Star Odyssey

Chapter 4561: Freedom

Ba Se said, "An Aberrant does possess the necessary strength to join Obscura. Regardless, Obscura has suffered heavy losses recently. This is acceptable."

The Immortal Lord immediately cut in. "What if that skeleton returns? As far as I know, living skeletons survive off of the power of the Death Megaverse. They should not be able to betray the Death Megaverse."

Furball sneered. "Are you already so eager to shield your master from disaster? Lu Yin has already stopped a candidate from joining Obscura, but while he may have stopped one, he will not stop a second. Creatures will always join Obscura."

"I am merely raising a reasonable question." The Immortal Lord did not get angry and replied in a calm tone.

Furball continued, "Use your brain. Since Ba Se agreed to this invitation, it means that your point doesn’t need to be considered."

Wang Wen spoke up again. "While it may appear that the Death Megaverse’s skeletons are given life from Bone Script and are powered by Stillness, the truth is that their life still comes from themselves. Stillness merely transfers the essence of their life from their flesh and blood to their bones. That is why the Immortals of the Death Megaverse do not suffer from increased karmic chains.

"Those living skeletons have their own thoughts. As long as they do not attempt to betray the being that granted them Bone Script, it is enough. An Aberrant on their own is not enough to be directly used against an Abyssal."

For an Aberrant to become a skeleton, one of the seven Abyssals had to have granted them Bone Script.

"Is there a way to control it?" the Immortal Lord asked.

Wang Wen continued, "The greatest means of control is always through benefits. Any other means of controlling the body itself will be detected by the Death Megaverse. There are some formidable old fellows there."

"Hehe. Doing this will still carry a bit of risk."

Wang Wen was not concerned. "If you are worried about Bone Script, there’s no need. Simply make that skeleton the one that possesses the most Stillness in the Death Megaverse. Then, it will be able to counter Bone Script."

His words caused Vestigium to fall silent for a moment.

Furball was still the one to respond, though their tone sounded probing. "How can it become the one with the most Stillness?"

Wang Wen smiled. "I have my own means. As long as it joins my Obscura, I can ensure that it will be free from the control of any being in the Death Megaverse. We’ll give that old fellow a surprise."

Furball realized that Wang Wen was even more enthusiastic than them. "Right, there is one more complication. Thousand Machinations may be watching that skeleton."

Wang Wen asked, "Did you sense Thousand Machinations watching?"

"No."

"Then it is very far away and unable to hear any conversations. We can just deal with things casually. Thousand Machinations is very special, but I have a way to handle it."

"Hehe. Furball, you seem to have done something that makes the Keeper of Balance happy."

Furball looked at the Divine Tree. The Keeper of Balance liked playing these kinds of tricks, setting against one party after another. What Furball was doing really did seem to suit Wang Wen’s taste. Moreover, even ignoring the Keeper of Balance’s reaction, Furball was discovering that they felt very satisfied in trying to scheme against the Death Megaverse. They finally understood why so many creatures enjoyed plotting. Without experiencing it directly, it was impossible to understand this kind of exhilaration.

Furball felt as though they had seized the Death Megaverse with one hand. They gained a sense of superiority that went beyond mere strength.

Right, there was also a sense of superiority that came from scheming against Lu Yin. He did not want new members to join Obscura because he did not want to worship the Divine Tree and choose a color of divine energy. With Furball inviting this skeleton to join, Lu Yin would be forced to visit Vestigium and choose a color.

Wasn’t he so incredibly arrogant after breaking into the Immortal realm? He probably never expected that the first one to make him suffer would be me! Furball? They had hated that nickname for a very long time.

They were also not afraid that Lu Yin would seek them out to make trouble. To begin with, Lu Yin was not able to find Furball. Secondly, he only had one more chance to take action, and he would not possibly use that opportunity against Furball. The Keeper of Balance would always take priority in Lu Yin’s mind.

