Chapter 2432: Willing To Be Conferred  

Since another direct descendant of the Lu family had appeared, Mu Xie was looking forward to seeing how many Progenitors Lu Yin would eventually confer into his own Investiture of the Gods. It was possible that Lu Yin would eventually become the same sort of ultimate deterrent that Lu Tianyi had once been to protect humanity from their fiercest enemies.

"Mu Xie, are you willing to be conferred?" Lu Yin's voice was noticeably deeper than usual. As he spoke, there was an air of sanctity and grandeur that commanded respect even from Mu Xie.

"I am willing."

Suddenly, the golden light converged into a beam that enveloped Mu Xie's entire body. Within that beam, both light and darkness existed, and a silhouette of darkness took form and headed toward the Investiture of the Gods.

The process to confer Mu Xie into his Investiture of the Gods would be completed as soon as the figure entered the scroll. After that, Lu Yin would be able to borrow Mu Xie’s strength by using the Investiture of the Gods.

This was what it meant to confer a Progenitor.

Mu Xie took a deep breath as he watched the silhouette make its way towards the scroll. From this moment forward, Lu Yin's power would undergo an exponential increase, as he would be capable of facing a Progenitor with his own strength. He would no longer need to rely on items or external aides.

Mu Xie was quite clear about his own level of strength. With him being conferred into Lu Yin’s Investiture of the Gods, the youth would no longer need to fear any of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas in a direct battle.

Pu!

Lu Yin suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, and at the same time, the golden light from the Investiture of the Gods vanished.

A look of alarm instantly appeared on Mu Xie's face, and he instantly appeared at Lu Yin's side and supported the young man.

Lu Yin's face had become as white as a sheet, and his body was racked with uncontrollable convulsions. He tasted blood in his mouth, his thoughts were in disarray, his vision was blurry, and his hearing was impaired.

The process of conferring a Progenitor had been unsuccessful. He had failed.

Lu Yin knew that he had been simply trying his luck. Based on the Lu family’s records, a person had to at least be a Semi-Progenitor to successfully confer a Progenitor into their Investiture of the Gods, but during his stellular tribulation, Lu Yin had discovered that his father, Lu Qi, had apparently succeeded in conferring a Progenitor as just a peak Envoy. There was absolutely no precedent of anyone succeeding with an even lower cultivation.

For Lu Yin, trying to confer a Progenitor as a six-tribulation Envoy was essentially the same as trying to anoint a Semi-Progenitor champion as a one-tribulation Envoy. The gap in realms was simply too great, and that was what had induced such severe backlash.

He had failed to anoint a Semi-Progenitor as a champion in the past, and he had just failed to confer his first god as well.

After a long while, his spasms went away, and then his hearing gradually returned.

"Junior Brother, can you hear me now?" Mu Xie asked.

Lu Yin nodded. He looked down at his hands and saw that the blood dripping from his nose had pooled in his hands. Red stained his vision.

Trying to confer a Progenitor into an Investiture of the Gods while the master was not themselves a Progenitor was no small matter. The agony that Lu Yin had to endure had been far worse than when he had failed to anoint a Semi-Progenitor champion. It was painful beyond anything he had ever experienced before; it was different from both the pain that he had suffered during his stellular tribulation and the agony that he had endured to master Wielder-realm battle force.

"It seems that you will need to rest for some time. I believe that it really is impossible to confer a Progenitor as a mere six-tribulation Envoy after all." Mu Xie sighed.

Lu Yin smiled bitterly. "I guess that it was just wishful thinking. Still, I'm sure I'll be able to confer a Progenitor after becoming a seven-tribulation Envoy."

"Not necessarily," Mu Xie countered.

Lu Yin gave him a puzzled look.

Mu Xie explained, "When it comes to conferring a Progenitor, the strength of both the master of the Investiture of the Gods and the targeted Progenitor needs to be taken into account. The fact that Senior Tianyi was able to confer all the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas doesn’t necessarily mean that he was stronger than all of them—it just means that there wasn’t too great a difference in their strength. If he had instead tried to confer one of the Three Realms Six Daos, or the Origin Progenitor, do you think he would have succeeded?"

Lu Yin felt that he understood. "So Senior Brother, are you saying that the difference between your strength and mine is too large?"Mu Xie straightened up and clasped his hands behind his back. "Rather, it's that the gap between Progenitor Wen's strength and my own is too vast."

