Star Odyssey

Chapter 3196: The Sect's Dark Hand

Second Gu was staring intently at Lu Yin, and he took a step forward to place himself between Lu Yin and Second Meng. "Lord Lu, if we've offended you, we beg your forgiveness."

Second Shan felt a chill run through his body. There was no doubt that Lu Yin was the dominant power in the Mirari Realm at this moment. That terrifying blood-red liquid and the freakish Astral Anura had both been subdued by Lu Yin. The man was unquestionably worthy of being the Heavens Sect’s Dao Monarch. This was someone that no multiversal power dared to provoke.

Lu Yin's eyes swept over the group. "I've heard of your actions in the past. You all deserve death."

Second Gu responded cautiously, "Lord Lu, to cultivate is to struggle against fate and to fight against everything in reality. We are nothing more than cultivators."

Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back. "I don't want to discuss such matters with you.

"You were unlucky enough to get dragged into this battle. I didn’t let you escape from the auction because your past behavior led me to believe that you would be easy to eliminate."

Second Gu and the others grew even more wary. The pressure that Lu Yin put on them was intimidating.

Lu Yin showed open interest in the group. "However, I've since changed my mind. Everyone has the right to live, and you’re not wrong about struggling against everything in existence. I have no obligation to avenge those who you killed—that was simply a matter of survival of the fittest. However, since I'm stronger and you're weaker, your lives belong to me. No surprises there, right?"

Second Shan spoke up, "We will submit to whatever judgment Lord Lu deems appropriate."

Lu Yin nodded in approval. "Smart man. I heard that you have a strong sense of danger. You were paying close attention to me during the auction, weren't you? If you already knew the danger, why didn't you escape as soon as you entered the Mirari Realm? You should have known that following us to this place would make it almost impossible for you to survive."

Lu Yin then looked at Second Zi. "I hadn't even noticed you, but you actually followed us all in, too."

Second Zi answered in a weak voice. She looked as though she was on the brink of death. "The five of us are siblings, and we will live or die together."

Second Shan gritted his teeth. "No matter how dangerous this place may be, you captured our third brother, which left us with no choice but to follow you."

Second Gu interjected, "Lord Lu, please release our third brother."

"What if I told you that your brother is already dead?" Lu Yin asked in an indifferent tone.

The expressions of every member of Second Life changed drastically. Hatred and venom filled their eyes as they glared at Lu Yin, clearly ready to attack him.

Second Shan clenched his fists. "Then please, Lord Lu, kill us as well. If you don’t, we will absolutely try to avenge our brother."

Second Meng and Second Zi were both glaring at Lu Yin with the same undisguised hatred.

Lu Yin chuckled. "Killing you would be easy, but there's no need to rush things. He might not be dead."

The members of Second Life continued to glare at Lu Yin. They knew that this man held their lives in his hand, and while the feeling was unbearable, it was something that they had already expected.

They had already known that, eventually, all five of them would die, one by one.

Lu Yin looked at Second Zi. "Your innate gift is quite special."

Second Gu interjected, "Our fifth sister's innate gift is called Destiny's Cohort. With it, as long as she uses a specific person as an anchor and a base template, anyone she connects to won't die, as long as the anchor lives. Thus, if that person isn’t injured, we will heal from any and all injuries."

Lu Yin was taken aback. "That’s your innate gift? Can you use it on anyone?"

Second Zi answered weakly, "Of course not. The biggest limitation of my innate gift is that I can only use it on a fixed number of people. The first person I used it on was our oldest brother, followed by our second sister, third brother, fourth brother, and finally on myself. It would be very difficult to add anyone else."

Lu Yin understood. "No wonder they protected you at all costs and even risked their lives to do so. I also see why you followed them into the Mirari Realm at the very last moment. As long as you stay alive, they’ll be able to live. No wonder you all managed to survive, despite Second Life’s infamy."

The members of Second Life exchanged glances, only to see utter helplessness in each other’s eyes. What was the point of surviving if they ended up as someone’s puppets? That was no different from death, and yet they had no choice.

