Star Odyssey

Chapter 3852: Walking On Thin Ice

Lu Yin stood in the sky, dazed by what had just happened. He simply stared at the empty sky for a while. Someone from an ancient era had spoken to him. How long ago had they lived? Would those people ever appear again? Were mirebound artifacts things that they had taken up the River of Aeons?

The sky returned to normal. The characters that Lu Yin had scattered across the Nine Odysseys Megaverse disappeared, as did all the scenes that they had revealed. Lu Yin had broken into the Origin realm.

This breakthrough had been even easier than the one into the Explorer realm. In the past, every major breakthrough that Lu Yin experienced had been accompanied by a stellular tribulation, but that no longer occurred.

The Origin Progenitor had created the stellular tribulations, but Lu Yin’s combat strength had exceeded the old man’s at this point.

On top of that, the foundation that he had accumulated as a Progenitor was so profound that, as long as his state of mind was sufficient, he could immediately enter Dukkha and start walking towards Immortality.

The difference between the Origin realm and overcoming Dukkha was nothing more than one’s state of mind. It was the process of confronting one’s obsessions.

Despite how simple Lu Yin’s breakthrough had been, it was incomparably shocking.

The River of Aeons had appeared, with the ancients walking up towards a giant tree bearing mirebound artifacts that stood at the source of the river. Such scenes had shaken even the Greater Sancti, let alone the others in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

While Lu Yin had only visited the East Domain so far, the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse now knew about him after the characters had fallen from the sky.

The river once again flowed through the East Domain, but those who stood on its banks could no longer see Lu Yin, despite the fact that he was in the sky right above them.

Near Lu Yin also stood Greater Sancte Green Lotus.

Lu Yin turned around, and he saw Green Lotus. The other two Greater Sancti had already vanished. He slowly bowed. “Greetings, Senior Greater Sancte Green Lotus.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus expressed his admiration, “The power of Word Manifestation, which can control the human heart. You suppressed your desire for control for twelve years before stepping into the Origin realm. Not bad. In fact, very good.”

Lu Yin looked at Greater Sancte Green Lotus. “Senior, do you truly believe that I can control the power of Word Manifestation?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus replied, “I may not be certain, but I believe in you. You’ve already proven yourself capable of comprehending karma.”

Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. “Word Manifestation: controlling the human heart.”

He then stared at Greater Sancte Green Lotus. “If I fail to suppress that desire and recklessly use the power of Word Manifestation, what will you do, Senior?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus met Lu Yin’s gaze in silence.

After a moment, Lu Yin understood the answer. If he failed to control the power of Word Manifestation, there could only be one outcome: he would face the same fate as Yue Ya.

Word Manifestation was a power that approached the level of the Immortal realm. While wielding the power was not the same as achieving Immortality, in some ways, the power was even more terrifying than an Immortal’s strength. The Greater Sancti had been afraid of Yue Ya’s manifested thought, and thus, they had never allowed him to break through. Despite that, they had also been reluctant to simply discard the manifested thought. That was why they had allowed Lu Yin to try.

If he failed, that would be the end of the matter, but if he succeeded, the desire to control others would become his greatest trial.

Lu Yin remembered feeling three gazes on him after using Word Manifestation to influence Liu Li. It must have been the three Greater Sancti watching him.

While Greater Sancte Green Lotus had treated Lu Yin quite well so far, even going so far as to offer the Seven Fairies’ hands in marriage, Lu Yin was well aware of his fate, should he fail his current trial.

This was the world of cultivators, and it consisted of schemes and deception. No one would treat someone well without cause.

Of course, Lu Yin could not even blame Greater Sancte Green Lotus. The man had been quite generous, and Lu Yin himself had been the one who wanted to devour Yue Ya’s manifested thought. Without that greed, no one would have forced him to attempt to acquire the power of Word Manifestation, and his current trial would never have existed.

It might be an unnecessary trial, but Lu Yin had personally dealt with Yue Ya. Greater Sancte Green Lotus could have dealt with Yue Ya long ago, but he had instead purposely left him for Lu Yin. That was a favor that Lu Yin would accept.

It was difficult to say if the decision was right or wrong. All that Lu Yin could clearly see was that he was in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, not the Tianyuan.

