Star Odyssey

Chapter 2646 – The Imperial Treasury

Unexpectedly, Cang Bi was tasked with being Xuan Qi’s guide during his time in the Three Monarchs Universe. This was the same man who had previously led Lu Yin to an isolated courtyard where he had been left waiting. That was after Lu Yin had put on a show of seeking out the Fenglei clan in order to return to the Sixverse Academy.

Cang Bi had clearly expected Xuan Qi and his team to arrive. "Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi, the Monarch sent me here to welcome you. Please follow me to the Emperor Domain."

Lu Yin nodded. "It’s been a long time since we last saw each other, Cang Bi."

Cang Bi replied, "I know that I offended you before, and I ask that Acting Bureau Director Xuan Qi not bear a grudge for those actions."

"I'm not so petty. I remember that Senior Cang Bi is a member of the Mo Courtyard, so why were you sent here to welcome us? What about the Three Monarchs Universe’s Bureau branch?" Lu Yin asked.

"The Bureau Director of our Three Monarchs Universe's Bureau is none other than the missing Monarch Mu," Cang Bi explained.

Lu Yin sighed. "I understand now. Luo Lao'er is truly detestable. If I had known that he would do such a thing, I would have killed him!"

Such words meant nothing, and Cang Bi would never believe them either. The Three Monarchs Universe had always been suspicious of Xuan Qi. Did he truly not know where Luo Lao'er was hiding? However, if he did know, then why had he sought out the Fenglei clan? This was why the Three Monarchs Universe was only slightly suspicious of Xuan Qi. Still, Cang Bi intended to keep a very close eye on the young man.

Monarch Luo's orders were for Cang Bi to assist Xuan Qi with his investigation and to act as an intermediary. At the same time, the man was tasked with keeping an eye on Xuan Qi.

As soon as Lu Yin arrived in the Three Monarchs dimension, he naturally wanted to take a rest.

Cang Bi led the group along, and they soon entered the Emperor Domain. They arrived at a courtyard that overlooked a cliff, which was intended to be Xuan Qi’s quarters for the duration of his stay. The scenery was rather spectacular, and there were many lovely vistas, and when one looked up, a vast galaxy stretched across the sky.

"Cang Bi, will you be staying here as well?" Lu Yin asked.

Cang Bi replied, "Since you’ve only just arrived in the Three Monarchs Universe, you must still be unfamiliar with this place. Monarch Luo has ordered me to stay at your side so that I can provide you with timely assistance, as you require."

"Monarch Luo is thoughtful and has already considered everything. Please share my thanks," Lu Yin responded politely.

Once the courtyard’s gates closed, Lu Yin told Boss Guan and the others to get some rest while he entered his personal quarters. He then summoned one of the Zenith Mountains and took Luo Lao'er out. 

As soon as You Fang had asked Lu Yin to investigate the information broker who had sold Luo Lao’er’s location in the Transcendent Universe to Monarch Luo, Lu Yin had picked up Luo Lao’er and kept him in one of the Zenith Mountains. He had remained there ever since, even during Lu Yin’s meeting with He Ran. 

How could Lu Yin possibly visit the Three Monarchs Universe without Luo Lao'er?

"Have we arrived?" Luo Lao'er peered out through one of the windows, staring at the outside courtyard. A moment later, he stumbled back, startled by the sight of Cang Bi sitting near a mountain. 

"The You family sent me here to investigate the information broker, but that person is in the Transcendent Universe, which means that we’re already at a dead end. What are your thoughts?" Lu Yin asked. 

Luo Lao'er replied, "Brother-in-law, if not even my cheap old man can turn up any clues about that person, then there's no way I can help you do so." 

Lu Yin turned to look outside. "I'm really short of money." 

Luo Lao'er was taken completely off guard, and he asked, "What?" 

Lu Yin repeated, "I'm really short of money."

Luo Lao'er doubted his ears, but he was hearing the exact same words as before. "Brother-in-law, are you short on money? What kind of money?" 

"Flourishing crystals."

Luo Lao'er felt that this was rather odd, as why would Lu Yin need flourishing crystals? Was he trying to network in the Three Monarchs Universe? It seemed rather unnecessary, but Luo Lao’er did not dare to ask any further questions. "Brother-in-law, how much do you need? The Fenglei clan has quite a bit saved up." 

"That won’t be enough, not even close. I need a lot," Lu Yin clarified as he turned to face Luo Lao'er. "Is there a way for me to get a massive amount? Basically, an insane amount of flourishing crystals?" 

Without thinking about his answer, Luo Lao'er suggested, "Rob the imperial treasury." 

