When examining Hong’er’s past, Lu Yin saw scene after scene of her cultivating, but he was disappointed by the results; her cultivation of the Path of Dispassion was extremely superficial, to the point of even being crude.

"It seems that you don’t really understand the Path of Dispassion."

Hong’er was aware that her karma was being read by Lu Yin, but she did not mind. "The Path of Dispassion was mostly lost long ago, and my civilization only cultivated a part of it. If not for that, Master wouldn’t have needed to save me. The true Crimson Starshade is very, very strong."

"How many folds does the Path of Dispassion have?" Lu Yin asked.

Hong’er was startled. Folds? That was something that only those who cultivated the Path of Dispassion would know about. She immediately grew excited. "Mr. Lu, do you know something? Have you found my civilization?"

Lu Yin said, "Answer me: how many folds does the Path of Dispassion have?"

Hong’er forcibly suppressed her excitement and answered, "Legend says there are nine folds."

Lu Yin’s gaze flickered. Nine folds?

"Where did that legend come from?"

Hong’er shook her head. "I don’t know, but it just spread around. Perhaps it’s related to the Nine Ramparts, that nine is the limit."

"You even know about the Nine Ramparts?" Lu Yin was surprised. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Hong’er nodded. "Just a little. Not very much."

Lu Yin was about to ask more when, suddenly, a chill flashed through his mind. He stared at Hong’er. "Where did you learn the term ‘Nine Ramparts?’"

Hong’er did not try to hide anything. She readily answered whatever question Lu Yin asked. "It’s another legend of my civilization."

"You didn’t learn about it here?"

"Is it possible to learn about it here?" Hong’er was puzzled.

Lu Yin stared at the woman. No, absolutely not. This civilization had only gained awareness of the Nine Ramparts through Ancestor Shan.

Lu Yin had gone to visit the Seven-Treasure Anuras, and only there had he learned of the existence of the Nine Ramparts from Ancestor Shan, who had spoken of humanity’s ancient peak. After that, Green Lotus and the other human Immortals had also learned of the Nine Ramparts. Knowledge of it should have gradually spread from them throughout their civilization, though not widely.

When Hong’er had first mentioned the Nine Ramparts, Lu Yin had instinctively assumed that she had learned of it after he had, but she had just said that she had learned of the Nine Ramparts from fragments of legends from her native civilization.

That was wrong, as it proved that Hong’er had known that name even earlier than Lu Yin.

She had known about the Nine Ramparts at a time when no one had known about it. Even in the records of the jade that Green Lotus had shown to Lu Yin, the number nine had been blurred and left unreadable. Only the single word ‘rampart’ had been clear.

That had proven that absolutely no one in their human civilization should have known about the Nine Ramparts before Lu Yin.

However, Hong’er had known, and she had been brought back by Greater Sancte Green Lotus. Since she had known, could Greater Sancte Green Lotus have not known?

Was there any possibility that Green Lotus had not possessed any understanding of Hong’er’s civilization at all? For someone who cultivated karma, even if their path differed from Lu Yin’s and leaned toward offensive uses, the fact that they had comprehended karma should have allowed them to uncover some things. Why would he have not learned about the Nine Ramparts?

Had Green Lotus truly never heard the name before, or had he heard and simply not spoken of it?

Lu Yin stared at Hong’er. "Does Greater Sancte Green Lotus know about the Nine Ramparts?"

Hong’er was unaware of the discussions that had taken place between Lu Yin and humanity’s Immortals. She would not know that, after Lu Yin’s first visit to the Seven-Treasure Anuras, the term “Nine Ramparts” was no longer a secret held by the Immortals and had become something frequently mentioned.

She shook her head. "I don’t know."

"Have you ever mentioned the Nine Ramparts to Greater Sancte Green Lotus?"

"No."

Lu Yin let out a breath. Was it relief? If Green Lotus had known about the Nine Ramparts beforehand yet deliberately kept that knowledge hidden, it would be wrong.

While hiding the name “Nine Ramparts” might seem meaningless, it might have been to conceal the fact that Green Lotus had once abandoned the Crimson Starshade Civilization, just like how he had prevented Hong’er from speaking with Lu Yin.

But there could also be other reasons.

