Star Odyssey

Chapter 4078: Lost Path

Lu Yin continued to try to awaken Progenitor Chen and get him to cultivate the Nirvana Tree Path. Given the man’s condition, he was unable to cultivate on his own, so only the Nirvana Tree Path could potentially help him.

Lu Yin had already given Progenitor Chen some motes of green light, but he still needed to cultivate on his own. Therefore, Lu Yin started to passively guide the man through cultivation, hoping for success.

One by one, the green motes merged with Progenitor Chen’s body, only to fail again and again. Still, Lu Yin persisted, clearing his channels and urging the branches to spread into myriad forms.

Ba-bump.

A soft sound caused Lu Yin’s eyes to open. He had just heard a heartbeat.

When he had fought against the Immortal monster, Lu Yin had hated the sound of a heartbeat more than anything. But right now, he wished to hear nothing more.

“Senior, the Nirvana Tree Path branches out to connect various powers.”

Progenitor Chen’s eyes twitched, and his heartbeat grew stronger. The milky-white glow of Life Spring moved across the surface of his body, entering it and flowing toward the branches of the tree. After a moment, Heaven’s Furnace’s flames that had filled the area also surged into the man’s body, causing additional streams of power to rush toward the branches.

Lu Yin watched with growing anticipation. If this succeeded, not only would Progenitor Chen survive, but he would also become the first person in the Tianyuan to master the Nirvana Tree Path. Without being able to take advantage of Seed Transfusion, Lu Yin wondered how much his cultivation path would be able to help his home megaverse’s cultivators.

A white glow emanated from within Progenitor Chen’s charred body, and the shape of a tree became clearly visible.

Lu Yin stared at the shape, which was Progenitor Chen’s Nirvana Tree Path. There were various forms of power hanging from the branches, Life Spring among them.

Suddenly, flames started burning. Not outside, but within, and they consumed the entire tree.

Lu Yin’s expression changed. Heaven’s Furnace? Can it destroy the Nirvana Tree Path?

He stared intently at the tree. It remained unchanged despite Heaven’s Furnace’s raging flames, but the powers hanging from the tree’s branches seemed to be melting, and they were starting to drip.

There were nine different powers dripping down, and all of them merged to form a single drop of liquid that flowed through Progenitor Chen’s meridians before spreading across his body. It looked like he was being cast in a dark-gold metal, which eventually encased his entire body.

Lu Yin let out a breath of relief. Progenitor Chen’s heart was still beating, and his vitality was growing stronger.

Is this Progenitor Chen’s state after mastering the Nirvana Tree Path?

The Tianyuan was different from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse; each individual cultivator followed a unique path. Even if everything used stellular energy as a foundation, the more gifted a cultivator was, the more likely it was that they would create a unique cultivation system.

Progenitor Chen’s cultivation was somewhat similar to Lu Yin’s, but it was not the same.

Lu Yin did not know what his final state would be if he successfully cultivated the Nirvana Tree Path.

It was ironic. While he was the creator of the Nirvana Tree Path, he found it difficult to cultivate it.

Lu Yin waited for half a month before Progenitor Chen finally broke free of the dark-gold casting and emerged.

As he appeared, Progenitor Chen looked no different from before, aside from the fact that there were countless sword scars covering his body.

Lu Yin was astonished. The Nirvana Tree Path had strengthened Life Spring so much that it had successfully restored Progenitor Chen to an amazing degree.

The man stepped out of the dark-golden shell and looked down at his hands, primarily focusing on the sword scars that covered him. His expression turned grave.

“Senior, what happened?” Lu Yin asked.

Progenitor Chen looked up at Lu Yin and answered in a low voice, “The one behind everything appeared.”

If mirebound artifacts served as proof that ancient experts had regressed to the ancient era, then Wang Xiaoyu was proof of the hidden Obscura expert’s existence.

Wang Xiaoyu had betrayed the Fifth Mainland, becoming its greatest traitor in history. She had become hated by the entire human race, and yet in truth, she had never betrayed anyone. She had only wanted to expose the hand that was truly behind everything.

