Published at 25th of June 2026 7:11 am

Chapter 4354: Manifest City

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

As for Che, Lu Yin naturally did not trust him. That was why, like when he had left to join Obscuras war, he first went to the Human Trio to find Master Qing Cao.

The man stared at Lu Yin blankly. "What now?"

"Accompany this junior somewhere."

"You should find someone else."

"You are the most suitable, Senior." Master Qing Cao had once framed Mi Jin, but he had done so to protect the Spirit Nidus. At present, keeping Lu Yin safe was the best protection that he could do to protect that megaverse.

There were times when ones life did not need to be entrusted to someone trustworthy. Mutual interests could also work, as they were often even more reliable than promises.

Master Qing Cao helplessly asked, "Can I not go? I also need to cultivate. There are many juniors here in the Spirit Nidus waiting for me to teach them."

"Senior, please." Lu Yin took out a Zenith Mountain.

Master Qing Cao shook his head bitterly and entered. Since becoming an Immortal, he had never encountered anyone like Lu Yin, who would purposely force others into difficult situations.

Which Immortal did not possess the bearing of a true expert? This boy had cultivated for an extremely short time, yet he displayed no grace whatsoever.

Next was Kang Tian. There was no need for a conversation with the snail, which immediately entered the Zenith Mountain. It knew that it had no room to refuse.

Lu Yin thought that was still not enough. Right, Ba Yue. Since the womans now here in the Trio, she cant do nothing, right?

He then went to find Ba Yue and told her to follow him somewhere, but she refused. "I am not going."

Lu Yin took out a Zenith Mountain. "Just get in on your own. Dont force me to do it."

Ba Yue was furious. "You have no right to restrict my freedom!"

"Wrong. Im taking you into the Aevum Inch, which is giving you freedom."

"I said I am not going."

Lu Yin reached out to grab the woman. Ba Yue had never actually fought Lu Yin, but during his time in Crimson Starshade, she had watched him overpower Bing Xu and even escape from right beneath Hong Xias nose. She knew that she was not his match, but even so, she needed to defend her dignity.

Before long, Ba Yue was fuming within a Zenith Mountain. She looked upward, wanting to curse aloud but was overcome with a sense of helplessness. She had been far too powerless. How could an Aberrant be so strong? Lu Yins power was beyond frightening.

With three Immortals, he finally felt safe. Even if Che risked breaking Obscuras rules to attack Lu Yin, attacking three Immortals would cause his karmic chain to increase drastically. The price would be enough to make him hesitate.

Lu Yin teleported repeatedly. Ches coordinates were for a rather distant location, and it took Lu Yin dozens of teleports to reach it.

He stared at the enormous city spread across the cosmos before him. Was this Void Mountain? Furball had said that Che was the master of Void Mountain, but it was clearly just a city in front of Lu Yin.

At this moment, the void twisted, and someone stepped out.

As Lu Yin looked at the newcomer, memories were roused. He had met Che for the first time in the Consciousness Megaverse, where the Immortal had offered a bit of guidance. Che was the second Immortal that Lu Yin had ever encountered, and at the time, Lu Yin had had no idea that the gap between Immortals could be so vast.

If Master Qing Cao fought Che, he would probably be erased with a wave of Ches hand.

Che looked at Lu Yin and smiled. His black and white robe gave off an aura that felt both righteous and wicked. He looked at Lu Yin and nodded. "You are here. Its been a long time, Lu Yin."

Lu Yin observed the Immortal. "It really has been. The last time we met was in the Consciousness Megaverse, which was more than a thousand years ago."

"Yes. More than a thousand years. For you, that is long, but for me, it is merely a blink."

"I wanted to thank you for giving Emperor Slayer the power to protect himself. He used that power to protect my megaverse."

"Emperor Slayer?"

Lu Yin drew a picture of the beast in space. Seeing it, Che smiled. "So you mean that one. A very polite child, humble and honest. I quite like him."

Emperor Slayer? Humble? Honest? Lu Yin found the description strange, but after thinking about it, it sounded quite reasonable. Who would dare to be anything but humble and honest in front of you?

Lu Yin asked, "What are you giving me?"

Che pointed at the enormous city ahead. "This is it: Manifest City."

Lu Yins pupils contracted as he stared ahead in shock. "Manifest City?"

"It seems that you know that name," Che observed with a smile.

Lu Yin stared at Che in a daze. Manifest City? From Lan Meng, Lu Yin had learned a bit about the Nine Ramparts and their nine guardian artifacts. Of those, the Fifth Ramparts defining mirebound artifact had been known as Manifest City.

He would have never imagined that the city before him was Manifest City, nor that Che intended to give him the entire Manifest City.

He stared at Che in disbelief. The man met Lu Yins gaze with a calm expression. "This was the Fifth Ramparts mirebound artifact. It now belongs to you."

Lu Yin just stared at Che. "What do you mean?"

Che clasped his hands behind his back, a smile still on his lips, though it betrayed a hint of bitterness. "There are certain things that should receive recompense. You do not need to ask anything more. Besides, Manifest City never belonged to me, but rather to your human civilization.

"For all living creatures, there is a fixed allotment. From birth to death, what they should obtain will always be obtained, and what they cannot obtain will never be acquired.

"To be frank, no one can ignore a mirebound artifact like this. Since you know about Manifest City, you should understand how powerful these mirebound artifacts are. I also hoped to control it, but unfortunately, I have failed to do so despite so many years of trying. I have no choice but to give up."

At this point, he looked at Lu Yin. "I hope that it can shine in your hands and recreate the former splendor of the Fifth Rampart."

Lu Yin stared at Che, a suspicion suddenly sprouting in his mind. "You arent human, are you?"

