Star Odyssey

Chapter 1630: The Reason

Elder Jiu Shen's and Highsage Wudi's fight with Ji Qiang lasted more than two hours before finally ending. In the end, Ji Qiang had not been able to escape defeat.

At one point during the fight, Ji Qiang had even tried to attack Lu Yin, but he had almost instantly been restrained by Elder Jiu Shen. Anyone other than Lu Yin could suffer a mishap on the battlefield, but Lu Yin had to be kept safe no matter what. His safety was directly related to the Cosmic Sect's inheritance.

Lu Yin thanked Elder Jiu Shen, and the man glanced at Lu Yin's foot and then warned,, "Take good care of your soles."

Highsage Wudi was very confused to hear such a thing. The soles of his feet? Had he heard wrong?

Ji Qiang lay atop the sea, injuries covering his entire body. He looked truly miserable. Lu Yin was able to see that the man's runes indicated that his power level at this moment did not even amount to 600,000, which meant that he was about as weak as Cang Zhou had been. Lu Yin immediately started thinking about how to make the man into another champion.

The group that gained the most from the war ended up being Leon's Armada. Of the Four Pirate Crews, the Soldier Crew had never been ones to engage in conflicts, so with the Ignition Crew and the Longevity Brigade both out of the picture, Leon's Armada had essentially become the sole ruler of the Cosmic Sea.

The worst thing for them was that so many of the commanders of the various regiments had been killed in battle.

While everyone else was cleaning up the Cosmic Sea battlefield, Da Qiu approached Lu Yin and said, "Alliance Leader Lu, please inform Commander Highsage Leon that gathering such a large number of pirates may not necessarily be a good thing, so he should dismiss them as soon as possible. If not, we'll be forced to take action as soon as things get out of hand."

Lu Yin understood Da Qiu's position, and quickly assured the man, "Don't worry, they'll leave quick enough."

After the fighting had ended, the pirates had all suffered severe casualties, and it would take a great deal of time for them to recover.

Most people were feeling pretty happy about Leon's Armada's victory, but them they received news from the Neoverse that startled everyone. They suffered from disbelief like a person who was struck by lightning from a clear sky.

Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong had been defeated by Xia Ji, despite the two of them working together against a single opponent. Not only had Xia Ji won, he had even forced his way into the Cosmic Sect and had stolen the Skystar Jade Wall, which devastated the Cosmic Sect.

Nobody could believe the news when they heard it. It sounded like the biggest of the century! How could Xia Ji defeat two peers at the same time, especially when neither one was an average cultivator? Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong were each members of the Human Domain's seven Semi-Progenitors, which meant that they were experts who had been unparalleled throughout the ages. Highsage Grandmaster's loss was even more of a shock, as he was an Array Grandmaster.

Elder Jiu Shen immediately reached out to the Cosmic Sect, while Highsage Wudi and the others called Highsage Grandmaster.

Lu Yin's brows were tightly furrowed. He just could not process the outcome of the battle no matter how hard he tried.

Cang Zhou had not been able to process his side's defeat in the war, and yet he had still ended up becoming one of Lu Yin's champions. In much the same manner, Lu Yin was unable to comprehend how Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong could have lost even after teaming up. Even if they had not succeeded in destroying the entire Xia family, they still should have been able to deal Xia Ji a terrible blow.

Wait a minute, it all makes sense now! Lu Yin suddenly remembered that Xia Ji had yet another clone.

According to Starsibyl's earlier divination, she had found three sources of power towards the Neoverse that were connected to Xia Ji. That had indicated that the real Xia Ji possessed three clones; could one of those three be another Semi-Progenitor? Had Xia Ji managed to defeat Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong because he had worked together with a clone?

It did not take almost any time for Lu Yin to discover the truth of the matter. It turned out that Xia Ji had not actually defeated Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong through his own strength, but because of the help of Highsage Grandmaster's secret technique.

Eversky Island's secret technique, Thousand Rivers Return to Sea, was able to revert an enemy's attack back into the form of energy that powered the attack, which essentially dispelled an attack. This was the same secret technique that Highsage Grandmaster had been willing to share with Lu Yin in the past. However, Lu Yin had not accepted as he had already possessed the Yu Secret Art and the Ce Secret Technique.

In the previous battle, Highsage Shenwei had also used the Thousand Rivers Return to Sea in an attempt to stop Ji Qiang's spear, and though the secret technique had indeed managed to weaken more than half of the spear's power, the remnant power had still ended up injuring Highsage Shenwei.

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Logically speaking, Highsage Shenwei should not have been injured by the spear after half of its force had been eliminated, especially considering the man's strength. Instead, the attack had resulted in Highsage Shenwei suffering grave injuries. The only reason for it was the greatest disadvantage of the Thousand Rivers Return to Sea, which was that it affected everyone indiscriminately.

