Star Odyssey

“Shut up!” Great Elder Shan Gu roared angrily. He wanted to slap the Verdant Sage dead right now.

The Verdant Sage also hated the Great Elder, as it was clear that the human wanted nothing more than to see it dead.

“Senior Shan Gu,” Lu Yin said.

The Great Elder looked over at Lu Yin. “Please speak, Dao Monarch.”

Lu Yin looked the old man in the eyes. “Can a Verdant Sage locate another Verdant Sage?”

Shan Gu was momentarily stunned, but then he remembered the Verdant Sage that had spawned from Cang Xiaoxue’s Nest and was hiding in the Origin Universe.

This thought caused the Great Elder’s expression to turn grim.

“Senior, can a Verdant Sage find another Verdant Sage?” Lu Yin asked again.

Shan Gu hesitated briefly, but then he nodded. “Yes. As long as they’re within a certain range of each other, a Verdant Sage can sense the presence of another Verdant Sage.”

“I can! Is there another Verdant Sage? Human, I can definitely help you find it!” the Verdant Sage eagerly declared.

Lu Yin continued to look at Great Elder Shan Gu. “A hidden Verdant Sage is much more of a problem than one that we’ve already found. We need to find that Verdant Sage.”

He then stretched out his hand. “The Nest.”

Ce Wangtian was still standing nearby, and he handed the Nest to Lu Yin. This was the one that had belonged to the West Mountain Dynasty’s crown prince. The Verdant Sage had taken the Nest from the crown prince, and when it had been captured by Ce Wangtian, he had also obtained the Nest.

Lu Yin immediately crushed the Nest.

The Verdant Sage gave a wince of pain at the sight, but it did not dare to speak a word.

“Without a Nest, no matter how powerful a Verdant Sage might be, they can’t spawn any more insects on their own, right?” Lu Yin said. Then, he silently communicated to Shan Gu, “I promise you, as soon as we find the hidden Verdant Sage, I’ll destroy them both.”

The Great Elder opened his mouth, but he had nothing to say. The missing Verdant Sage had to be found, and humanity currently had no way of doing that. Only another Verdant Sage could accomplish that task.

“Dao Monarch, please be careful,” Shan Gu replied.

Lu Yin nodded. Of course he needed to be careful. Not only would he be extremely cautious, but he also had an experiment in mind. If things succeeded, he might not need to destroy the Verdant Sage at all. If the experiment failed, then there would be no choice but to eliminate the bug.

As a part of the remnant survivors of a fallen megaverse, Shan Gu’s concerns were not unfounded.

Verdant Sages were very smart, or rather, very cunning. The captured one might have already deduced that Lu Yin would kill it when the other Verdant Sage was found. Ensuring that the Verdant Sage actually did its best to help was another issue to be dealt with.

Lu Yin took the Verdant Sage back to the Heavens Sect, and then he raised one finger to it. “One year.

“I believe that you understand the concept of time. One year. You only have one year. If you can’t find the other Verdant Sage in that time, you will die.”

The Verdant Sage was startled. "Human- no, Master, I can’t be too far away from the other Verdant Sage if I’m to sense it. The megaverse is vast, and there are too many parallel universes. It’s practically impossible to find a Verdant Sage within just a year! This is no different from searching for a needle in a haystack."

Lu Yin remained indifferent. "I don’t care. Who knows if you are able to communicate with each other? Other insects are capable of locating Nests, so if you can’t find the Verdant Sage, find the Nests. Regardless, you only have one year. I promise that I will follow through on this."

The severed vines on the Verdant Sage's body writhed. “Master, I would never dare to betray you! That old man is too weak, which is why he is so afraid of us, but you are so powerful that, even if I were ten times stronger, I wouldn’t be able to escape from you. Keeping me alive will allow me to be useful.”

Lu Yin’s voice grew cold. "I trust my own people more than I trust you. I am confident that I can fight against any enemy, whether you are with me or not. It’s better to eliminate you than to undermine my own people's trust in me. You followed the West Mountain Dynasty’s crown prince for a long enough time for you to understand political power and how to manipulate people’s hearts better than almost anyone. Whatever I do, I won’t lose. Prove your value. If you can’t, don’t blame me."

