Chapter 2910: Rather Impressive
Mu Ke had just cut through the Inorganic Universe, killing eight of the enemy’s peak powerhouses. One had been the old man who had been Ancestor Wuji’s opponent. Of the other seven, one had been a True God Guard Captain, and the other six had been Progenitor-level corpse kings from the True God Guard. What an... incredible accomplishment.
Sacrificing a single parallel universe was definitely worth the gains, in Lu Yin's opinion.
However, from the perspective of Ancestor Wuji, the Inorganic Universe was his territory, as well as his home. A victory gained at the price of the Inorganic Universe was difficult for the old man to accept.
When it came to seeing the overall situation, this was what it meant.
Lu Yin had sacrificed a great deal for the sake of the bigger picture, so he understood Ancestor Wuji’s feelings quite well. No matter how brilliant Lu Yin’s achievements during this crusade might be, and even if everyone in the entire Sixverse Association praised him, he would continue to sympathize with Ancestor Wuji. Lu Yin did not feel qualified to sacrifice others in order to further his own plans; if he did so, how would that be any different from what the Great Sovereign had done by sacrificing the Lu family and Sovereign Shao Yin?
At the same time, it did not matter how much Lu Yin wanted to act like that crazy woman.
"Ancestor Inorganic."
The old man turned to look at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin stared at the man. "I have no way to return the Inorganic Universe to you."
Ancestor Wuji’s eyes grew dim.
"This is the pattern of universes. They break down and then rise back up. I heard the conversation that you had with that traitor. Since you understand my Heavens Sect so well, join us. I will show you that sacrificing the Inorganic Universe was not meaningless. If we can destroy the Aeternals, what would it matter if I need to sacrifice my own universe?" Lu Yin said.
Ancestor Wuji sighed deeply, and then his expression seemed to show that he had recovered slightly. "I'm sorry, Lord Lu, but please allow me to consider this."
Lu Yin nodded.
Mu Xie moved over to Lu Yin's side. "Are you really willing to sacrifice the Origin universe?"
Lu Yin grinned. "Only on the basis that the Cyclic Universe is sacrificed first. I can make sacrifices for the bigger picture, but not without gaining some sort of benefits. There’s no way I’ll let someone else benefit over my sacrifices."
Mu Xie laughed, as Lu Yin had perfectly portrayed his personality in his response.
He was willing to make necessary sacrifices, but he would always make sure that he gained something from doing so. He would not take advantage of others, but he also did not want to suffer unnecessary losses. This was a realistic person. In comparison, it felt as though their master was too detached from the mortal world.
Did a cultivator have to transcend human nature? Mu Ke felt that his junior brother was not bad.
At least, he would not allow his own people to suffer.
Mu Ke clenched his saber. It would be great if another opportunity like the one in the Inorganic Universe appeared. That had been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So many corpse kings had gathered together, but none of them had been able to see Mu Ke prepare his attack. As long as his opponents were not overly lucky or cautious, they would invariably fall to his attack in such a situation.
If he could repeat that event a few more times, he would likely eliminate all of Aeternus. Regardless of how many of the True God Guard’s Progenitor-level corpse kings appeared, they would not be able to do anything but die.
At this same time, the first battalion was fighting a battle in the Gourd Universe. The first battalion did not face an overwhelming attack like the second battalion. Instead, they simply needed to eliminate the Progenitor-level corpse kings that were already in the Gourd Universe.
After just ten days, the Gourd Universe was officially purged. Immediately after that, the second battalion crushed all opposition to purge another parallel universe.
In Proximity, Sage Bodhi was amazed. In such a short amount of time, a third of the Endless Frontier’s sixty-three parallel universes had all been given a green light. It was impossible for the crusade to sweep through the entire battlefield’s universe, but as long as they could purge more than half, the Sixverse Association would gain an absolute advantage in the war on the Endless Frontier.
No matter how many corpse kings Aeternus might have, it was impossible for all of them to assault more than half of the Endless Frontier at the same time.
This was especially true when it came to Progenitor-level corpse kings.
Ever since the crusade on the Endless Frontier had officially started, nearly twenty Progenitor-level corpse kings had died. It was a startling number, and a conservative estimate suggested that around thirty such corpse kings should fall by the end of the crusade.
