Star Odyssey

Chapter 3248: That Person

Lu Yin's response caused the redness in Nutjob Lu's eyes to fade slightly. He acted as though he had achieved his goal, and he let out a mocking laugh.

If Nutjob Lu was killed by the most outstanding member of the Lu family to ever live, how would that make that old bastard, Lu Yuan, feel? While everyone wanted Nutjob Lu to die, would Lu Yuan truly be able to let it go? This was the biggest blow that Nutjob Lu could deal to Lu Yuan. If Lu Yuan carried a thorn in his heart, it would not just be a problem for him, but for the entire Lu family, including the brat.

Nutjob Lu's deranged laughter disgusted Lu Yin, and he looked at the madman with contempt. “Who was it?”

Nutjob Lu chuckled, seemingly delirious. When he spoke, his voice was low. "When I attacked you, someone capable of transcending the past and the present pushed through time to divert my Champions' Stage. How many people have ever been capable of doing such a thing?

"Of those people, how many could have acted instantly, knowing that you were in imminent danger?

"Only someone capable of acting across time, whose strength has merged with time itself, could have helped you. That moment, for that person, was a manifestation of their power sent down the River of Aeons. Their power has always been with you, and that allowed them to act instantly. If they had been even a second too late, it wouldn’t have worked. They only succeeded because their power has always been with you."

Lu Yin's pupils shrank in shock. "The... God of Death."

Nutjob Lu threw his head back. “Hahaha, that ancient battle, I never was able to understand it. At that time, the God of Death should have won. He had broken through to the Origin Realm and was invincible in the megaverse. No one could compare to him, not even True God. He was too strong, and his death energy was too powerful. Most of the experts who had surrounded him had died. At that moment, the Aeternals were ready to give up.

"But he lashed out with a single palm, and that attack missed. I was never able to understand why the God of Death missed at that moment.

"I could never piece together how missing that one strike managed to lead to his defeat. It was just one palm strike, after all."

When Nutjob Lu looked back at Lu Yin, both curiosity and a mocking glint could be seen. “Now, I understand. His palm strike didn’t miss. He sent it down the River of Aeons with the strength of an Ortuser in order to save your life. For him, touching the River of Aeons only took an instant, but for experts like True God, that moment might as well have been an eternity.

"That one palm strike caused him to lose. Despite his invincible combat power, he was ultimately torn apart and died by being hacked to pieces. Hahaha! Brat, you will never be able to repay your debt, never! Hahaha!

“Kill me! Kill me!”

Lu Yin blankly stared into Nutjob Lu’s crazed eyes. It was as though that ancient battle could be seen in the madman’s eyes, and Lu Yin was watching events unfold.

Why? Why had the God of Death paid such a terrible price to save Lu Yin? Torn apart, hacked to pieces—why? Why had he done it?

Lu Yuan suddenly appeared in front of Lu Yin, and a hand struck Nutjob Lu.

The madman’s pupils shrank as he stared at Lu Yuan. “No-”

Bang!

Nutjob Lu's head exploded, and blood dyed the sky red, startling Lu Yin from his stupor. He stared as Nutjob Lu's corpse fell, and then looked forward. Lu Yuan had executed the madman.

“Ancestor?”

Lu Yuan's eyes betrayed his conflicted feelings, and he gave Lu Yin a look of regret. "Little Seven, this was always between him and me. I’m sorry that you were dragged into such a mess. As for what he told you, don’t take it seriously. No one can confirm his story."

Lu Yin’s face had gone pale, and he swallowed hard. “The day the God of Death disappeared, where was Nutjob Lu?”

Lu Yuan’s body trembled, but he said nothing.

Lu Yin pushed harder, “Ancestor, where was Nutjob Lu? Where was he!”

"Where else could he have been? He was here in the Lu Sanctum, of course," Lu Yuan replied.

