Star Odyssey

Chapter 3084: A Lonely Journey

The First Scourge possessed nothing that was worth fighting to the death over, not unless the Sixverse Association had a chance to kill Progenitor Xi or one of the Seven Skygods. Prolonging the battle was pointless.

For the same reasons, Ancient God and the other Aeternals did not pursue their attackers or try to force them to remain in the Scourge. They were aware that they could not trap the Sixverse Association's powerhouses.

"What a pointless battle," Forgotten Ruins God muttered.

Ancient God descended from the sky. "What was the point of this attack?"

Progenitor Xi stared at a distant tower. "It seems that Mu Ji wanted to take something back."

"Did the humans really have a spy in Aeternus? Wasn't Mu Ji held underneath a lake of divine energy for a hundred years? How could he betray us?" Forgotten Ruins God was astonished.

Progenitor Xi was not particularly surprised. "There are all kinds of people. Don't get too caught up about him. In the face of absolute power, schemes mean nothing. It's time to unite all six Scourges.

"Di Qiong has already dealt with God’s Domain. More and more civilizations will start to disappear, and sooner or later, it will be the Sixverse Association's turn."

Forgotten Ruins God grew wary. "You aren’t asking us to help other Scourges, are you?"

Progenitor Xi looked over. "I've always suspected that there could be a human spy among the Seven Skygods."

Forgotten Ruins God rolled her eyes. "You can suspect anyone but me. I've even brought my own descendants, Wang Fan and Wang Xiaoyu, into Aeternus, and both of them have dealt heavy blows to humanity."

Progenitor Xi did not argue. Wang Xiaoyu was known as the worst traitor in the entire history of the Fifth Mainland. She had been directly responsible for the war that had erupted between the Fifth and Sixth Mainlands. That war had eventually led to the Fifth Mainland’s division.

Wang Fan had cooperated with Sovereign Shao Yin to bring about the Lu family’s exile.

The damage the two members of the Wang family had inflicted upon the Origin Universe was so severe that it was impossible to suspect either of them of being human spies. Forgotten Ruins God had recruited both people into Aeternus, which made her even less likely to be a human spy.

As for Ancient God, he had mastered the Corpse King Transformation and been recruited by True God himself, which left absolutely no room for Progenitor Xi to doubt anything.

Blackless God, Whiteless God, and Corpse God had also all done terrible damage to humanity.

Progenitor Xi had simply been speaking casually. If anyone was qualified to suspect the Seven Skygods, it was not her. The Seven Skygods answered solely to True God.

...

At this time, there was a grim expression on Lu Yin's face. He had led an attack on the First Scourge to rescue Hui Wu, but the man had refused to leave, despite knowing that staying meant certain death. Why?

At the First Scourge’s entrance, Lu Yin met Lu Tianyi.

Lu Tianyi had not been a part of the attack on the Scourge, but he had been prepared to step in if necessary.

"Ancestor Tianyi, what's going on? He refused to leave, despite knowing that he’s going to die," Lu Yin asked in frustration. He had risked his life and spent many resources in a bid to save both Wu Tian and Hui Wu.

Lu Tianyi was also puzzled. "I truly don't know. Hui Wen was the one who planned Hui Wu's infiltration into Aeternus, while I simply helped him execute his plan. Logically, if things are hopeless, Hui Wu should retreat."

Lu Yin knew that Lu Tianyi did not know anything more. If the Progenitor had known that Hui Wu would not leave, he would have never allowed the attack on the First Scourge. Lu Tianyi would never willingly risk Lu Yin in something that he knew was useless.

Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Let's go back."

Lu Tianyi observed Lu Yin. "Little Seven, throughout human history, many individuals have borne humiliation while walking a lonely path. Wu Tian and Hui Wu must each have their own reasons for their choices."

Lu Yin's voice grew bitter. "I understand, but I still feel like that was the last time I’ll ever see Hui Wu.

"Ancestor, there will be more partings like this in the future."

Lu Tianyi sighed. "That’s life."

Lu Yin had done everything he could. He returned to the Heavens Sect, set aside his worries, and took out the cosmic ring he had received.

Mister Mu had given Lu Yin eight cosmic doors, and Lu Yin wanted to find out what they were for.

Even if they led to universes where Lu Yin could meet with Mister Mu, eight cosmic doors seemed excessive.

Cosmic doors were made by Aeternus.

Lu Yin opened one and stepped through.

He instantly arrived in outer space in a universe that appeared to be no different from the Fifth Mainland. However, something felt off.

He looked around with Heaven's Sight, looking farther and farther. There was definitely something wrong with this place.

He wandered through the universe. He saw planets, technological civilizations, cultivation civilizations, and even primitive civilizations, but the feeling of wrongness persisted.

It took him a while to realize that this universe had a similar feeling as Aeternus’s Scourges.

That was it. This universe felt like the Aeternals’ Scourges.

Could this universe have some connection to Aeternus?

Lu Yin’s caution instantly spiked. He concealed his presence and dropped onto a planet. It was home to a technological civilization that had apparently entered the era of space exploration.

A manned vessel was in a desert on the planet, preparing for launch. It was heading towards a space station.

Far away, countless people were watching excitedly. "Five, four, three, two, one, launch!"

The spacecraft shot into the sky, on its way towards the stars.

Three men were inside the spacecraft, and they held their breath as excitement and anxiety surged within them. No accidents could be allowed. They had to reach the space station, which would bring glory to their nation and homeland.

