Chapter 4516: Mutual Attrition

At the same time, Lu Yin's vision grew increasingly blurred, and even his perception of the outside world was beginning to change. It was as though another personality was emerging.

"I truthfully did not expect you to come. I thought that it would be someone else. Lu Yin, how did you learn the location of Void Mountain?" You Che asked.

Lu Yin gritted his teeth. It was clear to him that You Che was distracting him.

"Do you know who I was originally waiting for?"

Lu Yin's eyes flashed. "I also have a question for you."

"Oh? What is it?"

"How were you planning to take Manifest City from me?" This question had troubled Lu Yin for a long time. He could not make sense of it. Manifest City was regarded as the strongest defensive mirebound artifact. If he could take control of it, how could You Che take it from him?

You Che laughed in spite of himself. "Does that question still have any meaning?"

"Just satisfy my curiosity."

"I am sorry, Lu Yin, but I cannot tell you."

"You won’t even tell someone who’s about to die?"

"I dare not say."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I am afraid that you will create a miracle."

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. His heartbeat was so loud that it sounded like a drum. "Afraid that I won’t exchange heart gates with you?"

"Correct. I was once human too, though humans did not acknowledge me. I understand humans very well. Some people are very good at using their own lives in exchange for value."

"In that case, one last question." Lu Yin looked up. "Since when did you start to always be aware that you aren’t human?"

The heartbeat suddenly stopped. The void rippled around Lu Yin, spreading out wave after wave. He seized this chance to teleport back to Void Mountain, which he enveloped with his Willforce, uniting with the will and desires of the universe.

He had long since been able to freely merge with a megaverse without needing to be accepted by the entire civilization of that megaverse. The only thing that could stop him was the united resistance of all creatures in that megaverse.

While Void Mountain was not a megaverse, it was home to countless creatures and even contained stars and planets. A megaverse was nothing more than a regional concept, while life was everything.

The presence of countless lives was enough for Lu Yin to merge with the desires and will of Void Mountain.

The sound of his heartbeat rang out again. Lu Yin took a deep breath, and Willforce descended. In an instant, Void Mountain as a whole seemed to shrink. From afar, it grew distorted, as though some invisible power were contracting the mountain in towards a single point, and that point was Lu Yin.

You Wu had been heavily pressured by You Che. You Wu had wanted to reveal a secret regarding Manifest City, but they had also feared that doing so would harm Lu Yin. Thus, they had not said much but had instead given Lu Yin a way to deal with the Formless Heaven Art: Willforce.

The Formless Heaven Art bypassed all external forces and focused solely on attacking the heart gate, but Willforce came from countless living beings. There was simply no single heart gate for the Formless Heaven Art to target.

That was why Willforce was the nemesis of the Formless Heaven Art.

As it happened, Lu Yin was exceptionally skilled in Willforce.

No matter how formidable this exchange of heart gates might be, it still was a function of the Formless Heaven Art, which meant that Willforce could be used to oppose it. You Che wanted to exchange heart gates, so Lu Yin would stop it.

For the first time since breaking into the Immortal realm, Lu Yin felt completely helpless. His strength, his ability to teleport, his mastery of karma, and all his various methods could not forcefully cancel You Che's exchange of heart gates because this was heart force. Even Willforce was only able to block it. Lu Yin had no idea where You Che's heart force was.

No matter how immense his physical strength was, no matter the fact that he had managed to tear Nan Ling apart with his bare hands and shattered Death's Dominion, Lu Yin could not deal with this invisible power.

Although You Che had not said it, Lu Yin guessed that his confidence in being able to seize Manifest City from Lu Yin relied precisely on this same heart force. You Che could only rely on heart force.

Willforce formed what was essentially a wall that Lu Yin wrapped around his heart. Since his heart was beating so violently, he decided to defend his heart.

"Willforce? I already knew that you have that ability. Master also told you that Willforce can deal with the Formless Heaven Art, but how much Willforce can you have? And how long can you resist for?" You Che sounded perfectly calm.

