Chapter 4137: Coordinates

Mister Mu’s true level of strength had always been a mystery to Lu Yin. What the man had displayed during his time in the Tianyuan had never been his full power. His most powerful technique was the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation, which was a power that neither he nor Lu Yin had ever truly used.

If Mister Mu became an Immortal, who knew what sort of strength he would gain?

It was highly likely that Mister Mu was another Aberrant of the Aevum Inch.

Greater Sancte Blood Tower urged them to hurry. If they were going to go to the Thread of Heaven, they should leave quickly and return as soon as possible.

Before they left, Greater Sancte Green Lotus took Lu Yin to the Sea of Karma. The man intended to teach Lu Yin his Karmic Heavenwheel.

Lu Yin had not planned to learn the technique at the moment. While he did want to obtain a karmic attack, karma was different from other paths. Could he freely alter the direction of his cultivation?

Still, since Greater Sancte Green Lotus wished to teach him, Lu Yin naturally would not refuse. If he could learn the technique, then all the better.

...

A green lotus leaf drifted into the distance. The endless depths of the Aevum Inch caused Mu Zhu’s expression to turn conflicted.

She had once endured this same fathomless expanse while fleeing to the Tianyuan with her master.

“The Nirvana Tree Path is truly incredible. That fact that you were able to develop it proves how much you care about the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, Mister Lu. Thank you,” Greater Sancte Blood Tower gushed, riding the lotus leaf as well.

Beneath the lotus leaf was a Night Pillar, which would be their ride back.

They would first bring the Night Pillar from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse to the edge of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. There, Greater Sancte Blood Tower would hurl the Night Pillar toward the point where he had fixed that moment in time for the Thread of Heaven. The pillar would be left there. After Lu Yin and Mu Zhu exited the Thread of Heaven, they would locate the Night Pillar again and use its power to return to the edge of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, where Greater Sancte Blood Tower would be waiting. Only then would the Immortal deliver them back home.

It was a cumbersome process, but there was no better way. Greater Sancte Blood Tower could only travel with them to the edge of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. Past that, the Immortal would have no way to know if anything happened to the human civilization, and it would take him an extensive amount of time to return.

Without the Night Pillar, it would take Lu Yin and Mu Zhu an extremely long time to reach the location where Greater Sancte Blood Tower had locked onto the Thread of Heaven’s time; it was at least two or three times further than the distance between the Tianyuan and the Spirit Nidus. It was nearly impossible for anyone beneath the Immortal realm to traverse that distance.

Lu Yin felt as if he was walking along a tightrope at the moment; falling off would mean plunging into a temporal abyss.

Throughout this journey, even the smallest mistake would make it nearly impossible to return home in time.

Even so, Lu Yin needed to go to the Thread of Heaven.

“Senior, you’re being too polite,” Lu Yin said. “This isn’t just for the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, but for all of humanity.”

Greater Sancte Blood Tower smiled. “The Nine Odysseys Megaverse benefits the most. Understand that you’ve earned a favor.”

Lu Yin shot the Immortal a glance. Another favor. He remembered that Greater Sancte Awe Gate had also said that she owed him a favor.

The Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s Greater Sancte showed remarkable unity of thought.

Compared to all of the scheming that Lu Yin had encountered and dealt with along his journey, Immortals had broader perspectives. The difference put Lu Yin at ease.

Even so, he kept his guard up. Master Qing Cao had previously plotted against Greater Sancte Mi Jin. It was impossible for such things to only happen once.

Now that I think about it, we weren’t able to find Master Qing Cao before we left. Has he left our human civilization?

It took them five years to reach the limit of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

This boundary was several times farther away from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse than where the Tricolor Skyborne had lurked, as the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm was irregularly shaped.

It was also why the Allsense Megaverse was within the bounds of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, yet also took roughly five years to reach.

“If Senior Green Lotus could extend the macrocosm to the location where I placed the temporal anchor, this wouldn’t be nearly so troublesome.” Greater Sancte Blood Tower sighed before moving behind the Night Pillar. “Prepare to leave.”

