Chapter 2323: Return

The patriarchs of the former Court of Seven Names, the Hall of Honor, and the Cosmic Sea also hosted many conversations at this moment concerning the war preparations. No one knew whom they would be fighting against.

However, Lu Yin had sent down orders of the highest priority, and he had also tasked Shui Chuanxiao and the other strategists and tacticians to provide him with a comprehensive list of the Fifth Mainland’s forces. The Fifth Mainland was moving, and even the people from the Sixth Mainland were no exception. The Progenitor of Bloodlines himself had emerged from seclusion.

Lu Yin had sent the man a message through a wireless jincan, asking the Progenitor of Bloodlines to mobilize the entire Sixth Mainland.

Throughout all of human history, there had been very few moments when different Mainlands had cooperated, but Lu Yin’s order had mobilized all the combat strength of both the Fifth and Sixth Mainlands so that they could face the four ruling powers.

It was uncertain exactly how much strength would be gathered in the end, but Lu Yin felt confident that he would be able to give the four ruling powers quite a surprise.

As the war preparations continued, the Progenitor of Bloodlines brought up some questions, as he wanted to understand whom they would be facing.

Lu Yin hid nothing, and he shared the current situation of the Perennial World with the Progenitor. This particular confrontation was inevitable. Even if Lu Yin abandoned seeking revenge for his Lu family, the four ruling powers would still never let him go.

Finally, the Progenitor of Bloodlines just sighed emotionally while expressing his hopes that this war would not weaken humanity too much.

Lu Yin did not actually know if a war would break out or not. It was possible, but it was also possible that war could be avoided. He would not know for certain until he directly faced the four ruling powers and determined their attitude. In that case, it was better to prepare for an all-out war.

If his preparations proved insufficient, he had one last option, though he truly hoped that he would not be forced to use it.

…

"Skymender, is your Book of Destiny the one regarding the present?" Lu Yin asked.

"Yes."

"Could you use it to help me see if there is any threat to me in the Fifth Mainland?" Lu Yin asked.

Skymender shrugged. "Dao Chosen, while the Books of Destiny are priceless treasures, they are still nothing more than a tool to assist in divination. It’s quite simply impossible to check the entire Fifth Mainland."

"What does your book show about me?" Lu Yin asked.

"It can’t reveal anything at all about you."

"It can’t see me?" Lu Yin stared at Skymender.

The imperial advisor replied, "That’s correct. It’s never been able to see you. If it could…"

He did not finish speaking, but Lu Yin understood. If the book had been able to provide information about him, the Astral Beast Domain would have never allowed him to rise to power.

Even back when Lu Yin had first started cultivating, some of his accomplishments should have attracted Skymender’s attention. Skymender must have performed divinations on countless people, but Lu Yin’s life could only be regarded as legendary. Yao Di would have personally risked his life across the Human Domain to kill Lu Yin and prevent him from rising up.

"Then what about Undying Yushan?" Lu Yin asked.

Skymender replied, "While the Dao Chosen himself is impossible to see in divinations, those around you can be seen. Through them, it is possible to analyze what the Dao Chosen desires and what he wishes to do, within certain bounds. That allowed me to then perform a divination on Undying Yushan himself. However, it is truly impossible to perform any divinations on the Dao Chosen himself. If that were not the case, our Celestial Beast Empire would have never fallen so far."

"Do you remember the Ghost Monkey?" Lu Yin suddenly changed the subject.

Skymender went a bit stiff. "I do."

"Why did you want him back so badly?"

During ZENITH, Skymender had ordered all of the participants from the Astral Beast Domain to take the Ghost Monkey away from Lu Yin at any cost. When Lu Yin had intervened and taken over defending the Outerverse from the Astral Beast Domain from the Sixth Mainland, Feng Lin had also set the Ghost Monkey’s return as a condition during negotiations. It had become very clear that the Astral Beast Domain cared too much about the Ghost Monkey.

Skymender sighed. "I don't know how much the Dao Chosen knows about the Ghost Monkey, but it was born from Progenitor Wushang’s blood."