They had overheard the conversation that had taken place between Astral Anura and Lu Yin. Even a Dukkhan had been forced to swear to not reveal what had happened in the Mirari Realm. The moment they saw that exchange, Second Life had known that they would never be free from Lu Yin. There were only two choices: fully submit to Lu Yin, or die. They were not qualified to try to negotiate with the man.

As for Second Life, Lu Yin had plans to make use of them.

These people had committed too many atrocities, to the point where not even their deaths would be enough to atone for their sins. Besides, Lu Yin had no obligation to avenge Second Life’s victims; all of them had been strangers to him.

Given the situation, Lu Yin intended to force Second Life to work for him. They would accomplish tasks that Lu Yin could not handle personally, things that not even someone like Arch-Elder Zen could take on. This would be a way for them to aid humanity.

The Heavens Sect could not return to how it had been in the past, with its strength fully exposed for all to see.

During ancient times, the Heavens Sect had been dazzlingly bright, and it had intimidated all other universes and civilizations. However, it shone too brightly, and it had ultimately been destroyed by Aeternus.

In contrast, the new Heavens Sect needed to have both visible brilliance and a hidden blade.

Second Life was only the beginning. Lu Yin already had plans for another group of hidden operatives.

These hidden operatives would be referred to as the Sect's Dark Hand.

Since they had entered the Mirari Realm, they would not be leaving anytime soon.

In the past, Lu Yin had regretted the fact that he had not made Xu Jin's consciousness fully his own while in the Mirari Realm. The consciousness had not been fully refined yet. At present, Lu Yin simply hoped that time would be enough to allow his star of consciousness to recover completely.

The Purple Emperor’s consciousness had helped restore the star a great deal, but it had not fully recovered. Lu Yin needed more time for that.

Some time later, Great Elder Shan Gu woke up. While the man had survived, he had suffered grave injuries. They were far too severe. The Royal Regent’s attack had left Tian Fa in horrible condition, much to the amazement of Lu Yin and the others, but that attack had also far exceeded the level of strength that Shan Gu could control.

"From now on, Heavenly King is as good as destroyed. I won’t be able to use the power of any of its statues again, or else things will end up even worse than they did today," Shan Gu explained in a bitter tone.

Lu Yin consoled the old man, "That’s fine. When we leave this place, you can replace it with an Immemorial card that I’ll help you upgrade to the Primeval level."

Shan Gu’s mouth hung open in shock. Was it really so easy? He found that he could not come up with even a single argument.

Since when had Primeval cards become as common as cabbages?

"However, I want to make this clear in advance; the resources needed to improve another card to the level of Heavenly King will amount to half of my entire wealth," Lu Yin reminded.

Shan Gu nodded with a smile. "In that case, Dao Monarch, is it possible to upgrade a card even further?"

Lu Yin glanced at the Great Elder. "It is."

Shan Gu's eyes lit up.

"To begin with, you will need to provide the resources for the upgrade, which will cost at least tens of trillion star essence," Lu Yin stated.

Shan Gu was rendered speechless. The starting cost that Lu Yin mentioned was enough to make the old man’s heart tremble.

"Secondly, does your Lost Clan even have anyone who can use such a card? If I'm not mistaken, Senior, you will never be able to become an Ortuser," Lu Yin commented somberly.

Shan Gu was already unable to use Heavenly King again. Even if it was upgraded beyond a Primeval card, the man would never be able to fully utilize the card’s power. Even if he could connect to the True Void and breathe in the essence of the origin, he would never be able to endure the three steps to the Origin Realm.

He was incapable of ever becoming an Ortuser.

However, the Great Elder did not seem to mind. “I’ve long known that I would never be able to become an Ortuser the moment my people fled to this megaverse. However, Dao Monarch, you’ve offered me an alternative path. While I may not be an Ortuser, I can still wield the power of one. Thank you, Dao Monarch.”

Lu Yin nodded. “Rest and recover. We still have to deal with the three surviving Boundary Guardians.”

