Star Odyssey
Chapter 3590: One By One

Chapter 3590: One By One

Old Salamander paused to stare intently at Emperor Wu. "Even if I were to become a Seraph, what of it? It won’t be easy to reset either the Consciousness or the Tianyuan Megaverses, or else it would have already happened. Even if one of them can eventually be reset, I will have already died by that time. Besides, even if I don't become a Seraph, whenever either megaverse is reset, I am already qualified to participate and receive a chance to break through to the Immortal realm. What reason could I have to focus on the title of Seraph?

"My lord, your suspicions are too laughable."

Emperor Wu could not dispute that argument. The truth was that he had refrained from starting an all-out battle earlier because he had been told to wait by Old Yu, as waiting could force the hidden parties to reveal themselves.

Emperor Wu trusted Old Yu. If not, he would have already started fighting.

When Old Salamander had stepped forward, Old Yu had shared his suspicions with Emperor Wu. Only after that had Emperor Wu said anything at all. Rather than sharing his own suspicions, Emperor Wu had essentially shared Old Yu’s thoughts. Even so, Old Salamander’s argument was completely flawless.

Forget Emperor Wu or Old Yu—not even Lu Yin could counter Old Salamander’s arguments.

Both he and Old Yu could feel that something was happening behind the scenes, but neither man could see through those hidden schemes.

Old Yu claimed that things should proceed according to their earlier agreement, which would give both sides a way out. After that, they could slowly work to find the person manipulating things from behind the scenes.

However, Old Yu had not expected Lu Yin to suddenly change those plans and publicly execute Wu Ji. That had instantly escalated the conflict. Yes, doing so had forced Old Salamander out, but the old freak’s reasoning was so flawless that even Old Yu had lost confidence.

He was highly intelligent, but he was far from omniscient.

Old Salamander was right. Why would he want to become a Seraph? The title was meaningless to him.

Without some motivation, why would he make a move?

Even if the suspicions and conclusion seemed accurate, there was no motivation to be found. Even if Old Salamander perfectly fit Old Yu’s suspicions, the same could be true of others. There was nothing that specifically pointed at Old Salamander.

The reason why Emperor Wu had agreed to voice his accusations and trust Old Yu was because Old Salamander's behavior contrasted so sharply with his personality. Emperor Wu knew Old Salamander very well, and while it would be perfectly normal for someone to step up at this particular moment, Old Salamander was the only one who would never step out.

Still, Emperor Wu could not refute Old Salamander's argument. There was no way to verify the accusations that Emperor Wu had stated.

Clap, clap, clap.

Atop Boundless, Lu Yin slowly clapped his hands. "Well said! Words so accurate that no one can argue against them. Sometimes, age itself can be one’s greatest weapon.

"With your end so near, you don't care about the title of Seraph."

Old Salamander looked over at Lu Yin. "Are you saying that you believe me to be wrong, Seraph Lu?"

Lu Yin replied, "Wrong? How could you be wrong? Your words were all too accurate, and no one can refute them.

"However." Lu Yin stared at Old Salamander with increasing intensity. "Your motives mean nothing at all to me. Your motives and whether you care about becoming a Seraph—do I need an explanation for any of that?

"You are the culprit, and only you know why you did everything. All I need to do is find the culprit, nothing more."

Old Salamander laughed loudly. "Seraph Lu, you are indeed qualified to be the ruler of your megaverse! Such arrogant words could only be spoken by you!

"You have no reason for anything, and yet you still insist on accusing me? Do you think I have nothing better to do, or that I orchestrated all of this just to be entertained? Could it be that you believe the Primal Beastland to be empty and that your Boundless can trample over us without concern?"

Lu Yin slowly raised a hand and gently tapped on the void. Ripples spread out from his finger, reaching out to all parts of the Primal Beastland.

Emperor Wu glanced at Lu Yin and felt the ripples. There was no attack, so the ripples were allowed to spread freely.

Emperor Wu refused to be used by another, regardless of whether it was Emperor Slayer or Old Salamander. On top of that, as long as his cultivation remained incomplete, he needed to restrain his urge to attack. Still, none of that meant that he would allow Lu Yin to brazenly attack the Primal Beastland.

If Lu Yin moved against the Primal Beastland, Emperor Wu would be forced to respond.

The ripples continued to spread.

