Star Odyssey

With Mu Xie protecting the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin was able to feel much more at ease.

While Mu Xie was not at the same level of power as Old Mo, Lu Yin also knew that he had never seen his senior brother’s full power before. The only thing that he knew for sure was that Mu Xie was powerful enough to make Bai Wangyuan and the four ruling powers’ other Progenitors very wary.

When Lu Yin had witnessed the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas of the Daosource Sect era, he had personally seen the moment when Progenitor Ku had smashed Undying God’s body. The Skygod’s innate gift had been useless before Progenitor Ku, who could be said to perfectly counter Undying God.

If there had been a massive difference in strength between Progenitor Ku and Undying God, then the Skygod would not have seen the need to use his innate gift. Similarly, given the difference in strength between Old Mo and Xia Shenji, Old Mo would not need to use anything more than his ability to influence sequence particles to deal with Xia Shenji.

However, when Undying God had been injured by Progenitor Ku, the Skygod had not treated Progenitor Ku as though he was a weakling.

Lu Yin had come up with his own theory; the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas was the general term used for all the strongest powerhouses who had risen to power after the Heavens Sect era had ended. During the Daosource Sect era, even someone as powerful as the Three Realms Six Dao would have most likely been referred to as a master of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. If they failed to inherit one of those legacies, they might have failed to receive any title at all.

The truth was that receiving this title in the years after the Heavens Sect era merely indicated that a Progenitor had inherited a Mountain and Sea. It gave absolutely no indication of that person’s strength.

If this theory was accurate, then Lu Yin felt that Progenitor Ku had most likely reached the same level as the Seven Skygods. During the Heavens Sect era, he would have been very close to the same level as Three Realms Six Dao, or even equal to them.

It was possible that both Progenitor Chen and Progenitor Ku were at a higher level than what their titles indicated, but Lu Yin was unable to know for sure. That was something that only peak powerhouses from the same era could comment on.

In that case, what of Bai Wangyuan?

Lu Yin slowly descended the stairs that led up through the Heavens Sect, his mind still racing.

Bai Wangyuan was another master of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas from the Daosource Sect era. He had once competed against Progenitor Ku and Progenitor Chen, but just how strong was Bai Wangyuan? Was he only as strong as he had revealed so far, or had he kept some of his strength hidden all this time?

Wang Fan had managed to hide that Specter Progenitor was his clone, and Bai Wangyuan may have similarly kept a large aspect of his own power hidden.

Such old powerhouses would never reveal everything unless it became absolutely necessary.

The longer people lived, the more insidious they would become. The Aeternals had never attacked the Perennial World’s rear battlefield with full force, and Lu Yin felt that the hidden strength of the Mountains and Seas might be another reason besides the threat of the Sixverse Association.

It was just a pity that Progenitor Smoke was ignorant of Progenitor Chen's full strength. Lu Yin had asked her about it long ago, but the woman had not been able to provide an answer.

It was much like when Lu Yin had faced Old Mo. It was very clear that Old Mo was much stronger than Lu Yin, but just how much stronger, Lu Yin could not say.

It was the same for Progenitor Smoke when looking at Progenitor Chen.

Lu Yin looked up at the stars. Progenitor Ku had the courage to charge into Aeternus’s territory on his own, and he definitely knew that he would not be facing ordinary Progenitors. Despite that, he still wanted to kill True God Wei Yi. One of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas shouldn’t possess that level of power. Only someone equal to the Three Realms Six Dao could even consider such a thing.

While thinking, Lu Yin had unwittingly reached the bottom of the stairs and had come face to face with He Ran and the cauldron.

The woman was glaring at Lu Yin with a cold expression. He Ran had not been enjoying herself at all in recent days. Too many people approached her, and far too many confessed their love for her without even being able to look at her.

She missed the days when she had sat high among the clouds and looked down upon everything. Those who had approached her had not even had the right to look at her.

In the Heavens Sect, people viewed her as if she were a commodity. She had heard that many people had traveled from the Innerverse, the Cosmic Sea, and even the Neoverse to see her. They were all just trash. Why had this happened to her?

It was all because of this person, Lu Yin. He Ran knew what he was planning: he wanted to wear down her mental resistance and force her to surrender to him.

That was impossible, absolutely impossible.

He Ran was quite familiar with the thoughts of powerful men. The higher their status and the greater their influence, the more they desired to conquer others. However, those they conquered were only a means of satisfying their vanity. What they truly required was a goddess who could help them and look down upon them, not another groveling servant.

The more that Lu Yin tried to break He Ran’s resistance, the more determined she was to see him fail. After all, only by making him fail could she ever have a chance to regain a glorious status. If Lu Yin succeeded, He Ran would remain like this for the rest of her life.

