Chapter 4073: Hope

“Wait.” Lu Yin had a question. “If our human civilization has powerhouses who are regressing to the ancient era, then what about other civilizations in the cosmos?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s expression grew solemn. “They might have such powerhouses as well.”

Lu Yin’s heart sank.

“To call back those who have regressed to the ancient era is easy to say but hard to do. Take me for example. If I were to attempt to regress to the ancient era, I might never return. Even if those ancient powerhouses who have done so are summoned back, it might take billions of years. By that time, will our human civilization still exist?

“When the Death Megaverse once crossed paths with humanity, if I hadn’t lured them away, our civilization would have ceased to exist.”

Lu Yin was surprised. “Lured them away? I thought that we feigned death?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus chuckled. “How could I have faked our deaths? Just that black Mother Tree wasn’t nearly enough. I had to convince them that our megaverse had truly been destroyed. At the same time, I traveled through the Aevum Inch, drawing them to a distant place far away. That was the only way for me to lure them away.”

Lu Yin understood. Of course, it could not have been easy to distract a lofty fishing civilization. Such a civilization could not have been easily fooled. Only someone like Greater Sancte Green Lotus, who was capable of regressing to the ancient era, could accomplish such a thing.

To the Death Megaverse, a powerhouse who was capable of regressing to the ancient era was far more important than a civilization that merely appeared to be destroyed. Even if that civilization had not truly been annihilated, faking death before the Death Megaverse was simply a sign of weakness, which meant that it could be ignored.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus sighed. “For our human civilization, I am capable of regressing to the ancient era, and yet I cannot do so. Even if we had two such powerhouses, would either of us truly be willing to leave? Without facing a catastrophe that threatened to truly destroy our entire civilization, no one would ever agree to abandon their era. This isn’t a matter of lacking vision, but rather that no one can know whether, after leaving, they will ever see their civilization or loved ones again.

“It is nearly impossible to regress through the ages. People would rather place their hope on protecting the current civilization. As long as there is one expert capable of regressing to the ancient era, their civilization is practically secured. If there are two, they would hardly even consider those who have already regressed to the ancient era.

“When I say that calling them back is possible, I meant that there is a very remote chance. If it were possible, our human civilization could instead directly become a fishing civilization, though there is also another possibility.”

Lu Yin looked up. “The powerhouses who regressed to the ancient era might not even exist.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus nodded, his expression grave. “They could already be dead, or they might have never even existed. If there is no trace of them in all of our history, who can guarantee that they will ever return?

“Abandoning the current civilization to venture alone to regress to the ancient era for a nebulous hope is nothing but a joke. It is another joke that belongs to the Aevum Inch itself.”

Lu Yin understood. Even if he reached such a level, or if Awe Gate did, it was unlikely that anyone would be willing to try to summon those ancient powerhouses back.

“This is the situation of our human civilization, and other species’ civilizations are no different. But compared to other species, we humans have more faith in such a possibility, and that is because human emotions run deep.” Greater Sancte Green Lotus stared off into the distance. “You were willing to sacrifice yourself for the Tianyuan. Humanity as a whole is desperate to protect our civilization. That’s why for us, the powerhouses who regressed to the ancient era do exist, or at least, there’s a fifty percent chance of it. However, there are many species in the cosmos who are emotionally detached and don’t care about their heritage. So for them, the concept of regressing to the ancient era simply does not exist.

“Even if such a possibility does exist, it would only be for themselves alone.

“Those civilizations have never even considered calling back powerhouses who have regressed to the ancient era, because they know that such beings do not exist for their species.”

Lu Yin said, “During my Origin realm breakthrough, I clearly spoke with one of those powerhouses, and I saw a great many more.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus nodded. “That’s why I say that recalling them is possible. In human history, there truly were powerhouses who regressed to the ancient era. The one you saw was real, though those who were further ahead might not be. They could simply be remnants left by time. No one knows for sure.

“Still, the fact that even one of those figures is real is already incredible. At the very least, if our civilization faces annihilation, he can offer hope to alter history.”

Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. Hope?

Regressing through the ages sounded grand, but it was nearly impossible. Those people moved up the River of Aeons towards its source in the hopes of changing history, but how could things be so simple?

The human civilization was by no means the strongest, whether it was in the past or in the present. Humanity itself was not the mightiest species.

If it was so easy to alter the source of the River of Aeons, the cosmos would have fallen into chaos long ago.

“Senior, what about mirebound artifacts?” Lu Yin asked.

Legends regarding mirebound artifacts had existed for far too long.

When the cosmos first formed, all things were pure, and then the River of Time came into being. The purer something is, the easier it is to become tainted. Beneath the River of Time, there are things that swim against the current, and they carry objects from the future that can corrupt what is pure. These items are called mirebound artifacts.

If Lu Yin’s guess was right, then mirebound artifacts originated from the massive tree that stood at the source of the River of Aeons. The fact that so many existed could be considered evidence that someone must have reached that tree.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus replied, “Since there has never been any evidence that anyone has ever successfully regressed to the ancient era, where did such words even arise from? How could we have ever learned about regressing to the ancient era in the first place?”

Lu Yin instantly made the connection. “Because of the mirebound artifacts?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus nodded. “Precisely. They come from the great tree at the source of the River of Aeons. Those who regressed to the ancient era carried objects from the future with them, tainting the purity and creating mirebound artifacts.

“We cannot determine if regressing to the ancient era truly happened on our own, but the existence of mirebound artifacts seems to provide an answer. What we currently seek is to deduce the process in reverse. But even with the answer right in front of us, the process is still hard to believe.

“If not for mirebound artifacts, the idea of regressing to the ancient era would have never existed at all.”

