Star Odyssey

Chapter 3984: Change

This thought prompted Lu Yin to look at Greater Sancte Awe Gate. “Across all of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s wars against with foreign megaverses, has an Immortal ever been slain?”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate’s expression grew heavy. “Never.”

Qin Wudi spoke up. “The First Night Pillar started the Nine Odysseys’s expeditions to foreign megaverses. While we were not the very first group, we started soon after. We fought in the Morrow Megaverse, the Mindscape Megaverse, and others. None of those civilizations had an Immortal.”

“But they did have some lifeforms who were on the cusp of reaching that level,” Master Xian interjected.

Granny Three Heavens sighed. “The Morrow Emperor and that creature beneath the rift in the Mindscape Megaverse... both were infinitely close to the Immortal realm. Given time, they would have managed to enter it, but they both fell just short. It wasn’t because they were incapable, but rather because...”

Upon reaching that point, she did not know how to continue, so Greater Sancte Awe Gate finished the thought. “Providence.”

Lu Yin looked at her, as did the others present. Providence?

Greater Sancte Awe Gate slowly explained, “Immortality is not a realm that can be reached fairly. If every creature in a megaverse tried to break through to the Immortal realm, and if all opportunities were equal, then there would be ten times as many Immortals in existence.

“However, becoming an Immortal has nothing to do with fairness. It depends on both ability and luck.

“For example... Master Qing Cao.”

The man being discussed gave a bitter smile. “I knew that you would mention me.”

Master Xian said, “It’s true, your breakthrough to the Immortal realm was due to unmatched luck.”

When Qin Wudi glanced at Master Qing Cao, he was unable to hide the scorn in his eyes. It was the same contempt that Qin Wudi had always felt for the other man. “I’ve racked my brains for ages—eons, even—and I still can’t comprehend how someone like you managed to become an Immortal. You were weak, untalented in combat, had no bloodlust, and not even any ambition, so why you?”

Why indeed?

That simple question encompassed the suffering of countless souls.

So many had pursued that realm for their entire lives, attempting every method possible to reach it, only to fail. On the other hand, someone who had always been looked down upon had succeeded. Why?

“That is providence,” Greater Sancte Awe Gate replied.

Master Qing Cao did not argue.

Lu Yin could not help but look at the man being discussed and then back at the seven elders. Was that truly how they all saw Master Qing Cao?

What exactly did they think of the man?

Was it possible that they did not understand him at all, or was it that they understood him all too well?

Weak? No talent for combat? Lu Yin did not know about either of those things. What he did know was that, as an Immortal, Master Qing Cao had stood against the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s four Greater Sancti in order to preserve the Spirit Nidus. He did all he could to keep his people from learning the truth and to maintain balance. He had later hidden the events that had transpired in the Tianyuan, cutting Yong Heng free from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. It was also very likely that he had plotted against Greater Sancte Mi Jin in some manner that had led to the man’s death.

Everything indicated that Master Qing Cao was still plotting something. His schemes ran so deep that even the three surviving Greater Sancti feared him and sought to maintain a semblance of balance with him.

No ambition?

That was completely wrong. It was just that the man’s ambition was too great, to the point where not even the Nine Odysseys Megaverse could contain it.

This was also something that Greater Sancte Awe Gate was aware of. It was just the seven elders that did not. They had remained in the First Night Pillar for too long, and their knowledge of things was completely outdated.

They had been abandoned by the passing of time.

Lu Yin found their situation pitiful. Master Qing Cao must look at them as one would clowns.

Had these people been the victors or the losers of their era? Lu Yin could not tell.

Master Qing Cao looked over at Lu Yin and offered a small smile. “Lord Lu, in this war, both the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and the Spirit Nidus owe you their thanks. Your Tianyuan did divert the Nest civilization towards us, but even if they had continued to target your megaverse instead, the Nine Odysseys Megaverse would not have abandoned the Tianyuan. Then, war would have still come. If that had happened, the people of the Spirit Nidus who went to the Tianyuan would have suffered terribly.

“So, on behalf of the Spirit Nidus, I thank you, Lord Lu.”

Master Xian and the others did not understand what Master Qing Cao was talking about regarding the Tianyuan, but they also did not need to know too much.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate spoke up, her voice echoing not only across the Frightened Sparrow Terrace, but throughout the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse. “I, Greater Sancte Awe Gate, on behalf of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, solemnly thank Lord Lu for his aid. If he had not seen through the Nest civilization, devised an appropriate strategy, killed one of the Insect Lords, and overpowered Chang, the outcome of the war would have become uncertain. Lord Lu’s generous gift of spirit seeds for Seed Transfusion bought us time and spared many lives. The Nine Odysseys Megaverse gives our thanks.”

The seven elders, including Master Xian, turned to Lu Yin and bowed slowly. “We, as cultivators of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, thank you, Lord Lu.”

Beyond the Frightened Sparrow Terrace, Gu Duanke, Qing Xing, Dan Jin, and many others all bowed as well. “We, as cultivators of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, thank you, Lord Lu.”

Immediately following that, countless cultivators offered deep bows. “We thank you, Lord Lu.”

From the Night Pillars, countless cultivators bowed. “Thank you, Lord Lu.”

“Thank you, Lord Lu...”

At that moment, the Nine Odysseys resonated as one voice. The gratitude of countless people converged into a thunderous roar that echoed in Lu Yin’s ears. For some reason, a surge of irrepressible emotion rose up within him. There was joy and some sort of thrill that made him want to cry out.

He looked across the universe, and it felt as though he could see every cultivator who was thanking him. There were countless people standing in pools of blood while bowing toward him. The will of the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse seemed to speak to him. Without conscious thought, he stepped to the edge of the Frightened Sparrow Terrace and slowly spoke a few words. “The human race... comes first.”