This would create a true advantage.
Even if they failed to find any of the Seven Skygods by the end of the crusade, eliminating so many Progenitor-level corpse kings was already an accomplishment that would shock everyone in the Sixverse Association.
For more than four months after that, no major battles were fought on the Endless Frontier. It seemed as though the Aeternals had disappeared. Even the ten most dangerous universes, which were even more terrifying than the Gourd Universe and the Inorganic Universe, had no Progenitor-level corpse kings.
Many people started to wonder if the Aeternals had simply decided to abandon most of the parallel universe of the Endless Frontier, only focusing on protecting the battlefields that were connected to Aeternus’s territory.
This was what Sage Bodhi believed. Without the Seven Skygods, Aeternus would naturally struggle to deal with the crusade’s various battalions that were each led by a sequence powerhouse. Each of the two battalions had more than six Progenitor-level combatants, as well as two sequence powerhouses. Such powerful armies necessitated that the Aeternals gather their forces if they wanted to stand against the battalions.
After considering the situation, Sage Bodhi reached out to Lu Yin.
"Lord Lord, the Aeternals should be pulling back their defensive line and concentrating them within the parallel universes at their end of the Endless Frontier. Be careful as you move closer. The Seven Skygods are not the Aeternals’ only sequence powerhouses, as they also have people like Cheng Kong, Shao Yin, and other experts that they have kept hidden. On top of that, they may bring in outsiders to support them," Sage Bodhi warned.
Lu Yin's eyes flashed. "Will an outsider powerhouse show up?"
Sage Bodhi's voice dropped low. "Normally, even though our Sixverse Association cooperates with outsider powerhouses, and so do the Aeternals, outsiders almost never appear on the Endless Frontier. That is our primary battlefield against the Aeternals.
"However, right now, the Aeternals are not only being pushed to a disadvantage, but they’ve also lost their numerical suppression. Unless the Seven Skygods leave seclusion, it will be difficult for Aeternus to stop our Sixverse Association. Because of that, we can’t disregard the possibility of outsider powerhouses appearing to assist the Aeternals."
Lu Yin took a deep breath. An outsider powerhouse who would cooperate with Aeternus?
Throughout the megaverse, the two most powerful organizations were Aeternus and the Sixverse Association. Everyone agreed on this point. Beyond their scope, both the Sixverse Association and the Aeternals would occasionally discover previously unknown occupied parallel universes, but it was rare for any of those universes to have even a single peak powerhouse. Most were quite weak, and the occupants of those universes were not qualified to join Aeternus or the Sixverse Association. However, some would choose to cooperate with one or the other, and those experts were regarded as outsider powerhouses.
Both the Merchant Exchange’s Bi Rong, and the father of Jiang Chen and Jiang Qingyue, the Lord of Lightning, were outsider powerhouses.
Such experts might be from a parallel universe, or they might be from the Astral Wilderness. Without seeing where they came from, it was impossible for others to know.
Ever since Ancestor Lu Yuan had warned Lu Yin that there were powerful outsiders who had a cooperative relationship with the Aeternals, Lu Yin had made it a point to investigate such people.
So far, not many outsider powerhouses had chosen to cooperate with the Aeternals, but there were still a few. Each of those cultivators had to be a sequence powerhouse, and the appearance of even one or two such individuals could completely reverse the momentum of the crusade.
"If the Aeternals are able to get help from outsider powerhouses, can the Sixverse Association ask any of its allies to join this crusade?" Lu Yin asked.
Sage Bodhi struggled to answer. "We can contact them, but those people each have their own plans, so they may not join us."
"Let's at least try reaching out," Lu Yin replied.
Sage Bodhi agreed, but then she hesitated for a moment. "Lord Lu, if possible, please break through the Endless Frontier."
Lu Yin grew solemn. "That won’t be easy at all."
"The Endless Frontier currently consists of sixty-three parallel universes. Most of those universes have already been purged, including even the Inorganic Universe and the Gourd Universe. Only the top three universes have never been purged, and those three universes are the real meatgrinders, usually with at least six peak powerhouses from both sides fighting. Right now, there are fewer experts in those universes than ever before. If those universes can be given a green light, this crusade can be regarded as having perfectly accomplished its goals," Sage Bodhi replied.
