Star Odyssey

Chapter 2050: Two Lives

Wait a second. Lu Yin looked up. He had completely forgotten that he was right next to the Mavis family’s divine tree. Were they able to monitor him through the divine tree?

Lu Yin let out a long breath and thought for a bit. Eventually, he decided that it no longer mattered if his die was exposed, as he did not need to keep it hidden anymore. Kui Luo had already seen it during the fight between Undying God and Xia Ji, and it was possible that those two had seen it as well. As for the Mavis family, it was perfectly possible that they had already seen him use his innate gift before he had known about their ability to see and hear through plants.

Lu Yin was no longer what he had once been, and he was clearly not able to keep himself safe. The Perennial World had sent four Semi-Progenitors to deal with Lu Yin, and he could do anything to anyone of them. Even if his die was revealed, as long as he did not share the specific effects, no one would know what the die was capable of. How could they know how they could benefit from Lu Yin’s innate gift? It was impossible for them to have any concrete ideas.

Lu Yin moved a finger forward and tapped the die. He was pleasantly surprised to see it slowly stop on four pips. How easy.

After entering the Timestop Space, Lu Yin did not immediately start training. Instead, he enjoyed a cup of tea made with one of the Hui family’s inferior Roots of Intelligence and simply rested.

The backlash from his innate gift had given him a terrible migraine, but fortunately, he would recover as long as he was given enough time. And after all, who could ever compare to him in terms of available time?

…

In a blink of an eye, Lu Yin had spent more than half a year in the Timestop Space, and his headache had finally disappeared. Now, there were only occasional flare-ups that were not enough to affect his training or his combat ability.

However, he still did not start training, but instead pulled out Zenith Mountain. After a moment’s thought, he entered the mountain.

Zenith Mountain had become quite lively, as aside from Long Xi and a few others, there was also Liu Shaoge, Xia Taili, and more.

Lu Yin had actually intended to release Xia Taili after he released Wang Su and Wang Yi. However, that was when Hen Xin and the other ancient powerhouses had suddenly launched their attack on the Aeternals. Thus, Lu Yin had raced into the Innerverse after them without the chance to release the rest of his captives. With how Ni Huang and the others had become dangerous opponents after that fight, it was impossible for Lu Yin to let Xia Taili go.

Lu Yin appeared right in front of Liu Shaoge and a few others.

When Lu Yin appeared, Wang Dashuai and Xia Taili reacted the quickest. One of the two frantically ran over to start flattering Lu Yin, while the other raised a leg and kicked at him.

Lu Yin rolled his eyes and easily grabbed hold of Xia Taili's calf. It was smooth and quite pleasant to the touch.

"Long Qi, let go of me, you bastard!" Xia Taili was furious that she had been caught, and she glared at Lu Yin.

To the side, Wang Dashuai licked his lips. "Seventh Bro, I finally get to see you again! Seventh Bro, do you have any idea how much I missed you?"

Lu Yin relaxed his grip, but Xia Taili just kicked at him again. This second kick was reinforced with her Divine Martial Armor that had wrapped around her foot in several layers. Chains appeared as well, and they moved in an attempt to bind Lu Yin. This was the Xia Secret Art: Lock. It was able to transform anything in existence into chains that would bind and trap an opponent.

Lu Yin did not even dodge, and he simply allowed himself to be captured by the chains. Xia Taili kicked him in the chest, but he did not move even the slightest bit. On the other hand, Xia Taili retreated several steps and almost fell down.

Her face was flushed with rage. "I don't believe it!"

Even as she spoke, she struck out with dozens of palm strikes, attacking every inch of Lu Yin’s body. However, he did not move a muscle while Xia Taili's hands hurt from her own attacks landing. She finally just stared at Lu Yin as though seeing a monster.

Lu Yin arched a brow, and the chains that wrapped around his body instantly shattered. He took a single step forward, instantly appearing right behind Xia Taili. She whipped around, using her Divine Martial Armor to form a sharp blade, but Lu Yin caught it with his bare hands.

"You!" Xia Taili lost all of her remaining patience.

Lu Yin was amused by the girl’s reaction, and he simply flicked a finger to shatter her Divine Martial Armor. "Even if we were still both in the same realm, you would not be anywhere close to being my opponent. Now that I’m an Envoy, forget you, but not even your brother Xia Shenfei can stand up to me."

"Bullshit! My brother is much better than you!" Xia Taili was not at all convinced.

