Star Odyssey

Chapter 2162: Wrong Identity

Xia Ji froze at Lu Yin's words for a moment, and then he just stared at the young man in a daze. However, Xia Ji was quickly overcome with contempt and ridicule. "You want to learn the Nine Clones Secret Technique? Hahahaha, you want to create nine clones? You bastard child! You covet Progenitor Chen’s power! The power of my ancestor! You’ve already stolen the Cosmic Art, and now you want the Nine Clones Secret Technique too? Just who do you think you are that you can learn it?"

Lu Yin remained confident. "Yes, I want to learn it."

"Why should I teach you anything? You want the Nine Clones Secret Technique? Stop dreaming!" Xia Ji roared before suddenly letting out a wild laugh. It sounded as though he felt a moment of triumph from managing to deprive Lu Yin of something that he wanted for a change.

Lu Yin also smiled. "The Nine Clones Secret Technique was never Progenitor Chen's technique, but rather Shenwu's Sky's, so why can't I learn it? In exchange, I will promise you that if you give me the secret technique, I can allow you to live and enjoy a happy life. You might even be able to stick around until Progenitor Chen returns."

Xia Ji’s voice grew cold. "Why should I trust you? How many promises have you made throughout the years, and how many of them have you actually fulfilled? You may want to become invincible like Progenitor Chen, but you aren’t qualified! You don’t have even a hint of an invincible heart!"

"You’re in no position to negotiate with me. You can never become a Progenitor if you’re dead." With that, Lu Yin simply turned around and left. If Xia Ji would not cooperate, Lu Yin might be able to learn the secret technique from Shenwu's Sky while visiting the Perennial World.

He had long since wanted to acquire this secret technique, and even if he had managed to learn Progenitor Chen’s many other techniques, this particular secret technique had always slipped through his fingers. Even if he could not master it, it was good to see the inner workings of the technique.

Who would not want to be capable of eliminating a Progenitor with a single clone as Progenitor Chen had once done? It was the most overbearing accomplishment throughout all of history.

"Wait! I’m not done talking to you, you little bastard! Get back here! I still have something to say to you! Get back here! You…" Xia Ji's voice slowly faded away.

Lu Yin left the prison, pulled out Zenith Mountain, and then went to speak to Elder Qing Xing.

"Have you thought of an identity that I can use?" Lu Yin asked. He had previously asked Elder Qing Xing to think of an identity that Lu Yin could use as an alias in the Perennial World. Lu Yin wanted an identity that would not stand out too much, but would also allow him to get close to the four ruling powers, if he so wished.

Elder Qing Xing mentioned a few different options. Such an identity was not difficult to come up with, especially for someone like Elder Qing Xing.

However, the few options that were mentioned did not meet Lu Yin's new criteria. "I want to be able to get close to Shenwu's Sky."

This posed a challenge to Elder Qing Xing. "I am part of the Celestial Frost Sect, and while I know some people with ties to my sect, I have almost no connections to Shenwu's Sky."

"If I wanted to get close to the Celestial Frost Sect, I could just take on Liu Shaoge’s identity," Lu Yin said.

Elder Qing Xing thought of something after a moment. "You should probably ask Yu Chen. Her jade butterflies are an intelligence organization, and she has access to more information than I."

Lu Yin frowned, as he had thought of a complication: no matter if it was Elder Qing Xing or Yu Chen, could they really have access to any information that the Celestial Frost Sect did not? That seemed highly improbable. In the same vein as how all of Wei Rong’s contacts and sources of information had been given to him by Lu Yin, it was impossible for the Celestial Frost Sect to ever allow an intelligence organization to be completely controlled by a maid like Yu Chen. While that may have been the case back when Bai Shaohong had been alive, there was no way that they would have allowed that to continue.

This meant that it would be very easy for the Celestial Frost Sect to verify any identity that Lu Yin was given by Yu Chen. After all, it was impossible for him to learn every detail about the life of whomever he disguised himself as, and that was a massive problem.

However, who could Lu Yin turn to aside from Yu Chen or Elder Qing Xing?

