Star Odyssey

CHapter 4075: There

Obscura had always been regarded as humanity’s enemy, especially the one who was hiding, as no one knew their possible intentions.

All signs indicated that the hidden member of Obscura was indeed hostile towards humanity; there were the Boundary Guardians, the Heaven (天) and Slave (奴) characters placed on various powerhouses, the presence behind Yong Heng that had been revealed through karma, the red sword, and more.

But on the other hand, this member of Obscura had never personally taken action.

Even when the red sword attacked, it had only ever been the sword itself, and that sword had belonged to Qi Xu, not to the hidden member of Obscura.

From the perspective of humanity in the Tianyuan, that hidden member of Obscura was their enemy, and a terrible one at that, given how they had helped Yong Heng. However, when taking the entire human civilization into perspective, the powerhouse had not taken action even when Qi Xu had died. Why not?

Had they simply allowed Qi Xu to die?

There was no question that the hidden powerhouse had known that Qi Xu had died, so why had Obscura not been informed of her death earlier? Instead, Greater Sancte Green Lotus had been allowed to deceive Obscura, which had let human civilization develop in peace for many years, even leading to Greater Sancte Awe Gate rising to power.

There was yet another unresolved question in Lu Yin’s mind.

Master Qing Cao’s only goal was to have the Spirit Nidus break free of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. He had made an agreement with Obscura and plotted against Greater Sancte Mi Jin. If that was true, then why had he allowed the Tianyuan to continue to develop?

If Qing Cao had taken action earlier, Lu Yin would have died long ago. Not only him, but the Origin Progenitor, Mister Mu who had arrived in the Tianyuan, Great Elder Shan Gu, and many others would have also perished.

Increasing an Immortal’s karmic chain was absolutely not the answer, as the deaths of just one or two people would not have been enough to cause Qing Cao to hesitate.

All along, he had merely observed the Tianyuan as it had grown, and had even shouldered blame that should have been cast upon Obscura. Qing Cao had claimed to be responsible for the Heaven (天) and Slave (奴) marks, as well as being the one to support Yong Heng.

Why?

Was it possible that Qing Cao did not want to harm the humans of the Tianyuan? That seemed ridiculous. He had plotted against Greater Sancte Mi Jin, so why spare the Tianyuan?

Master Qing Cao had been the one who had wanted to reset the Tianyuan Megaverse, and if not for Jiang Feng, the attempt would have succeeded.

Why?

Lu Yin also shared this doubt with Green Lotus.

The Greater Sancte replied, “Qing Cao cannot reset the Tianyuan. We came to an agreement with him: we will not interfere with the Tianyuan, but the Tianyuan also cannot be reset.”

“What about Boundless? Why did Master Qing Cao allow Boundless to leave the Tianyuan to meet with the Spirit Nidus? I only entered the Nine Odysseys Megaverse because he forced me there,” Lu Yin said.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus fell silent. Some of Master Qing Cao’s actions were truly incomprehensible.

He had coldly schemed against Greater Sancte Mi Jin, depriving the human civilization of an Immortal, and yet Qing Cao had repeatedly restrained himself from acting against Lu Yin. He had even said that he wanted Lu Yin to see the truth of the cosmos.

Such a person should not care about Lu Yin’s thoughts. After all, Qing Cao’s schemes had led to the death of an Immortal.

No matter how formidable Lu Yin might be, he was still not an Immortal.

“Senior, if I could be allowed to make a bold guess, then of the many things that Master Qing Cao has done, could many of them have been actions that he did not wish to take?” Lu Yin asked.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus met Lu Yin’s gaze. “His actions can be separated into two extremes. If you are right, which extreme does he take by choice?”

If Master Qing Cao’s actions were split into two extremes, one was how he had schemed against Greater Sancte Mi Jin and taken away one of the human civilization’s Immortals.

The other was how he had allowed Qi Xu to die, refraining from offering any help, even when it had been possible. Qi Xu’s death had been kept a secret from Obscura, leading that enemy civilization to believe that Qi Xu had lived on after her death.

