Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back. “Then wait. Wait until you completely surpass him.”

“Won’t that take a very long time?”

“Cultivation has no concept of time. You can afford to wait, and so can I.”

“Very well. I will not keep you waiting for too long, sir.”

A cold flicker of killing intent passed through He Xiao’s eyes. The two men were speaking about him right in front of him. “Mr. Lu, you want Chu Songyun to deal with me, but why do you not step forward yourself and try?”

Jiu Wen glanced at He Xiao. He was quite certain that Ba Yue was no match for Lu Yin, and that meant that He Xiao would not fare any better.

Still, this was a chance to see just how strong Mr. Lu truly was.

The others were all equally curious. Lu Yin was not an Immortal, and yet he gave off the impression that he was stronger than Chu Songyun. At the very least, Chu Songyun could not defeat Xie Man as easily as Lu Yin had. While reaching the Sevenfold Crimson level meant that Chu Songyun was undoubtedly stronger than Xie Man, it was impossible for him to crush her Umbrella Dominion with a single hand as Lu Yin had done.

Since Lu Yin had been granted the status of a Sevenfold Crimson the moment he arrived, everyone was eager to see how he fared against a true Immortal.

Chu Songyun was equally expectant.

Lu Yin smiled at He Xiao. “You are not worthy.”

He Xiao was enraged.

Chu Songyun was stunned, and he finally understood why others had grown so infuriated when he spoke those same words. They truly were revolting.

Even Jiu Wen was momentarily rendered speechless.

“You are courting death!” He Xiao was immediately about to strike.

Lu Yin looked toward Jiu Wen. “Senior, keep your people in check. Don’t let them stir up trouble for no reason.”

Jiu Wen took a sip of wine. Who’s the one stirring up trouble?

He had finally realized that this youngster was quite the troublemaker himself. “That is enough, He Xiao. Go back.”

He Xiao glared at Lu Yin. “Sect Master, this man has humiliated me, which is an insult to Crimson Starshade. I ask that you allow me to fight him.”

Jiu Wen shook his head. “Go back.”

He Xiao looked over at Jiu Wen. “I demand to fight this man.”

Jiu Wen sharply barked, “Go back!”

The two words boomed like a colossal bell, forcing He Xiao to retreat five steps as his blood surged chaotically. With no other choice, he withdrew, casting cold glances at Lu Yin before leaving. He would make the foreign man pay one day.

Lu Yin remarked admiringly, “Senior Jiu Wen, you truly wield great authority. Those two words were enough to frighten an Immortal away.”

The others present had not been affected and had not felt the pressure that Jiu Wen had suddenly released, but Lu Yin had experienced it directly. Those two words had resounded in his ears as well, but he had not even retreated by a single step.

Jiu Wen had intimidated He Xiao, though he had also intended to warn Lu Yin.

However, Lu Yin’s strength exceeded the old man’s expectations. There was no question that Lu Yin was stronger than He Xiao.

Jiu Wen stared intently at Lu Yin. “Mr. Lu, you have not yet adapted to Crimson Starshade’s environment. There are some things that you should not take too far.”

Lu Yin shrugged. “This is how I act in my own civilization. We don’t have this many rules.”

“This is Crimson Starshade.”

“Does Crimson Starshade not wish to make contact with my civilization?”

Jiu Wen looked at Lu Yin. “Are you willing to take us there?”

Lu Yin rubbed his head. “It seems that I cannot refuse. However, since we are both human civilizations, you should understand my need for caution. My civilization is the complete opposite of your Crimson Starshade. Here, people pursue emotionlessness and slaughter, while ours is very peaceful and full of emotions and bonds. If our two civilizations were to meet, then given Crimson Starshade’s strength, we would be the ones at a disadvantage.”

Jiu Wen asked, “Then what do you propose?”

As he spoke, he glanced at Chu Songyun. “Leave now. Ba Yue is in seclusion and will not see you for the time being.”

Chu Songyun glanced at Lu Yin and quietly left.

“For the time being, do not leave the Sect of Dispassion. He Xiao will not let you go,” Jiu Wen warned the youth.

While Chu Songyun was not good with words and was naturally emotionless and loveless, he was not foolish. He stayed within the Sect of Dispassion, where he could feel safe.

The crowd that had gathered had already dispersed, leaving only Jiu Wen and Lu Yin in the plaza.

“One must always look far ahead. No matter how much you try to delay, Mr. Lu, it is impossible for us to ignore the other human civilization. You should understand this.”

Lu Yin nodded. “I do understand, which is why I came to see you after only spending half a year at Canglan Valley.”

Jiu Wen said, “State your conditions.”

“There are no conditions.”

Jiu Wen was surprised. “No conditions?”

Lu Yin smiled. “Would that not amount to selling out my own civilization?”

Jiu Wen shook his head. “As fellow human civilizations, there is no such thing as selling out.”

Lu Yin looked at Jiu Wen, studying his gaze. This old man was truly adept at hiding things. There was no sign at all that he had ever been to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. If Lu Yin had not happened to see that gourd imprint, he never would have found a flaw in the man’s act.

“I would like to conduct a test,” he explained, looking at the countless people moving around outside the Sect of Dispassion, all eager to join the sect. Even though it stood right in front of their eyes, it remained unseen by them.

“A test?”

“I ask that you select a group of unknowing children and send them into Canglan Valley, where I will personally teach them. After twenty years, they will return to your civilization, and we shall see what they ultimately become.”

“Oh? If this group is influenced by the Path of Dispassion, will you not become even more unwilling to allow us to make contact with your civilization?”

