Chapter 2588: Nipping It In The Bud
The lake that was Sage Hua's Progenitor’s world spread past the Pure Realm. Any corpse king that the water touched melted away. It was a sight that sent chills down the spines of the countless onlookers. The initial posting of this chapter occurred via Ñøv€l-B!n.
The Progenitor-level corpse king kept retreating. Sage Hua charged straight into Aeternus's territory as though he were walking into the embrace of death. All the while, his lake surged out.
Days later, the lake had shrunk by nearly half, and its surface had been stained a bloody red.
"Unsullied Lake is Senior Sage Hua's ultimate power," Shi Jiao mourned, "He once compared it to a human soul, insisting that it must remain unstained. Despite its great might, it has become stained with blood. Senior... is leaving us."
You Teng and the other overseers of the Sixverse Academy clenched their fists as they watched the lake steadily shrink.
They heard mournful howls from the Progenitor-level corpse king, as well as crazed laughter from Sage Hua. The man’s laughter was tinged with suppressed misery and despair.
An unusual calm settled upon the Pure Realm. Countless cultivators stood along and above the wall, each of them staring off into the distance, respect on their faces as they slowly bowed.
Two days passed, and Aeternus’s corpse kings were nowhere to be seen throughout the Pure Realm. The Unsullied Lake had melted countless monsters away, putting a temporary pause to the endless battle, though that also marked the end of the lake itself.
"Cheng Kong!" a howl of rage ripped out of Sage Hua’s throat.
Everyone shuddered and stared in horror at the distant lake. The bloody waters suddenly scattered throughout space, piercing stars, planets, and even the wall that was the Pure Realm. People were able to vaguely make out the sight of Sage Hua's body being torn apart. The man’s corpse king opponent roared as it relentlessly hammered at the man. Each blow produced a crack in Sage Hua's skull, but the man still defiantly clutched the corpse king’s neck. A final burst of power erupted.
"Cheng Kong!" Sage Hua roared at the sky while unleashing his full power. The area around him was plunged into a perfect darkness.
The darkness was so complete that it left Lu Yin trembling. Not even Progenitors would dare to enter a place so devoid of light.
Sage Hua used the last dregs of his strength to drag the Progenitor-level corpse king into the endless darkness. Alas, he had already exhausted his power. While the corpse king's lower body was completely destroyed, the upper half managed to escape. The Progenitor-level corpse king did not die, though it had clearly been greatly weakened for a time.
Beyond the Pure Realm, Sage Hua's power suddenly transformed into beams of light that shot back towards the Cyclic Universe and straight towards a high and mighty place where a pair of eyes seemed to be watching.
Shi Jiao bowed. "Farewell, Sage Hua."
Everyone else bowed as one. "Farewell, Sage Hua."
"Farewell, Sage Hua."
...
Rain fell upon the Pure Realm. Each drop contained portions of Sage Hua's final reluctance to leave the world of the living. It was part of his last radiant eruption of power, and his feelings for being forced to perform Holy Sorrow had filled his Progenitor’s world with a profound reluctance. Upon receiving the Great Sovereign's command, Sage Hua had been ready to atone. He had been willing to accept death, but he did not wish to die. Up until his very last moment, Sage Hua had hoped to find Cheng Kong, wishing to die with that terrible enemy. If not for Cheng Kong, Tu Shuangshuang would have never betrayed Sage Hua, and he would not have been forced to bear this burden of sin.
He had lived the life of a Sage, but he had died so tragically. Despite dying in the war to protect humanity, Sage Hua had not died in a deserving manner. The Cyclic Universe would only ever remember him as a pitiful figure who had been condemned with Holy Sorrow in order to atone for his sins.
Throughout his years of cultivating, Lu Yin had rarely craved food so eagerly.
He followed the tantalizing scent. Who could have produced food with such an irresistible aroma that not even he could hold back?
Lu Yin soon parted some bushes to reveal a campfire burning in the grass. Next to it stood a person with their back to Lu Yin. There was something roasting over the flames, and the scent that had drawn Lu Yin to the fire came from that meat.