The more Furball considered things, the more pleased they became. It was as though they could already hear Lu Yin's shouts of flustered rage. They were finally winning a round.

Thinking of this, Furball impatiently confirmed Ba Se's agreement to the invitation, verified the target of the skeleton’s assessment, and then immediately returned to the Qi Megaverse.

When entering Vestigium, Furball had not cared whether the skeleton stayed or left, but upon returning, Furball felt that it was very important.

In the Qi Megaverse, Lu Yin grew bored while waiting, and he moved closer to Obscura’s gate. If Ba Se rejected Furball's proposal for an invitation, Lu Yin could only escape through the gate.

However, if he did join Obscura, should he go and worship the Divine Tree? Would he be seen through?

Probably not, but it was hard to say. It would be best if he could avoid worshipping the Divine Tree. Besides, doing so also required that he choose a color of divine energy. It would be best to stall, just as he had done so with his true body.

But in truth, Lu Yin also wanted to go to Vestigium. If he could obtain another line of divine energy, he would have four. He felt very conflicted.

Also, Thousand Machinations was surely still watching. If Furball did not try to kill him, Lu Yin would struggle to explain the situation.

Just as he was thinking about that, Furball returned. The enormous green giant blocked the sun and the sky as they looked down at Lu Yin. Seeing that he was still there, Furball breathed a sigh of relief. "Little thing, consider yourself lucky. Vestigium has agreed to invite you to join. As long as you pass the assessment, you will become a member of Obscura."

Lu Yin looked up. "An assessment?"

"Not just anyone can join Obscura. If you hadn’t been able to escape from the Lepidarch, even being an Aberrant wouldn’t be enough to qualify you to join. However, your identity also grants you an advantage on top of that."

"As a being from the Death Megaverse?"

"You should understand what inviting you to join Obscura means in regards to the Death Megaverse."

Lu Yin bluntly stated, "A traitor."

Furball laughed loudly. "Wrong. This is an opportunity."

Lu Yin did not understand and stared at Furball. This fellow seemed to have grown more eloquent recently.

Furball asked, "Who granted you Bone Script?"

"Withered Requiem."

Furball’s brow rose. "Didn’t you tell me that you are from Thousand Machinations’ Abyss?"

Lu Yin shook his head. "I recently went to Thousand Machinations' Abyss, but the one who granted me Bone Script was Withered Requiem."

He paused for a moment. "Senior, there is one thing that I did not lie to you about—Thousand Machinations is very likely watching this place. Are you certain that you want to invite me to join Obscura?"

Furball shrugged. "Even if it is watching, it doesn’t know what we are saying. In the worst case, we will just put on a show for it at the end."

"Are you sure?" Lu Yin felt that there was something wrong with Furball's head. Could Thousand Machinations be dealt with so casually?

Furball smiled and leaned down. "If you had threatened me with another Abyssal, I might not be able to do this, but Thousand Machinations is an exception.

"My Obscura has fought more than one war with the Death Megaverse, yet Thousand Machinations has never once joined a fight. It even ignored a situation where a certain member of Obscura was bound to die.

"Moreover, even if there is trouble, Obscura will handle it for you. You only need to join to feel at ease."

Lu Yin looked at Furball. Had Thousand Machinations never participated in any war? That confirmed what the Abyssal claimed. Thousand Machinations itself had said that it had not joined the fight against You Che.

As for dealing with Thousand Machinations for Lu Yin, who would do that? The first individual that came to mind was Wang Wen. The Keeper of Balance had shattered Lu Yin’s understanding of the Aevum Inch. He seemed to have communicated with many cosmic civilizations.

"Withere Requiem is the one who granted you Bone Script, but you are not currently with that Abyssal. That makes things even easier." Furball moved closer and closer to Lu Yin, staring at him intently. "Let me ask you this: do you want to break free of Bone Script’s restrictions?"

Lu Yin feigned shock. "Break free of Bone Script? Impossible!"

"How is that impossible?"

