Star Odyssey Chapter 2023

Chapter 2023

A simple looking royal scepter mysteriously appeared in Ni Huang’s hand. He froze in place and blinked in confusion. Even after trying to get rid of the thing in all sorts of ways, it remained stubbornly stuck to him. He glared back at Marquis Wang in frustration when something suddenly appeared in his memory. The man’s face twisted into an expression of disbelief. “You were the gatemaster of the Rainflower Gate. You’re the one who became Marquis Wang?”

Marquis Wang did not reply as she calmly stared back at the man. The next moment, the royal scepter shone brightly before violently erupting into a beam of light that pierced Ni Huang’s body. He heaved violently and spat out a mouthful of blood. He struggled to even remain upright as he clutched at the hole that had opened up in his chest. He was in agony, and his face was pale.

Wang Si and the other Semi-Progenitors were all horrified. They had a good idea of just how strong Ni Huang was. He was at the cusp of becoming a Progenitor, and no Semi-Progenitor in the Perennial World could defeat the man. It was unbelievable for him to have been so badly injured by someone within the same realm.

Lu Yin’s hair stood on end. What the hell had just happened?

Arch-Elder Zen also did not understand what had happened. He had been very young during the Daosource Sect’s era, and thus did not not have much knowledge of it.

Only Jiu Yao seemed to understand something, and he stared at Marquis Wang with open fear.

The sight of Ni Huang’s terrible injuries meant that no one moved forward for some time. They were all unconsciously holding themselves back out of fear that they would be next.

At the same time, Ancestor Tortoise sped up as it charged toward the Starfall Sea. The luminous fruit in front of the giant tortoise was particularly eye-catching.

Marquis Wang turned to face the rapidly approaching tortoise, and her eyes fell on Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was instantly covered with goosebumps. He had seen Ni Huang’s tragic fate. The scariest thing was not how powerful this woman was, but rather the mysterious method that she had used to injure Ni Huang.

Lu Yin immediately brought out the candle and lit it. His pupils transformed into runes as he stared intensely at Marquis Wang. He refused to believe that the bizarre attack she had used had no runes, and as long as there were runes, he could use the candle to weaken the attack.

Marquis Wang made no effort to block Ancestor Tortoise, and it smoothly moved past her and continued on towards the Starfall Sea.

Far ahead of them, but still in their path, was a body that stretched from the ground far up into the sky. The ancient and absurdly powerful body belonged to Corpse God. This was the true body of one of the Seven Skygods.

Wang Wen became increasingly anxious as they drew closer. “Are we really going to charge straight forward? Where’s the Sky Pillar?”

“I have it,” Lu Yin answered without any change in his expression.

There was a moment of silence as Wang Wen slowly processed Lu Yin’s words. He then burst out with a nervous laugh. “You have it? You’re joking, right?”

Lu Yin said nothing.

Wang Wen completely lost his last bit of composure. “You’ve gone mad! You’re just an Envoy, for heaven’s sake! How are you going to use the Sky Pillar to seal off the Starfall Sea?”

“My predictions were that, in the worst case scenario, someone would leak our plan to Aeternus. If that happened, they would make sure to hold back all of the human Semi-Progenitors no matter what it cost. That’s going to be my opening,” Lu Yin calmly replied.

Wang Wen could not remain nearly as calm. “Even if you make it to the passage, how are you going to seal it?”

Lu Yin confidently answered, “I don’t need to seal it. All I have to do is take the Sky Pillar out, and then the Progenitor of Combat and Progenitor of Bloodlines will handle things from there.”

Wang Wen’s eye started to spasm. “I’d always believed you to be a very rational, meticulous, and cautious person. But now, I realize that you also have a batshit crazy side!”

Lu Yin let out a long sigh as they rapidly approached the passage to the Starfall Sea. Was he crazy? Not necessarily. The Seven Skygods should be aware of Shaman God’s plan, so it was not likely that any of them would instantly kill Lu Yin. However, he was still facing Aeternus, so there were no guarantees. Lu Yin was definitely gambling with his life at this moment. Still, it was worth the risk. The people that he cared for were in the Fifth Mainland, and this place had given him a place with a sense of belonging. Even if humanity’s chances of victory dropped even lower, Lu Yin would still take this risk.

Fleeing was the absolute last resort. Before that, he, just like everyone else, would use everything at his disposal to fight for the future of humanity in the Fifth Mainland.

The sight of Ancestor Tortoise racing towards the passageway at full speed baffled Ni Huang and the others. Was the Sky Pillar on Ancestor Tortoise’s back?

As Ancestor Tortoise moved closer to the passage to the Starfall Sea, Corpse God’s features grew clearer, and his massive form loomed overhead.

Kui Luo hopped onto Ancestor Tortoise. “Kid, what are you doing?”

Lu Yin stared at the body that rose up from the ground and towered in the sky out of sight. Planets were nothing more than grains of sand compared to this figure. Even after witnessing some of Progenitor Chen’s memories, Lu Yin had never thought that a living being could reach such a size. Corpse God was far, far bigger than Progenitor Chen had ever been.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The beating of Corpse God’s heart sent fluctuations through space. His scarlet eyes fell onto Ancestor Tortoise.

Ancestor Tortoise’s dull eyes suddenly gained clarity. It stopped in its tracks and stared straight at Corpse God.

Corpse God, who was holding open the passage to the Starfall Sea, slowly lowered his head. Then, he released a soul-piercing roar. A shockwave swept across the Fifth Mainland, shattering planets and disintegrating entire galaxies. The Astral River started flowing in reverse as it parted like curtains.

It struck Lu Yin like a punch to the head. His brain was rattled, and he nearly fell off of Ancestor Tortoise.

Arch-Elder Zen and the other Semi-Progenitors spat out massive amounts of blood. The stronger the individual, the more severely they were affected by this roar.

Ancestor Tortoise stared at the massive figure in front of it, and fear filled its enormous eyes. It then turned and fled.

The Mavis family had never seen Ancestor Tortoise be so scared before. During its encounter with Ancient God, it had revealed absolutely no fear despite facing another one of the Seven Skygods. However, at the moment, the tortoise acted as though it had met its natural enemy.

“Quick! We need to get off!” Lu Yin held onto Kui Luo.

Kui Luo gritted his teeth. Facing one of the Seven Skygods in their true, monstrous form was the last thing the old man wanted to do.

“He can’t attack you! Progenitor Hui’s power is restricting him!” Lu Yin yelled as he dragged Kui Luo along and leaped off of Ancestor Tortoise. Lu Yin pulled out the eggshell that he had received from Tian Dao. It was the egg of an ancient creature, and after being Enhanced twice, it could endure attacks from someone with the Second Nightking’s strength.

The Second Nightking was an eight-tribulation Envoy who possessed a power level of 1.2 million. This meant that the eggshell could withstand attacks stronger than what the mental network allowed. Anyone who wanted to break through the shell had to use a powerful attack that would immediately trigger the mental network and cause them to be trapped.

Marquis Wang’s eyes locked onto Lu Yin. She had not thought much of this person before, as she had only been paying attention to Ancestor Tortoise. However, after Corpse God’s roar had frightened the beast into fleeing, Marquis Wang had noticed that a particular Envoy had stuck around. It was clear that this person was up to something.

She suddenly heard Ancient God’s voice in her ear. “Capture this child. Don’t kill him.”

Lu Yin entered the eggshell and told Kui Luo, “Throw me over!”

Kui Luo blinked at Lu Yin’s bizarre appearance.

At this same time, Lu Yin threw out an Enhanced flash bomb. This was not an attack, but a signal.

Before they launched their attack, Lu Yin had informed all of the Semi-Progenitors that whoever released this particular signal would be the one carrying the Sky Pillar, and everyone would then need to assist that person to get to the passage to the Starfall Sea. The Sky Pillar would not be taken out before that person reached their destination to prevent Aeternus from figuring out the plan.

When they saw that Lu Yin was the one releasing the agreed-upon signal, Ni Huang and other Semi-Progenitors were all momentarily stunned.

None of them had expected Lu Yin to be carrying the Sky Pillar. A mere Envoy stepping onto a battlefield for Semi-Progenitors was simply digging their own grave.

Jiu Chi, Lan Xian, Xue Laogui, Herb Immortal, Jiu Yao, and every other Semi-Progenitor immediately shot after Lu Yin to protect him as he advanced.

Kui Luo’s spiritual force swept out, and a large portion of it moved towards Marquis Wang’s direction, as she posed the greatest threat to them.

