Chapter 154: Green
Bazeer had a relaxed expression when he looked at the scene before him. He was from the Outerverse Youth Council, so not even the Innerverse powerhouses dared to touch him, which usually paved the road ahead of him. He still remembered that helpless feeling when Undying Yushan had suppressed him in the past. “Hurry up and die, old geezer. When you’re dead, I’ll kill that person myself.”
The three layers of land were sealed off, their inhabitants expectantly waiting for the end result. At this point in time, no more spacecraft were being allowed into Zenyu Star. Additionally, many Explorer powerhouses had appeared in the starry skies and were coldly staring at Zenyu Star.
“My Great Yu Empire doesn’t fear war. Don’t delude yourselves into thinking that you can trample over my empire’s dignity. You’ll need to get past my Thirteen Imperial Squadrons first,” Huo Qingshan barked, causing the flames in the sky to strengthen again while the crowd gasped in surprise.
The Innerverse powerhouses were all afraid. There were not many powerhouses in the Outerverse, and even great powers that controlled an entire weave did not have many Hunters among their ranks. However, the Great Yu Empire was an exception. If not for the Innerverse’s both open and secret meddling, then they would have definitely gained control of more than just half of the Frostwave Weave. With its strength, it could even swallow the surrounding weaves. In some sense, the Great Yu Empire was like a trapped beast; ferocious and brutal, but surrounded by enemies. Today, the Innerverse powerhouses were going to face this beast.
Suddenly, a storm composed of energy whipped up from out of nowhere and wiped out the inferno in the skies. “How dare a mere Outerverse Hunter act so conceitedly. Today is the day your Great Yu Empire will cease to exist.” These words swept across the entire Zenyu Star and caused the three layers to shudder in fear. Zenyu Star’s oceans boiled and its earth split open, destroying countless spaceships in the process.
Many were stunned and stared at the sky in terror. A giant hand had appeared, lunging towards the palace.
The Thirteen Imperial Squadrons captains were all stunned stiff with the sole exception of Huo Qingshan, whose gaze turned fiery at the sight of the giant hand. His body flushed red and burned even fiercer than the sun. An indescribable power billowed forth from his body, causing even the giant palm in the sky to pause. The cultivator behind the palm felt unexpectedly threatened.
Huo Qingshan was not a simple cultivator. He had also made his way through the Innerverse and had even left his name in the Blaze Realm.
It was at this moment that a green wave rippled out from the palace, pulsating like a heartbeat. Then, it suddenly exploded, tore through the giant hand, and continued to soar through the sky. In a mere instant, the green wave had dispelled all of the foreign forces that were pressuring and influencing Zenyu Star. The powerhouses from the Innerverse surrounding the palace turned deathly pale and all coughed up blood.
High above, in the void of outer space, an elder’s pupils dilated. He was a Hunter from the Innerverse who had intended on suppressing the palace, but that green wave of star energy had appeared before him and then transformed into Undying Yushan’s palm. The elder was dumbstruck. “You aren’t dead? How is your domain so terrifying?!”
“Go back and tell your master that I, Undying Yushan, don’t have what he wants.” The green star energy then swept over that elder, breaking all four of his limbs. He hurriedly fled in terror.
The green star energy overwhelmed everything and dyed Zenyu Star in its own color. Everyone was overpowered by the green star energy.
For the people of Zenyu Star, this star energy gave them warmth. On the other hand, those from the Innerverse felt dread as they trembled in terror.
Huo Qingshan was delighted. This is His Majesty’s true strength. He has finally recovered.
Peach was struck speechless. How terrifying! She could still recall the day that she had been forcefully appointed as the Sixth Captain. She had also experienced this strength that day, and it was still fresh in her memory.
Under the cloak of Undying Yushan’s strength, the palace’s aura deepened, giving off an incomprehensible and terrifying feeling that made one’s teeth chatter. Those from the Innerverse were forced down until they were half-kneeling towards the palace.
