Chapter 3656: Who Can Survive Longer?
Chapter 3656: Who Can Survive Longer?
Ru Guo’s appearance was miserable because he had been forced to accept two tasks. The first was to show Yong Heng the truth about the Wisdom Domain so that he would understand that the Ru family had been useless for a long time. The second task was to cooperate with Yong Heng and find some means to bring Seraph Lu to the Morrow Behemoth’s hand.
Yue Ya had gone too far. He had first taken control of Ru Guo’s daughter, Ru Mu. More recently, the Lesser Sancti had openly destroyed the Ru family, controlling whether they would live or die and completely disregarding their status.
Ru Guo did not know what was going on with Yong Heng. It was possible that the Wisdom Domain had taken the initiative. When it came to Seraph Lu, Ru Guo had sent Ru Can to serve as the Seraph’s guide, intending to use Seraph Lu against the High Seraph and Yue Ya. Never had Ru Guo considered the possibility that Yue Ya would simply attack the Ru family.
The Ru family had once represented the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, serving as the Spirit Nidus’s observer. Who could have imagined that they would one day be reduced to such a wretched state?
After taking one more glance of the Ascendant Hall, Ru Guo started moving towards the Wisdom Domain.
In the Ascendant Hall’s Apex Palace, the High Seraph stared off into the distance. The Ru family was gone. Yue Ya was truly ruthless. Was this his determination to be the one to become a Greater Sancti? Should he fail, he would have no explanation to give at all.
Lu Yin was clearly immensely important to the man, to the point where he was willing to do anything, regardless of the cost.
However, Yue Yan had underestimated both the High Seraph and Lu Yin.
At this point, all of the Lesser Sancti had been drawn into the competition. Not even Dan Jin was still sitting aside. This was what Lu Yin had accomplished, so just how did Yue Ya expect to be able to take the man away so easily?
The High Seraph continued to stare out at the stars. Still, Xing Fan remained the most troublesome detail.
When Ru Guo appeared outside of the Wisdom Domain, Old Yu was badly shaken. He had never imagined that the Ru family, which had once been led by a powerful Lesser Sancti, could fall so far. They had been practically annihilated.
“Just what is going on with Yong Heng?” Ru Guo demanded, his voice betraying his rage. Yong Heng was the reason why Yue Ya had destroyed the Ru family, yet Ru Guo knew nothing more than that.
Old Yu stared at Ru Guo in a daze. “Is the Ru family... truly gone?”
Ru Guo trembled, and his face turned ashen.
Old Yu closed his eyes. Bitterness covered his features as he remembered what had been said earlier; Yue Ya had indeed attacked the Ru family in a brazen and fearless manner.
"Yong Heng sought us out on his own. He is a powerhouse strong enough that even the High Seraph is wary of him. He wishes to cooperate with us and is demanding to be promised a place when a megaverse is reset."
Ru Guo was astonished. "Is he actually strong enough that even the High Seraph is wary of him?"
Old Yu nodded, solemnly stating, "He was once the most powerful expert in the Tianyuan Megaverse. Even now, he might be greater than Lu Yin."
"Why didn't you say anything before?" Ru Guo fumed. If we had acquired such an expert on our side a bit sooner, the Ru family might not have suffered such misery. No, things would have turned out the exact same... Besides, Yong Heng can’t even go to Heavenspire.
The bottom line was that Yue Ya was too vicious, and he had done something that no one else in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse would ever dare to do.
With a heavy sigh, Old Yu proceeded to share recent events, leaving Ru Guo at a loss for words. Things were far too coincidental; Yong Heng had stated his desire to cooperate with the Ru family, but when Old Yu had proceeded to contact them, he had to delay in order to fend off Jiu Xian. Seemingly by fate, Yue Ya's people had then arrived, and Yong Heng had proceeded to throw all responsibility onto the Wisdom Domain, forcing the domain and the Ru family that stood behind it to stand against Yue Ya.
This had directly led to the Ru family being annihilated.
Ru Guo let out a long breath, and then he let out a bitter laugh. His once respected Ru family had been wiped out for such a reason. It was so pathetic that it sounded like a joke.
Just a few words had resulted in the tragic destruction of the Ru family.
The man peered into the reed-filled lake and at Yong Heng, who was relaxing on a small boat. It drifted about with the current, completely carefree.
This man could be credited with the Ru family's destruction, and yet Ru Guo could not attack Yong Heng. He had been forced to accept a task for Yue Ya.
