Star Odyssey
Chapter 3610: The Source Of The Fu River

Chapter 3610: The Source Of The Fu River

A former Seraph, seen as an ant by another cultivator? This had to be the greatest joke in the history of the Spirit Nidus.

Yi Shang actually laughed as the situation was just that absurd.

Lu Yin just stared at the man and smiled slightly.

At that moment, Yi Shang had no idea how to respond. Having someone look down on him in this manner had rendered any possible words meaningless. Lu Yin was showing pure indifference that came straight from his heart.

Yi Shang was desperately curious as to why Lu Yin had spoken in such a manner. He might be stronger than Yi Shang, but that did not mean that the old man was incapable of even fighting back.

“I know what you’re thinking, but you can take my words to heart for the time being. After the duel at the source of the Fu River is done, you had best prove yourself. If not...” A penetrating glare stabbed at Yi Shang. “How many times do you think you can escape?”

With that, Lu Yin disappeared.

Yi Shang looked away. This really is a terrible joke. Does Seraph Lu truly think that he is invincible in the Spirit Nidus?

He had even dared to plot against the High Seraph in the past, so what gave Lu Yin the right to look down on Yi Shang so much?

Right, he was using those words to throw me off guard. He wants me to believe that he’ll only move against me after the battle at the source of the Fu River.

Yi Shang let out a breath and shook his head. No matter what Lu Yin’s intentions might be, there was still a month left before the scheduled duel. It would come soon enough. Before that, Yi Shang had absolutely no intention of showing himself again.

Lu Yin peered into the Daquan Domain. He could search for Yi Shang again, but doing so would cost him a ridiculous amount of consciousness. Even if Lu Yin succeeded, he still lacked a reliable method of capturing the man. It was too steep a price for too small a gain.

There was only one month left before his fight with Emperor Wu. It was likely that there were already a large number of people gathered at the source of the Fu River.

Lu Yin looked away and found a quiet place. He then raised his hand and continued rolling his die.

He had devoured countless conscients hiding within various parallel universes. Only by doing so had he gotten multiple opportunities to enter the strange dark space and search for a target to Possess. Without restoring his consciousness, Lu Yin would have struggled to even maintain his Nine Heavens.

What consumed the most consciousness was the time that he spent searching for a target to Possess. Each time he found a suitable conscient, he never Possessed them for very long. Even so, just a few Possessions had consumed a tremendous amount of his consciousness. This was most likely his final chance, so he needed to make the most of it and find Wu Wei.

He had already rolled the die three times, and only the third roll had landed on six pips. Lu Yin was on his fourth and final roll.

The die came to a stop, and Lu Yin arched a brow. His luck was unexpectedly good; he had rolled Possession again.

His consciousness returned to the mysterious dark space. Given his experience with the process, Lu Yin immediately started searching for balls of light. As he moved through the darkness, he encountered several barriers blocking his way. He saw a cluster of orbs of light behind one of the barriers, but he did not try to merge with any of them. The Stellar-realm conscient that he had previously Possessed had been aware of several parallel universes where conscients were hiding. There was no need for him to search for any more at this moment.

It was clear that he had found one of those hidden enclaves.

As he continued to move through the dark space, his consciousness was steadily consumed. The longer he searched for, the heavier his heart grew. He mentally calculated his cost, and he knew that he had already burned through a great deal of his consciousness. If he continued at this rate, his control of the consciousness that formed his Nine Heavens would grow unstable.

At that moment, he spotted another barrier. There were a large number of spheres of light on the other side, including one that shone as brightly as Yi Shang’s captive conscient. A Stellar-realm conscient? Lu Yin was out of options, so he lunged forward, breaking through the barrier and merging with his target. He desperately needed to replenish his consciousness.

The Possession initiated, and when he opened his eyes, sure enough, he had a human shape.

The conscients hiding in the parallel universes had all made it a point to fix their form as that of a human. Doing this likely made it easier for them to adapt for when they eventually attacked the Spirit Nidus.

