Star Odyssey

Chapter 3872: Gu Jing

“Do you know how long Deathmound has been watching Ling Kui for? I can tell you this since we already have a lead, and we’ll definitely drag out whoever’s behind this!” Kou Feng shouted.

Lu Yin arched a brow. Impossible.

His head suddenly turned so that he could look in a specific direction. Outside of Senluo City, an arrow had just appeared out of nowhere. It was flying straight into the city, aimed at Ling Kui.

The arrow flew with astonishing speed, having clearly been fired by a sequence powerhouse. Whoever had fired the arrow had used their sequence particles specifically to make the arrow fly even faster.

It was impossible for Kou Feng to block the arrow.

From the point at which it was released to when the arrow entered the city, almost no time at all had passed.

Even so, the instant that the arrow entered the city, it was severed. A sword expert had stepped forward in an instant, only to immediately disappear as they pursued the one who had fired the arrow.

Lu Yin was not surprised. That swordsman was a peak Dukkhan. When Lu Yin’s consciousness had swept over Senluo City, he had sensed the Dukkhan. That man was most likely the rumored peak lord of Deathmound’s Fourth Peak: Gu Jing.

The man had been waiting this entire time for someone to strike from the shadows.

Kou Feng had been lying earlier with the goal of provoking the enemy into attacking. That was why he had deliberately spoken so loudly.

The truth was that Deathmound had no real leads at all. Lu Yin was absolutely certain of that.

Of course, as to whether there were any clues on the archer, he could not say.

What he did know was that the two dead men had only known each other, and neither had possessed any knowledge regarding whoever was behind them.

This operation was extremely tight, and the people involved were very cautious.

It was like a precision trap.

Kou Feng looked out beyond Senluo City and let out a sigh of relief. Finally, someone had been drawn out.

The reality was that they had only been observing Ling Kui for a few days, and even that had been nothing but a coincidence. They had simply happened to be patrolling the area.

As soon as they realized that Ling Kui was being controlled, it became clear that they were not looking at a random, one time robbery, but rather a planned, coordinated operation. There was something much bigger behind what was happening. For that reason, Kou Feng had received orders from his peak lord to keep tabs on Ling Kui and to not hastily take action. They were waiting for the bigger fish to appear. As for the peak lord, he had hidden himself in Senluo City, concealing his identity.

Lu Yin’s sudden arrival was completely unexpected, and he had disrupted their plans. If Kou Feng had not taken action, Ling Kui and the other two would have escaped. Kou Feng had been forced to take action, but luckily, they had still managed to force out a third person.

He glared at Lu Yin. “Because of you, that guy outside almost didn’t attack! It’s a good thing that I reacted quickly and was able to adapt. If not, how would you have explained yourself to Deathmound?”

He then impatiently demanded, “Now, turn him over.”

Ling Kui cried out, “Senior, don’t give me to him! What information do you want? Nobody in the entire West Domain knows more than me!”

Lu Yin looked at Ling Kui. “Is that so? In that case, do you know who I am?”

Ling Kui stared at Lu Yin. Earlier, he had been too focused on escaping, as well as on Kou Feng. Therefore, he had not paid attention to Lu Yin. At this moment, upon facing Lu Yin directly, Ling Kui’s pupils shrank. “It’s you?”

Kou Feng grew curious. Ling Kui recognizes him too? Is he really from the West Domain?

“You’re Lu Yin! The man from the Tianyuan Megaverse!” Ling Kui shouted.

Lu Yin smiled, as did Si Jiushi, when he saw Kou Feng’s stunned expression. Why does it feel so good? Lu Yin’s name is just too powerful! Even people from Deathmound are scared when they know who’s in front of them.

Si Jiushi unconsciously puffed out his chest. He suddenly felt like he was enjoying the shade of a great tree.

“Now you know who you’re dealing with, huh?”

Kou Feng stood there, dazed as he stared at Lu Yin. “You’re the one who provoked the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse... That Lu Yin?”

Si Jiushi shouted, “Kou brat, watch your mouth! That wasn’t provocation. He was just laying his cards on the table.”

Kou Feng was rattled. No wonder this man looked so familiar. Kou Feng had seen Lu Yin during his Origin realm breakthrough when he had scattered characters across the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. One of those characters had landed in Skyveil City, where Kou Feng and the peak lord of Deathmound’s Fourth Peak had happened to be patrolling with the Spirit Search, so they had both witnessed everything.

At the time of his breakthrough, Lu Yin had been in the East Domain, and yet his characters had rained down across the entire megaverse, and all who saw the characters had also heard his words.

