Chapter 2128: Progenitor Smoke's Mountain And Sea
Chapter 2128: Progenitor Smoke's Mountain And Sea
At the moment, the reestablished Heavens Sect was nothing more than a mere framework. There were eight Heavenly Gates led by seven Semi-Progenitors, and there was also the Progenitor of Bloodlines who held the position of an elder. Out of everyone in the Heavens Sect, Progenitor Smoke and Lu Yin, who was able to use the power left behind by Progenitor Chen, were the most powerful individuals in the Fifth Mainland’s new Heavens Sect.
While the founding of the Heavens Sect in the Human Domain suggested that humanity had united, there still remained many unstable internal factors. Regardless of their intentions, if these people had any malicious intent, they would be able to create a great deal of trouble in the dark. One such example was Undying Yushan. Another was the fact that Big Sis was actually the ancestor of the Yōu clan. Lu Yin had no idea what Destina had been thinking when she had forced Big Sis to become her disciple.
On top of all that, Whiteless God posed an even greater threat. As for external threats, the Astral Beast Domain had never done anything at all, which made Lu Yin even warier of their hidden schemes.
He had even made it a point to ask Progenitor Smoke if she knew anything about humanoid sourceboxes, but the woman had known almost nothing, and she had no idea where the humanoid sourceboxes had even come from.
Lu Yin would not allow himself to forget that the Astral Beast Domain had been collecting humanoid sourceboxes, not to mention the countless humanoid sourceboxes that he had seen appear upon the collapse of the Fourth Mainland. Could there be some connection between the humanoid sourceboxes and the Astral Beast Domain?
Lu Yin was able to use Progenitor Chen's power to overpower the entire Fifth Mainland and reign supreme, but he was not able to see through all of the hidden undercurrents that ran across the Fifth Mainland.
Since he was unable to see everything, he did not bother trying. Besides, regardless of what threats might be hidden in the Fifth Mainland, Lu Yin was confident in his ability to remain in control, and that would only change if someone who was able to surpass Progenitor Chen appeared.
Upon Progenitor Smoke's strong urging, Lu Yin took her on a tour through the Human Domain.
Massive changes had occurred in the Fifth Mainland since the Daosource Sect era, and even during the last twenty years. In fact, the most recent changes were so drastic that even Lu Yin was unclear of the circumstances in many places in the Human Domain.
Progenitor Smoke wanted to see the places that she had known in the past, but both the names and locations of many of those places had likely changed.
They arrived in Bard Weave and approached the Astral River. Progenitor Smoke stared at it and commented, "This is actually where I started my path of cultivation. Back then, I met an expert who was one of the Daosource Sect’s patrolmen. That meeting completely changed my life. Once again, my life has completely changed. People are all different, and even my old home is completely gone.”
They then moved into the Astral River, though the Astral River was no longer the same as it had been twenty years ago, let alone the Daosource Sect era.
"There were too many talented people in the Daosource Sect. People from every walk of life from every part of the Fifth Mainland competed against each other, and even members of the same families would struggle against each other. My master brought me into the Daosource Sect, and after I became an Explorer, the first public competition I participated in was fishing in the Astral River," Progenitor Smoke murmured, clearly reminiscing about the past.
Lu Yin listened without interrupting.
"Not only does fishing in the Astral River require a certain level of strength, but one must also pay attention to technology and have a sense of danger. There were people who would be dragged into the Astral River, leaving behind nothing more than a puddle of blood. Others would manage to catch incredibly powerful creatures. I still remember when Fu Lui went fishing here in the Astral River. He actually stayed back and spent his time giving people special fishing rods. Who would have thought that, just a few years later, he would end up becoming the Rune Progenitor!" Progenitor Smoke laughed, her smile spreading to her eyes.
Lu Yin asked, "You said that the Rune Progenitor was pretty bad when he was young, right?"
Progenitor Smoke nodded. "That’s right. He was older than the rest of us, and he didn’t manage to become an Explorer until he was a hundred years old, but as he continued forward, each of his breakthroughs came faster than the last. His favorite saying was, ‘Read more. Knowledge is power.’”
As she finished quoting the Progenitor, an odd expression appeared on the woman’s face.
Lu Yin pursed his lips. "Shouldn't that be something that Progenitor Hui said?"
"Hui Wen liked to say that knowledge is more than just power," Progenitor Smoke replied.
Lu Yin was speechless, but then he realized that this fit quite well with what he knew.
