Star Odyssey

Chapter 4397: The Key

The reason why Lu Yin was willing to continue with the current exchange was because Master Qing Cao had told him that there were still more withered branches beneath the Divine Tree, and quite a few of them at that. If not for that, Lu Yin would not have been willing to proceed with this exchange.

It was possible to slowly search for Mother Trees, but an opportunity to enhance his divine energy was extremely rare. He still did not know if this trade was ultimately a gain or a loss for him.

Still, the deal had allowed him to learn that the Divine Tree’s withered branches could enhance one’s divine energy. Moreover, why did Furball want this particular item? He remembered that Hong Xia had said that Furball’s real name was Origin Master. The being’s cultivation was certainly extraordinary. If not, how could they dare to be so bold within Obscura and even be willing to compete with Hong Xia?

When the Divine Tree’s withered branch was taken out, the cosmos immediately changed. There was a surge of divine energy, and the atmosphere became oppressive. Fortunately, it was only because of a withered branch, so the divine energy was not as oppressive as normal.

Furball stared at the withered branch and raised their hand toward Lu Yin, but he reached out and grabbed the branch first. "Furball this isn’t worth it."

Furball stared at him. "You no longer wish to trade?"

Lu Yin shook his head. "I mean that exchanging a five-star mission reward for a single withered branch doesn’t seem worthwhile. A five-star mission requires the destruction of a fishing civilization. Isn’t it a loss to use the reward from doing something that difficult for just this branch?"

Furball sneered. "Fishing civilizations can be destroyed, but withered branches of the Divine Tree can only be obtained by joining Obscura and completing a five-star mission. In terms of rarity, they are even more precious than fishing civilizations."

Lu Yin stared at Furball. There was something that the giant had specifically not said, which was their true use for the branch. That was where its real value lay. It was possible that this one single branch could increase Furball's power level. At their level, even the slightest improvement would be terrifying.

Furball said nothing further and simply stared at Lu Yin, awaiting his decision.

Lu Yin released his grip and allowed the branch to drift into Furball's hand. They immediately pulled their hand back and gave Lu Yin the coordinates for the remaining Mother Tree groves. With that, Furball left.

"Furball," Lu Yin suddenly called out.

Furball turned around. Lu Yin stared at it. "One branch isn’t enough, is it?"

Furball replied. "I will take however many you have, but I no longer have any Mother Tree groves. Just gathering more will take a long time.

"Wait, I remember that you still have a six-star mission reward from destroying the Plume Immortals' tree. Even though it was repaired, you did complete that mission."

Lu Yin gave a small smile. "Yes, I have a six-star mission reward waiting for all of you to trade with me."

Furball stared at the human for a moment before leaving.

***

A Mother Tree grove lay before Lu Yin. He entered. When he left, the grove had vanished.

He had received the rewards of both of his five-star missions, but what he truly wanted had not been obtained. Circumstances did not allow him the freedom of choice.

Still, he was not in a hurry to exchange his six-star mission reward. He did not yet know what to ask for: a battle technique, a cultivation method, or something else. None of them truly mattered because any sort of power still needed to be cultivated. If he could fully master his current abilities, he could already be considered invincible.

Who, throughout all of history, had ever killed a two-law Immortal as just an Aberrant? Not one, and it was likely that no one would ever do so in the future. Lu Yin already stood at the peak of his level, and the powers that he controlled were already formidable. What he lacked was cultivation itself.

With that in mind, he repeatedly teleported to the locations of the remaining Mother Tree groves and absorbed all of the green lights.

The number of motes of green light within his inner universe increased significantly. If he had possessed this many before destroying the Plume Immortals' great tree and then received what that tree had provided, he might have been able to successfully cultivate the Nirvana Tree Path.

Even just that brief activation of the Nirvana Tree Path back then had transformed his physical strength. For him, the technique functioned completely differently from how others used it. He looked forward to the day when he fully mastered the Nirvana Tree Path.

As for the motes of green light, the more the better. Furball strengthened themself with the withered branch of the Divine Tree while Lu Yin strengthened himself with the green lights.

Next, he returned to the Human Trio and entered the Sea of Karma, where he started working on comprehending Green Lotus's karmic battle technique, the Crimson Lotus Tomb.

The Greater Sancte had told Lu Yin to only undo the Crimson Lotus Tomb when he was confident that he could kill Nan Ling. Therefore, Lu Yin intended to first master the battle technique, just in case.

Lu Yin sat within the Sea of Karma, releasing his Karmic Dao and making contact with every part of the sea. Where was the Crimson Lotus Tomb?

He spent ten years comprehending the technique.

One day, ten years later, the Sea of Karma suddenly surged. Streams of karma shot upward and tangled together before eventually condensed into stones that fell down.

Lu Yin opened his eyes. He was finished. He had mastered the Crimson Lotus Tomb and had also learned how to release it, which meant he could release Green Lotus at any moment. However, that was not Lu Yin’s true purpose in mastering this technique. His true goal was to create a key that would allow others to unlock it as well.

The Crimson Lotus Tomb functioned like a lock that sealed Green Lotus and Nan Ling together, and only someone who had comprehended karma could release that seal.

Lu Yin stood up and left the Sea of Karma, making his way to the Mirari Realm. That was the most suitable place for him to attempt forging such a key.

A long time later, he returned and sought out Awe Gate. He gave her a karmic fruit. This was the result of his time in the Mirari Realm, and it could be used to release the Crimson Lotus Tomb without comprehending karma.

