Chapter 896: This Is My Friend

Mr. Yi’s gaze swept past Elder He, and he also saw Elder Tong, Lan Si, and the other people who had previously fought against him. At this moment, one finger from him would be enough to crush them into nothing more than puddles of blood.

He was in no hurry, as he did not hate these people. However, Mr. Yi’s gaze quickly fixated on Lu Yin, at which point he smiled.

Mr. Yi regarded himself as an elegant person. In the Sixth Mainland, he had climbed up step by step to successfully reach his current position, and nobody had ever treated him as disrespectfully as Lu Yin. He was a guest of the Tong family, someone who was second only to Ancestor Tong himself. In the future, Mr. Yi might even be able to join the ranks of the Daosource Sect’s elders. His potential was exalted and bright, so not a single stain was allowed to appear on him.

Recently, he had suffered from a harrowing experience. That bastard, that despicable native, had actually made Mr. Yi feel despair. When the Imprinter remembered that vile smell, he still shuddered even now, and he had even had nightmares after being assaulted by it. That incident was a stain upon his glorious record and the greatest disgrace of his life to date.

Mr. Yi would not hesitate to pay any price to chase after these people, all because he wanted to personally capture that little bastard and make him suffer from despair for the remainder of his life.

Mr. Yi glared fiercely, and his originally elegant appearance seemed to have completely vanished. At this moment, he only wanted to savor the intense, wretched emotions that were sure to be in Lu Yin’s eyes, such as despair, terror, and desperation. The Imprinter wanted to see the most base human emotions possible.

Eh? Why is that bastard smiling?

It was not only Mr. Yi, but Mr. Da was also staring at Lu Yin in confusion. Out of everyone present, this youth was the only one who was smiling.

Elder He slowly turned around to look at Lu Yin.

Lan Si also looked at the youth. He’s smiling?

Quite a few cultivators from Grayweed Continent were feeling despair at this moment. Was Lu Yin so lost in his grief that he had gone crazy?

Actually, it was not only Lu Yin who was smiling; the Ghost Monkey was smiling as well, and in a very wretched manner at that.

Lu Yin coughed and looked back at Mr. Yi. “About that, I’m sorry to disturb you, but let me ask you something. Do you have any last words? If I slaughter my way into the Sixth Mainland one day, I may be able to help you deliver them home.”

Everyone stared at the youth, dumbfounded. This person was crazy! He was actually insane!

Mr. Yi laughed contentedly. “You’ve actually gone crazy. What a pity. At least you deserve it. Little bastard, you’ve gotten off lightly.”

Mr. Da shook his head helplessly, as this kid’s mental endurance was too pathetic. He had actually gone mad from the current situation.

Lu Yin blinked and then stared at Mr. Yi with a serious expression. “Do you have money?”

The crowd was flabbergasted, and they simply stopped looking at this lunatic.

Only Zhang Dingtian, Hai Dashao, and a few others continued to stare at Lu Yin with strange expressions on their faces. These people were the only ones who understood Lu Yin, and he would not be frightened silly even if he was facing certain death. This was especially true for Zhang Dingtian, as Lu Yin had actually shared some details about the matters in the Outerverse with him. Was Lu Yin that confident in dealing with these two?

“If you have money, then I can consider not burying you with that stinky item,” Lu Yin continued to say.

Mr. Yi flew into a rage as he raised his hand to grab that youth, his face quickly reverting to its arrogant expression. He was going to crush this kid like an ant and completely vent all of his frustrations. In Mr. Yi’s eyes, not only this kid, but everyone else in this place was an ant as well.

Elder He gritted his teeth, and he was just about to give his all in a final showdown. Even if he died, he had to ensure that Hai Dashao and the others survived.

Suddenly, Mr. Yi stopped moving, as his expression suddenly changed as his face gradually went extremely pale. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and he slowly turned around to stare at the border between the Endless and Southside Weaves. In that place, there was a pair of eyes watching him. Although they were clearly a great distance away, those eyes gave off a sense of immense pressure that had immobilized the Imprinter.

Mr. Yi was not alone, as Mr. Da was in the same condition as well.

A moment ago, Elder He and the others had fallen into despair, but now, it was the Imprinters’ turn.

Those were Yuan Shi’s eyes.

Lu Yin empathized with these two powerhouses. They had been living comfortably in the Innerverse, but these two old monsters just had to make their way to the Outerverse.

