Star Odyssey
Chapter 3602: Hoarding

Chapter 3602: Hoarding

While the other Peak Masters would sometimes be challenged by people aiming for their positions, the conscient’s master’s position had remained as steady as Mount Tai; no one dared to challenge the man. Even when everything else was ignored, the conscient alone was strong enough to deal with most challengers. By the Spirit Nidus’s standards, the conscient was as powerful as a Spirit Ancestor.

The conscient’s master was considered the most powerful out of the seventeen Peak Masters.

"Good, Old Nine! Go! Your move has become even simpler."

"Old Twelve, why are you hiding? Charge! Hahahaha."

Lu Yin heard the Peak Master’s laughter, and he looked around before ending the Possession. Nothing in the Northmount Domain deserved his attention.

Still, he was very excited. Being able to possess a conscient opened up so many possibilities. Wu Wei wanted to run, but was that possible any longer? Even if Wu Wei hid with the High Seraph, that still would not be enough to escape.

When Lu Yin's consciousness returned to his body, the first thing he did was to check how much consciousness the Possession had consumed.

The results caused his heart to sink. How could it be so much?

Lu Yin possessed a Universe-level consciousness. It was vast and powerful, comparable to the Thirteen Luminaries’. Even in the Consciousness Megaverse, his consciousness would be considered top-tier. However, after splitting his consciousness to form the Nine Heavens, it had been weakened to the point where it had failed to withstand Emperor Wu’s serrated blade.

All of Lu Yin’s consciousness had been used to form the Nine Heavens. His star of consciousness had already been exhausted. The consciousness that he had used to fight against Emperor Wu had also come from his Nine Heavens, and there was not much available. In fact, after using his consciousness just twice, he had already decided not to use it in combat again.

At this moment, his consciousness that formed the Nine Heavens had thinned even further.

If it had previously been solid, then it was now a mist. If he used his consciousness again, Lu Yin could not guarantee that his Nine Heavens would not simply collapse.

His expression darkened. After rolling Possession, he had spent a great deal of time searching for a target and only Possessed the conscient for a short period of time. However, just like when he had used star energy in the Origin Universe to power his Possession ability, the longer he took to find a target, the more expensive the Possession was.

However, the most recent cost was too much for Lu Yin to accept. He had to replenish his consciousness first.

Lu Yin’s first thought was Progenitor Xi. Her consciousness was far from weak, and if he could devour it...

He almost instantly abandoned the thought, as Progenitor Xi was still of value.

After thinking for a bit, Lu Yin emerged from seclusion and went to the bow of the Boundless. Yu Shan was still hanging from the tree, but no women came to visit him any longer.

So much had happened recently, and with the battle between Lu Yin and Emperor Wu drawing close, the entire Spirit Nidus was waiting for it.

"Do you know where the conscients in the Spirit Nidus are?" Lu Yin asked.

Yu Shan replied, "The Consciousness Domain."

"Aside from that."

Yu Shan thought for a moment. "Actually, many sects and families have a habit of hoarding conscients. Long ago, when conscients were first brought to the Spirit Nidus, the Ascendant Hall announced that only the Seraphs were able to brand them. At that time, the Seven Seraphs were more than willing to help with that process. Those conscients were able to die while fighting for their masters, and because of their nature, they could also help a few people cultivate consciousness, both of which were quite beneficial.

"However, later on, the Seraphs grew unwilling to waste their time, and the captured conscients weren’t able to help the Spirit Nidus fight against the Consciousness Megaverse. As soon as they are taken back to the Consciousness Megaverse, they can easily be erased by others of their kind. This causes their consciousness to dissipate and strengthen their killers’ power. The Ascendant Hall realized that surrendered conscients aren’t actually very useful, so they stopped forcing the Seraphs to brand them.

"Most of the conscients who have surrendered are sent to the Consciousness Domain to help people cultivate consciousness. Only a few scattered conscients are in the Spirit Nidus.

"While it was just a small number, over time, the number of conscients that are being hoarded by these various forces has become quite considerable. They simply don’t dare to bring their captives out, as not branding the captive conscients is still considered a grave crime."

