Chapter 2415: Cosmic Door
It was not long before a massive scarlet eye entered Lu Yin’s sight. This eye was only slightly smaller than the jiao. All of the corpse kings present had emerged from this scarlet eye. The region behind the eyes was completely devoid of any and all Aeternals.
Lu Yin’s eyes grew wide as he realized what he was seeing. The enormous scarlet eye was a marker that identified the coordinates of the universe that he lived in, and swarms of corpse kings were being transported to the eye’s location.
Lu Yin had once assumed that Aeternus’s territory bordered both the Fifth Mainland and the Perennial World and that the Lu Family had separated the Perennial World to position it at the frontlines of the border with Aeternus as part of their strategy. Reality was completely different from what Lu Yin had thought.
Since all of the corpse kings were coming from the enormous scarlet eye, it indicated that Aeternus was not even native to this universe. They were aliens.
Lu Yin summoned E Chi while studying the enormous scarlet eyes. He ordered his champion to charge forward. Lu Yin wanted to shatter the eye. If it was destroyed, this part of the universe would be freed of corpse kings.
E Chi swung his serrated saber, and each slash cleared entire swaths of corpse kings.
Lu Yin swept the area with all the Progenitor-level runes that he could use. Any location this important to Aeternus’s operations was practically guaranteed to have a powerful defender nearby. It was even possible that Yi Ren was the guardian.
However, even as E Chi approached the scarlet eye and prepared to hack at it, Lu Yin had yet to discover any powerful member of Aeternus standing guard. This should be impossible. There was no way the Aeternals would leave this place unprotected.
The serrated blade struck the scarlet eye, releasing a resounding clang. The scarlet eye responded with a sudden shift. The corpse kings that appeared on either side of the eye were suddenly split in two, but the scarlet eye itself remained undamaged.
“Keep attacking!” Lu Yin ordered. The jiao also joined in the attack, and it slashed at the eye with its claws. At the same time, Lu Yin also used Progenitor-level runes to weaken the eye.
Any item that existed in this part of the universe was subject to the laws of the universe. There were no exceptions. The runes that Lu Yin was using were a product of one such law. Any and all objects could be represented by a corresponding number of runes, but the number of runes could be increased or decreased. As long as Lu Yin erased some of an object’s runes, there would be a corresponding drop in strength.
The Rune Progenitor’s Truesight was just as miraculous as Progenitor Ku’s Extremes Must Be Reversed. Both powers defied human imagination.
The moment that E Chi’s saber struck the scarlet eye, back in the Perennial World’s Dominion Realm, Ancient God’s expression fell. “This is bad. Something is happening to the cosmic door.”
Forgotten Ruins God stood beside Ancient God, and a flicker of shock ran across her face. “Lu Yin discovered the cosmic door?”
Ancient God grew solemn. A wave of his hand stilled the void, which then started to shatter one layer at a time. Wang Fan, Bai Wangyuan, and the other human Progenitors were all immediately sent flying in various directions.
Xia Shenji watched as a swirl of gray forced the layers of the void to shatter. Ancient God had just countered Xia Shenji’s ability to manipulate time.
“Corpse God, protect the cosmic door!” Ancient God gave a direct order.
The moment he said the order, seven rays of light shot out of the seven planets of the Outer Realm, targeting Ancient God. Bai Wangyuan and the others had almost instantly launched a new attack on Ancient God and the rest of the Skygods who were in the Dominion Realm. The humans refused to give any of the Skygods a single moment of reprieve. However, Ancient God’s last attack had been enough. Corpse God managed to extricate himself from the new assault, and he left the battlefield.
As Corpse God left, Ancient God continued to shatter the void with his domain, which prevented Bai Wangyuan or anyone else from contacting Lu Yin with their wireless jincans.
Bai Wangyuan and the others were being held back by Ancient God, and they were also prevented from sending any messages to Lu Yin. However, both Mu Xie and Progenitor Smoke remained free.
Lu Yin was not naive enough to trust the four ruling powers’ promises, nor would he ever entrust them with his life. He had only ever placed his trust in Senior Brother Mu Xie and Progenitor Smoke.
Back in the Fifth Mainland, Lu Yin pulled out the slipper and handed it to E Chi, and the slapping quickly commenced. Lu Yin had no other weapon that could damage this giant scarlet eye.
