Star Odyssey

Chapter 2481: Where Is The Lu Family?

"You’ve never shown yourself before, but you’re doing so now. Is there a reason for your confidence?" Lu Yin asked.

Xia Shenji's clone looked at Lu Yin. "Yes. I'm not afraid that you'll break our agreement."

Lu Yin replied, "I never break my agreements. Still, I'm curious. What's the source of your confidence? Was this Liu Shaoge’s idea?"

"Him? While he's quite clever, he can't influence me in this matter. My confidence comes from you, Lu Xiaoxuan," Xia Shenji's clone replied.

Zhao Ran arrived to deliver a pot of poisonous-looking herbal tea. Lu Yin’s guest went stiff. Just what was the meaning of this? He gave Lu Yin a confused look.

Lu Yin did not see any anxiety in the man’s eyes. He truly was confident.

"Try it. This is a specialty of our Heavens Sect. All of our guests are offered a taste. It's quite refreshing," he said as he took a sip. The herbal tea had evolved yet again. This time, Lu Yin could see living creatures moving about within the tea. At least, they appeared to be living creatures.

Xia Shenji's clone did not move even after Lu Yin took a sip.

Zhao Ran eagerly stared, waiting for the man’s reaction.

"Your Lu family hasn't been destroyed," Xia Shenji's clone said while staring intently at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin's expression remained unchanged as he continued to sip his tea.

"I can find them," the clone continued.

Finally, something was said that gave Lu Yin pause. He lowered his tea cup and stared at Xia Shenji's clone. "I hope that you're not lying to me."

"In that case, why offer me this tea?" the man asked.

Lu Yin smiled. "Please."

Xia Shenji's clone nodded and took a sip of the herbal tea. Since Lu Yin was still offering him the tea even after he revealed his key information, it proved that the tea was safe. He did not believe that Lu Yin was unconcerned with the fate of the Lu family.

The sweetness and fragrance of flowers filled his mouth, along with a hint of bitterness. The tea tasted rather similar to a fruity drink, but it also still tasted like tea.

"Not bad," Xia Shenji's clone remarked.

Zhao Ran beamed. "I have other flavors as well! I'll go prepare some others for you!"

She then left with a spring in her step.

Xia Shenji's clone was a bit taken aback. "Your people here are quite lively."

Lu Yin tapped a finger on the table. "Where is my Lu family?"

The clone shook his head. "The reason why I didn't dare to meet you before was because, while I am indeed able to sense the existence of the Lu family, I cannot determine their location. However, I am completely certain that the Lu family is safe, because Prison Lock has not been broken yet.”

"Prison Lock is the secret technique that imprisoned the Lu family, but it also serves as a protective shield for them. As long as Prison Lock remains unbroken, the Lu family is safe from everything, aside from each other."

While Lu Yin's expression made him appear calm, countless emotions were mixing and churning within him. Mostly, he felt relieved.

He had always told himself that the Lu family would return and that they were not dead, but until reality proved it so, his heart had been constantly hanging in suspense. Shaman God had also said that the Lu family still lived, but how could Lu Yin trust the word of Aeternus? At this moment, he was finally receiving true confirmation.

Lu Yin took another sip of his tea. "As agreed, I have banished Xia Shenji. Once you become a Progenitor, you will be able to return to Shenwu's Sky and take control of it. When that time comes, I will help you."

Xia Shenji's clone complimented Lu Yin. "It’s no wonder why you have been able to come so far, Lu Xiaoxuan. I truly admire you. Not everyone has the confidence to make an enemy of one of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. Even if Lu Xiaoxuan had the entire Lu family as his support, he could not have accomplished as much as you by the same age."

Lu Yin looked over at the clone. "None of the masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas are even remotely simple people. Bai Wangyuan and Wang Fan have known of your existence for a long time. The only way I can help you is by keeping them from interfering in Shenwu's Sky's affairs. As for Xia Qin, you'll need to deal with her on your own."

The clone looked away. "Xia Qin's hatred for the direct line of the Xia family is not something that can be easily forgotten. Still, she is ultimately also a member of the Xia family. I might be just a clone, but I am still Xia Shenji."

