Star Odyssey Chapter 2564: Tragic

Chapter 2564: Tragic

Arch-Elder Zen sighed after hearing Progenitor Long’s comment. “Senior, you should understand how important seclusion is for a cultivator. If the Dao Monarch rashly ends his training early and his cultivation subsequently destabilized, who will take responsibility?”

“We are not ignorant of Lu Yin; any time he has entered seclusion to train, he has never done so for more than a single year. While we may not know what he does while in seclusion, it is clear that such training is not highly important to him,” Progenitor Long said.

“Then wait. As you said, it will not be more than a year,” Arch-Elder Zen replied.

“But Sage Yuan cannot be kept waiting!” Progenitor Long retorted impatiently.

“Since when did Progenitor Long become Sage Yuan’s lackey?” Lu Yin’s voice cut through the air, a mix of indifference and irritation evident in his tone as he emerged from the void.

Progenitor Long’s eyes locked onto Lu Yin. “Child, despite your accomplishments, you should refrain from insulting me.”

Lu Yin casually took a seat. “Am I wrong? What is so impressive about Sage Yuan? Why doesn’t he come push me himself? The Cyclic Universe, the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages… They’re truly amazing. For all his arrogance, he got you to speak for him. What a joke.”

“This is not the time to argue. The war between the various parallel universes and Aeternus is raging right now,” Progenitor Long reprimanded.

Lu Yin chuckled. “Have you already forgotten how hard we fought to drive away Aeternus from this universe?”

Arch-Elder Zen looked at Progenitor Long.

Progenitor Long remained silent.

Fighting had never ceased between the Perennial World and Aeternus on the rear battlefield. The Fifth Mainland had similarly fought an endless war against the Neohuman Alliance, which had eventually forced them to open the sourcebox that had released the people from the Heavens Sect era. Also because of that, Lu Yin had ended up traveling through space and time, which had caused him to disappear for twenty years. It could be said that all of human history was tangled up with the war against Aeternus.

“After all of the challenges we faced in order to defeat Aeternus, you’re going to allow them back here because of just a few words? Isn’t that ridiculous? What was the point of all our efforts?” Lu Yin questioned.

Progenitor Long’s expression grew conflicted, and his voice dropped as he replied, “We are all aware of this. This matter has caused Progenitor Smoke to go into seclusion. She refuses to speak to anyone. Furthermore, while I don’t know who leaked the news, the entire Perennial World is making accusation against those who are demanding that we re-start the war with Aeternus. But what can we do?”

The old man stared at Lu Yin. “Aeternus is at war with the Sixverse Association, as well as all of humanity here in the Fifth Mainland. Each small battlefield is nothing more than a single part of the whole, but if any one of us loses, it will cause total defeat for all.

“When Aeternus attacked you, the Perennial World stepped forward to resist the majority of their forces, which allowed you the chance to catch your breath. Later, Undying God’s interference led to the rear battlefield being destabilized, and then you opened the passage to the Starfall Sea in order to take some of the pressure off of the rear battlefield. If not for those moments of assistance, how could we ever have held back Aeternus?

“While I hate to admit it, Aeternus was repelled partially because of the Sixverse Association. They were the ones who maintained the pressure on Aeternus.”

Lu Yin looked up. “They didn’t do that for us, but for themselves. Aeternus is fighting a war that spans every single universe that makes up the Sixverse Association. When the Seven Skygods were drawn here to the Fifth Mainland, the Sixverse Association seized that opportunity to reclaim lost territory. We helped them, not the other way around. Even in normal circumstances, the Sixverse Association and Aeternus would have established a stalemate, so why are they insisting that we restart the war here? It’s simply because they want to keep the territory that they reclaimed and gain a strategic advantage. They want to minimize their own sacrifices.

“If they refuse to sacrifice anything, we will end up being the ones to suffer. The Fifth Mainland has finally attained peace, yet now we’re being forced to take the war back up, just for the Sixverse Association. Senior, can you blame people for cursing you?”

Progenitor Long shot to his feet with a bang. He openly expressed his rage as he glared at Lu Yin. “Ridiculous! All you are doing is spouting speculations! You have taken the lead in the war multiple times in the past, so how can you not understand the importance of seeing the bigger picture? You should already realize that this is far beyond the gains or losses of a single city or even a region. You refuse to step back into the war because the Cyclic Universe banished your Lu family! You’re after revenge!”

