Chapter 4638: Joining One By One
Chapter 4638: Joining One By One
In the Divine Palace, the remaining divine envoys argued endlessly, but they could not reach a meaningful conclusion.
Divine Envoy Yan looked at the golem. Both times that divine envoys had been lost, the golem had been present. Just what was going on?
In any case, no matter what anyone said, Divine Envoy Yan would never go out with this creature again.
“I suggest that we ask Senior Gui Xing to use karma to find out the truth behind the entire matter,” Divine Envoy Shuang Luo said. Its gaze remained fixed solely on the golem the entire time. It also felt that something was wrong with the golem.
“I agree.”
“I agree as well.”
The golem responded in a low voice, “If examining this matter with karma can reveal the entire truth, I agree. However, the examination absolutely cannot involve anything else concerning me.
“To be honest with all of you, I have a secret which concerns a mirebound artifact.”
The other divine envoys looked at one another. Everyone wanted to obtain a mirebound artifact, but none had expected this golem to actually have a secret related to one.
Divine Envoy Gui Xing chuckled. “Do not worry. I will absolutely not pry into the secret concerning your mirebound artifact.
“By examining karma, I can accurately reveal the entire truth of this matter. Every action, every movement, and even a single sentence can be restored, provided that you agree.”
“I agree,” the golem agreed immediately, which left the other divine envoys momentarily caught off guard. So decisive?
If Divine Envoy Gui Xing had not said so much, the golem really would have resisted a little, but it actually claimed to be able to reveal every single sentence. How could that be possible? Even Lu Yin, the strongest being of the human civilization, someone who could contend with three-law Immortals, had not reached such a level of mastery over the power of karma. What right did this damn turtle, who had only resonated with one cosmic law, have to claim to be so capable?
If the turtle really was capable of this, refusing would be useless and would only serve to make the golem look guilty. Thus, agreeing was the only correct answer, and the more decisively it agreed, the better.
Although the golem looked simple and clumsy, it had once been a scavenger, and during that time, it had survived countless brushes with death. It merely appeared clumsy, and it was actually very shrewd and cunning. It would not be easily deceived.
Of the various divine envoys present, very few had a richer wealth of experience than the golem. It had cultivated and struggled its way up from the very bottom, step by step.
This was also the precise reason why Lu Yin had chosen it to be the first to enter the Divine Palace. If Ba Rong had been sent first, the fish absolutely would not have performed as well.
The Divine Palace fell silent. The golem looked at Gui Xing. “Go ahead.”
Divine Envoy Gui Xing sneered. “Enough. Disperse.”
It had only been bragging. How could it possibly be capable of such a thing? It excelled at severing karma, which meant observing a single karmic line and coordinating that with combat, not deducing events of the past.
With the golem agreeing so readily, the deaths of the divine envoys likely had nothing to do with it. It had indeed only been able to escape because its defenses were too strong.
The other divine envoys had no objections, and they all went their own way.
Still, they all knew that it would be impossible for the golem to lead anyone out again. Even if it was completely innocent, no one would go with it.
When one encountered danger, they needed to either defeat that danger or run faster than the others there.
No one wanted to face danger together with someone like the golem, who could escape and return alive every time. Doing so would be unlucky.
Before everyone dispersed, Divine Envoy Gui Xing specifically warned them to be careful while the killer remained hidden outside. If there was truly no other way, they would awaken the lord of the Divine Palace and ask them to take action.
Those words were both reassurance and deterrence. It was suspected that the killer had an informant inside the Divine Palace.
The golem did not go out again, saying that, even if it found the enemy, if no other divine envoys helped, it would be no match for the killer on its own.
In the Godless Territory, within the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, which was still within Manifest City, Lu Yin finished increasing his karma with the two Immortals and then turned them over to the others.
He went to the Tianyuan to the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, where Wei Rong had long been waiting.
“Three Immortals is the limit for our first step. Any more, and we will very likely force the Divine Palace to take certain actions,” Wei Rong said.
Lu Yin took a sip of tea. “It is a pity that the golem has come under suspicion. It will no longer be able to lure any divine envoys out.”
Wei Rong shrugged. “Such suspicions were inevitable. If it were not suspected, the others we send to the Divine Palace wouldn’t be able to act.”
