Star Odyssey

Chapter 3487: The Goal

The Old Man Under the Stars? Lu Yin found the name vaguely familiar. Old Tao had mentioned it once before, while they were traveling to Ninering City.

Tian Ya explained, "It seems that you don't know about the Old Man Under the Stars. Well, that’s perfectly normal, given your youth.

"However, if you've visited Ninering City, you might have heard a legend about the Old Man Under the Stars. He once left a water spire there, and he even surpassed the High Seraph for a time. However, when he died, his water spire was destroyed.

"He was from the same generation as the High Seraph, and he was even a Seraph at the same time as the current High Seraph. They both witnessed the unique sight during the Day of Offering.

"But the Old Man Under the Stars was killed by High Seraph."

Hu Wu clenched her hands into fists as her eyes grew bloodshot. "My grandfather was the real High Seraph! Back then, the High Seraph couldn’t compare to my grandfather. The position was originally intended for my grandfather. However, the current High Seraph used a spar as an excuse to ambush and kill my grandfather, and then he erased his legend. No one in the entire Spirit Nidus speaks of the Old Man Under the Stars anymore, and it’s all because of the High Seraph!

"I am determined to eliminate the High Seraph and avenge my grandfather."

Tian Ya nodded. "My master treated me as his own child. The High Seraph killed my master, and we must avenge him. However, after all these years, I understand quite well just how powerful the High Seraph has become: he’s an overwhelming force that we can't measure up to.

"Neither Hu Wu nor I are strong enough to kill the High Seraph. We’re not even close to that level.

"Hu Wu is impulsive. She’s wanted to storm into the Ascendant Hall for a long time, but on her own, she would have never had any hope of success. Only by joining forces can we gain strength, but I’m not willing to die for no reason. That is the source of all our arguments, as well as the reason for all the battles we’ve fought throughout these years.

"We’ve made a pact: we will take the title of Seraph and get close to him. That will be our chance to try to kill him. Our opportunity will be our technique, Thunderclap—Skyrend."

Hu Wu’s voice was filled with despair. "However, our attack is unable to hurt even you, let alone the High Seraph."

Lu Yin agreed, "You two really are incapable of harming the High Seraph. A single slap from him would kill you both."

Tian Ya sighed. Despite it being true, it was a hard thing to hear.

Hu Wu clenched her fists tightly. "Thunderclap—Skyrend is our only possible technique that might be able to kill High Seraph. If even that attack fails, I truly don’t know what to do."

Tian Ya bitterly commented, "Given our cultivation... We can’t outlive the High Seraph. He will likely enter the Immortal realm soon. Some time ago, the High Seraph wanted to send powerful experts to invade the Tianyuan Megaverse, hoping to achieve Immortality by resetting that megaverse. We wanted to destroy that plan, but we were powerless to do so. After all, three Seraphs were part of that invasion, which is more than what we can handle.

"We can't even upset his plans, and yet we want to kill the High Seraph. What a joke!"

Hu Wu was unwilling to accept their situation. "Regardless, we first need to get close to him, and then we can talk. We must obtain the title of Seraph."

Tian Ya placed his hand over Hu Wu's.

The woman quivered, but she did not push the hand away. She allowed Tian Ya to hold her hand.

Throughout the years, Tian Ya had indulged his wife’s stubbornness, and he had fought her for so long. She felt guilty towards him, but there was also the pang of heartache.

Tian Ya could have made a name for himself across the megaverse. No matter which of the thirty-six domains, or even the Ascendant Hall, he could have become an unparalleled expert.

Instead, he had stayed at her side, carrying this hatred with her.

Her grandfather's teachings and kindness had been repaid long ago. Tian Ya had stayed for Hu Wu alone.

Lu Yin took a sip of tea. Everyone had their own story, but Hu Wu and Tian Ya’s story just happened to coincide with Lu Yin’s goals.

As he thought about this, a spiral of karma twirled about his fingertip and then shot at both Hu Wu and Tian Ya in an instant.

The two could feel something, but they were unable to perceive the spiral of karma. They felt like something was about to strike them, which was the same as Mr. Li. While the two were unable to perceive the spiral of karma, they could still sense something.

