Star Odyssey

Chapter 3763: True Confrontation

Come to think of it, Che really was very polite. While he did interrupt my experiments, he also offered me a new approach.

Change the form, and you change the function.

Water can be liquid, ice, or a stream; different forms yield different functions.

Memory can be intangible recollections: a taut memory string, or even a cloud—Right, a cloud, like Yue Ya.

Yue Ya was a being of manifested thought, and he was able to take the form of a cloud. Was there any reason why memory couldn’t do the same? While memories themself could not take a different form, it was possible with consciousness. On top of that, Lu Yin’s inner universe could store both memory and consciousness.

Old Chief was imprisoned within the Champions' Stage Purgatory, and Lu Yin released his inner universe. Stars appeared and revolved around him as his consciousness exploded, creating an astral phenomena that was quite similar to Infinity. As that happened, he gently closed his eyes and allowed his memories to disperse throughout his consciousness.

Once, twice, three times... a hundred times. For each attempt, he dispersed his memory together with his consciousness and then retracted it once again, repeating the process time and time again.

His breathing grew ragged. It worked. It actually worked.

He was changing the form of his memories to alter their function.

Dispersing his memories would allow him to approach the palace in the Willbound Spire. While his memory string would still grow tighter, dispersing his memories made it like cotton, and the pressure from the palace’s memories would be ineffective. The fearful pressure that had once threatened to leave him in a vegetative state had just been rendered useless.

Lu Yin let out a breath and stared at where Che had just been standing.

If not for that man’s hint, Lu Yin would have wandered about lost for much, much longer before reaching the same conclusion.

While he was confident that he would have eventually overcome this obstacle, it would have taken him a tremendous amount of time to do so.

Che had saved Lu Yin an unimaginable amount of time.

That was the value of an Immortal’s insight.

Did the Willbound Spire’s palace really contain an Immortal’s memories? If so, what would it be like to witness them? How would it transform Lu Yin’s power?

Lu Yin released Old Chief from the Champions' Stage Purgatory and stared intensely at the conscient. “What I’m most curious about is how you conscients first came into existence. Unfortunately, that’s not something that can be answered by looking through your memories.”

Old Chief's pupils shrank, as he immediately picked up on something. He quickly spoke up, saying, “Lord Lu, my consciousness won’t be of much help to you. You already possess the most powerful consciousness in the three megaverses. No one can surpass you. Devouring me won’t do much for you, but if you keep me alive, I can serve you. I will do anything you ask.

“I am worth much more than merely supplementing your consciousness.”

Lu Yin shook his head and struck his hand down on Old Chief’s head. This was the end.

Old Chief’s consciousness was as powerful as several other Luminaries combined. The sheer amount of consciousness immediately caused Lu Yin’s to start boiling over.

As he devoured the immense consciousness, the entire Consciousness Megaverse started to roar, and thundering booms rang out. The megaverse quaked, and the few surviving conscients trembled as the parallel universes all rippled. Yue Ya and the High Seraph both looked over at the source of the disturbance.

Both of them knew that something was very wrong, and also that only Lu Yin could be behind such a commotion.

What had the man done this time?

The High Seraph’s expression suddenly changed, and he quickly contacted Yue Ya, inquiring into what had happened to the Thirteen Luminaries.

The question caused Yue Ya’s heart to drop. As he looked back up at the sky, a wave of helplessness swept over him.

On Boundless, Lu Yin finished devouring all of Old Chief’s consciousness. When the conscient’s vital core dissipated, Lu Yin dropped to one knee. This was bad. He had devoured too much consciousness too quickly, and the power had become too chaotic and difficult to control.

His own consciousness was unable to accept the quantity that he had pulled in. The sudden growth was far too much for him to handle.

Not even Old Chief himself could have controlled this much consciousness, had the roles been reversed.

Lu Yin stared at the deck of the battleship, his pupils fluctuating and his face extremely pale. He abruptly shot to his feet, took a step, and simply vanished.

Far away, the High Seraph’s expression was grim. If his guess was right, Lu Yin had just finished devouring several members of the Thirteen Luminaries. If he was right, then just how powerful had the young man’s consciousness become now?

As Mo Shang considered the possibilities, the sky above him suddenly thundered. A terrifying amount of consciousness replaced the sky, eerily reminiscent of Yue Ya’s Voidheart Mirror.

