The Path of Dispassion rendered people emotionless, and their actions became emotionless as well. However, dispassion was merely a choice in how one acted, a direction for one’s life, rather than the essence of life itself.

The ultimate purpose of cultivating the Path of Dispassion was to alter that essence of life. This was no different from what had happened when Lu Yin had asked Ancestor Lu Yuan to plant the innate gift of teleportation. Because of humanity’s innate life essence, they could only teleport to places that they could see. Humanity’s fear and wariness of the unknown was the source of that limitation.

The Path of Dispassion sought to change that very essence of life, to transform a person until they were no longer human, or rather, no longer an ordinary human.

Lu Yin believed that it might be impossible even for Jiu Wen.

Since humans could not alter their essence of life, most people were accustomed to the same social structures, such as clans and inheritances. All that changed was the way that people interacted with one another.

The Lian clan was a relatively powerful clan within Crimson Starshade. Although they had never produced an Immortal, they had never lacked for Sixfold Crimsons. Since the beginning of the clan’s recorded history, they had produced more than ten Sixfold Crimson powerhouses. Above that, it was not that none had ever existed, but rather that the family had no records of it.

Some clans and factions could achieve instant glory after producing an Immortal, but they could also fall just as quickly. This was especially true within Crimson Starshade, where everyone cultivated the Path of Dispassion. After all, an Immortal might not care about their own family. They moved towards altering their essence of life while trying to sever all ties, even if it was extremely difficult to do so.

However, there were also some clans which, while they had never produced any Immortals, had produced generations of powerful experts. Such clans were able to endure for a long time, and the Lian clan was one of them.

One day, the Lian clan was having a day no different than any other. While the clan had many members, they rarely gathered together. However, someone whose presence forced the clan to assemble all the members to receive him arrived today.

That visitor was Elder Qiu.

“Lian Gui pays his respects to Senior Elder Qiu.”

“We pay our respects to Senior Elder Qiu.” A group of Lian clan disciples offered respectful bows.

Elder Qiu briefly acknowledged the greetings, but his gaze lingered on Lian Gui. “How are Lian Jian’s injuries?”

Lian Gui was the patriarch of the Lian clan, while Lian Jian was their current Sixfold Crimson. He had also been the first person to challenge Canglan Valley. As a result, he had been grievously injured by a single finger flick from Lu Yin, and he had not dared to attempt another move.

Lian Gui respectfully replied, “Our ancestor is still in seclusion. We do not know.”

As he spoke, he looked curiously at the person who followed behind Elder Qiu, a young man. Could this be Elder Qiu’s junior?

Lian Gui had never heard of Elder Qiu having any juniors. The old man had always been alone.

Elder Qiu glanced back at the young man. “He’s still in seclusion. What do you think?”

Lian Gui’s eye twitched. ‘What do you think?’ His mind raced. For Elder Qiu to be so respectful, this young man was clearly no ordinary figure. While Elder Qiu was not an invincible Sixfold Crimson and could not compare to Xie Man or Chu Songyun, no one dared to underestimate the old man due to his seniority and his connection with the Sect of Dispassion’s acting sect master, Ba Yue. The old man could even speak to Immortals, so just who was this person?

Lian Gui mentally ran through every Immortal he knew of. While he had not met them all, none seemed to match this person’s description.

Then, he suddenly thought of someone, and that possibility caused the patriarch to look over in shock.

Lu Yin was accompanying Elder Qiu to visit the Lian clan, and he was there to review the Lian clan’s records.

He wanted a better understanding of the Crimson Starshade Civilization, and history was often the best written record. The most ancient archives were in the Sect of Dispassion, and it was necessary to go through Jiu Wen to see those. Lu Yin wanted to investigate Jiu Wen, and the old man would never allow a foreigner to freely browse the sect’s archives. That was why Lu Yin had set his sights on the various ancient clans of Crimson Starshade. Their histories might not be as ancient, but by piecing them all together, it was still possible to uncover many things.

In particular, these clan histories would have records of matters that seemed inconsequential yet remained unresolved. Those were exactly what might allow him to uncover certain clues.

Lu Yin looked at Lian Gui. “I am Lu Yin. I apologize for disturbing you.”

Lian Gui’s heart skipped a beat. He bowed low. “Lian Gui pays his respects to Mr. Lu.”

