Now that he thought about it, Drunkard's star energy control during the Sovereign Tournament had been the only way to deal with Death Bug. Even the Reaper Transformation had not been able to hurt it.
Anyone who was targeted by this thing would be terrified.
"Kid, I'm not joking with you. Hand over Progenitor Wushang's hide," Death Bug threatened.
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. "Try me if you want to cause trouble. Even a half-step Ancestor couldn't kill me. Do you really think you can?"
"I hope you leave this battlefield alive," Death Bug said coldly.
It didn't take long for him to lose track of it, but it seemed to have left.
Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief and sat on the ground. Xu Qing's trap had been ruthless, and he had almost died. The Yu family's elders had also been unreliable. If he had known this would happen, he would have brought the Sea King along. Since the mantis was missing, the Sea King would naturally be free as well. He had only been missing the Yu family's elders.
Lu Yin had not expected that he would still be unable to catch the rabbit.
He raised his hand and activated his gadget to contact Shui Chuanxiao.
"Alliance Head, how are you?" Shui Chuanxiao asked anxiously.
Lu Yin replied, "I'm fine. How's the battlefield?"
Shui Chuanxiao was helpless. "We're still retreating."
"The mantis ambushed me, so it should have the advantage. Why is it retreating?"
"That flame mink ran away."
Lu Yin frowned. If he had known this would happen, he would have killed the mink. "This battle should be over soon. Xu Qing set up a trap for me."
"Alliance Head, you're too reckless," Shui Chuanxiao said. "I understand Xu Qing. Since he set up a trap, it usually succeeds. The flame mink's escape was just in time."
Lu Yin was apprehensive. "That person is a huge threat. Think of a way to deal with it in this battle."
Shui Chuanxiao said, "But it's also one of the few people in the Celestial Beast Empire who can use their brains. If it's dead and someone else is in command, the battle might not have ended up like this."
Lu Yin thought about it and agreed. Xu Qing and he had tacitly agreed to battle and minimized the losses on both sides, which was beneficial to the Great Eastern Alliance. If someone else had been in command, the Great Eastern Alliance's fleet would not have lasted this long.
This was not to say that Xu Qing's strategy was wrong, but rather that with the least amount of losses, he would be able to deal with the Sixth Mainland and the hidden Hall of Honor.
The smarter a person was, the more apprehensions they would have. And this apprehension was beneficial to the Great Eastern Alliance.
Lu Yin felt a headache coming on. "I'll be back soon," he said before hanging up.
Not long after, he arrived at Nanjing and met with Zhou Shan.
Zhou Shan was overjoyed. "Are you alright?"
Lu Yin nodded with a solemn expression. "Earth suffered because of me. Don't worry, this won't happen a second time."
Zhou Shan shook his head. "If it wasn't for you, Earth would have been reduced to cannon fodder a long time ago. Don't think too much about it. Everyone is grateful to you."
Lu Yin sighed. "I'll be leaving first. I'll come back when the war is over."
Zhou Shan grunted and watched him leave. "I'm sorry that I couldn't help you," he said bitterly. "We dragged you down."
Even though the danger had been resolved, Lu Yin was not optimistic. His weakness had been grasped by Xu Qing.
If Xu Qing could threaten him with Earth once, he could do it again.
The battle came to a stop, and the Great Eastern Alliance's fleet continued to retreat toward the south. Countless giant beasts roared wantonly, and countless corpses were left behind in the starry skies.
Lu Yin returned to the fleet with a solemn expression.
The fleet wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer, and it was time to call in the Innerverse's allied armies.
This was a war that involved the entire Great Eastern Alliance, and there were still many allied armies.
The problem with the allied armies could be resolved, but the biggest headache was the Emissaries, especially Shan Shen and the others. They had no intention of fighting and were constantly retreating.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Lu Yin wanted to kill an Emissary as a warning to others, but he was also worried that the Innerverse's great powers would retaliate.
He glanced at his gadget and couldn't help but contact Wei Rong. "How much longer?"
Wei Rong replied, "It'll take at least three months."
"I can't wait any longer. Hurry up," Lu Yin said. He had previously told Wei Rong that he wasn't in a hurry, but he had neglected human nature and the Astral Beast Domain's reinforcements.
He had guessed that this force would only appear after the third round of reinforcements, but he hadn't expected that the first round of reinforcements would force him to reveal all of his trump cards. He even had the spare energy to set up a trap. If he retreated any further, he would be in Frostwave Weave.
A considerable number of people from Northcastle Weave had already been arranged to evacuate to Frostwave Weave, but in such a short amount of time, there were still some who had not managed to escape.
Lu Yin's heart clenched when he thought about this.
"Alright," Wei Rong said.
Lu Yin ended the call, and just as he put down his gadget, it rang again. This time, it was Xu Qing.
"Congratulations, Alliance Master Lu. You've escaped disaster," Xu Qing said in a relaxed tone.
Lu Yin sneered. "Are you happy, Commander Xu Qing?
Two Envoys have disappeared. How will you explain this to the Celestial Beast Empire? "
"It's simple. This is why I'm looking for Alliance Master Lu. I heard that you have Progenitor Wushang's hide, so please give it to me so that I can explain it to my subordinates," Xu Qing said.
Lu Yin raised a brow. Was Death Bug really that close to Xu Qing?
So close that he had even told Xu Qing about Progenitor Wushang's hide?
No way!
"Did Death Bug tell you?" Lu Yin asked.
Xu Qing was shocked. "Death Bug knows about it too?
It seems like it's true. Alliance Master Lu is truly blessed. Progenitor Wushang's hide has always been in my Celestial Beast Empire. How did you obtain it? "
"And how did you know that I had it, Commander Xu Qing?" Lu Yin was puzzled.
