Star Odyssey

Chapter 3709: Five-Leaf Clover

In an instant, the High Seraph, Yong Heng, and Lu Yin all shot onto the clifftop. At almost the exact same time, Yong Heng attacked the High Seraph.

Even Lu Yin was startled by the sudden attack when they arrived atop the cliff.

On the other hand, the High Seraph was not at all surprised. He faced Yong Heng’s Return of the Myriad Swords and simply avoided the attack with the formless and shapeless aspects of his Nine Heavens Transformation.

“Join together! We need to subdue him first. If we don’t, we’ll never get back down,” Yong Heng shouted, rousing Old Chief’s group to action.

True God was right. They had only reached the top of the cliff because of the High Seraph, and getting back down would require him as well.

It was also impossible for them to spend every minute atop the cliff keeping an eye on the High Seraph.

For those reasons, all the conscients attacked with their consciousnesses.

Lu Yin had no objection to dealing with the High Seraph first, and he also joined in on the assault.

However, it was nearly impossible to defeat the High Seraph. Otherwise, he would have lost at the bottom of the cliff, and the battle would not have been delayed for so long.

Even with the three-way alliance, Everstone allowed the High Seraph to remain as solid as a mountain. When someone was forced to fight at their full limits because there was no path of retreat, they could be terrifying.

Suddenly, Yong Heng turned on Lu Yin. The Return of the Myriad Swords slashed right at Lu Yin, catching everyone off guard.

Fortunately, Lu Yin had always been on guard against Yong Heng.

The two men hated each other at least as much as they hated the High Seraph. Yong Heng wanted Lu Yin dead, and Lu Yin wanted nothing more than to kill Yong Heng.

Return of the Myriad Swords produced temporal after‑images. Lightstream flitted through, reversing time by one second and disrupting the effect.

The High Seraph pulled back and stopped fighting.

Lu Yin stabbed a finger forward: the Dao of One Heavens.

Yong Heng’s eyes transformed as divine energy erupted from his body and burst out.

Boom!

The divine energy smashed against the cliff, and Lu Yin was forced to retreat further and further. “Are you determined to fight me here, Yong Heng? Aren’t you afraid that you won’t be able to hold off the High Seraph without me?”

Yong Heng’s gaze turned colder than ever as he locked onto Lu Yin with a hard stare. “I’m exhausted. Kill you, slip back to the Tianyuan Megaverse, and never care about these three megaverses again; that sounds perfect. Even if Tianyuan is wiped clean by a reset, I’ll just hunker down in the Aevum Inch and wait. When those destined to become Immortals finally ascend, I’ll show up again... and matter just the same.”

Lu Yin’s eyes widened. “You really would throw away every grand ambition in an instant?”

There was a tremendous heaviness to Yong Heng’s gaze as he looked at Lu Yin. “Up here, no one is a greater threat than you, Lu Yin. You have comprehended the power of karma. Out of all of us, you alone might be able to reach the Immortal realm without resetting a megaverse. You cannot be allowed to touch whatever lies within that palace.”

This explanation also caused the High Seraph to grow more serious. He had refused to take Lu Yin up the cliff partly because of his own schemes, but also because Lu Yin’s mastery of karma was a path to Immortality that could very well replace the need to reset a megaverse.

If Lu Yin obtained an Immortal’s memories from the palace, then there was a chance that he might instantly reach the Immortal realm. That would erase all others’ paths to survival.

The High Seraph and Yong Heng both knew that Lu Yin had comprehended the power of karma, but no one else atop the cliff had been aware of that. Upon hearing Yong Heng’s words, Old Chief, the other Luminaries, and everyone from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse were all stupefied.

“Ka‑ karma?” Xi Wen gasped.

Old Chief’s eyes flickered, and he suddenly looked at Lu Yin with unprecedented wariness. It was no wonder why he had sensed an invisible power when fighting against Lu Yin. That was karma.

While the Consciousness Megaverse had no interactions with the Tianyuan Megaverse and limited interactions with the Spirit Nidus, all living creatures instinctively felt both dread and yearning for karma. Had this man actually comprehended such an ethereal power?

