Star Odyssey-Chapter 3542: Spirit Seeds

Lu Yin had not anticipated a sudden attack, but apparently, this man had some sort of grudge against the Hundred Leaf Trade Association.

Yi He sneered. "Heaven has taken pity on you. I was planning on staying near the Hundred Grasses Domain so that I could find a chance to rescue Lord Yu Shan. I never thought that I would run into you. Ye Laogui, it's great to see that you haven’t died yet. I need to avenge what happened back then."

Lu Yin had grown rather curious. "Does Yi He have some sort of grudge with you?"

Ye Laogui answered with a shrug. "He once worked as one of the Hundred Leaf Trade Association’s guards, but when he was down on his luck one time, we fired him for corruption. When that happened, some members of the company looked down on him and ridiculed him, but there was nothing from our Ye family."

The old man looked back over at Yi He. "The ones who mocked him were other guards, not someone from my Ye family. Why come after us?"

Ye Yan'er angrily added, "Because of him, we didn't dare to leave the Hundred Grasses Domain!"

Ye Laogui sighed. "He’s been searching for us in the Hundred Grasses Domain for quite some time. We avoided him, and eventually, he must have thought that we were dead. I didn't expect to run into him here."

Yi He sneered. "I know all about you, Ye Laogui! You’re also a sequence powerhouse. Even if I can defeat you, I can’t find you when you hide yourself. I gave up on finding you after searching through the Hundred Grasses Domain a few times, and yet now you’ve come to me! Die!"

The man shot through the void while slashing sideways with his sword, unleashing an attack intended to annihilate everyone on the green leaf.

Sword qi swept through space. The attack was powerful enough that Ye Laogui and the others felt trapped within a sea of sword qi. Ye Yaner's face grew pale, as she knew that it was impossible for her to defend herself from such a thing. If she was alone, there was no doubt that she would die. Even if her ancestor could endure this attack, it would not be easy.

Fortunately, there was no need for either of them to do anything at all.

Lu Yin looked up and gently flicked a finger. The breeze from that action entered the sea of sword qi and pierced the surface. In an instant, all of the sword qi vanished, and the blade itself rang out with a soft clang. Yi He staggered several steps back and stared at Lu Yin in horror. The man’s sword was trembling in his hand, the vibrations so strong that it nearly slipped out of his grip. His hands were torn open, and the bleeding was bad enough that the blood ran down the hilt of the sword.

Everything had occurred as a result of a mere flick of a finger. It was so effortless that Yi He started to doubt his very existence.

As one of the top-ranked experts on the White Spirit List, Yi He was one of the most powerful sequence powerhouses in the entire Spirit Nidus. Even Ortusers would struggle to defeat him. He had a natural talent for swordsmanship, and he was even capable of fighting without his sequence technique.

He had never expected his full-powered sword slash to be casually overpowered by a single finger.

"Who are you?" Yi He was stunned, and he stared at Lu Yin. Only at this moment did the man realize that he was unable to see Lu Yin’s features clearly. The man’s face appeared both clear and indistinct, which was quite contradictory.

This realization also caused Yi He’s heart to sink. This was a true master.

Lu Yin casually sat back down on the leaf. "These two are now my people. You attack my people without even asking who I am?"

Yi He’s eyes flickered. Finally, his sword stopped vibrating, and he silently lowered the blade. "Are you protecting the Hundred Leaf Trade Association? May I ask who you are? I am Yi He, ranked tenth on the White Spirit List. I have had dealings with many factions throughout the Spirit Nidus in the past. I might have already interacted with your people."

Lu Yin’s mouth curled into a smile. "You haven’t."

Yi He’s expression fell, and he started to grow increasingly nervous. Seeing his attack be defeated by a mere flick of a finger had reminded him of someone specific: Yu Shan. Such undefeatable strength had left Yi He powerless. That overwhelming strength and the fact that it was impossible to see this person’s face clearly made it clear to Yi He that he did not want to be this person’s enemy. It looked like it would be impossible to kill Ye Laogui and the girl for the time being.

Lu Yin spoke up again. "Have you been looking for an opportunity to rescue Yu Shan?"

Yi He opened his mouth to answer, only to suddenly be struck by a certain possibility. With that thought, he turned and fled without any hesitation.

While the possibility was highly unlikely, it was not completely impossible.

He might have run into someone from the Grandverse Manor.

