Star Odyssey

Chapter 4006: Influence

At the moment, not even the phrase “internal strife and external threats” was enough to adequately describe the state of human civilization.

A few Immortals was not nearly enough. If those numbers were doubled, it might just barely suffice.

How many Immortals did Obscura have?

How powerful was a fishing civilization?

Lu Yin glanced around. Everything was gone. The ground had melted away, and all that remained were a few small spatial cracks.

He dropped down onto a distant edge that still existed. He waited there, watching for any sign of Netherfiends, however unlikely they were to appear. Of course, he also intended to search this location for them.

Since this was the location where the gate had appeared, it was possible that it was a center of the Netherfiends’ activity. Out of everywhere in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, this was the best place to find them.

At that moment, his communication device trembled, and the Great Master’s image appeared on the display. “What happened?”

Lu Yin’s battle with Zhi had created a huge commotion, and the blue sword shadow had caused even greater upheaval.

Lu Yin did not know what to say. He had no idea what the Great Master had learned from Greater Sancte Awe Gate and the other Immortals, so all he could do was tell her to directly ask the Greater Sancti.

The Great Master sneered. “You came to me, asking for help, and I didn’t refuse you. My people even took care of those who were making trouble for you. But now that I am asking you, you tell me nothing?”

Lu Yin felt embarrassed. “I found the Netherfiends’ gate.”

That startled the Great Master. “Truly? And?”

“Greater Sancte Awe Gate was here, so just ask her directly. She was the one who dealt with it.”

“I see... Just a reminder, but even if the gate was found, do not underestimate the Netherfiends. Finding their gate does not mean that you can destroy them. Destroying them is my task for you, though I suppose that you don’t care about those tasks much anymore.”

“Of course I care. That matter is related to Greater Sancte Green Lotus. How could I not?”

“Good. As long as you care.” With that, the conversation was over.

Lu Yin put his communication device away. The Great Master had been the first to call him, but she would not be the last. Many people were curious about what had happened, but Lu Yin would not reveal these sensitive matters.

Instead, he needed to spend his time examining the difference between the red energy and divine energy, as he needed to know if that red energy could be used to locate the Netherfiends.

...

There was a mountain in the East Domain that held what was known as Linlu Manor. It was home to a clan known as the Linlu family. They were an ordinary family, just another one of the countless clans living in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. They had relied on their ties to the Autumnspring Slip, which had protected them from any who might have targeted them. However, they had since been driven away from Linlu Manor.

“Hahaha! Didn’t expect this, did you, Linlu family? No! From today on, you are forbidden from using that name. Do so, and you’ll regret it! Now, get out!” someone roared from the top of the mountain. A surge of power shook the rocks on the mountain, sending them crashing down.

A crowd of people erupted with laughter.

Several thousand people silently walked away from the foot of the mountain, their expressions dark with humiliation. They had once been the Linlu family, but they had since been reduced to outcasts.

“Hmph, the Linlu family once relied on the Autumnspring Slip to bully the other nearby families. At last, we’ve had our revenge.” There were people whispering all around Linlu Manor.

“This time, our three families worked together. Sparing the Linlu family from complete destruction can be considered mercy.”

“Not entirely. They did have some foundation. If we forced them to fight us to the death, we wouldn’t have come away unscathed. There are so many ambitious families nearby that it’s better to avoid letting others profit from our efforts. Taking control of Linlu Manor is good enough.”

“But what about the Linlu family’s patriarch? Do we just let him go?”

That question caused many at the top of the mountain to become uneasy. That man was not someone whom they could take lightly.

Gradually, the procession of the former Linlu family vanished from sight.

The thousands of family members were bedraggled, and many of them were gravely wounded, some of whom even coughed up blood as they traveled along.

Only a few broken carriages creaked along, drawn by beasts, bearing the clan’s frail members as well as a woman.

No one knew, not even the families that had forced the Linlu family to relocate, that there was an outsider among the family: Shui Su.

Cough, cough.

One carriage was carrying a middle-aged man who was coughing up blood. He was the family’s patriarch.

Shui Su nervously sat across from the injured man, occasionally glancing back. After not seeing anyone pursuing them, she was able to breathe a bit easier.

“Relax. I already told you, if anyone dares to chase after us, I’ll drag one of those clans down with us. We are able to destroy at least one of them, and all three are wary of each other. They won’t come after us,” the Linlu patriarch said.

Shui Su nodded and looked at the man in front of her. “Having lost Linlu Manor, where will your clan go, Senior?”

The man let out a long breath before meeting Shui Su’s gaze. “There is always somewhere to settle. Every clan has a backup plan, and we are no exception. While our destination is far worse than Linlu Manor, it’s certainly better than nothing.”

Shui Su fell silent, saying no more.

The man stared at her with growing intensity. “You still don’t want to contact Mr. Lu?”

Shui Su gave the man a helpless look. “Senior, as I told you before, I only met Mr. Lu by coincidence and merely traveled a short distance with him. We have no connection. Why do you waste time with me?”

The man chuckled softly. “Perhaps.”

He refused to say more.

Shui Su could only internally sigh. She genuinely had no relationship with Mr. Lu. They had only traveled together for a very brief time and made a single transaction. He had shown her pity, nothing more.

Some time ago, she had passed by Linlu Manor, only to be enthusiastically invited to stay with the family. She had not been able to leave afterwards. She had not been imprisoned, just trapped by overwhelming hospitality. Any time she tried to step out, children had clung to her legs, crying that, if she left, their family would break their legs.

