Chapter 4327: Soft Megaverse
Jiu Wen continued to explain, “Teleportation is not unbeatable. Even the Plume Immortals can be killed, let alone you. You need to see your destination in order to teleport there, and this flaw, in the eyes of certain powerhouses, essentially makes what you do not teleportation at all, because they can attack further than what you can teleport to.
“Hong Xia is someone capable of doing just that; he simply has not gone all out yet. If he refuses to make a move, then there must be beings at these locations who can.”
Lu Yin frowned. “There can’t possibly be another civilization backing Hong Xia. Unless... it’s a civilization that he can use.”
Jiu Wen pondered. “We have always been the civilization that Hong Xia has exploited. He told me that members of Obscura are required to complete missions, but his own mission has not been completed, even after a very long time.”
Lu Yin was surprised. “Does Hong Xia not have another civilization that he can use?”
“As far as I know, there is none.”
Lu Yin looked away to stare in the direction that Hong Xia had gone in.
If there was no other civilization that the man exploited, he might not need one because Crimson Starshade itself was enough. But there was also another possibility, as Lu Yin understood it. Immortals like Bing Xu rarely left this megaverse, which suggested that their value lay not in being used against other civilizations, but rather in serving Hong Xia alone.
It was also possible that the man had never intended to complete his mission at all and thus had seen no need to exploit any other civilization.
Lu Yin favored the last option. It was quite possible that Hong Xia had never intended to complete his mission. He could be just like Lu Yin, stalling for time.
Obscura was not a single civilization, but rather a force created by beings who were united for some particular purpose. While such a gathering had a unified objective, there was no unified inheritance. Everyone had their own agenda, and they were either there because Obscura’s goal happened to align with theirs or because, like Lu Yin, they had been coerced.
When Hong Xia had been given a choice between the Plume Immortals Civilization and Obscura, he had chosen Obscura. This meant that Obscura had offered him something that the Plume Immortals could not.
In that case, just what was the man’s purpose in joining Obscura? No matter what the purpose might be, Lu Yin would have to investigate all four locations.
Sometimes, even a trap could be a clue.
Lu Yin looked in the direction of the four coordinates. Hong Xia had given them in a specific order, but what meaning did the order have? Did he think Lu Yin would investigate the locations in order or deliberately go in a different order?
With a casual wave, Lu Yin mixed up the records of the four coordinates and then grabbed one at random. Whichever he grabbed would be the next one he visited. This is the one.
None of the four locations were close. The farthest one was much farther away than Furball’s initial location, while the location that Lu Yin had just chosen was about the same distance away.
He started repeatedly teleporting. The closer he got to the location, the more cautious Lu Yin became.
In particular, for the last few teleports, he first used the Mirrorlight Art to examine the distance. He would only move on after clearly scouting out his destination. He did not want to fall into Hong Xia’s trap.
In the end, he found himself staring at an empty megaverse. Lu Yin was baffled. Was this the location that Hong Xia had shared? Why was there nothing there?
There was nothing at all in this megaverse: no creatures, no Mother Tree. Everything that should have been there was simply gone. It did not even feel like it had been reset. No matter what Lu Yin looked at here, the place was disturbing.
Lu Yin cautiously restrained his aura as he entered the megaverse. He carefully examined it with his Mirrorlight Art to confirm that there was truly nothing there.
Hong Xia would not waste time deceiving Lu Yin with an empty megaverse. There was no point in doing so. This megaverse had to conceal something.
He continued his search. To stay on guard against dangers he might not even be able to perceive, Lu Yin avoided teleporting around, reserving it as a hidden trump card.
His search lasted for months, and eventually, Lu Yin found the answer: the power of Stillness.
This megaverse actually contained the power of Stillness. It was extremely faint, to the point of almost being imperceptible, but it was absolutely that very power. If the Stillness was not so miniscule, Lu Yin would have detected it long ago.