Lu Yin nodded as he continued speculating. “Is it possible that mirebound artifacts are actually tools left behind for future generations by those who regressed to the ancient era?”

“I won’t deny that as a possibility. Our civilization has managed to survive, and we’ve considered calling back those who regressed through the ages. Likewise, those people might have tried traveling downstream to see if their civilization still exists in the future, or to probe them. Mirebound artifacts could be their way of probing the future, but even to this day, no one knows how to respond to them,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus replied. “If we could establish contact with those people, it might be possible to call them back without regressing to the ancient era ourselves.”

Lu Yin was about to mention the ferryman of the River of Aeons, but then he thought of the Great Master. The Great Master was also a ferryman, and she had always helped human civilization. If it were possible to make contact with the powerhouses who had regressed to the ancient era, the Great Master would have done so long ago.

It was possible that the Great Master had been brought into human civilization because Greater Sancte Green Lotus wanted her to attempt to summon the powerhouses who had regressed to the ancient era.

Lu Yin was clever, but that did not make others fools. Others could have the same thoughts as him, especially the Immortals.

Throughout the countless years, aside from human civilization, there was no question that other species had also tried to make contact with powerhouses who had regressed to the ancient era, yet all of them had failed. That said everything.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus said, “Alright, you shouldn’t concern yourself too much with matters regarding regressing to the ancient era just yet. That’s for Immortals to worry about. What you need to focus on now is reaching the Immortal realm. I have a feeling that, once you do, your power will become truly terrifying.”

This was something that Lu Yin did not try to argue against. Even at the moment, he was capable of fighting equally against weaker Immortals. With Shan Barrens, even if he was not capable of outright defeating such an opponent, if another war between civilizations broke out, he would at least be able to keep an enemy Immortal preoccupied.

Compared to how Immortals were restrained by their karmic chains, Lu Yin was free to act as he wished. No Immortal would willingly fight him.

Even someone like Greater Sancte Green Lotus, who could easily overwhelm Lu Yin, would not want to do so, as the cost was too great.

“More importantly, right now, we need to decide how to deal with the Nest civilization. As long as they exist, they’ll be a thorn in our hearts,” Lu Yin said.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s expression grew dark. “They were lucky. I was not here during either of their assaults. If I had been, that Luo Chan would have never escaped.”

Lu Yin also felt that Luo Chan’s escape was a pity. He was capable of restraining Luo Chan with karma, and the Terminus Cycle was also capable of trapping the bug, but Greater Sancte Green Lotus could have restrained the bug without effort. The only variable would be the Immortal Lord.

It was still uncertain who was more powerful between the Immortal Lord and Greater Sancte Green Lotus. If the Immortal Lord proved incapable of rescuing Luo Chan from Green Lotus, the threat that the Nest civilization posed to humanity would be reduced quite drastically.

What a pity.

Lu Yin asked, “If we can find the Nest civilization and catch them off guard, could you eliminate Luo Chan, Senior?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus confidently replied, “Give me just one strike, and Luo Chan won’t escape.”

Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. “So all we need to do now is find the Nest civilization, right?”

Green Lotus nodded. “That is something that only you can do. Immortals cannot be directly involved, or else the Immortal Lord will sense it.

“Launching an attack will prove our confidence. The Nest civilization isn’t stupid. They will immediately leave, especially given how badly they’ve been weakened.”

Lu Yin pondered. Finding the Nest civilization was both difficult and not.

He roughly knew their location, and Master Ku Deng’s heartlamp could help pinpoint the location, but Luo Chan was capable of teleporting all of the bugs at once. That was the real complication.

In fact, it was quite likely that the bugs had already changed locations.

Luo Chan’s presence meant that any civilization would be at a disadvantage when facing the Nest civilization.

Even Greater Sancte Green Lotus found Luo Chan’s existence troublesome.

“The Nest civilization won’t be easily dealt with. Take things slowly. Oh, and I also have a gift for you,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus stated.

Lu Yin grew curious. “A gift?”

“This war may have cost me quite a bit of karma, but you should have consumed the vast majority of your own,” Green Lotus continued.

This comment caused Lu Yin to feel rather embarrassed. “Senior... can I know how much of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm was consumed?”

Green Lotus smiled. “The Seven Fairies... choose one.”

“Thank you, but no.”

“What a pity. They’re all quite excellent.”

“I understand, but I already have a wife.”

Green Lotus looked at Lu Yin with complex emotions. “You’re a good man. Treat your wife well.”

Lu Yin nodded, suddenly reminded of Green Lotus’s past that he had seen through the stone wall from the Sea of Karma. The woman who had died in Green Lotus’s arms had left terrible pain in the man’s heart. Did he still search for that familiar gaze?

“What I’m offering to give you is related to the Seven Fairies. They are bound to the seven emotions which they inherited from Qi Xu. Her greatest power was emotion, and each emotion has a connection to karma: sorrow, joy, anger, and so on. Now that Obscura knows that Qi Xu is dead, there is no purpose in preserving those emotions. Doing so will only cause the Seven Fairies needless suffering, so I will give them to you.

“Those seven emotions might not contain all of Qi Xu’s karma, but it will still be quite a considerable amount.”

Lu Yin was overjoyed. “Truly? Thank you, Senior!”

Yue Ya had been a being of manifested thought, and that manifested thought had once belonged to an Immortal. Yue Ya’s karma had drastically strengthened Lu Yin’s Karmic Dao. Qi Xu’s seven emotions might result in a similar improvement.

His Karmic Dao had been greatly weakened. If not for being in the Tianyuan, he would have struggled greatly to even connect to the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. To do so, Lu Yin had to rely on the karma of the entire Tianyuan.