Star Odyssey
Chapter 3608: Wooden Wing

Chapter 3608: Wooden Wing

Yi Shang felt his teeth start aching. “As I already told you, there won’t be any mistakes. There’s only a few tens of trillions of spirit seeds on the line.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“If this endeavor really isn’t going to work out, should I just give you the spirit seeds here and now?”

“Sure, give them to me,” Lu Yin instantly replied.

Yi Shang glanced at his cosmic ring. “I need to return to the Daquan Domain and have the Chamber of Commerce send them to you.”

“Let’s shake hands to seal the deal.”

“Again with shaking hands?”

“You can return to the Daquan Domain and have your people send me the spirit seeds, but since I don’t trust you, let’s shake hands to seal the deal.”

Yi Shang gritted his teeth. “I’m leaving to do that right now.”

“Swear it.”

Yi Shang’s expression turned bitter. He finally understood that Lu Yin was indeed looking to capture him.

“Seraph Lu, with how you are trying to force me, it appears that you were not just passing by. Rather, you deliberately sought me out, didn’t you?”

Lu Yin shook his head. “If you were to barge into another megaverse on your own, where you were completely surrounded by enemies on all sides, you would understand my caution. Besides, what could I need from you?”

Yi Shang met Lu Yin’s eyes. “We’re both intelligent individuals, so there’s no need for us to beat around the bush. It is certain that the odds will be announced and betting locations will be set up. Your portion of the profits will certainly not be lacking, Seraph Lu. I am not going to leave, so please don’t try to stop me.”

As the man spoke, he started to move back. As he did so, the conscient in the form of a giant astral beast also slowly retreated. Wariness filled the creature’s eyes, along with a hint of fear, and it made sure to keep pace with Yi Shang.

Lu Yin sighed. “As expected, no one in this Spirit Nidus can be trusted. Every last one of you is trying to work against me. In that case, you can’t blame me for being ruthless.”

As he spoke, he lifted a foot and shot forward at the speed of time.

Yi Shang’s eyes narrowed, and he grabbed the astral beast with one hand while taking another step back. However, that one step caused him to vanish entirely.

Lu Yin stared blankly at the empty space. Yi Shang was gone, having vanished without a trace. This was not something that could be done by crossing a vast distance or moving at great speed; only the power of space could have such an effect. Yi Shang must have gone to another universe.

Even for someone at the level of Lu Yin or the Origin Progenitor, it was necessary to tear through the void in order to access another parallel universe. That step was necessary, even if it was extremely quick.

However, Yi Shang had skipped that step entirely and simply vanished.

Was that the ability of his mirebound artifact? It was no wonder why the Origin Progenitor had said that he had not been able to see Yi Shang’s escape. Lu Yin also had not been able to see anything.

However, the astral beast had seen what had happened. As Yi Shang escaped, the conscient that looked like an astral beast had moved between him and Lu Yin and had been within five meters of Lu Yin.

Lu Yin’s goal in moving at the speed of time had not been to capture Yi Shang, as Lu Yin had already known that would be impossible. The goal had been to get closer to the conscient, in order to clearly observe just how Yi Shang had escaped.

During the time that Lu Yin had Possessed the conscient, he had failed to find any memory of Yi Shang’s mirebound artifact. It appeared that Yi Shang was extremely wary of the conscient as well, but the man had been so worried about Lu Yin that he had completely ignored the surrendered conscient. In such a situation, it was impossible for a person to hide their actions from absolutely everyone.

Yi Shang had succeeded in avoiding Lu Yin’s sight, but he had not been able to avoid the astral beast’s sight.

Being within five meters of the conscient had allowed Lu Yin to Possess it briefly, so he had clearly seen that, right before Yi Shang disappeared, he had pulled out a small item that had looked like a wooden wing.

Yi Shang had instantly vanished by using the wooden wing. That wooden wing was his mirebound artifact.

Mirebound artifacts were among the most miraculous objects in reality. Their abilities defied all logic, and not even the Origin Progenitor or Mister Mu could explain such things.

True God had repeatedly tried everything possible to obtain mirebound artifacts. As for Yi Shang, while his combat strength was rather average, using his mirebound artifact enabled him to escape right under the noses of the Origin Progenitor and Lu Yin. This alone proved how incredible mirebound artifacts could be.

That wooden wing was likely a treasure that was specifically used for escaping.

