Star Odyssey

Chapter 3108: A Good Place

Lu Yin calmed his mind. He remembered once hearing someone say that, while everyone respected the Origin Progenitor, actually meeting the man and getting to know him would completely change one’s initial impression. Was this what they had meant? That the old man was a chatterbox?

Lu Yin had no idea how long he had waited for when the Origin Progenitor suddenly shouted, startling Lu Yin. “I found it! Old friend, don’t blame me. It’s not that I don’t want to use you, but rather that I simply can’t. You’ll have to settle for helping this young lad stay alive. What? He’s not worthy? Don’t be so blunt.”

Lu Yin felt utterly helpless. Was this some sort of joke?

While he was lost in his own thoughts, he felt a cool sensation on his forehead. Suddenly, he sat up and gasped for air. Could he finally move again?

Lu Yin turned to look at the Origin Progenitor, and his pupils contracted sharply. What was this?

How much damage could one person survive? Lu Yin did not know for sure. He had received many attacks that were meant to be fatal, but he had never suffered injuries so severe that anything but death seemed impossible.

At that moment, Lu Yin clearly saw the Origin Progenitor for the first time. The old man’s entire body was covered with wounds. There was not a single portion that remained intact. His back was full of injuries so severe that it looked like his flesh had been turned inside out. The severed arms were surrounded by a dark-red power, which was clearly divine energy. The worst injury of all was on the man’s neck, as a significant portion was missing entirely. Was the Origin Progenitor really still alive?

When Lu Yin had first seen the Origin Progenitor from outside the Immemorial Citadel, it had been impossible to see the man’s wounded neck or the injuries riddling his body. Only after coming close to the Origin Progenitor could Lu Yin see everything clearly.

The Origin Progenitor had survived truly unimaginable injuries, and yet he still held onto all those sequence strings.

Lu Yin stared at the Origin Progenitor, dumbfounded by the sight.

The Origin Progenitor’s eyes shifted over to Lu Yin. “What’s the matter, kid? Scared? Don’t be. These are just flesh wounds. Are you asking if they hurt? Of course not. They just itch a bit.”

It was only then that Lu Yin realized that the Origin Progenitor had never actually been speaking. Given the fact that half of his neck was gone, the man was unable to talk, and he was instead transmitting his voice.

Lu Yin continued to stare at the Origin Progenitor before he finally spoke up, his own voice hoarse. “Junior Lu Yin greets the Origin Progenitor.”

“Are all of Loam’s descendants so formal? Let me think... That kid Lu Tianyi was also very polite. Not bad. All of you kids have grown up. In the past, out of all the kids, Loam was always the most mischievous. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye.

“Young one, your name is Lu Yin, right?”

Lu Yin nodded. “My name is Lu Yin, but the Origin Progenitor can call me Little Seven. My original name was Lu Xiaoxuan.”

“Little Seven, huh? That sounds friendly enough, but your name doesn’t sound very grand. You know, when the Origin Universe first began, there weren’t very many people. I was afraid that the children would die, so it was important to give them proper names. A modest name meant a better chance of survival. How about I give you a name? You’ll be called...”

“There’s no need for that, Origin Progenitor. Lu Yin is a good name,” Lu Yin quickly interrupted. He could never forget about the names like Big Thug, Blacky, Loam, and Yellowy, and recalling them made Lu Yin very nervous.

The Origin Progenitor sighed. “Oh well. I was going to call you Pillar, like the pillar that holds up the Origin Universe. See? It’s both meaningful and ensures your survival.”

Lu Yin quickly replied, “That’s not necessary, Origin Progenitor. Thank you.”

“Very well. It seems that you don’t understand art. Many people have begged me to give them names, but I rarely agree. Doing so is tiring.”

Lu Yin arched a brow, and his hand rose up to touch his forehead. “Origin Progenitor, is your Primaldust in my forehead?”

“That’s right. It said that you’re not worthy, but don’t take that personally.”

