Seeing Old First's attitude soften, Lu Yin quickly said, "Senior, you didn’t run. This junior acted on his own and took you away."

“I know. You moved a bit too soon.”

“That’s right. Um, Senior, do you want to try again?”

Old First’s eye twitched. “I’m not going back. It’s not that I’m afraid of him, but fighting a powerhouse like that would add far too much to my karmic chain. I also still have to find Little Eighteen. Go play by yourself.”

With that, the toad sprang up and hopped far away.

Lu Yin let out a breath. He peered into the distance and saw Ji He again. This time, it had to be the real man, but without Old First’s help, Lu Yin was completely incapable of taking Ji He away.

Even if Hong Xia were not present, Ji He still would not be easy to handle.

With that thought, Lu Yin vanished. He had decided to return to the Three Megaverses first. For the time being, he could not go to Crimson Starshade.

Hong Xia was a traitor to Crimson Starshade, but both Jiu Wen and Ji He were his subordinates. When Bing Xu and the others were added in, not even considering how they cultivated the Path of Dispassion, it was not suitable to have any contact with their civilization.

From this point forward, the two human civilizations would be strangers. However, if Lu Yin one day gained the strength to defeat Hong Xia, he would surely avenge Crimson Starshade’s ancestors.

Lu Yin had learned of Hong Xia’s betrayal and the truth behind the present Crimson Starshade civilization by accident. However, Lu Yin still did not know why Jiu Wen had been in contact with Green Lotus.

After several teleportations, Lu Yin returned to the Three Megaverses. The moment he returned, he entered the Sea of Karma. Greater Sancte Green Lotus had emerged from seclusion.

Lu Yin appeared before the man, but before he could even speak, Green Lotus spoke. “Have you already learned the truth about Hong Xia?”

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. “Hong Xia betrayed the Second Rampa-”

“That’s enough, Lu Yin. Do you trust me or not?”

“I do.” Lu Yin did not hesitate.

Green Lotus smiled. “Come, let’s go capture a few people.”

“Who?”

“Bing Xu, He Xiao, Meiran Dan, Xi Shangfeng, and Ji He. Catch as many as you can.”

Lu Yin took a deep breath. Green Lotus was far more knowledgeable about Crimson Starshade than he had imagined. If the Greater Sancte knew the civilization so well, why had he never mentioned it when their own civilization had faced multiple crises? Was it because Green Lotus knew that those who cultivated the Path of Dispassion would not intervene, or was it because their megaverse was too far away?

If Green Lotus understood Crimson Starshade so well, it meant that he knew that the Crimson Starshade he had abandoned had been fake, the residents of pond civilizations which had belonged to the families of Jiu Wen’s disciples.

Lu Yin had two hypotheses in mind, but both were predicated on Green Lotus being deceived by Jiu Wen. However, the man clearly knew everything.

But did Lu Yin trust him? He still trusted the man, if for no other reason than that Green Lotus had helped Lu Yin far too much over the years. Without him, there would be no Lu Yin as he was. So, he still believed in the man.

“Just the two of us?”

“Three,” Green Lotus corrected.

Lu Yin’s mind raced. He suddenly blurted, “Jiu Wen?”

He vanished, teleporting away. As Lu Yin moved again and again, his mind kept churning. Just what were Jiu Wen and Green Lotus planning?

In Crimson Starshade, Lu Yin had learned about Jiu Wen. The man had disseminated the Path of Dispassion throughout his entire megaverse, and he had also slaughtered the clans of his own disciples. Through Rang Yu, Lu Yin had learned about some of Jiu Wen’s past. Like Bing Xu and the other Crimson Starshade Immortals, the man deserved to die.

Green Lotus was different, so why would those two people join forces? Were they using each other?

There was no need to guess who they were targeting: Hong Xia. He alone was worthy of being targeted by the two men.

Lu Yin did not ask any questions as he brought Green Lotus to the Crimson Starshade Megaverse.

“All of these schemes have been for this moment, Lu Yin. I know you have many questions, but do not worry about them for now. Capture those people first. Catch as many as you can. If you can’t capture them, then kill them. Hold nothing back.” Green Lotus took one step, causing the megaverse itself to sway. A suffocating pressure instantly fell. It felt as if the entire megaverse had been frozen.

