Star Odyssey

Chapter 2019

Lu Yin had also entered the sourcebox array, along with Kui Luo and the other Semi-Progenitors. They all needed to recover to their peak condition as well.

A total of fifteen top experts were planning on participating in the attack: fourteen Semi-progenitors, plus Chief Justice Qing Ping, who could hold his own against a Semi-Progenitor. action

Arch-Elder Zen finally spoke up. "We can wait no longer. Once the Technocracy’s mechanical ants are eliminated, it will be our turn. Before that happens, we must unite to fight Aeternus.

"What about the two Progenitor seniors from the Sixth Mainland?"

There were four Semi-Progenitors present from the Sixth Mainland: Jiu Yao, Xue Laogui, Herb Immortal, and Lan Xian.

Lan Xian’s face looked perfectly serene. A delicate tulle veil was draped over her face, and it gave her an ethereal, fairy-like appearance. She actually paid no heed to the other Semi-Progenitors, instead sneaking glances at Lu Yin from some distance away from time to time.

Jiu Yao answered Arch-Elder Zen’s question. "Their situation isn’t great. Although Blackless God disappeared for some unknown reason, our two Progenitors are still unable to destroy Corpse God's body and reseal the passage to the Starfall Sea.”

Xia Ji’s forehead creased. "If we can’t seal that passage, then what's the point in starting a decisive battle? Even if we wipe out all the corpse kings currently in the Fifth Mainland, more will just take their place."

"Do you mean to blame the Progenitor of Combat and the Progenitor of Bloodlines?" Jiu Yao’s tone instantly soured.

Xia Ji snorted coldly, but he said nothing further. Regardless of the current results, the two Progenitors had already done great things for humanity by holding the line in the Starfall Sea.

Arch-Elder Zen continued, saying, "Even if we are unable to reseal the passage to the Starfall Sea, battle is inevitable. We have no choice in this matter. However, let me assure you all that I have the means to seal the passage to the Starfall Sea, as long as we can get close to it.” He then looked at Ni Huang. “We will be relying on everyone’s efforts to win this war. You know more about Aeternus than we do. As for the power limit of the mental network, we will need to conduct some tests.”

"Please tell us what you know about our opponents."

Everyone turned their attention to Ni Huang and the others from the Perennial World, even the Sixth Mainland’s Semi-Progenitors. They were quite curious about the Fifth Mainland’s primeval surnames.

"Do you really have a way to reseal the passage to the Starfall Sea? What’s your plan?" Jiu Yao asked Arch-Elder Zen.

Arch-Elder Zen thought for a while before replying, "Does anyone here know of the Sky Pillar?"

Wang Si and almost everyone else had never heard of it, but Ni Huang exclaimed, "The pillar that was the central support of the Daosource Sect?"

Jiu Yao said, "I do remember that there was indeed such a pillar, but why bring it up now?"

Arch-Elder Zen stared at Jiu Yao and sympathetically answered, "While your Sixth Mainland won that ancient war, victory was bought at a tragic cost. Many invaluable inheritances were destroyed back then, and even knowledge of the Sky Pillar was lost."

Jiu Yao's expression grew dark. Although the Sixth Mainland had won the ancient war, even replacing the Fifth Mainland’s sky in the aftermath, it had been a pyrhhic victory that was not worth celebrating. The Sixth Mainland’s Daosource Sect had been almost completely destroyed by that lunatic Xia Shang. Even though most of it had been unharmed, over half of the experts guarding the Daosource Sect had died, and many precious inheritances had been lost.

Jia Yao had not expected to learn that the pillar that had supported the entire Daosource Sect would still be useful, as neither the Progenitor of Combat nor the Progenitor of Bloodlines possessed much knowledge about it.

Arch-Elder Zen continued in a lighter tone, saying, "The Sky Pillar, which once supported the Daosource Sect, is no ordinary item. I have no idea what material it is made from, but legend claims that it was made by the Origin Progenitor himself. It is indestructible, and it can even change its size.”

"Zenith Mountain?" the Chief Justice blurted out.

Arch-Elder Zen nodded. "Zenith Mountain appears to be a refined power vessel, but in reality, it is a piece of the Sky Pillar. No one knows how it was removed from the rest of the pillar. According to our records, even Progenitors would struggle terribly to damage the Sky Pillar, and it has endured through various ancient wars. The fact that it still exists even today is a testament to its tenacity. My plan is to push Corpse God away and then use the Sky Pillar to seal the passage to the Starfall Sea, thereby completely cutting off Aeternus’ path to the Fifth Mainland."

