Chapter 2141: Explanation
Lu Yin had wanted to check quite a few matters with Xiao Shi’s book, but after seeing what had happened to the young man after one question, Lu Yin suppressed his curiosity and decided to wait to ask about those matters. The things that he was curious about were not casual matters, and he feared that looking into them might destroy Xiao Shi.
As Lu Yin exited the Hall of Honor’s library, a group of people were moving towards his position. All of them were members of the younger generation, and they were led by Shu Jing.
All of them stared in surprise at Lu Yin who had suddenly appeared, and after a moment of stunned silence, everyone bowed to Lu Yin. "We greet the Dao Chosen."
"We greet the Dao Chosen."
…
Lu Yin gave a curt nod as his eyes swept over the small crowd. He saw that Xi Shuang was among those following Shu Jing. They should all be the most talented members of the younger generation who were affiliated with the Hall of Honor, but none of them had been able to compete with Lu Yin even before he had disappeared. Lu Yin had surpassed these people by so much that they could not even fathom the distance between them.
"Is there still no sign of Shang Qing?" Lu Yin asked.
Shu Jing spoke up to answer, "He was trapped in Burial Garden when it was sealed, and there’s no sign of Burial Garden anywhere."
Lu Yin nodded and left. He had also failed to find any traces of Burial Garden, which was quite odd. Given the power to access the stars and planets of the Fifth Mainland that Lu Yin had inherited from Progenitor Chen, there should be nothing in the Human Domain that could remain hidden from Lu Yin. Despite that, he had not found any signs of Burial Garden.
Xi Shuang stared at Lu Yin’s back as he left, conflicting emotions in her eyes. Every time Lu Yin appeared, he ushered in great changes. Today, Lu Yin had already become the Heavens Sect’s Dao Chosen who could stand on equal footing with Semi-Progenitors. The gap that had opened up between them was really too vast.
"Brother Jing, was that really Dao Chosen Lu Yin? Did you really compete with him once?" a young and energetic girl in the group asked.
Someone else mentioned, "I remember hearing that Dao Chosen Lu Yin managed to unite both the Innerverse and the Outerverse, and he was even aiming to conquer the Neoverse when he disappeared for twenty years. However, after going missing for all that time, he suddenly returned and immediately became the Dao Chosen. That means that he’s basically united the entire Human Domain. He’s amazing!"
"It would be great to have even a tenth of the Dao Chosen's strength," the lively girl dreamily murmured to herself.
Shu Jing interjected, "Don't get ahead of yourself. A tenth? If you could actually have a tenth of Lu Yin’s power, you would have been able to participate in the Dao Chosen selection."
There was one young woman in the crowd who continued to stare in the direction that Lu Yin had disappeared. Yes, that was him.
***
Lu Yin did not want to spend too much time in the Honor Zone, as he still had many things to deal with in the Heavens Sect.
Still, there was one matter that necessitated him staying in the Honor Zone just a short while longer, as he had suddenly remembered something that he wanted to ask his senior brother for help with.
The Lockbreakers Society had already been incorporated into Backyard, and CyNet was working hard to reconnect the Human Domain’s universal network, but the overseers council had been completely disbanded.
The Hall of Honor no longer controlled the Human Domain, so there was no longer any reason for the council to exist.
However, while the overseers had lost their former status, they were still individuals who were supported by the Hall of Honor. The Hall of Honor remained the ruler of the Honor Zone, which meant that the Honor Zone still needed administrative members.
San Liang had wanted to reach out to Lu Yin countless times after he had become the Heavens Sect’s Dao Chosen, hoping to use that connection to get into the Heavens Sect. Unfortunately, while the Heavens Sect had become the dominant power that had united humanity, Lu Yin had not contacted San Liang.
There were certain people and items that did not have to be constantly used; rather, they had to be saved for the right time.
For example, there was the former overseers, San Liang, old man San Shang, Xin Jiao, and Xia Sheng, who was Xia Yi’s illegitimate child. There were also people like Zhu San and the Umbral Butterfly Tribe’s Ah Mu and Angie. All of these people were contacts of Lu Yin whom almost no one knew had connections to him.
Lu Yin did not need to use these connections, but their existence was vital. Utilizing such resources could allow miraculous events to take place.
