Chapter 4047: A Battle With No Retreat

Master Qing Cao stared at Lu Yin. “Each time a megaverse is reset, a number of peak Dukkhans attempt to step into the Immortal realm. However, throughout all these years, has anyone ever succeeded? How long has it been since Awe Gate’s breakthrough? The Nine Odysseys Megaverse longs to see a new Immortal appear, and thus they try again and again, but their hope is faint.

“Ultimately, they have not pinned their hopes on those various attempts. There is someone who has been pressing against the Immortal realm, who has already experienced rebirth and destruction, as well as Immortal matter, someone who is approaching the Immortal realm. That person has already overcome the greatest obstacle, and it is only a matter of time before they break through to the Immortal realm.

“Since there is already someone in the current era who has progressed so far, those prodigies willingly chose to enter cryostasis, only waking briefly to connect to the universe before returning to their sleep. They wait for his breakthrough, for the next era when another can challenge the Immortal realm.

“While no one can say for certain that only one Immortal can appear in each era, the idea that two or three could break through in conjunction is too great a fantasy. It’s better to wait than to chase after dreams and fail.

“As for the others, since a megaverse will be reset no matter what, there is no harm in allowing them to attempt a breakthrough. Their success or failure matters little. They were never truly considered by the Greater Sancti.”

Only then did Lu Yin understand the reasoning behind the Scion Spire; the geniuses there were placed into cryostasis to await the birth of the current era’s Immortal.

“Who is the one who’s pressing against the Immortal realm?” Lu Yin asked.

Master Qing Cao answered coolly, “One whose name is well-known but who is never seen.”

Lu Yin’s mind churned, and he quickly blurted out, “Ku Deng!”

Master Qing Cao nodded. “From the North Domain’s Rift of Suffering, Ku Deng.”

Lu Yin understood. This explained why Ku Deng had always stayed in the Mindscape Megaverse, training there. Despite the length of time that Lu Yin had spent in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, Ku Deng had never returned, not even when the Nest civilization had attacked. That was because the man was attacking the Immortal realm.

“The Mindscape Megaverse is a strange place. It was there that Awe Gate took the crucial step into the Immortal realm before vanishing into the Aevum Inch for a thousand years. It was only after that that she returned as an Immortal.

“She was also the one who suggested training at the bottom of the rift in the Mindscape Megaverse to Ku Deng.

“No one else knows what Ku Deng is actually doing there. Everyone believes that the man is protecting that megaverse because of the rift, but in truth, he is attacking the Immortal realm,” Master Qing Cao explained.

Lu Yin stared out into the Aevum Inch. He had entered the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and fought against many of their greatest cultivators, suppressing all aside from the Greater Sancti. He had believed himself to be the strongest beneath the Immortal realm.

In terms of combat strength, that might indeed be true, but when it came to cultivation, Ku Deng was truly the greatest beneath the Immortal realm. After all, Master Qing Cao had not been known for his combat strength before he became an Immortal.

The Tianyuan had given birth to countless prodigies who had dazzled their eras, but the Nine Odysseys Megaverse did not have fewer.

“But even if Ku Deng is breaking into the Immortal realm, that doesn’t mean that he will succeed before his megaverse faces a crisis,” Lu Yin retorted.

Master Qing Cao nodded. “That is true. He has been in the Mindscape Megaverse for a long time, and the chances that he will complete his breakthrough right when the Nine Odysseys Megaverse faces calamity is remote. I only mentioned him to remind you to not consider yourself as overly important. You belong to the Tianyuan, not to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.”

“You really don’t want them to have an easy time,” Lu Yin coolly observed.

Master Qing Cao did not react to that comment.

Lu Yin continued to speak, his voice solemn. “Regardless, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse has helped me, and I must do what I can. Since I was able to block the Nest civilization with karma from afar, I can do so again, and at least buy them a bit of time. The longer the Nine Odysseys Megaverse can hold out for, the greater the chances that Blood Tower and Green Lotus will return.

