Chapter 1522: Oath
Lu Yin remained where he was, surrounded by corpse kings. Still, given the defense of his universal armor, as long as no corpse king that was equal to an Envoy who had passed three tribulations appeared, Lu Yin would not be in any danger. There were only a few experts whose power levels exceeded 700,000.
However, that did not mean that Lu Yin was entirely safe. He quickly broke free of the encirclement and entered the Red Beam. It was only then that he was safe.
The battle continued on for several days, though no one knew how the battle between Marquis Green Bamboo and Wan Zhiyi was progressing. Neither of them had shown themselves after that day, but judging from their previous exchange, Wan Zhiyi should hold the advantage.
The Twelve Marquises were all Semi-Progenitors who had existed since ancient times. Although this sounded impressive, if any one of them was capable of becoming a Progenitor, then they would have done so long ago and not remained as Semi-Progenitors.
The longer such beings lived for, the more they proved themselves incapable of becoming Progenitors. In contrast, Wan Zhiyi had nearly broken into the Progenitor realm before, so there was a wide discrepancy between the two Semi-Progenitors.
Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng had teamed up with Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua to fight against Marquis Xiang while Wan Zhiyi and Marquis Green Bamboo were supposed to be evenly matched. This led to a deadlocked battlefield, but when Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua fell, the entire situation suddenly changed.
Lu Yin looked into the distance where he saw Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua\'s hair turn white. It was as though she had aged an entire lifetime in an instant. The familiar sight startled Lu Yin; was that Vitality Poison?
The void distorted around Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua\'s body, blocking off Lu Yin’s vision. It was as though the powerhouse had been isolated in a separate world. Still, even though Lu Yin was not able to see her clearly, he could sense that she was quickly weakening.
"Marquis Xiang, you actually used poison?!" Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng shouted angrily.
Marquis Xiang indifferently replied, "As I said, this will destroy your inner world. How long can Liu Hua endure for? Her inner world is rapidly degrading, and once it disappears, so will she."
Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng was both angry and scared, and he did not even dare to come into close contact with Marquis Xiang again.
As he waited for the battle to continue, Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng quickly retreated. Just what kind of poison could affect Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua so badly that it was able to corrode her inner world? If Ji Feng was poisoned, then he would suffer the same fate.
Wan Zhiyi also saw what had happened, and it made him furious. "You have developed your Vitality Poison this far?"
Marquis Green Bamboo smiled. "This isn’t even its final limit. Once the Vitality Poison is able to easily destroy inner worlds, the Perennial World will be done for. Tell me, do you think that this poison will work on the Mother Tree?"
Wan Zhiyi felt a chill run down his back. Even a Semi-Progenitor was already nearly unable to resist this poison. If the monsters continued to develop it, while it might never be able to pose a threat to Progenitors, it would eventually be able to destroy the Mother Tree.
Once that happened, the Perennial World would suffer an unprecedented disaster.
"Palm of Thousand Skies." Wan Zhiyi let out a roar while, across from him, Marquis Green Bamboo raised his bamboo stick and thrust it forward.
The void continuously detonated, and even the true universe started warping from their battle. Not even Envoys could observe the Semi-Progenitors’ battle.
Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng was forced back step by step. The moment that he fell, the Forsaken Soldiers would be eradicated.
This was the most desperate disaster that the Forsaken Soldiers had ever encountered.
Suddenly, Marquis Xiang appeared and smashed the sourcebox array with the cones. The attack damaged the entire sourcebox array and ruined it again.
This was the power of a marquis. Each one was powerful enough to casually destroy a powerful Envoy.
At that moment, Marquis Xiang turned to stare at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin felt his scalp tingle so badly that it felt like it was going to explode; what were Shaman God’s intentions? Had that doll died? First, Marquis Green Bamboo had attacked Lu Yin, and now, Marquis Xiang seemed to be about to do the same. It looked like there was no path towards survival.
Lu Yin took out his jade talisman, ready to crush it, when an overwhelming aura suddenly fell upon him from above. It was like he had been welcomed into a new world, and the energy dragged Lu Yin back. He looked up, thrilled. “Supervisor!”
Qing Chen had arrived, and his timing was perfect, as he had just managed to save Lu Yin.
Qing Chen had a grim expression on his face. He tossed Lu Yin to the top of the Stacking Mountain Range. “Protect yourself."
