Chapter 913: Shattered Cauldron

Currently, the forces most terrified of the news that Wei Rong had joined the Great Eastern Alliance were, of course, the various great powers that ruled the weaves in the Outerverse’s central area. Wei Rong had always been in touch with these people, and now that Wei Rong had surrendered to Lu Yin, the blow to their morale was rather impressive.

Under these circumstances, someone proposed a suggestion that they imitate the Great Eastern Alliance and form their own allied military force that had an express military route.

At first, there were people who opposed this, as they claimed that doing so would be the same as establishing an alliance. However, in the end, this proposal was approved. The Great Eastern Alliance was like a slumbering beast that could devour them at any moment.

Joining the alliance was just a euphemism; put more unpleasantly, joining the alliance was equivalent to accepting Lu Yin’s leadership. One word from Lu Yin could shift the resources of the various powers, and that was something that nobody was willing to accept.

When Lu Yin saw the strong reactions that people had to this development, he actually did nothing in response. This was to avoid pushing them any further than necessary.

He quickly arranged a position for Wei Rong and then headed straight back to the secret room in King Zishan’s palace. Lu Yin then took out his futon and returned to the Daosource Sect's ruins.

A considerable amount of time had passed since Lu Yin had last visited the ruins, and he could not allow this bountiful source of wealth lie fallow any longer.

The war in the Innerverse had drawn quite a few of the Sixth Mainland’s experts away from the Daosource Sect’s ruins, even the youths that were not of the three invading realms. Experts from all over the Sixth Mainland had joined the invasion forces, which led to far fewer youths visiting the ruins.

Lu Yin sped along the path that led from the First Divine Gate to the Budding Terrace, not stopping until he finally arrived in the space that held the Nine Cauldrons.

Just as before, any Sixth Mainland cultivators within the space with the Nine Cauldrons were knocked unconscious by Lu Yin before being tossed aside.

Such an incident had already occurred thrice before, and people had started spreading rumors that experts occasionally appeared in this place. However, the timings of Lu Yin’s visits to the Daosource Sect’s ruins were patternless, and it had been quite some time since his last trip. Thus, many people had forgotten about it.

This was the fourth time that Lu Yin had come to absorb the cauldron energy, and Lu Yin had thought that this visit would be the same as the previous three visits where he left after absorbing as much cauldron energy as he could. However, something new happened this time. As he absorbed the cauldron energy, a crack appeared in the cauldron he was sitting in.

Each of the Nine Cauldrons was exceptionally durable, and even when White Knight had fought against Blood Looney, they hadn’t been able to cause even a trace of damage to appear on them. But while Lu Yin was absorbing the cauldron energy, cracks suddenly appeared on the cauldron, and they quickly began spreading out. He did not notice the cracks at first, but when they reached the area beneath him, he finally noticed them.

The crisp sound of the cracks grew louder as they continued to spread, and Lu Yin’s expression grew solemn. The invisible cauldron energy was still flowing into his palm and body, and he had a feeling that the cauldron energy within this particular cauldron was about to be completely absorbed.

Four times. It had taken him four sessions to completely absorb the cauldron energy from this cauldron. Since there were nine cauldrons, that meant that he would have to spend a total of thirty six sessions absorbing the cauldron energy with thirty two remaining sessions, which was equivalent to thirty two months. That amount of time wasn’t even factoring the amount of time that Lu Yin had to wait between each visit to the ruins. In other words, it would take him far too long for him to completely absorb all of the cauldron energy from all nine cauldrons. The only way to shorten this time was for him to learn how to use his spiritual force to extend the time he could spend within the Daosource Sect's ruins.

Lu Yin naturally thought of the Daynight clan, as they were the most adept at using spiritual force.

At the entrance to the Nine Cauldrons space, where the pillar of light allowed people to transport between the regions of the Daosource Sect, a procession of five people entered the space, cheerfully joking around with each other. However, when they entered the space, they heard a loud bang, and to their horror, they discovered that one of the cauldrons had shattered.

The five were all stunned. The Nine Cauldrons had existed in this place for countless years, and they had even survived the war between the two mainlands without ever suffering any damage. It was rumored that the Nine Cauldrons each contained a battle technique that could then be combined into one invincible technique. This was a place where countless cultivators from the Sixth Mainland had searched for destined opportunities, as countless people dreamed of obtaining the battle technique that lay within the Nine Cauldrons.

