Star Odyssey

Chapter 1003: Obsession

Nightking Zhenwu’s eyes went wide. If he placed the Sealed Cage Technique on her again, then although it could be removed by her Night’s End, Daybreak, it would last as long as he cast it at regular intervals. With the Sealed Cage Technique he would be able to completely control this woman, and it would be extremely beneficial for him if he obtained Night’s End, Daybreak. However, this was all entirely contingent on whether or not this woman was willing. 

Although he had only paused for a moment, Lu Yin was already gone. Nightking Zhenwu let out a long breath. “Alright, I won’t chase after him, and I’ll also release your parents and relatives.”

Zhuo Daynight heaved a sigh of relief. At that moment, all of her strength left her body, and she slowly collapsed. She had only been supported by two things during her negotiation with Nightking Zhenwu, and the moment she relaxed, her entire body crumpled. Her consciousness quickly drifted away, but her eyes did not close. Instead, they remained staring at Nightking Zhenwu. 

Nightking Zhenwu stood in front of Zhuo Daynight while staring into the distance with clear reluctance in his eyes. “I know that you don’t trust me, but since I promised you that I wouldn’t pursue him, I won’t. Since he was struck by the Heart Seeker secret technique, there’s no question that he’ll die. There’s no need to break my promise over some dead person.” 

Zhuo Daynight’s eyes remained fixed on the Nightking, and they started to fill with blood, giving her a tragic and pitiful appearance. She had endured a great deal of agony from a young age and had suffered through many torments. She had also been ensnared by the Sealed Cage Technique, and Lu Yin was the only person who had ever offered her any warmth. He had even intervened during her moments of crisis time and time again. Even if she died, even if she had to sacrifice everything that she had, she had to ensure that Lu Yin survived, as there would be hope as long as he lived. 

Live on! You must live on.

Nightking Zhenwu’s eyes narrowed, and his finger suddenly quivered as even his feet moved slightly. He truly wanted to give chase. Although he had promised not to chase down Lu Yin and kill him, the Nightking could still enslave Lu Yin. Zhenwu truly did not want to let Lu Yin go.

However, after his moment of restlessness, Zhuo Daynight’s eyes went wide. Scarlet blood masked half of her face, and she looked like a demon as she stared at Nightking Zhenwu. She spoke in a hoarse voice, saying, “You- you said- that you wo- won’t chase him.” 

Nightking Zhenwu and Zhuo Daynight locked eyes, but after a while, he realized that could not even tell whether the girl was awake or unconscious. It seemed as though there was some obsession strengthening her to the point where even if she was dead, she would still stop Nightking Zhenwu. 

This obsession moved Nightking Zhenwu, and he let out a long breath. Fine, he would let Lu Yin go. 

Some time later, two figures approached the area. One of them was Qiu Shi while the other was Tai Yishen. They had found Nightking Zhenwu and the Champions’ Stage with him. 

When they saw Nightking Zhenwu standing atop the Champions’ Stage, the two newcomers exchanged glances. 

Nightking Zhenwu looked over at the two. “Lu Yin colluded with the Sixth Mainland’s Sky Zhi Yi. The two of them tried to deceive all of us to steal the Champions’ Stage, but he was killed by me. The Champions’ Stage has been taken by me, Nightking Zhenwu. Are there any objections?”

Tai Yishen’s brows rose. “What did you say? Lu Yin colluded with Zhi Yi? You must be dreaming! Zhi Yi posted a bounty that was announced throughout the entire Cosmic Sea. Whoever captured Lu Yin alive would be able to meet the Progenitor of Bloodlines and even get the chance to receive an inheritance. But now you’re claiming that he colluded with Zhi Yi?!” 

Nightking Zhenwu arrogantly answered, “If not for that, then how else can you explain his ability to get close to the Champions’ Stage? He was just a puny Cruiser, so how could he possibly fight against one of the Daosource Three Skies? Don’t you find that to be a little too absurd?” 

Tai Yishen frowned. He had a favorable impression of Lu Yin. Although Tai Yishen himself was arrogant and referred to himself as a deity, Lu Yin had saved him once, and they had even joined forces to fight against Bu Kong. Tai Yishen quite approved of Lu Yin. “Where’s your evidence? Can your words alone verify Lu Yin’s crimes?” 

Nightking Zhenwu’s expression grew cold. “There’s no need to judge him, as he’s already dead. I killed him myself.”

Tai Yishen stared at Nightking Zhenwu.

Nightking Zhenwu was unafraid of anyone.

