Star Odyssey

Chapter 3138: That Being

Not even True God could casually wipe out powerhouses as strong as Great Elder Shan Gu, and people who surpassed the man had to at least be Ortusers. No, True God could not easily destroy such cultivators.

The story that Great Elder Shan Gu had just shared sounded too bizarre. Such a being should not exist. If such a being did exist, then what were all of their efforts for?

Lu Yin did not press Great Elder Shan Gu, and he gave the old man his space. Lu Yin also needed some time to consider all that he had learned.

He was certain that the Great Elder was telling the truth. For someone so strong to lose control just from recalling an incident suggested that there existed a being that saw all others as less than ants. Was that being human or something else?

Lu Yin finally understood why the Lost Clan had always been so passive in the war against Aeternus. They lacked something crucial that all the other civilizations had: the will to fight. No matter how many battles the Lost Clan participated in, as long as they remained under Great Elder Shan Gu's influence, the Lost Clan would only participate in the war on a reactive basis. Shan Gu was terrified by his past experiences, and he had projected them onto the current war with Aeternus.

Shan Gu was afraid that, after Aeternus was defeated, another unfathomable being would reset the state of things back to a predetermined path. The old man had already experienced the joy of victory after countless years of struggle, only to be thrust back into despair and lose everything in a single instant.

The man had lived in the same universe for countless years, and he did not want to relive his previous experiences.

All of Shan Gu’s talk of a future of internal conflicts between humans was nothing more than a pretext. His true fear was the Sixverse Association being destroyed and him losing everything he knew. It was quite possible that he was also afraid of that unfathomable being.

As the Great Elder had said, such a being may as well be omnipotent.

What of Lu Yin? If such a being existed, what would become of the Origin Universe, the Heavens Sect, and Lu Yin himself?

After several days passed, the Great Elder reappeared before Lu Yin. He had managed to regain his composure, and he looked at Lu Yin with an apologetic gaze. "Lord Lu, I’m sorry. There are some things which should have remained unsaid."

Lu Yin raised a hand to stop the older man from continuing. “Great Elder, what is our purpose for living?”

Shan Gu was taken aback. He had assumed that he would find Lu Yin just as despondent as he had been. After all, if an omnipotent being existed, then all of humanity's efforts were meaningless.

"Do you believe that I lied to you?"

Lu Yin shook his head and clasped his hands behind his back. "Of course not. I know that you told me the truth."

"Then why ask such a thing? Why can you still smile?"

The Great Elder stared at Lu Yin, unable to comprehend why the young man was still smiling. For so many years, the truth that Shan Gu carried had weighed heavily on both him and the entire Lost Clan, which was why they had lived like ants.

The Lost Clan was far from the weakest civilization in the Sixverse Association, and yet they had maintained the lowest profile. It was all because of their past.

They had escaped, but they had developed an inferiority complex.

Lu Yin lazily stretched out. "Life or death, it’s a very serious matter. Life represents a beginning, while death signifies an end. Great Elder, are you afraid of death?"

"Of course not," Shan Gu replied reflexively. If he feared death, he would have never participated in so many dangerous battles.

Lu Yin shrugged. "Then what's the problem? If you're not afraid of death, then what is there to fear? That your efforts could be meaningless? That the people you unite with might die once more? That humanity could face extinction? Honestly, none of those things are your concern."

Great Elder Shan Gu was taken aback. The young man was being too blunt.

No one had ever spoken to Shan Gu in such a tone. His aura gave people the impression of a reclusive sage. When he first met Lu Yin, the Great Elder had intimidated Lu Yin, especially after speaking of matters beyond the realm of peak powerhouses. Such a person should be a mentor, a venerated elder, and someone to respect.

The old man had never imagined that someone would tell him that something was none of his concern.

Lu Yin chuckled as he looked at the Great Elder. "Senior, could you be overthinking things? Are you the savior of humanity? Do you have the responsibility to save everyone? You only need to take care of yourself. Whatever that being wants to see happen, that's their business. You were unlucky to have encountered them before, which is certainly tough luck, but we might not be so unlucky. Even if we are, all of us will die along with you. Once we’re dead, everything will be over. Anything that happens after that won't be any of your concern.

“Are you overthinking things? Or are you worried that the Lost Clan will be completely wiped out as well? If that’s the case, then why not have your people commit mass suicide now, if everything is under someone else’s control?”

Shan Gu stared at Lu Yin, dazed.

Lu Yin continued, “Is that being someone you can deal with? Are they someone any of us can deal with? Since neither of us can do anything about it, then just leave things be. If they show up one day and demand our lives, then we’ll hand them over, but do we need to be so scared that we can’t even interact with other civilizations? Great Elder, are you getting old? As you get older, are you becoming more afraid of death?”

Lu Yin’s words were blunt, and he was actually venting a bit. If an unfathomable being like the one Great Elder Shan Gu had described really did exist, who would not be terrified? Everyone would be afraid, and so was Lu Yin. But what could he do about it? Should he follow the Great Elder’s example and do nothing? Should he simply go through the motions of resisting Aeternus for a bit, wasting time before dying and then leave the problem for future generations? Lu Yin could not accept that.

