Chapter 961: So Much Money

Starsibyl did not even feel any desire to warn Lu Yin when she saw him standing there, rooted in place, clearly dumbfounded by what he was confronted with.

The Seventh Stage Augmenter revealed a cruel smile as he smashed down with his hammer, clearly intending on killing Lu Yin in one hit. This attack was simply to let the old man vent his frustrations, and he had no plans of trying to use this youth as a hostage. In the current period of war, such a thing was completely useless.

Lu Yin watched as the hammer smashed down at him. It followed a profound trajectory that sealed off the void, and this attack far surpassed what that Fourth Stage Augmenter had been capable of unleashing. This was the power of an Imprinter’s strength, and star energy was useless against it, as such powerhouses were above using star energy.

There was a blast, but Lu Yin managed to avoid the attack as the hammer smashed through the void. It released a powerful shockwave that unleashed multiple ripples of force that encompassed everything within 10,000 kilometers of the site of impact.

At that moment, Lu Yin’s pupils transformed into runes, and his eyes flickered. The energy ripples spread out, but their rune lines were continuously erased. In the end, when the energy made contact with Lu Yin, it was not much stronger than the Fourth Stage Augmenter’s attacks before Lu Yin had weakened them. This was still within the range of Lu Yin’s endurance.

The two other people looked at Lu Yin standing tall in the sky as he endured the ripples of force.

Both the Seventh Stage Augmenter and Starsibyl were completely astonished.

Although the Seventh Stage Augmenter’s power level had been suppressed to below 200,000, an Imprinter was still an Imprinter, and their understanding of their own strength was different from any others below their realm. Any random strike from such a powerhouse was capable of surpassing its power level and crushing their enemies, and they were able to use a limited amount of power to unleash widespread destruction. Otherwise, with the condition that they were forced to suppress their power level to under 200,000, they would not be invincible.

Also, star energy was ineffective against such powerhouses.

However, Lu Yin had actually managed to endure the man’s attack.

Starsibyl was stupefied; it was impossible even for her to receive such an attack head on, forcing her to dodge them. However, had this youth just done so?

Lu Yin had weakened the rune lines of the spreading energy ripples rather than the Seventh Stage Augmenter’s. Thus, the old man was completely unaware that the power of his attack had been reduced, and he truly thought that Lu Yin had blocked the attack.

“Kid, who are you?” he barked as he stared intently at Lu Yin.

Some cultivators appeared to be young but had actually lived for a very long time, and there were quite a few people like that. However, normally, such people could be easily differentiated, as their mannerisms and eyes gave it away. But to the Seventh Stage Augmenter’s eyes, Lu Yin was truly a youth, and it was quite odd for such a youth to be able to block attack from him, an Imprinter.

Lu Yin did not answer. Instead, he stared at the ground with a bizarre expression on his face. What had once been an ordinary mountain range had developed many cracks in it, most likely due to the battle between Starsibyl and the Seventh Stage Augmenter. Through these broken areas, piles of glittering star essence could be seen.

If someone asked Lu Yin what he wanted to do the most at this time, then his reply would definitely not be to defeat the Seventh Stage Augmenter, but rather to plunder. With his domain, he was able to sense that there was an endless amount of star essence lying within the mountain range that was right beneath him.

How much was there? A single mountain range would contain at least hundreds of millions of star essence, and there were easily dozens of such mountain ranges spread out below, and that wasn’t even all of them.

Lu Yin’s breathing quickened. This was way, way too much money, and he could not even calculate it all.

Why was there so much money in this place?

Lu Yin’s eyes flushed red.

Upon seeing Lu Yin’s bewildering expressions, the Seventh Stage Augmenter grew wary. This kid definitely was not simple, and it was strange for such a person to show up at a time like this.

In the distance, Starsibyl did not move. Her original mission had been to stall the Seventh Stage Augmenter and give the rest of them time. Now, her situation had become much more relaxed since they were not moving at all.

At this point in time, in another corner of the mainland, Yuan Shi slowly gained the upper hand in his battle against Ancestor Sightless, mostly because of Progenitor Wushang's hide.

In Yuan Shi’s hand, the Progenitor’s hide was of tremendous use, and Progenitor Wushang's hide was not restricted by the cosmic phenomenon since it did not possess any rune lines.

If it weren’t for the fact that their power levels had been suppressed to below 200,000, which was something that Yuan Shi was still unaccustomed to, the victor would have been decided long ago.

