Chapter 00428: Courtesy Requires Reciprocation
# Courtesy Requires Reciprocation
Chapter 428
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 428 – Courtesy Requires Reciprocation
2022-05-06
Chapter 428 – Courtesy Requires Reciprocation
Collecting his divine thought, Lan Xiaobu hesitated for a moment.
In the end, he decided to undergo his tribulation here to break into the Immortal Venerable Realm.
No matter how strange this Immortal Domain might be, he could not leave now.
From what he had observed, it seemed that this Immortal Domain no longer harbored a single human—no, not even any animal or demonic beast.
Here, standing alone amid the vast Immortal Realm, could it be that no one like him had ever passed by? That clearly could not be.
And if someone had passed through, where had they gone? Left? In Lan Xiaobu’s eyes that possibility was scarcely likely.
So, since he had come, he could not depart now.
Even if he were to leave later, he would have to first advance to the Immortal Venerable Realm.
Lan Xiaobu began setting up his Immortal Array.
Under ordinary tribulation circumstances, he would have only arranged a defensive Immortal Array at most.
But because this Immortal Domain was so uncanny, Lan Xiaobu not only set up a defensive Immortal Array but also arranged an Entrapping Kill Immortal Array.
He tossed out his five high-grade Immortal Spirit Veins, and even set up a Ninth-Level Gathering Immortal Array.
In this vast, empty wilderness, devoid of any soul or being, Lan Xiaobu did not bother setting up a Concealment Immortal Array – since such an array offers no offense function anyway.
Whether one installs it or not makes no difference; if anyone were to target him, they would have done so long ago.
Within his own Immortal Array, Lan Xiaobu unhesitatingly began circulating the Longevity Technique, starting his breakthrough toward the Immortal Venerable Realm.
A rich surge of Immortal Spirit Source energy swirled in.
Either his desire to advance to the Immortal Venerable Realm was too strong, or he was already on the verge of the breakthrough.
When the Longevity Technique reached its fifth cycle, Lan Xiaobu sensed that the fetters of the Immortal Venerable Realm were within his grasp.
Without using any proprietary breakthrough pills, Lan Xiaobu directly leveraged his Immortal Yuan energy through the Longevity Technique to assault the fetters of the Immortal Venerable Realm.
In Lan Xiaobu’s view, even though he had lingered in the Immortal King Realm for a long time, that was only relative to himself.
For many cultivators, his cultivation pace was extremely fast.
So, to break into the Immortal Venerable Realm now, he would at least need to go through several more cycles, or possibly even require a Sovereign Will Pill.
What Lan Xiaobu did not expect was that once he had grasped onto the fetter of the Immortal Venerable Realm, after just one assault from the Longevity Technique the fetter began to tremble.
The sound of thunder roared, and in the very next moment, several thick arcs of lightning descended in a furious barrage.
Lan Xiaobu was a physique refining expert, and tribulation was nothing new to him.
He did not even rely on any defensive magical treasures.
With his Undying Technique activated, he prepared himself to directly endure the thunder arcs.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Nine thick lightning arcs crashed onto Lan Xiaobu, tearing his clothing apart completely.
Thanks to the Undying Technique, the lightning arcs that struck him were transformed into pure, pristine Thunder Source energy which, together with the dense Immortal Spirit Source, continued to assault the fetters of the Immortal Venerable Realm under the cyclical drive of the Longevity Technique.
After the first wave of lightning arcs, Lan Xiaobu felt that a gap had been forced open in the fetter of the Immortal Venerable Realm.
Just as he was about to welcome the second wave of lightning tribulation, a faint black, obscure shadow seeped into his consciousness along with the lightning arc.
Lan Xiaobu was startled.
He had undergone tribulation countless times before and had never seen such a strange phenomenon.
Could it be that there was some impurity in this lightning tribulation?
Yet in only an instant, Lan Xiaobu understood what was happening.
He had been ambushed.
Someone had tried to infiltrate his consciousness as he was undergoing tribulation.
Under normal circumstances during an Immortal Venerable tribulation, who would pay attention to anything else? One’s sole focus would be on whether the next wave of lightning arcs would be strong enough to be deflected.
In such life-threatening moments, even a trace of obscure intent would quickly dissipate into the mind; by the time tribulation was over one would not have a chance to notice it.
Unfortunately for his assailant, Lan Xiaobu was a physique refining expert; he absorbed Thunder Source energy directly.
For him, the first wave of lightning arcs was not even of significant intensity.
He had not even expended half his energy, so even if that faint black shadow remained subtle, it wouldn’t escape his perception.
The second and third waves of lightning arcs were already brewing in the sky and soon thundered down upon him.
Lan Xiaobu allowed both of these lightning waves to strike him while simultaneously circulating his Longevity and Undying Techniques.
At the same time, in his consciousness he used his divine thought to inscribe array patterns, trapping that faint black obscure energy.
If someone intended to tamper with him during tribulation, Lan Xiaobu mentally recorded that grudge.
This person must surely be a cultivator of the Thunder Spirit Source, because that obscure mark was attached to him through the lightning arcs.
If it were an ordinary cultivator, they would likely have no chance to strike him amid the tribulation.
The second and third waves of lightning arcs only tore his skin, yet they made his entire aura even more formidable.
After the fourth wave of lightning arcs fell, Lan Xiaobu, harnessing the Longevity Technique, completely tore open the barrier to the Immortal Venerable Realm.
At the same time, the fifth and sixth waves of lightning arcs descended.
At that moment his consciousness expanded wildly, and the surrounding Immortal Spirit Source and Thunder Source were sucked up like water by a giant whale.
Several of his Immortal Spirit Veins even shrank visibly before his eyes, while Lan Xiaobu’s cultivation surged rapidly upward.
