Star Odyssey

Chapter 4168: Enemies And Shields

The green stalk carried Lu Yin to the top of the mountain as well. Before long, they arrived in a dimly lit open area. In addition to Old Fifth, there was another huge Seven-Treasure Anura present, this one with a crooked mouth and narrow eyes. One look was enough for Lu Yin to recognize it as Old Fourth, the shameless Seven-Treasure Anura that Kang Tian hated to its core.

Old Fourth glanced sideways at Lu Yin and the Immortal Lord, the corner of their mouth curling up in a disturbing manner. There was no positive way to look at the toad.

Lu Yin only glanced at the toad once before looking away. He quietly stood in place.

“I did not actually need to come here.” The Immortal Lord’s voice reached his ears.

“Of course you did. How else would I feel safe at all?”

“Even with me here, I cannot protect you. These two Immortals are already very strong.”

Lu Yin of course understood that, unless the Immortal Lord possessed the same level of strength as the Seven-Treasure Anura’s ancestor, it would be nothing more than a fantasy for them to protect Lu Yin from the toads. Lu Yin did not truly want protection, but simply an opening to teleport away. A single moment of time would be enough.

No matter how much weaker the Immortal Lord was than the Seven-Treasure Anuras’ ancestor, they could still buy Lu Yin that moment. The Immortal Lord was only present to serve as a target.

If the Immortal Lord knew that Lu Yin was capable of teleporting, they would instantly deduce the purpose of their presence. Unfortunately, the Immortal Lord remained ignorant.

Immortals lacked freedom due to their karmic chains, but when facing an even more powerful opponent, those karmic chains would also serve as a form of protection. This was because neither side would wish to increase their karmic chains.

This was also why any creature that could kill an Immortal before reaching that realm themselves was known as an Aberrant.

Whoosh.

A breeze blew by, and a gigantic Seven-Treasure Anura suddenly appeared before them. They stared straight at Lu Yin with murky eyes. This toad’s arrival was accompanied by an indescribable, overwhelmingly baleful aura that appeared and disappeared in a flash. Sensing it caused the Immortal Lord to immediately raise their guard to the maximum.

While the aura only appeared for a brief moment, it was enough to leave even the Immortal Lord struggling to breathe.

There was no need to mention Lu Yin, though he had experienced this baleful aura before. It was the very one that had injured him after he used karma to examine Astral Anura.

It was this same Seven-Treasure Anura that had injured Lu Yin at that time.

How far were the human megaverses from the toads’ home? Even with the Immortal Lord’s speed, it had taken them over twenty years to make the journey. For Lu Yin to suffer karmic backlash across such a vast distance said everything about how terrifying this Seven-Treasure Anura was.

It was something that Lu Yin, even with his current strength, could scarcely imagine.

The appearance of the Seven-Treasure Anura ancestor seemed to make the universe change color. An invisible pressure pressed down on everyone, and they felt as though the cosmos itself was shrinking and the sky and ground were constantly being pressed together.

Beneath those murky eyes, Lu Yin felt as though all of his secrets were laid completely bare.

There was a sharp crack, and a small crack appeared in the green stalk, startling Lu Yin back to his senses.

“Eh, my apologies for causing you harm.” An aged voice came from the ancestral Seven-Treasure Anura as they directed an apologetic expression towards the Immortal Lord.

The Immortal Lord replied in their pleasant voice. “It is fine.”

The Seven-Treasure Anura ancestor continued to observe the green stalk. “My name is Shan.[1] Children, what are your names?”

Children?

Lu Yin glanced at the Immortal Lord. He was certainly young, but the Immortal Lord was anything but.

Yet, it seemed that to this old monster, everyone could be considered young.

“My name is Xian.”[2]

Lu Yin bowed respectfully. “This junior is Lu Yin.”

Shan studied the two with squinting, smiling eyes. “One from a human civilization, and the other a rather peculiar lifeform. Why are the two of you together?”

Lu Yin was surprised. “You know of human civilization, Senior?”

While he had just introduced himself as being from human civilization to Old Fifth moments before, Shan’s comment did not sound like they had learned this from Old Fifth.

