Star Odyssey
Chapter 3691: Memory

Chapter 3691: Memory

Hua Manyi had not known that his mission was to deliberately be captured. To prevent the High Seraph from seeing through the plan, even Hua Manyi had been kept in the dark.

However, the rest of the Thirteen Luminaries in the Consciousness Megaverse had most likely been aware of the truth.

Xing Jue had been aware of this as well, yet they had said nothing about it to Lu Yin. Still, Lu Yin trusted the memories that he had seen, which meant that he did not need to be told.

Rather, what made Lu Yin uneasy was the fact that Boundless’s route through the Consciousness Megaverse had been deliberately chosen by the High Seraph. Lu Yin desperately needed more information.

His die slowly came to a stop: one pip, Pilfer. Something useless fell out, and he rolled again. Three pips: Enhance. While it was able to improve various items, as Lu Yin’s cultivation rose, the usefulness of Pilfer and Enhance had fallen.

He continued rolling the die and got four pips: Timestop next.

Lu Yin spent nearly a year within his Timestop Space, fully digesting the consciousness that he had devoured from Xing Jue and integrating it into his star of consciousness and his Nine Heavens. This put the consciousness fully under Lu Yin’s control.

If he faced someone like Xing Jue again, they might not even survive a single Skyshearer Millstone.

Wu Wei, Hua Manyi, and Xing Jue: none of them were a match for Lu Yin any longer. When it came to consciousnesses, the only Luminary whose strength he was still wary of was Old Chief. Even the High Seraph feared this creature the most in the Consciousness Megaverse.

As the scenery changed around him, Lu Yin returned to reality and continued rolling his die.

Six pips: Possession. Just as he had wanted.

Lu Yin’s eyes lit up as his mind entered the dark space. There were orbs of light all around him. After all, he was in the Consciousness Megaverse. There were truly countless balls of light, yet most of them were dim. At present, it had become increasingly difficult for Lu Yin to find targets that were as bright as himself in the dark space. Even the orbs that represented the Thirteen Luminaries were a bit dimmer.

However, none of those brighter orbs could be seen from Lu Yin’s location. He consumed a bit of consciousness in order to travel deeper into the darkness, searching.

None. None. Still none.

Lu Yin wandered the strange dark space for a very long time. This wandering period went on longer than any before. Finally, he saw a ball of light that was nearly as bright as his own. It had to be a Universe-realm conscient. He rushed forward and merged into the light.

He then opened his eyes. Yes, opened them. Lu Yin had possessed a conscient, but this one had chosen the fixed form of a human.

When Lu Yin had Possessed Hua Manyi, the conscient’s memories had revealed that most of the Thirteen Luminaries had adopted a human form in order to fight back against the Spirit Nidus. This was because the human form was convenient for such things.

The conscient that Lu Yin was currently Possessing was indeed one of the Thirteen Luminaries. This one was Gui Shaoqing.

The name actually came from a Spirit Nidus cultivator who had been killed by the Luminary. After that, the conscient had adopted the human’s name, claiming that it better matched the aura of Spirit Nidus cultivators.

At the moment, Gui Shaoqing was on his way towards Boundless.

As the memories flooded his mind, Lu Yin learned that Xing Jue’s death had spurred the surviving Luminaries to action. They had been waiting in the Willbound Expanse to ambush the High Seraph, but because of Lu Yin, they had briefly left to deal with Boundless first.

They had also chosen to do so not by killing everyone aboard the battleship, but instead by using Endless Road.

Lu Yin was surprised to learn of the conscients’ choice to deal with Boundless.

Back in the Tianyuan Megaverse, Blackless God had used his Endless Road to prevent Lu Yin and the others from joining the battle at the Immemorial Citadel. This time, Old Chief and the other conscients were intending to employ the same method in order to prevent Boundless from interfering in their attempt to ambush the High Seraph. It was quite clever, or rather, it exemplified how many different ways conscients could utilize consciousness.

The stronger the conscient, the more powerful their Endless Road would be.

No fewer than five of the Thirteen Luminaries were on their way to deal with Boundless, and each one of them would use their Universe-realm consciousness to do so. They were determined to prevent the ship from reaching the Willbound Expanse.

In principle, this was well within their capabilities.

