Star Odyssey

Chapter 3017: Intervention

In the past, Lu Yin had not been able to see it, but at this moment, he clearly saw that there was a fist impression underground, and this one contained a thousand stacks of force.

There was no denying that Kong Ji’s obsession with strength had helped him rise up to a certain height. Vacuum Rebound was a technique that could even be used in a battle between peak powerhouses. It was able to neutralize and reflect an attack back to one’s opponent, which would absolutely catch someone off guard, especially if Kong Ji used it with his own sequence particles.

“I’m here to bury someone today. While there are no Aeternals in the Starfall Sea, this place still isn’t completely safe. You should return early.” Lu Yin then moved towards the stack of earthen platforms to bury Kong Ji on top. Since the man missed his homeland, Lu Yin would let him see it.

Kong Ji had indeed betrayed the Fifth Mainland, but the hesitation in his eyes at the end of the fight against Lu Yin had convinced Lu Yin that the man had truly never harmed the Fifth Mainland. Kong Ji missed his hometown, but because he had not wanted to harm it, he had not been able to ever return. This was his way of atoning for his selfish betrayal of the Fifth Mainland.

The palm technique that he had left behind had been of great help to Lu Yin. Regardless of what kind of person Kong Ji had been, his teachings had saved and protected Lu Yin.

Lu Yin slowly climbed the twenty stacked platforms, passing the disciples of Mt. Stacks Dojo. They were not even able to see Lu Yin as they struggled to climb higher. The scene was all too familiar to Lu Yin, as he had climbed to the tenth level of the stacked platforms while many people watched, and he had learned Hollow Palm there. At the time, the Sixth Mainland had been invading the Fifth Mainland, and the Outerverse had been isolated.

So many years had passed in the blink of an eye.

Lu Yin quickly arrived at the top, and he looked at the palm print before him. He took out Kong Ji’s corpse and buried the man beneath his own palm print. After that, he brought out his Champions’ Stage and spoke to Kong Ji, telling him to look around and see where he was.

“This is the place you wanted to see, so look. While your hometown has undergone quite a few struggles, the place hasn’t really changed all that much,” Lu Yin murmured as he turned around and stared into the distance. “If not for Arch-Elder Zen’s sneak attack, would you have landed that last attack?”

Lu Yin stared off into the distance, lost in thought. After a while, he put away his Champions’ Stage and stepped off, disappearing.

“Dao Monarch Lu is gone,” Elder Ji said in a regretful tone. He had wanted to have a long talk with Lu Yin, but he lacked the qualifications to do so.

Tie San clenched a fist. In the past, he could have followed Lu Yin. However, at present, Tie San could no longer even see Lu Yin’s back. Even if Lan Si were present, it would not be any different. The Ten Arbiters had stood at the peak of their era, but none of them could keep up with the genius who had transcended that era.

Lu Yin intended to leave the Origin Universe after burying Kong Ji, continuing to search for more unknown universes in order to learn more about Aeternus’s outsider allies, as well as strengthen Lightflow. However, upon returning to the Heavens Sect, he was informed that Highsage Grandmaster was facing his Progenitor’s tribulation.

Lu Yin hurried to the Neoverse.

In the Neoverse, people like Highsage Wudi and Highsage Shenwei had all gathered. They anxiously stared off into the distance. Big Sis, Leon, and many others had also arrived to watch Highsage Grandmaster’s stellular tribulation. Qing Ping, Lu Buzheng, and others were also present.

The vortex of the stellular tribulation had appeared above Highsage Grandmaster, and while it was not particularly large, the tribulation that appeared was impressive. It was a sourcebox array.

Highsage Grandmaster was an Array Master, and his Progenitor’s tribulation had him facing a sourcebox array.

Beneath the black hole of the tribulation, two sourcebox arrays clashed, breaking each other down and merging with deadly bursts of power. Many of the people watching were completely bewildered.

Anyone who was not an Array Master would fail to understand what was happening.

