Chapter 4337: The Nine Guardian Mirebound Artifacts
Lan Meng said, "I really do not know. In fact, I did not even want to go after Ancestor Shan. I could have used the Seven-Treasure Anuras’ civilization, but I also could not. You know very well how formidable those toads are, especially since that old monster had even visited Vestigium before. I would never dare to casually use such a creature, let alone ambush it.
"At that time, I was still in the Bluebright Realm, only to suddenly be sent just outside the Seven-Treasure Anuras’ realm. I saw you fighting against some other civilization, and I was threatened to attack Ancestor Shan. No one could be allowed to know, or else I would die." At this point, Lan Meng stared at Lu Yin. "Someone was able to throw me to the Seven-Treasure Anuras’ realm without me being able to resist. Can you imagine just how powerful of an expert they must be?
"To avoid dying, I could only do my best to conceal the fact that I was forced to attack Ancestor Shan."
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. If Ancestor Shan himself had not said that someone was observing him, someone powerful enough that they could not escape even with teleportation, then Lu Yin would have never suspected Lan Meng.
"That Old Man Hehe said that he knows who was watching Ancestor Shan."
Lan Meng’s voice grew heavy. "Then you should ask them. Perhaps they are the one who threw me to the Seven-Treasure Anuras’ territory. In any case, I do not know. If you do not believe me, then you can examine my karma. That would not count as you attacking me."
Lu Yin brazenly released a spiral of karma. Lan Meng did not move and allowed Lu Yin to investigate.
Every creature had their own secrets. The fact that Lan Meng was allowing Lu Yin to openly investigate them with karma indicated that either their secrets had already been exposed to Lu Yin or that their secrets were hidden in a manner beyond Lu Yin's understanding. If it was the former, there was no need to bother hiding anything. And in the latter case, unless Lu Yin thoroughly observed Lan Meng's entire life, it would be impossible for him to uncover such secrets.
Given how long had Lan Meng lived for, it was simply impossible for Lu Yin to observe their entire life with karma.
Not only that, but Lan Meng also felt completely helpless. If there were any other way, why would they allow Lu Yin to examine their karma? This matter had to be made clear, or else they would not be able to endure being constantly targeted.
It was important to remember that there were still powerful creatures among the Seven-Treasure Anuras. Even if Lu Yin was not able to deal with Lan Meng, as long as he threw those Seven-Treasure Anuras over to the Bluebright Realm, Lan Meng would be finished.
They believed that the Seven-Treasure Anuras would be more than happy to beat them to death, which was why this matter needed to be clarified. Lan Meng did not want to take the blame for someone else.
Lu Yin watched as karma revealed scenes from Lan Meng’s past, and he witnessed Lan Meng's panic when they were sent after the toads. Lan Meng themself did not even know how they had appeared near the seven-colored land. Whoever had sent them there was an absolutely terrifying existence. Not only were they strong enough to make Ancestor Shan wary of them and give up on the idea of escaping, but that mysterious powerhouse also knew about Lan Meng's existence. That was not something that mere power could explain.
Was it really Old Man Hehe?
"Who is Old Man Hehe?" Lu Yin asked.
Lan Meng helplessly replied, "Do you think I could know what they are? I have been in Obscura for a long time, but not nearly as long as some of those beings. I only heard my father speculate that they might be a strange lifeform that can peer into the main stream of the River of Aeons."
"Your father?"
"My father was also a member of Obscura. It was precisely because my father was a member that I was able to eventually join Obscura."
"Can membership be passed down?"
"It is not an inheritance. My strength was sufficient, and Obscura happened to be short on people."
"Is your father still part of Obscura?"
"He died long ago."
"What about Che? What is he? Tell me what you know about the few members of Obscura."
Lan Meng stared at Lu Yin. "I will not say anything more, as doing so would break the rules. Even if you do not kill me, they can easily do so."
Lu Yin's gaze flickered. "Why are you so obsessed with targeting our human civilization?"
