Chapter 1747: Interests Above All Else
Chapter 1747: Interests Above All Else
In order to prevent Xu San from being discovered, Lu Yin had made it a point to never reach out to him, but this was the right time to do so.
The call connected, and after a period of silence, Lu Yin heard a loud shout come through. The voice was arrogant and narcissistic, clearly belonging to someone who was used to ordering others around. “Who is it?”
Lu Yin just laughed. "Me."
The call went silent again, then a much softer voice called out, “Bo- Boss?"
Lu Yin snorted.
Xu San grew excited. "Boss? It's really you! This is great, Boss! You finally remembered your little brother San!"
Lu Yin retorted, "Didn’t you say you never wanted to get involved with me again?"
"When did I ever say that? Boss, who’s trying to tear us apart? Was it that idiot Ling Que? Or was it that scheming chick? Boss, Little San's loyalty to you can be seen from the sun and moon! I called home as soon as I came to the Outerverse. I’ve missed you, Boss!" Xu San immediately started whining loudly, wailing about how miserable his life had been.
Lu Yin was left speechless. After all, he was well aware of just how doted upon Xu San was. Even if the Sixth Mainland was destroyed, as long Ancestor Lingtong remained alive, Xu San would still be the young master of the Blackblood Realm. On top of that, Ancestor Lingtong was just a single step away from becoming a Cosmic Imprinter, and the moment he broke through, he would immediately become an elder in the Sixth Mainland’s Daosource Sect.
In fact, Ancestor Lingtong was already one of the Daosource Sect’s protectors, which was a truly lofty status.
"Alright, cut the bullshit. I need to ask you something: what happened to the Autumnfrost family?" Lu Yin asked.
Xu San was taken aback, as this was a strange question. "The Autumnfrost family? No clue."
"Is that how you answer me?" Lu Yin's voice grew cold.
Xu San quickly corrected himself, "Boss, just wait a moment! Little San will ask about this right now!"
Lu Yin went out to join the Second Nightking and Liu Huang. After waiting for a long time, his gadget finally beeped again.
He heard Xu San's voice, this time with a solemn tone. "Boss, Ancestor Autumnfrost is a corpse king."
Lu Yin was shocked. "What did you just say?"
Xu San earnestly explained, "The Autumnfrost family’s been destroyed. Their patriarch, Autumnfrost Chen, and their heir, Autumnfrost Qing, are both dead. All of the family’s resources have disappeared, and Ironblood Weave’s been lost because of Ancestor Autumnfrost’s actions! He was supposed to stay there, but he left to return to his family’s territory, so Ironblood Weave’s been taken by the Astral Beast Domain.
"Ancestor Autumnfrost even underwent a third stage corpse king transformation."
Lu Yin's eyes flickered. So the imposter was actually a corpse king? A corpse king had impersonated Ancestor Autumnfrost just to construct that massive tool, and then it had even exposed itself and abandoned Ironblood Weave because of that very same tool.
The tool was clearly incredibly important, but what did it do?
"Boss, several powerhouses have joined together to go to the Autumnfrost family’s territory to destroy Ancestor Autumnfrost. The Autumnfrost family is finished," Xu San explained.
"How do you know all this?" Lu Yin asked.
Xu San answered proudly, "I’ve been in the Sixth Mainland for many years now, and I’ve made many connections. After the Di and Mojiang families fell into hard times, the Autumnfrost started dominating the Bloodburn Realm, which was something that a lot of people didn’t like. This information has already spread out among my group of contacts, and I wanted to find out more, which is why I took so long to tell you about all of this."
"Got it. I understand," Lu Yin replied as he prepared to end the call.
Xu San quickly spoke up again. "Boss, um… I heard that the Great Eastern Alliance isn’t doing well right now. Is there anything your little brother can do to help? Just say the word!"
Lu Yin had to ask, "Even if the Sixth Mainland’s already been destroyed, the refugees who escaped to the Outerverse aren’t weak. Why are you trying to butter me up when you can live a good life following Ancestor Lingtong?"
