Chapter 2316: Cooperation
Jue Yi turned back around to stare at Lu Yin. At the moment, the man looked both entirely alone and completely miserable. "You knew I'd attack you?"
Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back. "I knew that you wanted to try it, and there are very few places you could do so in the entire Fifth Mainland."
Jue Yi closed his eyes. "You are the God of Death’s heir. Kill me if you want."
At this moment, Yao Di finally woke up.
Lu Yin turned around to look at the emperor, interested to see how things would play out.
Hen Xin, Jue Yi, and the jiao all looked at Yao Di as well. The Celestial Demon was large enough to draw even the jiao’s attention.
Everything fell silent as everyone stared at Yao Di.
His consciousness returned, and his eyes opened to see the jiao.
Confusion filled Yao Di’s eyes as he stared at the massive beast, certain that there was a mistake with his vision.
The jiao stared back, raised its claws, and then let out a terrifying roar. At the same time, it released the pressure of a Progenitor, and the beast’s aura swept through the universe.
Hen Xin and Jue Yi had both been born during the Heavens Sect era, and they had met more than one Progenitor before. Such powerhouses were far from unknown to the two men. On the other hand, Yao Di was completely different, and he reflexively curled up as a Progenitor’s might swept out. None of the dignity of the emperor of the Celestial Beast Empire could be seen at all.
As for the other astral beasts nearby, none of them dared to even raise their heads.
They were overwhelmed by their biological instincts, which was something that not even Yao Di could overcome.
The jiao felt quite smug at this moment, as this was the reaction that it craved. Those little guys whom it had threatened before had been the abnormal ones, as they had shown absolutely no fear.
The deafening roar gave Lu Yin a headache, so he ordered, "Shut up!"
The jiao was furious, as who dared to interrupt its moment of glory? However, a glance revealed the culprit to be Lu Yin, and he was holding that vile slipper. So, the jiao fell silent and did not dare to make another sound.
It would never forget the lessons that Lu Yin had beaten into its bones. Lu Yin had deliberately set the broken saber atop the jiao’s head, just to constantly intimidate the beast. The combination of its fear of the broken blade and the terror of that slipper meant the jiao obeyed Lu Yin’s every word.
Yao Di was still quivering. The innate fear of facing a Progenitor-level creature left him unwilling to raise his head at all.
Lu Yin realized that he had held an overinflated opinion of the Astral Beast Domain. No matter how intelligent Skymender might be, or how powerful Yao Di was, they remained astral beasts that were bound by instincts. That made them fundamentally different from humans.
The Aeternals believed humans to be flawed and that human emotions were a weakness, but were they not also humanity’s strengths?
Astral beasts also possessed emotions, though their emotions were far simpler and straightforward than what humans experienced. On top of that, astral beasts were also easily suppressed by their instinct. Humans, even when faced with a Progenitor, might not become as helpless as an astral beast in the same circumstances.
"Yao Di," Lu Yin called out.
The massive form of the Celestial Demon trembled, and then it slowly raised its head. Instead of looking at Lu Yin, Yao Di was still staring at the jiao.
As for the jiao, it was still staring at Yao Di. Even though the beast had suppressed its overwhelming aura, its innate pressure that squeezed Yao Di’s very soul made it difficult for him to breathe.
"This is my mount," Lu Yin stated.
It was only then that Yao Di noticed Lu Yin’s presence, and shock filled the emperor’s eyes. "Lu Yin?"
"We meet again." Lu Yin casually greeted the miserable emperor.
Yao Di stared at Lu Yin, but then he was irresistibly drawn to stare at the jiao once more. "So it turns out that the rumors are all true. Did you really force a Progenitor-level beast to submit to you?"
A smile spread across Lu Yin's face. "Do you want to see if you can escape from it?"
Yao Di felt his hair stand on end as he processed Lu Yin’s question, and he glanced back at the jiao yet again. The fear and suppression going through Yao Di were quickly transforming into despair. "What are you going to do?"
Lu Yin laughed. "I am a human being who was part of reestablishing the Heavens Sect, yet the gifts that you sent for our opening ceremony were open threats. What do you think I’m going to do?"