Lu Yin and Mu Zhu sat down on the pillar. “We’ll have to trouble you, Senior.”

Greater Sancte Blood Tower’s expression grew solemn. “If—and I do mean if—you encounter danger, do everything that you can to escape back here. If you can’t do that, at least leave some clue behind so that we will know whom to pursue to avenge you.”

Lu Yin drew a deep breath. “Understood.”

No one could guarantee safety when visiting a Thread of Heaven, just as how no one could guarantee human civilization’s safety.

Anyone could potentially encounter mortal danger, even someone as strong as Greater Sancte Green Lotus.

Bang!

The Night Pillar vanished in an instant, shooting far into the distance.

Traveling via Night Pillars required a targeted destination.

Watching as the pillar disappeared, Greater Sancte Blood Tower murmured, “I’ll be right here waiting. Just come back safe.”

Leaving the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm felt like leaving home.

At some point in time, the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm had started to offer Lu Yin a sense of security.

He looked back, gazing into the distance, but the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm was no longer visible. At that moment, the cosmos felt truly bewildering.

More than two years flashed by. Finally, the Night Pillar crashed into a vast field of meteorites.

There were meteorites even in the Aevum Inch, and they came from different megaverses.

Greater Sancte Blood Tower had left his temporal anchor within this field of meteorites.

“The Night Pillar won’t be discovered by someone, will it?” Mu Zhu asked.

Lu Yin frowned. “If it is, there’s nothing that we can do about it, but it’s very unlikely. The Aevum Inch is vast beyond vast. Greater Sancte Blood Tower cleared out the surrounding area and also confirmed that there are no civilizations present. The chances of strangers stumbling across this location are minimal.”

He then removed a Blood Tower from his cosmic ring. A gray mist swirled within it. It was the power of time.

He lifted a hand, and the tower slowly turned. The gray time in it drifted like dust, pulled in a particular direction where there was another temporal flow.

“Let’s go.”

Lu Yin led Mu Zhu to where the Blood Tower was pointing. As soon as they came to a stop, the Blood Tower fell and started expanding, quickly enveloping them both. There was a momentary jerk that ran through their bodies. Mu Zhu nearly retched, but Lu Yin quickly pressed a hand to her shoulder and steadied her.

The sensation lasted only a moment. The next instant, the tower shrank and hovered in front of Lu Yin again.

At that moment, they found themselves in an unfamiliar location. They were surrounded by endless darkness, clearly still within the Aevum Inch. In front of them stood a blood-red maw, the sight of which caused them to start. That mouth was the Thread of Heaven.

“Senior Sister, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, just a bit dizzy.”

“Greater Sancte Blood Tower used the power of time to lock onto a target, and that temporal anchor pulled us straight here. When I fought one of his disciples, he used the same battle technique, and I had assumed it was purely offensive. I didn’t expect it to have an application like this. And judging by what we just experienced, it’s clearly far more than a simple temporal anchor.”

Mu Zhu stared at the mouth. “Is

that

the Thread of Heaven?”

Lu Yin nodded. “Each Thread of Heaven in the Aevum Inch is different. This one is that creature’s open mouth. According to Greater Sancte Blood Tower, each creature that enters stays inside one of those teeth. There’s no way to directly meet or speak with the others. Instead, each individual carves what they know or wish to ask about onto stones that get tossed them out. Someone will pick up that stone, but getting an answer depends on luck.

“Between the teeth are chaotic flows of time and space. When the master of this Thread of Heaven sensed Greater Sancte Blood Tower’s status as an Immortal, they fled with their body while leaving the teeth behind. They moved extremely fast. If not for the fact that Greater Sancte Blood Tower had some special means, it would have been impossible to find this place again.”

Mu Zhu marveled. “To create a Thread of Heaven... truly amazing. They even managed to expel an Immortal.”