The Arbitration World had been destroyed by the Seven Skygods, but the Hall of Honor had far more than a single hidden world, and the World League was capable of creating, repairing, and selling hidden worlds.
A new Arbitration World had already been created, and it looked no different from the original, with the sole exception that it felt a little bit less intimidating.
Arch-Elder Zen had handed over control of the Honor Zone to Qing Ping a bit early. If the Chief Justice encountered any mishaps in the Perennial World, Arch-Elder Zen would have to return to run the Honor Zone.
"Senior Brother, our Human Domain must have planted spies and informants in the Astral Beast Domain over the years. I need access to those people," Lu Yin stated.
Qing Ping replied, "We do have some people. What do you want to do with them?"
Lu Yin had no reason to hide anything, so he shared what he knew about Skymender collecting humanoid sourceboxes and how the mysterious astral beast worshiped the unknown statue.
Qing Ping was quite surprised by all of the information. "How do you know about all this?"
"I can use Progenitor Chen's power to observe the universe through stars and planets." Lu Yin had already thought of a perfect excuse, as no one could argue against such a possibility.
Qing Ping commented, "While Progenitor Chen's power clearly does not extend into the Astral Beast Domain, his power still allows you to observe that place. He really was an incredibly powerful Progenitor."
After an emotional moment, Qing Ping gave Lu Yin a list of names.
"These are all the people or astral beasts who can help you, but if Skymender has hidden that place as well as I suspect, then only this person will be able to help you." Qing Ping pointed at a name in the very middle of the list.
Lu Yin looked at the name. Feng Shou?
"That’s just a code name. This creature is a creeper who’s second only to the race’s patriarch. He has the power of an Envoy," Qing Ping explained.
The older man spoke blandly, but the information was startling to Lu Yin. "A creeper second only to their patriarch?"
Qing Ping stared at Lu Yin. "Surprised? Given the many years of war between the two domains, it’s only natural that we humans have attempted everything imaginable to infiltrate the Astral Beast Domain. It’s perfectly normal to have a mole or two with such a high status. There must be spies for the astral beasts within the Human Domain that we don’t know about either."
Lu Yin laughed. He had been limited in his thinking. If humans could betray humanity for Aeternus or the Astral Beast Domain, then how could it be impossible for astral beasts to betray their own for the Human Domain? Lu Yin had already been considering the possibility of planting hidden spies within Aeternus, so why was he surprised to learn of a creeper who worked as a spy for the Human Domain?
"If this creeper is second only to their patriarch, then just how long has this mole been groomed?" Lu Yin asked.
"This is something that Arch-Elder Zen developed, so I can’t answer that. I only recently acquired this list, and the most valuable contact that we have is that creeper. If any of our people can find the location that you mentioned, it would be that one."
"How do I get in touch?" Lu Yin asked.
Qing Ping replied, "That mole was never intended to be used or contacted unless absolutely necessary, so the contact method is quite complicated. It will take a bit of time to establish contact."
"We can’t wait around, Senior Brother. This matter is extremely important. No one knows where humanoid sourceboxes came from, or what they mean. However, when I was traveling through time, I saw the fall of the Fourth Mainland. At that moment, there were endless humanoid sourceboxes that appeared at its moment of destruction. If Skymender has spent so much time collecting them, it can’t be something simple," Lu Yin said.
Qing Ping looked towards the east. "We spent twenty years fighting against Aeternus, but we constantly kept an eye on the Astral Beast Domain. We grew increasingly wary as they did nothing. Humans are thought of as the most intelligent race of creatures, but there are astral beasts who are just as smart as us."
Lu Yin agreed that Skymender was disturbingly intelligent. Humans were not necessarily the most powerful creatures in the universe. Many odd life forms had appeared throughout time that were capable of threatening humans with extinction, but all of them had eventually disappeared. The only reason why humanity had survived for so long was by uniting.
Lu Yin would not execute Ni Huang or any of the others from the Perennial World without just cause, and it was precisely because he understood that humanity needed to stay united. Lu Yin did not hold back because of mercy, but rather because he could not afford to set such a precedent. As soon as internal conflicts erupted, it would spell the doom of humanity.
Humans remained humans because there were lines that they would not cross.
