Star Odyssey

Chapter 2146: The Level Is Too High

Starsibyl looked into Destina’s suspicious eyes and shook her head, her face pale. "I saw nothing at all. The backlash struck me the moment I touched upon the word."

After she finished speaking, she glanced around and saw that the asteroids around them had disappeared. With the severity of the backlash that had just struck them, Starsibyl should have died just like Master Zhu. So, why was she still alive? Not only that, how was she barely injured?

Destina took a deep breath and then pulled out her wireless jincan to send a message to Lu Yin.

He was already waiting to hear back from Destina, while Progenitor Smoke was still chatting with Astral-10’s mentors. The men all treated her as if they were juniors, and they did not even dare to look directly at Progenitor Smoke, which let Lu Yin breathe a sigh of relief.

His wireless jincan trembled, and Lu Yin looked down at it.

"I almost died," messaged Destina.

Lu Yin's eyes flashed. "What do you mean?"

Destina continued to explain, "The word that you gave me is connected to the Aeternals’ True God Wei Yi. That person is not someone whom we can touch through divination. Even during the Heavens Sect era, that person was extremely mysterious. What connection does the word that you gave me have with him? You nearly killed us."

Lu Yin had no idea that Destina had transferred the backlash from the divination, and no one would bother to inform him about the deaths of people from primitive civilizations in the Outerverse. After all, such losses were not considered a big deal.

"What did you see?" Lu Yin asked.

Destina's eyes flickered with a cold light. If not for the fact that she had shifted the karma from her divination away from her, she would have suffered even worse injuries than when Lu Yin had triggered Destiny. "I was unable to see anything. I was hit by the backlash the moment I attempted to touch the word. I won’t have anything to do with that word again."

Lu Yin's heart sank, and he looked up to stare into space. This meant that the plan to disperse droplets of mysterious liquid that devoured stellular energy from the true universe was not the "Murkiness" plan that Mister Mu was so worried about. In that case, just what was "Murkiness?" Did it really have nothing to do with the droplets? There should be some connection. After all, Aeternus had already removed stellular energy from the entire Fifth Mainland, which had crippled human cultivation. If this was not "Murkiness," then just how terrifying was that plan?

The wireless jincan trembled again, and Destina repeated, "Where did you learn of this word?"

"It was just a guess."

On the other side of the conversation, both Destina and Starsibyl were staring blankly at the reply that Lu Yin had sent over through the wireless jincan. They had not expected Lu Yin to send such a flippant answer. It was too ridiculous! Why would anyone ask for a divination over such a random reason?

Destina’s anger grew until her hatred for Lu Yin even surpassed what she felt for Lu Buzheng.

It was rare for Starsibyl to lose her temper, but when it came to Lu Yin, the unexpected became common.

Another message from Lu Yin appeared. "This word is very important to me. I learned of it by happenstance after drinking tea made from a Root of Intelligence and achieving a breakthrough. I instantly realized that the word was important and that I needed to learn more about it. We need to try again."

Destina's eyes flared, and she wanted to do nothing more than hunt down Lu Yin and force him to the brink of death.

"Master, he shouldn't be lying," Starsibyl suddenly mentioned.

This comment puzzled Destina. "Are you saying that you believe him when he says that he just randomly thought of that word?"

Starsibyl grew somber. "I believe it might be possible with the tea brewed from a Root of Intelligence. The Roots of Intelligence were grown by Progenitor Hui himself, and each one is a rare treasure that can induce a state of enlightenment and heightened comprehension where a person can understand anything almost instantly. If such a mental state was combined with a breakthrough in one’s cultivation, then it is not impossible for such a strange coincidence to occur."

Destina shook her head. "This word would not appear even during a state of enlightenment."

Destina immediately sent her answer to Lu Yin. "We can't do another divination for this word."

"Then I will trigger Destiny again. If I fail once, I’ll try twice. If those two attempts fail, I’ll try a third time. If all three attempts fail, I’ll try again and again as many times as needed. All I need is a single success."

Destina gritted her teeth—as many times as needed? That would kill her! If she was injured to the point of vomiting blood every time Destiny was triggered, what would happen after all those attempts? What would happen when her blood was completely spent?

