Star Odyssey-Chapter 3667: Trust

Young Master Yu quickly rose from his chair and dropped to his knees. “Please forgive me, Master! Your disciple spoke ill of you.”

Old Yu chuckled. “Those who strive for greatness don’t fuss over such trivial details. Stand up.”

Young Master Yu let out a breath of relief as he rose. “I told him that I wanted to change my destiny, that I resent you, and that I want to take your place as the ruler of the Wisdom Domain. That’s why he believed me.”

Old Yu grunted. “Good work.”

His expression then grew conflicted, and he let out a heavy sight. He stood and moved to the side of the boat, looking down at the water that was drifting by. “The Wisdom Domain is at a critical moment that will decide our life or death. The Ru family is gone, so we must protect ourselves. There are things that must be done now, even if we despised doing them before.

“You are the first public heir in the history of the Wisdom Domain to be accepted as the next ruler. This not only changes our entire history, but it also carries the burden of continuing the Wisdom Domain’s legacy. This is an immense responsibility, understand?”

Young Master Yu bowed. “Your disciple understands.”

After a long silence, Old Yu finally turned around to look at Young Master Yu. “Once that person’s instructions are carried out, the Wisdom Domain will stabilize, and all of the external factors affecting the Spirit Nidus will be dealt with. As soon as everything has returned to its proper course, I will roam about the megaverse, and the Wisdom Domain will belong to you.”

Young Master Yu was alarmed by this pronouncement. “Master, your disciple is not yet capable of fulfilling the requirements of the ruler! I beg you to stay and continue protecting the Wisdom Domain.”

Old Yu waved a hand. “We can discuss that later. Remember, we need to first secure Seraph Lu’s trust if we are to have any chance of success.”

“Yes, your disciple understands.”

Bowing his head concealed Young Master Yu’s face. His expression was not the expected one of reverence, but instead one of exceptional coldness.

***

In the Roaming South Realm, Lu Yin continued to extract karmic bricks.

Nian Xian was proving his capabilities, and Jiu Xian was continuously chased around, which prevented her from returning to her valley.

Several days passed before Lu Yin received a call from Old Yu.

“Seraph Lu, I have managed to earn Lesser Sancte Yue Ya’s trust,” Old Yu said.

Lu Yin asked in a curious tone, “How did you accomplish that?”

Yue Ya really is in a hurry, if he’s having the old man reach out to me so quickly.

"The truth is that I did not do anything to earn Lesser Sancte Yue Ya’s trust, but rather that he had already planned to approach me. After the Ru family was destroyed, the Lesser Sancte intended to replace them and have someone else monitor the Spirit Nidus. He is restricted to Heavenspire, so he needs someone to monitor the Spirit Nidus for him.

"Before, Lesser Sancte Yue Ya had other people working for him, but the recent search for spirit seeds has exposed nearly all of them. With no other choice, he wanted to subdue my Wisdom Domain, and as it happened, I contacted Heavenspire on my own. That’s why it was only natural for me to get close to him."

Lu Yin chuckled. "What a coincidence. It seems that my actions some time ago ended up actually helping you. Alright, in that case, I need you to find out why he is trying to get me to go to Heavenspire."

Old Yu replied, "I don’t need to investigate that any further. Once I submitted to Lesser Sancte Yue Ya, he had me concoct a plan to lead you to Heavenspire, Seraph Lu."

Lead me to Heavenspire? Not the Morrow Behemoth’s hand? Lu Yin stared at his spirit cloudstone. The old bastard is trying to treat the Morrow Behemoth’s hand as though it is actually the entrance to Heavenspire, lowering my guard. He’s doing the same thing that Ge Yao and Ru Mu did, when they both claimed that they would lead me to Heavenspire.

The more deceptions that were used in regards to Heavenspire and the Morrow Behemoth’s hand, the warier Lu Yin became.

He no longer believed that there was any chance that the entrance to Heavenspire was in the Morrow Behemoth’s hand, though it might still be the path to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

"As for why Lesser Sancte Yue Ya wishes for you to go there, that is because he wishes to accept you as his disciple, Seraph Lu," Old Yu continued.

Lu Yin was genuinely shocked. "Accept me as his disciple?"

