Star Odyssey

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“You came to visit me several times as a means of monitoring me, no? You knew that I was the one who destroyed the Bai clan,” Chen Le assumed.

Lu Yin replied, “I didn’t know before you just admitted it, but I do now.”

“What do you want?” Chen Le asked. freewebn ovel.com

“I made a promise to Old Dian that I would either protect him or avenge him. What do you think I will do?” retorted Lu Yin.

“Kill me, and the Liberation Palace will never let you go,” warned Chen Le.

Pointing at the messenger, Lu Yin commented, “He just said that he would help me join the Liberation Palace.”

Chen Le shook his head while showing a bitter smile. “He is merely a key.”

The man looked confused. “What key?”

Lu Yin also felt rather confused. In fact, he found the way that Chen Le treated the messenger quite odd. Even if the man was the child of a peak powerhouse, it still would not be enough of a reason for Chen Le to tolerate such disrespect.

Chen Le lamented, “Change is the only true constant. I never expected that bad luck would be my ultimate defeat.”

He let out a sigh. “This man is not truly part of the Liberation Palace, but rather a mere vessel. The moment Mr. Daheng accepted me into the Liberation Palace, a door was planted inside of me. This door does not affect my cultivation, but it blocks me from breaking through when I reach a bottleneck. As long as that door is in place, I will never be able to become a peak powerhouse, no matter what I do.”

Lu Yin was astonished. How was such a thing even possible?

“In order to open this door, I needed to complete the task that I was assigned by Mr. Daheng,” Chen Le finished.

“The stone?” Lu Yin asked.

Chen Le nodded, and desire blossomed in his eyes as he stared at the stone. “As long as I give that stone to Mr. Daheng, he will give me the key to my door. This man is that key.”

All of the color drained from the messenger’s face. "What is this ridiculous story that you’re telling? How could I possibly be the key?"

"You have cultivated the Liberation Technique," Chen Le stated matter-of-factly.

The messenger’s face paled even further, though confusion filled his eyes. Of course he had cultivated the Liberation Technique. The Liberation Palace selected the most suitable individuals from among countless people to cultivate the Liberation Technique. Only the most well-suited individuals were allowed to join the Liberation Palace. This was widely known, but what did this have to do with being a key?

"The Liberation Technique is the key to unlocking doors like the one within me," Chen Le explained. "The only thing that they are missing is a certain power that Mr. Daheng must infuse into the Liberation Technique. That power will absorb the person entirely to create a key to unlock the door."

The Demi-Monarch then turned to Lu Yin. "Tell me, why would a mere key be allowed to join the Liberation Palace? The number of people who are genuinely eligible to join is extremely few. Even I am uncertain of who those people are, but they need to at least be on the same level as me. Him? What qualifications does he hold?"

The messenger vehemently denied the allegations. "Impossible! You're speaking nonsense! I am a member of the Liberation Palace! Everyone respects me, and no one dares to offend me! The Liberation Palace has even given me missions."

Chen Le shook his head. "You are nothing more than a key. Why would anyone bother arguing with a mere key? Missions? What kind of tasks could you possibly carry out with your strength? You are nothing more than a messenger, as your weakness allows you to conveniently go unnoticed."

Lu Yin stared at the messenger. It was a good point; why would anyone bother arguing with a mere key? However, most people did not know that the man was nothing more than a key, which meant that what they respected was his status in the Liberation Palace.

This man was rather pitiful, as he was destined to never be anything more than a key.

"Impossible! Impossible!" the man continued to howl, unable to accept reality.

Chen Le showed no hesitation as he made a move and instantly killed the messenger. "Too noisy."

Lu Yin looked back at Chen Le. "Aren't you concerned that you’ve lost your key?"

Chen Le glanced back at the young man. "Will you give me that stone?"

"Of course not."

"Then there's no reason to keep the key."

Lu Yin grew curious. "Why does the Liberation Palace want to collect these stones?"

Chen Le's eyes flickered. "Collect? Have you seen other stones like that one?"

