Cai Shu stayed a bit behind Lu Yin and the other youths. He raised his hand, and after a moment’s hesitation, he decided to call Qing Chen.
“Master, your disciple has discovered stellular liquid.” Cai Shu immediately brought up what had happened.
Qing Chen showed no surprise. “The Cloud Shuttle.”
Cai Shu frowned. “Is it the four ruling powers?”
Qing Chen sighed. “Times have changed. In the past, everyone was suppressed by the Lu family, and thus no one dared to cause any harm to the Mother Tree. But now…”
As the old man spoke, his expression grew more complicated.
Cai Shu gritted his teeth. “The Mother Tree forms the very foundation of our existence. Humanity is able to thrive and even resist the monsters only by relying on the Mother Tree! Yet despite that, they actually work to harm the Mother Tree like those parasites in the Lower Realm in order to absorb stellular liquid. They are destroying humanity’s foundation! Why? Will no one stop them?”
Qing Chen solemnly explained, “The Mother Tree has the power to block those monsters, and some people believe that they can take that power for themselves and become capable of destroying the monsters.”
“How could that be possible?” Cai Shu was furious.
Qing Chen shook his head. “No one knows whether or not it’s possible, but it is still a possibility. Humans have always been on the back foot, even with the Mother Tree’s protection. Who can say if such a situation can be replicated in the future?”
Cai Shu fell silent.
Qing Chen asked, “How did you discover this?”
Cai Shu shared everything that had happened, and then asked, “Was this what you were meaning when you mentioned a darkness here?”
Qing Chen sighed. “From what you just told me, the stellular liquid that was discovered should belong to the Celestial Frost Sect, which is unfortunate. While no one will openly move against Long Qi over this matter, it will certainly cause problems, and some people will likely move against him in secret, and there could even be some fanatics. You will need to protect Long Qi, and I will need to negotiate with the Celestial Frost Sect.”
“What of Long Qi?” Cai Shu asked.
Qing Chen had a headache. This matter seemed very strange. “How was he able to pinpoint that person? It’s impossible to perceive stellular liquid, as not even the true universe can detect it.”
“It was just a coincidence.” Cai Shu was actually not confident in his answer.
Qing Chen frowned. “He’s deliberately making trouble. Give him a stern warning not to mess with the Cloud Shuttle. Even though he’s bait to lure out Shaman God, I don’t wish anything to happen to him. However, with stellular liquid involved, he’ll become an enemy of the four ruling powers, and if that happens, no one will be able to protect him.”
“Your disciple understands.” Cai Shu’’s mood fell further.
Qing Chen looked back at Cai Shu and comforted his disciple. “Master realizes that you can’t unravel this matter, and stellular liquid has been a matter of debate since ancient times. In the past, the Lu family’s suppression protected the Mother Tree, but the situation has changed to what we see now.”
“Master, don’t worry. Your disciple knows what to do,” Cai Shu raised his head and spoke with determination.
Qing Chen nodded and his image disappeared.
Cai Shu lowered his hand and looked up towards the Higher Realm that was far overhead. Were they really doing the right thing? If they were wrong, humanity would be doomed. At this moment, Cai Shu also understood the importance of the Guan brothers, as well as why the Supervisor had been so confident that Lu Yin would enter Shaman God’s sights after being made acting Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate. This was not only because the youth had grabbed the scarlet eye that had belonged to Guan Yun, but more importantly, because he had been put in charge of Huaiyuan Gate.
The position was incredibly appealing to the Seven Skygods, and location was the focal point of an operation that had the potential to topple the entire Perennial World.
Back at Huaiyuan Gate’s headquarters, Lu Yin was just about to ask Wang Dashuai about stellular liquid, when Cai Shu suddenly appeared. “What is it that you wish to know? I’ll tell you.”
With that, the others all left.
Naturally, Xia Taili did not stay behind. It was clear that she had been badly effected by the incident.
“What is stellular liquid?” Lu Yin asked.