A Thread of Heaven was too special a place to sustain without possessing true power. The being behind this place was likely another Immortal. There was no other way for them to have noticed Blood Tower’s strength.

Lu Yin sent Mu Zhu into a Zenith Mountain before walking towards the massive mouth.

Staring at it, he felt something indescribable. It was as though this place held what he needed.

Is this the feeling that Threads of Heaven give off?

Who could have imagined that this intimidating mouth would really be a Thread of Heaven?

Even creatures from weaker civilizations would not dare to enter such a place, no matter how eager they might be to gain information. Who could say what the creator of this place had been thinking?

The weaker the civilization, the greater their caution.

Was there truly something inside?

As Lu Yin approached, the mouth slowly opened, as if preparing to swallow him whole. It then slammed back shut with a roar.

Lu Yin found himself in an enclosed space. Judging by the shape, he was inside a tooth, though it looked quite different on the inside than it did from the outside.

From the outside, the mouth had appeared to be enormous. Each of the teeth could have hidden stars inside of them. However, once inside, each tooth was barely nine feet across. The space was surprisingly small.

It would feel cramped even with just two people inside.

Outside the tooth, one side opened to the endless expanse of outer space, while the other faced the mouth’s upper jaw. It was huge and covered in countless stones that clung to its surface.

Just then, one of the stones was drawn away, pulled in a certain direction. Another was thrown out from some unknown location, and it stuck to the surface of the upper jaw.

There was no way to investigate their surroundings in this place. Greater Sancte Blood Tower had specifically warned them about that. After he saw Mister Mu’s portrait on a stone and tried to investigate things further, he had been discovered by the master of the Thread of Heaven.

If the master was an Immortal, Lu Yin had no confidence of resisting. After all, his strength was far inferior to Greater Sancte Blood Tower’s.

It was better to act with caution.

There were inscriptions covering the inner walls of the tooth. It was the script used within the Thread of Heaven, as this allowed all creatures who entered to communicate through the provided stones. Without this, given the countless civilizations and languages throughout the Aevum Inch, communication would be impossible.

It was quite a thoughtful design.

Lu Yin released Mu Zhu, who looked around. “So small?”

Lu Yin nodded. “Senior Sister, see those stones over there? Just take them. No one should be examining us, but we still need to be careful.”

“Alright.”

Lu Yin and Mu Zhu then started to collect multiple stones to examine them. They came in all sizes, and there were various messages carved on them: questions about civilizations, cultivation methods, coordinates, and even greetings or attempts to probe another’s origins. Some even discussed the master of the Thread of Heaven themselves.

Among these stones, Lu Yin took note of the coordinates.

Some beings had shared the locations of enemy civilizations, much like what humanity intended to do. This was a risky move, as if the two civilizations were hostile to each other, they were likely relatively close. To weaker civilizations, the Aevum Inch seemed massive, much like how the distance between the Tianyuan and the Spirit Nidus had once seemed nearly insurmountable to Lu Yin’s people. However, for civilizations that had Immortals, that same distance could be crossed in just a year.

Before luring other civilizations to a specific location, it was important to first have some level of understanding of the Aevum Inch. Otherwise, one risked inviting disaster.

Lu Yin tossed out the coordinates for the Tricolor Skyborne.

That much was fine. Anyone who wanted to make trouble for the giant snails would find themselves facing the Seven-Treasures Astral Anuras instead, which were the snails’ natural predators. Even Obscura feared those toads.

Let them deal with it themselves

.

Lu Yin did not carve the Tricolor Skyborne's location onto just one stone, but a number of them.

Exact coordinates were unnecessary. Kang Tian would never reveal that to humanity, but by calculating the time a journey took, the general distance could be estimated. From the Thread of Heaven, it would be a journey of about twenty or thirty years, so long as one traveled in the correct direction.

It was impossible to ever ascertain pinpoint coordinates in the cosmos; everything was relative to some sort of reference point.

Since Lu Yin was sharing the location in a Thread of Heaven, the Thread of Heaven itself was the necessary reference point.