“Do you have any resentment?” Greater Sancte Green Lotus asked.

Lu Yin smiled. “No resentment, and no regret.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus nodded. “Cultivating is like walking on thin ice. Whether you proceed with or without resentment, what matters is that you have no guilt in your heart.

“You are very impressive, truly. While you spoke in a domineering manner to antagonize the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse, you also revealed your heart of protecting humanity. For someone like you, regardless of the type of power that you wield, it will never be too much.”

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. There was deeper meaning hidden in those words, but what was the Greater Sancte implying? Had Green Lotus seen through something?

That made sense. It should have been impossible for Lu Yin to merge Yue Ya’s manifested thought with his own consciousness. It was far too difficult to complete that process. The chances of Lu Yin succeeding had always been negligible, and yet Lu Yin had still succeeded. How? Given Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s abilities, it was very possible that he had already seen through to the truth.

Weaving karma. It was possible that the Greater Sancte had already seen that Lu Yin was capable of that.

“Why don’t you reconsider things? Take those seven girls home and marry them,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus suddenly suggested, catching Lu Yin completely off guard.

He quickly declined. “There’s no need for that. I already have a wife.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus sighed. “Do you not like them? What you have seen is only the surface. Those seven girls are excellent. You’ll understand in time.”

Lu Yin pursed his lips. Excellent? He had not seen anything particularly special about any of them. At best, they could be said to be average.

“By the way, Senior, did I happen to catch a glimpse of Greater Sancti Blood Tower and Awe Gate just now?” Lu Yin asked, changing the topic. He had only seen fleeting shadows earlier, and he had not been able to clearly see either individual.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus replied, “They were here but have already left. They are also quite impressed with you.”

Impressed? Things in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse were proving to be very different from what Lu Yin had initially expected.

He had thought that leading the Immortal monster to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s gate, as well as the fact that he was from the Tianyuan Megaverse, would bring him endless trouble. Instead, the three Greater Sancti were completely different from what he had imagined.

When Boundless had traveled to the Spirit Nidus, Lu Yin had also expected to be attacked, and yet that had ultimately not happened either.

It was hard to clearly parse the shifting nature of the cosmos.

All that could be said was that, to truly understand the situation, it was necessary to think on a grander scale. Everything that Lu Yin had predicted regarding the future had been nothing more than a conjecture founded on his perspective at the time, rather than reality.

All along, he had considered the Nine Odysseys Megaverse as an exploiter. That impression had only worsened after witnessing Yue Ya’s condescending attitude when he had tried to fish Lu Yin out of the Spirit Nidus. All that had led Lu Yin to believe that the Nine Odysseys Megaverse was his enemy.

The High Seraph and Master Qing Cao’s helpless attempt to protect the Spirit Nidus had resonated strongly with Lu Yin. Only after arriving in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse had he started to see things clearly.

Without harvesting resources from the Spirit Nidus, how could the Nine Odysseys Megaverse have become so powerful? How could it fight wars against foreign megaverses?

It might not be necessary to use strength, but it was absolutely necessary to possess it.

If one stepped beyond their own megaverse to look across all of the human megaverses—the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, the Spirit Nidus, and the Tianyuan—then what the Nine Odysseys Megaverse had been doing might not actually be wrong. At the very least, their actions had allowed the human race to survive in both the Spirit Nidus and the Tianyuan megaverses.

That was the larger picture.

Was it possible that the day would come when Lu Yin would also only view the larger picture?

That would be the same as Greater Sancte Green Lotus. That man did not care at all that Lu Yin was a Tianyuan cultivator. As long as it was worthwhile, he would eliminate even a Lesser Sancti from his own megaverse for Lu Yin’s sake.

Would Lu Yin ever be capable of seeing the larger picture in that same manner?

If the day ever came when it was necessary to sacrifice the Tianyuan Megaverse, what would he do?

By nature, Lu Yin would prefer to sacrifice either the Spirit Nidus or the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

The larger picture came from a sense of magnanimity, while selfishness came from one’s own heart.

“You’ve just entered the Origin realm, so take some time to familiarize yourself with your new strength. Don’t be in a rush to comprehend new battle techniques. The more clearly you understand the cosmos, the heavier the weapons that you must pick up,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus advised.

