Star Odyssey-Chapter 3523: Reasonable

Lu Yin gave a small nod. “You can also call me Seventh Bro.”

Ru Mu tried to suppress a smile. Seventh Bro? Old Yu was quite ancient, and he had lived for a very long time.

Old Yu chuckled. “Lord Lu?”

Lu Yin calmly replied, “That works too.”

Old Yu was impressed. “As expected, the Grandverse Manor’s Third Boss is the ruler of the Tianyuan Megaverse.”

Ru Mu’s eyes narrowed, and she gave Lu Yin a look of astonishment. The ruler of the Tianyuan Megaverse?

Everyone had learned that Lu Yin and the others from the Grandverse Manor were from the Tianyuan Megaverse. Given the combat strength that Lu Yin had demonstrated, how could he possibly be under Yuan Qi’s control? Boundless and Grandverse Manor should both belong to the Tianyuan Megaverse, which meant that Yuan Qi was actually under their control.

What Ru Mu had not considered was that Lu Yin, who was so young, would be the ruler of the Tianyuan Megaverse.

This explained much. It was no wonder why he was so powerful, to the point where he had defeated nearly half of the Spirit Nidus’s top experts on his own. Only the ruler of a megaverse could be capable of such a feat.

“Pour the wine,” Lu Yin casually ordered.

Ru Mu regained her senses and quickly poured more wine for the two men.

“Lord Lu, you have traveled from the Tianyuan Megaverse with a clear goal: to deal with the threat of my Spirit Nidus. However, there is one thing that I don’t understand—why take such a risk?” Old Yu asked, looking at Lu Yin with open curiosity. The old man had already finished the wine in his cup, and he set it down. “Clearly, the only people that connect my Spirit Nidus to your Tianyuan Megaverse are Yuan Qi and Zhan Yan, and yet you have led so many of your megaverse’s powerhouses here, gaining unstoppable momentum while disregarding the threat of death. On top of that, how did you even manage to reach our Spirit Nidus? How did you know how to construct a springboard? Lord Lu, could you clarify these points?”

Lu Yin was rather entertained by the man’s confusion, and he met Old Yu’s eyes. “Old man, you oversee the Wisdom Domain, which distributes resources throughout the entire Spirit Nidus. Can you also tell me what part you played decades ago when three Seraphs set out on an expedition to defeat my megaverse?”

Old Yu thought for a moment. “I approved of the expedition.”

Lu Yin’s lips curved. “Which means that you’re also an enemy.”

Old Yu shook his head. He watched Ru Mu as she poured more wine. “One’s position in such things is not only determined by what they stand to gain, but also by strength.

Updat𝒆d fr𝑜m freewebnøvel.com.

“We have always believed that your Tianyuan Megaverse was within easy grasp. We have merely been waiting for the best moment to reset it. Yuan Qi was sent to undermine your future potential, essentially rendering your megaverse helpless against the Spirit Nidus.

“However, your arrival here, Lord Lu, has transformed everyone’s impression of the Tianyuan Megaverse.”

The old man grew solemn. “Your megaverse will not be easy to deal with. If things go wrong, a great many people will die, which would destroy what the Spirit Nidus previously believed to be a perfect opportunity.”

Lu Yin listened calmly.

“For example, the High Seraph wishes to wait until the Spirit Nidus has at least thirty Dukkhans and close to 100 Ortusers before resetting your megaverse, allowing all of the experts to reach a higher level at the same time. How many of those people would be able to become Immortals? How many would enter Dukkha? As for weaker cultivators, how many would break through to the Spirit Origin realm? All of those details were part of our considerations.

“It might take time, but we can afford to wait. The Spirit Nidus can be seen as a large family, where everyone’s survival depends on the others, and we are acting for the sake of the entire family. No one presses forward for a single person or generation.

“Now, your megaverse has revealed a level of strength that far exceeds our expectations. If our two megaverses go to war, even if our Spirit Nidus wins, there is no telling how many Dukkhans or Ortusers will ultimately survive. The Spirit Nidus is unwilling to pay such a price.”

Lu Yin scoffed. “You’re spouting pure nonsense. If you won’t refuse to bear the cost now, it will only become more difficult to reset the Tianyuan Megaverse in the future.”

Old Yu nodded. “Theoretically, yes. The longer we wait, the harder it will become to reset your megaverse. However, what if there’s a better option? Such as resetting the Consciousness Megaverse.”

Lu Yin arched a brow.

Old Yu continued to say, “The Consciousness Megaverse is not an easy opponent. You’ve experienced Wu Wei’s strength for yourself. For countless years, our Spirit Nidus has been seeking a way to reset the Consciousness Megaverse. Of course, there have been moments where we’ve delayed for the right moment, similar to how we waited to reset your Tianyuan Megaverse. That was the relationship between the three megaverses.

“With your arrival in the Spirit Nidus, Lord Lu, the Spirit Nidus has witnessed your megaverse’s power. Since humans rule over both the Spirit Nidus and the Tianyuan Megaverses, a second path is available: our two megaverses can cooperate to reset the Consciousness Megaverse.”

Lu Yin just stared at Old Yu.

The man’s eyes burned intensely as he met Lu Yin’s gaze. “You are well aware of the relationship between the three megaverses, Lord Lu. You must see that the Consciousness Megaverse is being suppressed and invaded by my Spirit Nidus, which matches the situation of your own Tianyuan Megaverse. In theory, the correct move would be for your megaverse to unite with theirs, but in reality, the correct move is not determined by who is fighting against who. Rather, it is determined by the nature of the creatures living in the three megaverses.

