Star Odyssey

Chapter 2164: Exposed

Blackless God's eyes deepened even further. "Humans are naturally inferior, and your lives are limited. Immortality is impossible for you, no matter what level your cultivation reaches. Cryostasis and other methods are all pointless, but my Aeternals are different. Since you’ve already agreed to join us, you should abandon death energy. It is flawed, and it is impossible for that cultivation method to spread further."

Lu Yin gained access to more and more of Tian Dou’s memories, and with them, Lu Yin learned that Tian Dou was the only member of the Specter clan currently working with Blackless God. Lu Yin also learned exactly where the Specter clan was, as well as the fact that Tian Dou and Blackless God were currently in a cloud of death energy in the Astral Wilderness.

Silver had told Lu Yin about the location of this death energy cloud in the past, at the same time that he had mentioned another location in the Astral Beast Domain.

The thought of Silver triggered one of Tian Dou’s memories of Silver.

In the memory, Lu Yin saw a baby playing with flesh and bones, laughing amidst a pile of corpses. A delighted smile covered the baby’s face, despite it being covered in blood and gore while sitting in a virtual river of blood. The baby was tearing its own flesh from its body, as though its flesh was somehow in the way.

The baby's smile was exactly the same as Silver’s. It was large and brilliant, but also as disturbing as a fox’s grin.

The memory gave Lu Yin chills, and his expression changed yet again.

In front of him, Blackless God's eyes shifted. "Tian Dou, there's something wrong with you-"

As Blackless God spoke, a hand reached out for Tian Dou.

Lu Yin’s head snapped up, and he ended the Possession. His consciousness returned to his own body after almost instantly passing through the strange dark space. Lu Yin gasped for breath. At that last moment, Blackless God had revealed the power of a Semi-Progenitor, which was not something that Lu Yin could stand up to.

Had Blackless God caught Lu Yin? No, but he had clearly noticed that Tian Dou had been possessed.

This was not the first time that Lu Yin had been caught during a Possession. In the past, he had Possessed Liu Yi, and both the man and his wife, Fei Hua, had noticed something that was wrong with what Lu Yin had said during that Possession. This time, Blackless God had noticed something off about Tian Dou, despite the fact that Lu Yin had said nothing.

However, the fact that Lu Yin was the one who had Possessed them was something that no one could guess.

Lu Yin shot to his feet and immediately started using the Cosmic Art. He merged with the stars of the Fifth Mainland and checked the Heavens Sect. "Third Uncle, Kui Luo, follow me somewhere."

Even as Lu Yin was speaking, he was sending a message to the Sixth Mainland, ordering Jiu Yao, Lan Xian, and Herb Immortal to move out towards Tian Dou’s location.

Blackless God was there.

During the last moments of his Possession, Lu Yin had learned that Blackless God had returned to the Human Domain twenty years ago, and he had entered at the same time as Corpse God’s arm. However, Blackless God had remained hidden this entire time, and after Lu Yin had wiped out all of Aeternus’s forces in the Fifth Mainland, Blackless God had not dared to reveal himself.

This would most likely be their only opportunity to catch any trace of Blackless God.

Given the fact that the two of them had met in the Astral Wilderness, Lu Yin felt confident that Blackless God would never return to the Human Domain. The Skygod feared Progenitor Chen’s power.

On this excursion into the Astral Wilderness, not only did Lu Yin take a group of Semi-Progenitors, but also Silver. Lu Yin had quickly grabbed the young man before leaving the Heavens Sect.

Silver had remained in Heavens Sect, as he feared the Undying Heavenly Gate’s retribution for his betrayal.

Jue Yi was not the only sealed powerhouse from the Heavens Sect era who had joined the Undying Heavenly Gate. Several other powerhouses had joined him, as well as the Specter clan. This was why Silver had said that he would not leave the Heavens Sect, but in truth, no one was sure of the man’s true thoughts.

"Captain, where are we going?" Silver asked.

Both Lu Buzheng and Kui Luo were present as well.

"The Astral Wilderness. We’re going to that cloud of death energy that you told me about," Lu Yin replied.

Lu Buzheng had a very serious expression on his face. Lu Yin had just informed the Semi-Progenitors that a reliable source had told him that the Specter clan’s Tian Dou was collaborating with Blackless God. The Semi-Progenitors did not care about Tian Dou, but they were very concerned about Blackless God.

He was one of the Seven Skygods. After discovering the original identities of Ancient God and Forgotten Ruins God, they had realized just how powerful each of the Seven Skygods was.

Going up against the Seven Skygods was not much different from fighting against a true Progenitor.

