Star Odyssey

There was no sunlight in the Sea King’s Dome, and the place would forever be shrouded in dusk. 

Hai Qiqi sat in a corner and hugged herself as she looked in the direction of the strung-up corpses, clearly thinking of something. 

Lu Yin moved over and sat beside her. “What’s on your mind?”

Hai Qiqi mumbled, “Father had four elders under him, who were Elders Shan, Tong, Ren, and He. That was Elder Ren, and he always treated me the best. When I was little, whenever I talked back to Father, it was always Elder Ren who would secretly feed me whenever Father punished me. And whenever he took me out to play, he would always show me something fun and secretly tell me stories.” Tears formed on Hai Qiqi’s face and fell as she spoke. 

“From when I was young up to now, every time Father went into seclusion to cultivate, I’d get Elder Ren to keep me company. No matter what I asked, he would always go along with it. No matter how rude I was, he never cared…” 

Lu Yin’s eyes turned dim, and he understood Hai Qiqi’s agony.

When Hai Qiqi had left the Starfall Sea, this Elder Ren’s eyes had been filled with benevolence and hope, for both Hai Qiqi and Lu Yin. 

“Back during the contest on Planet Pyrolyte, it was also Elder Ren who showed up to intimidate the Daynight clan and the Sword Sect. When Wendy revealed her secret technique, it was Elder Ren who sealed off that region of space so that the two of you wouldn’t be captured by those people from the Innerverse as soon as you left,” Hai Qiqi wailed. 

Lu Yin’s heart lurched as he looked at Elder Ren’s corpse that was still hanging there. His eyes were filled with respect and gratitude for this elder. No matter if he had just been following the Sea King’s orders, gratitude was gratitude.

Hai Qiqi sat in the dark corner and spoke for a long time, as if talking to Lu Yin. However, it also felt as if she were talking to the old man. 

Hai Qiqi reached out, grabbed Lu Yin’s clothes and tearfully begged, “Please, think of a way to bury Elder Ren’s corpse! I can’t watch him be humiliated like this!” 

Lu Yin took a deep breath, pressed one hand to her head, and firmly responded, “Alright, I’ll find a way.” 

Hai Qiqi closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around her knees, looking very lonely.

Lu Yin sighed and then reached out to pull her into his embrace.

He had no ulterior motives in doing this, and his only intention was to soothe and assuage the mourning girl’s grief, as the emotional trauma this young girl was facing was too overpowering for her.

With the Sea King’s Dome being beaten to such a state, the Sea King’s whereabouts were unknown. 

Reportedly, when the Starfall Sea and Sixth Mainland had waged war, those who had been defeated had all escaped to Grayweed Continent. Thus, the Sea King was likely there as well.

However, the Sea King’s Dome was very far from Grayweed Continent, and nobody could travel that far without a spacecraft that had coated hulls.

Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi could only peacefully mine away at the Sea King’s Dome while waiting for the right opportunity. 

Soon, a few days had passed, and another batch of miners were delivered.

At this time, there were hundreds of thousands of miners in the Sea King’s Dome. Still, compared to the enormous size of the conical mountain, these thousands of miners were like ants, and their actions couldn’t affect the mountain. If the Sixth Mainland wanted to quickly mine all of the Sea King's Shard here, they would have to increase the number of miners here by at least a few million. 

There were close to 100,000 Sixth Mainland cultivators at the Sea King’s Dome, but the majority of them were Limiteers. There were not many who were space-exploring powerhouses, but the number of their experts rose as two Hunters had arrived as reinforcements along with the new group of miners. 

The longer Lu Yin and Hai Qiqi waited, the greater the number of reinforcing experts that would arrive at the Sea King’s Dome. After another few days passed, there were already more than ten Hunters at the Sea King’s Dome. 

Lu Yin started to grow a little nervous, as it had already been more than a month since they had arrived in the Innerverse. According to his estimations, the hole to the Outerverse would last for five more months at the most. If he did not get a spacecraft that would allow him to head over to Grayweed Continent or return the way they had come within these five months, he would be trapped in the Innerverse. 

Hai Qiqi could see Lu Yin’s anxiety, and she asked him to leave as soon as he found the first opportunity. She even told him that there was no need to accompany her to find the Sea King. As for Elder Ren’s corpse, she made no further mention of it. 

