Star Odyssey

Chapter 2652 – Liberation Palace

Chen Le's disciple replied, "Master merely stepped out for a bit to collect a few items. It was inconvenient for me to mention this to you before, Acting Bureau Director, but now that he has returned, there should not be any problem. However, my Master has informed me that he is not to be disturbed. If you have any requests, Acting Bureau Director, I can pass them along. If you prefer to meet with my master in person, that should be possible in just a few days’ time."

Lu Yin chuckled. "It's nothing so urgent, as I simply intended to pay him a courtesy visit. I’ll return when Senior Chen Le is free."

With that, Lu Yin left.

After Lu Yin left, Chen Le's disciple seemed to listen to something, and he respectfully answered, "That was Xuan Qi, the Acting Bureau Director of the Voidforce Universe's Bureau. He was invited to the Three Monarchs Universe to investigate the person who sold information to Monarch Luo. He stopped by to see you, Master."

After a pause, the man said, "I understand."

He then also turned and left.

Lu Yin returned to his own courtyard. When Cang Bi saw the young man, he asked, "Acting Bureau Director, your abilities to catch spies is very impressive. When will you start searching for the person who sold information to Monarch Luo?"

"I know how to handle that," Lu Yin replied as he closed the gates to the courtyard.

Of course, Lu Yin did not remain in his quarters and instead vanished by using his spatial innate gift. He was targeting Chen Le’s disciple.

Wu Tong had not actually been mistakenly given the message he had heard; rather, he had simply overheard the message by accident. Most likely, another person had been present as well, but their cultivation had been no greater than Wu Tong's and had therefore failed to discover the Retainer’s presence. Clearly, that person could not have been Chen Le, and had instead most likely been Chen Le's disciple.

Lu Yin had noticed that Chen Le’s disciple was just the tiniest bit weaker than Wu Tong. Since Wu Tong had believed that he was communicating with another spy, he would have been doing his best to remain hidden. It would not be surprising to learn that Chen Le’s disciple had failed to detect the second Retainer.

By following Chen Le's disciple, Lu Yin soon arrived at the same place where Wu Tong had received his messages from Aeternus. Just as Lu Yin had expected, the message that Wu Tong had overheard had been sent to Chen Le.

After seeing Chen Le's disciple leave a mark, Lu Yin remained where he was. If Chen Le had already obtained what he wanted, then he would definitely arrive in person to deliver the item to the messenger. All Lu Yin needed to do was wait.

As darkness fell, the area quickly became completely devoid of people.

Lu Yin remained hiding, and before much time passed, someone else arrived. This person was not particularly strong and was only as powerful as an Envoy.

This man similarly hid himself after arriving, and he even hid in the exact location of the mark that Chen Le’s disciple had left behind.

Soon, the void warped, and another person arrived.

Lu Yin's eyes widened. Indeed, it was Chen Le.

"If I had not pushed you, would you have still refused to act?" The first man to arrive addressed Chen Le. Despite only being as strong as an Envoy, he still had the courage to question someone at the cusp of becoming a Monarch. Chen Le was a widely recognized expert who was second only to the Three Monarchs in the entire Three Monarchs Universe.

Chen Le seemed to take no offense to the man’s blatant disrespect. "Bai Laogui’s disciple has been trying to lure me out with various descendants of the Bai clan. That disciple is not weak, and he has already surpassed Bai Laogui himself, and he’s hidden close to the Red Zone. If I’m not careful, I could easily expose myself. Not only would that get me nothing, I could even end up in deep trouble."

"And yet you still eventually did it. You invaded the Red Zone alone and took away everyone from the Bai clan. If you had done so earlier, I wouldn’t have needed to give you such unpleasant news," the Envoy spoke.

Chen Le's voice suddenly turned cold. "An opportunity arose when Bai Laogui’s disciple was taken away by the New Inn. Still, I only had ten seconds to act. If not for that Lotus Artifact, I would have been captured by Xu Wuji. That was too dangerous."

"Give me the item."

Chen Le reached for his cosmic ring, but just as he did, warning bells exploded in his mind as he was overcome by a sense of imminent danger. In fact, this sensation was just as intense as when he had been targeted by a peak Aeternal powerhouse while fighting on the Endless Frontier. He would never forget this feeling for as long as he lived. Something was wrong. Someone else was present.

