Star Odyssey

At this moment, the lingering wound on Kui Luo's palm started to ache terribly. The sharp energy that he had been suppressing was erupting. Kui Luo stared at the middle-aged man. This person was truly terrifying.

"I am Hen Xin, the Gatemaster of the Three Fatalities Heavenly Gate," the middle-aged man stated.

Nearly everyone present had no idea what this name or title meant, but Ni Huang alone exclaimed, "The Gatemaster of one of the Twelve Heavenly Gates of Heavens Sect?"

Hen Xin then turned to look at Ni Huang. "Your reaction leads me to believe that there really is something wrong with the Heavens Sect. You are all human, and yet you don’t know anything about the Twelve Heavenly Gates or the Heavens Sect. Tell me why."

Ni Huang glanced over at Bai Laogui and ordered, "Bring out the Second Nightking."

Bai Laogui felt quite puzzled. "The Twelve Heavenly Gates? I feel like I read something about that in an ancient record, but there weren’t twelve gates during the Daosource Sect era, just a handful."

"Bring out the Second Nightking and have him explain things first," Ni Huang replied. He was also someone from the Daosource Sect era, and he knew even more than the Second Nightking, but it was impossible to explain such details to Hen Xin at this moment.

Ni Huang opened his mouth again, but Bai Laogui did not see any reason to refuse, so he quickly brought out the Second Nightking.

The Second Nightking glanced around in a bit of a daze. When he saw Lu Yin's cold eyes, the old man grew increasingly afraid. He had spent quite a bit of time with Lu Yin, and he had come to know the youth quite well. Lu Yin was of absolutely no threat to the Second Nightking in terms of personal strength, but when it came to scheming, the Second Nightking knew that even ten of him would not be enough to survive against Lu Yin. The man was utterly terrified that Lu Yin had thrown him into a trap.

"Second Nightking, tell me everything that you know about human history," Ni Huang indifferently ordered.

The Second Nightking was taken completely off guard. "History?"

"Just say whatever you want," Bai Laogui impatiently ordered.

The Second Nightking recognized that he was surrounded by many Semi-Progenitors, and he took particular note of the unknown man standing somewhat separate from the others. This middle-aged man gave the Second Nightking a tremendous amount of pressure, and it far surpassed anything that of Bai Laogui or any of the other Semi-Progenitors. Despite his numerous questions, the Second Nightking recognized that he was not qualified to ask any questions at this moment. "My knowledge of human history starts with the Fifth Mainland of the Celestial Frost Sect. At that time…"

As everyone listened to the Second Nightking's slow narration, Lu Yin had someone record it down. He was certain that more people from the same era as this Hen Xin would soon start showing up, and explaining everything to each person one by one would be exhausting. Thus, Lu Yin had decided to just make a recording and let these people to just watch it by themselves.

This was also the first time that Lu Yin had heard the Second Nightking recount what he knew of human history. Lu Yin did not have much understanding of the Daosource Sect era, and he essentially only knew that the Fifth Mainland had been at war with the Sixth Mainland and that Progenitor Chen had been the one to start the war. Beyond that, Lu Yin also knew that Progenitor Chen had been pursued by Daosource Sect after he cultivated a clone with the bloodline of the colossal giants.

Basically, Lu Yin knew almost nothing of that time.

The Second Nightking needed quite a long time to recount everything he knew of human history. Naturally, his prowess and position back then did not make him privy to any essential information, hence his knowledge was not comprehensive.

"Who was the Dao Monarch in that era? Is the Dao Monarch still the same?" Hen Xin asked.

The Second Nightking did not understand the question or how to answer.

"Is the Origin Progenitor still around?" Hen Xin asked again.

The Second Nightking still had no idea how to respond, and this time, he was not alone. Not even Ni Huang knew how to respond. The Origin Progenitor? Wasn’t that just a legend?

"The Origin Progenitor has always been regarded as nothing more than a legend. Did the Origin Progenitor really exist?" Lu Yin asked.

Hen Xin did not respond. "From what you’re saying, is the Fifth Mainland about to fall? The Aeternals have already invaded. Can you stop them?"

Everyone remained silent.