The first extreme had greatly harmed humanity, while the second had harmed Obscura.

“Is Master Qing Cao in contact with Obscura?” Lu Yin asked.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus shook his head. “I don’t know. After all, he is also an Immortal.”

“If he is able to contact Obscura, then it’s impossible to determine between his two extremes. On the other hand, if he cannot contact them, then the second extreme is because of the hidden powerhouse from Obscura, while the first is Master Qing Cao’s own choice. Similarly, his agreement with Obscura would have been made with their hidden expert,” Lu Yin speculated.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus asked, “Do you want to test which extreme is Master Qing Cao’s own choice?”

Lu Yin shrugged. “Master Qing Cao is highly intelligent. I still haven’t been able to think of a way to test him. Based on your understanding of him, which extreme would you say has been his choice?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus was silent for a long time as he thought before answering. “By temperament, I would have said the second.”

Lu Yin nodded. After all, Master Qing Cao was also human. “Still, if that’s true, there’s no explanation for why Obscura’s hidden expert helped humanity by keeping Qi Xu’s death hidden.”

“Don’t forget, only Immortals are involved.”

Lu Yin froze for a moment as he stared blankly at Greater Sancte Green Lotus. He had indeed forgotten that detail. Master Qing Cao, the hidden Obscura expert, and even the rest of Obscura that existed in some unknown location—all of them were Immortals.

The biggest difference between Immortals and other beings was that time held no meaning for Immortals.

Why conceal Qi Xu’s death for humanity? That was not the right question at all. It might be better to ask why bother to ever reveal the truth at all. For Immortal, such an extensive amount of time might be regarded as nothing more than a minor interlude.

Whether Qi Xu was dead or not was irrelevant, as Obscura would eventually learn the truth.

From the perspective of an Immortal, sharing such information meant absolutely nothing.

He paused, then added, his tone firming. “But thinking on it now, I believe it was the first—the one that harmed humanity—that Master Qing Cao chose of his own will.”

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “The first?”

The first extreme was the one which had harmed humanity. If Master Qing Cao had done so willingly, then it meant that Obscura’s hidden expert had been the one who had attempted to protect humanity. This hypothesis also made more sense. If one ignored the perspective of the Immortals involved, then this explanation accounted for why that hidden expert helped humanity by keeping Qi Xu’s death concealed.

That meant that Obscura’s hidden expert was actually helping the human civilization, while Master Qing Cao was the one harming them.

Lu Yin took a deep breath. “In that case, I’m willing to at least try.

“If that member of Obscura is hostile towards our human civilization, then Master Qing Cao will likely help me. With you supporting me from the side, I shouldn’t be in too great of danger.

“If that hidden expert is not humanity’s enemy and even helped us by keeping Qi Xu’s death a secret and allowed the Tianyuan Megaverse to grow, then even if I force them out, I won’t be in too much danger.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus looked solemn. “Have you decided?”

Lu Yin nodded. “I won’t be able to feel at ease so long as I can’t determine the truth. Also, when one of the Nest civilization’s Immortals attacked the Tianyuan, Emperor Slayer managed to shatter the attack by using Che’s power.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus replied, “You told Awe Gate that you met Che in the Consciousness Megaverse, and he also greeted me before entering our territory. At the moment, he holds no hostility toward our human civilization. I also don’t wish to pick up an unnecessary enemy.

“He granted Emperor Slayer some of his own power, which demonstrates that Obscura’s position is quite clear: if they are enemies, then they are enemies. If they are not, then they simply do not care.”

Lu Yin grunted in agreement. “That’s exactly why I want to understand the position of Obscura’s hidden expert. If they are a hidden enemy, I won’t be able to move freely. Any potential breakthrough will carry a great deal of risk.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus sighed. “That’s a good point. Right now, you pose no threat to Obscura, but that will change once you become an Immortal. If that hidden member of Obscura is an enemy, it’s better to find out soon. If they strike during your breakthrough, then even if we save your life, you might lose your chance to ascend.

