Star Odyssey

Chapter 3976: Clash Of Civilizations

Lu Yin held the broken needle in one hand while reaching for the one formed from the alternating sun and moon with his other. Unbroken Time frantically tried to escape. Its ability had been broken, which had cost it dearly. It was no longer capable of defending itself against Lu Yin. As for its previous first, fifth, ninth, and twelfth marks, all of that was broken, and there was nothing left.

The second needle was grasped. For the first time, Lu Yin had managed to catch hold of Unbroken Time. Beneath what could be seen of the creature was an invisible frame that felt like metal. It was unseen, yet tangible.

When the Great Master had managed to land blows on Unbroken Time, she had struck this framework.

Lu Yin had just managed to seize it.

Unbroken Time was like a clock spread flat across the void.

“Human, you are not an Immortal! You are not!”

Lu Yin kept a tight hold on Unbroken Time and wasted no effort on words. He was trying to force it into his Champions' Stage Purgatory so that he could somewhat replenish his Karmic Dao.

There was a sudden crack, and Unbroken Time simply shattered.

Cracks spread across the alternating sun and moon and then spread across the entire creature. As Lu Yin watched in disbelief, Unbroken Time shattered into fragments that soon vanished.

Lu Yin stared blankly. Is it dead?

He automatically reached out, and he even released Verdant Eternity as a net, but there was nothing to be found. Unbroken Time was completely gone, having dissipated into wisps of gray. The creature had consisted of time itself.

How could it have died? Was it really just a time-based lifeform?

If Unbroken Time’s last ability had succeeded, Lu Yin would have died. What price it would have paid to accomplish that, Lu Yin did not know. However, since it had lost, the price that it had needed to pay had been time: its own time, absolutely all of it. Rather than saying that Lu Yin’s lifespan had been compared to the Immortal Lord, it was more like he had been compared to Unbroken Time.

The Immortal Lord had merely served as a standard.

Ultimately, it had been such a terrifying ability that the price of using it was more than what even Unbroken Time could bear.

Lu Yin looked at his empty surroundings. There was nothing at all left. After such a grueling battle, there was nothing to be gained. All he had was half of a broken needle.

He felt as if he had fought for nothing.

“Watch out for Luo Chan,” the Great Master warned.

Lu Yin immediately released his consciousness. “Stop.”

Word Manifestation.

Ahead of him, Luo Chan abruptly froze. The bug stared at Lu Yin in astonishment.

He then quickly released a Wheel of Karma, while also slashing down at Luo Chan with the Tri-Azure Sword Intent.

Word Manifestation had succeeded on Luo Chan, forcing it to stop moving. However, actually eliminating the creature was practically impossible. The transparent moth had also been affected by Word Manifestation, and it had still been a very difficult opponent for Lu Yin.

The exact instant that the Wheel of Karma and Tri-Azure Sword Intent made contact with the bug, Luo Chan vanished.

The attacks ended up striking nothing at all.

Lu Yin frowned and looked behind. Far away, Dan Jin spat out blood as she was knocked back. Qing Xing was also struck by the power of the Third Rampart, forced back one step after another.

The Great Master alone remained on the offensive, her oar raised to smash down upon Shan Xiao’s attack.

Behind the power of the Third Rampart, the bug’s expression grew solemn. “Unbroken Time actually died. It was the Immortal Lord’s favorite Verdant Sage.”

Chang roared, “Human, let’s fight to the death!”

Luo Chan appeared far away. “Be careful of the one who killed Unbroken Time. Not only does he control the powers of karma and time, but he also wields a power that I am unable to shake off. It’s some sort of fusion of consciousness and manifested thought. He is at least as much of a threat as an Immortal, so avoid him.”

Shan Xiao gave Lu Yin a hard stare before turning to Luo Chan. “Let’s go. Unbroken Time cannot die in vain. Where it fell must become the battlefield where humanity is annihilated.”

“Go!” Chang growled.

Lu Yin released his consciousness. “Stop.”

It was already too late. Chang and the others were quite far from Lu Yin, and Luo Chan was extremely wary of him. As his consciousness spread out, Luo Chan immediately grabbed Chang and Shan Xiao before vanishing. Even a vast number of the surviving insects disappeared.

