Chapter 4473: The Truth
Chapter 4473: The Truth
At this moment, Death's Dominion and even the Divine King were listening. They were curious about Wang Wen, the Keeper of Balance, and while also being curious about the human civilization itself.
Cosmic civilizations rarely had a chance to communicate with each other, and this was an exceedingly rare opportunity that could allow them to learn much. The more that one knew, the greater their chances of surviving. That was common sense.
Wang Wen did not mind. Stroking Skydog’s fur, he slowly said, “Since she wouldn’t come out and I could not risk regressing to the ancient era, there was only one path left: keep drawing her out. Give human civilization hope, and then push them to despair. Repeat that cycle again and again. I refused to believe that she would truly refuse to come out.
“The Three Realms and Six Daos of the Heavens Sect era, the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas of the later era, and even you, Lu Yin. I watched all of you grow with my own eyes, especially you.
“You surprised me too much and delighted me too much. Your talent surpasses anyone else’s.” At this point, Wang Wen’s eyes blazed hotly. “To be honest, I am reluctant to see you die. Your existence is the greatest variable in this human civilization. I have only seen existences like you appear during the Nine Ramparts era. That stunning Wargod Pan, that freak who destroyed a fishing civilization with a single punch, and those other outstanding figures who each unleashed one invincible power after another. I had thought that such scenes would never appear again.
“You have surprised me too much, and yet, precisely because you exist, Hong Shuang might come out. Because a person like you cannot be cultivated into existence. Unprecedented luck, opportunity, and talent—not one can be missing.
“I never interfered in your development. I watched you climb up, step by step, from an ant to the peak, and yet I also grew worried that you would become uncontrollable because even I do not wish to let an existence like you develop without restraint.”
Lu Yin commented in a low voice, “That’s why you severed the Meteor Realm with that one sword strike, to prevent the Longevity Civilization and us from establishing contact while also warning me so that I would not try to use my mission rewards from Obscura to exchange for anything unacceptable.”
Wang Wen smiled and shook his head. “There really wasn’t any other choice. I didn’t expect you to force me to act or even draw in the Divine Realm. In truth, the Trio could have continued to exist just fine, but your appearance has forced me to destroy them.”
Lu Yin closed his eyes.
Wang Wen stared at Lu Yin. “I helped you a great deal. Return it all to me today. Treat it all as just a dream, and it is now time for that dream to end.”
Lu Yin opened his eyes and stared at Wang Wen. This man had helped him greatly. When the Tianyuan Megaverse had been pushed to the brink by the Spirit Nidus, it was Wang Wen who had proposed leveraging cultivation culture to give humanity faith in victory despite its weakness. He had also introduced the concept of a civilization's collective consciousness, which shaped much of Lu Yin's thinking. It taught him how a civilization could influence hearts and minds and allowed him to look beyond the Tianyuan and see humanity as a whole.
All of that had been given to Lu Yin by Wang Wen.
Without Wang Wen, Lu Yin would have never unified the Tianyuan Megaverse so easily. Without Wang Wen, it would have been very difficult for him to reach his current height. Much of his horizons and his way of thinking were a result of the changes that Wang Wen had introduced in him.
Wang Wen had used his own perspective of the Aevum Inch to open Lu Yin’s eyes. No one else could have ever done that. Some things were far more precious than battle techniques, cultivation arts, and the like, but to Wang Wen, it had all been nothing more than a dream.
With the dream ending, he would be the one to wake up, not Lu Yin or any others. Lu Yin and the others would sleep forever, with no possibility of ever waking again.
“When did you begin to suspect me?” Wang Wen asked curiously.
Lu Yin’s voice grew frigid. “Do you care?
“Let me rephrase the question: did you ever even hide?”
Wang Wen gave a small smile. That was true, he had never hidden. He had used and revealed the transparent floating coffin from the very beginning. At that time, Lu Yin had not even been an Enlighter, had he? What a nostalgic thought.
“Joining Obscura, killing Miao Zun—you purposely asked me about those matters because you knew that my answer would be Obscura’s answer.”
