Chapter 2756: The Chiliagonist

Old Mo pressed a hand down, causing darkness to envelop An Jiu and the other Umbrians, but the divine energy forced them all away from the darkness.

An Jiu and all the other Umbrians continued to charge at Old Mo, each using the same combat technique. Some of the palm strikes split into two images that merged back into a single attack, while others split into three images that merged into a single attack. An Jiu managed to release a palm strike that split into six different images before merging back into one.

With the boost from the divine energy, the Umbrians’ attacks shattered the void and revealed the Hollow.

The old Umbrian with the strength of a Semi-Progenitor managed to divide his palm strike into seven images that merged together, but when the old man used the divine energy, his body started to break down. Ignoring his own condition, the man continued to attack Old Mo.

Thousands of Umbrians used divine energy to strengthen their abilities as they attacked Old Mo, creating an impressive sight.

Old Mo's face fell, and darkness rose up from below to once again surround all the Umbrians, and this time, they did not emerge from the darkness again. They no longer existed in the universe, nor anywhere else.

Lu Yin's eye twitched. That was the power of divine energy. He had seen it before, and there was no denying that divine energy was an absolutely terrifying power.

While none of the Umbrians had been particularly strong, the divine energy had boosted An Jiu and the other Semi-Progenitor-level Umbrian to the point where their combat strength could challenge a Progenitor. Even so, they had disappeared so quickly.

"Let's go!" Shan Pu shouted.

A voice reached the two men. "Join forces with us. None of us can fight this old monster on our own."

Lu Yin's eyes turned cold. "One of Aeternus’s corpse kings?"

Shan Pu sneered. "Join forces with you? What a joke! Let's go."

"You are not able to leave. It seems that you don't have any understanding at all regarding the strength of someone at this level."

As one, Shan Pu and Lu Yin tore the void open to leave the Umbral Universe. They both managed to find a destination among the infinite parallel universes, but as soon as they did so, the darkness invaded the rift, warping the tear and leaving the void unstable.

From far away, Old Mo's cold eyes glanced over at the two men. "Now that you’re here, don't even think about leaving. Today, this Umbral Universe will be cleansed."

Both the golden light of the Investiture of the Gods and the red light of divine energy flickered as the endless darkness pressed in upon them. Old Mo’s cold eyes stared at Lu Yin and Shan Pu, and the old man’s hand rose to grab them.

Without his card, a member of the Lost Clan like Shan Pu had lost most of his combat strength. Meanwhile, Lu Yin took out his slipper and attacked. He wanted to launch a sneak attack while Old Mo was not paying attention.

However, Old Mo had lived for countless years, and his combat experience could not be estimated. He had managed to survive through the desperate years after the fall of the Heavens Sect, and he would be wary of even a speck of dust approaching, let alone a slipper.

Lu Yin's slipper was unable to even touch Old Mo.

From down below, An Jiu charged upwards, and he rushed straight into the sun-like divine energy.

The movement caught Old Mo’s attention, and he looked over. He saw an absurd amount of divine energy enter An Jiu's body. The Umbrian suddenly regained consciousness, and he let out a miserable scream. "Ancestor! Ancestor, save me! Ancestor–!"

Old Mo frowned. He raised a hand and contracted his fingers. The darkness twisted around the divine energy as it slowly condensed, squeezing the divine energy’s red light while also trying to drag An Jiu away.

An Jiu suddenly looked back upwards and roared at the sky. The skin across his body melted, as did his entire face. Entering this pool of divine energy was no different for the Umbrian than if a normal human had fallen into lava. The divine energy did not burn the Umbrian, but rather transformed him into a monster with red eyes. He turned to look at Old Mo and then lashed out at the ancient powerhouse. The bonds of darkness were broken, and An Jiu raced towards Old Mo with an upraised arm, even as it broke apart. One palm became two. Three palms continued to increase until there were eleven, and then those eleven palm strikes merged back into one.

"Let's join forces."

