Chapter 4100: There Must Not Be

As Lu Yin moved farther away from the Tianyuan, he was no longer able to retreat up the River of Aeons. His body also continued to grow more desiccated. Aside from the method of merging multiple attacks across various timelines, the attack that Lu Yin had once used to sever the Immortal monster’s arm was just as powerful.

He constantly used Extremes Must Be Reversed to endure the unending backlash of using Immortal matter to his absolute limit, repeatedly empowering himself as much as possible.

The droplet-shaped Verdant Sage was pierced by multiple spirals of karma, which caused its attacks to miss repeatedly. Enraged, it brought out the river of droplets, sending it through space to slam into Lu Yin. But even as it approached, a Heaven and Earth Lock fell in front of Lu Yin. The technique was capable of sealing an enemy or the user, and when infused with Immortal matter, it could deflect any power.

The river was torn apart when it impacted the Heaven and Earth Lock.

A blue light radiated from across the droplet creature’s surface as another massive droplet formed behind it. Its antennas twitched. “Human, you cannot kill me. It is impossible for any creature to slay an Immortal before reaching that level themselves. You are simply courting death.”

With that, the droplet suddenly expanded, becoming large enough to engulf multiple stars as it pressed down upon Lu Yin.

The crushing weight made it seem like the cosmos was falling down on him.

Lu Yin’s hand swept out as he released a Tri-Azure Sword Intent that cut through the droplet. The cosmos froze. After a brief moment, the droplet shattered, the sword intent continuing through it toward the Verdant Sage.

The droplet creature was aghast. The power of this human’s attacks was terrifying.

Its body scattered into countless droplets as it used its Endless Water Realm: absolute dominion.

The Tri-Azure Sword Intent sliced through the cosmos, erasing every droplet along a straight line, though that failed to truly injure the Verdant Sage.

The Investiture of the Gods reappeared above Lu Yin, and he entered it. “Bug, if you want to stall, I’ll stall with you. Let’s see how long you can last for.”

“Human, my Nest civilization is willing to abandon this war against your civilization. From this day forward, we will leave each other be.”

Lu Yin sneered. “Bullshit. You think that you can start a fight whenever you want and then just walk away when you’re done? What do you take humanity for?”

The Verdant Sage roared, “Your human civilization is not powerful!”

“Yet we can still crush a bug beneath our feet!” Lu Yin’s voice echoed across the Aevum Inch.

Countless droplets froze in place. The bug offered no response. It was focused on finding a way to escape.

It could not afford to wait, but it knew that, as soon as it abandoned its Endless Water Realm, it would be disoriented by Lu Yin’s use of karma.

After a long pause, the droplet creature spoke again. “Fine, human, what is it that you truly want?”

There was a moment of hesitation, but it then added, “Immortal of karma, Venerable One, I ask, what do you want?”

In the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, Greater Sancte Green Lotus calmly observed the Endless Water Realm. “Are you truly the Immortal Lord?”

“I am the Immortal Lord. The one who fought you was me, and the one who fought the other human was also me.”

“So, you are a clone?”

“Correct.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus said nothing further. Outside the bounds of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, the Immortal Lord’s true body ceased its assault.

“Respected human Immortal, our battle has proven that I cannot defeat you, but you also cannot defeat me. Why insist on continuing this struggle? My Nest civilization will no longer act against yours.”

“You want to take back that droplet?”

“Indeed.”

“Before attacking us, did you consider the potential consequences?”

The cosmos fell silent. After a moment, the Immortal Lord’s voice rang out. “The ultimate purpose of war is to achieve benefits. My Nest civilization has destroyed one civilization after another, absorbing their strengths in order to grow stronger. Now, the advantages of humanity are already ours. There is no need for us to continue as enemies.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

“There is no need for this war to have winners or losers.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus clasped his hands behind his back. “If not for you, we would have already achieved our goal for this war.”

