Chapter 4086: Absolute Means

Lu Yin had already known as much. Greater Sancte Awe Gate had once told him that she regretted breaking through to the Immortal realm as quickly as she had. She wished that she had lingered just beneath the Immortal realm so that she could have fought to her heart’s content.

The Immortal realm and love of fighting did not hold even close to the same level of value; who would abandon Immortality just to fight more?

And yet those were precisely Greater Sancte Awe Gate’s thoughts.

Lu Yin also had not expected Greater Sancte Awe Gate to erupt with such a terrifying power that she had suppressed two Immortal Verdant Sages at the same time.

He had even broken into a cold sweat for the sake of Master Qing Cao. If that man had ever tried to fight Awe Gate, the outcome would likely be quite tragic.

“You humans excel at hiding your true strength, but you have too few Immortals and lack any sort of absolute means. With that, you would absolutely become a fishing civilization,” the Great Master remarked.

Lu Yin grew puzzled. “Absolute means?”

The Great Master nodded. “Becoming a fishing civilization isn’t just about how many Immortals a civilization has. Humanity already has quite a few, and yet you still struggle to qualify.

“An absolute means is something like an unstoppable offense, survival method, or movement.”

“Like Luo Chan’s teleportation?” Lu Yin asked in surprise.

The Great Master smiled. “I’m only speculating, but Luo Chan’s innate gift is basically impossible to counter. As long as the bug isn’t killed, its existence guarantees that the Nest civilization will survive. No matter how strong the enemy is, if you can always run away, what can they do about it?”

Just the thought of Luo Chan was enough to induce headaches. If they could deal with that bug, then aside from the unfathomable Immortal Lord, the Nest civilization would pose no threat to humanity.

No matter how powerful the Immortal Lord might be, at most, they were approximately equal to Greater Sancte Green Lotus in power. Otherwise, they would have already taken direct action.

The Immortal Lord had most likely refrained from attacking the human megaverses because they had seen the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm and used it to estimate Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s strength.

Being able to make such an estimate suggested that the Immortal Lord had to at least be somewhat close to Green Lotus’s power.

If only humanity had a teleportation ability like Luo Chan’s.

Wait!

Lu Yin suddenly remembered Ancestor Lu Yuan’s ability to nurture innate gifts. If Luo Chan could be captured, then could Lu Yuan nurture an innate gift of teleportation?

The more that Lu Yin considered the possibility, the more excited he became. The chances of success were miniscule. To begin with, Luo Chan’s ability was tied to its species. If it were possible to replicate the ability, the Nest civilization would have already done so. Still, their failure did not prevent Lu Yin from wanting to at least try.

He could already imagine what human civilization would be capable of with the ability to teleport. What a sight it would be!

In the same way that humanity struggled to find a way to deal with Luo Chan, other civilizations would face the same struggle when facing humanity in the future.

Lu Yin returned to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and shared his idea with Greater Sancte Green Lotus and the other Immortals.

They remained calm. “We’ve already considered that ourselves. As for absolute means, we’ve also considered those. If such means were easy to obtain, they wouldn’t be considered absolute.

“If your ancestor can nurture Luo Chan’s ability into an innate gift, then it would be a tremendous boon for humanity, but the chances are close to zero.

“It’s not just about whether the ability can be nurtured, but also about whether Luo Chan can even be captured,” Greater Sancte Awe Gate explained. She had fought against the bugs more than once, and she understood just how troublesome Luo Chan could be.

Lu Yin’s voice dropped low. “No matter how remote the possibility may be, if any chance exists, we should try. First, we need to find the Nest civilization.”

“I’ll search with Master Ku Deng,” Greater Sancte Awe Gate volunteered. She was the most suitable for such a task.

Master Ku Deng could sense the droplet-shaped creature’s heartlamp, and as soon as he sensed it, the Nest civilization would be located.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate soon left the Nine Odysseys Megaverse to search across the Aevum Inch.

With two Immortals departing from the human megaverses, Greater Sancte Green Lotus stayed behind, serving as a stabilizing anchor. He was more reliable than anyone else.

They had accomplished everything that they had needed to do. The Netherfiends had been uprooted, as had Stillness. Obscura could be left to Green Lotus and the other Immortals, and Yong Heng and Zhu had fled. At the moment, there were no longer any important matters that concerned Lu Yin.

He took a step, appearing beside a river that meandered across the land. He quietly took a seat.

A few days later, a small raft appeared, drifting downstream. A woman was on it, as beautiful as a painting. She was admiring the impressive scenery along the river.

Lu Yin’s eyes opened, and he looked at the woman.

She sensed something and turned to meet his gaze.

When their eyes met, time seemed to freeze. The instant felt like an eternity.

“Do we know each other?” she asked, doubt clear in her eyes.

Lu Yin gave a small smile. “What do you think?”

“I feel like we do,” she replied, feeling puzzled.

The woman was nothing more than a manifestation of Ming Yan’s consciousness, and thus she lacked a past and a future. Lu Yin merely wished for her happiness.

He currently had the ability to revive Ming Yan for real.

He nodded. “We do. Have you lost your memory?”

She smiled back at him. “That’s right. I can’t remember anything about my past.”

“Do you want to remember?”

“No. I’m happy now.”

“Why not? Remembering might make you just as happy.”

“But that wouldn’t be me.”

Lu Yin was taken aback, and he stared at the woman in a daze.

It’s her, yet not her... How? She’s a manifestation of Ming Yan’s consciousness.

Inspired by the mural on Green Lotus’s stone wall, Lu Yin had wanted to revive Ming Yan. He had no right to deprive her of her right to life. When the Nest civilization had invaded, even Lu Yin’s own survival had been uncertain, so he had simply released Ming Yan’s consciousness so that she could roam about and know joy.