Lu Yin shook his head, his eyes vacant. “No, Ancestor, you’re lying to me. He wasn’t in the Lu Sanctum. He was with the God of Death, wasn’t he?”

Lu Yuan frowned. "How could he have possibly been with the God of Death? You're overthinking things. After Gu Yizhi experimented on him with Wielder-realm battle force, I kept him locked up in Lu Sanctum. He was never allowed out again."

Lu Tianyi approached and interjected, "Ancestor, Little Seven is now the Dao Monarch of the Heavens Sect and the ruler of the Origin Universe. There's no need to lie to him."

Lu Yuan turned and shot Lu Tianyi with a vicious glare.

Nothing more needed to be said. Lu Yin knew the truth.

Nutjob Lu had been with the God of Death on the day that he had disappeared, and thus, he had witnessed the battle. He had told Lu Yin the truth.

Lu Tianyi's expression grew conflicted. "Did the God of Death really die to save Little Seven?"

Lu Yin also looked at Lu Yuan, desperately hoping to hear a denial.

Lu Yuan sighed. "I don't know. I wasn't there, or else the God of Death wouldn't have disappeared. But yes, he was with the God of Death on that day. After Gu Yizhi's experiments with Wielder-realm battle force, I brought him back and asked the God of Death to help me discipline my grandson. The God of Death had a ruthless approach to such things, which was perfect for keeping someone in line. It was the same as how I once sent Tianyi to train under Chu Yi.

"I never thought that that would be our last goodbye.

"I don't know how the God of Death disappeared, or even if he's dead or alive. All I know he couldn't have known about you, Little Seven, let alone possess the power to see into the future. Even now, I can't see the future. Doing that requires traversing the River of Aeons, which isn't something that can be mastered by simply learning the power of time. The God of Death shouldn't have had such abilities.

"Looking back, Nutjob most likely turned into a Redback at that time. Aeternus got to him somehow."

Lu Yuan then set a hand on Lu Yin’s shoulder. "Little Seven, don't burden yourself with this matter. There's less than a one percent chance that the God of Death was the one who saved you. Nutjob only told you that to weigh you down with guilt, just as he wanted you to kill him so that I would carry the emotional burden. Even if the God of Death did save you, that would only prove that you were worth his sacrifice. You never knew him, but he only ever did what he believed to be right, no matter who became his enemy due to his actions.

"When he suppressed the astral beasts, he had to fight against Yellowy countless times, and their fights were often death matches. He never regretted anything that he did."

Lu Yin stood silently, death energy enveloping his hands as he stared at them blankly.

Lu Yuan and Lu Tianyi both left, taking Nutjob Lu’s corpse with them. They left Lu Yin alone to gather his thoughts.

Lu Yin continued standing in the same place, staring at the death energy that swirled around him. He was remembering that fateful day and the scarred hand that he had seen save him. Was it worth it? Was it really the God of Death? Why would he save me?

It rarely rained on the Lu Sanctum, but rain started to fall at this moment, and it washed away the blood that stained the ground.

Lu Yin looked up. The rain did not avoid him, instead falling right on top of him, carrying a bit of a chill.

Nutjob Lu's words continued to resonate in his mind.

‘At that time, the God of Death should have won. He had broken through to the Origin Realm and was invincible.’

‘He was too strong, and his death energy was too powerful.’

‘That one palm strike caused him to lose. Despite his invincible combat power, he was ultimately torn apart and died by being hacked to pieces.’

Lu Yin stared up at the rain as the clouds obscured the sky. It was as though he could see the River of Aeons itself. Down it, he caught a glimpse of a lonely figure. There was a scythe at his side, and his hands were scarred. His seemingly frail body stood against an endless horde of astral beasts. He alone held up the sky.

The God of Death... Was it really you?

Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect and stayed on the mountain behind it for a few days, refusing to see anyone.

A few days later, the Second Nightking arrived to deliver a report, "Dao Monarch, we’ve located the traitor Wu Heng. Lord Qing Ping has already captured him."