“You desire to annihilate that civilization outside the realms of your karma. You could indeed accomplish that, provided I do not interfere.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Call it what you will. I understand not why you are so desperate to erase that civilization, nor do I need to. You and I both understand that the Aevum Inch is merciless.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus stopped talking at that point, and the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm grew silent.

Time passed, allowing all involved the opportunity to think.

“Human Immortal, have you considered?”

“It is possible for us to release that droplet, but you must help us destroy that civilization outside our bounds.”

“Impossible,” the Immortal Lord flatly refused.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus frowned. “You are the reason why we failed in our purpose. What is impossible about this condition? All we need from you is a simple effort. There is no need for you to kill any of them. We will bear that burden.”

The Immortal Lord’s voice, which was usually melodious, suddenly dropped. “Then we will see if you humans can afford to wait. You are desperate to eradicate that civilization outside your borders, and yet you also need time. We will test whose patience lasts longer.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus looked up. “You have no idea how much time we have, but yours is running out.”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate was riding a green lotus leaf through the Aevum Inch, heading for the droplet-shaped Verdant Sage’s location.

Lu Yin had only been trying to intimidate the Verdant Sage, but Greater Sancte Green Lotus had not been bluffing. Killing an Immortal being was no easy task, and having Greater Sancte Awe Gate join the assault would be far more reliable than relying on Lu Yin alone.

The Immortal Lord could clearly observe Greater Sancte Awe Gate’s movement, as Greater Sancte Green Lotus was deliberately allowing that to happen.

As soon as Awe Gate arrived at her destination, there would be no chance of the droplet creature escaping.

For a time, everyone was waiting.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus stood in his Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, motionless and perfectly calm.

The droplet creature maintained its Endless Water Realm, filling the Aevum Inch with countless droplets.

Within those droplets, the Investiture of the Gods radiated a brilliant light. Lu Yin’s consciousness body stood beneath it, quietly waiting.

Everyone was waiting, testing to see whose patience would last longer.

Days passed before the Immortal Lord addressed Greater Sancte Green Lotus again. “Human Immortal, are you certain that you can kill me?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus frowned. “I can’t even find your whereabouts.”

“Neither am I sure that I can kill you,” the Immortal Lord continued, their voice growing heavier. “However, when your human civilization is assaulted by other civilizations, I can be the final blow that crushes you.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s eyes flared sharply, though he stayed silent.

“I have two Immortal clones. I have already taken one away, though it has been crippled. The other has been trapped by you. Beneath them were my four Insect Lords, but they are all dead, aside from Luo Chan. All of my entire civilization’s most gifted Verdant Sages are gone. I have little left to lose. But what of your human civilization? You have not lost a single Immortal. You will face unprecedented and unknown enemies in your future.

“If you add me to those threats, things will become far more difficult for you. Am I wrong?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s expression turned cold.

“Release my clone, and I will promise to never take action against your human civilization again.” The Immortal Lord was making their final offer.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus did not reply.

The green lotus leaf that Greater Sancte Awe Gate sat upon continued through the Aevum Inch.

Lu Yin stood beneath the glow of his Investiture of the Gods, staring at the droplets that surrounded him. He had heard every word that the Immortal Lord said.

No matter what he might believe, the bug knew that there was only one path that humanity could take: releasing it.

Everyone knew that their human civilization could not bear the consequences of refusing.

The art of strategy was about compromise.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus stared across the distance. “Lord Lu, what do you think?”

Lu Yin sighed. “It seems that we have no choice.”

“True. For a civilization to survive, it must be able to endure humiliation and various burdens.”

“I once thought that becoming an Immortal would mean total freedom. I was naive. Even Immortals are bound and restricted.”

“Ha, it’s not too late for you to learn that now.”

“Senior, may I ask you something?”

“Speak.”

“If a person bows once and then bows a second time, are the two heights the same?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus answered without hesitation, “They’re different.”

Lu Yin asked in apparent confusion, “How so?”

