Chapter 2123: Xi Wei
Chapter 2123: Xi Wei
"Did the Fifth Mainland’s Daosource Sect fall by the time you were trapped in here, Senior?" Lu Yin asked.
A stone flew out. "It couldn’t have fallen. How could the Daosource Sect fall? You can also try to find a Semi-Progenitor so that I can speak with you more directly, but they would have to be a very powerful Semi-Progenitor.”
"Also, there aren’t many stones left."
Lu Yin took a deep breath and left the pocket dimension. A short time later, he returned with both Kui Luo and Lu Buzheng.
The two men just glanced around with a bit of confusion. They saw Yun Tingting prostrated on the ground, as well as the Ghost Monkey smiling as he flattered the surrounding fog. No matter how anyone looked at the beast, it was revolting.
"Little Lu, what's going on?" Kui Luo asked.
Lu Yin pointed at the fog. "The person trapped in there might be Progenitor Smoke. Could you attack the fog to see if we can release her?"
""Progenitor Smoke?"" both of the Semi-Progenitors shouted in unison. After twenty years in the Fifth Mainland, they had both learned a great deal of history about the place.
"Brat, have you gone nuts? How could Progenitor Smoke be trapped here?" Kui Luo looked at Lu Yin as though staring at an idiot.
Lu Buzheng actually had the exact same reaction.
Lu Yin knew that it was impossible for anyone to believe such a thing, and he was still quite dubious himself, even after Yun Tingting’s confirmation. Fortunately, Lu Yin was able to access the power that Progenitor Chen had left behind, so he saw no reason to be afraid of anything. Also, it was not completely impossible for the person trapped in the fog to actually be Progenitor Smoke. "Regardless of whether or not they really are Progenitor Smoke, let’s get them out and see. There’s no need to worry about anything, as if you’re able to free her, it means that her strength can’t pose any threat.”
This was an accurate analysis, so the two men glanced at each other before observing the fog.
Lu Buzheng said, "I'll try first."
He then visualized the Immovable Heavenly King Elephant and released a punch.
An impressive hole formed in the fog, but the attack was lacking, as the hole did not pierce through the fog.
Seeing the results of his attack, Lu Buzheng grew serious. Three streams of qi started to swirl around his body. "Little Seven, we can't break through something this powerful, which means that whoever’s trapped should really be a Progenitor. If they aren’t really Progenitor Smoke, but rather someone who wants to harm us, we’re going to be in a lot of trouble. We can’t just take this person’s word."
Lu Yin frowned. "What are you suggesting, Third Uncle?"
Lu Buzheng explained, "I'm going to try with Destiny."
One of the three streams of ancestral qi swirling around the Semi-Progenitor’s body started to shift and change.
Lu Yin and the others stared intently at the ancestral qi. Destiny. Were they really about to see Destiny? She was one of the rulers of the Three Dao, someone who stood at the same level as the God of Death.
The air flow constantly shifted and changed. Sometimes it would take on a human form for a moment, but most of the time, it was a formless stream of qi. It continued to shift back and forth, but it failed to hold a human form.
Everyone watched and waited.
Suddenly, another stone flew out, and the Ghost Monkey quickly translated the message. "Is he putting on a show?"
Lu Buzheng shot a fierce glare at the Ghost Monkey, terrifying the beast. "It’s not me! That was Progenitor Smoke!"
Lu Yin pursed his lips. When facing an attack from Ancient God, Third Uncle had also failed to fully summon Destiny with the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique. Twenty years might have passed, but it seemed that Lu Buzheng still had not managed to succeed.
Some time later, Lu Buzheng let out a breath. "Forget it. I can’t."
"You failed again?" Kui Luo rolled his eyes. "Ten years ago, your Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique brought Destiny’s disciple barging right to your doorstep. It’s a pity that you can’t use the technique, but you still managed to offend someone just by trying, huh?”
Lu Buzheng snorted contemptuously. "I might not have succeeded in summoning her, but I was able to get the impression from Destiny that this person can be saved."
Lu Yin’s brows rose. "Third Uncle, are you saying that you can break through the fog?"
Lu Buzheng nodded. "That's the feeling that I got, but even if we can’t, we’ll at least do our best."
"Then let’s try," Lu Yin agreed.
Everyone else stepped back, and Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo used their own attacks in tandem to strike at the fog.