The Verdant Sage felt helpless. It had no idea how to respond.

“Alright, come with me. The sooner you can find the other Verdant Sage, the more valuable you will be to me,” Lu Yin stated. He grabbed the Verdant Sage and brought it to the Megalith, which was outside of the Heavens Sect. The Megalith was treated as a mount. “Let’s go, we’re going on a tour of the Origin Universe.”

He believed that the Verdant Sage from Cang Xiaoxue’s Nest was still in the Origin Universe. If it had gone to some other parallel universe, it truly would be no different from searching for a needle in a haystack.

There was at least a chance of finding the Verdant Sage if it was still in the Origin Universe.

As long as the captive Verdant Sage wanted to survive, it would search diligently and not try to hide or be lazy.

Time passed, and the massive Megalith roamed about the various weaves of the Outerverse. Lu Yin revisited many familiar places. He went to Northcastle Weave, where he saw the Greatsword Dynasty. In Grandtop Weave, there was the Nine Stacks Sect. In Lars Weave, he saw the Six-Fingered Tribe. In Flaxen Weave, there were the remnants of the Tri-Banner Federation. In the Adonis Weave, Darkstar Gorge. In Vastdearth Weave, there was the Vastdearth Sect.

There were so many familiar places. Lu Yin had done too much throughout the Outerverse.

As the Megalith traveled, everyone in the weaves it visited bowed in respect.

Lu Yin saw the people, and they saw Lu Yin. The people’s eyes were filled with reverence, admiration, and fervent worship.

After exploring the Outerverse, the Megalith entered the Astral River, where a casual swish of its tail caused its flow to reverse. What had once been a terrifying place where Lu Yin had not even dared to fish now looked as calm and harmless as a swimming pool in someone’s home.

After crossing the Astral River, they entered the Innerverse, where the Astral River’s tributaries spread out. What Lu Yin had once only been able to observe by piecemeal, he was finally able to see in its entirety, and he surveyed the entire Innerverse.

He specifically warned the Megalith to limit how much force it used, as it could easily destroy the tributaries of the Astral River.

"It’s already been three months, and you still haven’t found the Verdant Sage?" Lu Yin’s voice sounded perfectly calm. There were no emotions to be heard.

Beside him, the Verdant Sage immediately started begging, "It’s really not easy! I also want to find it and eliminate it for you, Master, but there simply hasn’t been enough time! Just for the Outerverse, while we went through it once, I was able to sense less than one-tenth of the entire place."

A threatening look appeared on Lu Yin’s face. "Are you telling me that you would need thirty months just to search through the Outerverse?"

The Verdant Sage responded bitterly, "It’s impossible to estimate the time… It’s possible to search a region, but the other Verdant Sage might enter it right after we leave. The power of us Verdant Sages means that we can easily move about the universe. Forget the Outerverse—it can easily move across the entire Origin Universe if it wanted. Finding it is nothing more than a matter of luck."

Lu Yin's lips curled slightly upwards. "You have nine months left."

"Master, wait! I sense something." The Verdant Sage suddenly grew excited, and its vines pointed in a certain direction.

Lu Yin’s eyes grew focused as he looked in that direction. The vines were pointing at a planet. It was an ordinary world, where the civilization was just starting to make contact with the greater universe and with cultivation. It was in a state that was reminiscent of Earth right after its apocalypse.

The Verdant Sage’s vines fell from outer space. To the people of the planet, a terrifying and incomprehensible event was taking place. They stared blankly at the vines that descended from the sky and then knelt down. They shouted something that sounded like frenzied worshiping.

As far as the people of the planet could understand, the vines that had appeared were a ladder to realms beyond their own. They were a path to a higher level of existence.

Countless people reached out and tried to grab hold of the vines.

The vines moved and converged onto a single area. It was a desert, and at the center of the desert was a city. The vines pierced the ground beneath the city and then extracted a Scrollbane Centipede that had been hidden there.

