Star Odyssey

Chapter 4122: Targeted

“Let’s go,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus said. The green lotus leaf started to make its way back towards the gate, though it moved slowly. It was so slow that it was clearly unnatural and deliberate.

Lu Yin did not understand the reason for the slow pace.

“We’re being watched,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus stated, “I did not expect this megaverse to have foreigners who would try to tail us. I want to see their intentions.”

Lu Yin had not sensed anything, but as soon as he heard that they were being watched, he released his consciousness to search.

“No need. They’re to our right, simply observing us.”

“Immortals?”

“No. Just a few Dukkhans.”

“Then why haven’t I sensed them?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus chuckled. “There are far too many strange creatures in the Aevum Inch. Truthfully, we humans are rather typical. Our senses of sight, hearing, smell, and touch are all quite average. There are creatures that may greatly surpass us with a single sense. In fact, that is normal. Our observers are rather experienced. They possess tools that allow them to see across great distances. Unless someone deliberately searches for them, only an Immortal could hope to notice anything.

“This has nothing to do with strength, as you are powerful enough to erase them without any effort at all.”

Lu Yin understood. The diversity of the various civilizations in the cosmos far exceeded his imagination.

“Are they experienced? Can Dukkhans really roam the Aevum Inch?”

“Of course not. Unless the Dukkhan belongs to a special species, such as that Luo Chan. Other species, no matter how peculiar they might be, are limited by speed. Dukkhans cannot travel even close to as quickly as an Immortal. While they are able to travel through the Aevum Inch, their entire lives would be confined to a small region if they did so.” After a pause, Greater Sancte Green Lotus added, “That is also why I want to know more about them. Judging by their behavior, they might have even more experience than me.

“This means that they have either had extensive interactions with other creatures that frequently traverse the Aevum Inch and learned from them, or they are backed by someone else. Someone who can help them move at the speed of an Immortal. In fact, they might even have an Immortal as their backer.”

“Which do you think it is, Senior?”

“The second.”

“Oh?”

“The first option is highly improbable. Even if they are very familiar with the Aevum Inch, gathering such tools and following an entire megaverse would remain beyond them. The third is even more rare, as Immortals are few and far between. The second possibility has the greatest likelihood: they’re organized, resourceful, and capable.”

“In that case, what do they want?”

“There are a number of possibilities, but they all can be reduced to a single concept.”

“Profit.”

“Precisely.”

“Then we’ll wait and see. Since they’ve targeted us, they’ll act eventually.”

“Heh. Play along. Do not appear to be too strong, or too weak.”

“I understand.”

The green lotus leaf continued to move at the speed of a peak Dukkhan. It was a speed that would require at least a thousand years to return to the gate to the Spirit Nidus.

However, for the creatures observing the two humans, the lotus leaf was moving at an incredible speed, nearly surpassing what they were capable of themselves.

“Faster! We’re about to lose them!”

“Those two move too fast! That’s the speed of a peak Dukkhan. We can barely keep up.”

“It’s too bad that Master isn’t here.”

“Master can’t show up just yet. We can die, but Master can’t.”

“There’s no reason to worry. By their speed, they’re definitely not Immortals.”

“But they definitely noticed us. How could any non-Immortal find us?”

“They might also be able to see across vast distances.”

“Damn it! Those two popped up out of nowhere and destroyed that megaverse’s Mother Tree. That means that its value just plummeted. We’ve got to squeeze everything we can out of them.”

“We need to be careful, as they’re very strong. Not even the peak Dukkhan in that megaverse dared to make a move.”

“We don’t need to fight them—just keep our eyes on them. We can eventually give them to Master. If we can find the location of their civilization, we’ll be able to earn another fortune...”

Far away, sitting on the green lotus leaf, Greater Sancte Green Lotus opened his eyes. “So that’s it.”

Lu Yin turned to him. “What is it?”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus gave a tight smile. “They are scum who peddle off the coordinates of other civilizations. Scavengers.”

Lu Yin’s gaze instantly sharpened. “They sell the coordinates of megaverses?”

“The Great Master’s native megaverse had its coordinates sold, and the purchasing civilization annihilated it completely, scattering its River of Aeons. Blood Tower only managed to retrieve the Great Master.”

Lu Yin still remembered that story.

“Selling coordinates is a despicable practice.” Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s voice grew frigid. “They are incapable of destroying a megaverse on their own, or they cannot bear the cost of doing so. For those reasons, they instead sell the coordinates for immense profit. Those beasts who harm others for their own gain are known as scavengers.”

“Damn them,” Lu Yin muttered.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus said nothing more, though his eyes did occasionally flick over to glance in the distance.

“Senior, aren’t they afraid that whatever civilization buys the coordinates from them will simply destroy them afterward?”

“They have their own safeguards, and they never fully expose themselves. For the civilizations interested in buying coordinates, scavengers are much like bait set loose. In a sense, those purchasing civilizations are approaching the concept of a fishing civilization, but they still need the scavengers.

“The profits that scavengers can glean can never compare to what the buyers gain from destroying a megaverse, and such civilizations understand the calculations.

