Star Odyssey

Chapter 2456: Battle Force At The Progenitor Level

Nutjob Lu's Champions' Stage released a powerful burst of pressure that slammed down onto Lu Yin.

The space within the Celestial Treasury was filled with ominion energy, which rendered both the summoned E Chi and Nong Yi immobile.

Nutjob Lu was single-handedly standing against the combined efforts of Lu Yin and Mu Xie.

Mu Xie lifted his head and used Origin Tracer. Suddenly, a gray color filled his surroundings. With a wave of a hand, he threw his own palm strike at Nutjob Lu.

The power of time was always impressive to see. There was no overwhelming power behind Mu Xie's attack, but it somehow nullified both the madman’s visualization technique and his Origin Sutra.

Seizing the opening, Mu Xie threw his śarīra down, which sent Nutjob Lu crashing underground.

Lu Yin quickly ordered E Chi to take action, and at the same time, Progenitor-level runes fell down while forming into a massive blade.

Outside the Celestial Treasury, Bai Wangyuan and the others watched everything take place in utter shock. Mu Xie's ability to manipulate the power of time left all of them wary. He had used a single palm to dissolve all of Nutjob Lu's methods, effectively wiping the slate clean and reverting the battlefield to its original state. It was no wonder why Xia Shenji's power of time had been so easily neutralized.

Mu Xie absolutely possessed a level of strength comparable to one of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

The ground shattered as the śarīra pushed Nutjob Lu deeper underground. Then, the blade fell down and delivered a ruthless attack.

Everyone focused on the place where Nutjob Lu fell, but no one could see his condition clearly.

Soon, the red glow of ominion energy that filled the Celestial Treasury contracted and moved underground. Then, Nutjob Lu's Progenitor's world vanished.

Lu Yin heaved a sigh of relief. This attack should have sent Nutjob Lu halfway to death.

At the entrance of the Celestial Treasury, the first trial of Master Shan's Progenitor-level stellular tribulation had arrived. It took the form of a mountain with thick clouds beneath it. As the stellular tribulation continued to expand, Bai Wangyuan and the others were forced to retreat further and further back, which meant that they were forced to move away from the entrance to the treasury.

Lu Yin took a brief moment to check on Master Shan.

"Abandon your breakthrough," he ordered. It was impossible for Master Shan to pass his stellular tribulation, as he had never opened his three meridian points. Even disregarding the terrible injuries he had suffered after the Lu family’s exile, the man would have never succeeded in this breakthrough even if he had been at his peak state. Master Shen’s powerful defense stemmed solely from his innate gift.

If he truly challenged his tribulation to become a Progenitor at this moment, there was absolutely no chance of him surviving.

Master Shan turned to look at Bai Wangyuan and the other two Progenitors, and tremendous reluctance filled his eyes. "If only this were a sealed space. Just my sacrifice alone would be enough to eliminate all of the Lu family’s enemies!"

"Master Shan, abandon your breakthrough, NOW!" Lu Yin bellowed.

Master Shan still did not move. He wanted to buy as much time as possible. He was well aware that every second he obtained was another second that Bai Wangyuan and the others were unable to interfere in the battle taking place within the Celestial Treasury.

Lu Yin grew anxious. "Master Shan, Nutjob Lu will surely die. As your young master, I command you: abandon your breakthrough now and end your stellular tribulation!"

A tremor ran through Master Shan's body, but he finally obeyed Lu Yin's order. The man’s cultivation fell rapidly, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

He had been a powerful Semi-Progenitor, and even after suffering his various injuries, he had still been stronger than any Envoy. But at this moment, his strength had fallen to less than even that of a peak Envoy.

As he proceeded to abandon his breakthrough, the mountain that was the first trial of his Progenitor stellular tribulation started to dissipate as well.

Some distance away, Bai Wangyuan and the others exchanged glances. Once this stellular tribulation completely dissipated, they would immediately storm into the Celestial Treasury. They could not believe that Nutjob Lu would die so quickly. As long as Nutjob Lu remained alive, he would be a threat to Lu Yin.

Lu Yin glanced out at the three men. How could he not understand what they were thinking at this moment? Thus, while he placed Master Shan back in Zenith Mountain, he also released Wan Zhiyi.

