Star Odyssey

Progenitor Chen asked himself what he was best at, and he knew that the answer was killing, fighting, and creating battle techniques, not passively accepting attacks.

The man spat out blood as he struggled to raise his head. He stared at Forgotten Ruins God. "Nest."

The woman was impressed. "To fully withstand my Black Rose, Xia Shang, you are truly much stronger than your other eight clones. You should know, one of your clones was killed by my Black Rose."

"Nest," Progenitor Chen repeated in a low voice.

Forgotten Ruins God sighed and glanced over at Yan Gang. The man involuntarily walked towards her.

"Are these Nests really that important to Lu Yin? Or rather, are they such a terrible threat to this megaverse?" Forgotten Ruins God asked, seemingly puzzled.

Progenitor Chen stared at her. "Are you thinking of going back on your word?"

Forgotten Ruins God laughed coquettishly as her bright eyes swept back over to Xia Shang. "I am a woman, after all."

With that, she threw out a palm strike. Sequence particles swirled around the hand as she used Sit and Forget.

Progenitor Chen's eyes suddenly flared, and he took a step forward. When he reappeared, he was countering with a palm strike of his own.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Bang!

The void shattered, and the withering Black Rose shot straight into Forgotten Ruins God's body, pushed there by Progenitor Chen's Linked Palm.

He had used Linked Palm to borrow Forgotten Ruins God's Progenitor’s world.

The woman spat out blood as she flew back, horrified. How could this be? He skipped time? Xia Shang actually skipped time? That was Wu Xing's ultimate ability! How could this man know that same ability?

One blow was all it took for Progenitor Chen to drive Forgotten Ruins God back. "Wang Miaomiao, you deserve to die."

The Skygod coughed up more blood, but then her eyes suddenly flushed red. Lanterns had appeared around her at some unknown point in time. She was in a state where she had abandoned all sense of self or others, a state of harmony with the universe.

She started singing in a melancholic tone. It seemed to be about sending off a monarch in peace. It venerated a god of true disaster while invoking absolute freedom.

“Ethereal autumn waters, a vague beauty, gazing eastward…”

“Family unseen, ascending the heights of heaven, one person remaining…”

~~

It was True God’s Natural Art.

Progenitor Chen passed by the lanterns before he reached out to grab Forgotten Ruins God. Suddenly, a scepter appeared in his hand yet again. Wang Xiaoyu had attacked him.

There was a snap. Progenitor Chen instantly crushed the scepter.

At that moment, a lantern that bore Progenitor Chen's image shattered. He froze in place, his face suddenly pale. He coughed up blood and dropped to his knees again. What was this?

Forgotten Ruins God took advantage of the opportunity and rushed over to Wang Xiaoyu's side while simultaneously grabbing Yan Gang. "Let's go!"

Just as Progenitor Chen was about to attack, more lanterns shattered. Each time one was destroyed, he suffered a powerful, unseen attack. It was impossible for Progenitor Chen to give chase. All he could do was watch as Forgotten Ruins God and the others escaped.

A long time later, when all the lanterns had finally shattered, peace returned to the universe.

Progenitor Chen sat down cross-legged and let out a long breath.

He had never dealt with True God's Natural Art before and had been completely unprepared. However, even if he had been prepared, there was little he could do against any of True God's three ultimate techniques.

Skipping time might allow the man to instantly and completely recover, but the time that was skipped could be detected by skilled opponents. If that moment was found, Progenitor Chen could be seriously injured in future battles. He did not want to risk that.

He would not skip time unless it was absolutely necessary.

He had offered to take Forgotten Ruins God's three attacks head-on because of his ability to skip time, but Forgotten Ruins God was no fool. On top of that, she had gone back on her word.

Fortunately, Progenitor Chen had succeeded in taking the Rivers and Mountains Painting.

Lu Yin arrived at the Immemorial Citadel, where he found Mister Mu. This visit was not for anything particularly important. "That old monster, Yuan Qi, has been captured."

Mister Mu was initially surprised, but then he quickly understood. "He lost his Dao Bell, which means his strength has fallen drastically. Now, he’s only at the level of the Boundary Guardians, so it's no surprise that he was captured. Don't kill him yet. He could prove useful against the Spirit Nidus. He's terribly afraid of dying."

