Star Odyssey

Chapter 2782: Emptying Out

Monarch Xing stood atop the rainbow wall, staring off into the distance as though in a trance.

She had received word that Luo Shan was missing, which made her uneasy.

While she did not care for Luo Shan, she also did not hate him. After so many years together, Monarch Xing knew that she could not protect her people in the Starlight Universe without Luo Shan. At best, she would only be able to stay in a dangerous place like the Endless Frontier.

Although they were publicly married, Monarch Xing spoke fewer than three sentences a year to Luo Shan, and they frequently did not even see each other for years on end. Their relationship had lasted for a very long time, and she wanted it to continue.

However, Luo Shan had gone missing, and no one knew if he was dead or alive. This was terrible news for the Three Monarchs Universe. If Luo Shan died, what would become of the universe? What about the people whom Monarch Xing sought to protect?

Always calm and collected, at this moment, Monarch Xing was feeling a storm of emotions.

"I left orders that no one was to approach me," Monarch Xing calmly stated as a Monarch’s power swept back. She had sensed someone approaching her, and normally, she would only have gently tossed them back, but given her current mood, she had lashed out with a great deal more force than normal.

However, the person behind her did not move at all.

Monarch Xing turned around to see Lu Yin. "It’s you?"

Lu Yin gave a small smile. "We meet again, Senior Monarch Xing."

Monarch Xing’s voice grew cold. "Hiding your head while showing your tail is not a flaw that you should have, Dao Monarch Lu."

"I didn’t want anyone else to know that I came to speak with you this time, as it wouldn’t be good for you," Lu Yin replied.

Monarch Xing grew puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"

Lu Yin activated his gadget and brought up a display that showed an image of people.

They were ordinary humans with nothing at all special about them, but seeing them caused Monarch Xing's expression to instantly change. Her calm and peaceful demeanor disappeared as though it had never existed.

"How do you know about them?" Monarch Xing's breathing had grown ragged, and she stared at Lu Yin with cold eyes that blazed with killing intent.

Lu Yin closed the image and put his gadget away again. "Luo Shan is missing, and I will soon declare war on the four ruling powers, which will force Bai Sheng and others to return to protect their universe. At that time, the Three Monarchs Universe will only have you and Chen Le left to protect it. Senior, what do you think will happen?”

Monarch Xing stared at Lu Yin for a while before calmly turning back around. "So, you want me to join your Heavens Sect?"

Lu Yin smiled. "It's easy to talk to smart people."

"Very well, but I have a condition," Monarch Xing replied.

Lu Yin arched a brow, as he had not expected Monarch Xing to agree so easily. He swallowed what he had been ready to say.

"And that is?"

"The inhabitants of this Three Monarchs Universe are innocent. Your Heavens Sect should be able to evacuate them."

Lu Yin agreed, as that was already a part of his plan.

He was the sole person responsible for the fact that the Three Monarchs Universe would be annexed to the Endless Frontier. For that reason, the natives could not remain in the universe, as when the Aeternals swarmed into the universe, all of the humans would die. Lu Yin still had a conscience, and he was not the same as Sovereign Shao Yin.

Given the Heavens Sect numerous Semi-Progenitors, not to mention the Progenitors, it would be possible to quickly evacuate the entire Three Monarchs Universe.

"You won't miss this place?"

Monarch Xing turned her back to Lu Yin to stare off into the distance. "This place has been at war for far too long, and the only thing I see in this place any longer is death and blood. Slitted scarlet eyes frequently appear, and it’s nearly impossible to eliminate them all.

"Even peak powerhouses are human, and there are times when we simply want to escape. Just think of this as me trying to escape from my responsibilities. After joining your Heavens Sect, I will not do anything to help you."

Lu Yin nodded. "That’s your choice. In that case, what about Luo Shan?"

Monarch Xing’s voice grew bitter. "He has helped me for a long time, and without him, I could not have protected my home. If the day comes when he needs my help, I will not just sit by the side, Dao Monarch Lu."

Lu Yin did not argue, as this was Monarch Xing’s choice.

Even so, it was inevitable that Lu Yin and Luo Shan would become enemies where only one of them could live. Monarch Xing could not change that.

