Star Odyssey

"Alright, let's get to the point. There are two things that I need to discuss with you." Jiang Feng grew serious as he looked at Lu Yin. The man was just about to continue when they heard Jiang Chen shout from a distance.

"Dad, Mom wants to know if you want her to cook a few things. She's making her special smoked chicken and cured pork. It's been a while since we've had Old Liu's braised dishes from outside the city."

Jiang Feng nodded. "Sure. Lu Yin, stay for a home-cooked meal. Old Liu's braised dishes are exceptional."

Lu Yin smiled. "Alright, I'll stay and have a drink with you, Uncle Jiang."

Jiang Feng laughed. "You want to drink? Not a problem at all."

Jiang Feng felt genuinely pleased. While he frequently received guests in Whitecloud City, it had been a long time since he had last entertained someone like Lu Yin, who felt more like family.

"Now, back to business. The first matter is about your mirebound artifact."

Jiang Feng stared intensely at Lu Yin before bringing out three items: a sword, a branch, and a black pearl. "These are my mirebound artifacts."

Without hesitation, Lu Yin raised his hand and revealed his die in his palm. "Yong Heng mentioned that name. This should be it."

Jiang Feng examined the die while Lu Yin scrutinized the other man’s three items.

Undying Yushan had sought out these three treasures under the Impious Sutra’s control.

Lu Yin had heard from Jiang Chen that the black pearl allowed people to freely travel between parallel universes, but he did not know how the sword or the branch could be used.

Jiang Feng admired Lu Yin’s die. "Mirebound artifacts… To be honest, I’ve only heard of them in the past. I only recently learned that these three items are mirebound artifacts. They appeared during this Earth's apocalypse, and I used the black pearl to rise to power, and I eventually stabilized the situation here. At that time, I didn't even know what these items were used for.

"For a few different reasons, I threw the sword into the sea, but later, when Earth faced a crisis on the cosmic scale, I understood that just stabilizing Earth was meaningless. The universe is filled with powerful beings and formidable creatures that could easily destroy Earth. In order to protect this place, I retrieved the sword and started on my journey across different universes.

"My path has been relatively smooth, and it’s led me to where I am now.

"It wasn't until I became the Lord of Lightning that I learned the importance of mirebound artifacts. Lu Yin, these treasures are vitally important, and Yong Heng will never give up on them."

Lu Yin nodded solemnly. "I understand, Uncle Jiang. Though, I do wonder, why haven't you broken through to the Origin realm? Why do you keep challenging Yong Heng? Aren't you afraid that he'll take your mirebound artifacts?"

Jiang Feng sighed. "Since the treasures are with me, even if I don't act, he'll still come for them. Rather than wait for him to gain strength and attack Whitecloud City, I’d rather choose to strike first. Time doesn't mean much to us anymore."

Lu Yin nodded in understanding. "Aeternus's strength is terrifying. Even with Ancestor Lu Yuan’s breakthrough to the Origin realm, we still aren’t guaranteed to be able to stop Yong Heng."

"Without the ability to shun people from the universe, your Origin Universe wouldn't be able to stand up to Aeternus. Being shunned from the Scourges is similar to when one is shunned from various parallel universes, but your Origin Universe is unique in that shunning someone has a much stronger effect than normal," Jiang Feng explained.

Lu Yin had already been aware of this, and he had even drawn the same conclusion.

Humans were shunned from the Scourges, but each time they invaded the Scourges, even if they were unable to defeat Aeternus, they had still been able to safely retreat. This was because the effect of being shunned from the Scourges was not too strong. For example, Ancestor Lu Tianyi, even while being shunned in the First Scourge, had still been able to fight against the Seven Skygods. He might have been at a disadvantage, but he had never been as severely weakened as the Seven Skygods were while in the Origin Universe. In that place, Lu Tianyi alone could hold off all seven enemy powerhouses.

In the past, Lu Yin had not understood why this difference existed, but he had since learned about it.

