Star Odyssey

"So soon?" Zhu San’s guess caught Ce Laoyan completely off guard.

Zhu San remained firm in his answer. "He is definitely going to leave very soon. The more important this information is to you, Patriarch, the more anxious Lu Yin will be to leave. This is not because he fears our Ce family, but rather because he wants to whet our appetite. This is how Lu Yin usually handles matters."

"So how can we obtain that information from him?" Ce Laoyan asked in a low voice.

Zhu San considered the question for a moment. "Using the people around him is probably the best choice."

"Explain."

Zhu San replied, "Lu Yin’s ambitions are beyond those of ordinary people, but his weaknesses are also quite clear because of that—he cares too much about the people close to him. He doesn't want the people he cares about to be threatened, but rather treated as if he were in their place."

"So we should use an indirect approach." Ce Laoyan instantly understood.

Zhu San nodded. "Unless our family possesses something that Lu Yin specifically needs, this is our only option. Well, it’s also possible to simply wait, Patriarch as he will definitely ask us for help one day. If he didn’t plan on doing that, then he would have simply demanded a payment of resources and not bother stringing us along.”

Ce Laoyan stared at Zhu San for a moment. "It seems that you really do have a very good understanding of Lu Yin."

Zhu San gritted his teeth and bowed to Ce Laoyan. "Patriarch, this lowly one truly wishes to help our family. I once thought that I no longer had any opportunity to do so, but if our family wishes to deal with Lu Yin, then this lowly one has a way to do so, as I have one of my people already in place."

Ce Laoyan was taken aback. "You were able to place someone near Lu Yin?"

Zhu San replied, "I'm not that impressive, and I was not able to place anyone right next to Lu Yin, but I am still able to access a great deal of information concerning the Great Eastern Alliance through someone named Nana. She’s Qiong Xi'er's personal maid, but no one knows that she actually answers to me."

After seeing that Ce Laoyan did not interrupt, Zhu San finally began to relax internally. It was clear that the patriarch found Zhu San’s information valuable, so the young man quickly continued, saying, "Back when my Zhu family was trying to take control of Millions City, the easiest method for us to do so would have been for me to simply marry Qiong Xi'er. In order to impress her, I needed to get to know her, so I used everything at my disposal to place Nana next to her. From Nana, I was able to track Qiong Xi’er’s every move. If our family wants to know about the Great Eastern Alliance’s affairs, I can just have Nana pay close attention to the situation."

Ce Laoyan stared at Zhu San for a long moment. He had truthfully never expected this youth to be of any real use.

Zhu San continued on in a quieter voice. "Lu Yin lied when he claimed that the two of us are friends as he was simply using my name to have an excuse to visit the Ce family. It’s now clear that he was actually plotting to move against our family, and now that he’s accomplished his goal, I will have no place to stand once word of this matter spreads throughout our family. He never even thought about whether I would live or die when he was done with me, so I’m now begging you, Patriarch, to give me a chance to get revenge."

Not once did Ce Laoyan question Zhu San's words. After all, Lu Yin had indeed used the Yinyang Trisage Technique to create an opportunity to observe the Immovable Chessboard. What’s more, it was certain that once this matter became more well known, Zhu San would be the one to bear the brunt of the Ce family’s frustrations as he had had given them the Yinyang Trisage Technique in the first place. Even if he had done so with the best of intentions, no one would believe it. This was simply human nature.

On top of that, people believed that Zhu San had a close friendship with Lu Yin, which was another incentive for the Ce family members to go after Zhu San and bully and abuse him.

Ce Laoyan considered the matter for a bit before saying, “Stay close to me for now and don’t reach out to Nana for the time being."

"Understood!" Zhu San answered excitedly. He truly was not acting at this moment, but not because Ce Laoyan was trying to use Zhu San, but rather because the patriarch’s attitude was so clear.

Typically, Ce Laoyan left capable people for his son Ce Jiu to deal with, but this was not the case with Zhu San, and there could only be one reason for this: Ce Laoyan was not completely confident that he could deal with Lu Yin. If Ce Laoyan ended up ultimately losing, he did not want Ce Jiu to be dragged in.

This was what made Zhu San excited. He had already decided to follow Lu Yin, and Lu Yin had offered Zhu San Nana as a bargaining chip with which to negotiate with the Ce family. Nana was basically being treated as a connection to the inner workings of the Great Eastern Alliance.

