Chapter 2424: Under My Feet

Wang Wen angled his communication crystal so that he could share his surroundings. Upon seeing where the man was, Lu Yin’s eyes turned cold. Wang Wen was surrounded by at least twenty people, all of whom were blasting attacks at the transparent coffin. Some of the attackers were even Envoys.

“These guys have been at it for a few days now, and it doesn’t look like they’re planning to give up any time soon. They’re members of the Forsaken Land Slaying Alliance. Pui!?Break your foot! They’re just dogs of the four ruling powers,” Wang Wen stated angrily.

Wang Yan was able to see the entire conversation, and his expression changed. He glanced at Lu Yin. There was about to be trouble, but this was not the best time for Lu Yin to take action. If his truce with the four ruling powers fell apart while Aeternus was gone, the four ruling powers’ Progenitors could simultaneously attack Lu Yin.

They were only missing a reason to break the truce at the moment.

Lu Yin’s eyes were ice cold. “Wait for me.”

He stepped forward and vanished.

Were the four ruling powers deliberately targeting Wang Wen? If that was true, then it meant that they could no longer afford to wait for the truce to expire.

But could they afford to break the truce? Lu Yin’s face was solemn as he rode the jiao toward the Middle Realm.

Wang Fan and the other Progenitors sensed Lu Yin’s presence. “Strange. Shouldn’t he be trying to fix the Fifth Mainland’s problems ? What’s he doing here?”

“Forget about him. We can talk after finishing them off.” Xia Shenji glanced down with cold eyes. He then looked out at the Outer Realm, specifically at Broken Star. The Perennial World had to come completely under the control of the four ruling powers. As for that other man, Xia Shenji wanted to see just how far he could run.

With Aeternus gone, Xia Shenji could spread out and search the entire Perennial World. There was no escape.

A transparent coffin lay on the bank of a green lake in the Middle Realm. Wang Wen shouted, “What are you trying to do? What is this place? Don’t just throw me anywhere! It won’t be good if you damage all of these plants.”

Some distance away, about a dozen cultivators looked at him coldly. They were led by an Envoy who was blurring his features. No one could get a clear image of the man’s face, and a bit of wind surrounded his entire body. While it seemed like a gentle breeze, the way that it shredded the void made it clear that it was far more powerful than its appearance.

“Throw him in,” the Envoy ordered.

Beside the man, a woman waved a hand. The transparent coffin was thrown into the green lake with a splash, and it quickly sunk out of sight.

“He can only blame his own bad luck that not even I can break that damn coffin open. This green lake is directly connected to the Middle Ocean that circles the Middle Realm. Anyone who falls in this lake can forget about ever returning. Even if he does manage to escape, that water is so corrosive that it will instantly dissolve his bones,” the Envoy stated coldly.

The dozen or so cultivators behind the man watched on in fear. They had all heard about this green salt lake before. Not even an Envoy who fell in was certain to be able to escape alive.

“Oh really? It looks like you’re pretty familiar with this lake,” a cold voice commented from behind the group.

The unfamiliar voice startled the small group, and everyone turned around. They saw an enormous jiao blocking out the sun. No one knew when the beast had arrived, but standing atop it was Lu Yin.

The faces of everyone present turned ashen. Their hands and feet grew numb, and many of them nearly collapsed.

The jiao opened its maw and let out a roar.

Some of the people had their knees give out, and the Envoy began to tremble as he stared upwards in horror. “Lu- Lu- Lu Xiaoxuan?”

“Since you know this green lake so well, I’ll let you experience it for yourself,” Lu Yin said as he flicked a finger at the man. Before the Envoy could understand what was happening, he was already flying through the air. He fell into the green lake with a huge splash. Lu Yin had covered the man with battle force before dropping him in the lake, which would prevent the Envoy from dying for at least an hour. The man would experience the sensation of sinking to the bottom of the corrosive green lake and then drifting wherever the currents took him. This punishment was far worse than death. The Envoy could only wait for death to take him, as there was no way he could save himself.

The other people present all started trembling in despair as they watched their leader’s punishment.

Lu Yin frowned, and then a blast of wind sent everyone else present tumbling straight into the green lake. Their fates would be determined by luck.