"High-quality ingredients often need nothing more than simple roasting. The true essence of food is in the original taste. Hehe, it’s delicious." An aged voice came from the man sitting on the ground who was facing away from Lu Yin.
Without a moment of hesitation, Lu Yin turned to leave. The moment he had laid eyes on this man, he had felt an instinctive warning of danger. He had felt such danger more than once in the past, but each time had been a premonition of life-threatening danger. This man was not someone to be trifled with, and Lu Yin did not even consider probing the man with his domain.
However, when Lu Yin turned around, he found himself once again facing the man’s back and the roasting meat. When did that happen?
He turned back around, only to discover that the place where the man had been standing just a moment before had already been reduced to a pile of ashes.
Lu Yin’s pupils shrank. This man had instantly moved at a speed too fast for Lu Yin to even notice anything, which should be impossible. Not even someone as powerful as Xia Shenji could move fast enough to leave Lu Yin unable to even react. Who was this man?
"Child, why are you trying to run?" the man asked, his back still to Lu Yin. He stood and dusted off his behind before casually rotating the meat on the spit. "Feeling guilty?"
Lu Yin maintained his composure. "Junior Xuan Qi greets Senior."
The meat sizzled on the spit as the fat dripped onto the fire. The man sprinkled a bit more something onto the food, and the mouthwatering smell grew even more enticing. Lu Yin gulped, not even realizing what he was doing. His eyes were inevitably pulled to the roasting meat. The smell was far too enticing, and it could even be regarded as otherworldly. How could a primitive food like roast meat give off such an extraordinary scent?
"I am Xu Wuwei," the man casually stated as he continued to turn the spit.
A heavy weight fell onto Lu Yin's heart, and he bowed a second time. "Junior Xuan Qi greets Senior Xu Wuwei."
Xu Wuwei kept his back to Lu Yin and his eyes fixed on the meat that he was cooking. "That kid Xiangyin tells me that you possess great talent. He’s begged me time and again to meet with you. Hmm, his efforts have not gone to waste. It’s true, you do possess impressive talent."
Lu Yin remained silent.
"You are even able to keep your true strength hidden from him. Aside from peak powerhouses, there should be no one capable of seeing through your disguise. That is a very rare ability," Xu Wuwei continued as he turned to look straight at Lu Yin. He had the appearance of an old man whose face told tales of struggles endured. Even so, the man’s eyes remained bright, and he seemed to see through all that Lu Yin was.
Lu Yin's heart dropped even further. Just as he had suspected, it was impossible for him to deceive this man. There were varying levels of strength even within the Progenitor realm, and Xu Wuwei was clearly someone at the very top level. He was at least on the same level as the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, if not even higher. However, the man had not reached Mister Mu's level yet, or else he would have similarly sensed the power that sat in Lu Yin's chest. If Xu Wuwei could see that, then his attitude would lkely be much different.
Even Mister Mu had been astonished by the power system that Lu Yin was developing in his chest. The only other possibility was that Xu Wuwei far surpassed Mister Mu’s cultivation, which was simply impossible. Every time Lu Yin met Mister Mu, his understanding of his master was transformed. Lu Yin was absolutely certain that Mister Mu was a powerhouse on the same level as the Great Sovereign at least; there was no other way for the man to guarantee that the Great Sovereign would not lay a hand on Lu Yin.
No matter how strong Xu Wuwei might be, there was no way he was greater than the Great Sovereign.
"The fact that you’ve hidden your strength here in the Sixverse Academy initially led me to assume that you might be a spy from Aeternus," Xu Wuwei calmly stated as he turned back to look at the food he was cooking. It seemed evident that the man did not view Lu Yin with the same importance as the roasting meat.
Lu Yin's heart pounded, "Senior, I am definitely not a spy from Aeternu-."
Xu Wuwei raised a hand to stop Lu Yin from speaking. He leaned closer to the grilled meat and sniffed. "The smell is a bit off... Did it overcook? No, that's not it. The seasoning is wrong. Let me think..."