Published at 4th of September 2026 6:27 am

Chapter 4496: No Choice

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Lu Yin's gaze grew sharp. At this moment, he was no longer using tri-color divine energy. Just like his Stillness and other powers, he had also separated out his divine energy before his breakthrough. The same was true of even the green motes of light.

As the Red Umbrella contracted, the vast power of the Path of Dispassion filled the area.

Gao Tian looked up and watched the power descend. Such a familiar power "Is that Hong Shuang?"

It turned to look at Chu Songyun in utter disbelief. "The guardian artifact of the Second Rampart?"

The Plume Immortal had never expected this human civilization to possess not only the Ninth Ramparts guardian artifact, but also the Second Ramparts. It was no wonder why Wang Wen wanted to use Gao Tian to destroy this civilization.

The bird felt as though it was seeing the birth of another Nine Ramparts.

But what did it matter even if it saw the guardian artifacts? It was not able to send information back.

The Red Umbrella kept contracting. Chu Songyun's face was pale as he tightly held onto the umbrella, yet his eyes blazed fiercely. Master, let your disciple lend you a hand!

Lu Yin continuously released motes of green light to restrict Gao Tian's movements. As that happened, because the Red Umbrella was shrinking, the area that Gao Tian was able to teleport to within grew smaller and smaller. Once the bird was restricted to a certain range, the green spots of light connected with the umbrellas ribs to slice space into multiple sections.

Each time Gao Tian teleported, the distance that it could move was reduced to an extremely tiny area. Green Lotus charged in, attacking without pause.

Previously, Gao Tian had been able to teleport away to avoid such attacks, but that was no longer possible. The Plume Immortal was no longer able to teleport outside of Green Lotus's attack range, so it was struck again and again. Its wings were broken, and nearly all of its feathers were torn out. Its body was repeatedly ripped open, and blood sprayed across outer space.

The Champions' Stage Purgatory appeared. Previously, when Lu Yin had killed Nan Ling and Death's Dominion, he had not been able to increase his karma with either of them, but at this moment, Gao Tian could not escape.

Lu Yins Immortal breakthrough had also changed both his Investiture of the Gods and his Champions' Stage Purgatory, but he had not yet been able to figure out what exactly had changed. There had not been enough time.

Some changes required cultivation and comprehension, just like how he had once comprehended his Karmic Dao and the Champions' Stage Purgatory in the Spirit Nidus.

The Red Umbrella continued to contract. With the power of Hong Shuang's Path of Dispassion, the area that Gao Tian was able to teleport in constantly shrank. Eventually, Green Lotus drove the bird into the Champions' Stage Purgatory with a palm strike.

The instant the Plume Immortal entered the Champions' Stage Purgatory, Lu Yin teleported above it and immediately infused the Champions' Stage Purgatory with motes of green light. Only after that did he release his Karmic Dao.

His karma increased endlessly, along with his Karmic Dao.

Karma was unlike his physical strength and other powers. There had been no explosive improvement due to his breakthrough. The amount of karma that Lu Yin possessed still needed to be increased through his Champions' Stage Purgatory or cultivated little by little over time.

Previously, Lu Yin's karma had all been merged with Green Lotus's Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, so even after breaking through to the Immortal realm, Lu Yin had not fought with the power of karma. There was no point, especially when facing enemies as powerful as Death's Dominion or Gao Tian. With what little karma Lu Yin had retained, he would not even earn their ridicule.

But things were changing now. Gao Tian had lived far longer than Lu Yin could imagine, and the amount of karma that the bird could provide was bound to be enormous. Just the karma that Gao Tian could provide was enough to restore his Karmic Dao completely and possibly even improve it a bit further.

Gao Tian tried to escape from the Champions' Stage Purgatory, but it was sealed inside by the green lights.

Lu Yin looked over at Green Lotus, "Senior, leave the rest to me."

The Greater Sanctes expression changed as he looked at Lu Yin's wrist. "You cannot make another move."

Lu Yin looked down at his wrist as well and showed a small smile. "Senior, do you think that I have a choice?"

Green Lotus was just about to respond, only to suddenly consider something. His expression instantly fell.