As long as Yi Shang had that wooden wing, it would be extremely difficult to catch him. However, Lu Yin’s first problem was even locating the man.

In an unknown parallel universe, Yi Shang let out a sigh of relief as he looked down at the wooden wing that he held. Unless it became absolutely necessary, he never used his mirebound artifact. Unfortunately, he had been given no other choice when facing Lu Yin.

Yi Shang had found his mirebound artifact by chance, and it had saved his life countless times. Without it, not to mention becoming a Seraph, it would have been difficult for him to have even escaped from the Daquan Domain.

He was a merchant, not someone devoted to combat or conquest, and yet he had succeeded in becoming one of the Seven Seraphs. He had overcome difficulties greater than what others could even imagine.

He put the wooden wing away, and a short distance away, the giant astral beast let out a deep roar.

Yi Shang was in no rush to return. Instead, he continued considering how Lu Yin had managed to locate him, given that Yi Shang had left behind no clues and that no one had been aware of his location. What could have possibly enabled Lu Yin to track Yi Shang down?

Could it be that? When Yi Shang had used his spirit cloudstone, his only call had been from Rong Xiang. Could Seraph Lu have used that connection to locate Yi Shang?

While Yi Shang wanted to avoid Lu Yin, he could not rest for even a day without understanding how he had been found. How could he guarantee that Lu Yin would not find him again? However, even if that happened, it was impossible for Lu Yin to capture Yi Shang before he even reacted. While Seraph Lu apparently lacked the means to capture Yi Shang, it was important to understand how he had been found.

After about half an hour, Yi Shang returned to the Spirit Nidus.

Lu Yin did not return to the Hundred Grasses Domain. Instead, he started rolling his die nearby. He still had more than a month to go before his battle with Emperor Wu, and there was no reason to return to Boundless during that time. Spending that time rolling the die would be far more valuable.

How many conscients lived in the Spirit Nidus? Of those, how many were hiding in parallel universes? What were those conscients thinking? After years of hiding, what might they have seen and learned? This was Lu Yin’s shortcut to better understanding the Spirit Nidus. Something that had previously been impossible had become feasible. It was as if a door to a new world had just been opened before him, and Lu Yin once again felt a sense of omniscience and omnipotence.

It was simply unfortunate that it was impossible to Possess the Spirit Nidus’s cultivators. If that were possible, things would truly be perfect.

However, that was impossible. Their cultivation method of using spirit seeds made it inherently impossible to Possess such cultivators, as the spirit seeds caused each individual to become a unique existence.

There were times when Lu Yin even wondered if the cultivators of the Spirit Nidus were truly human. Undergoing a Spirit Rebirth offered them the opportunity to become either human or beast. While this choice offered advantages for their cultivation path and was also a choice, were such cultivators still entirely human?

In the Tianyuan Megaverse, humanity, through willpower and rigorous training, had slowly risen to surpass the astral beasts. That had allowed humanity to rule the megaverse.

However, Lu Yin did not observe a similarly rigorous and dedicated cultivation. Instead, he saw a different perspective.

Humans in the Spirit Nidus could become beasts by undergoing a Spirit Rebirth. In that case, what was the fundamental difference between that and Aeternus transforming humans into corpse kings? Regardless of whether they became astral beasts or corpse kings, these people were no longer human.

Complex thoughts drifted through Lu Yin’s mind as he tapped his die with a finger. Thinking too much accomplished nothing. He needed to continue rolling his die.

There was only a little over a month left before the fight at the source of the Fu River. That was not much time for cultivators, and many had already gathered at the site of the scheduled battle, awaiting the fight.

If Lu Yin won, then it meant that the High Seraph was the only one in the entire Spirit Nidus who might be the man’s equal. If Emperor Wu won, then the Spirit Nidus’s attitude towards Boundless would change. As soon as someone lost the label of invincible, they became just another, average person. No matter how strong they might be, they would still only be considered ordinary.

An ordinary person could be touched and could also be surrounded and killed.

Within the mysterious dark space, Lu Yin saw a glowing orb. He hurried towards it and merged with it.

Four die rolls had failed to land on Possession even once. After resting for ten days, he rolled the die and failed twice more. On this third roll, he finally saw six pips again.

He saw many balls of light but had passed by them all without a second thought. He was looking for two specific targets: the ball of light that belonged to Wu Wei, or the one that represented the conscient that followed Yi Shang.

