Star Odyssey

Chapter 2455: Schemes Within Schemes

Green leaves drifted through the void and enveloped the Champions' Stage, suddenly restraining it. E Chi released a fierce attack and slammed his serrated saber against the Champions' Stage, forcing it back.

"Nutjob Lu, do you really think that you can kill me?" Lu Yin shouted.

Nutjob Lu licked his lips. "Kid, you might be much better than that idiot Lu Qi, but it’s still only so much."

He threw out a palm strike, releasing a dense burst of ominion energy. The attack resembled a malevolent spirit, and it went right through E Chi, rumbling towards Lu Yin.

Lu Yin's expression changed drastically. Nutjob Lu’s ominion energy was brutal and possessed an irresistible nature comparable to Divine Martial Armor. If the two were on the same level, then it would be possible for Lu Yin to use the power within his chest to counter ominion energy. However, Nutjob Lu’s ominion energy had been cultivated to the tenth stage, which was equivalent to the Progenitor level. This made it far beyond Lu Yin’s ability to resist.

With no other choice, he utilized the runes of his borrowed Champions' Stage and did his best to weaken the approaching ominion energy.

Ominion energy slammed into the glowing sphere of runes that Lu Yin had manifested. By the time the palm strike forced its way through the sphere, it had already been greatly weakened.

Nutjob Lu sneered. "Not bad, but let’s see just how long you can endure for."

Another palm strike was thrown out.

At this moment, Progenitor Smoke appeared right outside of the Celestial Treasury.

When Nutjob Lu had first attacked Lu Yin, Progenitor-level shockwaves had rippled out, and that had instantly drawn her attention. She was not alone, as Nong Yi, Specter Progenitor, and the others had similarly noticed the fight.

"Bai Wangyuan, what are you doing?" As soon as Progenitor Smoke appeared, she stared at the entrance to the Celestial Treasury. She could sense the domineering ominion energy within it.

Bai Wangyuan replied, "This has nothing to do with you, Xi Wei. This is an internal feud of the Lu family. This is something that they need to resolve by themselves."

Progenitor Smoke's expression instantly and drastically changed. "Is Lu Xiaoxuan inside? Did you send Nutjob Lu in to kill him?"

Wang Fan said, "Xi Wei, this is none of your concern."

Progenitor Smoke became furious, and she shouted, "Are you trying to start a major war? If anything happens to Lu Xiaoxuan, Mu Xie won't hold back."

"So what?" Bai Wangyuan shouted right back.

Progenitor Smoke recoiled. She was instantly reminded of Liu Yue's death three years ago, as well as the confrontation that had taken place more recently. The enmity between the four ruling powers and the Lu family had never disappeared, but merely somewhat suppressed. At this moment, Nutjob Lu was the one attacking Lu Yin, not the four ruling powers. They were still being careful to not violate the truce.

Bai Wangyuan and two other Progenitors were standing guard at the entrance to the treasury. Even if Mu Xie appeared, he would not be able to charge in.

Lu Xiaoxuan had fallen into their trap.

Nong Yi had never expected such a situation to occur, but at this moment, there was nothing that they could do. Even if an all-out war erupted, they would not be able to contend with the deep foundations of the four ruling powers. Aside from the three Progenitors standing guard outside the entrance to the treasury, the four ruling powers were also protecting four of the seven planets in the Outer Realm.

Specter Progenitor's eyes flickered. Lu Xiaoxuan was currently in grave danger. If he died, what would happen to the God of Death's inheritance? Who knew how the youth had obtained the God of Death inheritance? That inheritance had to go to him, Specter Progenitor!

Bai Wangyuan turned to look into the Celestial Treasury. Everything should be just about finished.

Inside the treasury, Lu Yin hid behind the jiao, doing his best to evade Nutjob Lu's various attacks. The jiao tried to break free, but Nutjob Lu blocked the entrance.

The summoned Nong Yi and E Chi, even after being supported by Lu Yin’s Progenitor-level runes, were still unable to measure up to Nutjob Lu's ominion energy. Nutjob Lu's strength had exceeded Lu Yin’s expectations.

This man was absolutely no weaker than Xia Shenji.

"Kid, how long do you think you can last for?" Nutjob Lu glanced at the jiao. With a wave of his hand, his Champions' Stage was sent flying toward the beast.

The jiao howled as it tried to evade, but the Champions' Stage chased after the beast.

Lu Yin cursed the jiao for being so useless, and he glanced towards the entrance. Progenitor Smoke and the others should have already arrived. In that case… He took out Zenith Mountain. "Senior, it's up to you now."