She had had no choice but to remain with the Linlu family since then.

She had never expected to run into this kind of calamity. She was fleeing with them, too afraid to leave on her own. Who could say if those three families might target her as well?

What Shui Su could not understand was why the Linlu patriarch was so insistent that she stay with them. She had told him repeatedly that she had no connection to Mr. Lu. If there had been one, would she not have already risen high above her current status?

Looking back, she felt like her journey with Mr. Lu had been like a dream.

She had never imagined that she would spend time accompanying such a person.

Mr. Lu had attacked all four domains with his sword. He had confronted an Immortal and had almost single-handedly driven back the Nest civilization. He had slain Insect Lords, and his battle with Chang had shaken the universe. There was no question that he was the most powerful person beneath the Immortal realm.

She would never dare to even attempt to reach out to such a person, and yet she had traveled with him for a time.

Shui Su could not understand the Linlu family’s patriarch at all. If she had known him before, she would never have passed by Linlu Manor.

The Linlu patriarch was an odd person. He appeared to be a perfectly ordinary cultivator, but he was fiendishly calculating. As the patriarch of a cultivator family, such a personality was unremarkable, but if someone perused his family’s history, his accomplishments would quickly be revealed.

There had been a time without a Linlu family, only a cultivator named Lin Jie. He had personally raised an ordinary mortal family from nothing to become a clan of cultivators that had controlled all of Linlu Manor. Their countless neighbors had been wary of them but also helpless.

To accomplish all of that, Lin Jie had not relied on his cultivation, but rather his ability to scheme.

He excelled at forging alliances, currying favor, and understanding the direction the wind was blowing. In order to bind himself to the Autumnspring Slip, he had deliberately placed himself in danger, giving a disciple from the sect the opportunity to “save” him. That rescue had incurred a life debt. While the reality was that the disciple had acted on a whim, Lin Jie had magnified the event a thousandfold.

He had later used his clan’s resources to offer tribute to the Autumnspring Slip while turning the incident into a celebrated story.

The Autumnspring Slip had remembered Lin Jie for that matter, and after that, no one had dared to offend the Linlu family.

That was but an example of Lin Jie’s methods.

However, clinging to the Autumnspring Slip had blinded him to everything else. On Ridgeplain, he had offended Lu Yin. Luckily, Lin Jie had understood the reality of his situation in time and not pressed things further.

After the Autumnspring Slip was destroyed, he had slunk back to Linlu Manor, where he had started searching for the next target to latch onto. That had lasted until he saw Shui Su, and she had become his target.

Was there any better pair of legs to cling to in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse than Lu Yin’s?

Had Lin Jie once offended Lu Yin? Absolutely not. When they met in Ridgeplain, Lin Jie had wanted to purchase a character from the Autumnspring Slip for Mr. Lu. The offense had only come about through a twist of fate. Lin Jie’s intentions had been sincere.

As for Shui Su’s claim that she was unable to contact Lu Yin, Lin Jie did not believe that for a moment. He also did not need her to do so; simply keeping her close by was enough.

“In all things, if the heart is sincere, it will be efficacious. This was his guiding principle.”

...

Several days later, the family arrived beneath a floating lake. Sunlight filtered through the water, casting moving shadows upon the earth. It was a beautiful place.

Lin Jie warned his family to stay silent as they traveled through the area.

This region was controlled by a powerful clan known as the Waterside family. Their name was ordinary, but very few in the East Domain would dare to cross them.

If Linlu Manor had been a rural overlord, the Waterside family was one of the East Domain’s great powers, second only to the truly top factions.

Linlu Manor had needed to cling to the Autumnspring Slip to protect itself, while the Waterside family needed no such support. Even the Autumnspring Slip had respected the family.

If things continued well for the family, they had a chance of becoming the second Skyward Gate’s Luo clan.

But even such a powerful family was currently facing a calamity... from Deathmound.

Blades flashed, and shadows clashed as blood spattered everywhere. Blood stained the lake, the scarlet color spreading and then dripping down from the sky like a crimson rain.

The members of the Linlu family stared at the falling scarlet rain, dazed. Who? Who would dare strike at the Waterside family? They were so powerful.

In a carriage, Lin Jie stared across the lake at the Waterside family’s patriarch, the very man whom Lin Jie had once wished to latch onto. The man was screaming with heart-rending fury, “When did Deathmound become Mr. Lu’s lackeys? You serve the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, not the Tianyuan! Why attack us?”

His roar echoed in all directions.

Lin Jie’s eyes narrowed. Mr. Lu?

Shui Su also looked up. Through the scarlet water, she could see a old man down on one knee. A blade was held to his throat by Long Yin, the peak master of Deathmound’s third peak.

Long Yin’s eyes were ice cold. “You slandered Mr. Lu’s name during the war and again afterwards, sowing discord. I wager that your next step will be to try to sway the Lesser Sancti against him, one by one. None of what you do is for the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.”

“I act for the Nine Odysseys Megaverse!” the old man snarled while glaring at Long Yin. “How can some brat from the measly Tianyuan stand above us? Are there no qualified people in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse?”

“All you are doing is making the Tianyuan Megaverse look down upon our Nine Odysseys Megaverse.” Bloodlust blazed in Long Yin’s eyes. “Besides, are you really acting on behalf of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse?”

A sweep of her hand revealed someone.

It was a wrinkled old lady.

Upon seeing her, the old man’s pupils shrank, and his face blanched.

The crone dropped to her knees, trembling in despair.