Lu Yin coughed lightly. “During my Semi-Progenitor tribulation, I did indeed encounter your Primaldust. That tribulation led to the formation of my inner world, Dust World. I've been searching for a path to evolve Dust World into a Progenitor’s world, but I have not been able to find any possibilities.”

“Don’t rush things. You’re still young.”

“Time waits for no one.”

“That’s true, and Primaldust doesn’t feel that you’re worthy of it. It would be best for you to break through soon.”

“Progenitor, can we not talk about worthiness?”

“I don’t want you to dwell on it.”

“I can promise that I won’t.”

“Alright, it feels like you’re getting a bit annoyed.”

Lu Yin exhaled. “I swear, I’m not.”

“I believe you. You’re a good child. Now, what was your question again?”

Lu Yin’s face twitched. “How can I evolve my inner world, Dust World, into a Progenitor’s world? Since my inner world is similar to your Primaldust, I’m confused.”

“Hmm... I don’t know.”

Lu Yin was stunned, and he stared blankly at the Origin Progenitor. Was the man teasing Lu Yin because the name that he had chosen was not appreciated?

“Don’t look at me like that, Pillar. I really don’t know. You’ll have to figure this out for yourself. My path is different from the one that you are taking. Or maybe they’re the same? Let me think... No, they’re definitely different. No doubt about it.

“The only advice I can give you is these words: gather the desires of all creatures.”

Lu Yin was puzzled. “Gather the desires of all creatures?”

“That’s right. How you interpret that is up to you, but I think you might be going down the wrong road. Who said that breaking through to the Progenitor realm requires you to evolve all four inner worlds at the same time?”

Lu Yin’s eyes went wide, and he felt as though he had just been struck by lightning. This was true. Who had said that he needed to evolve all four of his inner worlds at the same time? He could seal them off and simply evolve one or two into Progenitor’s worlds.

“See? You’re exactly like the name I chose for you—a Pillar. Sometimes you overthink things, and that clouds your judgment.”

“Origin Progenitor, my name is not Pillar,” Lu Yin corrected.

The Origin Progenitor fell silent for a moment. “Fine. You really don’t understand art.”

“Origin Progenitor, what about Primaldust? What should I do with it?”

“Don’t worry about that. When you break through and become a Progenitor, you’ll naturally become worthy of it. Don’t overthink things.”

Lu Yin felt exhausted. “What I meant was, how do I use it?”

“For now, you can’t. Just leave it there in your forehead. Maybe your Dust World’s evolution will be related to it. Many things happen naturally. Just relax. No one can predict everything accurately. Lassy was always overthinking things, and she ended up being the last one to break through. Who knows how she’s doing now?”

Lu Yin was astonished. “Lassy? Destiny?”

“You know her? Right, you have Blackie’s power and Big Thug’s Heaven’s Sight, so you might know Lassy as well. Wait, is that Lassy’s power? You even have her power? I didn’t notice it earlier. Very impressive, Pillar!”

Lu Yin was about to reply when a sequence string in the Origin Progenitor’s mouth suddenly snapped. The broken string recoiled like a whip, and a bleeding wound opened on the Origin Progenitor’s back.

Lu Yin was startled. “Origin Progenitor?”

The man’s tone of voice never fluctuated at all. “That’s nothing. Aeternus broke a sequence string, nothing more. It’s not a big deal.”

Lu Yin stared at the bleeding tear on the Origin Progenitor’s back. Not a big deal? How could it not be a big deal? That had been a sequence string! It was essential for maintaining the stability of multiple parallel universes and was part of the infrastructure of the megaverse itself.

Lu Yin could not comprehend the Origin Progenitor’s strength. The fact that a sequence string could tear his back open and leave a bleeding wound suggested that if Lu Yin had been struck by the same power, it would have split him in two.

Sequence strings stabilized the various parallel universes, but they were also stretched taut like elastic bands. As long as they remain intact, there would be no issues, but if one broke, both ends would recoil. The Origin Progenitor held one end in his teeth, so any sequence strings that broke would snap back to him.