Mu Xie stepped out from Zenith Mountain. He looked over at Nutjob Lu and then simply vanished. Countless afterimages could be seen in the sky as Mu Xie instantly appeared right next to Nutjob Lu, at which point the man struck out with a palm of his own. Nutjob Lu quickly raised a hand that was entwined with ominion energy.

Boom!

A deafening bang shattered the void within the Celestial Treasury, and countless spatial cracks spread out in every direction, exposing a darkness so deep that it seemed to devour all light.

Bai Wangyuan and the others looked into the Celestial Treasury in shock. "Mu Xie? How is this possible?"

Lu Yin roared with laughter. "Did you really think that I would fall for such a trick? Since you wanted to create an opportunity for Nutjob Lu to kill me, then why wouldn't I create an opportunity for Senior Mu Xie to help me put down Nutjob Lu? Nutjob Lu will die today!"

Lu Yin pulled out the slipper and delivered it to Senior Mu Xie with the Yu Secret Art.

Beneath the scroll of Investiture of the Gods, Nong Yi raised a wooden staff and pointed it at Nutjob Lu.

E Chi raised his serrated saber and slashed down.

Lu Yin's pupils transformed into runes, and he focused all his attention on weakening Nutjob Lu.

The ominion energy covering Nutjob Lu's body grew faint, weakened by Lu Yin’s runes.

Again, Mu Xie’s palm struck Nutjob Lu’s. The madman wielded a terrifying level of ominion energy, and he also possessed the inherent physical strength of the Lu family, which meant that he was able to suppress a Progenitor with nothing more than his physical prowess. Surprisingly, Mu Xie was on equal footing with the madman.

No one had anticipated that Mu Xie, who did not appear particularly robust, would actually be comparable to Nutjob Lu in terms of physical strength.

Lu Yin had never been worried about Mu Xie. Mister Mu's standards for accepting disciples were beyond extraordinary. The more that Lu Yin understood his master’s standards, the more confident he became in his senior brother, Mu Xie. As one of Mister Mu’s disciples, Mu Xie’s true strength would absolutely astonish Bai Wangyuan and the others. This was the source of Lu Yin’s confidence about killing Nutjob Lu after joining forces.

If Mu Xie were replaced by the Progenitor of Bloodlines, then even three Progenitors would not give Lu Yin as much confidence as Mu Xie did on his own.

Mu Xie gripped the slipper and fiercely slammed it down.

The Champions' Stage appeared in front of Nutjob Lu as the slipper struck, shattering the stage.

Nutjob Lu spewed out a mouthful of blood. He tilted his head back and let out a roar. Ominion energy spread in an endless surge as it formed a Progenitor's world.

A śarīra appeared beneath Mu Xie's feet, and the glowing energy formed characters in the air that clashed with Nutjob Lu. At the same time, the hand holding the slipper slapped down again. There was no hesitation.

The slipper was truly an extraordinary weapon. Even Undying God’s body had nearly been shattered by it, let alone Nutjob Lu’s.

In his current state, Nutjob Lu was completely unable to block the entrance to the Celestial Treasury, and the jiao was constantly looking for an opportunity to escape.

However, Bai Wangyuan and the others were also blocking the entrance from the outside.

Wang Fan wanted to rush in and kill Lu Yin himself.

Lu Yin stood atop the jiao, and he looked out at Bai Wangyuan and the others who were standing at the treasury’s entrance. He had no intention of charging out of the Celestial Treasury, but it would also be problematic if Wang Fan or anyone else entered to assist Nutjob Lu out of desperation to end Lu Yin’s life. Lu Yin had no way of knowing what the three Progenitors would choose to do, especially if Nutjob Lu started to fall to a disadvantage.

Fortunately, this was something that Lu Yin had already considered in advance.

As the jiao approached the entrance, Lu Yin pulled someone else out: Master Shan.

Master Shan appeared at the entrance of the treasury, right between Bai Wangyuan's group and Lu Yin. The massive jiao was blocked by Progenitors in both directions, which left it unable to escape or retreat.

Lu Yin stood on the jiao's head and called out. "Master Shan, it's up to you now!"

Master Shan lifted his head. "Rest assured, Young Master! Finally, the day that this old servant can be of use has arrived. I have long dreamed of repaying my debt to the Lu family."

Bai Wangyuan and the others stared at Master Shan. What use could a crippled Semi-Progenitor possibly be?

Suddenly, Wang Fan thought of something. "Not good!"

Master Shan’s head snapped up. The dark abyss at the center of a vortex appeared overhead, signaling that the man’s stellular tribulation had been triggered. "It's time to undergo my stellular tribulation to become a Progenitor! Young Master, you must kill Nutjob Lu and avenge us."

