C.2794: A Secret
Xia Shenji revealed a bitter smile. "Dao Monarch Lu, I succeeded, but this body has been beaten into such a pitiful state by you that I won’t be able to recover for quite some time. During this time, I won’t be able to help you."
Lu Yin bent over and moved closer to Xia Shenji.
Arch-Elder Zen warned, "Be careful."
Despite the Progenitor’s pale face, there was a narrow path that spread out from his feet. If Xia Shenji tried to attack Lu Yin, the path would allow Lu Yin to instantly evade. This was Arch-Elder Zen’s Progenitor’s world, and it existed only to support Lu Yin. This was the Progenitor’s world that he had used to help Lu Yin deal with Nutjob Lu.
Lu Yin and Xia Shenji stared at each other for a moment before Lu Yin stood back up. "I believe you."
Arch-Elder Zen was not the only one surprised by Lu Yin’s pronouncement, as Xia Shenji was similarly shocked. "Dao Monarch Lu, you believe that I succeeded?"
A smile pulled at the corners of Lu Yin's mouth. "The real Xia Shenji would never have looked away from me."
Xia Shenji let out a long breath as he nodded. His wounds were still dripping blood. The Hidden Needle had wounded him so badly that it was impossible to forcefully suppress the injury.
"Can you help me? I'm afraid that I'll die at this rate." Xia Shenji felt completely helpless.
Lu Yin looked at Arch-Elder Zen, but the old man shook his head. "No one can heal the injuries made by Senior Tianyi. Xia Shenji, since you have successfully fused with the main body, you should have gained his memories and realized that it is impossible to deal with Senior Tianyi’s power."
Xia Shenji's face twisted into an ugly expression as he looked at Arch-Elder Zen in disbelief. "Are you able to truly release Lu Tianyi's power?"
"Yes. During the Daosource Sect era, all of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas were inherited, which brought about a glorious age of prosperity. Of those powerhouses, the most dazzling one was Progenitor Chen, and the quietest one was Progenitor Ku. However, the most incomprehensible one was Lu Tianyi because the injuries that he caused could not be healed.”
Arch-Elder Zen continued to say, "Even so, you won't die. After all, you only suffered a single attack, and Xia Shenji is not so fragile."
Xia Shenji smiled bitterly, but he did not argue. "I really don’t have any luck."
Lu Yin was curious. "Why is it impossible to heal the wounds caused by Ancestor Tianyi?"
Xia Shenji lifted a pale face to look at Lu Yin. "Injuries caused by Lu Tianyi's attacks can’t be healed by any form of power or ability, and they can only heal naturally. If such wounds are impossible to naturally recover from, then death is the only possible outcome. This is why Lu Tianyi’s power was regarded as invincible."
"That is but one reason for it," Arch-Elder Zen explained with a nostalgic expression on his face, "It’s true that Senior Tianyi’s power cannot be dealt with, but he was also called invincible due to his own power. The famous saying about the Lu family members, ‘One person as strong as a nation, one person lording over all,’ was embodied to the extreme in Senior Tianyi. He summoned Progenitors from his Champions’ Stage, and conferred all of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas as gods. It could be said that Senior Tianyi alone was able to bring out the power of nearly ten Progenitors, most of whom were the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.
"You can only imagine how powerful Senior Tianyi was at his peak."
Xia Shenji coughed. "Alone, with his back to the Mother Tree, he faced True God Yi Wei. That is the power of Lu Tianyi, who could face off against Aeternus’s Seven Skygods on his own. During his time, discounting the Lu family’s legendary ancestor, Lu Tianyi would be invincible, though only in theory. There were still people like Ku Jie and Xia Shang, who were capable of breaking through any time and rising up to a higher level of power themselves, reaching upon the level of transforming the universe. Also," At this moment, the man paused as he stared at Lu Yin, "And there was Wang Fan."
Lu Yin’s eyebrows shot upwards. "Wang Fan?"
Xia Shenji explained in a low voice, "While Hui Wen was known as the smartest of the Nine Mountains and the Eight Seas, and even the smartest person in the entire universe during his era, Wang Fan could be considered the most cunning. He hid himself deeper than any other, and while there is no evidence, years of Shenwu's Sky secret investigations discovered that, when Wang Si instigated the four ruling powers into targeting the Lu family, Wang Fan was likely the one behind her actions."
Lu Yin's expression changed. "What are you saying?"