Yao Di’s heart fell as he was reminded of what had happened. He had lost control of the Extreme Path, and there was absolutely nothing in the entire Astral Beast Domain that could pose any sort of threat to Lu Yin anymore.
Finally, Yao Di noticed Jue Yi’s presence behind Lu Yin, right behind the young man! The Celestial Demon could not help but look at the Semi-Progenitor.
"What? You want Jue Yi to attack me?" Lu Yin asked in a careless manner.
The question startled Yao Di. How did Lu Yin know about their cooperation?
Jue Yi bitterly let out a breath. As he had expected, even if he had not attacked Lu Yin when he saw the opening, he would have been forced to attack by Yao Di. Even not attacking would have exposed Jue Yi’s betrayal, and he would have lost any opportunity to attack Lu Yin after that.
Yao Di had fallen unconscious, so he was unaware of what had happened during that time. But between Lu Yin’s words and the jiao’s presence, it was not difficult to piece together a rough idea of what had happened: Jue Yi had attacked and failed.
Jue Yi was a powerhouse Skymender had spent almost an entire year trying to seduce. They had already created a plan to lure Lu Yin into the Astral Beast Domain and kill him, but shockingly, the plan had failed before they could even initiate it. Worst of all, the Extreme Path had been lost, which meant that there was no chance of the astral beasts making a comeback.
"Alright, I don’t have time to waste on pointless conversations with you." Lu Yin then appeared on top of the jiao’s head, and he gave the beast a command.
The jiao’s aura fell; one wave struck Jue Yi while another smashed into Yao Di.
The Celestial Demon’s instinctive fear took over, and all desire to resist was swept away.
As for Jue Yi, he wanted to fight back, but Hen Xin was keeping an eye on the man. With Hen Xin’s wariness combined with the jiao’s presence, Jue Yi knew that he stood no chance at all.
Ultimately, Jue Yi was severely injured before being thrown into Zenith Mountain, and Yao Di was caught. Lu Yin then dragged the emperor along as he headed towards the center of the Celestial Beast Empire. As for the Extreme Path, it was left for Hen Xin to protect.
Lu Yin might not trust Hen Xin, but the man was still a human, and he would not risk humanity by threatening Lu Yin with the Extreme Path.
As he stared at the jiao’s shrinking back, Hen Xin knew that, in the future, the Fifth Mainland would completely fall under Lu Yin’s control. There was no one who could stop him.
…
The power of a Progenitor’s strength swept over the Astral Beast Domain as the jiao brazenly released the full power of its aura. The Astral Beast Domain shook in the jiao’s passage, and countless creatures automatically surrendered.
Lu Yin sat atop the jiao's head as the creature moved through the Astral Beast Domain, and he observed various areas that were filled with strange species of astral beasts.
The jiao did not move quickly, as Lu Yin needed to gain a clear impression of the Astral Beast Domain. After all, it was about to belong to him.
"Up ahead is the Profound Void Realm, which is the region inhabited by Void Wanderers," Yao Di introduced in a weak voice. He had been severely injured by the jiao, and he was in no state to fight back against even Lu Yin at this moment.
Lu Yin looked towards the area, and he saw a single Void Wanderer drifting about. The deeper he traveled into the region, the more Void Wanderers he saw. A stream of the void swept through outer space, powerful enough to overpower even an Enlighter.
This void stream was a unique feature of the Profound Void Realm. The Ghost Monkey had been the first to tell Lu Yin about this region of outer space, and Lu Yin had used that knowledge to deceive the Daynight clan. Thinking back, Lu Yin remembered that the Ghost Monkey had claimed that the Third Nightking was still trapped in the Profound Void Realm…
Since Lu Yin was already present, he decided to check to see if the man was still around.
The jiao’s claws rose up, and the aura of a Progenitor surged as the Profound Void Realm was torn apart.
Within the Profound Void Realm, the ancestor of the Void Wanderers was terrified by the pressure that overcame him, and he was struck by an endless fear. It recognized the power of a Progenitor, and he knew that this was a power he could not resist.
The Void Wanderer ancestor did not try to escape as the Profound Void Realm was destroyed. Thus, the massive astral beast was exposed so that Lu Yin could once again see the enormous creature.
