Chapter 4045: The Real Plan

Lu Yin had only just passed through the large stone gate into the Tianyuan Megaverse, intending to return to the Heavens Sect, when he suddenly turned back around, his expression changing drastically.

Is that an Immortal?

A distinct tremor ran through the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm; an Immortal creature had just entered. It was not the droplet-shaped Immortal insect from before, but another, unfamiliar Immortal.

Who could it be?

At this moment, two foreign Immortals were present within the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm; one was the droplet-shaped insect, while the other was the heavily wounded monster.

The droplet-shaped insect moved about erratically, approaching neither the Tianyuan nor the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

As for the Immortal beast, it was consistently racing in a single direction, desperate to escape from the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

Lu Yin had been monitoring those two, keeping his Karmic Dao merged with the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. That was how he immediately detected the appearance of an unknown third Immortal, and it was moving towards the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

As Lu Yin stood inside the gate, he stared off into the distance, his expression changing rapidly.

The unknown Immortal was not alone, as all of the creatures of the Nest civilization had also started to make their way towards the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

He immediately shifted his focus in the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm towards that megaverse. It would take him days to get a clearer view, and he was praying that his suspicions were wrong. If not, it would be a complete disaster, to the point of almost being a joke.

“Little Seven, what is it?” Lu Yuan asked, seeing the younger man’s expression quickly change.

Everyone was observing Lu Yin.

He answered in a low voice,“Give me a few days. I need to confirm something.

“Ancestor, go deal with the swarms first.”

Lu Yuan and the others exchanged glances, but they did not try to argue. They all returned to the Tianyuan, leaving only Lu Yin and Jiang Feng at the stone gate.

Jiang Feng stayed behind to stand guard for Lu Yin. After all, the Tianyuan was far from perfectly safe. Aside from old enemies like Forgotten Ruins God, there might also be Verdant Sages who had stayed hidden, or even Master Qing Cao himself.

Days later, with the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, Lu Yin finally managed to see the Nest civilization. The insects were lingering in the Aevum Inch far beyond the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. He saw the droplet-shaped creature, Shan Xiao, Luo Chan, as well as a figure with delicate features whose gender was indistinguishable.

A human?

Lu Yin’s face fell as he remembered hearing about the Immortal who had been behind the Third Rampart’s annihilation. Great Elder Shan Gu had mentioned that there was an Immortal carrying a karmic chain on their wrist. If they had a wrist, were they human or some other species? Lu Yin hoped that they were not a human Immortal. If they were, things would get much worse.

Great Elder Shan Gu had seemed to think that it was only natural that the Nest civilization’s Immortal Lord had attacked the Third Rampart using a human guise. At first, Lu Yin had not thought much of the matter, as cultivators could freely alter their appearances. An Immortal could use whatever appearance they wished.

However, as he spent more time traveling through the Aevum Inch and learned more about the cosmos as a whole, the more laughable his earlier idea had become.

The Immortal realm stood beyond any single megaverse. Immortals could freely traverse the Aevum Inch, untouched by the calamities that destroyed civilizations. As Master Qing Cao had said, they were beings who aligned with the Cosmic Laws, standing above all other life. Would such an existence willingly take on the form of a lesser being just to act within a single universe?

Impossible.

Even if the Immortal Lord had attacked, they would have maintained their true appearance. They would have never altered themselves and adopted a human form just to assault the Third Rampart. That did not match with the nature of the Immortal realm.

It was a simple question; if a man was crushing ants, would he disguise himself as an ant?

Thus, there was only one possible answer: if the Immortal who had attacked the Third Rampart had a human form, then they must have one of the Nest civilization’s Verdant Sage Immortals.

Lu Yin had hoped that the Immortal Lord did not have the form of a human. He had hoped for it to merely be the droplet-shaped bug. He had wanted to ask Great Elder Shan Gu for confirmation, but before that could even happen, Lu Yin had sensed the unknown Immortal arrive, and he had also seen their human appearance as they stood beside the droplet creature.

The worst case scenario had proven to be true: the Nest civilization had an Immortal with a human form. This was the one who had destroyed the Third Rampart, and they had just arrived in the three human megaverses.

The Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm roared.

Within the Aevum Inch, far beyond the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, lay a swarm of insects. It was even vaster than the horde that had attacked the Tianyuan.

This swarm was unlike the one that had previously attacked the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. It consisted of insects with countless different forms which were terrifyingly powerful. There were more than a dozen Verdant Sages, and while they were not Insect Lords, they could not be underestimated.

This swarm was essentially the Nest civilization itself, as it stayed at the Immortal Lord’s side.

Lu Yin saw not only the human-shaped Immortal insect, but also the new swarm. Instantly, he understood that he had been deceived.

The Nest civilization’s open assault on the Tianyuan had been nothing more than a test to see if the Nine Odysseys Megaverse would send powerhouses to aid the other human megaverse.

Regardless of whether support was sent, the Nest civilization could still exploit the timing. Destroying the Tianyuan would achieve their goal, and Luo Chan’s ability could be used to attack the Nine Odysseys Megaverse once their powerhouses left, joining up with a second swarm and the humanoid Immortal.

This strategy ensured that the Nine Odysseys Megaverse would be somewhat weakened while the Tianyuan would be destroyed. The Nine Odysseys Megaverse would also face a crisis soon after.

With Luo Chan’s ability, the Nest civilization had kept a trump card in reserve: the humanoid Immortal.

The insects had been certain that the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s Immortal would never go to support the Tianyuan Megaverse. Humans were not so foolish.

