Star Odyssey

Bi Lan blinked and suggested, "If that’s your plan, then why not keep the flourishing crystals and trade them for your universe’s resources at a later date? That would save you from needing to pay a great deal in commissions, and it would also get you a better exchange rate."

Lu Yin shook his head. "There’s no need for that. I’ll proceed as I’ve said."

"Alright, since you’ve already decided, Dao Monarch Lu, then 8 trillion flourishing crystals can be traded for 16 billion of the Cyclic Universe’s star essence," Bi Lan stated.

Lu Yin was briefly stunned, but he thought that he must have heard wrong. "How much did you just say?"

"16 billion star essence," Bi Lan said with a smile.

Lu Yin's expression fell. "Is this a joke?"

Bi Lan shrugged. "Originally, the exchange rate within the Sixverse Association for trading currency between the Three Monarchs Universe to the Cyclic Universe was 100 to 1. After all, only people from the Three Monarchs Universe use flourishing crystals, whereas far more people cultivate with the Cyclic Universe’s energy. Normally, people won’t even conduct such an exchange, as they would suffer too great a loss.

"Now, Luo Shan has gone missing, which naturally means that the exchange rate will be impacted, and it has dropped to 500 to 1. And that is only because your universe’s four ruling powers moved to help protect the Three Monarchs Universe in Monarch Luo’s absence.

"If Luo Shan's death is confirmed, then flourishing crystals will become completely worthless. Forget 16 billion—you won’t even be able to get 6 billion star essence.

"Also, Dao Monarch Lu will need to pay a commission of 160 million star essence, and my Merchant Exchange thanks you for your patronage."

Seeing Bi Lan's smiling expression, Lu Yin dismissed his guest.

This was worse than a joke! Could 8 trillion flourishing crystals only be traded for 16 billion star essence? Only an idiot would accept such a trade. It would not be difficult for Lu Yin to acquire 16 billion star essence on his own, and it would be better to just use the flourishing crystals for himself.

Also, there was still the tri-colored soil on the fatesand continent in his chest. While he could not say what use it possessed, Lu Yin was not overly concerned. It seemed that the soil would soon receive a substantial boost.

There has to be something wrong with someone’s brain if they accept such a trade when they can use the resources themselves.

Lu Yin felt that he had suffered quite a loss, as not only had the currency exchange failed to go through, but he had also revealed to the Merchant Exchange that he was in possession of a great deal of flourishing crystals. They had to have guessed something from that.

Even so, that did not matter, as he was already preparing for the final step. The Three Monarchs Universe was already done for.

...

People were prevented from moving around in the Three Monarchs Universe by Monarch Xing. This kept Bai Sheng and the others from noticing the evacuation, as long as they did not intentionally travel around in the Three Monarchs Universe. The Progenitors had never shown any interest in the universe, so this was not a problem.

However, the spatial passage was different, as that matter did not merely concern the Three Monarchs Universe, but also the Progenitors’ own fate.

If the passage was sealed, then the Progenitors would have no path back to the Perennial World without the Sixverse Association’s assistance.

Once Grandmaster Gu Yan and the other Array Grandmasters started to reseal the passage with the sourcebox array, Specter Progenitor was the first to sense that something was wrong.

The Progenitors would never let others handle their safety, and even when they knew that the Three Monarchs Universe would never allow the spatial passage to be resealed, the Progenitors continued to monitor it. They had even discussed the matter and took turns to keep an eye on the passage. No one in the entire Three Monarchs Universe was aware of this agreement, but at this moment, Specter Progenitor was responsible for monitoring the spatial passage.

He looked back at the Three Monarchs Universe and at the direction of the path back home as a surge of nervousness caused his heart to speed up.

The stronger one's cultivation was, the greater their intuition. At this moment, Specter Progenitor felt prodded by his intuition, and as he stared at the spatial passage, he grew increasingly uneasy.

He hesitated briefly but felt that it would be better to go and check.

With just that thought, he turned and left the rainbow wall.

Monarch Xing's expression changed, and she immediately moved to stop the Progenitor, but someone else reacted even faster: Chen Le.

The Monarch had acted reflexively, as he could not wait for Monarch Xing, as there was a chance that she would fail to stop Specter Progenitor.

