Chapter 2872: The Last Colors
The Celestial Frost Sect’s Sky Beyond the Sky had originally been Bai Wangyuan’s attempt to dominate all living creatures. It had been destroyed after the Lu family’s return, but the sense of suppression had been embedded deeply in Bai Sheng's psyche, and it had become impossible for him to break free.
For example, Bai Sheng had wanted to return to the Origin Universe for a long time, but he could not make himself do so.
Lu Yin's expression grew determined. While it was impossible for Bai Sheng to break free of the suppression he suffered from, Lu Yin could.
Slowly, Lu Yin began to recite the Origin Progenitor’s Sutra.
The intensity of the fighting at the Wall of Purity had been slowly dying down, and there was no need for Bai Sheng or the other Progenitors to do anything for the time being.
Neither Xia Qin nor Specter Progenitor cared about Bai Sheng’s actions.
Soon, clarity returned to Bai Sheng's eyes, though he looked around in a bit of confusion. What had just happened? It felt like something had changed.
In a corner of the Cyclic Universe, Lu Yin’s eyes opened, and he quickly checked his cosmic ring.
Seeing it, a wry smile appeared on his face. He had known that this Possession would be expensive, but even so, he had not expected it to cost this much.
trillion star essence. Possessing Bai Sheng had cost 8 trillion star essence, which was 5 trillion more than when Lu Yin had Possessed Arrow Sage.
The primary reason for this steep cost was that Lu Yin had recited the Origin Sutra, which was the same as exerting power. Otherwise, a mere Possession, even if it took a long time, would only cost 4 to 5 trillion at most.
Lu Yin sighed. He truly never had enough money.
The Merchant Exchange was absurdly rich, but it was impossible for him to collect a similar amount of wealth from them again. It would be difficult for Lu Yin to gather further funds any time soon.
Bai Sheng's sense of inferiority towards Bai Wangyuan had been eliminated. Whether the man would return to the Origin Universe or not would depend solely on himself.
If Bai Sheng did decide to return, Lu Yin would not turn the man away. While Bai Sheng had done a number of things for the Celestial Frost Sect and had been Lu Yin’s enemy for a period of time, the Progenitor had never had any real impact on the overall situation. The same was also true of Xia Qin.
In addition, Lu Yin had also seen another important memory from Bai Sheng. It was a familiar, yet unfamiliar name: Ye Bo.
During the Great Sovereign's Tea Ceremony, when Bai Wangyuan and his group had been accusing Lu Yin of being a spy of Aeternus, they had mentioned the name “Ye Bo.”
They had claimed that, every time that Lu Yin entered seclusion, Ye Bo would appear, and when Lu Yin emerged from seclusion, Ye Bo would vanish.
At the time, Lu Yin had assumed that the name had been made up by Bai Wangyuan and the others. What had truly mattered at the time had been Jiu Yao's testimony and Xuan Qi's confirmation of the four ruling powers’ evidence, rather than any true evidence.
However, from Bai Sheng's memories, Lu Yin learned that there really was a spy with the name of Ye Bo, and that spy was also quite extraordinary.
Ye Bo was a spy in the Perennial World who was hidden exceptionally well. Ye Bo had become a serious concern for Bai Wangyuan and other Progenitors. The spy had been active even before the Lu family’s exile, and they had delivered great harm to the Perennial World.
Bai Wangyuan and the others had falsely accused Lu Yin of being Ye Bo, but a spy by the name of Ye Bo did indeed exist.
The Sixverse Association had Cheng Kong, while the Origin Universe had Ye Bo.
At least, this was the opinion of Bai Wangyuan and the others.
Bai Sheng had started to learn about the Sixverse Association after Sage Yuan visited the Perennial World and took Nutjob Lu away. The more that Bai Sheng learned about the Sixverse Association, the more he was determined to find Ye Bo in the Perennial world.
The most important detail was that Ye Bo had once killed a Progenitor. A peak powerhouse from Shenwu's Sky had been killed by Ye Bo, in an attempt to destroy Ye Bo at the cost of his own life.
The reason why Lu Yin had never heard of Ye Bo was because, after the Lu family had been exiled, Ye Bo had become less and less active. The last time that Lu Yin could find any mention of Ye Bo taking any action was during the time when Lu Yin had been posing as Long Qi. And at that time, Lu Yin had not had the strength to interact with any Progenitors.
Ye Bo was a spy who had been specifically tracked by Humility’s Gate. In fact, Mu Xie was personally responsible for the investigation, and he had coordinated with the four ruling powers to try to hunt Ye Bo down. It was simply at a level that Long Qi could not have interacted with.