Xiu Ming stared intently. He considered himself to be at least as skilled an Array Grandmaster as Highsage Grandmaster, perhaps even better. Even so, Xiu Ming knew that he was incapable of mastering the sourcebox arrays he saw before him. Only a few Array Grandmasters had appeared throughout the countless years, and each one had created at least five sourcebox arrays. There had also been people like Progenitor Hui, who had gone above and beyond that, but Highsage Grandmaster lacked the necessary mastery to deal with what he was facing.

“It’s a failure,” Xiu Ming declared solemnly.

There were other lockbreakers watching closely. Many had arrived after they received word of Highsage Grandmaster’s tribulation. Both Xiu Ming and Highsage Grandmaster anticipated encountering a sourcebox array during their Progenitor’s tribulation, and that assumption had proven accurate for Highsage Grandmaster.

Geoffrey, Shang Yang, Master Hao Yue, Gui Junheng, and the other qualified lockbreakers all arrived, including Xi Qi and Cai Jianqiang. It was clear to all that Highsage Grandmaster had been preparing for his tribulation for quite some time.

However, all of his preparations were insufficient before the tribulation that he faced.

The danger zone of Highsage Grandmaster’s sourcebox array continued to weaken, and more people started to realize that the man would not be able to endure for much longer.

“Master!” Highsage Leon shouted.

Highsage Wudi and Highsage Shenwei stared on, their eyes bloodshot. Black and White were present, and they wrung their hands as they watched with bated breath.

Even the Cosmic Sect’s Elder Jiu Shen was present, his gaze complex. Would his senior brother be able to succeed?

Cough.

Highsage Grandmaster spat out blood. It was an indication that he could not endure.

Highsage Leon was ready to charge over, but he was held back by Highsage Wudi. “Don’t waste your life.”

“Senior Brother, let me go! We can’t just watch Master die!” Highsage Leon raged as he tried to break free from Highsage Wudi.

Another hand fell on Leon’s shoulder, as Highsage Shenwei also moved to stop him.

His eyes bloodshot, Highsage Shenwei stated, “Going over there means that you will die with him. Do you think that we want to just watch as Master dies?”

Highsage Leon clenched his fists as he trembled.

Highsage Grandmaster spat out more blood, and he swayed in place as the danger zone of the other sourcebox array drew closer to him. His failure was clear for all to see.

He had waited for so long, and yet he had still failed. Even so, it was better to struggle and fail. Lingzhi Mavis, Elder Gong, and Highsage Grandmaster had all failed their Progenitor’s tribulations. Of the Fifth Mainland’s seven Semi-Progenitors, only Arch-Elder Zen had succeeded.

Old friends, I’m coming too.

Highsage Grandmaster was powerless, and he allowed the danger zone to descend upon him.

From the distance, Big Sis suddenly shot straight towards the stellular tribulation. Highsage Grandmaster was important to Highsage Leon, and he could also be considered part of Big Sis’ family. She could not let him die, even if he failed his tribulation.

However, there was someone even faster than Big Sis.

As she moved forward, Highsage Grandmaster vanished from beneath the vortex in outer space.

Where had he gone?

At the same time, the stellular tribulation’s vortex started growing rapidly, and its increasing power caused everyone’s hearts to drop.

“RUN!” A shrill scream rang out, and everyone raced away at the same time.

Big Sis looked towards where the center of the tribulation’s black hole had shifted. Is that Little Seven?

Naturally, Lu Yin had was the person who had moved faster than Big Sis.

Highsage Grandmaster was only a Semi-Progenitor, and having failed his breakthrough, there was nothing he could say about his failure. This was what it meant for cultivators to struggle against the heavens. Lu Yin had not considered intervening with Highsage Grandmaster’s failure, but when he saw Big Sis moving forward, Lu Yin had not been able to simply stand to the side.

Despite the danger, all Lu Yin needed to do was give Highsage Grandmaster a chance to reduce his cultivation, which would disperse his Progenitor’s tribulation.

Elder Gong had died because he had not had enough time to dissipate his cultivation, and Highsage Grandmaster had very nearly gone down the exact same path.

“Senior, dissipate your cultivation!” Lu Yin reminded.

Highsage Grandmaster hastily did as he was told.