Why would the power of Stillness remain in this megaverse? What sort of relationship was there between this megaverse and the Death Megaverse? Also, what did the Death Megaverse have to do with Hong Xia? Was it possible that Hong Xia had a connection to not only the Plume Immortals and Obscura, but also to the Death Megaverse?
That seemed unlikely. Could a human traitor really move between three colossal forces? Not even Lu Yin had the confidence to do that.
He continued his search. Another half a year passed. Lu Yin stared out at the stars and exhaled. This megaverse had already been reset, and it should have been done by the Death Megaverse.
The Death Megaverse had reset this megaverse, but because far too much time had passed since then, even the power of Stillness had faded. As for Hong Xia, he most likely had nothing to do with the reset. If he had, why would he have specifically sent Lu Yin to this megaverse? Just to show his connection to the Death Megaverse?
That did not make any sense at all. Someone as cautious as Hong Xia would not reveal every trump card in their hands. Was he not afraid that Lu Yin would tell Obscura?
There was also a possibility that something had once existed in this megaverse but had been destroyed by the Death Megaverse and that Hong Xia did not know about the destruction.
He may have believed that he was sending Lu Yin to a powerful civilization, one that could pose a threat to Lu Yin. If that were true, then Hong Xia had no clue that the civilization had been destroyed by the Death Megaverse.
Lu Yin considered the situation for a long time before finally returning to Crimson Starshade to see Hong Xia again.
Standing in outer space, Hong Xia observed Lu Yin with cold eyes. “You look miserable.”
Lu Yin’s face was pale, and he no longer appeared as calm as he had before. His eyes even betrayed a lingering bit of fear. “You wanted to kill me.”
Hong Xia slowly replied, “I merely said that one of the four locations is absolutely real. I never said that they were all real.”
“That civilization is very strong. Is that a civilization that you use?” Lu Yin asked, staring at Hong Xia.
Hong Xia sneered. “The Soft Megaverse is a civilization close to the level of a fishing civilization. It isn’t a fishing civilization, but because of their special battle techniques and their control over space, you most likely only escaped by catching them off guard with your ability to teleport. Otherwise, if they had known that you could teleport in advance, you wouldn’t have been able to return.”
Soft Megaverse... Lu Yin understood. He had been testing Hong Xia. It appeared that the situation matched Lu Yin’s guess: Hong Xia had truly wanted to use that cosmic civilization against Lu Yin, but he did not know that the civilization had already been destroyed by the Death Megaverse.
“Are you able to use that civilization, or is it your mission?”
“Why would I tell you?”
“When was the last time you went to the Soft Megaverse?” Lu Yin asked curiously.
Hong Xia frowned. “Why ask that question?”
Lu Yin’s voice grew contemptuous. “The real threat to me there was their ancestor. As far as I can tell, that one’s not any weaker than you.”
Hong Xia’s eyes flared. “You didn’t go to the Soft Megaverse...”
Lu Yin’s brows shot up as he looked at Hong Xia in surprise. Had he already been seen through?
Hong Xia appeared puzzled as he stared intensely at Lu Yin. “That’s not right... You clearly carry the aura of the Soft Megaverse. Such an aura cannot be erased even if a megaverse is destroyed. You must have been there, but...”
At this point, the man’s expression turned heavy. “The Soft Megaverse was destroyed. You saw the Soft Megaverse after it was destroyed.”
Sure enough, Lu Yin had been caught. It was probably because he had mentioned an ancestor.
He was careless. Of the various civilizations throughout the Aevum Inch, every civilization that Lu Yin previously encountered had had their own ancestor, and he had naturally assumed that the Soft Megaverse had one as well. He had tried to use that in his deception to Hong Xia in order to extract more information, only to end up exposing himself instead.
There was too much variety among the species and civilizations that filled the Aevum Inch; common sense could not be used when judging them.
Lu Yin asked curiously, “Just what is the situation with the Soft Megaverse?”
Hong Xia coldly replied, “The fact that the Soft Megaverse has been destroyed is one thing, but there are still three more locations. Keep searching.”