The Nest civilization was no longer keeping Luo Chan’s ability a secret. Unbroken Time’s death had forced the Nest civilization to launch the final battle.

This was all a part of Lu Yin’s plan. He wanted to use Unbroken Time’s death to force the Nest civilization to attack the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, so that the fighting would remain within the Night Pillars’ range. Since the battle would start soon, Lu Yin and the others needed to hurry back.

A gate suddenly appeared. Greater Sancte Awe Gate was reaching out. “Go.”

All of the remaining insects abruptly charged at Lu Yin and the other three humans in a suicidal manner, only for their targets to slip through the gate and vanish.

Luo Chan had taken part of the insect swarm away with Chang and Shan Xiao, and they all appeared outside of the Spirit Nidus. The defenders of the thirty-six domains all saw the insect horde arrive. “Attack!”

Lu Sizhan’s expression was grave, and his sword intent shot upwards.

The experts from the Rift of Suffering stayed back to protect the thirty-six domains.

Chang roared, leading the charge from the front. Its terrifying strength crushing universes as it descended upon the experts from the Rift of Suffering.

Ku Ji, Ku Han, Ku Cheng and the others simultaneously used Heartrift. One after another, dark rifts appeared, shooting upwards to thwart Chang’s pressure.

Boom!

Everyone from the Rift of Suffering spat out blood as they plummeted down.

Chang raced downwards. Did these puny humans really believe they could stop it?

At the last moment, it sensed a power that caused even Chang’s heart to tremble. The power shot straight up into the sky, and Chang’s eyes turned to look. Is it him?

Lu Yin threw a punch, unleashing his physical power to slam into Chang.

There was a bang, and the void shattered, the horizontal tear spreading out endlessly. The entire Spirit Nidus trembled, and the thirty-six domains fractured while countless planets shattered entirely. The aftershocks created a storm that swept across multiple universes, visible even to the naked eye.

Countless people watched in horror. What kind of clash of strength was this?

Lu Yin let out a happy huff. “That was refreshing. Again!”

He had not been able to use his physical strength at all when fighting against Unbroken Time, and even when he had tried, Lu Yin’s power had been borrowed by the Great Master. He had felt rather stifled throughout that fight.

In contrast, Chang was the kind of opponent that Lu Yin enjoyed the most.

The beast’s massive eyes also glimmered with excitement. “Human, again!”

With that, it fiercely crashed down again.

Lu Yin stepped forward, rising up with a fist up to meet the strike.

A punch blasted out, yet it struck nothing. Chang was gone. Where did it go?

In an instant, Luo Chan had taken Chang and Shan Xiao to another battlefield. There, another insect swarm surged forward towards countless cultivators of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

“Luo Chan, you-!” Chang growled, making its displeasure known.

Luo Chan warned, “That human is not easy to deal with. Don’t bother fighting him. Unbroken Time is already dead. We still need to give an explanation to the Immortal Lord.”

Suppressing its fury, Chang turned and charged at the available human cultivators.

Several people rushed out to meet the gargantuan figure. Gu Duanke and Deathmounds experts were ready to fight again.

Glancing at them, Chang sneered. Courting death!

It had been attacked by these humans before. Did they truly think that they could drive it away?

The Zensword erupted, the sword intent severing everything. There was neither joy nor sorrow in Gu Duanke’s eyes, even as he unleashed the most bloodthirsty attack of his entire life.

Chao Yi, E Xiu, Long Yin, and many others also used all of their strongest attacks, vowing to slay Chang.

Boom!

The attacks of multiple peak Dukkhans struck Chang, but it was Chao Yi and the others who were sent flying while spitting blood. They crashed into the ground, unable to believe the outcome.

Gu Duanke’s slash also struck Chang’s body, but it was barely able to push the beast back at all. Impossible!

He was the Sword Sovereign of the Nine Odysseys. Even against someone like Lu Yin, who was invincible beneath the Immortal realm, Gu Duanke’s attack should not be completely useless. This monster’s body...?

