Chapter 4101: Killing The Immortal

Lu Yin’s expression grew frigid. He raised a hand, and countless strands of Tri-Azure Sword Intent fell from the Investiture of the Gods. They hung in outer space, resonating with a soft hum.

The droplet-shaped Verdant Sage stared in disbelief.

Why are there so many?

Lu Yin looked up and just waved his hand.

Go

.

One after another, the strands of Tri-Azure Sword Intent slashed at the Verdant Sage.

The bug’s eyes turned cold. Hastily releasing a burst of sword intent was useless. The human’s previous attack had to have been a coincidence.

But in the very next moment, as each strand of Tri-Azure Sword Intent struck the river of droplets, not only was the river halted once again, but it was also torn apart. While the strands of sword intent also shattered, they had succeeded in ripping apart the river and all of its Lifeforce, with some even slicing on towards the Verdant Sage.

The bug froze.

Impossible! How can this be?

Has this human been keeping his true strength hidden this whole time?

Lu Yin had not concealed his power. Every strand of Tri-Azure Sword Intent that he was unleashing was a full-powered attack; they were forged through countless cycles of withering and restoring with Extremes Must Be Reversed and empowered with Immortal matter and Lifeforce. None of this had been done in front of the Verdant Sage, but rather inside of his Investiture of the Gods.

The Immortal had attempted to use its Endless Water Domain to render itself immune to Lu Yin’s attacks so that it could threaten the human. However, Lu Yin had spent his time inside his Investiture of the Gods, forging strand after strand of Tri-Azure Sword Intent.

This technique was possible due to the creation of the Mind Manor. He considered it the Tri-Azure Sword Intent: Hidden Blade.

Each strand of Tri-Azure Sword Intent was an ultimate attack, and by releasing so many at once, he had managed to completely tear apart the river of droplets. The Verdant Sage tried to scatter into its Endless Water Domain, but the fact that it had infused its Lifeforce into the river of droplets caused a delay. On top of that, the bug was pierced by a spiral of karma that wove its karma, restraining its movement before it was struck by the first strand of sword intent.

That first attack was accompanied by a second.

One after another, the strands of Tri-Azure Sword Intent sliced into the insect, tearing through its body and ripping space apart while causing blue flames to blossom across the Aevum Inch.

The Immortal was gravely injured. Lu Yin appeared in front of the droplet creature, releasing a palm strike. It looked like water was beneath his hand as the Immortal matter covering the bug shattered, along with half of its body. The river of droplets completely collapsed, spilling out Lifeforce in its destruction.

The Verdant Sage’s expression twisted ferociously right before its body dispersed into its Endless Water Domain again.

However, the Endless Water Domain looked nothing like before. It was drastically smaller, to the point where it posed practically no threat to Lu Yin.

He released his consciousness, and it swept through all the scattered droplets. Strands of Tri-Azure Sword Intent slashed out in a criss-cross pattern, shattering the Endless Water Domain and forcing the Verdant Sage to abandon it. As its body reformed, it was only half of its previous size. It turned to flee, only to be pierced by a spiral of karma once more. Its path twisted, and it ended up traveling straight towards Lu Yin.

It locked eyes with the human, and although bloodlust filled the creature’s eyes, there was no hatred present. Hatred did not exist in wars between civilizations; there was only the desire for survival and annihilation.

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the wavering river that was still behind the Verdant Sage. He pointed a finger, and from the depths of his Investiture of the Gods, the last strands of his empowered Tri-Azure Sword Intent shot out. The attack vanished almost instantly as it struck the river.

The river froze... and then exploded. Lifeforce spilled out from the destruction, looking like white clouds of mist that floated through the Aevum Inch.

The Verdant Sage stared at Lu Yin in a daze. It had actually been defeated by a creature who was not themselves an Immortal.

Even though the droplet creature was among the weakest of Immortals, an Immortal was still an Immortal. How could it have lost?

How could it die in this place?

