Star Odyssey

Chapter 1963

Leaf King could hear that Lu Yin was unhappy, but Leaf King just answered with a smile. "Alliance Leader Lu, take a moment to observe this plant carefully. This flower is something that I’ve never seen before—no, it’s actually something that has never even appeared in the records of ancient books. The oddest thing about it is that it can produce any type of food. I have no idea how it was formed, but just like how the innate gifts of us humans are unexplainable, it’s impossible to explain how this flower can produce any sort of food, including things like barbecued meat and elegant desserts.”

Lu Yin was stunned. What else was possible?

"On top of that, I’ve examined all of the food that this flower has made, and the ingredients are all authentic. It’s as if the food is not created, but rather transported here after someone else has prepared it," Leaf King explained.

Lu Yin arched a brow. "This is something that I want to see. How long do I need to wait?"

"I'm not sure about that. You came here regarding a research project into immortality, and I can tell you that I don’t have any information at all on that topic. However, we have learned a bit about space, and all of that information has come from this flower," Leaf King stated confidently.

Lu Yin stared at Leaf King. "You study space through this flower?"

Leaf King nodded. "How should I explain this? All of the research that I’ve conducted so far hints at the idea that space may not actually exist, but is rather an illusion due to how we humans perceive things. It’s just like this flower. I don't believe that the food it creates comes from nothing. Rather, they should all be dishes that someone elsewhere prepared which is then brought to this place. Essentially, space has no meaning to this flower.”

Lu Yin was instantly reminded of the wireless jincan and how space seemed to be ignored by the odd creatures.

"Aside from simply seeing this miraculous flower, I brought you here so that we may study space together. To my understanding, you also possess something that is able to ignore space. Some kind of jincan, no?" Leaf King stared at Lu Yin as he spoke.

Lu Yin's eyes glinted. "It’s called a wireless jincan."

"Some time ago, Balsam delivered a congratulatory gift to Qing Shaohuang on behalf of my Shamrock Enterprise, and she was present to see your interest in the wireless jincan, Alliance Leader Lu. We looked into the matter a bit, and we know that you’ve been studying the wireless jincan that was developed by a small town. Our interest was also piqued, but you moved first. If you feel that we could help, my company would like to study these jincan with you," Leaf King suggested.

Lu Yin thought for a bit. "That would be fine, though this research is rather costly."

Leaf King smiled. "My Shamrock Enterprise will cover all of the costs. Why don’t we start by allocating a billion star essence towards this project?"

Lu Yin’s smile grew bright. "Alright!"

Leaf King smiled and took a seat. "Let's wait here. There’s a chance that you’ll be able to see something, Alliance Leader Lu."

Lu Yin’s visit had been made with the goal of dealing with Shamrock Enterprise, not studying something like space with them. Still, he did not mind wasting a bit of time.

Leaf King had most likely already guessed Lu Yin’s true purpose, which was why the man had so clearly stated Lu Yin’s position as a representative of the Hall of Honor upon his arrival. At the moment, Leaf King was tempting Lu Yin with the prospect of researching space and even providing the necessary funds. How could Lu Yin not see through such attempts as an effort to deal with him?

Lu Yin was also curious to see what Leaf King could do against the Second Nightking. At best, the man’s strength was comparable to Liu Ye and Fei Hua, but that still put him far behind the Second Nightking.

One day quickly passed, and the meat that the flower produced had already been thrown away by Leaf King. The man did not eat meat.

After the two men waited for another two days, the flower’s petals suddenly began to move, and then, as Lu Yin watched on in astonishment, food started to appear. Each bit of food was a finely prepared dish, and although Lu Yin could not determine their ingredients, the scent of the food would be clear to anyone.

Lu Yin kept staring at the plant, but he could not see anything that explained how the food had appeared.

Suddenly, Lu Yin felt like he was looking at something that was incredibly familiar. The flower, the food that had mysteriously appeared, and everything else in Lu Yin’s vision started to blur. Instead, he suddenly had a vision of several people sitting together and chatting about something. They seemed to be waiting for something.

The sight felt incredibly familiar, yet it also induced a powerful sense of sadness. What was this? Had Lu Yin seen this flower before? Was this vision from his previous life as Lu Xiaoxuan? Could those people be the Seven Heroes?

"Overseer Lu," Leaf King called out as he stared at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was startled by the man’s voice, and the blurry vision instantly disappeared. He saw Leaf King again, and Lu Yin let out a breath. "What's wrong?"

"Were you able to see it clearly?"

Lu Yin was a bit confused. "See what?"

"How the food appeared."

Lu Yin shook his head. "No."

Leaf King looked disappointed. "It appears out of thin air, and it’s impossible to determine if it is simply created on the spot or moved here from somewhere else. This is what I was talking about, Overseer Lu. If we can thoroughly study this flower, we might be able to obtain similar abilities."

"The ability to create food?" Lu Yin's eyes lit up as he blurted out a response. It felt as though he had said the exact same thing before…

Leaf King was taken aback. "Of course not creating food! I’m talking about being able to control space!"

The man could not help but find Lu Yin to be rather odd. What normal person would think of the ability to create food in this situation?

Lu Yin stared at the flower in a bit of a daze as he recalled the blurry yet familiar vision that he had just seen. He remained a bit dazed for a bit.

When he saw Lu Yin's appearance, a cold light flickered in the depths of Leaf King's eyes, and his fingers twitched.

Suddenly, an entire roasted pig appeared on the flower. The fragrance was so powerful that it roused Lu Yin from his stupor.

Lu Yin grabbed a leg from the roasted pig and devoured it. His mood rose until it could not improve any further. His previous memories were still sealed, and even if he was sometimes able to remember bits and pieces, those fragments only made him sad. Maybe his seal was not a terrible thing, as it allowed him to still feel happy.

