Chapter 2570: That Power
At this moment, Arch-Elder Zen, who had disguised himself as Fenglei Guishan, revealed his true appearance. Three streams of ancestral Qi flowed around his body before taking on the forms of three individuals. The first form unleashed a blizzard that froze the countless silver needles, starting from below. The cold restrained Monarch Mu's Progenitor's world.
The second form raised a hand, and the earth surged upwards to form a single needle that shot at Monarch Mu. This was Hidden Needle, and the figure who had used it was the summoned Lu Tianyi from Arch-Elder Zen’s Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.
The summoned Lu Tianyi had been released several times after Arch-Elder Zen had successfully become a Progenitor. However, this was the first time that Lu Tianyi’s true power had been displayed.
The Hidden Needle pierced Monarch Mu's Progenitor's world and stabbed into her shoulder. She was horrified to see that she had been injured, and blood leaked from the wound, splattering onto the ground.
Monarch Mu was left aghast. How was this possible? Not only had the earthen needle broken through her divine hologram, it had also pierced her body despite the protection of the power vessel that she was wearing. Even if Monarch Luo was capable of breaking Monarch Mu’s divine hologram, he would still find it difficult to injure her.
She needed to escape. Staying around was not an option.
Monarch Mu tore the void open once again, as she attempted to escape. However, she had failed to notice the invisible streams of energy that had already appeared around her. She was surrounded by a sourcebox array: As If Closed. The summoned form of Progenitor Hui from the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique had taken action.
As If Closed had once sent Lu Yin into despair when he faced it during ZENITH. If he had not managed to trigger the God of Death Transformation, he would have never been able to break free from the sourcebox array.
There were few people who possessed the power to break free from As If Closed when used by someone with the same level of power. On top of that, Progenitor Hui had not been weak.
Monarch Mu screamed, "Do you understand the consequences of attacking me? Do you think that the Sixverse Association will spare you?"
Lu Yin looked up from deep underground. He was already holding the God of Death's scythe in his hand. He lifted it high, and the sea of death energy split in two.
When Monarch Mu saw the energy move, her pupils contracted. While Lu Yin clearly was not a Progenitor himself, his attack was far more frightening than what her two Progenitor opponents had released so far. She did not hesitate, and her monarch essence fully erupted. A glass bottle appeared above the Monarch’s head, and it started devouring her surroundings. As If Closed was warped and twisted. This was the woman’s innate gift, and it was something that she rarely used, even in the Three Monarchs Universe. However, at this moment, she had no other choice.
As If Closed flickered, and Monarch Mu grabbed the opportunity to tear through the void. However, Mu Xie took action yet again. His Origin Tracer negated everything that had happened at Monarch Mu's location. As If Closed was negated, as was the glass bottle, and even the void that Monarch Mu had torn apart.
Origin Tracer was not invincible, and it could only briefly undo what had been done. Monarch Mu had also been prepared for it. The moment the void recovered, she moved again. Mu Xie's battle technique was beyond her comprehension, but the more mysterious the technique was, the less frequently it could be used. She knew that it could not be used again so soon.
Even so, it was already enough. Origin Tracer had managed to delay Monarch Mu for a moment, and in that moment, an unassuming path had appeared between the woman and the spatial tear that she had created. This was Arch-Elder Zen's Progenitor's world.
Because of the presence of Time Poison, Arch-Elder Zen had shattered his inner world and then recreated it in the middle of his Progenitor's tribulation. He had created his Serene Path while vowing to support Lu Yin. This was the only purpose of his path—it existed to allow people to travel along the path. Ignoring any sort of physical distance, it delivered Lu Yin before Monarch Mu.
The woman stared blankly at Lu Yin, recalling what the Three Monarchs Universe had learned from Sage Yuan. Lu Yin was the Heavens Sect’s Dao Monarch, as well as the person that the three Monarchs had agreed to cooperate with Xia Shenji to fight against. Was Lu Yin the person behind this trap? Why had he allied himself with the Fenglei clan? How had he managed to set up an ambush for her? When had he started plotting against her?
Countless questions flooded Monarch Mu's mind, but they were all instantly replaced by an excruciating pain that started coursing through her body, bringing an oppressive fear. The God of Death's power entered her body from Lu Yin’s ruthless attack that used the God of Death's scythe. The Monarch was severely injured, and death energy filled her body. This latter part had been Lu Yin's true intention.
Without death energy suppressing the Monarch, how could he hope to imprison such a powerhouse?
