Star Odyssey

Chapter 2993: Lu Yin And Master Qing Cao

The truth was that Lu Yin’s “secret” was not a secret among Progenitors. There were a number of parallel universes where time ran faster. This was something that could only be regarded as a secret beneath the Progenitor realm.

Jiang Chen was an exception.

Lu Yin shrugged, knowing that his reputation as a genius had just been destroyed.

"Since you’ve figured things out, I’ll head back first and ask my father for permission to visit parallel universes with you." Jiang Chen was eager to leave.

Lu Yin warned, "We’re not going to go sightseeing. This is going to be very dangerous."

"I know. I won’t blame you if I die." With that, Jiang Chen left.

Lu Yin did not even know why the young man had made a point to stop by.

For the time being, Lu Yin could not use Ye Bo's identity. Without a justifiable reason, returning to the Scourge would be asking to die.

Not even Wang Wen and Wei Rong had been able to think of a perfect reason for Ye Bo to return to the Scourge.

That was a large part of the reason why Lu Yin planned to use the next period of time to learn more about universes beyond the Sixverse Association and Aeternus. At the same time, he would search for parallel universes where time flowed at different speeds.

For this trip, the only tentative members were Lu Yin himself and Jiang Chen. It was unknown whether Jiang Qingyue would join them, but they also needed a peak powerhouse to tag along. Big Sis was Lu Yin’s first choice, but she was too impulsive. Senior Brother Mu Ke might not have time, as he was responsible for the Arboreal Realm for now. Similarly, Lu Tianyi wanted to stay in the Perennial World, which made it difficult for Lu Yin to decide who else to take along.

Also, he needed a mount.

Lu Yin continued to think about his options.

A short time later, the Second Nightking delivered a report. "Dao Monarch, there is news from the Astral Combat Academy that the Astral Combat Tournament is about to begin. Do you want to take a look?"

Lu Yin was taken aback. "The Astral Combat Tournament?"

"That’s right."

Lu Yin's eyes betrayed complicated emotions. Before he had even realized it, it was time for the Astral Combat Tournament again.

Periodically, the Astral Combat Academy would hold a competition between the different branches of the academy. While several of the schools had been lost, the Astral Combat Tournament had endured as a tradition.

Long ago, Lu Yin had gained the attention of countless people throughout the universe by participating in the Astral Combat Tournament. In a way, that competition had been the start of his legends. He wondered if there was anyone like him who was participating in the next Astral Combat Tournament.

"Let's go take a look."

Soon, a display appeared in the sky, and Lu Yin sat at the stone table, enjoying a cup of tea that Zhao Ran had prepared as he watched the Astral Combat Tournament.

As he stared at the images on the display, the battles looked so childish to Lu Yin. However, he knew that they were a level above what had occurred during the tournament he had participated in.

When he had been in Astral-10, it had been difficult for students of the Astral Combat Academy to cultivate battle force, and the best battle techniques all belonged to the most powerful sects and families. At that time, there had been no knowledge of the Sixth Mainland or the Perennial World.

However, the Tower of the Fifth had allowed countless cultivators to acquire battle techniques, and the member universes of the Sixverse Association had also provided alternate cultivation methods. Even if the Sixth Mainland’s imprints were considered a garbage cultivation method by the Fifth Mainland, it was still an alternate cultivation method. With all of these various options, the Astral Combat Tournament was now quite exciting.

If the current generation of the Astral Combat Academy were to compete with Lu Yin’s generation, he knew that his own class might not be able to stand up to the current generation.

Unfortunately, there was nothing during the tournament that caught Lu Yin’s attention.

However, while he was watching, he suddenly noticed an old acquaintance: Coco. Her syringe was still too eye-catching. "Why is Coco at the Astral Combat Academy?"

The Second Nightking respectfully answered, "Coco has become an external instructor for Astral-10."

So that’s it. Lu Yin watched Coco on the display and suddenly felt his age.

The timid and cute girl he had once known was now a teacher.

Suddenly, Lu Yin's expression changed, as he just remembered her master, Master Qing Cao.