Lu Yin suddenly bowed low to Greater Sancte Green Lotus. “Senior, I have a request.”

“Tell me.”

“I wish to return to the Tianyuan,” Lu Yin stated.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus looked at Lu Yin. “You may.”

Lu Yin hesitated for a moment. “I ask to borrow one of your lotus leaves to return to the Tianyuan Megaverse.”

While he could return on his own, that would mean passing back through the Spirit Nidus. Ignoring whether or not Master Qing Cao was there or if he would interfere, just the journey alone would take Lu Yin more than a decade. It would be much faster to travel with a green lotus leaf. So long as Greater Sancte Green Lotus's Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm also extended to the Tianyuan Megaverse, Lu Yin would likely need less than two years to complete the journey.

Naturally, he preferred the faster option.

It was time for him to return to the Tianyuan. Boundless’s return may have delayed the crisis brought about by the Nests, but if the Immortal Lord arrived, the megaverse was not nearly strong enough to endure. Lu Yin’s presence would provide them with a bit of leeway. At the very least, he would be able to eliminate a great many Nests before the Immortal Lord arrived, and he might even lower the chances of the Immortal Lord arriving at all.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus calmly stated, “There are two ways to reach the Tianyuan. One is by passing through the Spirit Nidus, while the other is to travel with one of my lotus leaves, which can indeed reach that megaverse.”

Lu Yin grew excited.

“But you cannot use one.”

Lu Yin’s heart sank. “Why not?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus replied, “It’s not that I’m unwilling to allow you to use it, but rather because there is an Immortal beast blocking that route. While it is unable to perceive karma, its strength as an Immortal is enough to stop one of my lotus leaves.”

Lu Yin was shocked. “An Immortal beast? What does it look like?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus carefully described the beast’s appearance, and Lu Yin realized that it was that same Immortal beast that had chased him.

But why was it between the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and the Tianyuan? He had traveled to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse because of that Immortal beast and the pressure from Master Qing Cao. However, Lu Yin had entered the Sea of Karma because of Greater Sancte Green Lotus. Surely, the Greater Sancti was aware that Lu Yin had led the monster to the Skyward Gate. Given the fact that the monster was currently blocking his path to the Tianyuan, was Greater Sancte Green Lotus punishing Lu Yin?

His thoughts fell into disarray. If Greater Sancte Green Lotus had left the Immortal beast in place, letting it block the path to the Tianyuan Megaverse, then that path was no longer an option. Also, if this was accurate, then the route that passed through the Spirit Nidus was certain to be blocked as well. Was Lu Yin not allowed to leave the Nine Odysseys Megaverse?

“Are you worried about the Tianyuan?” Greater Sancte Green Lotus asked.

Lu Yin bowed. “Yes. My megaverse is facing a crisis.”

“You should already understand why my lotus leaves are able to reach the Tianyuan Megaverse. Your megaverse is one of the three core megaverses. We will not easily allow anything to happen to it,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus said.

His words put Lu Yin at ease. It was true that Lu Yin cared about the Tianyuan because it was his home, but Greater Sancte Green Lotus also cared about it, because the Tianyuan held strategic value to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. It was a barrier that stood between the Spirit Nidus and the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

Lu Yin still had many questions, but Greater Sancte Green Lotus had already left. There was nothing that Lu Yin could do to stop the man.

As he looked down, he saw that many people had gathered along the banks of the East Domain’s river, and more were arriving with every moment. Some bowed respectfully, while others knelt or prostrated themselves on the ground, hoping to take Lu Yin as their master.

The sight reminded Lu Yin of his few disciples, and he wondered how they were doing.

By becoming an Ortuser, Lu Yin had also become untouchable by the laws of the universe.

He had already been able to achieve that same effect with his inner universe, but the Origin realm’s ability to ignore the laws of the universe functioned entirely differently. Before, Lu Yin’s own ability had allowed him to repel the laws of the universe, but at present, he had become a burden that those laws could not bear.

It was as if he stood above the universe itself, able to completely ignore certain laws.

It was a strange feeling, as if he had failed to gain any direct improvement to his combat strength from his breakthrough. Still, he had been freed from a certain kind of restraint.

There was a reason why the Origin realm existed on the path of human cultivation. It was a necessary stage along the correct path.