Monarch Mu plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily into the ground.
What they had just witnessed left the Fenglei clansmen reeling in unparalleled shock. How long had the three Monarchs ruled over their universe as invincible powerhouses? Everyone from the Three Monarchs Universe believed that the three Monarchs would rule for all eternity. However, they were now seeing Monarch Mu lying on the ground, severely injured. The shock of this moment was something that they would never be able to forget.
Luo Lao'er's entire body trembled, but was it from the excitement of revenge? No, he had not yet taken revenge for himself. What he was feeling was a mix of excitement, admiration, and the desire to personally obtain a power that would allow him to do the same to Monarch Mu.
Luo Lao’er stared at Monarch Mu. Her hair was slick with blood that ran into the ground. In a daze, the young man slowly approached the woman. The once high and mighty powerhouse who had always looked down on everyone and oppressed the Fenglei clan to the point where Luo Lao’er had barely been able to even breathe was now laying defeated before him.
Lu Yin exhaled and put away the God of Death's scythe before landing on the ground himself.
Arch-Elder Zen and Mu Xie landed as well.
"This woman is certainly no weakling," Arch-Elder Zen marveled, "If not for your assistance, Mu Xie, we wouldn't have been able to prevent her from leaving."
Mu Xie replied, "No matter what, she is a Progenitor."
Lu Yin flexed his arm. "So what if she's a Progenitor? She still fell. Thank you, Senior Brother."
Mu Xie looked over at Lu Yin and said, "The Three Monarchs Universe cannot become a weakness for Aeternus to exploit and harm humanity."
Lu Yin solemnly answered, "Don't worry. Without Monarch Mu there, someone else will need to step up. That responsibility is going to fall upon Xia Shenji. After all, he just so happens to already be in the Three Monarchs Universe."
This was the plan that Lu Yin and Wang Wen had come up with. After Luo Lao'er lured Monarch Mu to Aeternus Nation, they would capture her in that small parallel universe, which would leave the Three Monarchs Universe vulnerable. That weakened state would force Xia Shenji, as well as Bai Wangyuan and others, to support the Three Monarchs Universe, which would relieve some of the pressure that the Fifth Mainland was facing.
Naturally, if the situation grew worse, Lu Yin would release Monarch Mu. The final decision lay in his hands.
The plan was far from flawless. If Monarch Mu had arrived together with Monarch Xing or Monarch Luo, if Monarch Mu had given up on the materials she wanted, or if any unexpected change had occurred along the way, then the plan would have utterly failed. There was no such thing as a perfect plan, and even Progenitor Hui's calculations had gone awry. That had resulted in ZENITH taking place after the Sixth Mainland threatened the Fifth Mainland. Lu Yin was well aware of the fact that he lacked the same sort of strategic mind as Progenitor Hui, which meant that perfection was completely unattainable.
They had only intended to execute the plan for as long as it remained viable.
Cough, cough!
Monarch Mu coughed up blood. When she opened her eyes, her vision was a blur of red.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Lu Yin. Welcome to the Origin Universe, Monarch Mu," Lu Yin said with a smile on his face.
Monarch Mu glanced at the young man, but then she looked at Arch-Elder Zen and Mu Xie. "How did you two end up working with the Fenglei clan?"
"It’s called cooperation." Lu Yin squatted down in front of Monarch Mu’s face, staring at her pale features and haggard appearance. "Actually, you are the first Progenitor I've captured, though you definitely won't be the last. The real show is just about to begin."
Luo Lao’er watched from the background. He suddenly set the goal for himself to be as domineering as Lu Yin in the future.
Half a month later, the Three Monarchs Universe suffered from a massive Aeternus attack, and Forgotten Ruins God herself participated in the assault. Monarch Luo and Monarch Xing desperately searched for Monarch Mu, but to no avail. Ultimately, the two were forced to join forces with Xia Shenji, which allowed them to barely fend off Forgotten Ruins God.
After the battle, Monarch Luo stood outside the ruins of the Fenglei clan, a dark expression on his face.
The silver-haired old woman from the Mu family trembled with fear. She did not dare to speak a single word.
"Zang'er has already returned. He's in the Sixverse Academy," Monarch Luo said.
The old woman let out a sigh of relief, but then she thought of Monarch Mu, and she instantly tensed back up.
"Little Mu has gone missing. Can anyone tell me what happened?" Monarch Luo's expression turned grim.
