Star Odyssey

Chapter 2650 – The Advantage Of Memories

"’I’ll give you one more year. If you still can’t find it, you can forget about breaking through to become a peak powerhouse. You also won't be allowed to join us. We don't accept trash,’" Wu Tong repeated. It was an odd statement.

As soon as Wu Tong finished speaking, he anxiously waited for Xuan Qi’s reaction. "That should… be useful to you."

He was terrified that Xuan Qi might go back on his word, but Wu Tong had been left with no choice.

Lu Yin sank into deep thought. Join, trash, unable to become a peak powerhouse?

Who in the Three Monarchs Universe was eager to become a peak powerhouse? There was only one person: Chen Le. Could he be connected to the matter involving Wu Tong?

Chen Le was the leader of the Mo Courtyard, so why would he need to join another organization? This made it clear that whatever was happening had nothing to do with the Three Monarchs Universe and likely had no connection to the spy for that matter. Most likely, he had received the message by mistake.

Lu Yin felt that he had just stumbled upon something of monumental importance.

When Cang Bi returned a short while later, Wu Tong was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he?" Cang Bi asked.

"Because of my respect for you, Senior, I sent him to a parallel universe. After all, he never did anything to harm humanity, and he was also forced to become a spy," Lu Yin replied.

Cang Bi frowned. "He is still a spy, and there is no way you would ever let a spy go free because of me. Whatever he told you must have been incredibly valuable to you."

Lu Yin just gave a faint smile. "Perhaps. Handling spies is the Bureau’s responsibility, so you don’t need to worry about this, Senior. All you need to know is that he's been sent to a parallel universe. As for what comes next, he will need to walk his path on his own. He might die young, or he might live a free and easy life. Who can say?"

Cang Bi stared at the young man intently for a long moment, extremely curious about what Wu Tong might have said. It had to be extremely important, if it had prompted Xuan Qi to spare a spy. Unfortunately, Cang Bi had not been able to hear anything.

"Senior, since we have discovered one spy in the Mo Courtyard, I believe that Aeternus must be targeting the place, which means that there might be more than just one spy. I would like to visit the Mo Courtyard for myself, so that I might witness the power of the Three Monarchs Universe’s sword and shield," Lu Yin stated.

Cang Bi replied, "As you wish. Monarch Luo has already stated that you are to be given the freedom to go wherever you wish within our Three Monarchs Universe."

The Mo Courtyard held no secrets, so Cang Bi did not mind Xuan Qi exploring it.

Rather, Cang Bi was more preoccupied about what Wu Tong had said. Unfortunately, Xuan Qi had made it quite clear that he had no intention of sharing that information.

Lu Yin had already visited the Mo Courtyard once before when he had been disguised as one of Shui Ningqiu's bodyguards, so this was actually his second visit.

The Mo Courtyard was practically crowded with Semi-Progenitors. There were multiple different environments within the Mo Courtyard, and nothing was lacking in this place. It was the ideal location for nearly any cultivator, and if not for the presence of the imperial treasury, the Mo Courtyard could almost have been thought of as a sanctuary for retirement.

Cang Bi led the way, and Lu Yin began exploring the Mo Courtyard.

His primary target was to find a man named Old Greenpeel. He was one of the Demi-Monarch experts of the Mo Courtyard, and Lu Yin had recently Possessed the man. It was also through Old Greenpeel that Lu Yin had learned most of what he knew about the people in the Mo Courtyard.

Lu Yin wanted to meet the man in person so that he could learn more about Chen Le. It would not be possible to learn much about Chen Le from just what others said about him.

"This is where Old Greenpeel cultivates. Do you see the green fruit peels on the ground? Those are from a fruit native to his hometown. He loves eating them, which is why everyone calls him Old Greenpeel," Cang Bi offered a short introduction and immediately moved to lead Xuan Qi to the next place in the Mo Courtyard.

However, Lu Yin remained where he was, and he crouched down to pick up one of the green peels on the ground.

Cang Bi's expression changed drastically, and he quickly pulled Lu Yin away. "Acting Bureau Director, you mustn't!"

"Who dares to touch my things?" The void exploded into countless dazzling lights in a display that looked like exploding stars. The violence quickly swept towards Cang Bi and Lu Yin.

The Demi-Monarch quickly took a step forward. "Old Greenpeel, please calm yourself. This is the Acting Bureau Director of the Voidforce Universe’s Bureau. He is visiting the Mo Courtyard and meant no disrespect."

