Star Odyssey

Lu Yin’s reaction had been quite fast, but he had not been quick enough to stop the dark-red radiance from penetrating Luo Shen’s body. Although he was still able to block a part of the attack’s force, Luo Shen was also just a Melder. Against this attack, her defenses were no better than a wet piece of paper. 

Lu Yin grabbed Luo Shen with both of his arms as the dark-red radiance dissipated. 

Luo Shen’s face had gone pale and was devoid of all color as large amounts of blood bled out from her abdomen. 

Lu Yin was shocked. During his entire cultivation journey, no one had ever willingly sacrificed themselves for him like what Luo Shen had just done. No one had ever died for him. 

At this moment, Ming Yan, Zhuo Daynight, and Luo Shen’s image all overlapped in front of him. 

Ming Yan had willingly consumed a fatal poison rather than allow Lu Yin to be blackmailed by the Neohuman Alliance. 

Zhuo Daynight had deliberately revealed the fact that she had cultivated Night’s End, Daybreak in order to delay Nightking Zhenwu from pursuing Lu Yin and give him a chance to live. 

And now, Luo Shen had blocked an attack before it could strike Lu Yin, and she had done so without hesitation, choosing to die for him. 

Lu Yin had never expected to encounter such a situation here, and he clung to Luo Shen while feeling an indescribable burden weighed on his heart. 

He hurriedly made Luo Shen swallow some pills, and at the same time, he used his lockbreaking skills to try to dissolve the energy currently corroding her body from the inside. 

She had been struck in the abdomen, and the attack had nearly pierced straight through her body. The foreign energy’s corrosion effect was spreading through her body, but fortunately, Lu Yin was a Lockbreaker. Otherwise, the energy might have been difficult to control. 

Fresh blood continued to seep from her body, and as Lu Yin held onto Luo Shen, her face grew increasingly pale. 

She had long since fallen unconscious. 

“Seventh Bro, don’t panic. Her injuries aren’t that bad since that attack wasn’t too strong to begin with. On top of that, you also managed to weaken it a great deal,” the Ghost Monkey shouted, snapping Lu Yin out of his daze. 

Lu Yin was caught off guard. Weakened? Right!

His pupils transformed into runes, and he easily spotted the rune lines of the corrosive energy that was still rampaging within Luo Shen’s abdomen, which he immediately tried to erase. The energy still in her body was weakened by nearly half, and Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. Luo Shen could deal with this level of corrosion. 

He carried Luo Shen into the collapsible spacecraft, quickly found the nearest base of Shamrock Enterprises’, and then sped away. 

Within the spacecraft, Lu Yin’s thoughts were a mess as he stared at the incredibly feeble Luo Shen and her drooping hair. Why? Why had she blocked that attack for him? Had it been worth it? 

He had long since known that Luo Shen held feelings for him, as it was clear in both her expressions and words. Despite Lu Yin knowing about her feelings, he could not accept them. Ming Yan was his true love, and there was also Wendy Yushan beside him. During the competition on Planet Pyrolyte, Wendy had supported Lu Yin without hesitation. In addition to them, there was Zhuo Daynight as well; the life and death debt that Lu Yin owed her was not something that could be repaid. 

Emotions could override any power, and Lu Yin did not dare to accept Luo Shen’s feelings.

However, how could he repay her for taking this attack for him? This was also a life debt, and her feelings were clearly too strong. 

“Ugh.”

Luo Shen was in agony, and she unconsciously groaned in pain. Her lips were parched as she mumbled to herself.

Lu Yin moved closer. 

“Your Highness, Your Highness, don’t come! Your Highness! Bro- Brother Lu…”

Lu Yin’s expression grew complex, and he stared at the helpless Luo Shen. He could not help himself from stretching out a hand and tightly grasping her white hand. It felt soft, gentle, and very comfortable. 

For some reason, once Lu Yin held Luo Shen’s hand, she fell silent. Although she was clearly still in agony, she no longer made any sounds. Clearly the pain had been relieved. No matter how much physical pain she might be in, at this moment, her heart was blissful. 

Lu Yin fell silent. 

All of the medications that Lu Yin had fed Luo Shen were upgraded ones, and they were strong enough to even treat an Enlighter’s injuries.

Still, Luo Shen was only a Melder, and Lu Yin was worried that the corpse king’s energy might have some residual effects. Thus, he was determined to take her to one of Shamrock Enterprises’ bases to be treated. 

Although Shamrock Enterprises mainly sold medications and pills, they were also quite well versed in treatments, and many medical geniuses worked for them.