Many people felt that Luo Shan was likely already dead. After all, very few people could survive after getting involved in a fight between Corpse God and Sovereign Dou Sheng, but Lu Yin knew that the Monarch would not die so easily. He had learned all about Luo Shan from Monarch Mu, which was why Lu Yin knew that Monarch Luo was actually incredibly powerful.

While the Three Monarchs Universe was regarded as the weakest universe of the Sixverse Association, that did not mean that Luo Shan was the weakest of the six rulers.

This was also why Lu Yin was eager to deal with the Three Monarchs Universe at this time. He wanted to settle everything before Luo Shan could come back. Lu Yin would also do his best to keep Luo Shan on the Endless Frontier.

"What will you do about Chen Le?" Monarch Xing asked.

Lu Yin said, "While you should leave the rainbow wall, he needs to stay. I need you to help me keep Bai Sheng and the others isolated so that they don’t learn about what’s happening while I evacuate everyone from the Three Monarchs Universe to the Fifth Mainland. Of course, we’ll need to first deal with the Mo Courtyard, so I’ll have to ask you to have them cooperate with me.”

Monarch Xing continued to stare at Lu Yin. "And what if Bai Sheng and others notice what’s happening before you finish?"

A dangerous glint appeared in Lu Yin’s eyes. "Then I will launch a war against the four ruling powers and force them to temporarily return to the Perennial World and abandon any thoughts of getting involved in what happens here."

Monarch Xing turned away. "We’ll do as you say."

Neither Chen Le nor Monarch Xing knew much about the four ruling powers, as not even Luo Shan were that familiar with them. If they had a bit more information, they would have struggled to believe that Lu Yin could launch a war against the four ruling powers.

Soon, Monarch Xing left the rainbow wall while Chen Le quietly cooperated; they both pretended to know nothing as the man took over the duty of guarding the rainbow wall.

Monarch Xing helped Lu Yin gather the Mo Courtyard’s Semi-Monarchs and then forced them to cooperate with the Fifth Mainland in evacuating the Three Monarchs Universe’s inhabitants.

None of the Semi-Monarchs dared to refuse, so Lu Yin quickly organized Arch-Elder Zen, Leng Qing, Lu Buzheng, Destina, and the other Semi-Progenitors to start migrating all of the people of the Three Monarchs Universe over.

On Shenwu Continent, Grandmaster Gu Yan, Highsage Grandmaster, and Elder Gong had all gathered. They intended to work together to set up a Sealing Path sourcebox array to reseal the spatial passage connecting the two universes.

More than twenty Semi-Progenitors worked together with the Three Monarchs Universe’s Semi-Monarchs and the Fifth Mainland’s Progenitors to evacuate the universe, taking more than three months to do so completely. After those three months passed, the Emperor Domain, Upper King Domain, and Lower King Domain were now all completely empty.

Lu Yin strolled through the Emperor Domain and arrived at the Mo Courtyard. He entered the imperial treasury and looked around at the massive amount of flourishing crystals and various other resources. Everything in here now belonged to him.

While Luo Shan had taken the most valuable resources with him, what had been left behind in the imperial treasury was still enough to dazzle Lu Yin.

He had originally estimated the treasury to hold at least a trillion flourishing crystals, but as he looked around, he realized that there was more than 8 trillion here. It was a terrifying amount of wealth.

He immediately gathered up all of the flourishing crystals and took them to the Heavens Sect before contacting the Merchant Exchange.

As soon as the Three Monarchs Universe was removed from the Sixverse Association, the value of flourishing crystals would plummet, and even this monstrous amount of wealth would become worthless. Lu Yin needed to exchange the flourishing crystals before that happened.

At this same time, Grandmaster Gu Yan and the other Array Grandmasters began setting up the sourcebox array.

...

On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin was staring at a mysterious object that was swimming about in his teacup. Finally, he looked up at Zhao Ran. "You’ve made progress."

Zhao Ran was thrilled by the “compliment.” "Thank you, Your Highness!

"Your Highness, will the sister who visited you last time come back?"

Lu Yin felt confused. "Which sister?"

Zhao Ran thought for a while and gestured about. When Lu Yin did not understand what she meant, Zhao Ran continued her gestures.

"Do you mean Bi Lan?" Lu Yin finally saw it. "Why are you asking about her?"

Zhao Ran happily answered, "She drank several cups of my tea, but I’m rotten goods, and I forgot about it for a bit. I told her that she never tried my tea, so I wanted to apologize to her."