Her arrogance was from nothing more than her own determination, though her stubbornness was vital.

Lu Yin glanced over at He Ran, and she looked back at him. The two locked eyes.

Some distance away, many people quietly moved away from the area. It was clear to them that the beautiful, silent woman was the Dao Monarch’s woman.

"Look at the love in their eyes! I’m telling you, I know the Dao Monarch very well, and I can still remember his glorious battles against the Ten Arbiters during the Astral Tower competition. I can see through his thoughts at a glance and know what the Dao Monarch is thinking," the Ghost Monkey stated proudly while hiding in the shadows.

Someone grew excited. "Lord Monkey, what's happening right now?"

"Yes, Lord Monkey, hurry up and tell us so that we can warn those guys not to mess around."

"Lord Monkey, please tell me..."

...

The Ghost Monkey proudly replied, "Because of your sincerity, I will tell you that the Dao Monarch has fallen in love with that woman."

Everyone was stunned. While there had been various speculations, the Ghost Monkey’s words seemed to be proof.

They want to spread this news. This woman was not someone ordinary, but rather the Dao Monarch’s woman!

Lu Yin was taken aback. Why was He Ran still acting so arrogantly? Where was her arrogance coming from? She was nothing more than a mascot.

"How have you been doing?" Lu Yin asked.

He Ran looked away. "The view here is quite lovely."

"Sure, if you like it." Lu Yin moved over to the cauldron.

He Ran felt a bit nervous, and she moved a few steps to the side.

When Lu Yin reached the cauldron, he put his hand on it, and a strange expression appeared on his face. He had just felt something coming from this direction.

He blinked as he looked into the cauldron. A green leaf had just poked out, and it suddenly smacked Lu Yin’s face. It was Sapling.

When Lu Yin realized that it was Sapling, he laughed. "What are you doing here?"

Sapling was thrilled to see Lu Yin, and it leaped up and down before jumping onto Lu Yin and tightly wrapping its branches around him.

Lu Yin laughed. There was a green glow around Sapling, and its branches were very smooth. Its leaves felt pleasant as they continuously rubbed at Lu Yin's chin, even if they tickled a bit.

To the side, He Ran just stared. She had never expected to see such an aspect of Lu Yin.

Powerhouses were supposed to be stoic and aloof, no? Lord Wei was a perfect example: mysterious, condescending, and unwilling to speak with mere ants.

In the Origin Universe, Lu Yin’s status was comparable to Lord Wei’s in the Transcendent Universe; he was extremely powerful and had the combat strength of a peak powerhouse. In that case, why was he acting like this? He was behaving like a child.

Lu Yin only exposed his true self around Sapling. There was no need to think about other things, and just being with Sapling seemed to cause all of Lu Yin’s concerns to evaporate away.

It was a pure mien that was similar to that of a child who still possessed a pure heart.

After a while, Sapling reluctantly returned to the cauldron. It often visited this place.

Lu Yin allowed Sapling to stay in the cauldron, and he turned back to He Ran. "How long has Sapling been coming here?"

He Ran thought for a bit. "I don't actually know. It was there the last time I arrived, and it suddenly popped out of the cauldron, startling me."

Really? Lu Yin looked back at the cauldron, as he also had not noticed Sapling’s presence.

This was something special about Sapling. Even when people were searching for it, it might be impossible to find Sapling, as the tree’s natural energy merged with that of the universe. In fact, the easiest way to find Sapling was to use nothing more than visual sight.

"Do you really think that this is a good place?" Lu Yin looked at He Ran, a bit curious. She was barely showing any resistance.

He Ran arrogantly replied, "It doesn't matter."

Lu Yin smiled. "You seem to enjoy being a mascot."

He Ran’s eyebrows climbed high. Enjoy it? Who would enjoy this?

She wanted to snap back, and the smile on Lu Yin’s face enraged He Ran. No, he’s angry with me, he must be. Don’t get angry with him. He wants to break my pride and wear me down! Hmph, ridiculous!

How could I not know what he’s thinking? Who wouldn’t be tempted by my appearance? The greater the power, the greater the desire to conquer, but also the greater the need for arrogance. The more arrogantly I behave, the more he will be drawn to me.

He Ran took a deep breath, and her expression quickly grew composed. "Was there something you wished to say?"

Lu Yin was surprised. Did this woman really not care about her current situation? He refused to believe that. "I’m thinking about pairing you with someone. What do you think about Ghost Monkey?"

He Ran was briefly stunned. Marriage? Ghost Monkey? Even if she was beaten to death, she would never be able to connect those two. What the hell was a ghost monkey?

The Ghost Monkey overheard Lu Yin in the distance, and he leaped out. "Seventh Bro, is that what you’ve been thinking? You’re amazing!"