Lu Yin nodded.

After a brief silence, Mister Mu asked, "Is there something you want to ask me?"

Lu Yin thought for a moment. "Master, what was the name of your original megaverse?"

Mister Mu laughed. "It never had a name."

"No name?" Lu Yin was astonished.

Mister Mu stared off into the distance. "Names are only used to differentiate between different things that are sufficiently similar. If the Spirit Nidus didn’t exist, would this place have ever received the name ‘Tianyuan Megaverse?’"

"Are you saying that, when you were in your megaverse, you never encountered creatures from other megaverses?"

"We did, but such creatures arrived in our megaverse unintentionally. How could they have been qualified to name our megaverse?"

Lu Yin considered the question and agreed with his master. "True, normal creatures would never have the right to name a megaverse. In that case, who decided on the name of ‘Tianyuan Megaverse’ for us?"

Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin. "Tai Chu asked that same question, and that’s also why he didn’t dare to recover."

Lu Yin's expression stiffened. Could it have been all decided by an invincible being? The only being qualified to name a megaverse could be someone like Master Qing Cao.

"For you to suddenly ask about my megaverse, are you worried that my ancient enemies will also come to this Tianyuan Megaverse?" Mister Mu asked.

Lu Yin did not try to hide anything. "With the Spirit Nidus almost here and the Nests suddenly appearing, the Tianyuan Megaverse is dealing with even more pressure than ever, despite already feeling the strain. If the Nests are able to develop more, it will be a huge problem. If your megaverse’s ancient enemies also show up, on top of everything else…"

"That shouldn't happen," Mister Mu replied.

After a moment’s thought, he added, "During the great battle all those years ago, if not for that invincible being interfering, someone who could be called a Fated One, we would have never been defeated. Our enemies were not like these Nests, which multiply rapidly. Even if there is a threat, it won't arrive any time quickly."

"And what about your Fated One?" Lu Yin asked.

Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin. "That’s not anything that you or I need to worry about."

Lu Yin remembered Wang Wen's analogy about the fisherman. The Fated One was the fisherman, while everyone else was nothing more than fish. Only another fisherman could compete for the fish.

It was even possible that Mister Mu might be hoping that the Fated One from his megaverse would go against Master Qing Cao. Immortals were supreme beings, and they would never allow rivals to exist. One of the two would have to be destroyed.

…

In the Heavens Sect, a group of people gathered around the Rivers and Mountains Painting.

"Is this the Rivers and Mountains Painting? As expected, it’s composed entirely of sequence particles. A truly extraordinary creation. Upon entering it, it’s easy to drown in its sequence particles."

"The only way to construct such a treasure is by accumulating the same type of sequence particles for countless years. The Spirit Nidus’s cultivation method really is effective."

"I had assumed that the Spirit Nidus focused solely on their sequence bases, but now, we’ve heard that they have also developed Spirit Weapons. While they still focus on external strength and tools, it's quite impressive. When Yuan Qi's Dao Bell was destroyed, his power plummeted. He once stood above all others at the Immemorial Citadel’s battle, all because of his bell. It seems that the Spirit Nidus has many experts with similar strength."

"If our Heavens Sect had endured for all this time, we might have developed similar treasures."

"That’s impossible. Master would have never created such a rigid system. He would have allowed things to develop freely. He even created the stellular tribulation."

"While the stellular tribulation are disasters, they also provide greater opportunities. Master was right."

"No one's saying that Master was wrong, but we’ll never develop in the same manner as the Spirit Nidus."

…

Everyone examined the Rivers and Mountains Painting while discussing what they observed.

Occasionally, they spoke in praise of Progenitor Chen.

As ancient powerhouses, the Three Realms and Six Daos viewed Progenitor Chen as a junior.

Even people like Mu Shen and Lord Xu were much, much older than Progenitor Chen.

In particular, Wu Tian had nothing but admiration for Progenitor Chen. "Not only did you manage to break free from this Rivers and Mountains Painting, but you also faced True God's Natural Art head-on and developed something as miraculous as your Linked Palm. It’s no wonder why Yong Heng calls you the greatest fighter of all time."

