Star Odyssey

Chapter 4547: Butterfly Bloom

Lu Yin did not know how to complete his mission. The Lepidarch Continent was a fishing civilization. Its most powerful being was Lepidarch, who was at least a peak two-law Immortal, and there were bound to be multiple other Immortal present in addition to that top powerhouse. With an absolute means added on top, how could Lu Yin’s skeleton clone possibly destroy this civilization?

He had no idea whether he had been assigned this mission by the Death Megaverse or if it was just something that Thousand Machinations had decided on its own.

Even when Lu Yin’s true body had been an Aberrant, he would not have been confident in destroying the Lepidarch Continent. He could only take things one step at a time. He did not want his skeleton clone to leave the Death Megaverse. He first wanted to gain a clear understanding of that civilization. Furthermore, he wanted to undergo another transformation in Thousand Machinations' Abyss.

That Abyss allowed for two kinds of transformations: the first was reaching the limit of one's own potential, while the other was surpassing one's own potential.

Most creatures sought to reach the limit of their potential. Very few could surpass their own potential. However, since this legend existed, it meant that it had happened before. Before setting out, Lu Yin had also asked Thousand Machinations about it, and the Abyssal had openly admitted to it.

Lu Yin hoped for his skeleton clone to break past the limits of its potential and surpass what his true body had accomplished at the same stage.

If there was truly nothing that he could do about the Lepidarch Continent, then he would only be able to have his true body take this clone away. No matter what, it could not die while on such a mission.

A gust blew out as a violent astral phenomena swept past. The Lepidarch Continent was rapidly approaching. From afar, it looked like it was moving very slowly, just a landmass drifting through the Aevum Inch. Only after getting closer was Lu Yin able to clearly see how, every time the Lepidarch Continent flapped its wings, it would leap across a vast distance in an instant. Its speed far surpassed that of ordinary Immortals.

It flapped its wings again and again, constantly drawing closer.

It was said that the Lepidarch had fallen into a deep sleep long ago and had no awareness of the outside world. It would only awaken if its civilization encountered a crisis. That was precisely why Lu Yin was not afraid of it suddenly attacking him.

With a whoosh, the Lepidarch Continent suddenly appeared in front of him. Lu Yin leaped up and charged in fiercely.

On the Lepidarch Continent, countless colorful butterflies danced about, and flowers bloomed everywhere. The mainland was comparable to an entire megaverse, but this was actually just the Lepidarch's back. There were mountains and seas, astral phenomena, and countless stars drifting about, all enveloped within a layer of light that covered the Lepidarch's back.

To the creatures of the Lepidarch Continent, that barrier of light was the sky. Within that barrier, the sunlight was bright. The weather was the warmth of spring, and blooming flowers could be seen everywhere. Outside the barrier was the endless darkness of the cosmos.

The instant that Lu Yin charged through the light barrier, all the Immortals living on the Lepidarch Continent noticed him. Countless needle-sharp streams of energy shot at him.

Down below, countless creatures across the Lepidarch Continent looked up and watched as a shadow fell from the sky, dragging light behind it. It was so dazzling that even the sky around the shadow split open.

A foreign creature had broken in. One colorful butterfly after another danced upward toward the sky. All kinds of strange creatures also appeared, and they let out roars.

Very few foreign creatures dared to force their way into the Lepidarch Continent. In fact, it was simply impossible for those beneath the Immortal realm to do so because of the Lepidarch Continent's speed, while Immortals were wary of the Lepidarch. Any foreign creature that did manage to trespass would provoke the animosity of all creatures on the Lepidarch Continent.

Lu Yin stepped forward, avoiding the needle-like strands of energy.

That energy was the Myriad Metal Qi, an inherited battle technique of the creatures of the Lepidarch Continent. Thousand Machinations had mentioned that the Lepids of this place devoured Myriad Metal Qi from qi treasures and hid the energy within themselves. This Myriad Metal Qi was incomparably sharp, and the qi treasures could appear in many varieties. Some qi treasures could even cause a Lepid's combat strength to soar, as if they had acquired an innate gift.

While Myriad Metal Qi was not an absolute means, it was already powerful enough to make many foreign civilizations wary of the Lepidarch Continent.

