Of course, that was only on the surface. What Lu Yin truly needed to do at the moment was uncover the true relationship between Jiu Wen and Green Lotus.

He needed to do certain things while Jiu Wen still believed that Lu Yin was absolutely ignorant.

He needed to return to the Crimson Starshade Megaverse, but before leaving, he first went back to the Tianyuan. He found Mister Mu and told him what he had discovered.

In the current human civilization, the one whom Lu Yin trusted the most was Mister Mu. The man was his master, and without Mister Mu, there would be no Lu Yin.

Mister Mu had not expected to hear such revelations. He stared in the direction of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. "Do not tell anyone else about this, including Jiang Feng.

"It’s not that I don’t trust him, but rather that his experiences have destined him to think about things differently from the rest of us and more like you. If you tell him, I’m afraid that this will affect his attitude towards Green Lotus."

Lu Yin agreed, "I understand. Uncle Jiang overthinks, just like me."

Mister Mu replied, "Overthinking isn’t a bad thing. If you didn’t, how would you have uncovered this?"

Lu Yin’s mood remained heavy. "Master, what should your disciple do?"

Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin. Greater Sancte Green Lotus held a very high place in Lu Yin’s heart. Mister Mu knew that his disciple respected the Greater Sancte too much and that he also greatly respected Blood Tower and Awe Gate.

It had to be admitted that all of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s Immortals had treated Lu Yin very well. After this discovery, Lu Yin was at a loss as to how to proceed.

Lu Yin thought that he could handle things rationally: first investigate Crimson Starshade and then go speak to Green Lotus. No matter the Immortal’s reasons for hiding things, it needed to be clarified. At the very least, this was a matter between two human civilizations, and there were no overt enemies.

Besides, even if Green Lotus had secrets, did he necessarily have to tell Lu Yin? In that sense, the Greater Sancte had done nothing wrong.

That was the logical explanation, but this matter involved another human civilization, and it also involved the Path of Dispassion. Lu Yin wanted an answer. He did not want Green Lotus to move towards the direction of the Path of Dispassion.

Lu Yin knew full well that he was taking things much too seriously. The slaughter that he had witnessed in the Dispassion Valleys had pushed him to reject Crimson Starshade. That was why, when he discovered that Green Lotus had concealed his previous contact with Jiu Wen, Lu Yin was desperate to get answers. He did not want to learn that Green Lotus had anything to do with the Path of Dispassion.

Mister Mu patted Lu Yin’s shoulder. "Little Seven, do you believe that people can change?"

Lu Yin fell silent.

"If one day you learn that your master has betrayed humanity, what will you do?"

Lu Yin’s body jolted. He looked at Mister Mu in shock, and the older man met his gaze. As their eyes locked, Mister Mu saw the confusion, and even fear, that filled Lu Yin’s eyes.

He let out a deep sigh. "Hard to decide?"

Lu Yin said nothing, and Mister Mu continued, "Being your master gives me little sense of accomplishment. Your talent is too great, and your luck runs too deep. Every time I see you, you feel different. Sometimes, I even think that, the next time that I see you, you’ll have completely surpassed me.

"I first had this thought in the Tianyuan, back before you had even learned about the Aevum Inch." Mister Mu smiled. "Ridiculous, isn’t it? Now, you know just how vast the gap between you and me was back then."

Lu Yin looked at Mister Mu. The gap? It had been as vast as the sky.

During the final battle at the Immemorial Citadel, Lu Yin had believed himself to be strong, but he had not been able to fight back when the High Seraph had appeared in the slightest. If not for the plan that Destiny had prepared, the Heavens Sect would have been finished.

And yet, at his peak, Mister Mu had been an Aberrant, and he had also been able to merge with the will of his megaverse and injure an Immortal powerhouse.

For someone like Mister Mu to feel that way about Lu Yin, he could imagine just how high Mister Mu’s expectations for him had been.