With that, the supervisor stepped forward and charged at Marquis Xiang.
Marquis Xiang was caught off guard. "Another Semi-Progenitor? How troublesome."
With that, he simply left.
Marquis Green Bamboo had also noticed Qing Chen’s arrival. "Wan Zhiyi, I won\'t play with you any more today. If four Semi-Progenitors are standing guard over the Forsaken Soldiers, then who is protecting your array bases? Hahahaha!"
Marquis Green Bamboo then also left.
Wan Zhiyi stared at Marquis Green Bamboo\'s retreating back with a sense of awe.
After Marquis Xiang and Marquis Green Bamboo both pulled back, the countless corpse kings immediately started fleeing.
Lu Yin stood atop the mountains, and he let out a sigh of relief as he watched the developments across the battlefield. This battle had been too dangerous, and he had almost died. If not for Qing Chen’s timely arrival, Lu Yin would have been forced to summon Mister Mu.
The four Semi-Progenitors all landed on the ground, and Qing Chen gazed at Wan Zhiyi with an expression of absolute shock. "Wan- Senior Wan?"
Wan Zhiyi turned and saw Qing Chen. The older man’s face was cadaverous to the point where he no longer seemed human.
Qing Chen quickly stepped forward and bowed low. "Junior Qing Chen greets Senior Wan."
Wan Zhiyi stared at Qing Chen before responding in a hoarse voice, "It’s been a long time."
Qing Chen looked at Wan Zhiyi with anger written all over his face. "Did they imprison senior underground?"
Wan Zhiyi did not reply, but his body sank to the ground and then disappeared.
"Senior Wan!"
Qing Chen shouted, and tried to chase after the old man, but a voice rose from the ground. "Go back. Act as though you have seen nothing."
Qing Chen stood in the void in a daze, his eyes riddled with conflicting emotions.
The All-Dao family’s grand elder had been heralded as a legendary, all-powerful figure who had been poised to become a Progenitor. Seeing how far the ancient powerhouse had fallen, Qing Chen felt sad and regretful, as well as powerless.
The four ruling powers sat up in the Higher Realm, and they suppressed everyone and everything in the Middle Realm and below. There were no exceptions.
Qing Chen’s timely arrival was the only reason why the humans had been allowed a respite in the battle, though naturally, Qing Chen had arrived to take Lu Yin away.
Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua sat on the ground in a cross-legged position. The void isolated her body, but she also seemed to be cut off from the true universe. This was a concept that Lu Yin was unable to understand, though he did know that the woman was suffering from Vitality Poison.
Qing Chen landed nearby, and his brows furrowed as he looked at Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua.
Ji Feng sealed the Semi-Progenitor off and ordered everyone back before turning to speak to Qing Chen. "The Aeternus has developed their poison to the point where it even poses a threat to Semi-Progenitors. They are still working to improve it and it’s only a matter of time until it can threaten even Progenitors, as they have already reached the point where their poison can enter and corrode a powerhouse’s inner world."
Qing Chen quietly replied, “I’ll report these matters to the Progenitors."
"Liu Hua has been reduced to this state, and I don’t know if she’ll be able to survive. The current situation is not looking good."
Qing Chen looked at Ji Feng. "Make a report to General Xia Yan. Someone will be dispatched to replace Liu Hua. I will stay here with the Forsaken Soldiers until reinforcements arrive."
Semi-Progenitor Ji Feng heaved a sigh of relief. "That\'s good."
Liu Hua was completely isolated, so no one knew what was happening to her.
After the battle concluded, Lu Yin also met with Qing Chen.
Qing Chen was not in a good mood when Lu Yin saw the older man. Semi-Progenitor Liu Hua had been poisoned, and Qing Chen had also seen Wan Zhiyi’s circumstances, which left the supervisor with conflicted emotions.
"You\'ve done well. When I learned that you had fallen to the New World, everyone believed that you had died, even me," Qing Chen’s voice was full of emotion, as he felt truly lucky.
Lu Yin replied, "Your subordinate also thought that we were all dead. I did not expect to discover the Red Beamy or that it would be repairable. But because of the all-out assault on the five array bases, the New World did not have any strong enemies there, allowing me to travel to the Forsaken Soldiers."
