Star Odyssey

Wang Wen suddenly glanced around and then shouted, "Where’s the grassland? Where am I?"

The woman replied, "It was like this when I arrived. What’s wrong?"

Wang Wen scratched his head. "Is something wrong with my head? I was still in the middle of a prairie when I fell asleep last night…"

He suddenly turned his head to look at the woman again. "Who are you?"

The woman smiled. "I'm lost. Can you guide me?"

"No," Wang Wen answered bluntly.

"Why not?"

"I’m tired."

"Didn't you just wake up?"

"If you oversleep, you end up even more tired."

The woman was speechless. "Then I'll wait for you to rest. I'm lost, and I have no idea where I am. I don’t dare to try to go out on my own."

Wang Wen stared at the woman for a long moment. After a bit of hesitation, he shyly asked, "Why- why don't you squeeze in here with me? It might be big enough for both of us?"

The woman was thrilled. "Can I? Honestly, I’m quite frightened."

"Then forget it. I won’t try to force you," Wang Wen retorted.

The woman grew anxious. "I meant that I’m afraid of being left alone out here, not of being in the coffin."

"Why didn’t you say so earlier? I thought that you were afraid that I’m a bad person."

"Of course you aren’t a bad person. It’s easy to tell that you’re a good person."

"Well, I think that you look like a bad guy."

The woman was stunned.

Wang Wen stared at the woman, and then suddenly let out a loud laugh. "I'm just teasing you! Why so serious? Hahahaha."

The woman gave a dry smile. "So, can I get in?"

"Of course. Get in," Wang Wen offered.

The woman was very happy, though a hint of murder flickered deep in her eyes. She had wasted too much time talking with this man. She would kill him as soon as she got in the coffin.

"How does it open?"

"You need to open it."

"I can't."

"Sister, have you ever seen a coffin that opens from the inside?"

The woman was momentarily stunned. That actually made perfect sense…

She suddenly realized the man was toying with her. The woman gritted her teeth, and her face went from blushing to pale white. "If I could open it from the outside, I would have done so a long time ago!"

Wang Wen pursed his lips. "It’s supernatural if the coffin actually opens from the inside."

"Open it for me!" the woman shouted. She could not deal with the conversation any longer.

Wang Wen was shocked at the reaction. "Why are you getting so angry? Weren’t we just having a nice chat?"

"I’m warning you. Open it, or I will leave you dead without a complete body!" The woman dropped her act and pulled out her blade. The weapon pointed straight at Wang Wen.

Wang Wen clutched his head and curled into a ball. "Sister, calm down! You need to calm down!"

The woman raised the saber and chopped down.

Suddenly, a hoe appeared behind her, and also fell. The woman's expression changed drastically, and she spun around. Her blade clashed against the hoe, and there was a bang as she was sent tumbling through the air before smashing into the ground. She looked up from the site of impact, coughing up blood as she looked at her attacker. "Nong Lie?"

Nong Lie was indeed the person who had appeared behind her, as she was within Seed Garden’s territory. 𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐧𝗼𝘃𝐞𝐥．𝗰𝐨𝗺

Wang Wen looked up and saw Nong Lie, which was a pleasant surprise. "Are you from the Nong family?"

Nong Lie stared down at Wang Wen, uncertain of how to react to what he was seeing. "Don't tell me that you’re one of Lu Yin’s."

Wang Wen had not expected to be recognized. He casually shoved the coffin and stored it away. He introduced himself with a smile at Nong Lie, "Wang Wen, of the Heavens Sect. Pleasure to meet you."

Nong Lie felt quite curious. "How did you get here alive?"

The woman was wondering the same thing. Wang Wen had gone straight to visit the Liu family as soon as the Wang family had delivered him to the Middle Realm. Because of his actions, people had quickly concluded that Wang Wen was likely someone from the Fifth Mainland’s Heavens Sect. That was why the woman had been sent after Wang Wen. However, she had been sent out on nothing more than an assumption. If Wang Wen’s identity was confirmed, they would have already sent an Envoy after him.

The woman stared as Wang Wen easily opened the coffin, and she coughed up blood from the burst of anger. They guy had been playing with her from the very beginning!

Nong Lie looked at Wang Wen and then back at the woman. "I know who sent you to kill him. Go back and tell your master that even if he personally comes to my Seed Garden, he will stand no chance. Leave!"

