Chapter 2858: Carefree And Unrestrained
The pressure disappeared, and Snack Sage was finally able to gasp for breath. He was covered with sweat. Forget Snack Sage—even if his father, Food Sage, were to face Lu Yin, the Sage would hold no advantage in physical strength.
"Jiang Xiaodao told me that Sage Jiang saw Mr. Daheng tear through the void after the battle at the Tea Ceremony and that he led the jiao away. I don't know where they went, and neither does Sage Jiang," Snack Sage stated.
Lu Yin's eyes glinted with a dangerous light. So, it was Mr. Daheng?
It was no wonder why no one knew what had happened to the jiao. No one would have paid any attention to Mr. Daheng tearing through the void after the battle and therefore would not have noticed him leading the jiao away, given that the beast had shrunken down. At that moment, everyone had been concerned about the return of the Lu family. Who had been paying attention to the jiao?
What had Mr. Daheng done to the jiao?
Lu Yin did not believe that the man had the courage to challenge Lu Yin in the current situation.
"Let me see your Infinity," Snack Sage asked eagerly.
Lu Yin grinned, and his inner world suddenly manifested. Lines of light appeared, each strand representing power. They surrounded Lu Yin, creating a beautiful yet dangerous sight.
Snack Sage stared blankly at the inner world, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. He could not sense any power, but this showed just how terrifying Lu Yin’s inner world was. The power that Lu Yin possessed was completely confined within those lines of light. How had he done it?
Snack Sage could not resist touching one of the lines, and the moment he did so, he was repulsed by a powerful force. His fingers were crushed, and he slammed against the wall, grinning and in pain.
Lu Yin smiled, and his inner world disappeared. He looked down at Snack Sage, Lu Yin’s hands were clasped behind his back. "Satisfied now?"
Snack Sage cradled his fingers, his face pale. He was clearly in agony, but he looked thrilled. "I felt an irresistible power! Strength given an alternative form. The power that we have been using was too rigid."
Lu Yin complimented the young man, "You are a Taotie, and your talent is incredible. I hope that you can improve your strength.
“Right, while you’re here, give me some of your blood."
Snack Sage felt terribly confused. "You want my blood? For what?"
"There are people from the Sixth Mainland who cultivate with Taotie blood. I can offer it to them as a reward."
Snack Sage did not know what to say. The request felt wrong, but he could not refuse. He did not seem to have the leverage to do so.
So what if his father was one of the Nine Sages? Did that grant Snack Sage the right to act arrogantly in front of Lu Yin? Not even the slightest.
The man before Snack Sage was someone bold enough to shout at the Great Sovereign herself.
Ultimately, before leaving, Snack Sage left behind so much blood that he was greatly weakened.
Lu Yin threw the Taotie blood into the Tower of the Fifth as a reward. It would be incredibly tempting to any Sixth Mainland cultivator who used the Progenitor of Bloodlines’ methods.
Previously, the only people from the Sixth Mainland who had been able to cultivate with Taotie blood had been Realmlings, but Lu Yin had just opened that door for more and more people. Taotie blood would no longer be so rare, though it was certainly not bad for improving a cultivator’s general strength.
Lu Yin recalled that the Realmling who cultivated with Taotie blood was a man named Nan Yanfei. The more he ate, the stronger he became.
Lu Yin had no idea when he would receive word from the Endless Frontier. He wanted to lead his people to the Decaying Diablo Universe, and to do that, the jiao would save him a great deal of effort. He had to get the jiao back.
Mr. Daheng? Liberation Palace.
In the past, Lu Yin had been cautious and had avoided having all contact with Mr. Daheng, but there was no longer any need for that.
He did not hesitate to visit the Arboreal Realm. Lu Yin’s senior brother was there, which meant that he had nothing to fear.
Lu Yin did not know where the Liberation Palace was located, so he went to Bureau Director Gan of the Arboreal Realm’s Bureau and asked the man to guide him there.
Bureau Director Gan was a member of the Liberation Palace, and he was surprised by Lu Yin’s visit. The director had a completely different attitude from before; he seemed far more reserved, and it was not only due to Lu Yin's identity, but also the young man’s strength.
Lu Yin was capable of fighting against Sovereign Shao Yin.