Again, Lu Yin and Shan Pu heard the voice. They glanced at each other and stopped hesitating. There was no doubt that Old Mo would kill them, which meant that their only choice to survive was to cooperate with the Aeternals.

Just as An Jiu's eleven palms fused into one, Lu Yin's slipper, Progenitor Nong’s Plowing the Land, and Shan Pu’s battle technique from the Lost Clan all shot forward.

Three different parties were simultaneously attacking Old Mo, but the old man just sneered. "You're nothing more than rats which can be easily dealt with. Why did you even bother cultivating to this level?"

The man then raised his head, saying, "Absolute... Darkness."

The words were just spoken when An Jiu's eleven palms fully fused, only for the attack to miss. Lu Yin and Shan Pu were unable to see even the slightest bit of light for the moment, as both the golden light of the Investiture of the Gods and the red light of the divine energy had disappeared.

No, if Old Mo was capable of instantly devouring those lights, he would not have waited for so long. He had not devoured the light, but rather deprived both himself and the others of the ability to perceive any form of light.

Lu Yin's scalp went numb. Old Mo was an ancient monster who had touched upon the concept of sequence particles, which essentially meant that he was able to observe the underlying laws that governed the universe. Life, aging, sickness and death, light and darkness, the cycle of karma, the vicissitudes of life, joy and sorrow, and even the act of leaving footprints when walking across the ground—all of these phenomena were only possible because of a universe’s governing laws.

At this moment, Old Mo had most likely deprived Lu Yin and the others of their vision, leaving nothing but the appearance of darkness. This deprivation of a certain sense was somewhat similar to Wen Sansi’s innate gift. However, Wen Sansi had developed his innate gift to achieve such a thing, while Old Mo had relied on his exceptional cultivation.

Some people were born with the ability to control space, while others needed to cultivate to the very peak before they could hope to touch upon such a power. Even so, there was a unity to all things.

"You cannot fathom the power that I have mastered! Even during the Heavens Sect era, which was beyond glorious, only a handful of the Three Realms Six Dao were able to control this power.

"I have slept since the Heavens Sect era, remaining completely immersed in darkness, but finally, I have mastered this power. Even if I had not been woken up by the power of the Lu family, I would have still awakened very soon. As a reward, I will allow you to experience the true peak of human cultivation.

"People talk about how humans can conquer a universe, but how could that be possible? Humanity is nothing more than a speck of dust in the scope of an entire universe. You and all the others are naught but dust. Only I can touch the laws that govern this universe, which means that, for you, I am the god of this Umbral Universe!"

Lu Yin and others were unable to see anything, but they could still hear.

An Jiu was crushed by Old Mo. The ancient powerhouse had no need for the Umbrians, and they were not even his own descendants. They had merely cultivated with the power that he had left behind, and they had degenerated into a useless race that did not even have working eyes.

Severe pain assaulted their nerves, and Shan Pu groaned as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"I’m sure that it's very painful. While I have never met you before, I have known for many years that some old guy from the Sixverse Association’s Lost Clan has been trying to speak with me, but I couldn’t be bothered to talk to him." As Old Mu continued speaking, he raised his hand, revealing the card that he held. "How can a power that relies on external powers compare with our Origin Universe?"

Old Mo then turned to look at Lu Yin. "Child of the Lu family, does Lu Buzheng still live?"

The surface of Lu Yin's body started to wither, as he had used Extremes Must Be Reverse. He might be able to survive Old Mo’s assault, as long as the man’s attacks did not exceed the limits of Extremes Must Be Reversed.

"Yes."

"What is his current level of cultivation?"

"Semi-Progenitor."

Old Mo’s eyebrows climbed high, and he gave Lu Yin a very odd look. "Semi-Progenitor? Is this some kind of joke?"

Lu Yin asked, "Senior, are you aware of when Third Uncle and the others disappeared?"

Old Mo replied, "Of course I know when that group of people disappeared. It wasn’t just Lu Buzheng, but several of the Dao Chosen as well."