Upon seeing Wan Zhiyi, the expressions on the faces of Bai Wangyuan and the others grew much uglier.

Specter Progenitor was speechless at what he was seeing. He had a reputation for being the most shameless of the Perennial World’s Progenitors, and it was acknowledged that he had the thickest skin. However, at this moment, he realized that he had lost this position. He could not even begin to compare with Lu Xiaoxuan when it came to shamelessness.

The reason for Wan Zhiyi's appearance was quite simple: he also intended to trigger his tribulation.

The truth was that both Master Shan and Wan Zhiyi had lost the ability to ever reach the Progenitor level after all their suffering after the Lu family's exile. Still, while breaking through was impossible, they were still capable of triggering their stellular tribulations. As long as a stellular tribulation blocked the path to the entrance of the treasury, no one would dare to try to rush in.

Wan Zhiyi stared at the distant forms of Bai Wangyuan and the other two. "It’s been a long time. I never thought that we would meet again under these circumstances. Why don’t we have a chat?"

Wang Fan answered in a solemn tone, "Wan Zhiyi, if you begin your tribulation, the only way you can hope to survive is by abandoning your breakthrough. Doing so will make it impossible for you to ever regain the strength of a Semi-Progenitor, let alone have any hope of reaching the Progenitor realm."

Wan Zhiyi erupted with laughter. "From the moment the main family was banished, it was already impossible for me to ever become a Progenitor! Perhaps I’ll have a chance in my next life. At the very least, my crippled body can still be of some use to the young master!"

Nong Yi sighed. "Only the Lu family has the charisma to command such fervent loyalty. Even Semi-Progenitors are willing to sacrifice their lives."

Within the Celestial Treasury, Lu Yin averted his gaze and instead stared into the hole in the ground. With Wan Zhiyi present, Bai Wangyuan and the others had been held back yet again.

Mu Xie completely ignored everything that was occurring outside of the treasury. His attention was focused on the hole. Suddenly, his expression changed. "Not good!"

As he spoke, his śarīra flew back, completely out of his control. A figure emerged from the ground. The man’s head was bowed, and he was panting heavily. Purplish black lines formed patterns that covered his skin while strands of ominion energy flickered along the black and purple patterns before disappearing, giving the patterns a profound appearance.

Lu Yin's face grew pale. "Wielder-realm battle force?"

He had a sudden flash of insight. "You're one of the madmen who worked with Ancient God to develop Wielder - Indestructible!"

Mu Xie was left confused. "What are you talking about?"

Lu Yin gritted his teeth. "He is someone who’s lived since the Heavens Sect era. He's probably even older than Progenitor Tianyi. Back then, Gu Yizhi, the Third Mainland's Dao Monarch, developed Wielder - Indestructible, the highest level of battle force, and many people participated in his experiments. Some of them went insane during the experiments. You're one of them, aren’t you?"

A deep, eerie laughter echoed throughout the isolated space, sending chills down the spines of those who heard it.

The laughter grew louder and louder as Nutjob Lu slowly lifted his head and looked straight at Lu Yin. "It seems that you know quite a bit about that era."

Lu Yin's expression turned grim. This was going to be a problem. The terrifying nature of Wielder-realm battle force was something that could only be understood by those who had mastered it. It was a cultivation system that had been developed by Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi, and it was in no means inferior to the systems created by the Rune Progenitor or Progenitor Chen. In fact, the system that Gu Yizhi had developed could even rival the God of Death’s cultivation system. Dao Monarch Gu Yizhi had thought that his cultivation system was the true path of cultivation that humanity should take and that it was capable of replacing stellular energy as the Fifth Mainland’s primary cultivation method.

Given the issues affecting the Fifth Mainland's stellular energy, the only cultivators who could still fight were those with the strength to forcibly suppress their stellular or star energy, or those who had cultivated battle force, a domain, or spiritual force. Those systems were unaffected by the changes that had assaulted the Fifth Mainland’s stellular energy. Even though Gu Yizhi had betrayed humanity and joined Aeternus, Lu Yin had to admit that the ancient Dao Monarch’s cultivation system was a true marvel that was almost perfectly suited for humans.

If he was being honest, Lu Yin felt much of his confidence flee after seeing that Nutjob Lu possessed Wielder - Indestructible as well.