Lu Yin was only a Semi-Progenitor. If he successfully became a Progenitor, his strength would immediately reach that of the most powerful experts in the Sixverse Association.
On top of that, the Lu family was quite difficult to mess with.
"Dao Monarch Lu, if Mr. Daheng had known of your visit, he would definitely be delighted," Bureau Director Gan said with a smile.
Lu Yin smiled. "Senior Gan."
"You can just call me Gan," Bureau Director Gan said quickly. "When it comes to cultivators, those who possess strength are ranked higher, regardless of age."
Lu Yin acquiesced, "Alright, then I'll call you Director Gan."
Bureau Director Gan nodded readily.
"Some time ago, you invited me to the Arboreal Realm to help you root out spies, Director Gan. I wanted to know which spies are so difficult to make you so eager to look for outside help. During this visit to the Arboreal Realm, if I have the time, I would be happy to lend a hand. After all, spies are the enemy of all humanity."
Bureau Director Gan gave a bitter smile. "I’m not concerned about a specific spy, but rather all the spies in my universe."
Lu Yin grew curious.
"Dao Monarch Lu, you should know that my Arboreal Realm is older than all civilizations, aside from the Cyclic Universe. We even participated in the wars fought by the ancient Heavens Sect in the original Origin Universe.
"In fact, since then, Aeternus has been constantly infiltrating my Arboreal Realm. Given the number of years that have passed, countless spies have emerged, and their existence has exhausted all of us. Of those various spies, there has been more than one Arborean.”
Lu Yin was stunned. "There are spies with the strength of Progenitors?"
Bureau Director Gan nodded with a sigh. "Aeternus’s methods of infiltrating humanity are unimaginable to ordinary people. They are able to win over anyone, starting with the weak, helpless, and lonely, but they can also create grudges that lead to wars. Essentially, there’s no end to the means that they employ to develop and recruit spies, and my bureau is simply unable to handle it all. That’s why I wanted to ask Dao Monarch Lu to help us in the past. I’m confident that, since you were able to purge spies from the Voidforce Universe, you can do the same for the Arboreal Realm.
"Truthfully, there is an Aeternus Kingdom in our universe."
Lu Yin's eyes flashed. "There’s an Aeternus Kingdom here?"
Bureau Director Gan solemnly continued, "There’s no doubt about it. There are also Semi-Arborean avatars of the Seven Skygods."
Arboricums were the Arboreal Realm’s equivalent of Semi-Progenitors. Just like the Fifth Mainland, the Arboreal Realm had Semi-Progenitor avatars of the Seven Skygods.
Lu Yin stared at Bureau Director Gan. The man’s eyes were calm, and he did not flinch at all under Lu Yin’s stare.
He had originally assumed that Bureau Director Gan's invitation to visit the Arboreal Realm might be related to Mr. Daheng. While it was impossible for Mr. Daheng to have known about the connection between Chen Le and Xuan Qi, the Monarch had since joined the Heavens Sect. This had to have roused some of Mr. Daheng’s suspicions, but clearly, the man had nothing to do with the invitation that Bureau Director Gan had extended to Xuan Qi.
Lu Yin grew serious. "Director Gan, don't worry. If possible, I will definitely visit the Arboreal Realm and eliminate the spies."
Bureau Director Gan was overjoyed, and he bowed low to Lu Yin. "On behalf of my Arboreal Realm, I, Gan, offer Dao Monarch Lu my deepest thanks."
Given Lu Yin’s status as the ruler of the Origin Universe, agreeing to visit the Arboreal Realm and hunt for spies was a massive favor to Bureau Director Gan.
...
The Liberation Palace was a place for people to pursue their own freedom, unrestrained by any others. There was no stance regarding good or evil. “A thought to eternity”—this was the Liberation Palace’s motto.
Lu Yin looked out at the hills and mountains that spread across the tree trunks before him. He was surrounded by mountains. There were ancient buildings in between them, some of which were stone huts. This was the Liberation Palace.
He stared in shock. "Are you sure that's Liberation Palace?"
Bureau Director Gan smiled. "Everyone who comes here and sees the Liberation Palace for the first time is just as surprised as you, Dao Monarch Lu. However, that is indeed the Liberation Palace.