Lu Yin left the Honor Zone and returned to the Heavens Sect. As he was waiting for the shipment of star essence from the Technocracy and word from the Astral Beast Domain, Lu Yin went to meet with Elder Qing Xing.
The two met atop a mountain that was inside the Heavens Sect’s grounds.
There were hundreds of such mountains within the Heavens Sect, each of which was large enough to carry stars or act as a Semi-Progenitor’s home. Although it was merely an imitation, the modern Heavens Sect had been built with the size and scale of the original Heavens Sect in mind. The resources and time available to humans in the current era was not enough to truly rebuild the Heavens Sect.
Still, the construction of the modern Heavens Sect was absolutely stunning.
Elder Qing Xing had no idea what to say as he stared at Lu Yin's back.
"Elder Qing Xing, do you still remember the first time we met?" Lu Yin asked in a casual tone.
The elder quietly replied, "It was in the White Dragon clan’s ancestral home in the Middle Realm. You were known as Long Qi at that time."
Lu Yin smiled. "That’s right. The universe never stops changing. Elder, did you ever consider that you would end up as my prisoner?"
Elder Qing Xing’s voice grew bitter. "If I had known that, I-"
The old man suddenly paused.
Lu Yin turned around to look at the silent man. "What would you have done differently back then?"
Elder Qing Xing shook his head. "There’s no point in thinking about such things. How do you intend to punish me, Dao Chosen? Please tell me."
Lu Yin waved a hand, inviting the older man to join him in a nearby gazebo. A stream trickled down the mountain a short distance away, and the surroundings were shrouded with clouds and mist, creating a picturesque scene. "Let’s sit and talk."
Elder Qing Xing was caught off guard, but he did not refuse. The worst possible outcome that he could face would be death. The prisoners from the Perennial World had already learned of Wang Si’s fate, so they were quite clear on Lu Yin’s ruthlessness.
Lu Yin waved a hand, and Zhao Ran ran over in a happy manner to deliver some herbal tea.
Elder Qing Xing stared in horror at the glass set before him. Was this poison?
On the stone table between the two men sat two cups of herbal tea that looked disturbingly odd. The liquid was a dark-red color, but there was something swimming about in the tea. That movement was clearly swimming, right?
Lu Yin's eye twitched, and he could not help but glance over at Zhao Ran. Her herbal teas were getting worse and worse to look at.
Elder Qing Xing stared at his cup of tea in confusion, but then he looked at the tea sitting in front of Lu Yin. The old man only grew more and more befuddled.
Was this poison? Why? If Lu Yin wanted him to die, there was no need to use poison, as a single palm strike would be enough to eliminate the old man. On top of that, there was a matching cup of tea in front of Lu Yin. Just what was going on?
Qing Xing looked over at Lu Yin with a questioning expression.
Lu Yin automatically checked his tea with Truesight, and there was nothing unusual to be seen.
He knew that there was no chance that Zhao Ran would ever deliberately try to harm him, but it was difficult for anyone to force themselves to drink her tea. It was similar to Coco’s syringe. Even when people knew that it was an innate gift that could heal, no one wanted to be poked by such a terrifying needle.
"Elder, have a taste," Lu Yin encouraged with a smile as he looked across the table at Elder Qing Xing.
The old man gulped as he stared at Lu Yin. Qing Xing could not resist glancing over at Zhao Ran as well, only to see an overwhelming expectation in the young woman’s eyes. What was with that expression? Was she that eager to see the old man poisoned to death?
After staring at the herbal tea for a long time, Elder Qing Xing broke down. "Dao Chosen, I would like to say something."
"There’s no rush. We can chat after we enjoy our tea," Lu Yin replied.
Will we still be able to speak after drinking this tea? Elder Qing Xing's face twisted terribly. Even if he could not understand why there were two cups of this terrifying tea, he was absolutely certain that nothing good would come of drinking this liquid. "Dao Chosen, I’m actually from the Fifth Mainland."
Lu Yin did not show a single hint of surprise. "There’s no need to worry, Elder. Zhao Ran worked hard to prepare this tea, so we can speak after we enjoy the fruits of her labor. Her teas are delicious."
Elder Qing Xing spasmed. Why don't you drink yours then?
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