Lu Yin replied, "Then how long can your heart force last?"

"Why don’t we see? Willforce is not easy to cultivate, which is why it is regarded as one of the jokes of the Aevum Inch. The fact that you succeeded in cultivating it at all should be related to the Ninth Rampart. I can tell you clearly that my heart force undoubtedly surpasses your Willforce." You Che was absolutely confident.

Lu Yin stopped speaking. Surpasses me? Fine, then let’s see.

His Willforce had improved drastically within Manifest City.

He also found this rather strange. Willforce was able to counter the Formless Heaven Art, so it might also be capable of countering a number of heart techniques. So then, why would Manifest City be able to help one cultivate Willforce?

On top of that, Lu Yin had first started cultivating Willforce due to the Ninth Rampart, which was related to the Cauldron.

The Ninth Rampart had given birth to Lu Yin’s Willforce, while the Fifth Rampart was able to increase his Willforce.

To some extent, it seemed that the Nine Ramparts had been interconnected.

In the following time, You Che did not speak further. He attacked Lu Yin’s Willforce with heart force, wanting to exchange heart gates, while Lu Yin used Willforce to block the heart force.

Several years passed, and You Che voiced his admiration. "Lu Yin, the strength of your Willforce is astonishing."

"This is far from all of it," Lu Yin carelessly replied.

You Che gave a small smile. "How confident."

After that exchange, more than ten years passed. Willforce was still tightly wrapped around Lu Yin’s heart, making it difficult for You Che's heart force to enter. He said, "You should have reached your limit. From the first moment you gained Willforce to when you later repelled experts such as the Immortal Lord with Willforce, I actually already knew about all of that. I am aware of the strength of your Willforce. You will fail within three years at most."

Lu Yin did not argue. Three years later, his Willforce still remained firm.

You Che was surprised. "Your progress has been even faster than I anticipated. I was already evaluating you as a genius, but it seems that that was still not enough. In that case, you can probably last another two years at best."

"Are you talking about yourself?" Lu Yin shot back.

You Che remained very polite. "After obtaining your body, I will help you to complete certain things. Allowing for possible circumstances, I will help you preserve your human civilization. After all, humans are very interesting."

Several more years passed, and You Che's voice finally betrayed a hint of astonishment. "As expected of someone who is able to create miracles. Your Willforce should have dried up long ago. Lu Yin, can you tell me how you cultivated your Willforce to your current level? This truly exceeds all of my expectations."

"If you tell me how you planned to seize Manifest City after I gained control of it," Lu Yin countered.

You Che laughed in spite of himself. "Then forget it. In any case, everything will soon end."

Time continued to pass.

Several more years later, the Aevum Inch was eerily silent. Lu Yin spoke, "You Che, you are still there, right? How much longer can your heart force last?"

You Che's voice sounded heavy as he replied, "What about your Willforce?"

"Should we guess each other’s state? I guess your heart force can last another ten years at most."

"Your Willforce has already exceeded my understanding. This should not be possible."

"Many things shouldn’t have happened, and yet they still did. Just like how the Fifth Rampart never expected you to betray them," Lu Yin said.

You Che's remained calm. "Since you were targeted to exchange heart gates with me, it means that you saw those murals. What are your thoughts?"

"If things truly did occur as those murals showed, then you suffered injustice."

"Merely injustice?"

"What is it that concerns you most? That you were envied? That you were forbidden from entering Manifest City? Or that you were of a different species than everyone else?"

You Che did not answer.

Lu Yin continued to say, "All living beings have their own selfish desires. Humans are no exception to that, and neither are you. Those people’s selfish desires created unpleasant experiences and memories for you, while your selfish desires buried the Fifth Rampart."

"My selfish desires?"

"That’s right, your selfish desires. I won’t deny that those people were wrong for what you experienced, but what were you trying to obtain so desperately? That senior sister you admired? Those senior brothers who doted on you? Or Xiang Xue, who promised you that you could enter Manifest City?"