Lu Yin peaked around Cang Bi.

A furious old man emerged from the void and glared straight at Lu Yin. The shattered light glowed with tri-colored monarch essence that distorted the edge of each shard of light. Overall, it looked like countless radiant universes. "Cang Bi, I will show you some face and let this matter slide this once. Take him away."

Cang Bi let out a sigh of relief. Old Greenpeel was not an average member of the Mo Courtyard, and he was actually second only to Chen Le when it came to combat power. The old man’s dreadful temper meant that he was a bit of a loner, but not even Chen Le was assured of victory against the old man.

Old Greenpeel’s cultivation did not surpass Chen Le’s, but his fighting prowess was almost peerless. Over the years, he had fought on the Endless Frontier on multiple occasions, and he had slaughtered many enemies. He had even successfully escaped from peak Aeternal powerhouses before.

Cang Bi readily acknowledged that Old Greenpeel was much stronger than him, and thus he swiftly spun around to lead Xuan Qi away.

However, Lu Yin instead crouched back down and picked up another green peel.

Seeing his actions, all color drained from Cang Bi's face. "Acting Bureau Director, you…"

Old Greenpeel's eyes narrowed even as a killing intent illuminated them.  "You must be tired of living!"

As he growled, he prepared to strike the young man down.

Lu Yin remained focused on the green peel that he held and slowly muttered, "Picked after rain fell on Mt. Dayu… These olives[1] are a twice-a-year seasonal fruit. Typically, they have a dry and slightly bitter taste which is not very appetizing."

Old Greenpeel froze mid-attack and stared blankly at Lu Yin. "Did you just say ‘Mt. Dayu?’"

Cang Bi felt terribly confused. What was Mt. Dayu?

Lu Yin looked up at Old Greenpeel and smiled at the old man. "I didn't expect to meet a fellow countryman here. I am Xuan Qi. I once lived on Mt. Liangba."

Old Greenpeel's eyes that had just been filled with a murderous rage were now gleaming with the joy of seeing an old friend. "You're from Mt. Liangba?"

"I only lived there for a time, but I happen to be a fan of these olives. Senior, I think that we must have been fated to meet," Lu Yin said with a smile.

Old Greenpeel laughed happily before stepping forward and shoving Cang Bi aside to approach Lu Yin. The old man was still six meters away from Lu Yin. Just one more step, and Lu Yin would be able to Possess Old Greenpeel.

He had already Possessed the old man once, but the man's most vivid memories came from his days of living in his hometown. He had grown tired of the constant fighting that was common for cultivators, and so he had retired to his hometown. Normally, he only ever left when it was necessary, but at the moment, it was very difficult for Old Greenpeel to even visit his hometown without first obtaining Monarch Luo's consent.

However, with Monarch Luo's character, how could he ever allow any of the Demi-Monarchs to freely leave the Mo Courtyard?

Old Greenpeel could only wax nostalgic for his hometown with his olives. 

Meeting someone from his hometown in the Mo Courtyard caused a wave of warmth to surge up within the old man. He took another step forward and offered Lu Yin an olive. "Try this."

At that moment, there was only a meter between the two men.

Suddenly, Lu Yin's consciousness entered Old Greenpeel. The old man’s mind went blank, and he lost awareness and control of his body. The olive fell from his hand. It was a truly odd sight, but it went unnoticed by Cang Bi, as Old Greenpeel’s body blocked the other Demi-Monarch’s view of what had happened.

Lu Yin immediately went through the old man’s memories of Chen Le, and information streamed into Lu Yin’s mind. Just as the olive was about to land on the ground, Lu Yin moved Old Greenpeel's body to catch the fruit and then passed it over to his own body.

As soon as that was accomplished, Lu Yin’s consciousness returned to his own body, and he accepted the fruit.

All together, no more than two seconds had passed.

Old Greenpeel was unaware that two seconds had passed, and Cang Bi did not notice anything odd occur within such a brief moment. Only Lu Yin was aware of what had happened during those two seconds, and he had already seen what he needed to.

"Sure enough, this is an olive from Mt. Dayu, but it was picked before the rain. There is a very specific process for picking these olives, and they need to be squeezed three times to remove the bitterness so that only the sweet aftertaste remains," Lu Yin commented. As he nibbled on the fruit, his eyes lit up.

Old Greenpeel laughed again. "Exactly! You clearly know your stuff! Right, what's your name? Did I hear Xuan Qi?" 

