Chapter 4393: Try It
Chapter 4393: Try It
Small gates appeared beside each Obscura member, and Ba Se's voice emerged from them, saying, "In that human civilization, Green Lotus and Nan Ling were sealed within the Crimson Lotus Tomb together, while Chang Dou was refined to death. Yue Lu escaped, and Si Qin has returned."
That single report rendered many members silent. How had the human civilization actually pulled off such an accomplishment? They had been attacked by three Plume Immortals and not been defeated. They had even killed one of the birds. It was simply unbelievable.
Nan Ling, Si Qin, and Chang Dou were all two-law Immortals, ranked in the middle of the Ten Plumes. Nan Ling, in particular, was second only to Gao Tian and Bei Qing, but even that Plume Immortal had been sealed. The growth of that human civilization far exceeded their expectations.
"Hehe, that is not very good."
"The human civilization defeated three Plume Immortals... That means that, even if we make a move, we would gain nothing good from it."
"Ba Se, how long has it been since Lu Yin joined Obscura?"
"A little over 1,200 years."
"In only 1,200 years or so, he elevated his human civilization to this level... That is truly terrifying."
"Even I feel uneasy."
"So do I."
"Hehe."
The cosmos trembled again. From the depths of the Plume Immortals' great tree, a towering Plume Immortal soared upwards. The beating of its wings caused the cosmos to sway, and the pressure it brought forced every member of Obscura to pull back.
"How outrageous."
"Shang Jing... what a terrifying old monster."
"It’s just an old undying thing. I never expected it would still be alive."
"Back up a bit more. Show it some face."
"Hehe."
Specks of white starlight descended like a curtain of gates, blocking every member of Obscura’s front. What followed were endless phantom gates that spread across the whole omniverse in an instant, extending so far that no one could see where they ended. This was a world of gates.
This was Obscura’s White, the source of their gates.
"White, do not interfere! This is a grudge between my Plume Immortals and human civilization!" Shang Jing was beyond furious. Overwhelming power erupted from it as it sought to forcibly suppress the cosmos.
In front of the bird, the white starlight flickered and a gentle voice replied, "The human civilization that you speak of is a civilization that my Obscura has promised to protect for 2,000 years."
"That is a human civilization! Do not forget that! They are the descendants of the Nine Ramparts, a mortal enemy of your Obscura," Shang Jing raged.
"There is no need to repeat yourself. Obscura values its promises. If we say 2,000 years of protection, then it will be 2,000 years."
"You truly mean to oppose me?"
"We are at war."
"You are courting death!"
"You can try." As those words fell, more illusory gates appeared around one Plume Immortal after another. Their sudden appearance caused all of the birds to grow uneasy. Even a supreme powerhouse like Bei Qing could not escape from these gates. How was this even possible? Just what level had Obscura’s White reached for even Bei Qing to be affected like this?
The cosmos fell silent. No one spoke.
Yet the silence did not last long. Countless sharp fragments rose up around the Plume Immortals' great tree, drawing the attention of both sides.
They were the shards of the broken transparent sword.
Earlier, Obscura’s Transparent had attacked the Plume Immortals' tree with their sword, only to then be dragged away by Gao Tian, who had been prepared for the Keeper of Balance. The bird’s appearance had also shattered the transparent sword. Later, Lu Yin had used tri-color divine energy to wield the sword to destroy the Plume Immortals' great tree, which had awakened Shang Jing.
With the ancestral Plume Immortal awakened, Lu Yin had fled, and the transparent sword had shattered even further after destroying the Plume Immortals' tree. Those fragments had scattered through the Aevum Inch like shards of broken glass, and for a time, no one had paid them any mind.
At this moment, those transparent sword fragments rose up, and they gradually gathered together, reforming into a sword.
The sight of this shocked the Plume Immortals.
Bei Qing was horrified. Impossible!
For the transparent sword to return like this, it meant that Obscura's Keeper of Balance had returned. Could Gao Tian have been defeated?
As for the members of Obscura, each of them stared at the transparent sword. It was impossible to tell what anyone was thinking, but the scales of victory had clearly started tipping in Obscura’s favor.
