Star Odyssey

Chapter 3854: Very Important

“Qiunan Hongye greets you, Mr. Lu.”

Lu Yin landed in front of Qiunan Hongye. Liu Li, Jian Hong, and everyone else withdrew to leave the two alone.

Lu Yin examined Qiunan Hongye. “You’re different from Lu Siyu and Ming Xiaolong.”

Qiunan Hongye replied, “Each person is different. Fourth Sister knows when to hold tight and when to let go. Seventh Sister is simple and lively. I can't compare to either of them.”

“Why did you ask to meet with me?” Lu Yin asked.

The woman’s ears twitched slightly. “First, I would like to thank you for not exposing that I was the one who asked you to escort Jian Hong here.”

“That was part of the task. I wouldn’t betray something like that.”

“Even if you had violated that detail, I would have accepted the task as completed. I would never try to make things difficult for you.”

If anyone else had uttered those words, they would sound like empty boasts. After all, the incident had occurred twelve years before. However, when Qiúnán Hongyè spoke them, they carried an unshakable weight. It was not that her words were objectively “true” in a literal sense, but rather that they could not possibly be “false.”

“True” and “not false” might look the same on paper, yet they stand worlds apart: one asserts reality, the other conveys an iron-clad certainty that needs no proof.

Lu Yin trusted Qiunan Hongye, and it was simply his gut instinct.

“During your breakthrough to the Origin realm, the War (战) character fell to the South Domain, where my Qiunan family saw it. Your accomplishments in war have earned our respect. If Fourth Sister or Seventh Sister offended you before, I ask for your forgiveness,” she said while bowing low.

“That’s not needed, as there’s nothing to forgive. I’m not so petty. Go on—what else do you need?” Lu Yin said.

Qiunan Hongye raised her head back up. “I ask that you spare the Sixth Night Pillar.”

Lu Yin was caught off guard. “What do you mean by that? Have I attacked the Sixth Night Pillar? Or are they planning to do something that would provoke me?”

“Senior Liu Li promised you that the Fifth Night Pillar would be allowed to join the upcoming excursion, but she cannot fulfill that promise. No one in the Sixth Night Pillar will agree to it. I am asking you to spare Senior Liu Li, as well as the Sixth Night Pillar,” Qiunan Hongye explained.

Lu Yin chuckled. “So Liu Li sent you to talk to me.”

Qiunan Hongye nodded. “Yes. She is aware that it is impossible for her to fulfill what she promised you. When she remembered that I was the one who asked you to escort Jian Hong here, she approached me.”

Lu Yin countered, “Do you think you can change my mind?”

“Of course not. I’m simply begging you.”

“I’ve heard that there are members of the Qiunan family on each of the nine Night Pillars, which would include the Fifth Night Pillar. Despite that, you clearly seem to completely favor the Sixth Night Pillar. Isn’t that biased?”

Qiunan Hongye’s expression did not change at all. “There are a million members of the Qiunan family. We are concerned only with the war drums and ignore other matters. However, the Sixth Night Pillar protected my grandfather. During that particular battle, tens of millions died to save him. Now, the Sixth Night Pillar is in a weakened state and is being bullied by the Fifth Night Pillar, which is injustice. If I have the ability to help but do nothing, it would be unrighteousness. The Nine Odysseys should act with honor, and yet the Fifth Night Pillar undermines that. They lack compassion.

“But while the Fifth Night Pillar may lack compassion and a sense of what is just, I refuse to commit an unrighteous act.”

After hearing the woman’s explanation, Lu Yin asked, “But is your interference fair to the Fifth Night Pillar? No one else from the Nine Odysseys has intervened, so why do you think it’s your place to do so?”

Qiunan Hongye’s expression grew stern. “No matter what others may think of me, I only ask that my conscience remain clear.”

Lu Yin gave a slight smile. There were many actions that could not be judged as right or wrong. All that anyone could hope for was to act without going against their own conscience.

Still, there were other matters that could be clearly determined to be right or wrong, and the determining factor was usually strength.

