Green Lotus nodded. “Jiu Wen does not know what the other Ramparts were like, but during his youth, he heard far too many legends in Crimson Starshade. Someone would be born, and a red light would blaze for billions of kilometers. Or, countless red umbrellas would open on their own, as if the Path of Dispassion itself had descended into their megaverse.

“Someone brimming with youthful spirit would advance one realm with every step, invincible throughout their journey.

“Someone with a meager cultivation would directly comprehend the Sevenfold Crimson level, shaking the universe.

“There were also those who debated the Dao among their peers and drew forth roaring astral phenomena.

“And all of that occurred in just the former Second Rampart. Those people were legends of their era, and everyone at that time was waiting for them to mature. Among the older generation alone, Jiu Wen was aware of three Tenfold Crimsons, not to mention the multiple Ninefold, Eightfold, and Sevenfold Crimsons.

“In that era, there were so many Sixfold Crimsons that it was not even considered a mark of distinction.

“All the legends of our current era occurred during that era. In fact, it is precisely because they appeared in that era that they became our current legends.”

Lu Yin was shaken. If Chu Songyun had been born in that era, his existence would not have caused much of a stir. The entire Path of Dispassion would not have chased him down and demanded that he follow it.

Was that the former Second Rampart?

Green Lotus shook his head. “Prosperity peaks and then declines. This has been an unchanging truth since ancient times.

“When the Nine Ramparts became too brilliant, other civilizations were suppressed to the point where they could barely breathe. If the Second Rampart was already like that, then the other Ramparts could not have been much weaker. Moreover, Jiu Wen said that the Second Rampart was never the strongest of the nine.

“One can imagine how much importance the other civilizations must have placed on forming an alliance at that time. The Nine Ramparts were crushed by a joint assault precisely because of those circumstances.”

Lu Yin exchanged a glance with Mister Mu and thought of the Heavens Sect.

In the Tianyuan, the Heavens Sect had similarly risen to the peak and then declined. Those at the top had failed to see the growing darkness within, and Yong Heng had seized a chance to strike it down. If people had been on guard, then even with the Spirit Nidus’s interference, the Heavens Sect would not have been crushed so thoroughly.

How the past glory made one yearn for the Nine Ramparts Civilization.

“No matter how brilliant it was, it’s still in the past. Right now, we need to think about how to deal with Hong Xia,” Blood Tower stated.

Green Lotus said, “Jiu Wen entering the Blood Tower is the worst possible outcome for our plan. We calculated it beforehand, and in this scenario, unless we can eliminate all of Hong Xia’s human anchors, we stand no chance in a direct fight because Jiu Wen can no longer act.

“Of the twelve anchors of Hong Xia’s Path of Dispassion, the ones that are people are Ji He, Xi Shangfeng, He Xiao, Bing Xu, Meiran Dan, and myself. I can discard my anchor at any time, and we can also strip away the anchors from Bing Xu, He Xiao, and Meiran Dan.”

Awe Gate frowned. “That leaves only Ji He and Xi Shangfeng.”

Green Lotus continued to explain, “To weaken Hong Xia’s power, we must break at least seven of his twelve anchors.”

“We don’t have enough. We only have three here, and even if we capture Ji He, it still won’t be enough,” Lu Yin said.

Green Lotus said, “As long as we can capture Ji He, it will be enough.”

Everyone eyes turned his way. “Jiu Wen will take the Blood Tower and Xi Shangfeng to the grave with him, perishing together.”

Lu Yin’s pupils shrank. Was a powerhouse who resonated with two cosmic laws truly going to kill himself?

Everyone’s mood turned heavy.

Green Lotus spoke calmly. “Do not overthink this. This was always within our plan. Jiu Wen has long since been prepared to die, given the premise that we can deal with Ji He. Otherwise, even if he dies to destroy the Blood Tower and Xi Shangfeng with him, only six anchors would be destroyed, which is not enough to severely wound Hong Xia.”

