Chapter 2240: Acquired

Chapter 2240: Acquired

Lu Yin smiled. "I said that Kui Luo isn’t here. A Mountain and Sea were revealed in Virtue Archives, so Kui Luo went to go check that out. He isn’t here."

"Virtue Archives’ Mountain and Sea appeared?" This was surprising news.

"I guess that the four ruling powers have been keeping an eye on Virtue Archives because of that Mountain and Sea. Do you want to take control of it?"

"Who wouldn't? It’s well known that the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas dominated the entire universe during the Daosource Sect’s era. The masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas far surpass average Progenitors. It’s said that each of the Mountains and Seas has a unique inheritance that’s at least as valuable as a secret technique. The Mountain and Sea in Virtue Archives has never had a master, which is a complete waste! Even if they can’t control it themselves, they should at least give others the chance to try," Wang Zheng replied.

Lu Yin was surprised; the four ruling powers seemed to be unaware that the Mountain and Sea already had a master.

"Why do you say that no one’s taken control of the Mountain and Sea in Virtue Archives?" Lu Yin wondered.

Wang Zheng stared at Lu Yin. "Someone has to be a Progenitor to even dream of mastering one of the Mountains and Seas. There are only Semi-Progenitors in Virtue Archives: the God of Food, Wen Lai, and Ce Donglai. It’s impossible for any of them to inherit the Mountain and Sea.

"We also aren’t the only ones that desire it. Aeternus has also been eyeing that Mountain and Sea. If the Aeternals destroy that inheritance, Virtue Archives will have committed an unforgivable sin."

Lu Yin shook his head. "You talk about committing sins almost every time you open your mouth. As far as you’re concerned, is there anyone who’s blameless?"

Wang Zheng answered softly, "The defenders on the rear battlefield are blameless, even the members of Star Alliance."

Lu Yin took a long look at Wang Zheng. "Like I just said, Kui Luo isn’t here, so I’ll give you a chance to escape. Provided that you succeed, you won’t have to worry about a thing, as I won’t send anyone after you again in the future. Right now, it’s just you and me."

Wang Zheng’s eyes turned frigid. "Are you being serious?"

His hands behind his back, Lu Yin replied, "Try me."

Everyone had different levels of self-control, and Lu Yin had no idea if Wang Zheng would be able to suppress the urge to use his portion of the restriction to counter Lu Yin’s. The only option was to leave the man unable to counter his own reflexes, which meant badly wounding him.

Wang Zheng’s hands twitched, and he stared at Lu Yin with both surprise and admiration. "Regardless of whether you’re Lu Yin or Lu Xiaoxuan, you’ve alway had the same confidence."

A smile spread across Lu Yin’s face. "Maybe it's just arrogance."

"If you had continued to develop after Lu Xiaoxuan's era, I’d be no match for you at all. Given Lu Xiaoxuan’s talent, even if you couldn’t become a Semi-Progenitor, you’d be right behind that level, just like Bai Xian'er. However, you lost your memories and fell into the Forsaken Land, where you were forced to recultivate from nothing. You’ve already become a three-tribulation Envoy, which is certainly terrifying, but you aren’t strong enough to stop me yet," Wang Zheng said. After all, he was a five-tribulation powerhouse.

As soon as the patriarch finished speaking, he instantly attacked with the Four Arts: Pearl, attempting to seal Lu Yin's physical strength. The four ruling powers had studied Lu Yin’s strengths and combat style extensively, and they were well aware that his physical prowess was exceptional. In particular, his Vacuum Palm had already been exposed, and even Wang Zheng was afraid of that technique.

The patriarch immediately followed up by stepping into the true universe, approaching Lu Yin, and launching a palm strike at the young man.

They were on Zenith Mountain right now, and Wang Zheng had also launched the Four Arts: Bear Stalwart, which was an amazingly powerful attack.

However, the palm strike missed. Lu Yin retreated, despite the fact that his feet looked like they were stepping forward.

Wang Zheng's eyes flickered, and he attacked again, even faster this time. He slashed out with a Four Arts: Celestial Blade, and the horizontal slice targeted a wide area. The patriarch was a five-tribulation powerhouse, while Lu Yin had only passed three stellular tribulations. Despite the supposed gap, Wang Zheng found it difficult to approach Lu Yin. Whenever the older man attacked, there seemed to be something wrong with his attacks.

Lu Yin gave a slight smile as his body shifted. He clearly stepped backwards, but his body shot forward and directly clashed with the slash, only to phase right through the attack. Wang Zheng watched on, completely incredulous as to what he was witnessing.