At that moment, Lu Yin thought of Kui Luo, and his eyes lit up. That man had spent his life roaming through the Perennial World and digging into everyone’s secrets. Forget Yu Chen’s jade butterflies—it was possible that not even all four ruling powers’ intelligence networks combined could equal the information that a Semi-Progenitor had managed to accumulate, not to mention a completely shameless Semi-Progenitor who had managed to evade capture for so many years.

Lu Yin immediately sent a message to Kui Luo, asking him to visit the Heavens Sect.

However, Kui Luo did not respond to Lu Yin’s message. Even after Lu Yin sent several reminders, there was still no reply.

There was nothing that Lu Yin could do but wait. It was clear that Kui Luo did not want to speak to Lu Yin.

Five days passed, during which Lu Yin sent multiple messages to Kui Luo. However, he never received any answer. Lu Yin even started worrying that something might have happened to the old man, but who was capable of making trouble for Kui Luo?

Days had already passed without Lu Yin getting an answer, and he could not wait any longer. He had to find Kui Luo, no matter what the old man was in the middle of. Lu Yin was about to leave for the Perennial World, and he needed to secure an alias for his visit.

This led Lu Yin to use the Cosmic Art, and as he merged with Progenitor Chen’s power, he felt as though his body had merged with the universe. His mind spread out to encompass the entire Human Domain, and stars and planets entered his perception.

At that instant, Lu Buzheng, Destina, and all of the other Semi-Progenitors looked up. They could sense the power of a Progenitor appearing, and they knew that Lu Yin was using the power of Progenitor Chen.

Within the prison, Xia Ji also felt what Lu Yin was doing, and he started to rage. That power should have belonged to Xia Ji! He should have been the one to rule the Fifth Mainland!

After operating the Cosmic Art and merging with the Fifth Mainland, Lu Yin almost instantly located Kui Luo.

The old man was on the Astral River, in the eastern region of the Innerverse. This was the place where the Aeternals had thrown one of the crystals with the mysterious droplets within it, as well as where Lu Yin had drifted into the Technocracy and entered Sky Creation Academy’s territory long ago.

"Old man, I'm looking for you!" Lu Yin yelled across the stars, shaking the Astral River itself with his shout.

Kui Luo was badly startled. He could not see Lu Yin at all, so the old man simply yelled into the emptiness of outer space, "Why are you looking for me? All my fish swam away! I waited a long time and they were on the verge of being hooked?"

Lu Yin stopped using the Cosmic Art, instead pulling out his wireless jincan and sending a message to Kui Luo.

This time, the old man responded almost instantly, "You little brat! I almost caught it! I’m so mad right now, you better not ask for anything, as I won’t help you!"

Lu Yin grew curious. "What were you trying to catch?"

"What does anyone try to catch from the Astral River? Fish of course! Dumbass." Kui Luo was clearly quite upset.

Lu Yin felt rather surprised. "Why were you trying to catch fish? Have your hobbies changed? Do you enjoy fishing now?"

"What do you know? That’s not a normal fish! It's massive and powerful. I happened to see it when I was passing by, so I wanted to catch it and use it as a mount to move around in the Astral River. Who could have expected the thing to toss me in the water and get away? It was actually toying with me," Kui Luo replied.

Lu Yin's expression changed. "You’re a Semi-Progenitor."

"That's just the thing! That fish slipped out of my hand, and I wasn’t able to catch it!" Kui Luo replied. His inner world was known as the Dragon Gate, which referred to fish having to leap up a waterfall. This made the old man the natural nemesis of fish, and it was also why he had decided to catch the fish as soon as he had seen it. However, Kui Luo had instead been tossed into the water of his own inner world. He could not accept such an outcome, as it was humiliating.

"Are you saying that that fish was as strong as a Semi-Progenitor?" Lu Yin asked.

Kui Luo sent back, "I don't know, but it got away, so hurry up with whatever it is you want. I didn’t have time to destroy that fish with my inner world before it escaped from my Dragon’s Gate."

"Didn’t you just say that you wanted to catch the fish?" Lu Yin asked back.

Kui Luo was clearly upset. "If I see that fish again, I’m going to kill it!"

