Chapter 2497: Perfect And Flawless
The Transcendent Universe had fully developed two cultivation technologies: Bestowal Art and Energy Source. Both could be seen on the massive carrier.
"These carriers rarely appear outside the Transcendent Universe. The fact that they moved such a massive one here shows just how importantly the Ruling Council views the Cloudflow Universe," Mu Duo muttered.
Lu Yin replied, "Yes, these carriers are rare."
Mu Duo sneered. "Rare? That’s an understatement. There aren’t more than ten of these even in the entire Transcendent Universe. When the Cyclic Universe asked to borrow one, the Ruling Council's conditions were so harsh that the Cyclic Universe immediately abandoned the thought. They are the Transcendent Universe's greatest weapons. How could we allow them to be taken away? The fact that one is here means that something huge is about to happen, and it has to be connected to the woman that Luo Lao'er mentioned earlier: Zi Jing."
Lu Yin stared off into outer space. Would Zi Jing's prediction come true? After all, even she was not certain.
Despite only having a vague theory, it had been so terrifying to Zi Jing that she had fled her homeland. If the cultivation technology that she had been researching succeeded, then the consequences would be unimaginable.
Lu Yin had initially believed the possibility to be quite low, but after seeing just how high a price the Transcendent Universe was willing to pay, her fears might actually prove to be true.
Qiu Zhan led the group to a specific section of the Bestowal Carrier. Outer space stretched out above them, and all around them were metal platforms.
Qiu Zhan pointed to a nearby cube and said, "I know that this is common sense, but that thing can never be allowed to protrude from the carrier. That's your mission. Even if none of you manage to survive, that thing cannot ever protrude out. Now, start, following the order that you received your energy converters."
From the thousands of people here, a single young man walked up to the cube. He took a deep breath before placing his palm on the item. A green light bloomed from his chest, and a surge of power rushed into him. He pushed with all his strength, thrusting his hand deep into the machinery. After about half of his arm was submerged, the platform activated. Green light spread along the length of the metal platform, flowing in every direction and connecting to other platforms.
Lu Yin looked around and saw that there were many other similar platforms. Some shone brightly, while others remained pitch black. The platforms also shone with different colors, which was probably dependent on the person who had charged them.
Qiu Zhan said, "Remember, that cube must never protrude out. If it does, it will be regarded as a violation of military orders, and all of you will be punished accordingly."
"General, what if the enemy attacks?" one girl asked softly.
Qiu Zhan glared at her. "Fulfill your orders, even if doing so results in your death."
He then pointed toward Luo Lao'er and said, "He is your team’s captain, so listen to him."
With that, the older man disappeared.
As soon as Qiu Zhan was gone, people let out sighs of relief and quickly started chatting with each other as they visibly relaxed.
Luo Lao'er was rooted in place, clearly dazed. What was going on? Why was he the captain?
Zuo Yu, Mu Duo, and many others turned to look at Luo Lao'er, surprised that he had been appointed as their captain.
"Captain, what are your orders? What should we do?" Mu Duo asked.
Zuo Yu laughed. "Captain, why don't you show us your blue energy converter?"
"Captain, do Monarch Luo and Qiu Zhan know each other?" someone else asked.
Luo Lao'er felt like crying. He did not want to be the captain. What did this entire situation have to do with him? He had just wanted to go about his business quietly and listen to rumors. He had never wanted to bear such responsibility.
He wanted to look for Qiu Zhan, but how was he supposed to find the man on the vast carrier?
"Everyone, I feel like we're all like brothers and sisters. Why don't we just go home?"
At the same time, back in the Transcendent Universe, Zi Jing was kneeling on the floor. She was in front of a staircase that had flowers blooming on each step. Strange creatures danced about, laughing happily.
"Zi Jing, it’s been a very long time," a sweet voice spoke from up above.
Zi Jing trembled and looked up towards the top of the stairs, where a woman was sitting behind a cloud that had the colors of a rainbow. While it was impossible to see the woman’s face, Zi Jing could already tell that this woman was perfect and flawless.
She was a truly perfect woman. There was no need to see her face or anything else about her. Just a single glance was enough to know this to be true.
"It has been a long time," Zi Jing replied in a hoarse voice. She lowered her eyes and saw that the stairs had disappeared, as had the cute creatures, the happy laughter, and the beautiful flowers. All that remained was an immeasurable gap between her and the woman atop the stairs. This woman was someone whom Zi Jing could never reach.
"Your escape gave the Ruling Council a hard time, but luckily, it didn't last too long," said the woman at the top of the stairs with a pleasant voice.
"I was wrong," Zi Jing said in a low voice.
"Raise your eyes," the woman ordered.
Zi Jing subconsciously looked up, only to see an image appear in the air. There were pictures of Lu Yin standing on the Bestowal Art carrier, and confusion could be seen in his eyes.
"Look at him. He understands nothing, knows nothing. With a power level of just over 200,000, he's less than an ant on that battlefield and can be easily crushed. How can such a person hope to survive the battlefield?" The woman's voice grew soft, though her words were enough to send shivers down one's spine.
Zi Jing’s eyes went wide. "You promised that you wouldn't harm him!"
"Haha, of course we won't. Not only will we not harm him, but we'll also even train him. I want him to stay alive. His survival is valuable to both you and to us. However, everything depends on your loyalty, Zi Jing. I don't sense any loyalty from you. The less loyal you are, the more confused and frightened he’ll become.