The man’s stellular tribulation disappeared. Lu Yin watched cautiously, as he had interfered with the tribulation. As it faded away, it still managed to lash out at Lu Yin once before vanishing, and it struck him with the same sourcebox array. The danger zone was powerful enough to threaten even Lu Yin, and it was far more powerful than what Highsage Grandmaster had faced during his tribulation.

Lu Yin used Extremes Must Be Reversed to endure the attack of the tribulation, and he gazed upwards as the vortex finally dissipated entirely.

“Greetings, Dao Monarch.”

“Greetings, Dao Monarch...”

Big Sis was the first to race over. “Little Seven!”

Lu Yin was holding on to Highsage Grandmaster, and he just shrugged. “I’m fine.”

Everyone around was stunned. It was common knowledge that no one should ever interfere with a stellular tribulation, and yet Lu Yin had just done exactly that.

Big Sis was completely speechless.

Highsage Wudi and the others from Eversky Island quickly expressed their gratitude.

Highsage Leon breathed a sigh of relief. “Little Seven, thank you.”

Lu Yin just laughed. “Captain, there’s no need to be so polite with me.”

“Hahahaha.”

Highsage Grandmaster coughed a few times. While he had not died to his Progenitor’s tribulation, he had still been seriously injured by it, and reducing his cultivation to that of an Envoy had only aggravated his condition. The man’s future cultivation prospects were entirely gone. “Dao Monarch, it wasn’t worth it to risk your life to save an old man like me. If anything had happened, I would have never been able to atone for it.”

Lu Yin gave a small smile. “I only did what I did because I was confident. I wouldn’t have taken any real risk.”

Black and White approached, tears of joy streaming down their faces. They were still as childish as ever.

Far away, Xi Qi cradled her head where the rude fish had slapped her with his tail. “That kid really doesn’t know what’s good for him! Getting involved in another’s Progenitor’s tribulation? There’s no discipline at all!”

Xi Qi quickly grabbed the fish’s tail. “Stop slapping me! It hurts.”

“You’re still not used to it? Lord Fish is training you with the Iron Head Technique!”

“I don’t want it.”

“Ha! Are you talking back? Take care, or else Lord Fish will abandon you.”

People started to move away from Eversky Island, and Highsage Grandmaster again expressed his gratitude to Lu Yin before entering seclusion to recover.

Lu Yin spent some time chatting with his old friends and acquaintances before Big Sis pulled him aside.

She examined him with questioning eyes.

Lu Yin felt nervous. “Big Sis, why are you looking at me like that?”

She circled around him. “How did you move faster than me?”

“To save Highsage Grandmaster?”

“There was no one here who should have been able to move faster than me. I was the fastest one present, and I could have saved Highsage Grandmaster, but before I could even blink, you had already taken him away. How did you do it?”

Lu Yin proudly replied, “Inverse Step.”

Big Sis’s eyes shone. “Did you master the ability to skip time?”

Lu Yin shook his head. “I learned to move at the speed of time.”

Big Sis grew puzzled.

Lu Yin shared his encounter with Progenitor Chen in Burial Garden and then demonstrated how he could move parallel to time.

Big Sis was amazed. “This Xia Shang is truly a genius, to accomplish such a thing.”

Lu Yin was similarly impressed. “Progenitor Chen was the most brilliant Progenitor of the Daosource Sect era, and few have ever been able to equal him. Each of his nine clones was able to kill Progenitors, and he forced the Sixth Mainland’s Daosource Sect to turtle up and not dare show themselves. He even left a mark on Aeternus.”

Big Sis replied, “Of course I know all that. I don’t only know about the Heavens Sect era. I’m simply admitting that I underestimated Progenitor Chen. You need to know that moving parallel to time isn’t any easier than skipping time. Wu Xing’s ability to skip time was something that he developed over the course of countless years, and the same goes for Inverse Step. For Xia Shang to create an alternate variation of a movement technique that he inherited long ago just demonstrates how terrifyingly talented he is.”

“Progenitor Chen also told me that he’s in Burial Garden not only to fulfill a promise he made to Tombkeeper, but also because he’s developing a battle technique to defeat True God,” Lu Yin shared. If anyone else had made such a claim, he would not have believed them. However, for some reason, he could not help but believe it when Progenitor Chen said it.