Chapter 4388: A Thread Of Survival

In the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, Chu Songyun spat out blood. Above him, the red umbrella was being forced downward by a violent force that was smashing both him and the umbrella down into the ground. It was unknown if he was dead or still alive.

Nan Ling appeared, its body stained with blood. The pain had driven the bird to madness. It intended to annihilate this entire human civilization, beginning with its few Immortal beings.

A Godplume Spear shot at Blood Tower and Awe Gate. The woman instantly opened a gate and took Blood Tower away with her.

Nan Ling’s violent outburst shattered the gate, and the two only barely managed to avoid the Godplume Spear. Just then, Nan Ling's talons fell before them. Lu Yin appeared along with Green Lotus, and Nan Ling vanished again.

Lu Yin instantly looked over at the Tianyuan. Not there? Then the Spirit Nidus.

Ku Deng, Qing Cao, Kang Tian, and Ba Yue stood back to back, struggling to withstand Chang Dou's assault. When Nan Ling appeared, the pressure upon the four increased like the collapse of a megaverse, forcing all of them to instantly cough up blood.

Fury filled Nan Ling's eyes as its talons swung down.

The first to suffer was Kang Tian. Its spatial mire was ripped apart, and its hard shell shattered. The snail let out a scream as it hastily retreated. Ba Yue was horrified. This bird pressured her just as much as Ancestor Xia. She did not dare to even think of resisting.

One heartlamp after another lit up, followed by the appearance of Qing Cao's Bamboo Fence. Even so, beneath Nan Ling's talons, there was no chance for any of their defenses to resist, and everything was torn apart.

It all happened in an instant. Lu Yin had no time to rescue anyone.

Qing Cao reacted the fastest and instantly took out a gate that led to Vestigium. Nan Ling hesitated out of reflex. Obscura?

Taking advantage of the extra moment, Lu Yin arrived with Green Lotus, only for Nan Ling to teleport away.

It left dozens of Godplume Spears behind, and they shot at everyone. Nan Ling's Godplume Spears could not be blocked, which forced Lu Yin to teleport everyone away.

The Godplume Spears pierced through the entire megaverse, creating one streaking scar after another.

Far away, Lu Yin reappeared with everyone.

In front of them, Nan Ling and Chang Dou hovered in outer space, releasing mocking cries.

Lu Yin's expression darkened. "It never intended to kill Senior Ku Deng or any of the others."

Green Lotus realized this as well. They had nearly forgotten that the Plume Immortals were merely able to wear away their karmic chains with their Thousand-Autumn Dream, not simply ignore them.

Nan Ling had just had the chance to kill Ku Deng and the others. If it had fired its Godplume Spears the moment that it arrived, not a single individual from Qing Cao's group would have survived. The reason why the bird had refrained from doing so was to ensure that it could continue fighting. If it killed several Immortals all at once, it would not be able to continue fighting any longer.

The bird was toying with them.

Even though they understood this clearly, Lu Yin and the others could not take any risk. Were they supposed to test Nan Ling's tolerance for its karmic chain with the lives of Ku Deng and the others? Absolutely not.

For Nan Ling, this had become a game, a game of cat and mouse. This was its revenge for being wounded. This human civilization would be forced to pay a heavy price.

Lu Yin and the others were waiting for the battle between Obscura and the Plume Immortals to play out, while Nan Ling and the other birds were also waiting. As far as they were concerned, it was impossible for Obscura to go too far for the sake of a human civilization. The battle at the Plume Immortals' great tree would not last long, and this human civilization would inevitably be destroyed.

This human civilization understood far too little of the war against the Nine Ramparts. Obscura itself had been one of the key culprits behind the destruction of that human civilization. Did they truly expect help from Obscura?

Absolutely ridiculous.

"We cannot remain on the defensive. Nan Ling retreats the moment it makes contact with either of us, and with its ability to teleport instantly, we cannot protect them," Green Lotus said in a low voice.

Lu Yin felt frustrated. Protect them? No.

Green Lotus was actually protecting Lu Yin as well. If not for that, then even with his tri-colored divine energy transformation, he might not be able to survive and would be forced to continuously flee.

"If it attacks, we attack too: Chang Dou."

The Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm spread out, and Lu Yin released his Karmic Dao, merging it with the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

In the past, he had merged his Karmic Dao with the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm in order to help himself, but this time, he did so in order to assist Greater Sancte Green Lotus.

Lu Yin refused to believe that the combination of his Karmic Dao and the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm could not create even the smallest of openings.

The cosmos roared and trembled. Countless people looked up in shock. Was the megaverse about to collapse?

Ever since the Tianyuan Megaverse had come into contact with the Aevum Inch, their battles had escalated from internal conflicts to conflicts that included entire cosmic civilizations. Every battle could affect the whole megaverse, which was almost unbearable. However, this was a necessary path for humanity to climb higher.

The power of Lu Yin's Karmic Dao shocked even Green Lotus. "How many Immortals have you actually dealt with?"

How many? Quite a few.

The Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm roiled. As Green Lotus took action, waves of karma crashed down upon Nan Ling and Chang Dou. Both birds teleported away, only to then attack Lu Yin and the other humans from two different directions.

Lu Yin released Manifestation Beyond the Pupil while locking onto Nan Ling with Crow Immobilization, trying to force eye contact.

Green Lotus raised his arm high, drawing upon the karma that filled the cosmos. He formed a wall that grew thicker and thicker as it spread out.

Nan Ling remained as arrogant as ever. A Godplume Spear shot out, piercing directly through the wall while Chang Dou attacked from the other side with another Godplume Spear.

This battle had endlessly frustrated humanity. A group of Immortals were being hunted by two birds as they let out cheerfully mocking shrieks. Lu Yin's expression grew darker and darker.

Ku Deng and the others desperately wanted to overturn this situation, but their strength was completely inadequate.

In the distance, Blood Tower rushed forward, only for Awe Gate to pull him back. "Don't be impulsive! If you go, you’ll only become a burden."

The man’s eyes were bloodshot. Humanity had been ceaselessly climbing upward, but this day had still arrived for them.

Yes, even the Nine Ramparts, which had once been invincible and powerful, had been destroyed in the end. Was that scenario repeating?

Humanity felt helpless and overcome with despair and fury. That day, the Plume Immortals had danced in the sky, joyfully mocking the fallen Rampart. That same scene was playing out again.

Nan Ling shrieked at the sky. It had been wrong. It should not exterminate this human civilization, but rather leave them alive with a sliver of hope. Then, it would destroy that hope and watch their helpless despair. That would be the perfect ending. Yes, what could satisfy the Plume Immortals more than despair?

Humans were nothing more than toys for the Plume Immortals.

Far away, a pair of mocking eyes were watching with great amusement. They belonged to Yue Lu. Ever since the Plume Immortals had started the war with Obscura, it had continued to observe the Human Trio, never joining the battle.

Even when the Plume Immortals attacked the Trio, it had not joined in. It was still heavily injured from before, and participating would offer little help while still risking Yue Lu’s death.

However, upon seeing how Nan Ling and Chang Dou were suppressing the entire human civilization, and hearing their shrieks that sounded like declarations of victory, Yue Lu could not resist poking its head out. It also wanted to shriek at the sky, venting the humiliation that it had suffered at the hands of this civilization.

"Found it," Green Lotus suddenly muttered softly. His expression did not change at all, and he made no extra movement. "Back and to the left, half a year’s travel away."

Lu Yin vanished. At last, they had found it.

In fact, earlier in the battle, while Lu Yin had been searching for Nan Ling, he had caught a single glimpse of Yue Lu. However, the bird had instantly vanished and had not lingered at all. Lu Yin had not been able to find it again after that.

However, upon hearing the victorious cries of Nan Ling and Chang Dou, Yue Lu could not resist showing itself.

Targeting Chang Dou was only a pretense. That Plume Immortal also resonated with two cosmic laws, and it was no weaker than Ming Yu. It would be extremely difficult to kill.

Green Lotus and Lu Yin were actually targeting Yue Lu. The more that humanity appeared to be on the back foot, the more likely it was that Yue Lu would reveal itself.

