Chapter 4065: The Long River’s Bank

Lu Yin was puzzled by Wei Nu’s protest. “Explain.”

Zhao Ran interjected, “There is a main stream of the River of Aeons which flows through the entire omniverse, encompassing all living creatures. The River of Aeons that flows through this Mirari Realm where we stand now is nothing more than a branch of that river. There are countless branches of the River of Aeons that flow throughout the cosmos, each one flowing through individual megaverses or specific regions of the Aevum Inch.

“The Mirari Realm is the riverbank of the River of Aeons. Just as a river has a main stream and various branches, so too does it have a riverbank. It is connected to the River of Aeons.”

Wei Nu continued, “If there is too much of a commotion in the Mirari Realm, it could reach the banks of the main river, which would cause the Tianyuan to lose the Mirari Realm entirely. This place is the power of the main stream of the River of Aeons. Forget your master, even if every Immortal expert in the entire human civilization worked together, they would not be able to stop it from happening.”

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. Is this really true?

He glanced over at Zhao Ran. “Is she right?”

Wei Nu also turned to face Zhao Ran, who calmly stated, “I am merely Wei Nu’s clone. I don’t have all of her memories, but according to the memories that I do have, there is indeed a main stream and side branches of the River of Aeons. As for whether the Mirari Realm can be taken back by the main stream, I don’t know.”

Wei Nu said, “It will! It absolutely will! Lu Yin, you must believe me. I don’t want the Mirari Realm to return to the main stream either. If it does, I’ll forever lose my chance to break through to the Immortal realm, and you’ll forever lose access to the Mirari Realm. Oh, and that Mister Mu of yours will also be swept into the main stream of the River of Aeons.”

“Mister Mu can emerge before that happens,” Zhao Ran quietly interjected.

Wei Nu sharply shouted, “Shut up!”

Lu Yin stared at Wei Nu’s paper cutout. “So, are you saying that there can’t be too much of a disturbance in the Mirari Realm?”

“Exactly.”

“Then, there shouldn’t be much of a disturbance if we train here, but don’t have any breakthroughs, right?”

Wei Nu froze for a moment, as she had no argument against that.

Lu Yin laughed. “We’ll keep things quiet and just enjoy this frozen moment of time. When someone needs to break through, they’ll just leave. Simple.”

“You- you...” Wei Nu wanted to argue, but she could not find a single reasonable objection. If no one broke through in the Mirari Realm, there really would not be much of a disturbance. She seemingly had no argument to offer.

Zhao Ran looked at Lu Yin. “That will work.”

Wei Nu’s paper cutout glared at Zhao Ran. “You can’t take that risk! If the Mirari Realm returns to the main stream, you have no idea how serious the consequences will be.”

Zhao Ran merely glanced at the paper cutout. “Don’t think too highly of yourself. When Destiny schemed against you, you were completely defeated.”

Wei Nu’s paper cutout angrily shouted back, “Defeated? What nonsense are you spouting? That was a sneak attack! I wasn’t defeated! You stayed behind to become the ferryman, while I can still break through to the Immortal realm! How did I lose?”

Zhao Ran indifferently replied. “I know a little of your thoughts, and it seems that some people don’t regard you as being as important as you believe yourself to be.”

Wei Nu’s paper cutout grew furious. After a moment of silence, she barked a cold laugh. “Fine, fine, fine! You’re all so capable, are you? Even a mere clone dares to dismiss me! Lord Lu, don’t overestimate yourself. You are not yet an Immortal!

“Do as you like. That clone doesn’t know half of what’s going on. Do you believe that forcing your way into the Mirari Realm is something impressive? Don’t forget who sealed you in the forbidden region with karma. That person can enter this place just as easily as you! If you’re so capable, then go and catch that red sword first.” With that, the paper cutout leapt into the River of Aeons and disappeared.

Lu Yin stared up blankly. The red sword... Has she been fixated on that sword this whole time?

Wei Nu had once been wounded by the red sword. At the time, Master Qing Cao had claimed that the sword belonged to him, but it had since become clear that it belonged to Obscura.

Master Qing Cao had ordered the people from the Spirit Nidus to stay in the Tianyuan. In reality, the Tianyuan should not be nearly as safe as the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, and yet the man decision had still made that decision.

