Star Odyssey

There was a soft roar when the jiao opened its mouth to show its fangs and brandish its claws.

Lu Yin turned his head just enough to glance at the jiao, and the beast quickly lowered its claws.

The beast had no intelligence. Ever since it had chased Lu Yin from the Perennial World to the Fifth Mainland, Lu Yin had subdued the jiao, and it had become no different than a normal pet, aside from when it feared death. It was obedient and submissive, and Lu Yin felt confident showing his back to the jiao.

Still, just as a precaution, Lu Yin would periodically teach the beast another lesson.

It was not easy to travel from the Fifth Mainland to the Perennial World, as there was a strict review process. There was no way that Lu Yin would allow criminals or his enemies to reach the Perennial World.

There was a long line of people waiting to pass through the security checkpoint, and it greatly resembled the scene that Lu Yin had seen when he had first traveled to the Innerverse on the Astral River Ark. There were no fewer than ten Envoys present, as well as Semi-Progenitor Zhan Lin. The powerhouse was the one in charge, and he was present to ensure that no one forced their way through to the Perennial World.

"Name?" In the past, it would have been unthinkable to have an Envoy work as a clerk, but when Lu Yin had taken all the members of Star Alliance away from the Perennial World, only the surviving vassals of the Lu family had been innocent. There had been many Envoys in Star Alliance who had committed crimes. While some had been executed for the truly heinous crimes that they had committed, many were allowed to work to atone for their sins, and that was exactly the situation for the Envoy working as a clerk.

Lu Yin took out a token that identified him as a high-ranking member of the Heavens Sect. After showing it to the man, the Envoy stated, "Please, come in."

The token that Lu Yin had taken out was a special pass, and it was mostly used by people who traveled to the Perennial World with a false identity. Big Sis had used one of these tokens, as had Wang Wen. These tokens made their passage to the Perennial World untraceable, unless they were visually recognized by someone.

As for the jiao on Lu Yin’s shoulders and the Champions’ Stage behind him, when Lu Yin glanced around, he saw that many other people had similar possessions as well.

This was because Lu Yin had made a specific request to Qiong Xi’er a year ago. There was a beast in the Fifth Mainland that looked like a miniature jiao, and Lu Yin had asked Qiong Xi’er to find a way to make these beasts popular pets so that many people would own them. The same thing had been done for the Champions’ Stage, and countless imitations had appeared as well. All of this had been done in preparation for Lu Yin to be able to hide himself and sneak back into the Perennial World one day.

Lu Yin would not feel safe visiting the Perennial World on his own, but the jiao and the Champions’ Stage both made him far too easily identified, so he had instead tried to find a way to make them not stand out as much. Luckily, Qiong Xi’er’s efforts had been successful, and people with similar accessories as Lu Yin could be seen everywhere.

Fake jiaos and Champions’ Stages had become incredibly popular in the Fifth Mainland, and any cultivator with even a bit of wealth would buy them and travel with them.

Lu Yin made it into the Perennial World without any issue, and once there, he followed the standard procedures that were in place. He could not try to sneak away, as that would expose his presence to the four ruling powers.

The Wang family maintained extremely strict surveillance over the New Corridor, and if they discovered Lu Yin running off without passing through their registration process, he would most likely be exposed. Then, many of the tasks that he needed to accomplish would become extremely difficult to complete, especially since he would have to constantly worry about being attacked out of nowhere.

More than twenty days passed before Lu Yin found himself standing on the Bifrost behind a group of Fifth Mainland cultivators who were headed towards the Lower Realm. They were being escorted by people from the four ruling powers.

"There aren’t many people even in our Perennial World who are willing to risk the dangers of the Lower Realm. These people from the Forsaken Land are quite brave."

The person next to him replied, "As soon as they suffer a bit in the Lower Realm, they’ll understand how things really are, and then they’ll definitely run back to the Middle Realm crying."

"Huh, they won’t have an easy time in the Middle Realm either. I heard that there’s a group of clans from the Perennial World who have united to form the Forsaken Land Slaying Alliance. Their only goal is to drive every last Fifth Mainland cultivator out of the Perennial World. These guys have only come here to waste our resources, and just them being here creates extra risks."

"They might even be sneaking Redbacks in!"