“But,” he added with a glance to Master Qing Cao, “I can only protect the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. I cannot help the Spirit Nidus.”

Master Qing Cao chuckled. “You needn’t try to deceive me. Awe Gate would prefer that you protect the Spirit Nidus than the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Don’t forget that the Spirit Nidus is the source of that megaverse’s cultivation. My megaverse offers not only spirit seed liquid, but also the Gate of Laws.”

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. As expected, Master Qing Cao was aware of the secret regarding the Gate of Laws. While that secret had been kept hidden from the rest of the Spirit Nidus, including even the High Seraph, such information could never be hidden from Qing Cao.

This was even more true given that Master Qing Cao was working with Obscura.

“But aside from those things, the Spirit Nidus holds something even more important,” Master Qing Cao suddenly added.

Lu Yin stared at the man with growing intensity. “The center of those seven karmic funnels.”

Master Qing Cao smiled faintly and nodded.

Xing Fan’s spirit threads ran through the Spirit Nidus’s parallel universes that had been gathered around seven karmic funnels. Whenever a Spirit Nidus cultivator died, their spirit seed would enter a funnel and be converted into a liquid that was then poured into the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, serving as that megaverse’s source of cultivation.

At the center of those seven karmic funnels lay a rectangular object. Lu Yin had seen it before, but while he had attempted to get a clear view, he had never seen it clearly.

That rectangular object endlessly radiated karma, but no one seemed to know exactly what it really was.

It was something that had always remained in Lu Yin’s mind.

Still, he had never even considered laying claim to the object, as he had no doubt that it belonged to Greater Sancte Green Lotus.

The colossal figure that he had seen on the Day of Offering had been none other than Greater Sancte Green Lotus.

“What exactly is that thing?” Lu Yin asked curiously.

Master Qing Cao shook his head. “I also don’t know. Greater Sancte Green Lotus has lived much longer than me, and the structure between the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and the Spirit Nidus was established long before I was born.

“My guess is that it is either a mirebound artifact or some method which allows Greater Sancte Green Lotus to manipulate karma. Only something at that level could enable the Spirit Nidus to produce karma without end.”

Lu Yin replied, “So that’s why you don’t care. If the Nest civilization destroys the Spirit Nidus, that will also break the structure that allows the Nine Odysseys Megaverse to plunder the Spirit Nidus’s resources.”

Master Qing Cao did not deny the accusation.

Lu Yin’s heart was determined to save the Tianyuan, while Master Qing Cao cared solely about the Spirit Nidus.

Going with Lu Yin to the Tianyuan had been Qing Cao’s greatest gamble. There had been a risk that the Tianyuan would be destroyed while the Spirit Nidus was not saved. That was why the man had continuously tried to persuade otherwise Lu Yin as they had traveled on the green lotus leaf.

By Qing Cao’s reckoning, if the Tianyuan could be saved, then as long as the people from the Spirit Nidus survived, then the Spirit Nidus itself could be abandoned. Ultimately, when the Nest civilization clashed against the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, even if the bugs were repelled, the balance between the Spirit Nidus and the Nine Odysseys Megaverse would likely be broken.

That was the outcome that Qing Cao most wished to see.

As for the people in the Spirit Nidus, success would require sacrifice, and they would be the price that was paid.

The premise was that at least some people from the Spirit Nidus had to survive.

It was because Qing Cao had not been willing to make such a gamble that he had kept urging Lu Yin while they were traveling on the green lotus leaf.

Since the Tianyuan had been saved, events had shifted in the direction of Qing Cao’s most favorable outcome. Regardless of the results of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s war against the Nest civilization, the Spirit Nidus was destined to be destroyed. The Nine Odysseys Megaverse could not protect both itself and the Spirit Nidus, not when there were two enemy Immortals.

Given the current situation, the balance between the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and the Spirit Nidus would be shattered soon.

Even if their relationship was reestablished one day, it would not happen anytime soon.

