Chapter 4145: Handed Over

In the Tianyuan, Mo Bai had slowly built up a rapport with Luo Yan, staying in touch with him. After arriving in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, she had received a mission from Luo Chan.

During the war in the Tianyuan, the Nest civilization had discovered Mo Bai’s existence and easily located her. Luo Chan needed her help, though for what, the bug had not said. All that Mo Bai knew was that Luo Yan was about to become useful.

Luo Yan drained his cup in one go and poured one for Mo Bai. “Thank you, for all these years.”

She looked up at him.

Luo Yan hiccuped and then refilled his own cup, which he quickly downed. “If it weren’t for you, I might not have been able to keep my feelings so well hidden.

“Do you know what it’s like to meet with your enemy? To want to hack him to pieces while forcing yourself to smile at his side?”

“Wei Rong,” Mo Bai commented.

Luo Yan offered a wry smile. “Yes, Wei Rong. He’s vicious, ruthless, and serves as Lu Yin’s hatchet man. He personally led people to hunt my companions down. If I hadn’t been lucky, I would have also died back then. Luckily, he never saw me, which is the only reason why I’ve lived this long.

“Throughout all these years, I’ve frequently seen him in the Heavens Sect. Every time, I had to bow to him, even though I wanted to do nothing more than slit his throat.

“He’s a treacherous man who sees right through people. My eyes would have betrayed me. My expression would have betrayed me. Beneath his gaze, there was far too much I could have given away.

“Fortunately, I was able to vent my hatred for Lu Yin and the Heavens Sect to you each time, which allowed my rage to ebb for a time. If not for that, I would have died long ago. So... thank you.”

Mo Bai silently listened. This was just like before, when they had spoken without meeting in person, sharing personal grievances and hatreds.

A long while later, Luo Yan’s gaze grew sharp. There was a ripple of air that radiated from his body; it was nothing but alcohol fumes from the wine.

Mo Bai instinctively covered her nose, her pretty brow furrowing. “That stinks.”

Luo Yan sighed. “I’m sorry to make you listen to me vent again. To remain rational, one can’t leave their mind too muddled.”

Mo Bai waved the smell away. “I harbor the same hatred as you, except I hate the entire human civilization far more.”

“Me too. Look at those people outside! Those from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse treat the people from the Spirit Nidus and the Tianyuan completely differently. Why? Because of one man: Lu Yin. He’s like the god of the Tianyuan. If human civilization continues to develop, there’s no doubt that he’ll end up as a god for all of humanity. I may completely hate him, but I have to admit the reality of what will happen.

“I hope that this generation, the next, or the one after will cut off human civilization and that Lu Yin will be completely forgotten.”

Mo Bai raised her cup. “Here’s to that.”

Luo Yan smiled and clinked cups with Mo Bai.

The two people, familiar with each other and yet truly strangers, drank freely in the tavern. No one else heard the words that they shared. They confided solely in each other.

Thunk.

Luo Yan set the pitcher back down. “Waiter, another!”

Mo Bai stopped him. “That’s enough for today. We’ll talk more again.”

“Has something come up?”

Mo Bai shook her head. “No, but we’ve already said enough.”

Luo Yan swirled the pitcher around. “Talking is all we can do. Revenge is nothing more than a fantasy. Even the Nest civilization lost! Who else can hope to match Lu Yin?”

Mo Bai’s eyes flashed. “What do you think of the Nest civilization?”

Luo Yan grimaced. “What is there to think? It doesn’t matter what I think as they’re losers. Many others have lost to Lu Yin over the years. One more doesn’t matter.”

“Not necessarily. The Nest civilization is a foreign civilization, and one defeat proves nothing. I actually hope that they’ll attack humanity again. I’ve heard that they never had any plans of annihilating all of human civilization, only the top experts. Everyone else would have been left alive,” Mo Bai whispered.

It was at that moment that the waiter arrived to deliver the wine. He then walked away again.

Once the man was gone, Luo Yan whispered, “Who told you that?”

“Who said it isn’t important. What’s important is that the rumor exists.” Mo Bai carefully observed Luo Yan.

He looked away and poured more wine. “I’ve never heard of that rumor before, and it definitely didn’t start in the Heavens Sect. As for the Nest civilization wiping out humanity’s top experts, that’s impossible. Do you know how many human Immortals there are?”

Mo Bai remained silent.

Luo Yan took a sip. “But if they want to kill Lu Yin... that might be possible.”

Mo Bai shook her head. “That’s even less likely. Lu Yin has killed Immortals before.”

“The Nest civilization’s Immortal Lord is very strong. I know that for sure.”

Mo Bai was surprised. “You do?”

Luo Yan nodded. “The top figures in the Heavens Sect have discussed it. Even Lu Yin himself admits that he’s no match for the Immortal Lord. If there was a situation where the Immortal Lord faced Lu Yin alone, Lu Yin would undoubtedly die.”

Mo Bai sighed. “Those are nice words, but how can someone go about creating that situation? No one can do that.”

Luo Yan sneered. “Not necessarily.”

Mo Bai started, and turned to stare at the man. “What did you just say?”

Luo Yan sighed and swirled the wine in his cup. “Nothing.”

Mo Bai frowned. “Tell me. What could be more sensitive than what we already discussed?”

Luo Yan shook his head. “It’s not that I’m unwilling, but rather that telling you is useless. Besides, I don’t even know where the place is.”

Mo Bai was curious. “What place?”

“I just said that I don’t know. It’s just some coordinates, but I can’t make sense of it. Hui Can said that it was a set of coordinates for somewhere in the Aevum Inch.”