Amazement could be heard in Old Yu’s voice. "Yes! Congratulations, Seraph Lu! Lesser Sancte Yue Ya has taken notice of you, and as long as you are willing, you can have him as your master."

"Why?"

"I’m not entirely sure, as he didn’t explain himself. However, I suspect that it has something to do with the High Seraph. Lesser Sancte Yue Ya wants someone to replace the High Seraph. Previously, he chose Emperor Wu, but after you defeated him, the Lesser Sancte’s favor shifted towards you. In particular, because of your youth and the fact that you are still only a Spirit Ancestor, you are the ideal candidate for a disciple in the eyes of Lesser Sancte Yue Ya—you can both replace the High Seraph and assist Lesser Sancte Yue Ya, killing two birds with one stone."

Lu Yin was speechless. Just to lure me over, he’s willing to create the most extreme excuses imaginable.

“Seraph Lu, are you willing to accept Lesser Sancte Yue Ya as your master?” Old Yu asked.

“What do you think?”

“I cannot answer that. Given your status as the master of the Tianyuan Megaverse, even if you do accept a master, it should be one of the Greater Sancti. Unfortunately, they are entirely unreachable.”

“You previously mentioned that there are currently only three Greater Sancti and that the fourth position is vacant,” Lu Yin interjected.

“That is correct.”

“Who is most likely to succeed?”

“That would be Lesser Sancte Yue Ya. At present, only two other Lesser Sancti are able to compete with him: Lesser Sancte Xing Fan and Lesser Sancte Dan Jin. However, neither holds any advantages over Yue Ya. This is especially true of Dan Jin, as she is not a fighter, and she will struggle to enter the Immortal realm. Xing Fan similarly has certain limitations, starting with the fact that they have offended one of the Greater Sancti.

“No matter if you consider their personal strength or the broader situation in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, Lesser Sancte Yue Ya is the most likely to become a Greater Sancte.

“Still, there are always uncertainties. You should consider this matter carefully, Seraph Lu.”

Lu Yin was swayed. “A Greater Sancte would indeed qualify to be my master, but since they’re currently unavailable, I can only interact with the Lesser Sancte. Of them, it sounds like Yue Ya is the most likely to succeed, and he’s also interested in me. This is an opportunity.”

Old Yu said nothing, as there was no need. Further words would be redundant.

“Keep gathering information for me. If I truly accept Lesser Sancte Yue Ya as my master and he becomes a Greater Sancte, you’re sure to be greatly rewarded,” Lu Yin said.

Old Yu replied, “If things come to that, the Tianyuan Megaverse’s crisis will be resolved. One day, Seraph Lu might also become a Lesser Sancte or even a Greater Sancte. I, Old Yu, am willing to serve Seraph Lu.”

After putting his spirit cloudstone away, Lu Yin resumed prying out bricks.

He had declared his loyalty, which meant that the next step was to see how they intended to force him to the Morrow Behemoth’s hand. He was curious to see what excuse Old Yu would come up with next.

In the Wisdom Domain, Old Yu also put his spirit cloudstone away.

“Master, will Seraph Lu believe that?” Young Master Yu asked.

Old Yu shook his head, his eyes growing cold. “How could he ever believe that? Lesser Sancte Yue Ya has already made multiple attempts to get him to go to the Morrow Behemoth’s hand, and Seraph Lu has seen through all those attempts. No matter what happens, he won’t fall for any tricks, no matter how great the temptation.”

“Then what do we do?”

“From here, it’s up to you. The only one who can genuinely earn his trust is you.”

“Understood.”

...

All of the Spirit Nidus’s thirty-six domains were abuzz with the news that the Wisdom Domain had submitted to Boundless. Countless people debated the matter. However, in the Heavencraft Domain, the domain’s Grandmaster Ling Zuo was secretly leading a group of cultivators towards a certain universe.

Within the group was the chubby Ling Tong. The young man’s eyes darted about nervously. He looked here and there, his expression constantly changing. It was as if he had just seen a ghost.

An old man in front of him turned around and smiled at Ling Tong.

The young man recoiled in horror. “Third Grandpa?”