Qiu Shi did not say a single word, but she looked at Zhuo Daynight, who was lying at Nightking Zhenwu’s feet. She knew that things were not as simple as they appeared to be, but she also did not know what had transpired.

Gradually, more and more people arrived. Serati Phoenix, Xing Kai, Liu Tianmu, Shu Jing, and the others all showed up. The Champions’ Stage had been tossed into outer space, but none of them had had any intention of having a deathmatch with the Sixth Mainland cultivators. Similarly, the Sixth Mainland’s older generation were impatient to return home, and Bu Kong and the others could not possibly remain behind to fight. Thus, they could only retreat. 

At this moment, the Sixth Mainland’s invasion of the Fifth Mainland had officially come to an end. 

All sorts of feelings welled up within the hearts of Xing Kai and the others when they saw Nightking Zhenwu standing on top of the Champions’ Stage, but there was no way for them to fight for it right now. 

Liu Tianmu tightly clenched the hilt of her sword as she stared at Nightking Zhenwu.

Xia Tian could not help himself from speaking up. “Lu Yin colluded with Zhi Yi? That’s impossible.”

Nightking Zhenwu coldly responded, “I will report this matter to the Hall of Honor. No matter if it’s true or false, they will conduct their own investigation.” 

Starsibyl’s eyes flickered, and it looked as if she was divining something. Her face went pale, but she did not say a word. All that could be seen on her face was a trace of pity and bewilderment. Had she divined something incorrectly? 

Just as Nightking Zhenwu had said, not only had he killed Lu Yin, but the Nightking also intended to frame Lu Yin as the worst sinner of the entire Fifth Mainland. This was his fate for offending the Daynight clan, and even if he was already dead, he would not be allowed to rest peacefully. The Daynight clan did not have as long a history of power as other organizations, so there were people who still dared to challenge the clan at this time. Nightking Zhenwu’s goal with this move was to cow the entire universe. 

Furthermore, he had recently succeeded in cultivating Skybreaker and just now, he had stumbled across Night’s End, Daybreak. When those two techniques were paired up with his secret technique, Heart Seeker, he believed that he was invincible within the younger generation. It was time to make some moves. 

With his hands clasped behind his back, Nightking Zhenwu started muttering, as he felt that something was amiss. He touched his waist, and his expression instantly changed; where was the stone of inheritance?

That ancient stone had been passed down within the Daynight clan, and it contained the Daynight clan’s battle techniques. Through that stone, one could enter the corridor and communicate with the Daynight clan’s ancestral grounds. Thus, that stone was one of the Daynight clan’s most important relics, and it was definitely something that could not be casually carried about. However, when the Sixth Mainland invaded the Fifth Mainland, the clan had been afraid of something going wrong. On top of that, Nightking Zhenwu’s special status allowed him to do just about anything. Thus, the stone of inheritance had been on his person. 

The stone of inheritance had been lost before, when it had been stolen by Qingyu Daynight. However, the Daynight clan had not been worried back then because there was nobody in the universe who dared to covet an object that belonged to the Daynight clan. However, the war had just ended, and Nightking Zhenwu was more afraid that the stone of inheritance had been taken by the Sixth Mainland, as that would be extremely troublesome. 

He frantically looked around, but he could not find it anywhere. The stone of inheritance was truly gone.

…

Lu Yin was basically a floating corpse as his body was dragged along by the Ghost Monkey. The monkey saw a random planet in front of them, and he quickly maneuvered towards it with Lu Yin in tow. Suddenly, a universal spacecraft flew up from that planet and headed towards them. 

The Ghost Monkey was astonished, and he hurriedly dragged Lu Yin away, trying to escape. It was obvious that the spacecraft was from the Sixth Mainland with just a glance.

The entire Sixth Mainland was one giant landmass, so the people there seldomly manufactured spacecraft. After they invaded the Fifth Mainland, they had begun manufacturing a few, but those spacecraft had a unique style that was completely different from the Fifth Mainland’s vessels. 

This ship must have been carrying cultivators who were attempting to retreat back to the Sixth Mainland, but they had coincidentally bumped into Lu Yin.

The spacecraft instantly fired its weapons, sweeping through space.

The monkey silently cursed, and he tightly held Lu Yin as he tried to hurry away.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the people aboard the vessel had no intentions of giving up, and they chased after Lu Yin. 

Actually, it was not that these people from the Sixth Mainland were determined to kill Lu Yin, but rather that the Ghost Monkey was coincidentally dragging Lu Yin in the same direction that the ship was headed. Thus, they had simply decided to deal with Lu Yin along the way. After all, everyone from the Fifth Mainland was their enemy.