When Jiang Qingyue had explained how to cultivate aura and mentioned that the universe itself had life and breath, Lu Yin had not understood. He had asked Lu Buzheng and some others about the matter, and Lu Buzheng had said that Ancestor Lu Yuan had also mentioned something along those lines long ago. However, Lu Yin had forgotten to ask his ancestor about it after the Lu family returned.

When Jiang Qingyue had given Lu Yin an explanation of aura, it had sounded familiar, but he had not been able to remember why.

Seeing Coco had reminded Lu Yin of Windrift Hall, as well as of Master Qing Cao.

“The Venom Flowzone is sick, so I am treating it.”

"It’s quite easy to see that the poisonous gasses are moving about abnormally. It’s just like when a human’s breathing is wrong."

"Look, when the day comes that you are able to see this grass observing you, you should also be able to see the Venom Flowzone’s breath. In this universe, every natural order has its own breath and its own life."

The words that Master Qing Cao had spoken returned to Lu Yin's mind. He remembered everything that Master Qing Cao had said.

Lu Yin took out a small bit of grass from his cosmic ring. This was the same grass that Master Qing Cao had given to him. The man had told Lu Yin that if he could see the grass looking back at him one day, he would be able to see that the Venom Flowzone was breathing. Lu Yin had not thought about the matter any further, and the only other time he had met Master Qing Cao was when the human blood fruit had appeared in Burial Garden. Lu Yin had never had any further contact with the man.

Master Qing Cao was also a very quiet individual, and he kept to himself so much that not even all the disciples of Windrift Hall were sure to recognize him. In fact, even Lu Yin had forgotten about the man.

However, after he thought about it, how could an average cultivator who was not even an Envoy be able to see the breath of the universe?

Lu Yin stepped out and made his way towards Windrift Hall.

He had never visited the place before, but Windrift Hall was in the Innerverse’s First Flowzone, and it was not too far from the Yōu family.

Lu Yin easily found the place.

Windrift Hall was located on a planet that was lush with vegetation. Lu Yin's sudden arrival shocked everyone in Windrift Hall. No one in the place had ever dreamed that Lu Yin would visit them.

Master Qing Cao was still the Hall Master of Windrift Hall, but the one who usually oversaw things was Zeng Die, whom Lu Yin had met long ago.

"Zeng Die and Windrift Hall greet Dao Monarch Lu."

"Greetings, Dao Monarch Lu."

Windrift Hall had a large number of people. There were tens of thousands of them, which was a great deal more than when Lu Yin had been in the Astral Combat Academy. This growth was inseparable from the support of the Heavens Sect.

Lu Yin had seized control of Shamrock Enterprise, and Windrift Hall had been a small organization dedicated to helping and saving people. It had naturally received the Heavens Sect’s support, and now, they had access to resources and connections on a completely different scale from before.

"It’s been a long time, Zeng Die," Lu Yin said with a smile.

Zeng Die was horrified. "Dao Monarch Lu, you still remember this humble one?"

Lu Yin nodded. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked around. "Send these people away. Tell me, where is Master Qing Cao?"

"Master is in the Venom Flowzone."

Lu Yin was caught off guard. "Is Master Qing Cao still trying to treat the Venom Flowzone’s poisonous gas?"

Zeng Die gave a bitter smile. "Master has set his sights on the Venom Flowzone, for some reason. He has been there for more than a hundred years, but we don't dare to disturb him."

Lu Yin grunted. "I'll go find him myself. You all are busy with your own work."

With that, Lu Yin headed towards the Venom Flowzone.

Zeng Jian felt quite confused. He had no idea why Lu Yin had suddenly asked about the Hall Master. The two men most likely had not interacted much.

I hope that Master will be smart and not too righteous. Lu Yin is no longer just the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance, but rather the leader of the Heavens Sect and the ruler of the Origin Universe.

Lu Yin returned to the Venom Flowzone. He had once feared this place that required people to acquire something to hold the poison back before entering, but the Venom Flowzone’s toxins could no longer threaten Lu Yin. He only took a few steps around before he found Master Qing Cao. The man was still in the same location as before, right where Lu Yin had first met him. He was still strolling through poisonous green gas with a bamboo basket on his back, observing the strange flowers that bloomed within the poisonous gas.

