Star Odyssey

Chapter 2987: The Strange Compass

Lu Yin felt rather sympathetic after he heard Jiang Chen's explanation. "Such an opponent must have made life quite difficult."

"So you understand, but even so, my father asked me to come here and tell you about Jing Zhe. What do you think? Isn’t your future father-in-law very considerate?" Jiang Chen asked with a smile.

Lu Yin was rendered speechless, but then he suddenly remembered something. "By the way, help me take a look at something."

He then took out the compass he had received.

The moment Jiang Chen saw the compass, his expression changed drastically. He took it from Lu Yin and carefully examined it, looking at it again and again. Finally, he looked up to stare at Lu Yin, his eyes full of disbelief. "How did you get this?"

"The Merchant Exchange gave it to me," Lu Yin replied.

A rather interesting expression appeared on Jiang Chen’s face. He looked angry, amused, and a touch of something that could not be placed. "Bi Teng?"

Lu Yin nodded, and Jiang Chen smiled. "Did Bi Teng actually give this to you? There must be something wrong with him. Shouldn't this be with Bi Rong, the master of the Merchant Exchange? How did Bi Teng even get it?"

"I can’t answer that, but Bi Teng gave me this compass as a special gift after I saved the Merchant Exchange. He said that it’s worthless, but that it’s supposed to represent the Merchant Exchange’s attitude and relationship with me," Lu Yin explained.

Jiang Chen cursed loudly, "Fuck, worthless? Not even ten Merchant Exchanges combined could buy this compass. It didn’t matter what my father said back then to Bi Rong, he refused to let my father borrow it. Finally, he lent it to my father after he was deceived and nearly robbed. Now, Bi Teng tries to drag Whitecloud along, scared that we’ll grow bored and ignore them, while he gives this to you? What a joke!"

Lu Yin felt like he had stumbled upon a treasure. "Is this thing that useful?"

Jiang Chen stared at the compass with excitement filling his eyes. It was as though he could not get enough of the small item. "It’s not about whether it’s useful or not. For some people—hell, almost everyone—it’s the most useful thing imaginable, as it can help you find the best place for whatever you want.”

Lu Yin was left confused. "The best place for whatever you want?"

Jiang Chen touched the compass as he continued to stare at it.

Lu Yin pursed his lips and pulled the compass away. "Alright, I'll let you see it later."

Jiang Chen jumped. "Hey! I'm being honest with you with good intentions! Who else would be willing to tell you about all this? Now you won't even allow me to touch it?"

Lu Yin was not upset. "Tell me what it’s for, and then I’ll touch it for you."

Why do you have to word it so strangely? Jiang Chen organized his thoughts and what he knew about the compass. A hint of obsession appeared in his eyes. "It’s very simple to use. You just need to..."

The man hesitated, appearing slightly confused.

Lu Yin was watching. "Tell me."

Jiang Chen frowned and shook his head. "No, this belongs to Uncle Bi Rong. That disloyal bastard Bi Teng has no right to give this to anyone."

His head rose and he looked at Lu Yin. "Brother Lu, this thing is Uncle Bi Rong’s most precious treasure. He would never sell it to anyone for ten, or even a hundred Merchant Exchanges. Even so, Bi Teng just gave it to you without any authorization, which doesn’t make it yours."

Lu Yin started to grow wary. "What? Do you want to take it back and hold onto it for Bi Rong?"

Jiang Chen sneered. "That's not what I’m saying at all. Since you have it, how do I have any right to ask you for it? I just want to make it clear to you that, as soon as Uncle Bi Rong comes back, this compass will need to be returned to its rightful owner. If you refuse to do that, I won’t tell you what it’s for. I can also promise you that, in the entire megaverse, there are only a few people in Whitecloud who know what this compass is for. Not even Bi Teng knows, as he wouldn’t have given it to you otherwise, even if you killed him."

Lu Yin nodded. "Sure, I agree."

Jiang Chen sighed. "Brother Lu, people can't be too greedy. You already have the Heavens Sect, so why do you need to cling to someone else's treasure? This whole thing is embarrassing. On one hand, Bi Rong is my father's friend, while on the other hand, you are my friend. What did you say?"

Lu Yin sat down and casually stated, "I agree."

Jiang Chen was stunned. "You agree?"

"Yep."

"Just like that?"

"Did you want me to refuse?"

"That's not it at all, but why did you agree so easily?"

"You’re the son of Lord of Lightning, the young master of Whitecloud. You shouldn’t say so much."

"No, it's just that I'm rather confused. Why did you agree so quickly?"

"Because what you said makes sense."

"What did I say?"

"Figure it out for yourself."

Jiang Chen stood there, carefully reviewing all that he had just said. What had it been? How had he convinced Lu Yin so easily?

"Ahem, um, Brother Lu, let me just reconfirm with you. I told you that the compass needs to be returned to Uncle Bi Rong when he comes back. Are you willing to agree to that?" Jiang Chen stared at Lu Yin and spoke in a very serious manner.

Lu Yin nodded again, his expression even more somber than Jiang Chen's. "I agree."

Jiang Chen was speechless. While he was thrilled that Lu Yin had agreed, why did it feel somehow unreal? Was he somehow being deceived? Still, Lu Yin had agreed, and Jiang Chen had stated the conditions. Even so, something felt wrong. Jiang Chen observed Lu Yin, but saw nothing but sincerity. Had he really agreed?

Lu Yin started to lose his patience. "Just tell me if you’re going to explain how to use this thing or not. If you won't tell me, then just forget it. However, then I’ll never return this compass to the Merchant Exchange, not even when Bi Rong comes back. You can tell him to try to steal it from my Heavens Sect."

Jiang Chen quickly said, "I agree! No, I didn't agree, you agreed. I’ll tell you what it’s for and how to use it."

