Chapter 4025: The Mural

Dim light shone down on the area, slightly illuminating the second figure’s face. Their features were exquisite, but there were no male or female distinguishing characteristics. Lips moved slightly, releasing a gentle voice. “Humans... that direction is the same one that the Third Rampart escaped in. Humanity has Immortals, but there is more than one megaverse in that region.”

Across from that figure, the droplet-shaped creature answered with the exact same voice, “Then we should head to another megaverse. Let’s go.”

“Yes, Master.”

The next instant, Luo Chan vanished with all three of the other figures. At the same time, the vast horde of insects that had been behind them also disappeared. The Nest civilization as a whole had been taken away by Luo Chan, who had moved everyone to just beyond the range of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

The swarm of insects then entered the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, only leaving the humanoid and the droplet-shaped creatures behind.

...

In the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, the moment the insects entered the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, Greater Sancte Awe Gate suddenly looked up and peered into the distance, her expression changing drastically.

“Not good!” She immediately opened a gate and stepped through it to immediately appear in front of Lu Yin. “The Nest civilization has arrived.”

Lu Yin’s expression also shifted dramatically as he released his Karmic Dao into the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm so that he could observe the area that surrounded the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Nothing?

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

His heart immediately plummeted, and he turned to lock eyes with Greater Sancte Awe Gate.

The woman let out a heavy sigh. “They are moving towards the Tianyuan.”

Lu Yin clenched a fist. They were indeed facing the worst-case scenario. But why were the bugs attacking so soon?

In his predictions, even if the Nest civilization did launch an attack against humanity, or even attacked the Tianyuan, it should have happened much later. At the very least, the insects needed years to spawn and replenish their numbers. Losing countless ordinary insects was not important, but their Verdant Sages could not be replaced in such a short time.

When fighting against the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, the Nest civilization had lost no fewer than twenty Verdant Sages, and they had even lost two of their four Insect Lords. Despite those losses, why were they already moving towards the Tianyuan Megaverse?

“Which direction are they coming from?”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate pointed into the distance. “Given the speed at which the insects are moving, the swarm will arrive at the Tianyuan in half a year.”

“Half a year?” Lu Yin was startled. It was not because the bugs were moving fast, but rather because they were moving too slowly. Luo Chan’s ability allowed the swarm to travel instantly, so why were they taking half a year to cover that distance?

“They’re trying to lure us over.”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate nodded in agreement. “When we last fought against the Nest civilization, the insects retreated in order to replenish their numbers, while also forcing us to proactively attack to stop them. That was all done so that they could leverage Luo Chan’s ability to the fullest. They are doing the same thing now.”

“Does the Nest civilization know that I’m from the Tianyuan?”

“Not necessarily, but this move costs them nothing. We need time, but so do they.”

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. “I need to get to the Tianyuan as soon as possible.”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate frowned. “That journey will take more than a year, even if you travel on a green lotus leaf. Even Greater Sancte Green Lotus himself would take that long.”

Lu Yin’s face fell. More than a year... By the time he reached the Tianyuan, it was possible that everything would already be over.

There were many powerful experts in the Tianyuan at this moment; Uncle Jiang was even capable of blocking one strike from Master Qing Cao, and Mister Mu and several others were also present. Even so, Lu Yin remained quite pessimistic.

He did not actually know what sort of combat power Luo Chan and Shan Xiao possessed.

More importantly, the Nest civilization dared to attack again so quickly. They had to have some unknown trump card.

Through Shan Lie, Lu Yin had learned about the four Insect Lords who were just beneath the Nest civilization’s Immortal Lord. However, was that really all that they had?

Even after all this time, Lu Yin was still unable to see through the depths of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Shan Lie’s status within the Nest civilization was greatly inferior to Lu Yin’s status within the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, so Shan Lie most likely had an incomplete understanding of the insects’ power.

Lu Yin felt that there were most likely even more terrifying bugs hidden within the Nest civilization.

How else could they have become a fishing civilization?

