Lu Yin sneered. “Are you still trying to quibble? You pushed Wanzhang Mountain into the sea, trying to completely remove all traces, but do you think that you can fool the universe? Your business has been spoken of by others for a long time.”

Shang Ju had a venomous look. “It’s that mute! He must have betrayed me.”

Lu Yin was speechless to discover that there was yet another person who knew about this matter. The main reason why Lu Yin had dared to accuse Shang Ju in the first place was because Chen Fu’s cosmic ring was still in the man’s office, and there was also some other evidence. Otherwise, Lu Yin would never have taken away the plans for the sourcebox array, as a baseless accusation would be pointless.

Yuan Shou’s face was cold, and an overflowing killing intent descended that caused even the void to tremble. Shang Ju’s entire body was forced down onto the ground, his bones almost shattering. “It really was you! How bold! You dared to harm my disciple. Just who gave you such courage?”

Shang Ju struggled to look up, blood leaking from his mouth. Hatred filled his eyes as he looked at Yuan Shou. “He forced me to do it! Back then, he said that he’d give me a look, but in the end, he went back on his word. And for what? I gave him so much so that he could make enough contributions to the sect, but he reneged on his promise in the end!”

Yuan Shou was furious and swatted down with his palm, slapping Shang Ju into the ground “Speak! Where are the plans for the sourcebox array?”

Shang Ju screamed.

Outside the city master’s residence, Shang Chen was kneeling on both knees, and he stared at Yuan Shou in terror.

Yuan Shou shouted, “If you don’t speak up, I’ll have you suffer the Cosmic Sect’s worst punishment.”

Shang Ju seethed, but in the depths of his eyes, a hint of terror could be seen. Elder Yuan Shou’s might was overpowering, and Shang Ju could only drop his head. “In my office.”

Yuan Shou’s gaze trembled, and he waved a hand and flipped the city master’s residence apart. The man who was standing guard in front of the office instantly spat out a mouthful of blood as he flew out and crashed into the ground. “What?”

Shang Ju coughed, and the Cosmic Sect cultivators dragged him over to his office. He had already resigned himself to his fate as he approached a corner of the office and looked down. Eh? Where’s the case?

Shang Ju was left in a daze as he stared at the empty corner of his office, his face blank.

Elder Yuan Shou looked down on the man from above.

Sheng Ju was surrounded by the Cosmic Sect cultivators. Not even an Envoy-realm powerhouse could escape from this situation, which showed the power of the Cosmic Sect. Any random elder who appeared would have a power level exceeding 500,000, and according to Lu Yin’s best guess, Elder Yuan Shou’s true strength might be comparable to the Sea King’s.

As the True Elder, his position should not be much lower than the sect leader, and Yuan Shou was clearly one of the most influential individuals within the sect.

Everyone was staring at Shang Ju.

Shang Ju glanced at the side and rubbed his eyes, though his entire hand was covered with blood. The box… was gone? Well and truly gone?

Lu Yin swallowed his saliva, and he suddenly felt somewhat sympathetic towards Shang Ju. It was just the man’s misfortune to have encountered Lu Yin, and this was simply a matter of fate.

“You still want to hide it despite how things have turned out?” Elder Yuan Shou barked.

Shang Ju fearfully answered, “I’m not hiding anything; I left it right here.”

He then looked at the guard for the office, and roared, “Who went in my office?”

The man had already fainted, but one of the Cosmic Sect cultivators quickly roused him.

The man blankly took in his surroundings.

“Who’s entered my office within the last two days?” Shang Ju glared at the guard.

The man coughed up blood and stuttered, “It’s- the young lord.”

Shang Ju’s face went pale. “Only him?”

“Yes. Only- only the young lord went in.”

“When?”

“Not too long ago.”

Yuan Shou snorted, and his eyes swept over the city master residence towards Shang Chen, who was trembling in front of the residence. Shang Ju stared at his son, his eyes filled with regret and a beaten look. “You entered my office? Where’s the item?”

Shang Chen was perplexed. “What? What item?”

“The thing that was in the corner of the office!” Shang Ju raged.

Shang Chen’s face went pale, and he quickly shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Shang Ju fiercely glared at the youth. “Speak! Where is it? Hurry and speak up. Only then can you avoid death.”

Shang Chen became desperate. “Father, I don’t know! I didn’t go to your office.”