From what had been said so far, it was clear that Aeternus had been greatly inferior to humanity during Hen Xin’s era. If that was true, then why had humanity lost every step of the way since then? What had happened?

"Who else is here from your era? If there are many other powerhouses, it might be possible to work together to push back the Aeternals," Highsage Grandmaster said.

Hen Xin turned to look to the south. "I'm going to confirm what you told me. If what you’ve said is true, then I'll find a way to destroy those monsters."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned to leave.

Lu Yin quickly pulled out a wireless jincan and tossed it over. "Senior, use this to contact us."

Hen Xin did not refuse, grabbing the wireless jincan before he left.

Lu Yin wanted the man to stay, but he could not ask him to. The man needed to first validate things for himself.

Still, Hen Xin was simply too reckless. In his era, Aeternus had been overpowered by humans, which caused him to look down upon the monsters. However, over time, those monsters had managed to methodically destroy five of the Six Mainlands, destroy the Daosource Sect, and even reduce the Origin Progenitor to nothing more than a legend. Hen Xin was a Semi-Progenitor, but it was still easy for Lu Yin to imagine that things would not be good if the man was careless with his actions.

"Senior Ni Huang, what were you talking about? The Twelve Heavenly Gates?" Lu Yin looked at Ni Huang and asked.

Ni Huang made it clear that he had no intention to speak.

"I know that you don't wish to speak to me, Senior, but no one knows what might happen next. It's best for everyone to be informed," Lu Yin pushed.

Ni Huang thought for a moment and then slowly responded, "During humanity’s peak, the Daosource Sect was also known as the Heavens Sect. It held what was known as the Three Realms Six Dao, the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, and the Twelve Heavenly Gates. As for the Twelve Heavenly Gates, they represented the peak of power within the Semi-Progenitor realm, and each of the twelve Semi-Progenitors that controlled a gate was an absolute powerhouse acknowledged to be able to break through and become a Progenitor. Each and every one of them was at the very cusp of becoming a Progenitor, and they were heralded as the next generation of human powerhouses."

Lu Yin was stunned. Three Realms Six Dao? Isn't that the Astral Combat Academy’s training realm? What’s its connection with the Daosource Sect?

"The Marquis Wang that we saw before was another gatemaster of the Twelve Heavenly Gates, though she came from a different generation than the man who just left. Still, while their eras were different, her strength should give you an idea of the strength of a gatemaster. The man who just left is at least at her level," Ni Huang said.

"What is the Three Realms Six Dao?" Lu Yin quickly asked.

Ni Huang looked away and grew more relaxed. "The Three Realms Six Dao are merely legends. I’ve only ever read about them in ancient records. When I was born, the Three Realms Six Dao no longer existed. The Dao Monarch who was just mentioned should have been one of the masters of the Three Realms Six Dao, and as far as I know, that person was also the sect master of the Daosource Sect. However, that might have also been someone else entirely."

Right, Lu Yin realized that, despite all that he had heard about the Daosource Sect, he had never once heard any mention of a sect master. How could a sect not have a leader?

The Fifth Mainland’s Daosource Sect, as well as the Sixth Mainland’s, had never once revealed any mention of a sect master.

"Senior, you were around when the Daosource Sect still existed. Who was the sect master?" Lu Yin asked.

Ni Huang, Wang Si, Bai Laogui, and Xia De all stared at Lu Yin.

Wang Si sneered. "The sect master? A bastard of the Lu family will always be a bastard of the Lu family. Even after he’s lost his memory, he still wants to use his ancestor's name to get an advantage."

Lu Yin was completely confused.

Ni Huang and the other Semi-Progenitors all left without saying anything more.

Kui Luo let out a few coughs. "Well, it's said—though they’re just rumors—that the master of the Fifth Mainland’s Daosource Sect was your Lu family’s Progenitor."

Lu Yin's eyes widened. "My family’s patriarch?"

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Kui Luo nodded. "Didn't I already tell you that your Lu family has several powerful Progenitors, including Lu Tianyi? He controlled one of the Mountains and Seas, but there were other, even more ancient, figures of legend from your family. It’s possible that the sect master was one of those older Progenitors from your Lu family, but those rumors have never been confirmed. Regardless, even an old man like me has never heard anything about the Daosource Sect having a sect master since I was born."

