Chapter 4141: Probe

Mu Zhu looked at Lu Yin as he explained, “Domestication sounds harsh, but it means that at least not everyone from your megaverse is dead. It’s possible that the megaverse hasn’t even been reset, right?”

Mu Zhu’s gaze fell back to the stones.

“We might still be able to rescue them,” Lu Yin said.

Mu Zhu gave a wry smile. “Perhaps.”

Lu Yin’s tone abruptly changed. “Of course, this could also just be bait intended to anger us or prod us into action. I don’t want to risk deceiving ourselves. Only by clearly seeing reality can we hope to see our enemy clearly.”

Mu Zhu nodded. “So, do you think that the coordinates are real or fake?”

In addition to the pictures of people and the word “domesticated,” there were also coordinates, which precisely what Lu Yin had referred to as bait.

The one communicating with them had openly shared a set of coordinates. Presumably, those were the coordinates of Mister Mu’s home megaverse.

By using the Thread of Heaven as a point of reference, it was possible to locate the megaverse.

If Lu Yin and Mu Zhu had arrived at the Thread of Heaven through normal means, they would know the direction to Mister Mu’s megaverse. However, a Blood Tower had carried them here, which meant that they did not even know where they were at the moment. For that reason, the coordinates could only serve as a reference.

It was possible that Greater Sancte Blood Tower could determine the location of the megaverse.

Calmly, Mu Zhu drew a cauldron and tossed the stone back out.

They had already recorded the coordinates down. Perhaps they would one day visit that megaverse.

When that day came, it would be a fight to the death.

Lu Yin turned to check the Astral Anura stone. The conversation on it had completely changed directions. It had started with a discussion about Seven-Treasures Anuras and then moved on to discussing grandfathers. At the moment, the discussion had turned to the meaning of life itself.

Two completely different creatures were discussing life, and their values were a surprisingly good match.

“Junior Brother, isn’t this the same lotus leaf that Astral Anura carries around?” Mu Zhu suddenly asked.

Lu Yin took the stone. A glance was enough for him to recognize the leaf that the toad always carried.

There were replies beneath that leaf, all of which were rather inexplicable. Even the stone itself seemed quite old.

Lotus leaf, Astral Anura... Suddenly, Lu Yin looked back at the Astral Anura stone. “Someone was searching for information about the Seven-Treasures Anuras before us.”

Mu Zhu’s eyes flashed. “The one who called you father?”

Lu Yin nodded, his face solemn. The image of the lotus leaf clearly showed that the creature was searching for the Seven-Treasure Anuras. If his guess was right, that same “son” of his had been searching for a very long time. But since no one in the Thread of Heaven knew of the toads, they could only wait until the image of Astral Anura appeared. Only then had they quickly responded.

“Could it be an actual lost toad?”

“No.” Lu Yin did not believe that things were that simple. From the messages, it was clear that this being did not want Lu Yin to know that they had been looking for the Seven-Treasure Anuras for some time now. One example of this was how it had instantly responded with “father” as soon as they saw the image of Astral Anura, as though it was a coincidence.

Such shameless familiarity was nothing more than a probe.

Lu Yin picked up the Astral Anura stone again. The original creature had not replied for several rounds. Most of the new comments were the continued ramblings of the one who claimed to be the grandfather. The other creature was waiting for Lu Yin.

That “grandpa” was clearly pushing their way into the conversation, but the other side continued to humor them for as long as it took to wait for Lu Yin. That was because he knew about the Seven-Treasure Anuras.

A chill ran through Lu Yin. He had thought that he was the only one probing others. He had not even realized that someone else had been probing him, doing so in a more effective manner than him.

The practically idiotic behavior had been a veil to hide a genuine probe.

Lu Yin reread everything that he had carved and analyzed it from the perspective of the other individual. They had been able to conclude that Lu Yin was aware of the Seven-Treasure Anuras and knew a bit about them, such as the fact that they did not live in a fixed location. However, he did not know the toads’ current location.

