Chapter 2335: Together
Chapter 2335: Together
In the Outerverse, where the full might of the Fifth Mainland had been gathered, Starsibyl, Destina, and Skymender all spat out blood. They then all turned and stared at each other in astonishment. "Someone triggered Destiny!"
In the Perennial World, Bai Xian'er was relaxing in Crimson Garden, surrounded by the beautiful red flowers that fluttered through the sky, bright and beautiful. She slowly opened her eyes. "Will this be the end of it?"
As her mind wandered, she was just about to get up when she suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. She grew pale, and fear appeared in her eyes. "Destiny’s been triggered!"
Back in the Fifth Mainland, in Astral-10, Lu Yin was still in the Stargazing Deck. Just as before, he saw various images of moments throughout time and space. They were images of the past, the present, and the future, but they flickered by too quickly for him to make out any details.
His eyes focused, and he stared at one particular scene that grew increasingly clear. It was an endless black cliff that looked like the edge of an abyss. What was that above the cliff? He could just barely make out the image, but then the scene disappeared.
Lu Yin was forced several steps back by an indescribable force, and he only stopped after a dozen steps. He thought back to the scene that he had just witnessed, but all memories of the scene vanished from his mind.
What did I just see? I can't remember. There’s only a blank moment in my memories.
Something was very different from before. In the past, Lu Yin had remembered everything that he had seen from the Stargazing Deck, even if the visions had been blurry or brief. However, this time, he could not remember anything. What was going on?
What had changed?
While Lu Yin could not remember what he had just seen, the emotions that the vision had induced remained fresh. He felt that he had just witnessed something incredible.
Despite that impression, he could not remember anything.
He looked down at his hands. He was still holding the Book of Destiny. That was definitely different from last time.
This Book of Destiny was one of Destiny’s treasures, and it made sense that it would alter the experience of using the Stargazing Deck.
Lu Yin set the Book of Destiny on the ground, looked back towards the Stargazing Deck, and started walking towards it again.
The Starmaster grew anxious. "Lu Yin, don't trigger Destiny again! Do you want to end up like the headmaster?"
The Rainmaster, the Sandmaster, the Trialmaster, and Old Cai all arrived to stop Lu Yin. However, none of them were strong enough to even approach Lu Yin.
"Boy, do you want to be expelled from the academy?"
"Lu Yin, I told you last time that you will no longer be considered a part of the Astral Combat Academy if you return to the Stargazing Deck!"
All the mentors were afraid that Lu Yin would lose his mind like the crazy headmaster, which would be a massive problem. Given Lu Yin's current strength, if he lost his mind, it would not be just Astral-10 that would be destroyed, but possibly the entire Fifth Mainland.
Lu Yin looked back, a solemn expression on his face. "If I don't enter the Stargazing Deck, I will not be able to survive any longer."
His answer silenced all the mentors.
"Are you referring to the Progenitor you just fought?" the Trialmaster asked.
Lu Yin nodded. "I'm sorry, mentors, but I have to enter the Stargazing Deck if I want to have any chance of fighting for my life."
He then stepped forward and reentered the Stargazing Deck, the mentors no longer trying to stop him. Even the Starmaster simply watched in silence as Lu Yin went to trigger Destiny once again.
Instantly, the same scene reappeared, but this time, Lu Yin was able to see the images clearly. He saw a bearded man happily hugging a baby while laughing happily. A gentle looking woman stood behind the man. There was not another person to be seen in the vision.
The scene caused Lu Yin’s eyes to become bloodshot. He had lost his memories, but as soon as he saw the three people, he knew that he was seeing his father and his mother.
It was a family of three, which made for a very ordinary and harmonious picture. It was a common memory for countless people, but Lu Yin yearned for it. Lu Yin knew it was pointless for wish for the warmth of a family, but he had no memories of his family’s warmth at all.
Lu Yin’s second time in the Stargazing Deck induced further injuries for Xuan Jiu, Destina, and Bai Xian'er.
When Lu Yin entered the Stargazing Deck for the third time, all of them vomited blood yet again.
The same reactions occurred for the fourth time.
Destina was the first person who was unable to handle what was happening, and she quickly sent Lu Yin a message. "Dao Chosen, are you triggering Destiny?"
