Star Odyssey

Chapter 4155: Transcendence

Even that brief sentence caused Tuo Lin’s face to flush with excitement, and Yan Ruyu’s form flickered, causing the space surrounding her to boil. Lu Yin even grew worried that she might burn herself out. “Well then, come with your master on a trip. There’s something that I need Little Ruyu to help with.”

Yan Ruyu grew even more excited. “I... I can help Master?”

Tuo Lin was thrilled. “Little Ruyu, you can help Master! This is wonderful, Little Ruyu. We’ve waited far, far too long for this day!”

“I know, I know! Master, Little Ruyu will definitely satisfy you. Whatever you want Little Ruyu to do, Little Ruyu will do!” Yan Ruyu grew increasingly excited.

Lu Yin just grunted before taking the two to the ninth level of the Blood Tower. “Come, greet your seniors.”

“That is Greater Sancte Green Lotus, that is Blood Tower, and that is...”

Tuo Lin and Yan Ruyu greeted each senior in order. They were already familiar with Lu Yuan, but Lu Yuan did not know Yan Ruyu. He had never imagined that a Verdant Sage had been accompanying Tuo Lin all along.

Seeing the faintly shimmering silhouette, he even blushed a little.

Tuo Lin had frequently visited the Heavens Sect, and yet no one had ever noticed Yan Ruyu.

Greater Sancte Green Lotus and the others also revealed strange expressions as they looked at the Verdant Sage. A creature that had once essentially been a fragment of the Immortal Lord and completely devoted to the creature was instead fervently worshiping Lu Yin. She had dismissed the Nest civilization and ignored the Immortal Lord, only holding Lu Yin in her thoughts. How had Lu Yin managed such a thing?

It was as if Lu Yin was her father.

Lu Yin felt rather proud. Revealing the two was truly impressive, even though he could not explain how any of it had happened.

On the ninth level of the Blood Tower, Greater Sancte Green Lotus took out a tiny fragment of the green stalk.

The faint green light dispersed the heavy bloodlust that suffused the Blood Tower, causing its master to frown. Was this truly the Immortal Lord’s power? Blood Tower himself was no match for them.

Awe Gate and Ku Deng were also staring at the small fragment. The seemingly gentle light gave them both chills. The Immortal Lord was indeed an overwhelmingly powerful creature.

On the other hand, Lu Yin was staring at Yan Ruyu, waiting to see her reaction to this power.

She stared at the green stalk in a daze. It felt so familiar and warm... Is this my power? No, not mine. But why does it feel so familiar? As though it should belong to me?

That green light resembled the color of life itself. It was the exact shade of her own origins. Gradually, obsession filled her eyes, and she started to become unfamiliar.

As that happened, the statue of Lu Yin that she carried on her back started to grow blurry.

The expressions of the others quickly changed. If the statue shattered, it would indicate that Yan Ruyu had been assimilated by the Immortal Lord’s power, which would cause everything to end in failure.

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “Little Ruyu.”

The sound of Lu Yin’s voice caused Yan Ruyu to suddenly regain clarity, and she turned to look at him. At the same time, Tuo Lin also spoke up to say, “Little Ruyu, what’s wrong with you?”

Yan Ruyu turned to Tuo Lin and then looked back at Lu Yin, confusion filling her eyes.

Who was she? What was she supposed to do?

“Little Ruyu, Master called for you. What’s wrong?” Tuo Lin did not understand what had happened, but their minds were connected. He could feel Lan Ruyu’s confusion, and he reached out to hold her hand. At that moment, she was enveloped by another wave of warmth, and the statue behind Tuo Lin emitted a soft glow that connected to the statue behind Yan Ruyu. The two statues shone as one, granting her mind a bit more clarity.

Awe Gate and the others could not resist glancing at Lu Yin. This was a terrifying level of fanaticism. One of the two carried a life-like statue of Lu Yin, while the other had condensed one out of sequence particles.

