Chapter 2442: Confronting Destiny
Mr. Yu’s behavior was so detestable that even the members of the four ruling powers could not stand him. On the other hand, the God of Food had spent years running Hope Restaurant, selflessly helping others. As a result, even the four ruling powers held the man in high regard. Many individuals had benefited from his generosity, and thus they did not wish for him to meet a tragic end.
However, the God of Food refused to give in. This was his only chance at a proper fight, and it was clear that the eye was Mr. Yu's last resort. As long as the God of Food could avoid the Progenitor-level attacks and hit the traitor even once, it would be enough.
"Master, do you know how happy junior sister was before she died? She was delighted to help me fulfill my dreams! While her death was brutal, it was simply her fate. There was no escaping it," Mr. Yu laughed.
The God of Food's body trembled, and he clutched at his chest as he vomited a mouthful of blood. He stared at Mr. Yu with eyes that were bloodshot from rage. The butcher knife in his hand had already shattered. The void in front of him vanished and then reappeared. The phenomena brushed past the man’s shoulder, instantly fracturing the bone, and the man’s entire body started to break apart.
Lu Yin stepped forward. "It's time to end this."
He waved his hand, and the jiao appeared with a deafening roar. The strength and pressure of a Progenitor swept across the entire Yinshan District, causing everyone to look up in shock.
Mr. Yu and the God of Food both froze in the middle of their attacks to look at the jiao.
Ce Donglai and the others breathed sighs of relief. Lu Yin had arrived. The God of Food would be safe, even if one of the four ruling powers’ Progenitors tried to intervene.
Mr. Yu's expression grew gloomy. He had not expected this person to return after three years.
The God of Food watched as the jiao's massive body blotted out the sky. He closed his eyes, bitterness covering his face.
Standing atop the jiao’s head, Lu Yin looked at Bai Xian'er. Her expression was still calm, and there was even a faint smile on her face.
Did she really have that much faith in Destiny?
Lu Yin turned to the God of Food and said, "Senior, it's time to put an end to this. You can seek your revenge again in the future."
At this moment, Bai Wangyuan and the others were standing guard in the Dominion Realm in case Aeternus made an unexpected appearance.
"Lu Xiaoxuan has returned yet again. He promised not to enter the Perennial World until the Fifth Mainland’s stellular energy has been deal with. This kid is flagrantly disregarding our agreement," Progenitor Long said with a disapproving tone.
Bai Wangyuan looked down. "Let's just wait a bit longer. We missed our opportunity three years ago, and it will take some more time before another one arrives. There are also issues regarding Xia Shenji to consider."
Progenitor Long’s brow furrowed. "Mr. Yu cannot be killed by him."
He left the Dominion Realm and descended down to the Yinshan District.
Auras clashed between Progenitor Long and the jiao, creating winds that howled across the Middle Realm.
"Lu Xiaoxuan, you have no right to interfere in this battle." Progenitor Long's voice echoed throughout the Yinshan District.
Lu Yin looked at Progenitor Long and replied, "I didn't plan to interfere, but Mr. Yu was rude to me in the past. It's time for me to settle the score."
"You're purposely being difficult!" Progenitor Long shouted.
It had always been Bai Wangyuan, Xia Shenji, or one of the others who had dealt with Lu Yin in the past, and Progenitor Long had rarely spoken to the young man. The Progenitor was finally realizing just how infuriating it was to interact with Lu Yin. He was a complete scoundrel who interrupted battles between others and then cooked up excuses to justify his actions.
Lu Yin chuckled. "Long Er, you're beyond shameless. For a Semi-Progenitor fight, you gave one of the two people a Progenitor-level power vessel. And yet, you still have the nerve to accuse others of interfering?"
Progenitor Long replied, "I gave him that power vessel when he joined my White Dragon Clan. You saw it when you visited Dragon Mountain. I did not hand it to him just for this battle."
"Then I can lend the jiao to the God of Food. I already did so three years ago," Lu Yin casually replied.
Progenitor Long was rendered speechless by Lu Yin's bullshitting abilities.The people overhearing the conversation started looking quite confused. Was this really how Progenitors spoke to each other? This was no different from a conversation between ordinary people, and the language was actually quite crude.
