Chapter 3823: Crushed

Qing Yun looked at Lu Yin. “And you? What number do you choose?”

Lu Yin smiled. “Five pips.”

The girl looked up at Lu Yin in surprise. That was the first number that she had guessed before changing her mind.

Ying Mei felt her heart drop. Something was wrong, though she had no idea what it was.

Qian Shu’s brow furrowed tightly as he stared at Qing Yun’s hand.

Qing Yun looked up. “This concerns the lives of multiple people. Are you certain that neither of you will change your minds?”

“I’m not changing,” the girl replied firmly. Just a moment ago, she had been overwhelmed by an inexplicable impulse. It was as if something had whispered to her that the die would land on six pips. She might not know where the urge originated from, but she did know that, as long as she followed the impulse, she was guaranteed to win.

Ying Mei took a deep breath. “I’m certain.”

Lu Yin nodded. “I’m certain.”

As everyone stared, Qing Yun slowly opened her hand, revealing the die... and five pips.

At that moment, Ying Mei’s face turned deathly pale. Impossible!

Every one of the Autumnspring Slip’s experts were flabbergasted. How could they have lost?

The girl’s legs lost all strength, and she collapsed to the floor. How? How could this happen? I was supposed to win!

Lu Siyu loudly cheered, “Yes! We won!”

Ming Xiaolong let out a deep breath. She had been utterly terrified. She had been certain that Lu Yin would lose.

As for Lu Yin, he just smiled calmly as his eyes drifted over to Ying Mei. “Your lives are now mine.”

The moment he finished speaking, he took a step forward. Before anyone could react, he was already directly in front of Granny Ya. His hand fell down, delivering a palm strike that would instantly execute the woman.

Granny Ya was horrified. A Blood Tower took form behind her, as powerful as possible, and she coughed blood onto it. “Greater Sancte of the Nine Odysseys: Blood Tower!”

At the same time, she wrote characters in the air: the Autumnspring Slip: 10,000 Forests Cleave. Countless trees erupted from the ground, each one transforming into slashing blades that sliced at Lu Yin.

As Lu Yin’s hand fell, Infinity surged through his body, Heaven’s Seal’s sequence particles spread out, and Wielder-realm battle force covered his body.

Bang!

The 10,000 Forests Cleave was crushed into a splash of ink. Lu Yin’s palm continued down and slammed into the Blood Tower.

Crack!

It shattered.

With that, his hand viciously slammed onto Granny Ya’s head.

A soft crack rang out as everyone stared on in stunned silence.

Granny Ya dropped to her knees, already dead. Blood pooled beneath her, and the sight sent chills through everyone who saw it.

That had been her true body, not a projected spirit seed. This meant that her death was real and final. There was no second chance.

A peak Dukkhan was gone, as quick as that.

She had unleashed her Soul legacy skill, strengthening it to the absolute limit while also using a battle technique, and yet she had failed to stop a single palm strike. Lu Yin had not even used the legendary Five-Palm Art, and yet he had already unleashed an attack of terrifying power.

Who alive was capable of executing Granny Ya with a single palm strike? It was less than the number of fingers on one hand.

Lu Yin stood in the growing pool of blood as he slowly turned to look at Ying Mei. “Your turn now. Your life is mine.”

Ying Mei trembled, consumed by her rising fury. She had not stopped Lu Yin. The Autumnspring Slip’s blood had been spilled, but not a single expert present had been able to stop Lu Yin. His strength was monstrous and truly terrifying. There was no question that he was as powerful as the Lesser Sancti.

The sect master no longer had time to question why their luck had failed. As she stared intently at Lu Yin, she asked, “Are you so determined for things to end in death?”

Lu Yin sneered. “What? Are you planning to back out now?”

“There is a price for everything.”

“And your life is that required price.”

Ming Xiaolong shouted, “Ying Mei, are you really going to go against your word? This wager was overseen by the young lady! You are openly disrespecting her!”

Ying Mei no longer cared about the wager or the young lady. She was about to die, and nothing else mattered at this moment.

The stench of blood continued to spread. Ying Mei clenched her fists. “Everyone in the Autumnspring Slip, kill him!”

If the veneer of civilization was torn away, what would be revealed was a savagery more frenzied and venomous than what could be imagined.

Lu Yin was surrounded, and every last one of the Autumnspring Slip’s experts attacked in unison. Tower-shaped swords rose up before slashing back down. Four Dukkhans and nine Ortusers struck at Lu Yin, led by Ying Mei.

Had Granny Ya still been alive, she would have joined the assault.

Even for a sect as powerful as the Autumnspring Slip, Granny Ya’s death was a terrible loss that cut to the bone.

Lu Yin stood where he was, not moving at all as the thirteen attacks fell. He raised a hand and countered with a single palm strike: Five-Palm Art.

Clang!

All of the attacks shattered into fragments.

“Crush.”

“Crush.”

“Crush...”

All thirteen experts wrote the Crush (压) character in unison. A pressure strong enough to shatter the sky fell as a terrifying aura swept everyone away from the battle.

Qing Yun, Lu Siyu, and everyone else were all forced to retreat. No one dared to try to get closer again.

The mirebound artifact that was the Autumnspring Slip trembled.

Long Yin watched the attacks unfold. She wanted to take action, but she had realized that the defensive barrier surrounding the bamboo slip had suddenly intensified. All of the Autumnspring Slip’s disciples were moving to the edges of the mirebound artifact, wary of the interference of Deathmound and the Luo family.

Down on the ground of Ridgeplain, countless spectators watched as a spatial ripple spread out from the bamboo slip in the sky, followed by cracks that covered everything. It was clear that the battle above had begun.

Lu Yin looked up. The thirteen “Crush” characters merged into form one colossal character that fell to overwhelm him.

He crooked his middle finger. Heaven’s Seal’s sequence particles gathered at the tip of the finger, and Infinity caused his power to surge. Wielder-realm battle force coated the finger like a layer of liquid metal. He flicked his finger up at the massive “Crush” character, and it instantly shattered. The brute force of Lu Yin’s attack nearly overturned the mirebound artifact, and the resulting backlash was vicious. The nine Ortusers all spat up blood, though Ying Mei and the other three Dukkhans were spared from that fate. All of them stared at Lu Yin in utter disbelief.

How was this possible? Could a human even possess such raw strength?

Ying Mei was just as stunned as the others. While she had already known that Lu Yin was strong enough to dominate the three lower megaverses and even suppress the Four Commands Sword Sect, all of the Autumnspring Slip’s top experts had united and attacked as one. Had they really just been overpowered by a single finger? Was this man as physically strong as an Immortal?

Lu Yin looked up as he released his consciousness. It howled out, producing a visible shockwave that blasted across the region, obliterating the nine Ortusers as it passed by them. None of the nine had any chance to even try to resist.

Surprisingly, all nine were only present as spirit seeds.

That was fine, as it meant that Lu Yin could imprison their true bodies in his Champions' Stage Purgatory and improve his power of karma. It would have actually been a waste if he had destroyed their true bodies. He had no intention of leaving any survivors behind. Spirit seed or not, all of them had to die.

Mr. Mo took a step back as he stared at Lu Yin in terror. That wave of consciousness had almost knocked the Dukkhan out. How could anyone’s consciousness be this powerful? The man’s mind went blank, leaving him unable to even attack. There was no question that Lu Yin’s consciousness surpassed even the Consciousness Megaverse’s Thirteen Luminaries.

The other two Dukkhans were just as shocked as Mr. Mo, and their minds were similarly blank.

Lu Yin looked at the three men and casually released a slash of sharp sword qi. It was an attack capable of killing all three with a single stroke. However, Ying Mei stepped forward, and she used a Blood Tower to block Lu Yin’s slash. Her right hand shot forward, the Kill (杀) character drawn on it. Infinite killing intent turned the sky crimson as it fell from the bamboo slip and severed the ground of Ridgeplain.

“That’s Sect Master Ying Mei’s bloodlust! She hasn’t been this furious in ages.”

“Is that her ‘Kill’ character? It’s just as terrifying as the rumors!”

Above, on the Autumnspring Slip, Qing Yun and the other spectators had already retreated to stand in midair. While the bamboo slip was vast, it was swaying from the forces released during the fierce battle.

The members of the Luo family and Deathmound’s forces also pulled back.

While they wanted to join the battle, they had no justifiable excuse to do so. Besides, Lu Yin was clearly not at any sort of disadvantage. That shocked everyone who was watching, as one man was fighting against all of the Autumnspring Slip on his own.

Ying Mei’s “Kill” character caused even Lu Yin’s heart to tremble. This was the bloodlust of a peak Dukkhan, and it reminded him of the High Seraph and Yue Ya. However, those men’s battle styles were completely different. Ying Mei was much more direct, as well as more brutal.