Just when Xu San was about to continue flattering Lu Yin, Lu Yin coldly cut him off. "The truth."
Xu San coughed awkwardly before falling silent for a moment. "Actually, Ancestor Lingtong is about to have a breakthrough."
Lu Yin’s eyes grew sharp—a breakthrough? Was the man about to become a Cosmic Imprinter?
"While having a breakthrough is a good thing, if it fails, it’s an absolute tragedy. Boss, you should know that if anything happens to Ancestor Lingtong at all, I’ll be done in the Sixth Mainland. Even ignoring the people with grudges against the Lingtong clan, even within the clan, there are people who would love to get rid of me. Don’t look down on that Sixteen guy, not even if he spends his days skulking around. I won’t even survive as a pawn if something happens to Ancestor Lingtong.”
"If he fails his breakthrough, Sixteen will be the first to come after my life."
Lu Yin casually said, "You’re pretty aware of your situation. In that case, tell me, if Ancestor Lingtong’s breakthrough is a success, are you going to cut me off completely?"
Xu San quickly answered, "Boss, you have to believe in Little San’s loyalty to you! Little San is anything but an ungrateful person. Boss, you have to believe me!"
Lu Yin was too lazy to listen to such nonsense, so he simply ended the call.
Xu San was very cunning, and he always had alternative plans prepared. People would look out for themselves, as it was just the way of things, and Lu Yin did not mind Xu San’s behavior.
Even if Ancestor Lingtong did succeed in his breakthrough, Lu Yin still would not consider getting rid of Xu San. While it was impossible to use Xu San for anything major, Lu Yin could still get some news from him now and then.
"A corpse king?" Liu Huang stared at Lu Yin, searching the youth’s face.
Lu Yin nodded. "Ancestor Autumnfrost is a corpse king."
"If he’s a corpse king, then he definitely shouldn’t have exposed himself to rush back to the Autumnfrost family’s territory," the Second Nightking added. It was very rare for the man to speak up voluntarily.
Lu Yin knew that the corpse king had exposed itself because of the tool, and more specifically, because of the bubble and the red liquid within it that Lu Yin had taken away.
"Let’s go. We need to head back to the border first," Lu Yin said.
While the three people headed towards the Great Eastern Alliance’s border, Nong Laohan, Ancestor Sightless, and Ancestor Lingtong were making their way towards the Autumnfrost family’s territory.
Along the way, Ancestor Sightless asked Nong Laohan about the strength that Ancestor Autumnfrost had revealed after undergoing the third stage corpse king transformation.
"I couldn’t beat the corpse king after that transformation or even trap it. Alone, neither of us have any chance of winning," Nong Laohan stated, still clearly scared from his encounter.
Ancestor Sightless grew solemn. "A World Imprinter overwhelmed you after undergoing a third stage corpse king transformation? Aeternus’s monsters are truly terrifying."
"Ancestor Autumnfrost is definitely not in the Autumnfrost’s territory right now, so is there any way for you to find him, Brother Sightless?" Nong Laohan asked.
Ancestor Sightless shook his head. "It’s not my area of expertise."
Nong Laohan heaved a sigh of relief, though he said, "That's unfortunate. I’m also not very good at tracking, but we’ve been sent to find and eliminate Ancestor Autumnfrost. If we actually do run into the corpse king, it will all depend on you, Brother Sightless."
Ancestor Sightless frowned, but he did not refute the statement. Even though Nong Laohan was also a Cosmic Imprinter and famous for his good-natured personality, when it came to fighting, the man had done far too little. Nong Laohan was lucky when it came to chance encounters though.
It was impossible to rely on such a person in their current situation.
Also, Ancestor Sightless did not put much trust in Nong Laohan’s report regarding the corpse king’s strength, even if it had undergone a third transformation. After all, Nong Laohan was simply too weak. In fact, he was considered to be the weakest of all the Cosmic Imprinters.
The two quickly arrived in the Autumnfrost family’s territory, only to be completely dumbfounded.
They had come to this place to search for clues regarding Ancestor Autumnfrost, and they were completely stunned to see that Ancestor Autumnfrost still had not left.