Everyone was allowed to have their own secrets. Lu Yin was not trying to pry into Green Lotus’s secrets, but if it was a secret that involved all of human civilization, then... Lu Yin did not know what to think. His thoughts were a mess. Many recent events had continuously overturned his understanding of things.

Green Lotus had always protected humanity, and yet he had abandoned an entire megaverse that had belonged to Crimson Starshade, leaving the countless people of that megaverse to live or die on their own.

Lu Yin did not judge whether that decision was right or wrong, as it was born from past grievances. Still, it lay outside of Lu Yin’s understanding.

However, if it was revealed that the man had also concealed his long knowledge of the Nine Ramparts civilization, then...

Having secrets was normal, but having too many was not.

Had Green Lotus known of the Nine Ramparts before Lu Yin’s trip to the Seven-Treasure Anuras or not?

Lu Yin once again examined Hong’er’s past with karma, but he could not find an answer.

Hong’er had never mentioned the Nine Ramparts to Green Lotus, just as how she had completely concealed the fact that she was originally from Crimson Starshade. She had actually been so secretive that even the other Seven Fairies had all thought that Hong’er was not even human.

If the situation had not ended up involving Lu Yin’s own mental state, that fact would still remain hidden.

Hong’er did not understand why Lu Yin was fixated on the Nine Ramparts. It was only a legend, and even that legend was incredibly vague.

Lu Yin left the red forest and moved to the edge of the Sea of Karma. As he gazed across the vast Sea of Karma, his heart simply could not settle.

Green Lotus had always protected humanity and had helped Lu Yin greatly. In Lu Yin’s heart, Green Lotus was like a kindly elder. He hoped that his elder would remain as always, never changing.

He hoped that Greater Sancte Green Lotus truly had not known about the Nine Ramparts before Lu Yin returned with that knowledge, rather than deliberately concealing it.

Even if the man had concealed that knowledge, it should have been to hide the fact that he had abandoned Crimson Starshade, rather than for some other reason.

Lu Yin raised his head. Hope. When there was too much hope, was it even still hope?

Rather than remain lost in his own thoughts, it would be better to ask Green Lotus directly, but the man was in seclusion.

Lu Yin thought for a moment and then released his Karmic Dao, gradually letting it spread across the Sea of Karma.

Ming Zhuo arrived. "Mr. Lu, what is this?"

Lu Yin replied, "I’m considering the Sea of Karma for enlightenment."

Ming Zhuo praised, "Impressive as always, Mr. Lu. Please, do as you like."

After speaking, the man retreated far away.

The Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm covered the entire megaverse, but Green Lotus’s karma also existed within the Sea of Karma,.

It was not strange at all that Lu Yin could gain enlightenment by contemplating the Sea of Karma. Although it was the Sea of Karma and Green Lotus’s power existed there, Ming Zhuo believed that his master would not object to Lu Yin cultivating there.

Ming Zhuo remembered his master saying that Lu Yin was a variable for humanity, as well as its guide. Any progress that Lu Yin made would mean progress for their human civilization as a whole.

Enlightenment often meant a breakthrough, and Ming Zhuo hoped that Lu Yin would be able to break through. He was already so strong as an Aberrant; if he could break through to the Immortal realm by comprehending karma, just how strong would he become? Ming Zhuo did not dare to even imagine it.

Lu Yin was naturally not seeking enlightenment. He wanted to search the Sea of Karma with his own karma. Doing so was for psychological comfort; he wanted to turn his hope into reality.

Spiral after spiral of karma darted about, not touching the Sea of Karma itself, which was Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s power, but rather touching everything above the Sea of Karma that was not karma. Lu Yin even explored the lotus pond that he had once fallen into.

If someone who cultivated karma could see this scene, they would surely be shocked. Karmic spirals were flying everywhere above the entire Sea of Karma, and Lu Yin’s Karmic Dao shrouded everything.

For three entire days, the spirals of karma pierced through countless things, sparing not even stones. Some of the stones were even touched more than once. Lu Yin’s heart gradually began to settle.

He knew that there was no meaning to what he was doing. If Green Lotus decided to conceal something, how could he possibly have left a flaw?