Lu Yin was immediately reminded of Little Yao. The conscients that the various forces of the Spirit Nidus were hoarding were not just the conscients who had surrendered. Some might have been privately captured in the Consciousness Megaverse, just like the adopted Little Yao.

If even Ba Liu and Yi Yao were able to take away a conscient like Little Yao, then there was no need to even mention other forces. Despite the fact that keeping unbranded conscients was a crime, it was also tacitly accepted.

One day, when a Seraph was once again willing to brand conscients, those various organizations would undoubtedly find a reason to bring out their hidden conscients. After all, if they could not use them, then what was the point of hoarding them?

Lu Yin was himself a Seraph, and he was thus qualified to brand conscients, but he believed that no group would be willing to accept his help.

Losing all of the conscients in the Consciousness Domain was something that the entire Spirit Nidus was aware of, and rumors were running rampant, claiming that Boundless had allied itself with the Consciousness Megaverse. No one would believe Lu Yin.

He also would not be able to have the other Seraphs get involved, given the short amount of time that Lu Yin had to work with. This matter was simply too sudden, and there had been no earlier indication or warning. Lu Yin could not underestimate the vigilance of the Spirit Nidus’s forces.

Given the situation, his only option was to directly go to the conscients.

"Which forces are hoarding the most conscients?" Lu Yin asked.

Yu Shan replied, "Naturally, the stronger groups have more, or those that believe they have special privileges."

The first few groups that Lu Yin thought of were the Wisdom Domain and the rest of the seven major powers. However, when he thought back, it did not seem like the Phantom Reach had had any hidden conscients, and the Wisdom Domain had seemed similarly clean, as he had discovered nothing there either. Nothing had been found in either the Daquan Domain or the Primal Beastland. The only remaining possibilities were the Gate of Laws and Heavenspire.

Unfortunately, it did not matter if those two had any hidden conscients or not, as Lu Yin could not search those places.

Aside from the seven major powers, there had to be many other groups hoarding conscients throughout the thirty-six domains.

Even the small Northmount Domain had some, which meant that there was no need to even question the others. Lu Yin immediately considered the Heavencraft Domain.

The Heavencraft Domain enjoyed a special status among the thirty-six domains, due to the fact that they produced all of its spirit threads. Ce Wangtian and Astral Anura had once been driven out of the Heavencraft Domain, which had eventually prompted them to find Emperor Slayer. Lu Yin had known about the matter for quite some time, though he had not addressed it with Astral Anura.

There was also the Ark Domain, which was known for making battleships. Given the countless favors that they were owed, it was not impossible that they were also hoarding conscients.

In that case, he would start with those two domains.

As soon as Lu Yin made a move, there was no doubt that he would alarm all the domains. That meant that his first action needed to be as big as possible. In particular, Lu Yin was concerned about the Heavencraft Domain.

The strange scene that he had witnessed during the Day of Offering had included seven inverted funnels and a mysterious figure, but there had also been a triangle formed by the rising "灵" character, which had seemed to support the seven funnels. Without that character, the liquid might not have been pulled through the funnels. The "灵" character was formed from spirit threads, and all spirit threads were made in the Heavencraft Domain.

...

Things in the Heavencraft Domain had returned to normal after the Day of Offering, but the atmosphere was much quieter than in the past. This was entirely due to the two times that Boundless had forcibly gathered the domain’s resources.

The Heavencraft Domain was by no means poor, so losing those resources did not matter to them. However, they could not tolerate the insult.

Since ancient times, who had ever dared to offend the Heavencraft Domain?

While the Heavencraft Domain was not one of the seven major powers and had never given rise to a Seraph, it still held a special status due to being the sole manufacturer of spirit threads. Similar to how Yue Ting was able to find the materials needed to build sequence bases, the Heavencraft Domain was of great importance to the Ascendant Hall. Because of this, even the Seven Seraphs would not be disrespectful towards the Heavencraft Domain.

The fact that Boundless had humiliated the domain was completely unprecedented, and because of that, everyone in the Heavencraft Domain was holding their breath.