So much had been settled since that time, and he could not wait forever for humanity to gain absolute safety. How long would that take? Waiting like that would be too selfish.

He had intended to revive Ming Yan, only to receive an unexpected answer.

At this moment, Ming Yan made Lu Yin think of Lu Xiaoxuan.

The Ming Yan right now and the past her... are like the Lu Yin now and the Lu Xiaoxuan from back then.

Clearly the same person, and yet also not.

Was he wrong? Had manifesting her consciousness as its own body been redundant if reviving Ming Yan would only add memories to her consciousness? How was it different from Lu Xiaoxuan’s case? After all, Lu Yin remained himself, and he had simply gained Lu Xiaoxuan’s memories.

Lu Yin stared at her, conflicted and not knowing what he should do.

Ming Yan had long since had two personalities: her black-haired and white-haired personalities. What was the current her?

“What’s wrong?” she asked, looking curious.

He averted his gaze while murmuring, “I’m sorry.”

She did not understand. “For what? I’m happy.”

“But one day you’ll remember.”

She smiled brilliantly. “Life is short. Just being happy is enough.”

Lu Yin looked at her again, lost for words.

She met his gaze as he stared. “Will you stay with me? I hope that you will. That would make me even happier.”

Lu Yin rose to his feet and stepped onto the bamboo raft on the river with a smile. “I would love to accompany you.”

“Wonderful! I don’t know how long this river is.”

“It doesn’t matter. Enjoying the scenery along the way is what matters.”

“Mhmm.”

A year later, they reached the end of the river. Lu Yin moved to carry the raft to another river, only for Ming Yan to stop him. “If you can restore my memories, then let’s do that now.”

“You don’t want to see more?”

“No. It’s just like the flowers. They’re quick to wither but beautiful when they bloom. I’m content.”

“Then let me take you somewhere else: your homeland.”

“My homeland? The one from my memories? Alright.”

Lu Yin took Ming Yan back to the Tianyuan, where they entered the Shenwu Continent. Once there, they continued drifting down a river.

For a bamboo raft, even Earth was a vast place, let alone somewhere like the Shenwu Continent.

Three more years passed. In total, Lu Yin accompanied the manifestation of Ming Yan’s consciousness for five years. After that time, they once again reached the end of a river.

She turned to smile at Lu Yin. “My homeland is also beautiful.”

Lu Yin looked at her. “Can you bear to let go?”

She laughed. “Will my memories disappear?”

“No.”

“Then it’s fine. I belong to this happiness, and that’s enough. You should also let go. I can feel how tired you are.”

Lu Yin stared at her, entranced by the smile that felt like the morning sun melting snow.

As he stared into her eyes, his heart started to unwind without him realizing it.

He seemed to hear that soft “Brother Lu” echoing repeatedly in his ears.

He simply stared at Ming Yan as she continued to show her beautiful smile. Mountains and rivers changed. The sun moved, and the seasons cycled. An unknown amount of time passed before she raised a hand to caress his cheek.

“Brother Lu, you’re too tired.”

“Yan’er, was I wrong?”

“Brother Lu, let go. You’re too tired.”

Let go... Let go?

Let go of what?

Let go of his obsession? Of life? Of everything he held dear? No, he could not let go. He could not let go of anything.

Everything that he currently had was something that he had struggled to protect. He could not just let go.

Lu Yin continued to stare at Ming Yan. “Yan’er, I can’t let go. I just can’t.”

In front of him, Ming Yan’s eyes became familiar. There was a hint of tenderness to the pure joy that had been present before. “Brother Lu, I don’t blame you, and no one else will. You’ve done enough.”

Lu Yin stared blankly, and then his eyes lit up. “You’re... Yan’er.”

She smiled. “Yan’er has always been Yan’er. You weren’t wrong. Happiness is not wrong. Yan’er hasn’t vanished. Yan’er has simply let go.”

“You... let go?”

Ming Yan’s hair suddenly turned white, the transformation flowing and changing her appearance, but the smile on her face never shifted. “I’ve let go. Yan’er has let go.”

Her white-haired personality faded away. She had let go of her painful past. Her hand rose to touch Lu Yin. While she was only a body of consciousness, he could feel her warmth.

“Brother Lu, letting go isn’t giving up.”

The words were like a thunderclap going off in Lu Yin’s head. His thoughts went blank. Only those five words echoed through his mind again and again.

Letting go isn’t giving up.

For years he had been consumed by obsession and holding on. He had never considered letting go.

So this is my Dukkha

.

Letting go was not giving up. He had restrained himself too tightly. As Greater Sancte Green Lotus had said, he had an illness.

The Immortals had seen the truth long ago; Lu Yin’s illness was his Dukkha.

He looked up at the sky. The azure color was beautiful. Ming Yan’s smile was even more so. At that moment, his heart became utterly relaxed.

To reach the end of the journey, one could walk a rough path or a smooth path. Why put so much pressure on himself?

He protected those he cared about, as well as the entire human civilization. Even so, that was not his burden alone, but rather one carried by everyone.

Only by learning to let go could one be magnanimous.

Only by going with the flow could one endure to the end.

Lu Yin looked at Ming Yan. His hand rose and cupped her cheek. He felt the same warmth as he smiled at her. “Yan’er, thank you.”

His smile was as pure as a river whose waters ran crystal clear all the way to the bottom.

His Wordless Heavenly Book suddenly shot into the sky, radiating a light that spread out across the entire Shenwu Continent before reaching beyond to the Outerverse, the Innerverse, and the rest of the Fifth Mainland. Soon, the light reached all parts of the Origin Universe and even the entire Tianyuan Megaverse.