Lu Yin let out a breath. There had also been Bai Xian’er’s departure. She had not left because she had wanted to help Lu Yin, to seek his forgiveness, or anything of the sort. It was because she had wanted to avoid Wang Wen. Wei Nu had died at Wang Wen’s hands. Wang Wen was the fate of the entire human civilization. Lu Yin had guessed all of that back then as well.
But what did suspicions matter? He had never dared to confront the real Wang Wen.
All along, while interacting with Obscura, Lu Yin had merely been pretending to probe at the Keeper of Balance’s identity, testing him. Why? Perhaps because some tiny part of Lu Yin still longed for a sliver of hope. Or perhaps he had wanted to lull Wang Wen into a sense of complacency.
Lu Yin truly had no ability to deal with Wang Wen, the Keeper of Balance. This was not merely a matter of combat strength, but far more of a matter of temperament and mentality.
Wang Wen was too terrifying. He left nothing unaccounted for and prepared plans that spanned eons. Lu Yin had only hoped to buy himself time, much more time, to deal with this opponent.
But after all of the calculations, he had never considered the possibility that Hong Shuang might have truly left or that the guardian artifact that she had left behind, the Red Umbrella, would appear to protect Chu Songyun’s breakthrough. That was likely the key reason why Wang Wen had finally chosen to make a move.
If not for that, Wang Wen would have continued using the Divine Realm to warn Lu Yin and prevent him from further developing the Trio.
“There is one more thing—the one who betrayed Hong Shuang was not Hong Xia, but you!” Master Qing Cao suddenly arrived and shouted sharply.
Lu Yin was astonished. Is Wang Wen the one who betrayed Hong Shuang?
Wang Wen looked at Master Qing Cao in surprise. “I thought that, at a time like this, you would stand on my side.”
Master Qing Cao continued to stare at Wang Wen. “The one Hong Shuang loved was not Hong Xia. She loved you. Hong Xia did betray Hong Shuang, but he did so at your orders, did he not?”
Lu Yin looked back at Wang Wen, who appeared puzzled. “How do you know that?”
“Just tell me whether it is true or not,” Master Qing Cao demanded.
Wang Wen smiled faintly. “Correct.”
Lu Yin understood. No wonder Wang Wen had continued to keep an eye on the Tianyuan for all this time. No matter how formidable Hong Shuang may be, she should not have been enough to make Wang Wen, a man capable of defeating Gao Tian, stay in the Tianyuan and watch her for so many years.
At one point in time, Feng Bo had stayed in the Mirari Realm to keep an eye on Hongyan Mavis because their strengths were similar. The woman could have left at any moment, and Feng Bo feared being discovered by the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. That was why he had kept watch on her.
But why had Wang Wen stayed to watch for Hong Shuang?
Now there was finally an answer. Hong Shuang must have held some weakness of Wang Wen’s, and he could not give her any chance to escape.
Only lovers could understand each other best.
“Then what about Hong Xia?” Lu Yin asked.
Master Qing Cao shook his head. “While it is true that Hong Xia was a traitor, I cannot speak of the nature of his relationship with this person.”
Wang Wen laughed. “If you knew everything, wouldn’t that make me far too incompetent?
“Still, I am curious, Qing Cao. Do you no longer want to preserve the Spirit Nidus?”
Master Qing Cao clenched both fists. “You will not spare the Spirit Nidus. Of the Human Trio, not one megaverse will survive.”
Wang Wen praised him, “You’re smarter than I thought. It seems that you’ve been hiding yourself right in front of me all along. The you of the past only cared about preserving the Spirit Nidus. I saw through that, which is why I allowed you to see Obscura’s true strength. I used that to draw out the Spirit Nidus and have it scheme against the Tianyuan, weakening the maximum strength of the human civilization there. I thought that that would be able to draw Hong Shuang out. Unfortunately, it still failed.
“If you must blame someone, blame our Royal Chesspiece, as he went too far. Otherwise, I would have helped you preserve the Spirit Nidus.”