Lu Yin stared at the statue behind Yan Ruyu, struck by an indescribable sensation. It was as if he had gained a clone.

However, the feeling was also extremely vague and elusive.

Gradually, fervor once again filled Yan Ruyu’s eyes, sweeping away all confusion. The statue of Lu Yin on her back grew distinct once more. She looked at Lu Yin and bowed low. “Master, Little Ruyu has sinned. Little Ruyu... Little Ruyu just forgot you.”

Lu Yin crouched down, a smile on his face as he stretched out a hand. “Little Ruyu, stand up.”

Yan Ruyu stared at him, her eyes overflowing with devotion and dependence.

“Little Ruyu, you did well. You didn’t forget your master, and I am proud of you.” Lu Yin smiled at her before turning to Tuo Lin. “I understand your intentions. Your master is proud of both of you.”

“Master.”

“Master.”

The two’s fanaticism grew even stronger.

The others were left speechless.

Lu Yuan’s face twitched. The members of his Lu family had always been straightforward people; only this one could win people’s hearts in such a manner.

Since Yan Ruyu had not been assimilated by the Immortal Lord’s power, Greater Sancte Green Lotus could safely hand her the small fragment of the green stalk.

She accepted it, but she looked over at Lu Yin, still confused.

He smiled at her. “Little Ruyu, see if you can use this green power.”

Yan Ruyu nodded obediently.

“Your master has high hopes for you.”

These words caused Yan Ruyu to blush. Determination firmed in her eyes as she gripped the stalk and focused.

It took no time at all for the green stalk to seemingly awaken. Its faint emerald glow flowed into Yan Ruyu as though it was alive. Her form grew clearer, and her hair rose up as she slowly levitated in the air. As everyone stared, it looked as if another Immortal Lord was being born.

Yan Ruyu only had the strength of a Progenitor, which was far from the Immortal Lord’s realm, but at this moment, she wielded the green radiance and released an aura that even Ku Deng, an Immortal, found daunting.

The emerald light circled around her. Yan Ruyu’s eyes opened, and her arm swept out, guiding the light as easily and joyfully as if she was moving her own limbs.

Lu Yin glanced at Greater Sancte Green Lotus, who shook his head. “The Immortal Lord cannot sense this.”

That allowed Lu Yin to finally relax. With Greater Sancte Green Lotus shielding Yan Ruyu, everything would remain safe. If the Immortal Lord sensed their own power being used, they might immediately seize control of Yan Ruyu.

Everyone stared at the Verdant Sage. Her eyes remained unchanged. Wielding the Immortal Lord’s power had not affected her mind. The statue of Lu Yin behind her remained as vivid as ever.

That statue perfectly revealed her devotion to Lu Yin.

“Little Ruyu, how do you feel?” Lu Yin asked.

Yan Ruyu answered in a happy tone, “Master, this feels very comfortable.”

“What does this green power make you feel?”

Yan Ruyu revealed a confused expression.

Lu Yin said, “Take your time. No need to rush.”

Yan Ruyu descended to the floor, standing beside Tuo Lin once more, though her body was still surrounded by the emerald light.

After a bit of time had passed, Yan Ruyu whispered, “Comfortable.”

“There’s nothing else?” Lu Yin asked.

Yan Ruyu was about to cry. “I’m sorry, Master! Little Ruyu... Little Ruyu really can’t feel anything more. It’s just comfortable. Little Ruyu is useless! Useless!”

Lu Yin quickly comforted her. “It’s fine. Feeling comfortable is enough. Don’t blame yourself; your master understands.”

Tuo Lin looked at Lu Yin with longing in his eyes. “Master, is there anything that this disciple of yours can do for you?”

The others exchanged looks, suddenly envious of the idea of having such disciples.

A short while later, a Blood Tower moved towards the Tianyuan, carrying Lu Yin, Ancestor Lu Yuan, Tuo Lin, Yan Ruyu, and Greater Sancte Blood Tower. Within a smaller Blood Tower, the Immortal carried Luo Chan.