“Each time, one will bend lower than before.”

Lu Yin nodded. “Exactly. Each time you will bend lower. In that case, is it possible to refuse to bow a second time?

Greater Sancte Green Lotus chuckled. “If there is a first, the second becomes inevitable.”

“Is that how humans are?”

“All creatures are.”

“Then it seems that there can’t be a first time.”

“Precisely. It cannot happen.”

A green stalk of grain fell outside the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. The Immortal Lord remained silent while attempting to tear the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm open so that they could take the droplet-shaped Verdant Sage away.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus sneered. “You want to conquer my human civilization with words? Bug, you overestimate us. We are not that emotionally sophisticated.”

As soon as the man finished speaking, his Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm surged to fight back against the Immortal Lord.

It was possible to compromise between humans. Lu Yin had made countless compromises in the past. However, when it came to interacting with other civilizations, he did not understand the meaning of compromise. Whenever possible, he would attack with full power, eliminating them if he could, in order to ensure that there would be no trouble in the future.

Concepts such as trust or the bigger picture became meaningless in a war between civilizations.

As soon as the Nest civilization produced more Immortal Verdant Sages and Insect Lords, how would humanity be able to fight back? Even if the Nest civilization did not attack the human civilization, humanity’s location had already been exposed to them and could potentially be disseminated further.

Beneath the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, the Endless Water Realm disappeared as the Verdant Sage condensed back into the form of a single droplet. It then immediately fled.

Lu Yin changed forms as well. His hand rose up and then slammed back down with the Heaven and Earth Lock sealing a region of outer space.

One Heaven and Earth Lock after another fell, but a river of droplets appeared above the Verdant Sage’s head. It flowed through the Aevum Inch, shattering the falling seals.

Behind the bug, spirals of karma pursued it as Lu Yin tried to weave karma.

The Verdant Sage instantly switched directions and released the river of droplets again. There was no one in front of it. It had once again been outmaneuvered. By this point, all of its anger had vanished. All that remained was the desire to escape. It had become clear that the humans had no intention of allowing it to live.

Lu Yin exhaled and stepped forward. Karma moved with him, piercing through the Verdant Sage once more.

The bug paused, unable to determine which direction offered escape.

Lu Yin emerged from the void ahead of the Verdant Sage, Tri-Azure Sword Intent hovering behind him. He stared at the bug with a frigid glare. “I thought that that beast would be the first Immortal that I killed. I didn’t consider that it would end up being you.”

“Human, do you really think that you can kill me?” the droplet creature roared. Its antennas twitched, sending an incomparably dense blast of Lifeforce surging forward. It was denser than anything the bug had previously employed. While it had not learned the Three Revolutions of Qianyuan, the intensity of its Lifeforce was no weaker than that of the humanoid Verdant Sage.

Combining such overwhelming Lifeforce with Immortal matter was the droplet creature’s greatest confidence for facing off against Lu Yin.

So long as no one else interfered, it was confident that it could escape from a direct confrontation with Lu Yin.

From behind Lu Yin, the Tri-Azure Sword Intent sliced through the void as it shot towards the Verdant Sage.

The bug’s antennas twitched, and the river of droplets roared forward once more. After being wrapped about in surging Lifeforce, the river met the Tri-Azure Sword Intent head-on.

There was a thunderous boom, and the river quivered. It succeeded in shattering the Tri-Azure Sword Intent, but doing so briefly stalled the river, much to the Verdant Sage’s shock.

It had attacked by merging all of its Lifeforce into the river of droplets, which made the attack far stronger than the massive droplet that it had launched before. This was the technique that the bug had intended to use to break past Lu Yin’s blockade and escape. To the Verdant Sage’s utter shock, a single use of Lu Yin’s Tri-Azure Sword Intent had managed to briefly stop the river of droplets.

That Tri-Azure Sword Intent had clearly been released casually. Was it possible that the human had been keeping his true strength concealed all along?