While Lu Yin, the Origin Progenitor, and many others on the ship were astoundingly strong, they should be unable to overcome five Universe-realm conscients. A surprise attack would make it extremely difficult for Boundless to break free from an Endless Road, and by the time they eventually succeeded, the battle between the Thirteen Luminaries and the High Seraph would have already finished.

This choice would not only allow the conscients to avoid any possible losses from fighting with Boundless, which might also alert the High Seraph, but it would also prevent Boundless from interfering in the ambush for the High Seraph. It was a win-win situation.

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. This decision actually suited his own intentions perfectly, as he also wanted to avoid joining the battle at the Willbound Expanse. Lu Yin had no intention of personally participating in that conflict. Now, he could take advantage of this Endless Road as a convenient excuse to avoid the entire situation.

I didn’t expect that eliminating Xing Jue would lead to this extra benefit. Since this is what’s happening, the High Seraph might not have deliberately set us up with this route. Since one or even two of the Thirteen Luminaries would not be enough to threaten Boundless, we would lure over a decent number of Luminaries.

However, the High Seraph probably never expected all Thirteen Luminaries to waste their time on Boundless.

Wait a minute. Lu Yin suddenly turned around to stare in the direction of the Willbound Expanse. While it was true that the High Seraph could not have anticipated that the Thirteen Luminaries would choose to not attack Boundless, it was very possible for him to have anticipated how much of a threat the Consciousness Megaverse saw in Boundless. If the battleship were allowed to join the battle at the Willbound Expanse, it could prove devastating. It was very possible for the High Seraph to have anticipated Boundless drawing Old Chief and other Luminaries away from the Willbound Expanse.

If that were true, then it reintroduced the possibility that the High Seraph had given Lu Yin a route that would deliberately expose the strength of Boundless, drawing Old Chief and the other Luminaries away from the Willbound Expanse due to their heightened wariness.

What did it actually mean for the Thirteen Luminaries to leave the Willbound Expanse?

Was it possible that the High Seraph had never once intended to actually attack the Willbound Expanse? If his aim was to draw out the Thirteen Luminaries, then what was his real goal? Right, the Willbound Spire.

Lu Yin’s conjecture was founded on the idea that the High Seraph was aware of the trap lying in wait for him in the Willbound Expanse. Did he know? Or, was it possible that, regardless of whether he was aware of the trap, this was simply the most reliable method for the High Seraph to gain access to the Willbound Spire?

Instead of directly fighting against the Thirteen Luminaries, luring them out of the Willbound Expanse was certainly much easier.

The Thirteen Luminaries might have already deduced that the High Seraph’s planned attack on the Willbound Expanse was actually aimed at the Willbound Spire. After all, that would make perfect sense. Lu Yin mused that, if he were the High Seraph, he would employ the same method: first enter the Willbound Spire in order to seize whatever he desired, and then let the ultimate decision of whether or not to wage war be determined by whatever occurred within the Willbound Spire.

Things might also depend on the decisions of the Nine Odysseys Megaverse.

Whether the Consciousness Megaverse would be reset was not the High Seraph’s decision. It was likely that this brazen assault was nothing more than a cover.

Everyone had been deceived.

Lu Yin was increasingly convinced that he was on the right track. As his mind churned, his eyes flickered. Regardless of whether he was correct, the fact that the Thirteen Luminaries had left the Willbound Expanse presented an opportunity.

Even if he was wrong about the High Seraph’s scheme, things would still work to Lu Yin’s advantage. However, if he was right, then it would come down to a simple matter of who was faster: him or the High Seraph.

Just as Lu Yin was about to end the Possession, his attention shifted. He saw Gui Shaoqing’s memories of the Willbound Spire, and in them, there was a familiar figure.

To become one of the Thirteen Luminaries, a Universe-realm conscient first needed to receive the Willbound Spire’s recognition. Without that, they would never become a Luminary, regardless of their strength.

Every conscient experienced something different within the Willbound Spire.

Lu Yin had already witnessed Hua Manyi and Wu Wei’s experiences, and he was currently cursing at what Gui Shaoqing had experienced.

Compared to what Hua Manyi and Wu Wei had seen, Gui Shaoqing had seen something that defied Lu Yin’s belief.

He actually saw the Primordial Skyflame Beast.

