Chapter 996: A Pitiful Old Friend

Above the small continent, the sky endlessly stretched out in all directions, but it continued to speed along, now toward the west. Along the way, it did not stop even when planets appeared in its path, simply ramming straight into them. The mass of the mainland was much greater than the planets’, and it had also been reinforced to be more robust. Thus, the impact of the planets were unable to even cause the mainland to tremble.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Atop the miniature mainland, Lu Yin dodged another arrow, and Little Arrow Saint’s face grew ugly in the distance. He had chased after Lu Yin for more than ten days now, but he had not been able to catch up at all. All of his arrow techniques had been dodged by Lu Yin.

“You dare to go against Shi Zhongjian but not me?” Little Arrow Saint shouted. He rarely spoke when he fought, but Lu Yin had forced him to do so.

Lu Yin turned around. He had no choice in this matter, as the best that he could do with his strength was to occupy one Realmling. However, it would be far too difficult for him to actually win—just stalling was enough.

Little Arrow Saint had a resilient character, or to be more precise, he had too strong of a desire to meet the Progenitor of Bloodlines. Even though he was aware that Lu Yin was deliberately buying time, the Realmling still did not give up.

The two youths passed through one area after another, and their battle took them across almost the entire miniature mainland. In the process, they were seen by countless people, and the intense aftershocks of their battle affected many people, but nobody ever tried to intervene. Even those who could, like Xia Tian, did not show up. Lu Yin was stalling a Realmling, and that alone was a great contribution to the battle.

As for Shi Zhongjian, he was still battling against Xin Nü.

In one corner of the mainland, the ground was shattered and broken. There, Nightqueen Yanqing was panting heavily. Her innate gift of purple eyes were staring straight at a cultivator from the Sixth Mainland. This person was from an Imprinter family, and although he was not the family heir, he was still an elite disciple, and his strength rivaled that of the top few on the Top 100 Rankings. During the last few years, Nightqueen Yanqing had improved at a rapid pace, and she had also broken through to the Explorer realm. Still, at best, she could rival the people ranked at around eightieth or so on the Top 100 Rankings, which was somewhat weaker than the elite disciple she was currently facing.

“Woman, you must be from the Nightking clan. How interesting. Follow me, and I can let you join my Sixth Mainland and receive an imprint. It’s definitely better than slowly cultivating here in the Fifth Mainland.” The man battling Nightqueen Yanqing stared at her with eyes filled with lust.

It had to be admitted that Nightqueen Yanqing was quite impressive and beautiful, and she also typically dressed rather scantily. That, combined with her detached expression and exquisite purple eyes, meant that she was extremely attractive to most men. And that wasn’t even mentioning how she was also from the Nightking clan; such a woman was the dream of all men.

Nightqueen Yanqing’s eyes flashed, and the man across from her began to be petrified. This was Nightqueen Yanqing’s innate gift, as her purple eyes could petrify any living thing.

However, the man laughed as an imprint appeared behind him. Strange, blood-colored lines appeared on the man’s body, and they pushed back against the petrification.

“It’s no use—your innate gift has no effect on my bloodline. Your Fifth Mainland is too weak, and if not for that stroke of fortune that allowed a Progenitor to create this cosmic phenomenon, then the entire Fifth Mainland would have already been turned into my Sixth Mainland’s breeding ground with all of you as our slaves. This cosmic phenomenon can’t last forever, and it will eventually dissipate one day. At that time, all of you will still inevitably become our slaves,” the man proudly proclaimed.

Nightqueen Yanqing barked, “So much nonsense!”

The man’s eyes went cold. “I’ve already been very courteous to you, but since you can’t appreciate my kindness, then just become a slave.”

He then charged straight at Nightqueen Yanqing.

The pressure on Nightqueen Yanqing sharply rose, but at that moment, a figure streaked between the two of them, creating a powerful gale that swept out and forced Nightqueen Yanqing to retreat.

Nightqueen Yanqing merely backed away, but the cultivator whom she had been fighting against had already died. There was a palm imprint in his caved-in chest which had exploded; it was the Overlaying Stacks Path.

Nightqueen Yanqing turned around to look at her savior, and she was overwhelmed since Lu Yin had coincidentally also turned around to look at her. The two exchanged glances.

Nightqueen Yanqing’s expression changed—it was actually him.

Lu Yin was also astonished. He had simply been too focused on dodging Little Arrow Saint’s attacks. During a moment of respite, he had spotted some conveniently closeby Sixth Mainland cultivators that he dealt with in one move, but he had never imagined that he would actually end up saving Nightqueen Yanqing.

The hatred that he felt for this woman was as deep as an ocean, but he had just made things easy for her by rescuing her.

Nightqueen Yanqing had never thought that Lu Yin would rescue her, as this person would already be considered exceptionally kind if he did not simply kill her.

But before she could think any further on the matter, an arrow streaked across the sky, tearing through the void as it traveled. The power of this arrow made her scalp turn numb, and Nightqueen Yanqing turned around in horror. She was shocked to see Little Arrow Saint standing high above her, traveling through the void as he chased after Lu Yin.

Nightqueen Yanqing stared at Lu Yin’s departing figure with complex emotions. After not seeing each other for several years, this person had actually reached the point where he could fight against Realmlings! Before this moment, she had not quite believed the rewards that Zhi Yi had promised for Lu Yin’s capture, and Nightqueen Yanqing had simply thought that Lu Yin had acquired something that the Daosource Three Skies’ member really wanted. Yanqing had never imagined that he would have actually grown so powerful.

Although she did not want to believe what she had just seen, she had no choice but to accept it. It was possible that even her brother would find it difficult to defeat this person now.

Little Arrow Saint continued to chase after Lu Yin. To the Realmling, Nightqueen Yanqing was just some random passerby.

As the two continued their game of tag, there were many others who experienced a similar encounter as Nightqueen Yanqing. However, nobody else had as deep a relationship with Lu Yin as she did.

Two days passed in this manner, after which Lu Yin saw the Champions' Stage again. At this time, it was no longer the same few people fighting atop the stage, as one other person had appeared. This person had arrived the moment those Daynight cultivators had appeared: Nightking Zhenwu.

Lu Yin glanced at the stage, but he did not approach it. Instead, he took the long way around before leaving.

Since the Fifth and Sixth Mainlands were still fighting against each other, Lu Yin believed that most people would set aside their internal disputes and unite against the external enemies, but he did not trust Nightking Zhenwu. Back in the Daosource Sect’s ruins, when everyone had been fighting for that jade talisman, Nightking Zhenwu had simply disregarded Lu Yin’s life and death when he had acted, and this battle would be no different.

Lu Yin had not noticed it, but there was another familiar person fighting on the other side of the Champions' Stage. Although her participation might seem negligible, this was someone Lu Yin cared about: Zhuo Daynight.

Zhuo Daynight had also broken through to the Explorer realm, and she was currently fighting against two Sixth Mainland Limiteers. Limiteers who could battle against an Explorer were Realmbreakers, and they were not average Realmbreakers at that. If such a battle had occurred before the invasion, then it would have attracted a lot of attention. However, after the war began, such realm-crossing battles had become commonplace.

Usually, the Sixth Mainland’s cultivators would be the ones crossing realms when they challenged Fifth Mainland cultivators, as they were capable of doing so.

Zhuo Daynight was currently in a deadlock with the two Sixth Mainland Limiteers.

Lu Yin led Little Arrow Saint around on another loop of the miniature mainland, and he gradually ran into more and more Daynight clan members, and among them were some old acquaintances. He passed by Zhanlong Daynight as well as Chilian Daynight, who had attended the Astral Combat Academy at the same time as Lu Yin. Lu Yin also passed by Tiankong Daynight and other old acquaintances.

These people had once been considered all-powerful with a bit of a reputation among the younger generation, but now, they were only capable of fighting against the most ordinary cultivators of the Sixth Mainland. With their strength, they could casually be eliminated in this chaotic battle that millions of cultivators were participating in.

Even the Daynight clan only had a few individuals who could stand out on this battlefield. Zhanlong Daynight was only able to deal with the heirs of Imprinter families, and even then, his victory was not guaranteed.

Although not many dared intervene in a Realmling’s battles, that did not mean that nobody would dare to do so. Lu Yin had a feeling that the person in the distance could affect such a battle and that they could even block several attacks if necessary.

A nearby Sixth Mainland cultivator was smashed dead by a bone-thin man. This person was another member of the Daynight clan, and he had an abnormally tough body despite being as skinny as a skeleton with almost no flesh at all. He was Nightking Gu.

Back on Planet Pyrolyte, during the contest for the pyrolyte ore, Nightking Gu had fought against both Lu Yin and Wendy Yushan on his own. If not for Lu Yin piercing the Nightking’s heart with one shot of his gun, the man would not have left.

At this moment, Lu Yin saw the man once again, and he was still so tough despite his frightening physique.

When Lu Yin passed by Nightking Gu, the Nightking was caught off guard, as he had recognized Lu Yin. But before the man could even speak, an arrow streaked through the sky. Its mere presence caused Nightking Gu’s hair to stand on end, and he instantly used his Nightking’s Body. He reached out with his powerful innate gift as a shower of sparks lit up the area. The arrow pierced the Nightking’s hand and sent him flying into the ground.

“Sorry to drag you in,” Lu Yin called out unapologetically as his figure vanished.

Little Arrow Saint did not even glance at Nightking Gu, and he simply continued his pursuit of Lu Yin.

Nightking Gu trembled in agony, as not only had Little Arrow Saint’s arrow injured his hand, but its remnant destructive energy had also settled into the wound. He raged at Lu Yin’s retreating figure, but he did not even know if he should curse the youth. After all, this was a battlefield.

When Lu Yin saw a powerful enemy whom he had once been nearly helpless against be taken down by just one of Little Arrow Saint’s arrows, Lu Yin did not know whether he should laugh or cry.

Nightking Gu was not weak, and he had previously been ranked fifteenth on the Top 100 Rankings. In fact, Wendy Yushan and Lu Yin combined had been unable to even retaliate against the Nightking in the past. In just a few more years, the Nightking would no longer be considered a part of the younger generation. He had steadily improved his strength, but he had still been severely injured by just one arrow.

Lu Yin had dealt with countless arrows that had been fired at him over the course of the last ten or so days.

Lu Yin had truly become too strong, but as he watched the other Fifth Mainland cultivators be destroyed by Little Arrow Saint, Lu Yin still could not feel comforted by his increased strength.

‘Seventh Bro, I’ve taken care of it,” the Ghost Monkey reported with exhaustion. Its shadow then moved off of Lu Yin’s back and merged back into his right arm.

Lu Yin stretched his arms and heaved a sigh of relief. The remnant energy from Shi Zhongjian’s attack had finally been removed by the Ghost Monkey’s lockbreaking techniques, and Lu Yin felt much more relaxed upon hearing this.

Another arrow flew toward him.

Lu Yin was rather impressed by Little Arrow Saint, who had stubbornly chased after Lu Yin for more than ten days without ever giving up. By now, the miniature mainland was actually about to reach the Astral River’s tributaries. After passing over that, they would be in Chaos Flowzone, and with the miniature mainland’s speed, it would not take them long to reach the Mara River.

Although the Innerverse’s Astral River tributaries were not as wide as the true Astral River, most people were wary of the creatures living within the liquid energy. Thus, each tributary had its own ark that crossed the tributaries at fixed positions, ferrying people between the two flowzones.

With the great changes in the Innerverse and the Outerverse, the Astral River Arks had been forced out of the tributaries. Thus, at this point in time, the Innerverse’s Astral River tributaries did not have any Astral River Arks that could transport people.

The energy in the tributaries had also surged, just like the Astral River itself. However, currently, massive fissures had been torn through the tributaries, allowing for safe passage. This was the Innerverse, and there was no lack of experts here.

The miniature mainland directly flew into the gap in the tributary waters and charged towards Chaos Flowzone.

The Astral River tributary was not very wide, and as the miniature mainland passed through it, Lu Yin looked around to see the limitless liquid energy of the tributary pass over him, as well as the strange giant fish that occasionally swam by.

Soon, the miniature mainland passed through the tributary and arrived in Chaos Flowzone.

The main force from the Sixth Mainland occupying Chaos Flowzone was the Toolcasting family, but with Ancestor Toolwielder’s death, the entire Toolcasting family had already pulled back to the Sixth Mainland. The cultivators from the Fifth Mainland were still in hiding at this time, and they had been operating in small guerilla units. Thus, there was not much of a reaction when the miniature mainland passed through this flowzone.

They were getting closer and closer to the Mara River. Once the miniature mainland reached the Mara River and moved just a bit past that, they would be in the Sixth Mainland, which would mean that they would be out of the cosmic phenomenon’s suppression’s range. At that point in time, nobody would be able to steal back the Champions' Stage.

The battle at the Champions' Stage became even more intense.

Lu Yin wanted to shake off Little Arrow Saint so that he could participate in the battle for the Champions' Stage. He knew that he likely would not be able to seize it, but he still wanted to at least try. Doing so would give him the unique qualification to enter the Astral Tower, which would mean that there would be no need for him to compete with others for the opportunity. Thus, his odds of becoming one the Cosmic Five would be that much higher.