"Get lost!" He Ran roared as she shot a fierce glare at the Ghost Monkey, startling the beast.

He Ran then glared at Lu Yin. She came close to gnashing her silver teeth, but she kept reminding herself not to get angry. This whole thing is a trick, just a dirty, shameless trick he’s playing.

Seeing the woman’s reaction reassured Lu Yin. If she really was not bothered by her situation, then what had he captured her for? A mascot needed to be expressive, not cold and indifferent like an arrogant queen.

He Ran stormed off in a rage. She was truly worried about losing her temper with Lu Yin, even if she had already snapped in front of him.

The Ghost Monkey ignored He Ran as he excitedly rushed over to Lu Yin. "Seventh Bro, are you telling the truth?"

Lu Yin looked at the Ghost Monkey. "But that means you can’t have the Celestial Ice Phoenixes."

The Ghost Monkey was shocked, and he turned around and fled without any hesitation.

What a joke! No matter how beautiful the woman is, she can’t compare to an entire tribe! Progenitor Wushang gave me that harem, and no one can steal them from me! I knew Seventh Bro was keeping tabs on my harem. I have to keep them away from him!

A short time later, Lu Yin went into seclusion to roll his die.

He needed time to master both Evernight and Heaven’s Sight, though there was no reason to roll Possession in the Origin Universe. Lu Yin knew that there were Redbacks hidden in this universe, but there were also countless people whom he might not be able to Possess. The Origin Universe was not the same as the Sixverse Association.

In the Sixverse Association, spies needed to have a high status and sufficient cultivation, and those standards eliminated most people from qualifying.

However, in the Fifth Mainland, spies did not need to have impressive cultivation, and in fact, the more powerful the person was, the easier it was for them to be revealed as a spy. Instead, the weaker cultivators were more likely to remain hidden as spies. This was what made it unrealistic for Lu Yin to try to uncover spies in the Origin Universe through Possession.

Given Lu Yin's current status in the Fifth Mainland, no one there would dare to scheme against him.

What he wanted the most was to roll four pips.

Just half a month after Lu Yin went into seclusion, a man arrived at the Heavens Sect, and Arch-Elder Zen solemnly stepped out to greet the man.

Chu Jian had arrived.

This was the final task that his master had assigned him before he pushed to break through and become an Ascendant, which was the Cyclic Universe’s equivalent to a Semi-Progenitor. This was also Chu Jian’s second time visiting the Heavens Sect.

"Where is Dao Monarch Lu?" Chu Jian asked in a casual tone. The way he said "Dao Monarch" made the title sound like a joke.

Arch-Elder Zen led Chu Jian into the Heavens Sect. "The Dao Monarch has gone into seclusion. What can I do for you, Junior Sovereign?"

Chu Jian’s expression grew solemn. "Master is inviting Dao Monarch Lu to attend the next tea Ceremony and take the ninth seat."

Arch-Elder Zen was caught off guard. It was expected for Lu Yin to receive an invitation to the tea ceremony, but the ninth seat was completely unexpected.

Everyone believed that, because the Great Sovereign hated the Origin Universe, even if Lu Yin was invited, he would be given a seat at the back of the tea ceremony, or possibly not even receive an actual seat. Surprisingly, Lu Yin would sit at the very front.

Lu Yin had told Arch-Elder Zen and the others from the Heavens Sect that there were ninety nine seats for the Great Sovereign’s tea ceremony, as well as space for 9 million other people to listen in.

Because of Xuan Qi’s achievements, he had been invited to sit in the ninety ninth seat, and it had been assumed that Lu Yin would not be treated much better. Being offered the ninth seat was shocking.

The top nine seats at the tea ceremonies were right in front of the Great Sovereign. There was no particular ranking to the first nine seats, which meant that if Lu Yin attended the tea ceremony as Lu Yin instead of Xuan Qi, he would sit very, very close to the Great Sovereign.

The seat assigned to Lu Yin was surprising to even Chu Jian. In the past, the seat had always been reserved for Sovereign Shao Yin.

In other words, Lu Yin was being given Sovereign Shao Yin’s seat.

Arch-Elder Zen was unaware that the ninth seat traditionally belonged to Sovereign Shao Yin, as even Lu Yin did not know this. This was something that only people within the Sixverse Association could know.

As for Chu Jian, he was well aware of his master’s intention: raise Lu Yin up until he was trapped by a status beyond his means.

Sure enough, Chu Jian’s master still hated the Origin Universe. That had never changed. However, his master’s status also meant that there was no need to directly attack the Origin Universe. It would be better to allow Sovereign Shao Yin to retaliate and take back his seat.

Chu Jian could already imagine Lu Yin’s fate during the tea ceremony.