Chapter 4119: Beyond The Gate

The moment that Lu Yin spoke, the space beside Tuo Lin where the Verdant Sage stood unseen started to boil with excitement. The insect’s fervor seemed ready to explode.

It was just a compliment. Is all this really necessary?

“Little Ruyu, Master praised you! Little Ruyu, did you hear?

“Yes, Master does treat you very well.”

Lu Yin watched with a forced smile.

The area beside Tuo Lin warped, and Lu Yin was able to see the Verdant Sage lying flat on the ground, performing a demonstration of zealous submission unlike anything he had ever seen before. This was far too much. The statue on the Verdant Sage’s back even glowed, which gave Lu Yin a warm sensation of control.

He felt that he could strip the Verdant Sage’s life away at any moment.

It was a feeling of absolute control.

“Little Ruyu, what do you think of the Immortal Lord?” Lu Yin suddenly asked while staring at the distorted pocket of space.

He received an answer of indifference. It was blunt, cold, and utterly unconcerned.

Unbelievable. Is there actually a Verdant Sage that doesn’t care about the Immortal Lord?

Multiple battles against the insects of the Nest civilization had taught Lu Yin that every insect and every Verdant Sage, was essentially part of the Immortal Lord. As soon as a Verdant Sage reached the Immortal realm, it became the Immortal Lord’s clone. Both the humanoid and droplet-shaped Verdant Sages had been exactly like that. Their forms and appearances made no difference.

If all of the bugs were essentially the Immortal Lord, how could Little Ruyu ignore the Immortal Lord’s call?

Was it really possible that the devotion to Lu Yin could overpower its loyalty to the Immortal Lord that came from the Verdant Sage’s very existence?

Was this reminiscent of the Xia clan’s Nine Clones Secret Technique, where a clone could defy the main body?

If that was accurate, did it mean that, if Little Ruyu eventually became an Immortal, it would be able to replace the Immortal Lord?

Of course, it was far too early to say such a thing. Little Ruyu was only a sequence powerhouse, and it was very far from even approaching the Immortal realm. Even becoming a peak Dukkhan did not mean that one would become an Immortal. The Nest civilization had produced many peak Dukkhan Verdant Sages, but only two had broken through to the Immortal realm.

Little Ruyu might be able to serve as a catalyst, but to what ends, Lu Yin had not yet decided.

He was certain that Little Ruyu would not harm Tuo Lin and that it also genuinely worshiped Lu Yin himself. But whether that devotion could be easily altered by the Immortal Lord remained to be seen.

Lu Yin did not stay long. After encouraging the two, he left.

He needed to think.

After receiving Lu Yin’s encouragement, Tuo Lin and Yan Ruyu were more motivated than ever, and even the statues that they carried became a bit brighter.

Lu Yin did not go far, as he had noticed that someone else was also watching Tuo Lin: Jiang Chen.

Startled by Lu Yin’s sudden appearance, Jiang Chen blurted, “Brother Lu, you nearly scared me to death!”

Lu Yin was puzzled. “Why are you following Tuo Lin?”

Jiang Chen’s expression turned awkward. “Don’t you think that there’s something wrong with him?”

“How so?”

Jiang Chen tapped his head.

Lu Yin shook his head. “You’re overthinking things.”

Jiang Chen said, “There’s definitely something off about him. Brother Lu, is your disciple haunted? He mutters to himself all day, every day. I can’t see anything. No one can.”

Clearly, Uncle Jiang had not shared anything with Jiang Chen about Yan Ruyu.

Lu Yin glanced at him. “This is his way of refining his heart.”

“Refining his heart?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve read a lot. Don’t try to trick me.”

“Then you tell me why he talks to himself.”

“You glanced at his side when talking to him, didn’t you?”

“No.”

“You definitely did.”

“No.”

Jiang Chen was left speechless, and he dragged a hand through his hair in irritation. “Forget it! I was just curious. By the way, Brother Lu...”

