Star Odyssey

Sage Yuan's eyes swept over the two young men before looking to the north.

"Let's go," he said. He led the two men across the Astral River and into the Outerverse. After just a few steps, they had already arrived outside the Heavens Sect, at the border of Northcastle and Frostwave Weaves.

Once there, the three of them looked at the Heavens Sect, as well as Ancestor Tortoise that was next to it.

One of the young men asked, "Is that the mount you mentioned, Senior?"

Sage Yuan replied, "No, that's a turtle. How could I offer such a beast to the Great Sovereign?"

"That's true."

"Is this the current Heavens Sect of the Origin Universe? There don’t seem to be any decent experts here."

"They're weak, and as is this entire universe."

He looked towards the Heavens Sect in the distance. "We'll start here. Since the Lu family has decided to show themselves, they must bear the consequences." He then took out a coordinate with a calm expression, "At the same time, it will serve as punishment for disrespecting us." With that, he tore the void with the coordinate. On the other side were endless pairs of scarlet irises.

At that moment, Lu Yin, who was far away in the Perennial World, suddenly felt his heart skip a beat. He had no idea what was causing him to feel such a suffocating feeling, but he knew that there was a problem.

"Brother Xiaoxuan, when someone from the Main Universe arrives, I hope that you'll be polite to them. After all, they've shared the burden with us during the ongoing war against the Aeternus. Thus, we should also share their burden," Bai Xian'er's voice rang in Lu Yin's ear.

However, Lu Yin did not pay attention to her words. His expression was solemn, and his eyes darted about. The suffocating feeling was growing heavier. Something was very wrong.

Bai Wangyuan said sternly, "Lu Xiaoxuan, this is a matter of great importance-"

Suddenly, Lu Yin's wireless jincan trembled. He immediately answered it. It was a message from Lu Buzheng.

"Aeternus has reappeared. It's a Progenitor-level corpse king," Lu Buzheng sent only a brief message before instantly ending the call.

Lu Yin was shocked. Without another word, he raced back to the Fifth Mainland. There was indeed a problem; something had happened to the Heavens Sect.

Why had Aeternus appeared at the Heavens Sect? Were they targeting him?

He had always believed that, even if Aeternus were to attack the Fifth Mainland again, they would only appear in the Starfall Sea or the rear battlefield. Why had they appeared in the middle of the Fifth Mainland?

After forcing Aeternus out of the Fifth Mainland, Lu Yin had spoken with Mu Xie. Since the Aeternus’s corpse kings were able to emerge from the colossal scarlet eyes, why had they not placed an eye within the Fifth Mainland instead of on the rear battlefield? Mu Xie had not been able to give him an answer.

Lu Yin had remained wary ever since the Aeternals had been chased out, and he had constantly been rolling his die, hoping to Possess a Semi-Progenitor from Aeternus to learn more. However, before he had been able to learn anything, the Heavens Sect was already in trouble.

Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry…

In the Fifth Mainland, the Heavens Sect shook, and blood sprinkled outer space.

Lu Buzheng fell, his body covered with wounds. A pair of scarlet eyes stared at him for a moment, and then the void was ripped from top to bottom, nearly severing the entire Heavens Sect.

Behind the Progenitor-level corpse king was an endless sea of scarlet eyes.

Within the Heavens Sect, people were panicking. "How could there be so many monsters?"

"Enemy attack, enemy attack!"

…

At a critical moment, the Progenitor of Bloodlines took action. He charged forward to stop the Progenitor-level corpse king. "Call the Dao Monarch!"

The Progenitor-level corpse king stood there with its head hanging low like an evil spirit. Its body suddenly disappeared as it shot through the void. The Progenitor of Bloodlines raised a hand to block the monster with the last remaining dregs of his power, but the corpse king’s fist pierced through the man’s chest. He coughed up blood.

A majestic spiritual force swept through the area. "Leap over the dragon gate!"

The Progenitor corpse king looked up. At some point, it had been surrounded by a waterfall with fish swimming upstream against the current. It seemed to have become one of those fish itself, and it was forced to follow the rules to try to leap over the dragon gate.