That was how Lu Yin appeared to the one he had been communicating with.

It was not much different from his own understanding of them.

“Gather the stones that we carved the Tricolor Skyborne's coordinates on and check all of them,” Lu Yin said.

He and Mu Zhu retrieved all of the stones, yet they found nothing unusual on them.

“It seems that they aren’t aware of the connection between the Tricolor Skyborne and the Seven-Treasure Anuras. If they knew, there would’ve been some kind of reaction,” Mu Zhu commented.

Lu Yin frowned. “It’s also possible that they just don’t want to expose themselves yet and are waiting for more information.

“It’s perfectly normal to spend decades in a Thread of Heaven. If they want to wait, that’s all they can do.”

“So what do we do now?” Mu Zhu asked.

Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. “Carve that damned Astral Anura’s grin at the bottom of every cauldron stone. Let’s see how that one reacts. If they do, we’ll be able to determine if they’re a friend or an enemy of the Seven-Treasure Anuras.

“If it’s a friend, we avoid them. If they’re an enemy,” he paused as he looked at Mu Zhu, “We tell them about the Tricolor Skyborne. With those coordinates, they’ll be able to find the Seven-Treasure Anuras. We’ll see what happens after that.”

Mu Zhu’s face lit up. “If they still dare to make trouble even when they know how strong those toads are, then there is clearly a truly powerful civilization behind them. That will keep the Seven-Treasure Anuras busy.”

Lu Yin nodded. “Let’s hope so.”

This would also infuriate the Hui-Silver Sky Army, so why not?

Mu Zhu set to work.

Lu Yin looked back up at the roof of the mouth, his expression somber.

This incident had served as an internal reminder. Just as he hid himself, so too did others. He had experienced repeated victories over powerful foes, even going as far as to kill an Immortal. But earning the fear of Immortals had made Lu Yin careless. He had nearly been duped.

If he could enter a Thread of Heaven with the strength to fight an Immortal, so could others.

Who said that he had to be communicating with fools?

By calling Lu Yin “father” from the start, the creature had created the impression of a foolish individual, leading Lu Yin to believe that he held the initiative. In reality, that creature had been leading Lu Yin along by the nose the entire time.

“I want to see what you really are.”

A short while later, in another tooth, the silver-eyed creature stared blankly at the picture of Astral Anura’s smile carved on a stone. The savagery in the eyes was nearly overwhelmed by the silver light. “Toads! The damned toads! It’s them! Bastards, bastards...”

In another tooth, a creature retrieved a stone. Why is there still no reply?

They had pulled in a cauldron stone and were stunned by the sight of Astral Anura’s smile. What’s going on?

Everything had just become confusing.

...

Three years went by in a flash. No new creatures entered the Thread of Heaven during that time, but the place remained quite lively.

Lu Yin and Mu Zhu had barely rested at all. They spent all their time constantly checking various stones, writing replies, sowing discord, and redirecting hatred.

Astral Anura’s grin occupied the mind of every creature in this Thread of Heaven, and the resentment filling the place grew overwhelming.

All of the creatures instinctively blamed the toads for the tension, each one cursing the Seven-Treasure Anuras more viciously than the last.

The next to be targeted was the one who had claimed to be the son. Others had seen the Astral Anura stones, and they targeted that one, using the “son” as a target for their insults. The being had to endure it and even respond, defending the Seven-Treasure Anuras’ fame.

Soon, the entire Thread of Heaven was filled with anger.

Even the silver-eyed creature could not hold back their curses, which were especially foul.

Lu Yin was delighted. The messier the situation, the better it was for him. When things were calm, everyone would typically remain rational. Only when there was complete chaos was it possible to fish in the muddy waters.

The creature who had drawn the cauldrons had shared some coordinates, and while it was possible that the coordinates were fake, they were still a clue.