"Fool! You haven’t even managed to become a junior craftsman yet? What use are you to me? How can someone so foolish avenge the Heavencraft Domain?"

"Master, I will work hard and become a junior craftsman as soon as possible."

"Only a master craftsman can use Everchanging Spiritsilk. I have no hope of accomplishing that in my life, but I at least expected you to become a junior craftsman quicker than me. This is my fault for not seeing your talent. Leave."

"Master! Please, Master, give me one more chance!"

...

"Ling'er, we are both master craftsman and have learned to use Everchanging Spiritsilk. Our child will definitely be able to follow the same path in the future."

"Of course. Our child is extraordinarily talented and will certainly become a master craftsman even quicker than me."

"That's right. One day, our child will make us proud and surpass even Boundless!"

"What is this nonsense? Our child just needs to live and stay safe. Outside conflicts will have nothing to do with him."

"You—how can you think like that?"

"You shouldn’t concern yourself with anything regarding Boundless. By the time our child is grown, Boundless probably won’t even be a threat any longer."

"Let’s hope that’s true."

...

"We swear to be brothers starting today. We swear that our cultivation will soon have a breakthrough and that we will avenge the Heavencraft Domain in the future!"

...

The Heavencraft Domain was proud and would not accept humiliation, just like the Qi family had once been.

What made it even harder for the Heavencraft Domain to accept the insult was the fact that they had not even been humiliated by Seraph Lu himself.

Outside a hall, a short, chubby man was kneeling, his eyes fixed straight ahead. It was impossible to know what he was thinking.

Time passed, and many people filed out, walking past the chubby man, who held his gaze straight ahead. At times, someone would whisper, and the short young man’s ears would perk up as he tried to eavesdrop.

"Come in," an elderly voice called out.

The chubby man quickly stood up and dusted off his legs before stepping into the hall.

An old man was sitting in the hall. He was the same man who had once driven Ce Wangtian and Astral Anura out of the Heavencraft Domain. He was the ruler of the domain.

"Grandmaster, I’m here."

The old man looked at the young man, carefully observing him. "You are quite impressive."

The young man was startled, and he acted confused. "I don’t understand, Grandmaster."

The old man showed a rare smile. "Despite your young age, you've already become a master craftsman. It’s also rare for anyone to have a personality that allows them to disturb someone like Zi Yi with mere words. Very few of your peers throughout the entire Spirit Nidus are able to surpass you. The future of the Heavencraft Domain will rely on you."

The short, chubby man’s heart quivered, and he felt quite bitter. "Grandmaster, please don’t say such things. I- I can’t handle the pressure.

"Also, please don’t let any of this leak. That beautiful woman has some powerful backers."

The old man chuckled. "The Phantom Reach is indeed quite formidable, though not to the point of being able to humiliate my Heavencraft Domain."

He paused, and his expression fell. "Only Boundless has done so, and it is unforgivable!"

The young man did not dare to say a word. At this moment, the entire Heavencraft Domain was waiting for the right moment to take revenge on Boundless. Many people were highly charged, but the young man was not one of them.

What was the point of getting worked up? They had not lost anything. There were still plenty of resources. As for dignity, was that something that could be eaten? Clearly not. His fat had not built up from gathering dignity. He possessed no dignity at all.

The old man let out a long sigh. "You've reached a bottleneck, haven’t you?"

The short man gave an awkward smile. "Grandmaster, you are quite insightful. I have indeed reached a bottleneck, but it’s fine. With a bit of time, I will certainly overcome it."

The old man shook his head. "You will need a great deal of time to break through, but there are opportunities that can compensate for that. Ordinary people lack both resources and opportunities, but our Heavencraft Domain has both. You can try things out, one by one."

The young man was stunned. "What should I try?"

The old man’s gaze became profound. "Start with consciousness."

...

Boom!

The ground trembled, and dust rose into the sky.

The short, chubby man briefly shuddered and then looked back. He was now in a pitch black location with a stone door blocking his path, which was also shrouded with spirit threads.

He was beneath the Heavencraft Domain, in the place where the conscients were imprisoned.

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