Chapter 4156: Making A Friend

“Haha, I also think that it’s profound! When I first seized that branch stream of the River of Aeons, the thought just came to me for no reason. However, when I tried to remember it later, I couldn’t.” Greater Sancte Blood Tower sighed. “I wanted to use that thought to attune myself to the cosmic laws, but it was difficult, far too difficult. I couldn’t see it, couldn’t sense it, and couldn’t understand it, so I gave up. If I had truly comprehended it, I might not be any weaker than Senior Green Lotus.

“After all, that would be aligning with the cosmic law of time itself and touching upon the main stream of the River of Aeons.”

Lu Yin was puzzled. “Senior, weren’t you already an Immortal when you took control of a branch stream of the River of Aeons? Can you still resonate with the cosmic laws?”

Greater Sancte Blood Tower slowly smiled. “Who said that you could only resonate with one cosmic law?”

Lu Yin was stunned.

Really?

He had never considered the possibility of resonating with more than one cosmic law.

So far, none of the experts that he had encountered seemed to have resonated with a second cosmic law. Then again, that was not quite accurate; he had never truly fought against the most powerful Immortals that he knew.

The Immortal Lord had always been held in check by Senior Green Lotus.

Lan Meng had also been severely injured by Green Lotus’s Karmic Heavenwheel.

Aside from those few, the strongest Immortal that Lu Yin knew was Greater Sancte Awe Gate, who had fused with Greater Sancte Mi Jin’s spirit seed. Awe Gate clearly resonated with only a single cosmic law, as did Greater Sancte Blood Tower, Master Qing Cao, and the others that Lu Yin was familiar with.

“Senior, has Senior Green Lotus attuned to more than one cosmic law?” Lu Yin asked, highly curious. He had yet to see the full extent of Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s strength.

Throughout the wars and battles so far, Green Lotus had truly only taken action once, when he had used his Karmic Heavenwheel to gravely injure Lan Meng. For the rest of the time, Green Lotus had been keeping either the Immortal Lord or Lan Meng in check. Not once had he ever demonstrated his full power.

Greater Sancte Blood Tower said, “That, I don’t know. No one has asked him either. That would be too rude.”

Lu Yin fell into contemplation.

“Still, there is one thing that we’ve always been certain of.” Greater Sancte Blood Tower drew in a deep breath. “Senior Green Lotus is the pillar of our human civilization, and he always has been.”

As Lu Yin stared at Greater Sancte Blood Tower’s back, Green Lotus’s previous comment returned to his mind.

When the day comes when your Karmic Dao rivals my Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, it is possible that our human civilization will also be able to fish across the Aevum Inch.

...

A year later, they arrived in the Tianyuan Megaverse. Lu Yin looked across the empty Origin Universe with complicated emotions.

If the Seven-Treasure Anuras still did not appear after a few more decades, he would be able to send everyone back to the Tianyuan.

The truth was that the crisis facing humanity had already eased by a great deal.

The group entered the Mirari Realm. There was already a group of cultivators training there, most of whom were people from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse who had inherited the Nirvana Tree Path.

After everyone was sent away, Ancestor Lu Yuan released his Progenitor’s world: Fertile Soil. The small Blood Tower moved toward the Progenitor’s world, and then settled down, connecting to the Progenitor’s world.

Lu Yuan’s expression changed. So this was the power of an Immortal. Just making contact with it left him breathless.

Inside the Blood Tower, Luo Chan grew uneasy. “Human, what are you going to do?”

Lu Yin leaned close to the tower and peered inside. “Nothing much. Don’t worry, you won’t die.”

Greater Sancte Blood Tower asked, “Aren’t you going to examine it with karma?”

Lu Yin still remembered the lesson that he had learned from trying to examine Astral Anura and shook his head. “No. There are times when seeing something is actually worse.”

“Senior Green Lotus said the same thing,” Greater Sancte Blood Tower replied.

If examining Luo Chan with karma only revealed the Immortal Lord, it would be fine. Lu Yin was confident that he could withstand whatever backlash the Immortal Lord created, given his current strength. However, if the fishing civilization behind Luo Chan came up, that would be a massive problem.

Just as the Immortal Lord had said, the more clearly a fishing civilization was understood, the closer they were to being drawn out.

Lu Yin absolutely did not want to lure in the Seven-Treasure Anuras with one action, only to draw in another fishing civilization with his next.

