Star Odyssey

Chapter 4402: Take A Look

Qing Cao had no idea what Lu Yin intended to do. Does he still intend to go look at the Ten-Eyed Divine Crow?

The two soon arrived back at the Starfall Megaverse.

"Senior, please go take a look on the other side of that gate," Lu Yin said.

Qing Cao looked at the gate before him. "Obscura's gate? Where are we?"

"The Starfall Megaverse."

Qing Cao looked around. He saw the battlefield, as well as the human cultivators. He immediately grew rather excited. "At last! We have found another human civilization!"

Jiang Feng glanced at Qing Cao. He had always believed that the man’s dedication to the continuation of humanity was genuine, but he had never approved of Qing Cao’s methods. Rather than place humanity's fate in the hands of foreign civilizations, Jiang Feng would rather fight to the death.

He valued the inheritance of the human spirit rather than the mere continuation of life. In Jiang Feng’s view, those who had once lived within an Aeternus Kingdom no longer belonged to humanity. It was a harsh conclusion, but that was precisely how he saw things.

The idea of passing through the gate placed no real pressure on Qing Cao. If there were a member of Obscura on the other side, they would not attack him because doing so would violate Obscura’s rules. And if there were no one there, then he could return immediately. After all, if whatever lay on the other side could trap even him, then the Starfall Megaverse would have been destroyed long ago.

What Lu Yin truly could not understand was this: since the Starfall Megaverse belonged to Obscura as a whole rather than to a single member of Obscura, what exactly were these creatures doing?

Qing Cao took a step forward. A Dukkhan-level creature stood guard in front of the gate, but before Qing Cao could act, Lu Yin shattered it with a casual finger strike. The force pierced space itself, immediately drawing Chen Jian's attention.

His expression changed dramatically, and he hurried over to the battlefield.

An enemy Dukkhan had actually died on that battlefield, and it had been killed instantly. Who had done it? No one in the Starfall Megaverse was capable of defeating such a creature without borrowing the Shattered Dipper's fist intent. Had a foreign lifeform arrived?

By the time Chen Jian arrived, Qing Cao had already passed through the gate. The man glanced around, and he instantly saw Lu Yin and Jiang Feng. Surprise flashed through his eyes, followed by an excitement that he could not suppress. "Humans?"

No matter how Chen Jian might behave, his heart for humanity was real.

Lu Yin smiled. "Please forgive our abrupt intrusion, Senior Chen Jian."

Jiang Feng added, "We finally meet, Chen Jian."

Chen Jian stared at Lu Yin and Jiang Feng while excitedly stepping forward. "You are from another human civilization, are you not? You are both Immortals, are you not?"

Lu Yin did not hide anything and began telling him about the Human Trio. There was not actually much to say, only a general introduction. Even so, Chen Jian became so excited that he could hardly control himself. At last, he was no longer alone. Human civilization persisted beyond the Starfall Megaverse. Only now was the man finally able to lay his heart at ease.

For so many years, in order to protect the Starfall Megaverse, he had cast aside everything, even his very self. He had abandoned all thoughts of advancement, asking only that nothing change. In that manner, he had silently guarded his megaverse for countless years.

During that time, some cursed him for refusing to act, while others had slandered him, claiming that he had been sent over by humanity’s mortal enemies from the other side of the gate. All sorts of rumors had spread. The truth was that he had only needed to act once to quell the discontent, but he had never done so. He had remained stubborn for countless years.

Put kindly, the man was incredibly stubborn. Put harshly, it was pure rigidity.

No matter what, the man had not dared to make any move at all. If anything went wrong, his megaverse would be finished. He alone understood just how terrifying the enemy that they faced truly was, and he had no way to explain that to others. Only at this moment did the pressure on him finally ease.

It was not that the man lacked emotions. Chen Jian had abandoned them for the sake of protecting his civilization. Despite being a human, he had given up every emotional connection possible. Who could truly understand just how exhausted he had become?

