Star Odyssey

Chapter 4423: The Trade

Why had the stone monster not considered its actions unethical when it had tripped a mere child into a latrine?

Too lazy to waste words, Lu Yin brought out his Investiture of the Gods. Golden light blazed, and one strand of Tri-Azure Sword Intent after another gathered to form a river that circled around the stone monster.

The Immortal felt as if a blade were being held to its back.

"You have two choices available to you: either help me sell these coordinates, or grow old and die in Manifest City. Pick one." Lu Yin's voice was icy.

The stone monster wanted to say something more, but the river of sword intent surged closer. It hurriedly cried out, "I'll sell! I'll sell! I'll sell!"

Satisfied, Lu Yin withdrew the river of sword intent. "Wouldn't it have been easier to agree from the start? What a waste of time. Let's go. Oh, and bring some of your own kind with you. That’ll make it look more professional."

The stone monster had no choice but to bring along a few of its kin. This was going to be a problem. If that technological fishing civilization made any moves, it might not be able to escape. This human was cunning and sly yet also frighteningly powerful. It could only hope that Lu Yin would truly save it from disaster.

Seeing the few companions that the stone monster had chosen, Lu Yin suddenly looked at the creature differently. "You really are professional."

The chosen few all were either one-eyed, limping, or were particularly vicious-looking, and they all carried axes. No matter how one looked at them, these stone monsters looked even more professional than the scavenger, One-Eye, that Lu Yin had encountered before.

The stone monster offered a bitter smile. "I've seen scavengers before. They're shameless and despicable, and they also like to make themselves look fierce. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have the nerve to approach potential buyers."

Lu Yin eyed the creature with growing suspicion. "Why do I feel like you were a scavenger yourself?"

"Human powerhouse, you can't slander me like that! How could I possibly have been a scavenger?" the stone monster cried out in alarm. A few of its nearby kin also suddenly hunched over and bowed their heads, trying their best to look sincere.

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed even further. He had examined this stone monster's past with karma, but he had only seen its cultivation and when it had been captured by Che. In truth, entire civilizations could be scavengers.

Of course, this was not the time to dwell on such things.

"Figure out a way to get them to believe you." As he spoke, Lu Yin teleported the stone monster and its companions to a location that was about ten years’ travel from the technological fishing civilization and then left.

The stone monsters could not be left too close, as there would be no way to explain their sudden appearance. Nor could they be too far, because it would take too long to establish contact. This distance seemed about right.

In the Aevum Inch, the stone monster looked around, as did its few kin. It knew that the technological fishing civilization lay ahead, but it could only grit its teeth and move closer.

At the same time, far away, an alarm went off inside of the massive oval light. "Beep. Foreign lifeform detected. Beep. Foreign lifeform detected. Beep..."

"That's annoying. Turn off that beeping sound."

"As you command, Your Highness."

"What's going on?"

"A foreign lifeform has been detected. Coordinates are being displayed."

"Hm? Didn’t we already scan that location?"

"The detected foreign lifeform has the strength of an Immortal being, and it likely has the means to either block detection or suddenly accelerate into our detection range."

"Sudden acceleration? Like that other lifeform that used us? Does this mean that we've found them?"

"Activate absolute analysis."

"Absolute analysis activating. Analyzing... Analyzing... Analyzing... Does not match human. Strength: Immortal being. Warning! Target is an Immortal being. Activate Cosmic Shear? Warning! Immortal being approaching. Activate Cosmic Shear?"

"Of course not! I knew it! Whenever you encountered Immortal beings before, your first response was simply attack. You never even tried to communicate with them? No wonder the empire has suffered so many losses!"

"Reporting to Your Highness, according to imperial analysis protocol, communication with foreign creatures is not permitted. They must be either killed or enslaved."

"Hmph! So many things could be settled with just a few words, and yet you insist on choosing the most troublesome way. Fine, do as you like. Let's see how you want to handle this."

"Activate Cosmic Shear immediately and prepare to fire at any moment. At the same time, prepare unconventional weapon Crystal Fall."

"Crystal Fall activating. Crystal Fall activating."

"Your Highness, there's no need to hurry. The distance is still too great. We'll strike when it gets closer so that it has no room to escape."

"Fine. Let's see what you've got." The voice sounded lazy and indifferent.

Time continued to pass. Lu Yin quietly watched from afar. Nine years went by, and the stone monster had moved quite close to the technological fishing civilization’s vessels. They were nearly close enough to communicate.

Several more months passed, but as the stone monster continued toward the coordinates that it had been given, just like before, huge objects that looked like oversized needles suddenly appeared in front of it and shot at it.

The Immortal struck back, releasing a power that compressed the void. Even so, one of the needles pierced straight through and grazed the stone monster’s body.

The creature was startled. What a sharp attack! It immediately turned and fled, taking its kin with it. This had always been part of its plan, but it had not expected just a single probing attack to already force it to retreat.

A technological fishing civilization was truly unfathomable.

Lu Yin stared at the needles. He had encountered this kind of attack more than once before, but he had never seen one this formidable.

Not only that, but that had also only been a probing strike.

Of course, those needles alone were not enough to threaten the stone monster, but they did demonstrate the upper limit of this technological civilization's offensive power to the Immortal. There was no doubt that it surpassed the stone monster itself.

The Immortal’s immediate retreat caught even the technological civilization off guard. "Target has changed course. Shall we fire Cosmic Shear?"

"Your Highness, should we fire Cosmic Shear?"