“That’s seriously messed up, but I like it,” Wang Wen commented. Lu Yin had collected the coffin the moment it had been thrown into the lake, though no one present had seen that take place. Everyone had thought that Wang Wen had fallen into the lake.

“Those guys were all from the four ruling powers. Their actions are only going to get more and more aggressive. They know that you won’t break the truce, so they’re going to do everything that they can to force you to do so,” Wang Wen said.

Lu Yin calmly replied, “Not necessarily. As long as they’re unable to find a way to ensure Bai Xian’er’s safety, they won’t break their agreement with me.”

Wang Wen rubbed his head and then shook it side to side, looking like he was trying to shake water out of his ears even though he had touched the green lake water. “Don’t underestimate the four ruling powers. Back then, your Lu family controlled the entire Fifth Mainland, but you all still fell for their schemes.”

Lu Yin’s mouth curled out. “I might not be the smartest person, but I do have the most tricks up my sleeve. Let’s make a bet. I believe that they won’t break the truce with me for now.”

Wang Wen rolled his eyes. “A small bet only deals emotional damage, but a large bet can leave you seriously wounded.”

Lu Yin smiled and looked toward the Mother Tree. “While they won’t break the truce, they will absolutely continue to get more and more aggressive. They’ll keep pushing to test my bottom line. Since that’s the case, I’ll show them what happens when they manage to touch it.”

He carried Wang Wen up onto the jiao, and together, they rode toward the Mother Tree.

Lu Yin did nothing to hide his movements.

The people in the Dominion Realm were constantly watching the jiao as it rushed toward the Mother Tree.

At first, they thought that the jiao was heading for Huai Yuan or possibly the Upper Realm, but Bai Wangyuan’s expression quickly grew serious when he noticed the jiao’s precise direction. The Progenitor started to get a bad feeling, and once the jiao stopped right beside the Mother Tree, he was unable to stop himself from stepping forward. At this moment, his expression was incredibly grave.

Given the size of the Mother Tree, the crack in its trunk was not particularly large. However, from the perspective of the Perennial World’s residents, the break was beyond massive. It stretched from the sky to the ground, and its width was so wide that a normal person could not even comprehend it.

The four ruling powers and various powers from the Middle Realm had already visited the crack, hoping to repair the Mother Tree. The Celestial Frost Sect had discovered a specific location where stellular liquid could be siphoned out, despite it being a mere dot to the Mother Tree. The location was so small that no one else had managed to discover it.

/p>The Celestial Frost Sect had no idea how much stellular liquid they could extract, but they were certain that it was far more than what they had managed to harvest from the Mother Tree so far. Naturally, they did not want a single soul to know about this place, and to protect this secret, they had even eliminated the Yue Sect, which had once existed right beneath the location where the siphoning would occur.

The jiao came to a stop directly above the former Yue Sect.

“Lu Xiaoxuan, what are you trying to pull?” Bai Wangyuan could not stop himself from speaking up. Lu Yin’s exact position left the Progenitor feeling exceptionally nervous.

Right beneath the jiao, hidden in the shadows of dense foliage, two Semi-Progenitors, Bai Qi and Wu Yao, restrained their auras as much as possible in hopes of preventing Lu Yin from noticing their presence.

Lu Yin replied, “Where’s the Yue Sect?”

Bai Wangyuan arched a brow. “The Yue Sect? What Yue Sect? Lu Xiaoxuan, shouldn’t your priority right now be to rescue your Fifth Mainland? While Aeternus may have retreated, that doesn’t mean that they’re unable to return to our universe again in the future. If the Fifth Mainland is still crippled at that time, how do you intend to resist the Aeternals?”

Lu Yin jumped down from the jiao and entered the ruins of Yue Sect. “The Yue Sect should be right here, so why is it gone? There are ruined buildings, and everything’s been destroyed. Were they taken out by a rival? Who could it be? I must take revenge.”

Underground, Wu Yao’s face twisted. Since when had Lu Yin ever been close to the Yue Sect? It was just a tiny, negligible sect. Wu Yao had never once heard the Yue Sect even mentioning Lu Xiaoxuan. Had they also been surviving vassals of the Lu family? That could not be the case, as the Yue Sect had been around even when the Lu family had been in power, though it had always been a minor existence.