It might even be possible for someone to share the Seven-Treasure Anuras’ coordinates. That would be perfect for Lu Yin.

Unfortunately, that was nothing more than wishful thinking. While some creatures did share coordinates, a glance was enough to see through them as fake. No one seemed to know the location of the Seven-Treasure Anuras.

The earlier messages about the floating coffin, the Nest civilization, and teleportation prompted no replies of any value.

The occupants of the Thread of Heaven knew far too little about those civilizations.

“How many civilizations have we identified?” Lu Yin asked.

Mu Zhu said, “Three, all of which are likely quite close.”

Lu Yin nodded.

While most creatures would try to keep the location of their civilizations secret, their tone and implicit understanding of the Aevum Inch revealed that most of the creatures here knew little about the regions far away from them. In that case, how had they reached the Thread of Heaven? If they were not Immortals, then there was only one explanation; the Thread of Heaven had to be close to their megaverses.

Through analyzing multiple stones, Lu Yin and Mu Zhu had determined that there were three civilizations nearby.

If non-Immortals were able to reach the Thread of Heaven, then their megaverse could not be far away. Lu Yin was tempted. He wanted to go see them, but even the shortest journey through the Aevum Inch took years, centuries, or even millennia. For creatures beneath the Immortal realm, there was simply not enough time.

Lu Yin did not have that much time to waste.

There was nothing to be done about it.

His analysis had been conducted to extract hidden information, and the fact that there were three nearby megaverses had simply been a byproduct of that analysis.

The more that one spoke, the more that they revealed. Some creatures had no idea that the location of their own home had already been determined by others. The more that creatures tried to pry into others’ affairs, the more that they exposed their ignorance.

In the Aevum Inch, that was a deadly mistake.

“It looks like it’s time to leave. We won’t get any more information," Lu Yin said.

Mu Zhu nodded while looking at the cauldron stone in her hand.

“One day, we’ll fight them to the death. We’ll wipe out both Hui and the Hui-Silver Sky Army,” Lu Yin declared.

Mu Zhu smiled faintly and tossed the stone away. “So, we just leave?”

Lu Yin looked up at the roof of the mouth, as though trying to see past it. “The other creatures in these teeth can’t see who wrote all the messages that we’ve sent out, but what about the master of this Thread of Heaven? Can they see anything?”

“Yes.”

Lu Yin agreed, “Exactly. They can see us, yet we can’t see it. Seems rather unfair, doesn’t it?”

“Junior Brother, what are you planning?”

“Nothing too reckless, but we should at least test things out.”

He then wrote everything that he knew about Obscura onto a single stone. On another, he wrote the character for springboard. On a third, he wrote, ‘Exchanging information about fishing civilizations!’

He tossed all of them out.

The stones were quickly snatched. Lu Yin was still waiting for a reaction when his surroundings suddenly trembled, and then the roof of the massive mouth simply vanished.

He was startled and stepped out into outer space. All around him stretched the endless darkness of the Aevum Inch. He was surrounded by nothing but darkness. The Thread of Heaven was gone.

“The Thread of Heaven, where is it?” Mu Zhu exclaimed.

Lu Yin shrugged. “We scared it off.”

Mu Zhu was speechless. “Because of your comments about fishing civilizations?”

Lu Yin nodded. “A foreigner once told me that talking about fishing civilizations in a Thread of Heaven leads to expulsion. Earlier, while we shared pictures of things like the floating coffin, we never wrote any of the names down. For the last three years, I noticed that no one else has ever dared to mention them either.

“The moment I did, we were expelled. It looks like the master of this Thread of Heaven is very cautious.

“Also, since they were able to kick me out without me even noticing, there’s no doubt that they’re an Immortal, though likely not a particularly strong one.

“They must rely on the cosmic law that they align with, or maybe their unseen world, to expel us. If they were strong enough, they wouldn’t be so scared by the mere mention of fishing civilizations.”

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