Chapter 2726: Indifference
Luo Zang stared blankly at Monarch Mu, unable to accept Lu Yin’s words.
Monarch Mu's face grew pale. "I told you the truth. I didn't lie to you."
Lu Yin stood back up. "Right now, you are aware that your son is staring at death, and also that I already know about Luo Shan's plan to cooperate with Sovereign Shao Yin. I really should believe you, as no matter how I look at things, there’s no reason for you to lie to me about Luo Shan. However, I’ve learned all about you, including your childhood, and so I know that you don’t actually care about Luo Zang at all. In fact, you don’t care about anyone.”
"That’s nonsense!" Monarch Mu roared.
Lu Yin proceeded to share many details of Monarch Mu’s life, particularly events from her childhood.
The woman’s face grew increasingly pale as she listened. The stories that Lu Yin was sharing demonstrated the kind of person she truly was: uncaring of familial bonds, conniving, and completely ruthless.
"When I consider your current situation, there are only two possibilities that would explain why you are still keeping Luo Shan’s secrets," Lu Yin paused for a moment as he stared at Monarch Mu, "One, you are being controlled by him in some manner, which is to say that you basically are him. In that situation, asking you to betray him is no different from asking him to betray himself, which would naturally be impossible."
Monarch Mu looked furious, and her eyes blazed fiercely.
"Two, you are certain that he can save you," Lu Yin stated slowly.
After Lu Yin finished speaking, Monarch Mu's expression remained as angry and fierce as ever, but her expression only made Lu Yin increasingly certain that the second option he had mentioned was a valid possibility.
"You do your best to not reveal any flaws in your act, but it is difficult for anyone to perfectly control themselves. Even extremely peak powerhouses are unable to completely control their emotions. You are putting on an act. The second option is true!" Lu Yin leaned in closer as he spoke.
Monarch Mu smiled, revealing contempt and ridicule. "You are just like Luo Shan."
Lu Yin grew puzzled, and Monarch Mu laughed. "Both of you are just as suspicious as the other. I have already told you the truth, yet you simply follow your own suspicions. In that case, why even bother asking me at all? The more suspicious you are, the more you prove your own cowardice!"
Lu Yin's eyes flickered, and Luo Zang’s other arm was crushed, causing him to scream.
Monarch Mu's face fell. "Xuan Qi, I have already told you everything that you’ve asked. If you don't believe me, then just kill him. He has done nothing to offend you. If you want to kill him, then finish him quickly. Why torture him?"
Lu Yin casually waved a hand, and a tremor ran through Luo Zang's body. He slowly crumpled to the ground, disbelief filling his eyes. There was no breath in him any longer, as he had truly been killed.
Luo Zang had never believed that he would die. After all, Monarch Mu was also present, so there was no reasonable risk of dying. He had been so close to Monarch Mu, so how had he still died? He had even been put down quickly, as the last words he had heard before death had been Monarch Mu saying, “Finish him quickly.”
Monarch Mu had also not expected Lu Yin to react so decisively. She stared at Luo Zang's body in a daze, unable to react for some time.
Lu Yin indifferently commented, "You’re next. The garbage you spout accomplishes nothing more than stalling for a bit of time. I’ll ask you again. What kind of person is Luo Shan?"
Monarch Mu turned to stare at Lu Yin. There should be overflowing killing intent in her eyes. Her son had just been killed in front of her, so she should hate Lu Yin. However, at this moment, what was hidden deep in her eyes was not killing intent or hatred, but rather anxiety and rage, as well as a touch of fear of her own death.
"Are you still deceiving yourself? I already know exactly the kind of person you are. While Luo Zang was your son, you never once truly cared for him at all. He never cared about the lives of others, and he even killed five people just to vent his anger. In the same manner, you don't care about his life. Whether he is dead or alive is nothing more than a method for evaluating me to you. Now, I’m using this to prove your values," Lu Yin casually explained.
Monarch Mu stared intently at Lu Yin. "Mu Qi betrayed me."
Mu Qi was Old Lady Mu’s name.
