Star Odyssey

Jiu Wen shook his head. "I do not know what power influenced me, but I lost control of myself. By the time I regained my senses, Hong Xia had already returned, and everything was over."

Lu Yin replied, "The war itself did not last long. They came to destroy our three megaverses, and we fought desperately just to survive. It’s enough that you are unharmed, Senior."

He thought for a moment, then commented, "Senior, in truth, there is no need for you to stay here any longer."

Jiu Wen did not understand.

At that moment, Hong Xia appeared. "What do you mean?"

Lu Yin fixed Hong Xia with an icy stare. "Given my current strength, if I truly decided to risk everything, then even if I fail to kill you, I can at least drag you down with me. There’s no longer any need to sacrifice anyone else, even if you are a Twelvefold Crimson."

Hong Xia's expression turned frigid. "Do you intend to break Obscura’s rules?"

Lu Yin retorted, "Wang Wen is forcing my hand. All I can do is drag you to your death along with me."

Hong Xia frowned. "Precisely what do you mean by that?"

Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back. "I only have one more chance to make a move. My original target was Wang Wen, but he is too unfathomable. I have no confidence in taking him down, which leaves only you, the Divine King, and Ni Bieluo. Who do you think I will choose?"

Hong Xia’s eyes narrowed sharply. "You will not move against me."

Lu Yin nodded. "You’re right. Under normal circumstances, I won’t. However, the cosmos is unpredictable, and who can say for certain? I certainly don’t wish to take action. I would rather use my last chance to protect my civilization. But hope is only hope, and the decision does not lie in my hands, but rather in Wang Wen’s.

"If he intends to destroy my human civilization, he will undoubtedly force me to act. Hong Xia, I can promise you this: no matter what method Wang Wen uses, no matter what civilization he employs to destroy my Trio, the one I will choose to take down with me will only be one of three: you, the Divine King, or Ni Bieluo."

Hong Xia's eyes flickered. Wang Wen?

He did not know whether Wang Wen would strike at the Human Trio again. Wang Wen's thoughts were impossible for Hong Xia to fathom.

There was no chance of Lu Yin striking first of his own volition. He was not stupid. However, Lu Yin was also right; the choice lay in Wang Wen's hands.

Lu Yin's voice rang out again, "Wang Wen has invited Ni Bieluo to join Obscura. As for the Divine King, the hatred between my civilization and him is not all that great, so he can be ignored. That leaves only you."

Hong Xia's voice dropped low. "Are you wary of Ni Bieluo?"

Lu Yin nodded. "Ni Bieluo is an ancient monster who practically resonates with three laws. I was already hesitant to go against it. If it also joins Obscura, my confidence will drop even lower, as Obscura will definitely interfere in our battle. You, on the other hand, are different. At the very least, you don’t put as much pressure on me as Ni Bieluo."

Hong Xia suddenly let out a mocking laugh. "Lu Yin, you are trying to use me to prevent Ni Bieluo from joining Obscura, are you not?"

Lu Yin nodded. "Correct. I am using you."

"Why would you think I would help you? Why should I believe that, if Ni Bieluo does not join Obscura, you will definitely choose to act against it instead of me?

"You hate me far more than you hate Ni Bieluo. The same is true for Jiu Wen, Green Lotus, and the others. All of them hate me more than they do Ni Bieluo. Whether Ni Bieluo joins Obscura or not will not affect your decision to target me."

Lu Yin stated, "Then I will give you a reason."

Hong Xia stared into Lu Yin's eyes. He wanted to hear what possible reason Lu Yin could give him.

Lu Yin spoke slowly. "Ni Bieluo comprehended a method to transfer karma. Given my current understanding of karma, I want to deduce a method to transfer karmic chains."

Hong Xia's eyes flared. "You want to transfer your own karmic chain?"

Lu Yin raised his hand. Glancing at his wrist, his expression fell. "Everyone pities me, but do I not hate my condition the most? I have only just broken into the Immortal realm, and yet I am already restricted from doing anything. If I can’t even deal with a mortal, what meaning is there in being an Immortal?