Lan Meng hesitated, so Lu Yin pressed harder. "As long as I am around, you will never be able to target humanity, so why hide this? Do you think that the current human civilization will eventually decline? Even if it does, it will be after your Bluebright Realm is destroyed. I’ll be open with you: before my human civilization falls, I will first go to the Bluebright Realm and settle things with you."
Lan Meng's voice grew cold. "There is no need to threaten me. If you want to know, I will tell you. It is not even some secret. All of those ancient beings in Obscura already know.
"My purpose in targeting your civilization is a guardian mirebound artifact."
Lu Yin was taken aback. "A mirebound artifact?"
"Correct. During the Nine Ramparts era, human civilization reached its peak. Even Obscura had to unite many civilizations together to destroy them. At that time, humanity itself was powerful, but what exaggerated that strength even further was the fact that each Rampart had its own unique guardian artifact. They were among the strongest mirebound artifacts in existence, and I want to obtain one," Lan Meng explained.
Lu Yin's eyes flickered as he stared at Lan Meng, though he said nothing.
"Hui stayed in the Ninth Rampart’s megaverse for so long because it wanted to find that Rampart’s guardian artifact. We are all aware that everyone wants one of those guardian artifacts. As long as I obtain one, then even if I only resonate with one cosmic law, I will gain the strength to fight a two-law Immortal.
“Is this answer satisfactory?" Lan Meng continued.
Lu Yin asked, "How much do you know about the Nine Ramparts’ guardian artifacts? Why are you certain that one is in the Human Trio? If there really is one there, why haven’t Furball or any of the others made a move? How could it be your turn?"
Lan Meng sneered. "Targeting your civilization requires them to know that there is a guardian artifact there. I learned of this from my father, and I might as well just tell you this."
After a pause, they changed the subject. “I’ve said enough to show my sincerity. From here on, we owe each other nothing. If you’re willing to continue, I’ll keep talking. If not, I won’t say another word. At worst, I’ll abandon the Bluebright Realm.”
Lu Yin agreed. Lan Meng and humanity’s grudge had not devolved to the point of mutual annihilation. Even though Lan Meng was responsible for many of his human civilization’s crises, certain threats would have eventually appeared even without Lan Meng’s interference. Lan Meng had merely expedited things a bit.
As for the Seven-Treasure Anuras, Lu Yin was only agreeing that he and Lan Meng would have nothing more to do with each other. If the Seven-Treasure Anuras decided to target Lan Meng, that would have nothing to do with Lu Yin.
Besides that, even if he did want to cause trouble for Lan Meng, it would not be easy to do so for the time being. He did not have the exact coordinates for the Bluebright Realm, and Lan Meng certainly would not remain there.
Lan Meng let out a breath. Lu Yin was very strong, but they were both members of Obscura. The rules of that organization made the human less of a threat. However, Lu Yin’s civilization had far too many experts. Even Hong Xia had been restrained by them, let alone Lan Meng.
Just the Seven-Treasure Anuras alone could kill them. They had still not been able to recover from the grievous injuries caused by Ancestor Shan. Provoking this brat again could easily lead to Lang Meng’s death. They needed time to recover.
Teleportation was the nemesis of time. As long as Lu Yin did not appear, there would be room to breathe.
"My father fought in the war that destroyed the Nine Ramparts," Lan Meng eventually announced.
Lu Yin was not surprised. After all, the timing made sense.
"After the first battle of that war, my father personally saw the Second Rampart’s guardian artifact, Red Umbrella, enter a River of Aeons. That River of Aeons is the one in your Human Trio. While megaverses move, I ran the calculations, and that River of Aeons perfectly matches yours. That is why I suspect the red umbrella is within your Trio," Lan Meng explained.
Lu Yin recalled the red-clad woman that he had seen entering the Mirari Realm. If she really was Hong Shuang, then it would make sense that she had carried the red umbrella into the Mirari Realm.
More and more, there was growing certainty that the red-clad woman should be Hong Shuang, the Second Rampart’s Rampart Warden. She was in the Mirari Realm, and so was her guardian artifact, Red Umbrella.