Lu Yin's expression turned complicated as he observed the old man before him. Just as Jiang Feng had said, this man was worthy of respect, but he was also someone to be pitied.

Many people fancy themselves clever, mocking those who were rigid, but it was precisely those rigid people who were the only ones capable of accomplishing certain things. No matter what, the Starfall Megaverse still existed, and that was indeed the best possible outcome.

Chen Jian could not wait to see the Trio. Lu Yin did not even need to ask. The old man already longed to take his Starfall Megaverse to join the Trio.

"Joining the Human Trio means abandoning this megaverse. Are you really willing to do that, Senior?" Lu Yin reminded the man. Taking the entire population of a megaverse to the Trio was truly a last resort, but Lu Yin did not have the spare manpower to guard the Starfall Megaverse. The distance between the two was far too vast, and the 2,000 year protection promised by Obscura applied to the Trio, rather than to human civilization as a whole.

He did not want to see the Starfall Megaverse become a weak point for human civilization. Since he had found it, he intended to take it with him. That had been his plan from the start.

Chen Jian sighed. "Why would I be unwilling?"

Lu Yin looked at the Shattered Dipper. "What about that remnant star?"

Chen Jian's body trembled. He looked up, his expression dimming. "Even if we do not leave, the remnant star will eventually scatter."

Lu Yin nodded and said nothing more.

Chen Jian should join the Trio. From the moment he had laid eyes on Lu Yin and Jian Feng, the old man had completely let go of all his worries. He showed no wariness towards either man. In fact, his reaction was the exact opposite of the caution that he had maintained for so many eons. He had truly pinned all of his feelings to human civilization.

For an old man like him, the question was not whether another human civilization should accept him; he simply ought to join them. He had clearly cast aside everything, yet his feelings for humanity as a whole had only grown greater. His emotions had never actually vanished.

Lu Yin suddenly wondered, If a lifeform exists from birth, does it still exist no matter how it changed? And if something ceases to exist, does it truly vanish, or does it simply shift elsewhere?

As Lu Yin’s thoughts wandered, Qing Cao emerged through the gate.

Chen Jian saw the new arrival, and his eyes instantly narrowed and turned sharply to lock onto Lu Yin and Jiang Feng. In an instant, the old man’s aura surged. "You two?"

Lu Yin hurriedly explained, "Senior, don’t misunderstand. We aren’t from the other side of the gate. We deliberately sent one of our own over to check the situation."

Chen Jian's gaze flickered back towards Qing Cao. Lu Yin looked over as well. "How was it?"

Qing Cao glanced at Chen Jian and said, "This gate is connected to the megaverse of these creatures. There is no member of Obscura there."

"Impossible." Chen Jian refused to believe that. "This gate clearly belongs to Obscura. You know what Obscura is, do you not?"

Jiang Feng said, "We have far more knowledge of Obscura than you."

Qing Cao met Chen Jian's gaze. "There truly is no member of Obscura on the other side of that gate. There is only those creatures’ native megaverse, and in that entire megaverse, there is only one Immortal being."

Chen Jian could not believe that. "Impossible... The other side of that gate must connect to Obscura. Do you really understand the power of Obscura? If you did, you would not have passed through that gate so rashly."

Lu Yin sighed and teleported over to Chen Jian’s side. "I will take you to see for yourself."

Chen Jian’s guard instantly rose, and he even threw a punch at Lu Yin. "Do not think that you can deceive me!"

He was furious. He had believed that other humans had finally come to his civilization, and while two were certainly human, he was certain that they had to be lying to him.

How could the gate possibly not be connected to a megaverse controlled by Obscura?

That single punch caused the Shattered Dipper to tremble. As the force of the punch drew closer, Chen Jian's momentum continued to rise.

Lu Yin raised a hand and spread his five fingers.

Bang!