"Do you know why Wang Wen invited Ni Bieluo to join Obscura? Because he fears I might actually succeed." At this point, Lu Yin looked up to stare at Hong Xia. "What about you? Are you afraid?"

Hong Xia stared at Lu Yin's wrist in a daze. Was he afraid?

Of course he was. If Lu Yin could truly transfer his karmic chain, then not only Hong Xia, but Wang Wen, all of Obscura, and even the Death Megaverse would also be afraid.

But was it even possible?

It was completely impossible. It was not as if there had never been great masters of karma throughout the ages, and yet such an ability had never been heard of.

However, what concerned Hong Xia was not what Lu Yin said, but rather what Wang Wen had done. The fact that he had invited Ni Bieluo to join Obscura meant that he also believed that Lu Yin stood a sliver of a chance at comprehending exactly what he wanted. That was why Wang Wen was using Obscura’s rules to prevent Lu Yin from targeting Ni Bieluo. Even though Lu Yin might not actually be able to defeat Ni Bieluo even if he did take action, Wang Wen had no intention of taking that risk.

If even Wang Wen believed that there was a slight possibility of success, Lu Yin would cling to that chance even more tightly. Lu Yin was right; no one would accept breaking into the Immortal realm only to find themselves unable to act.

Karmic chains were the nightmares of every Immortal. He would definitely go after Ni Bieluo.

That also meant that his only remaining chance to act would be saved for Ni Bieluo, but if that creature joined Obscura, the situation would become far more troublesome for Lu Yin.

Hong Xia now understood Lu Yin's goal. He was openly scheming. He was forcing Hong Xia to prevent Ni Bieluo from joining Obscura so that he could attack Ni Bieluo without restraint.

Lu Yin was using him.

Hong Xia's eyes flickered. He did not want to fight Lu Yin to the death, especially since the younger man was practically a cripple. Lu Yin had to target Ni Bieluo. However, Wang Wen had invited Ni Bieluo to join Obscura. If Hong Xia intervened, that would be no different from making an enemy of Wang Wen.

For a time, Hong Xia's thoughts were thrown into complete disarray. This enemy of his, Lu Yin, had disrupted his thinking.

Lu Yin nodded to Jiu Wen and left. There was no need to say anything more. The more that was said, the guiltier Lu Yin would appear. This was already enough.

Master Qing Cao was right. Only Hong Xia could help him. Wang Wen would never imagine that Lu Yin would approach Hong Xia. The man had to help Lu Yin. If not, there was a very high chance that he would become the target of Lu Yin's last chance to act. The only exception was if Hong Xia became certain that Wang Wen would never move against the Trio.

But could he be certain?

Watching Lu Yin leave, Hong Xia grew more agitated, and he eventually turned to look at Jiu Wen.

The man had no intention of leaving. He had communicated with Lu Yin right before he left. Jiu Wen intended to continue restraining Hong Xia.

Lu Yin considered Wang Wen unfathomable, while Jiu Wen saw Hong Xia in the same way. Even if Lu Yin had become an Immortal and was confident that he could fight a peak condition Hong Xia, Jiu Wen still wanted to do his part, even if that only meant remaining where he was to keep watch and make Hong Xia wary.

Given Wang Wen's abilities and his understanding of Lu Yin's current condition, if he truly wanted to exterminate the Trio, then adding one more powerhouse to the civilization would make no difference.

Hong Xia vanished, and no one knew where he went.

Jiu Wen stared off into the distance in the direction of the Human Trio, despite not actually being able to see it. "Believe it or not, what is as difficult as ascending the heavens for us may not be the same for Mr. Lu."

Xi Shangfeng nodded. "He is worthy of admiration."

"I hope that he can walk a path unlike anyone else's," Jiu Wen muttered to himself. He had overheard the conversation between Lu Yin and Hong Xia and clearly understood that Lu Yin wanted to transfer his karmic chain. The fact that he had spoken aloud actually showed that even he himself did not completely believe that he could succeed. Otherwise, no matter what, he would have never said a word.

But that did nothing to hinder Jiu Wen's hopes. He hoped that Lu Yin could succeed. He hoped that Lu Yin could lead human civilization to leap forward, restoring the glory of the Nine Ramparts.