That man guarding the office glared at Shang Chen. “Young lord, you just came by, and you even pushed me aside.”

Shang Chen glared at the guard. “What nonsense! When did I push you aside? You’re a Hunter. How could I push you anywhere?”

Shang Ju shot a venomous glare at the guard. “You said that my son pushed you aside? How is that even possible? You’re lying! Speak up, why are you framing us? What’s your relationship with that mute?”

The man spoke as best he could, though his voice was hoarse with desperation. “It really was the young lord who pushed me aside. If not him, who else could enter the office or even the city master’s residence so easily?”

“You’re spouting nonsense!” Shang Chen bellowed. “You’re framing me!”

“Enough!” Elder Yuan Shou shouted. His gaze swept over the three men. “Take them all back to the sect and carefully interrogate them.”

Shang Ju despaired as he looked at Elder Yuan Shou. “Elder, I’ll admit that I killed Chen Fu and that I must die. Thus, I naturally have no need to hide the sourcebox array plans! Elder, someone is framing me, and they must have also stolen the sourcebox array plans.”

“Elder, this disciple isn’t lying! I really never went to the office!” Shang Chen shouted desperately.

But no matter what the men said, they could not change the facts of the situation, and a tragic future awaited them, or possibly, no future at all.

Elder Yuan Shou let out a deep breath and stared off into the distance. “Little Fu, Master has finally found revenge for you.”

Lu Yin silently stood to the side. He did not speak at all, and acted completely innocent.

The city master’s residence was sealed off, and many Cosmic Sect cultivators stood guard on all sides.

After a long time, Elder Yuan Shou let out a sigh and turned to look at Lu Yin. The old man gratefully said, “You’re a good child, and you’ve made a great contribution to my Cosmic Sect.”

Lu Yin hurriedly replied, “As long as Senior Chen Fu is avenged, this disciple will be satisfied. These kinds of people who stab our sect in the back should not be let off.”

Yuan Shou sternly replied, “Rest assured, he will not have a good time.”

“Elder, this junior wants to explore Crimson Star star for a bit, as I’ve become a bit exhausted from all my time cultivating,” Lu Yin mentioned.

Elder Yuan Shou grew concerned. “Exhausted? Are you alright?”

Lu Yin replied, “It’s not a problem. I just seem to be slightly fatigued.”

Elder Yuan Shou lifted a hand, and a medicinal bottle appeared in his hand. “These are pills that are specialties of my sect, and they are even effective on Envoys. Take this.”

Lu Yin was pleasantly surprised. “Thank you, Elder.”

Elder Yuan Shou patted Lu Yin on the shoulder. “How good it would be if you were truly my Cosmic Sect’s disciple. Even if it proved to be more difficult than normal, I would still find some way for you to learn our secret technique and the highest layer of the Cosmic Art. It’s really such a pity.”

Lu Yin pursed his lips, as this was an extremely alluring suggestion.

“Your contributions this time are very great, and I’ll keep a watch on you and give you another chance to enter the Skystar Jade Wall to cultivate. You can use this opportunity at any time, and even if you’re not a disciple of my Cosmic Sect, you can still use this permission,” Elder Yuan Shou said.

Lu Yin was thrilled. “Thank you, Elder.”

Elder Yuan Shou patted Lu Yin’s shoulder once again and then left Crimson Star, feeling quite despondent.

Lu Yin looked at the shattered residence and mumbled, “Don’t blame me. If you want to blame someone, then blame it on yourselves for reaping what you sowed. Cultivating is fighting against fate from the very beginning, and this is the outcome when you lose the fight.”

“Seventh Bro, how did you know that this city master secretly killed one of the Cosmic Sect’s true disciples?” the Ghost Monkey asked curiously.

Lu Yin casually replied, “A report received in the Outerverse.”

“Really? Information regarding the Neoverse can make its way to the Outerverse?”

Lu Yin also realized that such an excuse was not very reliable, but the Cosmic Sect would not be able to investigate his claim even if they wanted to. First of all, the Cosmic Sect had almost nothing to do with the Outerverse, which meant that its influence in the Innerverse and the Outerverse was negligible. Secondly, the Great Eastern Alliance still controlled the backup Astral River Ark, so unless the Cosmic Sect sent out a powerhouse with a power level of several hundred thousands who was able to freely cross the Astral River, they would not be able to enter the Outerverse to investigate anything.

And even if they did investigate, they would not be able to learn much in a short period of time.