There were times when karma helped, but there were also times when it harmed him.

Ancestor Lu Yuan closed his eyes and proceeded to try to feel out Luo Chan’s ability.

In the distance, Yan Ruyu held the green stalk as Tuo Lin stood beside her.

Lu Yin and Greater Sancte Blood Tower could only wait, wait with hope for that one-in-a-hundred-million chance of success.

In a flash, several years passed for them. The Mirari Realm might not have its own time, but those who were in it could keep track of the time that passed for themselves.

Throughout those years, Ancestor Lu Yuan never once sensed anything about Luo Chan’s ability.

Luo Chan shed its initial anxiety and fear and instead simply lay there quietly, not moving at all.

Lu Yin and the others were in no hurry. They continued to wait. After all, how could this endeavor be easy?

A few more decades passed before Ancestor Lu Yuan finally opened his eyes and gazed at the Blood Tower in his Fertile Soil with a helpless expression. He was staring at Luo Chan.

The bug remained motionless, as though asleep.

The man frowned. Ever since Lu Yin had mentioned his desire for Lu Yuan to grow an innate gift of teleportation, he had known that it would be practically impossible. But even a one-in-a-hundred-million chance was worth making an attempt. Unfortunately, even after decades of effort, he could not see the slightest trace of a possibility of success. Even if it was impossible to grow the innate gift, he should at least be able to sense something.

He could not feel the bug’s ability at all.

Was it because of some sort of biological logic of the species that it came from?

Different creatures possessed different abilities. Lu Yuan wanted to grow the innate gift of teleportation, but the nature of his own species restricted him. It felt as though there was an invisible wall between him and teleportation. It was thick, towering, solid, and completely impossible to break past.

In the distance, Lu Yin also opened his eyes, and he met Ancestor Lu Yuan’s gaze.

The older man shook his head, a helpless expression on his face.

“There’s no need to rush things. There’s a saying in the Aevum Inch: time can overcome everything,” Greater Sancte Blood Tower said.

The expression existed in many places, though it carried different meanings.

For mortals, a hundred years could be regarded as an era. For cultivators, and particularly Immortals, there was no such thing as an era.

Their concept of time stretched out far too long.

Still, it was true that there was no rushing this endeavor. Hurrying would accomplish nothing.

Ancestor Lu Yuan closed his eyes again, resuming his attempts to sense Luo Chan’s ability.

Farther away, Tuo Lin and Yan Ruyu chatted about something.

Greater Sancte Blood Tower and Lu Yin moved to the banks of the River of Aeons and looked out at a battered little boat.

“If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I would have never believed that a ferryman’s boat could be so damaged. Just what has she gone through?” Greater Sancte Blood Tower asked.

Zhao Ran had not shown herself when the group had first entered the Mirari Realm. Greater Sancte Blood Tower also had not been anxious and had simply waited. She had just revealed herself, but Blood Tower found it hard to believe what was before him.

Lu Yin explained what had transpired when the Nest civilization had invaded, including how Zhao Ran had worked with Jiang Feng to hold the Immortal insect off. Greater Sancte Blood Tower exclaimed, “Ferrymen of the River of Aeons rarely intervene in wars between civilizations, and such wars almost never affect them. Unless they encounter someone ruthless enough to outright destroy an entire megaverse, they generally remain neutral.

“To them, there is no difference between humans or any other creatures ruling over a megaverse.

“I didn’t expect you to be on such good terms with this ferryman.”

Lu Yin chuckled. “We’ve been through a lot together.”

Greater Sancte Blood Tower was surprised. “Been through a lot? Ferrymen are unable to leave their branch of the River of Aeons unless that branch disappears. What could you possibly have experienced with her?”

Lu Yin hid nothing and shared the story of Wei Nu.

Greater Sancte Blood Tower then let out a sigh. “This is the first time I’ve heard of a ferryman of the River of Aeons attempting to break through to the Immortal realm. It seems that not even ferrymen can accept eternal loneliness. Still, that was much too foolish. Once a ferryman leaves their branch of the River of Aeons, they become nothing. If they never encounter a true expert, they’ll be fine, but as soon as they do, they can actually die.

“The River of Aeons shackles, but it also protects them. Wei Nu couldn’t see that, how utterly foolish.”