Lu Yin immediately understood why the Progenitor’s back was covered in gashes and why there was no intact portion of the man’s flesh. It was because he had been suffering the attacks of the broken sequence strings.

The pain caused by the wounds of the sequence strings could not be as trivial as the Origin Progenitor made it seem.

Aeternus worked to destroy sequence strings not only to annihilate multiple parallel universes at the same time, but also to attack the Origin Progenitor.

Lu Yin clenched his fists. He vowed to himself that he would never allow another sequence string to break. Every one that broke wounded the Origin Progenitor.

“Pillar, you’re overthinking things again, just like Lassy. This doesn’t hurt, really. It’s just a bit itchy,” the Origin Progenitor said with a light-hearted smile as his eyes twinkled.

Lu Yin’s voice grew grave. “Origin Progenitor, I will do my best to stop Aeternus and eradicate their entire race.”

“Don’t overburden yourself. Learn from your master, old geezer Mu. He’s quite laid-back. He didn’t seem too heartbroken even when all of the creatures in his home died.”

“His home?” Lu Yin was again hearing that Mister Mu was from elsewhere.

“It’s not a place related to us. Regardless, I know that you’re eager to break through and become a Progenitor, right? I’ll send you to a place where you can find everything you need to do that, and it might help you achieve your breakthrough.”

Lu Yin hesitated. “I’m in a hurry to get back. Aeternus has declared their third Divine Commandment.”

“I know, but there’s no need for you to worry too much. The Divine Commandments last a long time. Since they’ve already started one, it means that humanity currently has the strength to warrant such an action. This means that humanity is strong enough that they won’t be easily defeated.”

“There’s no need for you to return.” Mister Mu suddenly appeared.

Lu Yin looked over. “Master.”

Mister Mu stared at Lu Yin. “You’ve killed one of the Three Pillars and Six Skies and gravely injured another. Two of the Seven Skygods are dead. The Aeternals have been substantially weakened. Right now, your priority should be to break through to the next level. If you don’t, then every one of your encounters with the Seven Skygods will require a united effort to deal with them. Can you guarantee that you will be successful each and every time? Can you ensure that you won’t die during one of those battles?”

Lu Yin remained silent. It was true that every time he had faced someone at the Seven Skygods’ level, he had needed to gang up on them with others. Each attempt had been exhausting and extremely dangerous.

In order to successfully deal with such opponents, Lu Yin had needed to thoroughly prepare, and for that, knowledge of the target’s capabilities had always been essential. Without that, his attacks always ended in failure, like the attempt to kill Corpse God.

Even if they managed to succeed every time, doing so would substantially weaken humanity’s strength.

In addition to that, only one of the Three Pillars and Six Skies of Aeternus had been killed. The Aeternals had far too many powerful experts who were still alive.

Ambushes could not guarantee victory, and attempting to do so would cost many lives. Winning in such a manner would be incredibly challenging.

“Given your current strength, once you become Progenitor, you won’t need to rely on ambushes anymore. You’re versatile enough that you should have an advantage over any opponent you face,” Mister Mu stated.

Lu Yin nodded. “I understand, Master. I was too impatient.”

"Pillar, there's no need for you to feel rushed. Humanity won’t be easily defeated. Focus on your own cultivation. The place I'm sending you to has everything you’ll need. Of course, it might also be dangerous, but as cultivators, we fight against fate. Dying while cultivating isn't a big deal."

Mister Mu looked puzzled. "Pillar?"

Lu Yin corrected the old man again, "Origin Progenitor, my name is Lu Yin, or if you like, you can call me Little Seven."

"I understand, Pillar. Don't worry. If you die, I'll remember you fondly."

Lu Yin felt like this nickname might stick with him for the rest of his life, which was quite frustrating. "Origin Progenitor, just where are you sending me?"

"It’s a good place. We call it the Mirari Realm."

...