“Lord Lu, never forget this: both the Spirit Nidus and the Tianyuan Megaverse are ruled by humans, while the Consciousness Megaverse is not. Those creatures are unusual lifeforms, or they might even be considered a pure manifestation of cultivation energy, rather than actual lifeforms.

“Humans must always consider their own kind, even if the results are cruel.

“You, Lord Lu, have risen up to become the ruler of your megaverse, which means that you must understand the true meaning of cruelty. Who is right and who is wrong is a matter of perspective, and every word that this old man has spoken is true.

"Of course, your megaverse is at a disadvantage when compared to my Spirit Nidus. Of course that would make you as the ruler of the megaverse uneasy, Lord Lu. Regarding this, all I can guarantee is that you will have a chance of breaking through to the Immortal realm. This is clearly a much easier path than leading the people aboard Boundless to fight my Spirit Nidus to the death."

Lu Yin’s objective was perfectly clear. Even if Old Yu did not understand how the Tianyuan Megaverse had learned about the situation in the Spirit Nidus or why they would abandon all sense of security to risk near certain death, the path that the old man was offering was unquestionably better. A chance for Lu Yin to achieve Immortality would effectively be a chance for the Tianyuan Megaverse itself.

There would also be no need to fight against the Spirit Nidus to the death.

This was especially relevant when considering that no one sought death and all cultivators pursued the Immortal realm.

Ru Mu poured more wine as she observed Lu Yin.

Old Yu had placed two paths before Lu Yin. One was for him to continue stirring up trouble and harming the Spirit Nidus’s foundation, which would ultimately lead him to become an irreconcilable enemy of the entire Spirit Nidus. That path led to an unknown outcome. The other path was for the Tianyuan Megaverse to cooperate with the Spirit Nidus to reset the Consciousness Megaverse, which would grant Lu Yin an opportunity to enter the Immortal realm.

What choice would he make? Ru Mu was quite curious.

Reeds brushed against the boat in front of Lu Yin as he picked up his cup of wine and took a sip. His eyes never left Old Yu.

The fact that the old man was staring at him puzzled Lu Yin. “Go on. Continue.

“Don’t tell me you’re already finished.”

Old Yu stared intently at Lu Yin. “Lord Lu, what else do you wish to hear?”

Lu Yin rolled his eyes. “Old man, do you think that I’m the sort of fanatic who cares only about cultivation and has no understanding of anything else?

“You first explained the relationship between the three megaverses, leading me to reconsider my current position. After that, you tempted me with Immortality. In the end, you present me with two different paths. After this, it’s only natural for you to mention the danger of the High Seraph. Your approach is very clear.”

Ru Mu blinked and glanced over at Old Yu.

The man smiled wryly. “Lord Lu, you seem to be rather prejudiced against this old man.”

Lu Yin sneered as he picked up his cup, and gave it a little swirl. “Not at all. I actually quite like you.”

Old Yu was puzzled. “Why is that?”

Lu Yin chuckled. “Because I often use the same means to string others along.”

Old Yu was momentarily stunned, but then he burst out laughing.

Ru Mu looked back at Lu Yin, her eyes lighting up more than ever.

Lu Yin finished his drink and put down the cup. “When deceiving someone, the logic needs to be perfectly clear. You need to be able to see what the other side is thinking, and analyze their mindset. You must make them subconsciously believe that you are correct. Only then can you subtly shift their position before ultimately presenting them with your own options, instead of allowing them to choose freely. Old man, this trick won’t work on me. Tell me, since my biggest worry is the High Seraph, how do you plan on deceiving me?”

Old Yu smiled. “Before that, I’d like to ask you a question.

“Who is the one behind Sage Qian?”

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

Old Yu stared at Lu Yin. “Lord Lu, you deliberately released the news that Sage Qian paid you to release him, and you also allowed the Consciousness Domain to learn that Qi Gong was the one who stole the White Willow. You purposely led the Consciousness Domain to believe that a fictitious figure was behind the entire matter. What are you trying to accomplish with this?”

Lu Yin stared out at the swaying reeds, a hint of killing intent flickering in his eyes.

The old man had seen right through things.

The entire matter had been an attempt to conceal that Lu Yin could devour conscients’ consciousness. If that were exposed, the Consciousness Megaverse would see Lu Yin as their mortal enemy, and it would also push the Spirit Nidus to become increasingly hostile out of fear. Both outcomes were undesirable.

“No one was behind Sage Qian’s actions. Qi Gong was solely responsible for stealing the White Willow, though he was influenced by Wu Wei. You created this entire story in order to take the conscients away from the Consciousness Domain. The truth is that you were already cooperating with a conscient when you arrived at Beacon City. You’ve reached an agreement with them, haven’t you?” Old Yu speculated.

Lu Yin looked at the old man in surprise. Really? Well, it is a rather reasonable explanation.

Old Yu laughed. “So that’s how it is. Let me speculate further: only one of the Consciousness Megaverse’s Thirteen Luminaries would be capable of pulling something like that off, as no other conscient could reach Beacon City unharmed. Lord Lu, everything that I said to you earlier was intended to caution you to not be misled by the conscients. Those creatures cannot be trusted. They’re a different sort of lifeform than us humans. If you allied with the Consciousness Megaverse, even if we assume that you can fight against my Spirit Nidus, if my megaverse falls, then the Consciousness Megaverse will eventually become the Tianyuan Megaverse’s greatest enemy.”

Lu Yin did not think much about this, and he calmly said, “That would still be better than facing the Spirit Nidus. You all are such a behemoth that you are capable of waging war against two megaverses simultaneously.”