Star Odyssey

Progenitor Ku continued to recall the past, and cracks creeped along his skin, one inch at a time as his flesh was shed, revealing new skin beneath. It looked as though the man was being reborn.

His head suddenly snapped up. “Once, when I was traveling through a universe, I was killed by a butterfly. I used my Mountains and Seas technique to undergo a rebirth. While I did manage to survive, I lost some of my memories. Yes, that's what happened.”

“What kind of butterfly?” Lu Yuan asked quickly.

Ku Jie replied, “It was a massive butterfly that spoke with a very gentle voice. I don’t remember anything she said. All I remember is that I was already in a terrible state and close to death. I don’t know why a butterfly would suddenly appear and attack me, but I used my Mountains and Seas technique, which is a method that allows for a single rebirth, and I managed to escape death.

“A butterfly… It was a butterfly. A butterfly killed me...”

Lu Yin’s expression fell. A giant butterfly with a gentle voice? There was no doubt that Tian En had attacked Progenitor Ku.

“Did that butterfly produce a soft glow that filled the universe?”

Ku Jie suddenly looked over at Lu Yin. “You’ve seen it?”

Lu Yin clenched his fists. “Senior, we need to have a proper talk about how to take down that butterfly.”

After Progenitor Ku woke up, Lu Yin was the first to see the man, though he was quickly followed by Sovereign Dou Sheng and Xi Wei, who were also eager to see Progenitor Ku.

News of Progenitor Ku's awakening was not allowed to spread, since the man had been nearly killed by Tian En. For the moment, only a select few people knew that Progenitor Ku had woken up within the Lu Sanctum. Tian En likely believed Progenitor Ku to be dead, given that she had continued to present herself as a kind being to humanity.

In truth, she was even more detestable creature than Tian Fa.

Tian Fa was open about killing others and delivering heaven’s punishment, but the butterfly, Tian En, had attacked human powerhouses in secret.

Was this what it meant to deliver heaven’s blessings? To give all of the blessings to Aeternus?

…

After the Heavens Sect’s military declaration, the disappearance of the Lost Clan from their universe did not stir up many waves. This was because their Great Elder Shan Gu had visited the Heavens Sect on several occasions.

No matter how much propaganda Aeternus spread throughout humanity, their means could not exceed what the Heavens Sect was capable of.

When it came to these matters, no one was more skilled than Wei Rong.

Everyone was waiting for the Heavens Sect to announce the start of the decisive battle in the war against Aeternus.

However, before that happened, a legend regarding the Mirari Realm quickly spread throughout the entire Sixverse Association, as well as several other outside universes.

The rumors started from the discovery of a massive creature hiding in the void of a universe known as the Bai Wu Universe. Many cultivators went to investigate, and they eventually discovered a piece of hide that was wrapped around several stones.

Someone mentioned where the stones came from, and almost instantly, the entire Bai Wu Universe realized that there was a connection between the stones and the mythical Mirari Realm.

Before too long, the information reached the Sixverse Association and the Heavens Sect.

Similarly, the rumors spread across the Endless Frontier.

Mr. Daheng heard the news, and it shocked him. “Is this true?”

A cultivator from the Liberation Palace stood in front of the Arborean, and respectfully answered, “It is true. Right now, the beast hide and several stones are in the Bai Wu Universe. The people of that universe have allied with several other universes that they’ve had dealings with in the past, and several peak powerhouses have worked together to seal the hide and the stones away safely. They’ve decided to auction them all off, and invitations have already been sent to people across the Sixverse Association.”

Mr. Daheng frowned. “They’re going to auction them?”

“It’s said that the people in the Bai Wu Universe don’t believe that the Mirari Realm really exists, so they want to auction the stones off to gain some real benefits,” the person replied.

Mr. Daheng nodded. “That’s a wise choice. Sharing the information so openly will give anyone who wants to steal the stones second thoughts. Alright, I understand the situation.

“Wait, how has the Heavens Sect reacted?”

“I’ve heard that Arch-Elder Zen has already gone to the Bai Wu Universe and that he intends to buy all of the stones.”

The Arborean’s eyes narrowed. “Alright, you can go back.”