“On the contrary,” Lu Yin solemnly stated, “If even a group personally taught by me is ultimately influenced by the Path of Dispassion, then I will immediately bring Crimson Starshade to our civilization. That is because I am well aware that contact between our two civilizations is inevitable. If the influence of the Path of Dispassion cannot be avoided, then it is better to establish contact early, allowing our civilization to also cultivate the Path of Dispassion and strengthen ourselves.

“Imagine if our civilization gained a few more immortals. Would that not make our human civilization a fishing civilization?”

Jiu Wen nodded. “It is good that you can think things through. Then what if they are not influenced?”

Lu Yin said, “Then it would prove that the Path of Dispassion is not as formidable as I imagined. Your civilization’s cultivation path will not bring significant progress to our civilization. Rather, it might instead destabilize it internally. That is not something that I wish to see. Do you understand my meaning, Senior?”

Jiu Wen praised, “Either it exerts absolute influence, bringing transformation to you all, or it should exert no influence at all, with each civilization developing separately. Is that what you mean?”

Lu Yin looked at Jiu Wen. “Do you agree, Senior?”

Jiu Wen laughed loudly. “Very well. Let us see just how powerful the influence of the Path of Dispassion truly is. I look forward to your civilization gaining a few more immortals.”

Lu Yin said, “Very well. In that case, I also ask that you ensure that Crimson Starshade does not take action against the people in my Canglan Valley. Otherwise, if they are killed outright, my people will be wiped out.”

Jiu Wen said, “I can only ensure that members of the Sect of Dispassion will not take action. My Crimson Starshade Civilization has countless people, and even our ancestor cannot make such a promise.”

Lu Yin’s main objective was to allow a group from his three megaverses to enter Crimson Starshade and see if they would be influenced. Receiving permission to pursue that goal was enough.

If the group was not influenced, then contact between Crimson Starshade and Lu Yin’s native civilization would be acceptable. If the people were strongly influenced, then no contact could be allowed.

As for how the outcome of this wager would ultimately be enforced, that did not depend on promises, but rather on absolute strength. Crimson Starshade was strong, but Lu Yin’s civilization was not weak either.

His own ability to teleport was already enough to ensure that Crimson Starshade could not find his three megaverses.

Of course, that was merely the initial plan. Having learned that Green Lotus had already contacted Jiu Wen changed things.

Lu Yin still intended to act as though he knew nothing about that connection, making it impossible for others to sense anything from his actions. While conducting his test, he would also focus on the more important task of investigating the true relationship between Green Lotus and Jiu Wen.

Why had Green Lotus never spoken about Crimson Starshade’s existence? Why had Jiu Wen also remained silent? Why, after so many years, had the Crimson Starshade Civilization never contacted their Human Trio?

These were all things that he wanted to know.

A total of 10,000 people were selected to enter Canglan Valley. All of them were orphans or infants who were still in swaddling clothes, with no memories whatsoever.

When this group was sent into Canglan Valley, members of the Sect of Dispassion received orders to not act against anyone inside the valley.

This order confused the outside world because Canglan Valley was known to only be Lu Yin’s home. People had no idea that 10,000 people had been sent inside.

It was not until twenty years later, when a group of people emerged from Canglan Valley, that people finally understood.

Over the course of twenty years, that group had grown up.

Twenty years ago, Lu Yin had sent that group of children to his own civilization, while he had selected a group of children that were the same age from his civilization to begin training in Canglan Valley. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

He had initially planned to bring over a group of people who were already skilled in deception and manipulation, but he had quickly realized that they would be easily exposed. Although a Zenith Mountain could be used to house some people, it would still require effort. Therefore, he had instead directed his people to gather a group of children who were the same age as those gathered by Crimson Starshade. These children were then trained by people with strong emotions who were adept at influencing others’ hearts; as a result, the children became individuals with firm determination who could influence others.

These children were also taught cultivation and were guided with great care. After all, according to Crimson Starshade’s understanding, the children were being personally taught by Lu Yin, and their training would not be inferior.

After twenty years, a group of children was sent out into the Crimson Starshade Civilization, released from Canglan Valley.

These children knew nothing about the Trio. All along, they had only been told that they were in Canglan Valley, so that there would be no risk of exposure. Moreover, their teachers had even disguised themselves as Lu Yin. Throughout the children’s entire lives, they had only known Lu Yin.

Each one was intelligent and adept at influencing hearts.

Lu Yin did not believe that the people who had been collectively trained by his own civilization would be influenced by Crimson Starshade to cultivate the Path of Dispassion, but he would let the two cultures collide and see how things unfolded.

There were always people watching outside Canglan Valley, though not to monitor it. They understood Lu Yin’s strength and that trying to monitor him was impossible. They were merely keeping an eye on the place, and some of them even hoped to become disciples.

“Look! So many people are coming out.”

The others looked over and saw a group emerging from Canglan Valley. They were all young men and women. Some walked in pairs or trios, laughing and talking, while others walked alone. They scattered in every direction, and a full 10,000 people moved out.

The cultivators outside of Canglan Valley were all stunned. How could so many people have emerged all at once?

They quickly stopped one of them. "Brother, are you disciples of Mr. Lu?"

The man who had been intercepted had a dull-looking face, and he glanced at the people before him with a hint of timidity as he softly replied, “Yes.”

“What did you cultivate inside?”

The man pursed his lips. “Well, he does not allow us to say.”

The surrounding people exchanged looks. Others asked several more questions, but they learned nothing. In the end, the few people even treated the young man to a meal because he had said that he was hungry.

Similar scenes played out many times as all 10,000 people dispersed. Lu Yin was very much looking forward to seeing what these people would bring to the Crimson Starshade Civilization.