It also appeared rather foolish for Lu Yin to have been accused of being Ye Bo. However, if Ye Bo was regarded as a code name or even a team, then that changed everything.
Ye Bo had been around for a long time, but if Ye Bo was a team, then the members of that team might not have been part of it for very long.
Bai Sheng knew that Ye Bo was a group, as that was what Bai Wangyuan and the others understood.
Unfortunately, it had so far proven impossible to expose this team, and any members who had been found had died. The Progenitor from Shenwu's Sky had entered a frenzy and fought to the death, taking down a Progenitor with him, but that also made it difficult to show that Ye Bo was a team.
Ye Bo?
Lu Yin kept the name deep in his heart, determined to ask his senior brother for more information after returning.
For the time being, Lu Yin needed to keep rolling his die.
He still had 22 trillion star essence remaining, which was enough.
In a blink of an eye, two months passed, and Lu Yin finally rolled six pips again.
Possession always became progressively more difficult to roll when Lu Yin repeatedly rolled his die.
No matter how long it might take, Lu Yin was determined to find an orb of sufficient brilliance in this strange dark space.
He spent even more time searching than when he had Possessed Bai Sheng.
Fortunately, he eventually found a target.
Lu Yin merged with the ball of light, and memories started pouring in. He was able to see clearly and knew that he had Possessed Sage Jiang.
Of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, Lu Yin had already Possessed two, which left six more, though three were dead. Lu Yin had no idea when the Cyclic Universe would have all Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages again.
Lu Yin was lucky to Possess Sage Jiang. The man had only just returned from the Endless Frontier. If he had not, Lu Yin could not say how long it might have taken him to find a peak powerhouse to Possess.
After starting the Possession, Lu Yin once again visited the memories of when the Sage had received his strength from the Great Sovereign.
Lu Yin would not reject any cultivation method, as he would love to merge all the different powers of the Sixverse Association’s peak powerhouses into his body and strengthen his universe. Out of all the various powers available, the Great Sovereign’s power was quite appealing to Lu Yin.
…
Half a year later, Lu Yin was still in seclusion. He had not only spent his time rolling his die, but had also spent most of his time cultivating his four inner worlds and the universe in his heart.
As for Possessing powerhouses, while he had done it, he had not Possessed anyone with the strength of a Progenitor.
There were not very many Progenitor-level experts in the Cyclic Universe.
From Possessing Sage Jiang, Lu Yin had learned that the Cyclic Universe not only had the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, but also the Thirty-Six Ascendants. They were Semi-Progenitor experts who had also been given their cultivation by the Great Sovereign.
It did not seem like it would be worth it to bestow the strength of Semi-Progenitors upon people for the Great Sovereign, and yet the Cyclic Universe had its Thirty-Six Ascendants, which made up nearly half of the Cyclic Universe’s Ascendants. They were a genuinely powerful force. Additionally, Possessing the Thirty-Six Ascendants could also grant Lu Yin the memories of receiving power from the Great Sovereign.
During the past six months, several major events had occurred in the Cyclic Universe. To begin with, the Nine Sages’ positions had been filled back out and completed, and the new Sages included Yao Lan, Bai Wangyuan, and Wang Fan.
Additionally, Nutjob Lu had been made a Sovereign, replacing Sovereign Shao Yin. This meant that, in recent years, nearly half of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages had been replaced.
All of this was also related to the fact that the Sixverse Association had made contact with the Origin Universe.
This was just how some people were. Even if they simply stood in place and did nothing at all, they would still shine brightly.
Out of all the various parallel universes, the Origin Universe was the most outstanding universe. Even if the universe had fallen from its former glory, making contact with the Origin Universe had instantly caused various changes in the Sixverse Association. This was not even considering the variable that was Lu Yin.
Half a year was not much time for a cultivator.
Sage Jiang rested for half a year, spoke to Jiang Xiaodao, and then returned to the Wall of Purity.
Regardless of Lu Yin's personal opinion of the Cyclic Universe, the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages, as well as the Great Sovereign herself, were all doing their best to combat Aeternus.
Lu Yin had not expected that the first Progenitor-level expert that he Possessed after half a year would once again be Sage Jiang.
He stared out at the Wall of Purity and saw Arrow Sage, Bai Sheng, and the others guarding the wall. Lu Yin had seen this place many times already.
Just as he was about to end the Possession, a scream rang out. Lu Yin looked over and saw that it came from Arrow Sage.
