Star Odyssey Chapter 2723 – Retreat

Chapter 2723 – Retreat

Lu Yin’s head snapped up to look at Shan Gu, and then he subconsciously looked over at Lord Xu, suddenly rather nervous.

Lord Xu proceeded to explain, "The Sixverse a.s.sociation's att.i.tude towards the Origin Universe comes from the Cyclic Universe, and their att.i.tude has influenced most of the people in the Sixverse a.s.sociation, but only most of them. The Lost Clan cannot be influenced by them because the Lost Clan has never had any contact with the Origin Universe."

Lu Yin was taken aback. "There’s never been any contact?"

Shan Gu stroked his beard. "It seems that you really are hesitating because you are from the Origin Universe, but there’s no need for that. My Lost Clan has never made contact with your Origin Universe’s Heavens Sect. Sovereign Shao Yin has mentioned that the Heavens Sect was arrogant, domineering, and… well, we never had anything to do with it. By the time we came into contact with the Cyclic Universe and the Arboreal Realm, your Origin Universe’s Heavens Sect had already fallen, so your ident.i.ty really doesn’t matter to me or my Lost Clan."

Lord Xu interjected, "The one who truly cares is the Great Sovereign."

Lu Yin felt rather puzzled.

Lord Xu and Lu Yin stared at each other. "I don't know the reason why, but the Great Sovereign has strong feelings about your universe’s Origin Progenitor, and his att.i.tude has affected the entire Cyclic Universe. After the Origin Universe fell, the Great Sovereign’s followers did their best to discredit the Origin Universe. Of those who did so, Sovereign Shao Yin was the most influential. There are some who believe that the more hatred they demonstrate towards the Origin Universe, the more they will be appreciated by the Great Sovereign.

"At least, this was how things were at first, but as time pa.s.sed, regardless of the truth, this att.i.tude became deeply ingrained into the Sixverse a.s.sociation, and now, most of the people dislike or are even outright hostile towards the Origin Universe. Time is a terrible weapon, and it can transform the thoughts of an entire group of people.

"Truthfully, I despise people like Sovereign Shao Yin. They can’t defeat Aeternus, so they blame the Heavens Sect for not taking action at the beginning. It's like blaming others for not helping when they can't win a fight. It's childish."

Lu Yin understood. "No wonder you didn’t care that this junior is from the Origin Universe when we met in the Void Pa.s.s, Senior."

Lord Xu replied, "Wu Tian and I are good friends, so how could I be hostile to your Origin Universe? However, I am quite curious, just what is your ident.i.ty in your universe? Your age, cultivation, and abilities present a very unique combination. I wanted to ask about this before, but then I forgot."

Shan Gu also looked at Lu Yin with a curious expression.

Lu Yin took a deep breath. There was no way to hide the truth from these two people. "Junior Lu Yin greets his seniors."

Shan Gu showed no reaction, but Lord Xu was shocked. "You are Lu Yin, the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe’s Heavens Sect?"

Lu Yin replied, "This junior is honored to be known by you, Senior."

Shan Gu felt rather confused. "The Origin Universe still has a Heavens Sect?"

Lord Xu snapped back, "You never bother to pay any attention to matters in other universes, and ignore any news regarding the Origin Universe, so of course you don't know that this child before you is quite amazing. Even I have heard of him..."

Lord Xu had a bit of information regarding Lu Yin. Given the man’s status, only truly amazing events were able to garner his attention, but what he knew of Lu Yin was enough to surprise Shan Gu as well.

After learning a bit from Lord Xu, Shan Gu looked at Lu Yin in surprise. "You’ve gone through so much despite being so young? Xuan Qi—no, Lu Yin, your life has been even more exciting than my own."

Lu Yin’s voice grew bitter. "If I had a choice, I wouldn't have wanted to live through those things either, but it’s simply my luck. I’ve simply been lucky enough to survive for as long as I have."

He could not help but let out a sigh of relief. Judging from these two old men’s att.i.tudes, it seemed that they held no hostility towards him.

One of them had never had any contact with the Heavens Sect, while the other was good friends with Wu Tian. Not the entire Sixverse a.s.sociation was hostile to the Origin Universe.

If Lu Yin had been discovered by Sovereign Shao Yin, or even people like Monarch Luo or Lord Wei, he might have been instantly attacked.

At this point, the only one whose feelings towards the Origin Universe remained a mystery was the ruler of the Arboreal Realm.