"Gu Yizhi believes that the power he developed is the true path of cultivation for humanity! Let me see if that's actually true!" Nutjob Lu's previously violent aura instantly vanished, leaving both Lu Yin and Mu Xie far warier than before.

Nutjob Lu heaved his cracked Champions' Stage high into the sky before slamming it down onto Mu Xie. Stepping forward, he shattered the void to appear in front of the jiao, at which time he unleashed a devastating punch.

The jiao let out a roar. It had become confident as soon as Nutjob Lu's terrifying aura was retracted. Mustering its courage, it raised a claw and fiercely struck back.

There was a sharp crack, and the claw twisted. It had been bent by the power of Nutjob Lu's fist.

Lu Yin was astounded. The jiao's defense was so strong that even Forgotten Ruins God had been astonished. Xia Shenji had been forced to simply trap the beast with the broken saber, and yet it seemed surprisingly feeble against Nutjob Lu.

Nutjob Lu was similarly shocked. "You actually endured my punch?"

The jiao bellowed in rage as pain wracked its body. It thrashed about and swung its tail toward Nutjob Lu.

At the same time, Mu Xie pushed the Champions' Stage aside. He tore through the void to arrive behind Nutjob Lu and throw out a palm strike. The madman found himself trapped between the jiao's tail and Mu Xie's attack. It was possible for him to evade the two attacks, but instead, Nutjob Lu turned and met Mu Xie's palm strike head-on. To Mu Xie, it did not feel like he was striking another hand; the unstoppable force behind Nutjob Lu’s palm felt like an indestructible mountain. The madman’s attack tore Mu Xie’s hand open, and he staggered back, bleeding.

At the same time, Nutjob Lu lashed out with a powerful kick that connected with the jiao's tail. It was a direct and violent maneuver without any sort of battle technique or complicated movements. The man used nothing but pure physical might and Wielder-realm battle force to simultaneously fend off both the jiao and Mu Xie.magic

At this juncture, the silhouette of the summoned Nong Yi fell from above, while E Chi shot up from below.

Nutjob Lu was practically surrounded on all sides.

"Is this all that you’re capable of?" Nutjob Lu swung his fist, shattering the form of Nong Yi. With a fierce stomp, he then shattered E Chi.

Even though Nong Yi and E Chi were nothing more than summons, each still possessed the strength of a Progenitor. Despite that, they could put up little resistance against Nutjob Lu.

The destruction of the two summons also wounded Lu Yin. The jiao had been utterly terrified by Nutjob Lu's peerless strength, and it immediately fled from the battle.

Nutjob Lu looked up at the beast, but just as he prepared to give chase, a śarīra descended from above, accompanied by glowing characters that twined around the madman. The ancient characters formed from śarīra’s energy possessed a mysterious strength, and not even Nutjob Lu's repeated punches were able to break through them.

Seizing the opportunity, Mu Xie brandished the slipper.

Nutjob Lu raised a hand, and a golden light filled the treasury. An Investiture of the Gods appeared, and Lu Yin felt a stabbing pain in his eyes. All color drained from his face. An Investiture of the Gods? Had Nutjob Lu conferred someone? Who could it be? How were they supposed to handle another Progenitor?

Lu Yin was not alone, as Mu Xie, Bai Wangyuan, and everyone else watching shared the same thought as soon as they saw the Investiture of the Gods appear.

None of them had expected Nutjob Lu to also possess an Investiture of the Gods.

The thought of this madman conferring a god had never crossed anyone’s mind. Who would be willing to be conferred by someone insane?

However, the way in which Nutjob Lu's used his Investiture of the Gods startled everyone. There was a powerful golden radiance, but no shadow appeared. Instead, the man simply used his Investiture of the Gods to block the slipper from striking him.

Lu Yin's eyes grew large. Could the Investiture of the Gods actually be used like this?

The impression that everyone had of the Lu family's Investiture of the Gods was that it was a sacred object capable of sealing copies of gods. The only known application was to confer Progenitors and allow the owner to borrow their power. No one had ever tested the resilience of the scroll itself, but at this moment, they witnessed it for themselves; the slipper did not shatter the Investiture of the Gods.

Nutjob Lu's eyes turned bloodshot. Both of his hands were lit up by the golden radiance of his Investiture of the Gods as he launched a fierce assault on Mu Xie.