Star Odyssey
Chapter 3623: Blinding

Chapter 3623: Blinding

Meng Sang and Old Salamander both wore respectful expressions as they looked at the young man.

"I didn't see the end of it. Was the battle spectacular?" the young man asked as he stared out at the pitch-black city that only had a sporadic flickering of lights.

His wealth was sufficient for him to control the power outage for the entire city, or even the whole planet, but the lower classes were not bound by that. They were not even able to see the young man giving the commands. As far as the people of the city were concerned, the city's power system had malfunctioned, not been intentionally shut off.

Such a thing was unimaginable to them.

There was awe in Old Salamander’s voice as he replied, "Such a battle has never been seen before. The Nine Heavens Transformation elevated both of them to the High Seraph’s level. In the entire Spirit Nidus, it’s possible that only the High Seraph and you could participate in such a battle."

The young man placed both hands on the railing and leaned forward to look down upon the city. "Light up."

That single command lit the city back up. Neon lights banished the dark night and illuminated countless people who had been walking through the darkness, and they cheered.

"Out."

Just one word plunged the city back into darkness.

To the people on the rooftop, even destroying this planet would not take any effort, and yet the feeling of destroying a planet was different from completely conquering one.

"Is it blinding?" the young man asked.

Meng Sang and Old Salamander glanced out at the lights that were scattered across every corner of the city.

"It’s blinding," Old Salamander replied.

The young man laughed, "When the lights are blinding, no one can see them. They pierce even the eyes of those in power. It's not that they are unwilling to let the lights go out, but simply that they don't know that turning the lights off is even an option. Just as these people don’t even know of my existence.

"I am able to decide their fate with a single word, yet they can also band together to produce those sporadic lights that can shine until they can hurt me.

"That is exactly how I once overthrew the Heavens Sect."

Meng Sang and Old Salamander both remained silent and simply listened.

"It isn’t a bad thing to occasionally enjoy the extreme pleasures of the ordinary people." The young man spread his arms out wide and took a deep breath. He then said, "Stay away from all conscients."

Meng Sang and Old Salamander both grew puzzled as they asked, "Stay away from the conscients?"

The young man stared up at the stars in the sky. "You should not get close to any conscient."

When he saw Lu Yin split the Nine Heavens with his consciousness, he had turned and left. That battle no longer held any suspense. What he had witnessed in that moment had remained on his mind ever since, leading him to a single possibility.

Could Lu Yin, with his mirebound artifact, possess conscients?

There was no doubt that it was impossible for Lu Yin to possess the Spirit Nidus’s cultivators. If he could, things would not have developed as they had. Back in the Tianyuan Megaverse, Lu Yin had always been one step ahead—foreseeing and foreknowing everything. It had been a terrifying advantage, one rooted in his complete understanding of his enemies. But that edge had vanished within the Spirit Nidus.

In particular, because the young man cultivated a spirit seed, he had become well aware of the changes occurring within his body. He knew that it was impossible for Lu Yin to possess anyone who had cultivated a spirit seed.

In that case, what about the conscients? The young man had been watching everything carefully. Earlier, he had concluded that such a possession was impossible, but things suddenly seemed different now. He speculated that Lu Yin might have already developed the ability to possess the conscients. If that was true, then any conscient that appeared could potentially serve as Lu Yin’s spy.

The fewer conscients existed within the Spirit Nidus, the tighter Lu Yin’s control over the situation would become.

His mirebound artifact is incredibly useful.

...

Old Yu arrived in the Roaming South Realm.

The shattered valley had been restored. While the Phantom Reach had been crippled and completely lacked the power of one of the seven major powers, Jiu Xian still retained her home in the Roaming South Realm.

"Old Yu? Why are you here?" Jiu Xian asked with curiosity. She rarely met Old Yu alone.

She barely involved herself in the affairs of the Spirit Nidus, while Old Yu had always preferred to keep an eye on everything. He preferred to manipulate things from behind the scenes, and he seldom entered the limelight.

The two were so reclusive that they had barely spoken to each other throughout the years.

Old Yu entered the valley and said with a sigh, "I didn’t have any choice but to come here. I must speak with Seraph Lu, and he specifically requires you to accompany me."