"Let’s resume the battle," said the God of Food. His voice sounded tired and weak, but it remained firm.
Lu Yin looked at the old man. "Senior, you won't be able to kill him."
"I know," the God of Food said. He looked up at Lu Yin, a complex expression on his face. "Thank you, Lu Yin."
Lu Yin asked, "If you know that revenge is impossible, why continue?"
The God of Food’s voice grew hoarse as he replied. "I simply can't wait any longer. Even when I thought that this traitor was dead, I was still troubled by that incident and went to Hope Restaurant to ease my mind. Ever since I learned that this traitor was still alive a few years ago, my mind has never been able to settle down again. Lu Yin, thank you. I'll be troubling you to take care of Virtue Archives in the future."
Lu Yin frowned. "Senior, I won't let this battle continue. This-"
Suddenly, a wave of indescribable horror swept him, preventing him from finishing his sentence.
He looked upwards, and his pupils constricted. It was a stellular tribulation.
"A Progenitor’s stellular tribulation?!" Progenitor Long exclaimed before fleeing without the slightest hesitation.
Everyone on the shore of the lake was momentarily stunned. As soon as they started to recover, the people there began to flee.
Cai Donglai was startled. Why had the God of Food triggered his Progenitor stellular tribulation at this moment? Did he have a death wish?
Lu Yin stared at the God of Food. "Senior, you-"
The God of Food took a deep breath. His eyes locked onto Mr. Yu, whose expression had completely changed. "Traitor, your master was the one who led you onto your current path, so now, your master will personally send you off!"
The old man’s inner world reappeared, this time taking the form of a huge table. At the same time, both he and Mr. Yu transformed into food on the table. Mr. Yu frantically tried to escape from the old man’s madness.
Unfortunately, Mr. Yu's struggle was futile. The God of Food was giving everything in this final attack, and his inner world endured the various attacks from the eye while also forcibly restraining Mr. Yu. The God of Food intended to challenge his stellular tribulation together with Mr. Yu.
Lu Yin gritted his teeth. It was already over. The stellular tribulation had started, and the black vortex continued to expand without end. Nothing could stop it at this point in time.
The jiao turned tail and fled in terror, afraid of getting pulled into the stellular tribulation.
This was a Progenitor’s stellular tribulation, the most terrifying stellular tribulation in all of cultivation. Even Progenitors would not want to be pulled in by this tribulation.
As soon as an outsider became involved in a stellular tribulation in any way, it would completely transform, depending on the strength of the outsider. No one knew what would happen if a Progenitor stellular tribulation became influenced by another person.
No wonder. So this is the so-called "mutual destruction."
An ugly expression covered Lu Yin’s face. There was nothing that he could do to stop this situation from unfolding. It had never occurred to him that he would be so helpless. He had not even considered the possibility of the God of Food triggering his stellular tribulation.
Bai Xian’er’s prediction had been completely accurate. The battle was indeed going to end in mutual destruction
Lu Yin turned to look at where Bai Xian'er had been standing earlier, but she had already left. He had lost the bet.
Was one's destiny truly irreversible? Bai Xian'er had seen the outcome of the battle, and it had become reality. That was destiny.
This was Lu Yin’s first confrontation with Destiny, and he had completely, utterly lost.
There was no possibility for Lu Yin to interfere in a stellular tribulation. As for the God of Food, there was no chance of him surviving this stellular tribulation. Even if the tribulation had not started, he had been destined to be killed by the Progenitor-level power vessel.
Lu Yin moved beyond the range of the stellular tribulation and turned back around to watch. He saw the same scene that he had experienced during his own most recent stellular tribulation: the sky-like field of destruction. During Lu Yin’s tribulation, he had overcome this particular trial with Flipping the Sky, but at this moment…
As the field of destruction spread out to encompass the entire Yinshan District, one could hear Mr. Yu’s indignant roars, as well as the hysterical laughter of the God of Food echoing from within the tribulation.This was a true Progenitor stellular tribulation. Aside from Progenitors, no one could clearly see what was happening inside.
