind returned to his body. Wu Er awoke, but she did not take any reckless actions. She already knew that resistance was useless, so she calmly stared at Lu Yin.

In the past, the passage of time had felt tedious to her. At the moment, she felt almost nothing at all when time passed. Her very perception had been overwritten.

A truly terrifying method was being used against her.

“Yong Heng has lived longer than I thought,” Lu Yin casually mentioned, sharing a name that Wu Er felt was both familiar and strange.

“Yong Heng? The traitor?” Wu Er asked in befuddlement.

Lu Yin nodded. “I thought that Yong Heng was old, but not older than people like Zhi. Zhi was once a Lesser Sancte, and he became a peak Dukkhan through his own efforts. At that time, Yong Heng had not even been a peak Dukkhan. However, it turns out that I was wrong—Yong Heng is even older than Zhi, because he once met Qi Xu.”

Wu Er’s gaze wavered. “You... saw my memories.”

Lu Yin did not deny it.

He had indeed seen Yong Heng in Wu Er’s memories. The man had lain inside a floating coffin while Wu Er had attempted to fuse multiple spirit seeds into him, but the experiment had failed.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

There had been multiple attempts until Qi Xu’s death, after which Yong Heng had taken advantage of the fact that Wu Er was hiding in the red floating coffin to make his escape.

At that time, Wu Er had watched Yong Heng flee, but she had not been able to stop him. Before leaving, Yong Heng had also taken the mirebound artifact that Qi Xu had left for her disciple. Wu Er had never owned a mirebound artifact, while Yong Heng’s had originated from Qi Xu. In fact, it might even be possible that his mirebound artifact had come from Obscura.

Lu Yin let out a breath.

Is this why Yong Heng calls himself a failure?

Yong Heng had failed to fuse with multiple spirit seeds, and then he had escaped after Qi Xu’s death and the Netherfiends went into hiding. But that failure had also caused Yong Heng’s cultivation to collapse, leaving him with only one path to become a powerhouse: Seed Transfusion.

Sometime later, he had encountered Silent Death and joined them.

Lu Yin had no idea what Yong Heng might have experienced during his time with Silent Death, as Wu Er knew nothing about that. She only knew that, after some time, Yong Heng had also betrayed Silent Death.

Before joining the Netherfiends and Silent Death, Yong Heng had been a human cultivator, which was why he could also be considered someone who had betrayed humanity.

After that, he had been hunted by humanity, Netherfiends, and Silent Death. A traitor to all, he had no longer been able to stay in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. That was why he had fled to the Spirit Nidus, and then to the Tianyuan. Once in that megaverse, he had abandoned cultivating with spirit seeds and had started over with the Tianyuan’s cultivation methods to rework the red energy that he had cultivated into divine energy. With his extraordinary talent, he had later targeted the Origin Progenitor from the shadows, leading to the downfall of the ancient Heavens Sect, which had allowed Aeternus to grow stronger.

That was Yong Heng’s past.

Lu Yin could not help but admire the man. Yong Heng had survived after betraying both the Netherfiend and Silent Death, and he had even incited chaos in the Tianyuan Megaverse. Most recently, by relying on a mirebound artifact and recultivating with that spirit seed, he had rebuilt himself. He had gone from a failure to a genius without any limits.

In light of everything that Lu Yin had learned, it had never really mattered whether Yong Heng had been sealed by the Great Sovereign’s Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm in the Tianyuan. Even back then, Yong Heng had intended to abandon the body that had failed and start anew.

He had experienced the cultivation systems of both the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and the Tianyuan, and he had ultimately chosen the cultivation methods of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

Objectively speaking, Yong Heng’s story was quite the legend.

Lu Yin readily admitted that his own experiences had been extraordinary, but Yong Heng’s were in no way inferior.

While Lu Yin had faced many hardships, he had also received a great deal of help along his way. He was the heir of the Lu family, and after he revealed his identity in the Tianyuan and brought his family back, very few people had been capable of stopping him.

In contrast, Yong Heng had relied on multiple betrayals. While Lu Yin suspected that there was someone offering the man support from the shadows, even if that was true, it had likely only occurred after Yong Heng had betrayed the Netherfiends and Silent Death.

Before that, his survival was definitely solely due to his own abilities.

While it might sound simple for Yong Heng to betray the Netherfiends, Lu Yin had not yet heard of anyone else accomplishing that.

People like Hui Wu had only ever been undercover agents.

“Yong Heng stole more than one mirebound artifact from you,” Lu Yin stated.

Wu Er coldly replied, “That traitor stole everything that my master left me!”

“I’m aware of the Root Seal and the Five-Leaf Clover, but neither of them seem to be what you valued the most,” Lu Yin said.

The Root Seal was the mirebound artifact that Yong Heng had used to counter Lu Yin when he had tried to Possess Ancient God with his die. That seal was the Root Seal.

That mirebound artifact had been the very foundation of the Aeternus Nations. It was a truly extraordinary mirebound artifact.

