Chapter 4179: A Choice That Must Be Made

Listening to the two bicker, Greater Sancte Green Lotus helplessly said, "Stop arguing. Show a bit more restraint in front of a junior."

Lu Yin was already used to it. Quarrels between Greater Sancte Blood Tower and Greater Sancte Awe Gate were essentially a daily routine. Ku Deng had mentioned that it had not been as obvious in the past, but ever since Greater Sancte Awe Gate had accepted a Seed Transfusion with Mi Jin’s spirit seed and definitively surpassed Greater Sancte Blood Tower’s power, the latter's deep pride had started to act up. He made jabs at the woman at every opportunity.

"If that hidden member of Obscura really does appear and invites you to join, will you accept?" Greater Sancte Green Lotus asked Lu Yin solemnly.

Both Greater Sancti Blood Tower and Awe Gate turned to look at Lu Yin. They had considered the question of whether they would accept the invitation if they had been in Lu Yin’s place, and they knew that they would also find it a difficult decision.

Lu Yin remained silent for a moment. "I don’t know."

Greater Sancte Green Lotus nodded. "No one can make such a choice easily, unless they forget the past. People do not forget history, and neither should they."

"Still, we need to care for the present and the future," Greater Sancte Blood Tower sighed.

Not long after, Lu Yin left the Sea of Karma to return to the Tianyuan. He sat on the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, silently staring out at the stars.

In the distance, Ancestor Tortoise slowly floated along, sometimes opening its eyes and awakening, and at other times closing them.

The Pridebeast and Megalith had run off to some unknown place, and they had even taken the jiao with them.

Many cultivators came and went. The Heavens Sect had long since returned to its former bustle.

The Progenitor of Bloodlines liked to sit and watch cultivators pass in and out below the Stairway to Heaven the most. Arch Elder Zen enjoyed the same pastime.

Cargo ships endlessly streaked by as cultivators strolled through space, not needing the support of such vessels. It was a scene of prosperity.

Long Xi walked over, having brewed tea for Lu Yin.

He accepted the cup and observed the leaves rising and falling. He wanted to say something, but the words would not come.

Long Xi did not disturb him. She left without saying anything. Next, Wang Wen arrived.

"Why are you here?" Lu Yin asked in surprise. He had not called for the man.

Wang Wen appeared puzzled. "Didn’t you summon me, Dao Monarch Chesspiece?"

"No."

"Miss Long Xi asked me to come. In that case, should I leave?"

Lu Yin smiled slightly. "Since you are here, sit for a while."

Long Xi returned with a cup of tea for Wang Wen. He gave her a helpless look. "Miss, you’re putting me in an awkward spot."

She gave him a small smile. "There’s no problem with old friends catching up. No one will drive you away."

"I am very self conscious, and don’t want to be driven away," Wang Wen replied. He then turned to Lu Yin and smiled. "Dao Monarch Chesspiece, I’ll take my leave."

Lu Yin looked over. "I have to make a choice."

Wang Wen grew curious. "What choice could trouble you so much?"

Lu Yin set down his cup. "Obscura has invited me to join them."

Both Wang Wen and Long Xi were astonished. "Obscura invited you?"

Lu Yin did not reply and instead calmly stared off into the distance.

Wang Wen swallowed and leaned closer. "Is that true? Did Obscura invite you, Dao Monarch Chesspiece? But you aren’t even an Immortal."

Lu Yin replied evenly, "True, I’m not an Immortal, and yet they invited me anyway. Do you think I should join?"

"Of course you join! What is there to even hesitate about?" Wang Wen did not understand.

Lu Yin said, "How do I simply lay down all of our past hatred?"

"Then get revenge first and join after," Wang Wen retorted.

Lu Yin smirked, unsurprised that Wang Wen would make such a suggestion. It was also exactly what Lu Yin himself had been considering.

It was the right choice: revenge first, and then join.

"Will I still be able to join after getting revenge?"