"Outsiders are deceived by the word ‘palace’ in the name, but truthfully, the name ‘Liberation Palace’ was taken from these ruins, which predate the organization. The only important part of the name is the word ‘liberation.’ That is what drew us to join the Liberation Palace. We value our freedom.
"How many people have cultivated, only to be constrained by the world around them and forced to live for others? The Liberation Palace allows us to live for ourselves. As long as one does not betray humanity itself, we can live free and carefree lives. This is the purpose of the Liberation Palace, just this and nothing else: freedom. There is no good or evil to this place. A thought to eternity.
"Other parallel universes of the Sixverse Association have many misunderstandings about my Liberation Palace, believing us to be selfish individuals, but that is simply not true. We simply wish to be free of others’ control. We are nothing more than a group of friends with similar interests who have found a place to speak freely."
Lu Yin glanced at Bureau Director Gan. This description was completely wrong. If all of this was true, then why had Mr. Daheng taken control of Chen Le? Why was he so desperate to collect the Peaks and Rivers Rocks?
The so-called Liberation Palace was portrayed as a place for people to pursue their own desires, but this was a deception for outsiders. Mr. Daheng’s true purpose was to gather the Peaks and Rivers Rocks, though Lu Yin still had no idea where the stones were from.
Had Bureau Director Gan really voluntarily joined the Liberation Palace? Could he be in the same situation as Chen Le?
"Dao Monarch Lu, please." Director Gan led the way.
Lu Yin nodded. "How many members does the Liberation Palace have?"
"People keep joining, and people keep leaving. At the moment, we have about twenty people, most of whom are cultivators from the Arboreal Realm. Five of us are Arborean. Of the peak powerhouses from the Arboreal Realm, in addition to Mr. Daheng and myself, there is also Brother Wu Heng. The other two are from parallel universes of the Endless Frontier."
Arboreans were the equivalent of Progenitors.
It was quite impressive that the Liberation Palace had managed to gather five Progenitor-level experts into a single organization.
Before the Lu family had returned and before Leng Qing and the others had broken through, the entire Heavens Sect had only possessed a handful of Progenitors, none of whom had been a sequence powerhouse like Mr. Daheng.
In comparison, the Liberation Palace’s strength surpassed that of the just-reestablished Heavens Sect.
The Arboreal Realm was filled with tree trunks, and the portion that held up the Liberation Palace was particularly massive. It was the size of a continent, and there was even a mortal empire on it.
When Lu Yin and Gan arrived at the Liberation Palace, Mr. Daheng emerged to greet Lu Yin.
"Welcome to the Liberation Palace, Dao Monarch Lu." Mr. Daheng was an elegant man with a kind face.
Lu Yin responded politely.
Mr. Daheng continued to praise Lu Yin, focusing on his recent Semi-Progenitor tribulation during the attack on the Tea Ceremony and the revelation that Lu Yin possessed four inner worlds. It was something unprecedented throughout known history.
Lu Yin also expressed his own curiosity toward the Liberation Palace that Mr. Daheng had founded.
The two spoke to each other in a very comfortable manner. They were sitting in a pavilion, and there were farmers working the fields off in the distance. Birds flew through the sky, and the sun was setting in the west. It was a quaint yet picturesque scene.
"The path of cultivation is truly difficult. I have heard of too many ordinary humans who hold great aspirations and desire to cultivate to seize control of their own fates. However, I don't know if I am even in control of my own fate. On the contrary, I find that it is easier for ordinary humans to control their own. They have no need to compete for resources, they don’t need to participate in wars, and they don’t need scheme and plot.
"Dao Monarch Lu, those farmers might have a limited lifespan, but in truth, it is unlimited.
"When a seed is planted, it sprouts and bears fruit. From that, other seeds will eventually be born. It’s an endless cycle, which means their lives are, in a sense, eternal. While we cultivators may live for a very long time, we move away from our original selves. Are we even the same people? My current self is certainly not the same as my younger self.
"We are much like those floating seeds—constantly sprouting, blooming, fruiting, scattering, and continuing the cycle."
Mr. Daheng stared out at the sunset-painted fields and sighed.