The vines kept hold of the Scrollbane Centipede and quickly pulled back. The insect was presented to Lu Yin as though it was a treasure. "Master, I found it!"

Lu Yin looked at the flailing Scrollbane Centipede that was bound by the vines. A dangerous glint flickered across his eyes. Were there still more of them?

He had thought that all of the Scrollbane Centipedes in the Origin Universe had already been dealt with.

As he looked at the jade-colored centipede that the Verdant Sage had captured, Lu Yin’s expression softened slightly.

While the Verdant Sage had not been caught, Scrollbane Centipedes was also extremely dangerous. If there was one, then could a second or third have also been missed? Lu Yin’s expression grew even gentler. "Well done."

The Verdant Sage was overjoyed. "Thank you, Master!"

Lu Yin then led the Verdant Sage through the Innerverse. This time, their search was much more thorough than when they had explored the Outerverse. Two more Scrollbane Centipedes were found, which excited the Verdant Sage. "Master, Scrollbane Centipedes are difficult to find, unless they reveal themselves. Even peak powerhouses struggle to sense them. If there are more Nests in this universe which are spawning Scrollbane Centipede, it would be a disaster if they spread to the rest of the megaverse in large numbers."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Master, I can be very useful. Isn’t a year too short?"

Lu Yin took a moment to think. "It’s been more than half of a year, and yet you still don’t have any leads on the other Verdant Sage."

The Verdant Sage pleaded, "Master, finding another Verdant Sage really is just a matter of luck! I swear that I’ve hidden nothing from you!"

Lu Yin remained silent and calmly stared out at the stars.

After a long while, he finally said, “Removing Scrollbane Centipedes is also of benefit. You have one more year. If you still can’t find the other Verdant Sage by that time…” Murder danced in his eyes as he said, “I’ll destroy you.”

The Verdant Sage wanted to reply, but Lu Yin no longer had any interest in speaking with the insect. He dragged it on towards the Neoverse.

Normally, a year would have been more than enough to explore the entire Origin Universe, but the discovery of the Scrollbane Centipedes meant that they had spent more time in the Innerverse, and Lu Yin had also given the Verdant Sage another year.

Even if it proved impossible to find the missing Verdant Sage, this time would be well spent if all of the Scrollbane Centipedes were removed from the Origin Universe.

The Verdant Sage continued its search.

Lu Yin observed the Verdant Sage. The insect had many uses, and killing it would truly be a waste. He hoped that his experiment would be successful.

In the Sixverse Association, in the former Three Monarchs Universes, Tuo Lin and Hui Can parted ways.

After leaving the Heavens Sect, the two men had not stayed in the Origin Universe for very long before they followed Tuo Lin’s suggestion and moved on to the Three Monarchs Universe.

Hui Can did not know why Tuo Lin had wanted to visit that universe, but he had no choice but to follow.

The Three Monarchs Universe had been annexed to the Endless Frontier long ago, and it had been the site of many great battles. After Aeternus had been defeated at the Immemorial Citadel, all the remaining corpse kings had been hunted down, and the universe had become peaceful.

Tuo Lin was interested in touring the Three Monarchs Universe, but Hui Can had no such interest. He was more interested in returning to the Perennial World, as that would be a triumphant return home for him.

“Junior Brother, who knows how long we will be separated for. Take care,” Tuo Lin said as he patted Hui Can on the shoulder.

Hui Can sighed. “Senior Brother, what’s so great about staying here in the Three Monarchs Universe? Come to the Perennial World with me. At least there are people there.”

Tuo Lin turned to stare at the ruins of the Emperor Domain. “Do you realize that this place is where Master truly made contact with the parallel universes beyond the Origin Universe?

“This universe carries the weight of Master’s confusion and determination when it came to foreign universes. Through the people of this Three Monarchs Universe, he learned about the Sixverse Association and decided to enter it. He started to take control of the Sixverse Association only after he succeeded in stripping the Three Monarchs Universe of their membership.

“This universe holds a special meaning for Master.

“In life, the greatest fear is of the unknown, while the greatest laziness is avoiding exploring the unknown. In this universe, I’ve seen another side of Master.”

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA

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