Lu Yin had to admit that he was tempted. Old Man Hehe had been counting on Lu Yin’s help all along.

"I really want to help you. Even without any other conditions, the battlefield rewards alone are enough for me to act. However, those rewards might be enough to buy my help, but they aren’t enough to buy my life."

Furball snapped, "Who wants your life?"

Lu Yin calmly replied, "Anyone capable of being your opponent is definitely a top tier powerhouse. Ba Se wouldn’t send any of you to your deaths, but even if you severely wound your opponents and test their strength, I will still be placed in incredible danger as soon as I take over. At the very least, due to karmic designation, you won’t be able to actually beat your opponent to a half-dead state, which means that I will have to face opponents who are at least around half your strength.

"All of you are strong, and I have no confidence in dealing with you even at half strength. Doing so would be courting death."

Furball said, "You can teleport, you have the power of karma, and you have many other abilities. We can help you strategize a battle plan."

Lu Yin shook his head. "It’s still too risky. I can take my time looking for other human civilizations, and I am confident that I can deal with Lan Meng's level of opponents. Killing two of the eight elders for two four-star mission rewards is enough for me."

Furball harshly demanded, "What exactly do you want?"

The ancient creature, Old Man Hehe, said in a more leisurely tone, "I will give you one chance to touch the main stream of the River of Aeons."

The atmosphere abruptly seemed to freeze. Lu Yin stared at the gate, thinking that he must have misheard.

Lan Meng was also staring at the gate in a daze.

A chance to touch the River of Aeons’ main stream? That was the ancient powerhouse’s offer.

The River of Aeons’ main stream only existed as a concept, despite everyone knowing that it was real. It was simply that difficult to touch.

Time flowed through every megaverse, and wherever there was time, there had to be a River of Aeons. However, all Rivers of Aeons throughout every megaverse were merely branches of the main stream that flowed through the entire Aevum Inch.

No matter how high one's mastery over the power of time might reach, it was always limited to their own megaverse. The same was true even for Greater Sancte Blood Tower, just as it was for Lu Yin himself.

Neither of them could touch the main stream of the River of Aeons. That river was a legend even to those at their level.

Despite that, Old Man Hehe claimed to actually be capable of letting Lu Yin touch that main stream.

Old Man Hehe casually asked, "Child, are you satisfied with this offer?"

Their tone never changed at all. From the very beginning, they had known that this offer was one that could not be refused. Whether making contact with the River of Aeons’ main stream would help Lu Yin did not matter; he could not refuse such temptation. No one could.

Lu Yin genuinely had no idea what touching the main stream of the River of Aeons might mean for him. Could it bring about a transformation to his power of time? Would it perhaps enable him to see the past like when he had first fished in a side branch? Or would it enable Lightstream to undergo another transformation?

He simply did not know. It might even be just a single touch, or even just a glance, nothing more than a fleeting moment, but even if that were the case, he could not refuse. "Alright."

No one was surprised that Lu Yin agreed. There had never been an alternative.

Old Man Hehe chuckled. "When I reach out to you after this battle, I will take you to see what the main stream of the River of Aeons truly is."

With that, one of the miniature gates vanished.

Lu Yin's eyes flickered with excitement and exhilaration.

Obscura’s gates used the main stream of River of Aeons, which allowed Obscura to ignore spatial distance across the Aevum Inch. Passing through a gate could bring one to a boundlessly distant location. This meant that someone in Obscura was capable of freely accessing the main stream of the River of Aeons. How terrifying was that?

Apparently, Old Man Hehe was that terrifying creature.

Lu Yin looked at the other miniature gate. "So, Furball, what do you think? Old Man Hehe was sincere enough, right? What about you?"

Furball fell silent. The ancient creature’s offer exceeded anything that Furball could possibly give Lu Yin. They did not know how to convince Lu Yin to help, especially given that there was more than a bit of a grudge between them.

It was only then that Lan Meng returned to their senses. Obscura had astoundingly terrifying experts. They had known that before their father died. In addition to the information about the guardian artifact, Lan Meng’s father had also said that they must join Obscura, as only by joining Obscura could one hope to gain a foothold in the Aevum Inch.

For so many years, Lan Meng had wanted to gain a clear image of every Obscura member, and they had already formed their own conjectures. However, just as Furball had said, no one was able to truly see through Obscura, let alone Lan Meng.

"Then why don’t I make a suggestion for you?" Lu Yin looked at the remaining gate. "Give me that forest of Mother Trees."

Furball was startled. "The grove of Mother Trees?"

Lu Yin grunted. "That one I saw before, that forest."

"The Mother Trees have already been uprooted. Even if I give them to you, they won’t survive. I can only preserve them. They are no longer able to support a megaverse," Furball explained.

"I know, which is why I want those Mother Trees, to return them to dust and earth."

"Is that all?"

"What do you think?"

No one was able to see the motes of green light that Lu Yin could absorb from Mother Trees, and Furball was no exception. There was a limited understanding of Mother Trees, and others could not guess at what Lu Yin intended to do.

Lu Yin was not lying. He truly did want to return the Mother Trees to dust and soil. Since those Mother Trees could no longer live, he would help them find release.

"Fine. After this battle, I will give them to you. Wait to hear from me."

"Alright."

Furball's gate vanished. Everyone had left to confront their assigned opponents so that they could test and grievously wound them before turning them over to Lu Yin. That was what the others’ task, while Lu Yin simply needed to wait.

Though before that, he needed to first look for Ni Fan. He was confident that he could deal with that one.

Lu Yin used his Mirrorlight Art to peer into the distance. Hm? Where’s Ni Fan?

