Chapter 4372: Farewell, And Travel Well

Che looked ahead. “Master, why must it be this way? Your disciple would still honor you and repay my benefactor and teacher for raising and nurturing me.”

“Die, beast!” Lifeforce fell, and streaks of blue light rode upon it, forming what looked like meteors that smashed toward Che.

He raised a hand and pointed with a single finger: Qi Sword Art.

The sharp edge split the Lifeforce apart, overpowering the blue streaks. You Wu closed in on Che, charging straight forward. The seaweed-like body left an afterimage behind as gray streams flowed. Che dodged with ease. Just a single finger was enough for him to check all of You Wu’s attacks. No matter what You Wu tried, they could not harm Che at all.

Awe Gate clenched her spear, wanting to make a move.

“This is a grudge between me and this beast! Others cannot interfere!” You Wu barked, stopping Awe Gate.

She was unwilling to step back, yet she could sense You Wu’s resolve to die. After emerging from Manifest City, they had already fallen to an extreme state. At this moment, the creature was burning through their little remaining vitality to regain their peak strength and fight You Che to the death. You Wu not only wanted to help Lu Yin by forcing You Che to reveal as much of his strength as possible, but the creature also wanted to redeem themself to the Fifth Rampart and repay the debt that they felt they owed Xiang Xue.

Only You Wu’s death could settle that account.

“This junior can teleport and can take you away, Senior,” Lu Yin said. If You Wu said just a single word, no one could stop Lu Yin from taking them away.

Che had actually appeared to deal with You Wu, and yet Lu Yin remained confident that he could take them away.

You Wu exclaimed in praise. “Good, good! Hahahaha! Humans have actually mastered teleportation? Those strange birds are finished! Hahahaha!

“Child, allow me this dignity. Let me personally go and beg Xiang Xue’s forgiveness.” Since Manifest City had fallen into Che’s hands, the fate of the Fifth Rampart could only be imagined.

Che kept evading the attacks, yet the single flick of a finger tore You Wu’s body open. “Master, why must it be this way? Come. Your disciple is willing to care for you in your old age. Lu Yin is willing as well. There is still a human civilization out there. Surely they would be glad to hear your stories.”

You Wu roared, “Beast! Even if I die, I will force you to give humanity an explanation!”

Their entire body then shattered. The void exploded again and again, and an abstruse, indescribable sensation instantly flooded the entire region.

At this moment, Lu Yin felt as if he had seen You Wu’s heart. The sensation carried him to the past, revealing what had once been.

Is this... a heart-technique? Despite never having encountered such a thing before, it was the only explanation that Lu Yin could think of.

Awe Gate’s expression also changed. Were heart techniques actually able to let her see a creature’s inner aspect?

You Wu’s heart was filled with their will to die, and yet they also longed for the distant past. Lu Yin seemed to see the glorious Fifth Rampart and a gentle, refined man who drank tea and laughed with You Wu. Lu Yin saw one genius after another soar upwards, and among them was Che.

Their heart ached. It ached due to the collapse of the Fifth Rampart, and it ached because of Che’s betrayal.

You Che was astonished. “Master, you disciple thought that you never learned any heart-techniques.”

You Wu’s body continued to break apart, spilling out blood. In the blink of an eye, droplets of their blood spread in every direction, filling the area. This was their heart’s blood, and it created a universe of the heart.

“Heartblood Without Traces? Master, you truly are giving your disciple a surprise. Are you truly trying to perish together with your disciple? Or...” As Che continued, his eyes abruptly turned shockingly dark and cold. “Do you want to witness the Formless Heaven Art?”

“Beast! That the Formless Heaven Art is in your hands is the greatest insult to the Fifth Rampart. Die!” You Wu howled as one droplet after another of their heart’s blood flew at You Che, each one carrying You Wu’s unshakable will to die.

Kang Tian was terrified. As a single droplet of heart’s blood swept past the snail’s side, it felt that if it were touched even once, it would melt into nothingness. This is too terrifying! What kind of battle technique is this?