Xu Qing replied, "You used Progenitor Wushang's hide to save yourself. I saw it."
Lu Yin understood. When he had been attacked by the mantis, he had used his corpse to block it and then used Progenitor Wushang's hide to stun it. This had been seen by Xu Qing, who had been watching him the entire time.
"Thank you for your concern, Commander Xu Qing. You still have the time to stare at me on the battlefield," Lu Yin mocked.
Xu Qing smiled. "Alliance Master Lu, I'll be direct. Give me Progenitor Wushang's hide, and I'll spare the people in Northcastle Weave who didn't manage to escape in time."
Lu Yin laughed. "You're using those unimportant people to threaten me?"
"Unimportant people?
If I remember correctly, the reason Alliance Master Lu joined the battle back then was to save these unimportant people, "said Xu Qing.
Lu Yin calmly replied, "That's right. It was to save them, but I can't sacrifice myself. Progenitor Wushang's hide is a Progenitor's item. Who gave you the confidence to ask me to trade it for these people's lives?"
Xu Qing wasn't sure anymore. From what he knew, Lu Yin shouldn't have handed over Progenitor Wushang's hide for these people. The universe was cruel, and who would sacrifice themselves for others?
"Then what about Earth?" Xu Qing asked.
Lu Yin's gaze turned cold. "What? You want to set up another trap for me?"
Xu Qing coldly replied, "Earth, Zenyu Star, and all of the places in the Outerverse that you care about are all conditions for exchanging Progenitor Wushang's hide. I can send Death Bug to destroy Earth and Zenyu Star first."
Lu Yin had stepped into a trap for Earth without hesitation, and this was Xu Qing's weakness.
There was no need for Lu Yin to hide this, as Xu Qing wasn't stupid.
"Death Bug is on Earth right now. Do you want to give it a try?" Xu Qing asked.
Destroying Earth was something that even an Explorer could accomplish, let alone killing Zerg.
"One year." Lu Yin's tone was low.
Xu Qing didn't understand. "What?"
Lu Yin said, "Don't start a war for one year and give up on the Outerverse. Threaten me with the lives of ordinary people, and I can give you Progenitor Wushang's hide."
"That's impossible. A year is too long. Even if I agreed, the Sovereign Emperor wouldn't agree. One month at most," Xu Qing said. "That's the most I can ask for as the commander."
"Half a year," Lu Yin insisted.
Xu Qing shook his head. "Two months at most. This isn't a trade, so you can only agree."
Lu Yin fell silent for a moment. "The trade will take place in ten days. I need to recuperate, and the trade will take place in Flaxen Weave. I'll send you the specific location when the time comes."
"Flaxen Weave?" Xu Qing was confused. "Why would the trade take place in Flaxen Weave?"
"How do I know if this isn't another trap?" Lu Yin was wary.
Xu Qing looked at his star chart. Flaxen Weave and Northcastle Weave shared a common border, so it was a good idea. "Deal."
Progenitor Wushang's hide wasn't that useful to Lu Yin. If not for the fact that the blood-red bell had shattered, he wouldn't have needed it. However, it was different for the Astral Beast Domain.
Progenitor Wushang was a Progenitor of the Astral Beast Domain, and he was a form of faith, just like Progenitor Chen was to the Human Domain.
Xia Ji had done everything he could to obtain Sirius's jade annulus because of Progenitor Chen's legacy.
However, Progenitor Wushang's hide could also be related to Progenitor Wushang's legacy.
The monkey had once said that he could use Progenitor Wushang's hide to find Progenitor Wushang's tomb. Lu Yin hadn't believed it in the past, and he still didn't believe it now. However, that didn't stop the Astral Beast Domain from believing it.
Xu Qing agreed to the trade, as Progenitor Wushang's hide was extremely important to him.
After ending the call with Xu Qing, Lu Yin opened his gadget and searched for Qing Hua's contact information.
"Alliance Master Lu," Qing Hua said.
Lu Yin's gaze turned cold. "Senior Qing Hua, how have you been?"
Qing Hua replied lazily, "Not too good. After all, he's from the Secret Progenitor Realm."
Secret Progenitor had betrayed the humans, and even the Sixth Mainland had investigated the Secret Progenitor Realm. Even Qing Hua, a Heavenly Imprinter, had not been able to escape, and he had been stripped of his position as one of the Four Sovereigns.
When Lu Yin found out about this, his first thought was that the Four Sovereigns were gone.
Of the Sixth Mainland's Four Sovereigns, Old Man Cangqiong was dead, Mister Guansheng was trapped in Burial Garden, and the remaining two were both from the Secret Progenitor Realm. One was Qing Hua, and the other was the Medicine Immortal. Since Qing Hua had been stripped of his position as one of the Four Sovereigns, the Medicine Immortal should be no exception.
The Sixth Mainland had been at its peak, and the Four Ten Elders had caused the Fifth Mainland to tremble. Now, it had completely declined.
"Since Senior is able to communicate with this junior, you must have already passed the Daosource Sect's inspection," Lu Yin said.
Qing Hua took a sip of wine. "It doesn't matter. Why are you looking for me?
Let me tell you, I can't help you with anything. I'm no longer in my position. "
Even if Qing Hua had been in his position, he wouldn't have been able to help Lu Yin with anything.
Back then, Lu Yin had thought that if he were to come clean with Qing Hua, Qing Hua would be able to deal with Old Man Cangqiong and the others in the Sixth Mainland and cause some trouble. At the very least, he would be able to slow them down. However, he hadn't expected Qing Hua to be completely useless. Qing Hua was just like his image: lazy, drunk, and idle.