"Why not? After you get revenge, Obscura will absolutely need to fill their ranks with powerful individuals. Having you join will eliminate an enemy while also adding a powerhouse to their numbers. Why wouldn’t they accept you?"

"What if Obscura forces me to destroy human civilization?"

"Impossible," Wang Wen stated with absolute certainty, "Even Master Qing Cao’s relationship with Obscura was enough to save the Spirit Nidus, and you are far more valuable than that old man. At the very least, you will be able to save the Tianyuan."

Lu Yin looked back over. "So, if human civilization can be saved, I can join after getting revenge?"

Wang Wen took a sip of his tea. "You’ve already thought of this, so why ask me?"

"I just wanted to hear a smart person’s opinion."

Wang Wen hummed in acknowledgment and then complimented Long Xi. "Good tea."

He then set his cup back down and grew serious. "If I were Obscura, the decision to invite you would have only been made after careful deliberation. Since they’ve invited you, they won’t simply discard their invitation. Even if you kill some of their so-called powerhouses, that will only prove that those creatures aren’t actually strong and that you are. Doing this will only make them want you more.

"I think that your biggest psychological burden right now is what you will have to do after joining Obscura, right? For example, destroying other civilizations."

Lu Yin picked up his cup and took a sip. He did not deny the allegation.

Wang Wen sighed deeply. "People say that I’m the smartest, but is that really true?

"No one dares to call themselves the smartest, because there are always areas outside of one’s expertise. In some areas, even a mortal might surpass you. There are no absolutes.

"That is even more true of the cosmos. Dao Monarch Chesspiece, have you considered why fishing civilizations seek out and destroy other civilizations? Is it because they like it? Because they are bored? I don’t think so."

Wang Wen looked up to meet Lu Yin's gaze with an intense stare. "I’ve thought about it for a long time, and it might be because they have no choice."

Lu Yin started contemplating that thought further. "No choice?"

Wang Wen nodded. "While a simple answer, it’s also the least simple. A fishing civilization is able to wipe out ordinary civilizations with a flip of a hand, and they do so, but why? No one can give us the answer, so we need to guess on our own.

"All fishing civilizations behave in the same manner. Could that be because it is something that must be done? If they don’t, would they endanger themselves?

"We are unwilling to destroy other civilizations with which we have no direct connection. The emotion responsible for that is called mercy. However, mercy may be the exact cause for a fishing civilization’s destruction.

"Even if you don’t join Obscura, once human civilization reaches the level of a fishing civilization under your lead, will you even have a choice? Will you face the same choice and be forced to destroy every civilization you encounter? How likely is that possibility?"

Lu Yin stared at Wang Wen in a daze. Would he eventually face the same choice no matter what? That was something that he had truly never considered.

He had thought about seeking revenge before joining Obscura, as well as the chances of them accepting him if he pursued that path. What Wang Wen could think of, so could Lu Yin.

Even so, he had never contemplated the possibility of being forced to face the same decision in the future.

He had always been cultivating without stopping, whereas Wang Wen had always been thinking without stopping. Thus, he considered far more than Lu Yin had.

Suddenly, Lu Yin realized that Wang Wen looked more weathered than before. He was no longer as playful and vibrant as when they had first met. His thinking had also gained greater depth.

Wang Wen finished his tea with one more gulp. "This guess took me hundreds of years to come up with, and yet I said it all in one breath. How is it? Does it feel like a sudden enlightenment? Haha, farewell."

Lu Yin did not stop him. He watched Wang Wen's back, knowing that the guess that had just been shared was of immeasurable value.

Long Xi refilled Lu Yin's teacup and then turned to leave.

She understood Lu Yin quite well. She knew when he was happy, sad, troubled, or feeling conflicted. That was why she had invited Wang Wen, because only he could guide Lu Yin through his current dilemma.

Wang Wen had said that he was not the smartest, yet everyone in the Heavens Sect knew that he was. He had always managed to help Lu Yin emerge from his various dilemmas at the right moment.

