Chapter 4051: Everyone’s Path

Mister Mu was not an Immortal. Rather, he was someone like Lu Yin, as he was capable of transcending cultivation realms to fight against Immortals. After all, Mu Zhu had once said that Mister Mu had left a wound on an enemy Immortal, though no one could be sure just how severe that wound had been.

Upon hearing that Mister Mu had sunk into the River of Aeons, Lu Yin could not help but wonder if his master was preparing to break into the Immortal realm.

If so, that would be wonderful.

Lu Yin drew in a deep breath. “I hope that Master can break through to the Immortal realm. That would provide the Tianyuan with a bit of security.”

Lu Yuan grunted. “We all hope so. By the way, Little Seven, have you decided on what innate gift you want your old ancestor to plant for you?”

Lu Yin froze for a moment before he remembered. Ancestor Lu Yuan’s Progenitor world was called Fertile Realm. While it possessed no offensive or defensive abilities, it was able to nurture whatever was planted in it.

Both the Lu family’s Investiture of the Gods and Champions’ Stage had been nurtured from their ancestor’s Progenitor’s world.

Later, when Lu Yuan had broken into the Origin realm, he had become able to nurture a third innate gift.

However, the old man had held off on nurturing that third innate gift, as he was waiting for Lu Yin to choose what he wanted. Lu Yuan had entrusted the path of his own life to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was moved. “Ancestor, you can just follow your own desires. There’s no need for you to nurture an innate gift for me.”

Lu Yuan shook his head. “I have no desires of my own left. My entire life has been muddled—fighting as a child, stirring up trouble, picking on anyone I disliked, and looking down on everyone. With all that I’ve been through, I’ve given what I should. My strength is already enough, and I’m no longer needed. Another innate gift would be useless for me, but for you... If I nurture the right one, it might just transform you.”

Lu Yin thought it over. “Alright, I’ll consider it.”

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

“Haha, there’s no rush. You’re back now, so we have plenty of time.

“That fight was exhilarating! Even an Immortal was driven off! We old fellows might actually be able to have another breakthrough ourselves, hahaha.” Lu Yuan laughed heartily as he left.

Lu Yin stared at his ancestor’s back as the man left.

A breakthrough? Yes, it’s time.

The Three Realms and Six Daos had all been peerless geniuses long ago, but because the Origin Progenitor had ordered them to suppress their cultivation, they had all delayed entering the Origin realm, which had given Aeternus an opening. After countless years and even fighting against an Immortal, they had accumulated a strong enough foundation. Another breakthrough was only natural.

If the Three Realms and Six Daos all entered Dukkha, or even managed to become peak Dukkhans, the Tianyuan’s power would rise precipitously.

There was also the Nirvana Tree Path that Lu Yin needed to pass on. While they would not be able to gain power as quickly as Nine Odysseys cultivators who could fuse with multiple spirit seeds, it would still offer a new cultivation path for the Tianyuan cultivators. After all, the Tianyuan’s cultivation path differed from that of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s.

The Nine Odysseys Megaverse was better suited to giving rise to powerful cultivators, whereas the Tianyuan was more likely to give birth to something completely unknown.

Lu Yin would restore the potential that had once been crippled by the Spirit Nidus so that their human civilization could shine fully.

Let’s see how many fishing civilizations in the Aevum Inch will dare to cause trouble for us

.

There was no chance that the Nest civilization would be the last.

Lu Yin returned to the Tianyuan. The universe around him turned gray as he froze time. Lightstream flickered around him, and with a casual wave of a hand, time reversed, and the River of Aeons appeared.

In the Mirari Realm, at where the River of Aeons was connected to the Tianyuan, a shabby little boat drifted downstream to eventually enter Lu Yin’s sight.

He stared at the boat and softly asked, “Zhao Ran, have you been well? I’m back.”

Zhao Ran stepped out to stand on the deck of the small boat. She stared at Lu Yin, her eyes calm.