"Are you sure that that's an Immortal being? It fled without even trying to fight. Isn't that a bit too cowardly?"

"In the Aevum Inch, no kind of lifeform can be considered unusual. There are some species that have a much greater chance of becoming Immortal beings because of their inherent traits, but such species are often inferior in terms of strength and courage when compared to Immortal beings that reached that level only after surviving through immense hardship."

"Nonsense. You think I don't know that? It's in the imperial records. Tell me something useful."

"Yes, Your Highness. Under normal circumstances, procedure dictates that we confirm the target's strength, track it, locate its megaverse, conquer that, and then harvest its resources. Since this target's strength remains unclear, I recommend firing Cosmic Shear."

"Do you know how to do anything besides recommending Cosmic Shear?"

"Your Highness, Cosmic Shear is the safest option."

"There’s no hurry. It can't escape the range of Cosmic Shear anyway. Fire Crystal Fall again to measure its strength."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Soon afterward, Crystal Fall was launched again. Needle after needle pierced the cosmos to rain down upon the stone monster. It kept dodging, showing absolutely no intention of fighting back at all.

Crystal Fall was fired again and again, ripping open countless scars throughout the dark and boundless Aevum Inch.

"Your Highness, the target is focused entirely on fleeing and shows no intention of fighting back. At this rate, no matter how many times we fire Crystal Fall, we still won't be able to measure its strength. Therefore, I still recommend firing Cosmic Shear."

"Cosmic Shear is far too costly to fire. What puzzles me is this: how can a dignified Immortal being simply take a beating without even fighting back?"

At that moment, the screen revealed the appearance of the stone monster and its kin. "Activate absolute analysis."

"Absolute analysis activating. Unable to perform absolute analysis. Target is an Immortal being."

"Activate the king vessel’s absolute analysis."

"King vessel activating absolute analysis. Analyzing... Analyzing... Analysis complete." Next, the screen displayed various details, as well as an analysis regarding the stone monster's speed and evasive abilities.

"Your Highness, this kind of analysis is of limited value. The power of an Immortal being cannot be measured through data."

"I know that, but don't you find these few creatures strangely familiar?"

"A little, yes. We've definitely never seen this particular species before, but this sense of familiarity is..."

Suddenly, they both spoke at the same time. "Scavengers." "Scavengers!"

"Exactly, they’re scavengers. I knew that they looked familiar. The empire has dealt with scavengers far too often over the years, and every single one of them looks vicious, yet they behave with extreme caution and are very careful. Look at their movement patterns. Even with the protection of an Immortal being, their habitual way of hiding is no different from a scavenger's."

"Ordinarily, no one would notice that, but we're too familiar with scavengers. Your Highness, what do we do now?"

"Hmph! We communicate! Since they're scavengers, there's no need to attack."

"Understood."

Far away in the Aevum Inch, the stone monster glanced back. Had they stopped attacking? Or were they preparing an even stronger attack? It was very eager to speak with its attackers, but this was not the right moment. Since that human, Lu Yin, had said that this civilization had traded with scavengers before, it meant that communication was not impossible. Still, the other side needed to make the first move. Otherwise, nothing that the stone monster said would matter.

That human wanted it to find a way to sell certain coordinates, so it could only return to its old ways.

Lu Yin’s suspicions were absolutely correct; the stone monsters really had worked as scavengers before. They had only stopped after one of their kind had broken into the Immortal realm. It valued its life, while scavengers were desperados. Out of ten, nine would die at the hands of the civilizations that they traded with while only one might survive.

Even as an Immortal, the stone monster had not wanted to take such risks.

Moreover, the trades made by the scavengers could not satisfy the needs of an Immortal, so the stone monster had returned to its own megaverse, where it had focused on passing down an inheritance and strengthening its own civilization. That was the true path to power.

In the Aevum Inch, the strength of a cosmic civilization was true strength. Unless an individual reached the level of resonating with two cosmic laws, they could not have any real sense of security.

As the stone monster dodged the Crystal Fall attacks, it felt as though it had truly returned to its days as a scavenger. It had never expected to relive those years of wandering.

"Would you be willing to communicate, Your Excellency?" A voice was heard, and it was naturally understandable, even though it belonged to a completely different cosmic civilization.

The stone monster stopped and glanced back at the massive oval light. "Why did you attack me for no reason?"

"What's so strange about that? Your Excellency roams the cosmos, so you surely know the most basic common sense."

The stone monster answered in a deep voice, "I won't argue with you over this matter. Killing you would only increase my karmic chain. Leave."

"May I ask if Your Excellency is a scavenger?"

The stone monster was astonished. "How did you know that?"

Within the oval light, the prince stared at the screen and slowly said, "We are willing to trade with scavengers. Do you have the coordinates of a megaverse?"

The stone monster sized up the oval light. "A technological civilization? It is rare for technology to become a fishing civilization in the cosmos. No wonder you want the coordinates of megaverses. You need resources, don't you?"

"Your Excellency avoided us because you realized that we are a technological civilization, didn't you? Since you can already see our intentions, you should also understand that, for a technological civilization, scavengers are the most welcome of all groups."

The stone monster naturally understood that. In the cosmos, the civilizations that were the most eager to buy the coordinates of other megaverses were technological ones. The maximum strength of a technological civilization was only limited by resources, and more could drive that maximum strength ever higher. It was no different from a cultivation civilization.

The more abundant and diverse the resources available, the stronger a technological civilization became.