Star Odyssey

Chapter 3693: Beauty

Gui Shaoqing had seen the Primordial Skyflame Beast and Stillstorm within the Willbound Spire, both of whom were creatures from the Tianyuan Megaverse. How could they have been seen in the Consciousness Megaverse?

Gray streams drifted by in front of Lu Yin. He raised a hand to touch them, but hesitated. He glanced around at the endless darkness. This place felt a bit like when he rolled Possession; it reminded him of the strange dark space, yet it was also different.

Conscients appeared at the bottom of a steep cliff, so why was that not where Lu Yin had appeared? Was it because he was not native to the Consciousness Megaverse?

This thought caused Lu Yin to spiral a bit of karma around his fingers. With a wave of a hand, he sent a spiral of karma toward the gray streams. He wanted to see what sort of karma existed in this place. If there were memories, then there also had to be karma. But whose karma was it?

Almost instantly, the spiral of karma shot through the gray stream, dispersing it and spreading it across the area.

Karma wrapped around Lu Yin’s body as more was continuously released.

As that happened, his surroundings transformed yet again. This time, he found himself beneath an unfamiliar sky, looking at a young man. The youth was handsome, his eyes were bright, and his aura was unique. He seemed separate from the rest of the world, and beneath the dark sky, he appeared radiant and completely unreachable.

Despite all of that, he was nothing more than a young man.

Looking at the young man, Lu Yin—or rather, the memory from the Willbound Spire that he was reliving—also saw karma in the young man’s hand.

That karma danced about in a joyful manner.

Lu Yin found it impossible to describe his emotions at this moment. The man in front of him was quite young, looking about as old as Lu Yin, and he also wielded the power of karma. However, the smile on the youth’s face was one of complete ease. He looked as though nothing in all of existence could trouble him. As the karma danced about his fingertips, Lu Yin seemed to hear some kind of laughter.

He did not know why, but at that moment, Lu Yin felt complex emotions. Could it be envy? Perhaps, though it was not envy for the young man’s mastery of karma. Instead, Lu Yin found himself envious of the man’s smile. This smile saw nothing but beauty in the world. It was so clean and pure, and it was also something that Lu Yin himself could never possess.

Such a smile was somehow even brighter than any sort of light.

It was enough to sting the hearts of any cultivator.

What truly mattered in life was not mastering some world-shaking technique or unlocking the power to become immortal, but that pure goodness that surrounded people. Even when darkness blanketed the universe, it could never snuff out such humble wonders. That alone was enough to incite envy.𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Lu Xiaoxuan had once embodied that exact state; his laughter had known no bounds, and every meal had been a delight. He had enjoyed the warmth of his family, the loyalty of friends, and the love of his one perfect soulmate, while also seeing the promise of his unparalleled talent. He had held all of the world’s simple joys. Only at this moment did Lu Yin realize just how fiercely he longed to return to those pure, carefree days; days when even karma itself had seemed to dance with laughter.

Alas, it was impossible to return to that time.

Lu Xiaoxuan was always Lu Xiaoxuan, and Lu Yin is Lu Yin. Everything beautiful that belonged to Lu Xiaoxuan existed solely in memories. Lu Yin was what remained real.

During his earliest days as Lu Xiaoxuan, life had been carefree and untroubled. As he had grown into Lu Yin, reality had tempered him. However, in his heart, Lu Yin still yearned for the freedom that Lu Xiaoxuan had once known.

Such pure beauty was more valuable than even Immortality.

Even so, Lu Yin would not exchange his present life for that beauty, not when he was the one standing between his loved ones and harm, the guardian of the Tianyuan Megaverse, and the protector of all humanity.

There was always a need for someone to make a sacrifice.

Everything the young man had achieved had been built upon sacrifice. He had gazed upon all the world’s beauty and, at such a tender age, already mastered the path of karma. It was truly something to envy.

As the years passed, Lu Yin was unable to tear his eyes away. He watched the youth endure misery and doubt, and suffer the pain of final partings. In the end, that brilliant smile vanished. What had once shone so brightly became an eternal memory, never to return.

Lu Yin found himself wondering: had he been watching the young man, or had the universe itself been gazing upon him?

He watched as the youth grew worn down by time. The laughter in his eyes was long gone. He saw how the man’s understanding of karma deepened, to the point that it even illuminated Lu Yin’s own path. Lu Yin had no clue where the man might be at the moment, but one thing remained clear: that soul had been born far before Lu Yin’s own era. If the man still lived, his mastery of karma was far beyond Lu Yin’s wildest imaginings.

Lu Yin had no idea how many years had passed. It felt as though he was experiencing them himself, and yet not at the same time. He found it increasingly difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion.

One day, he heard the young man—no, he appeared middle-aged by this point—unleash an overwhelming karmic ability, while proclaiming, "The Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm."

Endless karma was unleashed to fill the universe. The sight utterly astounded Lu Yin. While he had his own Karmic Dao, this Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm could easily envelop and crush it.

The moment the karmic technique was unleashed, something unexpected occurred. The middle-aged man spat out blood and stared up at the sky, crying, "Who? Who is obstructing me?"

A voice replied. It came from Lu Yin’s side, yet it did not belong to him. "What a pity. What a pity."

"Who are you? What do you mean, 'what a pity?'" the middle-aged man demanded as he clutched his chest. His face was pale as he looked up at the starry sky. There was no question that he had been badly shaken. He acted as though no one should have even been able to see him, let alone disrupt his Heavenly Karmic Macrocosm.

"Your path has strayed. You’ve gone astray. That is such a pity. I had hoped that, from such beauty, a companion might be born. What a pity. What a pity."

