Chapter 3423: Arrival
The two quickly retrieved a kitten from an abandoned box that they had hidden in a secluded corner of Beacon City. It was an incredibly adorable little cat.
Yi Yao happily cradled the kitten. “Little Yao, did you miss your big sister?”
Ba Liu grinned happily. “After you left several days ago, Little Yao stopped eating and drinking. I had to promise that I’d bring you back before it was willing to eat again.”
“It’s a good thing that we didn’t take it with us to that fight. It would’ve died for sure.”
“I know. Still, if it hadn’t been absolutely necessary, I wouldn’t have hidden them here. If we had escaped to the Consciousness Megaverse, it would have had no choice but to live as a stray. We’ve failed it.”
From Boundless, Lu Yin was staring at the corner of Beacon City. Is that... a conscient from the Consciousness Megaverse?
The kitten was a tiny conscient from the Consciousness Megaverse.
Had cultivators from the Spirit Nidus adopted a conscient? This was interesting.
Progenitor Xi arrived and noticed the scene as well, but she showed a great deal of surprise. “They’ve actually adopted a conscient.”
“Is that not allowed?”
“It’s strictly forbidden in the Spirit Nidus.”
Lu Yin arched a brow. “Does the Spirit Nidus have that many restrictions? It seems like just about everything is forbidden.”
Progenitor Xi offered a wry smile. “Once someone breaks a rule, they usually start to disregard the rest. It’s clear that those two have been caring for that little conscient for quite some time. That might have been the first rule that they ever broke.”
Lu Yin continued to observe Ba Liu and Yi Yao. Had they adopted the conscient out of some sort of act of kindness?
The Grandverse Manor might have the goal of creating chaos, but they would not protect the most heinous of criminals. Ba Liu and Yi Yao seemed to be a perfect fit. It might even be possible for Lu Yin to find someone to support the two... Yuan Qi would be perfect.
Oh, right. If it’s forbidden to adopt a conscient... Lu Yin turned to look at Progenitor Xi. She was confused by his attention, and she started feeling nervous.
"What’s the difference between adoption and surrender?" Lu Yin looked away as he casually asked a question.
Progenitor Xi let out a sigh of relief. Lu Yin's stare had disturbed her. "When a conscient surrenders, a Seraph has to be the one to verify the surrender. After all, if a conscient grows too strong, they can easily possess a cultivator’s body. Only after a Seraph has verified the surrender is a conscient considered to have truly surrendered, which allows them to live in the Spirit Nidus.
"When confirming a surrender, the Seraph will leave a mark on the conscient."
As she spoke, Progenitor Xi’s expression fell. "To us conscients, those marks are a mark of shame."
It was at that moment that Old Tao arrived, and he offered Lu Yin a respectful bow. "You summoned me, esteemed Young Master? May I ask what orders you have for me, my lord?"
Lu Yin waved a hand, dismissing Progenitor Xi.
Old Tao was taken aback. A conscient? That made sense. An alliance between the Tianyuan and Consciousness megaverses was only logical. The Tianyuan Megaverse might have learned about the Spirit Nidus’s plans to invade through the Consciousness Megaverse. The Spirit Nidus had not kept their intentions to reset the megaverse a secret.
Despite his surprise, Old Tao’s face showed nothing. He maintained the same respectful demeanor as ever. He even bowed lower than before.
Looking at the old man, Lu Yin smirked. "How was your conversation with Yi Xia?"
Old Tao answered respectfully, "We spoke about our shared admiration for your greatness, my lord. From what I heard from City Lord Yi Xia, I’ve come to worship you even more devoutly! My praise for you flows like an endless river of stars! As powerful as a supernova! Unstoppable and without limits!"
"Yi Xia must have been cursing me rather fiercely, right?"
"No! Absolutely not!" Old Tao instantly protested, sounding quite self-righteous. "He would never dare to curse you before me, my lord! If he dared to say so much as a single bad word about you, I would have fought him on the spot."
Yi Xia had already come to understand his current position. He knew that the High Seraph would never spare him and also that Lu Yin was leaving him behind to deal with Beacon City. It would be shocking if the man had not been cursing Lu Yin.
