Star Odyssey

Half a day later, Lu Yin exited the pass with a strange expression, as he had ended up with an unexpected harvest.

For this plan, Seasons Fort was prepared to pin all of its hopes on Lu Yin. Not only had the stronghold given him two blackhole-grade Auroras and a collapsible spacecraft, but it had also given him three power vessels.

The first was called Stellar Ruler, and depending on his personal cultivation, it allowed him to instantly teleport some distance through space. It could be used three times in total. 

Next was another piece of Void Thunderbeast flesh. As it carried the now-dead beast’s ability to tear through the void, it could also be considered as a power vessel. However, it could only be used once. Lu Yin had owned a piece in the past, which he had given it to Wendy Yushan after upgrading it three times. 

The final power vessel was called Enneadic Wings. This power vessel had been discovered in some ancient ruins. There were no limits to the number of times that it could be used, and putting it on would allow Lu Yin to travel through the vacuum of outer space. It could also use his star energy to form a shield that was strong enough to protect him from the attacks of a Hunter. 

This was the support that Season Fort had provided to him, and it was considered as an advance for Lu Yin’s future military contributions. 

Three power vessels and three spacecraft were worth about 60,000 Ironblood Points in total. Wang Wen could be rather generous when he wanted to be. 

Of course, compared to the possible outcome of this venture, any such investments were absolutely worth it. In the possibility that the stronghold was breached, all of these items would become the Astral Beast Domain’s spoils of war anyways. 

Unfortunately, Lu Yin had just rolled the die, or else he would have upgraded the Enneadic Wings and the Stellar Ruler so that they would be better able to save his life, while also causing any possible Enlighter chasing him to doubt themselves. 

Lu Yin was to set off in three hours, while the Enlighters, Elder Viletree, and Wen Qichen, were to set off in just two hours. Their mission was to draw out the Enlighter beasts along a predetermined path so that Lu Yin could safely use another route to travel straight into the Primal Zone. Also, Elder Lohar would take action, and his task was to lure away Monster Loach and the Enlighter realm Amethyst Beast. 

Wang Wen’s final evaluation of this plan was that the chances of success were over 90% precisely because the astral beasts would not expect a human to want to enter the Primal Zone. After all, so many years had passed, and there had never been such an incident. 

Two hours passed quickly by, and when Lu Yin looked up towards the sky, he saw that two groups of rune lines were leaving the fort. He hoped that the Enlighters would not meet with any mishaps.

Another hour passed by in a flash, after which Lu Yin sat down in the blackhole-grade Aurora and followed along the predetermined path, heading towards outer space before vanishing before Wang Wen’s eyes.

Wang Wen looked solemn, as he had previously assumed that Lu Yin was a selfish person. He had scoured a great deal of information concerning Lu Yin, and everything that he had seen pointed towards the fact that he was no selfless saint. Lu Yin was instead someone who would always make thorough calculations before choosing the option that benefited himself the most. This current operation had completely changed Wang Wen’s opinion of Lu Yin. 

“This is Ironblood Weave. After people come here, they eventually become unafraid of death. It’s because we are protecting all of humanity.” Liu Qiuyu sighed.

Wang Wen nodded seriously. “Yes, protecting all of humanity.”

In an asteroid field in the eastern region of the weave, a single figure sped along. The field collapsed due to the passage of the desiccated corpse that had Progenitor Wushang's hide draped over its head. It was headed towards Ironblood Weave.

A blackhole-grade Aurora was ten times faster than a radiant-grade Aurora. Lu Yin had thought that it would take him half a day to arrive in the Primal Zone, but he saw the region’s borders after just an hour of travel. 

He did not meet any powerful beasts along his way. The most powerful creatures that he saw were just Hunters, and they were not able to catch up to the spacecraft.

This was the reason why Wang Wen had given Lu Yin a blackhole-grade Aurora; only Enlighter beasts could catch up to such a spacecraft. Anything weaker than that would not be able to move fast enough. 

After Lu Yin arrived in the Primal Zone, he lost any means of contacting Seasons Fort, and his signal was completely lost. This similarly meant that Wang Wen and the others had no way of tracking Lu Yin’s whereabouts in the Primal Zone. 

He observed the occasional astral beast that roamed about the edge of the Primal Zone before stopping his spacecraft and looked for a nearby planet to land on. He would not enter the Primal Zone right now, as he would not be able to travel into that place no matter how prepared he might be. Regardless, he already knew where the hole in the energy stream was located, so there was no need for him to take any unnecessary risks. 