Their destination was the Mirari Realm. No one knew how long it might take Lu Yuan to grow this innate gift, which made the Mirari Realm the most suitable place for their efforts.

Greater Sancte Blood Tower sighed with envy. “If only I could have an ability like the Mirari Realm, where time does not exist. I may be able to wield the power of time, but I’m far inferior to a ferryman of the River of Aeons.”

He looked at Lu Yin. “I heard that you’re on good terms with the ferryman in the Mirari Realm. Why don’t you ask her to teach me a thing or two?”

Lu Yin felt slightly confused. “Your mastery of time shouldn’t be any weaker than hers, should it?”

Greater Sancte Blood Tower shook his head. “I may control a branch of the River of Aeons, but my methods of utilizing it are much too crude.”

Lu Yin was surprised. “You control a River of Aeons?”

The Immortal laughed. “Come now, Mr. Lu, don’t tell me that you didn’t know. You must have had your suspicions back when I took you to the Thread of Heaven.”

Nearby, Lu Yuan was stunned by what he was overhearing. He controls a River of Aeons? Is that something that a person can even possess?

Lu Yin did not deny it. “I had my suspicions, but I didn’t expect you to expose the truth so quickly.”

“I have nothing to hide from you. Besides, a mere branch of the River of Aeons isn’t very useful. If that Thread of Heaven had moved too far away, my temporal anchor would have been useless.” Greater Sancte Blood Tower sighed. “However, in the hands of a ferryman of the River of Aeons, things would be quite different. Such a being can guide a branch through regions beyond the main stream and even tug on the main stream itself, using that force to affect things... much like Obscura.”

“Obscura’s gates?”

“Exactly. Greater Sancte Green Lotus must have told you that Obscura moves through their gates by borrowing the main stream of the River of Aeons. They use time to shift space and change locations. If I could do that... heh, who would need teleportation?”

Lu Yin thought it over. It was a reasonable argument; one step through a gate would bring a person to an entirely different region. How was that any different from teleportation?

If he had to choose, he would choose to have Obscura’s gates. A gate could be placed anywhere and then used to incite war between other civilizations. That was something that teleportation could never enable.

The powers of time, space, karma, and will each manifested vastly different effects from the others.

Even though Lu Yin wielded the power of time, accomplishing what Obscura did with their gates was far beyond him.

There was no question that it was far beyond Zhao Ran’s capabilities as well. If just any ferryman of the River of Aeons could accomplish such a feat, Obscura’s gates would lose almost all value.

“Senior, how difficult is it to shift space with time in the way that Obscura does it?” Lu Yin asked.

Greater Sancte Blood Tower thought about it and then sighed. “I don’t know.”

Lu Yin’s heart sank. That was the worst possible answer. Not even being able to see the gap was far worse than understanding it.

“Time flows through every part of the cosmos. The Mirari Realm lacks its own time, but what about the main stream of the River of Aeons? What you are able to seize for yourself must be time that has already passed, so where does that time exist?” Greater Sancte Blood Tower stared out into space. “A mortal’s life expectancy of 100 years is fixed within one segment of the River of Aeons. However, if one is able to transcend that segment and ceases to be bound by it... is that any different from immortality?”

Lu Yin’s gaze trembled. He had considered the same question before. Did the Mirari Realm truly not have its own time? If that was true, then what did people experience while inside it? Also, what carried the powers that were cultivated in that place?

“The River of Aeons’ branch streams and its main stream... When one escapes the branch and enters the main stream, then only the main river can determine one’s life and death. Mortals cannot do this. The obsession that cultivators have regarding Immortality is nothing more than moving from a branch to the main stream, and ultimately transcending even that.” Greater Sancte Blood Tower summed up his understanding of the Immortal realm.

Lu Yin stared at the man blankly. Every Immortal had their own view of the cosmos; could this be Greater Sancte Blood Tower’s?

The man suddenly turned to smile at Lu Yin. “Profound, isn’t it?”

Lu Yin automatically nodded.