Chapter 3861: Not Alone

Gu Duanke’s eyes flickered. Lu Yin’s comment was truly arrogant, but it was nonetheless true that the brat, Lan Ye, had not even shown a hint of attitude. He seemed to have been completely subdued by his recent beating. It was likely that Lu Yin was even more powerful than Gu Duanke had imagined.

Venerable Lan Ye had lived for ages, but Gu Duanke was much older. The two were not even close to being from similar generations.

“Still, he did waste a bit of my time and said some very unpleasant things. You want to just take him away like this? Absolutely not,” Lu Yin continued to say in a casual tone.

Gu Duanke smiled. “Of course. Whatever request you may have, please feel free to share it, Mr. Lu. This Lan Ye may have quite the foul mouth, but his heart isn’t actually bad.”

Lan Ye said nothing to that.

Lu Yin said, “I have already stated my condition: have him figure out what he’ll offer to purchase his life.”

He then turned to face Venerable Lan Ye. “Have you decided?”

The man replied in a low voice, “I spent all of my resources to acquire items from the Orchid Megaverse. After that, I joined the Seventh Firmament Pillar on the expedition to the Orchid Megaverse. I currently have-”

“I didn’t ask about what happened, just what you’ve decided,” Lu Yin interrupted.

Lan Ye gritted his teeth. “Only miasma. If that has value to you, Mr. Lu, I will give it to you.”

Lu Yin arched a brow. “Miasma? How can you give that to someone? Isn’t that part of your physique?”

Venerable Lan Ye casually waved a hand, and the orchid leaf flew up from the ground to float beside him. “I use this orchid leaf as transportation. It’s been nourished by my miasma for many years, especially while I was in the Orchid Megaverse. There, I infused it with a tremendous amount of miasma. It’s no exaggeration to say that the miasma within this leaf is enough to kill an average Dukkhan. If all of it is released, it would become a catastrophe on the scale of an astral phenomenon. This is the most precious item that I currently possess.”

Lu Yin looked at the orchid leaf and nodded. “Not bad. It can serve for transport. Unfortunately, it’s still not enough.”

Venerable Lan Ye frowned, as he truly had nothing else.

Gu Duanke asked, “What do you need, Mr. Lu?”

“What do you have?”

“Just a few things, though I’m afraid that they might not interest you.”

“Then why even ask about it?”

Gu Duanke froze, stunned. He had simply spoken a few modest words out of habit, but Lu Yin’s response caused the old man to choke. He had no idea how to respond to such bluntness.

“This is a pathfinding stone. They are made out of a unique material that you can attach your consciousness to. When you cast it out, your consciousness will be able to perceive as far as the stone flies. There are no limits. On top of that, these stones are extremely tough, to the point where most Dukkhans struggle to destroy them. The stronger the consciousness attached to a pathfinding stone, the harder it becomes to destroy it.”

Lu Yin was surprised. He took the pathfinding stone, but it just looked like an ordinary rock. He tried attaching his consciousness to it, and sure enough, his perception shifted. He was able to perceive things in all directions from the stone, and that perception extended a great distance.

The stone was very light, and when Lu Yin casually flicked it, it shot through the void. He soon saw the ground moving away, and then he saw the pit from where the Sixth Night Pillar had recently stood and even Jian Hong.

Interesting. Lu Yin beckoned, and the pathfinding stone flew back to him.

He had just casually tossed the stone away. If he used his full strength, just how far could it potentially go? It would certainly leave the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

After all, Lu Yin’s physical strength had even surpassed that of the Morrow Behemoths that launched the Night Pillars. Of course, those pillars were primarily powered by the slingshot mechanisms, which the Morrow Behemoths merely pulled back.

“Not bad. Combined with that orchid leaf, this will do.” Lu Yin was satisfied. He glanced at Venerable Lan Ye. “Address the universe and apologize to me.”

Gu Duanke frowned. “You even want him to publicly apologize?”

Lu Yin shot back, “He publicly insulted me, so shouldn’t he apologize publicly as well?”

Gu Duanke wanted to protest, as they had already paid a price, but Lan Ye immediately took a few steps back and spoke loudly enough for his voice to echo across the sky above and the ground below. “I, Venerable Lan Ye, hereby apologize to Mr. Lu and to the Tianyuan Megaverse for my insults. I humbly beg for Mr. Lu’s forgiveness.”

Gu Duanke was dumbfounded. He actually apologized? What’s going on? Even if he lost, isn’t this guy going a bit far?