As for Lu Yin’s reliable source, nobody questioned the matter. While the fact that Lu Yin had a source who could determine Blackless God’s location was rather ridiculous, only Kui Luo felt any sort of curiosity about it. Even then, there were too many details regarding Lu Yin that people were curious about.

Silver remained almost completely silent after learning that they were heading to the death energy cloud in the Astral Wilderness. He was practically a prisoner, and he knew nothing about the current situation.

The Astral Wilderness not only referred to the area outside the known universe in the current era, but also to everything that had laid beyond humanity’s Six Mainlands that existed during the Heavens Sect era. Even during the ancient past, the Astral Wilderness had been an unknown region.

It had never been easy to explore the Astral Wilderness. Even before all the stellular energy had been drained from the true universe, it had been impossible for cultivators to recover their energy reserves in the Astral Wilderness, and there was also no way to communicate with the Human Domain. After entering the Astral Wilderness, a person’s death would be silent and unknown.

Despite the dangers involved, countless people still delved into the Astral Wilderness every year. There were species and materials out there that could not be found anywhere within the Human Domain. There were even treasures that could allow a cultivator to reach the sky in a single step.

Still, most of the explorers died in the Astral Wilderness.

The cloud of death energy where Tian Dou had met with Blackless God was not far from the Human Domain, and the Semi-Progenitors arrived very quickly, given their speed.

This mass of death energy was quite similar to Gaia's Swamp, and it appeared to be an endless boiling mass of black death energy. The sight would chill anyone, and no one would normally be willing to touch such a thing.

Most of the people who explored the Astral Wilderness were independent cultivators, and they were not qualified to know certain things, much less about something like death energy. Furthermore, there were powerhouses from the Specter Clan stationed around the death energy, so anybody who tried to explore the region would be silenced. The area was known to outsiders as a forbidden region, and people avoided it at all costs.

Lu Yin and the people with him charged straight into the death energy, and they immediately started searching for Tian Dou and Blackless God. However, they found no one. Even the Specter clan powerhouses who had been sent to stand guard over the death energy were missing.

"Where are they?" Lu Buzheng was surprised.

Kui Luo’s spiritual force spread out as he searched the area.

Lu Yin's expression turned ugly. Blackless God had noticed that something had been wrong with Tian Dou, and as long as the matter had been mentioned, Tian Dou would have realized that there was a hole in his memory during the Possession’s duration. Even if they had managed to determine what had happened to Tian Dou, it was impossible for the two to have guessed that Lu Yin was behind it.

It was not long before Jiu Yao, Lan Xian, and Herb Immortal all arrived. "Dao Chosen Lu, where are you?"

"Let's go!" Lu Yin called out. "To Gaia's Swamp!"

Tian Dou had already slipped away, but the Specter clan would not be able to do the same.

While Lu Yin was traveling to the Astral Wilderness, he had sent a message to his senior brother, Qing Ping, and asked the man to go to Gaia’s Swamp with Leng Qing to capture the Specter clan.

This time, their journey was not in vain, as upon Lu Yin’s arrival, he and his companions saw that Gaia’s Swamp had been subdued and that all the members of the Specter clan had been captured.

There were thousands of people who had been hiding within the death energy, and in addition to the members of the Specter clan, Lǜ Cha was also present.

When Jue Yi had first arrived at Gaia's Swamp, he had captured Lǜ Cha, and the woman had never been able to escape the gatemaster’s control since.

As the roiling death energy dissipated, Lu Yin observed the captured Specter clan, and he quickly focused on Tong Yu. She was the Specter clan’s Dark Judicial Commissioner, and she was second in authority only to Tian Dou. She was a seven-tribulation powerhouse.

"We meet again, Judicial Commissioner Tong Yu," Lu Yin quietly greeted the woman.

Tong Yu felt completely helpless, and she nervously glanced around. However, Lu Yin noticed that Tong Yu’s eyes remained calm, and the nearby members of the Specter clan also all looked quite calm. "I’m incredibly honored to be in the presence of so many Semi-Progenitors, but unfortunately, our patriarch is not present. Otherwise, he would have welcomed you himself."

Lu Yin said, "Actually, I was hoping that you could tell me where your patriarch is."

Tong Yu smiled wryly. "I don't know."

Leng Qing's expression changed, and the pressure in the area spiked. Tong Yu felt as though countless knives had just pierced her body, and she spat out a mouthful of blood as she dropped to her knees. She could not resist the pressure of a Semi-Progenitor at all.

"Where is Tian Dou? Tell me!" Leng Qing shouted.

Tong Yu was gasping for breath, sweat streaming from her forehead. Her golden eyes rose to look at Lu Yin. "I really don't know."