"Before dying, my father told me this, and he also told me to find a way to find the guardian artifact in your human civilization after breaking through to Immortality," Lan Meng continued. "After I broke through to the Immortal realm, I intended to search your civilization for the umbrella, but I was nowhere near strong enough to suppress your human civilization at that time. I had no choice but to join Obscura to obtain their divine energy, a coffin, a gate, and more.
"However, Obscura also has its own rules. Qi Xu was tasked with destroying your civilization, so I could only wait, day after day."
Their gaze grew cold. "Leaving Qi Xu to deal with your human civilization was simply a waste. She did not know that your megaverses contained that hidden guardian artifact. I kept trying to contact her in Vestigium, but she did not appear there even once. Slowly, I started to grow suspicious, but Obscura could clearly sense Qi Xu's power, which forced me to continue to wait."
Lu Yin could not help admiring Green Lotus's strategy. Qi Xu's power had been used to protect humanity for a very long time. Without that, they would have been targeted by Lan Meng long ago, and the Seven-Treasure Anuras and the Tricolor Skyborne would have arrived.
Of course, having learned of Green Lotus’s hidden strength, as well as the fact that he had been an anchor for Hong Xia’s Twelvefold Path of Dispassion, Lu Yin also knew that the Trio would not have been completely destroyed. Still, given Hong Xia’s personality and behavior, so long as Green Lotus had not died, Hong Xia would not have cared about the destruction of the Human Trio. No one else in those megaverses mattered to him.
“I waited for confirmation of Qi Xu’s death, but I didn’t expect to end up waiting for you as well.” Lan Meng’s gaze shifted from cold to helpless, his voice filled with exhaustion. “The others in Obscura don’t know that the red umbrella entered the Human Trio, or else it would never have been my turn to act against your human civilization. As for the Ninth Rampart, it has long been Hui’s task. As long as those human cultivators who escaped from the Ninth Rampart remain unresolved, that task can never be completed. In truth, everyone knows Hui has been searching for a guardian artifact, but even after all these years, it still hasn’t found it.
"If other Obscura members had been allowed to search, it might have been found long ago, but Obscura's rules cannot be broken by anyone."
Lan Meng stared at Lu Yin. "Obscura is fair. As long as you are assigned a mission, no one can steal it from you. Anyone who breaks the rules will not end well."
"You don’t need to remind me. You’ve told me all of this, and I already agreed that you and I will have nothing more to do with each other."
"Good."
"How much do you know about the Nine Ramparts?"
Helpless, Lan Meng replied, "My father died too suddenly and did not have time to tell me much, but that does not matter. The Nine Ramparts had already fallen. What my father cared about was that guardian artifact. He insisted that I search for it no matter what. As long as I could obtain it, my survival would be guaranteed.
“Your Nine Ramparts’ guardian artifacts, from the First Rampart to the Ninth Rampart, are respectively: Single Character, Red Umbrella, Flowing Radiance, Heaven’s Sight, Manifest City, Milky Way, Yan Gate's Seven Needles, Heart-Questioning Candle, and the Cauldron.
"Obtaining one can ensure your survival, while obtaining two might grant greatness."
Lu Yin mentally ran through the names of the nine great guardian mirebound artifacts that Lan Meng had mentioned. Heaven's Sight? That should be with the Longevity Civilization. The Red Umbrella had accompanied Hong Shuang into the Mirari Realm. The Cauldron was in his master's hands. Heart-Questioning Candle?
Ancestor Shan had once mentioned seeing a human civilization with an enormous candle. Could that be the Heart-Questioning Candle?
If the nine guardian artifacts could all be gathered again, humanity might be able to rebuild their former glory.
But where were the other guardian artifacts?
"Has Obscura obtained any of the nine guardian artifacts?"
"I do not know. No one fully understands Obscura."
Lu Yin asked Lan Meng many more questions. They knew the answer to some but had no clue for most of Lu Yin’s questions. Also, when it concerned the identities of the other members of Obscura, even if Lan Meng knew something, they would not say.
