Star Odyssey

Lu Yin lowered the last book and shook his head. "Unfortunately, all of these battle techniques are useless to me."

Tian Dou said, "My lord, these battle techniques are indeed a bit superfluous to you. However, this servant has another battle technique that might be of interest to you."

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. "Let’s see it."

Tian Dou was a powerhouse who stood on the same level as Lu Yin’s senior brother, Qing Ping. This man’s battle techniques should be powerful enough to drive countless people crazy.

Even the Second Nightking looked at Tian Dou with great anticipation.

Death energy covered Tian Dou's entire body, and it wrapped him up in what looked to be some sort of cocoon that enveloped him.

Lu Yin's eyes went wide, as this looked very similar to his own appearance when he underwent the God of Death Transformation. Was it possible that Tian Dou could also use the God of Death Transformation?

The cocoon of condensed death energy dissipated, and Tian Dou revealed a small smile. "My lord, what do you think?"

Lu Yin blinked. "What do I think about what?"

"My battle technique. What you just saw is called the Death Energy Guardian. Are you interested, my lord?"

Lu Yin was left completely speechless. "Didn't you just wrap yourself up with death energy?"

Tian Dou smiled and turned to look at the Second Nightking.

The old man looked incredibly somber. “I can’t break through the barrier that he just used."

Lu Yin was shocked. "You can't break through it?"

Even though the Second Nightking had been easily suppressed by Tian Dou, it did not mean that the old man was useless. Rather, Tian Dou was simply too powerful. He had suppressed the Second Nightking with his golden eyes and death energy. When the Second Nightking had faced Qing Ping, the Chief Justice had used his innate gift. The truth was that the Second Nightking had not even been able to fight back against either of the Chief Justices, but that did not mean that his attack power was weak at all.

It seemed impossible that the Second Nightking could not break through the simple cocoon that had surrounded Tian Dou, but the old man soon solemnly explained why to Lu Yin. "While I don’t have much of an understanding of death energy, there seemed to be some odd transformation happening within that barrier we just saw, and it created an almost impervious defense. I can’t think of anyone who could break through what I just felt aside from a Semi-Progenitor, though that is merely my impression."

Lu Yin was taken aback. Was the barrier really that powerful?

Tian Dou raised a hand and condensed a drop of water over his palm. It fell to the ground and splattered apart, just like a normal drop of water.

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Right after that, the man condensed another drop of water, which also slowly fell to the ground. However, this second drop of water did not splatter when it struck the ground. Instead, it pierced through the ground and even tore through space as it did so.

Lu Yin continued to stare at where the drop of water had fallen. It had been very clear that they had both been drops of water with the exact same appearance, but the internal structure of the second droplet had been altered despite the two droplets having the same outward appearance. It was no exaggeration to say that the second drop of water could have killed an Envoy.

"My lord, you are already very familiar with star energy. There are countless battle techniques throughout the universe that utilize star energy and transform its shape or properties. However, in the end, star energy is nothing more than an energy used for cultivation, and death energy is the same thing. Death energy can be manipulated and transformed in the same manner as star energy. Have you ever considered manipulating and transforming your death energy?" Tian Dou slowly asked while staring at Lu Yin.

These words were enlightening to Lu Yin, and they opened up an entirely new world of thinking for him.

Lu Yin had only ever used death energy in a very primitive fashion. In some sense, it could even be argued that he had never once used death energy. This was true of even when he used the God of Death Transformation. However, death energy was a cultivation energy, and thus, it could also be used to perform battle techniques. Tian Dou's Death Energy Guardian was one such battle technique, and the Death God’s Face that Lu Yin had learned when absorbing death energy was another.

In a universe where everyone else used star energy for their cultivation, a battle technique that used death energy possessed unique advantages.

Given what Lu Yin was hearing, was it possible to perform his normal battle techniques with death energy? Could he use death energy to perform the Cosmic Palm, the Thirteen Swords, or even the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation?

At that moment, Lu Yin suddenly remembered the vision that he had seen in the Bizarre Sect’s ruins when he had been absorbing death energy. He had seen a person whom he believed to be the God of Death gather a massive amount of death energy and use it to replace the entire sky before crushing a horde of astral beasts. Had that not been incredibly similar to the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation?