Lu Yin smiled bitterly, as he still needed to find an opportunity before he could leave. But he was not too worried; in the worst case scenario, he would just request for Mister Mu’s help. His master definitely was not inferior to Yuan Shi, and he might even be stronger. It should be no problem for Mister Mu to push through the Astral River’s energy and send Lu Yin back to the Outerverse. 

Of course, Lu Yin would do his best not to ask Mister Mu for help if at all possible. Mister Mu was Lu Yin’s master, not his nanny, and their relationship would fall apart if Lu Yin requested his help too many times. Hold up. Lu Yin suddenly thought about how this region of the universe had been affected by a cosmic phenomenon that suppressed all beings after the Progenitors’ battle. Even if Mister Mu arrived, he would not be able to display any strength that exceeded a power level of 200,000. Suddenly, Lu Yin realized that his situation was quite serious. 

Eh? That person is? Lu Yin’s eyes suddenly lit up, as he had seen someone familiar.

Beside a cliff atop the Sea King’s Dome’s high mountain, Tong Chou was looking into the distance with a complex expression. The sea current was about to pass over this area again. It was magnificent! 

He did not know how much longer he had to stay in this place for, but it was possible that he would never be able to return. 

Tong Chou had been sent away by Tong Tong, but he did not know what had happened. Strangely enough, he had been noticed by Young Master Tong Zhan and then sent to Grayweed Continent to participate in the battles there. However, after a few battles, the young master had become disappointed in Tong Chou. The youth did not even know why, but he had been tossed back to Tong Tong. When she saw that he was struggling to break through to the Explorer realm, she had cast him back to the ruins of the Sea King’s Dome. He had already been stuck in this place for a year. 

Tong Chou let out a breath; perhaps this path was better. This place might just be ruins, but victory had already been secured here. 

Bang, bang, bang!

The sounds of mining never stopped, and Tong Chou carelessly looked back. Although he found it strange that there were miners mining next to the cliff, he paid no attention to them. These miners were all weaklings with no self-respect, and they could not compare to him. Thus, he was naturally unafraid of them. 

Step by step, Lu Yin approached Tong Chou before finally stopping about five meters away from the youth. The next moment, Lu Yin’s vision changed as he saw another scene. He was seeing the world from Tong Chou’s perspective, and some of Tong Chou’s memories appeared in Lu Yin’s head. 

This was his die’s six pips: Possession’s ability. Not only could Lu Yin Possess certain people, but if they came within a five meters radius of Lu Yin after that, he could form a mental connection with them and access their memories and vision. 

The first time he had discovered this function had been with Da Lei, and that encounter had allowed him to learn of Liuying Zishan’s strange behavior at that time. He had then managed to absorb a large amount of spiritual force. At this time, Lu Yin had once again encountered someone he had Possessed before: Tong Chou. 

Tong Chou was not even aware that a part of his memories were being accessed by Lu Yin. In fact, he could not perceive anything at all, just like when he had first been Possessed. 

Tong Chou soon left, and he leaped down to move away from the mountainside cliff. 

As he watched Tong Chou leave, Lu Yin looked back and fell deep into thought. 

The situation on Grayweed Continent was quite intense, and the Tong family had invited Flying Horse Manor to team up with them to face their common enemy. In another half month, another spacecraft would stop by the Sea King’s Dome in order to take some people to Grayweed Continent. This information was what Lu Yin had gleaned from Tong Chou’s memories. 

Through Tong Chou’s memories, Lu Yin had seen fragments of some battles, and there was one particular detail that had interested him. At a certain location on Grayweed Continent, in an area with a high temperature, there was a place known as the Skyblaze Dojo to the people of Grayweed Continent, and it was one of Grayweed Continent’s seventy two dojos. 

Lu Yin could not understand why, after participating in a battle on Grayweed Continent, Tong Chou would inexplicably be sent to this place to supervise some miners. 

Half a month? Another spacecraft would come in half a month, which was his opportunity.

The most troubling aspect, however, was that through Tong Chou’s memories, Lu Yin had learned that many Sixth Mainland experts were headed towards Grayweed Continent. Even more shocking was that even Imprinters might go. 

Lu Yin had no confidence in his ability to survive if he headed to Grayweed Continent right in front of these Imprinters. 

Burdened with this new information, Lu Yin continued to mine. 

Two days later, another spacecraft arrived, and this one carried dozens of Hunters on it, as well as Hong Ying and Granny Gui. 