Lu Yin gave a small smile. “I will get revenge, but not this way.”

Progenitor Long’s tone turned grave, “Lu Yin, if the Sixverse Association suffers a terrible defeat, Aeternus will then be able to focus their full strength on us. We won’t be able to endure that. What we need right now is balance.”

“There is no such thing as balance,” Lu Yin coldly retorted. “All that there is is a calamity being pushed upon us so that people can watch others die without saving them.”

Lu Yin had overheard a conversation between Xu Xiangyin and the other Semi-Progenitor level experts who oversaw the Sixverse Academy. Lu Yin had learned of the Sixverse Association’s attitude regarding the Origin Universe. On top of that, he had also learned the true motivations behind the Lu family’s banishment from Bai Qian.

From the Sixverse Association’s perspective, the Origin Universe was the one responsible for allowing Aeternus to grow in power. The association’s universes did not care about the Origin Universe’s development or how many people from that universe died. All that the Sixverse Association was concerned with was the resources and territories they had managed to retake, such as the Cloudflow and Singularity Universes. All of that was entirely thanks to the majority of the Seven Skygods descending upon the Perennial World. However, for the parallel universe to retain those territories, they needed to push the fight with Aeternus back onto the Origin Universe.

This was not about balancing the overall battlefield of humanity’s war against Aeternus, but about ensuring that the Origin Universe received its punishment and carried the weight of the war.

The Heavens Sect had been arrogant in the past and had ignored Aeternus, which had led to Aeternus becoming a monster of an organization. As far as the Sixverse Association was concerned, the Heavens Sect was responsible for Aeternus rising to power, but that responsibility should have vanished when the Heavens Sect had collapsed and the six Mainlands were destroyed. Instead, the Lu family had been forced to bear the burden of blame. With the family’s exile, everything that had happened before should have been moved to the past and the Fifth Mainland should have lost any association of guilt.

Clearly, the Sixverse Association did not agree with that mindset. They instead wanted to see the Origin Universe spend an eternity paying for ancient sins. This was also why the Perennial World was not allowed to join the Sixverse Association. The association would never accept the Origin Universe. Lu Yin even believed that if Aeternus was completely eradicated, the Sixverse Association would next direct their wrath to none other than the Origin Universe. After all, the Sixverse Association had never stopped monitoring the Origin Universe.

Progenitor Long sat back down. “Lu Yin, I thought you to be someone who considers the entire situation. I didn’t expect you would be blinded by hatred.”

Lu Yin’s expression turned cold. “If I were blinded by hatred, you wouldn’t leave here today.”

Progenitor Long and Lu Yin locked eyes. “We will explain things to Sage Yuan. I hope you don’t come to regret your decision. The Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages are not the same as our four ruling powers.”

Lu Yin let out a sigh. “You’re actually threatening your own people with outsiders. How sad.”

“When it comes to dealing with Aeternus, all humans are our people.” Progenitor Long stood back up and prepared to leave.

Lu Yin tapped a finger on the table. “Progenitor Long… ”

Progenitor Long paused and looked back at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin stared at him. “You are the ones who managed to force Aeternus out of the universe, so why can’t the members of the Sixverse Association do the same? With how long you’ve lived, you really should use your brain a bit.”

Progenitor Long’s eyes looked back, and he stared at Lu Yin for a long moment before leaving.

Once Progenitor Long was gone, Arch-Elder Zen spoke up, “If the Sixverse Association really is facing such an unfavorable situation, perhaps helping them by sharing the burden of war is the only way.”

Lu Yin sneered. “That’s just what they’re hoping for. I’ve visited the Arboreal Realm and the Voidforce Universe. Every one of the universes that make up the Sixverse Association is protected by powerful Progenitors. They just don’t want to suffer too badly.”

He then made calls to both Mu Xie and Progenitor Smoke. “We’ll wait until everyone gets here before continuing this discussion. After this little trip, things have become much clearer.”

The following day, Mu Xie and Progenitor Smoke arrived together. Lu Yin then proceeded to share the accounts of his visit to the Sixverse Association.

Progenitor Smoke was surprised to learn that Lu Yin’s seclusion had actually been a facade so that he could enter the Sixverse Association.

