Star Odyssey

Chapter 3677: Experience

Those without the qualifications to even join the expedition to the Consciousness Megaverse had no need to dream of a reset any longer.

The reason why so many people had remained hopeful was that no one had said that the reset would take place right after the Consciousness Megaverse was defeated. There were many people willing to wait.

Another rumor also started circulating. It claimed that just experiencing a megaverse being reset could help them overcome Dukkha on their own and eventually reach the Immortal realm, regardless of their cultivation at the time of experiencing the reset.

Even though it was obvious that the rumor was only meant to comfort the majority of cultivators, there was no shortage of people who believed it. Rather, there was no shortage of people who had no choice but to believe it.

Boundless traveled with the other six battleships, and it was not even the largest. The Spirit Nidus had a flagship that was even larger than Boundless. It was called Genesis, the name representing the Spirit Nidus’s desire. Boundless was the second largest of the seven battleships.

Lu Yin was standing above Boundless, peering into the distance. The High Seraph’s order had come abruptly. No one had expected the command for the expedition’s launch to be issued so suddenly.

He had already used the threat of the conscients hiding in parallel universes to delay the expedition, and those efforts had succeeded. It was because one of the Thirteen Luminaries still remained hidden, threatening the Spirit Nidus, that the High Seraph would not easily leave the megaverse. The sudden change gave Lu Yin a feeling that the High Seraph had some plan.

Things were proceeding too quickly, and Lu Yin had been given no time to pry out more karmic bricks.

Could this sudden turn of events be related to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse?

His head rose to stare at the sky. Lu Yin wanted to see the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, but there was nothing there aside from an endless expanse of darkness.

Ultimately, Boundless was still forced to join the expedition to the Consciousness Megaverse.

All Lu Yin could do was improve the chances that those aboard the battleship survived, and the Wayfinder Sutra that he had recently acquired was one method to do just that.

The Nine Heavens Transformation and the Wayfinder Sutra were techniques that came from the people of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Lu Yin had given them to the people of Boundless with the hope that the techniques would eventually make it back to the Tianyuan Megaverse.

The battleships traveled slowly, and as they moved along, countless cultivators stared at them from a distance. Many eyes fell upon Boundless. When it came to that foreign battleship, the people of the Spirit Nidus had become familiar with it, but it still remained a mystery. Even after spending so much time in the Spirit Nidus, no one knew how many people were aboard Boundless. Lu Yin alone seemed capable of magnifying the entire vessel within the Spirit Nidus, but despite its high profile, much remained hidden.

Given the speed at which the massive battleships were moving, it would only take them a bit more than a month to travel from the Ark Domain to the megaverse’s boundary.

Just over a month was not a long span of time, especially for cultivators. It was barely enough time to even blink.

As the ships traveled, Lu Yin released Yi Shang.

Yi Shang had been imprisoned within the Champions' Stage Purgatory for what felt like an eternity to him. When he emerged, he was utterly distraught, having experienced indescribable suffering.

“It’s been a long time, Yi Shang.” Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back and studied his prisoner.

The reason why Yi Shang had been confined to the Champions' Stage Purgatory for so long was as punishment for leading the forces of the Spirit Nidus during the expedition into the Tianyuan Megaverse.

That expedition had caused countless deaths of Tianyuan cultivators.

Lu Yin would never forget Yi Shang’s first attack with his Impression Realm sequence base, which had eliminated twelve mechas and Nong Yi.

Nong Yi was the first Progenitor that Lu Yin had ever conferred into his Investiture of the Gods. The man had helped Lu Yin greatly, and yet he had died during the battle at the boundary.

It was true that time had been reverted, but the war that had been fought could never be erased from Lu Yin’s memory.

Many people claimed that, once a person reached a high enough position, it became possible for them to let go of past hatreds and that caring about the past was nothing more than proof of a vindictive mind. However, just as Lu Yin had said when dealing with Ling Mu, Sovereign Ninth Lotus’s disciple, forgetting the past was no different from betraying the future. To do so was to forget one’s past self and all that a person had experienced in the past.

Revenge was not necessarily a despicable action; it could also be an accounting for one’s past experiences.