Jiu Xian snorted. "Have you gone senile? Do I have to comply just because he told you that I need to accompany you? What do you take me for?"

Old Yu raised a hand. "Don't get upset. I just came here to say a few words. I’ll leave right after that."

Jiu Xian impatiently replied, "Then hurry up! I don't have time to deal with you. The High Seraph is entirely focused on destroying the Willbound Expanse, which means that there isn’t much time left to rest. I need to find some good wine, or else I’ll have nothing to drink when I go to the Consciousness Megaverse."

She then reached out, grabbed her wine gourd, and started drinking.

Old Yu gave a small smile. He was quite familiar with Jiu Xian and was unbothered by her irritable behavior, so he simply continued explaining. "When Boundless first arrived, they accepted any and all lawbreakers and outcasts. They deliberately antagonized the High Seraph, and Lu Yin roamed about the megaverse. He even went so far as to brag that he would deface the Apex Palace-"

"Wait," Jiu Xian interrupted, shooting an annoyed glare at Old Yu. "I already know all of this. Why all the wasted words? Just be blunt."

Old Yu said, "No matter what, you should allow me to finish what I have to say. Drink your wine. If you don’t have enough, I have plenty back in the Wisdom Domain."

Jiu Xian snorted with contempt. "Keep your wine to yourself. I’m afraid that drinking it might poison me."

With a resigned sigh, Old Yu continued. "Lu Yin roamed the megaverse, and when he passed through the Vast Qian Domain, he could not stand to see a pitiful servant being bullied. Because of that, he captured Sage Qian and stole the Skyriver...

"When he was in Ninerings City, Qi Shangjun ambushed him with several others, and Lu Yin fought his way to the Consciousness Domain...

"As soon as he received the title of Seraph, he immediately started confiscating resources with his new authority, solely in an attempt to limit the number of spirit seeds and throttle the number of cultivators that our Spirit Nidus will produce in the future. That’s also not everything..."

...

Jiu Xian continued to listen to Old Yu recount Lu Yin’s past deeds in detail while drinking wine and occasionally rolling her eyes.

A long time later, Old Yu finally finished, and he stared at Jiu Xian. "You should now understand that this man won't rest until he achieves his goal, regardless of the methods needed to accomplish that. The fact that he specifically requested your presence indicates that he has reasons to speak with you. If you are forced to speak to him alone in the future, things will be much less favorable to you than if you join me now."

Jiu Xian set down her gourd of wine. "If you’re done talking, then leave. I won't see you off."

Old Yu's expression grew heavy. "There are certain things that are clearer to an outsider. He not only specifically requires your presence, but he also doesn't mind speaking to you in front of me—you should understand why."

Jiu Xian’s brow furrowed as she stared at Old Yu. "What is this? Are you going to lay it out?"

"You and I are not enemies."

"We also aren’t friends."

"He has already seen through us. If we continue to feign ignorance, it will only increase the ridicule."

Jiu Xian drank more wine, her face clearly showing her displeasure. "That guy’s strength is absolutely ridiculous. What a nuisance..."

Old Yu showed a bitter smile. "If not for that, I wouldn't have come here at all."

Did Jiu Xian not want to find Feng Bo? Of course she did. She was obsessed with finding that man to the point of madness. However, the countless years of searching had also left her rather numb and had instilled a sense of restraint into the woman.

Lu Yin had managed to find Feng Bo's trail, and he wanted to trade that information for something from Jiu Xian. This was perfectly normal, and Jiu Xian was willing to give anything, but Lu Yin was asking questions regarding things that could not be spoken.

As soon as she heard Lu Yin’s questions, Jiu Xian had already realized that her chances of obtaining Feng Bo's location through talking with Lu Yin were remote. Even though Lu Yin had not taken action against her, she had wanted to move against him and test the strength of the mighty Tianyuan powerhouse.

Ultimately, she had failed to uncover his true strength, though she had discovered that she was absolutely no match for him. Their exchange had devolved into a deadlock.

Since then, she had been trying to find some way to break that deadlock.

The fact that Old Yu was visiting Jiu Xian after hearing Lu Yin’s demands was basically proof that he was agreeing to Lu Yin's proposal. There were things that, even if Jiu Xian remained silent about, Old Yu would reveal even without her. Agreeing would greatly lower the cost that she would be forced to pay.