She always appeared calm, but Lu Yin could tell that Zhao Ran had relaxed a great deal.

During the Nest civilization’s attack on the Tianyuan, they would have never been able to last until Lu Yin’s arrival if Zhao Ran had not taken action and cooperated with Jiang Feng to fight against the Immortal bug.

She stared at Lu Yin without saying a word. After a moment, she turned around and went back towards her cabin.

Lu Yin called out, “I need to go to the Mirari Realm. Please give me a ride.”

“As you wish,” Zhao Ran replied. Her voice sounded as familiar as ever, and hearing it sent Lu Yin into his memories of the girl who loved preparing herbal tea. The girl whose eyes were always lost and yet who never forgot him.

Once, after Zhao Ran had returned as the ferryman of the River of Aeons, she had scolded Lu Yin for disturbing it, warning that he would be punished for pulling on the river. But this time, she made no mention of it.

As for entering the Mirari Realm, that was not something that Lu Yin had been able to do in the past. Without Wei Nu’s help, he had not been able to access the Mirari Realm, but with Lightstream, he was now able to travel against the flow of the River of Aeons on his own. Wei Nu was no longer necessary, and she was also completely unable to stop Lu Yin from accessing the Mirari Realm.

Zhao Ran had since become the ferryman of the River of Aeons. Lu Yin might not care about Wei Nu, but Zhao Ran was important to him. She deserved to have Lu Yin speak to her.

He stepped forward, moving with Lightstream to board the boat.

Zhao Ran simply sat down inside the cabin.

The surrounding universe vanished, and the River of Aeons flowed back into the Mirari Realm.

Lu Yin looked at the bank of the river. “Is Wei Nu not here?”

“She fled.”

“Is she afraid of me?”

“Of course.”

Lu Yin stood on the deck of the boat and looked down at the river. “Is my master in the river?”

Zhao Ran hummed quietly. “He sank down into it. He’s doing something, but I don’t know what.”

Lu Yin glanced at the riverbed and then looked back at Zhao Ran. “Do you still enjoy brewing herbal tea?”

Zhao Ran looked up to meet his gaze, but she said nothing. She met his question with only silence.

Lu Yin sighed. Zhao Ran looked exactly the same, her voice sounded the same, and she even cared for the people of the Tianyuan the same. However, people did change.

Lightstream flickered as Lu Yin stepped ashore. He looked into the karmic forbidden region and then walked towards it.

In the past, he had not been able to see things clearly. The karmic forbidden region was simply a forest, a perfectly ordinary forest, aside from that fact that the trees bore karmic fruits.

Also, in the forest, karma was as natural as air.

It was a place where karma served as both soil and nourishment.

As Lu Yin entered the forest, karma immediately twined about him.

The first time he entered the forest, karma had dragged him into a cycle, forcing him to relive his past repeatedly. He had seen karmic fruits with his own face, and he had even seen his child, Little Xiaoxuan.

As he stepped foot into the forest again, his heart started to ache once more.

While his child had never actually existed, his love for that child and the grief that he had felt over losing his child had been absolutely real.

In the cycles of karma, what was true, and what was false?

If a person lived their entire life in an illusion, was that illusion still false to them?

A great tree appeared before him, bearing a fruit with his face.

Lu Yin stared at the fruit. It had appeared again.

The first time, he had been the fruit, and by plucking it, he had comprehended karma. The fruit had reappeared, so had everything that he had experienced since then been real, or false?

Lu Yin gazed at the fruit in a daze.

The fruit slowly opened its eyes and looked back at him.

The two stared at each other for an unknowable time. Lu Yin finally let out a breath and waved his hand, dispersing the karma. Both the tree and the fruit vanished.

While he believed that he had comprehended a great deal about karma, he was still far from completely mastering it. For the time being, he felt that he could not grasp anything more.

He could not gain any further insights in the Mirari Realm, though what he had just seen buried itself deep within him. It would someday resurface, forcing him to reexamine his perspective of reality.