At the top of the waterfall, Kui Luo gritted his teeth. "Where did this Progenitor-level corpse king come from? Damn it!”

The corpse king raised a hand with an open palm. With a wave of its hand, the void was sliced completely in half, including the Dragon Gate, the Heavens Sect, and the entire Frostwave Weave.

The Outerverse was nothing more than a piece of paper to the monster.

Kui Luo retreated. "I can't stop it."

Lu Buzheng invoked the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique, hoping to summon Destiny so that he could glimpse a path to survival.

The Second Nightking and countless others were unable to even move. They could do nothing but helplessly watch on as the Progenitor-level corpse king ravaged the Heavens Sect.

In one corner, Attendant Wu trembled in terror. A Monarch-level monster from Aeternus had suddenly appeared. How could such a monster appear in this place?

Outside the Heavens Sect, Ancestor Tortoise had completely withdrawn its head into its shell, not daring to expose itself.

On Ancestor Tortoise's back, the Mavis family’s divine tree swayed. Corpse kings shot through the spatial rift in an unending stream, attacking Ancestor Tortoise, the Heavens Sect, and Earth.

The Progenitor-level corpse king stepped onto the Heavens Sect's gate, crushing it. Suddenly, the monster turned around. Arch-Elder Zen stepped out from the void and solemnly stated, "I am your opponent."

…

Everything happened too quickly. By the time Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect in the Fifth Mainland, all he saw was Arch-Elder Zen standing tall in outer space, the shattered gate to the Heavens Sect, and the motionless bodies of corpse kings floating through space.

"Senior!" Lu Yin hurried forward.

Arch-Elder Zen looked to the east and said, "The Aeternals came from that direction. There was a tear in the void, but it's gone now."

Lu Yin examined the Heavens Sect with his domain and soon let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, there had not been too many casualties. From the moment he had been informed of Aeternus's appearance to his arrival, only a short bit of time had passed. Furthermore, with Arch-Elder Zen in the Fifth Mainland, the situation had quickly calmed down.

Suddenly, Lu Yin’s expression changed, and he dropped down to land on the shattered remnants of the sect’s gate.

Arch-Elder Zen looked down and sighed.

At the Heavens Sect’s gate, the Progenitor of Bloodlines was coughing. The Progenitor-level corpse king had pierced the man’s body, destroying his vitality. He had lost the last bits of his Progenitor-level strength, and his entire body had become rather gray. He was barely able to move.

Lu Buzheng, Cai Er, the Second Nightking, and others also appeared.

Lu Yin landed and approached the Progenitor of Bloodlines. "Senior, how are you?"

The old man waved a hand. "Finally, I'm free."

Sorrow filled Lu Yin's gaze.

The Progenitor of Bloodlines laughed. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not going to die, I’ll just became an ordinary human once more. I'll retire here in the future. Dao Monarch, don't force me out."

"Master," Zhi Yi whispered, her eyes bloodshot.

Lu Yin asked in a low voice, "Did the Progenitor-level corpse king do this?"

Lu Buzheng spoke up, "If the Progenitor of Bloodlines hadn’t charged forward to stop it, I would have died. Senior blocked an attack that was intended for me."

The Progenitor of Bloodlines coughed a few more times. "Don't exaggerate things. I just happened to be here and ran into the corpse king. What happened has nothing to do with you."

Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Senior, please rest and recuperate here. I will help you recover, if there is any chance."

"Haha, there’s no need for that. It’s not necessary to be a Progenitor in order to live. Powerhouses have too great a responsibility. Of course, things are different for you. You have a huge responsibility to bear regardless." As the man spoke, he coughed up even more blood.

Lu Yin kept his words to the Progenitor of Bloodlines short, as he still needed to handle the aftermath of the sudden attack. The appearance and almost instantaneous retreat of Aeternus was truly abnormal.

"The Aeternals’ appearance this time was very unusual," Arch-Elder Zen said. He and Lu Yin had gone to visit Northcastle Weave to investigate the location of the spatial rift. The older man’s voice grew heavy. "I never even managed to make contact with the Progenitor-level corpse king. As soon as it noticed my presence, it retreated. It was as though it did not actually want to get involved with us."