Jiang Feng said, “If Jiu Wen dies and heavily wounds Hong Xia, isn’t that the same result as if Jiu Wen does not sacrifice himself and instead joins forces with us?”

“His death doesn’t seem to play a decisive role.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus shook his head. “In this matter, he has no choice.”

Jiang Feng trembled. That was true—Jiu Wen truly had no choice.

If Hong Xia had not tried to destroy the Crimson Starshade Megaverse, Jiu Wen could have joined forces with everyone to fight him. However, Hong Xia had tried to destroy the civilization, and Jiu Wen would have to bear all of the increased karmic chain. The man had no choice at all.

“Furthermore, Twelvefold Crimson and Fivefold Crimson are two entirely different things. Once you fight them, you will understand. Hong Xia is even stronger than you can imagine,” Green Lotus warned.

Lu Yin rubbed his head. “If we can think of it, then so can Hong Xia. He won’t just let us eliminate Ji He.”

Green Lotus nodded. “Which is why whatever comes next is no longer within the scope of our plan. Reaching this point is already our limit. Lu Yin, Hong Xia is now in your hands. We will all follow your arrangements.”

Lu Yin was speechless. “Senior, if you’re going to make a plan, then you should follow through from start to finish. What is with making half a plan and leaving the rest blank?”

Green Lotus offered a bitter smile. “This is not what we wanted either. Reaching this point is already the most that we could do. Besides, you have done very well over these years. No one could have done better.”

“But I cannot defeat Hong Xia.”

“You will have a way.”

Lu Yin stared at Green Lotus. “The last time you talked with Jiu Wen, was this also what you agreed upon?”

The man smiled. “You can say so. I have seen everything that you have done over these years. You are the one who led humanity out of despair. You are the one who is leading humanity to climb toward the peak. You have broken through time and again. I believe that this time will be no exception.”

“Will Jiu Wen trust me?”

“His trust is irrelevant. He must either leave this to me or leave it to you. Those are his only two choices after he sacrificed himself. Compared to me, you are naturally more suitable.” He paused, then added, “In fact, there have been many times when I thought about how, if you had been the one cooperating with Jiu Wen and plotting against Hong Xia from the beginning, we might not have needed to wait until now to deal with him.”

“I agree,” Blood Tower immediately assented.

Awe Gate nodded, also strongly agreeing.

Even Mister Mu glanced at Lu Yin, feeling that the comment was reasonable.

Lu Yin was left speechless. He did not know what kind of mental image they had of him.

“To deal with Hong Xia, we should at least understand his strength,” Lu Yin said. Then his eyes flashed. “Where do you think Hong Xia is right now?”

“Vestigium,” Jiang Feng said. He had just thought of it.

Lu Yin nodded. “When I first joined Obscura, Ba Se clearly stated that Obscura cannot act against our human civilization. Now that we have captured Bing Xu and the others, what we have done is tantamount to declaring war on Hong Xia. He will absolutely go to Vestigium to demand an explanation. Only if he ensures that Obscura will not interfere will he be able to actually move against us.”

“If he goes to Vestigium, it means he is still extremely fearful of the civilizations that once destroyed the Nine Ramparts. That fear runs deep, but this also means that he is very confident in his own strength, believing himself capable of facing all of us on his own,” Jiang Feng observed.

Green Lotus said, “As expected, now that all plots have been laid bare, Hong Xia only has one thing to do: fight his way here.

“Before his Twelvefold Path of Dispassion is broken, he will fight his way here. He only needs to avoid attacking you, Lu Yin.”

Lu Yin took a deep breath. “I also need to go to Vestigium to have a proper talk with him. Now is not the time for a decisive battle against Hong Xia. Over at Crimson Starshade’s megaverse, Senior Jiu Wen is holding him back by sitting inside the Blood Tower, leaving him with no alternate path. So, I need to find a way to snatch Ji He out of his hands. We need time.”