Venerable Sightless was no match for Yuan Shi, so the Ninth Stage Augmenter from the Toolcasting family who was protecting the transport crew took action. At the same time, Ancestor Tong hid in a corner and did his best to recover from his injuries.

The entire treasure continent had descended into chaos.

The various experts who had been tasked with stalling the Ninth Stage Augmenter had only been able to briefly delay the Imprinter.

Even though everything was completely chaotic, it seemed as though the cultivators from the Innerverse and Outerverse had gained the upper hand. However, they were currently traveling through the Innerverse, and the vast majority of the Innerverse was controlled by the Sixth Mainland. Yuan Shi believed that the transport crew must have contacted the nearby Sixth Mainland experts long ago, and reinforcements would likely arrive soon.

He did not want to be delayed in this place. Otherwise, even if he managed to achieve victory here, the rest of the Fifth Mainland cultivators would surely die.

As he thought about it, Yuan Shi used Progenitor Wushang's hide to repel Venerable Sightless and the Ninth Stage Augmenter. The ancient powerhouse then transmitted his voice across the entire transport continent and ordered everyone to evacuate.

The people from the Outerverse naturally listened to Yuan Shi.

The people from the Innerverse were intent on destroying the stolen resources, and not only had they destroyed quite a bit, but the imprisoned cultivators had also been released. They had gone above and beyond their mission goals, so naturally, they had no plans to linger.

However, even if everyone wanted to leave, it would not be that easy. Ancestor Sightless had also heard Yuan Shi’s message, and the Imprinter ordered the Sixth Mainland cultivators to block the fleeing cultivators even if it cost them their lives. After all, reinforcements would arrive soon.

Starsibyl looked up towards the place where Yuan Shi was battling. Evacuation?

Once she thought about it, it was indeed time to retreat, and she retrieved an item that looked like an altar. She stood in the center of the altar, clearly intending to do something.

A little ways away, Lu Yin and the Seventh Stage Augmenter were still keeping a wary eye on each other. When Lu Yin saw what Starsibyl was doing, his expression changed drastically, and he leaped over to her.

The Seventh Stage Augmenter thought that Lu Yin had been about to attack, and the old man took out his hammer to slam it at him.

The valiant ripples of energy spread out once again, encompassing tens of kilometers.

Starsibyl frowned and then helplessly stored the altar away so that she could dodge the ripples of energy. She then turned to look at Lu Yin. “Block him! I’ll buy us some time so that we can escape together.”

Lu Yin weakened the rune lines of the ripples before blocking another attack. He then stared at Starsibyl. “Escape together? More like you guys are going to run away.”

Starsibyl’s eyes flickered. “What do you mean?”

Lu Yin barked back at her, “Since you guys dared to come here, then you have to have some kind of escape plan. That thing just now should be able to drag all of the Innerverse cultivators out, and if I’ve guessed correctly, then everyone that raided this place must have some kind of mark placed on them by you.”

Starsibyl was surprised, as this person knew quite a bit. These were the private techniques of the Starsibyl Sect.

“Since you know, then help me stop him. I can bring you with us,” Starsibyl offered indifferently.

By now, the Seventh Stage Augmenter had heard the two talking and realized that the woman actually wanted to escape. The powerhouse ignored Lu Yin and slammed his hammer towards Starsibyl. “You must be dreaming, wanting to escape.”

Starsibyl evaded the attack and looked at Lu Yin. “Block him, and you’ll gain great contributions. I can guarantee that you’ll be given a King title from the Champions' Stage.”

“Do I need you to promise me that?” Lu Yin ridiculed. With his strength, he could absolutely receive such a title, as only those strong enough to fight against Imprinters would be given the title of King.

Starsibyl softly asked, “Lu Yin, what do you mean by this? Are you trying to betray the Innerverse?”

Lu Yin sullenly answered, “If you guys escape, then my people from the Outerverse will be doomed. Wait for us to leave first. Then, I can guarantee that I’ll help you all escape.”

Starsibyl retorted, “You guys coincidentally barged in here, and it’s impossible for you all to escape! Do you want us to accompany you to the grave? Innerverse cultivators can’t compare to those from the Outerverse. Do you know how important this raid team is? They come from powers all over the Innerverse.”

“Your lives are important, but does that mean that lives from the Outerverse are worthless?” Lu Yin was furious.