Tian Fa might have been the strongest of the four Boundary Guardians. After all, the creature had been responsible for delivering heaven’s judgment, and that responsibility required a certain level of strength. At the very least, Lu Yin did not believe that Tian En was Tian Fa’s match. But even if the other three Boundary Guardians were not as strong as Tian Fa, none of them would be much weaker. All of them were Ortusers, and if that blood-red figure appeared each time a Boundary Guardian died, Lu Yin had no idea how they would handle such a development.

Lu Yin still did not know what had caused that blood-red figure to disappear. Lu Yin had only reversed time by one second. While he knew how to reverse time, and he even understood how to counter the blood-red figure’s attacks, doing so was incredibly difficult. The only power that Lu Yin possessed that could go above the megaverse’s River of Time was Lightstream.

If that blood-red figure reappeared, Lu Yin had no confidence of being able to handle it.

That was his greatest obstacle at the moment.

Second Gang had been released and was staying in a corner of the Mirari Realm with Second Gu and the other members of Second Life. They had also been given a blade of green grass so they no longer had to be afraid of the mist of time.

Hongyan Mavis had been deeply shaken by the earlier battle. At one time, the legendary Three Realms and Six Daos had represented the pinnacle of power in the known megaverse, but she had just encountered an enemy whose attacks she was unable to withstand.

She had caught a glimpse of the deepest levels of power.

“Little Seven, do you really think that the four Boundary Guardians were the ones who attacked Master?” After they had all spent some time in the Mirari Realm, Hongyan Mavis sought out Lu Yin and asked him this question. She intended to heal her injuries while in the Mirari Realm.

Lu Yin’s expression grew conflicted. They had managed to gang up on Tian Fa and kill the creature, but was it really possible for four Boundary Guardians to overpower the Origin Progenitor, given the man’s strength? Lu Yin was not entirely certain.

The modern Heavens Sect already possessed the strength to fight the Boundary Guardians head on, which meant that there was no need to even mention the glorious past when the Three Realms and Six Daos had ruled over the Origin Universe. At that time, even without the Three Realms and Six Daos, there had been the strongest of the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas, who had possessed strength similar to Progenitor Chen or Progenitor Ku. They should have been enough to hold the Boundary Guardians back.

There was no doubt in Lu Yin’s mind that there had to have been experts similar to Progenitor Chen and his peers during the ancient Heavens Sect era.

Despite all of that, the Origin Progenitor had mysteriously disappeared, and the First Mainland had been destroyed. Those two matters remained mysteries of that past era, and neither had been solved even after so many years.

Lu Yin had met the Origin Progenitor, but the man had not answered either question.

It was only when meeting with Blackless God that Lu Yin and Lu Yuan had learned that the First Mainland had been destroyed because the Boundary Guardians had ganged up on the Origin Progenitor.

Was that account true?

Lu Yin had always felt that things could not be so simple.

"Senior, don't overthink things. We just need to take things one step at a time. After losing my memory, I restarted my life as an ordinary human, and I gradually climbed up to my current height. I once felt that the Frostwave Weave was a vast domain and that the Outerverse was enormous. After that, the Innerverse had felt immense to me, and then the entire Fifth Mainland was massive.

"With every step I’ve taken, my previous limits and perception have been surpassed. Even now, while we might believe that the megaverse’s countless parallel universes are vast, the day will come when we no longer hold that to be true.

"That day is fast approaching, and I can feel that we are already touching upon the deepest secrets of the cosmos."

Hongyan Mavis did not answer. She needed to break through to the Origin realm. Only by becoming an Ortuser could she hope to face that unknown being.

Her master had warned her and the others to not enter the Origin realm, unless it became absolutely necessary to do so. Hongyan Mavis felt that that time had come.

The blood-red figure had rendered her helpless and filled her with an indescribable dread. It had not been fear, but the helplessness that came from glimpsing an incomprehensible secret. Such a feeling of helplessness could only be suppressed with greater strength.

She would break through and become an Ortuser.