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In the outside world, chaos had descended due to the information of Realmless that had been released. Through it all, Virtue Archives remained relatively peaceful. At most, a few students returned to their families because of what their families were dealing with.
This turn of events was actually a good thing. Regardless of how the four ruling powers fought against each other, many Redbacks and traitors were caught. More and more were captured as countless traitors were uncovered due to Realmless’s information.
As for the Dealcut Association, it was an organization that sold materials and resources from the rear battlefield, and it also manipulated the battlefield’s forces to ensure the safety of its paying clients. The organization was almost entirely uprooted, and even the group’s leader in the second array base left.
Unfortunately, Lu Yin had never made use of the Dealcut Association. It had been eliminated before he ever had the chance.
A few months passed as the four ruling powers started capturing traitors. During this time, Lu Yin had been trying to come up with a plan to obtain the Celestial Frost Sect and the Wang family’s portions of the restriction that was used to control the members of Star Alliance.
One day, Bai Weiwei arrived, looking for “Hao Yu.”
"You came here to ask me to escort you on a training mission?" Lu Yin was caught off guard.
Bai Weiwei explained, "I need to travel across the Middle Ocean, but this task was actually given to me by my family. I need to kill a creature with the strength of a one-tribulation Envoy on my own."
"So why didn’t you ask Prof. Bai to escort you?"
"I did, but Prof. Bai isn’t enough to ensure my safety, so I wanted to go with you, Prof. Hao Yu," Bai Weiwei replied. She then gave him a playful smile. "You can’t say no, Professor. I have the credits to pay."
Lu Yin just shrugged. "There’s no problem if you have the credits. Where are we going in the Middle Ocean?"
Bai Weiwei drew a map of the Middle Ocean. "This area will work fine."
Lu Yin looked at the map, and he was surprised to see that an area close to the Island of Hope had been chosen. He had been thinking about trying to find an opportunity to visit the Island of Hope and get to the Junior Progenitor Planets, and such an opportunity had just been given to him.
Naturally, Bai Weiwei had not requested Lu Yin’s protection while traveling across the Middle Ocean simply because of safety issues, but also because the Xia family’s ploys were all too clear to the Celestial Frost Sect. They also wanted to try to win over Grandmaster Gu Yan, and this mission was to create an opportunity for them.
The Celestial Frost Sect was finally ready to formally offer some conditions.
News quickly spread that Bai Weiwei had asked Prof. Hao Yu to protect her during a mission, and of course, Nong Siniang was the first to object. However, since Bai Weiwei had paid credits for the service, there was nothing that Nong Siniang could do to stop the mission from taking place.
Wu Taibai also heard the news, and he immediately sent a report to Xia Ziheng. The Semi-Progenitor asked Wu Taibai to take Yu Chuan away. As long as the Xia family controlled Yu Chuan, Yu Hao could not run away. If the Celestial Frost Sect wanted to win Yu Hao over, then he would definitely demand his grandfather to be released. Thus, as long as Shenwu’s Sky had Yu Chuan, that condition would be impossible to fulfill.
The endless Middle Ocean surrounded the Middle Realm. Off in the distance, flocks of birds flew through the blue sky. Some of the birds created gusts of icy wind that sliced the ocean open so that the birds could catch some fish.
It was a place far off the coast of the Middle Ocean, and it was remote enough that it was possible to even encounter creatures at the Envoy level.
“Hao Yu,” Bai Weiwei, and Prof. Bai were all riding on a boat made from some folded white paper. It was a huge boat, and it had both a cabin and a deck that were created from the white paper, and the ship was almost as large as a genuine ship.
Prof. Bai was sitting at the stern of the boat and fishing. It was a very popular pastime.
Bai Weiwei was standing at the bow, staring off into the distance. Occasionally, she looked down into the depths of the ocean, clearly searching for something.
Lu Yin was leaning against a railing, rather bored. Still, he remained somewhat close to Bai Weiwei, as he was supposed to be ensuring her safety from any potential mishaps.
"Prof. Hao Yu, if there aren’t any creatures around here with the strength of an Envoy, then why don’t we go somewhere else?" Bai Weiwei asked.
Lu Yin's domain was firmly in the spirit manifestation realm, which meant that it was quite easy for him to notice powerful creatures through his domain.
After checking a few directions, Lu Yin pointed a finger. "That way. I can feel that the creatures in that direction are stronger."