No matter how formidable Green Lotus might be, he had never given Jiu Wen that sort of feeling. Only Lu Yin had shown him this hope.

Lu Yin returned to the Tianyuan and sat on the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, where he met with Wei Rong. The man had been waiting there for Lu Yin for some time.

"Sit."

Wei Rong did not sit and instead bowed to Lu Yin. "I spent several thousand years in contact with Wang Wen, and yet I failed to find his weakness. Please forgive me, Lord Lu."

Lu Yin laughed. "I never placed much hope in that to begin with. Who do you think Wang Wen is? Ordinary people aren’t even able to perceive how formidable he truly is. Even Greater Sancte Mi Jin, or rather Progenitor Hui, was unable to surpass him in terms of intelligence. What’s more, he isn’t just smart, but also incredibly powerful.

"Back then, when I asked you to try, it was only that—an attempt. Don’t take it to heart."

Back when he had first become suspicious of Wang Wen, Lu Yin had sought out Wei Rong and subtly indicated that Wei Rong should try to find Wang Wen's weakness. That was even before Lu Yin had decided to join Obscura.

Before joining Obscura, he had asked Wang Wen for his opinion, just as he had later asked Wang Wen's opinion regarding a number of matters concerning Obscura.

That was because Lu Yin had considered Wang Wen's opinion to be the same as Obscura’s. Since he had grown suspicious, he had naturally tried to think of ways to deal with things. That was why Lu Yin had gone to Wei Rong.

Furthermore, the matter had only ever been hinted at just once. After that, it had never been mentioned again.

At the time, Wei Rong had not understood why Lu Yin wanted him to find a way to deal with Wang Wen. Although he was intelligent, Wei Rong had been exposed to far too little compared to Lu Yin, and he could not guess anything regarding Wang Wen's identity. All Wei Rong had been able to do was use his own reasoning to search for Wang Wen's weakness.

But even when Wang Wen had exposed himself and the war had begun, Wei Rong had found nothing.

His expression turned conflicted. "I have always considered myself clever, but when compared to Wang Wen, I ultimately fall short. Compared to you, Lord Lu, I also fall short by quite a bit."

Lu Yin chuckled. "You’re being too modest. I had no clue at all, which was why I could only ask you to try."

Wei Rong's expression turned solemn. "Over these many years, I had frequent contact with Wang Wen, and he never refused to meet with me. He never acted any differently from the past. To tell the truth, I never understood why you would suggest such an idea, Lord Lu. It’s only now that I can see clearly."

"Wang Wen possesses overwhelming power. If he were to ever act against you, you would not even know it. That is why he is flawless," Lu Yin explained.

Long Xi brewed tea for them.

"Enough. Sit down. This matter has nothing to do with you." Lu Yin said again.

Only then did Wei Rong take a seat.

Long Xi glanced at him but said nothing before silently withdrawing.

Wang Wen was Obscura’s Keeper of Balance. Aside from Lu Yin, who had been mentally prepared long ago, who else could accept that?

Wei Rong had spent several thousand years with Wang Wen. They had once engaged in a strategic contest to seize control of the entire Outerverse. Together with Qiong Xi'er, they had been known as three of the smartest people in the Outerverse. Over the years, they had long since become friends.

As for Long Xi, she had regarded Wang Wen as the one who was capable of resolving Lu Yin's doubts. Whenever Lu Yin showed signs of being troubled, she had always sought out Wang Wen to help ease those worries, and Wang Wen had indeed always been able to help.

She had also never imagined that Wang Wen would prove to be humanity's greatest enemy.

Lu Yin took a sip of tea and looked over at Long Xi. She was already leaving, gradually fading from his sight.

He sighed. Today's tea tasted far more bitter.

"Lord Lu, Wang Wen anticipates his enemies’ move and prepares the entire board so that he can control everything. However, over these years, it is not that I gained nothing." Wei Rong pondered for a moment, and then faced Lu Yin's puzzled expression and seriously stated, "For people like him, who plan out everything behind the scenes, only one thing can defeat them: the unexpected!"

"The unexpected?" Lu Yin fell into thought.

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