There was a deafening boom. Terrifying shockwaves spread outward, shattering every foreign creature nearby. Even Qing Cao was forced to take a step back, and he looked over in surprise. Chen Jian's fist intent was extremely powerful.

The man himself stared at his fist in shock. Lu Yin had caught the punch in one hand, not moving in the slightest. How is this possible?

With a single teleport, Lu Yin took Chen Jian through the gate. Lu Yin had refrained from passing through the gate himself because he had feared that it might connect to Vestigium, even though the chances of that were slim.

Having learned that it did not connect to Vestigium, then even if Old Man Hehe or others from Obscura were on the other side, there was nothing to fear.

The gate connected to outer space in the middle of a universe. Stretching out from the gate was a vast earthen road. That road was completely crowded with the strange creatures, and farther away, there was the suppressive aura of an Immortal. The sound of a beating heart drifted through like thunder.

Lu Yin saw the Immortal. It had a massive body, but its strength was nothing impressive.

Chen Jian had no time to marvel at the fact that he had been instantaneously brought to another megaverse. He stared blankly at what lay before him as the grotesque creatures rushed forward with a savage ferocity, only to be casually crushed by Lu Yin. "Do you see? There is no member of Obscura here. It is only a single megaverse."

Chen Jian's eyes trembled. All his years of caution, all his years of refusing to act... and this was what he had truly been facing? He had thought that he was against Obscura.

Countless people from the Starfall Megaverse had died fighting these creatures. How could this be the reality of the situation?

Lu Yin had not actually wanted to bring Chen Jian to this megaverse. The truth was too cruel. However, this was the truth of the Starfall Megaverse, and Chen Jian had the right to know that truth. Chen Jian was an Immortal. Since he had made his choice, he needed to bear the consequences.

"It should not be like this... This should be Obscura. For all these years, I allowed humans to fight against these monsters, but in the end, were they truly nothing more than monsters? How could this be?" Chen Jian was overcome with grief, and his hair was even turning white.

Lu Yin placed a hand on the old man’s shoulder. "Senior, your wish to protect your people was not wrong."

Chen Jian smiled bitterly. "Wrong is wrong. So many died because of my mistake. They should not have died.”

"The path of cultivation has always been a road of no return. Every cultivator speaks of defying the heavens and changing fate, of fighting against the cosmos, against earth, and against destiny itself, all to carve out a path to the Immortal realm. However, both you and I both know that things are not that simple. Even if one fights one's way out from their own civilization, there are still other civilizations waiting beyond. The cosmos is as endless as the stars.

"To walk along that path of blood while preserving one's original heart and protecting one's own civilization... is truly the hardest thing of all. Throughout the ages, how many people have ever succeeded?"

Lu Yin looked at Chen Jian. "Judging by the results, you were not wrong, Senior. If you had to make the choice again, without knowing the truth, what would you choose?"

Chen Jian lifted his head to look at the densely packed creatures in the distance, all of them savage and ugly, radiating endless bloodlust. "If I had to choose again...?"

His gaze grew complicated. If faced with the same decision and given the same information, he would still make the same choice. Even if he was faced with the same choice countless times, he would always choose the same, because he knew that if Obscura really did lie on the other side of that gate, he would be finished, and so would his Starfall Megaverse.

Without knowledge of Obscura, passing through the gate would be a gamble, but with some understanding of Obscura, it became nothing more than treating the lives of everyone in the Starfall Megaverse as nothing more than a joke.

Jiang Feng could say that Chen Jian lacked the courage to charge ahead without hesitation, but he could not state with confidence that the old man had made the wrong decision.

What made Jiang Feng hesitate about telling Chen Jian about the Trio was the possibility of later being confronted with a similar choice. In such a situation, the man’s decision might prove harmful to the Trio, just as Qing Cao's had.

Both Chen Jian and Qing Cao could only be helpful to humanity as a whole so long as the Trio remained at peace and saw favorable times.