Lord Xu stared at Lu Yin. "Why have you, the Heavens Sect’s Dao Monarch, hidden your ident.i.ty and joined my Voidforce Universe? If you are seeking to avenge your Lu family, you should be going after Sovereign Shao Yin."

Lu Yin had already thought about how to answer this question. He had known that his ident.i.ty would eventually be exposed and that he would have to face this exact issue. The master of the Heavens Sect was one ident.i.ty, while being a descendent and heir of the Lu family was an entirely different ident.i.ty.

Shan Gu did not understand Lu Yin’s enmity with Sovereign Shao Yin, as Lord Xu had not mentioned anything about Lu Yin being from the Lu family, and Shan Gu knew almost nothing about the Origin Universe.

Lu Yin grew solemn. "Of the different members of the Sixverse a.s.sociation, the only ones that this junior could reasonably join are the Arboreal Realm or the Voidforce Universe. I am an enemy of the Cyclic Universe, while the Lost Clan is closed to outsiders. As for the Three Monarchs Universe, they are preparing to invade my Origin Universe. The Transcendent Universe doesn’t focus on cultivation, which led this junior to choose to join the Voidforce Universe.”

"In that case, why not join the Arboreal Realm? You crossed the Void Pa.s.s in order to join my Voidforce Universe. You pushed hard to join us!" Lord Xu said. While he was not bothered by Lu Yin’s ident.i.ty, he also did not want Lu Yin to take advantage of the Voidforce Universe.

Lu Yin was forced to admit that Xu Wuwei had seen through his disguise.

"If I had gone to the Arboreal Realm and met with Senior Mu Ke, this junior knew that it might not be possible to give an acceptable explanation to him. This junior had already explained the situation to Senior Xu Wuwei, so I was more willing to join the Voidforce Universe."

Lord Xu understood. "No wonder you didn't ask me to be your master, nor did you demand that Xu Wuwei accept you as his disciple. You were afraid that I would get to the truth of the matter, and Xu Wuwei was already suspicious of you.

"So, when it comes to you pursuing revenge, how do you perceive my Voidforce Universe in your heart?"

Lu Yin did not hesitate. "I won’t be an enemy, as long as there are no attempts to use me."

Lord Xu gave a half-hearted smile, clearly not believing Lu Yin, though the old man also did not pursue the matter.

"Senior, why does the Great Sovereign have a problem with the Origin Progenitor?" Lu Yin asked Lord Xu. This was not only to change the topic, but also because he genuinely wanted to know what had transpired between the two men. Were they mortal enemies, or did they merely disagree on ideologies? If the two had been mortal enemies, then Lu Yin’s att.i.tude towards the Cyclic Universe would have to be adjusted.

In the past, he had hated the Cyclic Universe for helping the four ruling powers exile the Lu family, but the true culprit seemed to be Sovereign Shao Yin. Lu Yin wanted to confirm if the Sovereign was the true instigator of that matter.

Lord Xu shook his head. "I can’t tell you that, but Mu Shen should know. He is the oldest person in the Sixverse a.s.sociation, aside from the Great Sovereign himself. He also fought in many wars in the Origin Universe during the Heavens Sect era, so he must know."

Mu Shen was the ruler of the Arboreal Realm.

Lu Yin asked, "What is Senior Mu Shen’s att.i.tude towards my Origin Universe?"

Xu Zhu and Shan Gu looked at each other.

"They used to be friends, but now, I can’t say," Lord Xu replied.

Lu Yin bowed. "Thank you, Senior, for telling me."

Shan Gu said, "Now that the matter of your true ident.i.ty has been dealt with, should we…?"

He had just been about to ask Lu Yin to join the Lost Clan, but then he suddenly remembered that the young man was the Dao Monarch of the Origin Universe’s Heavens Sect. If Lu Yin’s cultivation was ignored and only his status was considered, then he was someone on the same level as the rulers of the other universes.

Shan Gu felt that it would be improper to allow the Dao Monarch to join his Lost Clan.

Lord Xu gave Shan Gu a funny look.

Lu Yin shrugged. "Thank you for your kindness, Senior, but I have responsibilities towards the Heavens Sect."

Shan Gu sighed. "I don't even know what to say."

Lord Xu said, "Celebrate. This child wants to get revenge for the Lu family. If he had joined your Lost Clan and then confronted the Great Sovereign some day, what would you do?"