If things proceeded perfectly, there was a chance for Qing Cao’s goal to be achieved even without Obscura acting at all.

At this moment, he was more relaxed than ever.

Lu Yin suddenly understood, and he stared at Master Qing Cao for a long moment. “I might actually know what you agreed to with Obscura.”

Master Qing Cao chuckled. “You may have seen me clearly, but you still do not see the cosmos clearly.”

“I haven’t even seen you clearly. If you hadn’t tried to convince me to return to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse throughout our journey, I might have seen you clearly, but as things are, there are still contradictions,” Lu Yin said.

Master Qing Cao held Lu Yin’s gaze for a moment before turning around and leaving.

Lu Yin stared at the man’s back as he left, feeling quite conflicted.

If his guess was right, it had just become impossible to force Master Qing Cao to take action. The man was too stubborn.

Lu Yin could only do his own best to support the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

Master Qing Cao had been right about one thing: without Lu Yin, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse would still be the same place. Losing him would not result in that megaverse being destroyed. He was not nearly that important.

Even so, his help was better than no help at all.

The most troublesome part was that he had already consumed too much of his Karmic Dao, and he did not know how much more he could use.

...

In the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm roared, shaking the universe.

Many people already understood that the commotion was related to Lu Yin.

However, even more were aware that Lu Yin had left the Nine Odysseys Megaverse to support the Tianyuan. How could he still affect the Nine Odysseys Megaverse?

Those who had been taught the Nirvana Tree Path atop the green lotus leaf were even more baffled.

On the Frightened Sparrow Terrace, Greater Sancte Awe Gate stood with her hands clasped behind her back as she stared up at the sky. “I know. The Nest civilization is coming our way, and there are two Immortal bugs with them.”

The roaring diminished a great deal.

“Congratulations on saving the Tianyuan Megaverse.” Awe Gate smiled, and it was a true smile. At her level, the Tianyuan, the Spirit Nidus, and Nine Odysseys Megaverse were not independent megaverses, but rather different parts of the human civilization.

In the Tianyuan Megaverse, Lu Yin’s expression grew heavy. Unlike Awe Gate, he could not treat the three megaverses equally. His heart still favored the Tianyuan.

Would he still harbor such bias if he one day became an Immortal?

From the Frightened Sparrow Terrace, Awe Gate’s voice spread across the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. “The Nest civilization is attacking us again. Nine Odysseys Megaverse, prepare for war!”

Her words instantly set the entire megaverse ablaze. Immediately, countless cultivators soared into the sky, hurrying to protect their territories.

The Night Pillars trembled, and the First Night Pillar rose into the sky to activate the Nine Odysseys’ spirit treasure formation.

Compared to the first time that the Nest civilization attacked, people were far steadier, even as their hearts grew heavy.

The bugs had been driven back once, and yet they were returning again in force. There was only one explanation, which was that the insects were confident in their victory.

The Nine Odysseys Megaverse was facing a risk of total destruction.

Through the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, Lu Yin observed the entire megaverse, watching as countless cultivators prepared for war. As that happened, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse blazed with a spirit of defiance. So long as their people lived, their megaverse would endure. If they died, so would their megaverse.

A war between civilizations would always be the most vicious.

No one knew if they would live to see another moment.

The entire megaverse started making preparations, but when one looked closer, they would see that many people were saying their farewells.

One by one, cultivators left their homes: sons, fathers, mothers, and teachers all left for the sake of their families, sects, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, and the entire human civilization.

There was no retreat. They could only fight without stepping back.

Lu Yin clenched his fists. The Nest civilization’s greatest threat was still Luo Chan’s ability. Without that, the situation would not be nearly this desperate.

Humans could see this, and so could the Nest civilization’s Immortal Lord.

There was no doubt that Luo Chan had been given unimaginable protection. Master Qing Cao had already failed to kill the bug once, and even if he was given another chance, he might not succeed.

It was possible that Luo Chan was even better protected than the Immortal bugs.

Seeing Luo Chan was no different from seeing the entire Nest civilization.