Star Odyssey

Chapter 4011: Meng Hui

Seeing his white robe shatter, Grandmaster Min was left aghast, and he retreated step after step. “Who are you?”

The child darted in front of Grandmaster Min and thrust a short sword at Lu Yin. There was a flare of cold light, and a bell-like chime rang out. The sword blade itself was a spirit treasure formation. When combined with the child’s strength of a Dukkhan, the power of the thrust kept rising. It was an attack that was nearly as powerful as a peak Dukkhan’s.

Despite his apparent youth, this child had lived for a very long time. He referred to Grandmaster Min as grandfather not because of the man’s seniority, but because Grandmaster Min was the child’s actual grandfather by blood. Logically, the child should have died long ago, but he had been frozen in cryostasis along with Grandmaster Min, which was how he had survived for so long.

The child was not a Netherfiend, and he did not even know that Grandmaster Min was one. Still, the old man had used sinister methods to trap his grandson in the body of a child, and he had only awakened him when Grandmaster Min himself had awoken.

The child had been granted long life and cultivation by Grandmaster Min, but his freedom had also been stolen away.

He had become nothing more than Grandmaster Min’s sharp sword.

Lu Yin had learned all of this from Grandmaster Min’s memories. While the old man enjoyed a spotless and upright reputation, he was actually a vicious and extremely ruthless individual.

“Stop,” Lu Yin gently ordered.

The child froze, the tip of his sword freezing less than half a meter away from Lu Yin. His eyes bulging in disbelief, he found that he no longer wished to attack. At that moment, something about the man in front of him left the child instinctively unwilling to become his enemy.

Grandmaster Min’s face fell. “Little child, what are you doing? Kill him!”

The child had never been given a name. From the moment he was born, he had only ever been called by the pet name of little child.

Lu Yin looked at the ancient child with pity. “You don’t have a name?”

The boy stared at Lu Yin, tightening his grip on his sword while stepping forward. The blade was still aimed at Lu Yin, despite the fact that the child was unable to strike.

Why not? For some reason, he simply could not bring himself to thrust his sword forward.

Grandmaster Min’s eyes flickered and he turned to leave, but Lu Yin’s voice reached the old man’s ears. “You stop also.”

At that instant, Grandmaster Min became frozen. He wanted to flee, and yet he found that doing so had become impossible. Why? Why could he no longer control his own body?

Lu Yin met the child’s gaze and offered a hint of a smile. “Should I give you a name?”

The boy stared blankly at Lu Yin while clenching his teeth tightly. The tip of the sword shifted an inch closer so that it was nearly touching Lu Yin. Even so, Lu Yin remained calm. “Your name will be Meng Hui.”

The child’s eyes bulged as he murmured, “Meng Hui?”

“Yes. Your surname is Meng, which is from your father. You’ve always loved to watch the afterglow of sunset on your own, so Meng Hui. Do you like your name?” Lu Yin asked with a smile.

The child whispered again and again, “Meng Hui... Meng Hui... Father... Sunset...”

He let go of the hilt of the sword, letting it hit the ground with a soft clang. His head bowed as his entire body started to tremble.

Lu Yin silently observed. Facing a normal opponent, he would have already ended things, but this child was someone to be pitied. Grandmaster Min had been far too cruel to him, and Lu Yin wanted to help him settle this karma. Failing to do so would leave Lu Yin uneasy.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus had once said that everything started with fate. Many things hinged on that single word.

It was possible that the true value of Possessing Grandmaster Min was not learning the purpose of the spirit treasure formation, but rather discovering the child.

This child had a fated connection with Lu Yin.

Fate was a subtle, ineffable, stirring of the heart that was beyond explanation.

It was as though something unseen had compelled Lu Yin to take action, as though someone had used the power of Word Manifestation against him.

The boy slowly bent down and picked up the sword. He then turned and walked straight towards Grandmaster Min.

The old man glared at the child and harshly barked, “Little child, what are you doing? Kill him! Kill that man! You are my sword—why won’t you obey me?

“I am your grandfather!”

The boy looked up to smile at Grandmaster Min. “Grandfather, why don’t I have a name?”

Grandmaster Min stared blankly at the boy’s smile. He’s smiling!

Ever since the child had first gained awareness, he had not smiled once.

The old man had only seen the child show such a smile once before; when he had been born.

“Why do I have no parents?

“Grandfather, you call me your sword, calling me little child. So, little child became my name. But I don’t want to be called little child.

“I have lived for so long, so why do I have no memories of the world? All I remember is sleeping, endless sleeping.

“I love sunsets, Grandfather. Have you ever watched one with me? Oh yes, I remember now. Watching the sunset required a price to be paid. Every sunset needed someone to die. Isn’t that right, Grandfather?

“Grandfather...”

Lu Yin closed his eyes. The world of cultivators was cruel, and risking one’s life or even dying were quite common, but what this child had endured was not cruelty; it was numbness. He had essentially been repressed into a machine that was controlled by Grandmaster Min. The child had no emotions, hobbies, or even a name. He was unable to control his own body, having been forced to remain in the form of a child forever.

His heart was still that of a child, and yet it carried the most oppressive numbness in existence. The suffering that the child had endured left even Lu Yin wanting to show him some compassion.

“Grandfather, I really want to see a sunset just once. Let’s not kill anyone. Just this once, let me watch the sunset without that price, alright? My name is Meng Hui. Will you call me Meng Hui from now on?” The child showed a smile of pure innocence even as he thrust the sword in his hand forward, stabbing through Grandmaster Min’s chest.

The old man stared down in disbelief as blood dripped from the blade.

Hatred contorted his face as he glared at Meng Hui. “You... want to kill me?”

Meng Hui smiled. “It’s almost time for the sunset. Here, it’s just you and me, Grandfather. If I kill you, then I can watch the sunset.”

