Chapter 4392: Refinement
Chapter 4392: Refinement
The scythe slashed sideways, splitting Chang Dou’s body in two. Its lower half fell away, and even worse, its feathers, flesh, and bone separated as the bird let out a cry of utter despair.
Si Qin instinctively wanted to rush forward. It could not wait any longer. If Chang Dou died while Nan Ling remained sealed, Si Qin would undoubtedly be punished upon its return to the Plume Immortals Civilization.
Then suddenly, it stopped. The sudden appearance of the Consciousness Megaverse made the bird wary. If it rushed inside and lost the ability to teleport and then that hidden supreme expert appeared, Si Qin would also die.
Thinking of this, the bird abruptly turned to Mister Mu and the others, determination filling its eyes.
With a single teleport, it vanished.
“Be careful!” Jiang Feng gave a sharp yell. He had been keeping a careful eye on Si Qin the entire time. Its sudden disappearance meant that it was coming to attack them, hoping to lure Lu Yin out.
Sure enough, when Si Qin reappeared, Godplume Spears fell one after another, aimed at everyone present.
Mister Mu raised his cauldron up high, blocking the Godplume Spears. No matter how powerful the Godplume Spears were, they could not break a mirebound artifact.
Si Qin’s eyes turned back to the Consciousness Megaverse. “Human, watch closely.”
Within the Consciousness Megaverse, Lu Yin was holding Chang Dou’s upper body. He also looked absolutely miserable, even if he was far better off than Chang Dou. Hearing Si Qin’s shout, he looked over.
The bird plunged down. Facing the attacks of Mister Mu and the others, it neither dodged nor retreated. Every attack struck its body, but was clearly useless. Its talons shot straight for Awe Gate. Of all of the Immortals present, she clearly possessed the weakest aura. Earlier, she had been severely wounded by the Keeper of Balance’s strike and then again by Nan Ling. She was already on the brink of collapse.
The red umbrella tilted, shielding Awe Gate.
Si Qin teleported away, changing targets and going after Mister Mu.
The man waved a hand. His Album of Time appeared, and cauldrons emerged from the images, one after another.
Si Qin teleported for a third time. This time, its target was Kang Tian.
It went after the snail’s spatial mire and entered it. Then, as everyone watched on in utter shock, the bird pierced Kang Tian’s body, shattered it before soaring back upwards and looking over at Lu Yin.
Although Si Qin had teleported several times, the entire process had taken place extremely quickly. In what was essentially a single instant, it had torn Kang Tian apart. The snail had always specialized in defense, but at this moment, those impressive defenses meant nothing.
Having stood beside Kang Tian, Ba Yue’s face grew pale. If she had been Si Qin’s target, she would have died without question. No one could stop this beast.
Within the Consciousness Megaverse, Lu Yin stared at Si Qin. The bird met his gaze, though it deliberately avoided looking at Heaven’s Sight. “Release Chang Dou, or the next to die will be a human Immortal.”
It was blatantly threatening him, using the death of an Immortal as leverage.
Lu Yin released his grip on the bird, Chang Dou immediately fled towards Si Qin, trying to escape from the Consciousness Megaverse. As soon as it left the megaverse, it would be able to teleport again. It would inevitably avenge its growing hatred.
Lu Yin watched Chang Dou fly for the boundary of the Consciousness Megaverse. Then, he stepped forward to pursue the bird.
Si Qin shouted sharply, “Human, do not force me to kill your Immortals!”
Lu Yin appeared unmoved by the threat, though he did not immediately catch up to Chang Dou. The bird was about to escape from the Consciousness Megaverse. As soon as it got free, it would instantly teleport back to the Plume Immortals’ tree without any hesitation.
Chang Dou glanced back, and the hatred in its eyes was intense enough to drown the stars.
Lu Yin’s gaze remained calm as he stared at Si Qin. Three seconds remained before Chang Dou would escape.
One...
Two...
Si Qin stared intensely at Lu Yin. There was one last second.
Suddenly, outside the Consciousness Megaverse, directly in front of Chang Dou, a cauldron appeared. The bird was shocked and abruptly stopped. At that very moment, the megaverse trembled. Lu Yin threw a palm strike as his figure instantly expanded, until he was a giant that encompassed the entire megaverse. Willforce filled the universe and slammed into Chang Dou, sending the bird crashing into the cauldron and sealing it within.