Yi Shang’s mind was still muddled when he heard Lu Yin’s voice. The old man lifted his head to look at Lu Yin, confusion still filling his eyes.

It had become impossible for Yi Shang to distinguish reality from karmic cycles. Was he looking at a real person, or was he reliving some scenario that he had already experienced? He had continually met those that he knew for a fact had already died. It was like he had returned to the past. Only one who had experienced such a thing for themselves could understand what Yi Shang was feeling.

Yi Shang did not fear ruthless people, but how could anyone truly be so cold-hearted?

The most terrifying thing wasn’t facing enemies, but those whom one loved—people who carried one’s emotions with them.

Lovers, family, they were like layers of long-healed scars, each one being torn open again and again. The pain of this was doubled, something no amount of cultivation could shield him from.

“It’s been a long time, Yi Shang,” Lu Yin repeated. Only a few months had passed for Lu Yin, but Yi Shang felt as though multiple lifetimes had passed where he had experienced hell.

The old man stared blankly at Lu Yin. “Are you... real or fake?”

Lu Yin saw the confusion and agony in Yi Shang’s eyes. Revenge had been achieved. This was enough.

Lu Yin reached out a hand and tapped out with a finger. Yi Shang did not even react, allowing the fingertip to touch his forehead. The moment that contact was established, a coolness swept through the man’s body, and the scene that surrounded him flowed away like water. Gradually, his vision cleared, and he was able to see reality. Wind blew past, moving his hair to block his vision. Yi Shang’s hand rose. He touched the warmth of the wind and slowly closed his eyes. He let out a breath and collapsed forward. For a long time, he was incapable of even moving.

Lu Yin simply stood there.

Across Boundless, more and more eyes fell upon the scene.

Quite a few of the people aboard the battleship belonged to the Spirit Nidus, having been brought aboard by Hu Wu and Tian Ya. When those people’s eyes fell upon Lu Yin, their expressions invariably changed. The man on the ground was Yi Shang, a once-dignified Seraph. What could have crushed such a man? What sort of ruthless methods did Seraph Lu possess?

In the past, people had only known Seraph Lu to be a peerless expert who had continuously shattered their understanding of his strength. It was only at this moment that people realized he was equally peerless at torture. Not even a Seraph could bear such torment and had lain prostrate on the ground. What sort of horrors had he endured?

Myriad emotions flickered across Yuan Qi’s face as his fingers trembled.

Yu Shan empathized with the old man. Yu Shan had briefly experienced Lu Yin’s Champions’ Stage Purgatory, and Yi Shang’s reaction suggested that he had suffered for a very long time.

Palace Master Yao had also been subjected to that hell, and afterwards, she had immediately agreed to serve as Lu Yin’s maid. She had lacked the mental fortitude to even consider refusing.

People would rather die than fall into Seraph Lu’s hands. To suffer such a fate would prevent them from even seeking death. In fact, they would not even know if death itself was real or false.

Death was the ultimate fairness among humans, because everyone would eventually die. However, Seraph Lu was able to rip away even that fairness.

A long time later, Yi Shang finally stirred.

He let out a long breath before picking up his head. He slowly rose up, but he merely sat on the ground. The man had lost all his composure.

After all that he had suffered, he felt lucky just to be able to discern reality.

Lu Yin spoke for the third time. “It’s been a long time, Yi Shang.”

Yi Shang looked up at Lu Yin. Deep, indescribable fear filled the old man’s eyes. How pitiful was a person to lose even the right to die? “It has been a long time, Seraph Lu.”

The old man’s words came from his heart; it had indeed been a long, long time.

Lu Yin slowly smiled as he stared at Yi Shang. “I’ve extended your life by quite a bit.”

Those words caused the fear in Yi Shang’s eyes to instantly flare up. The old man was so frightened that even an ordinary person would see it. “A fate worse than death.”

Lu Yin chuckled and then slowly sat down on the ground across from Yi Shang. Image? After reaching a certain height, a person’s actions alone defined their image.

“How could that be? There are plenty of people who enjoy such experiences. You didn’t?”

