Star Odyssey - Chapter 3403

Capturing Yuan Qi, killing Zhan Yan, and stealing the Rivers and Mountains Painting… did Lu Yin need Forgotten Ruins God’s help in order to resolve this particular piece of karma?

That was not impossible.

It was also possible that she had been simply orchestrating Yuan Qi’s demise.

Lu Yin had never been able to fully understand Forgotten Ruins God. Of the Seven Skygods, she alone had survived to the end, and she had even been saved and sent away by True God. There was no doubt that the woman harbored some sort of great secret.

However, the fact that she had managed to avoid the temporal reversion intrigued Lu Yin the most.

Only the power of an Immortal was capable of doing such a thing. Could Forgotten Ruins God have also mastered the power of an Immortal?

“What about this woman?” Progenitor Chen asked as he looked at Zhan Yan, who lay on the ground nearby.

Lu Yin looked over.

In the previous timeline, Zhan Yan had been killed by Forgotten Ruins God. While fighting with Yuan Qi, Lu Yin had intended to deal with Zhan Yan as well, but in truth, her karma had no connection to him. Instead, it was likely tied to Forgotten Ruins God, which meant that Zhan Yan could not be killed.

Lu Yin instead captured Zhan Yan. Before parting ways, he reminded Progenitor Chen to be wary of Forgotten Ruins God.

Progenitor Chen resumed his pursuit of Forgotten Ruins God, which was a truly perilous task.

Still, it was the man’s own choice, and Lu Yin could not stop him. Besides, tracking Forgotten Ruins God had become incredibly difficult, given that the mark on her face had been removed. Unless she deliberately drew Progenitor Chen to herself, he would not be able to track her.

Lu Yin imprisoned both Yuan Qi and Zhan Yan beneath the Heavens Sect, and then he placed the Rivers and Mountains Painting in his inner universe, thus completing that karma.

Death energy filled the area. Yuan Qi had been gravely injured, though he was not on the cusp of death.

Once the death energy dissipated, Yuan Qi’s blurred vision gradually grew clear. He saw Lu Yin, who stood in front of the old man.

The Seraph coughed, and a bit of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

“If I hadn’t lost my Dao Bell, you would have never defeated me,” Yuan Qi protested weakly, his face pale. A bloodstain on his chest indicated where Lu Yin’s palm had landed. The faint outline of a handprint could be made out.

Lu Yin agreed, “That’s true, but the outcome has already been decided. You don’t think that I’ll give you another chance to fight me, do you?”

Yuan Qi stared at Lu Yin through his blood-matted hair as he breathed heavily. “Are you going to kill me?”

“Yes.”

Yuan Qi’s eyes flickered. “I am more valuable to you alive than dead.”

“What value? Tell me,” Lu Yin said, feeling a headache approaching. Yuan Qi had been exiled because he had learned about the Lesser Spirit Megaverse. That and other secrets were the man’s trump cards for his continued survival, and he would not reveal such information unless it was absolutely necessary.

Simply interrogating the Seraph most likely would not be enough to get him to talk.

On the side branch of the River of Aeons, Yuan Qi had only spoken because the Spirit Nidus had invaded the Tianyuan Megaverse. Once both megaverses had been at war, countless lives would be lost. In that situation, where Yuan Qi was uncertain of Lu Yin’s intentions, he had revealed his secrets in a desperate gamble when the incense stick had almost completely burned out. If not for those circumstances, the Seraph would have never spoken.

This time, there was no war with the Spirit Nidus, and there was no one with whom Yuan Qi was competing for survival. He believed himself to be valuable, as he held critical information about the Spirit Nidus. There was no situation that would lead him to divulge his most closely guarded secret.

The man did not fear death, but he was unwilling to accept it.

However, unless he truly believed that Lu Yin was about to kill him, Yuan Qi would never reveal his secrets.

The Seraph considered his thoughts for a moment, and then he said, "You must already know about the Spirit Nidus. Did any of the Consciousness Megaverse conscients speak to you? However, when it comes to the Spirit Nidus, those conscients know far less than I. The Seven Seraphs and the countless experts beneath them—do you know about all that? The ten sequence bases, the eighty-eight sequence techniques…"

Lu Yin listened in silence. He already knew everything that was being shared, but he chose not to interrupt Yuan Qi.

Lu Yin was instead considering how to force Yuan Qi to reveal the necessary secrets.