After searching for some time, Lu Yin finally found a glowing orb that resembled the one belonging to the astral beast conscient, so he merged with it.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that he had indeed Possessed the conscient that he had been hoping for. Is Yi Shang actually in the Daquan Domain?

Lu Yin had not expected Yi Shang to actually return to the Daquan Domain. He was even meeting with Rong Xiang.

In the Daquan Domain’s Buyi City, Rong Xiang was astonished. "Seraph Lu found you?"

Yi Shang’s expression was solemn. "Tell me everything he said and did when he came here before, in detail."

Rong Xiang took a moment to think back before he slowly recounted the events.

Lu Yin ended the Possession, and his consciousness returned to his body. He immediately started heading for the Daquan Domain.

Yi Shang seemed addicted to the idea of hiding in plain sight. First, he had gone to the location where Qian had once hidden, and next, he returned to the Daquan Domain. Did the man really think that Lu Yin would not be able to find him?

Wait a minute. Lu Yin suddenly stopped. Something was very wrong. Yi Shang was far from stupid. If his trick had already failed once, he would never assume that it would work a second time. After all, it was not difficult for someone at Lu Yin’s level to travel to the Daquan Domain. In that case, why was Yi Shang there and showing no intention of leaving?

Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. He’s waiting for me. Yi Shang was trying to figure out how Lu Yin had located him. His earlier questions for Rong Xiang had been an attempt to find clues.

There was a saying: "You can chase a thief for a thousand days, but you can't guard against one for a thousand days." Yi Shang was not confident that he could react in time if Lu Yin launched a sudden attack, nor could he keep the wooden wing in his grasp at all times. Doing so would expose the mirebound artifact.

The only thing that Yi Shang could do to avoid being found and captured was to learn how Lu Yin had located him.

By deliberately exposing his location, he could lure Lu Yin into taking action. Judging by how long it took Lu Yin to find him and how Lu Yin attacked, Yi Shang could gain an advantage. There was no doubt that he was holding the wooden wing while exposing himself. He was ready for Lu Yin’s attack.

As soon as Lu Yin appeared, Yi Shang would be able to escape. For him, he was merely revealing himself. On the other hand, Lu Yin needed to consume a vast amount of consciousness for each search. The trade-off was not in Lu Yin’s favor.

That is, not unless he could capture Yi Shang instantly.

Lu Yin stood where he was, deep in thought. Could he successfully capture Yi Shang? That was impossible. He did not fully understand how the man’s mirebound artifact worked. Did it need to be held in one’s hand or not? Lu Yin was unable to even get close to Yi Shang, who was a Dukkhan. No matter what kind of attack Lu Yin used, Yi Shang would have at least a moment to react.

The only possible advantage that Lu Yin could leverage was the conscient and attack Yi Shang from behind. However, Lu Yin would only have one chance to use that strategy. Failing meant that, not only would Lu Yin never be able to make such an attempt on Yi Shang again, but the man would also suspect why the conscient had acted on Lu Yin’s behalf. After all, the creature had followed Yi Shang for far too long, starting long before Lu Yin had even been born. The only explanation for the conscient to attack Yi Shang would be for someone to control it.

It would not be difficult for a Dukkhan to come to such a conclusion. For example, Yong Heng had managed to do so long ago. If Yi Shang came to the same conclusion, Lu Yin’s ability to Possess conscients would be exposed to the Spirit Nidus.

Lu Yin rubbed his forehead. If only Yi Shang wasn’t a Dukkhan.

Lu Yin’s reasoning was perfectly accurate. Yi Shang had no intention of leaving the Daquan Domain, and he was indeed waiting for Lu Yin to appear. Of course, only Rong Xiang had been informed of Yi Shang’s location.

Since the man wanted to determine how Lu Yin had found him, he would not allow anyone else to learn of his whereabouts.

Even so, Yi Shang was nervous. While he was confident that he was strong enough to instantly react, even to an ambush from Lu Yin, could Yi Shang survive a sneak attack from Lu Yin? That was not a question that he could confidently answer. Still, it was a risk that he had been forced to take.

The Chamber of Commerce officially started accepting wagers on the fight between Lu Yin and Emperor Wu. A variety of variables were available for betting, such as who would make the first move, what the first and second moves would be, who would lose, and what kind of powers and abilities would be used. There were dozens of different options to bet on, each more bizarre than the last.

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