Chapter 4406: Footprints

The people of the Starfall Megaverse were willing to abandon the Shattered Dipper because the Trio could offer them a new cultivation path. Without that, all that awaited them would be silence and extinction.

“So for all these years, you’ve been enduring that ferryman’s oppression?”

Chen Jian did not deny it. “You could say that.”

Lu Yin exhaled. “The Mountain Sword Sect’s debt has not yet been settled, but let’s deal with this first. Senior, there is one thing that I must remind you of.”

He gave Chen Jian a pointed look. “Once this branch of the River of Aeons is captured, the Starfall Megaverse will be completely destroyed and will vanish from the Aevum Inch.”

Chen Jian’s eyes trembled, and he remained silent for a long time. Although he had already left the Starfall Megaverse and knew that it was unlikely that he would ever return, a final farewell was still difficult to accept. Lu Yin did not rush the man and simply waited quietly.

After a long while, Chen Jian said, “Take me to see it again for one last look.”

Lu Yin reached out and placed his hand on Chen Jian’s shoulder. They teleported in the direction of the Starfall Megaverse. Even if the old man had not made that request, Lu Yin still would have taken him back to the megaverse. He would let Chen Jian see how he dealt with the ferryman of the River of Aeons. Humanity might have suffered defeat, but they were not something that just anyone could bully. From beginning to end, the various civilizations would face retaliation, and every grievance would eventually be repaid.

Ancestor Shan was right, humanity has never been content to stay still. They may fear the Aevum Inch and know their limits, but their “self-awareness” was looking more and more questionable.

Before long, they arrived at the Starfall Megaverse. Humanity had not been gone for long, but a large number of creatures that had previously been suppressed by humanity had already emerged, and some had even stepped onto the Shattered Dipper.

Chen Jian was furious, and he eliminated all the creatures before landing on the Shattered Dipper, muttering something to himself.

Meanwhile, Lu Yin arrived at a barren mountain not far from the Shattered Dipper. It had once been Chen Jian’s residence, but the surroundings were desolate. The man had abandoned comforts and emotions alike.

Lu Yin saw many memorial tablets. Because this area was protected by a sourcebox array, the creatures had not been able to enter this place.

The tablets belonged to the people whom Chen Jian had cared about most. On the ground, Lu Yin saw two deep footprints, marks left by someone who had stood in that one place for an unimaginably long time.

Lu Yin slowly walked forward to stand directly upon those two footprints, and he looked at the numerous memorial tablets.

Chen Jian then arrived. “Let’s go.”

Lu Yin continued to look at the tablets. “You don’t plan to take these with you?”

A trace of sorrow flashed through the old man’s eyes, only to quickly calm back down. “They were all born here in the Starfall Megaverse. Let them disappear together with this megaverse.”

Lu Yin gazed at him. “Senior, can you truly let go?”

Chen Jian calmly replied, “Yes.”

“Abandoning all emotion, cutting off every attachment, and turning yourself into an unfeeling machine in order to guard this megaverse. Senior, you may have no disciples, but everyone in the Starfall Megaverse can be considered your disciple. Such protection commands respect,” Lu Yin stated. Hearing something and witnessing it directly were two entirely different things.

He had believed that, after hearing about Chen Jian’s experiences, it would be possible to understand the man. But as he stood before those memorial tablets, Lu Yin realized that his so-called understanding had been far too limited.

The old man’s method might seem foolish, but it had also been sincere.

When a person completely abandoned themself to accomplish a single task, they could become absolutely terrifying.

Chen Jian looked over at the Shattered Dipper. “I abandoned all emotion, but I could not abandon myself. To be honest, discarding the self and severing all feelings is a lie. If I had truly let go, those two footprints would not exist. To this megaverse, I have been a guardian, but to those people, I am a traitor. I am the one who betrayed their emotions and betrayed myself.”

Lu Yin slowly bowed toward the tablets. The wall in his heart rose higher than ever, but he did not feel even the slightest hint of joy. Humanity had sacrificed too much for the continuation of its civilization. He did not know what the final outcome would be, but he would never regret it.

His suffering and exhaustion were not unique. Others had made the same sacrifices.

The Starfall Megaverse had no Mirari Realm, and the local branch of the River of Aeons directly flowed through the entire megaverse. Lu Yin and Chen Jian quickly found it, and when they looked along it into the distance, they saw a strangely shaped creature. “That must be this megaverse’s previous civilization.”

Chen Jian nodded with a dark expression. “The previous civilization treated the ferryman as a god and offered them tribute, so they protected those creatures. The struggle for the Starfall Megaverse was more of a war against this ferryman. They wanted us to worship them in the same manner that the previous civilization had. Ridiculous. How could Immortals worship a ferryman?”

Lu Yin laughed. “If one’s realm is insufficient, the River of Aeons can certainly give off the impression of being godlike, but once one’s realm reaches a certain level, it becomes clear that a ferryman cannot even leave the River of Aeons. Worship such a creature? Utterly ridiculous.”

At that moment a voice came from within the River of Aeons. “Chen Jian, your humans have already left this megaverse. Why have you returned?”

Chen Jian stared into the distance. “We came back for you.”

“For me?” The ferryman sounded confused. Their voice was low and hoarse, radiating clear hostility. “Since you have already left, there is no need to return. You never belonged to this megaverse.”

“Whether we return or not is not for you to decide!” Chen Jian shouted sharply, his tone completely different from before. To the ferryman, Chen Jian seemed like an entirely different person at this moment. Both the man’s aura and attitude seemed to have gained a sharp edge. The old man’s former restraint had transformed into arrogance.