Not even Lu Yin could see anything. He was able to rely on external aides to boost his strength to the level of a Progenitor, but if any of that power even approached the stellular tribulation, Lu Yin would be dragged in as well. At this moment, he was no different from anyone else watching, completely unable to see what was happening inside.
It was not long before the stellular tribulation dissipated.
Both the God of Food and Mr. Yu had disappeared. It was as though they had never existed.
Lu Yin stared out at the sky above the lake. This had been his first time watching someone challenge a Progenitor stellular tribulation, and it had been a failed attempt. Regardless of whether Mr. Yu had been dragged in or if the God of Food had resolved his inner demons, the difficulty of a Progenitor stellular tribulation would still be beyond imagination.
Opening the three meridian points did not ensure that one could become a Progenitor, just the same as how becoming a peak Semi-Progenitor did not mean that one would reach the Progenitor realm. The pinnacle of cultivation was impossibly difficult to reach.
The Fifth Mainland’s Lingzhi Mavis had also died when challenging her Progenitor stellular tribulation. The God of Food had similarly died during his tribulation. Who would be next?
Beside the lake, Ce Donglai, Headmaster Wen, and many others mourned their loss. Virtue Archives had been protected by the God of Food for a long time, but he was finally gone.
The God of Food had been well-regarded across the entire Perennial World, and his death left many feeling conflicting emotions. Many lamented his passing.
Others wondered if it had been worth the cost. If the God of Food had abandoned the battle, he would have survived, and then he could have sought out another opportunity to take revenge in the future. Was dying together really worth it?
Everyone who had been watching silently left one after another. Many people died during their stellular tribulations, but a Progenitor stellular tribulation remained a rare sight.
"I thought that he would be able to endure one or two trials at the very least, but he was unable to withstand even the first one," Qing Chen commented to Lu Yin from below.
Lu Yin dropped down to the ground. "How has the capture of the desiccated corpses gone?"
Qing Chen shook his head. "Most of them have been caught, but I don't know how to deal with them. Destroying them isn’t an option, but neither is simply imprisoning them. There are also corpses that are being secretly kept by people, and more and more people are learning the Corpse King Transformation, revealing it at critical moments. The technique has already spread across much of the Perennial World."
"If a technique that rivals or surpasses the Corpse King Transformation appears, it can replace it," Lu Yin commented.
Qing Chen was surprised. "What sort of technique could replace the Corpse King Transformation?"
Lu Yin lightly replied, "I was merely commenting. Maybe one day, if I destroy the four ruling powers, I can replace the Corpse King Transformation with one of their techniques."
With that, he left, leaving a completely stunned Qing Chen behind.
Lu Yin had sounded so calm when mentioning the destruction of the four ruling powers, but the implications behind his words were outrageous enough to shake all of humanity.
How would Humility's Gate respond if Lu Yin actually went to war with the four ruling powers?
That was not something that humanity should ever see.
Lu Yin left to find Bai Xian'er, who had already given him a location.
Lu Yin needed to pay up for the lost bet, which meant combining two of the Books of Destiny.
Soon, Lu Yin saw Bai Xian'er again.
"There's one more person we’re still waiting for. Ask the Wang family to let him in," Lu Yin said before contacting Skymender.
The Book of Destiny in Lu Yin’s possession had been taken from Skymender. Lu Yin had no idea how Bai Xian'er would combine the two Books of Destiny, so he naturally had to call upon someone who understood what was going on.
He had originally thought of calling Destina, but he had quickly decided against it.
Compared to Destina, Lu Yin had more control over Skymender. After all, Destina could attempt to challenge the Progenitor realm at any moment, and if she succeeded, it was hard to say how her relationship with Lu Yin would change.
Bai Xian'er did not refuse. She stood still and closed her eyes, causing the void around her to gradually grow hazy and indistinct.
Lu Yin had no interest in talking with her. He had already brought up everything that he wanted to, and since Bai Xian'er had refused to say anything before, she certainly would not suddenly be willing to talk now.action
Still, Lu Yin was tempted to try to steal her Book of Destiny, if the chance arose.
He glanced at Bai Xian'er.