“Lu Xiaoxuan, what the hell are you trying to do?” Bai Wangyuan angrily demanded.

Wang Fan and the other Progenitors found Bai Wangyuan’s attitude to be quite strange. He was clearly acting a bit differently from normal.

Lu Yin lifted his head and furrowed his brow. “I’m looking for my people, which is none of your business.”

Bai Wangyuan clenched his fists. If not for Lu Yin’s exact location, Bai Wangyuan would not care about what the brat did. At this moment, their top priority was to establish complete control over the entire Perennial World. After that, they intended to deal with Lu Yin. This was truly infuriating, and Bai Wangyuan simply hoped that the youth would not discover anything.

“Hm? Is this the location of the crack in the Mother Tree?” Lu Yin looked off into the distance while standing in the ruins of the Yue Sect. The sect had been built right next to the Mother Tree.

Bai Wangyuan’s heart lurched, but he remained silent. Saying anything right now would simply give him away.

Lu Yin slowly approached the crack in the Mother Tree. At the same time, the distance between him and the two hidden Semi-Progenitors shortened. They were hiding underground right in front of him.

The two men exchanged glances and then shut their eyes. They did their absolute best to completely restrain their auras.

Above them, the jiao picked at its nose. Its eyes flitted about constantly. No one could tell what the beast was looking at.

Lu Yin took another step forward, which placed him directly above Wu Yao.

Bai Wangyuan nearly attacked right there and then.

Beneath the ground, Wu Yao opened his eyes but did not dare look upwards. He gritted his teeth and continued to suppress his aura.

Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back and let out a laugh. “I never thought that I’d see Semi-Progenitors hide like rats. Get up here.”

He put some force into his right leg and shattered the ground. The overwhelming force completely suppressed Wu Yao. The Semi-Progenitor let out a roar as his half ring sliced upward. Bai Qi quickly blocked the attack. “Stop.”

Lu Yin kicked at the center of the ring, and with a clang, it shattered. Wu Yao spat out a mouthful of blood, completely aghast. This was impossible.

The Semi-Progenitor had traded blows with Lu Yin before, and because of that, Wu Yao believed that Lu Yin needed to use items to fight against Progenitors. However, reality proved that he was already able to fight against Semi-Progenitors with nothing more than his own power. Even then, there was no way that Lu Yin should have been able to shatter Wu Yao’s inner world so easily. It was simply inconceivable to the Semi-Progenitor. There was no way that there could be such a massive gap between them.

The sight of Lu Yin shattering the half ring with a single kick not only shocked Wu Yao, but also Bai Qi, and even Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors.

Only a single year had passed, but Lu Yin’s abilities had already undergone a complete transformation. He far exceeded the strength that he had demonstrated when he had fought his way out of Shenwu’s Sky.

Lu Yin lowered his head to look at Wu Yao. Seeing the blood drain from the man’s face, Lu Yin spoke slowly, “How does it feel to be stepped on like a rat?”

“You-” Wu Yao started furiously, only to spit out another mouthful of blood. His inner world shattered in front of him as he fell to the ground.

Bai Qi looked up at Lu Yin. “Why are you here?”

Lu Yin smiled. “That’s something that I also want to know—why are you guys hiding like rats in this place?”

Up in the Dominion Realm, Wang Fan and the others turned to look at Bai Wangyuan. They had no idea why two of the Celestial Frost Sect’s Semi-Progenitors were hiding in such a random location that held no importance whatsoever.

“Lu Xiaoxuan, how did you do that?” Wu Yao had an unwilling expression on his face. He was hoping to hear that Lu Yin had only managed to break his inner world by borrowing the strength of a Progenitor through some means.

However, Lu Yin had not borrowed any strength at all. He had simply used Wielder – Indestructible.

The Wielder realm was the pinnacle of battle force, and it was something the ancient Third Mainland’s Dao Monarch had developed. Using it allowed Lu Yin to shatter the half ring with a single kick that utilized nothing more than pure physical strength.

In truth, even Lu Yin had not expected to shatter the man’s inner world. He had only intended to kick it aside, but Wielder-realm battle force was simply too powerful. Lu Yin had previously guessed that once aurelian force transformed into Wielder – Indestructible, a cultivator would be able to utilize the same level of strength as a Semi-Progenitor.