Everything that had happened was within Wei Rong’s plan. From the golem joining the Divine Palace, to helping lure three divine envoys out, to being suspected by the surviving divine envoys. With all of this, the first step of the plan was complete.
Next, it was time for the second step: having Immortals join the Divine Palace.
One was Ba Rong. It was also not human, so having it join the Divine Palace would not arouse any suspicions. The Divine Palace had recently lost three divine envoys, so there was an urgent need to add new Immortal beings to its numbers.
The other one to join was Awe Gate.
Back when Lu Yin had first encountered the Lousai race, he had provided the time that they needed to offer and met a Transmission God, who had recognized Lu Yin as an Immortal being. That encounter had been recorded in the Divine Palace, and because of that, they only needed to have Awe Gate join with the identity of that unknown Immortal.
It just so happened that Awe Gate could also use the form of a mist-shrouded human figure, the same as Lu Yin’s Nie clone. With that, more and more human powerhouses would be able to join in the future. This would accomplish two things at once.
In fact, Lu Yin and the others had discussed who should join the Divine Palace. At first, Lu Yin had hoped that Ancient God would be sent. After all, he had broken through to the Immortal realm by using a megaverse’s reset, just like the divine envoys. Thus, his appearance would not seem too abrupt. But ultimately, there were two reasons why they had settled on Awe Gate.
The first was to eliminate her karmic chain. Her karmic chain was not small, having grown in length particularly after she cultivated the Nirvana Tree Path. She had fought quite a number of great battles, which had caused her karmic chain to lengthen greatly. Although it was still far from reaching completion, a few more major battles would put it close.
It would be best if they could eliminate her karmic chain, as Awe Gate had merged with the cultivated spirit seeds of Greater Sancte Mi Jin and Greater Sancte Blood Tower. Her power level was essentially comparable to a two-law Immortal, but that would not be normally apparent. She was indeed the most suitable.
The other reason was that Chang Tian would also join the Divine Palace in the future. He could join using the physical appearance of Longevity Civilization. While similar to regular humans, it was still different.
With Chang Tian and Awe Gate both joining, they would also serve as a safeguard within the Divine Palace.
***
Several years later, Ba Rong made another appearance. This time, it was again Divine Envoy Wu Hen who saw the fish.
Wu Hen had seen Ba Rong twice in a row now. The first time, it had ignored the fish, fearing that Ba Rong might be the powerhouse who had killed Divine Envoy He. However, the second encounter left Wu Hen with no choice but to deal with the stranger, because they met face to face.
Looking at the huge fish before it, with such a powerful appearance, Divine Envoy Wu Hen took a deep breath. “Who are you? Why have you come here?”
Ba Rong was very close to panicking, as it was afraid that Divine Envoy Wu Hen would simply attack.
If the fish were honest, it did not want to join the Divine Palace. Unfortunately, it had been forced, so it could only grit its teeth and accept its fate.
It had a very intimidating appearance, but in truth, Ba Rong was more timid and cautious than anyone else. While in Manifest City, it had the appearance of a small dog. In fact, it considered itself as nothing more than a small fry, someone who was completely harmless.
Ba Rong tried very hard to show Divine Envoy Wu Hen a smile. It had heard a human saying that, when meeting others, offer them a smile to avoid fighting or any other trouble.
So, the fish smiled.
Then, Divine Envoy Wu Hen attacked.
Ba Rong was confused. “?”
“You are the killer who’s murdered three of my Divine Palace’s divine envoys, aren’t you?”
“What are you talking about? Who killed whom? You’re attacking me!”
“You just attacked me!”
Ba Rong was horribly offended. “I did not!”
Divine Envoy Wu Hen stopped attacking and warily eyed the fish. “Aren’t you the one who has killed three divine envoys from my Divine Palace?”
Ba Rong’s voice grew bitter. “Do I look like it?”
What kind of question is that? With that appearance, if it wasn’t you, then who? Divine Envoy Wu Hen really wanted to say this, but was afraid that if it did, and this fish really was the killer, it would die.
Wu Hen was roughly as strong as the three divine envoys who had been killed. However, they had not been killed one by one, but had fought two against one or even three against one. The killer’s strength was terrifying.
“If it was not your doing, then why are you here?”