Lu Yin had just found out that Wei Nu also wanted him to find the red sword.

When combined with all of his earlier suspicions...

Lu Yin had become completely convinced that someone from Obscura was hiding in the Tianyuan.

Others might not know who that individual was, but Wei Nu would. She looked human, but she was not truly human. She had only taken on that appearance because the Tianyuan was dominated by the human civilization. She belonged to the River of Aeons. She was a ferryman, which meant that she knew far more than any human.

She had existed for an incomprehensibly long time.

Lu Yin turned to Zhao Ran. “Do you know anything about that red sword?”

Zhao Ran shook her head. “No.”

Lu Yin was not surprised. In the end, Zhao Ran was just a clone that Wei Nu had created to take over as the ferryman of the River of Aeons. Zhao Ran’s knowledge was quite limited.

“She said that the Mirari Realm is nothing more than the bank for a branch of the true River of Aeons. Does that mean that every branch has banks with similar forbidden regions?” Lu Yin asked. It was a question that he had wanted to pose earlier.

The Mirari Realm’s forbidden regions were not simple, and even Immortals had to paid attention to them. If the cosmos consisted of countless branches of the River of Aeons, then it meant that there were countless banks along those rivers. If each bank had similar forbidden regions, there were far too many to count.

Zhao Ran replied, “The Mirari Realm of the human civilization is special. Not every Mirari Realm has forbidden regions.”

Lu Yin let out a breath of relief. That made sense.

“Why is the Mirari Realm for us special?”

Zhao Ran thought for a moment. “Aeonic defiance.”

Lu Yin was puzzled. Aeonic defiance?

“What does that mean?”

Zhao Ran met Lu Yin’s eyes. “I don’t know. This term simply exists in my memory. The peculiarities regarding this Mirari Realm and its forbidden regions are all connected to ‘aeonic defiance.’ But as for what aeonic defiance actually is, I don’t know.

“However, she definitely knows.”

Lu Yin glanced around. “Wei Nu, I know that you’re still here. Come out and talk.”

There was no response.

Lu Yin continued, “What if I promise not to enter the Mirari Realm again? Come talk to me.”

There was still no reply.

He called out several more times, but it seemed that Wei Nu had completely vanished.

Zhao Ran said, “She won’t reveal herself unless you can get that red sword. I can sense that this matter is very important to her. She’s not necessarily avoiding you because she doesn’t want to talk to you, but rather possibly because...”

Zhao Ran did not finish her sentence. Lu Yin guessed the rest. It was quite possible that Wei Nu was avoiding some sort of danger.

Wei Nu had already been wounded once by the red sword, and she was completely exposed before that blade. Since she had told Lu Yin about the sword, what sort of danger would Wei Nu face?

Lu Yin suddenly had a strong desire to speak with the Great Master and ask if she knew anything about aeonic defiance.

“Have any of you ever seen other ferrymen of the River of Aeons?”

Zhao Ran shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Lu Yin sighed helplessly. It was clones again. Wei Nu’s clone, the God of Death’s clone, and even the Immortal Lord’s clones. It seemed that, the further one cultivated, the less secure their true self was.

With Wei Nu no longer stopping him, it was time for LuYin to improve the overall strength of the Tianyuan’s cultivators.

They simply had to avoid having breakthroughs inside of the Mirari Realm.

In fact, Lu Yin did not even need to personally lead the group in. After discussing things with Zhao Ran, she simply opened the Mirari Realm, which allowed any cultivator from the Heavens Sect to enter and exit freely.

Of course, to maintain efficiency and avoid drawing too much attention, only one group of cultivators were allowed to enter at a time. Naturally, breakthroughs also had to take place outside of the Mirari Realm.

Lu Yin next went to look for Shao Chen. Hopefully, it would be possible to use the headmaster’s mortal world to compensate for the others’ lack of cultivation.

In particular, Ancestor Lu Yuan and the others needed help. They had lived for countless years, but they had suppressed their cultivation after being told to do so by the Origin Progenitor. Only recently had some of them reached the Origin realm, while others, such as Garan Zhiluo and Hongyan Mavis, had not even reached that realm yet.