Lu Yin casually tossed the stone back to Chen Le. "The patterns on the stone are clearly incomplete, which means that it must have been broken off from a larger mural."

Chen Le stared at the stone in his hand, lost in his own thoughts. He was just one step away, just one step...

"If Mr. Daheng learns that you have this stone, you won’t fare any better than that key. Even if you have a peak powerhouse supporting you, there is nothing that can stop the Liberation Palace from getting what they want. Their actions are unrestricted by things like morality, and they always get whatever they want." Chen Le threw the stone back to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin chuckled. "Then let's make sure that they don't find out."

"They will," Chen Le replied.

"Just like how you learned that this stone was in the hands of the Bai clan and so annihilated them?" Lu Yin retorted.

Chen Le answered in a cold tone, "The world of cultivators is cruel. Morality and bottom lines are nothing more than the cries of the weak. I already understand all of this, so I never intended to live. As for the Bai clan, do you think that that stone was their ancestral treasure or something? They also stole it from someone else. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Bai Laogui’s disciple was one of your subordinates in the Red Zone. I framed him and forced him into a dead end so that he would have no choice but to seek refuge with the New Inn. Even so, I'm sure that his suffering is only partially due to me framing him. No one can reach this level without doing things that gnaw at their conscience. Bai Laogui was no different, and neither is his disciple. Even you are the same, Xuan Qi."

Lu Yin chuckled. "You really have a way with words. You wiped out an entire clan, and yet you blame your actions entirely on the cultivation world."

Chen Le closed his eyes and stopped responding. There was no use in saying anything further.

"Do you... want to die?" Lu Yin suddenly asked.

Chen Le answered calmly, his eyes still closed. "What's the point in asking such a question? Aren't you here to avenge the Bai clan?"

Lu Yin had indeed planned to keep his promise to Old Dian and avenge the Bai clan as much as possible. However, for the time being, Chen Le would be able to be of much greater use if he were kept alive. On top of that, buying Old Dian’s life with the lives of four Semi-Progenitor level Aeternals was already enough of a sacrifice on Lu Yin’s part. As for taking Chen Le's life to get revenge, that could be a matter for later on.

"Is the door that Mr. Daheng placed in your body really indestructible?" Lu Yin asked.

Chen Le’s eyes opened. His only purpose in life was to climb higher and achieve greater strength. This was why he had risked invading the Red Zone. He had accepted his death the moment the messenger had died. "There’s no way to remove it."

"Not even if a peak powerhouse tries to get rid of it?" Lu Yin asked.

Chen Le stared at Lu Yin. "Just who are you? I'm certain that you are not a peak powerhouse, but you possess the strength of one, which is beyond unusual. On top of that, you’ve hidden your true strength this entire time. The fact that you're asking me such a question implies that you have the support of a peak powerhouse."

Lu Yin commented, "Everyone knows that Xu Wuwei was my guide for cultivating voidforce energy, and I also have a good relation with both the Void Yang and Void Yin clans. Why are you suggesting that it’s not one of them?"

"None of them are a possibility," Chen Le confidently stated, "The peak powerhouse supporting you has nothing to do with any of them, and they might even be someone no one knows about."

The man stared at Lu Yin intently. "Aeternus?"

"What if it is?" Lu Yin asked.

Chen Le’s eyes never left Lu Yin. "I refuse to become a traitor."

Lu Yin arched a brow. "Given everything you've already done, you're not much better than a traitor as it is. If Monarch Luo learns that you’ve joined the Liberation Palace and have been assisting Mr. Daheng this whole time, will he spare you?"

Chen Le remained composed. "Betraying Monarch Luo and betraying humanity are two entirely different matters."

Lu Yin had no idea what was going through Chen Le’s mind. It was possible that the Demi-Monarch was telling the truth, but it was also possible that he was simply certain that Xuan Qi was not himself a traitor and was therefore putting on an act. After all, any traitor, even those who were forced into it, would typically be killed and shown no mercy.

However, the man’s thoughts did not actually matter to Lu Yin, as Chen Le would be extremely useful regardless.