Suddenly, his wireless jincan trembled. It was a warning message from Senior Brother Mu Xie; Corpse God had left the Dominion Realm.
Lu Yin’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly ordered the jiao to leave the area as fast as possible. At the same time, Lu Yin kept careful watch over E Chi.
Crack!
The enormous scarlet eye finally cracked from E Chi’s furious barrage of slaps with the slipper.
Lu Yin pumped his fist in joy. He urged the jiao to increase its speed. Hurry!
He had been so focused on the giant eye that he had completely forgotten about how far he was from the Upper Three Gates and the waterfall. Corpse God would come from the Upper Three Gates, which meant that if Lu Yin were even a second too late, his retreat would be completely cut off by Corpse God’s massive body. Lu Yin did not even dare to imagine what the consequences of that would be in that case.
Fortunately, the jiao rushed past the Upper Three Gates waterfall and continued to race towards the entrance to the Starfall Sea unimpeded.
Just a single moment after that, Corpse God stepped out, and his mighty aura sent shockwaves rippling across the Starfall Sea. The Fifth Mainland’s army immediately retreated. There was no need for them to receive any orders from Lu Yin. Shui Chuanxiao was practically screaming at his soldiers to hurry back.
Corpse God’s presence completely terrified the humans, and they felt an unprecedented wave of hopelessness unlike anything they had felt before.
Grandmaster Gu Yan was covered in a sheen of cold sweat. He had fought countless battles on the rear battlefield, and he had even faced Progenitors before. He was typically able to remain calm before such powerhouses, but the Seven Skygods were different. They seldom appeared on the rear battlefield, and they normally only participated in attacks on the Dominion Realm. Despite his many years of fighting, Gu Yan had never experienced the terror of the Seven Skygods’ true bodies.
In just a few days, both Ancient God and Corpse God had appeared. This was already the most stimulation that Grandmaster Gu Yan had ever experienced throughout his long life.
“Hurry and get back here, kid!” Grandmaster Gu Yan anxiously kneaded his hands as he stared out into the Starfall Sea, searching for any sign of the jiao’s arrival.
Lu Yin was also eager to return, but Corpse God instantly threw a punch, and the attack created two hurricanes that swept across the Starfall Sea and completely cut off Lu Yin’s path of escape. The jiao took one look at Corpse God and immediately decided to make a break for it. It charged straight into one of the hurricanes blocking its path, only to be forced to retreat.
This was Corpse God’s terrifying strength. Lu Yin suspected that only Progenitor Chen’s colossal giant clone was a match for Corpse God when it came to physical might.
As Corpse God’s hand swung forward, the jiao brandished its fangs and claws. Terror filled the beast’s eyes.
E Chi rushed over and struck Corpse God’s arm with the slipper. Only the slipper stood even the slightest chance of making trouble for one of the Seven Skygods. Lu Yin thanked his past self for having the foresight to Enhance the slipper, as its original power would not have posed any threat whatsoever to Corpse God.
Corpse God pulled his hand back and looked down. Upon seeing E Chi, the Skygod casually slapped the champion as if it were a mosquito.
Lu Yin waved a hand, and the slipper appeared in his own hands through the Yu Secret Technique. At the same time, E Chi’s body was squished.
Pu!
Lu Yin coughed up blood as he felt the death energy within his body rapidly drain away. He raised his hand and spun his die, hoping to roll four pips, which would allow him to recover from his injuries within his Timestop Space.
Corpse God flicked a finger at the young man, and a gust of wind pierced the void, trailed by a black nothingness that devoured everything. The entire void was literally shredded by the attack.
Every drop of blood drained from Lu Yin’s face. Without any hesitation, he pulled out the corpse that had saved his life on numerous occasions and used it as a shield in front of his body.
The jiao let out a shriek of terror as it spun around and showed its back to the attack. This left Lu Yin completely exposed to Corpse God’s attack.
Lu Yin used the Ce Secret Technique as quickly as possible and shifted their positions.
The ferocious blast of wind struck the corpse, pressing it against the jiao’s back. The jiao was flung far away, and it let out a howl of pain. The beast quickly righted itself and then dashed towards the Starfall Sea’s entrance. While the jiao’s intelligence had been damaged, its terror gave it the necessary clarity to find the right path towards escape.