Ba Se still did not appear. Only a voice emerged from a small gate. "Plume Immortal Gao Tian’s life and death remain unknown. The Keeper of Balance has returned."
Those words confirmed the outcome of the battle between the Keeper of Balance and Gao Tian, and they pushed the Plume Immortals into the abyss while also chilling the Obscura members.
They were well aware of Gao Tian's strength. At the beginning of the war with the birds, Lu Yin had been assigned a five-star mission to seal off Gao Tian’s awareness to keep it from emerging. According to the understanding of those from Obscura, Gao Tian had long been considered the strongest Plume Immortal.
Now, that strongest figure had been defeated, and its life and death remained unknown. On the other hand, Obscura's Keeper of Balance had returned unharmed.
The gap between the Plume Immortals and Obscura was widening.
With the loss of both Nan Ling and Chang Dou added to the situation, not to mention the earlier loss of Ming Yu during the previous battle, it had become obvious that the Plume Immortals had lost this clash of civilizations.
But this might not be the outcome that every creature wanted to see, including Obscura itself.
Shang Jing's aura suddenly vanished, and the rising pressure receded like a tide. Even the ancient bird’s voice grew much softer. "What was believed to be a trap ended up burying our own side instead. Gao Tian's fate was self-inflicted. It thought too highly of itself and has no one else to blame. At the same time, congratulations, Obscura. You chose your current Keeper of Balance well."
No one from Obscura responded.
Shang Jing looked up at the transparent sword. "Can you tell me if Gao Tian is dead or alive?"
A calm voice answered, "It escaped. Its life and death are unknown."
Shang Jing's gaze deepened. "It fled without even returning home... Then it seems that it is not far from death."
Across the battlefield, Old Man Hehe spoke, "The Ten Plumes, plus you who remained hidden, makes for eleven in total. How many are left now? Hehe."
Shang Jing said in a deep voice, "We have lost this war. There is nothing more to say. But if even just one of us remains, if Obscura wishes to swallow us whole, you must still risk everything!"
For the first time during this war, Ba Se directly addressed the Plume Immortals. "This war is over. As long as the Plume Immortals do not instigate another war, Obscura can let this go."
No one from Obscura objected. Letting this go meant releasing the Plume Immortals, but it also meant releasing Obscura. If they truly fought the birds to the death, no one could guarantee who would survive to the end. Moreover, both sides had increased their karmic chains steeply through the course of this war. The Plume Immortals could sleep them away with their Thousand-Autumn Dream, but what about the members of Obscura?
That was another reason why not a single Plume Immortal had died during the battle in Vestigium. Every Obscura member had been holding back, seeking stability and victory rather than slaughter.
When all was said and done, aside from the Keeper of Balance defeating Gao Tian, the greatest achievement of this war belonged to Lu Yin. Whether it was sealing off Gao Tian’s senses or destroying the Plume Immortals' great tree, Lu Yin was the one responsible for both. He had also personally eliminated Ming Yu and Chang Dou from the battlefield, and the fact that Nan Ling had been sealed away by Greater Sancte Green Lotus was also connected to Lu Yin.
By this point, everyone was exhausted. While not much time had passed, they felt more exhausted than from any previous war.
No one said anything more. Shang Jing slowly descended back into the Plume Immortals' tree. Si Qin could not help but ask, "What about Nan Ling? It is not dead but merely sealed."
Shang Jing answered in a terrifyingly calm tone, "Obscura is watching, so we cannot take it away. However, it also will not be easy to kill it. There will be a chance. In the end, humanity will only bind itself in its own cocoon."
Si Qin fell silent. There was one thing it did not say: what if the human civilization handed Nan Ling over to Obscura?
If it could think of that possibility, then so could Ancestor Shang Jing. Since Shang Jing had not said anything about it, there was no need to ask.
"Obscura has started to treat itself as the Nine Ramparts. It truly believes that it can achieve an eternal glory that spans the cosmos, but even the Nine Ramparts fell. Obscura will not be able to endure for much longer either." With that, Shang Jing fell completely asleep.