A single droplet contained such power, but at this moment, You Che was surrounded by the heart’s blood of You Wu’s entire body. There was essentially a universe formed from the heart’s blood, and it completely surrounded him.

Che sighed heavily. “Why must it be this way?”

As he spoke, he overlapped both hands in front of his chest. “Heart-techniques have an absolute hierarchy. There is no confrontation, only replacement. Master, have you... forgotten?”

There was a fluctuation between Che’s hands, and circular ripples spread out from them. The droplets of heart’s blood that it touched gradually turned green.

Lu Yin and Greater Sancte Awe Gate watched on in shock. You Wu’s heart-technique had been replaced. You Wu retreated again and again, coughing up blood without stopping. Their eyes blazed white, and their voice reached Lu Yin’s ears. “Child, this is a heart-technique. The Formless Heaven Art is an absolute heart-technique. Never, on any day, think of relying on a heart-technique to defeat it. Not only will doing so be useless, but it will also be replaced and become his own power.

“The only exception is if you cultivate the Fifth Rampart’s legacy heart-technique: Heartbond Nonduality. Without that, never fight this beast with heart-techniques.

“Heartbond Nonduality is the Fifth Rampart’s strongest heart-technique. It is considered one of the Nine Ramparts’ invincible arts. It is in Manifest City. This beast searched for it for so many years, yet he still could not find it. Xiang Xue once spoke five words to me: freedom lies in the heart. Remember! Freedom lies in the heart!”

Lu Yin watched as You Wu’s body shattered in the distance. The more that their heart’s blood was replaced, the more their aura fell.

You Wu was being forced towards death.

Che slowly closed his eyes. “Master, since you harbor the will to die, your disciple can only see you off. Perhaps one day, when the River of Aeons flows backward, there will come a day when we will meet again.”

With that, the ripples spreading from his hands suddenly expanded. They were about to completely replace all of the heart’s blood.

At the last instant, Lu Yin appeared beside You Wu. The ripples of You Che’s heart-technique abruptly stopped as he calmly looked at Lu Yin.

“You are not worthy to see this senior off.” Lu Yin reached out to support You Wu and then instantly vanished.

You Che did not try to stop Lu Yin. Seeing him take You Wu away, Che simply smiled. “Very well.”

He glanced at Greater Sancte Awe Gate and the others. Then, as Kang Tian, the Immortal golem, and the other creatures watched on in utter terror, Che left.

Awe Gate forcibly suppressed the impulse to attack. If she did, she would certainly die. Let alone Che’s Formless Heaven Art, she might not even be able to withstand You Wu’s heart’s blood, despite the fact that You Wu’s strength had already fallen to such an extreme.

Heart-techniques? The Fifth Rampart’s legacy techniques are truly formidable.

Elsewhere, Lu Yin teleported and returned to the Tianyuan with You Wu. He delivered the creature to the Heavens Sect. “The Nine Ramparts have fallen, but humanity has not been completely destroyed. What we currently know about human civilization includes the Path of Dispassion, inherited from the Second Rampart, and the Longevity Civilization, which has inherited the Fourth Rampart’s legacy. There are also descendants of those who were once used as bait. The Human Trio consists of the Tianyuan Megaverse, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, and Spirit Nidus...”

Lu Yin had You Wu sit in the Heavens Sect. They stared out across the universe, watching various cultivators come and go as Lu Yin slowly shared humanity’s current situation. While they were incapable of comparing to the ancient Nine Ramparts, the modern human civilization was absolutely qualified to maintain a foothold in the Aevum Inch.

Twice You Wu had asked about the Nine Ramparts, but Lu Yin had not answered. At this moment, before the creature died, Lu Yin shared everything.

You Wu could not live any longer. Their heart’s blood was gone, and their body was collapsing due to their forced fight against You Che. All that Lu Yin could do was allow the creature to not die with lingering regrets.

Human civilization may have fallen, but that did not mean that it was impossible for them to one day return to their former peak.