In the past, even when there had been an opportunity to enter the Mirari Realm, Lu Yin had not allowed the Three Realms and Six Daos in. They needed to focus on breaking through. Without having some sort of breakthrough, nothing would change, no matter how much time passed. Breakthroughs also did not come about from merely spending time.

However, things had changed. Shao Chen’s cultivation of the mortal world could be used to help Lu Yuan and the others enter Dukkha and Garan Zhiluo and a few others to enter the Origin realm. This would improve the strength of some of the most powerful Tianyuan cultivators.

“Previously, I didn’t ask you for help because you had only just broken through to the Progenitor realm. I thought that there was a chance that you wouldn’t be able to help them, Headmaster. Since then, your cultivation has greatly improved, you have trained the Wayfinder Sutra, and you have even explored the Spirit Nidus. Your understanding of the mortal world must have greatly improved, so you might now be able to help them,” Lu Yin said.

Shao Chen looked at Lu Yin. “The one who can truly help them is you, not me.”

Lu Yin fell silent.

The man continued to ask, “What are you worried about? Or do you think that your Champions’ Stage Purgatory can’t help them?”

Shao Chen could indeed allow Garan Zhiluo and the others to experience the mortal world, but the Champions’ Stage Purgatory could allow them to relive their pasts. While torturous, it would also enable them to truly see themselves. It was a tribulation to be overcome.

This was something that Lu Yin had discovered in the Consciousness Megaverse after many people had entered the Champions’ Stage Purgatory.

Shao Chen had once helped Wilderness God to enter Dukkha, but Lu Yin’s Champions’ Stage Purgatory was capable of much more.

It was not the mortal world, as it surpassed it. That was the power of karma.

Lu Yin shook his head. “The Champions’ Stage Purgatory is too painful. If they’re not careful, not only will they fail to break through, but their minds could also be crushed. Did you know that Yi Shang emerged begging for mercy after being imprisoned?”

Shao Chen just laughed. “What about all of us? We experienced that as well, but didn’t we emerge just fine? No, the truth is that our understanding of life became even clearer.

“Lord Lu, can you sense my cultivation with the Wayfinder Sutra?”

Lu Yin nodded. Shao Chen was perfectly suited for the Wayfinder Sutra. It felt like he could step into the third level at any moment.

“After Wilderness God entered your Champions’ Stage Purgatory, his heart became more steadfast.

“There are pros and cons to everything. Purgatory is not just torture, but also a tempering,” Shao Chen continued as he looked at Lu Yin. “What they lack is something that only you can provide.”

Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect and met with Hongyan Mavis and the others, but before he could say a word, Wu Tian opened his mouth. “Pillar, you haven’t been fair.”

Lu Yin was stunned. “What?”

Wu Tian said, “You’ve shown a bit too much favoritism.”

Lu Yin was terribly confused.

Hongyan Mavis spoke up. “Is it because they were willing to accompany you to the Spirit Nidus, expecting to die, that you look down on the rest of us? Do you have any idea how those of us who stayed here in the Tianyuan felt?”

“Senior, what are you talking about?” Lu Yin was becoming increasingly confused.

Ancient God stepped forward and said in a low voice, “Your Champions’ Stage Purgatory.”

Lu Yin was taken aback.

Lu Yuan joined in, grumbling loudly, “What is all this nonsense you’re talking about? How could Little Seven possibly look down on us? It’s just that time’s been tight, nothing more. Musclehead, stop trying to make trouble!”

Ancient God stayed silent as Lu Yuan turned to grin at Lu Yin. “Little Seven, I heard that your Champions’ Stage has changed. What is it now? Purgatory? I heard that there’s even karma involved in it, right? Yellowy and the others have already been inside. Why don’t you let us test it out sometime? Don’t worry, it won’t take too much of your time.”

Lu Yin stared at Lu Yuan in a daze. “Ancestor, my Champions’ Stage Purgatory... entering it forces one to experience agony. They-”

Lu Yuan’s expression turned serious. “What’s this? Are you looking down on your ancestor? Do you think that I’m afraid of a bit of pain?”

Garan Zhiluo moved forward to stare at Lu Yin. “Who here is afraid of pain? Raise your hand.”

Hongyan Mavis silently lifted a hand.

Everyone stared at her with questioning eyes. She said, “I’m afraid of pain. The more power I use, the more painful the backlash. You all know this.”

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