As his words rang out, thunder cracked, and the Nine Odysseys Megaverse trembled so violently that its Mother Tree swayed. An invisible power covered the sky, and while others could not see it, Lu Yin looked up and saw the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

The sky was the same as ever, but in Lu Yin’s eyes, another sky had just appeared: the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

It covered the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse and then continued to extend beyond it without limit. The sheer vastness of what he saw shook Lu Yin to his core, for he could not even see its end.

Although Greater Sancte Green Lotus was absent, his Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm had suddenly appeared. It was as if it had manifested along with the will of the megaverse itself, and it was descending.

Lu Yin released his own Karmic Dao, which reached up across the sky to eventually make contact with the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

Boom!

Blazing light suddenly filled his vision. It was as though the universe that he perceived had expanded a hundredfold—no, a thousandfold—no, it was stretching out endlessly. Lu Yin saw the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, the Spirit Nidus, and his vision continued to expand even further. Through the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, he peered far into the distance, across the Aevum Inch.

How was this possible? Had his own Karmic Dao connected to the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm?

That was a possibility that he had never imagined.

Lu Yin had released his Karmic Dao more than once before, but karma was not the same in every place. The karma that he had comprehended in the Tianyuan was different from what existed in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. It was exactly how the River of Aeons had branch streams, some of which split or were divided by unbridgeable chasms, while others merged back together to flow into the main stream.

Karma was the same way. There were times when karma could be separated by a chasm, but there were also times when it was possible for it to merge.

At this moment, Lu Yin’s Karmic Dao had merged into the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, offering him the sensation of stepping from a small world into the vast cosmos.

His sky rose higher, and he felt like he was a giant, suddenly able to see much farther.

How can this be?

Lu Yin slowly closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of the moment.

Lu Yin did not know it, but his very bearing had undergone an earth-shaking change. In the eyes of Greater Sancte Awe Gate and the others nearby, Lu Yin suddenly grew ethereal. People felt as if they were beholding Greater Sancte Green Lotus himself.

In Lu Yin, the shadow of Greater Sancte Green Lotus had just appeared.

The seven ancient powerhouses felt intense pressure. No matter how old they might be, none were older than Greater Sancte Green Lotus. If he had been present, none of the seven would have spoken as casually as they did with Greater Sancte Awe Gate and Master Qing Cao. At this moment, as they stared at Lu Yin’s back, their expressions instinctively grew solemn, and they unconsciously restrained their auras.

No one understood this abrupt change in Lu Yin. Not even Greater Sancte Awe Gate or Master Qing Cao could parse what they were feeling.

All that anyone knew at this moment was that Lu Yin had changed. Again.

How was this youth able to progress so quickly? He had already been capable of fighting against an Immortal. Who could guess just how terrifying he might be after this latest change?

No one disturbed Lu Yin. He simply stood at the edge of the Frightened Sparrow Terrace and remained there for a hundred days.

For a hundred days, he kept his eyes closed. He did not even feel the passage of time.

He was only aware of an exhilarating feeling. He felt like a blind man who had just seen the light. Was this what Greater Sancte Green Lotus felt?

It was no wonder how the man had altered Lu Yin’s entrance into the Nine Odysseys Megaverse so easily. Lu Yin felt like a god at this moment.

He suddenly understood the gap between himself and Greater Sancte Green Lotus.

This was the terror of the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, and it far exceeded all expectations. It was not even a matter of more or less power, but rather of qualitative difference.

The gap was simply indescribable.

If Lu Yin were to try to pit his karma against that of Greater Sancte Green Lotus, it would be no different from a mayfly trying to shake a tree, or a river trying to overwhelm an ocean. The difference was greater than the heavens.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus was strong, unbelievably strong, incomparably so. He far exceeded Greater Sancte Awe Gate and Master Qing Cao; Lu Yin could feel that.

He was confident that he could face off against Master Qing Cao or Greater Sancte Awe Gate by relying on Lifeforce and Immortal matter. No matter the outcome, he could at least fight against the two of them. On the other hand, if he were to face Greater Sancte Green Lotus and his Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, Lu Yin would not even be able to resist or fight back.

Is this Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s strength?

Do Greater Sancte Awe Gate and Master Qing Cao know?

Does Greater Sancte Blood Tower know?

Do any of the people in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse know?

Lu Yin finally opened his eyes. Not all Immortals stood on the same level, and Greater Sancte Green Lotus was on a completely different level than Master Qing Cao and the others.

If Greater Sancte Awe Gate and the others were unaware of this difference, was it possible that Lu Yin was the first to realize it?

Also, Lu Yin had learned that he had comprehended karma not only due to the enlightenment that he had obtained in the Mirari Realm, but also because he had received the will of the myriad living creatures. He had been acknowledged by the entire Tianyuan Megaverse, which had transformed his Wordless Heavenly Book. That had been the first step towards him comprehending karma. It was only after receiving the acknowledgement of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s will that Lu Yin had become capable of merging with the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

Karma was not something that could be mastered by cultivation alone; it required acknowledgement.

It was no wonder why others, no matter how talented they might be, were never able to comprehend karma.

Karma was the cause and effect that bound a megaverse together, and such cause and effect existed only between living beings. Living beings were the foundation of everything. Without the recognition of their collective will, how could anyone ever hope to comprehend karma?

Lu Yin had always protected the Tianyuan, and it had rewarded him for that.

Before, he had not seen things clearly. But at this moment, he understood.

Nothing that he had done had been in vain, but from the beginning, he had not done things for personal gain. He had simply wanted to protect his home.

Now that he was able to merge with the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, he wondered what expression Greater Sancte Green Lotus would show upon his return.

Lu Yin could not let the Greater Sancte know, not unless he had no choice but to wield the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm in battle.