Star Odyssey

Chapter 4135: The Search

Human civilization’s current situation actually bore some resemblance to the Tianyuan’s early struggles against Aeternus. It remained unknown just how many Immortals Obscura had, but only one of those Immortals was targeting human civilization, while the others had their own targets. That greatly resembled Aeternus’s initial case.

The key difference was that, in the Tianyuan, Mister Mu had already built bridges for Lu Yin. Lu Yin had only needed to locate the various civilizations.

This time, humanity needed to search on their own.

Exploring the Aevum Inch was far more perilous than wandering between parallel universes. A single misstep could drag all of human civilization down.

“There is no doubt that Obscura has a great number of enemies throughout the Aevum Inch. The Seven-Treasure Anuras are one. If a Thread of Heaven can lead us to others, it might be possible to unite and turn our defense into offense,” Greater Sancte Awe Gate said.

Greater Sancte Blood Tower agreed. “If Immortals were allowed to enter that place, I wouldn’t have returned so soon.

“There are some Threads of Heaven that admit Immortals, but others that do not.”

Ku Deng asked, “The creator of this Thread of Heaven should be an Immortal, right?”

Greater Sancte Blood Tower nodded. “Absolutely. If not, they would have never escaped, or even detected me.”

Ku Deng continued, “Those who dare to enter a Thread of Heaven are also taking on a great risk.”

“There’s usually no other choice. Someone needs to forge a path for their civilization. Many who enter a Thread of Heaven may look weak, but they could very well be the most powerful of their civilization. They are trying to pave the way. If they do well and can grasp the rules of the Aevum Inch, their civilization might endure. If they do poorly, it will all be over,” Greater Sancte Blood Tower replied, “Bear in mind that there are most likely some fishing civilizations that make use of the Threads of Heaven to seek out and crush weaker civilizations. We may not have witnessed it, but it is a logical inference.”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate added, “In the Aevum Inch, what can be inferred is practically fact. What’s most frightening is what is impossible to even infer.”

Everyone was waiting for Lu Yin’s answer.

He hesitated. While sixty years might sound like a long time, it was actually short. If they lost focus, they might not even be able to find their way home.

The Lost Clan was completely unable to find the Third Rampart. They had lost all sense of direction regarding their native megaverse.

Seeing how Lu Yin felt conflicted, Greater Sancte Blood Tower exchanged a look with Greater Sancte Green Lotus, who nodded.

“All right, stop fretting. You should go to this Thread of Heaven.”

With that, as Lu Yin looked over in confusion, the Immortal brought out a stone. “See for yourself.”

Lu Yin accepted the stone, and a single glance at it caused his eyes to narrow sharply. He stared at Greater Sancte Blood Tower in disbelief.

The man confirmed, “It’s no mistake. You’ve decided to go, haven’t you? That Thread of Heaven uses stones like this to communicate.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know. I was shocked when I saw it. Fortunately, when Senior Green Lotus investigated your past, we saw this person. If not for that, I would have believed that someone was simply searching for humanity and nothing more.”

Lu Yin looked back at the stone. Etched on it was a portrait of Mister Mu.

Someone in that Thread of Heaven was searching for Lu Yin’s master.

It was no wonder why Greater Sancte Blood Tower had said that LuYin had to go. Mister Mu had arrived at the Tianyuan from another megaverse, but not even he knew where he was originally from or how to get back to that place. Similar to the Lost Clan, Mister Mu had lost the way home.

But now, someone was suddenly searching for him in a Thread of Heaven.

Who could it be?

It could not be another human. Mister Mu had already said that, aside from himself and Mu Zhu, no one else had escaped from his megaverse. It had likely been reset long ago. Most likely, the creatures who had destroyed Mister Mu’s home were searching for him. They had never given up and were still hunting him.

Lu Yin clenched a fist. For a long time, he had intended to avenge Mister Mu. Lu Yin had simply been waiting to accumulate the necessary strength.

But before he managed to do so, Mister Mu’s enemies were already closing in.

Their presence in that Thread of Heaven suggested that they might already have approached close to human civilization.

In fact, that made sense. Mister Mu’s native megaverse should not be some great distance from the Tianyuan. If it was, he would have never been able to reach the Tianyuan.

Greater Sancte Blood Tower eyed the stone. “After I saw your master’s picture here, I tried to find out who had sent out that stone, which violated a rule of that Thread of Heaven. The master of that place slipped away with the Thread of Heaven, which is why I wasn’t able to stay any longer.

“Now, it’s your turn. Go or don’t—it’s your decision.”

Lu Yin no longer hesitated. “I’ll go.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus and the other Immortals were not at all surprised. Given this new piece of information, it was impossible for Lu Yin to not to go. He had to find those who were searching for Mister Mu.

These creatures were another hidden threat to humanity.

Given the fact that they had already destroyed Mister Mu’s native megaverse, they would probably also yearn for the destruction of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

Both were human civilizations, which made their enemies the same.

“But before I go, I need to speak with my senior sister and understand what exactly happened in their megaverse,” Lu Yin said, immediately reaching out to Mu Zhu.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus spoke up again, “One more thing before that: the Willbound Spire has reappeared.”

Lu Yin was startled. “It’s reappeared? How is the Origin Progenitor, Senior?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus smiled. “Rest assured, he’s doing well. He’s already inside the palace, having seized his own chance. See for yourself.”

Lu Yin asked to speak with Senior Sister Mu Zhu, and while doing so, he also used his Karmic Dao through the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm to see the Consciousness Megaverse.