Mr. Yi’s palm had covered the sky above everyone present, but he simply could not lower it any more.

Elder He and the others were confused, as they did not know what was going on.

Space tore open in the distance, and Yuan Shi slowly emerged with a calm expression. “Sixth Mainland cultivators from the Innerverse? Come with me. I need you to tell me more about what’s the Innerverse’s situation.”

Mr. Yi and Mr. Da exchanged glances and then moved to flee in two different directions at the exact same moment.

Yuan Shi shook his head and then vanished.

Still frozen in place, the crowd exchanged glances before finally looking at Lu Yin.

Hai Dashao hurriedly asked, “Who was that elder?”

Lu Yin shrugged. “My friend.”

Hai Dashao was left speechless.

Hai Feng looked at Lu Yin as though he was looking at a monster.

Lan Si’s brows rose.

Elder Tong felt helpless. “Don’t spout nonsense. Was that elder a senior from the Hall of Honor?”

Lu Yin nodded. “Yuan Shi.”

“Yuan Shi?” Quite a few cried out at the mention of this name, particularly Elder He, who looked quite emotional. “Is he really Yuan Shi?”

Lu Yin nodded.

“Yuan Shi? He’s that elder from the Hall of Honor, right?”

“I heard that he’s lived for countless years and has mentored many elders along their cultivation path.”

“That’s a true elder, and he’s mentored multiple Envoys.”

…

“I never imagined that Yuan Shi would be keeping watch over the Outerverse. If we had known, then there would have been no need for them to have sacrificed themselves,” Elder He lamented.

Lu Yin felt helpless, as he had tried to tell the Sea King this, but he had been pushed away before he could. As for Hai Qiqi, she had not participated in Endless Weave’s border defense. Thus, she had no way of knowing about Yuan Shi’s existence. Otherwise, there would have been no need for the Sea King to sacrifice himself.

It could only be said that this was ordained by destiny.

The Sea King had shattered the Upper Three Gates and ushered in this disaster. And finally, he had been forced to pay the price for his own actions.

Was smashing the Upper Three Gates the wrong decision? According to the Sea King, and according to what Lu Yin had heard at the far side of the Astral Combat Academy’s Ocean of Death, the Sixth Mainland had changed the Fifth Mainland’s skies. Additionally, the moment that the Innerverse and Outerverse had been separated had apparently been the moment that the Sea King had reverted the skies, and this had been a great contribution to the Fifth Mainland.

The Sea King had made his contributions, but he had also sinned. Thus, it was unclear as to whether the man had been right or wrong.

However, if Lu Yin had been in the same position, then he would have made the same choice. Rather than living a low life, he would rather give his all in a fierce fight. No matter what was behind the Upper Three Gates, it was still an opportunity.

Not long after, Yuan Shi returned, though Mr. Yi and Mr. Da were nowhere in sight. No one asked any questions.

Lu Yin stepped forward and bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Yuan Shi.”

Elder He and the others also bowed in unison. “Greetings, Yuan Shi.”

Yuan Shi grunted in acknowledgement and then waved a hand to take Lu Yin away as he vanished.

The crowd fell into contemplation. They had never imagined that Lu Yin would enjoy such a good relationship with Yuan Shi. Evidently, the two had left to have a private conversation.

Off in the distance, Lu Yin shared everything that had happened in the Innerverse with Yuan Shi. Lu Yin’s experiences had not been too complex, as after leaving the Outerverse, he had only gone to the Starfall Sea and reached Grayweed Continent before finally escaping back to the Outerverse. Everything had taken a long time, but most of that time had been spent traveling.

Yuan Shi listened to the youth’s story and then looked back at the Astral River. The situation in the Innerverse was about what he had expected. The true battlefield was in the Cosmic Sea whereas the Starfall Sea had only been attacked by the Tong Family and Flying Horse Manor, which did not even make up a fifth of the three realms’ forces.

Nobody knew when this war would end.

About 3,000 or so cultivators had escaped to the Outerverse. Although their numbers were few, they were all the cream of the crop, and every one of them either had exceptional innate gifts or would be the spark of a future revolution in the Starfall Sea.

Yuan Shi gave everyone a choice. Those from the Sea King’s Dome and Mt. Stacks Dojo were allowed to leave if they so wished, as those two forces already had connections in the Outerverse. Meanwhile, the rest were to follow Yuan Shi to the Technocracy border, where they would guard Southside Weave.