"If a day comes when I am not here and the Trio faces an unstoppable crisis, then release the Crimson Lotus Tomb. Nan Ling is certainly dangerous, so you will need to make a decision according to the specific situation."

Awe Gate carefully stored the karmic fruit. "Who else has one?"

"You are the most suitable because of your Awe Gates, while the other to receive one is my master, Mister Mu. It wouldn’t be wise to have too many keys. Two is enough."

Awe Gate nodded. "Good."

Lu Yin left. Awe Gate stared at his back as he left, and then peered up at the starry sky.

One had the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm and the other had the Karmic Dao. While both protected the Human Trio, Greater Sancte Green Lotus and Lu Yin were completely different people. Senior Green Lotus had spent most of his time serving as the guardian of the Trio and could remain there indefinitely.

Lu Yin could not. There were too many matters that awaited him outside. He was like the vanguard of the great ship of human civilization. The farther he advanced, the safer humanity's voyage would be, which was why he could never stay within their civilization.

How Awe Gate wished that someone else could guard the Trio as Senior Green Lotus once had, so that Lu Yin would be free to act as he needed to. However, at the moment, there was no one in their civilization who could do so.

After giving the other karmic fruit key to Mister Mu, Lu Yin rested for half a year. After that, he left the Trio.

He also wished to remain, but if he only guarded humanity, his strength would increase far too slowly. When would he be able to release Green Lotus?

The power of the Ten-Eyed Divine Crow might offer him an opportunity, so he went to its body again.

As Lu Yin left, his Karmic Dao dissipated. Awe Gate was left speechless at the sight. She had only just thought that Lu Yin would not forever remain within the Human Trio, and he was already leaving.

Before searching for the Divine Crow, Lu Yin went to pay a visit to the Crimson Starshade Civilization to confirm Hong Xia’s whereabouts. He wanted to avoid a potential ambush.

"Senior Jiu Wen, is Hong Xia here?" Lu Yin asked.

Jiu Wen replied "I do not know."

Lu Yin scanned the megaverse. Ji He had not been seen for a long time. Hong Xia had hidden that Immortal well, along with Rang Yu.

"Hong Xia, come out and meet me!" Lu Yin shouted.

The megaverse remained silent. Everyone within the Crimson Starshade Civilization heard that shout, yet none of them were surprised. Even if they lived in a megaverse, their home was not large for a powerhouse like Lu Yin.

He frowned. "If you don’t come out, I really will meet with Furball here."

Hong Xia appeared in the distance, warily staring at Lu Yin.

This caution was born of the mission that Lu Yin had completed, destroying the Plume Immortals' great tree. Additionally, there was the fact that the Trio had successfully repelled the Plume Immortals' attack.

When Hong Xia had first heard that the Plume Immortals had attacked the Human Trio, he had believed that human civilization to be finished. Even though Obscura had also attacked the birds’ tree and forced most of them back, three had remained behind.

All three of those birds had been two-law Immortals. That should have been enough to erase Lu Yin’s human civilization. Hong Xia had been waiting for that exact outcome.

Instead, he learned that one of the Plume Immortals was sealed away, one was dead, and one had fled. Even Obscura had been shocked by the outcome.

As the other members of Obscura had said, even they might not have been able to obtain such a victory over three Plume Immortals.

This human civilization was far stronger than Hong Xia had ever believed. Lu Yin's growth had also exceeded his expectations.

First Ming Yu and then Chang Dou. The brat was rapidly approaching Hong Xia’s own level of power, and given more time, might prove a true threat.

Killing intent flashed in Hong Xia’s eyes.

Lu Yin saw it but just sneered. "You wouldn’t dare attack me, Hong Xia. A traitor should accept his role. You will forever be Obscura's dog."

Hong Xia took a deep breath, suppressing his impulse. "I cannot attack you, and you cannot attack me. Let the past go. Humanity should be a united civilization."

Lu Yin erupted with a mocking laugh.

Inside the Blood Tower, Jiu Wen shook his head with equal scorn. Even Xi Shangfeng showed a rare reaction of surprise that Ancestor Xia would utter such words.

Hong Xia’s expression darkened.

Lu Yin mockingly spat, "You dare to say that after you betrayed the Nine Ramparts? Are you planning to betray us again?"

Hong Xia coldly replied, "The cosmos is far greater than you can imagine. The Nine Ramparts brought about their own destruction. They did not know the limits of heaven and earth. I betrayed them for myself, that is true, but without that betrayal, no part of human civilization might have managed to survive."

Jiu Wen angrily shouted, "If Obscura had not refused to destroy human civilization, it would already be gone! You believe that, because you betrayed us once, you must continue to be a traitor! Humanity's survival was always inevitable, and it has nothing to do with you!"

Lu Yin said, "There’s no need to argue with him. No matter what the Nine Ramparts did, he remains a traitor, and humanity's continuation has nothing to do with him."

He then looked back at Hong Xia. "In my Human Trio, there is a man by the name of Master Qing Cao. He once betrayed humanity for the sake of the Spirit Nidus. In his mind, the Trio could never defeat Obscura and might even be destroyed at any moment, so he chose to betray humanity in order to preserve the human civilization as a whole. Regardless of whether he was right, he acted sincerely for the sake of the continuation of humanity.

"However, you acted only for yourself.

"Master Qing Cao made his choice according to his convictions, while you attempt to claim the result and erase the history of your betrayal. You are even more shameless than I thought."