A moment later, Undying Yushan’s imposing figure floated forth before looking down at them. “This was your last warning. Now scram.” They vomited blood again, felt the horrifying pressure on their organs, and then retreated as quickly as they could with their injuries.
“Congratulations, Your Majesty, for returning to glory. The empire is unrivalled!”
“Congratulations, Your Majesty, for returning to glory. The empire is unrivalled!”
“Congratulations, Your Majesty, for returning to glory. The empire is unrivalled!”
…
Undying Yushan’s gaze swept across everyone, and he sighed inwardly. Return to glory? How could it be that simple? He had simply extended his time at death’s door. And the more frequently he used his strength, the closer he was to the end of his life.
“The empire shall resume its normal activities. Also, examine the records of anyone who crossed the borders and capture any suspected spies. Huo Qingshan, you shall be in charge of this,” Undying Yushan ordered.
Huo Qingshan immediately moved to obey. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
After issuing a few more orders, Undying Yushan landed on the ground and reentered the palace.
In outer space, many of the Innerverse powerhouses were seething with fury. They had fallen from grace after spending all of these years planning for the downfall of the Great Yu Empire. They had hatched all sorts of plots and schemes to thwart the Great Yu Empire from becoming too powerful or expanding their territory. But who could have predicted that Undying Yushan would make fools of them all, causing all of their efforts to go down the drain. What a shame.
But that Hunter elder was even more resentful; all four of his limbs had been cleanly snapped off, and he had been forced to resort to using his star energy to sustain his life while his blood stained the skies red. He would take this revenge one day, but he knew that he was no match for Undying Yushan. His only option was to think of a way to request his master to act on his behalf.
Everyone thought this had all been a part of Undying Yushan’s plan, but no one knew that, if not for Lu Yin, Undying Yushan would have perished earlier. A nobody had changed their fates.
Lu Yin had truly fallen asleep. While this had initially been done as a pretense to disguise his innate gift, he was truly completely exhausted and ended up sleeping soundly for three days.
The first thing Lu Yin saw when he woke up was Undying Yushan’s back. Lu Yin quickly turned from perplexed to sober and rushed to stand up. “Your Majesty, are you alright?”
Undying Yushan turned to give Lu Yin a grateful smile as he nodded. “Little Yin, this time it’s all thanks to you.”
“Your Majesty, don’t say that. If it were not for you, then the Lu Yin of today would not exist,” Lu Yin solemnly replied.
Undying Yushan smiled and patted Lu Yin’s shoulder. “Your ancestor, Undying Zishan, saved me more than once, and now you, a descendant of the Zishan clan, have saved me once again. I owe the Zishan clan too much.”
Lu Yin did not reply, as he could see that Undying Yushan was reminiscing about the past.
Undying Yushan sighed and looked into the sky. “Little Yin, what do you think of the Great Yu Empire?”
Lu Yin thought that this question was very odd and almost felt that it was not his place to speak of such things. Regardless, he still answered. “Very good. The empire is prosperous and the people are peaceful.”
Undying Yushan laughed. “There’s no need for such political niceties. Tell me the truth.”
“No idea. I haven’t roamed around the empire yet,” Lu Yin blurted out.
Undying Yushan looked at Lu Yin and seriously said, “If I said that I would hand this empire to you, would you accept it?”
Lu Yin was shocked and immediately retreated. “Your Majesty, please don’t play a joke on Little Yin. I wouldn’t dare.”
Undying Yushan burst into another round of laughter and shook his head. “Alright, I won’t speak about it. Let’s go. I want to show you something.” He then walked of the room, leading the way. Lu Yin gave the emperor an odd look as he followed behind.
They walked through multiple pavilions and the technological shield that protected the inner area of the palace. Then, Undying Yushan led Lu Yin to a corner of the palace where a concealed passage appeared on the ground when he approached it.