Cai Shu sat right down on the ground without any pretenses. He patted the ground next to him.
Lu Yin was surprised to see Cai Shu had such a casual side, but still sat beside the Envoy without giving the matter much thought.
“Do you know how difficult it is to continue cultivating after becoming an Envoy?” Cai Shu asked.
Lu Yin shook his head. He was not an Envoy himself, and no one had mentioned anything to him.
Cai Shu smiled bitterly. “An Envoy cultivates with stellular energy, and stellular energy must be absorbed from within the true universe. You should already know about stellular tribulations and how a person will be targeted and attacked by the true universe after absorbing stellular energy. A struggle forms between an Envoy and the true universe, and this struggle is a natural development.
“Any Envoy who cultivates within the true universe can easily be attacked by that universe if they absorb too much stellular energy or try to absorb the energy too quickly. This is why many Envoys search for things that can hide their presence.”
“I know, those are curios,” Lu Yin said.
Cai Shu nodded. “Curios are difficult to acquire, and not every Envoy has one. In theory, as long as a cultivator receives no backlash from the true universe, they can quickly cultivate, as it is easy to absorb stellular energy. Thus, they could rapidly cultivate through six tribulations, or even seven to become a top powerhouse. However, while this is nothing but a dream for most Envoys, it is achievable for certain people.”
“Stellular liquid,” Lu Yin blurted.
Cai Shu smiled. “Yes, stellular liquid. If an Envoy absorbs stellular liquid, they no longer need to sorry about receiving any sort of of retaliation from the true universe. As long as the stellular liquid is not exposed, it can be absorbed no different from star essence, and it provides a shortcut for Envoys’ cultivation. However, stellular liquid is not something that can be synthesized or even something that forms naturally. There is only one place in the entire Perennial World where it can be found.”
Cai Shu’s eyes locked onto Lu Yin. “The Mother Tree.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed. “The Mother Tree?”
Cai Shu let out a long breath. “The Mother Tree roots herself into the universe itself, but not only the visible universe. It is also rooted in the true universe, and the Mother Tree absorbs stellular energy from that universe. Has anyone mentioned to you how the creatures in the Lower Realm came into being?”
Lu Yin instantly understood. Long Xi had told him long ago that the Mother Tree absorbed nutrients from the universe itself, and that the creatures of the Lower Realm tried to devour and destroy the Mother Tree. This was due to the fact that the universe had both positive and negative aspects, and this was also why Root had been established and sent various adventure teams to the Lower Realm: to protect the Mother Tree.
Given this information, it seemed like the nutrients the Mother Tree absorbed was stellular energy, and the nutrients were distributed throughout the Mother Tree in the form of stellular liquid.
“The creatures in the Lower Realm attempt to destroy the Mother Tree and do their best to prevent the Mother Tree from transporting stellular liquid up to nourish the trunk and upper reaches of the Mother Tree. Humanity has worked to destroy those creatures and protect the Mother Tree, but now, humanity itself is working to destroy the Mother Tree in order to absorb the Mother Tree’s stellular liquid. Is there any difference between us and those parasites?” Cai Shu growled out more of the explanation while his expression grew ugly.
“Our Perennial World has long had an uncrossable line, which is that no matter how difficult cultivation becomes, we must never touch stellular liquid. This is a basic rule that has been in place for countless years, and it is a bottom line that no cultivator has cared to cross. It’s an untouchable taboo, but-” Cai Shu hesitated, as he did not know how to continue.
Lu Yin immediately understood that there were people who had crossed humanity’s bottom line, and they were actually the four ruling powers.
He understood why there had been such a strong reaction the moment that the stellular liquid had been exposed. It represented humanity’s greatest taboo. Absorbing stellular liquid might benefit some individuals or groups by allowing them to grow stronger, but it also risks destroying humanity’s very foundation in the Mother Tree, which could lead to humanity’s extinction. Such selfishness was inexcusable.
One could only imagine how big of an impact such news would cause once it leaked out. This incident had the potential to shake the entire Perennial World.
