Star Odyssey

Yuan Qi spoke up. "Enough, Meng Sang. I know that you won’t believe me easily, but the reason why the High Seraph exiled me instead of killing me is precisely because no one would believe me, just like you."

A twisted grin appeared on his face as he added, "But it’s not like there’s no way to prove it."

Lu Yin glanced at Yuan Qi. The Seraph had been given strict orders to convince Meng Sang of his story. Lu Yin was aware of how difficult that task would be, and he also could not think of any way to resolve the lack of evidence. Did the old man really have a solution?

Meng Sang indifferently answered, “My path to Immortality has already been cut off. Even if what you are saying is true, what difference will it make to me?”

He had sacrificed a cultivation realm, falling to the level of an Ortuser, which had cut off any chance of ever achieving Immortality.

Yuan Qi shook his head. “Resetting a megaverse still remains a possibility. If you truly have no chance at Immortality, then why would you have spoken to us for so long? Even if it’s only a one-in-a-billion chance, all of us would instantly seize it.”

Meng Sang remained silent for a few moments before looking back at Yuan Qi. “How can you prove it?”

Yuan Qi’s voice dropped low. “In order for the Lesser Spirit Megaverse to mature to the point of being able to reset, it needs to keep producing more peak powerhouses, more parallel universes, and more sequence strings. The High Seraph can’t just kill all of those people off, as there are simply too many. But that makes me curious—just how many of these peak powerhouses have already joined the Ascendant Hall? It’s likely that many of the powerhouses there are actually from the Lesser Spirit Megaverse.

"They wouldn’t even know the truth themselves and would simply believe that they are from different parallel universes within the Spirit Nidus. Still, they would feel like someone from a different megaverse.”

Meng Sang immediately dismissed this. “Other than the conscients from the Consciousness Megaverse who’ve surrendered, I’ve never met any other peak powerhouses from outside the Spirit Nidus.”

“That’s exactly the problem!” Yuan Qi shouted. “The High Seraph must have devised some means of hiding that. Go find a few peak powerhouses from our Spirit Nidus. Among them, you should be able to sense people from the Lesser Spirit Megaverse who’s aura as outsiders are masked somehow. Checking costs you nothing, and you can easily verify this on your own.”

Meng Sang’s eyes flickered, and he said nothing.

“This is all because he never intended for any of you to become Immortals!” Yuan Qi continued loudly. “You’ll always remain beneath him. He’ll be the High Seraph, and us, well, we’ll just stay as Seraphs, forever answering to him!”

Meng Sang was shaken. Yuan Qi’s suggestion to verify things did cost nothing. All Meng Sang had to do was find a few peak powerhouses from the Spirit Nidus and find a way to test them. If they did not belong to the Spirit Nidus or to the Consciousness Megaverse, then only one explanation remained: they were from the Lesser Spirit Megaverse.

“What do you want?” Meng Sang demanded of Lu Yin.

“Do you believe it?” Lu Yin countered.

"What do you want?"

"To buy time. I want to make sure that the reinforcements from the Spirit Nidus reinforcements don’t arrive anytime soon."

Meng Sang was taken aback. "So Palace Master Yao has also defected. You know about the springboard."

Meng Sang did not know that Tian Ci had been captured, as that had happened during the Seraph’s recuperation period. Of course, the majority of the Spirit Nidus’s leadership were aware of the matter. After all, Tian Ci's execution had created an uproar in the Tianyuan Megaverse.

Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back. "How I know about it is none of your concern. If you are able to confirm that High Seraph has indeed hidden the Lesser Spirit Megaverse, then the best course of action for you would be to return to the Spirit Nidus and secure the benefits of the Lesser Spirit Megaverse, rather than stay here in the Tianyuan Megaverse and fight us to the death. The High Seraph sent you here precisely because he doesn’t want you interfering in the reset of the Lesser Spirit Megaverse. The same is also true of the reinforcements who are being sent here.

“There’s also another possibility,” Lu Yin paused as his eyes sharply focused. “Which is that the Lesser Spirit Megaverse is almost ready for a reset and that the High Seraph sent you Seraphs away so that he can restart the megaverse and break through to Immortality on his own.”