The people of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse were even more badly shaken, and they were all gaping at Lu Yin.

“Karma? Isn’t that power exclusive to Greater Sancte Green Lotus? A peerless force? He isn’t Immortal, so how can he wield karma?”

“I’ve never heard of anyone comprehending karma other than Immortals. Not even the disciples of Greater Sancte Green Lotus have succeeded.”

“Karma is a supreme power. This path to Immortality has no need to reset a megaverse. If Greater Sancte Green Lotus knew of this man, then...”

“He will very likely be taken into the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.”

“He would become the first ranked Young Sancte.”

“But he doesn’t belong to our Nine Odysseys Megaverse.”

“That doesn’t matter to a Greater Sancte.”

...

The man and woman leading the two groups of young people were equally stunned. They both stared at Lu Yin as though beholding a divinity.

Luo Ning clenched his fists. His eyes were cold, yet they sparked with jealousy and resentment. How could anyone comprehend the power of karma? It’s already bad enough that this man is unbelievably powerful, but for him to have also comprehended karma? Why?! He’s nothing more than an ant from one of the three other megaverses! He’s never even seen an Immortal, and he possesses no foundation or a true inheritance. How?

His expression fell as he heard the nearby. This man can never come to Greater Sancte Green Lotus’s attention! Should that come to pass, he might really receive the title of First Young Sancte, and then no one will be permitted to touch him!

Someone said it right: to a Greater Sancte, what difference is there between the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and the three lower megaverses? Everyone in them is a mere mortal.

All who entered the Nine Odysseys Megaverse and sensed the majesty of those who ruled over them would invariably forget their previous identities. After that, in the same manner as those who lived in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, they would view all who occupied the lower three megaverses as ants. There were no exceptions.

Lu Yin could see that the mood had changed. The mention of “karma” had caused everyone to look at him differently.

There was even a cold glint in the eyes of Old Chief and the conscients.

The greater the importance that an individual placed on the palace atop the cliff, the greater a threat Lu Yin became. There was nothing he could say to change that. So long as it was true that he had comprehended karma, nothing could change the fact that he was a threat.

He could not change that, but he could drag someone else down with him and muddy the water.

“Yong Heng, you’ve also comprehended karma. Why keep it hidden?” Lu Yin asked with a pleasant smile as he turned to look at Yong Heng.

Everyone was startled. Had someone else really comprehended the power of karma?

Yong Heng sighed with a shrug. “I wish that I had comprehended it, but alas, I haven’t.”

“You have,” Lu Yin insisted.

Yong Heng chuckled. “Do you really believe it’s so easy to comprehend the power of karma? Do you believe that anyone will accept that two of us have done so in the same era?”

Lu Yin glanced at everyone. “They also can’t believe that two people as young as us are as strong as a Lesser Sancte.”

Those words struck home. It was true that both Lu Yin and Yong Heng appeared to be much too young. In fact, their youth was simply unreasonable.

How could such people exist? Not even the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s Young Sancti had achieved such strength.

Luo Ning’s eyes narrowed. These two men’s youth was what puzzled him most. Cultivators were capable of altering their appearance, but one’s aura and bearing could never be faked.

Both Lu Yin and Yong Heng were genuinely very young.

Yong Heng said, “While you may wish to drag me down with you, you underestimate just how difficult it is to comprehend karma. Just because you have succeeded, it does not mean that others can.”

Lu Yin stared at Yong Heng. “Can you swear that you haven’t repeatedly avoided karmic backlash?”

Everyone stared at Yong Heng. The only way to avoid karmic backlash was to comprehend karma.

The man nodded and showed a small smile. “Four times. I’ve escaped karmic backlash four times. Would you like to know how?”

He then pulled out a plant. It was a small sprout that only had a single leaf, but it was also clear that four other leaves had been lost. The remaining leaf gave off a brilliant blue light, while the four stems where the other leaves had been lost gave off such a faint light that it was practically invisible.

The moment the plant appeared, Lu Yin felt a powerful longing for it. It was not his own desire, but rather his Karmic Dao yearning to claim the sprout.