Bai Weiwei immediately reacted.
On the sea bed beneath them, a massive creature was being suppressed so completely that it could not even move. It was as strong as a one-tribulation Envoy, but Lu Yin had thoroughly suppressed the creature, ensuring that neither Bai Weiwei nor Prof. Bai could discover the creature.
How could he guide the two people closer to the Island of Hope if they found a creature that matched their requirements so quickly and easily? Sure enough, Lu Yin had pointed in the general direction of the Island of Hope.
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The little group had already spent over ten days roaming about the Middle Ocean.
Prof. Bai found their situation rather odd. "We definitely should have run into some powerful astral beasts around here, so why haven’t we found anything at all?"
Bai Weiwei also found their situation rather odd, and she looked at “Hao Yu.” "Prof. Hao Yu, why don't we choose another direction?"
Lu Yin nodded. "Sure."
They had changed directions several times already, and while it appeared to Bai Weiwei and Prof. Bai that they had traveled in multiple different directions, in truth, they were following Lu Yin’s plan. Inevitably, they would eventually reach the Island of Hope.
There was a splash as Bai Weiwei rose up from the ocean. She waved a hand, and a massive sea turtle was thrown up into the sky.
This turtle was as strong as an Enlighter, so it was clearly not the target of their mission.
"What a pity. We still can’t find one," Bai Weiwei said. "We’ve already spent more time on this mission than I expected. I thought that I’d be able to find something within this area of the Middle Ocean in ten days at the most."
Prof. Bai spoke up, "Prof. Hao Yu, it’s possible that your domain might be frightening the sea creatures away, so why don’t I try."
Lu Yin shrugged. "That’s fine."
Prof. Bai had also cultivated a domain, though he had not achieved much mastery over it. His domain could only compare to an Enlighter’s strength. Fortunately, it could spread quite far.
Several more days passed, but Prof. Bai also failed to find any astral beasts with the strength of a one-tribulation Envoy, or even a two-tribulation Envoy. However, they did encounter a massive beast that was so powerful that none of them could accurately sense its strength. It passed by, high above the ocean, and the three humans were all too terrified to say a word until the beast was gone.
The creature flew over the ocean by traveling through the true universe. Its passage overturned the ocean below and stirred up the sky above.
"That thing’s at least as strong as a six-tribulation Envoy! We’re lucky that it didn’t notice us." Prof. Bai's face was completely pale, as he was rather scared.
Bai Weiwei similarly felt quite grateful. "We’re too weak to attract its attention."
Lu Yin smiled. "Or maybe we’re just too small to fill its stomach."
Prof. Bai was shocked. "That's not very nice to hear."
Lu Yin just smiled, and the three continued to search.
"I've always been rather curious about where the Middle Ocean came from. It’s home to so many powerful creatures. Has no one ever thought of moving these creatures onto the rear battlefield to help defend humanity?" Lu Yin asked.
Prof. Bai lowered his fishing rod. "Any who attempt such a thing will become criminals who betray humanity."
Lu Yin grew curious. "Why is that?"
Prof. Bai turned to look at “Yu Hao.” "Have you not read the books about the Middle Ocean, Prof. Hao Yu?"
Lu Yin shook his head. "I’ve spent too much time focusing on books regarding cultivation and lockbreaking, as well as the records of Progenitor Wen. I haven’t had the time to read anything else."
Prof. Bai smiled. "Do you know about the Fifth Continent, Prof. Hao Yu?"
Lu Yin's expression never twitched. "Of course."
The Fifth and Sixth Mainlands were not regarded as forbidden topics within the Perennial World, but they only ever referred to the Fifth Mainland as the Forsaken Land.
"The Middle Ocean comes from the Fifth Mainland’s Astral River. It’s not just an ocean, as the Mother Tree’s roots also need the water," Prof. Bai slowly explained.
Bai Weiwei perked up. "I remember a bit about that. I think that First Senior Sister mentioned something about how many of the creatures in the Middle Ocean are connected to the Lower Realm and the Mother Tree’s roots."
Prof. Bai nodded. "That’s no secret. Aeternus has always wanted to contaminate the Middle Ocean to destroy the Mother Tree’s roots and eliminate the rear battlefield. Fortunately, the Middle Ocean is too massive, and some of the creatures living in it are more powerful beyond belief, which caused the Aeternals to fail. If they couldn’t do it, then we humans can’t either."