Lu Yin also felt that the Nest civilization’s status as a fishing civilization was in large part due to luck. They did not have nearly the same sort of overwhelming power as the Death Megaverse. Just the threat of the Death Megaverse had forced the Nine Odysseys Megaverse to feign death. Still, even with luck, they had to have a foundation of strength.

He would not underestimate the Nest civilization.

“We have half a year,” Greater Sancte Awe Gate stated gravely. “This time is both for them to test whether we will support the Tianyuan, as well as for us to check if the bugs have the necessary power to destroy that megaverse at a given moment. Luo Chan’s ability is really too terrifying.”

Lu Yin’s expression turned grim. “No matter what, I have to reach the Tianyuan as soon as possible. Perhaps... they will be able to hold out until I return.”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate shook her head in a helpless manner. “I’m sorry, but I cannot help you. If I leave, the Nest civilization could appear in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse in a single instant.”

“I understand.”

He had not expected his previous fears to actually come to pass. It was undeniable that Greater Sancte Awe Gate’s choice to not defend the Tianyuan was the wisest option. Even if she went, she could not arrive before the Nest civilization, and trying to protect that megaverse could lead to both the Tianyuan and the Nine Odysseys Megaverses’ destruction. Awe Gate might be trapped in the Aevum Inch the entire time, unable to reach either megaverse.

Awe Gate can’t provide any support, but what about Master Qing Cao?

Lu Yin was just about to ask about that when his expression suddenly changed, and his head snapped around to stare in a particular direction beyond the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

At the same moment, Awe Gate also looked over. After a moment, the two met each other’s eyes in shock. “An Immortal.”

An Immortal had just entered the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, shaking the vast expanse. That Immortal was an insect.

“The Immortal Lord?” they both said at once, their expressions dark.

It did not even matter if the Immortal Lord was the Immortal who had arrived. What was known was that the Nest civilization had just revealed an Immortal, and that creature was traveling towards the Tianyuan at the same pace as the swarm of insects. In six months, they would arrive. This was clearly a deliberate ploy to push the Nine Odysseys Megaverse into sending aid.

Lu Yin’s breath quickened. If he had just been clinging to hope that the Tianyuan could endure for half a year against the insects, he no longer had any hope at all.

Uncle Jiang had once blocked a single attack from Master Qing Cao, but that did not mean that the man was actually capable of fighting back against an enemy Immortal.

In the entire Tianyuan, unless Mister Mu or Uncle Jiang had a breakthrough, no one else was capable of fighting against an Immortal.

How can this be happening?

Lu Yin had never anticipated the Nest civilization sending an Immortal. Did this creature not fear increasing their karmic chain?

Awe Gate closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. “Lu Yin, stay here. As cruel as it may be, that is the best choice.”

Lu Yin’s face twitched as he stared into the distance. Stay? That was simply impossible. He had to go home. He would never abandon the Tianyuan. He would never abandon his home or his family.

There were too many people he cared about who were still in the Tianyuan.

He had family, friends, mentors, and disciples. The faces of the majority of the people that he had met throughout his cultivation journey appeared before his eyes. If all of those people died, he would lose his mind.

Awe Gate’s voice grew heavy. “The bigger picture must take priority.”

Lu Yin growled, “Everything I care about is in that place.

That

is my bigger picture.”

“You won’t make it in time,” Awe Gate stated firmly.

Lu Yin’s eyes grew bloodshot. “I have to try, no matter what.”

Awe Gate stared at him, seeing his bloodshot eyes grow redder and redder. His persistence, resolve, and willingness to face death shook her. Countless years had passed since she had broken through to the Immortal realm, and her own heart had changed. The passion and impulsiveness that she had possessed in the past had been worn away by time, leaving only the belief that it was imperative to put the bigger picture first.

It was not wrong to take the larger perspective, but they were also human, and humans had emotions, impulses, madness, and obsession.

Strangely, Lu Yin’s face seemed to overlap with another’s in her memory, and that left Awe Gate momentarily lost.