Lu Yin suddenly asked, "How can a clone harm the main body?"

Several years ago, when Liu Yue had died, the four ruling powers had planned to consolidate their control over the entire Perennial World. While Lu Yin had conferred Nong Yi at that time, that was not nearly enough to disrupt such plans. The situation had only truly been disrupted because this clone had dealt serious injuries to Xia Shenji. At that time, Lu Yin had been shocked to learn that a clone could harm the main body from a distance. It seemed illogical.

If a clone could harm the main body, then why had Xia Jiuyou dared to be so relentless and aggressive in his pursuit of Xia Luo? Xia Shenji also should not have been so eager to chase after his clone. Also, it seemed that the death of a clone would have a massive impact on the main body.

Xia Shenji's clone took a sip of tea before replying, "This is a secret of the Nine Clones technique."

Lu Yin dropped the question. After all, he and the clone only had a cooperative relationship and were not true allies.

"Tell Liu Shaoge that I'll deliver the resources that I promised him. He can also seek asylum in the Fifth Mainland’s Heavens Sect, provided that he does not betray humanity," Lu Yin stated.

The clone soon left. He had also received asylum from the Heavens Sect and also obtained a power vessel from Lu Yin.

The man was absolutely certain that Lu Yin would not allow anything to happen to him, as he was essentially the beacon that could potentially lead to the Lu family’s return.magic

Lu Yin would have liked to keep the clone imprisoned within Heavens Sect, but he also did not want to violate their previous agreement.

Given how cautious the clone was, he could be allowed freely roam the universe, provided that he did not run into a Progenitor.

As for Liu Shaoge, Lu Yin was looking forward to seeing his future achievements. Surprisingly, he had not requested to have the Death Seal removed from his body, despite having requested it the first time when he and Lu Yin had made contact.

Just what were Liu Shaoge’s plans with the presence of the Death Seal? Lu Yin was quite curious.

…

The Fifth Mainland’s Lockbreakers had been truly lucky, as they had been allowed to personally witness the arrangement of the Sealing Path sourcebox array in Shenwu Continent. This sourcebox array far surpassed the previous sourcebox array that had been constructed with the five sealing planets. When Lu Yin had deceived Xia Shenji and a part of the Sealing Path had been opened, several Array Masters had been able to watch Grandmaster Gu Yan demonstrate his skills. At present, many Lockbreakers had flocked to Shenwu Continent, hoping the old man would accept new disciples.

Inside the Tower of Resonating Light, Grandmaster Gu Yan solemnly stared at the seven gigantic sourceboxes high above him. He raised a hand and brought out his wireless jincan. "Come quickly. We have a problem."

Several days later, Grandmaster Xiu Ming and Highsage Grandmaster both arrived. Three Array Grandmasters carefully examined the Sealing Path while performing numerous calculations.

"There’s a deviation in the position. The array is being affected by an unknown force," Highsage Grandmaster commented somberly.

"That influence must be coming from the other side," Grandmaster Xiu Ming replied.

Grandmaster Gu Yan took a few steps forward. Multiple strange objects on his body emitted a soft sound, which caused Highsage Grandmaster and Grandmaster Xiu Ming to both look over. "The Three Monarchs Universe is taking action. According to this continent’s historical records, there was a disturbance in the five sealing planets a thousand years ago, and that was what exposed the continent to the rest of the universe. Fortunately, the other side wasn’t able to force the passageway open. Since they're taking action again, they must have made some preparations."

"They also have Xia Shenji now," Highsage Grandmaster added.

Arch-Elder Zen emerged from the void. "Things will soon change again."

Lu Yin arrived soon after as well, and he observed the base of the Tower of Resonating Light. There were both pros and cons to sending Xia Shenji into the Three Monarchs Universe.

The pros were that Lu Yin’s universe no longer held the threat of Xia Shenji for a time, which greatly reduced the pressure that Lu Yin had to deal with. However, it was quite likely that Xia Shenji would explain the situation of their universe to the three Monarchs and help them try to open the passage, which was a terrible threat to the Fifth Mainland.