Lu Yin approached and just observed the older man.

Master Qing Cao's white robes had turned gray. He stared at the flowers in the poisonous gas while muttering to himself, "Why has it changed again? It should be following a pattern and shrinking. Did I make a mistake?"

As the man spoke, he brushed his messy hair back and glanced to the side, where he saw Lu Yin's smiling face.

Master Qing Cao was startled. "Who are you?"

"Master Qing Cao, it’s been a long time. This junior is Lu Yin."

Master Qing Cao blinked. It appeared that he had not yet recovered from his surprise. "Lu Yin? What are you doing here?"

"What are you doing, Master Qing Cao?"

"The Venom Flowzone is sick, so I’m treating it."

"I see."

"Do you understand?"

"Not at all."

Master Qing Cao scratched his head. "Wait, why does this conversation feel so familiar? Have we had this conversation before?"

"We spoke before, many years ago."

"And yet you still asked me the same question?"

"Aren’t you still here, Master Qing Cao?" Lu Yin returned.

Master Qing Cao realized that this was quite accurate. "It's only been a few decades. That’s not very long at all."

The man then gave Lu Yin a second look. "Right, you are now the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect, aren’t you?"

Lu Yin smiled. "You managed to put it together."

Master Qing Cao pursed his lips. "Why is someone like you here? If you are free enough to take the time to talk to me, why not cultivate? The majestic Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect is not even a Progenitor. How will you be able to intimidate any outsiders?"

Lu Yin just shrugged. "Given the short amount of time that I’ve been cultivating for, another breakthrough won’t be easy."

"Then what are you doing here?" Master Qing Cao was puzzled.

Lu Yin replied, "I wanted to see how your treatment of the Venom Flowzone has been going."

Master Qing Cao gave Lu Yin a weird look. "Do you care about the Venom Flowzone?"

"I care about curing diseases," Lu Yin replied.

Master Qing Cao nodded. "That’s your business, then. If you have some free time, then feel free to watch what I do here. Regardless, I have a great deal of time."

As the man spoke, he returned to staring at the poisonous gas. Another small flower bloomed there, and Master Qing Cao stared at the flower, anxiously waiting for something.

Lu Yin did not bother the man and simply stood at the side, observing the flower in the same manner as Master Qing Cao.

As the petals withered, another flower bloomed, and the cycle continued to repeat.

An unknown amount of time passed, and finally, Master Qing Cao sighed. "Another possibility has failed. Let me see... there are still 896,200,000,000 possibilities left to try out, so let’s continue."

Lu Yin arched a brow. "How long does it take to try each possibility?"

"I can't say. After all, it’s possible to try multiple possibilities at the same time. Wait, you still haven’t left yet?" Master Qing Cao was surprised to see that Lu Yin was still there.

Lu Yin looked at the man. "I want to see how you treat the Venom Flowzone’s disease. Master Qing Cao, you once said that the Venom Flowzone itself is breathing. Can you feel it?"

Master Qing Cao pointed at Lu Yin's hand. "Didn't I give you a bit of grass? When you feel that the grass is looking at you, you will be able to feel it."

"But this junior has no clue where to start."

"What kind of clue do you need? Feel things carefully. The grass is also alive."

"There are other things with more life to them. An animal can also stare at me."

"You're right, which is why grass is also fine."

Lu Yin had no idea how to continue such a conversation, so he bluntly asked, "Master Qing Cao, what does it mean that the universe is breathing?"

Master Qing Cao blinked. "What does that mean?"

"What does it mean to say that battle techniques breath?" Lu Yin continued.

"Did I say something like that?" Master Qing Cao was confused.

"Have you heard of aura energy before?" Lu Yin looked solemn.

Master Qing Cao took a moment to seriously consider the question, and then he turned to face Lu Yin directly. He solemnly asked, "Dao Monarch Lu, are you overreading me as a mysterious person?"

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Master Qing Cao.