Lu Yin lowered his communication crystal and stared off into the distance. Purge the three most dangerous universes on the Endless Frontier?
Lu Yin already knew that, unless Old Mo had officially joined Aeternus, the Umbral Universe could only be close to the top ten most dangerous universes on the Endless Frontier. If that man did join Aeternus, then the universe would be regarded as one of the three most dangerous universes in the entire Endless Frontier.
Most likely, some of the Aeternals’ experts in the top three universes were sequence powerhouses, and there were definitely more than a handful of Progenitor-level enemies.
Before the Great Sovereign and the other most powerful cultivators in the Sixverse Association launched their assault, almost all of the Seven Skygods occasionally fought in the three most dangerous universes on the Endless Frontier. With this, one could only imagine how terrifying those battlefields were.
Sovereign Dou Sheng, who Lu Yin had never even seen, was constantly protecting the entrance between those three universes and the Aeternals’ territory. He fought nonstop, and he had not even taken a break to attend the Tea Ceremony.
One of the crusade’s goals was to reach the three most dangerous universes on the Endless Frontier. If everything went well, Lu Yin even hoped to officially purge two of the three parallel universes.
The Seven Skygods were still in seclusion, and the two battalions had four sequence powerhouses. As long as they did not run into any outsider powerhouses, there should not be any problems.
Suddenly, someone called out, "There’s a response!"
Lu Yin glanced over and saw withered yellow leaves swirling about. They carried the scent of death with them. Almost instantly, a terrifying slash erupted, and it caused everyone who saw it to be stunned.
Mu Ke instantly appeared directly in front of Lu Yin, his saber pointed forward.
Two sabers slashed through the universe, competing against each other. The shockwaves alone caused many of the members of the second battalion to freeze in place, feeling as though countless blades had been arrayed before them, each one unstoppable.
Mu Ke grew solemn as he took one step forward, his saber raised high to attack.
Across from him, the withered yellow leaves suddenly gathered together to form a blade that slashed at Mu Ke.
A deafening clash echoed in everyone’s ears, causing many to start bleeding.
Lu Yin's expression changed. Had they found Undying God?
...
The blades clashed again and again. Mu Ke clenched the hilt of his saber, as every impact almost knocked his weapon out of his hand. He felt like it was difficult to breathe, as though something was weighing down upon him, and he felt an uncontrollable surge of bloodlust.
"Alright, alright! I haven't met an opponent like you for a very long time. It feels good to be awake, hahahaha!"
Mu Ke cocked an eyebrow, and his saber slashed upwards: Verseless.
In front of the man, the fallen leaves dissipated, only to be replaced by withered yellow hair. The hair filled the sky, and it tried to envelop Mu Ke’s attack, only to be sliced through by the saber.
"A blade that severs laws? Hahahaha."
Mu Ke suddenly took a step back, his weapon raised and pointed straight ahead.
Everyone watched as Undying God revealed himself. His withered yellow hair had been shorn off, and he had a nondescript face, though his expression belied his great excitement as he stared at Mu Ke. A fanatical light filled the Skygod’s eyes. This person looked and behaved completely different from Undying God’s typical appearance.
Lu Yin has seen Undying God in this state on more than one occasion. This was Undying God when he was fully conscious and had a weapon in his hand. This was Wu Xing.
Finally, they had found another member of the Seven Skygods.
Undying God lifted his head to stare at Mu Ke. "Your bladework is rather impressive, and the law that you wield is powerful. Let's fight, hahahaha!"
Mu Ke frowned. He felt a great deal of pressure from Undying God. This was the true power of one of the Seven Skygods. During the attack on the Tea Ceremony, the Seven Skygods had been suppressed as they were shunned by the Cyclic Universe, and even then, Mu Ke had struggled to deal with Corpse God. However, at the current moment, Corpse God was not shunned, as they were in an average universe.
Even so, Mu Ke had been waiting for a battle like this for a very long time.
He had not broken through in his saber skills in a very long time.