Lu Yin believed the woman. When browsing through Tian Dou's memories, one of the things that Lu Yin had confirmed was that no one else from the Specter clan was aware that Tian Dou was working with Blackless God. Considering this, Lu Yin waved a hand, and Leng Qing removed his pressure.

"Take away all the others. Investigate them one by one to see if they’ve had any dealings with the Aeternals. Pass judgment on them on an individual basis," Lu Yin ordered. The Specter clan had helped him in the past, but they had only done so out of hope that Lu Yin would ensure their survival. If not for the fact that the Specter clan had actively fought against the Aeternals for the last twenty years, the entire clan would have been wiped out, rather than them undergoing individual investigations. It was always better to go too far and be safe than miss a traitor.

Everyone was taken away, and soon, Tong Yu was the only captive remaining.

At this moment, Lu Yin’s wireless jincan trembled, and when he looked down, he saw that it was a message from Jue Yi.

"Dao Chosen Lu, what are you doing in my Gaia's Swamp?" Jue Yi demanded in his message. While the wireless jincan could not convey emotions, Lu Yin knew the man was furious at this moment. Ever since he had occupied Gaia's Swamp twenty years ago, Jue Yi had treated the place as his own private kingdom.

However, Jue Yi’s rage meant nothing to Lu Yin. "How did you find out?"

Given the strength of Qing Ping and Leng Qing, no one in Gaia’s Swamp should have had any time to react when the place had been captured.

"It doesn’t matter how I know! Dao Chosen Lu, what is the meaning of this? The Specter Clan has been working with me for the last twenty years to fight against the Aeternals. If there were any traitors, I would have reported them to the Heavens Sect. You might be the Dao Chosen and represent the heavens, but Gaia’s Swamp is my domain. Even if I am absent, I must be informed of everything that happens there."

Lu Yin let out a breath. "It looks like you’re being used. So, someone told you that the Specter clan was captured? How did they find out?"

Far away, Jue Yi frowned when he saw Lu Yin’s message. The Semi-Progenitor was no idiot, and there was something more to Lu Yin’s question. "What's going on?"

Lu Yin replied, "You were informed by Tian Dou. He’s using you to test me."

"What do you mean? What happened?" Jue Yi felt increasingly confused.

"I’ve received reliable information that Tian Dou has been working with Blackless God. When we arrived at where they were supposed to be, they had already escaped. So, we hurried over to capture the Specter clan before anything could be done to them, and also so that we could have a way to track down Tian Dou," Lu Yin explained.

Jue was startled. "Tian Dou’s been colluding with Blackless God? Impossible!"

"Gatemaster Jue Yi, are you aware of a mass of death energy located in the Astral Wilderness?" Lu Yin responded with a question.

Jue Yi's expression changed. There was death energy in the Astral Wilderness? This was news to him. No one had ever mentioned anything about it to him before.

Lu Yin had assumed the gatemaster would not have been informed of the location, as few people knew of it. Tian Dou was aware of it, as was Silver. However, Tong Yu had not known about the place. In fact, everyone else who had learned of the location had been forced to remain in the Astral Wilderness forever.

Jue Yi's expression grew ugly. If Lu Yin was telling the truth and there really was a death energy site in the Astral Wilderness that Tian Dou had kept secret, then the patriarch of the Specter clan had clearly concealed it with covert motivations.

"Are you saying that Tian Dou is trying to use me to check on the status of the Specter clan? If that’s the case, then I can simply tell him that you never went there, no? There’s no way he’s anywhere near Gaia's Swamp, and due to your existence, he might be too scared to even return to the Human Domain," Jue Yi suggested.

Lu Yin shook his head. "That won’t be of any use. If I’m not wrong, he’ll already assume that something’s happened just due to how long you’ve been communicating with me. Given the length of our conversation, he’s already determined that Gaia’s Swamp’s been targeted."

"Our conversation wouldn’t necessarily only concern Gaia’s Swamp. Such vague information isn’t enough to support such an arbitrary guess," Jue Yi argued.

Lu Yin just laughed. "How do you think the Specter clan’s managed to survive for so long? Tian Dou is the best example of their paranoia. There’s no way he’ll return if he has even the slightest doubt, and given how long we’ve been messaging each other, there’s no way he hasn’t grown suspicious. He’ll never return to Gaia's Swamp without first investigating the situation himself." With that last message, Lu Yin ended the conversation.

The truth was that he had only realized Tian Dou’s intentions while messaging Jue Yi. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have immediately taken advantage of the situation by cooperating with Jue Yi.