An awkward silence filled the group, as all of them felt that this plan was not actually feasible. Just to begin with, just how exactly were they supposed to force Corpse God back?

Bai Laogui voiced the question on everyone’s mind. "The Forsaken Land only has two Progenitors, and they are barely holding on. Even within the same realm, Progenitors can possess different levels of strength, and those two simply aren’t strong enough to force Corpse God back. If even they can’t do it, there’s no need to mention us."

Arch-Elder Zen said in a gravelly voice, "As long as the Sky Pillar is pushed into the passage to the Starfall Sea, there will be a way. It was thanks to Progenitor Hui that my Hall of Honor was established. Even if you don’t believe in me, you should believe in him.”

No one could refute such words. While Jiu Yao and the others from the Sixth Mainland all hated Progenitor Hui, they had to admit that his wisdom really was far beyond their comprehension. It was indeed possible that there was a way for the Sky Pillar to block the passage to the Starfall Sea. At least, it was the only plan that they had at the moment.

"Where is the Sky Pillar?" Ni Huang asked.

Arch-Elder Zen replied, "Mt. Microcosms is the Sky Pillar."

"So your Hall of Honor’s Mt. Microcosms was the Sky Pillar this whole time. It’s no wonder why the Hall of Honor claims to be the legitimate ruler of the Human Domain." Xia Ji was surprised.

"Then who is going to place the Sky Pillar in the passage to the Starfall Sea?" Jiu Yao asked.

Lan Xian could not resist taking another glance at Lu Yin. She was not even the slightest bit interested in the current conversation.

Some distance away, Lu Yin felt her eyes land on him, and he instantly grew wary.

"Wait a moment," Bai Laogui interrupted and turned to look at Chief Justice Qing Ping. "This person isn’t a Semi-Progenitor. How is he qualified to join this discussion?"

The Chief Justice said nothing. Instead Arch-Elder Zen explained, "He is strong enough to challenge Semi-Progenitors.”

Bai Laogui sneered, "Challenge Semi-Progenitors? Since when did people like that appear in your Forsaken Land? Do you know what power levels a Semi-Progenitor has? In the Daosource Sect’s era, such people were candidates to be potential gatekeepers of Tian Men."

Arch-Elder Zen said, "His name is Qing Ping. I believe that you have heard of him".

Bai Laogui had no recollection of the name, but Xia De shot Chief Justice a look of genuine surprise. "The person who sneaked into my Perennial World, suppressed the geniuses of his generation, and snatched Origin Matter? That Qing Ping?"

Ni Huang was startled. "I remember now. He was the only person who succeeded in taking away any Origin Matter from the Dominion Realm. Everyone else on that expedition failed, including even the Lu family's descendant."

The Chief Justice remained silent.

Arch-Elder Zen answered, "Yes, that’s indeed him. He is currently extremely close to becoming a Semi-Progenitor himself, but his strength is enough for him to cross realms and challenge Semi-Progenitors. He once fought Forgotten Ruins God, as well as Ancient God on Mt. Microcosms."

Bai Laogui no longer doubted the man’s strength. No one understood the terrifying strength of the Lu family better than the Perennial World’s four ruling powers. Qing Ping had not only defeated the Lu family's descendant in the Dominion Realm, but also every other genius of that generation. At the time, besides the four ruling powers’ disciples, people from the Liu and Nong families had also joined in. The fact that everyone had been defeated by this man proved that his strength was no joke.

"Since we’re done discussing the plan regarding the Sky Pillar, let's move onto the next topic. Senior Ni Huang, please tell us more about our enemy," Arch-Elder Zen said to Ni Huang.

Ni Huang gave Qing Ping a long look before clasping his hands behind his back. "Corpse God is forcibly keeping the passage to the Starfall Sea open while Blackless God has vanished. All of the opponents that we will face at this time are Semi-Progenitors. Of them, the Seven Skygods and the Twelve Marquises are our most mysterious enemies. Have you encountered the Seven Skygods before?"

Jiu Chi took a sip of his wine. His pale face showed that he had yet to recover from his previous injuries. "I met Ancient God."

Jiu Yao chimed in, "I met Forgotten Ruins God."

Xia Ji looked at Kui Luo, who responded with a roll of his eyes. "Why are you looking at this old man? Fine, fine. I won’t tell them how you cried like a baby after getting your ass handed to you by Undying God."