While it was still the karmic forbidden region, it was no longer able to hinder Lu Yin in the slightest. He had already seen through it.

It did not take him much longer to arrive before Progenitor Ku.

Progenitor Ku had once sought to reverse karma with his own body, drawing the forbidden region’s karma to seal him. In turn, Lu Yin had been freed from the seal that Master Qing Cao had placed on him. This time, Lu Yin wanted to help Progenitor Ku break free.

“Senior, I’ve come back,” Lu Yin stated while bowing low to Progenitor Ku.

Progenitor Ku sat cross-legged before Lu Yin, surrounded by the karma that sealed him like a small mountain.

Progenitor Ku should be able to speak, but despite how Lu Yin called out to him, the man remained silent.

Lu Yin stared at the man and noticed something strange; Progenitor Ku was changing.

When the man had first reversed karma, his actions had seemed to greatly violate some karmic rule, which had caused the forbidden region’s karma to seal Progenitor Ku. With the passing of time, the karma should slowly diminish, as the violation was bound to a single moment. The seal should have been weakening.

So why had it grown stronger instead?

It was as though something was stuck to Progenitor Ku, clinging to him and constantly pulling more karma to him, refusing to ever let go.

Lu Yin carefully studied the man. What had happened?

It would be simple for Lu Yin to free the man; all he needed to do was sweep the karma away. Lu Yin could do it. Even so, he hesitated, as it seemed that Progenitor Ku had his own plans.

He had used some means to draw karma to himself.

Yes, drawing karma to himself.

Lu Yin studied the man for a long time.

Extremes Must Be Reversed, right?

Progenitor Ku had created that technique, and it had allowed him to transform.

Progenitor Ku had also stepped onto the path of cultivating karma, but his path was completely different from Lu Yin’s. The man’s road was quite peculiar.

Lu Yin bowed again before turning away. There was no need for him to intervene. Progenitor Ku had made his choice and was forging his own path.

Lu Yin truly looked forward to the day when Progenitor Ku emerged, just because he wanted to see exactly what form the man’s path of karma would take.

He then attempted to absorb the karma of the forbidden region, but to Lu Yin’s disappointment, it was not possible.

The karma of the Mirari Realm was like the karma of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm; it seemed to belong to another. Lu Yin could not take it for himself.

Or rather, he currently lacked the ability to seize others’ karma.

He circled the forbidden region, studying it carefully, and yet he could find no source of karma. Helpless, he could only leave. He could not waste any time. Since one path was blocked, he would take another.

Before leaving, he bade farewell to Progenitor Ku.

After leaving the forbidden region, he stared at the River of Aeons. “There’s a ferryman of the River of Aeons in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. I’ll ask her how I can help you leave so that you can come home.”

This was something that Lu Yin had considered in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. He had intended to ask earlier, but too much had happened. There had been one event after another, and the Great Master’s origins had become something that he had never had a chance to ask about.

Zhao Ran looked over at the bank of the river. “There’s no need for that. I belong to the River of Aeons. This is my home.”

Lu Yin said, “The Heavens Sect is also your home. You should return and see it. The flowers that you planted are still there. You can’t always rely on others to water them.”

With that, he tore the void open and left.

Zhao Ran continued to stare at the empty shore.

Flowers?

When Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect, bells tolled across the megaverse. Countless people turned to face the Heavens Sect and bowed. “Welcome home, Lord Lu!”

“Welcome home, Lord Lu!”

“Welcome home...”

Countless voices echoed across the universe.

Lu Yin stood at the top of the Stairway to Heaven, gazing out at the stars. He flicked a finger, and ripples of power spread across the universe. Every insect that the ripple touched was erased.

The ripples spread farther and farther. The entire universe was like a reflection on the water’s surface that had been struck.

In an instant, the Tianyuan was cleared.

The only insects that remained were the ones who had fled into parallel universes.