It was a pity that Lu Yin did not know where Windrift Hall was located, as that place would have been an even better option. 

He had just offended Shamrock Enterprises, but now he was taking Luo Shen to them. Even Lu Yin felt a bit embarrassed by his behavior, though he did not have the luxury to consider his other options. 

Yu Mu would not possibly refuse Lu Yin’s request for such a thing, as this small matter was not worth triggering a falling out with Lu Yin. 

Shamrock Enterprises’ closest branch was still several hours away from Lu Yin’s current location, and it was actually not too far away from Frostwave Weave.

Lu Yin tyrannically forced the branch’s top medical experts to stop all their work on developing new drugs to treat Luo Shen. Soon after, he was told that her injuries were completely under control and that all she needed to do was recuperate and slowly nurse herself back to health. With that, Lu Yin finally let the people go. 

After all, Luo Shen was just a Melder. Although Lu Yin’s pills had stabilized her injuries, they were also incredibly potent. In other words, just consuming the pills had injured Luo Shen’s body. The experts from Shamrock Enterprises had merely helped Luo Shen recuperate. 

Her recovery would take at least half a year. 

Multiple days passed before Luo Shen finally awakened. During the entire time she had been unconscious, she had not let go of Lu Yin’s hand even once. She had latched onto him, and he had not let go either. 

When she opened her eyes, Luo Shen instantly noticed that she was holding Lu Yin’s hand. Her face flushed bright red, but she did not immediately let go. Instead, she pretended not to notice anything. 

Lu Yin grew concerned, and he quickly asked, “Are you thirsty?”

She was indeed parched, but she still shook her head. She was afraid that Lu Yin would let go of her hand to pour some water, and she preferred to keep his hand.

Lu Yin felt that her response was rather strange. “You’re really not thirsty? Your lips are completely chapped.” 

“No,” Luo Shen insisted, though even her voice was a bit hoarse.

Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement. He then looked down, saw that they were still holding hands, and reflexively let go. “I’m sorry. You were unconscious this whole time, so I didn’t want to disturb you.” 

Luo Shen was disappointed, and she quietly said, “I’m thirsty.”

Lu Yin pursed his lips, at a loss for her sudden change. What did this mean?

He poured her a glass of water, and Luo Shen drained the entire glass before passing the empty cup back to Lu Yin with a clearly expectant expression.

Lu Yin poured her another glass, and she drained the second one as well. Lu Yin poured a third cup, and after drinking most of that as well, her complexion visibly improved.

“So why did you initially say that you weren’t thirsty?” Lu Yin felt confused.

Luo Shen rolled her eyes at him. Her face was still slightly flushed.

“Right, thank you,” Lu Yin said, his tone suddenly rather heavy.

Luo Shen shook her head. “Without Your Highness, I definitely would have been punished by Amethyst Exchange. Just treat this as me paying Your Highness back.”

Pay back? Although Lu Yin was normally not very empathetic, he still understood Luo Shen’s intentions at this moment. 

“Your Highness, where are we?” Luo Shen asked.

Lu Yin replied, “One of Shamrock Enterprises’ branches.”

“And my injuries?” Luo Shen was puzzled. 

Lu Yin replied, “There’s no problem at all. You’ll just need to rest for half a year. Also, don’t do such ridiculous things in the future.”

Luo Shen gave a soft grunt of acknowledgement and then murmured to herself, “As long as you’re safe.” 

Lu Yin did not hear her clearly. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” Luo Shen instantly replied.

Lu Yin stood up. “I’m going to go around and ask a few questions about that planet.”

Luo Shen grunted and watched as Lu Yin left before looking down at her abdomen. She was still in a great deal of pain, but her heart felt very warm.

***

“Your Highness, the energy in the Astral River is quickly receding, and the nearby star energy has surged. As a result, many people have moved closer to the river to cultivate,” Huo Qingshan informed Lu Yin. 

Lu Yin looked to the south. “Got it. Take the students from the Yu Academy over there to cultivate as well.” 

“Yes, Your Highness,” Huo Qingshan answered.

Lu Yin lowered his gadget. It seemed that it would not be very long before the Outerverse reconnected to the Innerverse. Before that happened, he absolutely had to unite the rest of the Outerverse and become its master; none of the Innerverse’s great powers would be willing to see a united Outerverse, so a conflict would definitely break out.

Lu Yin still had not come up with any way to move forward with this, but it was an inevitability of the future. He would not be able to avoid this conflict. 

Perhaps it would be a good idea to go take a look at the edge of the Astral River.

