Chapter 4029: Preparing For Battle

Lu Yin’s original plan had been to only wall off a part of the Tianyuan so that the people there would not have to defend in every direction.

Much to Lu Yin’s surprise, it had been so effortless for him to separate the Tianyuan’s karma from the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm that he had felt like he could do more. So, he had tried to do just that.

He had succeeded, but at the cost of severely damaging his Karmic Dao. More than half of the karma that he had stockpiled had been consumed.

Merging his Karmic Dao with the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm and removing the Tianyuan’s karma had cost him nothing. It was the act of leveraging the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm to create a karmic wall that exacted a price, and a brutal one at that. Lu Yin’s strength had been drained to the point where he could not even move.

He had placed a small bet when attempting to move something vast. The small bit of karma had been miniscule, and yet it had moved something as vast as an entire megaverse.

The result was absolutely staggering.

Fortunately, he had succeeded. The new karmic wall surrounded the entire Tianyuan Megaverse. For the Nest civilization to reach the megaverse, the bugs would have to attack the wall, which would immediately alert the Tianyuan. That was not even considering how long it would take them to breach the wall.

“What did you just do?” Master Qing Cao stared at Lu Yin. For a brief instant, he had sensed the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm shift, but he had not been able to sense how it had moved.

The Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm encompassed an unimaginably vast region. Lu Yin had leveraged the portion that enveloped the Tianyuan and turned it into a karmic wall. However, that had taken a tenth—no, not even a tenth—of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm’s karma that filled that region.

In the scope of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm that spanned the Aevum Inch, it was perhaps only one percent?

Shifting that mere one percent, which was so subtle that not even Master Qing Cao had sensed any changes, had actually nearly broken Lu Yin.

That had also been with him cutting corners.

Lu Yin was able to feel more clearly than ever just how vast the gap between himself and Greater Sancte Green Lotus truly was.

Just how strong was that Immortal?

In the Tianyuan, the roar from the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm being peeled back was louder than the earlier commotion, but no one understood what was happening.

Jiang Feng had arrived in the Heavens Sect, but not even he could discern the cause.

When the karmic wall took form and blocked the insects’ path, the people in the Heavens Sect thought of the Aevum Inch.

Jiang Feng, Lu Yuan, Ancient God, and several others headed for the Aevum Inch. The boom had echoed across the entire megaverse, so to get a grasp of the entire picture, they could only do so from the Aevum Inch.

They felt that it was possible that something had occurred within the Aevum Inch.

Beyond the Tianyuan, or more precisely, beyond the karmic wall, the Nest civilization’s swarm of bugs was held at bay.

Shan Xiao could not believe what had just happened. “Karma? The humans used karma to stop us? Are they shielding the Tianyuan? How is that even possible?”

Luo Chan vanished, moving along the barrier in search of an entry point through.

None were found. The bug appeared at many locations outside their target megaverse while seeking a gap, but the karmic wall was like a sky that surrounded the whole megaverse.

“Master, there’s no gap,” Luo Chan reported, incredulity in its voice.

Shan Xiao’s eyes flickered.

Humans... their civilizations overflow with uncertainties.

The Nest civilizations had destroyed many civilizations over the years, but the human civilization that they had defeated was the toughest and most difficult victory.

During the war against the Third Rampart, if their master had not broken through to the Immortal realm during the war, they might have had to call the Immortal Lord’s true body over.

This time, they were stopped before they had even managed to invade the human megaverse.

Who had taken action against them?

The droplet-shaped creature’s antennae twitched. “Interesting. Very interesting. Humans are astonishing.

“Shrouding the Aevum Inch with karma to detect our presence is not the same as guarding a megaverse with it. This particular megaverse must be very important to the human Immortal if they are willing to pay such a price.

“The only question is, where is that Immortal? Are they here, or in the other human megaverse?”

“Master, what do we do now?” Luo Chan asked.

The droplet creature replied, “All we can do is assault this barrier, though I cannot act. That human Immortal was willing to pay such a price, but I am not.

“You two will attack. Since this is the method that the Immortal has chosen to defend this megaverse with, it means that they lack the strength to fight back against us. There is no other way to protect this megaverse, so we simply need to breach this barrier and force our way in before the reinforcements from the other human megaverse arrive.

“Even if we only break through a single day before they arrive, that is enough to annihilate this entire megaverse. If that human Immortal is here, even better. I’ll handle them.”

“Yes, Master,” Shan Xiao and Luo Chan replied.

The next moment, the insects struck, all of them attacking a single point on the karmic wall.

The karmic wall had been built from the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm’s karma. It was not Lu Yin’s own power, and it would not be easily breached.

In order to break through the wall, the insects needed to overcome both the wall’s nature, as well as contend against Lu Yin’s reinforcement.

Far away, the green lotus leaf continued to speed towards the Tianyuan. Lu Yin once again merged his Karmic Dao with the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. He gritted his teeth to endure the agony long enough to mend the karmic wall that was being attacked by the bugs. He needed to last for the rest of the journey.

“Senior Qing Cao, don’t forget your promise; the Immortal bug will be left for you to deal with,” Lu Yin growled through clenched teeth. In his current state, he was in no condition to personally face off against the Immortal insect.

If the enemy who was assaulting the Tianyuan was the Immortal Lord themselves, then the situation would grow quite dire.

Lu Yin hoped that the Immortal Lord was not present. Even if that meant that the Nest civilization had gained another Immortal, that would still be better than facing the Immortal Lord themselves.

Master Qing Cao let out a helpless sigh. “I will do my best.”

Lu Yin’s eyes flashed as he returned his focus to the karmic wall.

The karmic wall not only blocked the insects from the Tianyuan, but it also masked the commotion of their attack. Thus, the people of the Tianyuan had no idea that there was a swarm of insects pounding against the barrier protecting them.