This man was very powerful, as well as absolutely ruthless.

He had blatantly destroyed the Autumnspring Slip, and because of his actions, the Third Peak was still celebrating. Peak Lord Long Yi had gotten her revenge.

That incident, combined with the fact that Chao Yi had mentioned Lu Yin before, made all of Deathmound have quite a favorable impression of him.

Kou Feng had not expected Lu Yin to travel to the West Domain.

His mind racing, Kou Feng took a deep breath. He then faced Lu Yin and offered a deep bow. “Junior Kou Feng offers greetings, Senior.”

Si Jiushi felt even more pleased. When had anyone from Deathmound ever shown so much respect towards someone?

Kou Feng had interpreted Lu Yin’s proclamation during his breakthrough as nothing short of a challenge to the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse. However, Deathmound did not care about that. Their only concern was criminals.

All who joined Deathmound carried their own bone-deep hatred. Whether Lu Yin had been provoking or challenging the entire megaverse was irrelevant to such people.

Besides which, Lu Yin had even helped Chao Yi and Long Yin get their revenge.

Lu Yin nodded. “Are you from the Fourth Peak? The one who chased after the attacker just now, was that your Peak Lord Gu Jing?”

“Yes. The peak lord has stayed outside of the city this entire time.” Kou Feng’s demeanor grew solemn, displaying none of his earlier casualness.

Lu Yin sent a thread of consciousness after Gu Jing and then refocused on Kou Feng. “This Ling Kui truly knows nothing. You can have him if you want—just give me a little time first. I have some questions for him.”

Kou Feng hesitated.

“Don’t worry, I’ll speak to him right here.” Lu Yin said.

Only then did Kou Feng nod. “Thank you, Senior, for your understanding.”

Lu Yin turned to Ling Kui and gave the man a faint smile. “Where is Cheng Gong?”

Ling Kui stared at Lu Yin, his eyes flickering. He looked to be deep in thought.

Si Jiushi smacked the man’s head. “What are you thinking about? Senior just asked you a question! Answer him!”

Ling Kui gritted his teeth and bowed to Lu Yin. “As long as you can save me, Senior, I will tell you anything you wish to know.”

Si Jiushi instantly grew angry and slapped the man again. However, Ling Kui ignored him this time, staying focused solely on Lu Yin. Ling Kui knew that this man was his only chance of survival.

He was Lu Yin, the person who had sent characters raining down from the sky, shocking the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

It was true that he came from the Tianyuan Megaverse, but in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, he had emerged from the Sea of Karma, which meant that he had the backing of Greater Sancte Green Lotus. It was also said that even the Fourth Night Pillar’s Ming Zhuo had sought out Lu Yin and greeted him warmly. He was known to be close to the Seven Fairies, and after being offended, had destroyed the Autumnspring Slip entirely on his own. If a ruthless man chose to protect someone, even Deathmound would have to think twice about targeting them.𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Ling Kui had seen Kou Feng’s sudden change in attitude, and he knew that Lu Yin was his only hope.

Kou Feng’s eyes narrowed, and he glared at Ling Kui with cold fury.

Lu Yin chuckled. “Are you trying to negotiate with me?”

Ling Kui prostrated himself on the floor. “Senior, your power surpasses the megaverse! This lowly one truly did not choose to break the law. I was forced to do so! I beg you to speak for me and ask Deathmound for mercy, Senior! I am willing to serve both you and Deathmound for the rest of my life, without any complaint.”

Lu Yin continued to look at Ling Kui.

The man was prone on the ground. He did not dare to move at all. His mind was made up. Even if Lu Yin refused to protect him, he would hopefully at least testify that Ling Kui had not deliberately broken the law.

Kou Feng ground his teeth. This bastard wants to use Lu Yin to pressure Deathmound!

Deathmound was the most unique faction in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Aside from the three Greater Sancti, no one could suppress Deathmound. However, if Lu Yin insisted on intervening in this matter, what would happen?

“It’s only right for Deathmound to capture those who violated the law. Since you won’t speak, just forget it,” Lu Yin calmly stated. He then looked at Kou Feng. “Take him back to Deathmound.”

Ling Kui froze. That’s it?

Si Jiushi was also stunned. After all of Lu Yin’s efforts to find Ling Kui, was this really the end of the matter? Just like that?

Kou Feng was also caught off guard. He simply could not get a read on Lu Yin.

Lu Yin had never needed Ling Kui to say a single word. All he had needed to do was find the man. Then, it was simple enough to search for the information that Lu Yin wanted by targeting the man’s karmic act.