The High Seraph glanced up at the darkening sky and immediately moved away, only to discover that he was already too late.

Consciousness slammed down like the heavens themselves were collapsing.

The High Seraph stood on the ground, almost stunned by the pure force of the overwhelming consciousness. He barely managed to stabilize himself, relying on his tempered will, Everstone sequence particles, and even the sequence base itself.

The sequence base moved forward to block Lu Yin’s consciousness assault, only for a hand to fall upon Everstone as it appeared. “This belongs to me now.”

The High Seraph whipped around and saw Lu Yin. The young man’s eyes were unfocused, and that detail instantly explained the situation to Mo Shang; Lu Yin had lost control of his consciousness. No, he was trying to steal Everstone so that he could use it to suppress his chaotic consciousness. Outrageous!

The High Seraph immediately shoved Everstone to the side, closer to Lu Yin while simultaneously releasing its sequence particles. He used his tempered will and the Everstone Sequence Technique to draw upon the power of the universe itself to fight back against Lu Yin.

Lu Yin looked, and Infinity coursed through his body as he simultaneously used Extremes Must Be Reversed and Wielder-realm battle force.

Boom!

An entire planet disintegrated into dust as the terrifying powers collided. Shockwaves blasted out in all directions, erasing everything that they encountered. The clash produced the most terrifying astral phenomenon in the entire history of the Consciousness Megaverse.

The High Seraph was forced back a step, and his eyes narrowed sharply. “Are you using Heaven’s Seal?”

Lu Yin met the other man’s gaze. “That’s also mine now.”

“You’re courting death!” The High Seraph’s figure flickered as he underwent the Nine Heavens Transformation and Dominion’s Mantle billowed into existence, moving to engulf Lu Yin.

Lu Yin took a deep breath. He had waited a long time for this day. High Seraph, let’s see who’s stronger now!

The Nine Heavens also erupted behind Lu Yin as his strength instantly spiked. He released his inner universe and started taking in Everstone’s sequence particles, which resulted in his power being crazily amplified.

As the flames of Dominion’s Mantle descended, the star of divine energy within Lu Yin’s inner world started to spin rapidly. Dark-red divine energy shot upwards to block the flames.

“Shapeless, formless, and impassable without transcendence!”

Tri-Azure Sword Intent.

Once, even Heaven's Blade had barely posed a threat to the High Seraph, but when Lu Yin unleashed the Tri-Azure Sword Intent, the three consciousness swords merged into one, tearing through the High Seraph’s formless and shapeless state and opening a massive gash on his abdomen. The man’s blood splashed onto Everstone.

In front of the High Seraph, Everlasting Will was unleashed.

From above Lu Yin’s head, the Heaven and Earth Lock descended, pulling back the void.

Everlasting Will had initially failed to pierce through Old Chief’s Heaven and Earth Lock. When Lu Yin used the technique, it was vastly more powerful, and not even Everlasting Will could break it.

A massive number of sequence particles erupted around the High Seraph. With his tempered will, he replaced the universe.

Within Lu Yin’s inner universe, the sequence particles from Heaven’s Seal surged.

Two indescribable, terrifying powers collided, shaking the entire Consciousness Megaverse and nearly capsizing Boundless. Yue Ya’s manifested thought was blasted away, and his Voidheart Mirror scattered like a tattered cloud.

A spiral of karma shot out from Lu Yin’s fingertip. The High Seraph hurriedly brought up Dominion’s Mantle to shield himself, only for the flames to turn around and envelop him instead.

Mo Shang stared blankly at the fire falling upon him. How was this possible?

Lu Yin’s right hand brushed Everstone aside while his left hand lashed out. He attacked through the flames of Dominion’s Mantle and struck the High Seraph’s chest.

Pffft.

The High Seraph coughed up blood as he was sent flying. A brilliant light exploded from his fingertip. He used Everlasting Will simply to escape.

Lu Yin did not chase after the man. Instead, he seized Everstone and brought it into his inner universe. He wanted to use it to suppress his roiling consciousness.

The sequence base was regarded as the nemesis of consciousness. The High Seraph had previously used Everstone to subdue the Consciousness Megaverse and rout the Thirteen Luminaries.