"If I break free of Bone Script, won’t I die?"

"As a creature of the Death Megaverse, do you not know that, when your own Stillness surpasses that of the one who granted you with Bone Script, you can counter it?"

Lu Yin sounded helpless. "Of course I know that, but Withered Requiem is an Abyssal, one of the seven most powerful experts of the Death Megaverse. You want me to surpass them, Senior?"

"Is that difficult?"

Lu Yin did not answer for a moment, reacting as though he was dazed by the question.

Furball's confidence came from Wang Wen. At this moment, they were absolutely confident. The calamity that the Human Trio had just suffered allowed every creature who learned of it to understand just how terrifying the Keeper of Balance was. It seemed that, no matter what Wang Wen said, it could be trusted and believed.

"Obscura is equal to the entire Death Megaverse. Since you are joining Obscura, that is no different from gaining the support of the entire Death Megaverse, or even more. What is so difficult about dealing with just one Withered Requiem? I only ask you this: do you want to surpass them, go against your Bone Script, and free yourself within the Death Megaverse, reaching the level of an Abyssal?"

Lu Yin stayed silent for a moment, suddenly raised his arm, and then clenched his fist. "I do!"

Furball smiled. "What do you want to do?"

Lu Yin growled, "I want to surpass Withered Requiem and become an Abyssal! I want to break free of their control. I don’t want to be tossed back and forth like a tool of war, and I don’t want to be discarded like trash."

Furball loudly shouted, "Good! Obscura will help you realize your wish."

Lu Yin stared at Furball, who was more excited than anyone else. Lu Yin was merely going along with things. If he did not react with such excitement, Furball would not feel comfortable allowing him to leave.

Though, Lu Yin did not know what method Furball wanted to use to control him.

Furball then proceeded to share Lu Yin’s target for his assessment, and they also gave him a cosmic ring. "That contains one of Obscura’s gates. It can take you directly to the location of your assessment. You need to destroy the target with a civilization that you can use, rather than taking action yourself.

"Is there a civilization or creature you can use?"

Lu Yin instantly wanted to reply “You,” but instead he said, "The Lepidarch?"

Furball was stunned, but they could not argue with that answer. "Don’t get yourself killed by the Lepidarch."

Lu Yin confidently replied, "As long as I can recover to my peak strength, it won’t be easy for the Lepidarch to kill me."

Furball sized Lu Yin up. "You really do look quite miserable. Escaping from the Lepidarch without even being an Immortal is indeed proof of your ability. Good. Then go back."

Lu Yin froze for a moment. "Go back?"

"Back to the Death Megaverse. That’s the only place with Stillness. You can’t expect to recover here with me, can you?" Furball said.

Lu Yin subconsciously glanced at Thousand Machinations' Abyss and then looked back at Furball. "Senior, you are letting me go?"

Furball stared at him. "There is only this one chance. I won’t force you. If you want to break free of the restrictions that Bone Script has placed on you and regain your freedom, then join Obscura. If you don’t, there will be no way for us to meet again. Of course, if we one day meet on the battlefield, I will definitely slaughter you.

"You can go."

Lu Yin stared at Furball for a long time. Were they simply allowing him to leave? This was a test, and it was also an attempt to restrain him by offering benefits. This was not Furball's level of cunning. This should be Wang Wen's plan.

When Ba Se invited creatures to join Obscura, every member of Obscura had to be informed. Of course, whether the other members agreed or refused did not actually affect Ba Se’s decision.

Furball had invited Lu Yin to join, so Wang Wen definitely knew about the invitation.

Obscura lurked behind Furball, and that included Wang Wen's shadow.

Lu Yin took a deep breath. "Then I will leave, Senior."

Furball grunted in acknowledgment.

Lu Yin was not worried that Furball was setting a trap and trying to trick him into moving away from the gate before attacking. If Furball wanted to attack, they would have done so long ago. They were not able to restrain themself in such a manner.