Early the next morning, Lu Yin bade his farewells to the Ce family and prepared to leave. The Perennial World’s invasion force would soon arrive in the Fifth Mainland, and Lu Yin did not know how effective his stalling tactics would turn out to be. He could not afford to waste any time at all.

Ce Laoyan had not expected Zhu San’s predictions of Lu Yin’s actions to be so accurate, as he had even determined the time of Lu Yin’s departure.

"Alliance Leader Lu, why don't you stay here for another couple days? It wouldn’t be too late for you to leave after taking a tour of our Starpiece Region." Ce Yue was the most unwilling to see Lu Yin leave. If anyone else had been in Lu Yin’s position, Ce Yue would have captured them and imprisoned them long ago, but their family was not capable of taking such actions against Lu Yin.

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Lu Yin calmly replied, "This junior also wishes to spend more time visiting your Ce family and learning more about what the descendants of such a powerful Progenitor are capable of, but unfortunately, I really do have too many urgent tasks waiting for me. Still, you don’t have to worry, Senior. This junior will be sure to visit your family again."

Ce Laoyan's eyes flickered, as he did not know what Lu Yin's words were hinting at.

Ce Yue spoke at length in an attempt to convince Lu Yin to extend his stay, but Lu Yin refused all of the elder’s efforts. Finally, the old man was left with no choice but to escort Lu Yin out of the Starpiece Region.

After Lu Yin was gone, Ce Yue’s expression turned darker. "We can’t keep him here as long as the Second Nightking is accompanying him."

Ce Laoyan was stunned. "Elder, did you think about attacking him?"

Ce Yue turned to look at his family’s patriarch. "The Ce Secret Art only truly becomes a secret technique once one comprehends Board Manipulation. You need to remember that my Ce family is different from the Yu, Xie, and Hui families. Our ancestor, Ce Wangtian, was one of the most powerful Progenitors from the Third Mainland, and he was peerless within the Progenitor realm during his era. Our Ce Secret Art is far more powerful than anyone imagines it to be, and if not for the Second Nightking, I absolutely would not hesitate for even a single moment to capture Lu Yin."

Ce Laoyan let out a breath of relief at the Second Nightking’s presence, as it had averted a massive disaster for their family.

The patriarch shot a glance at Ce Yue. While the elder was indeed the most powerful person in their family, he had never been considered as a candidate to become the Ce family patriarch. Ce Laoyan had not understood why for a long time, but he had since come to understand that Ce Yue did not have any of the Ce family’s scheming nature. Instead, he behaved more like the people from the Xia family, particularly Xia Yi, as the elder was both impulsive and ruthless.

It would indeed be simple to capture Lu Yin, but the people supporting him were not at all easy to deal with. When Xia Ji had captured Lu Yin, he had forced both Elder Gong and Highsage Grandmaster to take action. Lu Yin’s status had risen even higher since then. Forget their Ce family, but not even the combined might of the Seven Courts would be enough to stop the people behind Lu Yin.

Ce Laoyan smiled wryly. He had never expected to be relieved that his opponent was strong.

Lu Yin appeared outside of the Starpiece Region. He wanted to discuss the Perennial World’s invasion with Wang Wen and the others, but before he was able to go almost anywhere, he saw Xie Ahua, the matriarch of the Xie family.

He had not expected to encounter her in this place.

"Alliance Leader Lu, did you enjoy yourself with the Ce family? This little girl’s been waiting here for you for a long time." Xie Ahua wore extremely revealing clothes and possessed a beautiful smile, but it was useless against Lu Yin.

Lu Yin had to ask, “Matriarch Xie, why have you been waiting for me here?"

Xie Ahua smiled. "Alliance Leader Lu, have you ever considered visiting my Xie family?"

Lu Yin blinked. The truth was that he had considered visiting them, but after seeing that the Perennial World was about to launch an invasion, he had realized that he had very little time. Thus, he had dropped his plans to visit the Xie family.

After all, they possessed nothing that he desired.

"It appears that Alliance Leader Lu really doesn’t want to visit my Xie family. It looks like it was the right decision for this little girl to have waited for you here." Xie Ahua smiled cutely.

Lu Yin shrugged. "It’s true that I’ve forced your family to wait for quite some time for my visit, but unfortunately, I have some urgent tasks that I need to see to. So, I will have to postpone my visit to your Xie family until next time."

Xie Ahua stared at Lu Yin with sparkling eyes. "Alliance Leader Lu visited the Seven Courts, and yet you won’t visit my Xie family? If such rumors of this matter spread, people will believe that my Xie family holds a grudge against you, Alliance Leader Lu, which would not be good for us. Please do us this favor and stop by our home."