Ba Rong helplessly replied, “I’m lost and cannot find my way home.”
Divine Envoy Wu Hen was startled. “Lost?”
“Yes. I accidentally stepped on a springboard and got thrown here, so now I’m lost.”
“A springboard?” Divine Envoy Wu Hen cried out in alarm, its eyes filled with fear. “Where is that springboard?”
Ba Rong had only casually come up with an excuse. It had not expected Divine Envoy Wu Hen to care so much. “I don’t know. That springboard flung me over here, leaving me so dizzy and disoriented that I can’t even find my way home now.”
Divine Envoy Wu Hen breathed a sigh of relief. This fish did not seem to be lying. Since that was the case, why not bring it to the Divine Palace?
If it was the killer, it would never be able to leave after entering the Divine Palace, and Wu Hen would not need to deal with it alone. If it was not the murderer, then the Divine Palace would be able to gain another divine envoy. That would count as Wu Hen’s contribution, and it would be able to reduce its karmic chain a bit.
Thinking of this, Divine Envoy Wu Hen issued an invitation.
Ba Rong asked about the Divine Palace, and a great many questions too. Divine Envoy Wu Hen was increasingly convinced that this fish was not the murderer and patiently answered all of the questions.
After several days of considering the matter, Ba Rong finally agreed to go to the Divine Palace.
It looked back, staring across the cosmos. Ba Rong knew that Lu Yin was watching from afar. It truly did not want to go to the Divine Palace, but it had no control over its own decisions.
Sigh, forget it. Nowhere is safe. Humanity had already planted creatures within the Divine Palace, so it was all the same in the end. This entire region of the Aevum Inch would eventually belong to that human civilization.
After all, there were not that many fishing civilizations here.
In the distance, Lu Yin left. With Ba Rong joining the Divine Palace, humanity was one step closer to using the Divine Palace as a shell.
This region of the Aevum Inch was truly good. Lu Yin could continuously teleport more than 1,000 years’ distance across the cosmos, yet he would still be within the Divine Palace’s domain. This was proof that the Divine Palace ruled an area that was vast beyond imagination. What was perfect was that there was only the Divine Palace present and virtually no fishing civilizations of any kind.
There was no Obscura, no Death Megaverse, no Mudwater Dominion, no technological civilization. There was nothing of the sort.
This was also what gave Lu Yin the confidence to use the Divine Palace as a shell for humanity. For the Divine Palace to rule such a vast domain, it absolutely had to rely on the power of a Primacy Path. Lu Yin was not trying to replace the Divine Palace or go against that Primacy Path. Instead, he intended to transform the Divine Palace while still providing the required offerings to the Temporal Primacy.
Since he could not defeat it, he would first join it. In the past, he had done so on his own, but this time, he was doing it with his entire civilization.
From this perspective, the calamity that had befallen the Trio when the powers of the Primacy Paths descended might not necessarily have been a bad thing.
Wait. Does this count as humanity also failing and escaping from that region of the Aevum Inch, just like the Divine Realm?
All kinds of thoughts drifted through his mind as Lu Yin returned to the Tianyuan.
***
Elsewhere, Divine Envoy Wu Hen led Ba Rong to the Divine Palace. The Divine Palace was thrown into an uproar, but not only because Wu Hen had brought Ba Rong back.
“Is there really another new Immortal being joining?” Divine Envoy Wu Hen stared at Divine Envoy Shuang Luo in shock. It had encountered Shuang Luo as soon as it returned, and Wu Hen had intended to show off how it had made a contribution, only for Divine Envoy Shuang Luo to report that a new Immortal being had already joined the Divine Palace.
Divine Envoy Shuang Luo replied, “That is right. It only just arrived.”
“Why would a new Immortal being suddenly appear?” Divine Envoy Wu Hen did not understand.
Divine Envoy Shuang Luo glanced at Ba Rong. “Did the one that you are bringing over not also suddenly appear?”
“I already reported encountering this Immortal being many years ago.”
“Many years ago?”
“What about this Immortal being?”
“Far earlier than when you first saw this fish. There is a record in the Divine Palace of an encounter long ago.”
Divine Envoy Wu Hen suddenly thought of something. “The Immortal being whom a Transmission God encountered while harvesting time?”
“Correct.”
“Where is it now?”