They passed over Yi Die, Jiu Weihu, Old Salamander, and every other cultivator present.

Old Salamander started to feel a bit uneasy, and he looked over at Emperor Wu. "My lord, shall we attack?"

Emperor Wu said nothing.

Lu Yin’s voice suddenly rang out. "One."

In a corner of the Primal Beastland that was far from Old Salamander, on a distant mountain, a small, thin man who had been hiding was suddenly exposed when the ripples reached him. He was surrounded by light and trapped in place.

He was terribly confused and terrified, and he let out a scream of panic.

Old Salamander looked over, and his eyes subtly narrowed. Suddenly, his cane shot forward to attack the man surrounded by the light.

The light stopped the cane. It could not force its way forward.

Lu Yin’s loud voice rang out again, "Don't be so hasty, old man. He’s just the first, just one of the people who helped to spread the Ascendant Hall rumors. There are at least ten such people here in the Primal Beastland. Look, I already found the second one too."

As Lu Yin spoke, a sultry woman was suddenly surrounded and trapped by the same light.

Old Salamander’s expression shifted. He was still unable to push his cane any further forward. He looked at Lu Yin and claimed, "You're trying to frame me."

Lu Yin ignored the old beast. "The third one."

Yi Die, Jiu Weihu, and everyone else looked at Old Salamander with growing uncertainty. His attack had been too decisive and ruthless. It had clearly been an attempt to silence the exposed man.

Seraph Lu would not have pointed these people out without being confident in who they were.

At this moment, Old Salamander felt like he was staring at a ghost. How could Lu Yin have possibly found these people? The ones who had been spreading the rumors were his most trusted followers. Their cultivation was weak, and not a single one knew of another’s existence. They only followed Old Salamander’s orders, so how could anyone have found them?

Not even the Phantom Hand could have found Old Salamander’s agents, let alone Seraph Lu.

Just what had he done?

The further one progressed down the path of karma, the more profound and mysterious it became.

While Astral Anura and Wilderness God had been fighting against Emperor Wu, Lu Yin had been sending spirals of karma into the bodies of the residents of the Primal Beastland, connecting the resulting Karmic Lines with each other.

This was one of the reasons why he had agreed to Old Yu's proposal.

The Primal Beastland was a vast domain, and it was filled with countless cultivators. Even with how quickly Lu Yin could send out his spirals of karma, it was impossible for him to instantly check everyone present. He needed time, and that time had been given to him by Astral Anura and Wilderness God’s fight with Emperor Wu.

Old Yu had wanted to take his time to find the mastermind, but how could Lu Yin agree to such a delay? If someone had plotted against him, Lu Yin needed to root them out immediately.

He had already been deceived once by the deaths of Ba Liu and Yi Yao. Lu Yin had been led to Buyi City in the Daquan Domain. At that time, he had exposed the cooperation taking place between the Wisdom Domain, the Chamber of Commerce, the Gate of Laws, and the Sima Chamber of Commerce. While Lu Yin had not suffered any losses, he also had not made any progress in finding Ba Liu and Yi Yao’s murderer. Since the hidden mastermind had taken action again, Lu Yin had to make sure to force them out now.

Yue Shu had not fled to the Hundred Grasses Domain of his own accord; he had been forced there.

Old Salamander had forced Yue Shu into the Hundred Grasses Domain. The whole sequence of events had been triggered by Wu Ji killing Yue Cheng, which had forced Lu Yin to make trouble for Emperor Wu. In turn, this had forced Emperor Wu to fight against Lu Yin. At the end of it all, Old Salamander would be the one to reap the benefits like a fisherman.

If Old Salamander was allowed to succeed any further, it would be nothing but a joke. After all, Lu Yin cultivated karma, which set him apart from all others.

Without the power of karma, Lu Yin would have had nothing to use against Old Salamander.

The old monster’s scheming and plotting were in no way inferior to Old Yu’s methods.

Lu Yin had already clearly seen that Ba Liu and Yi Yao’s deaths were either unintended collateral damage or a deliberate orchestration by Old Salamander. The reason had been to force Emperor Wu to fight against Lu Yin as soon as Emperor Wu had returned from the Consciousness Megaverse. Everything was set up to serve Old Salamander’s own ends.

Additionally, Lu Yin’s distraction in the Daquan Domain had merely been a diversion. Whatever had happened there had had absolutely no impact on Old Salamander’s grand strategy. However, even a diversion had been a successful attempt to deceive Lu Yin.