Marquis Wang did not see Kui Luo’s attack approaching her, and she was actually stunned by the terrifying spiritual force.

The Nine Clones Secret Technique did not always mean that a person had nine clones. One of her clones was caught up with the Chief Justice, a second was keeping an eye on Ni Huang, and a third was holding back five other Semi-Progenitors, including Jiu Chi. Kui Luo’s spiritual force managed to knock back all of the clones, which allowed Jiu Chi and everyone else to chase after Lu Yin and help him advance.

Ancient God’s expression changed. With all of the Semi-Progenitors protecting Lu Yin as he traveled to the passage to the Starfall Sea, it became clear that humanity had a feasible strategy to stop Aeternus. He could no longer remain a spectator. His hair grew longer, and a strange purplish-black substance wrapped around his right arm and gave off a dim glow. After that, he attacked Arch-Elder Zen.

This slashing attack was not a battle technique, and it was just an ordinary attack. However, the purplish-black substance gave Arch-Elder Zen a chill that pierced to his very bones. Years of dealing with life-or-death situations told the man that this substance was anything but ordinary.

The closer Ancient God’s attack came, the louder Arch-Elder Zen’s instincts screamed that he was in an extremely dangerous situation. It was even worse than the dire situation during the final war in the Daosource Sect’s era all those years ago.

Arch-Elder Zen had built up and protected the Hall of Honor, which had only been made possible by fighting countless battles where he had put his life on the line. The instincts that he had honed over those years had already saved him on more than one occasion.

At this moment, those instincts were screaming that this was not an attack that could be blocked.

Arch-Elder Zen raised a hand and used a secret technique: Banishment.

Ancient God’s right arm swept down as he was sent ten thousand meters away. The void opened where the arm fell, cleanly torn open like a piece of paper that was cut by a sharp blade.

Arch-Elder Zen stared in horror. As his feeling of incomparable danger slowly eased, he finally asked, “What sort of power is that?”

In response, Ancient God reached for Arch-Elder Zen with his right arm.

Arch-Elder Zen’s instincts flared with warning once again. He did not dare to let Ancient God touch him. The old man let out a long breath, and a stream of qi slowly drifted out of his body before forming into a figure. The figure’s eyes snapped open, and visible ripples swept towards Ancient God. “A Thousand Calamities.”

Ancient God hesitated in the middle of his attack. He had been trapped in an illusion, and terrible pain wracked his entire body. He looked down and saw countless tiny insects devouring his flesh and blood. The pain of being eaten alive was then magnified countless times over until not even he could bear it.

Then, another stream of qi appeared behind Arch-Elder Zen. This stream took on Progenitor Hui’s appearance, which then began frantically setting up a sourcebox array. This was the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.

As the founder of the Hall of Honor, Arch-Elder Zen was the first person to successfully cultivate the Tri-Yang Ancestral Qi Technique.

The cultivation realm of the technique’s user determined the realm of the summons. The Progenitor Hui that Arch-Elder Zen had summoned was from when the man had been a Semi-Progenitor. The figure who was currently torturing Ancient God similarly had the same level of power.

Ancient God and Arch-Elder Zen had both begun to reveal the true depths of their strength.

The eggshell that Lu Yin was hiding within continued shooting towards the passage to the Starfall Sea while being escorted by a group of Semi-Progenitors. Lu Yin glared at Corpse God, and he refused to look away even when Corpse God locked eyes with him. However, Lu Yin’s confidence was nothing more than a facade to hide his terrible anxiety at this moment. He was in front of an extremely ancient Progenitor who was the true body of one of the Seven Skygods. Forget the eggshell—even if Mister Mu was present, it would still be a very dangerous situation.

All Corpse God needed to do was move a single hand and squish Lu Yin to a paste, or let out a roar that would blast him dead.

At this moment, Lu Yin felt as though he was face to face with certain death.

There was no backing out from this point. Even Ni Huang, who was from the Perennial World, was risking his life for the Fifth Mainland, though the man may not have realized it. This was not because the man cared about the Fifth Mainland even slightly, but rather because any human would naturally fight to the death when facing their ancient enemy.

All enmity among the various humans had been forgotten at this moment. Everyone was entirely focused on humanity’s worst enemy.

Lu Yin arrived at the location where Ancestor Tortoise had reached before fleeing, but this time, he continued moving forward. He was getting closer and closer to Corpse God.