Memories pour in, and Lu Yin’s heart stirred. This conscient lived in a parallel universe that had no connection whatsoever to the one ruled by the conscient that Lu Yin had previously possessed. This meant that his earlier knowledge had been incomplete; there were far more conscients hiding in the Spirit Nidus than he had initially imagined. However, there was one constant between the two groups Lu Yin had found; they were both subordinates of the same Luminary that was present in the Spirit Nidus.

Lu Yin ended his Possession, and his mind returned to his body.

He stood up and started moving.

He had previously been reluctant to devour too many of the hidden conscients, as that would reduce their strategic value in the future.

However, now that he had obtained a better understanding of the silent invasion’s scale, he lost his earlier hesitation. There were far more conscients in hiding than he had expected, and even the two Stellar-realm conscients that he had Possessed did not seem to be aware of everything. Since that was the case, devouring the conscients from a few parallel universes would not disrupt their overall plans.

Over the course of the next ten days, Lu Yin successfully devoured the conscients of two different parallel universes. Not only did this stabilize his consciousness that formed the Nine Heavens, but it also strengthened Lu Yin’s own consciousness. However, when he went to the third universe to devour the conscients there, there were none to be found.

In the fourth universe, it was the same.

It appeared that there was a connection between the various groups of hidden conscients. The others had been alerted, and they had reacted quite quickly.

If Lu Yin was determined to find them, he certainly could do so. However, more than ten days had already passed, and the entire Spirit Nidus was abuzz with conversations about the battle that was about to take place at the source of the Fu River. As the day drew closer, Lu Yin abandoned searching for more conscients and instead found a quiet place to roll his die again.

He was lucky that more than ten days had passed, which allowed him to roll the die again. The timing was perfect.

He tapped the die and watched it spin. Three pips, Enhance. Again.

Five pips, Gift Copy. Again.

Four pips, Timestop. Lu Yin let out a sigh of frustration. He would have to wait another ten days.

At this time, at the source of the Fu River, the betting was in full swing. The Chamber of Commerce was being unusually blatant in its promoting this time.

Countless cultivators gathered at the Fu River, awaiting the imminent battle.

"Brother, move back a bit. You have to be careful to not get caught up in this fight. Seeing it isn’t worth dying for."

"This should be far enough, right?"

"Far enough? Heh, not even close!"

"But if we move any farther away, we won’t be able to see anything!"

"Does that matter, compared to keeping your life? During the battle at the Umbral Deep, I warned others too, but some of them still died because they were too close."

...

"Listen here, I watched the battle at the Umbral Deep with my own eyes. That was an earth-shattering fight, and so many people got caught up in the destruction and died. Let me give you a key tip: if you notice any fluctuations in the void, either run or hit the ground. Forget your dignity. Many highly respected young geniuses were forced to duck low, ignoring their own image during that battle."

"Sister, were things really that intense?"

"You can’t even imagine. Now, find me something to help me see better."

...

"I wonder who will win: Emperor Wu or the Third Boss?"

"No one can say for sure, but the Chamber of Commerce seems to be betting on the Third Boss."

"The odds say it all. Look, the Primal Beastland is already causing trouble."

...

Some distance away, a group from the Primal Beastland had stormed the bookmaker venues, started smashing tables, and nearly started a fight. Most of the odds favored Lu Yin, with lower payouts for his victory, while Emperor Wu’s victory would result in significantly higher payouts. It was clear that the Chamber of Commerce favored Lu Yin. There was no other reason for the odds to be so skewed.

To the Primal Beastland, this was an insult.

The Chamber of Commerce's odds sparked many discussions. While Lu Yin had established a formidable reputation in the Spirit Nidus, Emperor Wu had been in power for far, far longer. He had a record of remaining undefeated despite fighting against three other Seraphs at the same time. Recently, in the Primal Beastland, he had stomped Man Kui to death and then overpowered Old Salamander while simultaneously clashing with Lu Yin without ever falling to a disadvantage. On top of that, Lu Yin’s consciousness had clearly failed to stand up to Emperor Wu’s serrated blade.

Endless debates resulted in the source of the Fu River being livelier than ever before.

Many older experts also arrived, and everyone was eagerly awaiting the battle.

A few days later, the Grand Mountain Lords of the Primal Beastland arrived, including Yi Die and Jiu Weihu.