Meng Sang and Yuan Qi both knew that this to be a possibility, and their expressions changed.

Who would not want to achieve Immortality? Since the two Seraphs had discovered the High Seraph’s secret, they had a realistic chance of interfering. They could not accept simply sitting back and allowing the High Seraph to reset the Lesser Spirit Megaverse to reach Immortality.

Who of those at the Seraph level did not want to progress further?

There had been more than one High Seraph throughout the history of the Spirit Nidus. Yuan Qi and Meng Sang also aspired to become the High Seraph, rather than be forever suppressed by someone else.

But if the High Seraph achieved Immortality, then the two Seraphs would never have the chance to surpass him.

With just the High Seraph’s current strength, it was incredibly difficult for the Seraphs to rise up, even if it was not entirely impossible.

The difference between an Immortal and all below that realm was simply too vast.

This thought also caused Meng Sang to realize that he had no choice. If he could verify that Yuan Qi’s claims were true, then Meng Sang would have to follow Lu Yin’s scheme to buy more time for the Tianyuan Megaverse by building a springboard. Doing so would delay how long it took the Spirit Nidus to send reinforcements, while also allowing Meng Sang himself to return to the Spirit Nidus by using the springboard.

He stared at Lu Yin for a long moment, understanding that the young man had been perfectly honest about wanting to use the Seraph.

Additionally, Lu Yin was not making any attempt to hide how badly he wanted to kill Meng Sang.

While building a springboard would delay how long it took for the Spirit Nidus’s reinforcements to come, once Meng Sang returned to his home megaverse with the springboard, he would either end up as the High Seraph’s enemy, or simply be killed by the man. There was also a possibility that the High Seraph would take Meng Sang along when the Lesser Spirit Megaverse was reset.

The Lesser Spirit Megaverse would inevitably be reset, and the Spirit Nidus would certainly gain more Immortal realm experts. The question was simply whether there would be one, two, or more of them.

Allowing Meng Sang to return to the Spirit Nidus would not provide the Tianyuan Megaverse with any benefits. Rather, Lu Yin was only aiming to delay how long it took the Spirit Nidus to send reinforcements. Meng Sang knew that there was no chance of him returning safely.

In other words, the day the springboard was finished would also be the day Lu Yin moved against Meng Sang. At that time, everything would be decided by who had prepared better.

Either Meng Sang would return to the Spirit Nidus by using the springboard, or the springboard would be completed and the Spirit Nidus would have the impression that the invasion was progressing smoothly, ensuring the Tianyuan Megaverse’s temporary safety.

And still, everything was built on the premise that the High Seraph's secret was real.

"I have a condition," Meng Sang said.

Lu Yin stared at the man. "Speak."

"I want to be allowed to safely return to the Spirit Nidus," Meng Sang stated frankly.

He was testing Lu Yin. For the sake of the Tianyuan Megaverse, Meng Sang’s condition could never be allowed. Even if working with the Seraph would delay the Spirit Nidus’s reinforcements, the ultimate outcome of the war would not change at all. No matter if they faced a single Immortal or several such experts, Lu Yin was already aware of which choice he needed to make.

"I won’t promise that you will be able to return to the Spirit Nidus. If you have the ability, then return on your own," Lu Yin replied.

This convinced Meng Sang even more that the High Seraph's secret was real, and for that reason, he was more eager than ever to return home. Several members of the Seven Seraphs had been sent out from the Spirit Nidus, and the opportunity to reset a megaverse would only come once. If Meng Sang missed the next opportunity, he might never find another.

Lu Yin continued, "I don’t need to agree to any of your conditions. Go and find out for yourself whether or not the High Seraph’s secret is real. As I already told you, I’m just using you."

"Dukkhans don’t have any guarantee that they will be able to break through to the Immortal realm. Of the Seven Seraphs, which of us dares to promise that we can become an Immortal when a megaverse is reset? Yuan Qi, are you confident?" Meng Sang looked at Yuan Qi and asked loudly.