Chu Songyun and Ancestor Lu Yuan, who had drawn close, both understood as well.

It was because of Wang Wen.

Given that Lu Yin had successfully become an Immortal, if he was able to act without restraint, their human civilization would pose far too great a threat. That was not something that Wang Wen would allow to happen. He wanted a human civilization that posed absolutely no threat, or rather, the complete destruction of the human civilization.

Lu Yins breakthrough meant that destroying human civilization would come at too high a cost, but if Lu Yin was no longer able to fight and was immediately restrained by his karmic chain, humanity would pose little threat.

Lu Yin had taken action not only to eliminate humanitys powerful enemies, but also to set Wang Wen's mind at ease. Even at this moment, Lu Yin still had no confidence whatsoever that he could defeat Wang Wen. Even someone as powerful as Gao Tian had been beaten by Wang Wen, and that was when the Plume Immortal had been at full strength. After that battle, it had not even dared to return home. Later, it had even been willing used as a tool against their human civilization. One could imagine just how terrifying Wang Wen was.

Lu Yin did not care about Nan Ling because that bird knew far too little. Nor did he care about Death's Dominion because that skeleton belonged to the Death Megaverse. Sooner or later, he would understand the Death Megaverse clearly. For the time being, he did not want to attract the attention of more powerful beings from the Death Megaverse by using karma to examine the giant skeleton.

On the other hand, he was very concerned about Gao Tian because the bird was the only existence he knew of who had fought against Wang Wen. His goal was to use Gao Tian to increase his karma and then use that karma to see Gao Tian's past and understand what sort of power Wang Wen possessed.

At Lu Yins current level, he understood more clearly than ever that, while the Aevum Inch was still boundless and vast, there existed a limit as to what one's own abilities could reach.

Every living being had their own sphere of existence, and that sphere was the limit of what a creature could influence. Within that sphere, any power that reached a certain height would come into contact with it.

For example, the Death Megaverse.

If Lu Yin used karma to examine Death's Dominion, then no matter how far the Death Megaverse might be from the Human Trio, there remained a chance that his actions would be noticed because the Death Megaverse was already within the Trios sphere, however vast that sphere might be.

But the Plume Immortals had no such sphere, which meant that they had already reached their limit. Any Plume Immortal who teleported without knowing itsdestination could die. Even if the chance of death was minuscule, over countless years, it was enough to keep the total number of Plume Immortals at a certain number. Otherwise, with the Plume Immortals' ability to teleport, how could there only be a bit more than ten of them?

What eliminated them was not powerful enemies, but rather their sphere, their irreverent mindset, and their limited understanding of the Aevum Inch. In more common terms, it was a lack of self-awareness.

Fishing civilizations had their own fishing spheres, and living creatures also had their own sphere. These two spheres were different kinds.

Obscura could ignore the sphere of a fishing civilization, but it could not lack the limiting sphere of a living creature.

Lu Yin could already sense that kind of sphere. The indistinct danger that lurked within it was vague, and yet it was also enough to give him chills. If an ant insisted on forcing its way into an elephant's sphere, the only result would be the elephant crushing the ant to death.

Inside the Champions' Stage Purgatory, Gao Tian kept bombarding its surroundings in attempts to break free.

Lu Yin suppressed the Plume Immortal on his own. Time passed. The war against the Trio was not over yet, though it had slowed with the death of Death's Dominion. That death had caused all the various skeletons to collapse. They had lost their Stillness and thus could no longer sustain themselves.

The death of Death's Dominion took away their source of Stillness. Once the Stillness within their bodies was used up, the skeletons themselves died as well.

The more powerful the skeleton was, the longer it could endure for.

At the moment, the biggest problem was the Spirit Nidus. The megaverse was being reset, and countless people had to flee.

Fortunately, in recent years, the Lu family had given birth to two more descendants who were able to teleport. Although their cultivation was not high and they could not compare to Lu Feiyang or Lu Hui, they were at least able to help people escape from the Spirit Nidus.

Ancestor Lu Yuan also went to help.

Master Qing Cao and Ba Rong were each protecting people in the Spirit Nidus by using their own strength, so the casualties were not too severe.