All along, Wang Xiaoyu had known that Aeternus had never been the true mastermind. For that reason, even after humanity won a decisive battle against their enemy at the Immemorial Citadel, she had continued to follow Forgotten Ruins God.

No matter what had happened after that, including when the Spirit Nidus had invaded and when Master Qing Cao had admitted to targeting the Origin Progenitor at the orders of the one responsible for the Heaven (天) character, she had still refused to return to the Heavens Sect.

The only reason why she had been certain that everything was still false was because the true mastermind had never revealed themselves.

This was also the reason why Progenitor Chen’s trust in Wang Xiaoyu had remained unshaken.

Lu Yin could not have relied solely on Wang Xiaoyu’s actions as proof that an Immortal was hiding in the megaverse. But after his cumulative experiences in the Tianyuan, the Spirit Nidus, and the Nine Odysseys megaverses, he had already confirmed that there was an Immortal from Obscura hiding here. Everything allowed Lu Yin to align with Wang Xiaoyu’s beliefs.

Currently, Progenitor Chen was certain that the figure that he had seen riding on Skydog’s back was the true mastermind.

Lu Yin’s expression grew heavy. “Was that who attacked you, Senior? Who is it?”

Progenitor Chen nodded. “An Immortal without a doubt, but I could not see them clearly and I can’t even remember the sound of their voice.”

Lu Yin’s expression grew somber. Only an Immortal could have rendered Progenitor Chen powerless to even fight back. The man was already an Ortuser.

Progenitor Chen’s strength was such that not even Dukkhans from the Nine Odysseys Megaverse could be guaranteed to subdue him. Even peak Dukkhans would find it hard to prevent the man from sending out a request for help.

“Senior, how were you able to track them here?”

Progenitor Chen shared what had happened to him, which caused Lu Yin to frown. “Wang Xiaoyu is in grave danger.”

Progenitor Chen clenched a fist. Grave danger was an understatement. Xiaoyu had already exposed herself. Her feelings about Progenitor Chen had been so obvious that even a dog could have seen the truth, let alone an Immortal.

“How can we find them?” Progenitor Chen asked urgently, staring at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin helplessly shook his head. “That’s going to be difficult. We’re up against an Immortal. Even if I know that an Immortal is hiding here in the Tianyuan, I can’t find them.”

“What about Master Qing Cao?” Progenitor Chen suddenly thought of something.

Lu Yin replied, “Let’s go see him now.”

...

In some parallel universe, Skydog was still trudging along. Up ahead of him, Wang Xiaoyu was moving in a daze.

Forgotten Ruins God’s expression was grave. She did not dare to even breathe loudly.

“Oh? He’s still alive? A single person’s breakthrough really can elevate an entire civilization. The Tianyuan’s potential is terrifying. Its foundation is sufficient to raise it up to become a fishing civilization,” the figure on Skydog’s back commented, still in the same teasing tone.

Both Forgotten Ruins God and Wang Xiaoyu looked back. “Alive?”

“Xia Shang?”

The figure grinned, though whether they were smiling at Wang Xiaoyu or Forgotten Ruins God was unclear. “That’s right. He certainly should have died. That Lu Yin kid is quite impressive. He managed to create a cultivation path for his entire civilization, and it’s even more valuable than I had anticipated. That Xia Shang brat is also impressive. His chances of surviving weren’t even one in 100 million, and yet he pulled it off. His future is limitless.

“Xiaoyu, are you sure that you don’t want him? He’s a good man to have at home, which is quite rare to come by.”

Wang Xiaoyu did not know how to respond. She knew that her earlier loss of composure had been noticed, and yet the mysterious figure had not changed their stance. What did it mean? It could not be a test, as there was no need for such a thing.

Forgotten Ruins God’s eyes flickered. She then smiled. “Xiaoyu, if you don’t want him, just give him to me. Even if I quite like little Lu Yin, I don’t seem able to control him any longer, hehe.”

Wang Xiaoyu did her best to keep her expression as calm as possible. “That’s not necessary.”

“Such a pity, such a pity.” The hazy figure sighed, though it was not clear what they found pitiful.