Human civilization, human civilization, human civilization...

Lu Yin slowly approached the Verdant Sage. His Champions’ Stage Purgatory appeared beside him. Just as he was about to throw the Verdant Sage inside, its body exploded with a thunderous roar. Blue light shot upwards with enough force to pierce through even the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm above them.

Lu Yin stared in astonishment.

The Aevum Inch was filled with the Verdant Sage’s Immortal matter, while its Lifeforce had scattered far into the distance.

These were all signs that an Immortal had just fallen.

“Every Immortal aligns with certain cosmic laws,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus explained, “Even though that bug was but the weakest of Immortals, its existence still aligned with a law. Its death will inevitably produce widespread ripples. Such phenomena are only natural. It is an indication that the cosmos itself is watching.”

Lu Yin looked up as the blue radiance slowly faded away.

So that’s it... even the cosmos watches such beings.

“But when I was fighting against it, I couldn’t sense any such law.”

“Perhaps it was a law that served more for becoming an Immortal than for combat.”

Lu Yin understood. That droplet-shaped bug had had a relatively easy time becoming an Immortal, which was an advantage of its species. However, the law it had aligned with could not narrow the gap between them any further.

He was not sure if such an advantage was a blessing or a curse.

Compared to those who could never break through to the Immortal realm, it was certainly a blessing.

It was a pity that he had failed to harvest any karma from the bug. What a waste.

“By the way, Senior, now that it’s dead, what will happen to the karmic chain that bound it?”

“Naturally, it vanishes.”

Throughout their various battles, Lu Yin had never once seen where the Verdant Sage’s karmic chain was.

Perhaps that was for the best. If the insect’s karmic chain had been too long, it would have been an indication of greater experience, which would have corresponded to more karma that Lu Yin could have potentially absorbed from the creature. That would have only made his regret stronger.

While thinking about that, he started gathering the Immortal matter.

There was an abundance of it, far too much to ignore.

Far away, Ku Deng had sensed the very moment that the droplet-shaped Verdant Sage perished. He stared in the direction of the bug’s death, his eyes filled with complex emotions. “When a creature dies, it is like a lamp going out. The flame of your heartlamp has just been extinguished.”

It was extraordinarily difficult to kill an Immortal. What was most unfortunate, aside from the fact that Lu Yin had not gained any karma from the creature, was the fact that it had only left behind a small bit of Immortal matter.

He gathered all of the Immortal matter he could, but it was still not enough to replenish what he had consumed during the battle.

“If you wish to acquire more Immortal matter, I can provide you with some,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus said when he met with Lu Yin atop the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

Lu Yin felt embarrassed. “I’ve already consumed so much of your karma, Senior. If you give me Immortal matter as well, I’ll never be able to repay you.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus chuckled softly. “Just like how the debt that the Nine Odysseys Megaverse owes you can never be repaid.”

Lu Yin wanted to ask how much of Green Lotus’s karma from the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm he had consumed, but he restrained himself from doing so. Lu Yin only knew that he had consumed a tremendous amount of the Immortal’s karma, though not the exact amount. If it was too excessive, he would not know where to even begin making amends.

“It is likely that the humanoid Verdant Sage is not dead,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus stated.

Hearing that, Lu Yin’s expression grew solemn. “I feel the same way.”

“The Immortal Lord claimed that the creature was crippled.”

“Not necessarily,” Lu Yin shared his thoughts aloud. “Luo Chan is important, and it might have been even more valuable than an Immortal during this war, but was it really worthwhile to sacrifice an Immortal to protect that bug? That humanoid Verdant Sage acted too decisively. There was not even a hint of hesitation. It was like it was already mentally prepared for a moment like that.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus nodded. “There are too many strange creatures in the cosmos. Don’t be fooled by that Verdant Sage’s humanoid appearance—it is not human at all. It merely wears a human form, and its essence remains as that of a bug. It has abilities from other species, so it may still have the means to recover.