Humanitys greatest losses were the casualties of the war itself. Green Lotus had nearly exhausted his Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. Awe Gate was still collapsed into Qing Yun's arms. If not for the Longevity Vine, she might have already died.

At the very beginning of the war, Chen Jian and Ba Yue had died, and shortly thereafter, Blood Tower and Ku Deng had also died.

Chu Songyun had exhausted all his strength. Mister Mu and Jiang Feng were gravely injured. Ancient God was in somewhat better condition, and he was also taken to the Spirit Nidus to help protect people.

During this war, the Trio had suffered far, far too terribly. It could be said that there had never been losses on such a scale from the moment that Lu Yin had stepped up to the peak of human civilization.

Even so, everyone was still grateful. Humanity had been preserved. Again and again, they had fallen into despair and felt overwhelming terror. Master Qing Cao had banished Wang Wen, Green Lotus had broken free, Old Man Hehe had stepped in to save the day, and Lu Yin had broken into the Immortal realm. Each time, humanity had been dragged back from the brink of destruction.

Consequently, they saw the greatest blessing that could have come from such unbelievable misfortune.

"Hehe, congratulations, child," Old Man Hehe's voice drifted over.

Ni Bieluo had already left, but Old Man Hehe had remained hidden within their branch of the River of Aeons, not making another move. They had simply watched the entire time as Lu Yin pursued Death's Dominion and then fought against Gao Tian.

Lu Yin looked over. A branch of the River of Aeons flowed through the cosmos. He wanted to get a clear look at Old Man Hehe.

"Child, staring like that is rude. Don't forget, I've helped you before," Old Man Hehe commented.

Lu Yin averted his gaze. "Many thanks."

"This is just a transaction."

"A transaction made when help was needed most."

"Hehe, don't say it like that. That makes it sound as though I want to help you. What I care about is still our dealI just haven't decided on the terms yet," Old Man Hehe argued.

No matter what terms Old Man Hehe gave, Lu Yin would be willing to accept them. He had no choice. He was completely passive in terms of this transaction.

On the other hand, Old Man Hehe had already paid in advance. Without that payment, their human civilization would never have been able to survive.

"Child, how much has your karmic chain grown?" Old Man Hehe asked.

Lu Yin raised his hand and looked at his wrist, allowing Old Man Hehe to see as well.

"That's quite a lot. This Gao Tian, do you plan to kill it yourself?"

"Yes."

"The Keeper of Balance has forced you to this. If blame must be laid anywhere, it can only be laid on the Nine Ramparts. If they had not shone so brightly, you would have never been placed in such a position."

Lu Yin looked at the branch of the River of Aeons. "Did you not take part in the war against the Nine Ramparts?"

"Didn't you already hear? Though not participating in that war is not to say that I was helping your kind. I was merely watching from the sidelines."

"Why?"

"Not everything has an answer, and not every answer is complicated. For example, perhaps I simply didn't want to increase my karmic chain."

Lu Yin glanced back at his wrist. "Reasonable."

"What a pity. If you kill Gao Tian, your karmic chain will approach completion, and then your deal with me will no longer be fair," Old Man Hehe observed.

A gleam flickered through Lu Yin's eyes. "You didnt make a deal with just me, but rather with all of human civilization."

"That's true, child. Well said. The one making a transaction with me is your entire human civilization, and you are merely one part of it. Hehe, very clever. Are you trying to increase your human civilizations value?"

"Yes."

"That value is acceptable."

Lu Yin let out a breath. He truly could no longer make any moves. If Old Man Hehe felt that their deal was a loss and suddenly turned on human civilization, there would really be nothing that Lu Yin could do.

Not to mention his current state, but even at his peak right after his Immortal breakthrough, he still might not have been able to win. Old Man Hehe was unfathomable.

As long as they recognized that this human civilization held value, that would be enough.

"Hehe, then I'm leaving. Oh, right, let me tell you something: gates can be used again." With that, the branch of the River of Aeons turned and flowed off into the distance.

Lu Yin watched Old Man Hehe depart, his gaze deep and unreadable. Gates can be used again?

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