“You’ve thought things through, but you can also wait a bit longer for me to arrive in the Tianyuan.”

Lu Yin shrugged. “While I would like to wait for you so that things are safer, if you are here, will that hidden expert even reveal themselves?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus rubbed his temples. “If only one of those experts who regressed to the ancient era returned... our human civilization would not have so much to worry about. Even the Netherfiends would have to scatter. Unfortunately, that’s nothing more than wishful thinking.”

At the Tianyuan boundary gate, Lu Yin stood in outer space, looking upwards. The vast, boundless Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm stretched out without end, like a celestial curtain that passed out of sight.

As the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm rumbled, so did the megaverse.

The entire Aevum Inch started to violently quake.

Lu Yin’s eyes widened in awe. This was what happened when Greater Sancte Green Lotus took action. Compared to when Lu Yin had borrowed the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm, this was far grander, as well as far more disturbing.

It was as if the cosmos itself was collapsing.

Across the Tianyuan, countless people looked up. What’s happening? Is it that sound again?

The Origin Universe was the Tianyuan’s main universe, and it was connected to the Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm. There was no rumbling in the parallel universes, though Forgotten Ruins God still felt uneasy.

She frowned. What’s going on?

The sense of dread that she felt grew stronger. Clearly, something was happening.

Given her cultivation level, instinct was more reliable than anything else.

She took out the red sword. Only by holding it could she find comfort.

However, this time proved different. The sword only heightened her sense of unease.

Far away, Skydog howled.

Wang Xiaoyu stared at Forgotten Ruins God, various emotions flickering across her eyes.

At the boundary, Lu Yin suddenly moved. Lifeforce surged, and he empowered it with Immortal matter. He reached into the void and grabbed hold of the sequence strings, connecting countless parallel universes and forcibly pulling them forward.

Countless black lines appeared as space cracked apart. The fissures spread across the universe, stretching to the Cyclic Universe, the Transcendent Universe, and countless parallel universes which all shook. The entire megaverse was shuddering.

Everyone grew alarmed.

In the Immemorial Citadel, Wilderness God clenched the sequence strings as tightly as possible as they trembled. Who is it?

“Yellowy, it’s Little Seven. You can relax.” Lu Yuan arrived at the Immemorial Citadel and reassured Wilderness God.

He let out a breath of relief, though he was still shaken. “Pillar isn’t even at the Immemorial Citadel, and yet he can seize the sequence strings?”

Lu Yuan laughed. “Do you remember what Master once told us? He said that, if he one day managed to break through to the Immortal realm, he might become capable of toying with the entire megaverse.”

Wilderness God’s entire body quivered. “Pillar... he?”

Lu Yuan looked out at the stars. Little Seven, you’re getting closer and closer.

At the stone gate at the boundary, Ce Wangtian’s jaw dropped. This... this is terrifying! He’s treating the entire megaverse like it’s a curtain that he’s pulling back! Such power... no wonder he was able to kick that Immortal beast away.

Holding countless universes within their grasp and toying with the cosmos was the mark of an Immortal.

Lu Yin had been able to do this as far back as the expedition that he had joined to the Allsense Megaverse. With the combination of both Lifeforce and Immortal matter, it had become far easier.

The Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm roiled as spirals of karma descended, piercing through Lu Yin. He indirectly examined himself laterally, searching for whoever might be plotting against him, regardless of whether they were in the Origin Universe or a parallel universe. No matter where they might be, they would be exposed.

The spirals of karma brought about one image after another. At his current level, anyone who was capable of scheming against Lu Yin would not be an ordinary figure. Those who merely cursed him would not appear in the visions brought about through karma.

Suddenly, the spirals of karma started to be consumed more rapidly, and a familiar face flashed through a vision. Forgotten Ruins God?

Lu Yin’s gaze snapped towards a specific parallel universe. There.