Even so, Lu Yin continued. He worked to turn hope into reality, suppressing his own doubts and unease. That was his goal.

Suddenly, Lu Yin’s expression shook. He stared blankly at a particular corner of the Sea of Karma, where the mural stood.

Years before, Lu Yin had comprehended the method of creating a karmic wall through that mural in the Sea of Karma, and he had even snapped it off from its base to take it with him.

Now, Lu Yin stared at that mural again. It had been carved into stone, but on the back of that stone, there was a faint imprint. It was so faint that it was practically invisible.

Lu Yin stared at that imprint.

It was the shape of a gourd.

A wine gourd, to be precise, and it was identical to the one that Jiu Wen carried.

This alone proved nothing. Jiu Xian of the Spirit Nidus and Qing Xing of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse both drank from wine gourds. Wine gourds were all too common. However, what truly caught Lu Yin’s attention was a symbol that had been stamped on the very center of the gourd imprint on the back of the stone, and it was a symbol Lu Yin had seen before: the mark of the Sect of Dispassion.

Every sect, clan, and power had its own unique symbol, and the Sect of Dispassion was no exception.

Burned into the stone at the very center of the wine gourd imprint was precisely the Sect of Dispassion’s symbol. This wine gourd had belonged to Jiu Wen. It could not possibly belong to anyone else.

For three days, Lu Yin had failed to notice that mark, as the spiral of karma had flown about randomly. Finally, right before he was about to leave, a spiral had touched the back of the mural and this imprint of the wine gourd.

Jiu Wen of the Sect of Dispassion had been here.

Lu Yin averted his gaze. Without alerting Green Lotus, he left, as if nothing had happened.

He needed to return to Crimson Starshade to find out what was really going on.

Jiu Wen had visited the Sea of Karma, which meant that Green Lotus had spoken with someone from that Crimson Starshade. Why had he not said so? Why conceal that he knew about the Nine Ramparts? What exactly was the Crimson Starshade that Green Lotus had abandoned? It was clearly not the same Crimson Starshade that Lu Yin had visited. That megaverse might not be any weaker than the current human civilization that Lu Yin was part of; how could Green Lotus have abandoned it?

Since Green Lotus had concealed this matter, it would be impossible to learn more in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Lu Yin believed that Blood Tower and Awe Gate had never known about either matter, so the only place where he could seek answers was within Crimson Starshade.

In truth, given all that Green Lotus had done, Lu Yin should trust him unconditionally, just as Green Lotus sometimes trusted Lu Yin unconditionally. That was trust.

However, when he remembered the Dispassion Valleys and the Crimson Starshade Immortals, Lu Yin felt sick. When his thoughts progressed further to how Greater Sancte Green Lotus had abandoned Hong’er’s native megaverse, leaving the humans there to live or die on their own, it felt... very much in line with the Path of Dispassion.

Was it in line with the Path of Dispassion? If so, what should Lu Yin do? He did not want the elder that he respected to end up like Bing Xu or He Xiao. From Lu Yin’s interactions with Greater Sancte Green Lotus, that should not be the case.

Wait. Lu Yin’s expression shifted. If Green Lotus had communicated with the Crimson Starshade Civilization, then did Jiu Wen really not know that Lu Yin could teleport?

From the old man’s attitude, he had seemed genuinely ignorant.

Lu Yin took a deep breath. No matter what, the fact that he was able to freely leave Crimson Starshade proved that, even if Jiu Wen knew, he did not plan to make things difficult for Lu Yin. In that case, he could investigate.

Perhaps Jiu Wen’s visit to the Sea of Karma had been a mere accident. In any case, Crimson Starshade was still a human civilization, and it should not be their enemy. Otherwise, after so many years, Crimson Starshade would have had more than enough time to come and slaughter Lu Yin’s civilization.

In fact, even if Green Lotus had concealed this information, he must have his own reasons. There was no requirement that the man reveal everything.

Still, whether Green Lotus spoke or not would not impact Lu Yin’s own investigation.

He went to speak with Blood Tower, asking him to select a group of people who were skilled at trickery and deception yet rich in emotion. Lu Yin planned to take them to Crimson Starshade to see what would happen. This experiment would directly affect how their three megaverses would interact and coexist with Crimson Starshade in the future.