Days later, Lu Yin was looking at the Consciousness Megaverse. He could see the familiar broken realm with the small cottage. That structure was the path to the Willbound Spire, while the Nine Odysseys Megaverse had another path. Previously, people had ridden on a green lotus leaf to directly reach the top of the cliff within the Willbound Spire.

At this moment, Lu Yin followed that secondary path with his sight so that he could see the steep cliff, as well as the palace above it.

He first saw the High Seraph, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground. He was badly wounded and covered with dust. Only after that did Lu Yin see the Origin Progenitor, though he could only see a silhouette inside the palace. The man’s condition remained unknown.

Lu Yin ended his observation. “Senior, that palace is the condensed consciousness of the creature that once observed you, isn’t it?”

“That is likely the case, consciousness made tangible. That does not mean that the creature is dead, though the palace could also be its legacy. Tai Chu has obtained an incredible fortune there.”

Lu Yin breathed easier.

“The Willbound Spire reappeared in the Consciousness Megaverse while I was fighting against the Immortal Lord. The main universe trembled, and countless parallel universes were shattered. I didn’t notice it initially and only discovered it later, while we were waiting for those two toads. I happened to glance at the Consciousness Megaverse and see that it had returned.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus marveled, “The Tianyuan’s potential truly is amazing, giving birth to one prodigy after another. Here in the Nine Odysseys Megavese, we are only able to surpass the Tianyuan in raw cultivation realm. Among those who stand at the peak, if you were all to become Immortals, then the one standing directly beneath you and me would be Jiang Feng.

“There is no doubt that he will become an Immortal, and the same is true of Tai Chu.”

Lu Yin certainly hoped to see both the Origin Progenitor and Uncle Jiang become Immortals. With a few more such experts, humanity would be able to take its place among fishing civilizations.

He highly doubted that fishing civilizations had a great deal more Immortals than seven.

Humanity did not need the strength to defeat a fishing civilization; they simply needed to approach that level of overall power. That would be enough to deter attacks from foreign civilizations.

When two civilizations collided, if both risked complete ruin, they would both reconsider conflict.

Nobody who reached that height was a fool.

What Lu Yin most eagerly awaited were four individuals: Uncle Jiang, the Origin Progenitor, Mister Mu, and Progenitor Ku.

In regards to Progenitor Ku, Lu Yin was not even eager for the man to become an Immortal, but rather to see how he would advance Extremes Must Be Reversed and comprehend karma. Either the former would undergo a complete metamorphosis, or he would comprehend the latter. Both outcomes would make his future brilliant.

“What about Master Qing Cao?” Greater Sancte Awe Gate suddenly asked, her eyes going cold.

Lu Yin silently met Ku Deng’s gaze.

A gold glint flashed in Greater Sancte Blood Tower’s eyes. “He should have been punished long ago. We must deal with him now and use that to reach Obscura. I want to see how deep those waters run.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus glanced at Lu Yin. “What are your thoughts?”

Lu Yin’s eyes were heavy. “I want to know, when facing so many Immortals and given another chance, what choice Master Qing Cao will make.”

“What choice? We just need to attack,” Greater Sancte Awe Gate snapped back. She had long since lost all patience with Master Qing Cao.

Lu Yin just stared at Awe Gate. “He may have caught a glimpse of Obscura’s true power.”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate’s eyes flickered. She just nodded, not arguing any further.

Without considering Master Qing Cao, the human civilization had four Immortals. If Kang Tian and Lu Yin were added in, there were six beings capable of fighting against Immortals. Beneath them stood peak experts such as the Origin Progenitor, Jiang Feng, and Mister Mu. No one could say which of them would be the next to break through.

Given the circumstances, if Master Qing Cao chose to fully side with humanity, it would indicate that he believed that humanity had the capability to defeat Obscura, or at least that their human civilization would not be crushed without being able to fight back.

However, if the man still sided with Obscura, that would be a huge problem.

That would show that he still believed that human civilization could not win, that the despair he had once spoken of still applied even with humanity’s improved strength.

Could that even be possible?

Even if Obscura was a fishing civilization, it should not be powerful enough to drive a civilization with so many Immortals to despair.

Seeing Qing Cao’s choice was crucial.

“Ask,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus told Lu Yin. He alone was in a position suitable to question Qing Cao. If the others spoke to him, the man might not even answer.

However, before questioning the man, they first needed to find him.

Master Qing Cao was in the Tianyuan. If he was truly hiding, then not even Greater Sancte Green Lotus could find him.

The Spirit Nidus’s cultivators had already been sent to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Logically, Master Qing Cao should have gone as well, but no one had seen him.

At that moment, Mu Zhu arrived.

Seeing multiple Immortals present, she bowed low. “Mu Zhu greets Senior Green Lotus, Senior Blood Tower, Senior Awe Gate, and Senior Ku Deng.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus smiled at her. “According to age, you might not be any younger than Awe Gate or Ku Deng. There’s no need for such formalities.”

Lu Yin said, “Senior Sister, I asked you here to address something very important regarding your megaverse.”

Mu Zhu’s gaze trembled. “My home?”

Lu Yin nodded. He took out the stone and handed it to the woman while explaining the recent visit to the Thread of Heaven.

After hearing Lu Yin’s account, Mu Zhu’s expression grew grave. Hatred filled her eyes as she blazed with bloodlust. This was something that Lu Yin had never seen in her before: hatred pushed to the absolute extreme.

“I once asked Master, but he said that he would tell me when I was ready. I also asked you, but I received no answer. Now, they’ve come, searching. If I’m right, those looking for Master should be your enemies,” Lu Yin stated.

He might have hoped that those who were searching for Mister Mu were old acquaintances from his native megaverse, but Mu Zhu’s expression made it clear that there were no such acquaintances left.