Starsibyl frowned. “Lu Yin, don’t be mistaken. I can sweep your reputation away and make it so that you cannot exist anywhere in the universe.”

A chill flashed through Lu Yin’s eyes. “Just try.”

Starsibyl felt helpless, as she had made both threats and promises. However, this person was not intimidated in the slightest. She had investigated this youth before, and she was aware that he had dared to challenge the Daynight clan while just at the Melder realm. He was truly fearless.

The Seventh Stage Augmenter was infuriated, as he felt that this pair was completely disregarding him. He really wanted to unleash a powerful strike and eliminate these damned kids, but the situation did not allow for it. If he did, then he might not even live to see their fate before dying himself.

He grew more sullen the more he thought about it, and the Seventh Stage Augmenter began launching more and more ruthless attacks.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

What was disgusting was that Starsibyl could dodge every attack of his.

“Lu Yin, you need to have a broader view of things! Even if we abandon the entire Outerverse, we absolutely cannot give up on the Innerverse, which is the root of the Fifth Mainland.” Starsibyl continued to try persuading him, but without Lu Yin holding back the Seventh Stage Augmenter, she was unable to use the altar.

Lu Yin simply ignored the girl. Currently, the cultivators from the Innerverse and Outerverse were evenly matched against the Sixth Mainland cultivators on the transportation continent. The moment the people from the Innerverse escaped, the remaining Outerverse cultivators would be doomed. Wendy Yushan, Aden, Cai Jianqiang, and even the powerhouses like Black Mask, Yu Mu, Astral-9's Headmaster, and Elder He would be finished. Lu Yin would rather gamble on his plan, as he was wagering that they could all escape before the Sixth Mainland reinforcements arrived, and he did not want to give up on the Outerverse cultivators.

Screw the nonsense about having a broader perspective—it was not more important than his family and friends.

“If our people die, then in the future, there won’t be anyone left to deal with the Innerverse’s matters. No one will be able to hold back the Sixth Mainland in that scenario. They’ve already reached the Cosmic Sea, and they will be able to truly rule over our Fifth Mainland if they succeed! At that time, you guys will become the Fifth Mainland’s worst sinners,” Starsibyl harshly berated as she looked at Lu Yin.

The Seventh Stage Augmenter burst out into laughter. “Little girl, stop straining yourself! You’re just spouting bullshit. That kid naturally has his own judgement, and he won’t be convinced by your moral arguments.”

Starsibyl became absolutely furious, and she glared at Lu Yin, only to see that he had actually rushed towards the mountain range. In the blink of an eye, he had disappeared. What was he trying to do?

The Seventh Stage Augmenter also realized that Lu Yin had made a move, and the old man felt his hair stand on end. He thought that Lu Yin wanted to destroy all the star essence. “Kid, don’t be a fool! It’s easy to trigger the cosmic phenomenon!”

The Augmenter then ignored Starsibyl and charged underground after Lu Yin.

Starsibyl’s eyes lit up, and she immediately took out the altar and leaped into action.

Lu Yin had planned on stealing as much star essence as he could, as it was too wasteful to leave all this money lying around. However, he did not expect the Seventh Stage Augmenter to chase after him.

Lu Yin waved a hand, and countless star essence fell into his cosmic ring. When he saw that the Seventh Stage Augmenter had arrived, Lu Yin grew flustered. “What did you come down here for? That woman’s about to escape!”

“Kid, what are you trying to do? Don’t make any quick moves! if you’re not careful, you might cause that cosmic phenomenon to appear.”

“I know! Go on out, I’ll just leave after taking some.”

“You head up first.”

“You first.”

“You.”

…

Lu Yin had a stare off with the Seventh Stage Augmenter, who was glaring at the youth as if he was a thief. At that moment, Lu Yin realized the old man was getting ready to strike. Lu Yin felt helpless, and he merely collected one more batch of star essence before leaping out to the surface.

At that moment, the altar that Starsibyl had been preparing began to shoot out rays of light. All across the transport continent, the bodies of the cultivators from the Innerverse felt their bodies start to light up. They felt as if a burden had been lifted from them, as they could finally leave.

Lu Yin dashed out to the surface, and he saw that Starsibyl was about to escape. The altar was already surrounded by a barrier of light, and he was quite familiar with this scene. In the past, the people who had managed to flee from Grayweed Continent had relied on a similar altar from the Skyblaze Dojo.