"Specter Progenitor, what are you doing? Why are you leaving your post at the rainbow wall?" Chen Le appeared a short distance away from Specter Progenitor and challenged.

Specter Progenitor frowned. "You are Chen Le, correct? If you aren’t protecting the rainbow wall, then what are you doing here?"

"Senior Specter Progenitor, I saw you leaving the rainbow wall, so I came over to ask where you are going. Forgotten Ruins God could attack at any time, and we cannot afford to be careless. Based on the direction you are headed in, are you trying to return to the Origin Universe? That is not possible, as Monarch Luo has ordered that peak powerhouses protecting the rainbow wall are not allowed to leave without permission, and he also asked me to keep an eye on that," Chen Le answered bluntly.

Specter Progenitor was not happy about being challenged. He was actually Wang Fan, and while he was cooperating with Luo Shan, that was not the same as letting Luo Shan order Specter Progenitor around. If not for their fear of the Great Sovereign, none of the Progenitors would be willing to help protect the Three Monarchs Universe in the first place.

"Are you restricting my freedom to move?" Specter Progenitor's voice grew even colder.

Bai Sheng, Xia Qin, and the others all saw what was happening, though they felt rather confused. Chen Le should have had nothing to do with any of them. Even if another fight against the Aeternals broke out, Chen Le should remain far behind the others, firing his arrows.

Monarch Xing let out a breath as she watched Chen Le block Specter Progenitor’s path. Was this real?

When she had previously asked Lu Yin about how he intended to deal with Chen Le, Lu Yin's response had been rather vague. Monarch Xing had guessed that it was possible that Chen Le had already defected to Lu Yin long ago, and she was seeing confirmation of that.

How long had their two universes been connected by the spatial passage for? It was shocking that the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe’s Heavens Sect had already managed to convince both Chen Le and Monarch Xing to betray the Three Monarchs Universe. If Monarch Mu had not disappeared, then-

Suddenly, Monarch Xing's expression changed drastically. Chen Le, Monarch Mu, Monarch Luo, and Monarch Xing were the Three Monarchs Universe’s most powerful individuals, and yet something had happened to all three of them. Each of them had either gone missing or defected to the Origin Universe. Could Lu Yin be behind all of it?

The suspicion seemed completely absurd, as Lu Yin had had nothing to do with the Three Monarchs Universe before the two parallel universes were connected by the spatial passage. Logically, he could not have had anything to do with Monarch Mu's disappearance, but for some reason, as soon as Monarch Xing considered the possibility, it was as though countless voices were screaming to her that it was true. That’s it! Lu Yin attacked Monarch Mu! He must have been preparing to target the Three Monarchs Universe from the very beginning. It was never us scheming against him, but rather him plotting against us!

The entire matter had been nothing more than an illusion, but the Three Monarchs Universe, the Sixverse Association, and even the Great Sovereign had not been able to see through the deception that Lu Yin had weaved.

He had made Monarch Mu disappear, plotted against Chen Le, and also schemed against Monarch Xing. Specifically, he had used her people from the Starlight Universe to threaten her while Luo Shan was missing on the Endless Frontier. Lu Yin’s plans had been cunning and flawless at each step of the way. Was it really possible?

Monarch Xing watched as Chen Le confronted Specter Progenitor. The insane impossibility would not leave her mind. Could it be? Was it real?

If not, how else could Lu Yin have turned both Chen Le and Monarch Xing to his side so quickly? Why else would he have gone after the people from the Starlight Universe? How could he have known Monarch Xing’s weakness? There simply was not enough time for him to have done so much if he had only recently learned such information.

It was as though Lu Yin had planned out every step and was playing a game of chess according to the plans that he had laid out while everyone else was nothing more than pawns in the game.

The thought of such a possibility caused Monarch Xing's face to turn pale. If her suspicions were correct, then Lu Yin was beyond terrifying. Just how long had he been plotting against the Three Monarchs Universe?

In the middle of outer space, Chen Le's expression fell slightly. "Don't act like that, Specter Progenitor. I have no intention of trying to restrict your freedom, but the rainbow wall is too important to my Three Monarchs Universe, and I must be careful. If you leave, and Forgotten Ruins Gods attacks again, then Aeternus could easily break past the rainbow wall and doom our Three Monarchs Universe.