"The three Monarchs’ treasury?"

"Kind of. It's shared by the three Monarchs, but it’s mostly my cheap old man’s. It has a truly mind-boggling amount of flourishing crystals, and you'll get what you need a lot faster than by robbing a bunch of Crystal Banks."

The Crystal Bank was the Three Monarchs Universe’s equivalent of the Fifth Mainland’s Mavis Bank. The primary difference was that the Crystal Bank’s reserves were much smaller than the imperial treasury.

This was the influence of the three Monarchs; they ruled as true dictators over their universe. No matter if it was cultivation resources, territory, or any other resources, everything was controlled by the three Monarchs.

Robbing the imperial treasury was clearly an impossible task, but what about the Crystal Banks?

"Brother-in-law, how many flourishing crystals do you need? I just need to check that we're on the same page," Luo Lao'er asked in a cautious manner.

Lu Yin laughed. "Actually, what I need shouldn't be too much."

Luo Lao'er let out a sigh of relief.

"Just a few dozen billion."

Luo Lao'er's mouth fell open and his face turned pale. "A- a few dozen billion?"

"Is that a lot?"

Luo Lao'er swallowed. "Even if every last bit of the Fenglei clan’s resources were added together, it would still only be about 200 million."

This was not surprising to Lu Yin, as the Fenglei clan’s status was similar to the Fifth Mainland’s Daynight clan. While the Fenglei clan was a bit more powerful and had someone equal to a Semi-Progenitor within their ranks, the two clans’ wealth should be roughly comparable, as the Three Monarchs Universe was significantly smaller than the Fifth Mainland.

"Brother-in-law, what do you need so many flourishing crystals for?" Luo Lao'er asked, puzzled.

Lu Yin replied, "I need them for something, so is there any way you can help me get some?"

Luo Lao'er looked at Lu Yin with a miserable expression on his face. If Luo Lao’er could gather that much wealth, he would not have been so poor in the past.

He looked at Lu Yin. If Luo Lao’er could not prove his value at this time, his chances of gaining a high status in the Heavens Sect would shrink significantly. "Let me think about this."

Lu Yin was in no hurry. If Luo Lao'er was not able to help, then Lu Yin would simply ask Fenglei Guanqin. If there was no other option, then he would dip into the Fenglei clan's reserves. It would be enough for him to Possess a few people, and he could always pay the clan back in the future.

If not for Cang Bi's careful observation, Lu Yin would have all kinds of ways to acquire some flourishing crystals.

Monarch Luo was extremely cautious.

After considering the matter for a while, a troubled expression appeared on Luo Lao'er's face. "Brother-in-law, the only option that I can think of is robbing the imperial treasury. While each branch of the Crystal Bank has a decent amount, none of them have anywhere near enough crystals to satisfy your appetite of several dozen billion. Even if all of the Crystal Bank branches throughout the Three Monarchs Universe combined held this much, the branches are all scattered across the entire universe. Also, they don’t really have that much to begin with."

Lu Yin considered this information. "Robbing the imperial treasury isn’t going to be easy. Right, why would Monarch Luo, who can transform the entire universe and create the monarch essence that fills the Three Monarchs Universe, need such a large reserve of flourishing crystals?"

"It's for the rainbow wall," Luo Lao'er revealed. As Monarch Luo's son, Luo Lao’er was privy to many secrets. "The rainbow wall is based off of the Three Monarchs Formation, and it needs a regular influx of monarch essence, and pretty frequently at that. In case my father is ever injured and can't restore the monarch essence in time, the reserve of flourishing crystals in the imperial treasury is his insurance."

Lu Yin understood. Even if Monarch Luo was a legendary figure who was unfathomably powerful, he was not confident when it came to dealing with Aeternus.

Luo Lao'er continued, "Brother-in-law, my cheap old man is even more cautious than Monarch Mu. I can’t tell you if he's constantly monitoring the imperial treasury, but I am sure that, if anyone enters the imperial treasury without his permission, he’ll instantly know about it."

"And yet you want me to rob the imperial treasury?" Lu Yin arched a brow.

Luo Lao'er laughed awkwardly. "Brother-in-law, I just said that he’ll immediately know if anyone enters without his permission. We can just find someone who has his permission and have them help us take out the flourishing crystals that you need."

Lu Yin stared at Luo Lao'er. Sure enough, it had been a good idea to bring him along.