The moment the Thousand Rivers Return to Sea was used, it would not only reduce the user's opponent's attack to raw energy, the secret technique would also do the same to the user's own stellular energy. The only way that Highsage Shenwei could have truly countered the spear attack would have been to fully convert the attack back to raw energy, but since that had not happened, his physical body had been left unable to resist the remaining power of the spear attack due to Highsage Shenwei's own weakened state.

This was much the same as when Lu Yin used pure physical strength to fight against an Envoy; Envoys were able to suppress star energy, which left Lu Yin unable to use his battle techniques or even secret techniques. All he was able to use against Envoys was his Vacuum Palm, which used pure physical strength. However, Xia Ji had taken advantage of the weakness of Highsage Grandmaster's Thousand Rivers Return to Sea to deal a powerful attack against the two while they had still been dealing with the effects of the secret technique.

Xia Ji had also been affected by the secret technique, but he had been extremely well prepared for everything that he had faced. However, Elder Jiu Shen and the others were unsure exactly how the man had managed to launch such a terrible attack against Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong. All that anyone knew was that the two Semi-Progenitors had lost because of the secret technique Highsage Grandmaster had used: Thousand Rivers Return to Sea.

Fortunately, the two had only been defeated, and they were still in a rather decent condition. On top of that, Xia Ji would only ever be able to pull off such a trick once. It would never work again.

However, once had already been more than enough for Xia Ji, as his entire goal had been the Skystar Jade Wall.

"Could that have been his goal from the start? Obtaining the Skystar Jade Wall?" The question slipped from Lu Yin's mouth.

Elder Jiu Shen grimaced. "All along, Xia Ji was aiming at the Cosmic Sect, hoping to get his hands on our Skystar Jade Wall. However, there had never been any chance for him to do so. He targeted Eversky Island so that he could find a way to fight against Highsage Grandmaster, as he knew that as soon as he started fighting against Highsage Grandmaster, Elder Gong would not stand by, but would definitely join the fray, creating the two-on-one scenario Xia Ji hoped for. The moment he achieved that situation, all of his plots would have already fallen into place, especially the Thousand Rivers Return to Sea.

"Even if the user gets affected by the Thousand Rivers Return to Sea as well, it still couldn't have been easy to defeat a Semi-Progenitor. He must have truly been thoroughly prepared."

It was only at this moment that Lu Yin finally understood that when Jin He had accused those with the Lu surname of having an illegal status, it had merely been the first step to Xia Ji's plan. The last step had been to lure out Highsage Grandmaster and Elder Gong in order to seize the Skystar Jade Wall. Truthfully, it was not that brilliant of a plan, but it had undeniably been a very practical one.

Xia Ji had managed to consider everything when concocting his scheme, and the only step that he had not predicted was the reveal of his connection to his clone and his direct involvement in the matter, which had resulted in a defeat in the battle in the Cosmic Sea. If things had gone according to his plan, the final battlefield should have been in the Cosmic Sea.

Xia Ji's original plan had involved capturing Highsage Leon and forcing Highsage Grandmaster to show himself, and then finally forcing Elder Gong out. The actual events could only be considered an unfortunate accident.

However, this same accident had been precisely what had led Xia Ji to victory. How fickle fate could be.

"What does he need the Skystar Jade Wall for?" Lu Yin asked in confusion.

Elder Jiu Shen glanced down at Lu Yin's feet before answering. "You don't know?"

Lu Yin was briefly stunned, but then his expression changed. "Do you mean…"

Elder Jiu Shen spoke in a rather indifferent tone, "Has Elder Gong not mentioned Cosmic Art's secret to you before?"

Lu Yin finally understood; Xia Ji was also after the pattern on the bottom of his foot.

Lu Yin wanted to cultivate the Cosmic Art to its highest level, and it was possible with the help of the pattern. It would also allow him to take control of the stars that remained in the universe that had been simulated by Progenitor Chen in the past, which would allow him to seize control of limitless power that had only ever been possessed by Progenitor Chen. If Xia Ji managed to achieve that, he would make the Xia family the ruler of the entire Fifth Mainland, and would even likely become a Progenitor. At that point, nothing would be able to stop him.

No wonder he had gone to such great lengths to seize the Skystar Jade Wall.

However, there was a new problem: the Skystar Jade Wall did not have any pattern, as it was etched onto the sole of Lu Yin's foot.

Things were quickly becoming awkward, and Lu Yin blinked his eyes. Xia Ji's plans had been so extensive, and he had not even been concerned with making both Eversky Island and the Cosmic Sect his enemies, so he should have been beyond ecstatic at finally getting his hands on the Skystar Jade Wall after so much effort. How would he react once he realized that the pattern he had been so eager to obtain was not within the Skystar Jade Wall, but had instead been on the bottom of Lu Yin's foot all along? The old man would probably cough up blood from his rage. On the other hand, Lu Yin was strangely happy about learning of Xia Ji's demise. Truly, very happy.