He smirked and waggled his eyebrows. “What’s the deal with you and Long Xi?”

Lu Yin rolled his eyes. “First you’re stalking Tuo Lin, and now you’re prying into Long Xi’s life. Just how much time do you have on your hands?”

Jiang Chen said, “I’m just curious. Your relationships aren’t normal. They must be hard to manage. You’ve got more than one girl, just like my old man.”

Lu Yin shook his head. “I’ve got things to do. I’ll head out first.”

“What about my sister?”

“What about her?”

“Oh? Have you already forgotten about how you traveled through multiple universes with her?”

“We’re just friends. You’re seeing too much into things.”

“I hope so. Do you want me to teach you my dad’s methods?”

As Lu Yin walked away, Jiang Chen shouted from behind, “Don’t let anyone down! Take them one by one—everyone will accept it! I’ll take care of my sister!”

...

Preparations were made for another war with foreign civilizations, and for half a year, there was a stream of announcements across the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

The Night Pillars were reinforced, the Arcanum Domain was expanded, Immortal matter was distributed, and much more.

Everyone could feel war’s approach.

And yet, people also grew accustomed to it.

It felt as if their human civilization had become the center of the entire cosmos, with how they faced enemies in every direction.

The expansion of the Arcanum Domain caused portions of the populace to relocate away so that people could be evacuated through the Gate of Laws at a moment’s notice.

Reinforcing the Night Pillars was only natural for the forthcoming war.

The Night Pillars were also able to quickly reach the Arcanum Domain, if necessary.

Immortal matter was distributed to strengthen the top experts such as Qing Xing and the Great Master and increase their chances of surviving the war.

Jiang Feng also received a large amount of Immortal matter. Having reached the pinnacle of strength beneath the Immortal realm, he was able to perceive Immortal matter and quickly adapted to it.

Following that, there was more training in the Mirari Realm.

In the previous battle, the Immortal Lord had not sent Luo Chan to deliver the Immortal monster to the Tianyuan. The Tianyuan had survived its first calamity, and as long as humanity managed to hold out against the Seven-Treasure Anuras, Obscura, and the Nest civilization, things would stabilize for some time.

With another war between civilizations on the horizon, it was essential to improve the strength of humanity as a whole, and nothing facilitated quick improvement like the Mirari Realm.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus agreed with Lu Yin; so long as no one conducted their breakthroughs in the Mirari Realm, there would not be much of a disturbance.

Wei Nu was dead, which meant that there was no one to obstruct them as Zhao Ran did not care. The Great Master was among those who entered the Mirari Realm, and she met Zhao Ran.

Two ferrymen of the River of Aeons met, though they had little to say to each other.

Lu Yin did not return to the Tianyuan. He had also been granted a significant amount of Immortal matter. Instead, he was waiting for Greater Sancte Green Lotus to take him to search for foreign civilizations.

During the time that Green Lotus had wandered about on the other side of the Gate of Laws, he had seen several civilizations, each of which had a Mother Tree. Some civilizations did not care about their Mother Trees at all and even ravaged them. Green Lotus had gone to confirm some things, and he would later take Lu Yin to visit those megaverses.

Lu Yin needed to gather more motes of green light so that he could pass on the Nirvana Tree Path to more people. The more people that successfully cultivated it, the faster humanity’s overall power would rise.

During this time, the one who suffered the most was Kang Tian.

From the moment it arrived in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, it had done nothing but disgorge color-glass for humanity to use to produce armor. The material had superb protective qualities, but the constant production of color-glass meant that Kang Tian did not have even a single day of rest.

The days passed. There were roughly eighteen years remaining until Kang Tian estimated that the Seven-Treasure Anuras would arrive.

One day, Greater Sancte Green Lotus arrived in the Arcanum Domain, which had seen earthshaking changes since the last time that Lu Yin had visited the place.