“Wait. At least tell me about the Soft Megaverse,” Lu Yin said. The Death Megaverse was another great enemy. To be even more precise, Hong Xia was simply a traitor, whereas the Death Megaverse, Obscura, and the Plume Immortals were humanity’s true mortal foes. If there was even the slightest chance, Lu Yin would try to learn more.
Unfortunately, Hong Xia ignored him and immediately disappeared.
Hong Xia had not expected the Soft Megaverse to be destroyed. Lu Yin looked miserable, but he had clearly been testing Hong Xia. This kid is far too cunning.
Without Hong Xia’s knowledge of the Soft Megaverse, he might really have been fooled.
While the Soft Megaverse was called a civilization, it was actually just a single lifeform that could split into countless creatures. One lifeform was one megaverse, so how could such a “civilization” have an ancestor?
Given enough time, that creature could theoretically split until it filled the entire Aevum Inch.
That creature was also the one that Obscura had tasked Hong Xia with destroying. He had accepted that mission but had never completed it. He had simply tossed it to Lu Yin.
If Lu Yin had been even the slightest bit careless, he could have easily been controlled by that being in the Soft Megaverse.
But the Soft Megaverse had actually been destroyed. Wait, if it was destroyed, why hasn’t Obscura informed me that my mission is completed?
Hong Xia suddenly appeared before Lu Yin again, scrutinizing the younger man.
Lu Yin looked at Hong Xia in confusion. “Thought things through? Ready to tell me Furball’s new location?”
Hong Xia stared at Lu Yin. “Was the Soft Megaverse really destroyed?”
Lu Yin was about to mock the man, but then he paused. It appeared that he had thought of something, and he said nothing.
Hong Xia stared at Lu Yin with greater intensity, also saying nothing.
The atmosphere suddenly turned strange. Hong Xia did not want Lu Yin to infer anything and thus did not dare say anything more. On the other side, Lu Yin had thought of a possibility: perhaps the Soft Megaverse had been Hong Xia’s mission. However, if his mission had been completed, Ba Se should have granted the man a reward, just like when the technological civilization had destroyed the Seal-Eater Megaverse. At that time, Lu Yin had been summoned to Obscura to receive a reward despite not knowing what had happened.
But Hong Xia had not even known that the Soft Megaverse had been destroyed. Clearly, something was off.
As for the possibility that Hong Xia had been using the Soft Megaverse, that made even less sense. The man would not have returned to Lu Yin to confirm anything. Hong Xia’s return clearly showed that the man had not known about the Soft Megaverse’s destruction.
If it had merely been a civilization that he used, it would not matter if it was destroyed. Hong Xia would only care if the Soft Megaverse had been his mission; since it was destroyed, why had Obscura never let him collect a reward? If that was true, something was very wrong.
Moreover, if that megaverse had been a mission, then the simplest way would be to verify it by going through a gate and seeing, not asking Lu Yin.
Neither man spoke, each guessing at something.
Sitting inside the Blood Tower, Jiu Wen suddenly noticed that Lu Yin and Hong Xia were quite similar, both in regards to their talent for cultivation and their cunning. Hong Xia had once possessed extraordinary talent and an astonishing aura that enabled him to climb endlessly upwards and even develop a relationship with Rampart Warden Hong Shuang. However, it was also precisely because he was too smart that he had betrayed humanity.
Similarly, Lu Yin possessed exceptional talent and was highly intelligent. He had practically unified the Human Trio. His intelligence was not to be questioned.
The difference was that one had a bottom line and valued civilization’s legacy, while the other lived solely for himself.
Lu Yin left, cleanly and decisively. For the time being, he would not say anything at all and leave Hong Xia to make guesses on his own. The more that Lu Yin said, the more likely it was he would make a mistake.
Hong Xia stared into the emptiness of space. Had the Soft Megaverse really been destroyed? Was the brat putting on an act, or were things truly as Hong Xia thought?
The less Lu Yin said, the more thoughts that ran through Hong Xia’s mind.