“Seraph Lu, whatever you want me to do, just tell me.” Yi Shang had no desire to have a conversation. All he wanted was to completely escape from what he had just experienced. He was hoping to receive exactly that promise from Lu Yin.

Lu Yin raised his hand and opened it to reveal a wooden wing. It had once been Yi Shang’s mirebound artifact. “I don’t understand. How do you use this thing?”

Despite taking the wooden wing from Yi Shang, Lu Yin could not use it.

Yi Shang’s face twitched. Just one step. If he could take just one step, he could snatch the wooden wing and vanish. If he could disappear, he swore to never appear again, not in his current life nor any that came after. He would even abandon humankind, just to avoid living in the same universe as this person.

It was just one step. Yi Shang was a Seraph. He could get the wooden wing...

And yet he did not dare to even try. Even if he could reach his mirebound artifact, Yi Shang did not dare to make the attempt. If he failed and was returned to that hell. Well, just the thought of such a fate left Yi Shang trembling. The price of failure was too high, and because of that, he did not dare to take such a risk. Even if an ordinary human or a child was holding the wooden wing, Yi Shang would not dare to take it.

The price for failure was far too high, to the point where it could not be paid.

“Don’t let go of it. Hold it for a year, and you’ll resonate with it.” Yi Shang eventually spoke, his voice hoarse and lifeless.

Lu Yin responded with a small smile, “Thanks.”

He put the wooden wing back away, and Yi Shang let out a breath of relief. It was almost instantly followed by a wave of frustration and bitterness. He lacked the courage to even attempt to escape. He had even caught himself hoping that the chance to escape would never appear before him again. Had he really been reduced to such a state? Was this what had become of a former Seraph? A powerful Dukkhan?

Lu Yin stood back up and walked over to the edge of Boundless to stare into the distance. “Look, we’ll soon be leaving the Spirit Nidus.”

Yi Shang was startled. He slowly rose to his feet and looked around. He could see the huge battleships that were both ahead and behind Boundless, as well as the cultivators who were constantly appearing on the sides to watch the vessels leave. “What is this?”

“The expedition to the Consciousness Megaverse,” Lu Yin replied.

Yi Shang frowned. He remembered that the High Seraph had announced such an expedition after learning of the Willbound Expanse’s location from Ye Meng. It had been stated that the Spirit Nidus would destroy the Willbound Expanse, eliminate the Thirteen Luminaries, and reset the Consciousness Megaverse after that.

Had the expedition already left?

This was not good.

Yi Shang’s expression changed, and he stared at Lu Yin’s back. “Lord Lu, please save Yi Xia.”

Lu Yin looked back, meeting Yi Shang’s eyes. “You expect the High Seraph to deal with Yi Xia when we reach Beacon City?”

“Without question.”

Lu Yin chuckled. “You really care about your grandson, huh? He’s just a prop put up for the High Seraph. Isn’t the one who actually has a chance to become a Seraph your other son, Rong Xiang?”

Yi Shang’s face fell. “There might be no chance to ever return from this journey to the Consciousness Megaverse. After I fell into your hands, Seraph Lu, my cooperation with the Gate of Laws effectively ended. That Divine Projection sequence base will never belong to us. Rong Xiang no longer has any chance at all.”

“And you think that Yi Xia still has a chance?” Lu Yin countered. Without the Heaven‑Devouring Umbrella, Yi Xia would never have the strength to become a Seraph.

Yi Shang’s voice grew bitter. “I merely hope that he can survive.”

Lu Yin nodded. “A truly simple wish.”

Yi Shang looked at Lu Yin. “If you can help me with this, Seraph Lu, everything that the Daquan Domain’s Chamber of Commerce and the Yi clan has accumulated throughout countless years will be given to you. I will also work for you, Seraph Lu, the same as Yuan Qi.”

Lu Yin silently stared off into the distance.

The cultivators gathered on both sides of the fleet of battleships watched Boundless with rather intrigued expressions. Many hoped to win Boundless’s approval and support, yet they also feared that joining the foreigners would invite disaster upon them.

People wished to reap rewards without making sacrifices. Because of that, they lingered in place and ultimately ended up nowhere.

The truth was that people could press forward or step back, having ample room to make choices, yet they were unable to see their freedom for themselves.