"Lord Monarch Luo is fighting on the Endless Frontier, so no matter what it takes, we must keep the rainbow wall defended while he is gone."

Specter Progenitor coldly replied, "I’m not leaving. I’m merely checking on the spatial passage."

He then moved to continue on his way, only for Chen Le to once again block the Progentor’s path. "What is there to check on? Don't worry, the Origin Universe can't move the passage, and if you’re concerned, I will keep an eye on it for you. Compared to me, your abilities are much better suited to defending the rainbow wall."

Specter Progenitor was not stupid, and he had been stopped by Chen Le three times now. It was clear that something was wrong. "Get out of my way."

Chen Le frowned. "Just what are you trying to do? I don’t think you are trying to check on the spatial passage, but rather trying to escape to the Origin Universe."

"I’ll say it again—get out of my way." Specter Progenitor released death energy from every pore of his body when his expression suddenly changed drastically. "No! The passage is about to close!"

He immediately attacked Chen Le, and the Progenitor’s halberd swept out.

Chen Le's heart dropped. In the end, they had still discovered the truth. He dropped the act and raised his hands to release an arrow. The arrow shot towards Specter Progenitor, only to be deflected by the halberd.

"Did you join the Heavens Sect?" Specter Progenitor stared at Chen Le in disbelief.

Xia Qin and Bai Sheng both appeared, and moved towards the spatial passage.

Monarch Xing felt helpless, but there was only one thing that she could do now. Raising a hand, an endless surge of monarch essence swept along the rainbow wall, gathering all of the cultivators stationed here and sweeping them towards the spatial passage. It was time to leave. The Three Monarchs Universe was already dead.

Bai Sheng and the others instantly noticed the change along the rainbow wall. "Monarch Xing, what are you doing?"

Beyond the rainbow wall, Aeternus’s corpse kings suddenly appeared. They had also noticed that things were changing and had appeared to attack the Three Monarchs Universe.

Bai Sheng and the other Progenitors were stunned. Just what was going on? Two of the Three Monarchs Universe’s Monarchs had actually abandoned the rainbow wall. Had they both defected to the Heavens Sect?

Because Monarch Xing needed to take away the rainbow wall’s defenders, she used up a good portion of the rainbow wall’s monarch essence to move them and protect them. This essentially meant that the rainbow wall had been destroyed.

Specter Progenitor, Bai Sheng, and Xia Qin all attacked Chen Le.

Chen Le's scalp went numb. He was fully aware of how terrifyingly powerful the Origin Universe’s Progenitors were. He did not dare to stand and fight against them, and he intended to flee to the Origin Universe.

As for the Great Sovereign's order that no one from the Sixverse Association was allowed to enter the Origin Universe without authorization, Chen Le could only choose to believe what Lu Yin had said: the Monarch no longer belonged to the Three Monarchs Universe, but rather to the Origin Universe’s Heavens Sect.

If Chen Le wanted to leave, there was only one path available, but that did not mean that it would be easy for him to escape. How could it be easy to break away from Specter Progenitor and the other two Progenitors?

Fortunately, Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing stepped out from the spatial passage at this moment, and their appearance intimidated Specter Progenitor and the others.

The three Progenitors were staring at Chen Le and Monarch Xing, who were blocking their path, as well as past them at the approaching forms of Arch-Elder Zen and Leng Qing.

Far to the south, one of the Aeternals’ powerful corpse kings approached. Aeternus had broken past the rainbow wall and entered the Three Monarchs Universe.

"You three, it’s time to return home," Arch-Elder Zen said as he stepped aside.

Specter Progenitor quietly asked, "Do you really want Aeternus to seize control of the Three Monarchs Universe so that they are removed from the Sixverse Association?"

Arch-Elder Zen calmly replied, "If you’ve already figured that out, why bother asking?"

Bai Sheng looked at Chen Le in surprise. "And you agreed to this? Are you not afraid that Luo Shan will return and kill you?"

Xia Qin glanced at Monarch Xing. "You are Luo Shan's wife. Why are you doing this?"

Chen Le responded in a cold voice, "None of this has anything to do with you. As of this moment, the Three Monarchs Universe is a dead universe, and there is no one left here. Either go back, or stay here and fight the Aeternals. It's your choice."

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