He kept Luo Shen company for three days before deciding that it was time to leave.

The ground trembled strangely, and a moment later, a billowing gale swept out that nearly overturned the ground. 

Lu Yin’s gaze trembled, and he stepped out of the ward as he raised a hand. His star energy formed a shield that dispersed the gale as he looked off into the distance. There, he saw a vast amount of rune lines that even exceeded the Enlighter realm corpse king’s. Another Enlighter realm expert had arrived. 

Why was it that Lu Yin seemed to bump into Enlighters wherever he went? 

Some distance away, the buildings belonging to the Shamrock Enterprises’ branch shook as a mountain range broke apart. Quite a few cultivators fled in fear as they stared at a giant figure on the horizon. A massive shape blotting out the sky could be seen near the mountain range—it was a sylvan dragon. 

Nobody could have expected that a sylvan dragon would launch a surprise attack on this branch of Shamrock Enterprises. 

The crux of the confusion was that the sylvan dragon had wrapped a piece of black cloth around its face, and everyone who saw the scene had puzzled expressions. 

Was there anyone who would not be able to tell that this was a sylvan dragon? Was there even a reason to cover its face? Even if the dragon had not done so, nobody aside from sylvan dragons themselves could really tell them apart. At best, people would be able to differentiate between their sexes. If this beast wanted to hide its identity, then why not simply alter its skeletal structure and take on a humanoid form?

Too many strange incidents had occurred in the history of the Outerverse, and now, there was one more. The sylvan dragon with a covered face attacked one of Shamrock Enterprises’ branches. It even believed that no one could determine what it was. 

“This is a robbery, so behave yourselves! Hand over all of your star essence and most powerful medications!” the sylvan dragon snarled, its spittle spraying everywhere.

The terrifying threat that the beast represented scared the cultivators of Shamrock Enterprises, and quite a few had the color drain from their faces. Some even cried out in fright.

The sylvan dragon’s eyes swept across everyone gathered on the planet, but its gaze lingered on the pretty girls, and the glimmer of human-like emotion in its eyes revealed the beast’s infatuation. “This is a robbery, so take off your clothes for a body search.” 

The crowd was stumped. 

At that moment, a screen appeared in the sky above the branch, and Eastern Chairman Shen Fu appeared on it. “Lord Sylvan Dragon, I wonder, how might my Shamrock Enterprises have offended you?” 

The sylvan dragon blinked. “What sylvan dragon? You’re clearly mistaken—I’m an Undying Bird!” 

Everyone was rendered speechless. 

Even Shen Fu choked slightly, and his tone became indignant. “Lord Sylvan Dragon, I’m Shamrock Enterprises’ Eastern Chairman, Shen Fu. Could Lord Dragon please explain how Shamrock Enterprises has offended you?” 

The sylvan dragon became angry. “I’ve already said that I’m an Undying Bird. Don’t you understand the bird language?”

Shen Fu became enraged. “Sylvan dragon, don’t go overboard! This is a part of Shamrock Enterprises, and not even your clan elder would cause trouble for us without reason!”

“Scram.” The sylvan dragon suddenly waved its forefoot and destroyed the screen. Its massive eyes then swept over the most attractive women here as it practically drooled. “Hurry up! I need to search your bodies! You girls must have some good things hidden on you.” 

Off in the distance, Lu Yin was completely dumbfounded as he watched the sylvan dragon conduct a robbery, his face fully revealing his incredulousness. Isn’t that Long Erhuo?

When Lu Yin and the others had fled from the Starfall Sea, the sylvan dragon had gone missing, but Lu Yin had assumed that Yuan Shi had captured the sylvan dragon at the border. Why was he here? And why was he robbing this place? 

At that moment, another screen rose up into the sky, and this time, Yu Mu appeared on the screen. Before he could even speak, the entire mountain range trembled as the machinery projecting the image was destroyed, causing Yu Mu’s image to vanish. 

The sylvan dragon grew arrogant. “They still dare to disturb me! They’re asking for it!

“Pfft, how bold! You’re still not listening to me? This is a robbery! Give me all of your star essence and the best medications. Males go to the left, and females to the right. Pah, I need to correct myself. Males and ugly females to the left, pretty females to the right.”

The crowd was petrified, and they could only follow the sylvan dragon’s orders as everyone began to shuffle about. 

The attractive women grew even more terrified, and they all stared at the sylvan dragon in horror.

The sylvan dragon grinned, revealing his sinister fangs. “Now we’ll do a body search! Hahaha!”