"So the creatures in the Middle Ocean can theoretically reach the Mother Tree’s roots?" This was rather shocking to Lu Yin, as he had never heard of such a thing.
Prof. Bai nodded. "That’s what’s recorded in the books, though only a few people know how it works."
"Prof. Bai, you mentioned that the Middle Ocean comes from the Forsaken Land’s Astral River, right?" Lu Yin pressed.
Prof. Bai replied, "That’s also what’s recorded in the books, so it should be true. It’s said that the Astral River of the Fifth Mainland, which is now the Forsaken Land, once flowed around the Mother Tree and once connected all Six Mainlands. The creatures in that river are incredibly powerful, and they can be thought of as the guardians of the Mother Tree’s roots."
Lu Yin understood. No wonder Kui Luo had wanted to catch the powerful creatures that occasionally appeared in the Fifth Mainland’s Astral River.
"What's this?" Lu Yin squatted down and picked up a metallic item that had fallen on the deck of the paper boat. It was a small bit of pyrolyte that he had purposefully dropped.
Upon learning that the Middle Ocean came from the Astral River, Lu Yin naturally wanted to find out where pyrolyte came from. After all, the Fifth Mainland’s Astral River held a tremendous amount of pyrolyte, though he could not allow these two people to learn where this tiny bit of pyrolyte had come from.
Prof. Bai and Bai Weiwei both looked at the small item. "That’s what appears when the Mother Tree’s roots decay. It’s known as Mother Soil, but don’t underestimate it. A single gram of Mother Soil can be incredibly destructive. It used to be used extensively on the rear battlefield, but unfortunately, it’s too rare, so it’s not used anymore."
Bai Weiwei interjected, "It takes too long for the Mother Tree’s roots to rot or decay, and our Perennial World simply isn’t old enough. Supposedly, all of the Mother Soil that was once used was brought here by our seniors who brought the Mother Tree here."
"It has to be admitted that the place with the most Mother Soil has to be the Forsaken Land. Unfortunately, that makes it impossible to get," Prof. Bai lamented.
Lu Yin's eyes flickered. Mother Soil? Prof. Bai and Bai Weiwei were both familiar with this information, and the people in the army that the Perennial World had sent to the Fifth Mainland had to be aware of it as well. However, nothing had ever been mentioned, though it was expected that pyrolyte would be taken away when the New Corridor was restored.
Mother Soil and microarray technology were most likely also the goals of the Perennial World’s forces in the Fifth Mainland.
"Apparently, that creature just now got very close to the Mother Tree’s roots," Prof. Bai commented.
The three people spent some time chatting as Prof. Bai continued to search for an astral beast with the strength of a one-tribulation Envoy. As time passed, Bai Weiwei brought up the Xia family.
"Sect Master Xia Xing’s gone missing. As a result, Shenwu's Sky went crazy and attacked all of Realmless’s different bases, including their headquarters. Even then, it wasn’t enough for them to recover from the damage that they suffered due to Xia Xing’s disappearance. Of the four ruling powers, the White Dragon Clan has always firmly been at the bottom, but Shenwu’s Sky’s always been right beneath my Celestial Frost Sect. With this, I wouldn’t be surprised if they get overtaken by the Wang family. No matter what, my Celestial Frost Sect will always remain the most powerful," Bai Weiwei proudly proclaimed.
Lu Yin agreed, "It’s true that there’s no way the Xia family can compare to the Celestial Frost Sect."
"If Grandmaster Gu Yan joins my Celestial Frost Sect, we will definitely improve by yet another level. Prof. Hao Yu, tell me, what are the conditions to get Grandmaster Gu Yan to agree to join us?" Bai Weiwei asked bluntly.
Lu Yin hesitated.
Bai Weiwei continued to say, "I originally wasn’t this anxious, but I know that Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng’s taken your grandfather Yu Chuan out of Star Alliance. While we are certainly willing to try to free Yu Chuan, it won’t be easy at all. This is why we need to understand your feelings on the matter. The sect is not willing to put in that much effort without some sort of guarantee."
Lu Yin grew serious as he gazed at Bai Weiwei. "I want revenge. Xia Zhitong has to die, along with Xia Yuan, who supports her, and even the Xia family’s branch in the Blue Moon District. My grandfather Yu Chuan needs to be rescued. If you can do all of that, I’m more than happy to join the Celestial Frost Sect."