"Having a disciple like you is both a blessing and a curse. On the path of cultivation, there’s little I can teach you. Fortunately, I’m also much older than you, so I can teach you certain principles." Mister Mu’s expression grew solemn as he looked at Lu Yin. "If I one day betray humanity, you should not hesitate.

“Kill."

Lu Yin’s pupils shrank, and he stared at Mister Mu.

Mister Mu was serious, terrifyingly so. "That is because the one who would betray humanity is no longer your master. From the moment he decided to betray humanity, he became another person.

"Your master will not betray humanity. Remember that! Remember it forever. Your master will not betray humanity, so the one who betrays humanity is not your master. Kill. Do not hesitate, do not be confused, and do not be afraid. The one who betrays humanity has killed your master. He has killed your master’s persona and trampled on your master’s dignity. That person is an enemy. Kill him, and avenge your master."

Lu Yin blankly stared at Mister Mu.

The man reached out and patted Lu Yin’s head. "What is true for me is also true for others.

"The one who helped you is one person; the one who harms you is another. The body may not change, but the persona can. That person has killed the one you respected, so you must take revenge. You are not killing the one you respect, but rather an enemy."

Lu Yin’s voice was hoarse. "Can it... can it really be like that?"

Mister Mu withdrew his hand with another sigh. "It’s hard, isn’t it?"

Lu Yin instinctively nodded. If Mister Mu betrayed humanity, could Lu Yin truly strike him down without hesitation?

If Green Lotus had concealed contact with Jiu Wen and done something to harm the Human Trio, could Lu Yin truly act against him without hesitation?

Mister Mu sighed. "Your cultivation has advanced too quickly, which prevents you from growing numb in the face of the world. Some people become emotionless after experiencing the endless vicissitudes of the passing years. What they do may be wrong, but to them, it isn’t.

"Only after seeing enough partings and deaths can one understand life. The things you don’t want to lose are precisely what you will ultimately lose."

Lu Yin clenched his fists.

"No one can accompany you forever. Perhaps the appearance of this Path of Dispassion is actually a good thing for you." Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin. "Go and make contact with the Path of Dispassion. Perhaps it can help you. Every cultivation path appears for a reason."

From the start, Lu Yin had been biased against the Path of Dispassion and had never considered cultivating it. On the other hand, Mister Mu saw clearly that the Path of Dispassion might help Lu Yin make up for what was lacking in his mental state. Lu Yin was still too inexperienced. Though “numbness” sounded ugly, it could serve as a remedy for some people.

The wall in Lu Yin’s heart had black and white sides, but the black portion was greatly lacking in comparison to the white.

"Don’t overthink things. It’s possible that Green Lotus concealed his previous contact with Crimson Starshade because he didn’t want to contact the Path of Dispassion again," Mister Mu consoled.

Lu Yin nodded. That was also what granted him a bit of relief; perhaps that truly was the reason.

Before long, Lu Yin left the three megaverses again, returning to the Crimson Starshade Megaverse, teleporting into Canglan Valley.

He had not been gone long, and when he returned, Chu Songyun was searching for Ba Yue within the Sect of Dispassion.

Although the man was not a member of the Sect of Dispassion, being a Sixfold Crimson allowed him to go anywhere he wanted. Aside from their civilization’s few Immortals, there truly was no one who could compare to Chu Songyun.

However, the man was also self-aware. Upon entering the Sect of Dispassion, he first went to meet with Jiu Wen. He only began his search for Ba Yue after receiving the sect master’s permission.

Ba Yue had gone into seclusion. As soon as she had heard the trial that Lu Yin had set for Chu Songyun, she had immediately shut herself away.

Upon returning to Canglan Valley, Lu Yin first examined the sourcebox array that he had left, but there were no changes. He then looked in the direction of the Sect of Dispassion but ultimately decided to go later.

A month later, news that Chu Songyun was searching for Ba Yue had already spread far and wide. The outside world knew that he was looking for her, though not why. There were some rumors that claimed that Chu Songyun liked Ba Yue, and those rumors spread wider and wider.

They spread so far that they even reached He Xiao’s ears.