Once the man was gone, Mr. Daheng thought about the situation.

Peaks and Rivers Stones had not appeared in many years. Why had so many appeared all at the same time? Furthermore, even if there was nothing suspicious about their appearance, why did someone know about the connection between the stones and the Mirari Realm, and why had they dispersed the information?

These recent events made Mr. Daheng nervous. He felt like something was about to happen.

Even so, he was reluctant to abandon the stones. They truly did have a connection to the Mirari Realm, and more importantly, those stones were Mr. Daheng’s business.

His greatest fear was that the Heavens Sect was somehow behind the matter, but after a bit of thought, Mr. Daheng felt the chances of that were extremely slim. Why would the Heavens Sect do such a thing? What would be the reason? If they had extra time on their hands, they should have devoted it to finding a way to pierce through Aeternus’s defenses.

Mr. Daheng had even heard recent rumors that claimed that the Heavens Sect had abandoned the Lost Clan. There were also people saying that the Heavens Sect was being targeted by incredible powerhouses and that it was just a matter of time before it was destroyed.

The Arborean did not believe a single word of it. He was quite aware of the Heavens Sect’s real strength.

In the past, Lu Yin and a group of peak powerhouses had struggled to ambush Forgotten Ruins God and had failed to kill her. That had not been long ago, but already, which of the Seven Skygods dared to step out alone? If they did, they would die. While the Heavens Sect had not returned to its ancient glory, it was quickly reaching that level.

There was no doubt that the Aeternals were on edge, and the fact that they had completely withdrawn from the Endless Frontier was the best proof.

If the discovery of the Peaks and Rivers Stones had nothing to do with the Heavens Sect, then Mr. Daheng would definitely get involved in the auction, but he was terrified that the Heavens Sect would get also involved.

Lu Yin knew that the Peaks and Rivers Stones had a connection to the Mirari Realm.

After mulling things over, Mr. Daheng decided to attend the auction, but only after hiding his identity.

In another parallel universe of the Endless Frontier, Luo Shan heard the same news. Just like Mr. Daheng, the Monarch decided to attend the auction while hiding his identity. Regardless of whether or not the Heavens Sect interfered with the auction, Luo Shan was certain that Daheng would go. If Daheng ended up fighting with the Heavens Sect, Luo Shan could simply bide his time.

He had no interest in the Mirari Realm, though that was because Luo Shan knew that it was impossible for him to get enough stones. The most likely victor of the auction was the Heavens Sect, but that did not mean that Luo Shan could not find a chance to eliminate Daheng. The Monarch would not be able to truly relax until he had dealt with Daheng.

As for the Heavens Sect, it was publicly known that Arch-Elder Zen was making his way to the Bai Wu Universe, which was a clear indication that the Heavens Sect would get involved.

There were many cultivators in the Sixverse Association who were eagerly waiting to see who would be the auction’s victor and who would obtain those stones. People were even more eager to catch a glimpse of the mythical Mirari Realm.

…

The Bai Wu Universe was a relatively powerful universe. With two peak powerhouses, the universe was strong enough to have a significant impact even within the Sixverse Association.

The Sixverse Association had once tried to incorporate the Bai Wu Universe, but they had been refused. At the time, the war against Aeternus had been particularly intense, which was also why the Sixverse Association had not attacked the Bai Wu Universe. In fact, the choice of joining the Sixverse Association had never really been the Bai Wu Universe’s decision.

It was a rather common situation. There were many united parallel universes that refused to join the Sixverse Association because of their existing support system.

When Lu Yin had first entered the Sixverse Association, the Sixverse Associaton and the Endless Frontier combined had had less than seventy parallel universes. This was not because they did not know about more parallel universe, but rather because many universes were already interconnected with each other, and they refused to join the Sixverse Association or to fight against Aeternus.

There was really no choice to be had, especially since a significant number of the universes were not even inhabited by humans.

The Bai Wu Universe was ruled by humans, but other species were also present.

At the moment, there was a vast circular plaza at the center of the Bai Wu Universe, and more and more people were constantly arriving.

This plaza was going to host the auction.