A bone pike shot out from the void, instantly piercing through Chen Le's right hand. It moved like it was unstoppable, and the remnant force ripped Chen Le's entire arm off. The hand with his cosmic ring was thrown into the distance, and blood spattered everywhere.

The Envoy-level cultivator in front of Chen Le was dumbfounded, and he simply could not understand why blood had suddenly splashed onto his face.

Chen Le spun around. He had not expected to be suddenly attacked so viciously. It had been impossible for him to defend himself against that move, but the assailant was not even a peak powerhouse. If Chen Le had been attacked by such an expert, he would have lost more than just an arm.

The man readied himself to unleash his monarch essence.

By manipulating the spatial lines in his vision, Lu Yin instantly appeared directly in front of Chen Le, where he used Inverse Step to warp time.

The emerging monarch essence was abruptly extinguished, startling Chen Le. Before he could react to the changing situation, he was enveloped by an indescribable power. He felt as though an invisible hand had grabbed hold of him and was squeezing his strength away. A feeling of weakness overcame the Demi-Monarch, and he knew that he was in deep trouble. He could not see any way to escape from this ambush.

There was a thud as Chen Le collapsed to the ground.

Behind him stood Lu Yin, a slipper in his hand.

Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief, satisfied that everything had gone smoothly.

He had not dared to let his guard down even the slightest against Chen Le. The man was a peak Demi-Monarch, which meant that he was as powerful as the most powerful Semi-Progenitor. While Lu Yin was unable to access the power of a Progenitor in the Three Monarchs Universe, he had still been confident in his own strength.

The bone pike had instantly removed Chen Le's right arm, which had also separated the man from his weapons and power vessels. The combination of Inverse Step’s chaotic field of time and Truesight had weakened Chen Le's power to the point where he had been inferior to even an average Semi-Progenitor. At best, Chen Le could have exerted as much strength as a peak Envoy, which meant that he had no way to resist or escape. The final blow had then been delivered by the slipper.

This entire series of attacks had flowed together like a stream of water, and the result was knocking one of the most powerful experts unconscious.

As for the Envoy-level messenger, he was completely stupefied. He stared at Chen Le’s unconscious form, and then at the slipper in Lu Yin's hand. The man could not help but find the entire situation bizarre.

Lu Yin casually smacked the messenger, knocking him out. Both of the men would be going with Lu Yin. It was clear that something strange was going on between them.

With Chen Le and the messenger as his captives, Lu Yin returned to the courtyard that he had been given. He put the two men into a Zenith Mountain before checking his newest loot.

He found many decent items inside Chen Le's cosmic ring, as well as billions of flourishing crystals, which was a considerable sum. He also found a Lotus Artifact, which Lu Yin was thrilled to find. Lotus Artifacts were incredibly useful. Without it, Chen Le would have never been able to escape from the Red Zone.

However, the most intriguing item that Lu Yin found was a stone: a Peaks and Rivers Rock.

He had never imagined that he would find a Peaks and Rivers Rock in Chen Le's cosmic ring.

This was the third stone that Lu Yin had obtained. He had acquired the first one from the Han family, and the second had been found in the Voidchaos Region.

Lu Yin glanced at the unconscious Chen Le and then at the anxious Envoy-level messenger. "Is this what you were after?"

The Envoy's eyes fell on the Peaks and Rivers Rock, and he swallowed hard. "I know you. You’re Xuan Qi."

"I'm asking you the questions." Lu Yin’s brow furrowed.

The man replied, "Xuan Qi, that is not something that you should touch. You should give it to me so that I can take it-"

Before the man could finish his sentence, Lu Yin smacked him across the face. Blood streamed down his cheek to stain the floor red. The man’s eyes went wide in pure disbelief. From the moment he had first obtained his current status, he had always gotten whatever he wanted, and no one had ever laid a hand on him. Despite that, Xuan Qi had just struck him.

Slowly, the man turned to glare at Lu Yin, powerful hatred clouding his eyes.

Lu Yin remained unconcerned. "It looks like you’re choosing not to talk. In that case, just die."

As Lu Yin was speaking, he raised a hand and prepared to strike the messenger down.

The man’s pupils shrank. "No! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

The man did not want to die. He had reached his current position through sheer luck, and he simply could not die this soon. 

"Start talking," Lu Yin ordered in an uncaring manner.

The man’s eyes darted back and forth between Lu Yin and Chen Le, who was still lying on the floor. After cursing Chen Le's uselessness under his breath, the messenger replied, "I am from the Liberation Palace."

Lu Yin arched a brow. "The Liberation Palace?"

"You don't know about the Liberation Palace?" The man was taken aback.

Lu Yin had truly never heard of the Liberation Palace. Despite all the people that he had Possessed, he had never come across any mention of the Liberation Palace. It was possible that some of Lu Yin’s targets had at least heard of the organization, but they knew too little for those memories to stand out. It was impossible for Lu Yin to go through every memory that a person had during his Possession, and thus, he was clueless about the Liberation Palace.

The Envoy sighed. "Then it’s no wonder you attacked me. Xuan Qi, the Liberation Palace is a group that you cannot afford to provoke. Don’t make things any worse for yourself. Give me that stone. It's worthless to you, but it’s very important to the Liberation Palace. As long as you hand it to me, I can pretend as though today never even happened, and I might even recommend you to the Liberation Palace."

"First, tell me about this Liberation Palace," Lu Yin said coldly.

Blood was still trickling down the man’s face. This messenger was starting to hate Xuan Qi more and more with every passing moment. Still, this young man’s hands were holding onto the messenger’s life, so he did not dare to reveal any of his rising hatred. Instead, he patiently explained, "The Liberation Palace was established by Mr. Daheng with the purpose of letting humans exist without self or others. A place to live freely and unbound by anything. It is neither righteous nor evil, and it only strives towards eternity.

"The Liberation Palace accepts all who yearn for freedom, no matter if they are righteous or evil. As long as one desires to be unbound, they can join the Liberation Palace. Aside from Mr. Daheng himself, the Liberation Palace also has two other peak powerhouses as members, which is why it is so formidable. Xuan Qi, if you're interested, I can recommend you to the Liberation Palace. Once you join, you will receive our protection, and then, no one will dare harm you at all."

Lu Yin found this amusing. "I already attacked you, so what will the Liberation Palace do to me?"

The man’s eyes flickered. "As long as you join the Liberation Palace, nothing at all."

"And if I don't?" Lu Yin pressed.

The man felt puzzled. "Why would you not? Countless people dream of joining the Liberation Palace but never receive the opportunity. Do you know who Mr. Daheng is? He is one of the Arboreal Realm’s most powerful experts and is second only to the Arboreal Overlord. Mr. Daheng possesses a peerless strength that is acknowledged by all, and he even has a seat reserved for him at every single one of the Great Sovereign's tea ceremonies. He is allowed to freely speak with the Great Sovereign and is someone who stands at the very pinnacle of the Sixverse Association. With Mr. Daheng's protection, you will never need to concern yourself with anything ever again and can instead live freely and unrestrained. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Lu Yin nodded. "It certainly does sound appealing. In that case, what is the Liberation Palace's stance concerning Aeternus?"

The man solemnly replied, "Naturally, to kill all Aeternals without reservation. Aeternus is the enemy of all humanity."

Lu Yin played with the stone a bit. "What does the Liberation Palace want with this broken piece of stone?"

Frowning, the messenger replied, "There’s no need for you to ask so many questions. As long as you give me that stone, you will receive partial credit for its delivery. It might even be possible for you to immediately join the Liberation Palace."

"The requirements to join this Liberation Palace don't seem particularly impressive. After all, if you were able to join, then it should be easy for me to do so as well. Why would I need your recommendation?" Lu Yin scoffed.

"He is not from the Liberation Palace." Chen Le had awakened, and he sat up.

The messenger snapped back, "What nonsense are you spouting? Of course I am from the Liberation Palace!"

Chen Le glanced around. "An independent pocket space?"

Finally, he stared at Lu Yin. "So, you are Xuan Qi. Everyone has misjudged you. The fact that you managed to capture even me means that you must be strong enough to stand up to even pinnacle experts. You've hidden your strength quite well."

Lu Yin met Chen Le's eyes. "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Senior Chen Le."