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. He had never felt such power from Green Lotus before. At this moment, the man gave off a sense of pressure that nearly matched that of Hong Xia or Chang Chuan. Green Lotus had always been hiding his true strength.

There was no time to think. Lu Yin vanished, instantly appearing in a distant corner of the megaverse. It was where Bing Xu was staying.

Since the Immortal’s defeat, he had stopped standing guard outside the megaverse and had returned to his residence to recover. Lu Yin knew exactly where the man was.

At this same time, within the Sect of Dispassion, Jiu Wen’s aura abruptly changed. He stepped out and rose into the sky. It was time to bring things to an end.

At this moment, Ba Yue, He Xiao, Meiran Dan, and Bing Xu were all shaken. They sensed a powerful, yet unfamiliar, aura. Was that also the power of karma? Who could it be?

They had just sensed a battle take place, and they had even sensed Ancestor Hong Xia’s power. With their ancestor not present, who had invaded Crimson Starshade?

From underground, Bing Xu looked up, his expression changing. What is going on? The universe has changed so suddenly, becoming completely unfamiliar.

Someone suddenly appeared in front of the man, and they threw a punch at Bing Xu.

His pupils contracted sharply. “Lu Yin?”

He hurried to evade, but Bing Xu had already been severely wounded by Lu Yin. At this moment, Lu Yin’s full force punch completely shattered the void.

From the outside, in the Aevum Inch, a corner of the Crimson Starshade Megaverse suddenly shattered.

Outside of the megaverse, He Xiao stared at the descending Greater Sancte Green Lotus in a daze. “Who are you?”

Green Lotus raised a hand. Endless karma formed a Karmic Heavenwheel as he pointed a single finger forward.

He Xiao opened his blood-red umbrella, using all of his power to block the Karmic Heavenwheel, but that one finger still pierced everything. The umbrella’s ribs shattered. All that He Xiao could see were Green Lotus’s cold, emotionless eyes.

Elsewhere, Jiu Wen rose into the sky to arrive before Meiran Dan. She looked at Jiu Wen and quickly shouted, “Sect Master, a powerful enemy is attacking!”

Jiu Wen sighed. “The Path of Dispassion has harmed you, but do not worry. I will give you an explanation.”

With that, his wine gourd turned to face Meiran Dan. As that happened, the cosmos seemed to shrink endlessly. Along with it, Meiran Dan was pulled towards the wine gourd. Beneath the crushing pressure, she let out a miserable scream. “Why? Why?”

There was a bang, and Bing Xu spat out blood. Lu Yin grabbed the man with one motion and then looked up at the sky. He saw that He Xiao and Meiran Dan had both been captured. The attack had gone remarkably smoothly.

Not even Green Lotus had expected things to proceed this easily. With one hand holding the heavily injured He Xiao, he proceeded towards the last guardian: Xi Shangfeng.

Jiu Wen had also captured Meiran Dan, so he also made his way towards Xi Shangfeng.

Xi Shangfeng was sitting quietly in place, his expression as calm as still water. It appeared that he did not care at all. His Path of Dispassion was directed at himself, and he used it to temper himself. He truly did not fear death.

At that moment, a crimson light spread across the cosmos, and a furious voice echoed throughout the megaverse. “Jiu Wen, you have betrayed me!”

Lu Yin looked up. Hong Xia had returned.

Green Lotus held He Xiao in one hand, his expression solemn.

Jiu Wen was dragging Meiran Dan along by her hair, keeping her pressed down beside his wine gourd. He sighed and looked upwards. “All of Crimson Starshade, listen.”

The megaverse fell silent. Everyone in Crimson Starshade looked up at the stars. What had just happened?

Chu Songyun, Xie Man, Elder Qiu, and many others were among those gazing up at the sky. Something enormous was happening. Their universe was being overturned.

Ba Yue stood inside the Sect of Dispassion’s main gate, staring into the distance with a complicated expression on her face. Just what was happening?

“At humanity’s peak, the Nine Ramparts spread across the cosmos. The entire Aevum Inch held them in awe. Their splendor endured for 10,000 ages.

“Yet that prosperity reached its limit and then began to decline. Many powerful civilizations throughout the cosmos, which had once been suppressed by our human race, joined together to oppose the Nine Ramparts. Humanity fought to the death. Consequently, the Nine Ramparts collapsed, and fewer than one in ten of humanity’s legacies endured.