Bei Qing, Si Qin, Yue Ting, and the other Plume Immortals slowly restrained their auras as gray wisps gathered around them. They all entered their Thousand-Autumn Dream.
Once the birds fell asleep, it showed that they had completely abandoned further battle.
Yue Lu returned. It cast a wary glance at the distant members of Obscura and then also slowly fell asleep within the Thousand-Autumn Dream. This war had begun because of Yue Lu, but the Plume Immortals had suffered badly, and Yue Lu itself had nearly died.
At this point, it had seen part of the truth. Perhaps from the very beginning, the Plume Immortals had been led around by the nose. Yue Lu had been observing the human civilization, only to have half of its body severed by a sword strike from someone from Obscura. It had returned and complained to Nan Ling, hoping to receive the Plume Immortals' protection and obtain revenge. Just as it had hoped, the Plume Immortals had all awakened and gone to war.
Before the war started, Gao Tian had deliberately pretended to still be asleep, luring Obscura into attacking and creating an opportunity to fight their Keeper of Balance alone. That had been Gao Tian's confidence, but the results had proven different.
Looking back, that had also been an opportunity created by the Keeper of Balance. From the very first slash of their sword on to the end of the war, with Gao Tian's life or death unknown, everything had been part of someone else's scheme.
Gray wisps eventually gathered around Yue Lu. The cosmos seemed to grow smaller and smaller until, in the end, it vanished and the bird fell asleep.
This time, the Plume Immortals had admitted defeat.
Only after Lu Yin personally saw the Thousand-Autumn Dream of the birds sleeping in the crown of their great tree was he finally able to breathe a true sigh of relief.
Beside him, Ba Se's voice came from a small gate. "The Plume Immortals have suffered grievous losses this time and will not start another war in the near future. Obscura's promise to protect your human civilization for 2,000 years will not change."
Lu Yin looked into the distance. Protect us for two thousand years?
That was indeed true.
If Obscura had not intervened this time, his human civilization would have certainly been destroyed. They were absolutely incapable of enduring an assault from the Plume Immortals.
But why had the Plume Immortals attacked his human civilization? It was possible that it was related to the fact that Lu Yin had captured Ming Yu and destroyed their tree. If that was the reason for the attack, then humanity had essentially been dragged into war by Obscura. However, Lu Yin then thought of Yue Lu.
When the war had begun, Yue Lu had not been at either the Plume Immortals' great tree or in Vestigium. Instead, it had appeared at the Human Trio. Why? Could it have always been watching the Trio?
If that was true, then the Plume Immortals' attack on the human megaverses might not have had any connection to this war at all. It was even possible that the trigger for this war had come from Yue Lu.
Lu Yin exhaled. Whatever the reason, this war was over. The Plume Immortals had not even managed to take the Crimson Lotus Tomb, but had instead left Nan Ling trapped, effectively handing the bird over to the enemy. This war had indeed dealt the birds a severe blow.
"How many Plume Immortals remain?" Lu Yin asked.
Ba Se replied, "Aside from Gao Tian, whose life and death are unknown, and Nan Ling, who is sealed away, there are still seven."
Lu Yin frowned. Seven... They will be very difficult to deal with.
At first, he had assumed there were only the Ten Plumes, which did not include Shang Jing. Each additional Plume Immortal made the birds even harder to handle, let alone one as powerful as Shang Jing.
Although three Plume Immortals had been removed from the equation, more than half of the remaining Plume Immortals were two-law Immortals, while Shang Jing in particular was simply unfathomable.
Lu Yin very much wanted to use this opportunity to destroy the Plume Immortals, but he also knew that it was impossible. Obscura had allowed the Plume Immortals to fall asleep, ending the war. That was because they also did not wish to keep fighting. Lu Yin had no way to restart this war.
Also, the human civilization also could not endure another assault from the Plume Immortals.
He teleported away. It was time to return and deal with the aftermath.
Back where Lu Yin had just been, Ba Se's gate also disappeared. From this war, Obscura had gained a much clearer understanding of Lu Yin. While he was not an Immortal being, his strength was terrifying and great enough for him to stand as an equal to any other Obscura member.
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