The Hundred Leaf Trade Association had been the Hundred Grasses Domain’s premier trade association, and it was not impossible for them to have taken shelter under the Grandverse Manor’s wing. Yi He had not previously considered it simply because the Hundred Leaf Trade Association had fallen so many years ago. He had never considered the possibility of a comeback. He had thought that him running into Ye Laogui was nothing more than a coincidence, at least until that man had defeated his sea of sword qi with the flick of a finger. Before that, Yi He had not thought that anyone on the leaf could be a threat to him.

The lingering force of that finger flick and the fact that the person’s face could not be seen had combined in Yi He’s mind to remind him of a remote possibility.

The Grandverse Manor accepted those who had broken the rules of the megaverse or those who were truly desperate. It was not impossible for the Hundred Leaf Trade Association to be accepted under those conditions.

The mysterious person’s overwhelming physical strength had also caused Yi He to think of a particularly terrifying individual: the Grandverse Manor’s Third Boss. That peerless powerhouse’s physical strength was even greater than Yu Shan, and he had defeated a Yu Shan who was using the Nine Heavens Transformation.

Yi He did not know if he had run into the Grandverse Manor’s invincible Third Boss, and he simply prayed that that was not the case. If he was wrong, his life was over.

While Yi He wanted to run, Lu Yin was unwilling to allow that. His hand rose up again, and a finger flicked out again. This time, the finger released an even more powerful blast, and it shot through the void at the speed of time. The universe was torn apart as the blast headed straight for Yi He.

He fully deserved his rank on the White Spirit List. The moment that Lu Yin released his attack, Yi He felt an overwhelming sense of danger. His blood surged, and a massive bloody figure formed behind him. That figure then spun around, wielding a blood-colored blade that released a vicious slash.

Old Tao instantly grew alert and warned Lu Yin, "That’s the Blood Blade, Yi He’s signature technique. That’s what earned him his place as tenth on the White Spirit List."

Ye Laogui and Ye Yan’er both watched intently. The Hundred Leaf Trade Association had fallen due to what had transpired in the Hundred Grasses Domain, and this was the person who had forced Ye Laogui to stay within the confines of that domain. Ye Yan’er understood why they had never dared to confront Yi He directly at this moment, as she was personally witnessing his impressive power.

When Yi He released his Blood Blade, he was able to overpower countless powerful sequence powerhouses. It was how he had succeeded in securing tenth place on the White Spirit List.

The blast from Lu Yin’s finger howled as it collided with the Blood Blade.

The Blood Blade shattered, and the massive blood-colored figure crumbled as well.

Yi He did not so much as turn his head. Sequence particles appeared, and they moved towards the wind from Lu Yin’s finger. This was Nightfall, the thirtieth-ranked sequence technique.

There was a light thud, and Yi He glanced down. He found that blood had appeared on his chest at some point in time. It was coming from a wound from where he had been pierced by the finger attack. Neither his Blood Blade nor his sequence technique had been enough to block the attack. This was the result of an overwhelming difference in power.

A gap between two people could be so large that nothing could bridge it.

Yi He coughed up blood as he stood still. He slowly turned around, no longer having the courage to attempt to escape. He felt a terrible chill, as he understood that he would undoubtedly die if he tried to escape again.

"Come here," Lu Yin ordered in a casual tone.

Yi He held a hand to his chest, even as blood dripped from his clothes, dribbling down to his feet as he slowly approached Lu Yin.

"Did you come here to find an opportunity to rescue Yu Shan?" Lu Yin asked again.

Sweat beaded along Yi He’s forehead. "Yes."

"Do you know who I am?"

Yi He shook his head. "No."

"Think about it," Lu Yin said. With that, the man was imprisoned in the Champions' Stage Purgatory.

Lu Yin had only ever flicked his finger twice, and yet he had utterly crushed the sequence powerhouse ranked tenth on the White Spirit List. The man had been completely outclassed.

This was Lu Yin’s true strength. If Yi He had shown up soon after Lu Yin first entered the Spirit Nidus, Lu Yin would not have dealt with the man so quickly. Instead, he would have acted much like he had with the people who had been watching Boundless and taken his time. However, after the battle at Umbral Deep, Lu Yin’s strength had been almost fully revealed, and he no longer needed to hide his power.

Against someone like Yi He, a single finger was enough.

For Lu Yin, this was a trivial matter; he had just flicked his finger. However, to Ye Laogui and Ye Yan’er, the exchange had been utterly shocking.

Yi He was ranked tenth on the White Spirit List, and he was a sequence powerhouse who was powerful enough to restrict them within the Hundred Grasses Domain. He even had a small chance of one day qualifying to compete for the title of Seraph. Despite all of that, had he really been defeated that easily and miserably? He had never even had the chance to fight back.