…

Behind the people from the four ruling powers, the Fifth Mainland cultivators had ugly expressions on their faces. The comments directed at them were truly vicious.

"Those guys deserve a beating even worse than my name! It’s too bad that we don’t have enough powerful people in our group. I heard that there were quite a few powerhouses in one of the last groups, and they taught the people from the four ruling powers quite a lesson! There were even some of the Lu family’s followers, which means that they should have been connected to that Lu Yin guy. I know that you think that it’s got to be nice to have connections like that, but I’ll tell you now—my own connections aren’t too bad either! You see, Big Mole Bro, Lu Yin’s my brother. If you visit the Heavens Sect in the Fifth Mainland and give them my name, Qian Zou, then Brother Lu will come out himself to greet you!"

Lu Yin glanced at the hand resting on his shoulder. The owner who was chatting away next to Lu Yin was indeed Qian Zou.

Lu Yin had not expected to travel to the same destination in the Perennial World as Qian Zou. Lu Yin did not want to speak to the man, but Qian Zou did not seem to want to leave Lu Yin alone. In fact, Qian Zou had immediately approached Lu Yin and started calling him Big Mole Bro right away. That was the only way that Qian Zou had ever addressed the disguised Lu Yin.

"Hey, Big Mole Bro, what’s with that look? Do you want to teach those guys a lesson or something? Don’t. You are way too weak. I’m not trying to insult you, but honestly, you really are a bit too weak. When I see my Brother Lu next time, I’ll put in a word for you and ask him to help you out, so just bear with things for now." Qian Zou patted Lu Yin on the shoulder. "We’re just unlucky that our group doesn’t have any powerhouses."

"Why don't you go deal with them?" Lu Yin challenged.

Qian Zou made a shushing gesture and then solemnly stated, "Bro, I’ve been given an important job, so I can’t risk being recognized. If I’m noticed, then the four ruling powers will get worried. I’m doing something for Brother Lu, and there can’t be any mistakes!"

Lu Yin pursed his lips and just stopped talking. There was no way he could have any semblance of a real conversation with someone like Qian Zou.

In order to avoid attracting any attention from the four ruling powers, Lu Yin stayed with the group for more than twenty days, and needed to stay with them until they arrived in the Lower Realm. Of course, these twenty days had not been wasted. Big Sis had been tailing Liu Shaoge and the clone the entire time.

In fact, Lu Yin’s destination was the Lower Realm because of Big Sis’s reports. It seemed that Liu Shaoge and Xia Shenji’s clone had traveled to the Lower Realm.

After a few more days, they finally arrived in the Lower Realm. Everyone from the Fifth Mainland stared at the Ancestor Python’s enormous coils that seemed to replace the sky itself. The shock that they felt was something that they would carry for the rest of their lives.

Every so often, a subtle yet terrifying pressure swept through the area.

In the Lower Realm, humans were just another part of the food chain, and they did not hold the top position. While humans were certainly predators in the Lower Realm, they were also just as likely to be prey.

Staying in the Lower Realm would trigger a person’s survival instincts, which was precisely why many people wanted to visit it. Most visitors were eager to achieve a breakthrough, but while the Lower Realm certainly provided an opportunity for a breakthrough, most people who visited the Lower Realm just ended up dead.

As soon as the group arrived in the Lower Realm, they were met by the sight of distant flames that were so intense that they warped the void. It was like a star descending to the ground, and the heat and power of the flames were enough to melt everything. The flames terrified the people who saw it, as these flames were an Enlighter’s attack, and there were very few Enlighters among the Fifth Mainland cultivators.

As for the people from the four ruling powers, they simply stepped back. There was no chance that they would protect the people from the Fifth Mainland.

Lu Yin looked up. Two people raced out from behind him and attacked the flames. One of the two even used Overlaying Stacks to disperse the flames. The two people were both Enlighters, so they were injured by the flames.

The people from the four ruling powers all felt that it was a pathetic display. "They seriously want to go into the Lower Realm with this level of strength? They’re just asking to die."

Another person said, "That attack should be a welcome present from the Forsaken Land Slaying Alliance. They hunt down and kill people from the Forsaken Land throughout the Middle and Lower Realms. They’re getting more and more active too."

