Star Odyssey

Chapter 2939: Astral Anura

Mr. Daheng saw Lu Yin's obvious surprise, and he instantly regretted saying anything. Clearly, Lu Yin had not known anything before asking the question. It had not been a test, but a genuine question. If Mr. Daheng had known, he would have never admitted anything.

However, the words had already been spoken and could not be taken back.

"I do have access to one, and the flow of time is about thirty times faster than the Arboreal Realm’s. If you need it, Lord Lu, I will take you there." Mr. Daheng's voice sounded slightly helpless.

Lu Yin laughed as he stood up and walked over to Mr. Daheng. His hand rose up as he patted Mr. Daheng on the shoulder. "Thank you very much."

Mr. Daheng forced out a smile. He intended to carefully think about the recent events while he was on the Endless Frontier. He kept feeling that many things were wrong. It felt like he was constantly being manipulated by Luo Shan and Lu Yin.

It had been many years since Mr. Daheng had felt manipulated. The Sixverse Association had changed ever since Lu Yin entered it.

A short time later, Mr. Daheng led Lu Yin to a parallel universe where time passed thirty times faster. The universe was connected to the Arboreal Realm, which meant that it could be entered without a coordinate seal. The connection was even close to the Liberation Palace.

…

Lu Yin returned to the Heavens Sect.

Lu Yin raised his hand and helped the Monarch stand back up. "Thank you for your hard work."

Chen Le’s tone was very respectful. "It is my honor to serve you, Dao Monarch."

Lu Yin smiled. "You did very well. Wu Heng told me that, no matter what sort of torture Mr. Daheng subjected you to, you never said anything. I underestimated you."

Chen Le felt a bit excited. "You don’t need to worry, Dao Monarch. Even if I had died, I wouldn’t have said a word."

Lu Yin laughed. "Alright, head on back. I’ve seen your loyalty."

Chen Le was thrilled to hear this acknowledgement. "Yes, Dao Monarch."

At this moment, the Second Nightking arrived to report to Lu Yin. "Dao Monarch, Luo Shan is requesting an audience with you."

Chen Le was stunned. Luo Shan?

Lu Yin had not expected Luo Shan to visit the Heavens Sect. He glanced at Chen Le and said, "Show him in.

"Chen Le, sit back down."

Chen Le did as he was told.

Luo Shan was quickly escorted in. As soon as he entered the main hall, he saw Chen Le. There was no reaction in the Monarch’s eyes as he approached Lu Yin. "Lord Lu, I previously told you that our grudges should have been cleared in the Transcendent Universe. Why are you still coming after me?"

"How dare you speak to Lord Lu that way!" Chen Le scolded angrily.

Luo Shan gave the man a frigid glare.

Chen Le was not the slightest bit intimidated. He had just expressed his loyalty to Lu Yin and was in a good mood. On top of that, they were in the Heavens Sect. No matter how powerful Luo Shan might be, Chen Le could behave arrogantly in the Heavens Sect.

Lu Yin smiled and asked Chen Le to sit back down. He then looked at Luo Shan. "If our past grudges have been erased, then why did you give me that stone in the Three Monarchs Universe?"

"I believe that you were the one who told Chen Le to give that stone to me, Lord Lu," Luo Shan repiled.

Lu Yin nodded. "But that isn’t why you gave me the stone. You did that to divert Daheng's attention."

Luo Shan’s eyes glittered. "Lord Lu, you didn’t have to take the stone."

"Who do you think I am?" Lu Yin gave Luo Shan a pointed look. "You and Daheng are just small fries. How would I ever back down from it?"

Luo Shan clenched his fists while glaring at Lu Yin.

"Don't tell me that it wasn't you who attacked my forces in the Transcendent Universe and tried to capture Chen Le," Lu Yin continued.

Luo Shan took a deep breath. "I just wanted to know exactly why."

"Chen Le is a member of my Heavens Sect. By daring to attack him, you are disregarding me. What you spoke of with erasing our past grudges only applies to matters that took place before the battle between against Shaman God in the Transcendent Universe. Your actions after that remain to be accounted for. On top of that, do not forget that it was my crusade to conquer the Endless Frontier that revealed Mr. Daheng lurking about in the Three Monarchs Universe. Without me, you would not have known anything before he ambushed you," Lu Yin shouted.