Clang, clang, clang.

They were clearly streams of energy, but when they struck, they produced metallic sounds and completely tore the void apart.

The Myriad Metal Qi was accompanied by Lifeforce and Immortal matter. The first wave of attacks was launched by the Immortal Lepids.

Countless streams of energy shot at Lu Yin from every direction. Even more were aimed at him from below. The attacks seemed endless and inexhaustible. However many butterflies there were, that was how much Myriad Metal Qi there was.

Lu Yin had no desire to directly clash with all the Lepids. He chose one direction and charged forth, crashing straight into the Myriad Metal Qi that came at him from all directions and smashing through layer after layer. Included among the attacks was even Myriad Metal Qi from Immortal Lepids.

Suddenly, one stream of the Myriad Metal Qi transformed into something that looked like a balloon. It then crashed towards him.

A qi treasure?

Lu Yin lashed out with a palm strike, sending his physical strength through the sky to slam into the qi treasure.

Boom!

The sky trembled. From within the qi treasure, a butterfly flew out, flapping its wings. The movement brought about a strange sensation.

Lu Yin looked down. At some unknown point in time, a flower pattern had appeared on his shoulder.

Butterfly Bloom.

This was the Lepidarch Continent's absolute means. Thousand Machinations had warned Lu Yin about this technique. Every Lepid could place a flower upon an enemy and then use that flower to absorb one type of power from that enemy. Whatever power was absorbed would not be able to harm the Lepid and would nourish it instead.

The moment the Butterfly Bloom appeared, Lu Yin felt his physical strength continuously drain away. In front of him, the Lepid's dancing wings moved with greater and greater power, actually carrying enough momentum to sweep across the sky.

It had absorbed his physical strength.

Lu Yin charged at the Lepid.

The Immortal Lepid unleashed more Myriad Metal Qi. This attack was completely different from any before as it carried Lu Yin's physical strength that had been absorbed, which forced him to avoid the attack. He moved with Inverse Step, and the gray-colored power of time flowed.

Another Lepid appeared behind him, and another flower appeared on Lu Yin's back.

His heart sank. He had been surrounded and was being attacked. If he could not quickly finish this battle, he would be pushed onto the defensive.

His skeleton clone still had too few methods available to it, even if its physical strength was already comparable to his true body’s at the same realm.

If this were his true body before his Immortal breakthrough, then just teleporting once would have been enough to deal with this Immortal Lepid.

Unfortunately, even getting close was very difficult at this moment.

More Immortal Lepids closed in from behind.

With the appearance of the second Butterfly Bloom, Lu Yin felt his physical strength being sapped away even faster. This flower was also absorbing his physical strength. At double the rate of loss, no matter how great his strength might be, he could not endure such a thing.

With no other choice, he could only unleash Endless Recall. Two hands struck out, aiming forward and backward.

The two Immortal Lepids were struck at the same time. Endless Recall made them instantly confused, and they froze in place.

Seizing this opportunity, Lu Yin activated Cosmic Art. One star of Stillness after another exploded. Black energy surged out both above and below, inundating everything. However, it only lasted a very short time. Violent streams of energy shot upwards, scattering the Stillness.

Fortunately, Lu Yin had already moved far away and restrained his aura. He was hiding on a distant star.

Given his size, as long as he did not reveal his aura, it would be very difficult for the Lepids to find him. Any random planet could conceal him.

On the Lepidarch Continent, countless Lepids flew about while making sounds. One Immortal Lepid after another appeared. They all scattered what looked like pollen across the entire Lepidarch Continent as they searched for Lu Yin.

On the desolate planet, Lu Yin stood beneath a mountain range. He was completely within the mountain’s shadow as he looked up at the sky.

One, two, three, four. He saw four Immortal Lepids. This was definitely not the full strength of a fishing civilization. At a conservative estimate, this Lepidarch Continent should have at least eight Immortal Lepids, possibly more.

With so many Lepids, if each one placed a Butterfly Bloom onto him, his various energies would be quickly depleted. No matter how much Stillness he had or how powerful his battle techniques might be, without his fundamental powers, it would be difficult to use anything at all. Those energies were the foundation of life.

