Everything had been going fine, but then Yōu Ye’er had revealed the Yōu Secret Art during ZENITH, which had completely disrupted the Yōu family’s plans. Even the Sword Sect had begun to suspect that the Yōu family was hiding some ulterior motive. After all, even an idiot could tell that someone who had mastered the Yōu Secret Art was from the main family of the Yōu clan. Why would the clan’s main family break away? Even if that was true, how could the Yōu clan have ever allowed the Yōu Secret Art to be taken away without making any attempts to recover it?
None of this made any sense, and so, it was impossible for the Yōu family to retain the Sword Sect’s protection. Madam Yōu, or rather, the entire Yōu family, had chosen to instead rely on the Great Eastern Alliance, which meant Lu Yin.
“Why do we want to join the Great Eastern Alliance?” Yōu Ye’er could not help herself from asking.
Madam Yōu felt helpless. “Exposing the Yōu Secret Art is no different from announcing that we are the main branch of the Yōu clan; who in the Innerverse would still dare to accept us? The Sword Sect or the Wen family might have the courage to do so, but they also have other goals. The Great Eastern Alliance is an amalgamation of many different interests, and Lu Yin is the champion of ZENITH, which has garnered him a great deal of support from the Hall of Honor. He must also be supported by many hidden powerhouses who are still unknown—otherwise, it would be impossible for Lu Yin to have reached his current level as he would have died long ago.
“Relying on him is our best choice at the moment.”
Yōu Ye’er stared at Madam Yōu. “We can just return to the Yōu clan.”
Madam Yōu gave a bitter smile. “Don’t you get the feeling that you are being watched there?”
Yōu Ye’er shuddered, and her face went pale as she nodded.
“The Yōu family has been under surveillance for many years. The sense of crisis that one feels due to this has become a torture afflicting every child of the Yōu family. We separated from the Yōu clan in order to protect both the Yōu Secret Art as well as the other members of the Yōu clan,” Madam Yōu explained.
Yōu Ye’er understood that, if the Yōu clan had been able to protect themselves, they would never have split apart. The Seven Courts appeared to be united, but each family had their own goals and motivations. The Yōu clan could not rely on any of the other families from the Seven Courts, but could they actually rely on Lu Yin?
Madam Yōu was not actually looking at Lu Yin, but rather at the hidden powerhouse that everyone believed was supporting Lu Yin from the shadows. Only the existence of such an expert could explain how Lu Yin had managed to cultivate such an invincible power.
Of course, Madam Yōu had certain expectations of Lu Yin as well, but that was for later. In the future, Lu Yin might actually manage to become a Progenitor.
However, there was one other important detail to consider; Lu Yin was not an altruistic person, and he might covet the Yōu Secret Art himself in the future. However, for the moment, the Yōu family had no choice but to rely on Lu Yin in order to get out of their current predicament with the Sword Sect. The Sword Sect’s attitude towards the Yōu family had changed too much, and Madam Yōu was certain that it was just a matter of time before the Sword Sect took action.
***
After Lu Yin crossed the astral rivers tributaries, the Starsibyl Sect entered his sight. It was located on a planet that was not particularly bright or even very beautiful, but this planet had given birth to a unique sect. That planet was simply known as Starsibyl Planet, and the Starsibyl Sect was located on the planet itself.
The Starsibyl Sect had very few members. In fact, the sect consisted of a mysterious powerhouse, six Starsibyl girls, and 108 attendants who served the Starsibyl Sect. This was the entire sect: a powerhouse, the Starsibyl girls, and the mysterious servants.
It was impossible to imagine that the Starsibyl Sect, which was famous throughout the entire universe, had such little strength, but this was the truth.
However, the Starsibyl Sect had managed to stand tall in the universe for countless years with such power, and even the behemoths in the Neoverse did not dare to underestimate this sect.
Also, there was Xuan Jiu. While he had been cast out by the Starsibyl Sect, he could still be considered to be affiliated with them.