Lu Yin answered calmly, "That’s right."
"Why?" Destina's face was pale from vomiting blood. It had happened four times, and each instance had resulted in serious internal injuries. She could not endure much more.
Both Skymender and Starsibyl were in a similar state.
At this moment, Xuan Jiu had no strength in his legs. He could not even walk.
Lu Yin answered a bit hesitantly. "I have my reasons. I have to trigger Destiny."
Destina grew anxious. "Every time you trigger Destiny, all of us are badly wounded! Are you trying to trigger Destiny, or are you using this to attack your enemy?"
As she sent the message, something suddenly occurred to Destina. "Do you have an enemy in the Perennial World who possesses another Book of Destiny?"
Before, Lu Yin had not been entirely certain that Bai Xian'er had the third Book of Destiny. Someone had told him something, and Lu Yin had used that information to make his own deductions, but he had still been guessing. However, after triggering Destiny for the third time, he had become absolutely certain.
During the third trigger of Destiny, he had seen blood stains in Crimson Garden. While he had not seen any people, he had clearly seen Crimson Garden, and the scarlet blood on the ground had matched the red flowers that lay scattered all about. It made for a poignant image.
Bai Xian'er had also vomited blood.
That image was why Lu Yin had triggered Destiny for the fourth time, and it was also why he intended to continue doing so again and again.
As far as Lu Yin could determine, they were on a path of mutual destruction. However, it was not Lu Yin that Bai Xian’er was suffering with. She was suffering with Destina and the others.
"An enemy is coming from the Perennial World, and they control a Book of Destiny. I can’t fight them," Lu Yin replied. He gave an explanation, as Destina deserved at least the bare minimum of respect from him.
However, the woman’s expression turned ugly. "So you’re triggering Destiny in order to attack her? What about the rest of us?"
"You don't want to die, but neither does she. Just hold on. If you aren’t able to endure, understand that she is in the same position."
Lu Yin’s callous response caused Destina’s expression to grow even worse. She wanted to snap back at Lu Yin, but there was nothing she could say.
Lu Yin had only offered an explanation because he had been willing to. If he had wanted, he could have remained silent, and Destina would not have been able to do anything about it.
This was the law of the universe. This was the way of cultivation. What Lu Yin was doing was no different from when Destina had diverted the karmic backlash from a divination onto innocent people in order to save herself. Destina had not asked those people if they wished to die without ever knowing what had killed them.
Lu Yin put his wireless jincan away. He had not offered Destina any sort of apology. She had killed countless people to survive through many of her divinations. However, Xuan Jiu and Starsibyl were different.
Lu Yin could not be certain about Starsibyl, and he did not particularly care, but Xuan Jiu was different.
After a moment’s thought, Lu Yin dug his gadget out of his cosmic ring. He had barely used a gadget after returning from the Perennial World, and he had instead relied almost exclusively on his wireless jincan. However, Xuan Jiu did not own a wireless jincan, which meant that the only way for Lu Yin to interact with the old man was with his gadget.
Lu Yin stared at his gadget. There were dozens of messages and missed calls from Xuan Jiu. The old man had been desperately trying to get in touch with Lu Yin.
Lu Yin pursed his lips. Should he answer or not? It was a difficult decision.
In the end, Lu Yin decided not to respond. He knew that he would owe Xuan Jiu an apology afterwards, but the old man had already become accustomed to Lu Yin’s behavior.
On the island in the Cosmic Sea, Xuan Jiu's face was incredibly pale. His shaking hands kept tapping his gadget as he desperately tried to reach out to Lu Yin, but nothing would go through. “Come on, answer me you rotten bastard! What did Grandpa Jiu do to make you do something so evil? Are you trying to kill me? Hurry up and answer!”
Lu Yin stared at the Book of Destiny that he had set on the ground. After a moment’s thought, he picked it back up and then continued on towards the Stargazing Deck. When he entered again, he was once again greeted by the sight of countless scenes from throughout time flickering by in an unending flow.
He had realized that what he saw when holding the Book of Destiny had caused him to see completely different visions than when he triggered Destiny without it.