Chang revealed a savage grin as its massive body twisted about. Gu Duanke was pressed down, chased by Chang and its claws. “Die, human!”

Gu Duanke tightly clenched the hilt of his sword. It swept across, thrust forward, and slashed down as he unleashed a flurry of sword attacks with his Zensword Intent, searching for Chang’s weakness. There was none to be found. No matter how the sword intent struck, almost no damage could be seen. The beast’s defenses were too terrifying, and its claws were reaching for Gu Duanke.

A gate appeared in front of the man, and Lu Yin stepped out. He looked up. “Did you think you could escape?”

While speaking, he threw another punch.

Bang!

A shockwave slammed into Gu Duanke, forcing him down while the void split open right where the claws and fist met. The five claws completely sliced the void open, and when looked at from below, it seemed as though those five claws were holding the entire universe.

Chang’s body was so massive that its claws covered the star-filled sky. It had not even noticed Lu Yin’s arrival, so Chang was stunned by the sudden punch. Its claws were forced back, ripples of power spreading through its arm, shaking its entire body. Numerous scales flipped up, and it was almost sent flying.

Chang retracted its claws and glared downwards. “You again?”

Lu Yin stared up at the enormous Chang. The bug looked exactly like Stillstorm, but it was clearly not Stillstorm. Still, there must have been some sort of connection between the two, as there was no other explanation for Chang’s appearance.

Compared to Unbroken Time, Lu Yin was much more curious about Chang, and he even more eager to learn where Stillstorm was.

“I am your opponent,” Lu Yin declared slowly.

Chang bared its teeth in a hideous grin and then laughed wildly. “Human, you’re here just in time! Hahaha, come!”

With that, the scales that had lifted up across its body flickered, and a stifling dark radiance enveloped its entire form. The beast’s body looked like a metal statue while its aura surged violently as it hurled itself downwards.

Behind Chang, Shan Xiao was startled. How did Lu Yin catch up to us?

Luo Chan shouted, “Not good! The humans possess the same ability as me! Now I understand; it’s no wonder why the humans allowed our swarms to reproduce unchecked, never taking action. Whatever they use has a limited range, and beyond that, it’s useless. The humans must have learned about my ability beforehand, and they’ve been waiting, luring us into launching an all-out war.”

Shan Xiao’s eyes narrowed. “How could the humans have learned about your ability?”

“Maybe Shan Lie? All of the Verdant Sages who attacked from your swarm are gone. If I’m not mistaken, they were killed by the human who uses karma. He learned it through karma.” Luo Chan saw through everything.

Shan Xiao’s expression grew grim. “Interesting... Karma truly is a terrifying power. What now? Our only advantage is gone.”

Luo Chan was increasingly on edge. Its ability had offered the Nest civilization too great an advantage in their wars. If they could not spread the battlefield out far enough to leverage that ability, how could they possibly win the war?

With Unbroken Time dead, the Nest civilization had already suffered a terrible loss, and they were learning that their only remaining advantage had just disappeared.

Retreat? That was not even an option. The human civilization had to be destroyed. But now...

Luo Chan suddenly vanished, taking Shan Xiao with it.

A gate appeared, and the Great Master stepped through with her oar in hand. “They ran?”

Something shifted in the gate behind her, and the Great Master was whisked away without delay.

Far away, Luo Chan and Shan Xiao had only just appeared when the Great Master also arrived, her oar mercilessly swinging down. “Behave yourself!”

Luo Chan vanished once again, successfully avoiding being struck this time. It had fled the moment before the Great Master’s oar fell, which could not be counted as the Great Master missing.

The Great Master was also taken away by a gate.

All around the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, Luo Chan fled with Shan Xiao, appearing and disappearing again and again. All the while, gates appeared as well, carrying the Great Master along in an endless pursuit.

Eventually, Shan Xiao was tossed aside, leaving only Luo Chan to flee from the Great Master.

As for Shan Xiao, she joined a battlefield.

The Great Master’s target was only Luo Chan, as she alone was able to counter the bug. As for Shan Xiao, she could be left for others to handle.

The three Insect Lords had been split apart, each one occupying a different battlefield as the Nest civilization clashed with the human civilization.