That humanoid Immortal had stayed hidden just to join the droplet creature when they attacked the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

However, the Nest civilization had never anticipated that Lu Yin would force Master Qing Cao to go to the Tianyuan, nor the twists of fate that had saved that megaverse. The assault on the Tianyuan had failed, but that had only ever been half of the Nest civilization’s plan. The other half was targeting the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

Two Immortals, two Insect Lords, and a formidable swarm of insects. Together, it was enough to guarantee a successful assault on the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

With Master Qing Cao and Lu Yin absent, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse had been dramatically weakened. If the insects could destroy that megaverse, their goal would be achieved.

Given enough time to recover and spawn more insects, the Nest civilization would be able to eventually wipe out the Tianyuan as well.

The humanoid Immortal looked up at the darkness above. “The power of karma, is it? Human, you are Lu Yin, yes? You are the one who protects the remnants of the Third Rampart, the one who saved that megaverse. Tell me, how will you protect this one?

“Come, let us see who is faster, you or us.”

With that, the Immortal waved their hand, and the swarm of insects shot towards the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

They moved at the same speed as when they had targeted the Tianyuan; not fast, but also not moving slow. They were giving Lu Yin time to choose. While the insects knew that he would never abandon the Tianyuan, as doing so would be sheer folly, they also had enough of an understanding of human emotion to know that this situation that they had created would be torturous.

It did not matter if the Tianyuan or the Nine Odysseys Megaverse was destroyed.

The despair that humans were confronted by was partially external, but also partly internal from within their own hearts.

In the Tianyuan, Lu Yin finally looked away. He let out a heavy breath while clenching his fists.

“Little Seven, what’s wrong?” Jiang Feng asked after seeing Lu Yin’s troubled expression.

He answered gravely, “The Nest civilization is going after the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.”

By now, the entire Tianyuan had learned of the situation between the Spirit Nidus and the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, thanks to the people who had arrived with Su Shidao.

That knowledge had initially been deeply shocking. Hearing that a megaverse could develop a cultivation method that fed upon another was practically unimaginable. However, over time, people had come to accept it.

In particular, since Lu Yin had been thriving in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and had even sent people from there to help the Tianyuan, the people of the Tianyuan found themselves preferring to ally with the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. At the very least, that megaverse had never shown hostility towards the Tianyuan.

There was also a bit of schadenfreude at play. After all, the Tianyuan had suffered grievous harm at the hands of the Spirit Nidus.

Jiang Feng frowned. “With just the insects that they took away?”

Lu Yin gave a bitter smile and shook his head before explaining what he had learned.

Jiang Feng’s expression also darkened. “To exploit human nature with their strategy, this Nest civilization is terrifying. They don’t rely solely only on their numbers. Even now, they are trying to force you to help the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. This demonstrates a clear understanding of human nature. They know that this will unsettle you.

“But you needn’t overthink things. The Tianyuan is your home. Returning here to protect it was the right choice.”

Lu Yin was not preoccupied with that. Supporting the Tianyuan had been the right decision, as had been dragging Master Qing Cao along. How could Lu Yin have faced an Immortal bug on his own?

He was not the type to waver, nor the type to blame himself for every problem.

He had never expected there to be a second, hidden swarm of insects, nor another Immortal insect hiding beyond the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. There was no way to defend against Luo Chan’s ability. Once there was enough distance, others could only be toyed with.

What Lu Yin was thinking about at the moment was how to help the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

While he was very far away, it was not entirely impossible for him to help.

The Nine Odysseys Megaverse had treated him well, and he would not stand by and watch it be destroyed.

He summoned Great Elder Shan Gu and asked Jiang Feng to go search for Master Qing Cao.

“He’s likely at the top of the Mother Tree or in the Scourges,” Lu Yin suggested.

Jiang Feng nodded and left.

Before Great Elder Shan Gu arrived, Lu Yin released Shan Lie and drew an image of the humanoid Immortal bug in the air. “Have you seen them before?”

Shan Lie stared at the figure in confusion before shaking his head. “Never.”

Lu Yin frowned. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

Lu Yin immediately used karma to search for any connection between Shan Lie and the humanoid Immortal. The result was clear; Shan Lie really had never seen the Immortal before.

That was too strange. Shan Lie had grown up in the Third Rampart as a master before betraying them, so how could he have not seen that Immortal before? Was it possible that the Immortal was not the humanoid Verdant Sage who had destroyed the Third Rampart? If that was the case, then Lu Yin was too scared to even imagine how many Immortals the Nest civilization truly possessed.

There had only been the four Insect Lords, but was it possible that there were also four Immortals? That would be absurd.

Before long, Great Elder Shan Gu arrived. When he laid eyes on Shan Lie, the old man froze, assailed by distant memories of the past. His eyes grew feral as he glared. “You?”

Shan Lie met the man’s glare in shock. “You’re... Shan Gu? You’re still alive?”

Shan Gu trembled with fury. He turned to Lu Yin. “Lord Lu, this one-?”

Lu Yin casually shoved Shan Lie closer to Shan Gu. “He’s yours.”

Shan Lie was startled, and he stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. “You...?”

He had expected Lu Yin to keep him alive since he was useful. After all, Shan Lie was quite powerful. Even after seeing Shan Gu, there had been no fear, as Shan Lie had still been certain that Lu Yin would not discard him.

So what was going on?

Great Elder Shan Gu immediately seized Shan Lie, as though afraid that Lu Yin might reconsider his decision. The bug was then sealed into a card as Lu Yin watched on calmly.