During his time in the Willbound Spire, Gui Shaoqing had seen all kinds of massive astral beasts. There were times when the conscient had peered down upon a universe, seeing the massive creatures develop, fight, and evolve. At other times, he himself had become an astral beast, fighting and competing for resources.

Gui Shaoqing had experienced endless slaughter and witnessed a tremendous amount of time pass.

Among the astral beasts he had seen was the Primordial Skyflame Beast.

The Primordial Skyflame Beast was an astral beast from the Tianyuan Megaverse. It had ruled over the megaverse after Stillstorm vanished, and it had reigned until the Origin Progenitor and Yong Heng had joined forces to put it down. That clash had paved the way for humanity’s era.

The Primordial Skyflame Beast had never appeared in the Spirit Nidus.

From Hua Manyi and Wu Wei’s memories, Lu Yin was also certain that the beast had never visited the Consciousness Megaverse.

In that case, where had the Primordial Skyflame Beast in the Willbound Spire’s vision come from?

It was not real, but rather a fragment of memory and consciousness. It was very similar to a Broken Realm, but it was not quite a Broken Realm. This was what allowed all who entered the Willbound Spire to experience something unique. It was as though they were accessing the megaverse’s memories.

The problem was that the Willbound Spire was in the Consciousness Megaverse, so how could it have memories from the Tianyuan Megaverse?

The fact that Gui Shaoqing had actually seen the Primordial Skyflame Beast completely defied all of Lu Yin’s expectations.

As memories continued to enter his mind, he saw claws tearing at space. For a moment, Lu Yin took control of Gui Shaoqing’s body, and his pupils dilated. Was that... Stillstorm?

“What is it?” Old Chief’s aged voice asked.

Gui Shaoqing had suddenly stopped moving, which had drawn the attention of the other Luminaries present.

Lu Yin had no fear of being discovered. When he had first left the Tianyuan Megaverse, his consciousness might have been sensed if he had Possessed Gui Shaoqing. However, given how his consciousness had improved, that was no longer possible. His consciousness surpassed most of the Thirteen Luminaries, possibly even all of them.

“It’s nothing. I just suddenly thought of a possibility.”

“What is it?” Old Chief pressed.

“Gui Shaoqing” replied, “Tell me, are we certain that the one aboard Genesis is actually the High Seraph?”

Old Chief and the others exchanged surprised glances. All of them were using a human form, and one had the form of a woman with breathtaking beauty.

“The Spirit Nidus couldn’t have produced such a powerful expert out of nowhere. If one was around, then why have they never come here before?” Gui Shaoqing asked, echoing Xing Jue’s earlier suspicions about Lu Yin.

Old Chief replied, “You don’t need to worry about that. There is no question that the High Seraph is aboard Genesis. As for the new expert that suddenly appeared, his identity doesn’t matter for the time being. Once we’ve dealt with the High Seraph, we will task our agents embedded in the Spirit Nidus with uncovering this information. For now, we are simply avoiding any unnecessary complications.”

Gui Shaoqing nodded. “Let’s go.”

The five Luminaries continued on towards Boundless.

Lu Yin had already ended the Possession, and as soon as his mind was back in his own body, he went to speak with the Origin Progenitor. Lu Yin needed to explain what was about to happen.

The Origin Progenitor asked, “In that case, what are your intentions?”

“I’m going to the Willbound Expanse. I’m going to enter the Willbound Spire,” Lu Yin stated firmly. Before, his interest in the place had solely come from the Thirteen Luminaries and the High Seraph, but that had changed after seeing Gui Shaoqing’s memories.

There was no denying that the Willbound Spire contained memories of both Stillstorm and the Primordial Skyflame Beast, but how could things from the Tianyuan Megaverse appear in the Consciousness Megaverse’s memories?

Lu Yin had to find out.

The Origin Progenitor nodded. “Alright, but be careful. If you encounter the High Seraph, don’t force a direct fight.”

Lu Yin left, entrusting Boundless to the Origin Progenitor.

Between the Origin Progenitor and other experts who were aboard Boundless, it would not be easy for the Thirteen Luminaries to surround the battleship and kill everyone aboard it. On top of that, the conscients’ goal was simply to delay the battleship, not waste energy fighting it.

The High Seraph remained a much greater threat than Boundless.

Lu Yin avoided the route that the Luminaries were taking, and he made his way to the Willbound Expanse in a roundabout fashion.