Lu Yin then understood why Ni Huang and the others had given him such odd looks and been so disgruntled by his question. From what Kui Luo was saying, the Lu family had always ruled over the Fifth Mainland, not only by relying on their own strength, but also because of their ancestor’s legend.

The sect master of the Daosource Sect must have been a frighteningly powerful figure. It was too bad that it was already too late. Lu Yin should have asked Hen Xin who the sect master of the Fifth Mainland’s Daosource Sect was, just to confirm whether it had been the Lu family’s ancestor.

Fortunately, there would definitely be other people who would also appear from that era.

"How could the sect master have never been mentioned?" Lu Yin was puzzled.

Kui Luo shrugged. "Who knows? No matter if it’s the Fifth or the Sixth Mainlands, the Daosource Sect’s masters have never revealed themselves, reverting the position to a legend. It must have happened long ago, and it most likely is somehow connected to the Aeternals."

Lu Yin then left. He wanted to call the Astral Combat Academy to ask the mentors about the Three Realms Six Dao.

The fact that the Three Realms Six Dao had existed during Hen Xin’s era suggested that there was possibly a connection between the Astral Combat Academy and that ancient era. However, so much time had passed that there were no longer any records of those ancient times. Why would the Astral Combat Academy have something like the Three Realms Six Dao?

Could that be because of the inheritance that Lu Yin had heard about?

Lu Yin then remembered the insane headmaster’s words. The Astral Combat Academy existed because of humanity’s inheritance. Humans needed an inheritance. Could it be that the Three Realms Six Dao was that inheritance?

If the Three Realms Six Dao had been relegated to legend, then why would the Astral Combat Academy keep the same name?

...

When Hen Xin appeared before Lu Yin and the others, elsewhere in the Outerverse, in the central weaves, more humans appeared out of spatial cracks. Some of them fell onto planets, some were badly wounded and were dying, and others drifted through space. There were even some who had been reduced to desiccated bones.

A man appeared in outer space with a swirl of black energy around his body. He looked to be searching for something. After a long time passed, he frowned. "Why not?"

Right after he spoke, an oddly shaped spaceship slowly drew closer to the man.

It was carrying people from the Sixth Mainland’s Cloud Valley.

The Cloud Valley Master had died during the great battle, and even the previous master had died, as well as Sword Scholar. Cloud Valley still had an Imprinter even after all of these losses, but the expert had left as soon as the Cloud Valley Master perished.

The Cloud Valley had fallen so far that, when the Sixth Mainland’s major powers had been summoned to gather in the central weaves, the Cloud Valley had not had anyone left to lead them. This was why they were forced to travel so slowly.

The strongest person inside the vessel only had a power level of about 400,000. At the moment, the Enlighter was nervously staring out into outer space, worried that they would run into the Aeternals’ forces and be completely wiped out.

How magnificent the Cloud Valley had been during their heyday! As the elder in the Daosource Sect, the Cloud Valley Master had had four imprinters under his command. However, they had since been completely abandoned.

The Enlighter let out a sigh and turned to leave when his expression suddenly changed. At some unknown moment in time, a man had arrived behind the Enlighter, and the man was staring at the Enlighter with cold eyes.

The Cloud Valley had once had hundreds of thousands of disciples, though only tens of thousands of them had come to the Fifth Mainland’s Outerverse from the Sixth Mainland. At the moment, there were only a few disciples remaining who qualified to follow the Enlighter, and he was absolutely certain that this cold-eyed man was not one of them. When had this person appeared? The Enlighter had not noticed anything.

"Who are you?" The Enlighter’s guard rose, and fear filled his eyes.

The man stared at the Enlighter. "Are you scared?"

The Enlighter swallowed. "Senior, who might you be?"

"I would like to know what year it is," the man slowly said.

Some time later, the man stared into outer space with his hands clasped behind his back. The Enlighter remained standing where he was. Despite the fact that the stranger had only spoken two sentences and less than twenty words, the Enlighter had already realized that this man must have lived for an incredibly long time. Otherwise, how would he not even know what era it was? The man must have either been in cryostasis or had experienced something that the Enlighter did not dare try to imagine.