Still, they were unable to avoid the spiral. Not even a powerful Dukkhan, like Mr. Li, could avoid Lu Yin’s spirals of karma.

When the spiral passed through them, they felt the sensation even clearer than ever.

Hu Wu and Tian Ya simply closed their eyes and offered no resistance. After all, they knew that there was nothing they could do.

They did not know what Lu Yin was doing. Killing them? Suppressing them? Neither mattered any longer. This was the path that they had chosen for themselves.

There was no hatred or resentment, only a sliver of unwillingness.

The spiral of karma continued through Hu Wu and Tian Ya. Lu Yin could see threads of karma and caught glimpses of their pasts. He was not able to see everything clearly, as karma was different from reviewing a person’s memories through his die’s Possession. Still, each thread of karma allowed him to roughly sort out the pair’s connections to others.

At the least, Lu Yin was certain that neither Hu Wu nor Tian Ya had lied to him.

They truly knew nothing about the Grandverse Manor and Lu Yin’s title as its Third Boss. It was also absolutely certain that they wanted to kill the High Seraph.

One was driven by gratitude, while the other was merely stubborn. However, even the stubborn one was quite rational. She would not simply charge off to the Ascendant Hall on her own; she needed to drag the other along with her.

If not for their contrasting personalities and close bond, both would have died long ago.

The two were essentially bound together. No matter how badly one of them might want to go in a different direction, they needed to drag the other along, while the other stubbornly pulled back. Their situation was quite interesting.

"Come to think of it, what you're attempting to do is the same as me," Lu Yin stated as he took a sip of tea.

Hu Wu and Tian Ya both turned to look at Lu Yin, confused by his comment.

Lu Yin smiled at them. "Leave. Go and look around, find out about what’s been happening beyond this place, and then return to talk to me."

Hu Wu and Tian Ya exchanged looks, growing even more confused.

"You want to... let us leave?" Hu Wu asked.

Lu Yin replied, "You'll come back."

The two stood. If it was possible to avoid death, then they would accept. It was not something they wished for.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Hu Wu could not hold back her question.

Lu Yin said nothing. He calmly enjoyed his tea, still sitting in place.

Tian Ya grabbed Hu Wu's hand and led her away, leaving the landmass.

After the two left, Lu Yin looked around the peach orchard. It was a beautiful place, and it stood in stark contrast to the desolate land where the red rain fell, beyond the hidden paradise.

Old Tao and the others soon arrived. "Third Boss, you're not hurt, are you?"

Astral Anura was staring at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin replied, "No, sit down. This tea is quite good. Maid, pour some more."

Palace Master Yao obeyed and prepared cups of tea for everyone.

Cai Keqing stared off into the distance. She had not expected Hu Wu and Tian Ya to have a hidden paradise.

The rumors outside always claimed that Hu Wu and Tian Ya were constantly fighting each other, trying to kill the other, but was that not merely one part of their lives?

Lu Yin stayed in the peach orchard, contemplating the Thunderclap—Skyrend battle technique. For a moment, not even he had been able to resist the attack. Could the High Seraph block it?

While the attack certainly would not be enough to actually harm the High Seraph, if it could stun him in the same way that it had Lu Yin and then the Origin Progenitor joined the fight, it might prove possible to severely injure the High Seraph.

What made the High Seraph most terrifying was not his actual strength, but the fact that no one could determine the man’s true power.

No one knew the High Seraph’s limits.

Beyond the landmass, Lu Yin’s observers saw Hu Wu and Tian Ya leave, which confused everyone.

Has the Third Boss changed his ways? He didn’t even kidnap Hu Wu and Tian Ya?

The people wanted to ask Hu Wu what had happened, but no one had the courage to do so.

Hu Wu and Tian Ya had just been defeated by Lu Yin, but that did not mean that they were people whom the observers could afford to offend. In fact, forget the observers—not even the seven major powers would dare to antagonize Hu Wu and Tian Ya without sufficient cause. Both of them were powerful Ortusers, and together, they could compare to one of the Seven Seraphs.

A few days later, Lu Yin was still enjoying some tea in the peach orchard, with Palace Master Yao docilely serving him.

Hu Wu and Tian Ya returned, and Palace Master Yao and the others left.

Lu Yin lowered his teacup and looked at the two. "That was faster than expected."