When Nan Ling and Chang Dou saw Lu Yin vanish with the others, neither cared at all. They would absolutely win this battle. Humans had never been equal to the Plume Immortals. All that restrained them was the increase to their karmic chains, the pleasure of the hunt itself, and their desire for revenge after Nan Ling had been wounded by that one finger strike.

But the next instant, Nan Ling's expression changed. Not good!

Far away, Yue Lu stared blankly at Lu Yin, who had suddenly appeared in front of the bird. It wanted to escape by teleporting, but it found that it could not move. It had been watching Lu Yin's group the whole time, so when Lu Yin suddenly appeared, Yue Lu reflexively looked at him. Having never encountered Crow Immobilization before, it was instantly frozen in place.

Lu Yin reached out and seized Yue Lu by the neck. "Got you, you mongrel bird!"

Nan Ling then appeared and swung down its talons.

Lu Yin retreated, still tightly holding onto Yue Lu.

"Human, you are seeking death!" Nan Ling screamed in a rage. It had not expected Yue Lu to be discovered. Fool! I told it to stay hidden and just watch! Not even the war with Obscura forced it out, and yet it was still found.

From another direction, Chang Dou fired a Godplume Spear in an attempt to force Lu Yin to release Yue Lu.

In Lu Yin’s hand, Yue Lu had already broken free of Crow Immobilization, so it immediately used Thousand Feathers, Thousand Changes, splitting into a thousand images.

Green Lotus unleashed his Lotus Cannon at the same instant, forming 1,000 fingers. Those thousand fingers shattered the thousand forms, but at that moment, Nan Ling descended, its talons curling to grasp the void and press down upon Green Lotus, buying a chance for Yue Lu to escape.

Green Lotus exhaled. His Lotus Cannon suddenly contracted, forming a green lotus around them both. The lotus was no longer formed from Karmic Heavenwheels, but rather from condensed karma itself. The void was sliced apart as a field of green took form.

Whether Yue Lu lived or died had never been important. What mattered was Nan Ling. Yue Lu could escape, but Nan Ling could not.

Yue Lu was the bait to trap Nan Ling. It was also a trap laid for Green Lotus himself.

Yue Lu teleported to escape into the distance, fleeing for its life.

Green Lotus closed the lotus. Red, lava-like power surged over the lotus, transforming the green lotus into a red-green one, as though it had been born from a volcano.

Lu Yin stared at the scene. Why did this feel so familiar?

The sky turned dark red as Green Lotus closed his palms. "Crimson Lotus Tomb."

Lu Yin went wide-eyed. Crimson Lotus Tomb?

He remembered. When seeing Senior Jiu Wen's memories through karma, Lu Yin had witnessed a scene of someone sealing himself, his beloved, and three Plume Immortals with the Path of Dispassion. That was the Crimson Lotus Tomb, the grave of the Path of Dispassion.

But what was this?

"This was created after I learned of the Crimson Lotus Tomb in Jiu Wen's past. This was never intended to kill enemies, but rather to fight for a single thread of survival.

"Lu Yin, Hong Xia is entrusted to you. Human civilization is entrusted to you." Greater Sancte Green Lotus stared at Nan Ling. It tried to teleport away, but the void had already been sealed. It tried Thousand Feathers, Thousand Changes, but all 1,000 forms were also trapped within the crimson lotus. There was no connection to the Aevum Inch.

You mock us joyfully? The backbone of humanity will never bend. Even in death, we will drag you down

Lu Yin's heart trembled as he shouted anxiously, "Senior, you said that you wouldn’t die together with it! It’s not worth it!"

Green Lotus smiled. "This is not mutual destruction. When the day comes that you are confident you can kill Nan Ling, go to the Sea of Karma and comprehend karma. I am not dead, and neither is it. This merely ensures a thread of survival. Do not hand us over to Obscura. Remember that!"

When he finished speaking, the Crimson Lotus Tomb fully closed, and it instantly turned into a dark red stone that fell through the starry sky to land on a barren planet.

Lu Yin stared blankly for a moment, but he was still on a battlefield, and there was no room for hesitation.

After one long look at the Crimson Lotus Tomb, he felt a bit of relief. As long as Green Lotus was not dead, it was enough. Lu Yin could sense that this was not some move that erased life, but rather something that merely prevented Nan Ling taking further action.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.