“By the way, why did you not pursue the beast?”

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. “The insects have been keeping an eye on that monster, and while I was able to render it useless in battle by weaving its karma, it’s still an Immortal. To the bugs, throwing it at the Tianyuan could still serve a purpose. I’m sure that they’ll find a way to use it again.”

“Then, conversely,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus mused, “If the bugs intend to use that beast, then we can do the same. We can use it as bait for Luo Chan.”

The Immortal turned to praise Lu Yin. “Despite having just fought such a fierce battle, you still have the presence of mind for strategic thought. It seems you still have not reached your limit. Good. That reassures me.”

Lu Yin offered a bitter smile. “I’ve already reached my limit. I’m just used to planning ahead. I can’t let Luo Chan keep playing me like a fool.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus exhaled. “It’s not just Luo Chan now. With that droplet creature dead, the Immortal Lord will not rest. There is no doubt that the giant snails outside of our territory will lure a powerful civilization over, and the one behind them is Obscura. Things are going to be very troublesome.”

Lu Yin frowned. “The appearance of the Tricolor Kang Tians is strange in and of itself. If they are really able to draw over another civilization, then how exactly will that civilization reach this location? How long will it take? The Aevum Inch is endless. Senior, you must have explored all of the surrounding regions. By all logic, there shouldn’t be any nearby civilizations that are capable of threatening humanity.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus let out a helpless sigh. “I told you, there are some questions that I cannot answer. For instance, Obscura’s gates. They are able to facilitate travel between megaverses. When I passed through that gate recently, I finally understood them—those gates do not connect points in space, but rather across time.”

u Yin was startled. “They connect across time?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s tone grew heavy. “We travel through the space of the cosmos, but those gates allow one to move along the River of Aeons.”

Lu Yin’s eyes widened. “The main stream of the River of Aeons?”

The Greater Sancte nodded. “Yes, the main stream of the River of Aeons, as well as its branches. By connecting one branch to another, those gates create a shift in the flow of time, and allow one to move through time. Time itself is another unseen world of the cosmos. That is how Obscura moves about.

“The Aevum Inch is vast beyond measure, to the point where not even Immortals can sense its limits. Civilizations are separated by immense distances, and many, including even fishing civilizations, are hidden from one another. But once a civilization’s location is exposed, others may find ways to swiftly approach it.

“Moreover, the Tricolor Kang Tians were brought here by Obscura in the first place. It is possible that the same gate can be used to lure over another civilization.

“Don’t forget,” Green Lotus added, “Even a creature like Luo Chan possesses the ability to teleport. It is nothing strange for other civilizations to have their own means of travel.”

Lu Yin understood. In the endless forest of the omniverse, civilizations stayed hidden from others. The distances between civilizations might be unimaginably vast or deceptively close. Still, even the closest neighbor would be an impossible distance away when considering the size of the entire Aevum Inch.

The Tianyuan and the Spirit Nidus could be considered exceptionally close to each other, but an Immortal still took about a year to travel between the two megaverses.

However, once a civilization found the location of another and had a clear target, the means of travel might change. It might be possible to cover a vast distance far faster than normal.

That was not to say that a vast distance could be covered in as little as a year, but even if it took ten years or a hundred years, that was still relatively quick.

Back when Yuan Qi had deceived everyone, he had claimed that it took countless years to travel from the Spirit Nidus to the Tianyuan, and the people of the Tianyuan had readily believed him, as it had seemed perfectly natural.

“The amount of time no longer matters,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus stated gravely. “As long as the Tricolor Kang Tians exist, the day will come when a civilization stronger than humanity arrives.”

He then added, “One more thing, the karma you wove for the Immortal Kang Tian has been severed by Lan Meng.”

Lu Yin was not surprised. Qi Xu’s red sword had been capable of severing karma, so it was no surprise that the blue sword could do the same.

This meant that weaving karma would have little effect against Lan Meng in the future.