More importantly, Old Yu was right; even if she refused to speak, Lu Yin would use every means possible to force her to talk. While there were some actions that no powerhouse should take, Lu Yin had already proven that he lacked any sort of scruples. He was a man who truly stopped at nothing.

Jiu Xian shook her wine gourd and said, "I hope that your Wisdom Domain’s wine isn’t poisoned."

Old Yu smiled and pulled out a spirit cloudstone.

In the Consciousness Domain, Lu Yin had made several more attempts to touch the wall of karma, but every attempt had failed. As he considered how he should proceed next, his spirit cloudstone trembled.

He answered the call.

"It's me."

"Hmmm."

Old Yu continued, "Please, Lord Lu, let's speak in the Wisdom Domain."

That informed Lu Yin that Jiu Xian had agreed to speak. He had finally managed to stir up the waters of the Spirit Nidus, and he was determined to find out what lay hidden within its depths.

"Alright, just wait, and I’ll see you there."

At the same time, in the Ark Domain, dark clouds covered the sky. The atmosphere had grown incredibly tense.

One colossal object after another floated through the sky, each an outline that resembled an enormous battleship, though each was also only half finished. What should have been a bustling construction site appeared desolate at the moment. Nearly half of the cultivators who worked there were casually strolling about, only occasionally glancing upwards. Some showed expressions of ridicule, others anxiety, and a few appeared to be waiting for something.

The Ark Domain encompassed a vast region, and it held numerous cities. Chaos had fallen on all of those cities. Looting took place everywhere, fights broke out randomly, and all sense of order was disrupted.

At the center of the Ark Domain stood a massive city. It had the shape of a battleship, as it was the capital of the domain, as well as the seat of the Zhuo family.

At this moment, the atmosphere within the Zhuo family’s estate was far worse than elsewhere in the domain.

A bang echoed out as a burly old man angrily smashed a table. His face was flushed red as he let out a roar of fury, "Let’s go down with him!"

Everyone present was startled into silence, all of them too frightened to even speak.

Feeling helpless, Zhou Qian stepped forward. "Father, if everything else fails, should we agree to their demands?"

That old man was Zhou Duo, the ruler of the Ark Domain, as well as the man whom Old Tao had called "Zhou the Brute."

After hearing Zhou Qian’s question, Zhou Duo slapped his son. Zhou Qian had been prepared for this reaction, and he had stepped back as soon as he finished speaking, narrowly avoiding the slap. If he had hesitated at all, he would have been too late.

This was the result of years of dealing with Zhou Duo; as soon as one spoke, they should instantly retreat. It did not matter if the words spoken were right or wrong; nothing would reduce Zhou Duo’s inclination to slap. He did not slap people to correct what they said, but simply to vent his own emotions.

Even as Zhou Qian was speaking, he had already been prepared for his father’s standard reaction. Of course, Zhou Qian was also concerned about his own image; he could not allow himself to be slapped, as being struck in such a manner would prompt others to laugh at him.

Zhou Duo ignored the fact that his slap missed. He shot a fierce glare at his son and scolded him. "Agree? You fool! You don’t understand a damn thing! If we agree, our ancestral legacy will end up being stolen from us!"

Zhou Qian was left speechless. Their branch of the family had already stolen the ancestral legacy. After all, they were an off-shoot of the main branch, and the ancestral legacy had never been intended for them at all.

Zhou Duo looked out of the room. "How many people have stopped now?"

Zhou Qian looked behind, glancing at his own son.

The young man did not dare to raise his head. He understood that it was his turn to receive a beating, but he was not confident that he could evade his grandfather’s hand. He refused to raise his head, no matter what the circumstances might be, not even if keeping his head bowed killed him.

Zhou Qian gritted his teeth as he glared at his son, Zhou Yin.

"Huh? Qian, did you hear what I said?" Zhou Duo roared, glaring at the man.

Zhou Qian's face twitched as he replied, "About half."

Once again, he stepped back as soon as he spoke. As he moved, a blast of wind swept by. He was all too familiar with the sensation; it indicated that the slap had missed.

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