Hu Wu and Tian Ya looked at Lu Yin with strange expressions. They had made a point to inquire about this Third Boss over the last few days, and that had allowed them to realize who they had fought.

How had such a person appeared in the Spirit Nidus?

The Grandverse Manor was infamous for violating the restriction of the Spirit Nidus, and they had even offended the Ascendant Hall.

As for their Third Boss, he was even bolder, having openly declared that he would carve on the Apex Palace. That was not merely offending the Ascendant Hall and the High Seraph, but openly rebelling against the Spirit Nidus as a whole.

The man that they had faced was far more ruthless than they themselves.

"You, are you really planning to rebel against the Spirit Nidus?" Hu Wu asked, stunned.

Lu Yin smiled. "Yes. Will you join me?"

"Why?" Tian Ya felt danger. This person might have the same goal as them, but who was he? Where was he from? They could not make any sense of him.

There were many rumors floating about, and there was one that the couple was almost entirely convinced was actually true: the Third Boss was from the Tianyuan Megaverse.

The Grandverse Manor had come from the Tianyuan Megaverse, seeing that the Big Boss was Seraph Yuan Qi. However, it was possible that not even Yuan Qi was stronger than the Third Boss.

There was no doubt that this man was as strong as the Seven Seraphs.

Hu Wu and Tian Ya had asked around and gotten a clearer picture of the situation during their first day out. In the following days, because of their concerns, they had continued to ask around and talk with others.

Finally, after receiving repeated confirmations, they had returned.

They had returned because they could finally see an opportunity to deal with the High Seraph. There was no way they could deal with that man on their own.

Lu Yin had been confident that the couple would return, and that was partly because of Hu Wu.

Hu Wu was a stubborn person. For many years, she had wanted to drag Tian Ya to attack the Ascendant Hall, which meant that she would never abandon the opportunity that Lu Yin represented.

If Tian Ya were on his own, Lu Yin would not be so sure, as the man was a very rational person.

The more reasonable Tian Ya was, the less he would want to get involved with Lu Yin and the Grandverse Manor, as they involved matters beyond what Tian Ya could understand.

Lu Yin made the two some tea. "I am from the Tianyuan Megaverse."

Neither was surprised.

"The Tianyuan Megaverse was going to be reset. I learned about that, so I came here," Lu Yin bluntly explained.

Tian Ya asked, "Do you want to overthrow the Spirit Nidus?"

Lu Yin chuckled. "You could say that, but it’s not that exaggerated. As long as we can deal with the High Seraph, the Spirit Nidus will no longer pose a threat to the Tianyuan Megaverse.

"Your Spirit Nidus has looked down on my megaverse for many years. The people here are convinced that Yuan Qi laid the groundwork for a reset eons ago. Even sending a few people should be enough of an invasion to reset the Tianyuan Megaverse.

"The truth is that my megaverse is far stronger than is believed."

Tian Ya sighed. "From what we’ve seen from you, that’s quite clear."

Hu Wu's eyes lit up. "We have no intention of resetting the Tianyuan Megaverse. Immortality is too vague and elusive for us to pursue. I merely want to kill the High Seraph. You can do that, can’t you?"

Lu Yin looked up and met her gaze. "That will be very difficult."

Hu Wu did not argue, as Lu Yin spoke the truth.

"No one knows the High Seraph’s limits, which is the hardest detail when working against him. If we could understand him, defeating him becomes possible," Lu Yin stated as he set his teacup down. "You don’t need to pursue the title of Seraph. With your strength, you can’t take it. After all, for you to be victorious, both of you need to work together.

"I'll go and fight for the title of Seraph and get closer to the High Seraph. I’ll push to find his limits."

This time, Hu Wu said nothing in protest.

They all had the same goal, and Lu Yin was better suited for probing the High Seraph’s limits. After all, the Third Boss’s own strength was unfathomable to the couple.

Both he and the High Seraph were monsters in the eyes of Hu Wu and Tian Ya.

Was it not reasonable for one monster to make trouble for another?

The two stood and bowed low to Lu Yin. "While targeting the High Seraph was already a part of your original plan, Hu Wu and Tian Ya will still remember your favor. Please accept our gratitude."