Within the spacecraft, one Sixth Mainland cultivator sullenly commented, “Be careful about going too far this way, as the border with the Technocracy is just up ahead. We don’t want to cross that, as if we do, we’ll have to deal with the Technocracy’s machinery.”

“Yes.”

A light beam shot out, and the Ghost Monkey struggled to dodge it. Next, a middle-aged man stepped out of the spacecraft and revealed a cold smile at Lu Yin. The man then raised a long knife and fiercely slashed out.

This middle-aged man was a Cruiser, and he was not someone whom the Ghost Monkey could withstand. 

The monkey was astonished, and he did not think twice before charging forward. Suddenly, the space around him changed, and it was as if some line had just been crossed. Lu Yin and the monkey had entered a strange region of space.

The middle-aged man landed, and a terrifying aura swept out.

The Ghost Monkey had no time to think, and he quickly dragged Lu Yin along behind him as he fled.

The middle-aged man sneered. “Don’t even dream of surviving after entering the Technocracy.”

He then returned to the ship, which subsequently changed directions and flew somewhere else.

To them, they had merely chased Lu Yin for some amusement. Regardless, they were already en route to return to the Sixth Mainland, and the spacecraft could not be taken along. Thus, they might as well have a bit of fun.

Their little fun had ended up forcing the Ghost Monkey and Lu Yin into the Technocracy.

The monkey did not recognize where they were, but he could instinctively feel that something was off, especially when he saw a distant metal framework that connected dozens of planets together. That sight suddenly jolted the monkey’s memory, and he remembered that they had been next to the border between the Innerverse and Technocracy. They had crossed the border between two domains. 

The monkey quickly tried to return to where they had come from, but the giant metal framework twitched before sweeping out, causing the void to warp as it moved.

The Ghost Monkey tightly held onto Lu Yin and dodged the metal beams again and again, but countless pieces of metal continued to shoot out and pierce through the void. 

The monkey cursed, as they were clearly at the border between the two domains, but there was not even a single soldier to be seen defending the border. Wasn’t this the same as them leaving their doors open in invitation for others to rob them? 

No matter how the Ghost Monkey cursed their fate, he had already dragged Lu Yin into the Technocracy. After realizing they were a foreign domain, the monkey had a blank look on his face. He knew that they would be attacked if they tried to return, and he also did not know if that spacecraft was waiting for them on the other side. In particular, the monkey was afraid that Nightking Zhenwu had chased after them. 

However, trying to continue moving forward was also a dead end, so they might as well try to return.

At that moment, a sharp metal thorn shot through the void and into Lu Yin’s abdomen, leaving behind a massive, bloody wound. 

The Ghost Monkey was also stabbed by the metal thorn, which forced him to transform back into a brand on Lu Yin’s right arm. The attack from this metal thorn had been too powerful, and its power level was in the several hundred thousands at the least. This was the Technocracy’s border defense, and not seeing anyone standing guard did not mean that the border was defenseless. Nobody knew just how many layers of protection the Technocracy had hidden within the void. 

Any powerhouse who tried to force their way into the Technocracy had to charge across straight in. No matter if they tried to travel through space, the void, or even the place known as the true universe, everything was protected. The only way to enter the Technocracy was to break through their defenses.

However, there was one other way to easily enter the Technocracy—just be dead. 

The Technocracy blocked living people from crossing the border, but they would not stop the dead, as there was no reason to stop something that was dead. A dead person was nothing more than a piece of floating trash, and trash could be ignored. 

Lu Yin was currently viewed as a piece of space trash at this moment, as the Heart Seeker had pierced his heart while the metal claw had pierced his abdomen. He had no chance of surviving, and no matter how exceptional the Technocracy’s detection methods might be, they could only detect a corpse floating through outer space. 

In truth, Lu Yin was indeed dead, but he was also not dead. He was currently using the Arcane Art, Fatal Revival. 

Fatal Revival was a technique that only dead people could cultivate, and the conditions to cultivate it were exceptionally demanding. It was a technique that was known extensively throughout the universe, but very few had ever managed to successfully cultivate it. This was because anyone who wished to cultivate Fatal Revival had to truly die. 

Lu Yin was the only known person who had successfully cultivated this art. On Driftcharge Planet, he had used Fatal Revival to survive, and when his spacecraft had exploded some time later, he had used Fatal Revival for the second time. At this moment, he used it for the third time.