"I hope that you're telling the truth. The Bai clan still needs to be avenged, but back to my question: if a peak powerhouse helps you, can that door inside you be opened?" Lu Yin asked.

He was trying to gain some understanding of Mr. Daheng's strength and the man’s status in the Sixverse Association from Chen Le's answer.

Chen Le considered the matter, but he eventually shook his head. "Unless you are backed by someone as powerful as the masters of the member universes of the Sixverse Association, it’s extremely unlikely."

Lu Yin's heart sank. "Is Mr. Daheng really that powerful?"

Chen Le sighed helplessly. "Without such strength, how else could he roam about freely?"

No matter what, Lu Yin still wanted to at least try. He needed someone with the strength of a Progenitor to guide him around the Three Monarchs Universe and help increase his understanding of Monarch Luo. This was not something that Arch-Elder Zen could do, and Lu Yin had no other options available. Chen Le was truly the best option.

Lu Yin put the Zenith Mountain away again before tearing the void open to return to Aeternus Nation. After that, he continued on to the Fifth Mainland so that he could speak with his senior brother, Mu Xie.

When Chen Le laid eyes on Mu Xie, his expression changed. This was someone who had truly reached the peak. The pressure that Chen Le felt from the Progenitor was no weaker than one of the three Monarchs’.

Mu Xie met Chen Le's eyes and quickly noticed something about the man. Mu Xie focused deep within Chen Le's body.

After a moment, the Progenitor exclaimed, "Someone has sealed some sort of energy within his body that obstructs his circulation of monarch essence. Even if he tries to break through to the next realm, he won't succeed, even without the need for a stellular tribulation."

Aside from the Origin Universe, cultivators in the various parallel universes did not face tribulations, not even when breaking through to the peak level. The chances of a successful breakthrough in the Voidforce Universe depended on a person’s natural talent. But for the Three Monarchs Universe, in addition to a person’s natural talent, they also needed to fully circulate their monarch essence.

This was also something that Mr. Daheng was well aware of, as it was what let him block Chen Le from being able to ascend to the next realm.

Chen Le did not dare to bring up this issue to Monarch Lu, as doing so would be admitting to his connection to the Liberation Palace. On top of that, there was no guarantee that Monarch Luo had the strength necessary to open Mr. Daheng's door.

In Chen Le's opinion, Mr. Daheng was someone who surpassed even Monarch Luo.

As for Mu Xie, while the man was clearly another peak powerhouse, Chen Le was not hopeful that the man could deal with Mr. Daheng’s door. That man’s strength was simply too exceptional.

"Senior Brother, do you think that you could help him open that door?" Lu Yin asked.

Mu Xie pondered over the matter. "Whoever put that restriction in his body is terrifyingly powerful and is absolutely no weaker than any of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. As for just how strong they truly are, it’s hard to get a full picture from this much. However, if you want this door opened..."

There was a pause, and Lu Yin's heart dropped. Was even his Senior Brother helpless to anything to this door?

On the other hand, Chen Le was not at all surprised, as it simply matched his expectations. This was precisely why, after Mr Dafeng had first placed the door within Chen Le, he had not sought help from Monarch Luo. From that point on, he had been a pawn of the Liberation Palace.

"I can give it a try," Mu Xie suggested.

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. "Are you that confident, Senior Brother?"

Mu Xie laughed. "I can't say that I’m confident at all, but I can at least try knocking my ?arīra against that door. Besides, I also want to test out this person's strength."

With that, the man pointed to the place in Chen Le's body where the door had been planted. A miniature version of Mu Xie’s ?arīra appeared and entered Chen Le's body, ruthlessly smashing against the door.

It was a simple but brutal method, and Chen Le was horrified by it. "You can’t!"

Even as his voice rang out, his mind was violently struck. Two powerful forces collided with each other inside of him, and he felt like something was tearing. His face went pale. This was not good.

Blood leaked from the Demi-Monarch’s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose and seeped from every orifice of his body.