Xia Ji erupted in anger, "You old bastard! Don’t spout bullshit!”

Kui Luo grinned mischievously. "Which part of that was bullshit? You could have held him off longer, but Undying God used some sort of fancy attack that nearly ended you. If not for me, you would’ve been done for."

Xia Ji's face was stormy, but he had no way of refuting Kui Luo’s story. After experiencing Undying God’s strength for himself, Xia Ji had finally understood why the Seven Skygods were so notorious.

Ni Huang spoke up, "The fact that you’ve managed to face the Seven Skygods and survive is already an achievement in itself. Every single one of them is an absolute monster. To be honest, I don't really know much about them. At best, I can simply give you a bit of information about the Twelve Marquises.

"After Marquis Wu Yi was trapped, I ran into Marquis Green Bamboo, as he was my next opponent. Aside from him, I don’t know if any of the other Marquises have joined this war."

Lan Xian interjected, "We met Marquis Wang."

Ni Huang was momentarily stunned. "You survived meeting Marquis Wang?"

Herb Immortal sighed. "All three of us were together when we met him. We wouldn't have survived if we hadn't worked together. Even then, we were still overpowered."

Kui Luo chimed in sarcastically to say, "When you were up against the Celestial Demon Semi-Progenitor from the Celestial Beast Empire, the three of you were also nearly done in even after teaming up. What have you guys even been doing with your lives? Aren’t you all rather useless?”

Xue Laogui felt his blood boil, and he turned to glare at Kui Luo. "You’re talking about one of the Twelve Marquises!"

Kui Luo gave the man a strange grin. "It sounds like you have a pretty good understanding of the Twelve Marquises."

"Enough, Kui Luo. Can’t you just shut up for once? Your voice is revolting," Wang Si said in annoyance. Kui Luo was infamous throughout the entire Perennial World and had the absolute worst reputation. Given the fact that he had started following Lu Xiaoxuan, Wang Si felt more irritated than ever when she laid eyes on the old man.

This time, Kui Luo got irritated. "You old bitch, do you seriously think that I'm afraid of you just because you had an affair with Bai Laogui? Both of you can come at me together! This old man has never been scared of a fight."

Wang Si stomped forward in a rage, her hand raised to strike.

Bai Laogui also moved forward. "Kui Luo, quit spouting bullshit!"

Kui Luo sneered. "You still don’t dare admit what you’ve done? Isn’t that girl Wang Yun your descendant?"

Xia De covered his mouth after hearing such a juicy bit of gossip. "Bai Laogui, I didn’t know that you still had it in you.”

Bai Laogui’s anger took over. "Kui Luo, you must be tired of living!”

Ni Huang and Arch-Elder Zen both took action at the same time; one moved to block Wang Si and Bai Laogui while the other appeared in front of Kui Luo. "Humanity is facing a disaster, and we’ve already agreed before this gathering that, no matter what past hatred or grudges you may have against each other, they will be set aside for now."

Ni Huang glared at Kui Luo with cold eyes. "Stop talking so much."

Arch-Elder Zen glanced over at Kui Luo as well and added, "Whether such things are true or false, this is not the time to speak of them."

Wang Si’s eyebrows climbed up her forehead. "Old man, what is that supposed to mean?"

Arch-Elder Zen met the woman’s gaze without any sign of backing down.

Bai Laogui also glared aggressively at Arch-Elder Zen. Tensions quickly spiked.

Jiu Yao broke the silence with a shout. "If we need to worry about you fighting each other after we came here to join forces with you, we might as well go our separate ways."

Arch-Elder Zen replied, "Without uniting, we will easily be defeated one by one. I would like to ask everyone present here: who here is confident in facing Aeternus? Stellular energy can’t be recovered, which leaves us at a severe disadvantage. Also, not a single one of us has the ability to take the Sky Pillar to where it needs to be with so many of Aeternus’s Semi-Progenitors blocking the area."

Ni Huang glared at Wang Si and Bai Laogui. "Put aside your hatred for now. Only by defeating Aeternus can you later get your revenge. If you don’t, we will all die together, and I’m sure that you don’t want to be buried in the same grave as that person."

Kui Luo was just about to continue taunting the two, but Arch-Elder Zen interrupted with a voice that brooked no arguments. "I don’t care what might have happened to you nor what you’ve done in the past. Right now, the bigger picture needs to be our top priority.”