Progenitor Chen's face was still a bit pale. "So that was True God's Natural Art? No wonder it’s regarded as one of his three ultimate techniques. This time, it allowed Wang Miaomiao to escape with her group. It won’t be easy to find them again."

Lu Yin said, "Senior, the fact that you were able to take this Rivers and Mountains Painting is already a tremendous boon. Forgotten Ruins God is clever, and she’s escaped from many other battles throughout the ages without suffering almost any injuries. She’s not easy to deal with."

Lu Yin had not expected Forgotten Ruins God to have mastered True God's Natural Art, as she had never used it before. This woman had hidden her strength far too well.

Blackless God had deliberately betrayed Aeternus, and he had only managed to survive by staying close to True God. In contrast, Forgotten Ruins God has been active across multiple battlefields, and not only had she survived them all, but she had also kept her true strength hidden. While she had a delicate appearance, she was more insidious and tenacious than anyone else.

Lu Yin wanted to ask Progenitor Chen about Wang Xiaoyu, but he decided not to after giving the matter a bit of thought.

"When Yuan Qi was captured, Zhan Yan was the one who escaped with the Rivers and Mountains Painting. Senior, you found the sequence base just a short time after I caught Yuan Qi. Could Zhan Yan have been dealt with by Forgotten Ruins God?" Lu Yin asked.

Everyone turned to look at Progenitor Chen.

Zhan Yan was no weakling. She had been one of the five most powerful experts based out of the Ossis Ark, and she had been Mu Zhu’s opponent for the longest time. She was undoubtedly one of the Spirit Nidus’s more powerful experts.

Progenitor Chen replied, "That’s most likely what happened. Forgotten Ruins God wasn’t able to control the Rivers and Mountains Painting, or else I would have never been able to take it. I never saw Zhan Yan's body, but she’s probably already dead."

Lu Yin nodded. The number of enemy outsiders who were hiding in the Tianyuan Megaverse was dropping quickly. At the moment, only True God, Blackless God, Skydog, Forgotten Ruins God, and Wang Xiaoyu remained. Once those people were dealt with, the Tianyuan Megaverse would have no more internal threats.

No, there were also the Nests.

The Nest that nurtured the Sky Orchids had been taken away, and they posed a major threat.

The number of Nests in the megaverse had been steadily decreasing. Whenever one was found, it was destroyed. While the Nests had once been discovered quite frequently, several days had passed since the last one was found. It would only become more difficult to locate them in the future.

The Heavens Sect had continuously raised the penalties for those who hid Nests, while simultaneously increasing the rewards for turning them in.

Once those rewards reached a certain level, the entire megaverse entered a frenzy. Anyone who discovered someone with a Nest would be raised up and given the highest status imaginable.

For those who wanted to hide their Nests, life became increasingly difficult. The entire megaverse was searching for such people. Even if they managed to stay hidden, it was nearly impossible to cultivate due to the distinct nature of the insects. On top of that, the insects were able to serve as guides to nearby Nests, which forced the masters of the Nests to constantly move around.

This had become a key method for tracking Nests down.

Several months later, only two more Nests were discovered. Those who had tried to hide them met a gruesome end.

Unfortunately, Yu Leng still had not been found.

After the battle at the Immemorial Citadel, when Aeternus had been destroyed, their shadow had been lifted from the entire megaverse.

What had once been the Sixverse Association’s Endless Frontier had become a place many people were able to visit now.

For cultivators, a century was no more than the blink of an eye, and yet so much had happened in that brief bit of time. Many cultivators, upon emerging from seclusion while prepared to fight the Aeternals to the death, learned that Aeternus had already been defeated and that the Endless Frontier no longer existed.

This news shocked many who emerged from seclusion, and many of them were intrigued and interested in visiting the Endless Frontier.

There were countless stories about the Endless Frontier being a slaughterhouse that had covered many parallel universes.

With the threat of humanity’s ancient enemy gone, many people organized groups with other interested people before going on a tour in the Endless Frontier.

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA