Chapter 2780: The Mirari Realm
Lu Yin could feel Old Dian's anger and helplessness, but what could the man even do? Old Dian could not force Xuan Qi to attack a peak powerhouse. As far as the old man knew, Xuan Qi stood no chance against such a cultivator.
"If I had known this, I would have never gone to that place, Master. Why risk nine deaths, only to have the Bai family wiped out? Oh, Master." Old Dian sounded bitter, and his breathing had grown ragged. He seemed about to snap.
Lu Yin reached out and pressed Old Dian's arm onto the table while also suppressing the man’s aura. The old man's body trembled, and he looked up at Lu Yin in shock. "Acting Bureau Director?"
Lu Yin gave the man an intense stare. "Gone where? What narrow escape are you talking about?"
Old Dian had not recovered from the fact that Xuan Qi had completely suppressed his aura. The old man was a Void Morphora, and he was regarded as powerful for his realm as well. Not many people in the entire Voidforce Universe could defeat him, and he had never thought that Xuan Qi would be one of them.
Despite the fact that Xuan Qi was the Voidforce Universe’s Acting Bureau Director, his cultivation was not particularly high. Even if he used Senior Xu Wuwei’s Spiral Domain and could control a voidforce puppet powerful enough to threaten a Void Morphora, those were nothing more than tools that Xuan Qi employed. But just now, he had directly suppressed Old Dian’s aura with his own power. How was that possible?
Old Dian felt that he was seeing Xuan Qi for the first time, and he continued to stare at the young man as though trying to see through him.
Lu Yin stared back. "Where?"
Old Dian finally reacted. He glanced at his arm that was being held down but quickly suppressed his doubts and said, "The Mirari Realm."
Lu Yin had never heard of this. "The Mirari Realm?"
The old man swallowed. "It’s a place that might not even be mentioned in the legends. No one knows where it is or how to get there. Reaching that place depends entirely on chance.
"When I was young, I saw with my own eyes as the Mirari Realm opened in the sky above the Bai clan. My master went to visit that place, and when he returned, he told me that it's called the Mirari Realm. Before that visit, my master had never heard of the name before.
"I don't know what my master acquired in that place, but after he returned, I frantically searched through ancient records to find any mention of the Mirari Realm, only to find nothing. There was not a single clue. Master even asked the most powerful people that he knew, but none of them knew anything either.
"All that I know is that, after that moment, Master went insane. He devoted himself to finding the Mirari Realm, and ignored everything else..."
Lu Yin listened quietly. The Mirari Realm? He had Possessed a good number of people from the Sixverse Association, but he had never come across any memories related to this term.
Old Dian had also been quite impressed by the Mirari Realm. Everything in his life had changed after his master had returned from the Mirari Realm.
"Your master was killed by Chen Le. Could that be connected to this Mirari Realm as well?" Lu Yin asked.
Old Dian quietly replied, "Other than that, I can't think of any other reason for Chen Le to kill Master. We never even met Chen Le before lal this. He’s from the Three Monarchs universe, while we are from the Voidforce Universe. Neither of us have ever encountered him on the Endless Frontier.
"Master even told me that if he ever died mysteriously, it might be related to the Mirari Realm."
Lu Yin drummed his fingers on the table. Chen Le might not know anything about the Mirari Realm, as he had been sent to search for the Peaks and Rivers Rock by Mr. Daheng. Chen Le had never been told the meaning behind his task, so he had been ignorant. However, Mr. Daheng definitely knew.
"What else did your master tell you about this Mirari Realm?" Lu Yin was curious.
Old Dian shook before answering in a bitter tone, "Master was going crazy back then, and he simply kept repeating the same words over and over."
The man looked upwards, conflicting emotions at war in his eyes. "Ascend to the Origin realm. Overcome Dukkha.[1] Gain immortality. Master repeated those nine words for years, and his madness ended up infecting me.
"I can’t tell you what those nine words mean, but every time Master spoke them, he would become incredibly excited. Everything else lost all meaning to him, and the Bai clan’s lives changed because of those words."
Lu Yin frowned. Ascend to the Origin realm? Overcome Dukkha? Gain immortality?
Had a mere eight words driven a Semi-Progenitor-level cultivator insane? No matter how Lu Yin considered the words, he felt that it would have been more appropriate for them to come from the mouth of a soothsayer like Xuan Jiu.
New Inn’s door was thrown open, and a group of cultivators filed in from the battlefield. Some were covered with blood, but others were having a good time, and the inn quickly grew quite lively.
The old Void Morphora hurried about, pouring tea and water for the guests, ignoring his own status as a cultivator.
As for Old Dian, his eyes never left Xuan Qi. "Acting Bureau Director, if at all possible, please help me avenge the Bai clan. I’m begging you!"
Lu Yin stared back at Old Dian. "You don’t even need to ask. If at all possible, I will fulfill my previous promise to you."
"Thank you! Thank you!" Old Dian exhaled. "Also, you don't need to worry about me. My life has already lost all value. There’s no need for you to take the risks to kill Void Morphora-level corpse kings."
"Do you think that I'm taking a risk?" Lu Yin asked.
The question startled Old Dian, and he looked down at his arm again. He had no idea when Xuan Qi had removed his hand, but the crumpled clothing served as a reminder that Old Dian’s aura had just been easily suppressed. With that sort of strength, the young man might not struggle to deal with Void Morphora-level corpse kings.
Old Dian was certain that Xuan Qi had his own secrets, but it was not possible to ask about such things.
The door to the inn suddenly opened again, and this time Lu Yin abruptly turned around to look at the woman who passed through it. She immediately looked at Lu Yin and was stunned when their eyes met.
Lu Yin stared at her, dazed. Progenitor Smoke? Why is she here? She went to help protect the Sixverse Association, so was she sent to the Voidforce Universe?
Progenitor Smoke was at least as surprised as Lu Yin at this moment, and likely even more. She had never expected to see him in the New Inn on the Voidforce Universe’s battlefield, but she was able to see through his disguise.
She was so shocked that she froze in place, which was unimaginable for a Progenitor, let alone one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.
It was only when someone said something to her that Progenitor Smoke passed through the doorway. She slowly walked towards Lu Yin, but his eyes flickered, and he gave the slightest shake of his head.
Progenitor Smoke noticed the motion and continued past him. She approached a neighboring table and took a seat at it.
Old Dian was still expressing his gratitude, but Lu Yin had not registered anything that the old man had said. He tapped the table. "You can go back to your cooking now. Don’t you see that there are new guests? As for your life, don’t throw it away."
Old Dian rose to his feet and offered a deep bow. "Thank you, Acting Bureau Director."
Progenitor Smoke’s eyebrows climbed up her forehead. Bureau Director? That was not an average title. He’s clearly been here before, but for how long? He must have spent a good bit of time in the Sixverse Association. It’s no wonder why he’s been in seclusion for so long and why I haven’t heard anything about him.
The old man moved over to pour tea for the woman. She calmly sat at her table, watching the steam rise from the cup. While it was not very good tea, there was something unique to enjoying tea in the middle of a battlefield.
"First time?" Lu Yin looked over and smiled at Progenitor Smoke.
The old man serving the tea glanced at Lu Yin and then at Progenitor Smoke. "This is the Acting Bureau Director of my Voidforce Universe."
He was offering an introduction to Progenitor Smoke. She had not revealed any hint of her strength, and as long as she restrained herself, not even Chou Bao would be able to perceive her cultivation. To anyone in the inn who looked at her, Progenitor Smoke looked like a weak woman, and people instinctively grew protective of such people.
Progenitor Smoke glanced over in an indifferent manner and watched as the old server walked away. "That’s none of your concern."
Lu Yin smiled. "Don't be so cold. It’s rare to meet people on the battlefield, and it’s simply a matter of fate."
"Such fate is pointless." Progenitor Smoke sipped her tea.
What did Lu Yin want to say?
Chou Bao walked over. He looked at Lu Yin and said, "Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi, this girl doesn't seem to welcome your attention."
"That doesn’t seem to involve you, Boss," Lu Yin replied.