“What truly caused the Nine Ramparts’ collapse was not Che. He didn’t have such power. Senior, you don’t need to blame yourself. Senior Xiang Xue wouldn’t blame you either,” Lu Yin said.

You Wu said with relief, “Good, then all is well. Though I am not human, I witnessed the most glorious age of humanity and received the gifts of human civilization. Now that death is upon me, how I wish the heavenly cycle of reincarnation truly existed, so that I might be reborn into human civilization, even if only as an ordinary person.”

Lu Yin looked at the creature but said nothing.

“Child, did you see the Formless Heaven Art clearly?”

“I did.”

“Unless you can find Heartbond Nonduality, when that beast uses the Formless Heaven Art, counter with Willforce, assuming that you have cultivated Willforce. Otherwise, do not face him directly. The power of the Fifth Rampart is special, even among the Nine Ramparts.” At this, You Wu coughed violently. Their body was shrinking, and their voice broke intermittently, as if they were muttering to themself, “How I wish... I could see Xiang Xue once more and see the Fifth Rampart of that era... If only time... could flow back to that era. Those were the happiest years... of my life. You saw me as a friend, yet I regarded you as my lord... like the steed of time that followed Pan. How I wish to return to that time... how I wish...”

The voice faded away. You Wu was dead.

Lu Yin stood before them and slowly bowed. “Farewell, Senior... and travel well.”

The Heavens Sect rang the funeral bell. Though they had only met briefly, You Wu had done everything that they could. They had shared bits of the past with Lu Yin and allowed him to witness You Che’s Formless Heaven Art. You Wu had even told Lu Yin about the Heartbond Nonduality and Manifest City.

Heartbond Nonduality? So the Fifth Rampart’s true inherited heart-technique is inside Manifest City.

Lu Yin did not know how to find it.

Had You Che found it throughout the many years? You Wu was certain that he had not, yet Lu Yin felt uneasy. Che had become somewhat unfathomable in Lu Yin’s mind.

Many people pursued the glory of the ancients and believed in ancient wisdom, but one could not underestimate the achievements of those who lived in the contemporary era. Lu Yin was confident that, even if he returned to the Nine Ramparts era, he would be the strongest of his generation, utterly unrivaled. Then what about Che? How far was he able to go?

After burying You Wu, Lu Yin teleported back to Manifest City to collect Awe Gate and the others.

Che had already left. As for the golem, Lu Yin took it back into Manifest City. He needed to have an “insider” there.

Not long after, Lu Yin told Green Lotus, Mister Mu, and the others all that had happened. They also felt overcome with emotions as they heard You Wu’s tale. While they had not been human, they had earned humanity’s respect.

After that, Lu Yin entered Manifest City even more frequently. Most of the foreign creatures that had once been trapped inside had been taken out, but Manifest City was very lively. Everywhere, people were burning benches, candles, and even trees and other plants. The city’s people acted as if anything might be able to move. The people of Manifest City also frantically started remaking all sorts of things.

As a bird, Lu Yin perched in a tree. He occasionally moved about to observe. Freedom lies in the heart. What does that really mean?

The turmoil in Manifest City lasted for a long time, and things only settled down about ten years later.

During that decade, Lu Yin entered Manifest City many times, but he was never able to find the Heartbond Nonduality, and neither could he find the means of controlling Manifest City. Everything still came down to one’s mindset, and the premise of entering the city as a human remained constant.

Far away from the Trio, Lu Yin released Miao Zun in the middle of nowhere. It was more than a hundred years since Old First had captured the creature. While that was not a long time, it was enough for Lu Yin to release Miao Zun and interrogate it.

The creature was a huge, triangular freak of an insect. It was impossible to determine the creature’s original appearance, as Old First had beaten them too viciously, and Miao Zun was lying half-dead in outer space.

The moment they were released, they fled without hesitation, and even unleashed their world in an indiscriminate attack.

But right after that, Lu Yin pierced their body with a single sword, and Miao Zun became very obedient. As they stared at Lu Yin before them, Miao Zun experienced a surge of distant memories. So it’s this kind of creature?

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