Mo Bai’s pupils constricted. “Coordinates in the Aevum Inch?”

Luo Yan nodded.

Mo Bai studied him. “If they really are coordinates in the Aevum Inch, then could it be the location of where humanity will retreat to?”

Luo Yan paused for a moment before meeting her gaze. “That’s possible. Outsiders believe that the Heavens Sect supports the Nine Odysseys Megaverse because of all the civilizational wars, but some of us know that it’s for the ability to evacuate. The Tianyuan has already been abandoned. Only those who are willing to fight for humanity were considered qualified to be taken away, and they were taken to some place in the Spirit Nidus. Many from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse have already been taken there.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

“As for where they went, no one knows. These coordinates...”

Mo Bai interjected, “It could be where the evacuees were taken.”

Luo Yan held her gaze for a moment, but then he shook his head. “Impossible. How could such an important location have fallen into my hands? There’s just no way.”

“Important?” Mo Bai mused, “It is important, but it’s also not. No one knows the Heavens Sect’s true plan. The truth about a group of people having been evacuated is something that is known to only a few, so even if the coordinates are leaked, they mean nothing. Who would be able to reach that location? Who, aside from Immortals, can traverse the Aevum Inch?

“Even a Dukkhan would take ages just to travel from the Tianyuan to the Spirit Nidus, and I already expect the coordinates to point to a location far, far beyond that range. If not, evacuating there would be pointless. At the very least, it’s far away from the human megaverses, and it’s also hidden from the Nest civilization and other alien species.”

Luo Yan said, “Is there really no fear of the coordinates falling into the enemies’ hands?”

Mo Bai relaxed. Luo Yan’s attitude remained consistent with how he had always felt about the Heavens Sect. It was odd that he had obtained the coordinates, but it was quite reasonable for Hui Can to have them. Lu Yin’s disciples enjoyed some of the highest statuses within human civilization, and Hui Can also considered Luo Yan a friend. There was a perfectly reasonable explanation for where the coordinates had come from.

Luo Yan’s attitude only served to further reassure Mo Bai.

Bit by bit, she was lowering her guard.

“Aliens? Which ones? The Nest civilization has already fled, and while there are rumors about the Tricolor Skyborne, they’ve already been dealt with as well.”

“Wrong. If they had been dealt with, why evacuate anyone?” Luo Yan countered.

Mo Bai retorted, “Because humanity’s location has been exposed.”

Luo Yan considered that argument, and he had to concede her point. He took another drink. “Whatever. It’s not our concern. I’m certain that I’ll be able to get out. And don’t worry, I’ll do what I can to take you with me.”

Mo Bai smiled. “Thank you.”

The two soon left the tavern and parted ways.

...

In the Heavens Sect, Wei Rong went to speak with Lu Yin. “Luo Yan didn’t offer to share the coordinates, and Mo Bai didn’t ask for them.”

Lu Yin said, “Just wait.”

Wei Rong nodded.

Half a month later, Wei Rong returned. “Mo Bai has asked Luo Yan for the coordinates.”

“Did he give them to her?”

“He did. He didn’t even make much of the matter. She wanted them, so he handed the coordinates over. It was all done very casually.”

Lu Yin nodded. “Good. The more you say, the more mistakes you make. Since she wants them, let her have them.”

...

Elsewhere, Mo Bai went and wrote the coordinates down in a location she knew that Luo Chan would appear in.

While the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm enveloped all of the human megaverses, it was only able to immediately detect Immortals. Creatures like Luo Chan could enter without being instantly noticed.

Luo Chan was able to come and go freely, which was how it had stayed in contact with Mo Bai.

The two had never directly met as Luo Chan did not wish to be killed. It knew just how intensely humanity hated it, and it had only kept its life through the humanoid Immortal Verdant Sage’s self-sacrifice.

If not for something truly critical, Luo Chan would have never entered the human megaverses.

Through Luo Chan, the coordinates reached the Immortal Lord.

In the Aevum Inch, a jade-green stalk glowed softly as Luo Chan calmly waited.

“Master, could this be a trap?”

“What do you think?”

“Mo Bai’s conversation with that human checks out, and reasonably speaking, the humans don’t have the ability to prepare a trap for you in such a distant place. Wouldn’t they worry about accidents?”

“Exactly. If this really is the location of humanity’s fallback plan, then they must have reached it through one of Obscura’s gates. However, given the immense distance, if anything happens to that gate, returning will not be easy. Losing even one of their Immortals could trigger the collapse of their human civilization, which is a risk that they cannot afford to take.”

“Then shall we go take a look?”

“There is no rush. I will test the human civilization first.”

The next moment, the green stalk vanished, only to reappear near the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

A piece of the green stalk fell, dropping towards the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

Within the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, Greater Sancte Green Lotus thundered, “You alone want to challenge all of human civilization?”

With that, torrents of karma surged upwards, fanning out to attack the piece of green stalk. As that happened, Awe Gate looked up, tightening her grip on Awecloud. She stepped forward, tearing through the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm to face the falling stalk head-on. One thrust of her spear pierced through the stalk, scattering it to nothing.

Watching from the distance, Luo Chan was stunned. Those two human Immortals were terrifyingly powerful. That was expected of the one who wielded karma, but how had the other human also become so formidable?

The first time the Nest civilization saw Awe Gate fight, she had only barely been able to endure against the humanoid and the droplet Verdant Sage Immortals.

However, she had recently directly faced Obscura’s Lan Meng, and she had nearly matched the tree-like creature’s power. Thus, according to Luo Chan’s understanding, she was approaching the level of the Immortal Lord. Had the humans hidden their strength that deeply?

“Luo Chan, we’re leaving.”