Instead, it sounded as though the ancient toad had already known about humanity.

“Hehe, of course I know of it,” Shan said, “Human civilization once shone brilliantly, and the Nine Ramparts stood tall in the cosmos. Any fellow old enough to live through the years knows of it. It is simply a pity that it withered away long ago.”

Lu Yin had not expected the ancestor of the Seven-Treasure Anuras to know about human civilization. It might even be possible to learn about traces of other human civilizations from this old monster.

“Why are you together? This should not be so,” Shan asked curiously.

Old Fourth and Old Fifth also regarded the pair with curious looks.

For two different species to interact in the Aevum Inch, one would normally have to be far weaker than the other. But the Immortal Lord was extremely powerful and nowhere close to being weak enough to be suppressed by the human civilization, whereas the human civilization was also not weak enough for the Immortal Lord to oppress on their own. If humanity was so weak, Obscura would have never bothered trying to use the toads. No matter how one looked at the situation, it was too strange.

Lu Yin said, “Due to a series of special circumstances, this junior invited the Immortal Lord to lead the way here. Without them, given my strength, I have no idea how long it would have taken me to arrive.”

Shan looked at Lu Yin. “How many Immortals does your human civilization possess?”

Lu Yin answered without hesitation, “Five.”

“Then why are you the one to come? Are your people worried that my Seven-Treasure Anuras will act against you?” Shan asked.

Lu Yin replied respectfully, “We did consider that possibility, but since the Seven-Treasure Anuras hold integrity in such high regard, that was not a great concern of ours. The true reason is because of Obscura.

“Our human civilization must defend four megaverses, and just five Immortals is far from enough to fully restrain Obscura.”

Shan understood. “So that is the situation. Even so, you are qualified to serve as a representative. Aberrants are far rarer than Immortals.”

“Aberrant? Ancestor, is he an Aberrant?” Old Fifth exclaimed in surprise.

Old Fourth just stared at Lu Yin in astonishment.

Lu Yin did not dare to meet Old Fourth’s gaze, afraid that the toad would notice that Lu Yin had been the one to attack them years ago.

Shan’s eyes curved as they smiled. “The value of an Aberrant is greater than that of an Immortal. Humanity’s willingness to send you shows great sincerity.

“Rest assured, so long as that little one’s kin did not die at the hands of your civilization, we will not act against you. Even if war does break out between us, we will send you back first.”

Lu Yin quietly let out a breath of relief.

At his side, the Immortal Lord spoke up. “Then this is no longer any of my concern. I would like to leave.”

Shan glanced at the Immortal Lord. “You may.”

Lu Yin hesitated briefly, but he could only nod as well. Given his situation, insisting on the Immortal Lord staying would only make it appear as if he did not trust Shan, which would harm his next plans.

The Immortal Lord retreated from the mountain, and they even left the seven-colored land entirely.

Once the Immortal Lord had departed, Shan’s murky eyes turned to Lu Yin. “Child, you two are enemies, are you not?”

Lu Yin did not try to hide anything, and he fully shared the situation between humanity and the Nest civilization, leaving Old Fourth and Old Fifth dumbfounded.

Old Fifth let out a sigh of admiration. “To force an enemy to cooperate with you like that... Human, you are quite clever, just like me.”

Old Fourth sneered. “Such actions are rather despicable and completely lacking in any sort of dignity.”

Shan scolded, “These are the methods that humans employ. If you were capable of using them yourselves, would there be any need for your ancestor to take action?”

“Ancestor is right. I, Old Fifth, am so clever that I will certainly manage it. Human, we should exchange a few pointers later on,” Old Fifth suggested to Lu Yin with a friendly smile, acting as if they had found a kindred spirit.

Old Fourth’s mouth opened as they grinned. “I still prefer a bit of dignity.”

Shan shook their head and looked back at Lu Yin. “Human child, you must be wary of that Xian. Their power is one of absorbing, and it is extremely domineering. What you see may not be its true self.”

“Absorbing? Domineering?” Lu Yin felt puzzled, though the truth was that humanity did not know much about the Immortal Lord. They had never even seen their true body, only the green stalk.