As for the indestructible corpse, there was finally a hairline crack that ran through it.
Lu Yin’s face grew pensive when he noticed the crack. This corpse had helped him survive numerous crises before, including even the final attack during his stellular tribulation for the Envoy realm. The corpse had blocked Xia Shenji’s attack. It had never let Lu Yin down before. However, Corpse God’s attack had broken the corpse’s previous invincibility. Still, if not for the corpse, Lu Yin was certain that both he and the jiao would have been blasted to pieces.
The die stopped on one pip: Pilfer. Useless. Lu Yin continued rolling.
Lu Yin looked back, only to see that Corpse God was no longer attacking him. Instead, the Skygod was simply staring at Lu Yin. Well, Lu Yin could not determine if Corpse God was staring at him or the jiao. Lu Yin had nothing else that could endure an attack from Corpse God. He only had the God of Death’s left arm and broken scythe. Even the Origin Progenitor’s sword had been cracked by True God.
Everything in Lu Yin’s possession seemed feeble and insignificant before the power of Aeternus.
“Bi Rong,” Corpse God called out in a rumbling voice.
Lu Yin unconsciously glanced down at his cosmic ring that once again held the corpse. Was Bi Rong the name of the man whose corpse had just protected Lu Yin? Neither the people from the Heavens Sect era, such as Lu Buzheng and Destina, nor anyone from the Daosource Sect era, such as Progenitor Smoke or Xia Shenji, had ever recognized the corpse, despite all of them seeing Lu Yin use it to protect himself. It was actually Corpse God who told Lu Yin the name of the man who had saved him so many times.
At the entrance to the Starfall Sea, Grandmaster Gu Yan and the rest of the humans finally caught a glimpse of the jiao’s massive body.
At the same time, the jiao caught sight of the entrance, and it instantly shot towards it.
Corpse God no longer held back. A single step put him directly behind the jiao, and a single hand grabbed at the beast.
Everyone outside the Starfall Sea stared on in a daze. Was that Corpse God?
The Progenitor of Bloodlines gritted his teeth and threw the eyeball forward. Numerous tentacles grew out from the small orb, and they formed a barrier behind Lu Yin that blocked Corpse God’s vision.
Under Lu Yin’s hand, his die stopped at five pips: Gift Copy. The ability to borrow someone’s innate gift.
He collapsed to a half-kneeling position, grasping the ground as he tried to catch his breath. Fresh blood poured from his open wounds. Without entering Timestop, Lu Yin could not heal himself and return to peak condition. It seemed that the God of Death’s power was the only way for him to return to the Fifth Mainland.
Just as he was about to pull out the God of Death’s arm, Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the face of his die. The image of a thunderbolt had appeared next to the five pips.
A thunderbolt? When and where had he managed to copy such an innate gift?
Unbeknownst to Lu Yin, the moment he used the Ce Secret Art to avoid Corpse God’s attack, he had relocated to the jiao’s head, right where the lightning continuously attacked the beast. Lu Yin usually avoided that place, as it was only a step from the jiao’s forehead. Standing in that location would only expose Lu Yin to his enemies during the jiao’s attacks. However, when the jiao had turned its body to avoid Corpse God’s attack, Lu Yin had reflexively moved to a safer location, which was close to the beast’s forehead.
The lightning that continuously attacked the beast’s head was the reason why the jiao lacked intelligence. Shockingly, the lightning was not from a battle technique, but was rather someone’s innate gift.
Since it had appeared on Lu Yin’s die, that was his only option.
Gift Copy allowed Lu Yin to store and use another person’s innate gift. The strength of the innate gift depended entirely on the strength of the person that Lu Yin used Gift Copy on. For example, when he had been pursued by a Hunter, he had used the lightning rabbit’s innate gift, which had allowed Lu Yin to kill the attacker. There was no way Lu Yin could have withstood the power of that lightning with his strength at the time, so did that mean that he was able to borrow the full strength of the lightning that made the jiao stupid even now?
All hesitation fled. Behind Lu Yin, Corpse God tore through the barrier of tentacles, once again gaining a clear view of Lu Yin. Lu Yin clenched his jaw. He decided to judge the effectiveness of Gift Copy later. For the moment, all he could do was try. He mentally selected the thunderbolt print in his mind and willed the die to unleash that power.