The woman glared at Wang Wen, unwilling to leave. Still, she had no choice, and she limped away.

Wang Wen called after her, "Sister! We’ll have another chance to sleep together in the coffin in the future!"

The woman coughed up blood once more, and her head whipped around to shoot another vicious glare at Wang Wen. She left without another word.

Nong Lie found the entire situation more and more bizarre. This person was clearly not normal.

Wang Wen was soon taken to Seed Garden where he met with Nong Ya, the Nong family’s patriarch. They met in the middle of a field.

The people of the Perennial World had long since become accustomed to the Nong family’s way of doing things. No matter the status of a person in the Nong family, they frequently had meetings in their fields while working. Although this was Wang Wen’s first time seeing such a thing, he did not show any hint of surprise. He simply took off his shoes and stepped into the field. Nong Lie rolled his eyes. "Brother, we have work shoes that you can use."

Wang Wen dismissed the offer with a wave of his hand. "No need. This is more comfortable."

Nong Lie watched as Wang Wen walked towards Nong Ya in bare feet. As Nong Lie watched, much of the suspicion left his eyes. This person was alright.

"You want to have my Nong family act as your liaison? You just want to give us a task that will make us offend the four ruling powers." Nong Ya held a hoe and squinted at Wang Wen as they stood in the field.

Wang Wen laughed. "How can you make any profit without offending a few people?"

…

Wang Wen stayed with the Nong family for several days, and each day, he spent some time in the field speaking with Nong Ya. On Wang Wen’s fourth day in Seed Garden, Bai Qi arrived.

Nong Ya met with Bai Qi alone.

"Bring that person here too. I know that he’s one of Lu Xiaoxuan’s people and that he’s here to try to convince your family to be their trade partner in the Perennial World so that they can obtain the resources that they need," Bai Qi stated bluntly.

Nong Ya replied, "Those who visit Seed Garden are all treated as our guests. If he doesn’t want to see you, then I’m sorry, but I can’t let you see him."

Bai Qi and Nong Ya stared at each other. "Does Lu Xiaoxuan's great representative to the Perennial World not even dare to meet me face to face?"

Nong Ya was uncertain of how to answer, but Nong Lie quickly approached, and he delivered a whispered message, "’I don’t dare.’"

Nong Ya was utterly speechless. This Wang Wen was too timid! The patriarch looked at Bai Qi and shrugged. "I'm sorry, Senior, but he doesn't want to come out."

Bai Qi frowned. Ever since dealing with people from the Fifth Mainland had become one of her responsibilities, she had felt as though nothing was going quite right and that nothing was being properly resolved. At this moment, the person visiting the Nong family would not even speak to her. All of these Fifth Mainland cultivators were simply too weird.

"Nong Ya, I don't know what your family will do, but I’ll tell you this much. With the Fifth Mainland now present, our Perennial World should be uniting, not splitting apart," Bai Qi stated.

Nong Ya stared at the woman. "If we should be uniting, then what of the New Corridor?"

Bai Qi stared at the man, and Nong Ya quickly elaborated, "Right now, the members of my Nong family are blocked from entering the New Corridor. We are not allowed to even attempt to receive the inheritance of Mountains and Seas that are in the Fifth Mainland—not even my Nong family’s Semi-Progenitors are allowed passage. Is this the unity that you are referring to?"

"I will report this matter to my Progenitor."

"Then we’ll wait for Senior to make her report," Nong Ya said, clearly done speaking and dismissing his guest.

Bai Qi stared at Nong Ya. She wanted to say something more, but she had no idea what to say, even after thinking for a bit. The Nong's family was not Virtue Archives, and they could not be threatened. If such a thing were possible, then this family that had enjoyed a close relationship with the Lu family would have been erased long ago.

This was not only true of the Nong family, but also of the Liu family and Specter Abyss. If it were possible, the four ruling powers would have wiped out all three organizations long ago, but that was impossible due to their Progenitors. Losing those powerhouses would destabilize the Perennial World.

However, the Fifth Mainland was trying to use trade as a means of splitting the Perennial World in two. It was clear for anyone to see.

It was not even a problem for an organization to act as the Fifth Mainland’s liaison. The problem was the loyalties that would follow. If the Nong family became the Fifth Mainland’s trade partner in the Perennial World, then the Nong family would start leaning towards supporting Fifth Mainland, and that was a far more serious matter to consider.