"I understand," Lu Yin said, his eyes glittering with excitement. He could always at least attempt what he was thinking about.

Tian Dou smiled. "In that case, are you interested in learning my Death Energy Guardian, my lord?"

Lu Yin looked back at Tian Dou. "Of course."

A short time later, Tian Dou taught Lu Yin how to use the Death Energy Guardian and how to change the internal structure of the death energy into a barrier. It was not actually that difficult of a technique, as most of it lay in the fact that Lu Yin could not control his death energy. He needed to increase his control over death energy until it reached the same level as his star energy control.

Lu Yin believed that it would not take him too long to accomplish such a thing. He already had a great deal of experience in training his star energy control, as he had reached the Creation realm of star energy control.

"My lord, I’ve prepared a small gift for you that I hope you like." After Tian Dou taught Lu Yin the battle technique, he brought out a bone that he held in the air. It did not look unusual, but it held death energy inside it. The bone looked quite similar to the one that Xie Xiaoxian had used for her bone armor technique that Lu Yin had once seen.

"The Xie family spent many years fighting against my Specter clan, and they possess the greatest understanding of us. Not only did they manage to come up with various ways to fight against death energy, but some of them also tried to use death energy to fight against us. I will readily admit that the Xie family has had their own geniuses, and their bone armor technique that uses death energy can even provide them with an advantage over my Specter clan in a fight. This bone was produced with the Xie family's bone armor technique, and the death energy in it will eventually be used up," Tian Dou said.

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. "I won't say no."

As he observed his newly acquired bone, Lu Yin had to admit that the Xie family did indeed have their own tricks.

Right after Lu Yin stored the bone away, Tian Dou pulled out a two-meter-tall bone. Wait, an egg?

Lu Yin blinked and stared at the white ovoid before him. No matter how he looked at it, it was clearly an egg.

Even the Second Nightking was caught off guard.

Tian Dou solemnly stated, "My lord, this is an egg."

"I can see that…"

Tian Dou continued, "This dead egg was laid by a creature called a granosa. While the beast looks like a mere bug, it is an ancient and powerful species that once caused countless disasters for humanity. The defenses of a granosa are without equal, and according to the legends, only a Progenitor can break through their defenses. Even their eggs are strong enough that cultivators with power levels of over a million will struggle to break them."

Lu Yin was stunned. There was a bug that only Progenitors could deal with?

He couldn't help but touch the egg. He pushed hard, but the egg didn't move at all.

"This egg has been around for eons, and it has been dead for a long time. My Specter clan has reworked it until nothing more than the shell has been left behind. This means that it can be used as a shield and that you can even hide inside it if you encounter a dangerous situation, my lord. Typically, even someone with the Second Nightking’s strength would struggle to break through this egg to attack you," Tian Dou explained.

Lu Yin also stored the egg. This was a valuable treasure, as he was always short on defensive items.

After taking the egg, Lu Yin stared at Tian Dou with open anticipation. Since there had been a defensive treasure, there should also be an offensive one.

Tian Dou did not disappoint Lu Yin, and a wave of his hand brought out a needle. Calling it a needle did not seem to be quite accurate, as it was far too long at a full meter. Still, it was very thin and was shaped just like a needle.

The moment the needle appeared, Lu Yin inexplicably felt a chill run down his back as a faint scent of blood permeated the air. It felt like space itself was a balloon that this needle could pop at any moment.

Lu Yin was taken aback, and he stretched out a hand to touch the needle, only to find it cold to the touch.

"This needle is a weapon, but it is not a power vessel. However, it did once kill a Semi-Progenitor," Tian Dou solemnly stated.

Both Lu Yin and the Second Nightking were completely shocked. This needle had killed a Semi-Progenitor?

In an era devoid of Progenitors, Semi-Progenitors could be considered invincible. Aside from Senior Brother Qing Ping, Lu Yin had never even heard of anyone crossing realms to challenge Semi-Progenitor.

"My lord, don't underestimate this needle. It is made from a material that disappeared from the universe long ago. It is considered to be the hardest metal, and it was a rare treasure even during the Daosource Sect’s era. I don't know who made this needle from that metal, but even the full efforts of myself and the entire Specter clan are not enough to melt this needle and refine the metal," Tian Dou declared.