All three of the Progenitors were taken aback by what Lu Yin shared about the different cultivation methods used by the members of the Sixverse Association.

The Transcendent Universe’s energy converters and Bestowal Art, the innate gift provided by the Arboreal Realm’s wood transformation, the Voidforce Universe’s voidforce puppets, and the Lost Clan’s cards. Even more terrifying than everything else was the Cyclic Universe’s ability to raise up cultivators to perpetually maintain their Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages. The Progenitors felt their eyes opening to an entire new world.

“So, you’re saying that as long as they have access to enough energy, they can create an unlimited number of these black energy converters?” Progenitor Smoke exclaimed.

Lu Yin replied, “You could say that. There’s no way the requirements for creating a black energy converter is anything other than shockingly high, or else the entire Transcendent Universe would have been flooded with such energy converters long ago.”

“Just that is already terrifying enough. They are able to grant people the power to change the universe when they wish,” Progenitor Smoke continued.

Mu Xie also spoke up, “Can the seats of the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages really be inherited?”

Lu Yin nodded solemnly, “Yes, they can. I don’t understand how it works, either, but the Cyclic Universe is a typical cultivation civilization, just like what we’re familiar with. Gaining such power should be a step-by-step process, requiring people to first become Envoys, and then Semi-Progenitor. Becoming a Progenitor can’t be easy, why can those seats be inherited?”

Arch-Elder Zen felt quite puzzled. “Just who is this Great Sovereign? Did Sage Yuan really compare this person to the Origin Progenitor? Can it be true?”

Lu Yin shook his head. “I don’t know the answer to that. Judging by the attitude Bai Wangyuan’s showed Sage Yuan, the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages should all be quite formidable on their own. Of course, it’s also possible that such an attitude was shown because the four ruling powers are wary of the Cyclic Universe, but regardless, the Three Sovereigns and Nine Sages are all Progenitors. There’s no question about that.”

“Aside from the Three Monarchs Universe, none of the other five universes seem to be simple or straightforward. Each one has some unique characteristics.” Progenitor Smoke sighed.

Mu Xie asked, “What’s the next step of your plan?”

“Sage Yuan wants our Origin Universe to reinitiate our war against Aeternus. Are you aware of this?” Progenitor Smoke had her own question.

Lu Yin thoughtfully replied, “We won’t start the war again. It’s not that the other universes can’t hold on, they simply don’t want to suffer the pressure. They want us to take a portion of their burden so that they can instead focus on further developments. In other words, they want us to act as their shield that they can use to protect their own benefits.”

Lu Yin then shared the conversation he had overheard between Xu Xiangyin and the other academy supervisors.

While grateful to Xu Xiangyin, the man’s kindness had been completely premised on Lu Yin’s false identity. If it was discovered that he was someone from the Origin Universe, would Xu Xiangyin maintain the same attitude?

It was a question that Lu Yin had not considered before. From the moment he had learned the truth of the Lu family’s exile from Bai Qian, Lu Yin had understood that the Sixverse Association as a whole hated the Origin Universe. It was an attitude instilled in their people from childhood, and thus the attitude towards the Origin Universe would never change. The Origin Universe would always be regarded as guilty. The relationship between the different universes was irreconcilable.

Progenitor Smoke became furious. “That’s what they said? They want us to fight against Aeternus for them while not caring if we all die?”

Mu Xie understood something else. “This is the reason why the Perennial World hasn’t been allowed to join the Sixverse Association.”

Arch-Elder Zen sighed. “No wonder you were so determined yesterday. Do the four ruling powers not understand the Sixverse Association’s attitude towards us?”

Lu Yin replied, “They do, but they just don’t dare acknowledge it. Sage Yuan once mentioned that Xia Shenji has offered his respects to the Great Sovereign. If the Great Sovereign really is someone as powerful as the Origin Progenitor, then…” Lu Yin’s expression fell. “How does Xia Shenji regard the Great Sovereign? How does Bai Wangyuan see the Cyclic Universe? Are they still confident in their power as masters of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas?”

This was a terrifying suspicion.

Both Progenitor Smoke and Mu Xie grew somber.

Even if a person was defeated, they could not allow their will to be crushed. However, considering the attitude Sage Yuan had shown, it seemed possible that Bai Wangyuan and the others from the four ruling powers had already had their wills crushed. This was far worse than merely being defeated.