Lu Yin nodded. "It wasn’t really a betrayal. She’s known about my existence for quite some time, and she even knew from the beginning that you were taken by me. However, she’s never told Luo Shan anything. At the time, I wondered why. Even if she was afraid that Luo Shan would dig into her own, personal affairs, it was a matter of your life and death, as well as the prosperity of the entire Mu family, as they rely on you. Even back then, she had to have known that the existence of Luo Zang would not guarantee your Mu family’s prosperity, which should have meant that she wanted you to live more than anyone else.
"Now I understand that she actually prefers your death. If you die, the Mu family may continue to prosper because of Luo Zang, or it might not. Even if it becomes weak, she would still rather see you dead, and that’s because the two of you are exactly the same kind of people.
"When I first met Old Lady Mu, she was also venting her anger by killing servants, and then using that human blood to dye her embroidery red. After Luo Zang was captured, he similarly vented his anger." At this point, Lu Yin frowned. "None of you have any regard for human lives. Old Lady Mu understands in her heart that she is exactly the same as the maid she killed herself. The moment she is no longer useful to you, you will kill her in a fit of rage on some whim. That feeling of living at the edge of death is unbearable, and the longer she stays there, the more she delights in killing, feeling as though the dead can take her place.
"Monarch Mu, how many lives have you discarded when venting your own anger?"
Monarch Mu's pupils flickered as she stared at Lu Yin, but she did not answer.
Lu Yin was completely correct. Mu Qi and Luo Zang had both learned their behavior from Monarch Mu. Too many innocent lives had been reaped by her own hand, to the point where they were truly countless. All three of the people held no regard for the lives of other humans, and even Luo Zang meant nothing to Monarch Mu. He was nothing more than a puppet for the rest of the world to see and a means of gaining the trust of others.
If Lu Yin had not gone to speak with Old Lady Mu and uncover Monarch Mu’s personality, he would have never considered that such a lovely face was concealing such a vicious heart.
It would have been impossible for him to doubt Monarch Mu when she was watching Luo Zang facing death.
Fortunately, Lu Yin had done some research.
The reason why Old Lady Mu had not gone to Luo Shan after Monarch Mu disappeared was the first incident that had planted a trace of doubt in Lu Yin’s heart. After that, seeing the way that Luo Zang and Old Lady Mu both completely disregarded the lives of others had made him feel that something was definitely wrong. In the end, their behavior and attitudes had been picked up from Monarch Mu.
She was the one who truly held no regard for human life.
Monarch Mu closed her eyes. "You win. I will tell you everything about Luo Shan and the Three Monarchs Universe, and I can even help you deal with Luo Shan and the others. I will surrender myself to you. My only hope is that you can give me my freedom. After all, I am extremely powerful and will be very useful to you.”
Before Lu Yin had spoken with Old Lady Mu, he had thought about forcing Monarch Mu to surrender herself to him. He had approached Monarch Mu many times for that exact reason. It would be ideal to have another peak powerhouse under his command. However, after learning the truth of the woman’s personality, there was no way he could expect her to stay around, and he would doubt every word she ever said.
"Alright!" Lu Yin agreed.
Monarch Mu stared at Lu Yin. "How can I trust you?"
The Investiture of the Gods appeared above Lu Yin's head, causing golden light to spill out and fill the area. It shone through the death energy to illuminate the entire Aeternus Nation.
Everyone looked downwards towards the source of the golden light and then bowed their heads in worship.
Lu Yin stood beneath the golden scroll, the light shining on him and making him look like some sort of deity.
Monarch Mu recognized this light, as she had seen the golden light shine down before. At that time, she had also sensed peak powerhouses battling each other in Aeternus Nation. "Is this your innate gift?"
Lu Yin replied, "The Investiture of the Gods can confer the title of god to peak powerhouses. The one being conferred must fully agree, or else the process will fail. Monarch Mu, prove that I can believe you by making this process succeed. If it fails, I will kill you.
“Once a person has been conferred, I can summon that person’s power from this scroll and have them fight for me. One, ten, or even a hundred summons are possible. As long as someone is successfully conferred, I can summon their power. The only exception is if a person dies, in which case I will lose that particular summon. I will not risk losing the ability to summon a peak powerhouse to fight on my behalf."
