Chapter 2911: Skip
Without wasting any time, Mu Ke raised his saber and attacked Undying God again. A smile appeared on the Skygod’s face. At the same time, withered yellow strands grew from his arms, spreading out to eventually form a withered yellow saber that slashed at Mu Ke.
Everyone held their breath as they watched the greatest duel of sabers possible in the current era.
Everyone was dumbfounded by the sheer saber mastery the two opponents displayed. Every slash and attack appeared perfectly ordinary, yet contained unimaginable power. Every twist and move of the blades proceeded smoothly. Even if a series of movements was broken, the very next shift would compensate for that. The blades seemed to rove about randomly, yet they shook the stars and caused the universe to tremble.
Everyone's eyes were filled with the light of blade qi, as it felt like there was nothing else in sight aside from blade qi.
Lu Yin watched carefully. Senior Brother Mu Ke used his saber in an overly casual manner, but the more at ease the Arborean seemed, the greater his ability to counter Undying God’s attacks.
Each swing of Undying God’s blade appeared perfectly unexceptional, but his mastery had already surpassed the weapon in his hand. Undying God no longer needed the saber, as he could freely attack with or without it—the saber changed nothing.
With each collision, Undying God excitedly fought back, while Mu Ke’s expression grew increasingly solemn. Eighteen, nineteen, twenty-seven, thirty-two. They were clearly engaged in a duel with their blades, but Undying God had already struck the back of Mu Ke’s saber thirty-two times. The Skygod was deliberately striking the back of the weapon. Mu Ke had not sensed anything about this at first, but as the number of blows increased, Mu Ke found that the casualness in his weapon’s movements started to grow increasingly uncontrollable. The blade would randomly feel heavier or lighter, and he could not predict the changes.
Across from Mu Ke, Undying God's withered yellow long blade slashed across horizontally. Mu Ke’s weapon rose to block the attack, and while there was a bang from the impact, the saber that should have blocked the attack had missed the mark by a hair’s breadth.
Mu Ke retreated, blood dripping from his neck.
Lu Yin's expression changed. "Daheng, attack."
Mr. Daheng was terrified, though he knew that he needed to join the battle. He was the only other sequence powerhouse present in the second battalion, which meant that he was the only person capable of getting involved in this battle against Undying God.
Mu Ke touched his neck. "I find your skill with the blade impressive."
Undying God casually waved the comment away with a hand as drops of blood fell from his withered blade. "I have been the guardian of the Sword Monument for countless years, and I’ve observed too many different weapon techniques. Aside from those who possess Heaven’s Sight, no one else can be my opponent. You can't compare to me. Your blade moves about casually, proving that your mastery has reached the pinnacle, but the more perfect your control is, the easier it is for me to destroy you with that same control. Hehe, I could actually guide you, but unfortunately, you will die here today."
Mu Ke raised his head. "I won't die. You can't kill me."
"Really? Why not?" Undying God looked past Mu Ke to focus on Mr. Daheng. "Just because of him?"
As he spoke, his yellow hair continued to spread out, until the entire region of the universe had taken on a dark-yellow hue, looking like it was decaying and withering.
Through Heaven’s Sight, Lu Yin could clearly see that Undying God’s sequence particles were surging crazily. This was no longer a competition of skill with the blade.
Undying God had received Wu Tian’s inheritance. It was no boast to claim that no one could compare to him when it came to weapon skills. Lu Yin’s senior brother had already lost, but that was only when it came to saber skills. If Undying God wanted to suppress and kill Mu Ke, he had to first break through the law of the universe he wielded, as well as Mu Ke’s innate gift.
Mr. Daheng raised a hand, slicing through the void. It was the Law of Lightness, and it removed all weight before the Arborean. That difference caused the void to squeeze in from both sides due to the difference in weight. All together, it appeared like the slash of a blade.
Undying God did not move at all as the attack launched through the laws of the universe passed through him without producing the slightest bit of damage.
All the while, withered yellow hair twisted around Mr. Daheng and Mu Ke like an evil ghost.
Mr. Daheng was frightened, and he used his own sequence particles to counter Undying God’s.