"Truly difficult to deal with," Lu Yin murmured to himself as he looked at the pollen drifting down before him. He could not allow any of it to touch him. If it made contact, he would be found.

This was quite the problem. The pollen had been scattered across the entire Lepidarch Continent, and it was floating in the air everywhere. The moment he went out, he was sure to be discovered. Forget destroying this Lepidarch Continent, as even finding traces of the Grand Clarity Civilization would be very difficult.

Thousand Machinations really thought highly of him.

Butterfly Bloom, Myriad Metal Qi, all kinds of laws, qi treasures... Just thinking about everything he faced gave Lu Yin a headache.

He slowly sat down and rubbed his head.

Although this task was difficult, it would not be easy for the Lepids to find him either. He could see across the entire Lepidarch Continent. As long as an Immortal butterfly appeared, it would not be able to escape his gaze.

In front of him, wind blew the pollen down. He casually waved his hand, and the pollen scattered elsewhere.

As long as he did not touch it, it would be fine.

Hiss.

Below the cliff, a wandering snake started to climb up, its scarlet eyes cold and ferocious.

Lu Yin looked down. The snake met his gaze, turned, and left. It had sensed just how terrifying Lu Yin was.

Suddenly, a flower appeared on the back of Lu Yin's hand. He looked at it in great shock. Not good!

He had been discovered. Although the Mirrorlight Art allowed him to see very far, easily across the entire Lepidarch Continent, that was assuming that nothing was obstructing his sight. At the moment, there were visual obstructions everywhere, and the Lepids were acting according to prior preparations. Lu Yin had not noticed before.

From both above and below, countless streams of Myriad Metal Qi pierced the planet, instantly surrounding him from every direction. The entire planet shattered in the blink of an eye.

Lu Yin released the Cosmic Art, and one star after another appeared and revolved around him. He was surrounded by three Immortal Lepids, and two more were approaching from even farther away.

The stars exploded. Stillness filled the universe.

Lu Yin fled into the distance, but suddenly, he stopped. After freezing in place, he was violently thrown in another direction.

He had been struck.

The attack had come from that flower.

Bloomdance Transfer was another legacy battle technique of the Lepidarch Continent. The attack used flowers as a medium. As long as someone had been marked by Butterfly Bloom, this attack would be guaranteed to strike them. Of course, there was a limit to how far this could be done.

Lu Yin had two Butterfly Blooms on his body at the moment, and the Lepid who had placed one of them was very close.

Lu Yin gritted his teeth. These Lepids had many strange methods. At this moment, he was essentially experiencing what others dealt with when fighting against his true body. Even if they could clearly win, they had to deal with his ability to teleport, Crow Immobilization, karma, Manifestation Beyond the Pupil, and so much more. No matter how they fought, facing so many abilities was stifling.

He simply could not get close to these butterflies.

There was a bang as he was struck again. This time, the force was even greater. This was not the Lepid's own strength, but rather Lu Yin's physical strength that had been devoured. In other words, Lu Yin was currently facing his own attacks, and there was nothing that he could do to stop it.

A furious roar rang out behind him. A giant ape appeared and punched at Lu Yin.

In addition to the colorful Lepids, the Lepidarch Continent was home to many other creatures. Although this giant ape was not an Immortal, it was still a peak Dukkhan, and its physical might was extraordinary.

Lu Yin's physical strength was still being drained away. Seeing the giant ape's fist approach him, he raised his hand and took it head-on.

There was a boom. The giant ape's fist froze in place as it stared at Lu Yin in horror. He grabbed the ape's arm and directly flung it at a distant Immortal Lepid. The Lepid flapped its wings and, using Lu Yin's borrowed strength, simply sent the giant ape flying once more.

Lu Yin unleashed Endless Recall again. But this time, the Lepids were smarter, and they all dodged.

Myriad Metal Qi fell.

More Immortal Lepids were approaching.

Lu Yin released the stars of his Cosmic Art, and all of them exploded. All the Stillness that the Cosmic Art could contain was released, blanketing the entire Lepidarch Continent.

The Immortal Lepids were badly startled, and they hurriedly stopped the black energy, lest the Lepidarch be awakened by the vast Stillness.

The Lepidarch was still asleep.