Lu Yin's expression did not change at all. He had learned of the Ghost Monkey’s origins during the Astral Tower competition in the Mountains and Seas Zone. At that time, the Ghost Monkey had consumed the blood of a Progenitor, and he had instantly risen from the Explorer realm to the Hunter realm. He had known that he had to be honest with Lu Yin at that time, as otherwise, Lu Yin would have killed the Ghost Monkey.

Lu Yin’s calm reaction told Skymender that the young man indeed already knew about the Ghost Monkey’s origins. "The Ghost Monkey possesses Progenitor Wushang’s blood, which is simply invaluable to my Astral Beast Domain. Even more importantly, he very likely knows the location of Progenitor Wushang’s tomb due to that blood."

"Progenitor Wushang’s tomb?" Lu Yin was surprised by this.

However, Skymender was also surprised. "The Dao Chosen did not know?"

Lu Yin started thinking. The Ghost Monkey had referred to Progenitor Wushang’s tomb on multiple occasions, trying to tempt Lu Yin with the place. However, at the time, Lu Yin had been far too weak to even contemplate searching for Progenitor Wushang’s tomb back then. He had never imagined that he would one day manage to conquer the entire Astral Beast Domain.

It had simply been impossible for a human to enter the Astral Beast Domain and search for Progenitor Wushang’s tomb.

However, things had completely changed. "Does the Ghost Monkey really know where Progenitor Wushang’s tomb is located?"

"We can’t be certain, but the Ghost Monkey is the only one who might possibly know. After all, Progenitor Wushang does not have a massive tomb, and what we refer to as his tomb is simply where his body was buried. There have long since been rumors that Progenitor Wushang was badly wounded during the war with the Sixth Mainland, and knowing that he would die of his injuries, he found a place to rest his bones. There was never any glorious tomb, but if his tomb can be found, then we can find Progenitor Wushang’s body, and we might even be able to acquire some of his blood. For our Astral Beast Domain, Progenitor Wushang’s blood is the greatest treasure," Skymender explained.

Lu Yin could not hold back a laugh. It turned out that Progenitor Wushang’s blood held the same sort of appeal for the astral beasts as Progenitor Chen's blood did for humans.

It was unexpected that the Ghost Monkey had been keeping such a secret. Did he really know the location of Progenitor Wushang’s tomb, or could he have been lying the whole time?

After another half a month, Leng Qing arrived, and with him came the Giants Army.

The moment the Giants Army arrived, Ku Wei's wailing rang out, "Master—! Master, you must save your disciple! I don't want to come to this terrible place! I only want to stay by your side for the rest of my life and serve you! Master is the greatest, and your disciple doesn’t want to be left here…"

Yao Di and Skymender both gave Ku Wei very odd looks. They had heard before that humans experienced powerful emotions, but it was still surprising to see such shamelessness.

As Ku Wei wailed, he disregarded everyone around him, including Skymender and Yao Di. He had even once proven himself capable of disregarding a Progenitor’s strength to fearlessly insult Lord Fish. This man was truly peerless when it came to flattering his master.

Lu Yin kicked Ku Wei away. "If you’re not here, the Giants Army won’t be reliable, so you need to stay here."

Ku Wei crawled back over to Lu Yin and latched onto his legs. "Master, take me away from here! I just want to stay with you, and am willing to face any dangers to do so! If I can’t see master, then your disciple- your disciple… will have nightmares!"

Lu Yin sneered. "Fine."

Ku Wei was thrilled, and he looked up at Lu Yin with great excitement. "Really?"

Lu Yin bent over. "Are you aware that the entire Heavens Sect is preparing for war?"

Ku Wei nodded ignorantly. "Yes."

"Do you know whom we will be facing?"

Ku Wei shook his head.

Lu Yin softly stated, "The Perennial World."

Ku Wei clenched his fists. "Master, don't worry! As soon as the fighting starts, your disciple will lead the vanguard with the Giants Army, eliminating all those villains who betrayed Master's family!"

People had gradually started to learn more about the Perennial World, including the fact that the four ruling powers had betrayed the Lu family. People had learned of Lu Yin’s true background.

Lu Yin approved. "Good, that’s the attitude that I want to see!"

Ku Wei grew excited, but just as he was about to continue boasting and insulting the enemy, Lu Yin continued, and his words gave Ku Wei chills and caused every hair on his body to stand on end. "For this war, I’m sure that the four ruling powers will send a Progenitor or two to deal with me, and the Giants Army will be tasked with blocking one of them. Given your size, you should be able to survive an attack or two, which will give me the time that I need to prepare."

