Chapter 1809: Status Quo

Many of Water god dojo’s disciples became excited when they saw the downfall and destruction of Skyblaze Dojo, but they never knew that if not for the sacrifice of Skyblaze Dojo, they wouldn’t be alive standing here right now.

Dojo Master Lan, Tian Yanzi, the Thundercharge Dojo Master, and the Bluearch Dojo Master had all sacrificed themselves for others, and they did not deserve to be slandered in their deaths.

“Xiao’er, let’s go look around. It’s almost time to return,” the old woman said.

Si Xiao’er walked straight into the heart of Skyblaze Dojo and looked down. The raging flames shot high into the sky. Once, this had been the home of a fire dragon, but at the moment, she was standing right next to the heart of Skyblaze Dojo. How things had changed.

“Senior sister, let’s go,” said the cute girl. She was scared that the heat of the flames would be too much and that they would scorch her.

Si Xiao’er nodded and turned around, but just as she was about to leave, her foot slipped, and she fell into the flames. It was almost as if she had been dragged down by an invisible power.

The old woman instantly shot forward, but the flames surged and blazed hotter than ever, burning the old woman and forcing her back. If she had not been quick enough, she would have been burned to nothing but ash in less than a moment.

Water god dojo’s disciples were all completely stunned. “Senior sister?”

“Sister?”

“Save Big Sister!”

Deep underground, Si Xiao’er could only watch as she fell. She gritted her teeth and surrounded her body with water as she tried to escape, but she was only a Hunter. While she was able to resist the heat, for some reason, her water was useless against the force that continued to drag her deeper underground.

Far away, she thought she could hear someone calling out, “Senior Sister.”

Si Xiao’er assumed that she was doomed.

A gentle voice entered her ears, “Wake up. You aren’t dead.”

Si Xiao’er’s eyes twitched, and she slowly opened them to see a young man who was looking at her with clear interest.

She was startled to see him, and she quickly backed away.

“If you move any further, you’ll be burned to ash,” Lu Yin said with a smile.

Si Xiao’er’s face was already flushed from the high temperature. She looked around, and her pupils shrank to mere dots. Where in the world was she?

“This is the deepest region beneath Skyblaze Dojo. The flames here are hot enough to reduce even an Envoy to ashes,” Lu Yin explained as he smiled at Si Xiao’er.

She gave him a blank stare. Her lips were already cracking, but she forced out a dry voice. “Who are you? Did you capture me?”

“That’s not a nice way to say it. You fell down here,” Lu Yin replied.

Si Xiao’er’s fingers trembled. “Who in the world are you?”

Lu Yin was taken aback; did this woman actually not recognize him? After thinking about it for a moment, he realized that this made sense. He had not been particularly famous when he had first entered the Starfall Sea, and even when he had returned after the Sixth Mainland’s first invasion, he had not been nearly as famous as the Neoverse’s top youths. It was perfectly normal for the people in the Starfall Sea to not know him.

“I’m from Skyblaze Dojo,” Lu Yin said.

Si Xiao’er clearly did not believe him. “My Water God Dojo and Skyblaze Dojo have been rivals for a long time, but I’ve never heard of anyone like you in Skyblaze Dojo.”

Lu Yin laughed. “You wouldn’t have at your level. Actually, even your master isn’t qualified to have heard about me.”

Si Xiao’er’s eyes flickered. She did not believe any of this.

Lu Yin raised a hand and showed her the Skyblaze Stone.

Si Xiao’er was startled to see it. “Is that the Skyblaze Stone?”

She looked back at Lu Yin in disbelief. “You- are you really from Skyblaze Dojo?”

“It’s senior. You should refer to me as ‘Senior.’ I’ve been in seclusion for too long, so no one recognizes me any longer,” Lu Yin looked quite frustrated by his situation.

Si Xiao’er felt puzzled. “But, your face…”f𝓇𝚎e𝑤𝘦𝚋𝗻૦ѵℯl.c𝐨𝓂

Lu Yin just smiled at her.