The sight of the ancestor of the Void Wanderers reminded Lu Yin of the battlefield where they had last met. If the Void Wanderers’ ancestor had not been wearing Progenitor Wushang’s hide at that time, the Astral Beast Domain’s forces would not have been able to stop Lan Xian. Lu Yin’s own piece of Progenitor Wushang’s hide had been stolen at that time, but he no longer needed it.
Even if the Void Wanderers’ ancestor was still wearing Progenitor Wushang’s hide, such a thing would not have too much of an influence on the jiao.
The massive Void Wanderer was actually almost as large as the jiao, and upon seeing the enormous astral beast, the jiao automatically raised its claws to threaten the creature while disgust filled the jiao’s eyes. As far as the jiao was concerned, creatures that had not even reached the Semi-Progenitor level did not deserve its attention.
The largest Void Wanderers pointedly showed his willing surrender.
"It's just a bit bigger than the others, but it doesn’t have any sort of attack power. What a pity." The truth of the Void Wanderers’ ancestor was fully revealed to Lu Yin at this moment. It was just an overly large astral beast.
Yao Di weakly replied, "The Void Wanderers are ranked among the top ten species of astral beasts due to their incredible numbers. Aside from that, they’re rather useless."
Lu Yin looked at the Profound Void Realm that had been destroyed, and he released his domain and let it sweep out. He only found more and more Void Wanderers. However, observing the countless astral beasts made Lu Yin a bit excited. These creatures were actually quite capable, as even the weakest of them could travel through the void. Their presence would allow even new cultivators to travel through the void, which would save countless lives.
How were these creatures anything less than an absolute treasure?
Thoughts of new possibilities cause Lu Yin's eyes to light up. These astral beasts would transform the battlefield.
That thought triggered another one, and Lu Yin turned to Yao Di. "Are these Void Wanderers able to travel through the void anywhere?"
"Yes."
"What if space is so stable that only Envoys are able to tear through the void?" Lu Yin pressed.
Yao Di replied, "Void Wanderers don't tear through the space to enter the void, as their innate ability is to swim through the void and freely move through it. Even if it looks like they are tearing the space open, , the truth is that it’s just switching states for them."
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. He was thinking of the Perennial World.
In that place, only Envoys were capable of tearing through the void to travel through it, while it remained impossible for anyone weaker, even Enlighters. However, if these Void Wanderers were truly capable of freely traveling through the void, then they could carry others with them? Would that not grant control of the void? What would happen if weaker cultivators were granted access to the void?
If the Fifth Mainland’s Enlighters could travel through the void in the Perennial World with the help of the Void Wanderers, then they would be able to freely escape the Perennial World’s Enlighters if they ever encountered a dangerous situation. The Void Wanderers would make victory much, much easier for Enlighters.
This was also only just one possibility. If more humans on the rear battlefield were able to travel through the void, then far more lives would be saved. In fact, survival rates might rise 10 to 20%.
This thought sobered Lu Yin greatly, and he quickly sent a message to Lu Buzheng, informing the man that he wanted to incorporate the Void Wanderers into the military to help save human lives.
The Astral Beast Domain was home to countless strange creatures, such as sound monsters, creepers, essence eaters, and more. Lu Yin used to think about how he could counter such strange abilities, but if those same astral beasts cooperated with humans, then how drastic would the changes on the battlefield prove to be?
Back in the Heavens Sect, Lu Buzheng immediately sent Lu Yin a reply with a wireless jincan.
"I thought that you already knew about this. In truth, humans and astral beasts fought together side by side back in the Heavens Sect era. Back then, the humans on the other five Mainlands frequently visited the Fourth Mainland to find suitable astral beasts to raise, such as a Celestial Demon. Such creatures can compensate for specific weaknesses, such as spiritual force. A Void Thunderbeast can compensate for insufficient speed, and there are many others that are also well suited to fighting with humans, such as the Celestial Ice Phoenixes, and many more," Lu Buzheng explained.
"Back then, astral beasts were slaves," Lu Yin said, his voice dropping a bit.
.
Lu Yin had heard of slavery many times before. Aside from the Aeternals enslaving humans, Lu Yin had most frequently heard of slavery from Hen Xin and Jue Yi. Both of the men had mentioned that, during the Heaven Sect era, humanity had enslaved all other species.
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