After an unknown amount of time, Hongyan Mavis had mostly recovered from her injuries, and Elder Dan Gu had long since recovered as well. Although he couldn't use the statue's power, he could still use the Heavenly Emperor Card to resist a Primordial Realm expert.
Second Life and the others had also recovered, but they couldn't leave the mirage and could only stay with Lu Yin.
One day, a golden light flashed by, and Lu Yin, Hongyan Mavis, and Elder Dan Gu hurriedly chased after it. It was the Startoad.
The toad had gone to the forbidden area, where legend had it that the path to immortality was. Hongyan Mavis didn't even know if it could make it out alive, but now it had.
Lu Yin was very curious about what the toad had gone through.
The Startoad's back was facing Lu Yin's group as it stared blankly at the river. The copper coins around its neck were scattered, and the wound left behind by the bloody figure was still bleeding.
No matter how one looked at it, the toad's condition seemed to have worsened.
Its back seemed a little bleak, as if it had suffered some kind of blow.
"Toad, are you alright?" Hongyan Mavis probed.
The toad's body swayed and leaned forward, as if it was about to fall into the river. Lu Yin subconsciously wanted to push it away.
Lu Yin, Hongyan Mavis, and Elder Dan Gu tacitly didn't warn them. Although the toad was useful, its death wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Lu Yin had wanted to kill it several times already.
Unfortunately, the toad only swayed a little and didn't fall into the river.
"Kai Hong, you're shameless."
Hongyan Mavis was stunned, and her expression turned ugly, "You're scolding me, you stupid toad?"
The toad turned around and glared at Hongyan Mavis, "So what if I'm scolding you? I haven't hit you yet."
"Come and try." Hongyan Mavis clenched her fist, shaking the void.
The toad gritted its teeth and glared at them, "There's no path to immortality in that shitty place. On the contrary …"
Lu Yin's group was curious, "On the contrary what?"
The toad's expression turned bitter, "Instead, I saw my great-grandmother who died a long time ago. She wanted me to reunite with her, saying that many elders were waiting for me. She liked me a lot."
Lu Yin blinked, what the hell?
Hongyan Mavis replied naturally, "Isn't that immortality?
Your great-grandmother is dead.
To be able to appear there and return even after death, what is it if not eternal life? "
The surface of the Star Toad's body turned into a multi-colored color. It raised its pitchfork and glared at Hongyan Mavis.
Lu Yin was on high alert. That damned toad wouldn't act out of desperation, right?
After waiting for a while, it squeezed out two words, "Shameless." After that, it turned around and ran away, disappearing without a trace.
Lu Yin gave Hongyan Mavis a strange look.
Even Great Elder Gu was looking at her strangely.
Hongyan Mavis coughed. "Don't look at me like that. It has nothing to do with me. I didn't expect things to turn out this way."
"If I knew earlier, it would mean that I tricked it. I didn't trick it, or it would affect my breakthrough to the Primordial realm."
Lu Yin thought about it and agreed. "So you're saying that fate lied to you?"
Hongyan Mavis had a headache. "I don't know either. Logically speaking, Niuniu was very obedient back then."
This was no longer a simple scam. This was clearly a scam.
The Star Toad had been severely injured, but it was still better than Hongyan Mavis. Now that Hongyan Mavis had recovered, the Star Toad's injuries had worsened because it had gone to the forbidden area. If it had encountered an enemy at this time, it would have died without even knowing how it had died.
If there was no such thing as a grudge …
There was no reason for such a deep grudge.
Logically speaking, Fate and Hongyan Mavis had followed the Primogenitor to cultivate, so there shouldn't have been any deep grudges.
Unless …
Lu Yin looked at Hongyan Mavis.
Hongyan Mavis also looked at Lu Yin. "Did you think of something?"
Lu Yin asked, "Senior, did you think of something as well?"
"I did think of something, but I don't think so."
"Let's see if we think of the same thing. You write 'maybe', and I write 'impossible'."
Both of them wrote a word on their palms and raised their hands.
Lu Yin wrote 'fake' on his palm.
Hongyan Mavis wrote 'real' on her palm.
What was real and what was fake?
Their hearts sank as they realized that the universe that they should have known so well had become so unfamiliar.
"Great Granny," the Star Toad wailed from afar.
Lu Yin sighed. It was time to leave. He could do it again anyway.
…
In the main hall of the Above Heaven, Lu Yin took a sip of the tea that Zhao Ran had brewed for him. Bai Ni and the other four stood in front of him.
The five of them kept quiet out of fear, not daring to say a word or sit down.
Lu Yin put down his teacup. "The auction went smoothly. Congratulations."
Bai Ni hurriedly bowed. "Fortunately, we had the support of the Above Heaven. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to hold the auction. The item would have disappeared before the auction even started."
Lu Yin laughed. "It has nothing to do with me. Besides, I was the one who caused the trouble in the end."
"You must be joking, Sir. That has nothing to do with you. You didn't even go to our auction," Qing Du smiled.
Bai Ni was stunned and looked at Qing Du in surprise. What did he mean?
Lu Yin had gone to the auction and attacked Second Life and the others. This was publicly known, and they weren't stupid. How could they not have seen it?