Neither Chang Dou nor Si Qin had anticipated such a turn of events.
Although Si Qin had been watching Lu Yin, it had also always been wary of Mister Mu and the others. It had no idea why that cauldron had suddenly appeared such a vast distance away, nor had it expected Lu Yin to unleash Willforce, let alone with such power. Even to the very end, he had been keeping something hidden, and he had managed to catch the two Plume Immortals completely off guard.
What puzzled Si Qin the most was that Mister Mu and the others were so far from the boundary of the Consciousness Megaverse. Even Immortals could not instantly cross such a vast distance. How had the cauldron appeared? Unless it had teleported-
Wait. A human?
Directly beneath the cauldron, a figure entered Si Qin’s sight. It was Lu Yuan.
Lu Yin was not the only human capable of teleportation. It was simply that he was able to teleport the greatest distance and that he also possessed the greatest strength. That combination had caused the Plume Immortals to assume that Lu Yin was the only human with the ability to teleport.
But in truth, the first person to acquire the innate gift of teleportation had been Ancestor Lu Yuan. Because Lu Yuan had grown the innate gift of teleportation, Lu Yin had been able to awaken it as well.
While the man had not reached the Immortal realm, teleportation had nothing to do with strength. As long as one could see their destination, they could teleport to it.
Lu Yin had deduced multiple layers of the Mirrorlight Art. After applying them to himself, he had also given a copy to Ancestor Lu Yuan so that the man could teleport vast distances at a critical moment.
This was finally the time to use it.
Carrying the cauldron, Ancestor Lu Yuan had teleported directly in front of Chang Dou. Because the bird was so severely injured and eager to escape from the Consciousness Megaverse, it had not been able to react in time and had been sealed within the cauldron.
It was as if someone had simply waited by a stump for a rabbit to run into it.
After sealing Chang Dou inside the cauldron, Lu Yuan teleported again, returning to Mister Mu and the others. Within the cauldron, Chang Dou struggled to escape, but it was suppressed by the cauldron’s sealing force. Teleportation no longer worked. The interior was cut off from the Aevum Inch. At its peak, Chang Dou might have broken free, but not now.
Si Qin teleported away, racing towards Mister Mu and the others. “Humans, you are too despicable!”
The red umbrella rose up. Chu Songyun suppressed the urge to vomit blood and shoved the umbrella at Si Qin.
The bird struck the red umbrella with its talons, instantly knocking Chu Songyun unconscious. The red umbrella shrank.
The next moment the Plume Immortal went after Mister Mu with its talons. At that moment, Lu Yin emerged from the Consciousness Megaverse. He arrived in an instant, divine energy blasting forward with a thunderous crash, forcing Si Qin back.
Its pupils shrank to pinpricks as it stared at Lu Yin. The man stood in front of Mister Mu and the others. Blood constantly flowed from his wounds, and his aura was extremely weak, yet a faint smile remained on his lips as he stared at Si Qin. “You feathered mongrel, watch carefully. You’re next.”
As he spoke, Lu Yin pressed one hand to the cauldron and poured divine energy into it. He intended to refine Chang Dou alive. Mister Mu took a deep breath. Aligning with his cosmic law of Dominion, he joined Lu Yin in refining Chang Dou.
Si Qin shouted fiercely. “Humans, you are seeking death!”
“You are the ones seeking death!” Lu Yin roared fearlessly. “You feathered mongrels! Send one, and I’ll kill one! Send two, and I’ll kill both! Show me just how many of you there truly are.”
He also wanted to use Chang Dou to increase his karma, but if he brought Chang Dou out of the cauldron, the bird might escape. On top of that, how could he intimidate Si Qing without refining Chang Dou?
Si Qin was even stronger than Chang Dou, and Lu Yin truly lacked the ability to kill another Plume Immortal at this moment.
However, Si Qin was extremely wary by this point. The sudden appearance of the Consciousness Megaverse had convinced the bird that the humans still had a hidden supreme expert. With Lu Yin and the others watching it so closely, it could neither seize the Crimson Lotus Tomb nor save Chang Dou.