Lu Yin found this quite strange. "They appeared and then retreated, but there's nothing unusual around here."

"Truthfully, I feel as though they were released by someone," Arch-Elder Zen commented.

Lu Yin's gaze sharpened as he used the Cosmic Art and touched upon Progenitor Chen’s power. Instantly, the entire Fifth Mainland was revolving around him, and he could see countless planets and all the weaves. Suddenly, his attention locked onto a specific location. Found you. Star Stomp.

Far away, Sage Yuan lifted his head before leading two young men away from where they had been standing. Right after they moved, the place where they had just been standing exploded. The massive force of the explosion swept out in every direction, and the void practically boiled.

"So aggressive," the old man said as he looked up. "Members of the Lu family are still so rude to their guests."

He then started making his way towards the Heavens Sect.

Lu Yin stopped using the Cosmic Art and also headed towards the Heavens Sect together with Arch-Elder Zen.

The two parties met in outer space just outside the Heavens Sect.

"Sage Yuan." Lu Yin's face darkened. "Bai Xian'er said that someone from the Main Universe would be visiting, but I didn't expect it to be you."

Sage Yuan calmly observed Lu Yin. "Descendant of the Lu family, you're far too rude."

"How did you end up here? Is the appearance of Aeternus related to you?" Lu Yin demanded.

Sage Yuan casually replied, "You've re-established the Heavens Sect, so a mere Aeternal Progenitor shouldn’t be a big deal. If you can’t even stop a Progenitor-level corpse king, then this Heavens Sect should be dismantled."

A golden light shone above Lu Yin's head as his Investiture of the Gods appeared. The jiao behind him returned to its true size and roared. "Since you admit it, then go to hell!"

Lu Yin was ready to attack, and Arch-Elder Zen did not hesitate either. Three strands of Ancestral Qi surrounded him, and Xue Wuqing appeared and ruthlessly attacked Sage Yuan.

Sage Yuan did not even move. Instead, Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan stepped out in front of the man, quickly followed by Bai Xian'er, Xia Qin, and Specter Progenitor.

"Lu Xiaoxuan, are you trying to invite disaster upon us all?" they demanded.

Lu Yin frowned. If Sage Yuan were alone, he and Arch-Elder Zen could attack the man. This man would not even be able to tear through the void to make his escape. However, with Bai Wangyuan and the others present, things had become troublesome.

"Senior, are you okay?" Bai Xian'er greeted Sage Yuan.

Sage Yuan waved a hand dismissively. "I'm fine. It's just that-" His gaze swept past Bai Xian'er and the others to lock onto Lu Yin. "The members of the Lu family are too rude."

Bai Xian'er looked over at Lu Yin and asked, "Brother Lu, why did you attack senior Sage Yuan?"

Arch-Elder Zen spoke up to answer, "He opened a spatial rift to Aeternus’s territory right next to our Heavens Sect, which caused us to suffer heavy losses. Corpses are scattered everywhere; can’t you see?"

Bai Wangyuan turned back to stare at Sage Yuan in shock.

Bai Xian'er, Xia Qin, and Wang Fan were similarly shocked. They had never expected Sage Yuan to do such a thing.

Lu Yin noticed their expressions. He had assumed that the attack had been a coordinated action between the four ruling powers and Sage Yuan, but their reactions made that highly unlikely.

Sage Yuan's expression remained indifferent. "‘Heavens Sect.’ That name represents the past glory of the Origin Universe. Adopting that name is not a simple matter. Descendant of the Lu family, if you want to use this name, then you also must bear the burden that comes with it. Do you think that it's easy to establish the Heavens Sect? Do you think that it's easy to call yourself a Dao Monarch?"

"This is our universe’s affair. What does it have to do with you? You have no right to spout such nonsense," Lu Yin retorted coldly.

Sage Yuan laughed and arrogantly proclaimed, "I can’t stand it."

This was the sole reason why he had opened the rift to Aeternus’s territory, which had nearly wiped out the entire Heavens Sect.