Lu Yin drew a deep breath. “Senior, I’m leaving. There’s no time to waste. The Nirvana Tree Path can be shared while I’m on a green lotus leaf. Please deliver me to the farthest point that your Awe Gates can reach. While I travel to the Tianyuan, I can at least teach the Nirvana Tree Path to a group of people.”

Awe Gate stared at him. “Do you really believe that the Tianyuan can survive for half a year?”

Lu Yin frowned. “Senior, there’s no time to waste.”

“There is another path.” Awe Gate turned to look up at the Mother Tree’s canopy. “There is a mural in the Sea of Karma that was left there by Greater Sancte Green Lotus. If you can comprehend it, while you won’t be able to reach the Tianyuan any faster, you might be able to use the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm to do something.”

Lu Yin’s eyes widened. “Do what?”

Awe Gate looked at him again. “The same thing that you once did in the Spirit Nidus.”

Lu Yin’s thoughts raced.

Karma in the Spirit Nidus? The walls?

“The walls of karma?”

Awe Gate nodded. “Those walls are a defensive measure that Greater Sancte Green Lotus erected for the Spirit Nidus and the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, though he is the only one capable of doing so. Before he left, he connected me to his Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, which is why I was able to sense the insects’ invasion so quickly. However, that is my limit.

“Only you have a chance of understanding that mural. It might allow you to raise a wall to protect the Tianyuan, which might allow them to hold out until you arrive.”

Lu Yin turned to look toward the Sea of Karma.

A wall of karma... They really are walls for defense.

While those walls were invisible to ordinary eyes, he had once caught a glimpse of them. Back then, shortly after he first comprehended karma, he had spent a great deal of effort to even perceive those walls.

If he could really erect such a wall to protect the Tianyuan, then even the Immortal from the Nest civilization would have to pay dearly to break through. That price was to lengthen their karmic chain, which was something that no Immortal could disregard.

Not even Luo Chan would be able to teleport past a wall of karma.

However, the greatest problem was when, and even if, Lu Yin could comprehend that technique. If success took too long, then all of his efforts would be pointless.

He could not afford to waste even a second.

Right, my die’s Timestop

.

Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. He could enter his Timestop Space and study the mural there. Regardless of whether he succeeded, only a second would pass in the outside world.

“Senior, please take me there,” Lu Yin urged.

Awe Gate opened a gate, and Lu Yin stepped through it. When he reappeared, he was in the Sea of Karma.

He glanced around. It was a place that he had never been to before. The Sea of Karma was vast, and the lotus pond where he had landed was only a small corner of it.

At the moment, he was standing above a white ocean that had mist curling all around. Not even his eyes could make out the shore, which seemed to be somehow veiled.

Through the mist, he saw a stone wall that had been carved with images of fortifications.

Awe Gate gravely stated, “Since you’ve made your choice, do not regret it. If you fail to comprehend this before the Nest civilization reaches the Tianyuan, then abandon your efforts.” With that, she turned and left.

Lu Yin bowed in her direction and then descended in front of the mural.

He understood the Greater Sancte’s intent. She wanted to keep him in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse if at all possible. However, Lu Yin had his own plans.

The stone wall had fused with the cloud sea. Lu Yin pressed his hand against where the two met and pushed hard. There was a loud crack, and the wall broke away. Success.

He ruthlessly ripped the wall out of the sea, raised a hand, and brought out his die.

Timestop.

Lu Yin kept a firm grip on the wall as the scenery changed before his eyes and he entered his Timestop Space.

From afar, Awe Gate stared in a daze.

Did he just... smash the wall?

Inside his Timestop Space, Lu Yin forced down his chaotic thoughts and calmly sat down in front of the wall. He did not rush to try to comprehend it.

He first needed to quiet his own heart. Only after that could he make a genuine attempt.

And so, he sat there. Half a year passed without him opening his eyes. He remained motionless, until his heart became as calm as still water.

When he opened them again, his gaze was steady. He looked at the mural on the wall and released his Karmic Dao. As that happened, his eyes gained a profound depth.