When Lu Yin became an Immortal, he would have the power to decide what was right and what was wrong for an entire megaverse. Only then would he be able to ask Qing Cao if it had been right or wrong to use his home as a shield.

“I won’t comment on your choice, but since Liu Li made a promise to me, she should see things through,” Lu Yin calmly stated, his voice completely empty of all emotion.

Qiunan Hongye sighed. “That’s reasonable. It’s understandable that you are unwilling to back down. Still, I would like to know just why you want the Fifth Night Pillar to join the war. Has the Azuresword Sovereign promised you something?”

“No comment.”

“In that case, I can only use a task to ask you to not interfere in this matter.”

Lu Yin was caught off guard. “One of the tasks I need to perform for you Seven Fairies?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve already used yours... which means that you want to have someone else change their task to ensure that I don’t interfere in whether or not the Fifth Night Pillar joins the excursion?”

“That’s right.”

“Will someone actually be willing to do that?”

“We Seven Fairies are like sisters, connected to each other by deep ties.”

Lu Yin chuckled. “Do you truly understand what my presence means? If any of you Seven Fairies wants to get revenge, deal with someone, or even marry a particular person, I can make any of that happen. In the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse, the only things that remain beyond my reach are those that involve the Immortal Greater Sancti.

“Each task that I am given is essentially one wish. Do you still think that someone will be willing to give up that chance for you?”

Qiunan Hongye spoke slowly, “Truthfully, my sisters are quite content. Your tasks are a bonus for us, but not a necessity. Without them, their lives will not be diminished.

“Seventh Sister had you make her father the Four Commands Grand Swordmaster, which turned out well for everyone. However, even without your help, Lu Sizhan would have lived a comfortable life, possibly even happier than the one he lives now, given the burdens of his title.”

Lu Yin did not deny that. With Lu Sizhan’s personality, there was no doubt that he had become stronger by becoming the Four Commands Grand Swordmaster, but the title had also placed an immense burden on the man’s shoulders. While he might appear to be just as carefree as before, deep down, the weight of carrying the sect’s legacy was a heavy burden.

“Fourth Sister asked you to help retrieve her brother, but even without you, our eldest sister had already discussed the matter with us. Even if it meant tearing down the entire Autumnspring Slip, we would have taken Ming Xiaochou back. Senior Ming Zhuo and the others had already been contacted. No matter how much that sect may have wanted to keep Ming Xiaochou, they were never able to stand against all of us together. The outcome would have been the same.

“As for me, without your help, that otherborn would have indeed ended up in the hands of the Fifth Night Pillar, but I still would have found a way to have the Sixth Night Pillar join the expedition. My sisters had all already agreed to put pressure on the Fifth Night Pillar.

“I don’t say these things to dismiss your efforts, Mr. Lu, but to show you that we are truly quite content. There are many things that we can accomplish by working together. That is why, if I ask, one of my sisters will surely be willing to use her task to prevent you from intervening in this matter.”

Lu Yin silently listened. Once Qiunan Hongye finished, he smiled. “No wonder people say that the Seven Fairies cannot be offended. The Sea of Karma is nothing more than a thread that binds you all together. Even without it supporting you, your united strength is already enough to shake the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.”

Qiunan Hongye nodded. “That is indeed what we are confident of.”

“In that case, go ahead. Use a task to force me to step back from this,” Lu Yin said.

Qiunan Hongye stood facing Lu Yin, as though quietly evaluating him.

Lu Yin did not rush her.

“I do not know how important this matter is to you, Mr. Lu. I know that forcing you to step back with a task is unfair to you. Should you harbor any resentment, I, Qiunan Hongye, will bear it on my own.” With that, she once again offered a deep bow.

Lu Yin looked at her. Resentment? There was not really any such thing.

Even if the Fifth Night Pillar had originally been preparing to attack the Tianyuan Megaverse, Lu Yin’s recent breakthrough to the Origin realm, as well as his relationship with Greater Sancte Green Lotus, meant that his home would remain safe for the time being.