Mu Ke stepped past the hair, quickly approaching Undying God. A blade sliced at the Skygod’s head, cutting through all of his sequence particles.
Undying God’s body grew illusory, and Mu Ke’s attacks passed straight through his opponent without leaving the slightest injury.
As Mu Ke passed by Undying God, the Skygod used Inverse Step to create a region of chaotic time and space, and the withered yellow hair struck at Mu Ke’s back.
Before the hair could make contact, Lightstream flickered, and time was reversed by a second. Mu Ke broke free from the hair and spun around, slashing his saber.
Undying God raised a hand, using a finger to unleash his blade skills. There was a bang as Mu Ke’s attack was blocked.
A mouthful of blood was spat out, and then Undying God's body grew illusory once more.
Lu Yin was caught off guard. His senior brother had not injured the Skygod. These were old wounds, most likely left behind after the battle that the Great Sovereign and Ancestor Lu Yuan had participated in.
They had to deal with Undying God at this time.
Undying God looked over at Lu Yin and gave a vicious smile. "No one can overcome my innate gift!"
Lu Yin's eyes flashed as he raised a hand. Extremes Must Be Reversed.
Undying God cackled. "I have the power of withering, as did Ku Jie, but my withering drags people to death, while his withering grants vitality to reappear. How disgusting!
"We are shunned in the Origin Universe, which is why I was trapped by the Python Ancestor. Only then were you able to recklessly attack me. Do you really think that you can overcome my innate gift with that half-baked version of Extremes Must Be Reversed?"
Lu Yin’s hand froze. It was true that his Extremes Must Be Reversed would not be enough to defeat Undying God.
Mu Ke and Mr. Daheng both attacked Undying God with the laws of the universe, but the Skygod’s Drifting innate gift allowed him to remain unharmed.
"If no one can break your innate gift aside from Progenitor Ku, then how were you injured?" Lu Yin shot back. "I actually thought that your power was invincible, but you’re nothing more than the boy who betrayed Wu Tian."
Undying God let out another raucous laugh. "Betrayed? That's not true. I'm not from your Origin Universe."
Lu Yin was caught off guard. "What was that?"
Undying God’s eyes abruptly snapped up, and he took a step forward before charging straight for Lu Yin.
Mu Ke’s expression changed.
"Attack!" Mu Xie pushed his ?arīra out.
Wang Jian and Xia Qin both attacked as well.
Mr. Daheng saw that Undying God was trying to kill Lu Yin, and he also moved to stop the Skygod. This was not an attempt to save Lu Yin, but rather an attempt to keep the Peaks and Rivers Rock from disappearing. If Undying God obtained that stone, Mr. Daheng would have no chance of ever getting it back.
Undying God appeared directly in front of Lu Yin, accompanied by what felt like the end of the world. It was as if the universe itself was withering. Lu Yin could almost hear endless wails and smell the cloying scent of death.
He took a deep breath and then released his own universe from his heart.
At that instant, Lu Yin’s universe repelled the universe that they were fighting in, and the shell of the Hollow surrounded him. Undying God was pushed back by Lu Yin’s universe.
At the same time, Lu Yin also attacked, using Extremes Must Be Reversed.
Undying God’s expression changed drastically. What was this?
He stepped back, but the Hollow still swept over him at the same time that Lu Yin’s Extremes Must Be Reversed struck. If Undying God used his innate gift of Drifting, he would be struck by Extremes Must Be Reversed, but if he did not, he would be struck by the Hollow. Even worse, the man feared that Lu Yin was only pretending to use Extremes Must Be Reversed and that his true goal was to force the Skygod into the Hollow.
It was the same situation that had played out before in the Perennial World, where Lu Yin had used Extremes Must Be Reversed in conjunction with his slipper. It had become a game of who could correctly guess what the other would do.
Undying God could not afford to gamble, which meant that there was no other option. He had but one choice. Regardless of whether Lu Yin was really using Extremes Must Be Reversed, Undying God had to use his innate gift, as he would be devoured by the Hollow otherwise.
The Hollow passed by, and Undying God vomited blood. Half of his body was struck by the Hollow, and it broke. At the same time that he suffered from the Hollow, Extremes Must Be Reversed shattered his innate gift of Drifting.
Upon seeing Undying God vomiting blood and trying to flee, Lu Yin's eyes flared. "Ancestor, now!"
Lu Tianyi appeared from the void, his hand raised. A Hidden Needle shot at Undying God, and the Law of Undoing caused the Skygod to let out a howl.
Just exposing the Seven Skygods’ hiding spots on the Endless Frontier was not enough, as it would be extremely difficult for the two battalions to prevent any of the Skygods from escaping. Shaman God had almost escaped even when it was on the verge of death. It was impossible to even imagine what the Seven Skygods were capable of doing to stay alive.
Lu Yin’s only option had been to use himself as bait. If the Seven Skygods wanted to kill him, Lu Yin would lash out by releasing the universe from within his body, using the Hollow to counterattack. With this opening, Ancestor Tianyi would then launch a sneak attack, which was their best chance of eliminating one of the Seven Skygods.
Lu Yin still wondered how Luo Shan had done it. Even the Seven Skygods were injured when they made contact with the Hollow, and yet Luo Shan was able to escape by entering the Hollow entirely.
Lu Tianyi’s Law of Undoing slammed into Undying God.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Mu Ke, Mr. Daheng, and Lu Tianyi all attacked again. Undying God’s head fell, and his excited expression vanished. Once again, he had become Undying God, who only wanted to sleep, too lazy to even want to move. "Child of the Lu family, have you really mastered Inverse Step?"
Lu Yin's eye twitched. Inverse Step? Time?
Undying God picked up a foot and took a step forward. An illusion of his body appeared, and as everyone watched in disbelief, the shattered half of the Skygod’s body recovered; instead, the illusory figure shattered.
No one could believe what they were seeing.
Ancestor Tianyi’s expression changed drastically. “This is bad.”
Undying God stared at Lu Yin. "I'm so sleepy right now, but we’ll meet again."
He took another step and vanished entirely.
Every attack from Ancestor Tianyi and everyone else did nothing at all.
Lu Yin stared blankly as Undying God disappeared. He was not thinking of Undying God, but rather of Bai Xian'er.
What Undying God had just done looked incredibly familiar, as Lu Yin had seen it before. On the day that the Lu family was exiled, illusory figures had emerged from Bai Xian'er's body. One had gone to stop Lu Tianyi, while another had gone to kill the Seven Heroes. Were the two actions really the same? If not, then why were they so similar?
Was this the true extent of Inverse Step’s capabilities? Clearly, the power of time was being used, but how could it have such an effect?
Undying God had forced his way out and escaped from three sequence powerhouses: Lu Tianyi, Mu Ke, and Mr. Daheng. While the Skygod had been severely injured, as long as he was not killed, he would eventually return one day.
Even so, Undying God’s escape method left everyone speechless.
The more that people understood the battle they had just witnessed, the more shocked they were.
While Lu Yin could reverse time with Lightstream, he could not actually control time, not even with Inverse Step, like Undying God had suggested. Was it really possible to control time with Inverse Step?
It seemed that Lu Yin had only skimmed the surface of what Inverse Step was capable of doing.
"Ancestor, what just happened?" Lu Yin had to ask. He was very uneasy about Undying God’s escape, as he had never seen such a method before.
Lu Tianyi's expression was as serious as it had ever been. "If my guess is correct, he just skipped time."
Lu Yin grew confused. Skipped time?
Mu Ke spoke up in a low voice. "Time is not static. It can be found, reversed, and also skipped. Undying God's mastery of the power of time is terrifying."
"How does what he just did compare to Origin Tracer?" Lu Yin asked.
Mu Ke’s eyes flashed. "The two are different means of accomplishing things. They both use the power of time, but Origin Tracer searches through time, while Undying God skipped a period of time. If we could find the moment of time that he skipped, he would be forced to endure all of the damage that he just avoided.”
While Mu Ke’s explanation was not particularly clear, Lu Yin understood that Origin Tracer denied what had happened at a moment in time, making it so that the events had never occurred. On the other hand, Undying God did not deny the events, but rather denied a moment of time. He skipped over that moment in time.