She stuck out her tongue. Si Xiao’er knew that it was easy for cultivators to alter their appearance, and given her strength, it was impossible for her to determine Lu Yin’s age from his bones. She slowly processed this information before offering a slow bow. “Water God Dojo’s disciple Si Xiao’er greets the senior from Skyblaze Dojo.”

Lu Yin nodded. “I’ve been in seclusion for far too long. Tell me, what’s happened outside? When I emerged, I found my Skyblaze Dojo in ruins. There was absolutely no one around, and the Neohuman Alliance is in the area. There are corpse kings wandering around. Grayweed Continent is completely different.”

Lu Yin grew more somber as he continued talking, and Si Xiao’er grew more despondent as well. She sounded quite sad as she replied, “It’s true, Grayweed Continent has changed, and actually, the entire Starfall Sea has changed. It’s all because of…”

Si Xiao’er spent more than half an hour explaining the current situation of the Starfall Sea to Lu Yin, and he finally developed some understanding of matters.

He had assumed that everything outside the horizontal black hole that was acting as a barrier and protecting the Fifth Mainland was full of Aeternus’s corpse kings and that all the humans there had been either slaughtered or transformed into corpse kings. He had pictured an environment identical to the New World behind the Perennial World’s Mother Tree.

However, the reality of the Starfall Sea was much better than what he had imagined.

The Aeternals had not conducted much of a slaughter at all, and they had instead built a number of cities to gather the humans who were in the Starfall Sea. The largest settlement was an Aeternal Kingdom. They had built this particular Aeternal Kingdom on top of what had once been the Sea King’s Dome.

The Aeternals had transformed the Sea King’s Dome into an Aeternal Kingdom, though it was different from the Aeternal Nation that Lu Yin had seen in the Fifth Mainland’s Neoverse. This Aeternal Kingdom was split into two separate cities—one was in the east, and the other was in the west. The western city was inhabited by corpse kings, though humans were allowed to freely enter and leave. As for the eastern city, that was restricted to only humans, and the corpse kings were not allowed to access it at all.

Not only that, but the human beings living in the Starfall Sea’s major cities were living lives no different from the ones that they had enjoyed in the past. They could train and cultivate, go out exploring, and travel anywhere they wished without any restrictions at all.

For example, Water god dojo disciples who were visiting Skyblaze Dojo had traveled from the Aeternal Kingdom that had been established on Grayweed Continent, and they had gone out to train and visit the fallen dojos. There would not even be any problems if they encountered a corpse king on their journey.

This information left Lu Yin doubting his entire life. When had the Aeternals become so friendly with humans?

The more he listened, the more he felt that something was wrong. He felt increasingly uneasy. Something was definitely wrong. Were humans really living no differently from before and actually coexisting with corpse kings? This should be impossible.

What Lu Yin had seen in the Aeternus Nation in the Neoverse had been a typical situation. It had been utter hell for the humans living there, and it was a perfect example of why the Aeternals were humanity’s greatest enemy.

“Who is the one controlling all the corpse kings in the Starfall Sea right now?” Lu Yin asked.

Si Xiao’er solemnly answered, “Blackless God.”

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. He was familiar with Blackless God, as that was the first of the Seven Skygods that Lu Yin had ever encountered. However, Blackless God’s body had been destroyed by Mister Mu, so Lu Yin was surprised to hear that the Skygod was still present in the Starfall Sea.

“Have you ever seen Blackless God?” Lu Yin began to ask for more details.

Si Xiao’er shook her head. “I haven’t seen them, but Blackless God controls all of the Neohuman Alliances forces in the entire Starfall Sea. Not even my master qualifies to meet with him. Only City Lord Yang is able to do so.”

Lord Yang that Si Xiao’er had mentioned was the ruler of Aeternus Kingdom’s Eastern City. Si Xiao’er’s master was Dojo Master Si, and they were second only to City Lord Yang. Both individuals were Envoys.

The eastern city had two Envoys among their numbers, but Si Xiao’er had no idea how strong City Lord Yang was.

“What do you know about Burial Garden’s gates?” Lu Yin asked this key question as he tried to pin Si Xiao’er down. He had first wanted to get some understanding of the Starfall Sea’s circumstances, but he had not expected these people to be able to travel to Skyblaze Dojo so easily and without any hint of fear. This piqued his curiosity.