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. He could vaguely guess at where Undying Yushan was taking him.
Undying Yushan was still smiling slightly as he slowly stepped into the underground chamber. Lu Yin followed closely behind.
This underground area was very ordinary, and besides a single corridor, there wasn’t much else; just a few murals on the wall.
Finally, the two stopped before a giant metal door. Undying Yushan looked at it and said, “I believe that, earlier, you were searching for this. This is your Zishan clan’s hidden treasure.”
Lu Yin did not attempt to hide the truth. “Yes. Someone once told me that the Zishan clan’s treasure might be hidden within the palace.”
Undying Yushan turned to Lu Yin, “Tell me. Why are you looking for it?”
Lu Yin did not hesitate in his reply. “I’m broke.”
Undying Yushan was astonished. He had thought that Lu Yin would fabricate all sorts of grand reasons for it, and had never dreamed that he would respond so simply. Yet, this response was also very logical; treasure was money and whoever lacked money would look for treasure. Undying Yushan laughed, “Are the expenses at Astral-10 too large for you to handle?”
Lu Yin seriously replied, “The expenses are enormous. All the training in Astral-10 requires the consumption of massive amounts of star energy crystals. This was true especially since I’ve broken through to become a Melder now; a mentor even had to to fill me up with star energy. It’s like a bottomless pit. I need a vast amount of star crystals as plainly absorbing the free star energy in the universe just takes too long.”
“Yes, the Melder realm is a serious hurdle and requires large expenses. I had nearly forgotten about this. I should have given you more before,” Undying Yushan said with a regretful tone.
Lu Yin grew excited, but he still didn’t know what to expect from Undying Yushan’s words. Undying Yushan then turned around and slowly opened the metal door. Lu Yin was full of expectation. What kind of good stuff does the Zishan clan treasury hold? Mountains of star energy crystals? Or perhaps the even more valuable star crystal essence? Lu Yin was curious and impatiently stared at the door, wishing that he could see through it.
As the metal door fully swung open, an empty expanse greeted Lu Yin’s sight.
Lu Yin blinked. Nothing? Where’s the treasure? He looked at Undying Yushan with a confused expression.
Undying Yushan beamed at him. “Are you disappointed?”
Lu Yin forced a smile onto his face as he replied, “Your Majesty, you’ve become much more humorous after your body recovered.”
Undying Yushan laughed again. “Not humorous. This was prepared for those thieves in the night.”
Lu Yin was still lost.
Undying Yushan’s smile vanished as he explained, “The Innerverse wanted to probe me, and so, they concealed themselves for centuries as they impeded the expansion of our empire’s territory. How could I not have noticed their actions? Whether it was the royal treasury or the Zishan clan’s hidden treasure, both were rumors that I deliberately leaked. This was so that, when I passed on, those people would be buried with me.”
Lu Yin was shocked. “It’s all fake?”
Undying Yushan’s lips rose in a smirk. “Of course it’s fake. If there really was a treasure here, then did you think that I wouldn’t touch it? That I would have kept it hidden away all this while? The Zishan clan isn’t the only clan to have legends of a secret treasure. Every great clan of the empire that has ever perished has similar legends of a legacy treasure hidden within the palace. But with the passing of the generations, gradually there was no one left to talk about it. Only those thieves from the Innerverse would continue to nose around and search for clues.” Undying Yushan pointed at the empty room as he stated, “Look, if the supposed Zishan clan’s hidden treasure contained nothing, then do you think that they would accept it? They have been hiding undercover for centuries and would definitely enter this room to investigate. And this is the graveyard that I’ve painstakingly prepared for them. Even a Hunter would find it hard to survive.”
“The palace contains a total of five graveyards like this,” Undying Yushan proudly revealed.
Lu Yin was shocked. This was his first time experiencing the boldness of an emperor at the end of his days. This was someone who dared to bury all of the Innerverse schemers in one fell swoop.