Green Lotus softly agreed. “Regardless of everything else, Hong Xia has already lost his original potential. We have time.”

“Are you really certain that Hong Xia is in Vestigium right now?” Awe Gate asked.

Lu Yin said, “He will definitely go to Vestigium. If he isn’t already there, he will be soon.”

“Let Master Qing Cao go take a look,” Jiang Feng said.

Lu Yin shook his head. “That’s unnecessary. If Hong Xia goes to Vestigium, he can speak only to Ba Se, not interacting with anyone else. Master Qing Cao won’t be able to determine anything.

“But regardless of whether he’s there or not, I can force him to go. I want to see what Hong Xia will say in Vestigium.”

His voice suddenly dropped low. “Senior, release them.”

Three figures were thrown forward. They landed on the ground in a sorry state. They were Bing Xu, He Xiao, and Meiran Dan.

Had they ever been reduced to such a miserable state since becoming Immortals?

The three immediately looked around, but one glance was all it took for despair to strike them. What the hell? Had they returned to the Nine Ramparts era?

Back in the Crimson Starshade Megaverse, Lu Yin had said that his civilization only had one Immortal, but now...

The three were dumbstruck. This many? There were multiple times more than their own civilization. Where had they all come from?

Seeing the three utterly stunned Immortals, Blood Tower could not hold back a laugh. Following him, Jiang Feng, Mister Mu, and Awe Gate also could not help laughing.

Even Lu Yin smiled as he stepped closer. “You three, let’s get reacquainted. My name is Lu Yin. Welcome to our human civilization.”

Bing Xu stood there, stunned as he stared at the smiling face surrounding him. He had lost to Lu Yin before, but his sense of superiority from belonging to Crimson Starshade had filled him with resentment. At this moment, that resentment vanished entirely.

Their civilization was much stronger than their own.

He Xiao stared in a daze. This many Immortals? Back in the Sect of Dispassion, he had shown utter contempt for Lu Yin’s civilization and had looked down on them for being bait who had survived. But now, where had all of these experts come from?

Meiran Dan felt the most wronged; she had not done anything.

“Mr. Lu... why did you capture us?” Meiran Dan asked softly.

Lu Yin looked at her. “Stop pretending. You cultivate the Path of Dispassion and slaughtered everyone in every last Dispassion Valley during your time there. There is no less blood on your hands than the two beside you. In fact, in terms of sheer numbers, yours should be responsible for the most.”

“Life and death are normal among cultivators. Mr. Lu, you don’t intend to avenge strangers that you never even knew, do you? If they could have, they would have also killed me,” Meiran Dan protested.

Lu Yin nodded. “My actions have nothing to do with revenge. I only want to deal with Hong Xia.”

Ugly expressions appeared on all three faces. They had been captured, and before that, they had watched as Lu Yin and Green Lotus had joined hands with Jiu Wen to confront Ancestor Hong Xia. They had also heard the conversation at that time.

“What does dealing with Ancestor Hong Xia have to do with capturing us?” He Xiao did not understand.

Lu Yin retorted, “Don’t tell me you don’t know that each of you are anchors for Hong Xia’s Twelvefold Path of Dispassion.”

The three’s expressions grew even worse. That was absolutely true. Becoming anchors for Ancestor Hong Xia’s Path of Dispassion had opened their road to Immortality.

In order to help them live longer, Ancestor Hong Xia had exhausted every means possible to help them break through to the Immortal realm. For those who cultivate the Path of Dispassion, this was not impossible. Even if it had meant destroying multiple megaverses to watch them be reset, all of them had ultimately broken through to the Immortal realm.

After their respective breakthroughs, they had spent most of their time standing guard over their megaverse, and they had not been allowed to move about freely. The Aevum Inch was dangerous even for Immortals, and they needed to be kept safe.

If others wanted to deal with Ancestor Hong Xia, they would have to first target these three Immortals.