Yuan Qi frowned. While all of them were theoretically capable of reaching Immortality, that realm still remained elusive.

"No one can be certain that they will become an Immortal. If I return to the Spirit Nidus, it’s most likely that I’ll be eliminated by the High Seraph. Since that’s the case, I can simply choose to not return and refuse to help you build a springboard. I can ignore the opportunity to achieve Immortality when the Lesser Spirit Megaverse resets. That choice is also available to me," Meng Sang said.

Lu Yin’s mouth curled up. “Choose as you wish.”

With that, he exited the dream realm.

Meng Sang watched as Lu Yin disappeared. The Seraph’s expression grew increasingly cold.

They were all playing a game, and the winner would be the one who could give up more.

Lu Yin could delay the arrival of the Spirit Nidus’s reinforcements, but the cost would be a steep sacrifice. He would also risk causing the eventual downfall of the Tianyuan Megaverse at the hands of the Spirit Nidus. On the other hand, Meng Sang could choose to forgo an opportunity to achieve Immortality.

There were times when making a decision could be even more difficult than a battle.

Yuan Qi also vanished. He did not dare to linger in the dream realm out of fear of rousing Lu Yin’s suspicions.

On the mountain behind the Heavens Sect, Lu Yin opened his eyes and stared out into the depths of outer space.

Meng Sang would not abandon an opportunity to achieve Immortality. This was his only chance, provided that he could confirm the Lesser Spirit Megaverse’s existence.

With this in mind, Lu Yin ordered the Tianyuan Megaverse’s boundary to open up a path for Meng Sang to pass through the Stone Gate.

Elsewhere, Meng Sang quickly found several peak powerhouses from the Spirit Nidus. Many such powerhouses had escaped from the battlefield, but only others from the Spirit Nidus could find them.

Meng Sang used many different methods before he finally detected a bit of energy from one of the Spirit Nidus cultivators. It was an aura that did not belong to the Spirit Nidus, the Consciousness Megaverse, or even to the Tianyuan Megaverse. It was unfamiliar, yet also familiar.

What was familiar about it was the High Seraph’s power.

The peak powerhouse’s aura had somehow been concealed by the High Seraph.

Meng Sang immediately continued on, searching for other Spirit Nidus cultivators. After some time, he found two more people with the same concealed aura. This completely convinced the Seraph that the High Seraph had hidden the Lesser Spirit Megaverse’s existence.

An aura that belonged to a different megaverse was not something that could be faked. It was no different from how a person could not dream about someone they had never seen before.

With the existence of the Lesser Spirit Megaverse confirmed, Meng Sang spent two days meditating in place. Ultimately, he decided to take the risk.

Regardless of Lu Yin's attitude, Meng Sang needed to return to the Spirit Nidus. He did not expect the High Seraph to publicly expose the existence of the Lesser Spirit Megaverse; that was unrealistic. Additionally, if Meng Sang himself were the High Seraph, he would not want too many others to achieve Immortality and rise up to the same standing as him. Meng Sang could only hope to follow the High Seraph to the Lesser Spirit Megaverse and enter Immortality that way.

As for how that would happen, he already had some idea, provided that he could reach the Lesser Spirit Megaverse.

A springboard. In the end, he still needed to build a springboard.

Lu Yin’s face appeared in Meng Sang’s mind. Lu Yin would not allow an enemy to escape easily. Now, it all came down to who was better prepared. Meng Sang held the advantage, because he was the one who knew how to make a springboard, as well as what could be regarded as a success. He would only have one chance to leave.

At the boundary of the Tianyuan Megaverse, Meng Sang found himself surrounded by experts from the Tianyuan Megaverse. There was only one open path to the stone gate. It was clear that the path had been cleared for Meng Sang by Lu Yin.

At the moment, Lu Yin was highly unlikely to attack, but Meng Sang still remained cautious. Lu Yin would not simply let go of the enmity that he had established after the massacre at Astral-10.

After cultivating to his level and becoming one of the Seven Seraphs, how could Meng Sang allow another to control his destiny?

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA

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