Lu Yin frowned. "Matriarch Xie, you can be direct if there’s something that you want to say to me. There’s no need to wait for me to visit your home. Honestly, I really am in quite a rush right now."

Xie Ahua lifted a hand and twined her hair about her finger. "It seems that my Xie family has nothing that can draw your interest, Alliance Leader Lu. However, you don’t know much about my Xie family. We once had a massive war against the Specter clan, and although we eventually came out victorious, we have continued to decline since that time. However…”

The woman paused for a long moment before finally continuing, “Despite our fall from glory, we still possess trophies from the past, all of which were won from the Specter clan."

Lu Yin's heart finally moved. "The Specter clan’s treasures?"

The corners of Xie Ahua's mouth curled upwards. "That’s right. We have a great, great many items from the Specter clan, as well as a massive amount of death energy."

Lu Yin was finally convinced.

"Also, aside from death energy, my Xie family also possesses a massive collection of bones, which we’ve gathered in a place known as the Bone Plains. There might even be bones there that would interest you, Alliance Leader Lu. For example… the bones of a Progenitor?" Xie Ahua carefully enunciated.

Lu Yin was stunned. "You possess the bones of a Progenitor?"

Xie Ahua rolled her eyes. "It’s possible, but I can’t say for sure. Our collection of bones is something that has been passed down from before my family started to decline. During our peak, not even the Xia family would have dared claim to be able to compare to my Xie family. How powerful was the Specter clan? Alliance Leader Lu, you should already be aware that my Xie family was able to fight the Specter clan to the death as we were unable to coexist."

Lu Yin nodded. "Since you are inviting me so kindly, Matriarch Xie, then I’ll be disrespecting your Xie family if I don’t visit your home."

Xie Ahua smiled. "Please follow me, Alliance Leader Lu."

The Second Nightking followed behind Lu Yin, and he continued to stare at Xie Ahua. The Xie family? I think I’ve heard of it, but they weren’t very famous in my era. The Specter clan, on the other hand, was incredibly renowned. How was this Xie family actually able to fight against the Specter clan?

According to the Second Nightking’s memories, the Specter clan had not been enemies of humanity during the Daosource Sect’s era, but rather had simply been a group of people with a unique cultivation method. However, in the current era, the Specter clan had joined the Neohuman Alliance and was considered an enemy of humanity on the same level as the Neohuman Alliance.

During the Daosource Sect’s era, the Specter clan had been incredibly powerful, and they had not fallen under the influence of the Celestial Frost Sect or of any other force. They had kept many secrets, but despite their strength, they had since vanished.

Lu Yin followed Xie Ahua to the Bone Plains, making no attempt to hide his actions from the Ce family.

Both families were part of the same Seven Courts, and as long as Lu Yin remained within their territory, nothing he did could be hidden from any of the families.

Even when considering the entire Fifth Mainland, just how many people were able to visit each of the Seven Courts one after another as Lu Yin was doing? How many people could influence each of the Seven Courts? Lu Yin’s status was already approaching the peak of the Fifth Mainland.

…

The Bone Plains were stark white. This whiteness was not like that of snow, but rather a different shade of white. This was the whiteness of bones, though it was oddly bright.

This was Lu Yin’s first time seeing a landmass formed completely of bone. He could not understand what he was seeing; just how had the Xie family managed to gather so many bones?

"Where did all of these bones come from?" Lu Yin voiced the question in his mind.

Xie Ahua replied, "We’ve collected them all. When my Xie family was at its peak, we had many members, as well as many other organizations which were loyal to us. Our members were expected to collect bones, and also, whenever anyone visited my Xie family, they would bring a gift of bones with them. It was the only gift that would be offered to us."

"These aren’t ordinary bones," Lu Yin commented.

Xie Ahua smiled. "Of course not. All of these bones belonged to cultivators, as how else could they have deserved to be added to my Xie family’s collection? This way, please, Alliance Leader Lu."

Lu Yin scanned the Bone Plains again before following Xie Ahua onto the landmass.

While the Xie family had been on a decline, they still possessed some powerhouses, though they still fell far behind the other Seven Courts. Their strongest elder was Xie Sen, but his power level did not even reach 900,000, which Lu Yin found rather disappointing.

The Xie family still had many members, but the direct family line only had a single heir: Xie Xiaoxian.