Star Odyssey

Chapter 4222: The Connector

Kui stared at Lu Yin and hoarsely screamed, “There should be at least some respect for an Immortal! At the minimum, let me know what kind of creature is killing me! I can’t send anything back. From the moment I was captured, my only value was sharing those coordinates with you, nothing more.”

“In that case, tell me what those coordinates are. What’s the reason for sharing them?”

“I don’t know. Huo gave me those coordinates. I don’t know what’s there, and you don’t need to know either. No matter what, you can’t go.”

Lu Yin nodded. “You’re right. I can’t go.”

No creature could completely explore the Aevum Inch, not even a technological fishing civilization. That was because no one knew what they might find on such an exploration.

It was like reaching into an unknown, muddy bog. It was impossible to see what was hidden beneath the surface, and yet there was a desire to feel every inch of it. What might one touch? A stone? A fish? A toad? Some tentacles? Maybe a jagged tooth?

Exploring the cosmos was no different from exploring a muddy bog while blind.

Lu Yin did not know what lay at the location indicated by the coordinates, and he had no intention of going there to find out. However, he did need to know what might be there; what if there was a civilization?

After that, Lu Yin continued to use karma to examine Kui, studying the creature’s past. Kui could no longer be threatened with death; its earlier fear had all been nothing more than an act.

No creature did not fear death, but as far as Kui was concerned, it was already dead. It no longer had the power of an Immortal. Even if Lu Yin released the creature and allowed it to return to the Blacklight Civilization, it would be worse than dead among its own kind.

There were two kinds of death: death of the mind and death of the body.

When the body died, if the heart is still inclined toward what is good, then the world remains unchanged. However, when the heart dies, one’s bodily existence becomes nothing more than a burden.

Kui’s body had died because its injuries had caused it to fall from the Immortal realm. Such a loss also caused a kind of death of the mind.

Being alive had already become a burden to Kui.

Given the inherent nature of the Blacklight creatures, Lu Yin had the feeling that Kui was genuinely unafraid to die.

Lu Yin could not be certain if the creature feared death, but that did not matter. The result would remain the same.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten years went by. Occasionally, Lu Yin would investigate Kui with karma, searching its past. He spent more than a decade studying Kui, which was more than any other creature whose karma Lu Yin had examined.

Little value was ever found, aside from a greater understanding of the Blacklight Civilization. Lu Yin had observed nearly every stage of Kui’s cultivation, but it all meant nothing.

Finally, Lu Yin ended Kui’s life.

At the moment just before it died, Kui finally revealed a trace of longing to live. Its heart had not completely died, but it understood that it could never return to the Blacklight Civilization alive. To it, hoping in the darkness was absurd.

Kui’s death released a fair amount of Immortal matter. Its Lifeforce dispersed like mist, creating a small phenomenon.

After all, most of the creature’s body had already been destroyed and left behind in the seven-colored land.

This was the second Immortal that Lu Yin had killed.

The first was the droplet-shaped Verdant Sage, and Kui was the second.

As for Hui, that creature had been killed through a combined effort.

Of all the Immortals that Lu Yin knew, who had killed two other Immortals?

Killing even a single Immortal would cause one’s karmic chain to increase drastically, but that did not apply to Lu Yin. He could already be considered an Immortal slayer.

Lu Yin looked at the black plate in his hand. Kui’s death had caused the plate to wither like a dry leaf; a pinch would cause it to crumble. It was utterly worthless.

He instantly vanished, reappearing in the Consciousness Megaverse. There, he went to find Old First.

The eldest of the Seven-Treasure Anuras stared at the black plate. “Back when we first fought against the Blacklight Civilization, we also studied these plates. We wanted to learn how to use their Darksky Seal. Unfortunately, it’s based on their natural power, and it cannot be learned. The power of that technique comes from the Blacklight creature that uses it. Once a Blacklight creature dies, their plates become useless. There is not even the slightest use for it—they’re worse than the weeds on the side of the road.”

“Then what’s the deal with their One-Hundredth Seal?” Lu Yin asked.

Old First’s eyes rose to stare at Lu Yin. “Are you setting your sights on the One-Hundredth Seal?”

“That’s right.”

“I don’t know about that, but it’s possible that Ancestor does. We want the One-Hundredth Seal even more than you do, as that would allow us to free our ancestor,” Old First replied in a low voice.

Lu Yin looked back down at the plate in his hand and gently crushed it into fragments.

The Blacklight creatures really were ruthless; dead or alive, they left nothing of value behind.

“Destroying a civilization can yield resources. Destroying a fishing civilization can grant you that civilization’s path to power,” Old First spoke slowly while locking eyes with Lu Yin. “Being able to become a fishing civilization proves that the road that the civilization took was the right one. Strong or weak, at the very least, the civilization took the correct road. If you can destroy a fishing civilization, you can see the path that it took and then use that to supplement your own civilization’s shortcomings, making your civilization’s road smoother.

“Additionally, you can gain immense resources.

“You humans love reading. A book is a summary of a person’s thoughts and wisdom. By reading, you can gain years of the author’s wisdom in just a short amount of time. Nothing is more profitable than reading.

“Destroying civilizations is the same thing. To become a fishing civilization, a civilization must grope its way forward, experimenting and testing. They might conduct just one test, or they might conduct countless tests. Destroying and seizing is the most profitable path. However, taking it requires sufficient ability.

“I don’t know if it’s possible to take the One-Hundredth Seal, but since Huo can use it, then if you can take it, you might be able to use it as well. That tool is powerful enough to seal our ancestor. If you can obtain it, your human civilization will gain a power that even fishing civilizations consider to be a legend. That will grant you the confidence to face any enemy.”