Lu Yin firmly replied, "You can rest assured."

Master Shan looked back outwards, and his eyes locked onto Bai Wangyuan and the others. He took a step forward and then charged out.

At this moment, nobody dared to do anything to stop the man or interfere in any way, either to help him or attack him. Anyone who used any power beneath the vortex of a stellular tribulation would draw its attention, and that was something that no one was willing to experience. The stronger a cultivator was, the stronger their stellular tribulation would be. Bai Wangyuan and the others did not dare to risk antagonizing a stellular tribulation.

This was what Lu Yin had prepared. He was going to use Master Shan to block Bai Wangyuan and the others with a Progenitor-level stellular tribulation, which would give Lu Yin and Mu Xie enough time to deal with Nutjob Lu.

The four ruling powers had fully prepared to spring this trap, but Lu Yin's preparations proved to be even more thorough.

The truth was that Lu Yin had noticed a problem from the very beginning. Lu Xun had reported that the Celestial Treasury’s entrance had been in the Lu Sanctum’s Qingshan, but the location had changed names and become known as the Stone Forest to the North. However, the stone forest had only appeared after the Lu Sanctum was banished. Thus, how could Lu Xun know about it? How could she have found out?

Furthermore, how had Xia Xing managed to rescue Lu Xun?

Lu Yin had agreed to a truce with Bai Wangyuan, and they had sealed it with three strikes. Included in the terms of the truce was the fact that all surviving members of the Lu family, or vassals of the Lu family, would be released to Lu Yin. Despite this, Lu Xun had been kept incarcerated, which meant that she was someone of great importance. Despite those circumstances, Xia Xing had actually been able to rescue Lu Xun without any bit of trouble. Even an idiot should have realized that something was wrong.

Lu Xun and Lu Gong had both been considered important prisoners by the four ruling powers. Not to mention Xia Xing, but even Xia Ziheng should not have been able to rescue either one.

Lu Yin had taken a risk in sending Yu Chen to deliver a message to Lu Gong. After delivering the message, Yu Chen had immediately fled from the Celestial Frost Sect, which showed that she had also been aware of just how dangerous her task had been.

The four ruling powers had set up this trap for Lu Yin, hoping to lure him into the Celestial Treasury. Naturally, he had cooperated with them.

Both sides knew what the other party was aware of, but not what they had planned. In the end, the outcome would be determined inside the Celestial Treasury.

It could be said that the Celestial Treasury was a battlefield that had been unanimously agreed upon by both sides.

It was only at this point in time that Bai Wangyuan and the others finally realized that Lu Yin had wanted the same thing as them. This caused them to fret over whether Nutjob Lu would be able to successfully kill Lu Yin, whilst also remembering that Xia Shenji had been lured away.

Since Lu Yin had known about their trap, there was no doubt that things would not go smoothly for Xia Shenji either. The fact that the Progenitor had yet to appear even after all this time proved that Lu Yin had done far more than just distract Xia Shenji.

Things had just gotten complicated.

Progenitor Long immediately attempted to get in contact with Xia Shenji through a wireless jincan, but the attempt failed.

While wireless jincans could connect to each other regardless of distance, they could not establish a connection between parallel universes.

The expressions of Bai Wangyuan and the other two grew decidedly unpleasant at this moment.

Inside the Celestial Treasury, Nutjob Lu continued to compress his Progenitor's world in an attempt to crush the śarīra. Slipper in hand, Mu Xie had gained a slight advantage, much to Nutjob Lu’s great frustration. Behind the madman, the image of a Mainland appeared. This was the visualization technique of the Lu family’s direct line. At the same time that the Mainland appeared, the chanting of the Origin Progenitor's Sutra began to ring out through the Celestial Treasury.

Mu Xie's expression grew solemn. Blood started to leak from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Nutjob Lu swung a hand, his attack amplified by the visualization technique. Mu Xie met the palm with the slipper.

The powerful resulting vibrations caused the Celestial Treasury to start to fracture and break apart. Nutjob Lu had relied on his visualization technique and the Origin Progenitor's Sutra to endure Mu Xie’s attacks with the slipper. The madman’s eyes grew ferocious. "Brat, let me show you the true strength of the Lu family!"

As Nutjob Lu spoke, the image of the Mainland grew larger, and the chanting of the Origin Progenitor's Sutra grew even louder.

Mu Xie's face flushed red from the strain that he was enduring, and more blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. Each word of the Origin Sutra slammed into his mind, and the image of the Mainland seemed to replace the sky itself as it pressed down upon Mu Xie.