According to Wu Er’s memories, Qi Xu had given the Root Seal to Wu Er so that she could establish a foundation for the Netherfiends. Qi Xu had cared a great deal about that mirebound artifact.

The Five-Leaf Clover was another treasure that Qi Xu had specially prepared to defend against Green Lotus’s mastery of karma, and it had also been given to Wu Er.

Wu Er had felt true respect and reliance on Qi Xu, as the Immortal had entrusted her disciple with treasures of immense importance.

But in the woman’s memories, the most important mirebound artifact had been neither of the two that Lu Yin knew of, but rather a third one.

Yong Heng had stolen three mirebound artifacts from Wu Er, and it was the third that both she and Qi Xu had valued the most.

Lu Yin had no idea what that artifact looked like, as it had been sealed within a box.

“What was that third mirebound artifact?”

Wu Er retorted, “Haven’t you already seen my memories? Why ask me?”

Lu Yin frowned. He had found no knowledge in Wu Er’s memories regarding the third mirebound artifact. She had never opened the box, and neither had Qi Xu.

“It appears that you truly don’t know. In that case, help me with something.”

Wu Er stared at Lu Yin in confusion.

He held her gaze. “Help me find a way for humans to fuse with multiple spirit seeds.”

Wu Er was initially stunned, but then she started to laugh loudly. “You want me to help you?”

Lu Yin nodded.

Wu Er sneered. “Why do you think that I would ever help you?”

Lu Yin smiled. “Aside from Yong Heng, I’ve never even heard of anyone who could betray the Netherfiends, and not even you are an exception to that. In particular, for the sake of your master, Qi Xu, you were willing to betray humanity and remain hidden in the shadows for countless years. It certainly seems impossible for you to ever help me.”

Wu Er barked a cold laugh, saying nothing at all.

Lu Yin raised his hand. “You will help me, whether you wish to or not.”

As his words fell, the Karmic Dao spread out to engulf Wu Er. The Investiture of the Gods flared as it linked with the Wordless Heavenly Book, which radiated dazzling light. At the same time, the Karmic Dao merged into the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. He was about to manifest karma.

The Investiture of the Gods above, the Wordless Heavenly Book below, together they wove karma, fixing cause to effect.

An image appeared on the Investiture of the Gods; it was Wu Er’s life. As that occurred, the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm roared to life, causing the universe to thunder.

Across the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, countless people looked up.

Again? What is happening?

Even when Green Lotus used his Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, there had never been such a massive commotion. Only Lu Yin, who was borrowing Green Lotus’s power as an outsider, could shake the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse in such a manner.

For a powerhouse like Wu Er, if Lu Yin tried to weave karma into her life using only his Karmic Dao, it would be nothing more than a fool’s dream.

Wu Er and Lu Yin were practically on the same level. While her combat strength was no match for his, her cultivation realm was much higher. Weaving her karma would consume an astronomical amount of his Karmic Dao. Additionally, Lu Yin’s goal of weaving her karma of researching multiple spirit seed fusion was not something that could be accomplished in a short amount of time.

Even if he completely exhausted his Karmic Dao, it would not be enough.

That was why he had to rely on the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

As for how much karma would be consumed, Lu Yin could not even begin to guess. Even so, he would make the attempt. This was because, if he succeeded, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse would receive a monumental boon, as being able to fuse with multiple spirit seeds would raise the strength of humanity as a whole.

As for Green Lotus, Lu Yin had no time to worry about what the Immortal might think. He would simply regard the consumption of karma as his reward for fighting on behalf of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

Just because he had not asked for a reward did not mean that there could not be one.

Additionally, success would benefit the Nine Odysseys Megaverse alone; the Tianyuan would never be able to use such a cultivation method.

That thought let Lu Yin feel much more at ease. Otherwise, he would feel as if he was stealing from another.

This was particularly relevant since the owner was sure to find out.

Right, it would be better to say something first.

Lu Yin used his communication device to call Awe Gate, even as Wu Er’s life continued to be displayed on his Investiture of the Gods.

“How are things going?” Awe Gate asked.

Lu Yin replied with his own question, “What’s going on with the red coffin?”

“It’s unpleasant to even touch. We’ll wait for Green Lotus and the others to return.”

“That’s reasonable.” Lu Yin paused and then said, “Senior, if there were a way to obtain the Netherfiends’ method of fusing with multiple spirit seeds for all human cultivators who use spirit seeds, would you want it?”

Awe Gate took a deep breath. “Whatever you want to do, just do it.”

Lu Yin nodded. “Alright, I understand.”

He ended the call and turned to look at Wu Er as karma pierced her body. “Help me. No one knows more about experimenting with multiple spirit seed fusion than you.”

Only then did Wu Er remember that Lu Yin had comprehended karma.

Karma was a power that those who had not comprehended could never understand. It was a force that exceeded all imagination, and only the heavens knew its limits.