"Senior, you said that your Sealing Path can hold for a thousand years. What about now?" Lu Yin asked. The reason why he had decided to exile Xia Shenji to the Three Monarchs Universe was because Grandmaster Gu Yan had promised that the sourcebox array would remain strong for a thousand years. In that amount of time, Lu Yin was confident that he could become a Semi-Progenitor, which would drastically change the balance of power in their universe. At that time, it would no longer be impossible for him to face the three Monarchs and Xia Shenji at once.

Grandmaster Gu Yan replied, "I told you that it would hold for a thousand years, and so it will. Even if you add another Xia Shenji or Bai Wangyuan to the mix, it would not matter. This has nothing to do with strength of cultivation. It is nearly impossible to open a passageway between parallel universes. Long ago, Gu Yue was able to seal the passage with the five sealing planets that he left behind here. I have personally set up the Sealing Path, and if I can't block this passage for at least a thousand years, I'll have wasted my life."

Lu Yin nodded. As long as the passageway would remain blocked for a thousand years, everything would be fine.

Bai Wangyuan and the other Progenitors from the four ruling powers were in no hurry to save Xia Shenji. The four ruling powers were not on friendly terms with each other.

"What if I want to go over?" Lu Yin asked.

Grandmaster Gu Yan was caught off guard. "You want to visit the other universe?"

Lu Yin replied, "I can't always take the passive role. I need to understand the situations in the various parallel universes."

Grandmaster Gu Yan considered the question for a moment before answering, "It's not impossible, but it would be very dangerous. If you are discovered while in transit through the passage, they'll most likely be able to open it completely. That would fully connect the two universes, and those results are completely unpredictable.

"You need to think this through carefully."

Lu Yin stared at the bottom of the Tower of Resonating Light. For the moment, the situation in their own universe was quite clear. Without the threat of Aeternus, the only factions remaining were Lu Yin’s own, the four ruling powers, and various neutral parties, such as Progenitor Smoke. These factions maintained a delicate balance, but if the Three Monarchs Universe entered the picture, things would shift, and not to Lu Yin’s advantage.

Well, not unless Xia Shenji and the three Monarchs became enemies.

"It's shifting again. The people on the other side are determined to destroy the sourcebox array," Grandmaster Xiu Ming said.

Lu Yin looked up at the enormous sourceboxes that had been used to set up the Sealing Path. "Senior, what would happen if someone unlocks such huge sourceboxes?"

For a moment, Grandmaster Gu Yan looked as though he had just eaten a dead fly. "You don't want to even try. It's a hopeless process. Those sourceboxes are absolutely massive, and it would take thousands of years to unlock one of them. Even if you succeed, you might find nothing at all inside, and that’s a feeling that you'll never be able to forget.”

"There are records of people opening similarly massive sourceboxes, but the results…"

The man did not finish his sentence, but Lu Yin could already guess that the outcome had been less than stellar. Judging by Grandmaster Gu Yan's reaction to the question, the man might have even tried to do so in the past himself.

"Regardless of the size of the sourcebox, if I gave you ten sourceboxes to open, at best, only one would contain anything at all. The same is true for these massive sourceboxes. Are you willing to spend millions of years lockbreaking just to end up with nothing?" Xiu Ming asked.

"Not even Progenitors have so much time to waste," added Highsage Grandmaster.

Lu Yin pursed his lips. As long as he had enough money, he would also have enough time.

After asking Grandmaster Gu Yan and the other Array Grandmasters to keep an eye on Shenwu Continent again, Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect. It was time to implement the next step of his plan, which was to understand their universe.

Understanding a universe was a grandiose idea, even for a Progenitor. At most, they would only seek to understand things that concerned them directly. However, Lu Yin's goal was to gain a major understanding of everything happening in his own universe, and he intended to do so with Possession. He would roll his die and Possess various cultivators and take their memories.

Lu Yin’s strength meant that he could Possess a Semi-Progenitor at best, regardless of whether the target was a cultivator or one of Aeternus’s corpse kings.