Lu Yin held the needle. While it was impossible for the Specter clan to melt this needle down, Lu Yin was perfectly capable of Decomposing it. Rolling two pips with his die would allow him to almost instantly extract the base materials from this metal needle.

However, it would be a pity to destroy a needle that had once killed a Semi-Progenitor.

Could it be Enhanced? Lu Yin's eyes suddenly glowed brightly.

Tian Dou had given Lu Yin three items, each one of which Lu Yin considered a treasure. This visit had definitely been worth his time, but he prepared to say goodbye to Tian Dou.

Regardless of the Specter clan’s true feelings regarding Lu Yin and whether they were being sincere towards him, it was clear that they would at least not touch him for the time being. After verifying that the Specter clan was not a current threat, Lu Yin decided that he could ask them for some assistance, such as providing him with some resources.

"My lord, I’ve heard that you require resources, and my Specter clan has some reserves, so I wanted to ask how much you might need." Tian Dou spoke up and addressed the issue before Lu Yin could even say anything.

Lu Yin instantly stopped what he had been about to say. "How much?"

Tian Dou smiled. "My Specter clan doesn’t use star essence for cultivating, but we do possess many items and power vessels that require star essence, so we are not able to provide you with very much right now."

Lu Yin understood this.

"How would 50 billion star essence work for you for the time being, my lord?" Tian Dou asked.

Lu Yin's face twitched, Fifty- fifty billion?

"Is that too little, my lord? Your servant will find a way to gather more as soon as possible and get it to you shortly, my lord. You don’t need to worry about that." Tian Dou spoke quickly, as he was assuming that Lu Yin felt the amount was too small.

Of course, Lu Yin did not find this to be a small amount by any means. Instead, he had never expected the Specter clan to simply give him 50 billion star essence so casually. This was not 500 million—it was a hundred times more than what Lu Yin had taken after defeating the Blaze Realm.

Where had they gotten so much money from? Could they have taken it from the Xie family? That certainly was not impossible.

"Ahem, alright. 50 billion is 50 billion. While it's not much, it's still enough for now." Lu Yin managed to keep his voice calm.

Tian Dou let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear. My lord, you don’t need to worry. My Specter clan will be sure to gather whatever you need as soon as possible, regardless of whether it’s resources or battle techniques."

Lu Yin's heart skipped a beat. "Do you happen to have any fatesand?"

Tian Dou shook his head. "We haven’t gathered any of that. Do you need some, my lord? I’ll send out the order to immediately have our people gather what they can."

"That’s fine." Lu Yin was still overwhelmed after receiving 50 billion star essence, and he was struggling to suppress his excitement.

This 50 billion would put his total assets up to 60 billion star essence. Not only had he replaced the amount that he had just used up, but he had also doubled his previous funds!

The greater one’s strength, the faster they would be able to gather money. This seemed to be an immutable fact.

As they moved to the gate of the palace, they found Xie Ahua and the other two people still waiting.

Just as Lu Yin was about to leave, he suddenly hesitated and turned back to look at Tian Dou. "Is this the only place where your Specter clan has gathered?"

He had not intended to ask any questions concerning delicate matters or the Specter clan’s secrets. That way, he would not provide any openings in case Tian Dou decided to try to attack Lu Yin with any secrets that he kept from the Hall of Honor.

However, after considering the matter a bit more, this should not be too much of a secret to ask for. Lu Yin would not even be able to tell if Tian Dou lied, as Lu Yin was simply too ignorant about the Specter clan.

Tian Dou smiled. "My lord, you’ve just granted me tremendous peace of mind."fr𝗲𝙚𝔀e𝙗𝓃oν𝐞𝑙. c𝚘𝘮

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. "There’s no need to answer."

Tian Dou raised a hand and brought out what looked to be a rather simple-looking stone. "My lord, do you recognize this?"

Lu Yin felt the stone seemed rather familiar as he stared at it, but where could he have seen such a thing before? Despite his efforts to remember, Lu Yin was coming up dry, though he was certain that he had seen this stone before.