Lu Yin was about halfway up the mountain when he noticed Granny Gui, and his pupils shrank. 

Although Granny Gui’s power level was suppressed to below 200,000, her rune lines were rather terrifying. Just a glance at it was enough to induce fear in Lu Yin; his scalp turned numb, and he felt a sense of life-or-death crisis overwhelm him. He had only ever experienced this feeling from terrifying powerhouses who were way stronger than him. However, even when he had suffered from Yu Mu’s suppression in the past, he had not had such a feeling. 

He was familiar with Granny Gui due to Tong Chou’s memories. This woman was one of the few Imprinters who belonged to the Tong family, and she was a super powerhouse who had also been Gui Bing’s master. 

Similarly, Lu Yin had an ugly expression upon seeing Hong Ying. 

Since the fighting on Grayweed Continent was intensifying, not only had the Tong family transferred Granny Gui over, but they had also requested that Flying Horse Manor send over more reinforcements like Hong Ying. Lu Yin believed that more powerhouses would soon follow. 

This was a rather thorny problem. 

According to Tong Chou’s memories, there were only about ten more days before the spacecraft headed towards Grayweed Continent would arrive. Granny Gui and the others would also have to wait for these ten days. 

“Eh, why’s that woman here?” Hai Qiqi recognized Hong Ying, and she cried out softly in surprise. 

Lu Yin answered, “They’re heading to Grayweed Continent.” 

Hai Qiqi’s eyes went wide. “When?” 

Lu Yin quietly responded, “Probably in about ten days or so.”

“And us?” Hai Qiqi grew eager.

Lu Yin was troubled. “We can’t go anymore. See that old woman? She’s an Envoy, and she’s at the same level as your father.” 

Hai Qiqi gritted her teeth and stared intensely at Granny Gui. Her eyes flickered, and she seemed to be thinking about something. 

Lu Yin helplessly said, “Given your father’s strength, it shouldn’t be a problem for him to stay alive. However, if you go and he has to protect you, then something might happen. You don’t want anything to happen to the Sea King, right?” 

Hai Qiqi struggled internally as she looked outside. There were too many experts from the Sixth Mainland here, and she had personally witnessed their strength as well. Even if she was very confident in the Sea King, many of these invaders were Envoys with similar power levels as her father. She knew that her father was not an ordinary Envoy, but if she actually went there, she might actually become a burden for him. 

“Then what do you suggest?” Hai Qiqi asked in agony. 

Lu Yin sighed. “I’m sorry, Qiqi, but we can’t just barge our way through. And once we get to Grayweed Continent, it will be very difficult for us to leave, and we might even die there. I’m fully confident that the Sea King does not want to see you die on Grayweed Continent and that he would much rather you live.” 

Hai Qiqi fell silent. 

“After ten days, when they leave, let’s go.” Even if Lu Yin did not want to do this, he still had to say it. Even though he was confident in his strength, he was not arrogant. Hong Ying alone had been a thorny problem for him, and with so many other Hunters around, not to mention Granny Gui, it was not realistic for them to fight their way to Grayweed Continent. Also, they were fated to ultimately be surrounded by enemies as soon as they arrived at Grayweed Continent. There was no value in dying in such a manner. 

Due to the changed cosmic environment as a result of the Progenitors’ battle, even if Lu Yin was confident in Mister Mu’s strength, he did not dare to guarantee that Mister Mu would be able to make it to the Starfall Sea and rescue them. 

Hai Qiqi reluctantly looked in the direction of Grayweed Continent. She stared for a long moment before finally nodding. Even if the Sea King was there, she could not go to him just yet. She was not foolish, and she would not force things. All she could do right now was retreat for the moment and preserve a glimmer of hope for the future. 

Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, as their target had changed. They would return to the Outerverse, and this goal was much more easily accomplished, as there were vessels scheduled to leave the Starfall Sea the following month. With Lu Yin’s strength, there should be no problem for him to bring Hai Qiqi along and sneak aboard a spacecraft. Also, there would not be any powerhouses on a spacecraft headed towards the Starfall Sea’s entrance. 

He had originally thought that everything would be fine and that they only had to wait for a chance. However, right when he calmed down, Granny Gui’s voice rang out through the sky of the Sea King’s Dome, completely disrupting Lu Yin’s plans. Granny Gui was commanding all of the miners to kneel down to the statue of the Tong family elder.