Old Tao was not surprised at all, though he still took the opportunity to flatter Lu Yin with an ingratiating smile. "Third Boss, you are truly invincible in the Spirit Nidus! How dare that little fool who’s so proud to be ranked tenth on the White Spirit List come at you! He was simply seeking death. I only regret that I lack the strength to help ease some of your burden."

Ye Laogui rolled his eyes. Shameless!

Ye Yan’er pursed her lips, having been both astonished by Lu Yin’s power and disgusted by Old Tao’s brown-nosing. This was not the man that she had met in the ruins of the Hundred Leaf Trade Association.

The leaf continued on towards the Daquan Domain.

Lu Yin had no interest in the Hundred Leaf Trade Association’s past grudges. Someone like Yi He was beneath Lu Yin’s notice. What did interest him was how they should go about ensuring that they were selected as one of the official trade associations in the upcoming selection.

Ye Laogui respectfully explained, "There are over 100 trade associations throughout the entire Spirit Nidus, but only five are selected to act on behalf of the thirty-six domains and deliver goods to the Daquan Domain. These five are the only ones that are able to conduct business with the Chamber of Commerce, and the first step towards being selected as one of those five is to register in Buyi City in the Daquan Domain and submit an application fee of 100 million spirit seeds."

Old Tao sucked in a cold breath. "That much?"

Qing Yun and Ru Mu were also shocked.

In the Spirit Nidus, all cultivation started with a spirit seed. A spirit seed would enter a person’s body, and that both allowed the person to start cultivating, and eventually undergo a Spirit Rebirth.

Spirit seeds came from various places across Spirit Nidus, and there were even spirit seed mines. Why this occurred, no one in the Spirit Nidus could quite explain.

When cultivators in the Spirit Nidus died, the spirit seed that had been cultivated within them would dissipate at the moment their life ended.

Spirit seeds were far more important to the Spirit Nidus than star crystals or any similar resources in the Tianyuan Megaverse.

In the Tianyuan Megaverse, as long as one started cultivating, a lack of star energy would only lead to a person’s cultivation stagnating and greatly impede future progress. However, in the Spirit Nidus, cultivation was completely impossible without a spirit seed.

100 million spirit seeds meant 100 million cultivators, which was an overwhelming number.

Still, while the number appeared exorbitant, just how many cultivators lived in the entire Spirit Nidus? It was an incalculable number. Who could get an accurate count of how many cultivators were in the Tianyuan Megaverse? That was beyond even the Heavens Sect’s capabilities.

Ye Laogui shook his head. "100 million spirit seeds is neither too much nor too little. Every company that wishes to join the selection process is required to submit the same application fee. The most important detail is that-"

Ru Mu interrupted, "The spirit seeds are not returned."

Ye Laogui glanced at her and nodded.

Old Tao's face twitched. "The application fees aren’t returned? How shameless!"

Lu Yin thought the same, that it was quite shameless. Why would the application fee not be returned to the companies that failed to secure an official status?

Ye Laogui showed a bitter smile. "When we first learned of this rule, we all had the same reaction. Still, it can’t be changed. It’s a rule put in place by the Chamber of Commerce: the 100 million spirit seed application fee is non-refundable. It won’t be returned for anything, including your application being refused. After submitting the fee and application, companies have to wait to be notified. Once Yi Shang arrives, each company will submit an offer of how many resources they are willing to deliver to the Chamber of Commerce each year."

"The five highest offers are the ones accepted."

Lu Yin asked, "Can we meet Yi Shang?"

Ye Laogui nodded. "Yes, you can."

"What if Yi Shang is not satisfied with any of the offers?" Qing Xiao asked, curious.

Ye Laogui replied, "Then the entire matter becomes a public auction, with the highest bidder winning."

Lu Yin chuckled. "That old man really knows how to play this game."

He paused for a moment before asking, "Is this selection held every twenty years? That’s quite often. Even an ordinary person can keep a business successful and running for that long without much issue. It’s rare for a large company to collapse so quickly, and yet the selection is held on such a tight timeframe."

Qing Yun said, "The Chamber of Commerce does it so that they can profit from the application fees of the competitors, right?"

Ru Mu chimed in, "Doing this also helps to increase the Chamber of Commerce’s influence."

Old Tao said, "It might also be because the Chamber of Commerce fears that some of the trade associations might grow too powerful and have a chance of replacing them. If someone says that this selection process isn’t rigged, no one would believe them. Everything depends entirely on who the Chamber of Commerce wants to become an official trade association."