Lu Yin smirked. This was someone who had been truly subdued. Lu Yin had not defeated Lan Ye with just brute force, but rather the power of karma.

After Venerable Lan Ye’s defeat, Lu Yin could have forced the man into the Champions’ Stage Purgatory to pay compensation. Having the man issue a public apology was far more difficult than merely defeating him, and Lan Ye had only done so because Lu Yin had comprehended the power of karma. Why would Lan Ye not apologize to someone who had comprehended karma?

The man clearly understood the ramifications of Lu Yin comprehending karma. Even if he was not from the Tianyuan, but another foreign megaverse, as long as he was at least human, no one could afford to offend him.

Lan Ye might be held in high regard by the Immortal Greater Sancti, but that merely meant that he had a slightly better chance of entering the Immortal realm than other Dukkhans. In contrast, someone who had comprehended karma had a much, much greater chance of success than him.

Venerable Lan Ye’s apology shocked everyone. This was proof that the man had been thoroughly subdued.

No one knew how Lu Yin had done it, except for Qian Shu. That young man had also been imprisoned in the Champions’ Stage Purgatory, so he understood what Lan Ye had experienced. It was pure despair.

“All right, you can leave.” Lu Yin waved his hand.

Lan Ye immediately turned and left, not even glancing back or speaking a single word to Gu Duanke.

The Odyssey Commander gave a wry smile. “Thank you, Mr. Lu, for showing mercy. I will also take my leave.”

Lu Yin looked at him. “What do you think of what I said?”

Gu Duanke calmly gazed at Lu Yin. “The benevolent will see benevolence, while the wise will see wisdom. What you said... was good.”

Lu Yin was puzzled. “Good?”

Gu Duanke nodded. “Good.”

Lu Yin did not understand what the old man meant by “good.” “You didn’t feel that I was antagonizing everyone, Senior?”

Gu Duanke rubbed his head. “All I heard was the loneliness and strength of a child who has traveled far from home.”

Lu Yin’s eyes quivered slightly. He remained silent and said nothing at all.

“Mr. Lu, I’ll be leaving.”

Lu Yin watched Gu Duanke leave. It took a long time for his thoughts to settle.

Having acquired the orchid leaf, Lu Yin put the Autumnspring Slip away, and Qian Shu was allowed to continue writing characters within a Zenith Mountain.

The orchid leaf was much more comfortable to sit on than the mirebound artifact. The leaf truly contained a staggering amount of miasma. While Lan Ye might have exaggerated a bit when he claimed that it could kill a Dukkhan, if the man wielded the miasma himself, it might be possible.

However, it would be no problem at all to use the miasma to create a catastrophe on the scale of an astral phenomenon.

When Lu Yin had still been quite weak, the Origin Universe’s Fifth Mainland had been attacked by the Sixth Mainland. If this orchid leaf had been present at that time, then not only would that invasion have been stopped, but it would have also been possible to eradicate the entire Sixth Mainland.

The orchid leaf continued to move closer to the Mother Tree, and after several days had passed, a thunderous voice shook the sky with enough force to even bend the branches of the Mother Tree. Several of the nearby floating cities were shaken. “May I ask where Mr. Lu is? I am Xuan Ding, and I have a question to ask Mr. Lu.”

Lu Yin arched a brow. Another person had arrived to cause some trouble.

He released his consciousness, and it spread out to envelop the surrounding area. Lu Yin soon found Xuan Ding, and from the conversations taking place nearby, learned who the man was.

Xuan Ding was only an Ortuser, but he had been born with a bold heart. He had once scolded the Autumnspring Slip, which had caused the man to become fairly famous in the East Domain for his recklessness.

When Lu Yin learned that the man had once scolded the Autumnspring Slip, he grew rather interested.

A light tap on the air sent a ripple moving towards Xuan Ding.

When the man saw the ripple of power approaching, Xuan Ding’s expression grew solemn. “I am far from being Mr. Lu’s match, and I simply wish to ask a question that I do not understand.”

“Speak.” Lu Yin’s voice also echoed across the region.

While several cities were far away, the people in them felt as though they were directly beneath Lu Yin due to the proximity of his voice.

There were many cultivator clans living on the Mother Tree’s branches, while mortal cities stood on the ground below.

There were even people living under the surface of the ocean, as some cultivators pursued water-based cultivation arts.

Countless people stopped what they were doing and looked up into the sky.