Master Qing Cao’s tone grew heavy. “When Qi Xu died, you did not inform Obscura. That was when I knew that you had designs for the Trio, but I could never clearly see what exactly you were plotting. The more you helped the Trio, the less clearly I could see the truth. It was not until Lu Yin spoke of Hong Shuang entering the Mirari Realm that I finally understood.”
“Is that also when you understood the relationship between Hong Shuang and me?” Wang Wen asked.
Master Qing Cao nodded.
Wang Wen stroked Skydog’s fur. “Humans just love to guess, yet somehow, they frequently guess correctly. Why do you think that is?”
Lu Yin looked up. “Because the greatest creation of intelligent beings is lies, and their greatest weakness is habit.”
Wang Wen looked impressed. “Those are my words. You still remember them?”
Lu Yin remained silent.
Wang Wen continued, “Because of habit, there is logic to creatures’ behavior. Because of lies, we are forced to guess. Using conjecture to judge habit, and from there, reaching a conclusion. Is it not interesting?”
Lu Yin stared deeply at Wang Wen. So this was the source of Wang Wen's Power of Imagination.
He had not forgotten how, when Wang Wen bestowed the characters Heaven (天) and Slave (奴), the first being they encountered had been Ye Zhang. Ye Zhang possessed the Power of Imagination. Through belief, imagination could be made real. Back then, they had speculated that the source of that power was the fate of the Tianyuan Megaverse itself. That source had been Wang Wen.
Imagination. Believe in it, and it exists. Disbelieve it, and it does not.
Just as Wang Wen said, the power of imagination was built upon his theory.
“Your Royal Chesspiece, is it due to habit that you don’t want to strike me, or is it fear? You don’t seem to have that much killing intent directed towards me.” Wang Wen looked Lu Yin in the eye and spoke slowly.
Lu Yin’s gaze grew heavy. “You once asked me a question, and I never gave you an answer. Now I want to know yours.”
“The fisherman?”
“Yes.”
“My answer?” The corners of Wang Wen’s lips curved upward. “Of course you catch the fish first and only talk about the rest afterwards.
“You haven’t answered another of my questions. In this game, how much longer can you endure?”
Lu Yin tightened his grip on his scythe. He could not answer that question. It was not that he did not know how long he could endure, but rather that he did not know how to survive.
“I also have a question,” Master Qing Cao called out to Wang Wen again.
The man gave him a curious look.
“Have you ever regarded me as worthy of your notice?” Master Qing Cao asked.
Wang Wen actually laughed. “Does it matter?”
“It does.”
“Is this about your own value, or about your dignity?”
Master Qing Cao shook his head and sighed. “Neither. What matters is your view of humanity.”
Wang Wen’s eyes carried a smile. “Very well, I will answer you: No.”
Master Qing Cao was not surprised. A bitter smile appeared on his face as he said, “So you never truly considered me at all. Wonderful. Hahahaha...
“Hahahaha!”
Lu Yin stared at Master Qing Cao in confusion. What did this mean?
Not only Lu Yin, but even Wang Wen could not understand the man’s sudden reaction. Was it really so amusing that he had been disregarded?
Master Qing Cao laughed freely and then looked at Wang Wen again. “That answer will become your grave. Remember this, Wang Wen: you will be buried by that answer.”
Wang Wen smiled back. “We shall see.”
“But not now.” Master Qing Cao’s eyes snapped wide open. Vast amounts of Lifeforce surged from him, moving with his breath to sweep towards Wang Wen, pushing across the cosmos.
No one had expected Qing Cao to be the first to take action. This was a man who had once abandoned human civilization as a whole in order to preserve just the Spirit Nidus. He was even responsible for Greater Sancte Mi Jin’s death.
Not even Lu Yin had expected Master Qing Cao’s will to be so firm at a moment like this, and he was actually attacking Wang Wen.
In such a desperate situation, even if Lu Yin unleashed his full power, he still did not know what sort of action he should take. Whether it was Wang Wen, Death's Dominion, or the Divine King, none of them were opponents whom he could truly handle.
And yet Master Qing Cao attacked, just like that.