The full power of two Semi-Progenitors shot out and struck the same point in the fog. Lu Yin pulled out his needle-like weapon as well. This was the weapon that had shattered Wang Si's inner world that Lu Yin had lent to Leng Qing to threaten Forgotten Ruins God.
After Leng Qing borrowed the needle-like weapon in the Daosource Sect’s main hall to attack Forgotten Ruins God, it had remained in his possession. After the Dao Chosen selection, Lu Yin had inherited Progenitor Chen's power and had become capable of suppressing all of the Semi-Progenitors. Despite his newfound power, when he met Leng Qing again, Lu Yin had still made a point to collect his weapon.
Lu Yin launched the needle with his full strength, and it shot into the fog together with the attacks from the two Semi-Progenitors.
The needle was capable of shattering a Semi-Progenitor's inner world, which was no small matter.
The power of Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo’s individual attacks had not left much of an impact in the fog, but they had worked together to propel Lu Yin’s needle-like weapon. It was hard to say just how deep into the fog the attack traveled.
The next moment, the weapon shot back, and it nearly stabbed Lu Yin himself.
Both Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo retreated a few steps, their faces pale.
Lu Yin stared at the fog. Was even this much useless?
Everyone else was also staring at the fog.
Slowly, the fog recovered.
Lu Yin sighed. So their attack really was useless?
At this moment, a person emerged from the fog, and everyone’s eyes instantly locked onto the figure.
The person was wearing fluttering white clothes in an ancient style, and fog moved to surround her. She looked like a fairy descending onto earth. Her bare feet stayed in the air as she walked above the ground.
Lu Yin’s eyes moved further up, and he saw an absolutely beautiful face. This woman was just as beautiful as Ming Yan, and she matched up to the most beautiful women Lu Yin had ever seen. In addition to her stunning features, this woman also radiated a majestic aura that gave off the feeling that something as vast and impenetrable as the Astral River itself was surrounding and isolating the woman.
This aura was powerful enough that it stopped people from having second thoughts about that beautiful face, and people would not dare to take a second look.
Even Lu Yin was feeling this way, let alone the others.
Lu Buzheng was the gatemaster of one of the Heavenly Gates, and yet he instinctively dropped his head after just one glance at the woman.
Kui Luo had the same reaction.
Out of everyone present, Lu Yin continued to stare at the woman the longest, and he even sneaked several more glances at her.
The woman said nothing as she stood in the air.
As Lu Yin looked at the ground, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. Why did he not dare to look at this woman? Why did he feel some sort of shame from his very core when he looked at her? Something was wrong, as Lu Yin had never once felt this way during all his years of cultivation.
The more Lu Yin thought about what he was feeling, the more upset he became. He forced his head up. The woman was staring at him, and the two locked eyes.
The woman's eyes had a depth and majesty to them that was comparable to the vast universe itself. Lu Yin’s eyes, on the other hand, were filled with stubbornness, though they also had an impressive weight that had built up over the years.
The two stared at each other, neither looking away.
"My name is Xi Wei," the woman stated. The unfathomable depths to her eyes slowly dissipated, and curiosity appeared instead. She was curious about Lu Yin.
Lu Yin's eyes also finally shifted. "Progenitor Smoke?"
The woman smiled. "I call myself Progenitor Wei, because the power that I created is called wei, but others prefer to call me Progenitor Smoke or Progenitor Fog because they don’t understand my created power."
Lu Yin gave the woman a respectful bow. "Junior Lu Yin greets Progenitor Wei."
The woman smiled. "I was right, wasn’t I?"
Lu Yin felt puzzled. "About what?"
The woman tilted her head slightly. "I'm beautiful, aren't I?"
Lu Yin blinked. He had no idea how to respond, as anything that he said would be regarded as harassment.
Honestly, who would dare to harass a Progenitor?
Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo both looked up in astonishment, staring at the woman in confusion.
The woman lifted her head up higher. "That’s my defining characteristic. Anyone who sees me says the same. Beauty is beauty, and there’s no denying it."
"Yes, beautiful! Progenitor Wei’s most outstanding feature is clearly her beauty," the Ghost Monkey said, continuing his blatant flattery.
The woman stared at the monkey. "If you’re smart, don’t ever call me a liar ever again, or else I’ll peel your hide."
The Ghost Monkey was startled by the sudden threat, and he dropped to the ground, not daring to speak another word.