The man’s pupils constricted. "That’s impossible! The Four Arts: Celestial Blade can even slice through the true universe! How could you pass through it unharmed?"

Lu Yin’s hands were still clasped behind his back. "Patriarch Wang Zheng, let’s keep going."

Wang Zheng realized that he was in trouble. He had clearly underestimated Lu Yin’s power. The young man had not even used his hands yet. In fact, he had only moved his legs. What was going on? This was not how the fight should be playing out.

The older man stared at Lu Yin, and then he bent his fingers. Black ropes shot out from the void, attempting to bind Lu Yin. This was the secret technique, Confinement.

Lu Yin shifted again, and he dodged Confinement.

Wang Zheng's scalp went numb. This was impossible! Absolutely impossible! Confinement was a secret technique. A secret technique! How could Lu Xiaoxuan possibly dodge Progenitor Wang Fan’s secret technique?

Wang Zheng used another secret technique, Supremacy, next. He was determined to prove that he would emerge victorious over Lu Yin.

However, Lu Yin's eyes remained as calm as ever, and his smile never faded. The truth was that Supremacy was actually effective on him, but only for a moment. Given Wang Zheng's strength, how could the man possibly overpower Lu Yin? There was indeed a gap in strength between them.

Lu Yin might only be a three-tribulation Envoy, but his combat strength was enough to overwhelm six-tribulation powerhouses. He had become capable of creating a zone of chaotic time and space around him, just like Progenitor Chen. This allowed Lu Yin to destroy all battle techniques. It was not something that merely a superior cultivation level could invalidate.

Wang Zheng used everything at his disposal, but his face gradually grew pale as he started to understand just how powerless he was against Lu Yin’s movement technique.

Wang Zheng pressed a hand down. He was finally using the Wang family’s Sit and Forget.

Again, Lu Yin broke the technique with Inverse Step.

When Lu Yin had fought against Progenitor Chen’s manifestation, one of the clones had shattered Lu Yin’s Truesight at the Knowing realm by using Inverse Step. If even an Enlighter could do that, then there was no need to even question Inverse Step’s ability to break something like Sit and Forget.

Wang Zheng grew increasingly pale as he stared at Lu Yin in utter disbelief. The patriarch had already used everything available to him, every technique that he had ever learned. In contrast, Lu Yin’s hands were still behind his back.

This was not the feeling of facing a three-tribulation Envoy, but rather the feeling of facing a Semi-Progenitor! A sense of helplessness and despair shattered Wang Zheng’s composure.

"This is impossible! How are you doing this?" Wang Zheng was beyond shocked.

Lu Yin felt a bit of pity for the man. "You said that you wanted to inherit Virtue Archives’ Mountain and Sea, but do you even understand what sort of people are capable of receiving an inheritance from one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas? Do you have any idea what kind of level those masters have reached?"

Wang Zheng’s body actually began to tremble.

Lu Yin shook his head. "You don't understand at all. You can’t fathom Progenitor Chen's invincibility, Progenitor Hui's intelligence, Progenitor Smoke's creativity, or even how terrifying your own family’s Wang Fan truly is. Those people are all on a completely different level from their peers, no different from you and me right now."

Lu Yin then moved forward while stepping backwards, instantly arriving right in front of Wang Zheng. He simply passed by the patriarch, his hands never straying from their position behind his back. Lu Yin passed by without even attacking.

Still, Wang Zheng spat out blood and collapsed to his knees. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he stared at his blood staining the ground. The man was in a state of shock. He could not understand. He had not been able to see anything; just what had wounded him? Had Lu Xiaoxuan actually attacked him? He could not comprehend just what had happened.

Lu Yin turned back to look at Wang Zheng, who was still collapsed on the ground. As Lu Yin walked by Wang Zheng with Inverse Step, he had reversed the void.

The void encompassed both space and time, and reversing space and time had caused the region of space where Wang Zheng had been standing to instantly collapse. That was what had injured Wang Zheng.

Lu Yin’s movements had appeared simple, but just how many people throughout all the eras had ever been capable of doing such a thing?

Inverse Step alone was enough to make Lu Yin invincible beneath the Semi-Progenitor level. His cultivation had long since stopped being a hindrance in his battles.

Lu Yin had only been a three-tribulation Envoy when he had started creating his own unique cultivation method, so how could Wang Zheng possibly fathom such a genius’s abilities?