"So your civilization has found your own kind, but so what? You wouldn’t be thinking of attacking me, would you? Hmph! Do not say that I did not warn you. If you attack me, I can draw down the main stream of the River of Aeons and sweep all of you away. Even if you are an Immortal being, do not even think of returning."

Chen Jian said nothing more.

Lu Yin looked at the ferryman in the distance. In truth, the creature was watching Lu Yin the entire time. They were familiar with Chen Jian, but they knew nothing about Lu Yin. Their words were actually intended for Lu Yin to hear.

"Since your human civilization has completely left this place, there is nothing between us anymore. You know that I cannot leave this River of Aeons, so from now on, there will be no grievances between us. Leave," the ferryman ordered.

The ease with which an Immortal could kill a ferryman of the River of Aeons depended entirely on the level of control that ferryman had over the power of time and their own branch of the River of Aeons. When Zhao Ran had fought her way out of the Mirari Realm, she had relied on her own branch of the River of Aeons to confront the droplet-shaped Verdant Sage while using her Album of Time. Her methods were quite impressive. After all, Zhao Ran was essentially a clone that had broken off from Wei Nu, and Wei Nu had not been an ordinary ferryman of the River of Aeons. She had harbored ambitions of breaking into the Immortal Realm and breaking free of the River of Aeons.

The ferryman before Lu Yin was far inferior to Zhao Ran in ability, but they possessed one move that even Chen Jian and his masters had been unable to easily counter. That move was the ability to hide.

This creature could disperse the power of time into a mist so dense that not even Immortals could see through it and then use that mist to hide within the River of Aeons. If anyone tried to attack the ferryman by force and failed to kill them in one shot, they would have an opportunity to act.

In the creature’s own words, they could draw down the main stream of the River of Aeons and sweep everyone away.

Of course, Lu Yin had already told Chen Jian that things were not nearly so simple. Even a ferryman of the River of Aeons would find it extremely difficult to actively attract the main stream of the River of Aeons over, but as long as there was even the slightest chance of them succeeding, Chen Jian and his masters would never dare to take such a risk.

However, this time, the ferryman was facing Lu Yin.

Mist rose from the River of Aeons, and it grew thicker and thicker. It became far denser than the mist of time that existed in the Tianyuan’s Mirari Realm. This mist of time was thick enough to drag even Dukkhans into chaotic currents of time, just like when Lu Yin had first entered the Mirari Realm.

It had no effect on Lu Yin or Chen Jian, but the ferryman gradually disappeared within the mist. They had sensed danger.

"Senior, make your final move in this megaverse. Allow the Shattered Dipper to release its last brilliance. I will mark the position for you," Lu Yin offered. He could easily locate the ferryman. Lightstream was the manifestation of the power of space chasing the power of time, and not even a ferryman could evade it.

Obscura’s White was able to place gates that connected to the main stream of the River of Aeons, thereby escaping spatial constraints and allowing them to connect any two points in the Aevum Inch. Lu Yin was not able to do that, but he still had the power to control things along this one branch of the River of Aeons.

Chen Jian’s expression grew complicated as he slowly clenched a fist, causing invisible power to shake the surrounding void. A vague image appeared from within his body, and it swung a fist. After that, more phantoms appeared, one after another. They overlapped endlessly, and as they appeared, the Shattered Dipper trembled as its fist intent was drawn upon. The surging aura rose higher and higher, terrifying the ferryman. They screamed, "Chen Jian, what are you doing? Stop! If you do not stop, I will draw down the main stream of the River of Aeons!"

Chen Jian acted as if he heard nothing. Even if the ferryman truly did as they claimed, what of it? Mr. Lu was able to teleport.

"Chen Jian, do not force me!" The ferryman was genuinely terrified at this moment. They stared at Lu Yin. This was the person responsible. This was the person giving Chen Jian the confidence to act. But how could he see them?

Lu Yin observed Chen Jian. So this is the Star Fist.

Each phantom represented a unique comprehension of fist intent. The more images that appeared, the stronger the fist intent became, and the stronger the fist intent, the more power that a person could draw from the Shattered Dipper. Chen Jian was undoubtedly the strongest Star Fist practitioner of the current era. Lu Yin was eager to see his full power punch.

It simply took too long to prepare. A real enemy would never allow him so much time.

"Chen Jian, stop!" the ferryman shrieked.

Chen Jian’s eyes snapped open. He faced a particular location along the River of Aeons and then unleashed his punch: Star Fist.

The power of this punch crossed the branch of the River of Aeons and slammed into the ferryman as they stared on in horror. They could not understand how Chen Jian had located them.

The creature tried to flee. How could they possibly withstand a punch from an Immortal? Not only that, but this punch also clearly surpassed any that Chen Jian had thrown before. Had the human gone insane? Was it really necessary to use his full strength to deal with a mere ferryman?

But the ferryman also could not escape. Lightstream streaked across the universe, space chasing after time.

As the punch drew closer, the ferryman did not look at Chen Jian, but rather at Lu Yin. Beneath the brilliance of that punch, Lu Yin’s figure became deeply engraved in the ferryman’s mind. This human had found them. Detestable, detestable, detestable...

That single punch shattered the ferryman’s boat, and the creature’s body also vanished into nothingness.

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. That punch had truly been ruthless, and its power had been no less than a full-force attack from Blood Tower or Awe Gate. Still, it had not been entirely Chen Jian’s own power, but rather power borrowed from the Shattered Dipper. What a pity. If Chen Jian had possessed that power himself, the Trio would have just gained another expert.

Although the ferryman of the River of Aeons had lived a very long time, they possessed little karma. They were never able to leave the River of Aeons, which was why Lu Yin had no intention of using such a creature to increase his karma.

Besides, he did not want to risk any possible accidents. If the River of Aeons’ main stream was drawn down, what then? At the very least, this particular branch would vanish.

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