Star Odyssey

Lu Yin’s comment badly shocked both of his companions. “The Perennial World has another battlefield like the one behind the Mother Tree?”

“Not the Perennial World, but a parallel universe. Aeternus has the coordinates of countless parallel universes, and they use those places as fuel to create their endless hordes of corpse kings and other monstrosities. That’s the source of their near-infinite numbers. The humans inhabiting those other universes can’t possibly allow the Aeternals to do as they wish, which means that they are at war. In order words,” Lu Yin paused as his expression grew somber, “Our universe is but one of the many battlefields that they are fighting across various parallel universes. While our battlefield might be absolutely massive, there’s no way that it’s the only one.”

Kui Luo immediately understood. “So that’s it. This is why you’re confident that Aeternus doesn’t have the numbers to deal with an additional battlefield in the Starfall Sea. Unless they give up on saving Undying God and summon their full forces to attack the Fifth Mainland instead, we’ll hold an unquestionable advantage over them in the Starfall Sea.”

“Corpse God, Ancient God, and some of the other Skygods are in the Dominion Realm, trying to save Undying God. However, why hasn’t Shaman God and Whiteless God appeared yet, especially when their presence would guarantee Aeternus’s victory? There’s no way that a stalemate is their true goal. Besides, we always knew that the Seven Skygods have Semi-Progenitor avatars spread throughout the Fifth Mainland, Perennial World, and the Sixth Mainland. So why would their avatars be restricted to only those few places?” Lu Yin smiled. “They probably have many Semi-Progenitor avatars, but they’re scattered throughout multiple parallel universes.”

“Under this theory, while opening the path to the Starfall Sea certainly has its own risks, it’s quite possible that our gains will far outweigh our losses. However, your entire theory could also be wrong. Aeternus might just be pretending to be weaker than they truly are to trick us into opening the entrance to the Starfall Sea. In that case, the Seven Skygods will gather in full force and charge into the Fifth Mainland. What will we do then? Even if your theory is correct, they can still temporarily leave those parallel universes and deal with this place first. What’s the plan for that?” Big Sis remained hesitant.

Lu Yin spread his arms out and smiled. “Then we’ll all die together.”

Big Sis blinked in confusion.

“If Aeternus was actually able to pull away from the other battlefields in the various parallel universes and end things here first, they would have done so long ago,” Lu Yin explained.

The more Big Sis thought about it, the more Lu Yin’s explanation made sense to her.

“Undying God is extremely important to them. If he weren’t, they would have never sent five of the Seven Skygods to attack the Dominion Realm, nor would True God have taken action here. However, we still haven’t seen all Seven Skygods, and the only possible explanation is that it’s impossible for all of them to appear. My guess is that the assault on the Dominion Realm won’t last long,” Lu Yin mused.

The reason behind Lu Yin’s confidence was that he was not sharing a personal theory, but rather a confirmed fact. He had learned the truth of the matter when Possessing Marquis Lan.

As one of the Aeternals’ Twelve Marquises, Marquis Lan was able to jump between parallel universes. During Lu Yin’s Possession, he had seen a memory where Marquis Lan had been attacked and badly injured by a bolt of lightning. Lu Yin had accessed several other memories and had seen battles being fought on an unimaginable scale, as well as massacres, carnage, and endless slaughter. However, the places that Lu Yin had seen did not match anything that he knew or had personally seen, so he had no idea where those places might be. After that particular Possession, Lu Yin had specifically sought out Big Sis Luo Sha, who had finally proven Lu Yin’s theory by verifying her own origins.

One of Marquis Lan’s memories included a battle that Big Sis Luo Sha had been involved in. Furthermore, many corpse kings that were sent to fight in the New World originated from various parallel universes.

After learning the truth, Lu Yin could say with full confidence that Aeternus was unable to summon additional reinforcements to deal with the Fifth Mainland. They were simply spread too thin across too many different battlefields and were already stretched to their limits. This was also the reason why the Perennial World had been able to endure for so long.

Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors from the four ruling powers understood this as well, and this information also explained why the four ruling powers had been comfortable exiling the Lu family; it was entirely because of the existence of the parallel universes.