The old woman’s heart pounded as memories of the person who placed the seal in her body flooded her mind. Could it have been him? Aside from that person, she could not think of anyone else capable of harming Monarch Mu. Even so, did that man truly have the strength to deal with Monarch Mu?
Monarch Luo looked up into outer space. "The Fenglei clan has escaped, and Qian'er has returned to the Transcendent Universe. It's one thing if Qian'er didn't know about the plan involving Xia Shenji, but if he did know and still returned to the Transcendent Universe, then there was a conspiracy against Little Mu."
Lady Mu's eyes flickered. She no longer had any doubts; it had to have been that man. She had personally shared those details with him, and he had specifically asked about the Fenglei clan.
She wanted to confess everything to Monarch Luo and beg him to bring Monarch Mu back, but the old woman knew nothing about the culprit. The only clue was the Fenglei clan, and they had disappeared.
The old woman regretted every decision that she had made. She should have warned Monarch Mu. Even if the old woman had died, nothing could be allowed to happen to Monarch Mu. Without her, the Mu family would suffer the same fate as the Fenglei clan.
At that moment, a figure appeared. "Monarch Mu still hasn't been found?"
It was none other than Xia Shenji, and his expression was grim.
Monarch Luo replied, "There’s not a single trace of her."
"Then what should I do?" Xia Shenji frowned.
"I will do my best to gather the necessary resources and deliver them to the Transcendent Universe so that they will send you back."
Xia Shenji stared at Monarch Luo's back. Send him back? Was that even possible anymore? If the three Monarchs were all present, they would not fear Forgotten Ruins God, but Monarch Mu was gone. If Xia Shenji also left, how would Monarch Luo and Monarch Xing hold off Forgotten Ruins God? Xia Shenji was completely certain that Monarch Luo would do everything in his power to keep Xia Shenji in the Three Monarchs Universe to help protect the universe from Aeternus.
He did not want to stay here.
"You and Monarch Xing can work together to temporarily hold off Forgotten Ruins God, but the two of you are unable to activate the Three Monarchs Formation. If Forgotten Ruins God is serious in her attack on this universe, you will be in grave trouble," Xia Shenji said.
Monarch Luo looked over. "Do you have a solution?"
Xia Shenji replied, "If Monarch Mu has truly disappeared, then we won't be able to stop things from getting worse, but we can push the trouble onto others."
"Meaning?"
"The Heavens Sect."
Monarch Luo shook his head. "The direct descendant of the Lu family has already made it quite clear that he will not voluntarily restart the war with Aeternus, and Sage Yuan is powerless to change his mind."
"Help me return, as we’ve already agreed. I will open the passage to this universe from where it connects in Shenwu Continent," Xia Shenji suggested.
Monarch Luo's gaze grew thoughtful. Just as Xia Shenji had suspected, the Monarch had no intention of letting the Progenitor go. If Xia Shenji left, what would happen to the Three Monarchs Universe? Monarch Mu was already gone, and would Xia Shenji continue to cooperate after he left for his own universe? Furthermore, the Heavens Sect would not be easy to handle. Monarch Luo needed to ensure that he had a way out. Without that certainty, Xia Shenji would not be allowed to leave. Unfortunately, all of the parallel universes that Monarch Luo had conquered so far were too weak. None of them could even come close to comparing to the Origin Universe.
"There is another option." Xia Shenji stared at Monarch Luo. "I can bring people from the Perennial World to this universe."
Monarch Luo was astonished. "Is that possible?"
Xia Shenji sighed in a helpless manner. If at all possible, he would have loved to push everything onto Lu Yin. In that way, both Aeternus and the threat of the Lu family returning would be resolved together. Unfortunately, Lu Yin was too stubborn, and he had even ignored the Cyclic Universe’s orders. The child did not understand his place. The Cyclic Universe would eventually extract a price from him, but for the moment, no one could touch Lu Yin.
Xia Shenji needed to get back.
He had no idea how long it would take the Cyclic Universe to deal with Lu Yin. The Progenitor had no intentions of dying in the Three Monarchs Universe, and since there was nothing that he could do about Lu Yin, the only remaining option was Bai Wangyuan and the Perennial World’s other Progenitors.
Xia Shenji refused to suffer alone. Since the Perennial World had successfully driven Aeternus out and was free of war, those people were definitely living comfortably or even scheming against Shenwu's Sky. In that case, he would drag them into the Three Monarchs Universe.
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