“Lord Lu, if we manage to one day destroy Aeternus and that being appears, wanting to obliterate humanity and reset the course of reality, what will you do?” Shan Gu asked as he stared at Lu Yin. This was a question that had haunted the old man for a long time. He had constantly wondered what he would do if he was able to return to his homeland and see his elders, old friends, and comrades once again. Would he try to stop them?

Lu Yin let out a breath. “If we can fight, we fight. If we can’t, then we curse that being and die.”

Shan Gu was stunned. Curse that being?

Lu Yin laughed. “What matters is to live life without regrets. Who cares if there will be other enemies in the future or some omnipotent being? How many of our predecessors fought and died in the war with Aeternus? Their bones lie in Burial Garden, and their cries echo in the Endless Frontier. Were their sacrifices made for the fun of it? Were their efforts nothing but a game?

“I want to destroy Aeternus, even if it ends in mutual destruction. Even that is better than being slowly ground down by the Aeternals. I want to be worthy of those who fought and died for humanity. I might join them someday, but if I do, I will do so while trying to destroy that omnipotent being. Such a person wasn’t born invincible—I don’t believe that. Besides, the one thing that we humans never lack is spirit.”

The old man’s expression grew conflicted. He had thought about this matter for far, far too long. However, the more he had considered things, the more powerless he felt.

That being was capable of erasing everything, and it was truly omnipotent.

Lu Yin frowned. This old man was quite stubborn. Well, he had lived for many years and had probably already heard everything. Lu Yin’s words might not be convincing on their own. “I met the Origin Progenitor.”

Shan Gu was startled, and he looked at Lu Yin in surprise. “The Origin Universe’s Origin Progenitor?”

Lu Yin nodded. “He said that there are no absolutes in existence, as such a thing doesn’t follow the laws of reality. The being that you told me about sounds like an absolute. Do you really think that such an individual can control reality? That they are truly omnipotent?

“If they are, then what is the point of universes even existing?”

Great Elder Shan Gu was shaken. There were no absolutes? Could that be true?

“There’s a balance to everything. If the being that you told me about is truly omnipotent, then why did your people fight against enemies in your homeland? Why did Aeternus appear here? That being might be strong, even too strong to resist, but there must be limitations,” Lu Yin stated firmly while staring at the Great Elder. “It’s possible that your people’s victory over your old enemies placed some sort of limitations on that being, which is why your people were destroyed. Just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean that it didn’t happen. Maybe you weren’t ants, but rather impossible to chase down.”

Shan Gu wanted to argue, but he could not find anything to say. Everything that Lu Yin was saying was pure speculation.

Lu Yin’s eyes did not leave the Great Elder. “Do you know what realm the Origin Progenitor has reached?”

Shan Gu shook his head. “No.”

Lu Yin’s expression grew solemn. “Immortal.”

“Impossible! There are no Immortals in this megaverse,” Great Elder Shan Gu blurted.

Lu Yin laughed. “The Origin Progenitor alone stands above everything else in the megaverse. He controls the sequence strings.”

The Great Elder’s pupils shrank. While others might not understand what Lu Yin was referring to, he did. This was true even if they knew about sequence strings. Even if Lord Xu or Mu Shen knew of this matter, they might not understand what “controlling sequence strings meant,” but Shan Gu understood the implications. This was because, in his ancient homeland, the war had been fought over that megaverse’s source of sequence strings.

“The Origin Progenitor controls all sequence strings?”

Lu Yin’s voice dropped low. “It’s either the origin or the endpoint of all sequence strings, but regardless, the Origin Progenitor alone controls that source. If he didn’t, Aeternus would have already destroyed this megaverse. Do you know why the Origin Progenitor hasn’t appeared?”

Shan Gu was stunned. He had always thought that the Origin Universe’s Origin Progenitor was dead. This was also what the Great Sovereign believed. Shan Gu himself had never interacted with the Origin Universe in the past, and he had never seen the ancient Heavens Sect.

However, if what Lu Yin said was true, and if the Origin Progenitor truly held the source of all sequence strings, then it was highly likely that the man was an Immortal.

So there was such a powerful individual in this megaverse.

Lu Yin suddenly raised a finger, startling Shan Gu. “Once.”

Great Elder Shan Gu was confused.

Lu Yin raised a second finger. “Twice.”

A third finger rose. "Three times.

"Every time you foil the plans of that being, do you think they remain unscathed?"

Shan Gu stared intently at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin gritted his teeth. "I don't believe it. The Origin Progenitor said that there are no absolutes in existence. Such a thing goes against the nature of reality. If an absolute being exists, then they will suffer certain restrictions. Your people won a war, and that being intervened. Those restrictions must have impacted them. Win again, or maybe twice more, but even if you can't kill that being, you can still at least retaliate.

"Great Elder, the blood of your people will never cool. It needs to be splashed on that being's face. Even if we can't kill them, we will disgust them. The people of this megaverse will stand with you. Even if humanity is wiped out or the universe is reset, we will at least have done our best."