Star Odyssey

Chapter 3765: Future Possibilities

Mister Mu looked up at the sky. “First, move the members of the Heavens Sect away. Even if this megaverse is reset, it won’t be done in an instant. Such things take time, and that time should be enough for at least all of the Heavens Sect to be evacuated. That will at least enable this civilization to continue.”

“I want to try to stop him. There are so many of us-”

Lu Yuan shared his unwillingness to follow this plan, but Ancient God cut him off. “We can’t stop him.”

Lu Yuan shot a glare at the other man. “So we just allow him to reset our megaverse?”

Ancient God met the glare without looking away. “I said that we can’t stop him. I never said that we’ll just stand aside. If it comes down to it, we will die.”

“It’s worth it,” Mister Mu protested.

Wu Tian looked over at Mister Mu. “Master Qing Cao plans to reset our megaverse in order to erase its coordinates and the insect civilization’s ability to locate this place. He is assuming that humanity cannot stop the Nests. But humanity can endure.

“The Lost Clan fought the Nest civilization to their last breath. If not for their Immortal Lord appearing, the humanity of their megaverse might not have fallen.

“That was just the Lost Clan’s megaverse alone. Here, we have the Tianyuan, but also the Spirit Nidus and the Consciousness megaverses. Why can’t we win? Besides, Master Qing Cao is an Immortal himself. He might be our enemy, but he is also the Immortal Lord’s enemy.”

Mister Mu glanced over at Wu Tian, and then he looked back at Lu Yuan and Ancient God. “Are all of you determined to go against an Immortal?”

“Without question.” Ancient God’s eyes showed his determination. He had already died once and no longer feared death.

Wu Tian nodded, and Lu Yuan let out a sigh. “I don’t want Little Seven to return, only to find his home gone.”

Mister Mu smiled. “Very well. Before Boundless left, the Tianyuan Megaverse was intact. I would like it to remain that way when Boundless returns, no matter who our enemy may be.

“Still, all of you must prepare. Send away one group of people first.”

“It seems that your minds are made up. In that case, there’s no need to wait any longer,” a voice suddenly rang out.

Mister Mu and the others looked up to see that Master Qing Cao had arrived at some unknown point in time. The Immortal’s eyes were still calm. “One day won’t allow you to evacuate very many people. So be it. Let this megaverse end.”

With that, Master Qing Cao stepped forward.

Lu Yuan, Ancient God, and Wu Tian all attacked in unison. The three Ortusers coordinated their attacks, but the moment that they tried to approach Master Qing Cao, the distance between them and their target stretched to become infinite.

Ancient God’s pupils shrank sharply. This was the same sensation that he had experienced before. No matter how hard he pushed, he could never get close to the other man.

Master Qing Cao walked towards Mister Mu, each step slow and deliberate. He was approaching the sequence strings that Mister Mu was holding in one hand.

Lu Yuan let out a deep growl, while Ancient God’s expression turned savage. Wu Tian’s outer robe was blown apart.

No matter how the three men struggled, they were unable to get any closer to the Immortal.

Ortusers were considered to be exceptionally powerful experts in the Tianyuan Megaverse, but the gap between such experts and an Immortal was simply too great. Despite all three men being capable of fighting against Dukkhans, such strength was still useless.

Mister Mu watched Master Qing Cao as the man moved closer. Mister Mu’s expression remained as calm as still water, and he continued to keep his aura completely suppressed.

In the Mirari Realm, a certain portion of the River of Aeons suddenly started to boil.

A small boat skimmed past the turbulence. Zhao Ran grew both alarmed and confused, so she moved her boat over to examine the disturbance.

Wei Nu also appeared, similarly focused on the boiling section of the river.

The turbulence marked the exact location where Origin Tracer kept the River of Aeons anchored. The two women could vaguely make out some unknown object slowly rising up.

In the Immemorial Citadel, Master Qing Cao focused solely on Mister Mu. Out of everyone present, this man alone warranted the Immortal’s concern. For some reason, Master Qing Cao felt an inexplicable sense of danger from Mister Mu, despite the fact that the man was not even a peak Dukkhan. In the previous branch of the River of Aeons, Mister Mu had been grievously wounded by Mo Shang, lacking the strength to resist even the High Seraph.

Despite that, at this moment, Master Qing Cao was forced to take notice of the man.

The Immortal’s gaze was locked onto Mister Mu.

In the Mirari Realm, the churning River of Aeons grew more and more agitated. Both Wei Nu and Zhao Ran were finally able to see the source of the commotion clearly: a cauldron was slowly rising up from the riverbed.