Lu Yin smiled, but said nothing. Instead, Wang Dashuai jumped in, “That’s bullshit! My Seventh Bro dealt with all four of the Junior Progenitors on his own! Not even ten Xia Shenfeis would be able to match up to Seventh Bro!"

Xia Taili shot a glare at Wang Dashuai. "My hand’s starting to get itchy."

Wang Dashuai ducked his head back down. He had just realized that if Lu Yin did not release him from Zenith Mountain, he would stay imprisoned with this woman, and he would not be able to do a thing if she wanted to beat him after Lu Yin left. This realization left Wang Dashuai slightly panicked, and he forced a smile onto his face.

"Hey, I never did anything to you. I’ve simply locked you up for a bit. That’s all it’s ever been," Lu Yin casually stated.

Xia Taili snorted disdainfully. Lu Yin’s comment was quite upsetting to her. "Is it fun to treat us like your captive monkeys for so long, Lu Xiaoxuan?"

Lu Yin glanced over at Yu Chen and Liu Shaoge, who were both standing nearby. He then looked back at Xia Taili. "It's not bad."

Xia Taili ground her teeth. She wanted to bite Lu Yin at this moment.

"I actually wanted to let you go, but unfortunately, that old guy Xia De simply doesn’t understand the situation, and is getting on my nerves. This means that you just have to put up with this treatment for a bit longer," Lu Yin said.

Xia Taili spat. "It doesn't matter. You’ll be caught by the four ruling powers sooner or later."

"Are you really that confident?" Lu Yin was taken aback.

Xia Taili replied, "The four ruling powers have a background that’s beyond anything you can imagine."

Hearing this, Lu Yin suddenly thought of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

During the Heavens Sect era, the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had been second only to the masters of the Three Realms Six Paths. This meant that the masters of the mountains and seas were Progenitors who were second only to the Dao Monarchs. However, during the Daosource Sect era, the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas had all been under the control of the Fifth Mainland. Thus, those Nine Mountains and Eight Seas must have either been fake and were different from the ones in the Heavens Sect era, or the Fifth Mainland must have truly reached its peak during that era. Otherwise, how could a single mainland produce enough Progenitors to control all Nine Mountains and Eight Seas at once?

Lu Yin believed the latter to be true, as he had gone through all sorts of tests for the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas yet had failed every single one of them.

During the Daosource Sect era, the Xia, Wang, and Bai families all had Progenitors controlling some of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. This had allowed the Fifth Mainland to recreate a portion of the glory of the Heavens Sect era by itself. If those Progenitors were all still alive, then Lu Yin indeed needed to reevaluate the estimated power of the four ruling powers.

He had not yet shared anything about the Daosource Sect era with Lu Buzheng, but Lu Buzheng would definitely have a much better idea of the power of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

"How are things going outside?" Liu Shaoge asked.

Lu Yin answered, "Not too bad. Humanity’s managed to hold on, though there have been massive changes that you can’t even imagine."

"What changes? Our elders haven’t left this place yet." Xia Taili felt quite curious.

Lu Yin gave her a smile. "Not telling you."

With that, Lu Yin abruptly left.

Xia Taili was stunned for a moment, and then she started cursing loudly. She was truly furious at this moment. That bastard Long Qi! No, that bastard Lu Xiaoxuan.

Wang Dashuai's heart dropped to new depths. Did Lu Yin just leave me in here? Have I been left alone again? This is the end! How long am I going to be stuck here for? It's over! It's over! It's over!

Suddenly, Wang Dashuai felt a flicker of danger. He slowly turned his head, only to see flames flickering in Xia Taili's eyes.

"Did you just say something?" Xia Taili clenched her fists as she stared at Wang Dashuai. She smiled as she carefully enunciated each word. She looked absolutely adorable, but she also had the bearing of a wild animal.

Wang Dashuai was just about ready to cry. "You misheard."

The next moment, a miserable scream begging for mercy rang out.

At this time, Lu Yin was looking at Long Xi.

Lu Yin had honestly been avoiding Long Xi, as his feelings for her were completely different from what he felt for anyone else that he had captured. Things were even worse at this time, as Long Xi should know Lu Yin’s true identity now.

Long Xi was quietly sitting in a small corner of Zenith Mountain. Sapling was dancing and leaping about next to her, and there was also an odd flower a little ways away. This was the flower that Lu Yin had taken from Shamrock World that was able to summon food from anywhere.

Sapling instantly noticed when Lu Yin appeared, and the plant leaped over and to throw itself into Lu Yin's arms, causing Lu Yin to laugh. "Are you having fun?"