Finally, Lu Yin crossed the last of the astral river tributaries, and the Starsibyl Sect was right in front of him. A person in space stood in front of his ship, staring at it. This person was beautiful and picturesque, and not even the darkness of outer space could cast a shadow on her. She was Starsibyl.
Lu Yin’s expression deepened. He had arrived at the Starsibyl Sect.
***
Just as Lu Yin arrived at the Starsibyl Sect, out in the Outerverse, on the Prairie Flame Continent where East San Dios was located, a man with an ordinary appearance who would likely be forgotten as soon as one saw him reached out to Nightking Yuanjing.
“You can’t find any clues? We did not expect you to find him in San Dios, but does he not even have any friends or relatives? We must find him—he has one of our Daynight clan’s inheritance stones, as well as the secret regarding how he was even able to get close enough to steal the inheritance stone.” Nightking Yuanjing said sharply.
The ordinary-looking man respectfully answered, “Yes, Elder. This disciple will continue to search.”
This man was from the Daynight clan, and he had been sent out to find Liu Shaoge. Because Liu Shaoge had managed to steal the Daynight clan’s inheritance stone and also managed to climb high up on the clan’s stone plaque in their ancestral grounds, he had stoked the hatred of the entire Daynight clan.
Lu Yin had overturned the Daynight Flowzone and had taken the top position on their stone plaque. Although they hated it, they were convinced of Lu Yin’s qualifications. After all, Lu Yin was the master of the Outerverse, and he was peerless within his generation. On the other hand, who was Liu Shaoge? As far as the Daynight clan was concerned, Liu Shaoge was nothing but an ant, and this ant had dared to step on their head, so it had to be destroyed.
Unfortunately, they could not find Liu Shaoge anywhere.
The investigator thought for a while before looking to the north. Liu Shaoge was too cautious of a person. Despite spending so many years in the Outerverse, he did not have a single friend, and he had never gotten close to any women. What’s more, he left no clues behind anywhere. However, that planet known as Earth might have some clues.
In the Innerverse, in the Daynight clan’s ancestral grounds, one of the guardian elders stood up beneath the stone plaque. Zuocheng Daynight was also looking to the north as he stepped out.
***
In another part of the Innerverse, in Little Millennium Flowzone, Lu Yin was greeted by Starsibyl as they moved to Starsibyl Planet. Up close, the planet was extremely beautiful, and it was almost entirely devoid of modern amenities. No matter if Lu Yin considered the planet’s gravity, environment, soil, or sky, it all gave him the feeling that he was back on Earth.
All in all, it was a perfectly ordinary planet in the universe.
“Brother Lu has come to visit our Starsibyl Sect, which is truly a blessing for us,” Starsibyl said with a smile. Very few people had the opportunity to see Starsibyl, but she was known to be one of the most beautiful women in the universe. Although half of her face was covered when she smiled, the upper half of her face was still stunning.
Lu Yin could not stop himself from taking a second glance. “You’re very kind. It’s a blessing for me, Lu Yin, to be invited to be a guest of your Starsibyl Sect. There are few people in the universe who are qualified to be invited by the Starsibyl Sect, and even if they make it to Little Millennium Flowzone, they still might not be allowed to visit.”
Lu Yin was being honest. When he had first entered Little Millennium Flowzone, he had seen numerous ships cruising around outside the various astral river tributaries. From a simple glance, it was easy to see that they all wanted to enter, but none had received permission.
Starsibyl replied, “There is no other way. Although I want my Starsibyl Sect to improve the universe and for us to make new friends, we are only so few, and divination is not easy. Everyone wishes to know about the past, the future, and their own fate, but the truth is that knowing is not always beneficial.”
“How so?” Lu Yin asked.
Starsibyl thought for a moment before answering. “The future is very difficult to change, and destiny only extends for a few days. If I had told Brother Lu that you were guaranteed to win ZENITH, would you have trained even harder to the point of risking death in order to raise your strength? Or would you have accepted such a prediction as fact and peacefully waited for the moment of victory to prove my prediction true? Which would you choose?”