The second thing that he wanted to learn about was Burial Garden’s gates, as entering one was his only means of leaving the Starfall Sea.

Si Xiao’er was completely confused. “What’s a Burial Garden’s gate?”

Lu Yin created an image of a gate in the air. Si Xiao’er was surprised by the sight. “Isn’t that one of the gates of death for those who fail the Neohuman Alliance’s tests? Why did you call it Burial Garden’s gate, Senior?”

“Gate of death?” Lu Yin arched a brow. Unsurprisingly, the Neohuman Alliance could not reveal the truth about Burial Garden’s gates, as the news would allow the humans in the Starfall Sea to slip away, and the corpse kings would not be able to chase after them and drag them back. Burial Garden was a forbidden place for corpse kings, as any who entered a gate would invariably die. “What did the Neohuman Alliance tell you about them?”

Si Xiao’er replied, “The gates of death were brought about by certain experiments. Anyone who passes through a gate will be transformed into a mindless corpse king without even the ability to move on their own. If the gates are allowed to persist, then they will gradually grow, expand, and consume everything around them. Anyone who finds a gate of death needs to report it to the Neohuman Alliance as soon as possible.”

After providing this explanation, she looked at Lu Yin with some confusion. “Senior, why did you call them Burial Garden’s gates?”

Lu Yin explained in an indifferent tone, “They aren’t gates of death. The Neohuman Alliance is lying about that. These gates lead to a mysterious place, and from there, you can even find a path to the Innerverse.”

Si Xiao’er was startled, but she quickly grew excited. “A path to the Innerverse? Really?”

“Are you all willing to be ruled over by corpse kings?” Lu Yin suddenly asked as he stared intently at Si Xiao’er.

Si Xiao’er’s body went rigid, and her eyes showed her feelings. Finally, she gave a massive shrug. “It doesn’t matter if we’re willing or not. The passage to the Innerverse is blocked, and we can’t get through. Even the Progenitors won’t come deep into the Starfall Sea to rescue us, so we’ve been abandoned to the Neohuman Alliance. What else can we do?”

Lu Yin frowned. This seemed to be the true feelings of the humans in the Starfall Sea who were ruled over by the corpse kings. This seemed accurate, as they had indeed been abandoned and left with no choice but to submit to their new rulers. What else could they do? Die? On top of that, they were even allowed to live the same lives that they had enjoyed before. Let alone Si Xiao’er, even if an Envoy like her master was unwilling to accept the Neohuman Alliance’s rule, there was nothing that could be done about it.

No one could blame these people. No one wished to be subjugated by another species, but there was nothing that these people could do about it.

“If we can one day return to the Innerverse, even if it’s only a tiny chance, we’ll fight for it,” Si Xiao’er whispered. Although quiet, her voice held strong determination.

“Then Burial Garden’s gates are your only chance. Unfortunately, most of them have already been destroyed by the Neohuman Alliance,” Lu Yin said.

Si Xiao’er asked, “Wasn’t Senior in seclusion? These death- Burial Garden’s gates only recently appeared, so how does Senior know that they can lead us to the Innerverse?”

The woman was not stupid, and this was an obvious question that had to be addressed, as this concerned the survival of humanity here. If the Neohuman Alliance had not lied, then entering the gates was a death sentence, and no one would be willing to risk their lives to test out such a thing.

Lu Yin replied, “When this old man was young, Burial Garden’s gate appeared as well. I happened to see one when I emerged some time ago, but unfortunately, it was quickly destroyed by a corpse king.”

Si Xiao’er shrugged. “Well, the Neohuman Alliance has already destroyed many of the gates. Unless they’re well hidden, there shouldn’t be any more in the ruins of the seventy-two dojos.”

Lu Yin found himself at a loss for words, as he suddenly understood why he had been discovered. That corpse king had not been looking for him, but rather for Burial Garden’s gates. It was just a coincidence that Lu Yin had been discovered in Mt. Stacks Dojo.

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