As Lu Yin spoke, his eyes gradually lit up. "Of course! Why didn’t I think of this before?"

Ku Wei's face grew pale. I can survive an attack or two? From a PROGENITOR? I’m not even an Envoy! A Progenitor can destroy half the universe with a wave of their hand! What use will the Giants Army be? Even filling the entire universe with colossal giants would be useless!

"Master, your disciple understands! I will do my best to help you protect the Astral Beast Domain! None of these astral beasts will ever be allowed to act up!"

A dangerous glint flickered in Yao Di’s eyes as he looked at Ku Wei. This person deserved a beating.

Lu Yin snorted contemptuously and kicked Ku Wei away yet again. He then led Skymender and Yao Di atop the jiao’s back. The entire Astral Beast Army had already been assembled atop the jiao’s back. There were 300 astral beasts with the strength of Enlighters and another 5,000 with strength ranging between the Explorer and Hunter levels. Beyond that, there was at least a million weaker astral beasts.

All of the creatures had taken on a human form, and they were currently quivering atop the jiao’s back.

At the front of the Astral Beast Army stood Xu Qing, Lu Yin's old opponent.

After stepping onto the jiao’s back, Lu Yin motioned to the beast. The jiao opened its mouth and roared at the sky. The power of a Progenitor was fully unleashed, terrifying countless astral beasts before the jiao simply disappeared.

In that instance, almost all of the Astral Beast Domain’s top powerhouses had been taken away, including those from the twenty six alliances.

In the days following the surrender of the Astral Beast Domain, Yao Di had been rushing around to personally ensure the formation of the Astral Beast Army, but whenever he encountered any bit of difficulty, the jiao had been sent to assist the former emperor. A single roar from the jiao had instantly eliminated all obstacles, and it had even caused many astral beasts to pee themselves in terror. This was how the Astral Beast Army had been completely gathered within just half a month.

Of course, the members of the army had only been gathered. There had been no training, let alone actual battle, but that was Xu Qing’s job.

In addition to the Astral Beast Army, Lu Yin also gathered half of the Void Wanderers, which numbered around 10 million of them. The Void Wanderers were intended to be used as life-savers for the weaker cultivators, particularly if the fighting ever moved to the Perennial World. The existence of the Void Wanderers was too great of an advantage to pass up.

…

Lu Yin received another report from the Technocracy. Their latest estimates were that the New Corridor would finish its repairs in about thirteen days. As that time drew closer, their estimate would become increasingly accurate.

Lu Yin observed everything as time passed one day at a time. He continuously urged the Heavens Sect to finish their preparations. Cultivators from across the entire Fifth and Sixth Mainlands flooded into the Heavens Sect without end.

Everyone was aware that a massive war was quickly approaching, but almost no one had any idea whom they would be facing.

After returning to the Heavens Sect, the jiao remained outside Earth’s solar system once again, where it resumed staring at Ancestor Tortoise.

As for the Astral Beast Army, it was incorporated into the rest of the Heavens Sect’s forces.

A group of astral beasts were staring out at the impressive sight of the Heavens Sect. They were able to sense multiple Semi-Progenitors’ auras, and even a Progenitor’s. Despair covered their faces.

Given the fact that humanity had amassed such power, even without the jiao, the Astral Beast Domain would still be helpless against the humans.

Xu Qing’s greatest fear was that Lu Yin would use the newly formed Astral Beast Army as cannon fodder during the upcoming war. If the Astral Beast Army was wiped out, the Astral Beast Domain would suffer too great a blow. It would be best if the astral beasts were allowed to fight side-by-side with the humans, as that would at least ensure that the Astral Beast Domain would not suffer any worse than the humans.

On the astral beasts’ second day in the Heavens Sect, someone appeared in front of Xu Qing. It was the Second Nightking. "The Dao Chosen invites you to tea with him."

Xu Qing was very nervous as he followed the Second Nightking to where Lu Yin typically enjoyed his tea. Xu Qing had been waiting for this moment, as he knew that Lu Yin would definitely want to speak with him.

It was finally time.

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