They had come this time for two reasons. First, they wanted to give the wisdom root to Lu Yin, and second, they wanted to ask for forgiveness. After all, they hadn't participated in that battle, and they hadn't thought that Lu Yin wouldn't be at the auction house from start to finish.
This idea was foreign to them. What difference did it make whether Lu Yin was there or not?
Bai Ni didn't know, and neither did Honored Master Yangjia or the Luofu King.
But why would Qing Du say this? This was clearly separating Lu Yin from the auction. Why would he do this?
Why was he so sure?
Bai Ni looked at Lu Yin and saw his faint smile. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind, and he looked at Qing Du with disbelief.
Was this all part of Lu Yin's plan?
Qing Du looked at Bai Ni. "Isn't that right, Brother Bai Ni?"
Bai Ni narrowed his eyes and looked deeply at Qing Du.
Qing Du winked at him.
Bai Ni sighed. "Yes, Master Lu has never been to the auction."
Lu Yin looked up and sized them up. "I know why you're holding the auction. Humans are ambitious. I can help you, but you have to do me a favor."
Bai Ni bowed. "Please speak, Master Lu."
Lu Yin replied, "Find someone qualified to represent you and become one of the Eight Outer Daos of the Above Heaven."
Bai Ni was stumped and put in a difficult position.
The Eight Outer Daos were not weak, and they had seen the scene of Emperor Zhaowu. Whether it was the Emperor of the Limitless Empire or Er Ji of the Disaster Expedition, none of them were easy to deal with. These people all had the strength to face off against the Second Anima.
There were too many parallel universes in the Outer Realm, and these parallel universes had no experts besides the Second Anima. Where would they find someone to join the Above Sky Sect?
Lu Yin didn't care if these universes wanted to ally with him. He wasn't that overbearing, but dealing with the Eternals was an unchanging plan. Whether or not these people joined forces, they had to participate in the war against the Eternals.
In fact, he hoped that these alien civilizations that posed no threat to him would join forces. He didn't need the Above Sky Sect to manage them, and he could mobilize experts to participate in the war with a single word. It would be a pleasant surprise if he could find someone qualified to become one of the Eight Outer Daos.
Regardless of whether or not he could find them, the Above Sky Sect had no time to worry about them.
Bai Ni and the others took their leave.
Old Zen smiled. "These fellows are all cunning. They want to see our Above Sky Sect join the parallel universes and become stronger. We even beat the Eternals until they don't dare show themselves. Dao Master, Emperor Zhaowu showed us the powerful side of humanity, but it also awakened some people's ambitions."
Lu Yin didn't care. "It's a good thing to have ambition. Only with ambition can one have the desire to improve. I'm afraid of no ambition. That's a disaster."
He raised his hand, revealing the root of wisdom that Bai Ni had given him.
He had bought the root of wisdom from the auction house at a high price, hoping to get closer to Lu Yin.
Old Zen also took out the root of wisdom that Bai Ni had given him and handed it to Lu Yin. "I've already reached the peak. Breaking through to the Progenitor realm was a pleasant surprise, and I can't take another step forward. I'll leave this root of wisdom for you, Dao Master."
Lu Yin didn't decline. "Many thanks."
Outside the Above Sky Sect, Bai Ni and the others looked at Qing Du with unkind eyes.
On the surface, it seemed that Bai Ni had been the one behind the auction, but in reality, it had been Qing Du who had suggested it. Now, it seemed that Lu Yin had obtained what he wanted through the auction, and they had to hide this fact.
The one who had truly benefited was Qing Du.
"Brother Qing Du, what benefits did Lu Yin give you?"
Bai Ni asked. "Why did you go through so much trouble to set up the auction?"
Esteemed Yanga and the others stared at Qing Du. "We also want to know."
Qing Du laughed. "Everyone, don't be angry. Lu Yin didn't give me any benefits, and he couldn't have come to me directly. It was Old Zen who came to me."
"I didn't help the Above Heaven for the sake of benefits. I just wanted to rely on them."
"Everyone, think about it. Don't look at us as powerhouses who control the life and death of countless lifeforms. We don't dare to deal with a mere Second Anima. There are too many powerful lifeforms in the universe, and who can guarantee that we won't run into them?
I just want to survive. "
"What guarantee did the Above Heaven Sect give you?" King Luofu asked coldly.
Qing Du smiled reservedly. "One life. They'll save my life this time."
Bai Ni and the others sighed in admiration. "It's a no-cost deal, but it's worth it."
Seeing their ugly expressions, Qing Du said, "Actually, as long as we're willing, we can join the Above Heaven Sect. They'll treat us the same."
Bai Ni frowned. He couldn't join the Above Heaven Sect. He had his own ideas, and the most important thing right now was to find a card that could support the Eight Outer Paths.
But where could they find such a card?
Even if they could, the Above Heaven Sect might not even bother with them.
That was troublesome. Lu Yin had been waiting for Tianen to appear, so there was no way it wouldn't know.
He didn't have to wait for long.
Looking at the giant butterfly in the sky, he walked out of the Above Heaven Sect.
"Master Lu, may I ask where Tianen is?"
Tianen's voice was as gentle as ever, but he would never forget that she had killed the Desolate Ancestor. If not for her, he wouldn't have gone into hibernation.