"All of the most talented people were always competing with each other for glory. Even back then, everyone knew that our generation would create a grand era for the Fifth Mainland, but no one ever imagined that it would be so impressive. Of those who controlled the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, most were from our generation. There was also that rebel Xia Shang, who monopolized two Mountains and one Sea.
"Back then, Xia Shang’s name was synonymous with rebel. He practiced the Nine Clones Secret Technique, and one of his clones merged with the bloodlines of the colossal giants. He sneaked into Burial Garden on his own, and he even seduced someone from the Wang family. When that came out, it was also discovered that he had also learned their Sit and Forget secret technique."
Progenitor Smoke exclaimed, "Although everyone saw him as just a rebel, I have to admit that he was both determined and talented. Even Progenitor Lu Tianyi was reluctant to deal with him."
A few days later, the two entered Daynight Flowzone. During the Daosource Sect era, the Celestial Frost Sect had stood there. Only in later years had the Daynight clan taken over. However, even the Daynight clan had fallen, and the remaining ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect had been hidden.
Progenitor Smoke looked at the ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect. "I once visited the Celestial Frost Sect and fought against Bai Wangyuan's junior sister. Back then, the Celestial Frost Sect was very low-key. I never imagined that they would eventually cooperate with others to banish your Lu family. I still find it unbelievable that such a colossus could be overthrown."
Lu Yin had nothing to say. The four ruling powers had taken advantage of the White Dragon Rolls Over to banish the Lu family. Progenitor Smoke still struggled to believe that such a thing had happened, and her attitude made Lu Yin more suspicious than ever about that incident. If it were really that easy to exile the Lu family, then were they actually the Lu family?
"How did Progenitor Lu Tianyi compare to Progenitor Chen?" Lu Yin asked.
Progenitor Smoke shook her head. "I don't know. Xia Shang can be considered practically invincible within the same realm, but the strength that Lu Tianyi accumulated over the years is unfathomable. It’s even said that he has Progenitor-level champions, so it’s difficult to say which of the two would be stronger.”
"That’s part of the reason why I find it so hard to believe what happened. Xia Shang was strong enough to fight against both Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan at the same time, and senior Lu Tianyi would have had no difficulty doing that either. On top of that, your Lu family has other powerful Progenitors, so given your family’s foundation, I just can’t understand how the Celestial Frost Sect and the others exiled them. Also, there were always rumors that your Lu family had a truly legendary figure."
This was something that Lu Yin also could not figure out. It was possible that only Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors who had participated in the coup could actually explain what had happened.
"Let's go. I want to find my Mountain and Sea." Progenitor Smoke let out an emotional sigh. She was in a different era, and the places that she knew had disappeared, along with the people. There was no reason to hang about.
Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Can you find it?"
"Of course. It’s my Mountain and Sea," Progenitor Smoke replied, as though it was only natural.
After that, Progenitor Smoke started searching for her Mountain and Sea, and she roamed all over both the Innerverse and the Outerverse with Lu Yin. They even made their way to the Cosmic Sea and passed by Gaia's Swamp. They stopped to see Jue Yi.
The gatemaster was astonished to see Progenitor Smoke, as he was completely unable to see through the woman’s level of cultivation, which seemed impossible.
Lu Yin saw that Gaia's Swamp’s Warden had been imprisoned outside of Gaia’s Swamp, and the sight made Lu Yin angry. He released the Warden, and the giant offered Lu Yin a few words of thanks before making his way to the Neoverse.
Jue Yi calmly looked at Lu Yin from within the death energy.
Lu Yin looked at the swamp filled with death energy. "Both the Specter Clan and the Xie family are here."
When the Court of Seven Names had been dissolved, the Xia family had joined the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate, while the Xie family had not hesitated to join the Undying Heavenly Gate after Jue Yi had appeared. The Hui family and the other four families had been stunned to learn that the Xie family had long since fallen under the control of the Specter Clan.
It had only been due to the four families’ fear of Jue Yi that they had not attacked the Xie family.
The fact that the Xie family had long since been a vassal of the Specter Clan meant that the Seven Courts had been infiltrated long, long ago, and it also explained how the Neohuman Alliance had managed to repeatedly sneak into Progenitor Chen’s Mausoleum.
The Specter Clan had taken refuge with Jue Yi, and he accepted and protected them. Without the Semi-Progenitor, the Specter Clan would have been completely wiped out long ago due to their long-standing cooperation with the Neohuman Alliance.