Xia Shenji replied, "After merging with the main body, I gained his memories and learned a few secrets, one of which concerns the Wang family. The main body was most concerned about one particular detail.
"When Wang Si was placed in cryostasis by her mother, Wang Yi, her memories were confused when she was released. The hatred for the Lu family that Wang Yi instilled in her daughter had been dulled and blurred by the cryostasis process, but shortly after she was released, Wang Si’s memory recovered and became extremely clear. It was to the point where she perfectly remembered every word, every expression, and even every breath Wang Yi ever took.
"The person who is most likely responsible for that sudden change is Wang Fan. He most likely restored Wang Si's memories and reignited her hatred for the Lu family. With her unique status of being half a member of the Xia family, and through various other means, she finally successfully provoked the four ruling powers into banishing the Lu family.
"However, Wang Fan’s shadow seems to lurk behind all of it."
Lu Yin frowned, still a bit puzzled. "The Lu family was exiled because Sovereign Shao Yin suggested to the Great Sovereign that the Lu family be held responsible for the Origin Universe’s sins during the Heavens Sect era. Ultimately, the Great Sovereign personally took action to cut off Ancestor Lu's perception, and then the four ruling powers used Prison Lock to banish the Lu family. Sovereign Shao Yin should be the one responsible for what happened."
Xia Shenji shook his head. "Wang Fan also had a part to play. Otherwise even if the Sixverse Association decided to exile the Lu family, how could such a powerful family have been exiled so easily? To put things bluntly, just Lu Tianyi alone would have been enough to force the Sixverse Association to remain silent. Even though we had just fought a war against the Sixth Mainland, and even if Xia Shang, Ku Jie, and other peak powerhouses had died or gone missing, just Lu Tianyi alone was too much for the Sixverse Association to handle. With the constant threat of Aeternus, the Sixverse Association would never dare to risk openly attacking the Lu family.
"The four ruling powers would have been dragged into the conflict as well, which means that, if the Lu family had gone to war with the Sixverse Association, it would have been a disaster great enough to destroy humanity as a whole.
"The primary reason why the Sixverse Association was able to exile the Lu family was because of the four ruling powers’ cooperation, and the most likely reason why the four ruling powers revolted against the Lu family is because of Wang Fan’s scheming. He is the one behind everything that happened."
Lu Yin's eyes flickered. "Could Wang Fan have a connection to Sovereign Shao Yin?"
Xia Shenji replied, "Even if you are right, and that is true, Sovereign Shao Yin does not lead the Sixverse Association. How could he have possibly made a decision for the entire alliance? Wang Si was nothing more than an ant, and she served as nothing more than a spark. There had to be someone else behind things, manipulating events.”
Lu Yin grew contemplative. Wang Fan and Sovereign Shao Yin... the two men had worked together, one influencing the four ruling powers to make a decision, while the other had spoken to the Great Sovereign. Both had successfully convinced others to exile the Lu family, but why had they both targeted the Lu family? Why did Wang Fan go after the Lu family?
Without any warning, a shiver ran down Lu Yin's back, and he felt as though he had just touched upon something terrible.
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How had the Aeternals managed to destroy an organization as powerful as the Heavens Sect and one Mainland after another, starting when the Heavens Sect had been at its peak?How had they targeted both the Origin Universe and the Sixverse Association?
Lu Yin was eager to understand that particular piece of history, as only by understanding history was it possible to avoid repeating the same mistakes. Only by knowing history was it possible to alter the future.
Lu Yin suddenly thought of Big Face Tree.
"Is all of this true?" Arch-Elder Zen asked. He had never thought that the Lu family's exile would be so complicated.
Xia Shenji struggled to his feet. "It might not be true. The matter regarding Wang Si appeared trivial, but even my main body was unable to look into it, as everything was covered up by the Wang family. This is why my main body never doubted that it was true, but there’s no denying that there is absolutely no evidence."
Lu Yin rubbed his head. Evidence? That was not necessary.
Regardless, Lu Yin had already dealt with Xia Shenji, which meant that his next target would be either Bai Wangyuan or Wang Fan.
Wang Fan was truly a difficult opponent. Ignoring the possibility that he might have some connection to Sovereign Shao Yin, it was already known that Wang Fan had managed to keep the fact that Specter Progenitor was his clone a secret for many years. If Lu Yin had not exposed the matter, then there was no telling how long it would have remained hidden for. Specter Progenitor was not a weak Progenitor, and he had clearly been kept hidden as a secret trump card.