"That’s your choice. If you really want to trigger Destiny, I’ll do it for you," Destina replied. She did not want her hand to be forced by Lu Yin.

However, this response confused Lu Yin. "What do you mean by that?"

Destina explained, "It’s very easy for you to trigger Destiny, and if that’s the case, then I can only work with you. If I don’t, Destiny will blame me for doing nothing when she appears. I agree with your method, so proceed as you wish."

Lu Yin sneered. Destina did not want Lu Yin to trigger Destiny because she wanted to become a Progenitor and replace Destiny. Lu Yin believed this, but he also knew that Destina was still keeping something hidden. The woman had to have been injured when Destiny was triggered, just like Xuan Jiu. Destina did not want to be injured by Lu Yin’s activities, so she was trying to trick him. However, Lu Yin was not worried about being deceived. Even long ago when he had worked with Humility's Gate in the Perennial World, he had already created a legend for himself through his schemes.

"Great, then I’ll keep triggering Destiny, and with your help, we’ll be able to find her quicker," Lu Yin agreed.

Destina's eye twitched, and she was struck by a headache. She had assumed that Lu Yin was just threatening her by saying that he would keep triggering Destiny, but was he telling the truth? That could not be allowed. If Destiny was continuously triggered, then not only would Destina not be able to train and cultivate, but she would also be repeatedly weakened and injured by Lu Yin’s attempts. Even worse, he might succeed in attracting Destiny’s attention, and that would create a whole host of other problems for Destina.

She looked over at Starsibyl. "You talk to him."

Starsibyl nodded. It was clear that Destina would not be able to make any headway talking to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin put his wireless jincan away and looked at Astral-10’s mentors. What a pain. He needed to trigger Destiny again as soon as possible to scare Destina. While the woman had offered her unconditional support for the Dao Chosen, Lu Yin remained wary of her. After their latest conversation, Lu Yin could not afford to step back.

The Starmaster was still on guard against Lu Yin, and when he noticed the young man’s expression, he instantly yelled, "What’s with that look? Don't touch the Stargazing Deck again!"

All of the other mentors turned to stare at Lu Yin.

He pursed his lips. Why were they so wary towards him, like he was a thief? The Starmaster was too on edge. What had happened to the calm and quiet man that Lu Yin had known in the past?

At this moment, his wireless jincan trembled again. Lu Yin checked the message.

"This is Starsibyl. It’s been a very long time, Alliance Leader Lu."

Lu Yin arched a brow, but he immediately realized that Destina had ordered Starsibyl to continue the conversation that had stalled out.

"I need more information about that word," Lu Yin sent back.

Starsibyl remained very calm as she understood Lu Yin very well. "Divination cannot be performed on that word. Even if we die in the attempt, we still won’t be able to learn anything. We can help you in the future, Alliance Leader Lu, but if we die trying to investigate this word, will our deaths really be worth the price for nothing?"

Lu Yin did not actually need a divination on the word "Murkiness" to be performed again, as he had already obtained the answer that he needed. Rather, he simply wanted to coerce Destina into doing more divinations for him while also probing just how much of an impact triggering Destiny had had on Destina. It seemed that it was worse than he had suspected, as Destina was clearly panicking.

"Fine. I’ve always tried to be friends with your Starsibyl Sect, but the divination for the word doesn't count. So, I’ll change my request to doing a divination on a person," Lu Yin stated.

Starsibyl twitched as she looked at Lu Yin’s most recent message. If Lu Yin was the one asking for a divination, then forget a person—even an ant would be a difficult task. Lu Yin was not playing around, and there was no need for him to request a divination on a minor issue. Starsibyl did not want to know who Lu Yin wanted to be looked into.

"Alliance Leader Lu, we were already injured today, so let's do the divination at a later time," Starsibyl countered.

Lu Yin did not try to force the matter further. "Let’s wait three days then. In three days, help me divine a person."

Starsibyl was between a rock and a hard place, so she glanced over at Destina, who ordered, "Ask him who he wants divined."

Starsibyl sent the reply.

"Mister Mu." When Mister Mu had parted ways with Lu Yin twenty years ago, the man’s attitude had been different. Lu Yin wanted to know what had happened to his master, and if the man was dead or alive.