"Who are you?" The middle-aged man attacked with an astonishing, earth-shaking blow.

It was clear to Lu Yin that this attack far surpassed those of all the formidable experts he had ever encountered. This man’s true power could not be fathomed.

At that moment, the scene shifted once more, and the middle-aged man vanished. In his place Lu Yin saw someone else: another young man. However, in contrast to the first man’s beautiful smile, the second man’s eyes held great depth. In them, Lu Yin saw his own shadow.

This young man had also managed to comprehend the power of karma, though his mastery could not compare to Lu Yin’s.

Lu Yin saw no beauty in this man, but rather a profound darkness. His eyes hid too much, and Lu Yin could not help but wonder if his own eyes looked the same to others.

This time, the memory did not only offer mere observation, but guidance.

It was not guidance regarding the man’s path of cultivating karma, but rather his own perspective and character, showing his yearning to see the beauty of the megaverse. It appeared that, to these memories, beauty was the only road to the future.

Such guidance drew scorn from the young man and similar disdain from Lu Yin.

Was this memory completely pure or merely naivety? In life, aside from the first few years of innocent ignorance when a creature could be entirely freely, once an individual gained awareness, they would cease to be able to follow their own desires. Such innocent beauty was always fleeting. Everlasting innocence was nothing but a fantasy, and people had to eventually confront reality.

The truth was that simply being born was the most beautiful gift one would ever receive.

Conflict, violence, and separation were harsh experiences that were capable of completely transforming a person. If one truly wished to never change, then they might as well be insane.

The guidance from the voice in the memory failed entirely. "What a pity. You could have had a beautiful future and become my companion, relieving my loneliness. What a pity. What a pity."

By this time, the previously young man had aged greatly. He knelt to the sky and begged, "I cannot do it! I cannot achieve the beauty you envision, nor can I change myself. Please, grant me another chance. I wish to become your disciple. My talent is exceptional, and there is no doubt that I will succeed. I beg you, please."

The voice in the memory did not answer, and the aged man begged in vain for a day, ten days, a hundred days, possibly a hundred years or a thousand years. However, it was all met with complete indifference.

“You know nothing at all!” the weathered man roared at the heavens. “Can you change my destiny? You want me to see beauty and possess the purest of hearts, but on what basis? What about my enemies? What about hatred? Can you change the greed that is a part of human nature? You can do nothing, and yet you demand that I change! You’re just toying with me! I won’t yield! You...”

As the memory changed, Lu Yin saw a massive horde of astral beasts rampaging in a universe, destroying stars and planets.

Was it because Lu Yin was also human that the first memories he saw were focused on other humans? Lu Yin could not help but wonder if seeing astral beasts indicated that the memories associated with karma were no longer focused on humanity.

Was it possible that these memories were like the endless River of Aeons that he had seen in the Mirari Realm? Were the scenes of the past that were pulled out dependent on the power that one used as a lure?

If that was true, then could Lu Yin be in some alternate form of the River of Aeons? If that was true, then what about the voice he had heard? Could the megaverses themselves possess minds? It was not impossible. After all, since Lu Yin was in the Consciousness Megaverse, it was possible that the voice in the memories belonged to some creature.

On top of that, if the Willbound Spire was something similar to the River of Aeons, then was it possible that the River of Aeons was also some being’s memories?

As Lu Yin considered the situation, he observed an astral beast that had comprehended karma. The voice in the memory seemed eager to find a companion and started offering guidance, only for that guidance to fail once again. Greed was a part of human nature, but astral beasts possessed their own form of greed and base instincts. Regardless of whether a creature could become an Immortal, it would be difficult to alter their innate attributes.

Did reaching the Immortal realm mean losing one’s emotions? Not necessarily. It was possible that an individual’s emotions would grow even stronger after they became an Immortal, but who could say?

The repeated failures of the voice in the memories, much like the endless flow of time, wore Lu Yin down. He could have never imagined that so many creatures would comprehend the power of karma throughout the ages. Even if their number was practically negligible when compared to the total number of creatures that had ever cultivated, with the passing of endless eons, there were enough to leave both Lu Yin and the voice in the memories utterly exhausted.

The memories changed yet again, and this time, Lu Yin saw a blade of grass. It was sharp and vibrant with life, shining brightly as droplets of water splashed upon it. It was so adorable that it reminded him of Sapling, who was a pure creature.

It appeared that the voice from the memories had abandoned sapient creatures and had instead turned to plants, possibly believing that plants were unburdened by worldly attachments and could embody great beauty.

However, even plants failed. They lacked emotions and any sort of longing for beauty. They could not understand beauty. Karma consisted of cause leading to effect, so without some sort of darkness, how could there be light?

After countless hopes and repeated failures, Lu Yin had seen the passing of countless ages. Finally, he returned to the Willbound Spire. He once again saw gray streams drifting by. The spiral of karma was still spreading out in all directions, but it was no longer of any use.

It appeared that the memories associated with karma had been exhausted.

Lu Yin let out a long breath, wondering if his guesses were true. After a moment, he released his consciousness.

Despite the countless ages that had passed in the memories, only a fleeting moment had actually passed in reality.

It had barely been enough time for Shuangdao to rush into the hut.

Right behind the conscient, Emperor Slayer also rushed in.

The beast had no idea what was within the thatched hut, and he was prepared to escape at a moment’s notice.

As soon as he burst into the hut, he arrived in a dark space, just like Lu Yin. However, Emperor Slayer did not see any trace of Lu Yin, the High Seraph, or even Shuangdao.

He looked at the vast gray streams flowing about and then opened his mouth. Emperor Slayer fired his cannon.

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