After a pause, Lu Yin continued, "All of those are wrong. What you desperately wanted to obtain was your own innocence, the naive creature known as Little Grass. You’ve always been protecting your original heart, and for that, you concealed your cultivation, wanting to forever immerse yourself in the care of your senior brothers and sisters. That original heart may have been your own innocence, or it may have come from your heart technique.

"I’ve always believed the power of heart techniques is terrifying. They can make a person infinitely powerful and broad-minded enough to embrace the entire cosmos, and they can make someone completely numb. It is a power that changes one’s heart. Clearly, you were changed."

You Che's tone changed. "I was changed?"

Lu Yin answered confidently, "Yes, you were changed. You clearly cultivated for a long time, and yet you still wanted to obtain the innocence of being loved and protected as a child. Tell me, what adult can truly live their carefree childhood?

"Let alone cultivators, not even mortals can do that. There are too many things to worry about, too many experiences that require one to struggle, and too many debts to repay. Returning to childhood is nothing more than an unreachable dream.

"You stubbornly wanted to protect the innocence of childhood. That is your selfish desire. That senior sister may have been jealous of you, but it is more likely that she was disgusted by you."

You Che was caught off guard. "Disgusted?"

Lu Yin explained, "Disgusted. The impact brought about by clinging to the emotions of childhood, refusing to let go even after entering adulthood, was disgusting to her."

"No, she was jealous!" You Che shouted.

Lu Yin's tone changed. "You actually saw through that. Fine, she was jealous."

You Che was stunned. "What did you say?"

Lu Yin shrugged. "I was only trying to find a way to anger you and see if I could find a flaw in this exchange of heart gates, but ultimately, I fell short at the last moment. Forget it. Let us keep enduring."

You Che was left stunned for a long while and remained silent. This person had gone to so much effort and very nearly confused You Che; was it really all just to probe him? He would never forget the word "disgusting" for the rest of his life. Even if exchanging heart gates ultimately succeeded, that word would still linger.

Why had he never before noticed just how sharp Lu Yin’s words were?

Lu Yin truly had been searching for an opening in You Che, but not because he was powerless in this exchange of heart gates. Instead, Lu Yin was hoping to get You Che to reveal the secret of how he intended to take Manifest City away. Unfortunately, that was as far as Lu Yin could go.

The scenes on the murals, that pitiful Little Grass, and the jealous gazes and the words of You Che’s senior brothers and sisters could not be explained away.

Then again, the Fifth Rampart had indeed gone a bit too far.

The region fell silent again. Several years later, Lu Yin spoke up, "You Che, you’re still there, right? Your heart force truly exceeds my expectations. As expected of such a genius. There’s indeed a reason why you were able to master the Formless Heaven Art at such a young age."

You Che did not reply. He no longer knew what to say.

According to all of his estimates, Lu Yin's Willforce should have never been able to last for so long, and yet he continued to endure, and there was absolutely no sign of him weakening. You Che could not understand this.

"Another three years. I’m guessing that you can last three years at most." This time, it was Lu Yin who expected the other to fail.

You Che remained completely silent, not saying even a single word.

Time passed, and three years passed, followed by another three years. Three more, then three more. Heart force lingered, still restrained by Willforce, the two locked in a stalemate with each other.

Only after several decades had passed did Lu Yin open his eyes again and speak in a low voice, "Are you no longer able to hold on? 100 years. We’ve spent a full 100 years wearing each other down."

"Lu Yin, can you tell me why your Willforce has been able to endure this long? It is far more than ten times stronger than I estimated, and I still cannot see its limits at all."

"I’m the same as you. I don’t intend to reveal anything, even though I’m certain that you are on the verge of death."

You Che smiled bitterly. "Yes, we are both the same, but I am truly about to dissipate, while you have created a miracle once again.

“Humans truly are a wondrous race."

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