"Third Uncle and the others were all frozen within a sourcebox and were only released a few decades ago. Their cultivation is unchanged from during the Heavens Sect era. If you would like, Senior, I can take you there."

Old Mo started to laugh. "Interesting! Very interesting! Haha, of course I want to see him! Isee him! Are you telling me this because you hope to survive?"

Lu Yin admitted it directly. "Of course I hope to live, and also for Senior Shan Pu beside me to live as well. I ask that you not make things difficult for us, Senior."

Old Mo shrugged. "There’s a rat here, and I want to see if it will die, or if it will manage to escape from me."

Far away, a pair of slitted scarlet eyes stared in the direction of the Umbral Expanse. Suddenly, darkness fell all around the eyes, making it impossible for the individual to escape. This corpse king was the Chiliagonist that Shan Pu had mentioned earlier. This was the Progenitor-level corpse king that Aeternus had sent to the Umbral Universe.

In the same way that the Lost Clan knew of Old Mo’s existence, Aeternus had also been aware of the ancient powerhouse.

Seeing there was no escape, the Chiliagonist started moving towards the Umbral Expanse, and he soon looked at Old Mo, Lu Yin, and Shan Pu.

Old Mo looked at the corpse king with a teasing expression. "You aren’t going to try to run away?"

The Chiliagonist was a corpse king who looked like an ordinary human with a pale face. He stared at Old Mo with slitted scarlet eyes. "You call me a rat? You are no different."

Old Mo’s eyes narrowed.

"I am well aware of your story. After betraying Wu Tian, you managed to survive, and then you remained hidden here so that you could find what Wu Tian left behind."

Old Mo glared. "Presumptuous!"

The darkness filled the sky and fell, pressing down upon the Chiliagonist. The corpse king responded with a vicious smile. "Undying God asked me to say hello to you and offer you a chance to join our Aeternus. Your past is unique among humans, and you can be given forgiveness.”

Lu Yin’s finger twitched. Something that Wu Tian had left behind? Had Old Mo betrayed Wu Tian?

Old Mo snorted contemptuously. "I will neither return to the Origin Universe, nor turn to monsters like you."

Despite sleeping for countless years, Old Mo was still aware of the general situation. He was aware of the existence of the Sixverse Association, the Lost Clan, and the Seven Skygods.

The Chiliagonist let out a raucous laugh. "You’ve remained hidden here for so many years, yet you call us monsters! Look at the sort of monsters that you yourself have cultivated! Those freaks don't even have eyes."

"I can't tolerate your nonsense, rat." Old Mo pointed a finger, and darkness pierced the heart of the Chiliagonist. Old Mo’s control of the darkness was too powerful, and every attack he released could instantly kill an ordinary Progenitor.

The Chiliagonist glanced at Lu Yin and Shan Pu. They were both bound by darkness and were completely unable to provide any help. The corpse king could only rely on himself to stop this old monster until a senior arrived.

The corpse king could not break free from the darkness, as it possessed a level of power comparable to that of his seniors. His only option was to attack Old Mo himself.

Again, darkness pierced the Chiliagonist. The corpse king did not fear pain, just the same as any other corpse king.

Pain, fear, despair—a corpse king did not feel any of the negative emotions that humans experienced, but they could grant them to humans.

The slitted scarlet eyes stared at Old Mo as he recited, "The Protagonist."

The moment the words fell, an intangible power spread out. It passed through the darkness, as though the two were in separate dimensions. The darkness and the intangible power passed by each other without any interference.

Old Mo frowned. "An intangible power? Is this your Progenitor’s world?

"If you are able to transform an innate gift into a Progenitor’s world, then you must have a high status within Aeternus."

The Chiliagonist did not answer as the intangible power spread further and further, gradually approaching Old Mo. Finally, the intangible power gathered together, and an unseen form charged at Old Mo.

Darkness gathered in front of the old man, but it was unable to stop the intangible power.

While the intangible power could not compare to the power of Old Mo’s darkness in quality, quantity, or strength, it was a completely different sort of power. No matter how strong the darkness might be, it simply could not affect the intangible power.