Without the book, Lu Yin only saw scenes that were connected to him, even if only in an indirect manner. However, when Lu Yin held the book, he would forget everything that he saw. All of his memories of his time in the Stargazing Deck would be gone when he left.
Once again, it was the same as before. Lu Yin retreated ten steps from the Stargazing Deck, shock covering his entire face, but his feelings of shock left him confused. What had he seen that had been so shocking?
Lu Yin had fought against Xia Shenji. He had learned countless secrets of the universe, but he had still been shocked by what he had seen. Just what could have affected him so strongly?
In the Cosmic Sea, Xuan Jiu spat out another mouthful of blood, and it splattered onto his gadget. He gave up all hope. This is the end. I’m going to die. Does that rotten bastard even know what he’s doing? I’m really going to die, and no one will even know.
In the Outerverse, Destina and several other people spat out more blood at the same time yet again. All of them were looking increasingly miserable, and their faces were so pale that they appeared to have not a single drop of blood left.
Jiu Yao, Zhan Lin, and the other Semi-Progenitors looked at the three people oddly. No one could understand why they kept vomiting blood. Was there an enemy hidden somewhere?
Only Lu Buzheng and a few others were aware of what was happening.
Lu Buzheng looked at Destina with a sympathetic expression, but he was thinking back to the Heavens Sect era. At that time, Destina had been brazen and willful, relying on Destiny’s backing to act however she wished in all six Mainlands. Wherever Destina went, she had been treated with the utmost respect. Even Progenitors had been polite to her, including the Lu family’s.
While Lu Buzheng and Destina had both been gatemasters of the Twelve Heavenly Gates, they had enjoyed completely different statuses. The best example of that was when Destina had chased after Lu Buzheng, trying to kill him. He had panicked for quite some time while being pursued.
Seeing Destina in such a miserable condition gave Lu Buzheng a great deal of joy. The woman was finally reaping her karma. Her previous arrogance had been enough to drive people insane.
Destina suddenly looked over at Lu Buzheng, her eyes blazing with a cold death glare.
Lu Buzheng immediately averted his eyes and stopped looking at the woman.
Destina cleaned the blood that stained her mouth, only to suddenly vomit blood once more. She was struggling to even remain on her feet.
Skymender was in the same condition.
As for Starsibyl, she had already collapsed and was barely even conscious.
In the Perennial World, in Crimson Garden, Bai Xian'er's face was as pale as a sheet of paper. The ground in front of her was covered with red flowers and blood stains. She was certain that Lu Xiaoxuan was using some method because he knew that it would seriously injure her. She was being attacked by Lu Xiaoxuan!
This could not continue. If things did not stop, not only would Bai Xian’er be severely injured, but she might even die.
This thought prompted her to quickly contact Bai Wangyuan.
In the Dominion Realm, Bai Wangyuan was still waiting for the good news of Bai Xian'er and Xia Shenji killing Lu Xiaoxuan.
However, the anticipated good news never arrived. Instead, Bai Wangyuan received a call from Bai Xian'er, begging him to stop the fight against Lu Yin.
"What did you say?" Bai Wangyuan stared at his communication crystal, more than a bit incredulous. He was staring at the image of Bai Xian'er, and he could clearly see how pale she was and how severe her injuries were.
Bai Xian'er stared at Bai Wangyuan. "Stop this, or else I will die!"
Bai Wangyuan felt puzzled. "What happened? Who hurt you?"
"Progenitor Bai, the fight against Lu Xiaoxuan must stop immediately, or else, while I can’t be certain that he will die, I absolutely will." Bai Xian'er struggled to speak, and as soon as she finished her sentence, she spat out another mouthful of blood, which stained the communication crystal red.
Bai Wangyuan was shocked. Bai Xian'er was far too important to the Celestial Frost Sect. She was essentially the Celestial Frost Sect’s leader, and they already regarded her as the future leader of the entire Fifth Mainland. Her talent, skills, cultivation, and intelligence were all unequaled.
Lu Xiaoxuan had revealed a truly monstrous degree of talent for cultivation, yet Bai Xian'er was still every bit his equal.
Although Lu Xiaoxuan’s existence was a threat that the Celestial Frost Sect could not tolerate, the potential loss of Bai Xian'er was an even greater threat.