There was an unmistakable arrogance in Mu Xie's voice. Mu Xie believed that he had far surpassed Progenitor Wen.

Progenitor Wen's Progenitor's world had been able to knock Lu Yin about like a rag doll, but there were still drastic differences between different Progenitors. Progenitor Wen’s strength was comparable to the Sixth Mainland's three Progenitors. However, Mu Xie's strength was high enough for him to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

One could never compare the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas to ordinary Progenitors.

Lu Yin slowly processed what Mu Xie had said. The fact that Mu Xie was Lu Yin’s senior brother meant that he had also received Mister Mu’s acknowledgement, which meant that Mu Xie was someone with immense talent and incredible potential.

How much had Lu Yin had to go through to earn Mister Mu's acknowledgement? Even with his numerous fateful encounters, he had only barely managed to pull it off. The fact that Mu Xie had also successfully earned Mister Mu’s acknowledgement meant that his luck and talent were at least on par with Lu Yin’s own. Furthermore, as Qing Ping had once mentioned, Mister Mu’s disciples needed to be Envoys who could fight Semi-Progenitors and Semi-Progenitor who could fight against Progenitors.

Trying to confer Lu Yin’s Senior Brother Mu Xie was not nearly as simple as a six-tribulation Envoy attempting to confer a Progenitor. Given the difference in their cultivation and strength, it was essentially the same as a newly ascended Envoy trying to confer a normal Progenitor.

Lu Yin sighed. He had truly bitten off more than he could chew this time.

If he had known about this earlier, he would have chosen to confer another Progenitor. But who would be willing? Mu Xie was the only one, and there was no need for him to seal the Progenitor of Bloodlines.

Mu Xie seemed to read Lu Yin's mind. "It's possible that no Progenitor from the Fifth Mainland will consent to be conferred into your Investiture of the Gods, but I have no doubt that you will find a way to confer someone from the Perennial World. Alright, I’ll be going now."

Lu Yin nodded. "Many thanks, Senior Brother."

After Mu Xie left, Lu Yin let out a long sigh and brought out his die. Barely any time had passed since his stellular tribulation, and while he had been fully healed by absorbing the stellular energy afterwards, he had just received even worse injuries.

The die stopped on three pips: Enhance. He shook his head. Again. This time, it stopped on one pip: Pilfer. It had only been a few days since he last rolled the die, which meant that he needed to wait ten days before he could roll it again.

Ten days later, Lu Yin finally rolled a four: Timestop. He entered the Timestop Space and began recovering from the injuries that he had suffered due to the backlash from the failed conferment attempt.

One second later, he reappeared. However, he was already fully healed. He began making his way back to the Heavens Sect.

With the New World reclaimed for humanity, it was time to erase all the Aeternals from the Starfall Sea.

Just a few days after returning to the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin left again, this time for the Starfall Sea. About halfway there, he ran into Hai Feng, Hai Dashao, Hai Qiqi, and Elder He.

They all offered respectful bows as Lu Yin approached.

Although only a few decades had passed, things were no longer the same between them and Lu Yin. The Fifth Mainland as a whole had experienced substantial changes, and Hai Dashao found that he had to lower his head in front of Lu Yin now.

"Are you returning from the Starfall Sea?" Lu Yin asked.

Hai Feng replied, "We just executed Yang Yi and are preparing to return to the Outerverse."

Lu Yin was taken aback. "You executed Yang Yi?"

Hai Qiqi tightened her fists. "Yang Yi betrayed humanity. Of course we executed him."

Lu Yin turned to her.

She wanted to continue, but she held her tongue as soon as Lu Yin's eyes landed on her. Surprisingly, she picked up on the hint that this was not the right time for her to speak her mind.

"Didn't I deliver Yang Yi to the Progenitor of Bloodlines? He betrayed the Sixth Mainland, so why were you all involved in his execution?" Lu Yin asked.

Elder He politely replied, "Senior Progenitor of Bloodlines invited us to participate in the execution. That Aeternus Kingdom was built on the ruins of what was once our Sea King's Dome. He’s the reason why our home has been lost forever. That's why…"Lu Yin nodded. "I see. Congratulations on getting revenge."

The group bowed once again. "Many thanks for your blessing, Dao Chosen."

Lu Yin waved them off, and the group proceeded towards the Outerverse.