Lu Yin grunted. He was very calm about the whole thing.

Bi Rong’s return? That was a joke, and Jiang Chen could go ahead and dream about it. Lu Yin had Bi Rong’s body in his cosmic ring, and the man would never resurrect. In fact, in some sense, the compass had been returned to its original owner, as they were both in Lu Yin’s cosmic ring.

"Using the compass is very easy. While touching it, just think about the thing that you want most, and the compass will point to it. You then just need to look for it," Jiang Chen said.

Lu Yin looked at Jiang Chen and then at the compass, which he was still holding. "It doesn’t do anything."

"Of course not like that." Jiang Chen waved a hand and tore through the void. He gestured for Lu Yin to hold the compass towards the tear. "The compass won’t point to anything in the universe that you’re in. Rather, it’ll point to a parallel universe that holds what you’re seeking. If you want to find a specific parallel universe, this compass is the best way to get there. That’s why my father wanted to borrow the compass in the first place.”

Lu Yin was surprised, and he pushed the compass towards the spatial crack. As he did so, the needle started to slowly move.

It really moved. At the moment, Lu Yin was thinking about parallel universes with different flow rates of time.

His primary goal was to find those parallel universes so that he could improve Lightstream. That inner world had the potential to be a deciding factor in any fight.

Although Lightstream could still only reverse time by a second, Lu Yin had a hunch that his inner world would eventually transform.

Throughout the megaverse, it was impossible for cultivators at a certain level to not touch upon the powers of time and space, and Lightstream could affect both.

In particular, Lu Yin had realized that he could use Inverse Step in conjunction with Lightstream, and he intended to explore this idea next.

"What’s next?" Lu Yin felt rather puzzled. While the compass’s needle was moving and pointing in a particular direction, where was it pointing to? The parallel universe that the spatial tear was connected to had been found by Lu Yin himself, which had nothing to do with the compass.

Jiang Chen exhaled. "You hold the compass in your hand while you tear the void. The combination of your strength and the compass’s power will let it guide you to a parallel universe that can fulfill your desires. If you’re strong enough, the needle will move. If you’re not, the needle won’t move, and you’ll fail. That’s all there is to using it, but even my father had to practice with it for a long time before he could use it.

"When you reach a parallel universe that the compass led you to, the needle will move again, guiding you to what you want within that universe."

Lu Yin pulled his hand back. This was quite clear and understandable.

He suddenly thought of the Immemorial Citadel. Could the compass show him where that was?

Next, Lu Yin thought about the Books of Destiny, but he quickly decided to not bother trying. He did not want to have the compass to burn away like the books.

This compass had been Bi Rong’s most precious treasure, and even the Lord of Lightning had wanted to borrow it. If the compass was damaged, even if it was possible to repair the compass, it would not be cheap to do so.

Jiang Chente moved closer, curious. "Brother Lu, what were you just thinking about?"

Lu Yin put the compass away. "A parallel universe with an accelerated time flow."

Jiang Chen felt quite disappointed. "That again? Why do you like those universes so much?"

"They’re very useful to me."

"When are you going to search for something with the compass?"

Lu Yin was surprised by the question. "What are you really asking?"

Jiang Chen grew serious. "Take me with you."

Lu Yin was taken aback. "You want to come with me?"

Jiang Chen wanted that very much. "The compass usually guides people to universes that are unknown, which is quite rare, and I want to travel."

Lu Yin shook his head. "Don’t be ridiculous. This is very dangerous."

Jiang Chen laughed in a playful manner. "Dangerous? If I’m afraid of danger, I might as well stay in Whitecloud and act as a young master. Do you know how strong my father was when he first left his universe?"

Lu Yin was quite curious about this. Logically speaking, since the Lord of Lightning was from a parallel universe that also had a version of Earth, there should not be a massive difference in age between him and Lu Yin. "How strong?"

Jiang Chen proudly stated, "He was as strong as your universe’s Explorers."

Lu Yin was stunned. "Was the Lord of Lightning really only an Explorer when he went to explore the universe?"

Jiang Chen shook his head. "He didn’t just explore our universe, but rather parallel universes as well. My father has a black bead, which allows him to easily travel between various parallel universes. Combined with his other two treasures, unless he ran into a peak powerhouse, nothing would happen to him.

"It turns out that he was also very lucky. While he ran into several dangers, he eventually arrived at the Five Spirits Alliance. Their universes’ time flows a hundred times faster than ours, so when my father returned, his strength had undergone a complete transformation, and he had also made several friends. My father met Uncle Bi Rong during his first trip exploring the megaverse. Back then, Uncle Bi Rong was already a sequence powerhouse, and he did my father a favor.

"When my father left the Five Spirits Alliance, Uncle Bi Rong saw him again, though by that time, my father’s strength was something else entirely. They separated and met several times. Hey, you don't know how wonderful Uncle Bi Rong's expression was..."

The Lord of Lightning was another legendary figure, though Jiang Chen only knew part of the man’s story. Even so, Lu Yin really yearned to live such a life.

He also wanted to ignore everything and explore parallel universes. He wanted to be unburdened by hatred, responsibility, and other such weights, but that was not Lu Yin’s life. There were too many people and things that he cared about in the Origin Universe, and he had too many responsibilities to tend to.

"My father had the courage to explore parallel universes when he was just an Explorer. I’m already an Envoy, so how could I not have the same courage? How can I even show my face in Whitecloud? By the way, you should also take my sister with you. You two can cultivate both your strength and feelings before you return to Whitecloud. If you also take old Dragonturtle, you can throw him out when you encounter danger, and that might be enough to protect you," Jiang Chen encouraged.

Lu Yin could not refuse. He needed to seek out parallel universes with different time flows. There were not many people he could take with him, but he had never intended to search on his own.