Grandmaster Min clenched a fist and threw a punch, only to suddenly freeze in place. He was locked in place by both consciousness and manifested thought, and he was completely unable to move.

He glared at Lu Yin with venomous eyes. “What have you done to me?”

Lu Yin coolly replied, “It’s time to repay what you owe this child.”

Grandmaster Min sneered. “Owe him? Without me, he would have never even entered this world. I brought him here! His father’s life was mine, and so is his! If I say that he is a sword, then he will be a sword. When I sleep, he must sleep. When I wake up, he must wake up. His life is entirely to serve me.

“Do you know why he has his current cultivation? Do you think that he accomplished that on his own?”

Lu Yin’s expression grew cold. “Your innate gift is truly terrifying. ‘Shared Source.’ Isn’t that what you call it?”

Grandmaster Min’s pupils contracted sharply. “You...?”

His innate gift was his greatest secret. How did this man know about it?

Shared Source allowed him to share the cultivation of a spirit seed. As long as he was within a certain range, Grandmaster Min could share his cultivation with anyone.

It was an extremely strange gift.

Unlike Seed Transfusion, the Shared Source was limited by distance, but it was also far more covert.

Imagine fighting against an enemy who seemed to draw strength from a Seed Transfusion. Once that was taken away, victory would be nigh, and yet Grandmaster Min’s innate gift could allow that person to release an incredible amount of combat power once more. What would it feel like to face such an opponent?

Grandmaster Min had used this method to kill many people.

It was also why he needed Meng Hui to be nearby. With Shared Source, the child could serve as his sword, and that was enough to make Grandmaster Min unstoppable.

However, the old man did not realize that Lu Yin had already seen his own memories. Lu Yin knew everything that had been done to the child, as well as all of Grandmaster Min’s secrets. Even the Netherfiends’ knowledge regarding Silent Death’s massive spirit treasure formation had been pried out.

Grandmaster Min had never shared the name ‘Shared Source’ with anyone, not even the boy. How does this man know that name?

“You can’t know that... How could you possibly know?”

Agonizing pain flared as a sword stabbed into Grandmaster Min’s neck. Meng Hui had thrust his sword out again.

Meng Hui revealed a positively radiant smile. Not only did the child share Grandmaster Min’s cultivation, but he also possessed the spirit seed of a peak Dukkhan. Even if Grandmaster Min stopped using Shared Source, Meng Hui would still wield great power.

By giving the child the name of Meng Hui, Lu Yin had allowed him to break free of his chains.

A name, it was such a simple thing.

There were many things that were seen as complex, and yet they possessed the simplest of solutions.

Lu Yin had not known how to free the child. He had merely pitied him and thought to give him a name.

He had never considered that receiving a name would directly free Meng Hui.

The sword swept to the side, cutting through half of Grandmaster Min’s neck. The pain overwhelmed him, and a red energy surged out from his body. He kicked Meng Hui away while raising a palm at Lu Yin. “I’ll take your life!”

Lu Yin raised his own hand, and his palm clashed with Grandmaster Min’s. This left Grandmaster Min unable to advance or retreat.

He suddenly saw a star spinning before his eyes. It was dark red, and it felt eerily similar to his own energy. Impossible!

“Are you also a Netherfiend?”

Lu Yin’s palm slammed down and crashed into Grandmaster Min’s forehead, knocking the man unconscious. The red energy was then drawn out and fed to the ring around the dark-red star of divine energy.

But the very next moment, the red energy ripped free from Lu Yin’s control and melted Grandmaster Min’s body.

Lu Yin frowned when he saw it happen again. It was always the same. He was unable to control the red power. It moved as though it had its own will, and it seemed determined to erase any Netherfiend that might have been exposed. What was controlling it? Was it possible that the energy actually possessed its own intelligence?

He released his Karmic Dao and merged it with the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

High above the earth, a red line flickered and vanished across the sky.

It was the same red line as before.

Lu Yin continued to pull as much of the red energy as possible from Grandmaster Min until the man’s body had completely melted away.

Lu Yin retracted the Karmic Dao and his inner universe. He looked up ahead. Meng Hui was standing there in a daze, staring at the place where Grandmaster Min had just died. It seemed as though the child had lost his mind.

His Shared Source was gone.

Lu Yin did not disturb him and instead contacted Greater Sancte Awe Gate.

“It would form a connection to the Death Megaverse?” Greater Sancte Awe Gate repeated in a low voice.

Lu Yin nodded. “That’s right. That spirit treasure formation’s purpose is to make contact with the Death Megaverse. The Netherfiends have long suspected Silent Death, and they’ve been watching them closely. Grandmaster Min went there specifically to confirm their suspicions, and it turns out that they were absolutely right.”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate asked, a trace of dread in her voice, “How many more spirit treasures are needed to complete it?”

“According to Grandmaster Min’s calculations, less than twenty Boundless Advanced spirit treasures, as well as nearly a hundred ordinary ones. However, that was with him taking his own abilities into account.” There was a pause before Lu Yin continued to explain, “While Silent Death has captured a number of formation Grandmasters over the years, none were as skilled as Grandmaster Min was. It won’t be easy for them to complete this complex formation.”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate muttered, “That’s why Silent Death went after Li Guo.”

Lu Yin grunted his agreement. “We’ve essentially removed Silent Death’s arrangements before they could complete them. They are no longer able to contact the Death Megaverse. All that’s left is to shut the door and strike.

“To be honest, my greatest fear was that Silent Death would join hands with the Netherfiends. Fortunately, even after Possessing so many Netherfiends, I’ve found no sign of that ever happening.”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate replied, “Both the Death Megaverse and Obscura are fishing civilizations. To them, everything that is not a part of their own civilization is an enemy.”