Many ordinary humans yearned to become cultivators, believing that the greater their cultivation, the more they would be the master of their own fate and capable of living life as they pleased. The truth was that such freedom did not exist. People merely moved from one circle to another, and the next circle was often even more chaotic and ruthless than the previous.
Strength provided order, but no matter how powerful one might become, there would always be another who was stronger.
"What about Jiu Xian?"
"She returned to the Roaming South Realm," Old Yu reported. Lu Yin was still in the Roaming South Realm, and Yong Heng refused to leave the Wisdom Domain while everyone trying to meet with the two worked for Yue Ya. Of course, Old Yu had managed to deduce something, but what did that matter? The outcome was already sealed.
Ru Guo walked toward the lake.
Old Yu watched the man’s departing figure, desolate and shrouded in darkness. The Ru family that had once monitored the Spirit Nidus had vanished entirely.
Among the lake’s reeds, Yong Heng opened his eyes to look at Ru Guo, who was slowly walking forward above the lake’s currents.
"I am Ru Guo, a member of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s Ru family that stands behind this Wisdom Domain."
Yong Heng was surprised. "Has a member of the Ru family come here to see me in person?"
Ru Guo stared intently at Yong Heng, wanting nothing more than to strike the man dead. Suppressing his murderous intent, Ru Guo continued in as calm a tone as he could manage, saying, "Your conditions that you put to my Ru family cannot be met."
...
In the Roaming South Realm, Lu Yin was still tearing bricks out of the wall of karma. He had informed Qing Yun and Qing Xiao that he was in seclusion, and coincidentally, Yuan Qi had been summoned and was to stand guard for Lu Yin during his seclusion, which perfectly justified the man’s presence.
Yuan Qi could not understand why he had been summoned by Lu Yin, but he did not press for information. When it came to Boundless, Yuan Qi held little authority.
His spirit cloudstone trembled, and Lu Yin answered the call.
"The Ru family is gone."
Lu Yin asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"The Ru family is the force behind the Wisdom Domain. Yue Ya wants me to help him by taking you to the Morrow Behemoth’s hand. I refused, using the Wisdom Domain as a pretext, so he simply destroyed the entire Ru family and then sent the current Ru family patriarch, Ru Guo, to speak to me, still wanting me to take you to the Morrow Behemoth. As long as we complete this task, not only will he ensure that I get a place when a megaverse is reset, but he’ll also help me to split apart the Nine Heavens," Yong Heng explained.
Lu Yin was shocked, "Isn’t the Ru family supported by a Lesser Sancti? How can such a person be taken out so easily?"
"The Ru family's Lesser Sancti was Ru Shi, but he fought against the High Seraph long ago. He was defeated and ultimately perished afterwards. The title of Lesser Sancti was then temporarily given to Ru Guo. The Ru family lost its former splendor long ago, which might also be why the Wisdom Domain is continuously seeking outside cooperation, as well as why the High Seraph cares nothing for either the Ru family or for the Wisdom Domain.
"Yue Ya attacked the Ru family and faced absolutely no pressure."
This was a development that Lu Yin had not expected at all. Ru Shi? So even a Lesser Sancti had been defeated by the High Seraph. No wonder the Ru family had fallen so far. Clearly, the Wisdom Domain was not as disconnected from the Spirit Nidus as the legends claimed.
The Ru family was from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, where the High Seraph held a very low status. He had even been given the title of Lesser Sancti. Despite that, the man had managed to defeat Ru Shi. Lu Yin could only imagine how terrible things must have become for the Ru family in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.
Still, Lu Yin had never expected Yue Ya to go so far as to exterminate the entire Ru family, just to lure Lu Yin to the Morrow Behemoth’s hand.
Am I really that valuable? This information caused Lu Yin’s vigilance to spike. However, he also understood that Yue Ya could not act openly in the Spirit Nidus. If he could, then why would he go to such excessive lengths? This allowed Lu Yin to feel slightly relieved.
Yue Ya had to be someone at the same cultivation level as the High Seraph, someone who was on the cusp of overcoming Dukkha. Such a powerful individual was not someone whom Lu Yin could easily contend with. If Yue Ya acted directly against Lu Yin, things would become extremely difficult for him.
“Didn't you agree to work with Ru Guo?” Lu Yin asked.
Yong Heng smiled softly. “Why should I do that?”
“Why wouldn’t you? You and I are already enemies. We were simply forced to occasionally join forces. Given the chance, and I’m sure you feel the same way, I would not mind eliminating you.”