Sapling’s twigs wrapped tight around Lu Yin, and the plant was clearly unwilling to let Lu Yin go again.

Lu Yin could feel Sapling’s feelings. It did not like being trapped in Zenith Mountain.

"Don't worry, I'll take you out soon," Lu Yin comforted.

Sapling instantly became happy again, and its twigs released Lu Yin as the little tree started bouncing around Lu Yin. It immediately believed everything Lu Yin said.

Lu Yin turned to look at Long Xi.

Long Xi opened her eyes at this time, and she looked back at Lu Yin. The young woman looked calm, but she could not hide the complex emotions roiling underneath her still demeanor.

"You know?" Lu Yin asked.

Long Xi's eyes dimmed. "You’re him, but you aren’t him."

Lu Yin let out a long breath. "That depends on your perspective. You can think of me as him, or you can think of me as Long Qi. Of course, you can also think of me as Lu Yin. It’s your choice."

Long Xi stared at the ground. Her choice? Those two words were said too easily.

Lu Yin had no idea how to deal with Long Xi, but he had been thinking about this moment for quite some time. He wanted to learn a few more details about the Daosource Sect era from Long Xi, such as information concerning the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, the grudges between the Lu family and the four ruling powers, and his own past as Lu Xiaoxuan. However, Lu Yin had no idea how to bring up any of these topics.

"You really are completely different from him," Long Xi spoke slowly as she avoided looking at Lu Yin. Instead, she continued to stare at the ground. "He’s a cheerful person who likes to make friends, enjoy delicious food, and is always open and sincere with everyone. On the other hand, you use lies, trickery, and keep your thoughts to yourself."

Lu Yin frowned. "Back then, Lu Xiaoxuan was born into the Lu family, which could be considered the peak of nobility. He was constantly surrounded by only his bosom friends, and he had no enemies or sinister plots to deal with. All he needed to do was focus on his own talent to walk down the path of cultivation. It looked like he had a smooth path to becoming an invincible powerhouse, but that future was severed long ago.”

"He was one of the Seven Heroes, and it was widely acknowledged that he was invincible among his peers. He was guaranteed to become a Semi-Progenitor, and even a Progenitor at that. He would inherit his position and then raise up the next generation of the Lu family while protecting humanity. He was someone who rarely had to deal with hardships or struggles, as all of humanity within the Perennial World was always protecting him. He didn’t need to work to acquire anything on his own, as he was casually given anything he could ever want.”

"On the other hand, I started cultivating on a tiny planet after being condemned with seventy two others with the Lu surname. I was hated for existing before I even started cultivating. After that, I’ve been constantly surrounded by an endless sea of enemies, and I’ve only ever been able to rely on myself. Alone, I’ve had to find a way to survive through every obstacle that has confronted me. You say that I rely on lies, trickery, and cunning, but without those things, I would have never been able to live to see you. You say that I was once an upright and sincere person, and that is only right. If I were still Lu Xiaoxuan, I would still be the same, but that Lu Xiaoxuan died long ago, and his path of cultivation died with him."

Long Xi listened in silence, and she did not speak a single word of argument. Lu Yin had just described two completely different lives, despite the odd fact that they belonged to the same person.

Everyone had liked Lu Xiaoxuan because he had been open, friendly, and loving towards his friends. But Lu Xiaoxuan could not have survived Lu Yin's life. Lu Xiaoxuan would have never been able to adapt to Lu Yin’s experiences or the people that he had encountered.

Everyone wanted to be Lu Xiaoxuan, but in the end, everyone became like Lu Yin.

Lu Xiaoxuan never possessed the capacity to become a legend. Even if he had risen up to become a Progenitor, he would have only ever been another powerful Progenitor of the Lu family. On the other hand, Lu Yin was different. Lu Yin had already become a legend.

The two young people remained silent. They were accompanied only by the sound of Sapling’s leaping about.

"I'll let you go. Grand Elder Ni Huang is here, so you can go to him on your own," Lu Yin offered.

Long Xi finally looked up. "There’s no need."

Lu Yin was caught off guard. "You don't want to leave?"

Long Xi felt confused, and she did not even know her own feelings. She missed Lu Xiaoxuan, and she wanted to smile for him as she always had, but Lu Xiaoxuan was gone now, and only Lu Yin remained. The Lu Xiaoxuan that Long Xi knew would never return, and yet she was still reluctant to leave. All she wanted was to be with him.

She just did not know if that was the right decision for her.