When they arrived, they casually destroyed a few of the Chamber of Commerce’s venues, leaving the company officials furious, though they were also powerless to retaliate.

Rong Xiang did not get involved. It was perfectly understandable why the Primal Beastland resented the stated odds. In truth, Rong Xian had no idea who would win the duel. He could not begin to see through either of the competitors. However, he was just following the president’s orders and had no choice in the matter.

Compared to offending the lawless Third Boss, offending Emperor Wu was a much lesser evil. At least the Chamber of Commerce had the means to appease Emperor Wu’s wrath.

Of course, that was also assuming that Emperor Wu survived the battle.

A large number of beast-form Spirit Rebirths had already arrived, most of whom were from the Primal Beastland. Each of them radiated a fierce and menacing aura, and many nearby people trembled in fear. The chatter quickly died down.

"What a pity. Of the once-mighty Primal Beastland’s seven Grand Mountain Lords, only two remain now. Sigh." A mournful sigh reached the ears of many of the beast-form Spirit Rebirths.

Their rage instantly exploded. "Who said that? Get out here!"

"Get out!"

Yi Die's gaze swept the opposite side of the Fu River. There, he saw a man shaking his head while letting out a sigh. His eyes sharpened. "Ju You."

Jiu Weihu was surprised. "Ju You?"

The man on the other side of the river reacted with surprise. "I didn’t expect anyone to still remember me! It’s been a long time, Brother Yi Die."

The surrounding crowd started murmuring. "Ju You? The name sounds familiar, but where have I heard it before?"

"Of course you’ve heard it! Master Ju You! His words divide black and white. He once cursed a Seraph," someone excitedly explained.

Someone else suddenly made the connection. "That man? The one who spoke on behalf of all independent cultivators to reprimand a Seraph, which nearly caused him to be put on the Black Spirit List?"

"Black is black, and white is white. That man?"

"Are you really Master Ju You? Please, accept our respects. You stood up for us independent cultivators! We are eternally grateful!" someone excitedly called out.

Many others turned to look at the old man as others offered him bows.

The man raised a hand to stop them. "I didn’t do that to stand up for you. I simply couldn’t tolerate what I saw and needed to vent my frustration."

"Even so, we ended up causing you trouble."

"Thank you, sir..."

Across the river, Yi Die called out in a low voice, "Ju You, have you stopped hiding? You actually dare to reveal yourself? Do you really think that you will be able to rest easy by latching onto Boundless?"

Master Ju You smiled at Yi Die. "‘Latching’ isn’t the right word. I haven’t even joined Boundless—I simply help my friends from time to time."

"The friends you’re referring to, are they Hu Wu and Tian Ya?" Jiu Weihu asked.

Master Ju You nodded. "That’s right."

A beast-form Spirit Rebirth growled, "Boundless? So what? I’ll tear you apart with my bare hands!"

"Today, Emperor Wu will definitely kill that Third Boss! Boundless won’t be around for much longer!" another beast-form Spirit Rebirth roared.

All of the beast-form Spirit Rebirths were completely hostile towards Boundless.

Two people stepped forward from behind Master Ju You. "Hey, who are you putting on this enraged show for? What? Do you want to spar?"

"We’re happy to oblige."

"Who’s afraid of who?"

Yi Die’s eyes narrowed. These two were powerhouses who were unable to publicly show themselves. They might as well be on the Black Spirit List. If not for their ties to Boundless, they would have never dared to reveal themselves.

The beast-form Spirit Rebirths were violent and brutish, given they had the Primal Beastland behind them. Most cultivators would never dare antagonize the Primal Beastland; only those who were part of the seven major powers or who were supported by a Seraph had the courage to do so.

The two sides stood on opposite banks of the Fu River, each hurling insults at the other, yet neither made any real moves.

In the distance, Shu Qian rolled his eyes. If you’re going to fight, then just fight. Why bother with all this talking? His eyes blazed as he scanned the cultivators one by one. There were so many with absolutely fascinating pasts. He really wanted to collect them all.

Huh? That old man looks familiar... Old Salamander?!