“Do you now understand how dangerous your actions today were?” Cai Shu solemnly asked.
Lu Yin nodded. “We can’t allow those people to destroy the Mother Tree?”
Cai Shu shot a look of surprise at Lu Yin. He had not expected to hear that reaction. After all, Cai Shu saw Lu Yin as a member of the four ruling powers. “No one can stop them, not even my master.”
Lu Yin fell silent.
“My master will find a way to suppress the incident from today, but in the future, stellular liquid cannot be touched, as doing so will cause you to become the universal enemy of all of the four ruling powers, and once that happens, no one will be able to save you,” After speaking the last bit of warning, Cai Shu left.
The information Lu Yin heard lit a fire in his heart, and his eyes blazed brightly. Become a universal enemy of the four ruling powers? That was a really big deal! Lu Yin grinned after considering the possibility.
The four ruling powers were already his enemies, so exposing this incident would not only stop the destruction of the Mother Tree, it could also achieve Lu Yin’s own goal. Wasn’t this just perfect?
Cai Shu could never have dreamed that the more serious his warning, the more hyped Lu Yin became.
The very next day, Lu Yin returned once again to the Cloud Shuttle.
While Cai Shu was curious as to why Lu Yin returned to the Cloud Shuttle, the Envoy did not think much of it. He had already been very clear with the youth and made it known that when it came to stellular liquid, even Humility’s Gate would feign ignorance and would have nothing to do with stellular liquid. A moment’s carelessness could make them the enemy of the four ruling powers, and thus Cai Shu did not believe that Lu Yin would be brazen enough to go anywhere near stellular liquid again. The Envoy believed that Lu Yin was putting up a front of being fearless with this trip to Cloud Shuttle.
While Lu Yin was informed about stellular liquid from Cai Shu, Shang Qing and Liu Tianmu learned about the situation through Wang Dahuai.
Returning to the Cloud Shuttle again left the fatty feeling rather uneasy. “Um… Bro, what are we doing here today?”
Lu Yin stated matter-of-factly, “The Smokecloud Sect did not provide any gifts.”
The fatty coughed. “Well, didn’t that third elder say yesterday that he would send it and that we should go back and wait?”
The possibility of getting involved with stellular liquid terrified Wang Dashuai.
Only a Perennial World native like the fatty could truly understand the seriousness of having this matter of stellular liquid being exposed. Forget the fatty, not even Xia Taili could walk away unscathed.
Xia Taili also spoke up, though she rolled her eyes. “This ladder is boring.”
Lu Yin grew serious. “After walking around the Cloud Shuttle yesterday, I’m pretty sure there’s a traitor here.”
The fatty and Xia Taili were both surprised. “A traitor?”
Lu Yin nodded. “We need to determine the truth.”
The fatty felt a bit skeptical, but he then remembered Long Qi’s results in the Yinshan District, which caused the fatty to give some credence to Lu Yin’s claim.
Xia Taili was suffering from a headache; how could it be so easy to find a traitor to humanity? The night before, she had received a warning from her clan that she was not to return to the Cloud Shuttle. After all, she had been partly responsible for the stellular liquid being exposed. Even if she was a mischievous child, she felt it was too much to immediately return to the Cloud Shuttle.
As Xia Taili looked at Lu Yin’s back, she suddenly felt that he was too bold. If he was anyone else, even if it was completely certain that there was a traitor at the Cloud Shuttle, no one else would return right away in order to show the four ruling powers that there was no intention of provoking them.
How was it that this guy was so different from what the rumors claimed? How was this the attitude that a son-in-law should have? If Long Xi had not disappeared, Long Qi would have been scolded to death.
After arriving at the Cloud Shuttle, Lu Yin was surprised to see Yun Yang. The youth had not been transferred out, though the third elder had disappeared.
When Yun Yang saw Lu Yin and his group, his face grew as ugly as if he had been forced to eat dead flies. He completely ignored the group and turned around to leave.