Even when facing the threat of the droplet-shaped Verdant Sage, who had been an Immortal, Wang Wen had been able to come up with ways to restrain the bug. Such short-term tactics were not even the man’s forte; he excelled at long term strategy and thinking far ahead.

Lu Yin sat on the mountain for more than ten days.

Wang Wen's words caused Lu Yin to contemplate the future. Fishing civilizations all destroyed whatever civilizations they came upon, using whatever was necessary to destroy them. Why? The only guess that humanity had was that the fishing civilization had to do such things. If their human civilization one day reached that same level, would they also be forced to hunt for civilizations to eradicate? If so, how would they differ from Obscura?

Whether Lu Yin joined Obscura was no longer the issue. What mattered was that he would one day face the same choice no matter what.

As for when he should join Obscura, he and Wang Wen had the same thought; revenge came first, and then the rest could be discussed afterwards.

However, it would not be easy to get revenge.

The hatred that existed between Obscura and humanity was something that had existed forever. What Lu Yin wanted to deal with the most was the Hui-Silver Sky Army, but was it the right time to go to war with them?

He could start a war, but Greater Sancte Green Lotus and the others might not be willing.

Hui was no weakling, and they should be just as powerful as Lan Meng. The cracks that had appeared on the Immortal Lord’s green stalk had been caused by a direct clash with Hui. Mo Bai had already explained this to Lu Yin. No one had asked Luo Chan or the Immortal Lord, out of fear that the question would reveal the human civilization's connection to the Hui-Silver Sky Army. Asking Mo Bai was fine, as the Immortal Lord considered her to be nothing more than a tool.

The fact that Hui had injured the Immortal Lord indicated that they should be just as strong as Lan Meng, or possibly even stronger.

Lu Yin was absolutely not strong enough to wage war against the Hui-Silver Sky Army on his own. It would be more appropriate for Greater Sancte Green Lotus to go, and yet he was also the one person who could not leave human civilization. As for other Immortals, like Greater Sanct Awe Gate and Blood Tower, Lu Yin did not know how to bring the matter up.

Should he use the fact that he was joining Obscura to save humanity as a reason to request that several Immortals accompany him to attack Hui and avenge his master?

He could not voice such a request aloud.

Humanity’s Immortals had already treated Lu Yin extremely well. How could he propose such an exchange to them?

But without them, how could he ever hope to get revenge?

As he considered the matter, half a year passed in a flash. One day, time throughout the cosmos grew chaotic, affecting countless people. Some had been walking down a road, only to abruptly take a step in reverse for no reason. Some who had just had cultivation breakthroughs fell back to their previous realm. Some even regurgitated the food that they had been eating halfway through their meals.

The entire Tianyuan was affected.

Lu Yin shot to his feet and stepped into the void, vanishing. He reappeared within the Mirari Realm.

Something was happening to the River of Aeons.

He arrived at the bank of the river. He looked out and saw Zhao Ran staring at the bottom of the river, an uneasy expression on her face.

Lu Yin looked down as well. "My master?"

A blurry figure sat at the bottom of the River of Aeons. Even when blurred, it was clearly Mister Mu.

Mister Mu had not entered the River of Aeons alone, which would set him adrift in time. Instead, he sat inside of a cauldron, using it and Origin Tracer to anchor the River of Aeons and thus the Mirari Realm as well.

When he had first entered the cauldron and sank into the River of Aeons, no one outside had been able to see him. They had only known where he had gone.

The cauldron was slowly rising, and its movement affected the entire River of Aeons, which in turn affected the entire Tianyuan.

"Zhao Ran, what’s going on?"

"I don’t know. The cauldron suddenly started to rise, and the River of Aeons is about to be released."

As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Yin’s eyes snapped to the bottom of the river. The Mirari Realm had started to drift. Origin Tracer had vanished, and the River of Aeons was no longer anchored in place. From this moment forward, the Mirari Realm would no longer belong solely to the Tianyuan; it would drift through the Spirit Nidus and the Nine Odysseys Megaverse as well.

That was not important, as human civilization was currently united. What Lu Yin was concerned about was what was happening to Mister Mu.