Star Odyssey

Lu Yin stared at Bai Wangyuan. "You’re only focused on the Mountain and Sea that’s hidden within Virtue Archives, but why haven’t you considered the fact that there are also Mountains and Seas in our Fifth Mainland?"

Bai Wangyuan's expression changed drastically. It was as though he had just been enlightened. It was true; there were only two Mountains and Seas that they were aware of, which were the one that belonged to Progenitor Smoke and the one that was hidden within Virtue Archives. However, that meant that there were more of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas that remained unaccounted for, and some were likely to still be in the Fifth Mainland.

It was something that the four ruling powers had never considered before, but why had they ignored such a thing?

The Fifth Mainland had been reconnected to the Perennial World, so it seemed only natural that the Mountains and Seas in the Fifth Mainland would be considered as well.

Clarity appeared in Bai Wangyuan's eyes, as Lu Yin had suggested not focusing on just one Mountain and Sea, but targeting several.

The old man stared at Lu Yin, unable to unravel why Lu Xiaoxuan had reminded him of such a matter.

From Bai Wangyuan's point of view, if there were Mountains and Seas in the Fifth Mainland, then Lu Xiaoxuan should not have mentioned them. The young man controlled the entire Fifth Mainland, which meant that he also controlled the Mountains and Seas that remained within the Fifth Mainland. Did Lu Xiaoxuan not understand what the Mountains and Seas meant or how important their inheritances were? That was impossible. The young man had not revealed any hint of surprise after hearing the information regarding the Mountains and Seas that Bai Wangyuan had just revealed, which meant that Lu Xiaoxuan had already known about it.

"Progenitor Bai, there is more than just one Mountain and Sea in my Fifth Mainland. Do your four ruling powers not care about those?" Lu Yin asked with a smile. Bai Wangyuan could not discern any of the young man’s thoughts or intentions at this moment.

What was Lu Yin thinking? It was quite simple; he wanted to increase the value of the Fifth Mainland.

The Perennial World considered the Fifth Mainland a Forsaken Land, and while a truce had been reached because of the threat to Bai Xian'er’s life, the recent attack from Forgotten Ruins God had clearly demonstrated to Lu Yin the gap in strength between him and the Seven Skygods. However, that had also shown Lu Yin the level of strength that Bai Wangyuan and the others might have kept hidden. Lu Yin needed to raise his own value until he held sufficient leverage to negotiate with the four ruling powers.

The inheritances of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas was what the four ruling powers were most concerned about.

"How many Mountains and Seas do you know of?" Bai Wangyuan asked as he stared at Lu Yin.

"Two."

Bai Wangyuan froze. "There are two Mountains and Seas?"

Lu Yin thought for a moment. "There are two Mountains, but just one Sea."

Bai Wangyuan’s eyebrows rose high. While he might not have any idea who the Mountain and Sea pair had belonged to, the solitary Mountain had to have belonged to Xia Shang. Of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, only Xia Shang had received the inheritances of two Mountains and one Sea.

Of course, it was also possible that the two Mountains and one Sea had all belonged to Xia Shang. It was certainly not impossible. Bai Wangyuan remembered that Lu Yin was able to use Xia Shang's power, but why was that? It was possible that it had something to do with the Mountain and Sea.

Long ago, Hui Wen had messed around with things before leaving the Fifth Mainland, and at that time, he had asked everyone to leave behind some power for the Fifth Mainland. Bai Wangyuan had not done so, and neither had Wang Fan. But Xia Shang, Old Fu, and the others had left something behind. Lu Xiaoxuan was wielding Xia Shang’s power in the Fifth Mainland.

"Why try to convince me of the existence of two Mountains and one Sea?" Bai Wangyuan asked in a low voice. He did not believe that Lu Xiaoxuan was simply being generous by sharing such information.

Lu Yin shrugged. "Whether you believe me or not has nothing to do with me. I'm just offering you a suggestion. If you insist on trying to get the Mountain and Sea that Virtue Archives is hiding, just act as though I didn't say anything."

Bai Wangyuan took a moment to think. "What do you want?"

Lu Yin looked up at the Progenitor. "A trade."

Bai Wangyuan was quite surprised. "A trade?"

"That's right. I’ll allow your people here in the Perennial World to go to the Fifth Mainland to try to accept the inheritance of the Mountains and Sea that’s there. As long as anyone can receive an inheritance, it’s theirs. However, you must stop targeting the Mountain and Sea that Virtue Archives is hiding," Lu Yin stated.

"Why?" Bai Wangyuan's first thought was that Lu Yin wanted to take the Mountain and Sea that Virtue Archives had hidden away. After all, the young man had spent some time in Virtue Archives, so it was possible that he might have learned some sort of trick that would help in inheriting the Mountain and Sea.

Lu Yin looked at Bai Wangyuan. "Don't bother overthinking things. I’m simply returning a favor that I owe Virtue Archives.

