Star Odyssey

Chapter 4567: Heavenbond Art

As he began to learn the two techniques, Lu Yin understood why Ba Se insisted that he do so. It was because Sword Nurturing in particular would strengthen the influence that divine energy had on him.

Nurturing the sword with green divine energy was also a way to deepen the divine energy's influence on Lu Yin’s thoughts. It was a subtle and imperceptible influence, but as he nurtured the sword, the divine energy would gain a sharp edge. That sharpness was aimed not only at enemies, but also at himself.

That sharpness would make it easier for the divine energy to influence him while also further clarifying the imprint of the Divine Tree upon his mind. Even with Lu Yin's powerful consciousness and understanding of divine energy, it was somewhat difficult to resist.

His consciousness and understanding were not just those of a mere skeleton clone, but also those of his true self as well. This meant that, if his true body entered Vestigium, it would also be affected in the same way and unable to endure it.

From the perspective of Ba Se and the others, if even a skeleton could be affected in this manner, there was no telling what Lu Yin might do if his true body came. There was no question that he would absorb more divine energy than his consciousness and mind could withstand, and eventually, his attitude toward Obscura would be affected.

He had always been on guard against Obscura. Regardless of whether it had helped him, he had always remained wary of Obscura and firmly believed them to be humanity’s enemies. Only by believing this firmly was he able to persist.

He had previously thought that his true body might be able to enter Vestigium as well, but it had just become clear that it could not.

After an unknown amount of time passed, one green sword after another appeared in the sky, floating there. He had mastered Sword Planting.

"There are many ways to use divine energy, just as how there are many ways to use Stillness. Explore the nature of divine energy and feel the changes. Search for a method that best suits you. That is the path that you should walk in regards to cultivating divine energy," Ba Se stated.

"Now, I will teach you a method for using divine energy," Wang Wen announced.

Lu Yin agreed, but he could not suppress an odd feeling. Already, his skeleton clone had learned more about how to cultivate and utilize divine energy than his true body ever had. Even though his true body had three different colors of divine energy, no one from Obscura had ever taught him how to use the energy.

He was still considering this as a figure gradually appeared before him. Lu Yin looked at the figure. Wang Wen had revealed himself.

He looked at Lu Yin with a faint smile. He was exactly the same as Lu Yin remembered: calm and indifferent, as if caring about nothing. Once, this man had helped Lu Yin with everything.

He had not expected his skeleton clone to ever meet Wang Wen in this manner.

He studied the skeleton. "I am Transparent, Obscura’s Keeper of Balance. I will now teach you the Heavenbond Art."

Lu Yin reacted with confusion. "The Heavenbond Art?"

Wang Wen smiled. "You can think of it as Obscura's Three Deaths Art."

Lu Yin was startled. "Obscura's Three Deaths Art?"

Wang Wen clasped his hands behind his back. "The Three Deaths Art allows you to absorb far more Stillness than others at the same cultivation level, and even those far stronger than you. You absolutely don’t have any less Stillness than an Abyssal, and that is entirely thanks to the Three Deaths Art. As for my Heavenbond Art, it can transform how you absorb divine energy and also alter the form in which your divine energy manifests. However, the specifics of that final change depend on your own choice."

When he finished speaking, there was no sign of him moving; his finger simply appeared before Lu Yin's eyes, no more than an inch away from his skull.

When Lu Yin checked again, Wang Wen’s arm was indeed upraised.

When did that happen? Lu Yin had actually been completely unable to see anything. He had failed to capture any movement at all on Wang Wen’s part.

This was a demonstration of his true strength.

The next moment, an indescribable feeling overcame him. It was as if his mind had suddenly gained spiritual enlightenment. There were no words or speech involved, and yet understanding appeared in his mind. It was like something had always existed between heaven and earth, but his eyes had previously been covered, leaving him unable to see the truth. At this moment, someone was opening his eyes and allowing him to see that thing.

That thing was the Heavenbond Art.

Heavenbond Art: Heaven is the ultimate end. It is the vein through which qi flows and connects. Those who bond with heaven become a pillar between heaven and earth. Heaven is them, and they are heaven.

Lu Yin unconsciously raised his hand. Green divine energy gathered at his fingertip, where it bloomed like a flower, rippling farther and farther outward.