“Of course, there are some buyers which might simply kill the scavengers afterward, which can only be regarded as their own misfortune, and they accept that risk. However, their means of revenge are just as vicious.”

Lu Yin interjected, “They sell the buyers’ own coordinates in retaliation.”

Greater Sancte Green Lotus nodded. “Even the buying civilizations may not necessarily know their own coordinates, and it is always a question of whether the scavengers do. Because of that uncertainty, there remains an unspoken understanding: it’s all just business.

“I learned this from a Thread of Heaven. In the Aevum Inch, there is seldom communication between civilizations, and even individual creatures rarely interact with foreigners, but everyone nonetheless operates under one unspoken law: profit. It’s like an instinct. There is no need for anyone to say anything, as everyone already understands.”

Lu Yin stared off into the distance. An ordinary human would instinctively flee from a dangerous beast. That was the law of survival.

That law could explain much about the cosmos.

Having learned who their observers were, Greater Sancte Green Lotus turned to face their direction and slowly commanded, “Come out.”

Lu Yin also turned to look in the same direction.

Far away, the tailing Dukkhans fell silent.

“We’ve been spotted.”

“They noticed long ago but weren’t able to shake us. Now they want to talk.”

“What do we do?”

“Ignore them. As long as they can’t shake us, we can just keep following them. In the best case scenario, we’ll locate their civilization.”

“That won’t be easy. Master has already scoured this sector. If we try to follow them back to their civilization with our speed, it’ll take ages.”

“Besides, since they already know we’re following them, they’ll never go back home.”

“One other thing. Where did they even come from? Master has already explored this region, and with the speed that these two are traveling at, they couldn’t have come from beyond.”

“That ‘s unless they drifted here by accident. We’ve never seen such creatures before. They could be refugees from a destroyed civilization.”

“Anything’s possible, but just ignore them. We’ll keep watching and following them for a bit longer...”

On the lotus leaf, Greater Sancte Green Lotus continued to stare into the distant void.

“It appears that they have no desire to answer.”

“As far as they’re concerned, silence keeps them safe, provided they can buy more time.”

“And yet we lack that same luxury.

“In that case, we force them out. Simple.” The green lotus leaf sped up slightly. It was only a little difference in speed, but it was more than enough to unsettle their pursuers.

“Why did they suddenly speed up?”

“Not good! We can’t keep up with them now! They’re only moving a bit faster, but with time, they’ll lose us.”

“What do we do?”

“If they’re able to move faster, then they might have been testing us just now. They could be stronger than us, but if so, why speed up now? To get rid of us?”

“Could they have guessed who we are?”

“Maybe they’re in the same trade.”

“Where’s Master?”

“On the way.”

“Don’t let them out of our sight! If we lose our direction even once, we’ll never find them again.”

“Answer them.”

The void trembled, and a voice traveled across a vast stretch of the Aevum Inch.

The lotus leaf’s speed remained steady, but Greater Sancte Green Lotus gestured for Lu Yin to respond.

The younger man peered into the distance. “What’s the meaning of this? You’ve been following us for so long. Are you enemies?”

“Don’t misunderstand. We merely wish to speak with you.”

“About what?”

“The civilization that you just left.”

“Oh? What connection do you have to that civilization?”

“We discovered that megaverse first, and yet you showed up and destroyed its Mother Tree. We can overlook that, but we will need you to abandon any claim to that megaverse.”

Lu Yin arched a brow. “How can I abandon something that I never possessed?”

The voice took a moment to respond, as the speaker was clearly considering their next words.

Lu Yin said, “If there’s nothing else, we’ll be on our way.”

“Wait! Why did you destroy the Mother Tree?”

Lu Yin smirked. “Didn’t you just say that you’d overlook that? Could it be that you’re actually from that megaverse and you’re after revenge?”

“I’ll be blunt: we want you to remain here for some time. After a short wait, you’ll be allowed to leave, and we won’t interfere with you any further.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! Why should we listen to you?”

“You sound confident, and we may not be your match, but what if we add in someone with the pinnacle of strength beneath Immortality? Can you handle that?” the voice challenged in a probing tone. The Dukkhans watched Lu Yin and Greater Sancte Green Lotus closely for any reaction.

Lu Yin automatically acted alarmed and glanced over at Greater Sancte Green Lotus.

The Immortal’s eyes narrowed, yet he said nothing.

“Look at their faces. They’re panicking!”

“That proves nothing.”

“Wrong! It proves something. First, they understand how terrifying someone with power that approaches an Immortal’s is. Second, because of that knowledge, their reaction might be genuine, or it could be a bluff.”

“Save the pointless analysis.”

The cosmos fell silent as both sides waited for the other to make a move.

The lotus leaf then suddenly sped up again. It was only a slight change in speed, but even that was enough to shift the tension.

“They’ve sped up again! They’re trying to escape.”

“Don’t bother chasing. Since they’ve sped up twice now, can you be sure that this is their limit? What it’s not? What if they can match Master’s speed?”

“Enough, shut up! Master’s here.”

“Let’s move.”