Still, the earlier thunder of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm had shaken the Tianyuan so thoroughly that Lu Yuan, Jiang Feng, and several others went into the Aevum Inch to search for the cause. In doing so, they managed to catch a glimpse of the vast insect horde in the distance.

The Tianyuan immediately erupted with commotion. The Heavens Sect sent out orders that all cultivators from all parts of the Tianyuan were to assemble and prepare to face the insects.

The Three Realms and Six Daos, the Three Suns and Six Rulers, the Outer Eight Paths, and all of the various hidden sects converged within the Heavens Sect. Every micro-array weapon, black energy converter, mecha, and battle armor was gathered.

The cultivators from the Spirit Nidus also gathered within the Heavens Sect.

Su Shidao’s expression was grim. “A foreign civilization?”

Lu Yuan sighed heavily. “It’s no lie this time. The Nest civilization has arrived. This attack concerns the very survival of our Tianyuan.”

Su Shidao was left speechless. Hearing this admission served as proof that they had indeed been deceived before, but there was no time to address that. “How strong are the attackers?”

Jiang Feng frowned. “We don’t know. They’re being blocked by an unseen power. It’s something invisible yet tangible, and it’s holding the entire swarm at bay. They’re attacking it even now. We have no idea how long it will hold for.”

Emperor Slayer arrived and bared his teeth. “What now? What’s going on this time?”

Ancient God threw the beast a glance and offered a brief explanation.

Emperor Slayer broke down.

What did I do to deserve this?

He thought that his time hiding in the Spirit Nidus had been miserable enough. He should have been free after reaching the Consciousness Megaverse, only to be hunted and enslaved in that place. He had struggled to escape to the Tianyuan Megaverse, only to yet again be suppressed as soon as he arrived, and after that, he had been met one disaster after another. Even the Spirit Nidus had sent reinforcements over, which told Emperor Slayer that Lu Yin had to be doing splendidly.

He had resigned himself to his fate, yet he had never expected the Tianyuan to suddenly face the Nest civilization’s invasion.

That was an entire civilization!

“Fucking ***!” Emperor Slayer cursed furiously, venting all of his pent-up frustrations in a stream of unspeakable filth. Luckily, Lu Yuan had sealed the main hall earlier. If anyone outside had overheard Emperor Slayer, there would have been an uproar.

At this moment, the Heavens Sect was mobilizing the full might of an entire megaverse.

Even weaker cultivators were using mechas, wearing battle armor, and using black energy converters in order to contribute to the war efforts. If they had overheard Emperor Slayer, his comments would have reached the entire megaverse, and the Heavens Sect’s dignity would have been left in tatters.

Jiang Feng looked over. Lightning flickered in his pupils as an unseen chill fell upon Emperor Slayer. He instantly fell silent, finally remembering where he was, as well as how many deadly threats surrounded him.

“Let it out, if you must. For this next battle, you’ll be leading the charge,” Lu Yuan coldly announced.

Emperor Slayer roared in fury, “Why me?”

“Because you look intimidating,” Wu Tian blandly replied.

Emperor Slayer opened his mouth, but beneath the weight of so many terrifying gazes, he simply closed his mouth again.

Lead the charge? Ridiculous! If worse comes to worst, I’ll just run. In this chaos, who will even notice?

No matter what happened to the others, he would survive. Emperor Slayer glanced at his right index finger. That was his true trump card.

On the far side of the main hall, Shan Gu was in a dark mood. That sensation had returned. He could see the horde descending, the grass withering, and a civilization being snuffed out.

He had faced this once before in the Third Rampart, and it had come about once again.

The room became overcome with a gloomy atmosphere until Jiang Feng stepped forward. “Everyone, cast all of your burdens aside and clear your minds. We must focus solely on this fight. If we win, good. If we lose, our megaverse will end. I will not see the human civilization be erased from the Tianyuan! I will not have the Origin Progenitor return to find nothing but chaos. And I will not allow Little Seven to return to nothing.

“He cannot be left homeless. None of us can lose our homeland.

“Prepare to fight.”

“Fight!” Lu Yuan bellowed so loudly that he caused those beside him to jump.

Ancient God’s eyes gleamed with a cold light.

Wu Tian’s battle force surged.

Everyone slowly filed out from the main hall of the Heavens Sect, their eyes staring straight ahead. Countless human cultivators had gathered in the Heavens Sect, but the air was filled with silence as all eyes focused on the main hall and the powerhouses who would lead the coming battle.

At the center of everything stood two statues: the Origin Progenitor and Lu Yin.

Jiang Feng’s words had just been released for everyone to hear.

Fear was allowed, but retreat was not.

There was only one Tianyuan Megaverse, and there was only one human civilization in it. Thus, there was only one choice available to them: to fight to the death without retreating.

Jiang Feng looked around at the crowds, his intangible aura rising to the peak as his gaze pierced the void to look across the Aevum Inch in the direction of the endless swarm of insects, as well as the droplet-shaped creature at the front of the horde.

The droplet creature let out a startled cry as it glanced towards the Tianyuan. It was as though the Immortal was meeting Jiang Feng’s gaze.

“Interesting. He is not an Immortal, and yet his presence resonates with the cosmic laws. Logically, he should have taken a shortcut to achieve this level of power, which should leave him incapable of even touching me, and yet he can. This means that, despite having taken that shortcut, his path remains smooth.

“What timing. Had we arrived any later, this megaverse might have given birth to an Immortal.”

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Shan Xiao did not understand what the droplet creature was saying, but it seemed that this megaverse was not a simple place.

Regardless, as long as there was no Immortal present, nothing in this megaverse could stand up to their invasion force.