Luo Shan's eyes flickered. "Is that why you coerced that moron Daheng to go to the Three Monarchs Universe and attack me?"

"What more of a reason do you want?" Lu Yin asked indifferently.

Luo Shan stared at Lu Yin for a long moment while thinking about things. "Very well, this matter ends here. Daheng has been sent to the Endless Frontier, and from now on, I will also remain on the Endless Frontier. Please don't make trouble for me again, Lord Lu."

Lu Yin laughed and rose to his feet. He slowly and deliberately walked over to Luo Shan. The distance between the two closed until they were so close that either could attack the other at any moment.

It was clear that Luo Shan was the stronger of the two. After all, he was a sequence powerhouse. Even so, at this moment, Luo Shan was the one who abruptly took a step back. Lu Yin was a threat. This had nothing to do with Lu Yin’s cultivation or combat strength. Rather, the sense of danger came from Lu Yin’s aura.

"The Aeternals cannot seize the upper hand on the Endless Frontier while I am around. Do you think that you can do so here on my own turf? Luo Shan, you overestimate yourself."

Luo Shan glared at Lu Yin. "I can compensate you.”

"That reason why that idiotic Daheng had the courage to ambush me was not only because of my injuries, but also because of a power vessel that he has. You should have seen our battle, so you should have seen the copper coin that he pulled out at the end."

Lu Yin arched a brow. "A copper coin?"

Luo Shan glanced at Chen Le. "Get out."

Chen Le became furious, but Lu Yin dismissed the man with a wave of his hand. "Head on out first."

Chen Le gave a respectful bow. "Of course, Dao Monarch."

Only Lu Yin and Luo Shan remained in the Heavens Sect’s main hall now. The Monarch stared at Lu Yin. "It has not been long since you first joined the Sixverse Association. Because of this, you are still unclear about many details, particularly about outsider powerhouses.

"That copper coin is the emblem of a very powerful outsider known as Astral Anura."

Lu Yin listened quietly.

"Astral Anura is a very powerful creature. It is said that even the Great Sovereign needs to show him a measure of respect. He is one of the outsider powerhouses who cannot be provoked. He is not an ally of the Sixverse Association, but neither is he an ally of Aeternus. He is willing to cooperate with both sides, yet is also willing to treat both as his enemies.

"The copper coin that Daheng brought out is Astral Anura’s emblem. I ran away from the battle not because I am afraid of Daheng, but rather because I am afraid of that copper coin."

Lu Yin was both surprised and intimidated. Luo Shan was sharing information that could be regarded as a secret of the Sixverse Association.

Luo Shan could be sneaky and underhanded, but he also had a measure of righteousness to him. He had been willing to suffer humiliation and act as though he was submitting to Sovereign Shao Yin, and yet he also wanted to replace Lord Wei as the ruler of the Transcendent Universe. Luo Shan could run away from a fight without any hesitation, but he would never betray humanity as a whole. He had been willing to search the entire Sixverse Association for Monarch Mu, but he had also been able to let go of his feelings for the woman when necessary.

No matter how much the man hated Lu Yin, Luo Shan was willing to make peace.

Such a person would readily escape from a battle without hesitation, but it was not easy for him to admit that he had been frightened away from a battle.

On top of that, he was scared of a mere copper coin.

"Daheng is Astral Anura’s. That creature would never give his copper coins to an outsider. Will this serve to erase our grievances?" Luo Shan asked solemnly.

Lu Yin pondered. "Since this Astral Anura is a neutral party, why is he helping Daheng?"

"Astral Anura doesn’t consider emotional attachments, only profits. Daheng clearly must have done something to help Astral Anura earn considerable profits. Your scheme may have deceived Daheng into believing that I sent Chen Le into the Heavens Sect and the Liberation Palace, but if anything happens to Daheng, Astral Anura will never forgive the matter. Then, you will be forced to deal with a powerful creature which is nearly equal to the Great Sovereign." Luo Shan did nothing to hide the gloating in his voice.