Lu Yin had not only severely injured the patriarch, but he also shattered the man’s determination.

Lu Yin moved to seize advantage of the opportunity, and he pressed a hand against Wang Zheng's back while using the three portions of the restriction method that he had already obtained, forcing the restriction into Wang Zheng's body. The man spat out another mouthful of blood. He grew dizzy, and his vision blurred. All he knew was that a familiar power was invading his body, and it was something that he also possessed.

Lu Yin focused entirely on Wang Zheng as he sensed the clash between what he was using and what Wang Zheng was using in response. Despite sensing what was happening, Lu Yin found it difficult to understand what he was feeling. He quickly took out the Root of Intelligence that he had and then brewed some tea. The first sip cleared his mind, and his eyes lit up. The various portions of the restriction were still chaotically fighting against each other within Wang Zheng's body, but Lu Yin was suddenly able to understand it.

…

Lu Yin quietly sat atop the stone pillar that held his residence. His fingers tapped a table while he considered the complete restriction method that sat within his mind.

The full restriction method was much more comprehensive than the individual portions that Lu Yin had obtained so far, and he was able to confirm that what he had received from Xia Xing’s clone and Bai Teng were both valid.

Neither man had lied or tried to deceive Lu Yin. He had the full and true restriction method.

He had successfully taken the four portions of the restriction method from the four ruling powers, which meant that now, he could rescue Star Alliance.

This next step would not be nearly as simple as obtaining the portions of the restriction method from the four ruling powers. Lu Yin's eyes flickered as his mind raced.

A short while later, Prof. Wei arrived for a visit, and she brought a new account of Progenitor Wen’s life with her.

"If I'm not mistaken, Progenitor Wen destroyed his cultivation, or at least sealed it, to become an ordinary person as he roamed the world…" Prof. Wei explained.

Lu Yin was not particularly interested in Progenitor Wen, and he only continued to investigate the Progenitor’s life for the sake of his own lectures. Too many Progenitors had lived throughout human history, and Lu Yin simply did not have the time to learn about all of them. Still, Prof. Wei was kind enough to share everything that she had learned so that her colleague would be able to unravel the mystery that he was exploring with his class more quickly.

After listening for a long time, Lu Yin understood. "So, are you saying that Progenitor Wen was able to become a Progenitor because of the time he spent living as an ordinary person and experiencing the world’s vicissitudes?"

"That seems possible, though you and I can’t understand the Progenitor realm. Still, every Progenitor has reached that level by walking their own path, so it seems that this may have been Progenitor Wen’s path. I’ve discovered poems and scriptures written long, long ago, and some of them must have been written by Progenitor Wen under a pseudonym," Prof. Wei replied as she pulled out another pile of books from her cosmic ring.

Lu Yin was quite impressed. "Your eagerness to study history is really impressive, Prof. Wei."

Prof. Wei looked up at Lu Yin. "You don’t seem particularly interested in Progenitor Wen’s life, Prof. Hao Yu."

Lu Yin replied, "It’s not that at all. It’s just that Progenitor Wen lived a very long time ago, and it’s difficult to learn about all of his life and accomplishments. I simply want to learn more about his connection to the Undying Bird and the Dark Undying Bird."

"There might be clues in here," Prof. Wei answered. She immediately started studying the ancient records that she had pulled out.

Lu Yin looked at the woman’s profile. Prof. Wei was clearly a woman trying to disguise herself as a man, and her true identity was a complete mystery. What did she look like when she dressed as a woman? After this thought occurred to Lu Yin, he continued to simply stare at Prof. Wei.

The woman completely ignored Lu Yin, as she was totally absorbed in reading her books.

Wen Zhao returned to her own residence, and she looked over and saw her two colleagues. The situation on Prof. Hao Yu’s pillar seemed a bit odd.

Mr. Tang also looked over, and he simply smiled.

It was a long time before Prof. Wei finally closed her book. She had spent several hours studying the book, and only after she was done did she turn her head to look at Lu Yin. He had actually stared at her for several hours.

The two people stared at each other, each speechless.

Lu Yin finally coughed. "Done?"

Prof. Wei nodded, her expression totally neutral. "I finished reading, but I didn’t find any records or poems referencing the Undying Bird or the Dark Undying Bird."

"That’s too bad," Lu Yin said, "By the way, why are you so interested in history, Prof. Wei?"

The woman put the rest of her books away. "Honestly, I’m very interested in a particular historical figure, but to understand him, it’s necessary to understand all of history."

Lu Yin was surprised. "Who’s that?"