When the eighth wave of lightning arcs descended, his cultivation stabilized completely at the first layer of the Immortal Venerable Realm.
He no longer needed to spend time consolidating his strength.
Extending his divine thought outward, Lan Xiaobu casually swirled his Immortal Yuan energy and felt as if he could seize a piece of space in his hand.
If he needed to deal with Bai Xun now, even if Bai Xun possessed formidable abilities, there was no way to put Lan Xiaobu in a dangerous situation.
He did not remove the obscure black mark from his consciousness.
His thinking was that if someone planned an ambush on him, then they should be prepared to receive a reciprocal strike.
Courtesy demands reciprocation.
Lan Xiaobu’s divine thought swept around.
Perhaps because of his tribulation with the lightning, the surrounding space seemed to gain some vital energy.
Looking at the distant, deserted Immortal City, Lan Xiaobu wondered whether he should first go to Silent God Valley or check out this Immortal City.
This Immortal City was completely deserted, which was clearly abnormal.
Then there was the mysterious ambush during his tribulation earlier—quite strange indeed.
Before long, Lan Xiaobu decided to head to Silent God Valley first.
The rules governing the heaven and earth in this Immortal Domain were evidently stronger than those in the Five Universe Immortal Domain.
Since they were stronger than those of the Five Universe Immortal Domain, there would naturally be Immortal Emperor elites.
If there were Immortal Emperor experts here, then why had a population of billions disappeared?
Though his array skills were decent, his cultivation was only at the level of the Immortal Venerable Realm, and he still did not understand what was going on.
Even if he sought out the cause later, he would first have to wipe out Silent God Valley.
Silent God Valley was not an ordinary place.
If he did not go and wipe it out first, by the time Silent God Valley decimated the Five Universe Immortal Domain, he would regret it beyond remedy.
With that realization, Lan Xiaobu simply tidied up his matters and then summoned Feng Luan, intending first to leave this Immortal Domain.
However, Lan Xiaobu soon ceased using Feng Luan.
He noticed that the protective array of this Immortal Domain had suddenly closed in.
In other words, he now had no means of escape.
This was just as he had suspected—one could come here, but leaving was out of the question.
It was impossible to leave.
No matter how powerful the World Protection Formation might be, it was merely a Ninth-Level Immortal Array.
For a Ninth-Level Immortal Array to be able to trap someone like him—a master of array techniques who had already surpassed the might of such arrays—it was utterly impossible.
Should he try to break through this protective array? While Lan Xiaobu pondered this, a call came through his mind.
It was clearly the call from that obscure mark in his consciousness.
Lan Xiaobu sneered.
So they thought he had been controlled.
“Come down, come down…” the call echoed in his mind.
Without a single mistake or hesitation, Lan Xiaobu carved a Void Teleportation Array right there on the spot, then followed the call along its guiding path.
According to his guess, the other party was probably in that deserted Immortal City.
What surprised Lan Xiaobu was that the call directed him in the opposite direction from the Immortal City.
If it were not to show that he was under control, Lan Xiaobu would have immediately unleashed his Feng Luan Flying Artifact.
That would have been much faster, and he wasn’t about to waste time on the way.
After walking for less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the call sounded in his consciousness once again.
He then summoned his fastest Flying Artifact and hurried onward...
At last, Lan Xiaobu exhaled a sigh of relief.
If he were not forced to deploy his artifact, he would have had no choice but to make do.
Now that the other party’s control compelled him to use his artifact, there was no courtesy left unsaid.
Feng Luan was unleashed, moving even faster than a top-grade Flying Immortal Device.
After a long while, as his killing intent grew ever stronger in his heart, Feng Luan’s speed was incredibly fast.
Along the way he encountered a bustling district, two sects’ courtyards, and a second Immortal City.
Without exception, every one of these places was completely empty—everyone had vanished without a trace.
One day later, Feng Luan came to a halt on a vast square outside of a gigantic Immortal City.
Following the instructions, Lan Xiaobu retracted Feng Luan.
Though his eyes remained expressionless, his gaze was sharp.
Before him stood the Immortal City of Lei Yu.
This Immortal City, too, had not a single person in sight.
Upon entering the Immortal City, a broad avenue stretched out far into the distance.
Lan Xiaobu walked along this spacious avenue until he reached its end.
There, he once again saw a square, and around the perimeter of the square were large characters declaring “Lei Luo Immortal Court Square.”
It turned out that this was the Immortal Court of the Lei Luo Immortal Domain.
At the far end of the square must have been the palace of the Lei Luo Immortal Court.
The voice that had called out to Lan Xiaobu was clearly urging him toward the direction of the palace.
Lan Xiaobu walked forward in a blank manner.
At this moment he wished to know exactly what sort of person his enemy was.
If the person responsible for clearing out this Immortal Domain was behind these events, then his cruelty and maliciousness would likely rival that of Silent God Valley.
However, Lan Xiaobu walked slowly, inscribing various Void Array patterns as he went.
The opponent’s strength should not be lacking—even though he was now at the first level of the Immortal Venerable Realm, his power was still not very high.
Halfway through his journey, a voice sounded in his mind once more: “Come down, come down…” Lan Xiaobu’s heart skipped a beat for a moment. “Come down?” He stood in the middle of the square paved with jade-like stone.
How could one “come down” from here—a ground escape tactic?
Fortunately, Lan Xiaobu understood his situation well.
Even when he heard “come down,” his expression remained impassive, his eyes dull and emotionless.
Then, right ahead of him, a passage suddenly appeared.
This passage emerged abruptly from the center of the level square, leading deep underground.
(Today’s update ends here.
Good night, friends!)
(The End of This Chapter)