...

In the Nine Odysseys Megaverse, part of the Mother Tree’s canopy contained an area known as the Lost Path, which had once been Greater Sancte Mi Jin’s domain.

After the Greater Sancte’s death, his region had been left vacant. Only his former disciples would visit it once in a while.

There were no valuable resources in this territory. After Mi Jin’s death, Greater Sancte Green Lotus had given everything to Mi Jin’s disciples.

One day, Qing Xing took a swig of liquor and staggered into the Lost Path. He let out a drunken belch, sounding absolutely content.

The Lost Path resembled a miniature version of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Mi Jin had designed his territory to mirror the megaverse, which made it convenient to see the entire place in nothing more than a glance.

It was precisely this perspective that had allowed him to conceive of unusual means of travel, such as the skyswings and the Night Pillars.

“Master, if only you’d spent more of your time cultivating and developing your power. Instead, you concocted all of these oddities. They might be helpful to others, but they did nothing to help you,” Qing Xing muttered as he tottered over to Mi Jin’s grave.

“Skyswing this, Night Pillar that—no, the Night Pillars are certainly useful, but the skyswings are completely useless. If weaklings can’t cross the domains with their own strength, then they have no business moving around at all. Traveling between the domains is just a death wish. See, there are many people who actually curse you for it...

“And you, why were you so determined to experience life in all its forms? You hurt yourself while causing a bunch of people to imitate you. Hah! The funniest thing is that Awe Gate’s own daughter, Qing Yun, claims that she wants to observe life in all its forms. What can she observe? Everyone treats her with the greatest respect. In the end, she’s just a little girl. Her perspective is still shallow.

“You said that I had reached the pinnacle of power beneath the Immortal realm. I’ve tried to live up to that, but I just can’t keep up. Don’t blame me, Master. Lu Yin is an absolute monster. He even created this Nirvana Tree Path. It’s impressive, really impressive. I’ve also learned it, and well, my combat strength skyrocketed. Master, maybe you should return to life, or else a mere junior might be able to outmatch you. I figure that even Greater Sancti Blood Tower and Awe Gate won’t be able to measure up to him for much longer. As for Greater Sancte Green Lotus... I really can’t say...”

Continuing to grumble as he walked, Qing Xing approached Mi Jin’s grave, only to find Greater Sancte Awe Gate standing before it with her back to him. She was staring at the tomb.

Scared sober, Qing Xing quickly bowed. “Greetings, Greater Sancte Awe Gate.”

The woman casually said, “My daughter’s perspective is indeed shallow. I’ll have to trouble you to educate her further.”

Qing Xing was left speechless. “I misspoke. I’ve had too much to drink, far too much.”

“I can’t compare to Lu Yin?”

“Of course you can. Lu Yin isn’t an Immortal, while you are.”

“So, as soon as Lu Yin becomes an Immortal, I won’t be able to measure up to him?”

“No, no! You’re a war goddess! You fought those two Immortal bugs on your own without falling to a disadvantage! How could Lu Yin compare to you?” Qing Xing hurried to placate the woman.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate continued to calmly stare at Mi Jin’s tomb, not saying another word.

Qing Xing asked, “Greater Sancte, you are here in the Lost Path for...”

“To find something.”

Qing Xing was puzzled. “There’s still something here?”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate turned to face the man. “Mi Jin’s spirit seed.”

Qing Xing’s eyes bulged. He stared at the woman. In an instant, his aura erupted, radiating pure aggression. It did not fade or diminish even before one of the Immortal Greater Sancti.

Qing Xing looked like an enraged beast as he pointedly glared at the woman.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate ignored the reaction. “Your master’s spirit seed is just sitting there. It’s better to put it to use.”

“No! That’s all that remains of my master!” Qing Xing shouted, completely disregarding how he should address a Greater Sancte.

Awe Gate closed her eyes. “The Nirvana Tree Path... it’s quite interesting.”

Qing Xing shuddered. He stared at the woman in disbelief, as though seeing her for the first time.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate had also cultivated the Nirvana Tree Path, which offered her an unprecedented opportunity.