Beyond any of that, Lu Yin was also very curious: just what was Old Salamander’s reason for wanting to become a Seraph? Lu Yin had formed a hypothesis, but he needed Old Salamander to confirm it.

"Nine. These are the ones responsible for spreading the rumors. Next, we need to deal with that Wu Ji guy." As Lu Yin spoke, ripples appeared around another cultivator, and it started to radiate a brilliant light.

The nearby Primal Beastland cultivators stared at the trapped woman in a daze.

She had been Wu Ji’s most cherished maid.

Old Salamander’s eyes narrowed yet again. He knows everything! He’s revealed every detail! This is impossible! How could he have done all of this?

Lu Yin slowly smiled as he peered downwards from Boundless. "Wu Ji and Yue Cheng worked together, and this woman knows everything about that matter. On top of that, she is your subordinate. Yue Cheng fled to the Hundred Grasses Domain because you sent people after him and forced him there. You drove him into a dead end and left him with no choice but to seek protection from the Grandverse Manor. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to join the Grandverse Manor, and so you killed Ba Liu and Yi Yao. That was your only option to drag me into this mess.

"You restrained your aura in order to deceive Boundless and simply used pure strength to kill them. Old man, I haven’t made any mistakes, have I? You’re behind their deaths."

Old Salamander glared at Lu Yin. "You think that singling out a few people is enough to frame me?"

Just as Lu Yin was about to reply, a thunderous roar rose in the distance, shaking mountains.

Everyone turned to look. "That's the territory of Grand Mountain Lord Man Kui. Why is it shaking?"

"Could... Could Grand Mountain Lord Man Kui still be alive?"

"No way!"

Boom!

A deafening explosion echoed as mountains shattered. Shockwaves rose into space, shattering the void. Right after that, a furious roar echoed across the entire Primal Beastland, "Who? Who dares to disturb my sleep?!"

Massive claws shot high into the sky, stretching into the heavens from beneath the earth.

Everyone stared as a gigantic beast appeared, slowly crawling up from beneath the mountains. As they rose up, violent shockwaves swept the entire Primal Beastland. The creature’s terrifying power kept rising, until even the stars were trembling.

Jiu Weihu gasped in astonishment. "Is Senior Man Kui still alive? I never would have expected that."

Yi Die let out a breath. "This is wonderful!"

Of the Primal Beastland’s seven Grand Mountain Lords, two were overcoming Dukkha. One was Old Salamander, while the other was Man Kui.

Old Salamander was the oldest creature in the Spirit Nidus, as he was even older than the High Seraph. While Man Kui was not as old as Old Salamander, he was nearly Emperor Wu’s age, and he had once competed with Emperor Wu for the position of lord of the Primal Beastland.

Long, long ago, Man Kui had gone into seclusion and never again emerged.

Rumors had circulated for countless years that the Grand Mountain Lord was already dead. Representatives of the Gate of Laws’ Zhan family had even investigated the matter, intending to take the powerhouse to the Gate of Laws if his lifespan was running out, but they had been thwarted by Emperor Wu.

Cultivators in the Primal Beastland could choose not to enter the Gate of Laws even when their lives were ending. This was not a rule, but an option available due to their pure confidence.

No one had expected to learn that Man Kui was not dead, and he had emerged with a demonstration of terrifying power. His aura was just as intimidating as it had been in his prime.

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. The two things he feared most from the Spirit Nidus was, first of all, the High Seraph’s unfathomable power. Second was the megaverse’s unseen depths.

There was no denying that the Spirit Nidus had been developing for much longer than the Tianyuan Megavese. On top of that, the appearance of an invincible being and a unified cultivation system had ushered in an era of unprecedented prosperity. As for the beast-form Spirit Rebirths, they followed a cultivation system that was completely different from what ordinary humans followed. No one truly knew just how many old ghosts still lingered in the Spirit Nidus.

Together, the Gate of Laws and the Primal Beastland represented the true foundation of the Spirit Nidus.

Lu Yin was not surprised by Man Kui’s appearance, though his arrival at this precise moment did disrupt Lu Yin’s plans.

Man Kui emerged from the mountains, revealing himself to everyone. Scars covered his gray body. It was clear that he fought even more brutally than Emperor Wu.

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