He kept searching. Ni Fan's speed meant that it could not have gone far, but even after searching for several days, Lu Yin still could not find it.

Lan Meng waited at his side. They were the channel through which Old Man Hehe and the others could contact Lu Yin.

Still, he found nothing. Ni Fan had vanished. It must have gone into hiding.

Lu Yin frowned. Ni Fan was incredibly careful. If it could not win, it would simply flee. It had abandoned the battlefield, just like Lan Meng.

Lan Meng was desperate to leave, but they knew that they could not.

"Where is Ni Fan hiding? Do you know?" Lu Yin asked. He had started dragging Lan Meng around to search for Ni Fan. Eliminating another elder would grant him another reward.

Lan Meng helplessly replied, "I do not know. The moment I arrived, I started hiding from it. It was the one looking for me."

Lu Yin looked into the distance. "Do you know who is Obscura’s Keeper of Balance?"

Lan Meng warily replied, "I will not say anything concerning the identities of members of Obscura. We agreed on that."

"I was just asking casually. Tell me if you can, and if you can’t, then just forget it." As he spoke, a spiral of karma twisted around Lu Yin's fingertip before being flung at Lan Meng.

They failed to evade and were pierced by karma. They glared at Lu Yin, furious.

But Lu Yin just examined Lan Meng’s past that the karma revealed. He had deliberately mentioned Obscura’s Keeper of Balance to make Lan Meng think about them and then used karma to investigate. "Transparent."

"Lu Yin, if you strike me again, I will definitely tell Ba Se that you have broken the rules!" Lan Meng retreated while raising their guard.

Lu Yin found this reaction strange. "Weren’t you the one who told me to use karma to investigate before?"

"I will not argue with you. No matter what, if you use karma against me again, do not blame me for turning hostile." While Lan Meng was afraid that Lu Yin might cause trouble, they were equally wary of the Keeper of Balance and the other members of Obscura.

Lu Yin did not push any further. Transparent was the Keeper of Balance. His gaze turned somber.

Several months passed. Neither Old Man Hehe nor Furball contacted Lu Yin. Evidently, their own battles were not easy.

Ba Se must have assigned the members of Obscura to opponents of comparable strength. They needed to fight while also finding ways to reduce the increase in their karmic chains and even test their opponents' abilities. None of that was easy.

One day, another gate appeared. Lan Meng connected to it with divine energy, and Che's voice came through. "Lu Yin, I am looking for you."

Lu Yin had a headache. The one he was the most hesitant to speak with was Che. He was simply too polite. Even insulting him would not stir the slightest ripple. Moreover, Che had participated in the war that had destroyed the Nine Ramparts, which meant that he was an enemy rather than a friend. But on the other hand, he had also helped Lu Yin. The power that Che had given to Emperor Slayer had allowed the beast to save the Tianyuan. Che was too hard to deal with. Lu Yin could not understand Che at all.

He should have been hostile to humanity, but when he entered the Human Trio before, he had been inexplicably courteous.

Lu Yin did not want to answer. Lan Meng glanced at the gate and said nothing.

Che spoke again, "Lu Yin, Purple told me that you are with Lan Meng. Are you alright?"

Lu Yin stayed silent. Is he worried about that?

"What is it?"

"It is good that you are fine. Purple and Cyan have both asked you to help deal with their opponents, but it would be best if you do not go. The more of the Mudwater Dominion’s powerhouses that you kill, the more likely you are to be targeted by Ni Bieluo, who is very powerful. It would be hard for you to escape its pursuit."

"Do you not need my help to deal with your opponent?" Lu Yin asked.

"There’s no need. In fact, for this war against the Mudwater Dominion, not suffering losses is already a victory. It is good that you are with Lan Meng, but intervening in other battlefields is too dangerous. Since you are with Lan Meng, you have already dealt with your own opponent, killing one of the eight elders. Your name has already reached Ni Bieluo's list. Do not provoke it further," Che explained.

Lu Yin was puzzled. "Why tell me all this?"

"We are both members of Obscura. Doing this much is only right."

"Did you participate in the war that destroyed the Nine Ramparts?"

"Yes."

"And yet you are still willing to help me?"

"You are part of Obscura, not the Nine Ramparts. I am willing to help any member of Obscura. Lan Meng is no different. Do not fight again."

"Aren’t you afraid that Ba Se will go after you? You are opposing them," Lu Yin retorted.

Che smiled. "This is not that exaggerated. This is just war. As long as we do not lose, it is fine."

"Is that also what Old Man Hehe and the others are thinking?"

"Lu Yin, no civilizational war in the Aevum Inch can be lost. Losing means putting half a foot into the grave. When you truly understand the Aevum Inch, you will understand this thoroughly. For that reason, no matter how troublesome the Mudwater Dominion might be, Purple and the others will never allow Obscura to lose. That is absolutely impossible."

Lu Yin’s voice dropped low. "When Obscura fought against the Nine Ramparts long ago, did you have the same thoughts?"

"More or less."

"I understand."

Che continued, "After this war, I have something to give you. It is a relic of the Fifth Rampart. Back then, I fought the Fifth Rampart during that war."

Lu Yin was rattled. "The Fifth Rampart?"

"Yes. So be cautious during this war. Purple and the others will be fine. They only asked you to help reduce their own losses. Your life is your own, and you only have one. Remember, do not run into Ni Bieluo. It has killed a Plume Immortal before."

Lu Yin’s expression changed. The fact that the creature had slain a Plume Immortal meant that not even teleportation could guarantee escape from Ni Bieluo.