However, at this moment, a cauldron had shattered.

The five hurriedly charged over, as it was possible that there might be a battle technique within the shattered fragments of the cauldron.

Lu Yin stepped over the shattered fragments beneath him and turned around as the five people charged over at their top speeds.

He did not reveal himself to them. Instead, Lu Yin vanished in a flash. He did not have that many days remaining in the Daosource Sect's ruins, and he did not want the people from the Sixth Mainland to discover him. If they did, it would no longer be as easy for him to peacefully absorb the cauldron energy the next time he visited.

As Lu Yin moved to leave, the five cultivators did not notice anything at all. Their eyes were solely focused on the cauldron’s shattered fragments, and they were frantically searching for something.

Lu Yin quickly left the space with the Nine Cauldrons, as that region would definitely attract countless cultivators from the Sixth Mainland, and even the Realmlings might visit it. The space with the Nine Cauldrons was just too famous, and Lu Yin would not find it unexpected if even the Daosource Three Skies made a visit. It seemed that he would need to temporarily pause his sessions of absorbing the cauldron energy.

With just a single step, he had left the region. Lu Yin had assumed that he would appear rather close to Budding Terrace, but he actually ended up in an unknown location.

This entire area was foggy, and after Lu Yin took just two steps, the white fog suddenly transformed into chains that entangled his four limbs. Lu Yin was surprised, and he quickly used his strength to break free. The chains stretched, snapped, and then reformed into white fog again before dissipating away.

This place was very strange, and Lu Yin instantly became vigilant. Suddenly, the white fog transformed once again, but this time, it took the form of a longsword that stabbed at him. Lu Yin casually waved a hand and shattered the longsword, which once again reverted back into white fog that then dissipated.

He did not know what sort of place this was, but the surrounding fog was very strange. It seemed to be incorporeal, and yet it could form itself into weapons that could kill. Fortunately, these weapons were not very powerful; otherwise, he would have been quite worried.

Every few steps, the fog shifted into new forms, either weapons or other strange objects. There were even some humanoid forms that appeared and attacked Lu Yin. The most dangerous moment was when the fog took on the shape of a human, as this figure was not weak at all. In fact, it possessed a strength that nearly rivaled Autumnfrost Qing’s.

Lu Yin unleashed his domain, but it was useless against the white fog. Additionally, rune lines could not be seen within the Daosource Sect's ruins, so he could only slowly move forward step by step. In any case, after another two days passed, he would be able to leave the ruins. Actually, remaining in place might also be a good way to deal with this place.

After thinking about it, Lu Yin sat down cross-legged. He had decided that this place was just too strange, so he would rather remain still and wait for his time to be up.

Half a day passed, after which Lu Yin opened his eyes and exhaled.

As long as he did not move, the surrounding fog would be nothing more than just fog, and it would not automatically transform into objects that attacked him.

He still had about a whole day left in the ruins, and Lu Yin mentally submerged himself as he began to silently recite the Stonewall Scriptures.

Reciting the Stonewall Scriptures allowed him to strengthen his spiritual force, but he did not know how to use that strength effectively. In fact, his only technique that employed spiritual force was the Daynight Punch. The strength of that punch was enough to even render someone at Hong Ying’s level unable to fight. However, such an attack would not work against the Ten Arbiters.

He had to find some other way to take advantage of his spiritual force.

It did not take long for another half day to pass.

Lu Yin was currently silently sitting down cross-legged, but he suddenly opened his eyes and looked to the right—some activity had just occurred in that direction.

He merely stared, but then he suddenly saw the fog to his right begin to transform, and a tender palm streaked through the fog to swat at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin’s eye twitched, but he responded in kind by raising his own hand. There was a bang as two opposing waves of energy collided and the void warped. A formless shockwave also swept away the nearby fog.

When the two palms collided, there was no sense of any physical contact. Lu Yin received a very strange feeling from that palm—it was as if he had struck cotton. That palm had contained a ferocious strength that had quickly dissolved away as well as a formless strength that had burst forth and forced him to retreat several steps. The soft hand then continued to press forward and suppress him.

Lu Yin frowned and raised his hand once again. This time, he was using Fifty Stacks in his attack.