Behind him, the members of the Lian clan all bowed as well. “We pay our respects to Mr. Lu.”

Lu Yin was not an Immortal, but many considered him to be no weaker than one. This was especially true of the Lian clan, as they were all too aware of just how severe their ancestor’s injuries were. This man had grievously wounded their ancestor without even showing his face. No matter what Lu Yin’s status was elsewhere in Crimson Starshade, no one from the Lian clan would dare to offend him. They certainly did not expect the Sect of Dispassion to protect them if they offended Lu Yin.

Lu Yin asked, “Are Lian Jian’s injuries so severe that he is still in seclusion even now? It seems that my strike might have been a bit too heavy.”

Lian Gui and the others did not know what to say. They had never imagined such a situation. Someone who had injured their ancestor was paying them a visit; what did it mean?

Elder Qiu also found the situation odd. Besides Crimson Starshade, this situation would be rare even in a normal civilization.

The old man coughed lightly. “Mr. Lu came specifically to visit Lian Jian. What? Are you not going to invite us in?”

Lian Gui came back to himself and hurriedly invited Lu Yin and Elder Qiu inside to accept the seats of honor.

Once everyone was sitting down, Elder Qiu began to speak, trying to build rapport with Lian Gui. Of course, he was not skilled at it. He also cultivated the Path of Dispassion, and when had he ever done such a thing? But he had no choice; Lu Yin was forcing him into it.

Several days earlier, Lu Yin had gone to the Sect of Dispassion to find Elder Qiu, and his first words were, “Don’t think that I’m not aware that you were the one who incited Xie Man and the others to make trouble for me. I also know that you were the one to reveal the location of Canglan Valley.”

Those words had caused Elder Qiu’s heart to plummet. He had immediately begged for forgiveness.

This was the end result: the old man was being forced to lead Lu Yin to visit clans with ancient histories.

The first family that Elder Qiu had thought of was the Lian clan. There was no helping it; Lian Jian had been the first to challenge Canglan Valley, and as a familiar Sixfold Crimson. He was naturally the first to come to Elder Qiu’s mind.

Lu Yin said nothing at all. He just sat there calmly and waited for Elder Qiu to coerce the Lian clan into sharing their records with Lu Yin.

If Elder Qiu could not accomplish that, then no one could blame Lu Yin for what would come next.

Thinking of this, his gaze swept over Elder Qiu and Lian Gui.

A chill ran down Elder Qiu’s back as bitterness rose from within his heart. He had thought that, with his connection to Ba Yue, as long as he did not personally challenge Lu Yin, he would be fine. Unfortunately, it appeared that the man did not care about Ba Yue at all. It could even be said that Lu Yin had shown little reverence for Sect Master Jiu Wen, let alone someone like Elder Qiu.

Left with no choice, he could only do his best. A dignified Sixfold Crimson had been reduced to carrying out such a humble task.

Lian Gui was not feeling any better. Elder Qiu was not good at ingratiating himself with others, and he kept avoiding the main point. This meant that Lian Gui was only able to respond with brief, polite responses, despite desperately wanting to know why these two were visiting his clan.

But no matter how awkward the situation might be, the patriarch could not let it show.

For those who cultivated the Path of Dispassion, this sort of acting was too difficult, far too difficult.

The other members of the Lian clan waited outside, each with an odd expression on their faces as they listened to the conversation inside the room: one person was making forced small talk, while the other gave overly short, polite responses. The whole thing sounded bizarre, no matter how they looked at it.

At long last, they heard a sentence. “I have heard that your Lian clan has an ancient inheritance that has endured for eons. Mr. Lu is very interested in the history of our Crimson Starshade. Might you lend your records for him to look at?”

Elder Qiu could not stand it any longer. This sort of situation was pure torment for him.

It would normally be unthinkable for a clan to allow an outsider to see their records, but when Lian Gui heard Elder Qiu’s request, he inexplicably felt relieved. So Lu Yin just wanted to look at their records? The patriarch had assumed that there was something important that had forced Elder Qiu to speak in such an uncomfortable manner. Lian Gui had been responding to Elder Qiu while thinking about how he would refuse an unreasonable demand.