Lu Xiaoxuan had left the Perennial World, but he was still trying to influence the place.

"Nong Ya, you should already know about my father’s personality. There are times when it is better to have broken jade than to fight over the entire thing. When my father said that, he was referring to how some people are blinded by hatred. We can't afford to gamble with the fate of all humanity."

With that, Bai Qi left.

She was not trying to threaten the Nong family, but rather Lu Yin and even the entire Fifth Mainland.

Lu Yin wanted to win over the Nong and Liu families and isolate the four ruling powers. Regardless of whether he succeeded, what effect would his attempts have on the four ruling powers? As Bai Qi had said, it was sometimes better to have a broken jade than an intact piece. Even if Lu Yin gained more Progenitor-level allies, was he guaranteed to be able to defeat the four ruling powers?

Even if he did succeed, so what? Who would stop Aeternus from destroying humanity after that?

The Lu family had been exiled, and it appeared that the four ruling powers had won, but the four ruling powers’ Progenitors were all trapped in the Dominion Realm and the Outer Realm. The same was true of the Nong and Liu families’ Progenitors. If the four ruling powers were defeated in turn, then how would the rest of humanity defend the Perennial World?

Bai Qi's message was very simple: if the Nong and Liu families joined with Lu Yin, humanity itself would be in danger. Everyone could see Lu Yin's hatred for the four ruling powers. What humanity needed at the moment was balance.

Nong Ya fell deep into contemplation. He had indeed been leaning towards supporting Lu Yin. After all, the Nong family had once been a strong supporter of the Lu family. However, Nong Ya realized that he needed to consider things very carefully.

Bai Qi was not a skilled negotiator; she simply stated the truth. However, there were times when the truth was far more effective than any form of eloquence, and this was a possibility that Wang Wen had never even considered.

Wang Wen had heard the conversation between Bai Qi and Nong Ya, and Bai Qi’s last sentence made Wang Wen regret not stepping forward to meet with her.

After Bai Qi left, Wang Wen met with Nong Ya once again, only to discover that Nong Ya no longer looked at him the same way.

Wang Wen sighed. He had failed. Realizing what had happened, he rubbed his face. "I heard that the four ruling powers are going to start monitoring all of the pond civilizations, no?"

…

Far away from Seed Garden, at the bottom of the Cloud Shuttle, was the place Yun Tingting had been at for almost a year.

She had also been released when Lu Yin had agreed to a truce with Bai Wangyuan. The Smokecloud Sect acted as the four ruling powers’ gatekeeper, holding back the rest of the Middle Realm from entering the Higher Realm. Because of this, Bai Wangyuan had not made things difficult for Yun Tingting, and he had instead sent someone to escort her back to the Smokecloud Sect.

However, Yun Tingting discovered that many things had changed in the Smokecloud Sect while she had been gone.

She had previously been the Smokecloud Sect’s princess, as her father, Yun Mubai, had been the sect master. No one had dared to make trouble for Yun Tingting in the past. However, Yun Mubai had been exposed as a Redback by Lu Yin, and he had been taken away by Humility's Gate decades ago. Everyone in the Smokecloud Sect looked at Yun Tingting oddly. With her as Lu Yin’s captive for decades, there were all kinds of rumors about her.

The Smokecloud Sect’s current sect master was Yun Wang. While Yun Tingting still loved her cousin as much as ever, things did not feel the same as they once had. Everything had changed, and Yun Tingting did not know where she belonged, so she simply stayed beneath the Cloud Shuttle and kept herself busy.

"Cousin, you haven't given an answer to the sect's proposal." Yun Yang leaned over as he spoke to Yun Tingting.

Yun Tingting did not even look over. "I won't go to the Fifth Mainland."

"It has the Tower of the Fifth, which is supposed to have some very impressive inheritances," Yun Yang pushed.

Yun Tingting looked over at the man. "I heard that you once made a deal with Lu Yin when he was posing as Long Qi. Is that true?"

Yun Yang instantly became uncomfortable. Every time he dealt with Long Qi, things had turned out badly. "Why bring that up?"

"I'm just reminding you that no one can take advantage of him."

Yun Yang said, "That's why they thought to send you, cousin. After all, you spent so many years in the Fifth Mainland, so you should be more or less familiar with it."

Yun Tingting frowned. "‘They?’"