Star Odyssey

Chapter 3422: No Matter Where

Yi Xia glared at Ba Liu with eyes full of hatred. "So what if I’m content or not? Beacon City is nothing to you people.

"Wait, how do you know that my grandfather paved the way for me? How do you know that he prepared a sequence base for me? Just what do you know?"

Lu Yin said nothing. The more mysterious he appeared, the more intimidating he would seem.

Yi Xia’s mind was in chaos. He could not understand how people from the Tianyuan Megaverse had not only reached Beacon City, but also how they knew so much about him. They even knew about the sequence base his grandfather had prepared for him. What kind of people were these?

Suddenly, Old Tao’s words echoed in Yi Xia’s mind. A mythical place? Divine beings?

Ridiculous! Yi Xia shook his head, annoyed that he had even thought of the shameless old man’s comments.

At this moment, the springboards before them started to vibrate in a rhythmic pattern.

Lu Yin’s eyes focused sharply. This was the High Seraph. It had been a long time.

"It’s been a long time, Lord Lu." A message was sent to Lu Yin via the springboards, and it came directly from the High Seraph.

Yi Xia understood what was happening, and it left him stunned. It’s been a long time? The High Seraph has met this man before? Has the High Seraph been to the Tianyuan Megaverse? When?

Instincts screamed at Yi Xia that there was a terrible secret hidden in this conversation, and other instincts shouted that he needed to leave immediately. There were some things that were best not known.

"I’m leaving. You can handle things yourself now." Yi Xia tried to leave, but Lu Tianyi blocked his path.

"Too late."

Yi Xia looked over at Lu Yin, but was ignored. Lu Yin was focused entirely on sending a message with the springboards. He already understood the process.

"It has been a long time," Lu Yin replied. "I didn’t expect you would be able to avoid the temporal reversion."

"If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t be standing where you are. You now control Beacon City, don’t you?"

"You must’ve predicted this much. You stopped the battleship after it had reached the halfway point. This was all part of your strategy to lure me to you."

"Don’t touch the springboard," the High Seraph replied. "Unless you have a death wish."

"Don't worry. My caution of unknown civilizations is no weaker than yours. You’ve been to the Tianyuan Megaverse, so you should have learned about the Nests. Behind those items is another Immortal.

"I don't know about those. When I went there, I went straight to the Immemorial Citadel, where I attacked your master and razed the city. After that, I attacked your Heavens Sect, cutting down all of the experts there. I had no time to learn about anything else."

Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. "Aren’t you afraid that if I'm destined to die, I'll just use the springboard to drag you down with me?"

"But you aren’t destined to die. You still have to come to me," the High Seraph answered confidently.

Anyone with a bit of understanding about karma would know that Lu Yin needed to go to the Spirit Nidus. If he refused, only death awaited him.

Lu Yin gave a small smile. "Are you planning to attack me when I get to the Spirit Nidus?"

"You are clearly searching for some way to prevent me from doing that. Go ahead. Let’s hear you out."

"The Lesser Spirit Megaverse."

There was a moment of silence. "I should have killed Yuan Qi back then."

Lu Yin did not reply. He simply needed to wait for the High Seraph's answer.

Their conversation came at a steep cost; more than half of the springboards had been destroyed.

Never before had so many resources been consumed to allow for messages to be transmitted between Beacon City and the Spirit Nidus. Yi Xia was heartbroken just watching, even if he was unable to fathom the true implications of this exchange. Temporal reversion, attacking the Immemorial Citadel, the Heavens Sect, karma, the Lesser Spirit Megaverse. What are they talking about?

Yi Xia felt his heart sink. He knew he was already doomed.

It did not matter if he did not understand the specifics of this conversation, just learning the terms that were being used had left him without a path to survival. Neither the Tianyuan Megaverse or the High Seraph would allow the man to live.

The High Seraph was clearly harboring a great secret, and it was known only to him and the Tianyuan Megaverse.

With this, Yi Xia was doomed

"I won't move against you, but you are not allowed to reveal that you are people from the Tianyuan Megaverse."

Lu Yin sneered. "You want to try to maintain your dignity? Some people are destined to discover the truth, but fine. We won’t announce it ourselves. You figure out how to keep Beacon City from leaking any information. I’ll see you in the Spirit Nidus."

"Lord Lu, I admire your courage in coming to my Spirit Nidus. When you arrive, your presence will be sensed. There’s no way to hide it or avoid it. Even if I don’t act against you, there are plenty of other experts in the Spirit Nidus."