Monarch Mu was startled so badly by this revelation that her entire body quivered. Could this golden scroll really summon the power of a peak powerhouse? Not just one, but ten, or even a hundred? How was this possible? How could such a freakish innate gift exist? Just what kind of power could do this?
She stared at the two images that were already on the golden scroll. Was this young man truly able to summon two peak powerhouses to fight on his behalf?
In order to convince Monarch Mu, Lu Yin summoned both Progenitor Nong and Cloudflow from his Investiture of the Gods.
The appearance of two peak powerhouses convinced Monarch Mu. This was not something that anyone could fake.
"If you die, I will lose the ability to summon you, so of course I won’t want to kill you. This is the only way I can make you trust me. Now, if you want me to trust you, you need to accept being conferred as a god. If not, I will end you right now. There will no longer be a Monarch Mu, and not even the Great Sovereign himself will be able to save you!" Lu Yin's voice rose and grew increasingly divine as he continued to speak.
Monarch Mu's eyes flickered as she blankly stared. She had never anticipated such a turn of events. All of her plans and schemes were now ruined. This Investiture of the Gods required voluntary participation that came from the heart. How could one scheme against such a thing?
"You have but one chance, Monarch Mu. Will you accept being conferred as a god?" Lu Yin asked.
Monarch Mu took a deep breath, and her head slowly dropped as she struggled internally.
Lu Yin knew that the woman was already trying to concoct some new plan, but there was no hiding from the Investiture of the Gods. If she wanted to act against him, she would not accept being conferred into the Investiture of the Gods, as it would fail and she would be killed without hesitation.
Monarch Mu’s head suddenly rose back up so that she could look at Lu Yin. "What of me? What will become of me after I am conferred as a god?"
Lu Yin looked down at her from high above. "You’ll be free."
"You won't control me?" Monarch Mu asked while staring into Lu Yin's eyes.
Lu Yin said, "No, though you can only choose to believe that.
"Monarch Mu, do you accept being conferred as a god?"
Monarch Mu's breathing grew ragged, and her face flushed red. Not once did she even glance at Luo Zang’s body, and instead she simply stared at the ground.
"Monarch Mu, do you accept being conferred as a god?" Lu Yin shouted.
Monarch Mu looked back up at him. "Give me a moment! I need some time! Give me a day to adjust my mental state for this situation!"
The tension left Lu Yin's eyes. This woman was truly planning to betray Luo Shan. Before he had revealed his Investiture of the Gods, she had wanted to plot against him. This was proof that she had genuinely believed that Luo Shan possessed the means to save her. However, when faced with the Investiture of the Gods and only a single option that would allow her to live, as well as Luo Zang's corpse lying nearby, still warm, she gave in.
Those who did not care for the lives of others cared about their own the most. This was true for Old Lady Mu and Luo Zang, and Monarch Mu was no different.
She did not dare to take any risks when it came to her own life, and she needed time to adjust her mentality to genuinely betray Luo Shan.
***
At this same time, in the Perennial World, there was a small branch of the Wang family. Wei Rong had recently become a son-in-law to this particular branch of the Wang family.
"This son-in-law asks to meet with Father-in-law!" At the base of a mountain range, Wei Rong offered a respectful bow.
"What's wrong?" A voice fell from the mountain. It belonged to the branch patriarch, Wang Gui.
Wei Rong answered respectfully, "This son-in-law has something to report and would like to explain the matter to Father-in-law."
"Come up."
Wei Rong quickly ascended the mountain range and arrived behind Wang Gui. The patriarch was standing at the top of the mountain range, staring in the direction of the Wang family’s main branch.
Wei Rong bowed. "Father-in-law."
Wang Gui answered indifferently, "What do you need?"
He did not approve of Wei Rong at all, but his daughter cared for the young man, which left Wang Gui with no choice but to accept the young man. What was there to say about the family’s son-in-law? He was certainly smart, but he was unable to accomplish anything and was completely useless.
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