Lu Yin’s own consciousness was unable to control the chaotic energy that he had absorbed so quickly. At this point, only Everstone could help him.

The moment that Everstone entered his inner universe, the churning, chaotic consciousness started to calm down. Only then did Lu Yin realize that his star of consciousness was constantly spinning in an attempt to suppress the turmoil. Without that star, he would have lost control of the consciousness the moment he finished devouring Old Chief’s consciousness.

Lu Yin stared at the star of consciousness with a conflicted expression. He suddenly saw Whiteless God appear in his mind again.

Far away, the High Seraph coughed up yet more blood, clutching at his chest with a hand. His face had become deathly pale.

He had been defeated. He had actually lost.

His tempered heart that allowed him to replace the universe had been defeated.

His shapeless, formless state while using the Nine Heavens Transformation had been overcome.

While he had no idea how or why, but Dominion's Mantle had turned against him.

Even his Everlasting Will had been blocked.

Why? How could Lu Yin have made so much progress so quickly? His speed of improvement was beyond terrifying.

Compared to when he had first entered the Spirit Nidus, Lu Yin might as well be an entirely different person.

He was suddenly reminded of Yong Heng’s words: anyone who gave Lu Yin time would come to regret it. Right, where is Yong Heng?

In another part of the Consciousness Megaverse, the Voidheart Mirror finally managed to stabilize. Yue Ya had tried to approach Lu Yin again, only to see the High Seraph escape with his Everlasting Will. Yue Ya had not hesitated for a moment before also fleeing.

Impossible... The High Seraph lost?

Manifested thought spread across the megaverse in an attempt to locate the High Seraph and initiate a conversation with him.

It took Yue Ya half a day to make contact with the High Seraph.

“What happened?” A dark-gold cloud moved towards a location a short distance from the High Seraph.

He looked over at Yue Ya, blood still on his lips. Mo Shang’s face was still pale, and he looked completely disheveled.

He lowered his hand, exposing the clear handprint on his chest. It had penetrated his body deeply, exposing bone and nearly piercing through his entire body.

“What is that?”

The High Seraph answered in a low voice, “A gift from Lu Yin.”

“What about him? How badly did you manage to injure him? Why didn’t you wait for me before attacking him?” Yue Ya asked in open displeasure.

The High Seraph stared at the cloud. “Go to a parallel universe.”

Yue Ya was confused. “Lu Yin went to a parallel universe?”

“You need to go to a parallel universe or return to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. I don’t want Lu Yin’s power to develop any further. If he gets any stronger, I might not be able to even escape next time.”

“What are you saying?” Yue Ya’s heart sank.

The High Seraph took a deep breath. “I lost. It was quick, and there was no contest at all. I don’t even understand how I was defeated.

“His strength, battle techniques, and every other means at his disposal completely surpassed my own. I truly can’t understand how he did it.

“Right now, Lu Yin is nothing like the man you last saw. Just run. Stop dreaming of capturing him, as it’s already impossible.”

Yue Ya refused to believe what he was hearing. “You’re lying. How could he have defeated you so quickly? You’re Mo Shang! The man who defeated Ru Shi.”

The High Seraph gave a bitter smile. “I also don’t understand it. How could anyone have changed so much so quickly?”

“If we cooperate, we still have a chance,” Yue Ya protested, unwilling to accept it. If Lu Yin had truly defeated the High Seraph, then Yue Ya stood absolutely no chance on his own. He had not thought much of the matter initially, but thinking back, he remembered that Lu Yin’s consciousness had indeed grown to a terrifying level. It had seemingly surpassed even Yue Ya’s own manifested thought. Additionally, Lu Yin’s physical strength was absolutely frightening.

Just Lu Yin’s raw power had been enough to hold Yue Ya’s manifested thought at bay and prevent it from even approaching.

The High Seraph shook his head. “Stop deluding yourself. I’m no match for him now, and neither are you. Across all the megaverses, it’s possible that no one aside from the Immortals can deal with him now. Yue Ya, my advice is for you to return to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. If you don’t, nowhere will be safe for you.

“You want to capture Lu Yin to transform your manifested thought, but Lu Yin also wants to capture you to transform his consciousness. Both of you complement the other.”

The words sent gave Yue Ya chills. He suddenly felt like prey being stalked.