Chapter 4091: Foreign Civilization

Astral Anura thought for a moment before shaking his head. “I’d have to be in front of it to feel anything. If I just look, there’s only a feeling of familiarity.”

“Is there nothing else you can sense at all?”

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

“Let me think.” Astral Anura stared at the giant snail, over and over. “Too far... I want to get closer to one.”

“And then?”

“I don’t know.”

Lu Yin relayed Astral Anura’s answer to Greater Sancte Green Lotus, who said, “It must be some sort of bloodline familiarity. We need to rely on that toad more for this. Without him, I wouldn’t have even known that these creatures had arrived at the outskirts of my Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.”

“Senior, what do you intend to do?”

“These creatures have not entered the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, stopping a short distance outside it. If there is an Immortal among their numbers, they surely would have detected the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. If not, their arrival might be just a coincidence,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus said. “Even so, coincidence or not, we must drive them away. They’re too close to human civilization and will easily attract other civilizations’ attention.”

Lu Yin understood. “Any civilization that is willing to casually make contact with other civilizations most likely has an Immortal among their numbers. If we approach these creatures, they’ll discover the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. So, should we send a Night Pillar on an expedition?”

“That’s not necessary. We will send Ku Deng. He should be back just in time to investigate this other civilization.”

Awe Gate and Ku Deng had gone to search for the Nest civilization, but in case the Nine Odysseys Megaverse suffered any surprise attacks, they returned at regular intervals.

In their search efforts, they were making a loop around the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

The Nest civilization had to be waiting somewhere nearby. They would not go too far away.

Ku Deng could sense familiar Heartlamps from a considerable distance, so the two Immortals were first making a circuit around the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

“I hope that these creatures arrived here by chance. Otherwise...” Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s expression turned grim.

Lu Yin looked up. “Obscura.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus gave no reply and simply vanished.

Lu Yin’s face fell. Obscura was aware of Qi Xu’s death, and there was no doubt that they would target their civilization. The owner of the blue sword shadow had claimed that humanity would be Obscura’s next opponent.

If that was true, then this unknown civilization had likely been delivered to humanity’s doorstep by Obscura.

If that was true, then a new war between civilizations was about to break out. This time, humanity’s opponent would be the behemoth that they only knew as Obscura.

Even worse, humanity still had not dealt with the Nest civilization yet.

Civilizations continued to appear. It felt like humanity was a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

It was an absolutely infuriating feeling.

Now that Lu Yin had created his Mind Manor, it might be time to send a new batch of cultivators to the Mirari Realm so that they could cultivate their consciousness there. Hopefully, a group of powerful consciousness bodies would be available to fight for humanity in the next war.

...

Half a month later, Awe Gate and Ku Deng returned. As soon as they re-entered the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, Greater Sancte Green Lotus sent Ku Deng in the direction of the giant snails.

Since breaking into the Immortal realm, Ku Deng had only taken action on a few rare occasions. His karmic chain had only just started to take form, which made him the most suitable to go investigate the snails.

Even at the speeds that Immortals were capable of traveling at, moving across the Aevum Inch was not quick.

It was actually fortunate that the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm was irregularly shaped, as it meant that Ku Deng and Awe Gate were relatively close to his next destination. He would reach the snails within just a few months.

During that time, the giant snails remained in place. Aside from the spatial ripples creating minor waves beneath their large forms and a bit of vapor released from their antennas, the creatures did nothing at all. They seemed to be asleep.

When Ku Deng saw the creatures, he had a very different first impression from Greater Sancte Green Lotus.

The latter had observed the creatures through his macrocosm, whereas Ku Deng observed them firsthand at close proximity. By doing so, he felt an indescribable pressure. It was not due to the snails’ combat power, as the man could not even sense any Immortal presence among the snails.

The snails simply filled the entire surrounding space with their presence, as though each one possessed an unimaginable size that caused the space near them to thicken. It was a pressure that came from a titanic presence.

Approaching them felt like wading through a marsh.

Ku Deng emerged from the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, accompanied by the sound of thunder. Space collapsed as an endless Heartfrift spread out, shaking the nearby Aevum Inch.

The commotion roused the giant snails.

Countless creatures lifted their antennas as they swiveled towards Ku Deng. The one closest to him retreated further and further, the ripples beneath its body growing more violent.

A casual wave of the man’s hand caused pressure to sweep through the area, creating a gust that nearly flipped many of the giant snails over.

The snails produced strange sounds as they chattered among themselves in panic.

“What civilization are you from? Why have you come here?” Ku Deng demanded. These snails were not at all weak, which meant that it was not difficult to communicate with them.

There was a brief commotion, and then an even larger snail eased its way forward from the rest of the group. Facing Ku Deng, it lowered its antennas. “Honored Immortal, have we disturbed you?”

Ku Deng studied the creature. The shell on its back was peculiar, as though space was spinning.

The creature was a peak Dukkhan, and Ku Deng could clearly sense that it possessed nearly the same strength as him before his breakthrough to the Immortal realm.

“Why have you come here?”

“We are fleeing a catastrophe.”

“What catastrophe?”