Besides, Shang Ju had already admitted to his crimes, so the origin of the intelligence was not at all important to the Cosmic Sect.

Lu Yin passed through the area where he had hidden the wooden case, and he surreptitiously recovered the box. This trip to Crimson Star had thus successfully concluded, and if he roamed about for a bit longer, then he could return to the Cosmic Sect devoid of all suspicion.

He had also gained another opportunity to enter the Skystar Jade Wall and study it.

In reality, it would be best for him to return to the Skystar Jade Wall after the Astral Tower contest, as he would then be able to cultivate however he wished. However, Lu Yin was not certain that he would be able to return to the Cosmic Sect after the contest. Thus, it would be best to take advantage of this opportunity as soon as possible, and this would also give him an excuse to reveal that he had already broken through the second layer and started cultivating the third layer. This would also allow him to freely use the Cosmic Art no matter where he went in the future.

Also, the more stars he could simulate, the stronger he would become. After all, the Astral Tower contest was a cruel battlefield.

Elsewhere, within the Cosmic Sect, Mu Ziying was studying reports concerning the recent battles within the Mountain and Seas Zone when news of Lu Yin’s contribution to the sect reached him.

Mu Ziying was rather stunned. “What’s this about the fifth true disciple making contributions?”

Across from him, a female disciple respectfully explained, “The fifth true disciple revealed the truth regarding how Crimson Star’s City Master Shang Ju schemed against true disciple Senior Chen Fu and killed him 100 years ago. This was counted as a contribution to the sect for Lu Yin, so he was given an opportunity to return to the Skystar Jade Wall.”

Mu Ziying blinked. “Are you sure that it was the fifth true disciple, Lu Yin? Isn’t he resting?”

“Completely certain.”

Mu Ziying held his forehead; what was Lu Yin up to? Was he crazy? He seemed to be bouncing here and jumping there.

Forget it, this was none of Mu Ziying’s business, so he would just ignore it.

***

On the continent that held the Mountain and Seas Zone, an astounding battle was taking place.

Three strands of qi spiralled through the air while Shang Qing watched with a cold expression as Xia Jiuyou retreated step by step. Xia Jiuyou was solemnly watching the streams of air, as they left him speechless; he could not break this attack no matter what he tried, and he could not isolate these qi flows either. They were simply too powerful.

Off in the distance, thunder crashed, and Ku Lei gritted his teeth as he waited for an opportunity to make a move.

Even further away, Ling Gong was also facing off against a qi stream, and it was proving exceptionally difficult to deal with.

Three absolute experts had joined forces to fight against Shang Qing, but even together, they could not gain the upper hand.

Shang Qing’s lips curled upwards, as he was simultaneously controlling three qi streams to force three different experts back step by step.

Many people watched this battle from a distance, completely dumbfounded.

Tai Yuanjun had already been stunned by Shang Qing's power, as Tai Yuanjun had watched this same scene play out several times already. One of the Ten Arbiters had joined forces with two others to try to deal with Shang Qing, and the “others” were actually the heirs to two of the Seven Courts.

Tai Yuanjun had discovered Shang Qing’s identity by now, and his wariness towards the Hall of Honor had spiked by at least 1200%.

“Shang- Shang- Shang-” The stutterer had arrived some time ago, and he pointed at the battlefield and trembled as he stammered. He simply wanted to say “Shang Qing,” the same words as what he had heard the other spectators discussing.

In front of the stutterer, a large man turned around and stared at the stutterer indignantly. “Who are you asking to go up? If you’ve got the strength, you go up!”1

“You- you- you-”

The stutterer looked at the man, and he wanted to say “you’ve misunderstood,” as the big man had misinterpreted his stuttering as a provocation to join the battle. However, the man grew even more irritated, and he stepped aside for the stutterer. “You go!”

“Shen- shen- shen-”2

The stutterer saw Lan Si at that moment and wanted to say that the Divine Fist had arrived, but the big man instantly grew infuriated. “Don’t spout bullshit! I’m not one of those maniacs from Gods’ Origin!”

At this time, the small group who had been chasing after Jin He suddenly arrived, and when they heard the big man’s words, they looked at him with unfriendly expressions. “Kid, who are you calling maniacs?”

[1] "Go up" = Shang.

[2] 神 = Shen, and is the "divine" in Divine Fist as well as the "God" in Gods' Origin.