If Wang Fan had managed to hide one such powerful ability, then he was capable of hiding a second and a third.
It was no wonder why Xia Shenji and the others viewed Wang Fan as the most cunning.
In comparison, Xia Shenji was too straightforward, as well as too unlucky. His clone had been imprisoned, only to be released by Liu Shaoge.
This was life.
"Let’s set all of this aside for the moment. Since you’ve successfully replaced the main body, then as promised, you can be conferred as a god," Lu Yin stated.
Xia Shenji felt a wave of weakness. "Now?"
Lu Yin gave the Progenitor a small smile that was anything but an actual smile. "If you don't want to be conferred as a god, then you can become a champion. It's your choice."
Arch-Elder Zen once again felt that the Lu family was incredibly oppressive.
Xia Shenji was thinking the same, especially after gaining the main body’s memories and frustrations with the Lu family's attitude. The living could be conferred as gods, while the dead could be anointed as champions. Such power was too absurd.
However, before Lu Yin, Xia Shenji was in no position to refuse.
"Give me a day to adjust myself," Xia Shenji replied.
Lu Yin shrugged. "Take two. I want you to successfully be conferred, as if you fail, I’ll be placed in a difficult position."
He was referring to locating the Lu family. Only Xia Shenji’s clone was capable of sensing where the Lu family had been exiled, but if Xia Shenji failed to be conferred as a god, Lu Yin would be in a bit of a conundrum.
Xia Shenji placed a hand on his chest. "Don't worry, I really am the clone, but even so, it’s difficult to accept being conferred as a god."
Arch-Elder Zen smiled. "It's not like Xia Shenji was never conferred before."
Xia Shenji could only answer with a bitter smile. Lu Tianyi had conferred the original Xia Shenji, and his clone was about to be conferred by Lu Xiaoxuan. No matter what, it was impossible for him to escape the fate of being conferred as one of the Lu family’s gods.
Why had the four ruling powers opted to exile the Lu family? Even disregarding Wang Fan’s machinations behind the scenes, everyone had felt the same about one thing: the Lu family’s power was too overwhelming. If they were not exiled, no one would ever have any opportunity to rise up and surpass them, as the members of the Lu family would continue to confer more and more Progenitors as gods. Who could stand against such a force? Who could fight against the Lu family?
It was possible that even the Sixverse Association had been threatened by the Lu family, and had thus decided to exile the Lu family.
"Senior, you should also rest and recover," Lu Yin said to Arch-Elder Zen.
The old man dismissed Lu Yin’s worries with a wave of his hand. "I’m just suffering from a backlash. It won’t be easy for me to recover, but I’m not in any need of rest to recover."
He glanced at Xia Shenji. "If I go all out, I can summon Senior Tianyi’s power once again, which will be enough to help you eliminate some people, Dao Monarch."
Lu Yin felt incredibly grateful to the man. "Thank you."
While cultivators lived cruel and ruthless lives, it was always possible to meet people who would gather together and help each other. Lu Yin had many friends and people whom he considered family, such as Wendy Yushan, Ku Wei, Zhuo Daynight, Wen Sansi, Ghost Monkey, and more. He felt the same way about the Progenitor of Bloodlines, Arch-Elder Zen, and others.
Lu Yin was no longer alone. He had walked past that road, though he could not say whether he would ultimately end up alone. He still clearly remembered the vision that he had seen in the merged Books of Destiny. Would he really attack his loved ones? If that day came, what should he do?
The following day, Xia Shenji took a deep breath. "Dao Monarch Lu, I'm ready."
The golden Investiture of the Gods appeared above Lu Yin's head, and golden light shone down on the Lower Realm. A shadow appeared behind Xia Shenji.
When Lu Yin spoke, there was a grandness and a sacredness to his voice, "Xia Shenji, do you accept being conferred as a god?"
Xia Shenji looked up at the Investiture of the Gods, dismissing any distracting thoughts. He had prepared for this moment for a day, adjusting his mentality in the same manner that Monarch Mu had once done.
No one truly wanted to be conferred as a god. Even if doing so did not impact the person’s strength, they were directly empowering the owner of the Investiture of the Gods, granting them the power of an additional Progenitor. It was a terrifying thought to consider.
However, Xia Shenji had no choice.
"I do." Xia Shenji's voice remained steady.
The moment he spoke, his shadow moved from behind him and approached the golden scroll.
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