After he finished eating the bit of pork, Lu Yin stood up and casually cleaned his hands. “Much better!"

Leaf King was stunned. Lu Yin’s personality seemed completely different from earlier. Could this youth have a split personality?

"Let's go." Lu Yin turned around and walked away from the waterfall.

Leaf King followed after him. "Alliance Leader Lu, let's study space together. It really is a miraculous ability."

Lu Yin did not respond to the request, instead asking, "It’s said that you, Leaf King, represent both creation and healing. I understand that the healing is your Shamrock Enterprise, but what is the creation part?"

Leaf King and Lu Yin stared at each other, and Leaf King finally replied with a smile, "What creation? It’s just something said by some underlings to give me a more mysterious reputation. How else could my Shamrock Enterprise attract so much attention?"

Lu Yin looked away. "That makes sense." action

At this time, someone flying through the air appeared in front of the two. She was a young girl with bright eyes and white teeth, giving her a beautiful appearance. Although her eyes had a cunning light to them, she still looked charming.

"Yu Er greets Leaf King and Alliance Leader Lu." The girl respectfully bowed to the two men when she arrived before them.

"Yu Er, what's the matter?" Leaf King asked.

Yu Er pursed her lips, but she still gave a slight smile. "All of our company's materials regarding the medicinal research on immortality have been prepared."

Leaf King turned to Lu Yin. "Overseer Lu is interested in immortality, but this is as much as my Shamrock Enterprise can do to help. I'll take you over so that you can have a look."

Lu Yin answered, "There’s no rush."

He then turned back to look at Yu Er. "Are you Yu Mu's disciple?"

Leaf King also looked at Yu Er.

Yu Er gave another respectful bow. "I didn't expect Alliance Leader Lu to know about a little girl. My master was rude to you, Alliance Leader, so this little girl must apologize for her master."

After speaking, the girl offered yet another bow.

Lu Yin said, "Yu Mu said that you’re one of Shamrock Enterprise’s hidden seeds. He said that I should be careful around you."

Yu Er was taken aback. "Be careful around me? Why? Is there something wrong with this little girl? Or could there be some misunderstanding created by my master?

“Oh, right!" Yu Er acted like she had suddenly remembered something, and she suddenly looked quite upset. "My master once asked me to leave with him, but I refused. That must have been why he said such things."

Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed, and he turned back to Leaf King. "I've always been rather curious about your Shamrock Enterprise’s seeds. I wonder, are there any of your hidden seeds in the Great Eastern Alliance?"

Leaf King was stunned, but he answered in a low voice, "I don't know what that traitor Yu Mu might have said to you, but the so-called ‘hidden seeds’ are nothing more than some talented cultivators that have been sponsored by my company. I don’t want to see such talent go to waste, but supporting them does not mean that we control them, let alone use them as spies. You’re going a bit far with your insinuations, Alliance Leader Lu.”

"And yet you didn't answer my question." Lu Yin stared at Leaf King and repeated, "Are there any of Shamrock Enterprise’s hidden seeds in the Great Eastern Alliance?"

Yu Er’s eyes went wide as she watched the exchange in fascination.

Leaf King was the absolute peak as far as Yu Er and those like her were concerned. Had anyone ever interrogated Leaf King in such a manner before? It was something that she had never dared to consider in the past, and seeing it play out before her was shocking.

Leaf King frowned. "No."

The two men continued to stare at each other for a while, but then Lu Yin smiled. "I believe you."

Leaf King's expression turned ugly. "Overseer Lu, I welcomed you into the hidden world that is my Shamrock Enterprise’s headquarters, and I have been open and willing to share the research regarding both immortality and the flower that I believe to hold the secrets of controlling space. Despite that, it does not seem that you are returning my attempts at friendship.”

"While my Shamrock Enterprise can’t compare to your Great Eastern Alliance, we will not demean ourselves before you."

Lu Yin put a smile back on his face. "Don't get worked up about that, Leaf King. We still haven’t discussed any real business matters yet."

"You can take all of the research materials that my company has acquired regarding immortality. We’ll treat it as a gift. There’s no need to discuss anything else," Leaf King replied, clearly upset.

Lu Yin was surprised. "Your company has spent many years gathering those materials. This is too much for a mere gift. You flatter me."

"I just hope that Alliance Leader Lu will not return my good intentions in a disappointing manner. If you are still willing to research space with me, then I will still welcome you."

"Of course I would love to, but there are a few things that need to be made clear first." Lu Yin clasped his hands behind his back as he stared at Leaf King. "Xia Yi told me that you released him."

Leaf King's eyes flared. "What is this about Xia Yi? I don't know what you’re talking about."

Lu Yin just smiled. "You don’t know? I was just visiting the Seven Courts, and I specifically asked Xia Yi about this. My Great Eastern Alliance captured the man and imprisoned him at the mobile fortress in the Ross Empire. You helped him escape."

Leaf King’s fingers twitched, and his expression soured more and more as Lu Yin spoke. “So you’re here to investigate some crime."

Lu Yin suddenly looked up. "What happened doesn't actually matter. Let’s move on to why it happened. Perhaps, I won't care?"

Leaf King's eye twitched. "I didn't release him. You can have Xia Yi come confront me himself. Besides, I have no reason to help him."

"There’s a reason." Lu Yin touched his cosmic ring and suddenly redirected his attention towards Yu Er. "Your Leaf King is said to represent both creation and healing. Do you know what that means?"

Yu Er was startled, as she had not expected Lu Yin to speak to her. "I- No, I don't."

Lu Yin smiled. "It's quite simple. Healing refers to Shamrock Enterprise, while creation-" Lu Yin paused as he looked back at Leaf King. "Refers to the stellular energy pills."