It had expanded dozens of times over, and the surrounding regions were attached to it like how the Primal Beastland had been formed. A tremendous number of people had been relocated to this domain, particularly orphans. No matter if they were from the Tianyuan, the Spirit Nidus, or the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, all orphans were moved to the Arcanum Domain.

There were also a great many cultivators who were both young and weak.

After entering the Arcanum Domain, it was difficult to leave. This was not because leaving was forbidden, but rather because those who had been relocated to the domain lacked the strength to leave on their own.

The greatest change to the Arcanum Domain was the Gate of Laws. Fortunately, unless Obscura activated the gate, anyone would be hard pressed to even see the other side of the gate, which meant that it would be difficult for anyone on the other side to pass through the gate and arrive inside the Spirit Nidus. Even so, to be safe, Ku Deng stood guard on the other side of the gate.

Stillstorm had once passed through the Gate of Laws, and should an Immortal arrive, a single sneeze would be enough to erase the entire Arcanum Domain. Human civilization could not bear those losses.

Lu Yin stood in front of the Gate of Laws, staring at it in a daze.

Human civilization was standing at the edge of a cliff. Even the slightest misstep would spell total ruin. In the Aevum Inch, the same was true of every civilization, fishing civilizations included. No one knew if another day or disaster would arrive first.

There were human figures carved into the gate. That meant Obscura had once used it to destroy a human civilization. Could it have been a civilization that had already vanished from history?

“What are you thinking about?” Greater Sancte Green Lotus asked as he approached.

Lu Yin replied, “There are humans carved on Obscura’s gate... Where were they?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus replied, “No one knows. Some speculate that it was another human megaverse, similar to the Third Rampart that the Nest civilization destroyed, or perhaps a human civilization that existed before even the ancient eras.”

Lu Yin asked, “If it was something like the Third Rampart, then where did the humans of the Third Rampart originate? Are there other human civilizations within the Aevum Inch, like the Crimson Starshade?

“If it’s the latter, then Obscura wouldn’t be mistaken. Maybe they really did wipe out a human civilization. In that case, what exactly are we?”

He looked at Greater Sancte Green Lotus. “Is it possible that we’re like the people of the Arcanum Domain below us? Hope that’s been sent out?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus exhaled. “That is not impossible. The answer can only be found from Obscura. Humanity’s history is indeed fractured, but if we were truly sent away as a seed of hope, then that is rather unfortunate, as we never managed to escape from Obscura at all.”

Lu Yin looked back at the gate.

Obscura... that massive, colorful tree and the gloomy floating coffin. Exactly where is Obscura?

“Come. We are short on time. A casual stroll through the Aevum Inch usually takes years,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus said before leading Lu Yin through the Gate of Laws into a region of outer space that was both unfamiliar and familiar.

It was only familiar because the entire Aevum Inch was filled with darkness. There were practically no differences to be seen from place to place.

Behind the two men, the Gate of Laws vanished.

“Memorize this location so that you can find it again. It would be very difficult for anyone else to stumble across it, as the gate is too small. That is why Obscura needs to activate their gates, making them appear where they wish in order to lure one civilization to another. Unless they have already been activated, they are nearly impossible to find,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus explained.

Lu Yin said, “I really can’t understand how Stillstorm found this gate back then.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus sighed. “That is precisely why I passed through it to search. If we cannot resolve this hidden danger, we will never be at ease. However, there is not so much as a hint of a clue regarding Stillstorm. Hopefully the beast stumbled upon the gate by pure accident.”

A green lotus leaf sped off in a specific direction.

The lotus leaves were not restricted to moving through the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, but they required either the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm or Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s presence.

Lu Yin found that he was already quite familiar with the lotus leaves.

“The two civilizations that I am taking you to are both quite close to us. To visit any that are a bit farther would mean several years of travel, possibly more than a dozen years, and that is time that we cannot afford.”