Far away, Arrow Sage was covered with blood. A saber had chopped into the Sage’s neck. The slice had opened the void, creating a long spatial tear.
Lu Yin felt terribly confused. Just what had happened?
Suddenly, colorful bubbles filled his vision. Was this the Dreamweaver’s Bubble Fantasy? This was bad! This was one of Cheng Kong’s illusions.
The moment that Lu Yin thought of Cheng Kong, he also found that it was impossible to move. The same instance that Lu Yin had been distracted by Arrow Sage’s scream, Cheng Kong had seized the opportunity to take control of Sage Jiang’s body. At that same moment, the scenery in front of Sage Jiang’s eyes changed. Arrow Sage had not been seriously injured, and in fact, nothing at all had happened. The only thing that had changed was that Lu Yin had lost control of Sage Jiang’s body.
"I control your body now." A familiar voice spoke. Lu Yin felt frustrated, but no matter what he tried, it was impossible to move. He was in Sage Jiang’s body. If Lu Yin was in his own, then Cheng Kong would never be able to seize control of it, but there was too great a gap between Sage Jiang and Lu Yin.
There was a bang as the bubble popped. Sage Jiang suddenly spat out blood and collapsed.
His movement drew Arrow Sage’s attention. The Sage looked over and saw Sage Jiang’s pale face as he collapsed. The sight startled Arrow Sage. "Brother Jiang!"
Arrow Sage shot over, his hand rising and forming a bow in his hand as he searched for the enemy.
However, Cheng Kong was not easily found.
Lu Yin understood that Sage Jiang's body was dying. Cheng Kong had found an opportunity during a time when everyone had assumed that the fighting would die down. With the opportunity granted when Sage Jiang visited the Wall of Purity, Cheng Kong had seen how Arrow Sage and the other peak powerhouses had relaxed their guard. At the moment that Sage Jiang’s guard was the lowest, Cheng Kong had launched a sneak attack.
The Sixverse Association viewed Cheng Kong as the greatest threat. Not even the Seven Skygods could compare to Cheng Kong in the eyes of most people from the Sixverse Association, and this was because Cheng Kong was just too good at assassinating his targets. Cheng Kong had killed more of the Sixverse Association’s peak powerhouses than any other expert from Aeternus.
Cheng Kong had killed many peak powerhouses with sneak attacks. Sage Jiang was not the first, and he would not be the last either.
Lu Yin heard Arrow Sage's screams and saw the stunned expressions on the faces of Bai Sheng and the other Progenitors, but there was nothing that Lu Yin could do. The moment that Sage Jiang’s body had been controlled by the Bubble Fantasy, he had been doomed.
Cheng Kong only took action when he was utterly confident.
However, it was also impossible for Cheng Kong to know that Sage Jiang was not alone at this moment, and that there were unaccounted variables in play.
Darkness filled Lu Yin’s vision. This was the moment right before a person’s death. Colors were disappearing, and all that could be seen were colorful bubbles that had replaced everything. Cheng Kong’s power was maintaining control of Sage Jiang until he was dead.
Could it really be that easy? It was Lu Yin’s consciousness in the body, not Sage Jiang’s. Even if Sage Jiang died, Lu Yin would not allow Cheng Kong to succeed so easily.
Sage Jiang's body could still be used.
Lu Yin had spent more than half a year in seclusion, Possessing many different people and continuously studying the power that the Great Sovereign had granted them. After so long, he had managed to understand a few things, and this allowed Lu Yin to briefly use Sage Jiang’s body to touch upon the Great Sovereign's Great Cycle of Reincarnation.
The Great Cycle of Reincarnation was the Great Sovereign’s Progenitor’s world, and by using it, she was able to bestow power to the Three Sovereigns, Nine Sages, and Thirty-Six Ascendants. This was the power that had made the Cyclic Universe invincible within the Sixverse Association, and what had made the Great Sovereign the leader of mankind.
Right before Sage Jiang's death, Lu Yin used his understanding of the Great Cycle of Reincarnation, reluctantly taking action just once. That was all that Lu Yin could do.
With a wave of Sage Jiang’s hand, the Cyclic Universe changed. An invisible power passed through the void, causing Arrow Sage to freeze in shock. Everyone instinctively felt their hearts tremble, and they felt as though the sky was about to collapse.
At that moment, a tiny bit of colorful, gaseous matter that was practically invisible descended from the infinite void.
That bit of gaseous matter was also the last colors that Lu Yin saw while in Sage Jiang's body.