“Humans are so interesting, aren't they? When they express their emotions, their expressions also change. I can't wait to see how his eyes will change," the woman continued.
Zi Jing lowered her head in a respectful manner. "I have already informed the Ruling Council that I will loyally complete the task assigned to me. There will be no hesitation or any thought of escape for the rest of my life."
"Alright, I can finally see a speck of loyalty within you. As a reward, I'll allow you to speak to him, and I will even bring him here," the woman said.
"Thank you," Zi Jing said.
"By the way, write down everything that you know about the universe you fled to. After all, that is the Origin Universe. There is value in learning about it," the woman said.
Zi Jing nodded. "I understand."
"You may leave."
…
Stepping onto a battlefield meant that one was heading into war.
Six days after Lu Yin and the others arrived at the carrier, battle erupted.
Countless corpse kings suddenly appeared, and they all charged straight at the Bestowal Carrier.
The carrier’s mechanical extensions slaughtered the corpse kings ruthlessly. It was like watching a giant in outer space freely massacring the enemy.
This lasted for more than ten days. Once damage to the machinery started to build up slightly, the corpse kings were able to begin approaching the carrier.
Lu Yin watched calmly as the huge carrier slaughtered countless corpse kings for ten days. There were even Envoy-level corpse kings among the victims. Just how many had it killed? It proved itself worthy of its title of a machine of war. If only the Fifth Mainland had such a carrier!
It was important to note that not a single person from the Transcendent Universe had been injured thus far.
Once the mechanical extensions were destroyed and the corpse kings started to approach the carrier, various weapons fired out, and countless odd-looking people with horns on their heads rushed out.
"Those are natives of this Cloudflow Universe. I learned about them during my studies," someone exclaimed.
Someone else nearby scoffed, "Who hasn't seen them? The Cloudflow Universe is the largest parallel universe that our Transcendent Universe has taken over. Everyone knows about the situation here."
Lu Yin really wanted to comment that he did not, but no one would explain things to him.
Everyone watched as countless indigenous creatures of the Cloudflow Universe rushed off into outer space, as though racing to sacrifice themselves. All of the creatures used gray energy converters, but they also had the ability to freely move about outer space. They were the perfect cannon fodder for the Transcendent Universe.
The creatures looked nearly identical to humans, except for the horns on their heads. For the Transcendent Universe, these creatures were not considered human, but rather mere beasts.
Suddenly, Lu Yin noticed a particularly powerful corpse king break away from the rest of the crowd and charge toward the Bestowal Carrier, quickly moving closer and closer.
As soon as it was within a range, the corpse king abruptly released a punch. However, the force of the punch suddenly vanished, and the corpse king was instead shot down by the carrier's weapons.
Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. The force of the incoming attack had been absorbed by the energy converters. They had refined and absorbed the power of the corpse king's attack.
The battle ended quickly without the corpse kings ever getting even close to where the people from the Transcendent Universe were standing.
Then, the carrier shook and began moving forward.
"I guess that we're going to reclaim control of the Cloudflow Universe," Luo Lao'er said thoughtfully while stroking his chin.
"I'm running low on energy," the girl standing at the cube reported. Half of her arm was inside the cube, and the light given off by the energy converter in her chest was growing dim.
Luo Lao'er waved a hand. "Next."
Many people looked at Mu Duo. It was his turn.
Mu Duo called out, "Xuan Qi, you go."
Lu Yin remained calm and did not refuse the order. He stepped forward, feeling rather curious.
When he arrived next to the girl, she looked over at him. "Are you ready?"
Lu Yin nodded.
The woman quickly pulled her hand out, while Lu Yin immediately inserted his arm into the cube. It was cold to the touch and had a metallic texture. He immediately activated the energy converter in his chest, and power spread through his body in an instant.
This was an external form of power, and using it allowed Lu Yin to finally understand what it felt like for the people of the Transcendent Universe to use an energy converter.
This power was completely different from cultivated power, but it was able to easily be used.
As the green light spread out, no one paid any more attention to Lu Yin.
"Mu Duo, don't tell me that you're planning to slack off," Zuo Yu accused.
Mu Duo replied, "Xuan Qi will take my place. It’s just a matter of running a few more errands."
After charging the cube, each person then needed to travel to a rather distant location to recharge their energy converter. It took an entire day to make the trip and return.
Mu Duo had ordered Lu Yin to replace him, which meant that while others needed to make the trip once per round, Lu Yin needed to go twice.
However, he did not mind.
Since Lu Yin himself did not mind, no one else did either. After all, Mu Duo was someone with a huge power backing him.
Of course, Mu Duo claimed that Lu Yin had volunteered to help; otherwise, Lu Yin would undoubtedly be bullied to death by the muscular youth's group.
"Becoming my follower is his good luck. Many people beg for this opportunity," Mu Duo proudly proclaimed.
He was not wrong. Many people volunteered to help the others in Mu Duo's group, but not everyone was qualified to do so.
Zuo Yu chose someone to take her place, as did everyone else in the small group, except for Luo Lao'er. Even though he was the captain of the entire team, he was also someone from the Three Monarchs Universe, which meant that there was no point trying to get in his good graces.
Luo Lao'er looked rather pathetic. Despite being the team captain, he still needed to personally take action. How humiliating.
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