"When I used the name Yu Hao, I worked as one of Virtue Archives’ instructors. When I was being attacked by the four Semi-Progenitors in Shenwu's Sky, I might have died if the God of Food hadn't helped me by blocking one blow. Even though I tried to sever my relationship with the God of Food after that, things still ended up as they are now. What’s happened to Virtue Archives can be considered at least partially my fault, so I need to repay the debt that I owe them."

.

Bai Wangyuan stared at Lu Yin. The Progenitor did not believe Lu Yin’s excuse, but it was a very reasonable one. Still, Bai Wangyuan tended to think that Lu Xiaoxuan knew some method to receive the inheritance from the Mountain and Sea hidden by Virtue Archives and that he was targeting that inheritance.

Lu Yin smiled. "Sometimes, as people get older, they begin to think too much. Why don’t I just offer you two choices?"

Bai Wangyuan’s eye narrowed at that. "You want to offer us a choice?"

Lu Yin’s smile grew larger. "First, I will offer you access to the one Mountain and Sea in the Fifth Mainland. You won’t even need to think about the Mountain and Sea that Virtue Archives is hiding, as you can simply send your people to the Fifth Mainland to try to receive that inheritance whenever they want. Now, I understand that the Mountain and Sea in Virtue Archives is not going to lose its appeal for you, and at the very least, it is located much closer for you. So, I’ll throw in another benefit for you."

Lu Yin grew solemn. "Your Perennial World will also obtain access to the Tower of the Fifth and can receive its inheritances."

Bai Wangyuan had been intending to simply refuse Lu Yin’s proposal, but the offer of giving them access to the Tower of the Fifth was highly enticing.

When the Perennial World’s army had been released by Lu Yin, they had returned to the Perennial World with a great deal of information regarding the Fifth Mainland, including information about the Tower of the Fifth.

That tower held various inheritances, not only ones from the Fifth Mainland, but also inheritances from the Sixth Mainland. Of particular note, it held the Sword Sect’s Thirteen Swords, various secret techniques, Xia Shang's Inverse Step, and even Ku Jie’s Extremes Must Be Reversed. Any one of those inheritances could move even the four ruling powers.

After learning about the inheritances that were available in the Tower of the Fifth, many people had wanted to go take them, as the Perennial World understood the value of the inheritances much better than the people of the Fifth Mainland.

The Thirteen Swords was not famous in only the Fifth Mainland. In fact, the Thirteen Swords was far more renowned within the Perennial World. It was just a pity that the Liu family in the Perennial World had lost that particular inheritance. When Lu Yin had attacked Shenwu’s Sky, he had managed to injure Semi-Progenitor Xia Ziheng with the Thirteenth Sword, and many people had witnessed that attack.

The Ce Secret Art, the Yu Secret Art, the Daynight clan's battle techniques, sourcebox arrays—just which of them was not a priceless treasure?

As for Inverse Step, even if others were ignorant of the technique, how could Bai Wangyuan and the others of his generation not know about it? Inverse Step had been Xia Shang's movement technique, and it was able to create a field of chaotic time and space once one reached sufficient mastery. Such an ability was extremely powerful.

Why had Ku Jie been such an incredibly difficult opponent that no one wanted to fight him? He had even had the courage to charge out on his own to challenge all of Aeternus. No one aside from Lu Tianyi had ever attempted such a thing even during the Daosource Sect era. All that Ku Jie had accomplished was due to his Extremes Must Be Reversed being too freakish of a technique. Even Bai Wangyuan was forced to admit that Extremes Must Be Reversed was a peerless survival technique.

Lu Yin had also shattered people’s perceptions when he had challenged Shenwu’s Sky due to how many times Extremes Must Be Reversed had saved his life.

Who would not be moved by the inheritances and battle techniques that Lu Yin had made available?

"Are you really willing to open up the Tower of the Fifth to my four ruling powers?" Bai Wangyuan found this rather hard to believe, and he even assumed that he must have misheard.

Lu Yin corrected the man, "I’m not offering to open it up to the four ruling powers, but rather to the entire Perennial World."

Bai Wangyuan stared at Lu Yin for a long moment. Was this youth really so impartial? His behavior seemed completely contradictory compared to what the members of the army sent to the Fifth Mainland had described.

Of course, Lu Yin was not a selfless person. The rules of the Tower of the Fifth stated that, in order to receive a battle technique, one of equal value had to be left behind. Additionally, anyone who wanted to receive one of the core inheritances of the Tower of the Fifth that Lu Yin had personally left behind also needed to accept him as a half-master. After accepting such a thing, how could anyone who received an inheritance from the Tower of the Fifth attack Lu Yin? Even if they did attack him, they would need to consider the potential ramifications for doing so.