Lu Yin took a step back and bowed. "This junior is known as Xuan Qi. Greetings, Senior."

Old Greenpeel waved Lu Yin’s politeness away. "Don't bother being so stiff and formal. Just call me Old Greenpeel like everyone else."

"That would be too disrespectful, Senior," Lu Yin replied seriously.

Old Greenpeel retorted, "My peers and people whom I approve of are allowed to call me by my nickname, but anyone else who tries to do so will be cut down! Xuan Qi, come, I have many more olives here. Let's enjoy them together and see if you can determine which mountains they were picked from."

"Alright, this junior is eager to try. Please lead the way, Senior."

"You need to eat first, haha."

With the die's Possession, Lu Yin had a straightforward path to establishing rapport with anyone he had Possessed before, even if they were the most miserable person in existence. After accessing a person’s memories, Lu Yin would know what to say to them and how to create a sense of camaraderie with them, which was an advantage that no one else could replicate.

Cang Bi was left behind, completely bewildered. How did those two get so close in an instance?

Even as he spoke with Old Greenpeel, Lu Yin was thinking about the memories that he had just seen.

Chen Le was trouble. Big trouble.

From Old Greenpeel's memories, Lu Yin had learned that, while on the Endless Frontier, Chen Le had effortlessly slaughtered a corpse king of equal strength with the use of the Monarch Arrow battle technique. This by itself was not concerning, as Lu Yin already knew that many people had learned the battle technique. At least ten of the fifteen Demi-Monarchs that were in the Mo Courtyard had mastered the technique as well. However, it was the fact that Chen Le had looked into the Bai clan that confirmed Lu Yin’s suspicions.

Old Greenpeel had unwittingly found Chen Le investigating the Voidforce Universe's Bai clan. But because that matter did not involve Old Greenpeel, and also because he did not get along with Chen Le, the old man had not paid any attention to the matter.

However, this news was vital to Lu Yin.

Chen Le was a Demi-Monarch who boasted unparalleled mastery of the Monarch Arrow battle technique, and he had also looked into the Bai clan. Following the logic of those two details, the person who had exterminated the Bai clan was practically confirmed to be Chen Le. This also lined up with what Lu Yin had heard from Wu Tong; the message signified that a certain individual had been trying to contact Chen Le, urging the Demi-Monarch to quickly find something. In the entire Three Monarchs Universe, Chen Le was the only cultivator who was pushing for a breakthrough to become a peak powerhouse.

It seemed possible that the Bai clan was in possession of something that Chen Le wanted.

While chatting with Old Greenpeel, Lu Yin's thoughts were already completely focused on Chen Le.

Chen Le led the Mo Courtyard, and he was acknowledged as the most powerful Demi-Monarch in the Three Monarchs Universe. He was famous throughout the entire Sixverse Association, and many regarded him as someone with the potential to become a Monarch. Even the three Monarchs held the man in high regard. Monarch Mu’s word was law to the members of the Mo Courtyard, with the sole exception of Chen Le. That man alone was allowed to choose whether he wanted to comply with the Monarch’s commands. That was how high Chen Le's status reached.

From Old Greenpeel's memories, Chen Le's strength had become clear to Lu Yin, and he no longer wondered how a Semi-Progenitor level expert could have easily taken out Old Dian's benefactor.

However, why had Chen Le attacked the Bai clan? Old Greenpeel had no memories of anything related to that. The matter had no relation to the Three Monarchs Universe, and it instead had to be related to Chen Le's personal affairs.

Lu Yin spent a long time visiting Old Greenpeel before leaving. As he moved on, he asked Cang Bi about the rest of the Demi-Monarchs that were part of the Mo Courtyard so that he could at least put on a pretense of comprehensive investigation. Even though Lu Yin was targeting Chen Le, investigating only the leader of the Mo Courtyard would be too conspicuous, so Lu Yin decided to investigate them all.

Several days later, Lu Yin examined every record on Chen Le. As a celebrity in the Three Monarchs Universe, there was a great deal of information on the man, and there were records of both significant and trivial events. However, oddly enough, there was not a single mention of his relationship with the Bai clan, nor almost any link to the Voidforce Universe.

Things were getting increasingly strange. There was no way the Bai clan had been exterminated on a mere whim. What had that strange person meant when saying to find something as soon as possible? It was possible that what Chen Le sought was in the hands of the Bai clan.

1. It appears that 青果 is a Chinese olive (Wikipedia). ☜