"Thank you, though this is only enough to let me catch my breath." Progenitor Smoke pulled at her collar as though it was pinching her neck. The movement revealed a great deal of snow-white skin.
Lu Yin and the others quickly looked away. That had been too revealing, and Progenitor Smoke was too casual about her actions.
Progenitor Smoke rolled her eyes at their behavior. "Alright, that’s enough of your acting. Hurry up and tell me what’s happened. What happened for you to say that the Daosource Sect’s collapsed? What's going on? I know that that Xia Shang guy obliterated Progenitor Nan, but what happened after that? What did Lu Tianyi, Ku Jie, and all those other guys do?"
Lu Yin looked around for a moment as he tried to organize his words a bit before sharing all that he knew about what had happened during the Daosource Sect era and the current era.
Half a day passed while Lu Yin spoke, and Progenitor Smoke looked at him and contemplated what she had learned. Lu Yin asked, "Were you not part of the war against the Sixth Mainland?"
Progenitor Smoke shook her head. "I was in a desperate fight against one of the Aeternals’ corpse kings, and that was what caused me to lose control of my own power. I even trapped myself! I haven’t been able to get out and take a breath until just now, so I didn't take part in that war."
Lu Yin understood. The truth was that the Sixth Mainland had been incredibly lucky to win the war during the Daosource Sect era. Progenitor Ku had taken off to fight against Aeternus, and Lu Tianyi and many of the other Progenitors had been busy dealing with the Seven Skygods. Only a few people, such as Progenitor Chen and the Rune Progenitor, had fought against the Sixth Mainland. If not for such an advantage, how could the Sixth Mainland have ever been the Fifth Mainland’s opponent?
"You weren’t fighting against the Seven Skygods?" Lu Yin asked. Given the power of a Progenitor who controlled one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, who would she have been fighting against if not one of the Seven Skygods.
Progenitor Smoke replied, "No, I don't want to face those seven old freaks, though they also wouldn’t have an easy time dealing with me. The divine energy of the Aeternals’ True God means that I can’t kill any of them, and that power was also what made me lose control of my own power and remain trapped until now."
"Did you end up killing that corpse king?"
"Ground it to dust."
Everyone just stared. "… "
Progenitor Smoke glanced around and saw how everyone was looking at her oddly. She rolled her eyes. "What’s with those expressions? I couldn’t help it. That guy was too tough to deal with, so I just took the time to slowly wear it down and drain True God’s divine energy away. There was no other way to kill the thing, as I’m not very good at fighting."
Lu Buzheng asked in a respectful tone, "You mentioned that you are only able to take a breath. Does this mean that you are unable to fully escape your prison?"
Progenitor Smoke frowned, and she suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable. "I won’t be able to completely get out of this place unless someone manages to break through this fog, but there aren’t even any Progenitors around anymore, so who’s going to help me?"
Kui Luo automatically glanced over at Lu Yin.
Progenitor Smoke noticed the look, and she also turned to Lu Yin. "Do you have a way to help?"
Lu Yin explained, "I could help outside this mirror, as this junior is able to use Progenitor Chen’s power."
Progenitor Smoke's eyes went wide. "You can use Xia Shang's power? Which one? That guy focused on a lot of things."
"The Cosmic Art."
Progenitor Smoke looked Lu Yin up and down. "How old are you?"
This question stumped Lu Yin, as he did not actually know just how old he was.
"Judging by your age, you should only have spent around a hundred years training with the Cosmic Art, so how can you use the power that Xia Shang left behind in the Fifth Mainland?" Progenitor Smoke was very curious about this, and she continued to carefully examine Lu Yin.
Lu Yin was surprised by the question. "You know about the power that Progenitor Chen left behind in the Fifth Mainland?"
Progenitor Smoke replied, "Don’t be silly. Who didn’t leave something behind? In our era, four of the Six Mainlands had already been destroyed before we even took control of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Hui Wen found each of us one by one, and he told all of us that he wanted us to leave something behind. Old Fu left his runes, I left a bit of wei, but Xia Shang was the most ridiculous, and he left behind entire stars. Are you able to control the stars and planets that he left behind?"
Lu Yin nodded.
OMA's Thoughts
Just in case the note was missed in chapter 2121, we were testing some backend updates to the website today, so the chapters were released 4 hours early. Tomorrow your regular release schedule will resume.