Starsibyl had never heard of Mister Mu before, and neither had Destina. Typically, the two women would feel more comfortable performing divinations on matters that they were ignorant of, but that was only when interacting with most people. When it came to Lu Yin, the two women only became more nervous when they realized that they knew nothing at all about the person he was asking about.

"Ask for the person's identity and cultivation," Destina demanded.

Starsibyl sent the request, but it only amused Lu Yin. "If you need to know all of that, then why would I need your divination?"

He would not dare to reveal that Mister Mu was definitely a Progenitor, and not one with a common level of strength either. At the very least, Mister Mu had not only known Wu Xing, but the two were clearly acquaintances. Thus, Mister Mu was someone who had been around at least since the Heavens Sect era.

But that was information that Lu Yin could not reveal, as Destina would absolutely refuse to do the divination if she knew that.

Starsibyl frowned. "Very well. We will do the divination in three days."

Lu Yin lowered his wireless jincan and looked over. He saw all of the mentors still staring at him, and he rolled his eyes. "Fine! I won't touch the Stargazing Deck!"

…

Three days passed in a flash. During this time, Lu Yin stayed far away from the Stargazing Deck so that the mentors of Astral-10 could relax.

He found the Trialmaster, and he asked him about the mad headmaster, but the Trialmaster only had a bit more information for Lu Yin. As he walked around, many of Astral-10’s students saw Lu Yin, and they swarmed the area. He spent a day offering them some guidance with a class, sating their desire to learn from someone whom they considered to be a true powerhouse. The students’ attitude left Lu Yin thinking that he should accept a true disciple, not someone like Ku Wei.

After three days had passed, Lu Yin reached out to Destina, only to have Starsibyl answer his message.

"Let’s do the divination," Lu Yin sent.

Starsibyl replied back, "Alliance Leader Lu, this person isn’t a Progenitor, are they?"

"I don't know their level," Lu Yin replied.

Far away, Starsibyl had no choice. She lowered the wireless jincan, and Destina waved a hand. Many of the nearby asteroids gathered around the two women once again as they started another divination, this time on Mister Mu.

Very quickly, Starsibyl spat out more blood, but Destina managed to react faster than before, and she shifted the backlash away. All of the asteroids shattered, but Destina did not suffer many injuries. Still, a terrible expression covered her face. "A Progenitor! Not only that, but they’re someone who’s at least as powerful as a master of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas."

Starsibyl felt frustrated as she wiped blood from the corner of her mouth. Luckily, her injuries were not too severe, as Destina had reacted very quickly, being better prepared for this divination. "Is Mister Mu a Progenitor?"

Destina grabbed the wireless jincan and sent a message to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was rather nervous, and he was hoping to learn that nothing had happened to Mister Mu.

When his wireless jincan wriggled out a reply, despite the lack of sound, Lu Yin could feel Destina’s rage. "Dao Chosen Lu, this Mister Mu is a terrifying powerhouse who is at least on the same level as the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas! You actually asked us to do a divination on such a person? Why didn’t you have Lu Buzheng try with his Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique instead?"

Lu Yin felt a bit of guilt, but he quickly replied, "I didn’t know. Were you able to do the divination?"

Destina’s emotions were in turmoil, and she could not tell whether or not Lu Yin was lying, so she threw her wireless jincan over to Starsibyl. Destina wanted nothing to do with Lu Yin right now.

Starsibyl felt frustrated by her situation. "Alliance Leader Lu, forgive our failure, but this Mister Mu is too high-level. We can’t see anything."

"Were you injured?" Lu Yin's eyes lit up.

"Yes."

Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. Just like the divination on the word "Murkiness," he did not need a successful divination to get the answers he wanted. All he needed to know was whether or not the divination caused injuries to learn the truth. Mister Mu had to be fine; otherwise, Destina and Starsibyl would not have been injured by their divination attempt. By the same token, "Murkiness" could not be the plan that Aeternus had carried out on the Fifth Mainland.

While Lu Yin had gotten the information he had wanted, things had not worked out for Destina or Starsibyl. More importantly, neither of them had any clue that Lu Yin had already learned everything he wanted from them.

If Destina knew this, she might not be able to stop herself from rushing over to attack Lu Yin.