There was another bang, but Lu Yin felt the same strange sensation again. His attack had been violent, but the response from the soft hand was even more unendurable. Just as his opponent’s palm released a bit of force, Lu Yin’s Overlaying Stacks Path erupted, and a surprised wail was heard. A girl stepped out of the fog and pulled back her hand as she stared at Lu Yin in amazement.

Lu Yin similarly pulled back his hand as the force of the shockwave spread out in various directions.

“You aren’t something formed by the fog?” Lu Yin blurted out.

The girl in front of him looked at him calmly before shifting her gaze to his hand. “You aren’t weak.”

Lu Yin looked at her, and his pupils shrank. This woman had seen him before, as she had been present when the Ten Arbiters and Realmlings had fought for that jade stone in the Daosource Sect’s ruins. He had unintentionally joined that battlefield, and he had been like an ant thrown into a tornado, only barely surviving that calamity. This girl had arrived at the last moment, and her strength had been astounding. She was definitely someone on the same level as a Realmling.

Lu Yin had never expected to bump into her again in this place. He had not exchanged blows with her before, but he had a feeling for how powerful she was. Additionally, he recalled that someone had called her Xin Nü at that time.

The woman stared at Lu Yin suspiciously. She also remembered Lu Yin, though not because of his strength. She remembered him because of a feeling. When they first met, she had felt a strange sense of intimacy towards him, almost as if there was a resonance between their bloodlines. Now that they were meeting again, that same feeling had come again. This person was definitely related to her in some manner.

“When you saw me, did you feel any sort of sensation?” the girl asked as she stared at Lu Yin with a serious expression.

Lu Yin blinked. “What feeling?”

“Seventh Bro, is she about to declare her love for you?” the Ghost Monkey asked in an odd tone.

The girl stared straight into Lu Yin’s eyes, as if she was trying to see something within them. “Do you know me?”

Lu Yin shook his head.

The girl was disappointed, as she could tell from his eyes that this person truly did not know her.

“What’s your name? Where are you from?” she continued.

Lu Yin was puzzled, but because he was nervous, he answered, “I’m Huang San, from the Progenitor of Bloodlines’ territory.”

She shook her head. “You aren’t from the Progenitor of Bloodlines’ territory, as no other bloodlines have merged into your body.”

Lu Yin felt embarrassed, as his lie had been instantly seen through. “It’s not none—it’s just that I recently changed, and I haven’t found a new one yet.”

She seriously answered, “It’s alright if you don’t want to answer. I have no intention of interrogating you.”

She then surveyed their surroundings. “This is the fog barrier that surrounds the Platform of Inception, and few are able to cross it. However, if they can make it through, then they can ascend the Platform of Inception. That place contains some ancient Lockbreakers’ personal experiences if you’re lucky, which is of great help to a Lockbreaker. Since you’re here, you must be a Lockbreaker as well.”

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Lu Yin was astonished, as he had never expected the Daosource Sect’s ruins to contain such a place. “Somewhat. Are you headed to the Platform of Inception?”

The girl nodded. “I’m at a threshold, so I want to use the Platform of Inception to break through to the next lockbreaking level.”

“What level are you?” Lu Yin asked reflexively, only to immediately regret it. This sort of question pried into others’ privacy, and such a question could easily trigger hostility.

However, the girl did not seem to care one bit. “Five star Perceptive Intermediate.”

Lu Yin was surprised. “You’re a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker?”

The girl nodded. “Is that a problem?”

Lu Yin’s face contorted. Of course that was a problem! She was so young and was already a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker! That was something that even a regular genius could not hope to achieve.

Generally speaking, Melders and Limiteers were only able to reach the Discerning Elementary level while Explorers and Cruisers could reach the Perceptive Intermediate level. Only Hunters and above were able to break through and reach the Boundless Advanced level.

It seemed quite abnormal for this woman to have attained the level of a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker, but who could use strength to determine one’s Lockbreaker level? Strength merely provided the foundation. In reality, there were many members of the Lockbreaker Society who were Hunters, but very few of them had reached the Boundless Advanced level. Even a peak Hunter like Fiend Li was only a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker whereas, of Mr. Jun, Felynn, and Yi Feng, who were also all Hunters, not a single one of them had reached the level of a five star Perceptive Intermediate Lockbreaker.

In the Outerverse Lockbreaker Society, Vice President Saul was the only one who had reached the Boundless Advanced level while still in the Hunter realm.