“Hehe, little fatty, I never thought that you would have such incredible talent! Your third grandpa is proud of you.” The old man gave a strange laugh, and the skin on his face sagged as though it could fall off at any moment.

Ling Tong stared at the old man in a daze, but then he forced out a smile. It was uglier than if he was crying. “Th-thank you for your praise, Third Grandpa.”

“Hehehehehe.”

The young man swallowed nervously. Didn’t that old man die a long time ago? I watched him be buried! How is he still alive? He’s a ghost! A real ghost!

Suddenly, Ling Tong felt a heavy weight settle onto his shoulder. A hand rested on it, and the touch startled the chubby man so badly that he nearly fainted.

He slowly turned his head, only to come face-to-face with an old woman. Her hair was completely white, and her smile belonged to a ghost, especially her eyes. They were so dark that it was impossible to even see her pupils.

Ling Tong screamed, “A ghost!”

There was a loud smack. The young man had been slapped.

“What are you screaming for? Don’t recognize your Fifth Great-Grandmother?”

The man’s face turned deathly pale, and he nearly wept. “F-F-Fifth Great-Grandmother?”

“Hehehehe, I didn’t think our clan still had such an outstanding junior. You’re the only one of the youngsters to come along with us. Not bad, not bad. Hehehehe,” the old woman’s laugh was eerie.

Ling Tong was trembling. “Th-thank you, Fifth Great-Grandmother... we still have your picture enshrined at home. So, uh... do you need any offerings burned?”

The old man in front turned around. “Fifth Granny, don’t scare the child.”

The old woman glared back at the man. “Who do you think you are, talking back to me, brat? Turn around and get lost!”

The old man obediently turned his head back forward.

The old woman smiled broadly at the chubby young man. “Don’t be afraid. Your great-grandmother will give you some candy.”

“Thank you, Great-Grandmother.”

Ling Zuo called from the front, “Silence. What happens today must never be spoken of. To do so will cause our Heavencraft Domain to be annihilated.”

All of the cultivators looked up. There was a flash of light that illuminated their faces, and each one aged visibly.

Ling Tong trembled with fear. He felt like something massive was about to happen. All of the old people around him were supposed to be dead. He had even attended many of their funerals. Despite that, all of them were right in front of him, staying hidden. He had no idea what his family was planning, but they had dragged him along. Outstanding junior? I don’t want that! I just want to go home!

...

“My people have already moved. This method can only be attempted once. I’ve paid a truly astronomical price for you.”

“I understand. You don’t have to worry. I will deliver what I promised you: more than half of the thirty-six domains. You have my word.”

“Heh, I’m really looking forward to it, snagging a Seraph.”

“So am I.”

...

Time flowed on. Countless people throughout the Spirit Nidus wandered across parallel universes in search of hidden conscients. The hidden threat was the only reason why the expedition had not left yet.

As soon as the hidden member of the Thirteen Luminaries was found, the expedition to the Consciousness Megaverse could leave.

The roster had been decided upon, and countless cultivators were eagerly awaiting to see if they had been given an opportunity. To save time, the High Seraph himself had left the Ascendant Hall and was exploring parallel universes, joining the search.

In the Ark Domain, the six universe-class battleships had been ready for a long time, and Boundless’s extensive repairs were underway.

Endless amounts of resources were being gathered at the boundary of the Spirit Nidus, in anticipation of the battleships’ arrival.

At the moment, the most popular battle technique in the Spirit Nidus was Linked Spirit, and all of the elites were doing whatever it took to get their hands on a conscient. The cultivators who knew that they would be part of the expedition were exceptionally desperate. All of this led the price of conscients sold in the Spirit Nidus to double. Even then, the supply was not close to meeting the demand.

A multitude of people flocked to the Consciousness Domain, all of them eager to obtain a conscient.

Years before, many organizations had sent their conscients to the Consciousness Domain in order to avoid being targeted, but they all regretted their earlier decision. It was impossible for them to reclaim those conscients, which meant that purchase was their only option now.

Shi Xiu was struggling. There were some people whom he could refuse, but others who he could not. Despite that, the Consciousness Domain simply did not have enough conscients.

Helpless, he had no option but to ask the Ascendant Hall for assistance.

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