Besides, if the Fifth Night Pillar really did have the audacity to target the Tianyuan, Lu Yin would simply attack them on his own. He was curious to see just how many experts they could mobilize.

Unless an Immortal stepped forward, Lu Yin was confident that he was capable of preventing any of the nine Night Pillars from taking action.

If an Immortal did choose to get involved, then nothing that Lu Yin did would matter anyway.

He no longer cared if the Fifth Night Pillar joined the next expedition or not.

However, if he could use this matter to complete another task, that was just perfect.

It was not long before his communication device vibrated, and Lu Siyu’s image reappeared. “Fifth Sister has decided on her task. She asks that you stop pushing for the Fifth Night Pillar to accompany the Sixth Night Pillar in the next expedition. The Seven Fairies are most grateful.”

With that, the young woman actually bowed to Lu Yin.

Beside the image, Qiunan Hongye also offered another bow.

The Seven Fairies believed that the matter involving the Fifth Night Pillar was very important to Lu Yin, and so they felt a bit guilty at forcing him to step back by using one of their seven tasks.

Lu Yin almost laughed. Another task finished. Excellent.

“This was very important to me.”

A single sentence only served to increase the guilt that Qiunan Hongye and Lu Siyu felt.

Despite always calling Lu Yin a little thief, he had still completed one task after another and continued to help the Seven Fairies. As such, Lu Siyu’s impression of him had changed. She found that he was not that bad after all.

In particular, seeing the scenes of Lu Yin’s past had badly shaken her. After that, she had even started to hope that her second sister, Jue Qing, would allow Lu Yin to complete her task.

Using a task to prevent Lu Yin from doing something that was important to him caused the women to feel more guilt than anything else.

The more open a person’s heart was, the less they could bear to cause trouble for others.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Lu Yin took a step and vanished.

Still at the Sixth Night Pillar, Qiunan Hongye pulled out her own communication device and called Lu Siyu again.

When the young woman’s image appeared, her lips were pursed. She looked at Qiunan Hongye. “Sixth Sister, did we go too far?”

Qiunan Hongye remained silent.

“Should I reach out to him again and ask why it was so important to him?”

Qiunan Hongye shook her head. “Since he didn’t say, asking won’t help. Just let it go. We’ll consider this a favor that we owe him.”

Lu Siyu’s eyes lit up. “I spoke with Second Sister, and she said that she’ll let him complete her task.”

Qiunan Hongye nodded. “That’s good.”

With that, she moved to end the call, only for Lu Siyu to quickly stop her. “Sixth Sister, are you going to join the expedition?”

Qiunan Hongye paused. “How did you know?”

Lu Siyu instantly looked worried. “Are you really going? That’s what Fifth Sister and the others all guessed.

“Sixth Sister, given your current cultivation, you’re not ready to go to war. Don’t go, alright? We can’t bear to lose you.”

Qiunan Hongye offered a rare smile. “This is the destiny of the Qiunan family.”

“But it’s not your turn yet!”

“Then should someone weaker than me be sent?”

Lu Siyu opened her mouth, but could not find any words.

Qiunan Hongye looked into the distance. “After the Immortal Greater Sancti ordered the expedition several years ago, more than a million cultivators have joined the Sixth Night Pillar. There are far too many who are much weaker than me. Do you know the minimum requirements to join the expedition?”

Lu Siyu softly replied, “Spirit Rebirth."

Both the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and the Spirit Nidus cultivated with spirit seeds, and they called their cultivation realms the same terms. So long as one had experienced a Spirit Rebirth, they would be able to freely move about outer space without assistance. That was the bare minimum requirement to participate in a war against a foreign megaverse.

While the ability to roam the universe sounded impressive, when it came to a war between megaverses, such power was the absolute minimum. Anyone who was unable to freely move about in outer space was completely unqualified to join.

All of the Seven Fairies were at least peak powerhouses, no different from the geniuses in cryostasis in the Scion Spire. Many cultivators were stuck at that realm, though the difference in combat strength could be vast.