A cauldron? Where did this cauldron come from?

Around Master Qing Cao, Ancient God and the others tried everything possible, but they were unable to get any closer to the Immortal.

The man was entirely focused on Mister Mu, and Master Qing Cao’s hand slowly rose up to grab the sequence strings.

Mister Mu watched as Master Qing Cao’s hand drew near. One of Mister Mu’s hands kept a tight hold on the sequence strings while his other hand rose up. Across the universe, the vague form of the River of Aeons could be seen, as well as the indistinct form of a small boat. Mister Mu could see Wei Nu on the far bank of the river, and even a cauldron could be made out.

Suddenly, someone appeared between the River of Aeons and Master Qing Cao, their hand raised and aimed at the Immortal.

Startled, Master Qing Cao instinctively retaliated with his own palm strike.

The void between the two palms was compressed, and orbs of light flashed, annihilating everything that they encountered as an invisible storm swept out in every direction. The ground was ripped open, and the Immemorial Citadel was shaken as shockwaves shot upwards. The sequence particles that filled the area around the Immemorial Citadel were instantly scattered, and lightning raced along the sequence strings to encompass the entire Tianyuan Megaverse.

One parallel universe after another was shaken by the peals of thunder.

All of the insects in those universes suffered greatly, as they were simply incinerated by lightning that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

In outer space, on mainlands and planets, amid countless stars, lightning detonated.

Not even the Origin Universe was spared.

Countless people looked up as lightning raged over their heads. It looked like the end of the world had arrived.

Above the Immemorial Citadel, a sphere of light crackled with lightning between the two hands. It disappeared, only to reform, appearing and disappearing repeatedly.

The sound of heavy breathing rang in everyone’s ears. There was only one person breathing, and yet their breathing carried such weight that all who heard it unconsciously shifted their own breathing to match the rhythm. Strangely, the entire Immemorial Citadel, and even the entire universe, seemed to be breathing in sync. Every living creature in every parallel universe that was being affected by the lightning also heard the breathing.

Regardless of whether the creature wished to or not, they all matched the breathing they heard.

This was not mere breathing, but rather aura energy itself.

There was a boom, and the figure was sent staggering backwards, though they came to a halt after only nine steps. Lightning danced above the figure’s hand, vaporizing blood and releasing a crimson fog billowing out in every direction.

Ancient God and the others gaped. Was that... Jiang Feng?

When a breeze blew away the blood fog, the figure could be clearly seen. Sure enough, it was Jiang Feng.

No one had expected Jiang Feng to arrive. The man’s time had been stolen from him by Master Qing Cao, which had resulted in Jiang Feng losing all of his senses and perception. Despite that, he had suddenly appeared and had even managed to block one of Master Qing Cao’s attacks. That was beyond even Ortusers like Ancient God.

Had Jiang Feng broken through and entered the Origin realm? No, his cultivation path was different from that of ordinary cultivators.

When he had first left Earth and entered the wider universe, he had only been the equivalent of an Explorer, and yet he had still comprehended Wielder-realm battle force. Cultivators from Whitecloud City did not determine their combat strength by their cultivation realm. They comprehended aura energy, which was something that only they could master.

Mister Mu stared blankly at Jiang Feng, as at this moment, the man was completely different from how he had been in the past.

It felt as though he had caused the entire megaverse to start breathing.

“Master Qing Cao, it has been a long time,” Jiang Feng stated as he stared at the man before him with blazing eyes.

Master Qing Cao was taken aback. “Jiang Feng? The lord of Whitecloud City?”

Lightning exploded from Jiang Feng’s hand. He stepped forward, and each step shook the entire Immemorial Citadel. He had just been driven back nine paces, and he took back seven of those steps, stopping only when he was next to Mister Mu. At no point did the man’s eyes ever leave Master Qing Cao.

The Immortal studied Jiang Feng in disbelief. “You actually broke through.”

Jiang Feng raised his hand and examined it. “I must thank you, Master Qing Cao, for that favor. Without that, I would have never been able to break through in my lifetime.”

Years earlier, when Master Qing Cao had been about to leave the Tianyuan Megaverse, he had encountered Jiang Feng at the boundary gate. At that time, Master Qing Cao had mentioned that Whitecloud City’s cultivation method had come from the Lord of Lightning’s three mirebound artifacts. That trio of items had granted Whitecloud City a cultivation system of aura energy, which was unique to their parallel universe. It was a power that aligned with the laws of the universe and served as a cultivation shortcut. Early on, cultivators could quickly gain power, and they would even become unbeatable after comprehending aura energy. However, the further they progressed, the more difficult their path would become.