Qing Chen was very solemn. "Just now, during this last battle, Marquis Green Bamboo and the other marquis both attacked you. This is not a safe place for you. Once the replacement Semi-Progenitor arrives, I’ll take you away from here. With what you’ve accomplished on the battlefield, you can request to leave this battlefield."
Lu Yin\'s heart skipped a beat. "Supervisor, after we fell down to the New World, your subordinate was only able to survive by relying and cooperating with a group of people. Can they also leave this place?"
Qing Chen asked, "Are you talking about Zhou Tang and the others with him?"
"Do you know Zhou Tang?" Lu Yin was caught off guard. Even though Zhou Tang and the others were all powerful Envoys, Qing Chen should not know about them, right? After all, Qing Chen, Ji Feng, and Liu Hua were all lofty Semi-Progenitors.
Qing Chen grew more somber. "Their status is special. They belong to the Star Alliance and the Forsaken Soldiers. Since they’ve come to this place, the rules are clear. They cannot leave."
Lu Yin anxiously protested, "But they provided invaluable assistance to this subordinate! Without them, your subordinate would have never been able to survive and reach this place."
Qing Chen did not respond, but instead looked behind Lu Yin.
Lu Yin turned and saw Zhou Tang, Mr. Guo, and the others. The two men were not far away, and Qing Chen and Lu Yin had done nothing to hide their conversation, so the Envoys had heard everything.
Che Zhan spoke with a smile, "Brother Long Qi, it\'s enough for you to feel this way."
Mr. Guo nodded and grew emotional. "It has been an honor to have gotten to know Brother Long Qi during my time in the Star Alliance."
"All of us are honored," Brother Hong said seriously.
The Mother of the Eastern Mountains smiled. "I don\'t want to go back. Staying here is better."
Finally, Lu Yin looked at Zhou Tang.
Zhou Tang still had an unkempt appearance, but the gaze in his eyes had become much sharper compared to when Lu Yin had first seen the man. "Remember, the most important thing in cultivating battle force is your spirit. As you climb higher in this universe, your battle force will eventually break through. There are people who say that cultivating battle force serves no purpose since there are no records of a battle force user becoming a Progenitor, but I don’t believe this."
Even though Zhou Tang did not explicitly say so, Lu Yin clearly understood that the man would also remain at the Folded Mountain Range.
Lu Yin earnestly replied to his companions, "I am also honored to have known all of you."
"It\'s too early for such talk. Brother Long Qi, you will still have to remain here at the Folded Mountains for a while longer." Che Zhan laughed.
Several people bowed to Qing Chen before returning to their own quarters.
Lu Yin’s mood was ruined. He had desperately wanted to take his comrades away, and not only them, but he also wanted to take away all the members of the All-Dao family and the Qiming family. He truly wanted to rescue them, but this was not the proper time. He could only hope that they would be able to survive and wait for the day when he was able to fight his way back to the battlefield behind the Mother Tree.
Lu Yin swore that he would absolutely return to this battlefield and that he would also bring about the return of the Lu family. When the day that he summoned the Lu family’s surviving vassals came, it would also be the day when he stepped onto the peak of the Perennial World.
Only after arriving at the New World had Qing Chen discovered that the All-Dao family and Qiming family had been exiled to the Forsaken Soldiers. The Humility’s Gate’s Supervisor met with Uncle He, Young Master Tu, and Wan Sen. Even though they had not met each other before, they were all familiar with each other, and their meeting incited many emotions.
"Hey, are you really leaving?" Young Master Tu was feeling bored, so he prodded Lu Yin while lying on the mountain.
"Of course."
Young Master Tu looked up at the vague, but massive, shadow of the array base high above the sky above them. He did not know what to think.
Lu Yin looked at Young Master Tu and smiled. "Before I leave, do you want me to kick your ass again?"
Young Master Tu grinned. "You look like an asshole, and you also speak like one."
"So yes." Lu Yin raised a hand.
Young Master Tu quickly moved away. "Don\'t mess around! I\'m not dealing with any pain right now, so no, I don\'t want to fight you. Give me a few days to relax."
Young Master Tu had only sought Lu Yin to beat him up when suffering from mental torture. He had treated Lu Yin as though he were someone else when Young Master Tu drowned in his memories and was incapacitated by the pain. At the moment, Young Master Tu was not suffering from any mental torture, so naturally, he had no desire to suffer in vain.