Wang Wen withdrew his hand and then disappeared.

Furball, Old Man Hehe, and the others all watched on, none knowing what Wang Wen had done.

The ripples of green divine energy spread out farther and farther, while the divine energy around the skeleton on the ground continued to gather at his fingertip. After another moment, Lu Yin suddenly stabbed through a bone in his other arm with the finger, his movement startling Furball and the others. Has he gone mad? Why is he harming himself?

Of course, Lu Yin was not harming himself. He was using the Heavenbond Art to pour divine energy into his bones, making divine energy serve as his marrow. This was the profound meaning of Heaven's Conduit.

With the Heavenbond Art, one's self was heaven, which allowed divine energy to treat the individual as heaven and move within heaven.

This was a method of guiding divine energy. It was as if the technique endowed divine energy with intelligence, making it no longer a simple power, but more like a living thing.

If the Three Deaths Art followed a concept of space storing power, then the Heavenbond Art followed the concept of life storing power. They were two completely different methods of using power, yet both led to the same destination.

Wang Wen watched Lu Yin with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. This was not beyond his expectations. Sure enough, it was as he had anticipated.

By treating divine energy as marrow, the outside world would not be able to sense it. How much divine energy Lu Yin could store within his bones depended on their strength, as well as on how much spirit he could grant to his divine energy. This spirit was the true essence of the Heavenbond Art.

The more spirit that he could grant, the more power that he would be able to store. Furthermore, power did not refer exclusively to divine energy; this method could be used on any kind of power.

This was the Heavenbond Art. It was an art that could connect to heaven.

However, Wang Wen only taught Lu Yin half of the true Heavenbond Art. How could such a powerful method for guiding and using power be passed on so casually?

Even so, just half of the Heavenbond Art was enough for Lu Yin to use.

Beneath the Divine Tree, all of the green divine energy that surrounded Lu Yin surged into where he had broken a section of his bones, merging into his marrow.

He could feel the ferocity of the divine energy. This method felt as if he were conversing with divine energy. The divine energy gave him an entirely new feeling at this moment, and this feeling came from Wang Wen. As the divine energy continuously merged into his marrow, the feeling gradually diminished. The moment it disappeared entirely would also be the moment that he reached the limit of how much divine energy he could merge into his bones.

This was Wang Wen's power. The power that Lu Yin saw was completely different from what had existed within his own mind.

What kind of power was this?

No one had given much thought to just how strong Wang Wen truly was. The impression that they all had was that he was about equal to Gao Tian, which meant a three-law Immortal. That was also equal to the level of the Nine Ramparts’ Rampart Wardens.

At this moment, Wang Wen became unfathomable to Lu Yin. He did not know what a Rampart Warden’s combat power may have been in the past, but he did know that Wang Wen had beaten Gao Tian so badly that the Plume Immortal had not dared to return home. He had also forced multiple supreme powerhouses to attack the Trio and could casually offer a small bit of guidance that was able to completely transform Lu Yin's own power.

Lu Yin found that he could see through Wang Wen less and less.

However, there was no rush. Lu Yin had stepped onto a path that Wang Wen also could not see.

Everything depended on whether Lu Yin could walk his path to the end, or if Wang Wen could seal off that path completely.

As the green divine energy surged into Lu Yin’s marrow from his surroundings, more and more of the divine energy that filled the region beneath the Divine Tree flowed towards him, creating a second storm.

This storm caused a vague outline to appear around Lu Yin. It clearly showed that he was a humanoid skeleton.

There were too many human skeletons within the Death Megaverse. Hiding the identity of the new member of Obscura was important, but exposing this much would not be a problem. In any case, the Death Megaverse was also prejudiced against humans. Lu Yin had previously mentioned red human blood, though he had not said it deliberately. It had simply slipped out, and he had not really been trying to hide the fact that he was a human skeleton.

The better that one hid oneself, the more they would be feared. In contrast, an unintentional reveal like this would not arouse suspicion.

Besides, did such a reveal have to be true? Mixing truth with lies was the key to deceiving others.

"Is he still able to absorb divine energy?" Furball was shocked.

"Hehe. The Keeper of Balance taught him something, which allowed him to break past his limits."