Master Qing Cao had stated that Jiang Feng and his followers would never be able to walk their road to its end.

Then, before leaving the megaverse, the Immortal had stripped Jiang Feng of every aspect of his power, as well as his outward senses. The man had lost everything, having been deprived of any means of interacting with the outside world.

However, while Master Qing Cao was capable of seeing through the power of aura energy, he had never cultivated it himself.

By stripping Jiang Feng of his powers, Master Qing Cao had effectively allowed his path to continue.

Aura energy was the breath of all things. It arose from nothingness, forging form through tribulation. It was a path so arduous that it could grant one supremacy beneath the heavens. Yet to fall from such heights back into void was an even harsher ordeal, a true descent into despair. Even so, from that abyss, one could awaken to a future yet unseen.

With an Immortal’s insight, Master Qing Cao had seen through Jiang Feng’s path, but every path to the Immortal realm was unique. Master Qing Cao had walked one path, and he was unable to walk a second.

Jiang Feng had once been lied to and told that he would be given help to become an Immortal. But by a twist of fate, Master Qing Cao really had lended him a hand.

Of course, had Tuo Lin not led Yan Ruyu to Whitecloud City, Jiang Feng would not have been able to advance so quickly.

All that could be said was that everything had been fated.

Lu Yuan and the others all stared at Jiang Feng. None of them were able to even get close to Master Qing Cao, and yet Jiang Feng had succeeded. What had just happened? All of them had suddenly been drawn to match the man’s breathing.

This was the first time that Master Qing Cao had been so shaken. He had not been this disturbed even when Lu Yin had comprehended the power of karma.

Amazement covered his features as he stared at Jiang Feng. “You tread a path none have ever walked before, fulfilling a fate that none have achieved before. Jiang Feng, this old man underestimated you.”

Jiang Feng solemnly met Master Qing Cao’s gaze. “On the other hand, I don’t dare to underestimate you. An Immortal is truly intimidating.”

Even with his breakthrough, Jian Feng had no hope of actually defeating Master Qing Cao. A single palm had driven the Lord of Lightning back nine steps. There was still a vast gulf between the two men, but it was no longer an infinite abyss.

Master Qing Cao let out a long breath and then looked up at the sky. “I never intended to aid you, and yet you still managed to break through. This was not your fortuitous encounter, but one that belongs to this megaverse.

“I’ve always known that the Tianyuan Megaverse’s future potential surpasses that of the Spirit Nidus, but I never expected that even such a visible difference in potential could create an invisible gulf between the two. I was mistaken, and so was the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

“Tai Chu and Yong Heng before, followed later by Xia Shang and Ku Jie, and currently by you, Lu Yin; each one throughout the ages has achieved astonishing brilliance without compare. Such things cannot appear through merely superior numbers. I have been wrong all along.”

No one dared interrupt the man. They all stared intently at Master Qing Cao, afraid that he might strike once more.

Lightning continued to coil about Jiang Feng’s body.

With a sigh, Master Qing Cao’s eyes grew calm once more. “The Tianyuan possesses the potential of infinite possibilities. Since you refuse to reset this megaverse, then do as you will.”

His words allowed everyone to breathe a bit easier.

Jiang Feng also released a tense breath. He had no desire to fight directly against an Immortal.

“The Consciousness Megaverse serves as a torch for the Spirit Nidus, while the Spirit Nidus is the Nine Odysseys Megaverse’s torch. You are intended to serve as a torch for the Spirit Nidus as well. I hope that you will be able to endure.” With that, Master Qing Cao left.

His words made everyone frown. Being a torch was not necessarily a good thing. While a torch could illuminate the path ahead, releasing light also caused the torch to stand out.

Also, where was the Nine Odysseys Megaverse? Was it some foreign megaverse?

Master Qing Cao’s departure allowed everyone to breathe a bit easier.

One by one, people turned to stare at Jiang Feng, curiosity on all their faces.

The man just laughed. “Don’t look at me like that! I was just lucky enough to manage to break through.”

Lu Yuan exclaimed, “You previously weren’t even Big Thug’s match, and now you can face an Immortal head-on? Whitecloud City’s cultivation method is quite unique.”

Jiang Feng raised his right hand. There were bleeding lines crisscrossing his palm. “It wasn’t exactly easy.”