Lu Yin’s expression grew dark. If his guess was correct, then people from a parallel universe—or multiple parallel universes—must have provided the four ruling powers with some form of proof that the Aeternals were not capable of invading the Perennial World even if the Lu family were absent. The Lu family had been the bulk of the Perennial World’s defenses against Aeternus, so how could the Perennial World hope to endure without the Lu family?

The exile of the Lu family had instantly eliminated the majority of the Perennial World’s defenses against Aeternus. However, it also meant that they were in a parallel universe that Aeternus had to contend over.

There was more to the Lu family’s exile than what met the eye.

Lu Yin clenched his fists. One problem still remained; there was no way the four ruling powers could have accomplished such a feat on their own. This was something that had troubled him for some time now. The Lu family had had Progenitor Tianyi, who had copied the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas down in his Investiture of the Gods, and the Lu family had also had other Progenitors as well. The story that the four ruling powers had publicized was that they had collaborated with the Python Ancestor to successfully exile the Lu family, but how had that collaboration taken place? Even Undying God could not kill the Python Ancestor.

The more that Lu Yin considered the matter, the more confident he became that his assumptions were correct.

At that moment, his communication crystal trembled, and he quickly answered the call.

“We agree to your plan. We’ll maintain the current balance between Aeternus and humanity. If one of their Progenitors goes to the Fifth Mainland, then one of us will follow them. We’ll prevent them from entering the Fifth Mainland,” Bai Wangyuan finally gave his answer.

Lu Yin grew somber. It was time to set his plan in motion. Even if all of his theories were true, the danger that they were about to face was very real. His plan literally put the entire Fifth Mainland in danger, as well as the Perennial World. However, it was also the only way for them to end their passive situation and seize initiative in the war against the Aeternals.

If everything went well, then either Undying God would be eliminated, or they would take back the Starfall Sea. There was no telling which outcome would take place.

Lu Yin rose to his feet. He flung his arms out and released all of his suppressed emotions in a long, thunderous roar, which badly startled both the jiao and Kui Luo.

“In life, the greater the risk, the greater the rewards! I, Lu Yin, have narrowly escaped death again and again. Now, let’s see if I’ll meet my end here today or not!” Lu Yin laughed hysterically as he rode the jiao into the mountain valley and returned to the Fifth Mainland.

In that valley, a group of people stared upwards in confusion.

A short time later, a booming voice rang out throughout the Lower, Middle, and Higher Realms. “From this moment forward, all cultivators who are at the Explorer realm or above are conscripted to the rear battlefield! Any who shirk the summons will be regarded as a traitor and will be punished accordingly. All transactions with star essence are banned. All resources that are found must be sold to the rear battlefield. Our entire universe is now at war!”

The entire Perennial World fell silent as everyone turned to look at the Mother Tree. Mandatory conscriptions had only happened twice in the Perennial World’s history. While the reasons for the first remained unclear, the second had occurred right after the Lu family had been exiled. That was when the four ruling powers had made their move to take control of the Higher Realm and assume control of the rear battlefield. As soon as the announcement was made, everyone throughout the entire Perennial World readied themselves for the announcement that would send them to the rear battlefield. It could come at any moment.

Too many had lost their lives during the last conscription. As soon as the Lu family had been exiled, the Aeternals had tried to seize an opportunity to take control of the Perennial World. However, the four ruling powers had made preparations long in advance, and through paying the price of countless lives, they had managed to defend the five array bases of the rear battlefield.

At this moment, another mandatory conscription had been announced.

The Perennial World encompassed a massive area, and it enjoyed an unbroken history. It was perfectly set up for hidden experts to exist throughout the Lower, Middle, and Higher Realms. With this mandatory conscription, all of those hidden experts were forced to make their way to the rear battlefield, no matter if they were in seclusion or simply wished to remain hidden.

This was the moment that the Perennial displayed its full power.

At the same time, Lu Yin arrived back in the Fifth Mainland, and he also announced a mandatory conscription. The difference between the Fifth Mainland and the Perennial World was that the people of the Fifth Mainland had been mass-summoned multiple times in recent decades. So, this conscription was regarded as a normal occurrence.