The corpse king was still in the same galaxy where the tool had been shattered, searching for something with its scarlet eyes. When Nong Laohan and Ancestor Sightless arrived, the corpse king instantly attacked. "You two… courting death!"
Nong Laohan was flabbergasted; was this creature too arrogant to leave?
"Brother Sightless, it's up to you!" Nong Laohan shouted.
Ancestor Sightless attacked, and a circle of light enveloped Ancestor Autumnfrost. This was Ancestor Sightless’s innate gift; he could move anything within the circle to anywhere within his sight.
Ancestor Sightless did not instantly move Ancestor Autumnfrost, but instead received one of Ancestor Autumnfrost’s punches to personally test the creature’s strength after it underwent a third corpse king transformation. Space exploded with a deafening bang, and the shattered remnants of the black crystal were blasted away.
Even Nong Laohan was forced back.
The Sightless clan possessed one of the Sixth Mainland’s invincible bloodlines. It gave them the ability to turn into a cocoon when on the brink of death and then emerge fully restored and with improved strength.
Every time Ancestor Sightless had emerged from his cocoon, his strength had leaped forward. After going through the process several times throughout his life, Ancestor Sightless had become extremely powerful, and there were very few people among his peers who could compare to him.
As far as most people from the Sixth Mainland were concerned, Nong Laohan was the weakest a Cosmic Imprinter could possibly be while Ancestor Sightless was the strongest. This was mostly because no one could know whether or not Ancestor Sightless could turn into a cocoon and be reborn once again. If he could accomplish that, he would likely become invincible within his realm.
This unique trait of the Sightless clan’s bloodline allowed them to improve everything, so there were very few who could compare to Ancestor Sightless with either their cultivation or physical strength.
Even after a third stage corpse king transformation, the corpse king’s punch could not overpower Ancestor Sightless. Both were pushed back, as they were evenly matched.
Ancestor Sightless was shocked. He was a Cosmic Imprinter while Ancestor Autumnfrost was not. There was an entire level between them, and on top of that, Ancestor Sightless was one of the most powerful Cosmic Imprinters alive. Despite his strength, Ancestor Sightless had still been pushed back. This was the strength of a third corpse king transformation.
The next moment, Bluedome Elder’s imprint appeared behind Ancestor Sightless, and his strength rose yet again.
Ancestor Autumnfrost's eyes blazed scarlet as he rushed forward once more. Given the peerless strength of the corpse kings, the creature was shocked to discover that it was evenly matched with Ancestor Sightless.
Nong Laohan was off in the distance, retreating further and further as the corpse king crazily attacked.
The fight lasted for a full hour, and although Ancestor Sightless managed to suppress Ancestor Autumnfrost with the combination of his bloodline, imprint, and the Sightless clan’s battle techniques, Ancestor Sightless could not win or even seriously injure Ancestor Autumnfrost.
On the other hand, Ancestor Sightless was being injured by each attack that the corpse king managed to land.
"Nong Laohan, attack!" Ancestor Sightless felt forced to ask for help as he endured the corpse king’s assault.
However, Nong Laohan moved back even further. "Brother Sightless, I can’t attack, as I’ll disrupt the flow of your battle!"
Ancestor Sightless was furious, and he glared at Nong Laohan. Distracted, Ancestor Sightless received a punch to the chest, and he spat out blood. However, he used the impact to counterattack himself. Still, the corpse king was merely forced back, and it was completely unharmed. The creature’s physique was too robust.
Upon seeing that Nong Laohan was still just watching from the sidelines, Ancestor Sightless used his innate gift to move Ancestor Autumnfrost, and threw the corpse king over to Nong Laohan. In fact, there was only a meter between the two.
Nong Laohan was stunned for an instant, and then he became startled. Ancestor Autumnfrost snapped a foot out and kicked the old man out of the true universe. A cracking sound was heard from Nong Laohan’s abdomen, and then fragments of what looked like glass fell down. Nong Laohan had been protected by a precious treasure, but it had been instantly destroyed by Ancestor Autumnfrost.