The square had been paved with dark-red stones, which gave it an ancient and simple appearance. At the center was a giant statue of a man, which represented the human peak powerhouse that had risen to power in the Bai Wu Universe. The man had been known as Bai Wu, and he had led the Bai Wu Universe onto the path of cultivation with him. The universe had been named after the man.

The stone plaza was enormous, but none of the individuals entering it were simple. No parallel universe was allowed to send more than five qualified individuals, while weaker universes were not qualified to send anyone at all.

People occasionally arrived outside of the plaza; some were humans, while others were astral beasts in human form. If some of them were in their true form, they would be larger than the plaza itself.

“There won’t be any trouble, will there?” Five people stood on a platform that rose high into the air behind the statue in the plaza. They were the peak powerhouses who were hosting the auction. Two of them were humans from the Bai Wu Universe, one was an astral beast from the Bai Wu Universe, and the final two were peak powerhouses from two other parallel universes.

It was only because they had five peak powerhouses that they had dared to hold the auction at all. Without such a lineup, they would never have dared to face so many universes.

“There shouldn’t be. We sent invitations to powerful universes while showing humility and deference. As long as none of them start trouble, our strength should be enough,” one person said.

“How did the Sixverse Association respond?”

“Of course, those were the first invitations we sent, and they received a full twenty invitations. We still need to be cautious, especially with the Heavens Sect. I personally gave their invitation to Arch-Elder Zen. I believe that he will come.”

“No matter what, we can’t underestimate the Heavens Sect. They’re just too terrifying. After witnessing their military declaration, forget about the five of us—I would only feel safe if there were fifty of us.”

“Did the Heavens Sect say anything more?” someone asked.

The person who had personally delivered the invitation to the Heavens Sect hesitated, but then he said, “Arch-Elder Zen asked us to sell the stones and beast hide directly to the Heavens Sect, promising to give us a fair price.”

“No. It’s not just the profits that we’re after—we also want the fame! The Heavens Sect is so strong because they’ve pulled various parallel universes together and have gathered many powerful experts. While we can’t reach the level of the Heavens Sect, if we can pull in a few more parallel universes, we can better protect ourselves.”

“Exactly. Doing so is our fundamental interest, and the Heavens Sect can’t do anything about it.”

“Don’t worry, I turned him down. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been any auction at all.”

“The Heavens Sect might not be happy with us, but they won’t do anything about it. As more parallel universes ally themselves with the Origin Universe, they also need to set an example for other universes. If they don’t, how can they hope to command any respect? There’s no need to worry about them this time. The Heavens Sect definitely won’t be the one to cause problems.”

“Are you sure? Arch-Elder Zen has arrived. Let’s go welcome him.” This comment startled the rest of the group, and they all hurriedly went down from the platform.

As Arch-Elder Zen arrived outside the dark-red plaza, his presence drew countless eyes.

The Heavens Sect’s military declaration had made it famous to countless parallel universes.

Many of those universes enjoyed relatively long histories, and they had known the Heavens Sect during its glory days of old. The current Heavens Sect was rapidly approaching that same peak.

Many people stepped forward to speak with Arch-Elder Zen, though only peak powerhouses. When he looked around, he saw that there were only a few such powerhouses present outside of the plaza.

Soon, a group of five individuals appeared. “The Bai Wu Universe’s Bai Ni has come to greet you, Senior.”

Arch-Elder Zen looked over at Bai Ni. He was a peak powerhouse from the Bai Wu Universe and was also a descendant of Bai Wu himself. He was the one who had organized the current auction.

Beside Bai Ni, another man bowed. “The Bai Wu Universe’s Qing Du has come to greet you, Senior.”

“The Bai Wu Universe’s Zhao Li has come to greet you, Senior.”

“The Yang Jia Universe’s Yang Jia has come to greet you, Senior.”

“The Luo Fu Universe’s King Luo Fu has come to greet you, Senior”

Five peak powerhouses had stepped out to greet the Progenitor. They were the hosts of the auction, and they had arrived to show the Heavens Sect their utmost respect.

OMA's Thoughts

Translated By: OMA

Edited By: Neshi/Nyxnox

TLC'ed By: OMA