Completing unfulfilled karma was far more challenging than battles that relied on brute strength.

Yuan Qi spoke at length, and Lu Yin listened attentively. Some of what the old man shared was new to Lu Yin, though nothing was particularly important.

The Spirit Nidus was an entire megaverse. If Yuan Qi simply wanted to talk, he could do so forever.

By the time the old man was done, Lu Yin still had not come up with a way to make Yuan Qi reveal the existence of the Lesser Spirit Megaverse.

"Why did you come to the Tianyuan Megaverse?" Lu Yin asked directly.

"To support Aeternus," Yuan Qi answered without hesitation.

"A Seraph supporting the Aeternals?" Lu Yin asked skeptically.

Yuan Qi explained, "The Aeternals are crucial to resetting this megaverse, and that directly leads to achieving Immortality. Having multiple Seraphs involved would not be the slightest bit surprising.

"Achieving Immortality is far too difficult. Trying to achieve it by overcoming Dukkha is practically impossible. Thus, resetting a megaverse is the most direct method."

In order to convince Lu Yin, Yuan Qi repeatedly emphasized how it was necessary for the Spirit Nidus to support Aeternus, and he proceeded to recount events that had taken place while fighting against the Immemorial Citadel. The Seraph showed a resolute attitude, and Lu Yin was given no grounds to argue.

Helpless, Lu Yin left.

He could not behave rashly. If Yuan Qi learned that Lu Yin was already aware of his exile, the old man would become suspicious, which would only further complicate matters.

Lu Yin had already devised a plan to deal with Yuan Qi, but enacting it would take time.

"Lord Lu, I don’t fear death—I just refuse to accept it. The Tianyuan Megaverse is destined to be reset. You can’t even imagine how powerful the Spirit Nidus is. I won’t accept dying in a megaverse that is destined to be reset. That is why I’ll do everything I can to help you, even if it means betraying the Spirit Nidus," Yuan Qi declared before his voice faded away.

Lu Yin left the prison, and then he went to see Director Zhi and the other lead researchers.

They all gave Lu Yin eager looks and brought up various questions which were related to bottlenecks in the microarray research.

On the branch of the River of Aeons, these questions had been obstacles that had hindered technological progress for centuries, even if those centuries had been spent in the Five Spirits Alliance’s universes.

Of course, Lu Yin was aware of the solutions to these obstacles. Reverting time could help avert such technical challenges, which would allow microarray research to advance centuries ahead of schedule.

Lu Yin also had a record of the various universes that contained the necessary raw materials for manufacturing microarrays, mechas, and black energy converters.

Already, the megaverse was working to transport all of those materials to designated sites.

What had taken more than thirty years in the alternate timeline would be accomplished in a fraction of the time.

The time gained could be used to search for additional materials.

The goals that Lu Yin had set for the research teams would quickly be met, and the next goals that he set for them would be even more ambitious.

This was the advantage of foresight. At the moment, Lu Yin looked like a deity in the eyes of Director Zhi and the other researchers. The man seemed to possess a practically prophetic ability.

The researchers might not hold a great deal of respect for powerful cultivators, but the fact that Lu Yin had helped them overcome multiple obstacles that had been stalling their research was more than enough for them to worship him.

Word quickly spread, though the tales grew increasingly exaggerated with each retelling. Soon, embellished versions spread.

As for Lu Yin, he made his way to Whitecloud City. Judging by how much time had passed, the Ancient Lightning Locust should arrive at the city soon.

On the previous branch of the River of Aeons, Jiang Feng had been crippled and rendered senseless right before the Ancient Lightning Locust targeted Whitecloud City. Only with Lu Yin's help had they managed to capture the beast.

Capturing the Ancient Lightning Locust was another karmic effect, as only by capturing the beast had Lu Yin learned the truth about what had struck the jiao and left it an idiot.

"Little Seven, have some fruit."

"Thank you, Aunt Liu."

"We should be thanking you. If not for you, Jiang Feng might already be dead," Liu Pianran replied. She glanced at the nearby Jiang Feng, who was cradling a sword in his arms.

While Lu Yin had intervened and stopped Whiteless God from targeting Ming Yan, Bai Qing had still emerged when Jiang Feng's sword appeared outside the Iceheart, which had awakened her.

After she emerged, she had delivered the sword to Whitecloud City, which was why it was resting on Jiang Feng's lap.

Jiang Qingyue sat beside Jiang Feng.