Chou Bao continued to stare at Lu Yin. "No one has an easy time on the battlefield. If you are going to help her kill the enemy, then stay. If not, please give her some peace and quiet."
Lu Yin was cornered. "Alright, then I’ll head out. Boss Chou, I’ll be back soon."
With that, Lu Yin headed towards the door.
"Thank you," Progenitor Smoke addressed Chou Bao, looking at the man who was as strong as a Progenitor.
Chou Bao just nodded. "It’s the rules of my New Inn."
He then also walked away from her table.
Progenitor Smoke watched the man’s back, intrigued.
As she mulled things over, the woman looked over at the door as Lu Yin stepped through it and left the New Inn. Before he left, he turned back and glanced at Progenitor Smoke one last time.
She had left the Origin Universe in part because of Progenitor Long's death. She wanted to avenge the man, but Cheng Kong was far from an easy opponent to deal with. Supposedly, Cheng Kong had been attacked in the Big Stone Universe, but no one knew if the Aeternal powerhouse was truly dead. In fact, even if Progenitor Smoke found Cheng Kong, was she even capable of getting revenge?
After facing Old Mo, Lu Yin had gained a new understanding of the power of the strongest cultivators.
The door closed, and Lu Yin returned to the Red Zone.
...
Half a year passed since the time that Xuan Qi emerged from seclusion. This time was very peaceful, and nothing major happened aside from a few people paying visits to Xuan Qi in the Red Zone.
During this time, Lu Yin had done nothing more than capture a few spies, visit Xu Heng and Xu Leng, and chat with Xu Wuji on a few occasions. It was a rather relaxing time for him.
That peace was disrupted when Lu Yin finally received news that informed him that an opportunity he had been waiting for had arrived.
Luo Shan had gotten involved in the battle between Corpse God and Sovereign Dou Sheng on the Endless Frontier and had been badly injured. At the moment, no one knew if Luo Shan was alive or dead, as he had gone missing.
Lu Yin had received the news from Wendy Yushan.
Over the last six months, he had repeatedly tried to get in contact with Wendy Yushan, but he had no way to directly contact Proximity. Only peak powerhouses were given that privilege.
Fortunately, Wendy Yushan understood just how important the information about Luo Shan was, and she found a way to send a message to the Fifth Mainland.
Lu Yin had made arrangements for people from the Fifth Mainland to travel back and forth between the Origin Universe and the Voidforce Universe every two days so that he would be constantly informed of all matters regarding the Heavens Sect. This was also the only reason why he was able to receive the information about Luo Shan in time.
At the same time, the news regarding Luo Shan's situation was being dispersed to the Sixverse Association’s most powerful individuals.
Lu Yin went to find Xu Wuji and asked to meet with Lord Xu.
Xu Wuji was caught off guard. "You want to meet with the Voidlord? Why?"
Lu Yin replied, "When I crossed the Void Pass, I needed to explain a certain matter to Lord Xu."
Xu Wuji did not ask any further questions. "I may not be able to take you to see Lord Xu, but I will try."
Just a few days later, Xu Wuji led Lu Yin to Lord Xu.
...
Another half a month went by, and in the Transcendent Universe, Bai Qian submitted a proposal to the Great Sovereign on behalf of Lord Wei to remove the Three Monarchs Universe’s status as a member of the Sixverse Association. The reasoning behind this proposal was that no one knew if Luo Shan was dead or alive, and Monarch Mu was still missing. It was not reasonable for the Three Monarchs Universe to maintain their status by relying on the Origin Universe. It would be better to replace the universe with one of the sixty-two parallel universes that formed the Endless Frontier.
The Great Sovereign did not reject the proposal, but he also did not not immediately approve it.
However, no one knew that the Great Sovereign’s decision did not matter. What was important was that Bai Qian had submitted the proposal on behalf of Lord Wei while the ruler of the Transcendent Universe was in seclusion. This indicated that Bai Qian had the authority to represent the Transcendent Universe, which was Lu Yin’s goal.
There was no better timing than this.
After thinking everything through, Lu Yin went to the Three Monarchs Universe to speak with Chen Le. It was time for the colossal giant that was the Sixverse Association to move.
...
1. Dukkha. ☜
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