"Then you have nothing to worry about with us. I’ll see you soon."

With the conversation over, Lu Yin silently stared off into space. More than half of the springboards had been destroyed. This had been an exorbitant expensive conversation.

Even Ortusers would need a long time to repair so many springboards. The bigger problem was simply finding someone who would be willing to spend so much time on the project. This was also just considering the damage that had been done at Beacon City. It was likely that the Spirit Nidus’s boundary had suffered even greater losses, and it was possible that all of the springboards there had been destroyed.

By leveraging his knowledge of the Lesser Spirit Megaverse, Lu Yin had succeeded in temporarily removing the High Seraph as an obstacle. With this, Lu Yin and his people would not have to fight against the High Seraph, who was a truly formidable adversary. Still, they were going to the Spirit Nidus, and the megaverse had plenty of other powerful cultivators. They would still not be easy to deal with.

In the end, it came down to a simple concept: let them cause mayhem.

The people of the Spirit Nidus held the Tianyuan Megaverse in contempt with a superiority that was ingrained in their very bones. Lu Yin intended to show them how their arrogance would ultimately lead to their own undoing.

In leaving his own megaverse, Lu Yin felt an exhilarating sense of freedom, like a bird allowed to soar in the endless sky.

As he lazily stretched, he finally noticed Yi Xia's ashen expression. "How much of that did you understand?"

Yi Xia stared at Lu Yin. The man’s eyes no longer contained hatred, but simply confusion.

He knew he was done for. Even if he was not killed by these people from the Tianyuan Megaverse, the High Seraph would never allow him to live. "Why?"

Lu Yin glanced at Boundless. "No reason. You were just unlucky."

"My grandfather won’t let you get away with this."

"I’m not going to kill you. I’ll leave that to someone else. Your grandfather can go after them instead."

Yi Xia’s expression turned bitter, as he understood that Lu Yin was referring to the High Seraph.

Knowing one of the High Seraph’s such important secrets meant that Yi Xia would never be able to survive.

Just a few words from this man had been enough to prevent the High Seraph from acting against the people from the Tianyuan Megaverse. That name was some sort of earth-shattering secret, and by knowing that, Yi Xia had sealed his fate.

Lu Yin looked at Yi Xia with a calm smile. "Don’t look so hopeless. There’s still a way out of this for you."

Yi Xia stared at Lu Yin, his expression devoid of any emotion.

Lu Yin continued, "Beacon City."

Yi Xia first looked confused, but then his eyes started to bulge, and he finally roared, "You’re too vicious!"

Lu Yin had no intention of personally overseeing Beacon City. Instead, he decided to leave Yi Xia there to oppose the High Seraph. The city would remain under Yi Xia’s control, but going forward, Yi Xia would no longer belong to the Spirit Nidus, though he would also not belong to the Tianyuan. Instead, he would remain independent and on his own.

Beacon City would be what would keep Yi Xia alive.

Even if the High Seraph had promised not to touch him, Yi Xia would never be able to trust such a promise. The High Seraph’s secret was far too important for Yi Xia to be allowed to escape unscathed.

Lu Yin had provided the man with a way out.

Given its position between three megaverses, Beacon City would be able to remain independent. It would not be given back to the Spirit Nidus, but since the Tianyuan megaverse was unable to leave any experts stationed there, Yi Xia was the only viable option to oversee the city. After all, there were still a great number of experts from the Spirit Nidus who had fought or were fighting in the Consciousness Megaverse, and their potential return could complicate matters.

The city would not change, but Yi Xia's position would change entirely. Whereas he had once been in a position to rise up and take the title of Seraph, he had become an outcast, targeted by the High Seraph himself. Not even Yi Xia's grandfather would be able to protect him. He would have to rely on his own cunning in order to survive.

Lu Yin shrugged. "It’s necessary to be ruthless to your enemies."

He spoke casually, but then his expression grew cold and a hammer of bloodlust fell upon Yi Xia like a collapsing sky.

This was the first time since arriving in Beacon City that Lu Yin was releasing his power, and Yi Xia felt as though an entire universe was crumbling down upon him. The sensation was even more terrifying than when Lu Tianyi had attacked him. In fact, Yi Xia had not felt so helpless even before his grandfather.

His courage shattered. Was this man truly so powerful?

No wonder the High Seraph addressed him as Lord Lu. This is the master of the Tianyuan Megaverse, the one who stands supreme above all others.

"You think I’m just anyone? I am Lu Yin, lord of the Tianyuan Megaverse. If the High Seraph can take your life, so can I.

"Remember, I’m the one to give you this path. This is your only way out. Never forget that."

With that, Lu Yin left. Yi Xia closed his eyes, his mind still reeling. In an instant, everything had changed. While he had kept his life, he still needed to find some way to protect himself. The High Seraph remained a looming threat, and Yi Xia’s future was shrouded in darkness.

Lu Yin had not given the man a path to salvation, but into the abyss.

Still, Yi Xia had no choice but to walk down that path.

Upon returning to Boundless, Lu Yin shared the details of his conversation with the High Seraph with the rest of the people, who heaved sighs of relief.

There was no doubt that the High Seraph was a grave threat. Even if no one feared being killed by the man, there was no denying that Lu Yin had rolled back time because of the High Seraph.

With Mister Mu having taken over suppressing the sequence strings for the Origin Progenitor, the latter had been allowed to accompany Lu Yin to the Spirit Nidus, just to serve as a counter to the High Seraph. Having such a grave threat removed entirely allowed everyone to feel much more at ease.

"Is he just planning to let us wear ourselves out?"

"There’s no avoiding it. In order to enter the Spirit Nidus, we’ll first need to break past their boundary. There will probably be another of those massive stone gates, and after that, we’ll be hunted by the entire Spirit Nidus. That’s enough mayhem to wear us down."

"This isn’t causing mayhem, this is war."

"We won’t be fighting non-stop. We’ll have moments of peace."

"There will also be times when we can simply escape."

"Don’t be so pessimistic."

"We’re only human. Even the strongest determination will wear out. If the Spirit Nidus uses pure numbers to overwhelm us, they’ll definitely be able to wear us down."

Lu Yin nodded. "That’s why our first step is to simply avoid being hunted by the entire Spirit Nidus. There’s no point in fighting them all head-on. If it comes to that, we might as well go to the Consciousness Megaverse and seek an alliance with them.

"With Boundless’s capabilities and the Origin Progenitor’s strength, I’m confident we will at least be able to escape. The Lesser Spirit Megaverse prevents the High Seraph from coming after us, and some of the Seven Seraphs are still in the Consciousness Megaverse. At most, we’ll face five of them. The Spirit Nidus isn’t unified by any means. The more standardized their cultivation methods and resources, the fiercer the internal competition. That’s where our opportunity lies."

Lu Yin paused, and his eyes swept over the entire group.

Every person present was a top expert. They were all experienced and powerful. However, when it came to wreaking chaos, they might not be the most creative.

Fortunately, Lu Yin had an idea, which was inspired by meeting Ba Liu and Yi Yao.

"I’m going to establish a new faction; one that specializes in harboring and protecting those who have no other place in the Spirit Nidus," Lu Yin announced.

The others reacted with bewilderment. "What do you mean by that?"

Lu Yin smirked. "Have you ever seen someone hunted down for possessing a treasure that’s too valuable for them to protect?

"What about someone driven to revenge by a grudge as deep as the ocean?

"Or someone as pure as a clear stream, who is unable to tolerate the filth that surrounds them?

"Those are the people that we need. People like Ba Liu, who have violated not one, but two of the Spirit Nidus’s most important laws. Such people are perfect for us.

"Everyone, we’ll just keep busy. If there aren’t any problems, then we’ll make some for the Spirit Nidus. If there aren’t any grudges, then we cook up a few. Our goal is to wear the Spirit Nidus down to nothing.

"Our new faction will be called the Grandverse Manor."

...

Everyone who had been unconscious at the gates of Beacon City had been returned to where they had been found.

Lu Yin did not want to get any more involved in the city, so he decided to leave things how they had been when he had arrived. Yi Xia would have to deal with the necessary explanations.

Ba Liu and Yi Yao stood at the gates, holding hands.

"From now on, we’re no longer part of the Spirit Nidus, are we?" Yi Yao asked, her voice filled with uncertainty.

Ba Liu’s face revealed his firm determination. "No matter where we go, we’ll be together."

Yi Yao gave him a small smile. "We need to be careful. Lord Lu didn’t help us out of the goodness of his heart. He has his own reasons."

Ba Liu nodded. "I know. We’re just fish on his chopping block. Still, he did save our lives.

“By the way, I hid Little Yao earlier, so it’s still safe."

"Hurry and go find it before it gets lost!"

"Don’t worry."