However, the complacency of the Primal Zone’s defense left Lu Yin speechless. It seemed that Wang Wen had been right; the Astral Beast Domain had never imagined that the humans might invade them in turn.

The planet where Lu Yin had landed had a primitive civilization, and there were all sorts of wild beasts on the surface.

Lu Yin burrowed his spacecraft deep into the ground and buried it before finding a large tree to rest beneath. He would wait here for three days and then return to the fort.

The air on the primitive planet was very fresh, and it was suitable for human habitation. Large beasts snarled at him, but it was still very comfortable for Lu Yin, and he felt more relaxed than he had in a long time. 

Although it had only been two months since Lu Yin had arrived in Ironblood Weave, time had slowed to a crawl for him during these two months. 

He silently recited the Stonewall Scriptures, and unwittingly, he fell asleep.

Three days was a very short period of time for cultivators, and his time was already up when Lu Yin woke up.

He entered his spacecraft and entered a new route. The spacecraft then took off and headed into outer space. 

He had spent the last three days very comfortably, but Wang Wen and the others had been nerve-wracked the entire time as they were extremely worried about Lu Yin’s safety and even more that he would not be able to find the hole.

For Lu Yin, this had been a meaningless trip as he had already achieved his goal before even starting.

Once he returned to the stronghold and reported the position of the gap in the energy stream, Wang Wen and the others cheered. 

Liu Qiuyu praised Lu Yin loudly, and if not for Wang Wen stopping him, he might have even awarded Lu Yin for his military service right then and there. 

Wen Qichen felt that one part was very strange. “Why aren’t there any images?”

Lu Yin put on an embarrassed face. “I was afraid of being discovered, so I didn’t stick around. But don’t worry, the position is absolutely correct. Just follow the route that I indicated, and you guys will definitely be able to find the hole.” 

“Rest assured, Senior. With Chesspiece Bro leading the way, you guys will be able to find the gap very quickly,” Wang Wen commented happily. 

“That’s right. In that case, I’ll go and prepare the pyrolyte,” Viletree spoke emotionally. The Sword Sect had also managed to gather quite a bit of pyrolyte in this time, and most of it was about to be used in this mission. 

Wen Qichen nodded. “Alright, since this is our chance of survival, then let’s bet everything.”

“That’s right,” Liu Qiuyu said with a nod.

Wang Wen smiled very happily. 

But Lu Yin felt that something was off. “Hold on, what did you just say about me leading the way?”

Wang Wen, Liu Qiuyu, and Wen Qichen all looked at Lu Yin. “Aren’t you going to guide the way? How else are we going to find the gap?” 

“Didn’t I draw out a map? I even very clearly indicated the position of the hole,” Lu Yin said. He had a bad premonition of what was about to happen.

Wang Wen smiled. “Chesspiece Bro, stop joking around. How is drawing a map the same thing as personally leading the way? You should be aware that, as soon as we destroy this gap, we will have protected the entire Ironblood Weave, so we have to make our best attempt at this juncture.. Rest assured, you’re merely leading the way. These seniors will all work to protect you.” 

“That’s right, little brother. Rest easy as we won’t allow you to die before us,” Wen Qichen said with full sincerity. 

Lu Yin was left speechless, as he had underestimated the audacity of Wang Wen and the others. They were going too far by asking him to also lead the way after providing the location.

This was destroying the gap, and not running away as soon as they caught a glimpse of it. The degree of danger in this expedition was completely different from before.

It’s no wonder why they had given him so many objects to save his life and held those sentiments towards Lu Yin. 

“Seventh Bro, don’t agree! Doing this will guarantee your death!” the Ghost Monkey shrieked.

Lu Yin definitely would not agree to such a thing. “I refuse to participate in this.”

“You don’t have the authority to refuse, so you have to go,” Wang Wen responded seriously.

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “I’m sorry. I’ve already given you the location, so you will definitely be able to find it so long as you aren’t idiots.”

This sentence made Wen Qichen become unhappy. “Little bro, this is for all of humanity.”

“Stop trying to pressure me with humanity. If I die, humanity will have nothing to do with me! I’ll only have something to do with the human race if I survive, so I have to live on.”  Lu Yin was firm in his refusal.

“Don’t you have any concept of risking your life for humanity?” Wang Wen grew furious.

Lu Yin rolled his eyes. “Don’t act like you’re any better than me. You’re not the least bit slow when it comes to hiding in your coffin.”

“That’s to preserve our strengths for survival!” Wang Wen shouted.

Lu Yin replied, “And I’m the strongest Limiteer! An absolute powerhouse in the future. I’m also preserving our strength for survival.”