Lu Yin said, “Her desire to break into the Immortal realm wasn’t wrong. She just chose the wrong place. The Tianyuan is anything but simple.”

He then looked over at Greater Sancte Blood Tower. “There’s someone from Obscura hiding here.”

Greater Sancte Blood Tower’s brow shot up. “Those things are hard to drag out into the open. Wei Nu was likely killed by that hidden member of Obscura. It’s a pity. If you had seen her right before her death, you might have learned who that hidden powerhouse is.”

Lu Yin had the same regret, but there was nothing to be done about it.

“I’ve interacted with more than one ferryman of the River of Aeons,” Greater Sancte Blood Tower continued to say, “Your Tianyuan’s Wei Nu is absolutely an oddity.”

Lu Yin asked, “Senior, when the Great Master’s megaverse was destroyed, why didn’t whoever destroyed it go after the Great Master herself?”

Greater Sancte Blood Tower thought back. “I truly don’t know the answer to that. What did she tell you?”

“She only said that her megaverse was destroyed and that she went to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse with you.”

Greater Sancte Blood Tower smiled. “Mr. Lu, I’m a naturally blunt person, and when I speak with you, I tone that down a great deal. However, if we ever fight side by side on the battlefield, you might see my personality change a bit. Don’t be too shocked if that happens.”

Lu Yin nodded.

“I might be a little difficult to get used to even in normal conversations. Again, you don’t need to be too surprised.”

Lu Yin did not quite understand why Greater Sancte Blood Tower had emphasized the same thing twice, but at the next moment, it made sense. The man suddenly shouted across the River of Aeons, “Ferryman, why don’t we become friends?”

Lu Yin was left speechless. It was as if he could see a lollipop in Greater Sancte Blood Tower’s hand.

As expected, Zhao Ran ignored the man.

Greater Sancte Blood Tower was not at all bothered and called again, “Come out and say hello! The two of us have a mutual acquaintance.”

Zhao Ran still refused to respond.

Greater Sancte Blood Tower looked at Lu Yin. “Your Tianyuan’s ferryman is pretty introverted.”

Lu Yin exhaled. “Senior, Zhao Ran is indeed quite shy. Why don’t we take things slow?”

“Introduce me.”

“

Ahem

.” Lu Yin looked across the River of Aeons. “Zhao Ran, this is Greater Sancte Blood Tower, from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. He’s a powerful Immortal being.”

“An Immortal-realm expert. Calling me an Immortal being might cause her to mistake me for some other lifeform.”

“Right. He’s a powerful Immortal-realm expert.”

Zhao Ran stepped out from the cabin of the ruined boat and calmly gazed at the bank of the river.

Greater Sancte Blood Tower grinned at her. “What a beautiful young lady! I’m Blood Tower, an Immortal. Do you have time for a chat?”

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Zhao Ran looked at Lu Yin. “He’s rather noisy.”

Blood Tower stiffened slightly, and Lu Yin hurried to say, “Don’t talk nonsense. Senior is just straightforward.”

“I was merely expressing my enthusiasm,” Greater Sancte Blood Tower clarified.

Zhao Ran met Blood Tower’s gaze. “What do you want to say? Speak clearly.”

The Greater Sancte let out a breath of relief. “An introduction from an acquaintance really does make a difference. I was afraid that you’d ignore me.”

Zhao Ran frowned.

Only at this moment did Lu Yin understand why Greater Sancte Blood Tower had offered two warnings. This was Greater Sancte Blood Tower’s true way of speaking, and it was very different from how he had been speaking to Lu Yin this whole time. In reality, he spoke to Wei Heng, the Great Master, and Xiang Siyu in the same manner as he did to Zhao Ran. It was because the Greater Sancte had stood at the top for so long that the overly casual mannerisms made his words sound like jokes.

This also indirectly revealed the respect that Greater Sancte Blood Tower had for Lu Yin.

Lu Yin could imagine that, if he was a native of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse who had gradually distinguished himself enough to gain the attention of the Greater Sancti, Greater Sancte Blood Tower’s first words upon seeing him might very well be, “What a bright young man!”

“I actually wanted to talk to you about how to use the power of time.”

“I don’t have time.”

“We’re in the Mirari Realm, and yet you’re telling me you don’t have time?”

Zhao Ran simply turned around and returned to her small boat.