However, Lu Yin did not care about any of that. Instead, he was focused on Old Tao. "I’ve learned a bit about you, Old Tao. Not bad."
Old Tao suddenly felt a bit uneasy. He cautiously looked at Lu Yin. "Might I ask precisely what you mean by 'not bad,' my lord?"
"In every way."
"You flatter me, my lord. There’s still so much that I need to learn from you." Old Tao was being honest. Understanding Yi Xia’s fate had sent chills down the old man’s spine. He fully understood just how cunning and ruthless Lu Yin was. This was someone he absolutely could not afford to offend. Doing so would result in death being a mercy.
Lu Yin turned to look in the direction of the Consciousness Megaverse. "Get ready. You’re coming with me to the Spirit Nidus."
Old Tao was shocked. "To the Spirit Nidus?"
"Surprised?"
Of course Old Tao was surprised. He had assumed that the people from the Tianyuan Megaverse would be headed to the Consciousness Megaverse to form an alliance against the Spirit Nidus. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that these people would head straight into the Spirit Nidus itself. How was this anything but suicide? While Old Tai did acknowledge that the Tianyuan Megaverse had many powerful experts, they were still nothing when compared to the Spirit Nidus. The High Seraph alone could take care of all these people, right?
Yi Xia had only shared his current predicament with Old Tao, and he had said nothing at all about Lu Yin’s conversation and agreement with the High Seraph. Not a single word of that matter had ever been mentioned.
As a result, Old Tao remained completely unaware.
The old man’s reaction confirmed for Lu Yin that Yi Xia had said nothing. The city lord was a smart man.
"My lord, the Spirit Nidus is full of various dangers, especially for someone from another megaverse, such as yourself. The moment you enter, you’ll be noticed, and it won’t take them long to find you. This will be far too dangerous," Old Tao warned. He knew that he had no choice in anything that happened. Lu Yin had decided to take Old Tao with him, and refusal was not an option. Even so, going to the Spirit Nidus meant that, once Old Tao boarded Boundless, it might be impossible for him to leave the battleship alive.
Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back and calmly said, "My destination is not for you to decide. You either come with me, or you find a way to escape from me. Choose."
Old Tao’s face twisted, looking as if he had swallowed a dead fly. Even so, he did not dare to do anything rash in front of Lu Yin. Helpless, the old man bowed again. "Wherever you point, my lord, is where I will go. I am at your service."
"Is Beacon City pretty quiet right now?"
"Yes. More squads just set out to the Consciousness Megaverse, while other squads are on their way back."
"Then let’s set off. Yi Xia will handle this place."
Old Tao glanced nostalgically at Beacon City as they left. He had no idea if he would ever return to the city alive.
Beacon City was the place that the old man loved the most. It had been his refuge away from the endless power struggles and scheming that took place in the Spirit Nidus. As a deputy city lord, Old Tao had lived freely, watching as all different kinds of people had traveled to and from the battlefield. He had used up all of his connections to secure his current position, and yet he was already being forced to leave.
What rotten luck. Why did bad things always happen to him?
He glanced at Lu Yin’s back again. This young man was a harbinger of doom.
Boundless departed, continuing on towards the Spirit Nidus.
Everyone in Beacon City was still unconscious, with only Yi Xia watching as Boundless moved away. Explaining what had happened to the unconscious people when they woke up was his problem. Lu Yin stared off into the distance. Spirit Nidus, here I come.
The Spirit Nidus, just like the Tianyuan Megaverse, consisted of countless parallel universes. However, unlike the Tianyuan Megaverse, the Spirit Nidus had connected these universes and organized them according to a specific layout system.
The connections between the various parallel universes led back to the primary universe of the Spirit Nidus, which allowed any cultivator who traveled through these connections to reach any parallel universe they desired.
If the Spirit Nidus was flattened out like a painting, then the connecting lines between the various parallel universes would form a single character: 灵![1]
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At the boundary of the Spirit Nidus stood a massive stone gate that was surrounded by countless springboards. There were far more than at Beacon City. However, because of the conversation between the High Seraph and Lu Yin, more than half of the springboards had been destroyed.
One day, the round-faced old man who was the president of the Spirit Nidus’s Chamber of Commerce arrived at the stone gate. He intended to use his authority as a Seraph to send a message to Beacon City.