“Every lifeform has its own traits. Some eat meat, while others eat plants. That Xian’s power, by its very nature, destines them to never peacefully coexist with any other species. Be careful. I am only warning you because you have been taking care of my little anura.”

“Thank you, Senior.”

“You came here because you accepted the Anura Order and have returned my little anura. That little anura also speaks highly of you humans, so everything that happened before is now in the past. My Seven-Treasure Anuras and your human civilization will no longer have any connections. You may leave at any time,” Shan said.

Lu Yin bowed deeply. “Many thanks, Senior. However, this junior still has something to ask.”

“What is that?”

“Obscura.”

“What do you wish to know?”

Lu Yin’s expression grew solemn. “Everything you have that is related to Obscura. This junior wishes to learn it all.”

Shan motioned for Old Fourth and Old Fifth to withdraw. Their enormous body slowly shrank until they were only palm-sized, and then they leaped onto Lu Yin’s shoulder. The feeling caused Lu Yin’s skin to crawl. This was no less unnerving than having a sharp blade at his throat.

Who would not be nervous with such a powerful ancient monster so close to them?

“Hehe, there’s no need to be afraid, child. If this ancestor here wanted to do something to you, even having that Xian from before here would be useless.

“Come, let us go out and take a look.”

Forcefully suppressing his unease, Lu Yin walked out of the dim area and stepped out onto the mountain peak so that he could look down across the land below. It was very beautiful.

“What do you see?” Shan asked.

Lu Yin said, “A seven-colored land, with many Seven-Treasure Anura living on it.”

“The outside world does not think very highly of my Seven-Treasure Anuras. How did that slug describe us to you?”

“Slug?”

“That Immortal Tricolor Skyborne.”

“Do you call it ‘slug?’” Lu Yin was surprised.

“That’s the name that Old Fourth gave it. All of the Tricolor Skybornes are called slug.”

Lu Yin was speechless. That really sounded like something that Old Fourth would do.

“Slug said that you Seven-Treasure Anuras have vile tempers and are arrogant and conceited.”

“Go on.”

“That is all.”

“That cannot be. There should have been much more. Do not hold back.”

Lu Yin replied, “There really was nothing else.”

“Is that so? In that case, what do you see now? Arrogance? Vile temperaments?”

“This junior sees prosperity, peace, and creatures living their lives.”

“Every species has an environment in which they wish to live. The Seven-Treasure Anuras have theirs, just as how you humans have yours. If this can be maintained, why disrupt it?”

Lu Yin looked at Shan on his shoulder. “Senior, you may not wish to oppose Obscura, but Obscura has no intention of sparing your people. Lan Meng drove the Tricolor Skybornes towards my human civilization in order to lure Old Fourth over to deal with us.”

“Old Fourth would not have attacked you.”

“And yet Obscura will not give up.”

“Then I will go find them,” Shan suddenly stated.

Lu Yin stared at the toad in a daze.

Shan smiled. “Obscura can use my species, but only so long as they are only scheming against us. They cannot force us. If they try to, I will pay them a visit. For as long as I live, my species will know peace.”

“But wouldn’t it be better to join with us humans to defeat Obscura altogether?” Lu Yin asked.

Shan replied, “If Obscura falls and another fishing civilization appears, what then?

“Have you ever considered the possibility that Obscura might also serve as a kind of shield that blocks unseen disasters for you? If they disappear, worse disasters may arrive. What can you do then? Unite with an even more powerful civilization? But more powerful civilizations will have their own enemies. It's a chain reaction, and where does it all end?"

After pausing for a moment, Shan exhaled. “No civilization is absolutely invincible. There will always be another one that is stronger.

“An ant’s enemies are ants. If an ant becomes an astral beast, its enemies will also become astral beasts. Ants live in the world of ants, while beasts live in the world of beasts.

“One day you will lose, terribly at that. That is because there will always be a civilization ahead of you that you cannot resist.”

1. 山 is literally “mountain.” ☜

2. 仙 is literally immortal, so they’re just taking “lord” off of their name. ☜