By searching through Ling Kui’s karma, Lu Yin had already learned that Cheng Gong was still with the Cheng family.

The rest of the world believed that Cheng Gong had left the Cheng family long ago. Even the West Domain believed this, but through his information channels, Ling Kui knew that Cheng Gong was still hiding within the Cheng family. That was enough.

Whether Ling Kui spoke or not meant nothing to Lu Yin.

Additionally, by giving up on Ling Kui, Lu Yin was able to earn a bit of goodwill with Deathmound.

He had not even asked about the location of his target, just so that Deathmound would not be placed in a difficult position.

At this moment, Kou Feng was deeply and truly moved. He had not expected Lu Yin to be so considerate of Deathmound. He was even willing to forgo his own revenge just to avoid making things difficult for them.

Everyone in Deathmound carried a deep grudge. The pursuit of revenge was their strongest belief, and it was what sustained them. Kou Feng was well aware of what it was to be tormented by hatred.

Despite that, Lu Yin had proven that he was willing to set aside his own revenge just to spare Deathmound a bit of embarrassment. Such magnanimity, such forbearance! No wonder Peak Lords Chao Yi and Long Yin speak so highly of him.

This was the first time since the day that the peak lord had taken Kou Feng back to Deathmound that he had felt so moved.

Because of that, he flew into a rage. He grabbed Ling Kui and started beating him while shouting threats. “Hurry up and tell Senior where Cheng Gong is! Whatever Senior wants to know, you better tell me right now! If not, as soon as you get to Deathmound, I’ll make sure that your life becomes worse than death!”

Ling Kui was about to cry. “I... I really didn’t break the law!”

“The information you shared got so many people killed and their spirit seeds stolen. Even if you didn’t do it on purpose, you can’t escape the consequences! Hurry up and tell Senior what he wants to know!” Kou Feng roared, his eyes bloodshot from the fury he felt.

Ling Kui was terrified. “Cheng... Cheng Gong is still with the Cheng family! Senior, he’s with the Cheng family! Please, Senior, testify on my behalf! I really didn’t break the law willingly!”

Kou Feng squeezed the man tightly, his eyes blazing with bloodlust. “You’re not lying?”

“No! I wouldn’t dare!”

“If you dare lie to Senior, I’ll let you learn what real despair is.”

“But I didn’t break the law...”

“Lying is also a grave crime.”

“I swear, I’m not lying! I wouldn’t dare...”

The shouting droned on and on. Si Jiushi was dumbfounded. How was it that Kou Feng was even more upset than Lu Yin?

Lu Yin was speechless. This man’s emotions were simply too intense. Kou Feng is truly a man of passion.

By this time, far outside of Senluo City, Gu Jing had found the archer, though the man was only a sequence powerhouse. If not for the fact that the peak lord was hoping to see if anyone else would rendezvous with the archer, he would have already dealt with the man.

When Gu Jing captured the man, his pupils turned slitted, and a dark-red energy boiled out of his body as he grabbed an arrow and stabbed it at Gu Jing.

The peak lord was startled. What was this?

Lu Yin was also startled. Divine energy?

He instantly vanished, leaving the city and appearing directly in front of Gu Jing and his captive.

Unfortunately, Lu Yin was still a step too late. The man’s attempt to stab Gu Jing with the arrow had been nothing more than a feint. The man’s real intent had been to commit suicide. By the time Lu Yin arrived, the man’s body had already melted into a liquid. It was a horrifying sight, as the dark-red power devoured the man’s corpse like magma. Not even his spirit seed was left behind.

Gu Jing had tried to stop the man from killing himself, but he had simply been unable to.

Even with the power of a peak Dukkhan, Gu Jing had failed to stop a mere sequence powerhouse from committing suicide. It was solely because of the dark-red power that had suddenly appeared.

Gu Jing was not surprised to see Lu Yin. He continued to stare at the ground, but nothing remained after the corpse had been dissolved. Even the dark-red had turned to dust and scattered apart.

Lu Yin stared at the ash that slowly dissipated in the air. That had not been divine energy, but instead something darker and even more blood thirsty. It seemed to share the same origin as divine energy.

This dead man and Yong Heng came from the same source.

“It’s those people yet again,” Gu Jing said in a frigid tone.

Lu Yin was caught off guard. “You’ve seen that power before?”

“This is my first time seeing it for myself, but there’s more than one mention of it in Deathmound’s archives. In particular, that power appeared frequently before the death of Greater Sancte Mi Jin,” Gu Jing said.