Yong Heng’s eyes radiated obsession as he looked at the five‑leaf clover. “The first time was when I escaped temporal reversion. A leaf fell then.

“The second time was when I freed Meng Sang from temporal reversion, causing another leaf to fall.

“The third time was when I took Tian Ci’s spirit seed and completely rebuilt my cultivation, costing me a third leaf. That is also the reason for my youth. That spirit seed was a mirebound artifact.”

Luo Ning and the man and woman leading the two groups all blanched when they heard this. A spirit seed mirebound artifact? Even in the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, that would be something from a legend, and yet it had appeared in the Spirit Nidus. Even worse, and completely infuriating to the three, was the fact that the spirit seed had been used by one of the ants.

“The fourth time was when I seized Zhan Yan’s key and a fourth leaf fell. It’s such a pity that doing that was worthless. Thanks to your scheming, I was forced to return the key.”

Yong Heng lifted his head to look at Lu Yin. “Only one leaf remains. I have but one more chance to avoid karmic backlash. There is the answer that you sought.”

Lu Yin frowned. A five‑leaf clover? Clearly, it was another mirebound artifact.

How many mirebound artifacts had Yong Heng collected during his time in the Tianyuan Megaverse? So far, the only ones he had revealed were the spirit seed and the five‑leaf clover, but Lu Yin did not believe that those were the only two.

“This makes everything quite clear. Everyone, a man who has comprehended karma stands before us, and he might be able to obtain an Immortal’s memory from within that palace. Will you allow such a person to live?” Yong Heng suddenly moved. His divine energy swept out, attacking Lu Yin.

Lu Yin sight. “I guessed right. All along, you intended to lure me to the top of this cliff so that you could trap me and kill me.”

Yong Heng gave a small smile. “Anywhere else, you might escape. Up here, that is impossible.”

“What if I hadn’t shown up at just the right moment?”

“That was never a possibility. I know you too well, and your methods never disappoint.”

A thought flashed through Lu Yin’s mind: the one who knows you best is always your enemy.

Old Chief exchanged glances with the other Luminaries. None of them were certain whether they should attack. Lu Yin’s presence was their means of attacking the High Seraph. Without the young man, even if the conscients allied with Yong Heng, it would be impossible to defeat the High Seraph. Still, Lu Yin had comprehended karma, which made him an unprecedented threat. Even if he could not use the power of karma to become an Immortal, there was no doubt that he would simply reset a megaverse instead.

Additionally, it had never been verified or discredited that Lu Yin was the invincible being’s disciple.

Yong Heng and Lu Yin had both managed to undermine the other so thoroughly that everyone else was left utterly confused.

The conscients’ greatest desire was still to work together to defeat the High Seraph. No matter how great a threat Lu Yin might be, he could be addressed later.

Unfortunately, Yong Heng was determined to kill Lu Yin.

If Yong Heng killed Lu Yin, he would be able to return to the Tianyuan Megaverse. However, what of the Consciousness Megaverse? If Lu Yin really was the invincible being’s disciple, then he might become an even greater threat than the High Seraph in the future. He was much too young, and given enough time, it was quite possible that he would reset the Consciousness Megaverse.

Old Chief and the others were facing a dilemma.

They could not help but turn to look at the High Seraph.

“High Seraph, aren’t you going to help me?” Lu Yin suddenly shouted.

Everyone was startled. Had they really heard him right? Was Lu Yin actually calling upon the High Seraph for assistance?

Not only the Luminaries, but even the people from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse were left bewildered.

Yong Heng cocked a brow as he glanced over at the High Seraph. While True God had no concerns about the conscients aiding Lu Yin, his identity of possibly being the invincible being’s disciple was too sensitive. Yong Heng’s greatest concern was the High Seraph, who had just become the biggest wild card in the game.

The High Seraph observed the clash between Yong Heng and Lu Yin, his expression calm.

Lu Yin shouted, “I’m no match for Yong Heng! You don’t want to see me die, do you? Why not take this chance to kill Yong Heng? He’s been hiding in the shadows this whole time. Not only does he know about the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, but he’s also recultivated with a spirit seed mirebound artifact. He’s the real threat.”