Hai Qiqi turned around and shot a fleeting glance at Lu Yin. They had once gone through hell and high water together, but at this moment, it felt like a great distance had opened up between them. Lu Yin had changed so much.

Suddenly, Lu Yin smiled at Hai Qiqi, and at that moment, it was as if nothing at all had ever changed.

Hai Qiqi's eyes lit up. She blinked and mouthed a few words.

Lu Yin was left speechless. The words she mouthed were, 'You're still as ugly as ever.' This girl's tongue was as poisonous as ever. It even evoked a sense of nostalgia in Lu Yin.

Just as he was about to continue on his way towards the Starfall Sea, his wireless jincan vibrated, and Lu Yin answered.

"This is Liu Tianmu."

Lu Yin found it strange. Why would Liu Tianmu contact him? "What is it?"

"Liu Hao asked me to pass this information along to you: Liu Yue is dead."

Lu Yin did not react for a moment. Then his expression started to change. "What did you just say? Liu Yue? The Liu family’s Progenitor?"

The question shocked Liu Tianmu. "Is Liu Yue the Liu family’s Progenitor?"

"What did Liu Hao tell you?" Lu Yin asked hastily. He had a bad feeling.

Liu Tianmu replied, "Liu Hao told me to inform you that the four ruling powers suddenly attacked Liu Yue. Liu Yue managed to save Liu Hao's life, but many are still hunting for him. Prior to his death, Liu Yue said that the four ruling powers are confident of their success. He also disclosed the location of the Sword Monument."

Lu Yin's expression grew dark. Liu Yue, Progenitor Liu, had fought against Undying God alongside Lu Yin. The old man had mastered the sword and been a very experienced fighter. Despite that, he had died without a sound.

Lu Yin immediately tried to call his senior brother, Mu Xie, but he could not get through.

He next tried Progenitor Smoke, who answered quickly. "You got the news already? That's fast."action

Lu Yin replied, "Is Progenitor Liu Yue really dead?"

Progenitor Smoke paused for a moment. "Yes."

"Why?" Lu Yin could not understand. It had barely been more than a dozen days since he had left the Perennial World, so how could a Progenitor have died in such a short span of time? Liu Yue had not been a master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, but he had still been a powerful Progenitor. How could he have died so suddenly? Also, what had given the four ruling powers the confidence to kill a Progenitor so decisively? Were they no longer concerned about losing one of the protectors of the seven planets in the Outer Realm or a possible fight breaking out against the Nong family and Specter Abyss?

"It all happened too quickly. For some unknown reason, Liu Yue left Broken Star and returned to visit his Liu family. At that time, Bai Wangyuan and the other three ambushed him. Forget Liu Yue—even I couldn’t survive a united attack from two masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, not to mention Xia Shenji and Progenitor Long. Liu Yue died so quickly that no one could even react quickly enough to save him," Progenitor Smoke replied.

"What excuse did the four ruling powers offer for the attack? Also, how is my senior brother doing?" Lu Yin asked.

Progenitor Smoke rubbed her temples as she answered, "Relationships between ordinary cultivators can get complicated, but things are much worse for Progenitors. The Lu family used to reign over the entire Fifth Mainland, and part of that was to prevent conflicts between Progenitors by directing them towards Aeternus. But now that both the Lu family and Aeternus are gone, internal conflicts have broken out between humanity’s Progenitors."

Lu Yin understood the reasoning behind this, but he still had not expected internal conflicts to erupt so quickly, let alone result in the death of a Progenitor.

"Mu Xie went to the Celestial Frost Sect in the Higher Realm to talk to Bai Wangyuan. The four ruling powers have announced that Liu Yue betrayed humanity and that he was rightfully sentenced to death. The Nong family and Specter Abyss’s Progenitors have gone there as well. Right now, the Outer Realm is in complete chaos," Progenitor Smoke explained.

"What about you, Senior? Are you going to go as well?" Lu Yin asked.

Progenitor Smoke remained calm. "Their feuds are none of my concern. Mu Xie represents Humility's Gate, Progenitor Nong and Specter Progenitor both represent their own powers, but I represent no one."

Lu Yin kept silent. He could not criticize Progenitor Smoke's decision. No one could force her to lend support to any particular side.

If Aeternus was still around, she could restrain both sides by forcing them to focus on the bigger picture, but without Aeternus, she had no reason to interfere in such matters. Was it wrong for Lu Yin to have chased Aeternus away? Of course not. The problem was human emotions.