"My apologies, Seraph Yi, but the High Seraph has ordered that no one be allowed to contact Beacon City."
Yi Shang’s face fell. "I am a Seraph."
"My apologies, Seraph Yi."
The old man looked out at the springboards, and he saw how significantly their numbers had been reduced. His expression turned grim.
Just what had happened at Beacon City?
While the High Seraph was the ruler of the Spirit Nidus, he did not possess absolute power. There were many matters which required him to consult with the Seven Seraphs.
The fact that Beacon City had fallen to the Tianyuan Megaverse was something that absolutely had to be reported to the Seven Seraphs. However, since it was impossible to inform the Seraphs who were stationed in the Consciousness Megaverse, only those in the Spirit Nidus had been informed.
When Yi Shang had learned of the situation, he had immediately tried to send a message to Beacon City, but he had been denied.
Informing the Seven Seraph of the situation was a matter of respect, but preventing any of the Seraphs from contacting the city was unquestionably within the High Seraph's authority.
Yi Shang was desperate to make contact with Beacon City. Yi Xia was a descendant that he had painstakingly raised and nurtured. Yi Shang had planned out his grandson’s path of cultivation from birth to the present, and the old man knew Yi Xia better than the man knew himself. Once the Heaven-Devouring Umbrella was combined with the Devouring Sequence Technique, Yi Xia would absolutely be qualified to compete for the position of a Seraph, exactly like Bao Qi.
Unfortunately, the current situation made Yi Shang feel as if all of his efforts might have been in vain.
All he could hope for was Yi Xia’s survival. As long as the man lived, there would always be a chance.
Boundless continued through the Aevum Inch, sailing through the endless darkness. The journey was exactly like when they had traveled from the Tianyuan Megaverse to Beacon City.
On Boundless, Lu Yin released Yuan Qi, and then he cheerfully proceeded to tell Ba Liu and Yi Yao to acknowledge the old man as their master.
Yuan Qi was completely baffled. He could not even begin to guess why he was suddenly being forced to accept disciples, especially since he was Lu Yin’s prisoner. Why would he need disciples?
However, with Lu Yin carefully observing him, Yuan Qi did not dare to refuse. He had no choice but to accept Ba Liu and Yi Yao as his disciples.
The couple were equally confused. They did not know who Yuan Qi was, and they were also unable to come up with a reason for Lu Yin to make them bow to this man as their master.
"Disciple Ba Liu-"
"Disciple Yi Yao-"
"Greet Master."
Yuan Qi grunted in response. Despite his confusion, this was a simple matter of accepting new disciples. He was not being forced to fight to the death, and these two did not seem like bad disciples. Yi Yao was a Spirit Ancestor, though she was not a skilled combatant. Her foundation was solid, and as someone from the Spirit Nidus, she had already been exposed to sequence techniques. It was not impossible for her to eventually become a sequence powerhouse herself.
As for Ba Liu, Yuan Qi was even happier.
Ba Liu was only a Spirit Warrior, his cultivation equal to a Semi-Progenitor, but he was also a Realmbreaker who could fight against peak powerhouses. He was exceptionally talented and would be a valuable disciple.
Even if Yuan Qi was unhappy about being forced to accept new disciples, it was still the first time that he had done so in many years. Seeing the young man and woman before him, and seeing that they were also quite confused, likely because they had been similarly coerced by Lu Yin, Yuan Qi could not suppress a faint sense of connection to his two new disciples. Of course, that connection only existed in the weakest sense.
However, why had Lu Yin forced this connection? Why did he want Yuan Qi to be their master?
Yuan Qi coughed lightly. "Are you two cultivators from the Spirit Nidus?"
Ba Liu respectfully replied, "Yes, Master."
"I am Yuan Qi," the old man introduced himself.
Ba Liu froze. Yuan Qi? That name sounded very familiar.
Yi Yao was equally stunned, but then her expression changed drastically, and she blurted, "Seraph Yuan Qi?"
Ba Liu was shocked. "Seraph Yuan Qi?"
1. This character (灵) is the spirit in Spirit Nidus, and all of the various terms related to that. We wanted to show the actual character here to show the (bizarre) layout of the parallel universes in this megaverse. ☜