"Is the thing sapient?" Lu Yin asked. Logically speaking, that should not have been possible, as how would any fish be content with staying in the Astral River if it had the strength to escape from Kui Luo? However, how could any creature have gained such strength without developing some level of intelligence? Nothing about this made sense.

Kui Luo was also stumped by Lu Yin’s question. "I have no clue. I’ll just have to wait and find out after I catch the damn thing. I never really paid any attention to the Astral River, but it seems that quite a few secrets are hidden within it, such as how it formed and what lives in it. This old man’s curiosity has been piqued, and I’m going to find out."

Lu Yin also felt quite curious. He had not really paid much attention to the Astral River before, either. The only time that anything had really stood out had been the one time when the Astral River had surged, and while crossing it, Lu Yin and some others had seen a massive beast swimming through the Astral River. The beast’s strength had been a complete mystery.

Hearing Kui Luo’s story made Lu Yin think that there might be something more to the Astral River. Mysteries beyond what anyone knew could dwell within its depths.

Along those lines, pyrolyte was being mined from the Astral River, but why was there pyrolyte there in the first place? It was another detail that no one could answer.

Still, this was not the time to worry about such questions. "I need you to help me come up with an alias to use for my trip to the Perennial World."

"I’m not doing that now! You just ruined my fun, and now you want me to help you?" Kui Luo’s response was almost instantaneous.

Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "When I get back from the Perennial World, I’ll use Progenitor Chen's power to help you catch that fish. You should have heard of forcing a fish out with an explosion."

Kui Luo's eyes lit up. "That'll work! Fine, you’ve said it, so don’t forget it."

"Don't worry about that, as you can just call me. However, I’ll only help you if you can help me come up with a decent cover for my trip," Lu Yin sent back.

Kui Luo asked, "What are the requirements?"

Lu Yin repeated his request.

Kui Luo thought for a while, and then he finally sent back. "I think I’ve got someone who would work for your cover, but you’ll have to deal with a bit of embarrassment."

"What kind of embarrassment?"

"Have you ever been cuckolded before?"

Lu Yin wanted to smack the old man. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"I’ll just tell you when I get back. This thing’s a pain."

That was the last message sent, as Kui Luo put his wireless jincan away and immediately headed towards the Outerverse.

He had already been rather close, and given the speed of a Semi-Progenitor, he soon arrived at the Heavens Sect.

The old man let out a cough as Lu Yin glared at him. "There’s a city on the Bifrost named Yu City, and it’s been controlled by the Yu family for generations. The family has a young son known as Young Master Yu. He’s called that not only because of his surname, but also because of his appearance. He’s famous for being as beautiful as jade and being the prettiest man alive. If he were dressed as a woman, he’d still be considered one of the most attractive people alive. His appearance matches his name, so everyone calls him Young Master Yu.”

"There’s a woman from Shenwu's Sky whose name is Xia Zhitong. She’s rather attractive, but she’s famous for her lifestyle, which is quite excessive. For some reason or another, Xia Zhitong married Young Master Yu, but after that came the worst thing that the kid could have imagined.

"Not only did he end up wearing a green hat dozens of times over, but Xia Zhitong also had endless lovers even before they got married. After they got married, she openly brought her lover to live in Yu City. Even Young Master Yu’s father, the city lord, didn’t dare to do anything given Xia Zhitong’s backing. Not only was she from Shenwu’s Sky, but her lover was much stronger than the city lord. From the moment she arrived and settled in, Yu City started to change.”

"Young Master Yu was tortured by his wife’s actions, and the city lord was almost killed by his fury. It got so bad that Young Master Yu eventually couldn't bear the humiliation, so he committed suicide. Yu City fell into other hands, and the city celebrated as Xia Zhitong brought even more guests into her home to entertain her. The whole thing’s been regarded as one of the biggest jokes in the entire Perennial World."

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Kui Luo. "And you want me to pretend to be this Young Master Yu?"

"That's right." Kui Luo nodded, a very odd look in his eyes.

"Please tell me, just why in the world would I ever agree to pretend to be such a person?"