Only a handful of people understood that this conscription was different from those before. This time, the goal was to take back the Starfall Sea that had once been lost. The Fifth Mainland was about to become humanity’s blade that sliced through Aeternus.

Lu Yin did not return to the Heavens Sect. Instead, Destina, Lu Buzheng, the other Semi-Progenitors, Chu Yuan, and many others received a message. It said that Lu Yin intended to open the entrance to the Starfall Sea and launch an attack upon Aeternus. No one could understand the reason behind this decision. It had taken them incredible effort and harsh sacrifices to seal the entrance to the Starfall Sea, and there was no sign of anyone becoming a Progenitor anytime soon. No one could understand the reasoning behind Lu Yin’s decision, and they impatiently waited for Lu Yin’s explanation.

However, instead of Lu Yin, they were met by Kui Luo.

“He sent an old man to explain things. First, do any of you have any water? I’m parched…” Kui Luo grumbled. Lu Yin did not have any time to waste on explanations, as he was already on his way to the Neoverse to speak with Xiu Ming.

Even with all that Lu Yin knew, he refused to risk his life while reopening the entrance to the Starfall Sea. He did not think it wise to pin his hopes on the Perennial World, and only a defensive sourcebox array would provide him with sufficient assurance.

Since the Perennial World had Ceaseless Impetus as its defensive sourcebox array, then the Fifth Mainland might have a similar sourcebox array. Even if it was greatly inferior, something even somewhat close to the level of Ceaseless Impetus would be sufficient.

In the Lockbreaking World, Xiu Ming gave Lu Yin a strange look. “A sourcebox array that’s close to the level of Ceaseless Impetus? You’re joking, right? Forget me—even a Progenitor Array Grandmaster wouldn’t find it easy to create such a thing. Progenitor Hui was completely unique. There’s no chance of finding what you want.”

Lu Yin had already known that, but he had still wanted to try his luck. “Do we have any sourcebox arrays that are useful against Progenitors?”

Xiu Ming replied, “Why don’t you ask Highsage Grandmaster? He’s also an Array Grandmaster, as well as a Semi-Progenitor.”

Lu Yin replied, “This junior knows that you, Senior, surpass Highsage Grandmaster when it comes to lockbreaking.”

Xiu Ming’s smile fell. “You’re right, but unfortunately, I can’t fulfill your request.”

Lu Yin’s face fell.

Xiu Ming asked curiously, “Why did you announce a mandatory conscription? Are we going to war again?”

Lu Yin had not yet publicly announced his intentions to reopen the entrance to the Starfall Sea, which meant that only a handful of Semi-Progenitors were aware of the matter. Xiu Ming was also qualified to know about such things, but he had not received the news yet as he had been in the Lockbreaking World when Lu Yin had sent out the initial explanations.

As Lu Yin explained the situation, Xiu Ming’s face grew increasingly pale.

“Your decisiveness is absolutely frightening,” Xiu Ming commented with a bit of shock and awe. “You do understand that the entire Fifth Mainland will be buried with just a single mistake, correct?”

Lu Yin sighed. “If I don’t do this, the Aeternals might be able to save Undying God, and they might even break through the Perennial World’s defenses. If that happens, our Fifth Mainland will become humanity’s last haven for survival. If that happens, what hope will we have?”

“You are the only one who is qualified to take such a risk. If this works out, we might be able to regain control of the entire Starfall Sea, or perhaps make history by eliminating one of the Seven Skygods’ true bodies. However, if things do not work out…” Xiu Ming stared at Lu Yin. “We will all pay with our lives.” 𝑏𝑒𝑑𝑛𝘰𝑣𝑒𝘭.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Lu Yin replied, “If that happens, I will be the first to offer my life.”

“Even so, others won’t wish to die,” Xiu Ming said. He had his reservations, but there was nothing that he could do to stop Lu Yin.

Every time Xiu Ming dealt with Lu Yin, the old Lockbreaker felt as though he had somehow wasted his life.

Xiu Ming had only known Lu Yin for a short few years, but no matter if it was Lu Yin’s friends, enemies, or even his master, everyone felt that Lu Yin had far surpassed anything that they had imagined possible.