"That’s none of our business. Our four ruling powers didn’t make the alliance, so just let them go. It'll be better if they all just die."

"Actually, it’d be best if they were tossed onto the rear battlefield."

…

A few of the Fifth Mainland cultivators managed to act quick enough to disperse the flames. None of them were stupid, and the fact that they had been attacked the moment they arrived in the Lower Realm was too much to be a coincidence. It was clear that something was wrong, and several people started considering returning to the Middle Realm immediately. The Lower Realm was too dangerous.

Lu Yin stepped off of the Bifrost. He lifted a hand while bringing out his wireless jincan so that he could send a message to Big Sis.

"Big Mole Bro, where are you heading? I’ll join you!" Qian Zou leaned over and called out.

Lu Yin glanced over and then started walking away. Qian Zou raced after Lu Yin, only to discover that he could not keep up. Lu Yin was far too fast, and he disappeared from Qian Zou’s sight in an instant. 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝐯𝐞𝐥．𝐜𝐨𝗺

Qian Zou was stunned. He could not keep up even after using Inverse Step. Big Mole Bro was a true powerhouse. Qian Zou’s years of living as a thief in the Fifth Mainland had caused him to develop his own way of judging people, and he had very accurate senses. As soon as Qian Zou laid eyes on Big Mole Bro, it had become clear that the man would not be an easy target. That was precisely why Qian Zou had stuck so closely to his target. Unfortunately, not only had Qian Zou’s suspicions been proven correct, but he had also been completely unable to keep up with his target. In fact, Qian Zou had not been able to learn anything at all about Big Mole Bro.

Qian Zou was rather irritated, as he felt like he had gotten very close to a big score.

The Lower Realm had five regions. Lu Yin had previously visited the third region with Long Xi.

The Ancestor Python was wrapped around the Mother Tree, and its head was in the third region while its tail was in the fifth region. The rest of its body ran through the other regions.

Lu Yin took out the dirt that had been soaked in the Ancestor Python’s saliva that the White Dragon Clan had given him. It served as a powerful repellent against beasts and astral beasts. In fact, this dirt was how Lu Yin had instantly defeated Yao Di.

However, the place where this dirt showed its greatest use was in the Lower Realm.

As soon as Lu Yin took out the soil, not a single creature in the Lower Realm would dare to approach him.

In this manner, he quickly and easily met up with Big Sis.

However, she was in a rather bad mood. "What took you so long?"

More than half a month had passed since Lu Yin had left the Fifth Mainland. "I couldn’t afford to be discovered by the four ruling powers, so I had to be careful and travel slowly."

"Fine. Let’s hurry up now. It’s this way." Big Sis acted decisively and charged forward as soon as she verified the direction.

Lu Yin followed right behind her.

As they traveled, Big Sis handed Lu Yin a tremendous amount of stellular liquid, which completely stunned him when he saw it. "Where did you get this? Have you been absorbing stellular liquid?"

"I stole it from the four ruling powers. Before tracking down the two we’re currently after, I went back and grabbed this from the little stutterer so that I could give it to you," Big Sis replied.

"Little stutterer?" Lu Yin felt confused.

"He's another pirate. He used to be Ji Qiang’s disciple and was part of the Longevity Brigade, but he doesn’t belong to anyone now."

"Ji Qiang? You actually kept a disciple of one of Xia Ji's clones with you? I actually remember that stutterer. So he’s not dead?"

"No, he escaped early on."

Lu Yin laughed. He had met both the stutterer and Qian Zou during the Astral Tower competition, and somehow, he had run into both of them again.

After traveling for a day, the two arrived at a creature’s den. The beast was being roasted over a fire, clearly by a person.

"It's them," Big Sis said.

Lu Yin glanced around. "Did you come here before to check it out?"

"I didn’t want to risk them realizing that they were being followed. We might not have been able to find them if they moved again."

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. The more one did not want something, the more likely they would encounter it. He released his domain and quickly discovered a hidden communication crystal. It was active and connected to another one.

Lu Yin walked over and looked at the communication crystal. He shook his head as he crushed the thing with a foot. "We've been noticed, and our conversation just now was overheard."

Big Sis frowned. "That shouldn't be possible. Not even Xia Shenji’s true body is guaranteed to be able to detect my methods."