What did it look like to use a wicker basket to try to draw water? Xia Ji was the best example of this. To think that a plan which he had believed would succeed had actually been ruined by Lu Yin. Fate was out to get that old man! His plan had actually succeeded perfectly, but his goal had not even been part of his target from the beginning. The entire thing was much like a tragedy becoming a celebration, only to again become a tragedy. Even Lu Yin felt a bit bad for Xia Ji.

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How he hoped that old man Xia Ji would end up kicking the bucket from shock after discovering the truth! Regardless of anything else, the one behind the deaths of those 72 people from Big Sis's mercenary crew were still on Xia Ji's head.

Off in the distance, Highsage Wudi had a grim and displeased expression on his face.

Highsage Shenwei quietly asked, "How's master?"

Highsage Wudi answered in a somber tone, "Let's go. We're returning to Eversky Island. We will need to get revenge for this no matter what."

"I'll go too," Highsage Leon declared.

Highsage Wudi glared at his junior brother. "Stay here. What can you even do with your body in such a condition? Help to stabilize things here in the Cosmic Sea."

After speaking, Highsage Wudi left with Highsage Shenwei.

Elder Jiu Shen spoke up, "I must also go."

Lu Yin asked, "Will the Cosmic Sect wage war on the Seven Courts?"

"I can't say for sure, but this matter concerns the Skystar Jade Wall – my Cosmic Sect's greatest inheritance – so we will not be able to leave things as they are. There is a high possibility of war, but that matter might not be something the Hall of Honor is willing to allow." He looked at Lu Yin and continued in a quieter tone, "The location of the pattern should never be revealed to anyone. Xia Ji has been working for so many years to get it, so if he learns that it is with you, he will never let you go and he will kill you."

Lu Yin nodded. "What about Ji Qiang? How are we going to deal with him?"

Highsage Wudi had already left, so only Elder Jiu Shen could make such a decision.

Elder Jiu Shen shot a cold glare down at Ji Qiang where he had been immobilized and was laying on the surface of the sea. The youthful-looking elder stepped over the man as he left the battlefield, and Ji Qiang's body slowly vanished. That was the manner of death for clones from the Nine Clones Secret Technique.

Elder Jiu Shen was ruthless in his methods, which also represented the Cosmic's Sect attitude at the moment.

As soon as the Cosmic Sect had learned that their Skystar Jade Wall had been stolen by the Xia family, every single disciple erupted in rage. Many disciples began shouting and demanding for it to be retrieved, but the even more extreme disciples immediately began making their way south. They were ready to start a war with the Seven Courts.

As for the Seven Court, the other families had never considered that Xia Ji would do such a thing. The entire scheme had been planned and carried out by Xia Ji alone, and it had nothing to do with the Seven Courts as a whole. They were united solely to maintain custody of Progenitor Chen's Mausoleum.

Despite that fact, the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Island would never allow matters to rest after everything that had happened. Once the two fully united, even the Seven Courts would likely find it difficult to face them.

Still, the Seven Courts could not afford to place the blame on the Xia family at the moment, as Xia Ji was the only Semi-Progenitor in all of the Seven Courts. His presence was what had allowed them to maintain control of Progenitor Chen's Mausoleum, and if not for Xia Ji, Arch-Elder Zen would already have destroyed the Seven Courts on his own.

If the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Island truly intended to wage a war on the Seven Courts, the only option available to the Seven Courts would be to fight.

As far as fighting the Cosmic Sect and Eversky Island, the Seven Courts actually needed a reason, or else they would become the passive party in the war. The Seven Courts had been formed through a matter of mutual benefit, and Xia Ji was not the only one directing their decisions.

Several days later, a rare meeting took place between the patriarchs of the Seven Courts on the Xia family's sword-shaped mainland.

At this moment, Yōu Kexin – matriarch of the Yōu clan, Ku Pu – patriarch of the Ku family, Ce Laoyan – patriarch of the Ce family, Hui Zhi – patriarch of the Hui Family, and Xie A'hua – matriarch of the Xie family, were all quietly sitting in the Xia family's main hall. Xia Yi had taken the host's seat for himself.

Xia Yi looked calm, and no one could tell from his demeanor that he had been injured during the battle in the Cosmic Sea.

"Brother Xia, the union of the Seven Courts is intended to exist for our mutual benefit and in order to claim a place for ourselves here in the Neoverse. None of us have an easy time of things, but now we run the possibility of becoming an enemy of the entire Neoverse due to Senior Xia Ji's actions. Can Brother Xia give us an explanation for that matter?" Hui Zhi spoke up. In some manner, the Hui family was a bit of the spokesperson for the Seven Courts.

Everyone else turned to stare at Xia Yi. None of them were willing to place blame onto Xia Ji, but they did need to know the reason for such actions.