Wu Heng? That name rang a bell in Lu Yin’s memory.

Wu Heng had been an Arborean who had seemed to be under the control of Mr. Daheng, who had used peak powerhouses and other powerful cultivators to search for Peaks and Rivers Rocks. Mr. Daheng had sealed people’s cultivation progress and used that as leverage to control them. That was supposed to be how Mr. Daheng had controlled Wu Heng.

After Lu Yin confronted Mr. Daheng, Wu Heng had secretly approached Lu Yin and agreed to follow him, and he had then helped work against Mr. Daheng.

However, Wu Heng had actually been a spy for Aeternus all along. Joining Lu Yin to oppose Mr. Daheng had likely been part of some scheme to incite conflict between humanity’s powerhouses. Unfortunately, there was only so much that Wu Heng could accomplish. The list of spies that the Aeternals had leaked had exposed Wu Heng, and he had been forced to flee.

That had been the full extent of the man’s accomplishments. Exposing his status as a spy had been his last task as an Aeterus spy. After that, there had been no word about the man at all.

Senior Brother Qing Ping would have had no trouble capturing such a person. Lu Yin was well aware of Wu Heng's strength.

Some time later, Wu Heng was delivered to the Heavens Sect.

The man was an Arborean, and while it had been proven that he was a traitor, his status meant that he still had to be taken to Lu Yin for judgment.

Lu Yin looked at the pitiful and dejected man who stood before him, but he had no questions to ask the man. Lu Yin waved a hand, ordering the man to be taken away.

There had been a time when peak powerhouses like Wu Heng had been highly valued, but at the moment, Lu Yin saw such people as nothing more than slightly more powerful cultivators. No matter if it was Wu Heng or Yao Lan, neither was important enough for him to personally handle their cases.

Lu Yin had also come to understand certain details about his own past.

Why had people that he had offended when he had been weak not dealt with him? It was not that they had been incapable of doing so, but rather that they had not cared enough.

It was like having ants crawling on one’s feet; they could be brushed off, but no one would bother to crush the ants.

That kind of disregard was directly responsible for why many were able to successfully reverse their fates.

If Aeternus had foreseen the current balance of power, there was no way Lu Yin would have been allowed to grow and prosper.

It was said that humans were weak because of their emotions, but the reality was that all creatures were the same. Only instinct remained unchanging.

A starving beast would not spare someone just because they were an ant; it needed to eat.

As Lu Yin stared out at the distant stars, he reflected on the fact that the people from Tian Ci's megaverse seemed more like beasts. If that was the case, then why had they not acted sooner? Before the Origin Universe’s Heavens Sect’s second rise to power, that megaverse could have taken action and crushed them without any resistance while the Sixverse Association was still locked in a stalemate with Aeternus. Why had that not happened?

Also, there was Bai Xian'er to consider. If she had recovered Wei Nu's power sooner, she could have killed Lu Yin long ago. Why had she allowed him to escape and grow so strong?

Even at the moment, if Bai Xian’er managed to regain Wei Nu's full strength, she should still be capable of hunting LuYin down.

Lu Yin's eyes flickered. He had come to a rough understanding of the Aeternals’ goals, as well as those of the Boundary Guardians. However, human nature remained elusive to his understanding.

...

One day, a figure appeared in the Second Scourge. It was Ye Bo.

Ye Bo was, of course, Lu Yin in disguise. He had told the Three Realms and Six Daos that he cultivated divine energy, but until the Aeternals were completely defeated, he had no intention of revealing the matter to everyone, in order to prevent discord.

The moment that Ye Bo appeared and was not attacked by Wu Tian and the other human powerhouses, both the Aeternals and the humans understood who the man really was. But, with the mask that Ye Bo was wearing, knowing the truth and being able to prove it were two entirely different things.

On top of the black Mother Tree, True God stared into the distance, watching as Ye Bo slowly approached.