Lu Yin thought for a moment, but then he laughed. “If it were me, I’d go with the first option.”
Starsibyl nodded. “Brother Lu doesn’t trust the divination abilities of my Starsibyl Sect, and you have never done so from the very beginning. However, the people outside are all eager to hear from us, and some of them have been waiting out there for ten years, a hundred years, or even a thousand years just for us to tell them the future. Tell me, Brother Lu, which option would they choose?”
Lu Yin said, “They would not seize the initiative on their own or fight for anything. Rather, they would just wait to see the prediction come true.”
“However, doing so conflicts with destiny. Even if you are destined to win first place, you still have to get there by risking your life in order to improve your strength. Doing so or not doing so changes destiny, and whether it’s for better or worse is impossible to know,” Starsibyl said.
Lu Yin laughed. “You are Starsibyl, and yet you don’t want everyone in the universe to trust you or just accept your predictions? What you just said could shatter your entire image.”
Starsibyl smiled and said, “On the contrary, after hearing my words, doesn’t Brother Lu believe in divination even more?”
Lu Yin was startled at this observation, but he merely smiled and no longer pursued this particular topic.
Starsibyl Planet was not only home to the people of the Starsibyl Sect, but also to ordinary mortal countries, though they were all still in the technological period of cold weapons.
Lu Yin and Starsibyl looked down from the sky and watched a mortal war. Seeing this made for a very addictive feeling. To these people, Lu Yin was no different from a god. A massive country had fielded millions of troops on the battlefield, but Lu Yin was capable of changing the entire situation in but an instant.
Starsibyl said nothing, but Lu Yin soon stopped watching, and she followed suit.
After a moment, Lu Yin said, “Let’s go.”
Starsibyl led the way, and before long, the two arrived at a huge waterfall. The waterfall formed a boundary, and after passing through, they entered another world.
The Starsibyl Sect was not large, and its buildings were all very simple. They even looked like they had been casually built, as there were simple thatched cottages among the buildings. However, there was another detail that stood out to Lu Yin: there were exactly 108 houses.
There were 108 astral river tributaries surrounding Little Millenium Flowzone, and the Starsibyl Sect had 108 mysterious servants. On Starsibyl Planet, could there be 108 countries as well? Was there a reason behind this number?
“Brother Lu, please. Master has been waiting a long time,” Starsibyl said.
Lu Yin’s face grew solemn. “Please, lead the way.”
After passing by the houses, Starsibyl continued to lead the way until they arrived outside the innermost building, which was one of the thatched cottages. “Master, I have brought our guest.”
Lu Yin calmly stepped into the thatched cottage.
This is not his first time visiting such a primitive thatched hut. The ancient Yu elder had also lived in a similar hut. All of the remnants of the Yu family had gone into hiding, living in a place that was quite similar to the Starsibyl Sect. Also, Lu Yin had seen many thatched homes in Subzero City on the Royal Frost Continent.
This style of house represented the passing of the years.
Lu Yin entered, but he saw no one. Instead, there was a strange, illusory figure that slowly formed before him.
Lu Yin stared at the image in surprise. Was this a screen? No, that was wrong.
The image quickly formed into the shape of a middle-aged man with a gentle appearance and a jade-like complexion. His clothes were all white with starry patterns on the cloth. He was smiling, and his eyes were bright and full of wisdom. His entire demeanor gave off the impression of an even temperament and a person with elegant manners.
This feeling was similar to the Progenitor Hui that had been summoned by Shang Qing’s ancestral qi, but this man was also different from Progenitor Hui.
Progenitor Hui had possessed a temperament that had been refined through warfare while this middle-aged man seemed to have been refined through academics.
“Alliance Leader Lu, it’s been a long time,” the middle-aged man greeted Lu Yin. The man’s voice sounded very comfortable.
Lu Yin looked back at the middle-aged man. “The Starsibyl Sect invited me as their guest, but the host is not appearing before me.”