He had shared this information with Lu Yin in order to eliminate any grudges, as Luo Shan did not want to constantly have to worry about Lu Yin’s schemes. On top of that, Luo Shan wanted to disrupt Lu Yin. The young man had destroyed the Three Monarchs Universe, and he was also responsible for Monarch Mu’s death. Luo Shan desperately wanted to kill the bastard, but unfortunately, that was impossible. Still, there were some ways for him to get a bit of revenge.

Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back. "What happened between you and Daheng?"

Luo Shan's eyes flashed. "We’ve known each other for a very long time. In fact, we both started cultivating at nearly the same time. There are too many grievances between us, such that I can not even recount them all. Lord Lu, are you really curious about us?"

Lu Yin did not really have any interest in Luo Shan and Daheng’s common past. His true purpose was to visit various universes where time passed at different speeds.

"Give me access to a parallel universe where time passes at a different speed, and all of our past grudges will be cleared. As long as you don't provoke my Heavens Sect, I will not go after you again," Lu Yin promised.

Luo Shan’s wish for Lu Yin to not betray humanity as the Monarch escaped from the Transcendent Universe had not only saved Luo Shan’s life, but had also made Lu Yin dismiss his thoughts of killing the Monarch. Granted, this was on the premise that Luo Shan did not pose a threat to Lu Yin.

Luo Shan was surprised. "How do you know I have access to such a universe?"

As soon as he spoke, his eyes flickered with realization. "The Merchant Exchange told you."

Lu Yin stared at the man. "Do you agree?"

Luo Shan could not see through Lu Yin. Regardless of who may have leaked the information to Lu Yin, Luo Shan needed to pay this price.

"Lord Lu, from now on, our slate is wiped clean." Luo Shan agreed to give Lu Yin access to the parallel universe.

Lu Yin was satisfied. "If you have any other such universe, you can come to me with a price, and I will pay you or owe you a favor."

Luo Shan barked an odd laugh.

Lu Yin frowned. "Why are you laughing?"

Luo Shan exhaled. "I’m laughing at you, Lord Lu, because you and Astral Anura will eventually end up at odds with each other."

"Because of Daheng?"

"No, because of parallel universes with different rates of time flow." Luo Shan grew serious as he looked at Lu Yin. "The commodity that Astral Anura most prefers to use for his trades are the same kinds of parallel universes that you are seeking."

Lu Yin's expression instantly changed.

"Lord Lu, take care." Luo Shan left.

Lu Yin had no idea if this last comment was true or not, but it most likely was. Luo Shan could not be the only one in the Sixverse Association who knew about Astral Anura, so there would be no point in trying to lie to Lu Yin.

Did Astral Anura also need parallel universes with different temporal flow rates?

That might make things really, really tricky!

Lu Yin became lost in his own thoughts. Just how many others were seeking the same thing as him?

…

Dark-red earth stretched out into the distance. It was the surface of a planet in the parallel universe that Mr. Daheng had given Lu Yin.

It was a tiny universe, and it was about as large as the Astral River and all of its tributaries. Lu Yin had already visited all the planets in this universe, and not a single one of them had any form of life. This was not something that Lu Yin had ever encountered before.

It was as though the universe had only been recently born.

He felt rather confused about the absence of life. How was he supposed to gain this universe’s recognition?

After considering the matter for a long time, Lu Yin ultimately decided that, since there was no life, he would introduce life to the universe.

Of course, he could not create life. Rather, he would bring it in.

It would also have to be a form of life that could adapt to the universe.

For a bit of time, Lu Yin wandered about the Origin Universe, gathering up various lifeforms and introducing them to the parallel universe. Most of the creatures died the moment they entered the universe, completely unable to survive. The fact that there was no life in the universe meant that either no life had yet appeared, or that nothing was capable of surviving in it.

After Lu Yin found the first lifeform that succeeded in surviving in the universe for half a year, he knew that it was possible for creatures to live in the universe. Unique lifeforms would eventually appear in the universe, but what Lu Yin wanted to do next was entirely dependent on luck.

For some time, Lu Yin introduced many different lifeforms from the Origin Universe, hoping that by doing so, he could accelerate the process of being acknowledged by the parallel universe.

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA