Star Odyssey

"I need to get deeper inside the Sixverse Association and learn more about this mysterious Great Sovereign. As for Sage Yuan, there’s no need for us to worry about him. If the Sixverse Association has enough room to be able to launch an attack on us, that will only confirm my suspicions, and it will only prove that we absolutely shouldn’t start fighting a war against Aeternus here again. I can promise you, the Sixverse Association is not struggling right now. If the situation ever escalates to the degree that Progenitor Long is suggesting, I know how to handle things," Lu Yin stated with earnestness.

Progenitor Smoke gave a solemn nod before letting out a heavy sigh. "How did the Fifth Mainland end up like this? If the Lu family were still here, we wouldn't be forced to cower before some Cyclic Universe. Who would dare stand up to the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas at our peak? Xia Shang would probably have charged into the Cyclic Universe all on his own to challenge the Great Sovereign."

Lu Yin agreed, though he also felt that Progenitor Chen would not have been the only one to make such a move. Neither Progenitor Ku nor the Rune Progenitor had been people who would have been afraid of the Great Sovereign, either. Progenitor Ku had left on his own to invade Aeternus's territory, unintimidated by even True God. Furthermore, there had also been Progenitor Hui's foresight and schemes that had led to the eventual collapse of the Sixth Mainland. If such abilities had been applied to the Cyclic Universe instead, it was likely that the Sixverse Association would not even exist in the current era.

There were times that human wisdom could overcome pure power.

The Lu family had only been banished after all of the powerful individuals had already disappeared. If they had still been present, even the Cyclic Universe joining forces with the four ruling powers would not have been enough to exile the Lu family. They would not have been able to handle the Fifth Mainland at all.

"Oh, by the way, Xia Shenji might be coming back," Lu Yin mentioned.

With that, Progenitor Smoke left. She refused to become involved in the matter. Her stance had always been very clear; she was willing to help fight Aeternus, but would not intervene in the conflict between Lu Yin and the four ruling powers.

"How could Xia Shenji possibly return? The Sealing Path is still intact," Arch-Elder Zen asked, puzzled.

Lu Yin then shared all that he had learned in the Three Monarchs Universe. "Truthfully, there’s no way for us to be sure whether or not Xia Shenji has already returned. He used the passageway on Shenwu Continent to get to the Three Monarchs Universe, but before that, the three Monarchs did not know that Gu Yue was someone from the Origin Universe. They should have learned the truth after Xia Shenji showed up in their universe, and if they already have the spatial coordinates for here, Xia Shenji is able to return whenever. Even if they don’t, they must have other means for getting back here, and that’s what I’m most concerned about.

"If Xia Shenji reaches an agreement with the three Monarchs, we’ll be stuck in a more complicated situation than if we were just dealing with the Cyclic Universe. This is also one of the reasons I’m convinced that the Sixverse Association isn’t really facing any real crisis in the war against Aeternus.

"If the three Monarchs are too being pressured by the war against Aeternus, how could they possibly find any time to strike a deal with Xia Shenji and work against us ?

"The most important thing for now is to confirm Xia Shenji's location. If he returns, Shenwu Continent will be in danger."

Arch-Elder Zen immediately left to return to Shenwu Continent.

Mu Xie also left. He intended to investigate the four ruling powers to learn if Xia Shenji had already returned.

Lu Yin decided to not visit the Perennial World for the time being. It was guaranteed that Bai Wangyuan and his allies would target Lu Yin, which would prevent him from accomplishing anything there.

Instead, he sought out Wang Wen. Someone who could think on their feet like Wang Wen was better suited for the situation Lu Yin currently faced.

After a great deal of deliberation, Wang Wen finally offered his advice, "Go back to the Three Monarchs Universe and find that old lady Mu. Get her to tell you why the Mu family is so eager to get rid of the Fenglei clan right now, as well as who gave that order. The answer to this is very important."

Confusion flickered across Lu Yin's eyes. "The Mu family’s going after the Fenglei clan because Luo Zang is trying to target Luo Lao'er."

Wang Wen shook his head. "You’re thoughts have been swayed by what you’ve heard from Luo Lao'er. Regardless of whatever Luo Zang might do to him, no matter how high Monarch Mu's status might be, the Mu family shouldn't be kicking up such a massive fuss. The fact that they’ve even brought the Mo Courtyard into things is a big deal, as it’s an open insult to Monarch Luo. I might not know much about the Three Monarchs Universe’s culture, so maybe family ties aren’t so important there, but under normal circumstances, even if the Mu family intends to deal with the Fenglei clan, they shouldn't be in such a rush.

"The Fenglei clan has been the most powerful family in the Lower King Domain and controls impressively vast territories and resources. Something about this seems extremely suspicious."

The very same day, Lu Yin returned to the Three Monarchs Universe by using the coordinate seal he had accessed, and he secretly met with the old lady from the Mu family.

The silver-haired woman stared blankly at Lu Yin. It had only been a few days since they had met, so why was this man back already?

"Didn't you tell Monarch Mu?" Killing intent overflowed from Lu Yin's eyes.

The old woman grew terrified. "No! Absolutely not."

Lu Yin asked, "Why is your family going after the Fenglei clan?"

The question startled the old lady; could this young man be connected to the Fenglei clan?

A cold light flickered across Lu Yin's eyes. "Speak."

The old woman ducked her head. "Monarch Mu ordered us to destroy the Fenglei clan as quickly as possible."

"Luo Zang didn’t give the orders?" Lu Yin started to feel uneasy. Wang Wen had been right, there was something wrong with what was happening.

Lady Mu replied, "They did not come from Luo Zang. It was a direct order from Monarch Mu herself."

"Why would she give such orders?"

"I don't know. Monarch Mu merely instructed us to gather certain resources."

"What kind of resources?" Lu Yin asked.

Lady Mu took out a list and handed it to Lu Yin.

It was a list of resources that included tens of thousands of different items.

"Many of these materials can only be found in regions of the Lower King Domain that are part of the Fenglei clan’s territory. That's why..." Lady Mu started to explain, but she did not even finish her sentence. Lu Yin already understood the situation. This list was the reason why the Mu family was in such a hurry to deal with the Fenglei clan. The entire thing had almost nothing at all to do with Luo Lao'er.

Wang Wen's prediction had been completely accurate. Lu Yin had indeed been led astray by Luo Lao'er’s account of things, and had assumed that the Mu family had been targeting Luo Lao’er. However, the reality was that it was an entirely separate matter. It was simply a coincidence that the Fenglei clan was in control of the resources that the Mu family needed. If another clan controlled those resources, the Mu family would not have targeted the Fenglei clan at all.

No wonder the Mu family had been acting so rushed. The Mo Courtyard answered directly to the three Monarchs, so how could Monarch Luo have allowed the Mu family to use them? This was something Luo Lao'er had not been able to understand, but Lu Yin had uncovered the reason.

Lu Yin left the old lady with a few more threats before he returned to Aeternus Nation. With the help of his senior brother Qing Ping, Lu Yin returned to the Fifth Mainland.

Upon hearing the details, Wang Wen said, "Xia Shenji probably hasn't returned. The Three Monarchs Universe isn't able to send him straight back here, and instead, they need another universe’s help. They’ve made an agreement with that universe, and the conditions for their assistance is that list of resources. If it was simply to deal with Luo Lao'er, the Mu family wouldn't be nearly so desperate. If I were in their shoes, I’d much rather take my time and torture the Fenglei clan and Luo Zang, rather than settle things in one go.

"The Mu family is acting too hastily."

Lu Yin replied, "While this is all just speculation, it makes a lot of sense."

Wang Wen smiled. "True, it is just speculation. Unless we actually see Xia Shenji again, it's going to be difficult to confirm our suspicions. Still, I'm ninety percent certain that this is accurate, and I also now know what Xia Shenji will do first when he gets back."

Lu Yin arched a brow. "Find his clone?"

Wang Wen nodded with a smile. "He’ll come back in secret, find his clone, and then attack Shenwu Continent so that he can cooperate with the three Monarchs to attack the Fifth Mainland. Once that happens, the four ruling powers will join them, and we won't have the strength to stand up to all of them."

Lu Yin had a headache. "Did I dig myself into a hole?"

Wang Wen replied, "If you didn't dig this hole, how would you have dealt with Nutjob Lu? Things would have been completely different if Xia Shenji had been around as well. All I can tell you is that there are pros and cons to the decision you made, and we can make up for things now. Besides, we knew almost nothing about the Sixverse Association back then."