The vessel shot into outer space without any incident. Everyone watched as it followed the predetermined trajectory. Many people held their breath in anticipation.

The three men within the spacecraft exchanged glances. They could see the joy in each other's eyes. They would not let their country down. They would reach the space station.

Suddenly, one of the men’s pupils constricted. His face looked as though he had just seen a ghost. He slowly turned his head to look at the vessel’s fourth occupant.

The other two men also noticed their extra occupant, and they also stared in shock at the newcomer. Of course, it was Lu Yin.

"Sorry for startling you. You're heading to that space station, right? I'll take you there. I need to borrow this," Lu Yin told them before tossing the three men out of the spacecraft and into the space station. He then waved a hand and created a passage that connected the space station to the planet. "You can use this whenever you want to get back. It should last for at least a few years. Thanks!"

With that, the spacecraft shot deep into outer space and vanished.

The three men never said a word, as they were simply too stunned. What had just happened? Who was that man? How had he delivered them to the space station? What was the passage that had suddenly appeared? Could it really take them back home?

Everything seemed surreal. The universe was too crazy.

Wait. One of the men suddenly realized something. "Oh, no! That’s just a shuttle! It can't go far."

Already far away, Lu Yin was flying the vessel far beyond the range of the civilization he had taken it from. The vessel was moving at a speed that the people of that planet could not even imagine.

Lu Yin was being cautious because of how the universe felt similar to the Scourges, and he wanted to avoid running into an Aeternal powerhouse.

It was possible that Mister Mu was aware that the universe belonged to Aeternus and that he wanted Lu Yin to investigate it.

Which Scourge was Lu Yin in? The first thing he needed to do was find someone from Aeternus. After all, he was not completely certain that he was in a universe that belonged to the Aeternals.

The spacecraft continued to fly around for an entire day.

After that, Lu Yin felt something unusual from a specific direction. He was overcome by a feeling of dread, as though something very unsettling was up ahead.

He decided to guide the spacecraft towards that sensation.

With Lu Yin’s speed, after just half a day, he had covered an incredibly vast distance.

He looked further with Heaven's Sight. The outer space in that area was darker, though in a way that was invisible to the naked eye. It was as if there was some sort of oppressive presence in that area that was shrouding everything, which led to the sense of discomfort.

Lu Yin continued forward. He moved further and further ahead.

Eventually, his vessel came to a halt. It had been intercepted by another, far more advanced spacecraft. It was a battleship that belonged to an extremely advanced technological civilization.

"Warning: restricted area ahead. Turn back immediately."

"Warning: restricted area ahead. Turn back immediately."

...

Lu Yin peered into the darkness up ahead. There, he saw a cluster of planets that had been linked together to form a massive fortress, much like the ones in the Outerverse’s Ironblood Weave. However, the fortress that Lu Yin was looking at lacked the ancient, desolate aura of the fortresses in Ironblood Weave. Instead, this fortress was more of an opulent palace.

It was extraordinarily luxurious.

Hundreds of planets, both large and small, had been connected across outer space to form a colossal construct. The largest planet could even rival Nightking Planet in size.

The interconnected planets created a peerlessly opulent palace. Lu Yin could hear laughter and sounds of celebration, as well as shouts of anger. He could see beautiful women, fine wines, and extravagant treasures. Even the waterfalls seemed to flow with precious nectar instead of water. Lu Yin could sense the hedonism without even setting foot on any of the planets.

This was not Aeternus. The Aeternals would never indulge in such a fashion.

In that case, where had Lu Yin ended up?

Despite the lavishness, Lu Yin felt the same oppressive sensation he had previously associated with Aeternus’s Scourges. The laughter he heard was loud and raucous, and yet it also sounded false. The wine was intoxicating and the women were enchanting, and yet the oppressive feeling permeated everything. It was as though Lu Yin was looking at an illusion. Everything seemed to be a facade.

There were countless parallel universes throughout the megaverse. Lu Yin had personally witnessed the tragedies of the Aeternus Kingdoms, the peace of God’s Domain, and the wanton cruelty of cultivation civilizations. At this moment, it was as though he was staring at a human paradise.

Lu Yin stared. It was clear that, while there seemed to be a falseness to everything that he was seeing, it was also entirely real.

What was going on? The oppressive sensation that covered the opulence was a massive contradiction.

"Warning: restricted area ahead. Turn back immediately."

"Warning: restricted area ahead. Turn back immediately."

The spacecraft pulled back and left, but Lu Yin continued moving forward.

He carefully observed the place in front of him. It was clear that this place did not belong to the Aeternals and that it was inhabited by humans, but Lu Yin wanted to gain a better understanding of these people before he made his presence known.

It was possible that Mister Mu had not given Lu Yin the eight cosmic doors so that they could meet or so that Lu Yin could target places important to Aeternus. But rather, perhaps it was so that Lu Yin could find powerful civilizations capable of joining the fight against Aeternus.

Lu Yin believed that the civilization he was looking at had reached that level.

However, he needed to investigate the people here first. There were countless parallel universes, but not all the ones inhabited by humans had encountered Aeternus. For instance, the Infinity Empire had never seen the Aeternals before, and that was despite the empire being an active conqueror that had spread across many parallel universes, defeating even other human civilizations.

Lu Yin easily infiltrated the multi-planet palace. Once he arrived, he was astonished by the grandeur and luxury that he saw.