The Immortal’s Path of Dispassion made him offer sincere affection to every woman, and Ba Yue was no exception. The more sincere his affection, the more painful his parting, and the closer he approached perfect dispassion.

While He Xiao had already become an Immortal, Ba Yue had never left his heart. She was the last woman he had loved.

Hearing that Chu Songyun was searching for Ba Yue, He Xiao could not sit still. He went to the Sect of Dispassion and intercepted Chu Songyun.

"Are you looking for Ba Yue?" He Xiao stared at Chu Songyun. The Immortal’s extraordinary bearing caused people to naturally like him, but that same goodwill caused those who knew the truth to feel revolted.

Chu Songyun’s aura was quite similar to He Xiao’s, but one was clearly emotionless while wanting to have feelings, and the other clearly had feelings yet pursued dispassion. The two had the same temperament but in the complete opposite directions.

Chu Songyun showed no fear before He Xiao. He had bluntly stated that Ba Yue was unworthy to be his master, and in his eyes, He Xiao was the same. "Yes."

"Why?"

"That’s none of your business."

"Ba Yue’s affairs are my business." He Xiao did not get angry, and he simply stared at Chu Songyun with a smile tugging at one corner of his mouth.

Chu Songyun remained calm. "You’re not worthy."

He Xiao’s eyes instantly grew icy. "What did you say?"

"You're not worthy," Chu Songyun stated in the same casual tone.

Ba Yue may not be worthy to become Chu Songyun’s master, but He Xiao was not worthy to speak of Ba Yue. That was how Chu Songyun saw things.

He Xiao took a step forward. His movement and intent moved as one. Lifeforce erupted and pressed down upon Chu Songyun. The Immortal was a Sevenfold Crimson. No matter how special Chu Songyun might be in their civilization, disrespecting an Immortal deserved death.

Chu Songyun showed no fear. A Sevenfold Crimson Immortal was a powerhouse that he had long since wanted to test himself against.

Lifeforce and Immortal matter were absolute powers that Immortals could use to suppress anyone beneath that realm. Unless one was an Aberrant, scarcely anyone could withstand the powers of an Immortal.

Still, those who had reached the pinnacle of strength beneath the Immortal realm could also comprehend Lifeforce and learn to use Immortal matter. That was the meaning of the word “pinnacle,” and it was also the first step in becoming an Aberrant.

Even when He Xiao’s Lifeforce pressed down upon him, Chu Songyun’s gaze remained calm. Around him, withered leaves swirled, moving without wind. Lifeforce swept through like a gale, but it could not shake those withered leaves.

He Xiao was surprised but not astonished. "The Withered Pines Domain. I’ve heard of this long ago, but it’s not enough."

As he spoke, the lifeforce that had been held at bay by the withered leaves suddenly converged. In He Xiao’s palm, it condensed into a white sword. With a single slash, he unleashed the Grand Cycle Sword Intent.

Chu Songyun retreated, waving a hand. Layer upon layer of withered leaves formed a barrier in front of him. Lifeforce surged from his own body, connecting the swirling leaves and spreading out to form a vast withered-leaf forest.

The withered-leaf forest rooted itself into the void to face the Grand Cycle Sword Intent head-on.

Many cultivators within the Sect of Dispassion watched this exchange. Throughout Crimson Starshade, the only Sixfold Crimsons who were qualified to challenge an Immortal were Chu Songyun and Xie Man, but a challenge was a challenge; victory was practically impossible.

He Xiao’s sword intent fell again and again, shattering the withered-leaf forest and forcing Chu Songyun to retreat step after step. After all, the man was not an Immortal, and it was already impressive for him to merge Lifeforce into his Withered Pines Domain. The withered-leaf forest had been empowered with Immortal matter, and yet it still could not withstand He Xiao’s sword intent.

The Immortal raised his hand, and his sword intent shot straight at Chu Songyun, as if to kill him with one more slash.

Chu Songyun raised his left arm, and a red umbrella appeared in his hand. His right hand gripped the handle.

Ring!

He withdrew the blade and slashed sideways.