Shan Gu calmly replied, "If we fight each other, then we fight each other. What other choice is there?"

"You certainly have enough confidence!" Lord Xu praised.

Lu Yin spoke up in a serious tone. "Senior Lord Xu, you don't need to worry. If the day comes when this junior truly does confront the Cyclic Universe, there is no way that I will involve the Voidforce Universe."

Lord Xu just laughed. "Do you really believe that I'm afraid of the Cyclic Universe?"

"Aren't you?" Shan Gu shot back.

Lord Xu pointed at Lu Yin. "As long as we are in the Voidforce Universe, I can guarantee that this kid will be fine."

Lu Yin's eyes lit up. "That’s amazing, Senior."

Shan Gu shook his head. "You’re coaxing him… With this child’s strength, he can at most offend Sovereign Shao Yin. How could you care about Sovereign Shao Yin? If the day comes when this kid annoys the Great Sovereign and flees to your Voidforce Universe, it will depend entirely on you."

"We can just try." Lord Xu remained unconcerned.

Lu Yin felt that he had finally obtained a path of escape.

His greatest gain this day was discovering the att.i.tudes of the Lost Clan and the Voidforce Universe in regards to the Origin Universe. It was not the entire Sixverse a.s.sociation that was Lu Yin’s enemy, but rather just some of the people.

Shan Gu opened his hand to show a character formed from a strange metal. This character was the word Shan.

"Keep this with you."

Lu Yin took the emblem, though he felt rather puzzled.

Shan Gu explained, "While it is impossible for you to become a member of my Lost Clan and you must remain an outsider, this emblem will be proof of your ident.i.ty. If one day something happens, I and my Lost Clan will do our best to protect you."

The old man understood perfectly what it meant to be an enemy of the Cyclic Universe, and he worried for Lu Yin, while also admiring the youth.

For a peak powerhouse to admire someone as young as Lu Yin was something that had almost never happened throughout all of history.

Lu Yin bowed low. "Thank you, Senior. If the day comes when this junior becomes a peak powerhouse, I will definitely return to the Lost Clan to retrieve the Primeval card."

Shan Gu nodded. "It's good to have that sort of heart. That Primeval card will not only help my Lost Clan, but also all of humanity throughout the entire megaverse. Once an individual appears who surpa.s.ses the realm of peak powerhouses, the Aeternals will no longer matter.”

Lu Yin's eyes instantly grew wide. It was true. If someone truly did manage to reach such a level, how would they be any different from a G.o.d? What would the Aeternals be able to do?

"And this as well." Shan Gu hesitated briefly before taking out a card.

"Evernight?" Lu Yin blurted out.

Lord Xu was stunned. "A seven-star Immemorial card?"

Two men stared at Shan Gu, wondering what he was doing, but the Great Elder of the Lost Clan just shrugged. "We can’t allow anyone to learn that the Primeval card appeared because of you, so Evernight is still yours."

Cards were traded during the Shangsan Festival, and Shan Gu naturally had access to the Lost Clan’s ownerless cards.

It made sense that he could also give ownerless cards to others, but the Lost Clan had a rule that a person needed to obtain their card for themselves. If their card did not suit them, then they could trade it away during the Shangsan Festival or when they reached a new realm of cultivation. Not everyone was able to trade for a better card. For example, Shan Zheng wanted to obtain a seven-star Immemorial card, but he was unable to get one.

Lu Yin had already obtained Evernight, but it had been scared away by the Primeval card. Then, the Primeval card had not fully appeared, which meant that the Lost Clan had a choice about whether they should give Evernight or Lu Yin.

Shan Gu had chosen to give the Immemorial card away to prevent others from learning that Lu Yin had attracted the Primeval card.

Lu Yin excitedly took the card. No matter the reason why he was receiving Evernight, the card was undeniably invaluable.

A seven-star Immemorial card was essentially as powerful as Shan Gu, who was as strong as Lord Xu.

This meant that, no matter who the card belonged to, if they could drag a peak powerhouse into the card’s s.p.a.ce, there was a very low chance of them ever returning alive.

The Lost Clan had truly magical means. The Evernight card felt no different from Lu Yin’s Hidden Mountain card, and yet it was able to suppress cultivators as powerful as Progenitors.

Shan Gu was willing to tell Lord Xu that Lu Yin had attracted the Primeval card, but that was because the two old men shared a very unusual relations.h.i.+p.