Jiang Chen had gone off to train, swearing vengeance on Master Qing Cao. While the man usually appeared laid back, he held a deep respect for Jiang Feng. Seeing him in such a state had fundamentally changed Jiang Chen’s mentality.

It was not long before there was a crack of thunder, which heralded the arrival of the Ancient Lightning Locust.

From beside Lu Yin, the Megalith and the Pridebeast immediately took off and proceeded to pummel the Ancient Lightning Locust.

In the other timeline, the Ancient Lightning Locust had not been able to endure the combined assault of the Megalith and the Pridebeast. That had not changed, and after being thoroughly beaten, the Ancient Lightning Locust was taken away by Lu Yin.

After delivering the beast to the Heavens Sect, the jiao reacted just as Lu Yin had anticipated, mirroring what had happened in the previous timeline. With this, yet another karmic knot was resolved.

At this point, only a few months had passed since the temporal reversion. Many events had taken place significantly earlier than before.

Lu Yin summoned Great Elder Shan Gu and shared some details regarding the Nests.

The man was stunned, and he proceeded to share the history of the Third Rampart, as expected. This closed the karmic ties concerning the Nests.

Lu Yin had already secretly ordered the Heavens Sect to search for Nests, but no information had been released publicly.

While Shan Gu was one of the Three Suns and Six Rulers, he could not interfere in the affairs of the Heavens Sect without permission. To avoid raising any suspicions, the man had been left uninformed.

Lu Yin had deliberately avoided telling too many people about the temporal reversion.

Great Elder Shan Gu regarded the appearance of the Nests as an absolute disaster. He repeatedly warned Lu Yin to be cautious of the Nests.

Lu Yin refrained from bringing out his captive Verdant Sage. If the Great Elder saw that creature, he would undoubtedly focus on it and search for a way to deal with the Verdant Sage.

After dismissing Shan Gu, Lu Yin’s next step was to wait for the first batch of energy converters and mechas to be completed. They could then proceed with destroying uninhabited parallel universes, which would reduce the strain on the sequence strings.

Also, there were other matters that they had to complete to fully prepare for the arrival of the Spirit Nidus’s invasion in another ten years.

However, would the Spirit Nidus even attack?

Had the High Seraph avoided the temporal reversion? Lu Yin could not be sure. If the man had avoided it, then the Spirit Nidus might not attack, as the High Seraph would be aware that Lu Yin needed to complete his unresolved karma. After all, the High Seraph had mentioned something similar to Wei Nu.

It had initially seemed like the High Seraph had not escaped the temporal reversion, and it was certainly possible that he had made such a comment in order to deliberately mislead Lu Yin. No, that was also not quite right. If the High Seraph had avoided the temporal reversion, he would have still been in the Tianyuan Megaverse, and he would have never allowed Lu Yin to live. That settled Lu Yin’s doubts; the High Seraph had not escaped the temporal reversion, as he was still in the Spirit Nidus.

The fact that the man had not avoided the effects of time reversing meant that the Spirit Nidus would attack as initially planned, as the High Seraph had also lost his memories of those thirty-seven years.

The man did not know that Lu Yin had comprehended karma, which meant that he would not personally travel to the Tianyuan Megaverse to kill Lu Yin.

That should be accurate.

In that case, Lu Yin was correct in thinking that his next step was to wait for the Spirit Nidus’s invasion in ten years. However, before that, he needed to deal with Tian Ci.

Actually, was Tian Ci even still around? That was also a question.

The temporal reversion was not able to affect the power of Immortals, and there was no doubt that Tian Ci had carried the power of an Immortal within him, as evidenced by the characters “slave” and “heaven,” both of which had appeared at his death. Was he alive again, or had he disappeared like the Nests due to his death in the other timeline?

Lu Yin frowned. If Tian Ci was dead, then it would be impossible for Lu Yin to resolve his karma with Tian Ci. No, Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. If Tian Ci had escaped from karma due to the power of an immortal, then that karmic connection did not exist. There would also be no need to resolve it then.

This thought somewhat relieved Lu Yin, but it was also all speculation. He could not be certain whether Tian Ci had come back to life, so it was necessary to proceed under the assumption that Tian Ci was still alive. So, Lu Yin needed to act according to his established plan.

Tian Ci was not in the Spirit Nidus. There was no springboard outside the stone gate that could enable him to return to the Spirit Nidus.

If he was still alive, he had to be outside the stone gate.