Xuan Ding faced the direction where Lu Yin’s voice had come from and slowly bowed. “You came to our Nine Odysseys Megaverse alone to fight on behalf of your home megaverse. I admire that courage, but I dare ask, Mr. Lu—do you genuinely believe that you can change the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s attitude towards the Tianyuan Megaverse on your own?

“Since the ancient eras until now, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse has stood at the top, while the other three megaverses have remained below. Nothing can change this. Everyone born in this megaverse knows this to be common knowledge. How can you change this, Mr. Lu?”

Lu Yin did not answer, so Xuan Ding continued to say, “Your strength is astonishing, Mr. Lu, but are you expecting to sweep across our Nine Odysseys Megaverse with invincible combat power? Have you considered that doing so might not merely fail to change the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s image of the Tianyuan, but even strengthen people’s contempt and hatred? Will you serve as a blessing or a curse for your megaverse? Besides that, do you truly believe that you can sweep through the Nine Odysseys Megaverse on your own, Mr. Lu?

“Do you genuinely believe that you can stand alone, forever, to serve as the Tianyuan’s shield?”

Countless people were listening. Xuan Ding was verbalizing what many cultivators throughout the Nine Odysseys Megaverse wanted to ask, though they did not have the right to ask those questions. The few who did have that right, such as Venerable Lan Ye, preferred to simply fight directly, and upon losing, were no longer in any position to speak. Xuan Ding was one of the few individuals who dared to question a top powerhouse like Lu Yin despite only being an Ortuser.

This was a man who truly did not fear death.

Lu Yin sat calmly atop the orchid leaf, in no hurry to give an answer.

Xuan Ding was also in no rush. He maintained his bow as he waited for Lu Yin’s reply.

The man was not hostile to Lu Yin; he simply could not tolerate him.

Xuan Ding could not accept that Lu Yin had stirred up waves in the otherwise peaceful Nine Odysseys Megaverse, and he also could not accept that Lu Yin had been picking fights for no reason. This was no different from how Xuan Ding had been unable to accept how the Autumnspring Slip had bullied others.

He was a man with his own code of conduct.

Realistically, everyone had their own code of conduct. The difference was that while some had the courage to stick to their code, others did not.

Xuan Ding was the kind of person who would always maintain his morals. Such people did not usually have a good ending, because one person could never change the overall way of the world. Some people could rise up from nothing to rule the world, but they would not understand how they got there. Those people were carried to their position by the overall tide of humanity.

As far as many were concerned, people like Xuan Ding were simply troublemakers.

Xuan Ding had been lucky to survive for as long as he had.

“I am not alone.” Lu Yin finally spoke. They were only a few words, yet they stirred countless hearts.

Not alone? Are there other experts from the Tianyuan here?

Xuan Ding was astonished. “Mr. Lu, you didn’t come here alone?”

Lu Yin smiled from his seat on the orchid leaf. “What gives you the right to look down on an entire megaverse? Is it the fact that you are part of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse? In the overall picture of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, what are you even? If not for the three Immortal Greater Sancti, I, Lu Yin, can confidently say that I could slaughter this entire megaverse, and no one would dare to speak a single word.”

Such arrogant words shook the universe.

Xuan Ding’s face grew pale. So arrogant?

“I, Lu Yin, have no peers in the cosmos. So long as no Immortal steps forward, who can compare to me?

“Your entire sense of superiority is founded solely on the presence of the Immortal Greater Sancti. Only the Immortals are able to truly represent the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. As for you, what even are you?

“I am different. I represent the entire Tianyuan Megaverse. The Tianyuan has countless cultivators who stand with me. One day, more will come to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse from the Tianyuan, and I will no longer be alone here. That day is not far off.”

Xuan Ding opened his mouth to say something, but Lu Yin’s voice rang out again. “I already said that I came to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse in the name of the Tianyuan. I will be an enemy to those who stand against me and a friend to those who stand with me. I will protect the entire human race so that it may prosper for all time.

“I am willing to treat all with sincerity, no matter if they are from the Tianyuan, the Nine Odysseys, or the Spirit Nidus. Humanity shall reign supreme.

“You asked what right I have to stand alone as the Tianyuan’s shield? That’s wrong.” Lu Yin’s powerful voice shook the sky and rattled the earth. “I am willing to stand alone as a shield for all of humanity. Behind me, there is no division between people. Why show hostility to your own people?”

The universe fell silent.

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