Lu Yin perfectly understood. Old First was sharing such information for only one reason: he wanted Lu Yin to go and seize it. The toad wanted all of the human civilization’s experts to go, seize the One-Hundredth Seal, and rescue Ancestor Shan.

But such things could not be said outright. If Lu Yin refused, it would become hard for the two species to get along in the future.

For the time being, the toads were still grateful to humanity, and they were also willing to coexist with them.

Their intent was to repay their debt, at least for the time being.

“So, when fishing civilizations wipe out every civilization they discover, is that for the same reason?” Lu Yin changed the subject.

Old First shook his head. “No. I once asked Ancestor why fishing civilizations exist. The civilizations in the Aevum Inch clearly do not interact with one another, and yet there is a common consensus on the concept of fishing civilizations. That makes no sense. However, Ancestor never explained it. They only said that, to become a fishing civilization, even more than combat strength, knowledge is also needed. Only with the correct knowledge can a civilization become a fishing civilization.

“The Blacklight Civilization lost that knowledge, so even if they manage to recover their former peak strength, they will no longer be considered a fishing civilization.”

Lu Yin opened his mouth to speak, but Old First cut him off. “However, I don’t agree with Ancestor. In my perspective, a fishing civilization is made of strength. Strength crushes everything. Without strength, how can one be a fishing civilization even with knowledge?”

Lu Yin had nothing to say. Old First’s words were not without reason. However, if a civilization had only strength and no knowledge of what it meant to be a fishing civilization, how could they be considered one? At best, they would be regarded as a powerful civilization, possibly even stronger than a fishing civilization. However, that was not to be called a fishing civilization.

For those that were known as fishing civilizations, the key word was the word “fishing.”

If there was no meaning for why fishing civilizations destroyed ordinary civilizations, then why would they keep searching, fishing for civilizations to destroy? Fishing was indeed the key word. It represented the knowledge of those civilizations.

They understood the reason for the destruction they caused.

If the day came when the human civilization was invincible throughout the Aevum Inch, if they still did not know why they should destroy other civilizations, they still would not be considered a fishing civilization.

At the moment, Lu Yin was desperate to gain the knowledge of a fishing civilization.

Leaving the Consciousness Megaverse, Lu Yin passed through the Gate of Laws to make a trip to the technological civilization. He had expected them to take a long time to prepare reinforcements, but in just over ten years, the largest ovoid light had already arrived. It seemed that the technological civilization was extremely wary of the nearby area. There was no doubt that they were searching for him.

Lu Yin left and went straight to the seven-colored land.

The technological civilization’s reinforcements had arrived, but he did not know how strong they were. He wanted to use the technological civilization to destroy the Blacklight Civilization, while simultaneously using the Blacklight Civilization to get a clear picture of the technological civilization’s abilities. For that reason, he could not allow either of the two sides to be fully prepared. Their current status was quite good.

That was the reason why he had teleported all the way to the seven-colored land and returned the gate that he had taken away. This time, he placed it at the bottom of a lake, succeeding without alerting the Blacklight Civilization.

Teleportation really was convenient.

His task accomplished, he only needed to wait for the technological civilization to pass through the gate again.

In the blink of an eye, another decade passed. It was time to go back and check on things.

He wanted to look at the technological civilization, but it was not possible to get close enough to them. There was no doubt that their detection range was expanding, and he had not yet fully grasped its limits. If he was discovered, the technological civilization would likely grow wary, which would further delay them from passing through the gate to the seven-colored land. However, if he stayed far away and did not go look, he would not know if the gate had been used or not.

Rather than checking on the technological civilization, it would be better to return to the seven-colored land.

With that thought, Lu Yin returned to the Consciousness Megaverse, found Astral Anura, and took him to the seven-colored land.

Astral Anura was thrilled. “Seventh Bro, are you only bringing me? I’m so moved!”

“Cut the act. I have a question for you: how likely are the Seven-Treasure Anura to stay?” Lu Yin bluntly asked.

Astral Anura’s expression changed, growing solemn. “I won’t lie to you, Seventh Bro. If we can rescue Ancestor, the chances are-”

“If Ancestor Shan is rescued, there isn’t the slightest chance of you staying,” Lu Yin cut in.

Astral Anura cautiously glanced at Lu Yin. “You’re right, Seventh Bro. Well... as for the chances with the current situation, I really don’t know.”

Lu Yin looked at Astral Anura. “You have to know, and you need to.”

Astral Anura gave a bitter smile. “Seventh Bro, you’re making things hard for me.”

“You’re the connection between our human civilization and the Seven-Treasure Anuras, but the bond is still too small.”

“What do you mean, Seventh Bro?”

“Have you ever considered becoming an Immortal?”

The toad’s eyes lit up. “Of course!”

He then immediately deflated. “But that’s not easy. Throughout the history of us Seven-Treasure Anuras, only a select few have ever managed to become Immortals.”

“With the foundation of the Seven-Treasure Anuras, plus the path that we humans can offer, you have a very high chance of successfully becoming an Immortal.”

“Even so, it won’t happen soon, will it?”

“As long as it’s possible, that’s good enough. You will have to suffer a bit, so; stay inside a Zenith Mountain for now. I’ll strengthen this bond whenever I need to.”

Astral Anura was curious about something. “Seventh Bro, how do you plan to do this?”

Lu Yin turned and smirked at the toad. “What? Are you afraid that I’ll harm the Seven-Treasure Anuras?”