It did not take long for the cultivators to make their choice. Over a thousand followed the Sea King’s Dome’s group, and among them were two Enlighters and around forty Hunters with the rest being Cruisers and Explorers. This was a rather terrifying strength, as Elder He was also included in their numbers, and he was an Envoy. Additionally, there was also Elder Tong, Elder Shan, and Hai Feng, who were all experts with power levels that surpassed 300,000.

Just these thousand-odd cultivators were enough to eliminate any power in the Outerverse.

There were fewer people who followed Mt. Stacks Dojo group, and they only had a few hundred people. The strongest among them was Elder Tie, who was the burly, middle-aged man who had welcomed Lu Yin’s group when they first arrived at Mt. Stacks Dojo. Their numbers also included Lan Si, Lan Baobao, Tie San, and more. There were no Enlighters in Mt. Stacks Dojo’s group, but there were still a dozen Hunters, and the rest of the few hundred people were all Cruisers and Explorers. Thus, they also formed an intimidating force.

At this time in the Outerverse, neither the Neo-Vestige Sect nor the Dark Phoenix family had any more hidden powerhouses. Thus, only Millions City could rival the strength of these two groups.

Finally, the remaining 1,500 or so people, which included three Enlighters and over seventy Hunters, were ordered to follow after Yuan Shi and protect the border. There, they would be able to earn back their freedom after a certain amount of time.

If so many powerhouses were simultaneously let loose, it would not be a good thing for the Outerverse.

Lu Yin looked at the crowd from the Sea King’s Dome and then at the people from Mt. Stacks Dojo. He wondered what the appearance of these two powers would mean for the Outerverse, and he only hoped they would not create problems for the Great Eastern Alliance.

Zhang Dingtian wanted to head back to Earth for a visit, as it had been almost a decade since he had last been home.

Before he left, Lu Yin reminded Zhang Dingtian about the situation with Jupiter, as Lu Yin wanted Zhang Dingtian to check the planet out. He was a genuine Earthling, and he had even been left on Grayweed Continent by the Hidden Earth Society. Thus, it was possible that Zhang Dingtian might be able to investigate more and perhaps even find something out.

Hai Qiqi remained unconscious and was carried away by Elder Shan.

The area that the Sea King’s Dome controlled in the Outerverse was close to the astral cemetery, in the western region of the Outerverse. So, they left quickly.

The people from Mt. Stacks Dojo also made their leave quickly.

Although these people had escaped with their lives, they were not very thrilled about it. The entire Starfall Sea had fallen into the hands of the Sixth Mainland, leaving them homeless dogs.

The place was already completely empty, as everyone had left. Lu Yin then opened his gadget and contacted Huan Sha to check in about the situation of the Great Yu Empire over the last half year. To Lu Yin’s relief, everything had continued on normally.

The border defense had taken away many of the Outerverse’s experts, and at present, nobody could pose any sort of threat to the Great Eastern Alliance.

As for Wei Rong, without the support of the Wei family, he was useless no matter how intelligent he was. Unfortunately, it was still unknown where he had hidden himself.

The next person whom Lu Yin called was En Ya, and he asked her how things had developed after using Aegis’s intelligence system to gain control of the other powers. Likewise, everything had been proceeding smoothly.

The intelligence that they had gained from Aegis had proven to be very useful, as the weaves from the central region were no longer unfamiliar with the Great Eastern Alliance. En Ya had also planted some moles among their forces who could be activated at a moment's notice.

Lu Yin would not move against the weaves in the central region anytime soon, especially with the current political climate. The people from the Sea King’s Dome and Mt. Stacks Dojo had just entered the Outerverse, and the situation was about to change greatly.

On Grayweed Continent, everyone had been united as one to deal with the Sixth Mainland. But right now, they had entered the Outerverse, so the situation was different. It was possible that they were potential enemies.

Lu Yin had rushed to join Aegis’s first level management in the past, but he had never gone to visit Aegis’s real headquarters. After thinking about it, Lu Yin called Starfox.

After half a year of silence, Starfox was very surprised to hear from Lu Yin, especially since the Great Yu Empire had announced to the rest of the universe that Lu Yin had gone into seclusion, though Starfox had not believed that.

Lu Yin did not tell Starfox everything, and he said that he merely wanted to visit Aegis’s headquarters for a tour.

Starfox sent over a set of coordinates.

Lu Yin checked them, and after seeing that the location was in the central weaves, he set out immediately.