However, Bai Wangyuan could only think about Extremes Must Be Reversed at this moment. That battle technique could not actually be in the Tower of the Fifth, or else Lu Xiaoxuan would have never offered them access to the place.

However, regardless of whether the technique was actually present, the allure was undeniable. Bai Wangyuan wanted to try to get it.

"What's the second choice?" Bai Wangyuan asked softly.

Lu Yin replied, "Virtue Archives doesn’t get to keep their Mountain and Sea, and you place someone there to supervise the place. However, you can still send people to the Fifth Mainland to challenge the Mountains and Seas to receive its inheritance."

Bai Wangyuan's eyes flickered, as Lu Yin’s proposal would not cause the four ruling powers almost any harm. In fact, they only stood to lose a bit more time traveling around. However, it would have a tremendous impact on Lu Xiaoxuan. Bai Wangyuan had assumed that the young man had set his eyes on the Mountain and Sea hidden in Virtue Archives, but Lu Yin’s second option proved Bai Wangyuan’s assumption wrong.

"I really don't understand. Is the favor that you received from Virtue Archives really worth so much? You sent people to help them, and you insist on still doing more to pay them back." Bai Wangyuan was genuinely puzzled, and he wanted to hear from Lu Yin himself.

Lu Yin laughed. "Alright, my debt is repaid, which means that both options are off the table. Sound good?"

Bai Wangyuan was about to agree, but then he suddenly asked himself, why would he agree? When had Lu Xiaoxuan started to lead Bai Wangyuan through negotiations? The Progenitor was just about to speak when Lu Yin spoke up again. "Do you want the inheritances from the Tower of the Fifth or not?"

Bai Wangyuan choked on what he had been about to say, and he let out a long breath. "Is there really a secret technique in there?"

"Absolutely." 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙.𝘰𝑟𝑔

"And the Thirteen Swords?"

"It will be made available."

"What do you mean by that?" Bai Wangyuan was caught off guard by the answer.

Lu Yin replied, "You don't understand the inheritance of the Thirteen Swords at all. What has been made available in the Tower of the Fifth is nothing more than an opportunity. Receiving that opportunity allows a person to visit the Sword Sect and attempt to inherit the Thirteen Swords. Of course, the tower also contains my understanding of the Thirteen Swords, so if someone is incredibly talented and capable, they might be able to obtain the Thirteen Swords from what I left there, but the chances of that happening are incredibly low."

Bai Wangyuan continued to ask more questions. "Does it have Inverse Step?"

"Yes."

"Does it have Extremes Must Be Reversed?"

"It will."

Bai Wangyuan was left speechless. "What does that even mean?"

Lu Yin shrugged. "Extremes Must Be Reversed is Progenitor Ku's greatest battle technique, and it's not easy to pass it on to others. As long as someone obtains that opportunity, they can turn it in, and I’ll teach them the technique in the future as soon as I’m able to teach it to others. There’s no need to worry about it."

Bai Wangyuan stared at Lu Yin. This explanation was not very reliable, but the only way to receive those battle techniques was from the Tower of the Fifth.

The Progenitor felt a bit frustrated. Given his lofty status, when had he last been led around by the nose by a junior?

However, unless he was willing to walk away from the available battle techniques, Bai Wangyuan had to do as Lu Yin suggested.

"My Perennial World’s youths will be given access to the Tower of the Fifth, right? You won’t send anyone to block them from receiving the inheritances?" Bai Wangyuan asked in a low voice. After all, if Lu Yin prevented the Perennial World’s people from reaching the Tower of the Fifth, how would anyone be able to receive any of the inheritances?

Lu Yin somberly answered, "Of course I will."

Bai Wangyuan instantly became furious, and Lu Yin continued speaking right when the old man was about to erupt. "Regardless of whether someone is from the Perennial World, the Sixth Mainland, or my Fifth Mainland—even if my own child entered the Tower of the Fifth, they will all be blocked and challenged before they are allowed to receive an inheritance. How many inheritances do you think are available? How many people want to obtain those inheritances? There are hundreds of millions of cultivators, and even if only one in a 100 million of those cultivators enters the Tower of the Fifth, the tower won’t be able to endure giving out so many inheritances."

Bai Wangyuan growled, "I'm referring to maliciously intercepting our youths. Whether it's access to the Fifth Mainland, or even just access to the Tower of the Fifth, if you send a Semi-Progenitor to stop our people, no one will be able to break through unless there are also a Semi-Progenitor or accompanied by one. This would be no different from starting a war."

Lu Yin replied, "Don't worry, that won't happen. I can promise you that people from the Perennial World will obtain inheritances. Of course, there are going to be people who don't like the Perennial World, and they will likely try to stop your people from getting to the Tower of the Fifth, but I won’t send anyone to explicitly stop your people. The Sixth Mainland has the same conditions, so your people will likely deal with the same sort of resistance as them."

Bai Wangyuan nodded. The situation did sound to be more or less the same.