Lu Yin smiled. "She’ll be arriving soon."

"Really? Then I'll prepare a cup for her!"

"Mhmm."

Bi Lan soon arrived. Technically, Madam Nalan was supposed to be the Merchant Exchange’s representative for the Origin Universe, but since she had only recently joined, she was still training, and Bi Lan remained in charge of the Origin Universe.

"I didn't expect to be called back so soon for business, Dao Monarch Lu." Bi Lan casually sat down across from Lu Yin with a smile.

Lu Yin smiled back. "Well, I do have a bit of business. Have you brought enough funds?"

"My Merchant Exchange always travels with enough funds no matter what universe we visit. How much would you like to exchange, Dao Monarch Lu, and for which currency?" Bi Lan answered confidently.

Lu Yin pointed behind her.

Bi Lan turned to look but saw nothing. Then, the void warped, and she grew bug-eyed as she saw the valley suddenly fill with an endless amount of flourishing crystals.

Bi Lan had conducted many transactions on behalf of the Merchant Exchange, and every transaction had been for substantial amounts, but this was her first time seeing such a tremendous amount of flourishing crystals.

In the past, her largest transaction had been 3 trillion, which was already an unusually large transaction as it had been conducted by peak powerhouses. However, the amount that Bi Lan was looking at now dwarfed all of her previous trades.

It was not the value that was shocking, but rather the sheer quantity.

"How much is this?" Bi Lan was shocked.

Lu Yin took a sip of his tea. "8 trillion."

Bi Lan was stunned. "Dao Monarch Lu, did you destroy the rainbow wall?"

Lu Yin laughed. "If the rainbow wall had been destroyed, I would have a lot more than 8 trillion, even if it would be difficult to transform the rainbow wall’s monarch essence back into flourishing crystals."

Bi Lan naturally knew this, but she was so taken aback by the amount before her that she could not help but ask that question.

She turned to stare at Lu Yin. Normally, it would be unthinkable for the Merchant Exchange to question where a client obtained their resources, but Bi Lan was far too curious.

This would not be the case if she were looking at 8 trillion star essence, but Lu Yin wanted to trade flourishing crystals, which were the Three Monarchs Universe’s currency. How could she not be curious about this?

She was absolutely certain that not even the Three Sovereigns themselves could take out this many flourishing crystals at once.

Where had Lu Yin obtained this wealth?

Suddenly, Bi Lan thought of a possibility: the Three Monarchs Universe had an imperial treasury that was used to replenish the rainbow wall. Could Lu Yin have gotten the flourishing crystals from there?

Zhao Ran arrived, and she was excited to see Bi Lan. "Sister, you’re really here? That's great! I have your tea ready!"

“Oh?” Bi Lan accepted the tea with raised eyebrows. She was being served something even stranger than before.

She looked back at Zhao Ran, who quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, Sister, but I’m rotten goods, and I completely forgot that you had already tried my tea and that you had even drank several cups."

Bi Lan quickly replied, "It's fine. There’s no need to apologize."

Lu Yin looked at Bi Lan with a half-smile that was not really a smile. It was clear that the woman had wanted to learn about Lu Yin through Zhao Ran, but she had clearly chosen the wrong person.

After Zhao Ran returned, Bi Lan calmed herself and refocused on Lu Yin. "Which universe’s currency would you like to trade for, Dao Monarch Lu?"

"The Origin Universe’s."

Bi Lan was stunned. "Please don’t joke around, Dao Monarch Lu. My Merchant Exchange has only recently established contact with the Origin Universe, so how could we help you with such a large exchange of resources?"

Lu Yin was not surprised, and he would have actually grown incredibly wary of the Merchant Exchange if Bi Lan had accepted the trade, as it would reveal that the Merchant Exchange was a truly terrifying entity.

"Then what about the Cyclic Universe?" Lu Yin suggested.

Bi Lan looked at Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch Lu, as this is your first transaction with us, please allow me to remind you of something. While the Cyclic Universe also uses star essence and star crystals, they will likely not be easy for your people to use."

Lu Yin smiled. "Thank you for the word of caution, but the monarch essence in these flourishing crystals is even more difficult for us to use, so it doesn't matter. I will trade for something else later, or wait until your Merchant Exchange has enough of my Origin Universe’s resources to trade for that."