All along, he had believed that Che was not human. In the past, when Che had entered the Trio and greeted Green Lotus, the Greater Sancte had mentioned to Lu Yin that Che was not human, but rather a creature who had altered his appearance.

Having come to understand that Green Lotus had concealed matters related to Crimson Starshade, Lu Yin could not help but wonder if Che might also be a part of the past that Green Lotus had hidden.

Che smiled. "You are overthinking things. I am not human, and neither did I betray your civilization like Hong Xia did. All along, I never had much interaction with your human civilization. As for the Fifth Rampart, I once fought on that battlefield."

"Then what is it that you want to make up for?"

"Making amends is not to say that I was wrong. Right and wrong can only exist between members of the same specie. I am not a part of your human civilization and am simply following my heart in choosing to make amends."

Lu Yin stared intently at Che, not knowing if what he said was true or false. Lu Yin then turned to look at the city in front of him. If it was truly a great mirebound artifact, then its value was beyond excessive. What could Che be thinking to give away such a mirebound artifact so easily?

"The Fifth Rampart was also known as the world of heart techniques. The Rampart was very special, and their heart techniques were extremely powerful. Each of you humans Nine Ramparts had its own inheritance, and each had its own strength, but the one I admired the most was the Fifth Ramparts heart techniques. Heart technique: the technique opens the way forward, allowing heaven and earth to be born from the heart. The heart can contain all things.

"This Manifest City is also known as the strongest known defensive mirebound artifact. If you can control Manifest City and use it to protect your civilization, it is likely that not even Obscura can break it."

Lu Yins eyes blazed with intensity. The strongest known defensive mirebound artifact? "If its defenses are so powerful, why did the Nine Ramparts still fall?"

"The Nine Ramparts fell because of traitors, not because of their own strength."

"Hong Xia?"

"It is possible that there were more than just Hong Xia. The human heart is difficult to fathom."

Lu Yin suppressed his excitement. "You just mentioned heart technique. What is that?"

Che looked toward Manifest City. "It cannot be put into words. You must see it for yourself and experience it. I can only tell you that the Fifth Ramparts guiding principle is to carve a path forward through technique."

"Carve a path forward through technique?"

"Technique refers to heart technique. It is to inherit the essence of those who came before and create what has never existed across past and present. That is the Fifth Ramparts principle, to carve a path forward through technique.

"If you can inherit the Fifth Ramparts heart technique, your strength will certainly rise to a higher level, and it might even help you to break into the Immortal realm."

Lu Yins eyes burned with excitement, though that excitement did not overwhelm his sense of reason. No matter how enticing Ches words might sound, the premise was that this city was truly the Fifth Ramparts great mirebound artifact, Manifest City.

Che continued, "From this moment on, Manifest City is yours. Whether you are ultimately able to master it or not has nothing to do with me."

He turned back to look at the city again, his smile growing rather bitter as he did so. He had guarded Manifest City for far, far too long.

Lu Yin asked, "How do I control Manifest City?"

Ches expression grew conflicted as he continued to stare at Manifest City. "All living beings in the cosmos have their own aspect, but that aspect is something with two sides: one is the surface, and the other is internal. The surface aspect creates lies, and what is seen may not be true. Instead, the inner aspect is the most authentic, and it cannot deceive or lie. It is the most essential aspect of a creature.

"If you enter Manifest City, you will be transformed to take the appearance of your most essential aspect. As for how to control Manifest City, I do not know myself."

"You dont know?"

"If I knew, perhaps I would have already mastered Manifest City."

Lu Yin nodded. That made sense. If Che had mastered Manifest City, how could he give it away? No one could ignore such a powerful mirebound artifact. Che himself had admitted to trying to control it for many years but had failed. If not for that, it would not have stayed here for so long.

"How do I enter the city? And how do I leave?"

"You enter by pressing against the gate, and you also leave by pressing against the gate. Over the years, many creatures have entered, and almost all of them have been able to come back out. You do not need to worry too much about your safety. Of course, that is not to say that it is absolutely safe. Some creatures never came out again. Within Manifest City, all cultivation is suppressed, even the power of Immortals. Thus, whether you can leave alive also depends on luck."

"Even Immortals have their cultivation suppressed?" Lu Yin was surprised.

"If not, how could this be considered the mirebound artifact with the strongest known defenses? During the final days of the Nine Ramparts, Manifest City protected human civilization, standing alone against all of its powerful enemies in the cosmos. That glorious scene is not something that you can imagine right now. The marks on those walls may be shallow, but to leave any mark on Manifest Citys walls at all, one must be at least a peak one-law Immortal who became an Immortal through a direct breakthrough."

Lu Yin observed the walls and saw many scars on them. Had all of them been left by experts at least as strong as Mister Mu?

For this city to have stood alone against so many powerful enemies was truly exaggerated.

Lu Yin suddenly asked, "Does Obscura know that Manifest City is here?"

Che smiled. "Do not worry. Even if they know, they will not try to seize it. Obscura does not steal things that belong to Obscura members. Hui stayed within the Ninth Rampart for so long in order to obtain that Ramparts mirebound artifact. That mirebound artifact is undoubtedly there, and Obscura also knows that, but since the rules cannot be broken, only Hui could take it themself, unless their mission succeeded or failed. When it comes to such things, Obscura will never cross the line."

Lu Yin laughed. "They really do follow the rules."

Che finally said, "Manifest City is now yours. From this point on, it has nothing to do with me. Lu Yin, I truly hope that you can gain control of Manifest City and allow me to see if your current human civilization can restore the glory of the Nine Ramparts. I look forward to it."

With that, he left. Lu Yin stared at Ches back as he left. You look forward to it?

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