“This is what we all know, but what you do not know is that the Nine Ramparts could have avoided defeat. The Nine Ramparts could have won.”

A dazzling red beam bloomed beneath the sky. It was a tower, and it rose higher and higher, until it connected to Xi Shangfeng. At the same time, Hong Xia’s voice echoed across the universe, “Shut up, Jiu Wen! You have betrayed me! You have betrayed Crimson Starshade! I will make you suffer a fate worse than death!”

Jiu Wen’s voice shook the universe. He looked across the cosmos, as though seeing the past glory of the Nine Ramparts. “The Nine Ramparts should have won. Humanity should have remained invincible throughout the cosmos. It was Hong Xia who, at the critical moment, betrayed the Second Rampart. He ambushed Rampart Lord Hong Shuang, which caused the Second Rampart to collapse and become the greatest weakness of the Nine Ramparts.”

“Shut up, Jiu Wen! You are courting death!” Far away, Hong Xia’s face contorted with ferocity. He grabbed hold of Ji He and raced back like a madman. Crimson Starshade was already within his sight.

Jiu Wen shouted at the universe, “It was Hong Xia who betrayed humanity! He betrayed the Nine Ramparts and caused our human race to fall! He became a disciple of our mortal enemy, sold out our civilization, and sought glory by serving a new master. He is the greatest traitor in human history! He is Hong Xia-”

Boom!

The blood red tower fully appeared. Lu Yin stared at it, shaken. He had seen this thing before. It was a mirebound artifact, and Hong Xia controlled it to release beams of light that shot at Jiu Wen, Green Lotus, and Lu Yin.

Lu Yin had seen this Blood Tower when examining Rang Yu’s past with karma. However, according to what Lu Yin had seen, the owner of this mirebound artifact should be Jiu Wen.

It was a tower made of human skin, formed from the people that Jiu Wen had slaughtered before reaching the Immortal realm. Even after he became an Immortal, he had used his disciples to kill people, flaying the skins of the slain to feed them to this tower. This was also why Lu Yin believed Jiu Wen deserved death.

Jiu Wen had committed inhuman atrocities, but why was Hong Xia the one controlling the tower?

Jiu Wen’s voice rang out. The red beams were not enough to threaten him or Green Lotus. As for Lu Yin, he could simply evade by teleporting about, which rendered them no threat to him either.

Everyone in Crimson Starshade was stunned. Ba Yue stared blankly at the Blood Tower. Was their great ancestor humanity’s greatest traitor?

Not to mention her, but even Bing Xu and the others had not known about this. They were also shaken, unable to believe what they had just heard.

While they were also irredeemable, if what Jiu Wen had said was true, then compared to their civilization’s ancestor, what they had done could be considered trivial.

Within Baiquan Mountain, inside the watery prison, Rang Yu cackled. “Hahahaha! So is that how it is? Jiu Wen, you are truly ruthless! In order to win Hong Xia’s trust, you helped him with his slaughter and built that Blood Tower. You are truly ruthless, hahahaha! Hong Xia, you will become a sinner for all ages, hahahaha.”

It was then that Hong Xia arrived, and the entire megaverse was enveloped with red.

Before, the man had been furious, but at this moment, he appeared eerily calm. His eyes were locked onto Jiu Wen, and he looked unfathomably terrifying.

Lu Yin appeared beside Green Lotus. Before the current Hong Xia, Lu Yin felt extremely nervous. Hong Xia was far more powerful than Hui had been. He was, without question, the strongest enemy that Lu Yin had ever faced so far.

He was also a member of Obscura.

Jiu Wen slowly rose into the sky. As he faced Hong Xia, he glanced at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin understood and instantly appeared beside the man with Green Lotus.

Meiran Dan was handed over to Green Lotus. Bing Xu was heavily injured, but not to the point where he was completely unable to act, so he could not be left in a Zenith Mountain. They were not capable of withstanding an Immortal’s attack.

If Bing Xu were taken in and then broke the Zenith Mountain, Lu Yin would not be able to recapture him.

The same applied to Meiran Dan and He Xiao.

After all, there had truly not been enough time to cripple any of them. He could only keep them physically restrained.