The “Kill” character relentlessly drew closer. Ying Mei had poured all of her power into the character, and cracks spread out from beneath her feet. All the while, her eyes remained eerily calm.

Lu Yin met the old woman’s gaze. No matter how strong her killing intent might be, it could not compensate for the overwhelming difference in strength.

He reached up with a hand, and as countless eyes stared in amazement, Lu Yin grabbed the “Kill” character... and crushed it. The oppressive bloodlust vanished.

Qian Shu froze. How... how is that possible?

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Each exchange that they witnessed during this battle was more unbelievable than anything they had ever seen in their lives.

That had been Ying Mei’s “Kill” character, carrying the full power of her entire lifetime’s worth of cultivation. She had focused on honing and refining that single character. She rarely took action over the years, but any time she had, people had died. The Autumnspring Slip had floated across the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, rising up from being a target for all the other organizations to its current prestigious status precisely because Ying Mei had held the line with her “Kill” character, carrying the sect up step by step.

That same “Kill” character had just been crushed. Even Qing Yun was shaken.

Ying Mei was powerful enough to compete for the title of Lesser Sancte. She was someone whom even the Lesser Sancti were wary of. And yet, she suddenly appeared... helpless? The people watching had the impression that the woman could be defeated without any effort at all.

Both Lu Siyu and Ming Xiaolong were stunned. They remembered how Lu Yin had once said that he would simply destroy the Autumnspring Slip. As they were seeing now... he had meant those words.

Lu Yin opened his hand. There were a few bleeding cuts marring his palm. While he had crushed the character, he had still been injured, as expected of a peak Dukkhan. While Lu Yin’s attacks and destructive power might have reached the level of Immortals, his defenses were not at that same level.

“Have you recovered?” Ying Mei asked quietly.

Behind her, Mr. Mo and the other two Dukkhans let out long breaths. “We’re ready to fight.”

All three Dukkhans were men. There was Mr. Mo, a man by the name of Master Yi Bai, and the head of the Autumnspring Slip’s archives. These three were the top experts of their sect, and yet they had been forced to stand behind Ying Mei for protection. It was a jarring sight.

Master Yi Bai sighed. “Sect Master, the Autumnspring Slip is truly at fault in this matter.”

Ying Mei clenched her teeth and roared, “Do you want me to die?”

Master Yi Bai’s voice grew bitter, “I told you long ago that the Autumnspring Slip’s behavior would eventually bring retribution down upon us. That retribution is here. Still, I won’t retreat. From the moment I stepped foot on this path, when I die, it will be here.”

“Enough of this. There’s no predicting the final results of today’s battle,” Mr. Mo growled in a low voice.

Ying Mei continued to stare at Lu Yin. “You three, go below.”

The head archivist was shaken by the order. “Has it really come to that?”

Mr. Mo stepped back, vanishing without hesitation.

Master Yi Bai shook his head. He looked at Lu Yin with regret and helplessness, but then he also disappeared.

The head archivist similarly vanished.

Lu Yin did not stop the three men. They were not truly leaving. The sect still had some hidden cards, and Lu Yin wanted to see what exactly those were.

Ying Mei no longer spoke to Lu Yin. Things had devolved to the point where one of them needed to die. The Autumnspring Slip had suffered too many losses.

“Greater Sancte of the Nine Odysseys: Blood Tower,” Ying Mei murmured. Blood leaked from the corners of her mouth, and she spat a mouthful onto the Blood Tower, causing it to shimmer with streams of light that illuminated the area. As she did so, she also used her blood as ink to start drawing characters, each of which hung within the Blood Tower itself.

Long Yin’s eyes flared as she stared at Lu Yin. “Watch out for Ying Mei’s 10,000-Character Scripture World! Her characters create a world, and when she writes them with her own blood, she can banish you into it, casting you into eternal oblivion.”

From the other side, Lu Yin observed Ying Mei’s actions. He saw the vast number of sequence particles that emerged from within the Blood Tower. They were all Ying Mei’s sequence particles.

Path Initiation was another way of saying that someone had comprehended sequence particles.

In the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, some referred to the process as comprehending sequence particles, but that typically referred to when a cultivator mastered sequence particles after becoming a peak powerhouse.

However, there were some who did not master sequence particles even after entering Dukkha. That was because they were waiting for their chance to fight for the title of Lesser Sancte, or even to sense the elusive Immortal realm. When a cultivator comprehended sequence particles after entering Dukkhan, people referred to it as Path Initiation.

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.