It was because of the Fifth Mainland. The Fifth Mainland had been made by the Origin Progenitor, and its core was Primaldust. This meant that, in the Origin Universe, because of the Fifth and Sixth Mainlands, those who were shunned were not just shunned by the power of the Origin Universe itself, but also by a hint of the Origin Progenitor's power.

With Dust World as the core, Lu Yin was able to use the landmass in his inner universe as a weapon and suppress opponents at the level of the Seven Skygods. The Origin Progenitor's Mainland was naturally far more powerful.

Very few individuals could sense this detail, but it was clear to Lu Yin because he walked the same path as the Origin Progenitor.

It was not until he had truly started walking this path in the Mirari Realm that Lu Yin had understood why the Progenitor had created the six Mainlands and why Yong Heng, despite clearly holding the upper hand, was still determined to destroy the Mainlands.

It was because the Mainlands were the Origin Progenitor's power. If the six Mainlands were still intact, then the Origin Progenitor's power would be terrifying.

Yong Heng wanted to destroy the six Mainlands one by one.

If the lives and deaths of the Three Realms and Six Daos were compared to the destruction of the Origin Universe’s Mainlands, then the powerhouses were likely not as important.

The Mainlands were why Aeternus's Seven Skygods were unable to wield their full power in the Origin Universe and why they had sent Semi-Progenitor avatars instead; the avatars had not been shunned.

On the other hand, Yong Heng did not walk the same path as the Origin Progenitor. Thus, being shunned from the Scourges only took effect when one was in the Scourges, and that was different in the Origin Universe.

"The other matter that I want to discuss is that butterfly," Jiang Feng continued, his expression growing more serious.

Lu Yin also refocused on the matter at hand. Not even Ancestor Lu Yuan knew anything about the butterfly’s origins. Hongyan Mavis and the other Three Realms and Six Daos only knew that the butterfly had appeared in the First Mainland during the Heavens Sect era, and then had been driven off by the Origin Progenitor. As for where the butterfly had come from, its purpose, or anything else, those were all mysteries.

Lu Yin was surprised that Jiang Feng knew anything.

Jiang Feng had been around for about as long as Lu Yin, if his time as Lu Xiaoxuan was also taken into account.

However, if they also took the amount of time spent in parallel universes where time flowed faster, who could say?

Jiang Feng had spent a long time in the Five Spirits Alliance, but Lu Yin had also spent a great deal of time in the Mirari Realm.

"When I first started making a name for myself as the Lord of Lightning and my reputation started spreading beyond this universe, that butterfly came to visit me. She called herself Tian En, and she suggested that she can bestow blessings on behalf of the heavens," Jiang Feng recalled. "She offered to give me a blessing, immortality, and a unique status in the megaverse."

Lu Yin was puzzled. What did that even mean?

Jiang Feng looked at him. "You don't understand, do you? Neither did I. However, here on our Earth, we have a saying. ‘There's no such thing as a free lunch. If something falls from the sky and lands on you, it might not be a good thing.’ So, I refused.

"That butterfly approached me three times, and I rejected her each time. She hasn't contacted me again after that.

"I had nearly forgotten about her, but when I first lured the Ancient Lightning Locust to the First Scourge when you were taking out Xu Jin, Yong Heng mentioned Tian En to me. He threatened me, saying that I should accept Tian En’s offer, or else I would face endless suffering. I don’t know what sort of connection he has with Tian En, and he didn't elaborate.

"He not only pushed me to accept Tian En’s offer, but he also demanded that I give him my mirebound artifacts, which is ridiculous. He brought the matter up again during our latest battle, asking if I had changed my mind. I refused Tian En again. I've rejected that butterfly on several occasions, but it's clear that the butterfly is very important to Yong Heng."

Jiang Feng stared at Lu Yin. "That's all I know about the butterfly."

Lu Yin felt rather bewildered. The only useful information he had gleaned from this explanation was that True God had some sort of connection to the butterfly. Perhaps the offer that Tian En had made to the Lord of Lightning had been arranged by True God, but even if that was true, the butterfly clearly was not part of the Aeternus.