"Like I just mentioned, the imperial treasury regularly sends out large amounts of flourishing crystals to restore the rainbow wall’s monarch essence. It’s usually a few dozen billion each time, and there isn’t a fixed schedule. We can start by targeting the person who’s in charge of the distribution, as she’s both the owner of the Crystal Bank and the person in charge of collecting flourishing crystals: Shui Ningqiu…" Luo Lao'er slowly shared everything he knew.

It had to be said that Luo Lao'er had put a good deal of effort into plotting over the years. If not, he would have died at Luo Zang's hands, just like the rest of his siblings.

Because of his connections through the Fenglei clan, Luo Lao’er knew a great deal about the Three Monarchs Universe, including some of Shui Ningqiu's most closely guarded secrets.

"How did you learn that Shui Ningqiu is working with Fu Yuan and embezzling flourishing crystals? Was the Fenglei clan able to dig up even this?" Lu Yin asked incredulously.

Luo Lao'er licked his lips. "I bought that information."

Lu Yin gave Luo Lao'er a long look. "Not only did you buy information about the Transcendent Universe, but you also did the same for the Three Monarchs Universe?"

"Technically, my main focus was always the Three Monarchs Universe," Luo Lao'er replied as he glanced at Lu Yin. "Brother-in-law, do you have any idea just how many schemes Luo Zang has used to try to kill me over the years?"

He raised his fingers. "Seven!"

Lu Yin was taken aback.

Luo Lao'er calmly continued, explaining, "He came up with seven different schemes to kill me, which shows just how highly Luo Zang is regarded. For one, he intercepted all the resources that the Fenglei clan tried to send me in the Transcendent Universe by using the Mu family. He then used those resources to fund other attempts to kill me. The Transcendent Universe never really cared if I survived or not. If I hadn't bought information before he made his moves and learned about what he was doing, I would have died long ago.”

"My mother left me some funds before she died, but over the years, I’ve gone through just about all of it, and it was only barely enough to keep me alive until now. If you hadn't caught Monarch Mu, Luo Zang would still be after me."

Despite Luo Lao'er's calm tone, Lu Yin could hear the man’s sorrow. He had been betrayed by his own father, targeted by his brother, and forced to use what his mother had left him just to survive. There was a deep sadness hidden beneath the young man’s cheerful exterior.

Lu Yin sympathized with Luo Lao’er. After all, Lu Yin similarly had an unfulfilled mission of revenge, but when compared to Luo Lao'er, Lu Yin was in a much better position. At the very least, Lu Yin had the ability to strike back, and while his chance for revenge was still far out of reach, there was at least hope. As for Luo Lao'er, if not for Lu Yin's timely appearance, the Fenglei clan and Luo Lao’er might have already been completely wiped out.

Luo Lao'er suddenly slapped his forehead. "Why are we even talking about this? Brother-in-law, Shui Ningqiu can definitely get the flourishing crystals if we blackmail her, and she can even get ahold of tens of billions in one go. I know that that might still not be enough to meet your needs, but it should at least serve as a start. However, there's something important to take note of; we can’t allow anything to happen to the woman, and we have to make sure to pin the blame onto Fu Yuan."

"Why is that?" Lu Yin asked in confusion.

"Originally, there were two people competing to become the owner of the Crystal Bank: Shui Ningqiu and Old Lady Mu.

"No one else was able to compete with those two, and eventually, Shui Ningqiu was chosen because my old dad needed to reduce Monarch Mu's influence a bit. This was before the peak powerhouse from the Origin Universe arrived, so Monarch Mu's influence wasn't too significant. If anything happens to Shui Ningqiu, Old Lady Mu will take over."

"I've already captured Monarch Mu, so is her sister really still going to be the one to take over the Crystal Bank’s operations?" Lu Yin did not understand this.

Luo Lao'er shrugged. "The Mu family's roots run deep in the Three Monarchs Universe. They have people absolutely everywhere. Also, Luo Zang is still around."

Lu Yin had nearly forgotten about Luo Zang. While Monarch Mu had indeed been captured, Luo Zang was also Monarch Luo's son, and he was even the only one of the man’s children with the potential to inherit the Three Monarchs Universe. His talent was impressive, which meant that, as long as he survived, nothing would be allowed to happen to the Mu family.

"So, nothing can happen to Shui Ningqiu. We can’t let anyone from the Mu family get control over billions of flourishing crystals, right?" Luo Lao'er continued.

A smile tugged at Lu Yin's lips. "No, you're actually wrong."

Luo Lao'er blinked, looking at Lu Yin in a lost manner.

Lu Yin nearly laughed. After all, Old Lady Mu was not just a member of the Mu family. She could also be considered one of Lu Yin’s people, as there was a Death Seal within her.