“Extinction. Honored Immortal, we mean no offense. Had we not been driven to the brink of destruction, we would have never chosen to travel through the Aevum Inch. Please grant us a path to life.”

Ku Deng asked, “What manner of creature pushed you to the brink of extinction?”

“We do not know and have never even seen them. Those creatures have no desire to communicate with us. They control our native megaverse, leaving us with no choice but to flee.”

“How far from here?”

“Very, very far. Our civilization has been fleeing for eons.”

Ku Deng exhaled in relief. This was good news. “Continue on your way. This is no place for you here.”

“Honored Immortal, might you grant us shelter? We are willing to serve.”

Ku Deng bluntly refused. Accepting creatures that belonged to a foreign civilization was a grave taboo, with the exception of when the civilization was guaranteed to have been destroyed, as was the case when the Nine Odysseys Megaverse had accepted the survivors of megaverses that had been reset.

As for the giant snails, who knew how many of their tribes were roaming about the Aevum Inch? Offering them shelter carried the risk of drawing in far more powerful civilizations.

“Kind Immortal, we understand. We will leave right away. Thank you, thank you.”

Soon the endless ranks of giant snails turned around and started moving away.

Ku Deng waited there for more than ten days. Only when the snails had moved out of his sight did he return to the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus had also been observing the situation through his Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. Only when the creatures departed was he able to breathe easier.

No matter their strength, the appearance of any civilization, even the weak ones, would lead to stress.

A short time later, Lu Yin also learned of what had happened. It seemed that the snails’ presence had been nothing more than a coincidence.

He had Zhao Ran open the Mirari Realm and then led a group of cultivators inside so that they could train their consciousness. With the concept of time being absent from the Mirari Realm, it was the ideal place to train. When these people emerged, they would be experts in consciousness.

As for Lu Yin himself, he merged his Karmic Dao back into the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm and shifted his gaze towards the Consciousness Megaverse to look for the Willbound Spire again.

Where had the Origin Progenitor really gone?

About half a year had passed. Lu Yin was still searching for the Willbound Spire when he suddenly heard Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s voice. “Those giant snails have returned.”

Lu Yin started. “When?”

“Just now.”

“Why are they back?”

“I’ve already sent Ku Deng to ask. He never left that region.”

Outside of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, Ku Deng released a vast Heartrift, which caused his terrifying aura to press down upon the snails. “Why did you turn back?”

“Kind Immortal, we sensed the presence of a powerful civilization. We don’t dare to proceed in that direction. Please allow us to travel in different direction.”

Ku Deng stared intently at the giant snail. From his side, a strand of karma shot forward to pierce the snail at the forefront.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus had taken action. He had not wanted to become entangled with the karma of other civilizations, but since the snails had returned, there was no need for further talk.

Karma pierced the giant snail, and Greater Sancte Green Lotus saw multiple scenes of the creature’s past.

Before any more could be seen, a razor-sharp edge flashed by from the distance, instantly attacking the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

Ku Deng retaliated with a single palm strike. A Heartrift roared as it clashed with the sharp attack. It came from a weapon similar to a spear, and it was made of a material that resembled transparent glass.

The transparent weapon shattered, and Ku Deng stared into the distance. “An Immortal.”

“Unknown Immortal creature, why won’t you allow us to live?” a deep, booming voice echoed from far away.

Ku Deng’s expression grew solemn. “Hiding your head while showing your tail—a coward’s trick!”

“Our race only seeks a place to live. Why must you make things difficult?”

“Civilizations must not come into contact with each other. You know this. What is your real purpose?” Ku Deng demanded.

“We’re tired. We don’t want to continue fleeing. Every step across the Aevum Inch risks death. Every step could mean our extinction. Your civilization has more than one Immortal. Why don’t we join forces and defend this region together?”

“Leave.” Ku Deng’s voice was deep and sounded as though it echoed out from the abyss.

The people of the Rift of Suffering were kind to other cultivators, and they were willing to accept many and teach their methods. However, they were ruthless and decisive towards foreign civilizations.

Kindness to an enemy was simply cruelty to oneself. That was the Rift of Suffering’s creed.

“Even if your civilization refuses, we will not leave. We will fight. That’s at least better than living in constant peril in the Aevum Inch.” In the distance, a snail that looked no different from any of the others moved forward. Its arrival was accompanied by a familiar aura.

It was the feeling of Lifeforce, and Ku Deng immediately sensed it.

“Suppress it. I will use karma to see its origins,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus stated.

...

High above the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, Greater Sancte Green Lotus met with Lu Yin. “Prepare. Obscura has arrived.”

Lu Yin’s heart sank. “Is it really them?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus sighed. “A blue sword appeared when I examined that alien Immortal’s karma.”

Lu Yin had known that this day would eventually arrive, but he had not expected it to come so soon.

“Is the Immortal strong?” Lu Yin asked.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus frowned. “I don’t know. So far, we’ve only seen one Immortal. If that’s all that their civilization has, they can’t possibly defeat us. However, Obscura would not use a civilization without being confident. We simply haven’t seen through the situation just yet.”

“Not even the Immortal’s karma shows anything?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus shook his head.