"Are you saying we should get rid of the listed resources?" Lu Yin asked.

Wang Wen looked up. "We need to muddy the waters. Our advantage is the fact that no one knows we've already made a move. We’re hidden in the shadows, and an enemy lurking in the dark is usually the most terrifying. Also, Dao Monarch, you have an alias known as Xuan Qi. You should take advantage of that."

Lu Yin also still felt that his identity as Xuan Qi carried value, but the fact that he had been captured by Tu Shuangshuang might make some problems for that identity in the future. Fortunately, he had thrown Shao Qingfeng and the other students into various parallel universes, and from there, all of them should have returned to their home universes.

"How has Wei Rong been doing recently? What’s he been up to?" Lu Yin asked.

Wang Wen's expression grew a bit awkward at the mention of Wei Rong. "He’s now a son-in-law of the Wang family."

Lu Yin was taken aback. "He’s the Wang family's son-in-law?"

Wang Wen smiled and nodded. "That’s right. I know it's hard to believe, but he actually managed to use his looks to seduce some woman who’s from a branch of the Wang family. He married into the Wang family. We’ve also been helping to keep his identity hidden, even if he did just marry into a low-ranking branch of the Wang family. Not many people took note of the marriage, though he did tell me to pass a message on to you."

Wang Wen paused before continuing, "He’s going to give you a surprise."

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. A surprise? He had been rather curious about the Wang family for some time. There was their Yellow Springs, Wang Fan, and Specter Abyss’s Specter Progenitor, who was actually Wang Fan's shadow clone. Of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, if Progenitor Hui was regarded as the smartest, Wang Fan had to be the most well hidden. Not even Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors had been able to see through Wang Fan.

It was a bad idea to have someone infiltrate the Wang family.

"By the way, Wei Rong was the one who started spreading the news about the four ruling powers wanting to restart the war with Aeternus," Wang Wen added.

Lu Yin said, "Don't let that happen again. Such small matters aren’t very impactful, and they can easily get us exposed. If you want to surprise me, then keep things better hidden. Something like this isn't enough to surprise me."

"I understand"

Lu Yin and Wang Wen spoke at length before Lu Yin made his way back to the Three Monarchs Universe and to the Fenglei clan.

There were already many rumors circulating regarding the Fenglei clan, and Patriarch Fenglei Guanqin had been trying to find a way to get Luo Lao'er out of the Three Monarchs Universe. However, the patriarch had no idea that the Mu family was not actually targeting Luo Lao'er and that their goal was the resources that could be found in the Lower King Domain.

When Lu Yin returned, he did not see Luo Lao'er, but by releasing his domain, he discovered that Luo Lao'er and Fenglei Guanqin were discussing whether or not to leave their universe.

Luo Lao'er was certain that Luo Zang and the Mu residence would not let the Fenglei clan go. Fenglei Guanqin was worried about the fact that they had nowhere to go. The clan’s strength was completely inadequate to try to conquer a parallel universe. In fact, all they could rely on was pure luck. If their luck was bad and they entered an inhospitable universe, the entire clan could be instantly wiped out. The truth was that the possibility of that happening was quite high.

As long as cultivators in any universe reached the strength of an Enlighter, they would be able to tear through the void, which would also allow them the ability to travel between parallel universes. However, few people ever dared attempt such a thing, and it was precisely because of how likely it was to encounter dangerous universes.

Out of every ten thousand universes, only one would be inhabitable by humans. This was also not even accounting for if there were any powerful creatures already inhabiting a given universe. If those universes were also taken into account, then the chances of finding a safe parallel universe was less than one in a million.

Only experts with the strength of Semi-Progenitors or Progenitors could be confident in trying such things.

Xia Shenji had been confident in his strength as a Progenitor when he had entered the passage in Shenwu Continent. Without sufficient power, he would never have dared attempt such a thing.

"If we stay here, we aren’t necessarily doomed. Given Monarch Mu's status and strength, while the Mu family might oppress our Fenglei clan, they won’t dare to outright exterminate us. However, if we go to a parallel universe, we face a much greater chance of being completely wiped out," Fenglei Guanqin said with a sigh.