Watching as Chang Dou wailed while being crushed and refined caused fear to rise up within Si Qin’s heart. It did not want to witness this. This scene was too miserable. Chang Dou’s horrific condition appeared in Si Qin’s mind again and again. All the while, blood energy surged within the cauldron, amplifying its fear.
Their ability to teleport made the Plume Immortals arrogant, believing that they could never die. But in reality, their numbers were constantly dwindling and had only recently been restored. The death of each Plume Immortal was a rare event because most did not die on the battlefield. Rather, it usually occurred after teleporting away.
This was why death was unfamiliar to them, and the more unfamiliar something was, the more terrifying it became. Watching Chang Dou be refined before its eyes was a tremendous shock to Si Qin. Creatures like the Plume Immortals possessed extremely high talent. As a result, by the time they became Immortals, they typically experienced far less than other species with lower talent. The impact of life and death was greatly magnified within the hearts of the birds.
Si Qin’s pupils flickered as it stared at the cauldron. Its voice dropped extremely low. “Human, release Chang Dou and Nan Ling, and I will promise that the Plume Immortals will never attack you again.”
Lu Yin and the others coldly stared at Si Qin.
There was no sign of any hesitation in their eyes. Humanity had risen from blood and fire with an unyielding will. Though they feared death, their species would rather die standing than live kneeling, especially when facing an ancient enemy like the Plume Immortals.
If they could kill one, they would kill it. They would continue until the Plume Immortals trembled and no longer dared to attack them. The initiative could never be given over to another.
“Humans, do you truly want an endless war with the Plume Immortals?” Si Qin screamed, trying to threaten them.
Lu Yin stared coldly at Si Qin. “Feathered mongrel, do you know how humanity survived since ancient times? We hunted. We hunted beasts, and we hunted birds as well. When has prey ever threatened the hunter?”
Behind him, Ba Yue was staring at Lu Yin’s back. At this moment, the younger man seemed both unfamiliar and towering.
Time passed. No sound came from Chang Dou within the cauldron. Outside the cauldron, Lifeforce boiled and spilled out, along with countless particles of Immortal matter.
From above, one could see blinding light flowing within the cauldron. It was the flesh and blood of the Plume Immortal being refined.
Mister Mu peered at the cauldron. “The Ninth Rampart’s guardian mirebound artifact refining a Plume Immortal... At least this will console our ancestors.”
Blood Tower commented, “This is merely the first. It will not be the last.”
Lu Yin grasped the cauldron and slowly turned it. The light inside swirled like flowing water, making Si Qin dizzy and horrified. A chill shot straight to its head.
It teleported away. There was no need to stay. Chang Dou was dead, and Nan Ling had been sealed away. Without more reinforcements, Si Qin did not believe that it could defeat this human civilization. Lu Yin alone would not be easy for the bird to deal with.
Lu Yin finally let out a heavy breath. He nearly collapsed, but Ancestor Lu Yuan supported him. “Little Seven, how are you?”
Lu Yin waved a hand dismissively. “I’ll head into the Mirari Realm. Soon.”
With that, he teleported away. Everyone remained on guard, wary of the Plume Immortals reappearing.
***
At this same time, fierce battle raged around the Plume Immortals’ great tree.
Si Qin returned and immediately entered the tree’s canopy. Shortly after that, a cry of overwhelming fury echoed across the Aevum Inch, causing the cosmos itself to tremble.
Bei Qing and the other Plume Immortals all pulled back, not knowing what had happened.
Old Man Hehe and the members of Obscura also withdrew, though they continued to face the Plume Immortals.
“Wasn’t that the one of the birds that went to attack the human civilization? Why has it returned? And alone?” Furball asked in confusion.
Old Man Hehe chuckled. “Could they have been utterly defeated?”
“Impossible. Even though that human civilization has many Immortals, they cannot withstand three Plume Immortals,” Second Furball replied.
“No, four. There was another one hiding,” Che calmly reported.
“Judging from its tone, that old fellow Shang Jing sounds furious.”
“Hehe.”
“Ba Se, exactly what just happened?”