…

After half a day of arguing, Lu Yin refused to back down, and there really was nothing that Wang Wen could do about it. 

Liu Qiuyu sighed. “Fine. You don’t have to take them to the gap, but you do have to follow them into the Primal Zone and point them in the correct direction in order to prevent any mistakes from happening, understood? You won’t make a wasted trip this time as you’ll be given 50,000 Ironblood Points.” 

Lu Yin’s eyes lit up, as this proposal was finally worth considering. He could point out the general direction after first entering the Primal Zone and then retreat immediately afterwards. Those powerful beasts would be drawn to Wen Qichen and the others, so they would not bother with him.

“Alright, I’ll go, for all of humanity,” Lu Yin said in a righteous manner.

Wang Wen pursed his lips.

After that, Wang Wen closed himself within the pass and would see no one. He needed to carefully analyze all the details of the plan to ensure that the mission would be a success. This particular mission concerned the survival of every single human who lived in the Outerverse.

Several days later, Seasons Fort welcomed another Enlighter: Topmist.

Coincidentally, Lu Yin was in the general vicinity of the space station, so he noticed a boundless amount of rune lines arriving. Thus, he went over to the space station, where he locked eyes with Topmist. 

Lu Yin’s expression changed, as this old fart had revealed the methods that Lu Yin had employed to kill the three Enlighters. 

Topmist also noticed Lu Yin, but the Enlighter was very casual about the whole matter. He only glanced at Lu Yin before heading to the pass.

Lu Yin watched his departing figure, as Topmist had arrived just in time. Now, there would be one more Enlighter participating in the mission, which raised the probability of success even higher. 

Topmist had never been to Ironblood Weave in the past, but the battlefield was no secret to someone at his level. He had known that Ironblood Weave was exceptionally dangerous for a long time and that even Enlighters could die here. He had decided to keep a low profile, especially after learning that Featherking and General Fei had both died in battle. Learning of those deaths had caused his heart to sink even further and had reinforced his decision to stay unnoticed. 

Maintaining a low profile was the right way to go, as Topmist did not wish to die on the battlefield. 

However, this desire vanished as soon as he saw Wang Wen’s repulsive smiling face. He swore that if the possibility ever presented itself, he would definitely tear Wang Wen’s beaming grin off. 

“Senior Topmist, your arrival must be the will of the heavens!” He had just been brooding over the insufficient number of Enlighters when Topmist had arrived. 

Topmist listened to Wang Wen’s plans. He then considered it for a while before saying, “I refuse.” 

Behind him, Liu Qiuyu, Viletree, and Wen Qichen appeared one after another. The trio surrounded Topmist. “You don’t have the authority to decline, or else Elder Lohar will execute you as a traitor.” 

Topmist was constantly shrouded in black fog, and even the face that he revealed to others was fake; the man was actually only a meter tall. At this moment, his hidden face wore a gloomy expression as he felt like he was being sent to his death the moment he arrived at the battlefield. 

“Who else is participating?” Topmist asked sullenly.

“The Sword Sect’s Senior Viletree, the Wen family’s Senior Wen Qichen, and a Limiteer called Lu Yin,” Wang Wen replied. He wasn’t the slightest bit concerned about the possibility that Topmist would not join the expedition. He was also not ashamed in the slightest about threatening this old fogey who had not participated in this war at all. In contrast, Wang Wen felt that it was a bit much to use Elder Lohar’s name to threaten Lu Yin due to the youth’s already tremendous contributions during his time on the battlefield. 

“Lu Yin? Why’s he going?” Topmist felt strange.

Wang Wen smiled. “He was the one who came up with this selfless plan.”

Topmist cursed, as the brat had managed to drag him onto a path of death even here. Topmist had been lucky enough to escape from Lu Yin on Shuta Planet, and he had subsequently decided that he would never get involved with this kid again in his life. However, he never could have guessed that he would be thrown into a deadly situation again so quickly because of the brat.

“Has the plan been finalized?” Topmist was still not resigned to his fate.

Wang Wen replied, “Not all of the details have been worked out yet since we didn’t have enough people. But now that you’re here, we have the necessary manpower, so the mission has been confirmed.”

Topmist was left speechless. He should have taken longer to arrive.

At this moment, Topmist greatly regretted the fact that he had not slaughtered Lu Yin back on Shuta Planet. He had a disturbing premonition that he would end up being dragged down by the kid.

Viletree enthusiastically said, “Relax, I know your morals. We won’t let you go first.”

What is this? What morals? Topmist was decidedly unhappy, but he didn’t dare kick up a fuss. He was an assassin; he wasn’t proficient in open battles or in bickering for that matter.