Suddenly, the request felt far too reasonable. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Lian Gui rose hurriedly. “So Mr. Lu wishes to read our Lian clan records? Of course that can be arranged.”

Elder Qiu let out a breath of relief.

Lu Yin nodded. “Many thanks.”

“Then I will have to trouble you, Patriarch Lian Gui. Let us go and see them now.”

“Will the two of you not rest a moment?” Lian Gui offered politely.

Elder Qiu looked toward Lu Yin, but he simply said, “There’s no need. I will leave after I’m done reading. Thank you.”

Lian Gui instantly felt even more relieved. I should be the one thanking you.

With that, he promptly led Lu Yin to the clan’s records.

No one had expected Lu Yin’s visit to genuinely only be to read the Lian clan’s records. The clan members themselves had assumed that he was there to settle accounts after the fact.

After some time, Lu Yin and Elder Qiu left, and only after they were gone did the Lian clan head finally relax. Lian Gui wiped the sweat from his forehead. It had been an exhausting visit.

“Are they gone?” a voice asked, startling Lian Gui.

He turned around and exhaled heavily. “Ancestor?”

Lian Jian had indeed arrived, the Sixfold Crimson who was the first challenger at Canglan Valley, who had been grievously injured by a single flick of Lu Yin’s finger.

“Are they gone?”

“Yes, they’ve left.”

“He only came to read the clan records?”

Lian Gui nodded.

A complicated expression filled Lian Jian’s eyes as he peered into the distance. He had noticed the moment that Lu Yin and Elder Qiu had entered the Lian clan’s territory, but he had not wished to come out. It was not that Lian Jian did not dare, but rather that he simply did not want to be mocked by Elder Qiu. After all, Lian Jian was the first Sixfold Crimson to challenge Canglan Valley, and he had been talked into it by Elder Qiu. It made the man feel as though he had been used to pave the way for others.

After this incident, his temper had become a great deal more restrained.

However, why did Lu Yin want to read their clan’s records?

Elsewhere, Elder Qiu was leading Lu Yin to the next clan, while Lu Yin was pondering what he had seen in the Lian clan’s records.

Those records mostly documented the clan members’ pasts, especially those of the various Sixfold Crimsons; each had been recorded as a legend. There was very little written about the civilization as a whole, but through the accounts of the Lian clan’s Sixfold Crimsons, it was possible to roughly discern the state of the Crimson Starshade Civilization.

This civilization cultivated the Path of Dispassion. People cut themselves off from their emotions and any sense of righteousness, but that did not mean that the civilization was nothing but slaughter.

Slaughter was mainly confined to the Dispassion Valleys. Elsewhere, killing was actually quite rare. There was far less than Lu Yin expected, but that was because the Path of Dispassion also reduced people’s desire to compete for gain.

In the three megaverses of his own civilization, most conflicts that broke out between people were driven by a desire for benefits or self-interest. But in Crimson Starshade, such struggles were uncommon due to the fact that people cut themselves off from emotions and desires. Moreover, since many people had no emotional bonds, there were fewer disputes. As for the matter of saving face, those who cultivate the Path of Dispassion had no need for something like reputation.

In other words, the internal violence in Lu Yin’s own civilization was greatly magnified within the Dispassion Valleys of Crimson Starshade, which was what repelled Lu Yin. However, the civilization as a whole was not characterized by slaughter.

Some people would spend their entire lives without ever competing with others, believing that being dispassionate was ignoring everyone. There were actually a great many people who thought this way.

Taken as a whole, the amount of killing that took place within the civilization was actually rather similar to that of Lu Yin’s own civilization. It had simply been concentrated in means and locations, which caused things to appear far more extreme.

That was the first point that had stood out from the records, while the second was that the Sect of Dispassion had not always existed.

This was the historical detail that concerned Lu Yin. This civilization had always possessed the Path of Dispassion, but the Sect of Dispassion had not always existed. In the records preserved by the Lian family, several Sixfold Crimsons had referred to Jiu Wen as the sect master, but there was never any mention of any other sect master. Was it possible that Jiu Wen had founded the Sect of Dispassion?

Or had it been founded by that ancient powerhouse known as Ancestor Hong Xia?

As for that ancient powerhouse, there were very few records about him, and every mention was suffused with reverence. He was extremely mysterious.