Furball grew envious. Because of the cosmic law that they resonated with, they could eat all matter and trace it back to its origin, which was why they enjoyed eating Mother Trees and the fallen branches of the Divine Tree even more. If they could also break past their limit, it would be wonderful. Furball’s strength would definitely rise to a new level.

They were clearly the one who had brought this skeleton into Obscura, and yet the skeleton was profiting far more than Furball. For some reason, that felt rather unpleasant.

Lu Yin himself did not want to continue absorbing divine energy, but since he had received the Heavenbond Art, he needed to show a complete transformation. If he did not, Wang Wen would not believe it.

Lu Yin continued to absorb divine energy. When he finally stopped, the vastness of his reserves of divine energy actually approached what his true body had possessed with two lines of divine energy. In other words, he already surpassed the ordinary members of Obscura.

Although it was still lacking when compared to his Stillness, it was no longer excessive.

He had vast reserves of both Stillness and divine energy. This was something that his true body could never achieve because Thousand Machinations and Wang Wen would never possibly teach his true body the Three Deaths Art or the Heavenbond Art. Only this skeleton clone could do this.

Lu Yin experienced the joy of not being bound. His true body represented human civilization, which meant that he was restrained and watched by many powerful civilizations. Every step that he took was extremely difficult.

On the other hand, this skeleton clone was free and could cultivate any power.

If his true body had been able to do the same in the past, his strength would have risen far higher.

Fortunately, it was not too late. His clone could climb up, step by step.

Lu Yin slowly stood up and raised an arm to take a look at his bones.

"How is it?" Wang Wen's voice came down.

Lu Yin quickly bowed. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior. It feels very good."

Wang Wen smiled. "This is what you deserve. By cultivating with both the Heavenbond Art and the Three Deaths Art, your reserves of different powers will surpass most beings. As you continue cultivating, just your Stillness alone will not be inferior to that of any creature, not even Nethersea Suppression.

"This is a promise that my Obscura has given you. We will allow you to be completely free and unbound by Bone Script. As for your divine energy, very few beings throughout the entire Death Megaverse can detect it in you."

Lu Yin respectfully replied, "This junior understands what he should do. If Obscura has any instructions for me, please speak freely."

"The one who gave you the Heavenbond Art was the Keeper of Balance himself, not Obscura. There is no need to thank Obscura for this," Ba Se interjected. A moment later, they continued to say, "However, as a member of Obscura, there are also rules that must be followed. You need to accept missions."

Lu Yin asked in confusion, "Missions?"

Ba Se's voice continued to reach Lu Yin's ears. "My words are now being spoken to you alone. Because of the special nature of your identity, you may choose a mission that is available to all members of Obscura, or you may choose a mission that is specifically aimed at your identity. Naturally, the rewards will be more generous..."

Ba Se proceeded to explain the structure of Obscura's missions, rewards, and so on, including possible conscription for wars and more. Ultimately, everything that Lu Yin knew from his true body was mentioned by Ba Se.

Clearly, this skeleton clone received far more intimate treatment from Obscura than Lu Yin’s true body. After Lu Yin heard the full introduction of Obscura’s mission structure, he immediately tried to accept a mission, choosing one that was specifically created for him.

"Are you certain that you want to accept a mission created for your unique identity?" Ba Se confirmed.

Lu Yin remained resolute. "Absolutely."

Ba Se said, "You may choose the star tier."

Lu Yin looked up. "Senior, please choose for me."

Ba Se was confused. "?"

They were rarely stunned so truly speechless. In fact, it usually only ever happened during their conversations with Lu Yin. "...I cannot choose for you. You must choose for yourself."

Lu Yin clenched a fist. "I want to accept the highest level mission!"

Ba Se was struck dumb once again. "Please choose a star tier that corresponds to your own ability."

Lu Yin replied, "I want to be of service to Obscura as quickly as possible."

Ba Se corrected him, "This is not about being of service, but rather about completing missions. Within Obscura, service is only spoken of during mandatory wars. Every member of Obscura is an independent individual, and no one interferes with one another."

"But I want to serve Obscura! Senior Ba Se, please choose a mission for me. Choose one that is the most dangerous, yet still possible for me to complete, while also being of the most benefit to Obscura," Lu Yin firmly requested.