“True. I don’t mind cooperating with anyone if I get to take you down, but there has to be a chance of success. If I’m not mistaken, Boundless is no longer in the Hundred Grasses Domain, is it?”
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed, and Yong Heng continued to theorize. “Starting with Emperor Wu, people have been wanting to capture Boundless in order to force you to go to the Morrow Behemoth’s hand. I already knew that Boundless would not stay in the Hundred Grasses Domain. Your weaknesses can not be exploited that easily. Ru Guo alone, even if working with me, is hardly enough to pose a significant threat to you personally. Using Emperor Wu’s method of coercion might be effective, but his actions have already acted as a warning to you.”
Lu Yin replied, “In that case, why don’t you tell me where Boundless went?”
“The Ark Domain.”
Lu Yin slowly smiled. “Smart. Then let me take a guess of my own: you don’t want to work with Ru Guo against me right now because of another reason. You want to pit Yue Ya against the High Seraph.”
Yong Heng laughed. “You’re also quite clever. You may be a greater threat than the High Seraph, but I’m willing to wait to deal with you. The Nine Odysseys Megaverse hides unfathomable depths. With a troublemaker like you around, I can sit back and relax. It’s impossible for Yue Ya’s idea of using someone else to force you to the Morrow Behemoth to work. He is underestimating you far too much. For such a plan to work, he would need to personally take action. Lu Yin, consider this a word of caution: prepare to greet a Lesser Sancti. There’s no way that exterminating the Ru family was an easy choice. Yue Ya must have paid a steep price to accomplish that, and he will do whatever it takes to carry out his plan.”
Lu Yin replied, "Let me give you a reminder as well: unless we are dealing with fools, our actions will soon be seen through, and you won’t be able to escape the wrath of the Lesser Sancti."
"Hehe, in that case, why don’t we see who can survive for longer?" With that, the call ended.
Lu Yin lowered his spirit cloudstone. Yue Ya? As soon as that Lesser Sancti had a clear understanding of the current situation, he would pay Lu Yin a visit. Yong Heng was right—Lu Yin needed to be prepared to face a Lesser Sancti's power. With that thought, he looked in the Ascendant Hall’s direction. For the first time, Lu Yin hoped that whatever the High Seraph’s goals were regarding Lu Yin, they were important enough for the man to help deal with Yue Ya.
Boundless had been sailing through outer space for a long time, sailing for the Ark Domain without attracting much attention as it traveled.
Given the number of experts aboard Boundless, it was not difficult for the battleship to remain hidden.
Yong Heng was slightly mistaken; Boundless was indeed Lu Yin’s weakness, but it was not a weakness that just anyone could exploit. After all, the battleship was protected by the Origin Progenitor, as well as many other Tianyuan experts. Even if Ru Guo went after Boundless, his efforts would be futile.
The reason why Boundless was headed for the Ark Domain was actually for the High Seraph.
Since someone was already drawing attention ahead, there was no need for him to step forward himself.
It was high time that Boundless underwent a bit of maintenance.
In the Wisdom Domain, Yong Heng quickly dealt with Ru Guo. As soon as the conversation with Lu Yin was over, Yong Heng went to Ru Guo and agreed to Yue Ya's proposal.
Ru Guo heaved a sigh of relief. "In that case, then let's deal with this quickly. Let's go to the Hundred Grasses Domain."
Ru Guo understood Lu Yin’s strength perfectly well. To take such a person to the Morrow Behemoth’s hand, it was necessary to either capture Lu Yin himself or somehow force him to go on his own. Capturing Lu Yin was out of the question. The fact that Lu Yin was capable of standing up to the High Seraph was indicative of his combat strength. No matter how many experts participated, capturing Lu Yin was impossible. Thus, the only choice was to go after Boundless.
Yong Heng made no mention of the fact that the battleship had already left for the Ark Domain. He simply agreed to Ru Guo’s suggestion and traveled to the Hundred Grasses Domain with him.
The Wisdom Domain grew silent.
Old Yu watched as Yong Heng and Ru Guo left, suddenly overcome with a feeling that history had diverged. The Wisdom Domain’s historical mission had been destroyed along with the Ru family.
The two men were top powerhouses, and while Ru Guo was not Yue Ya’s equal, he was still a powerful Dukkhan who was regarded as qualified to serve as Ru Shi’s substitute as a Lesser Sancti. This put the man on the same level as the High Seraph. Yong Heng was even more powerful, and the two quickly arrived in the Hundred Grasses Domain.