This had become a thorn in the hearts of many people, including even Arch-Elder Zen.
Any person or organization that colluded with the Neohuman Alliance would be completely eradicated, but the Specter Clan could not be touched.
"They are not here," Jue Yi immediately replied.
Lu Yin’s voice dropped low, "The Heavens Sect has been restored to its previous design, and the gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates are only guardians who protect the gates to the Human Domain. Send the Specter Clan and the Xie family to report to the Heavens Sect."
Jue Yi frowned. "As I told you, they are no longer here in Gaia's Swamp."
Lu Yin stared at Jue Yi intently for a moment, and from next to Lu Yin, Progenitor Smoke spoke up. "There are many people in there. They have to be members of the Specter Clan for them to remain safe within all of that death energy."
Lu Yin glanced past Jue Yi into Gaia's Swamp. "Gatemaster Jue Yi, I hope that you can clearly remember the responsibilities of the Twelve Heavenly Gates."
He then turned and left Gaia’s Swamp.
Progenitor Smoke was caught off guard, but she said nothing.
Jue Yi frowned heavily as he watched Lu Yin leave. He had refused to deliver the Specter Clan to the Heavens Sect, which meant that he was deliberately antagonizing Lu Yin. While the two of them had already had some conflicts, the nature of the disagreements were fundamentally different.
Still, it did not matter. Jue Yi was close to breaking through to become a Progenitor, and once he did that, he would be the one to control the Fifth Mainland.
Once Lu Yin and Progenitor Smoke were far away from Gaia's Swamp, she asked him, "The Specter Clan is obviously there, so why didn’t you force him to tell the truth?"
Lu Yin smiled. "It's not time yet."
Progenitor Smoke remained puzzled, but she did not press the matter further. "I might have only spent a short while with you, but I have to say that you’re just as conniving as Hui Wen."
Lu Yin pursed his lips. "It’s intelligence."
"It’s conniving," Progenitor Smoke insisted.
Lu Yin just shrugged.
After another ten days passed, Progenitor Smoke suddenly looked in a specific direction, and she excitedly exclaimed, "I found it!"
She pointed where she was looking and ordered, "That way."
Even though she was able to use the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, Progenitor Smoke remained trapped, and so she was forced to rely on Lu Yin to move her around.
Lu Yin also became excited. This was one of the true Mountains and Seas, and while Lu Yin was already practicing a great number of battle techniques, he would not hesitate to learn an inheritance from the Mountains and Seas. These were truly ancient inheritances.
When the ruins of the Fifth Mainland’s Daosource Sect had collapsed twenty years ago, the Mountains and Seas within it had been scattered. While their whereabouts had been determined and people had attempted to receive the inheritances, none had succeeded. Even Lu Buzheng had failed in his attempt.
Lu Yin had no intention of even trying. He still did not understand the tests that he had encountered with the flame and the spring of water. With no ideas of a viable path forward, another attempt would only waste his time.
The two were slightly to the east of Gaia’s Swamp when Progenitor Smoke sensed her mountain, still at the border between the Innerverse and the Cosmic Sea. They could see the endless stretches of the Cosmic Sea spreading into the horizon, as well as the bizarre weather affecting the various regions.
"Where is it?" Lu Yin asked. He could see nothing at all aside from the Cosmic Sea.
The woman stared off into the distance and said, "It’ll be here soon."
Lu Yin followed Progenitor Smoke's eyes and saw a thick fog slowly spread across the Cosmic Sea. In front of it, there was a warship racing towards them.
"Hey! Hurry up and move! That fog can eat people!" someone on the warship shouted to Lu Yin and Progenitor Smoke.
Lu Yin was surprised by what he was seeing. "Senior, is that fog hiding your Mountain and Sea?"
Progenitor Smoke let out a breath. "That's right. Let’s head on in."
Lu Yin nodded. He quickly grabbed the mirror and moved forward. They quickly vanished into the fog.
Aboard the warship, the person who had shouted the warning got irritated. Two more people had died, all because they had ignored him.
"Let's go. If they don’t want to listen to us, then their deaths have nothing to do with us. Let’s not get swallowed by the fog ourselves," someone reminded the man to move.
The man reacted quickly, and the warship soon shifted course towards the Innerverse.
…
Entering the fog meant entering the Mountain and Sea.
When Lu Yin was able to once again see his surroundings clearly, he found that they were no longer in the Cosmic Sea, but rather atop a sea that was covered with fog. Off in the distance, he could make out a tall mountain looming above them.