On top of that, the butterfly’s name was "Tian En." Just what was "heaven" referring to?[1]

Lu Yin was inexplicably reminded of Ye Zhang. A brand with the character for “slave” had appeared on the man’s forehead after he had died, but what kind of being could enslave someone as powerful as Ye Zhang? That man had been incredibly powerful, and he had manipulated all of the super giants in the universe by changing the laws of the universe to create the Giants’ Purgatory. Even Corpse God had been leery of Ye Zhang. Without Ye Zhang’s intervention, the attack on Corpse God would have never succeeded. Instead, the Skygod had been forced to self-destruct and escape.

Brands with the characters for “heaven” and “slave,” and a butterfly who seemed to be heaven’s representative; everything seemed connected to Lu Yin.

Furthermore, Lu Yin could not shake Great Elder Shan Gu’s words from his mind. The Lost Clan had once faced a being who was capable of erasing everything, and even Shan Gu’s ancestors, who had been far stronger than him, had all been annihilated. The ancestors of the Lost Clan had been Ortusers at the very least, and yet they had all been obliterated with seemingly no effort. What kind of entity was capable of doing that?

Lu Yin stood up and stared off into outer space. More and more, he felt as though there was a hand reaching closer to him, and it felt far more profound and terrifying than Aeternus.

He was gradually uncovering a certain truth. To get to the bottom of it, the butterfly seemed like a good place to start.

"Uncle Jiang, have you ever fought against that butterfly?" Lu Yin asked.

Jiang Feng shook his head. "She was always very polite, and her voice is so gentle. How could we fight?"

Lu Yin continued to consider the matter. Even during the battle in the First Scourge, when the butterfly had stopped all of the fighting and openly sided with Aeternus, her voice had always remained incredibly gentle, and she had also professed her concern for humanity.

Her reasoning had been revolting, but her politeness had been impeccable, which made it difficult to simply attack her.

There was no personal enmity.

Jiang Feng stood up. "Lu Yin, how old are you?"

Lu Yin took a moment to consider the question. "A bit more than 100."

Jiang Feng chuckled. "Just over a hundred? That's quite young."

Among cultivators, someone who was 100 years old was truly very young.

"At a bit more than a hundred, even if you've cultivated for more than a century, that’s not even a drop in the vast river of time. Even so, your achievements are already enough to alter the course of history for our entire era. What more could you want?" Jiang Feng calmly asked.

Lu Yin was puzzled. "Do I seem unsatisfied?"

Jiang Feng looked at the younger man. "I see that you carry a great weight. You’re still young—that’s reason enough to not bear that burden. You've already avenged your grievances, and your enemies are clear and in front of you. Many things will happen regardless of your efforts, so why do you need to see everything clearly?

"After I reached the pinnacle on this planet and unified Earth, I still ended up being outmaneuvered and even lost my cultivation. I was completely incapable of foreseeing that. In the end, the one who restored my cultivation was my archenemy. That was something even more unexpected. Life is full of uncertainties, and you can't predict everything. Who can see up and down the River of Time? Even your universe’s Destiny’s foresight is limited. Who can know the future beyond what we can foresee? Don't live with so many burdens. When you can't control the rules of reality, adapting to them is still an option."

Lu Yin stared off into the distance, lost in thought. Jiang Feng was not the first or the only one who had advised Lu Yin to stop overthinking things. Many others had offered the same advice. Could he really stop? His life had been exhausting, unbearably so. The smiles that he wore in public were nothing more than a mask to hide his suffering. However, the voices he heard from the Fifth Mainland, the countless voices of support, were all genuine.

"Uncle Jiang, everyone on this Earth must worship you," Lu Yin murmured.

Jiang Feng smiled. "When you lack strength, you live for yourself. When you gain strength, you can live for others. Still, don't make yourself miserable. People are only people. No matter how great I become, I'll never consider myself a saint."

Lu Yin looked over and smiled back at the man. "I’ve never aimed for that, either. I just do my best."

"Come, let's eat. Your aunt's cooking is really good."

"And old Liu's braised dishes?"

"There’s also our smoked chicken and cured pork."

1. Just a reminder, but the butterfly's name is Tian (天) En(恩). Heaven + grace. ☜

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA